"Now, who can tell me the differences between a regular wolf and a true werewolf?" asked Hermione of her third year Ravenclaws.
As she had drawn up the lesson covering werewolves for the third year students, it amused her to no end that she had received first-hand lessons in them during her own third year, and she wondered what Remus Lupin was doing currently. She had not spoken with him since early summer, well before school began.
One student, the smartest boy among all of the third years, held up his hand and said, "The wolf has a longer snout while the werewolf --"
The door to the classroom flew open, crashing against the wall and sending a painting clattering to the floor amid shrieks from its occupant. Hermione, who had been moving through the rows of desks, whirled around to confront the intruder, surprise registering as she glimpsed Severus standing in the doorway.
"Can I help you Professor?" she asked cautiously, for she could recognize the pure fury on his face.
"What has happened in the dungeons?"
His voice was dangerously quiet and the students in the back of the classroom leaned forward, straining their ears, though all were wise enough to avoid meeting the livid Potions Master's eyes.
"What? The dungeons?"
"Perhaps we should continue this discussion outside," he said, his dark eyes surveying the students, "away from prying ears."
Severus turned on his heel, his robes billowing behind him through the door and, after instructing the students to continue reading the current chapter, Hermione followed him into the hall and pulled the door shut behind her.
"Now, what's going on? I haven't been in the dungeons since before class this morning."
"Someone has destroyed the laboratory."
"What?"
"All of the potions have been overturned, and the reserve potion is missing, as are my notes."
"What -- how is that possible? How could anyone --"
"That is irrelevant at this point."
"Have you told Albus?" He shook his head. "Then we better go find him."
"Your class?"
"Hang on." Hermione opened the door and said, "I must see Professor Dumbledore. Return to your common room until further notice. And I want an eighteen inch essay on differentiating between the common wolf and a werewolf to be handed in next class."
The Ravenclaws started packing their things, groaning about the essay, and Hermione turned back to Severus, saying, "That will keep them occupied. Let's go."
They moved quickly through the halls, slowing only as Severus gave the password to the gargoyle, then continuing up the spiral staircase. Hermione was startled to see Dumbledore emerge from the doorway, a look of confusion evident on his face.
"Hermione? Severus?"
"There has been a break-in --"
Dumbledore stumbled forward and both Severus and Hermione rushed forward as he collapsed, his head colliding with the stone floor with a sickening crack.
"Albus!" she cried as she knelt and felt for a pulse beneath the snowy beard. "We have to get him to Poppy!"
While Hermione ministered over the unconscious wizard, Severus surveyed the office. A chair lay on its back, papers littered the floor, a few portraits of former Headmasters scorched though none of the owners were visible, and Fawkes was nowhere to be found.
"You take him. I believe whomever is responsible for Albus's condition is also responsible for the sabotage in the laboratory, and that he is still in the castle."
"But you can't go alone! If someone overpowered Albus, then you have no chance!"
Severus regarded her for a moment as she stood to face him, and she could see the resolve hardening in his black eyes.
"Albus was unprepared for the attack, but I am not. Take him to Poppy, then find the other teachers. We must stop him before he escapes."
"Alright, but be careful, please," she pleaded, unable to keep the tremble from her voice.
He nodded once and left without a backwards glance, down the revolving staircase, taking the steps two at a time.
Hermione whipped out her wand and muttered, "Mobilicorpus."
She proceeded down the stairs and through the halls, Albus floating gently by her side, and her mind raced as she tried to figure out how this could have happened. For someone to take Dumbledore by surprise, it was unthinkable, which meant it had to be someone he knew and was expecting, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to enter the school to begin with.
She heard voices around the corner from the stairs to the third floor, students, she quickly realized, then just as quickly cast a spell to hide Dumbledore from view; she certainly didn't want to cause a panic among the students. It was a pair of Hufflepuffs coming down the stairs, and Hermione instructed them to return to their common room until they received further instructions from their head of house.
When she reached the hospital wing, Poppy was tending to a student covered in green vines, so Hermione maneuvered the invisible body to a bed and conjured screens to surround them.
As she came around the screen and saw what seemed to be an empty bed, Poppy asked, "Did you bring someone in, Hermione?"
Hermione removed the charm and Dumbledore's form appeared, still unconscious.
"Oh Merlin!" Poppy gasped. "What happened?"
"He collapsed outside his office," Hermione said, moving out of the way so the medi-witch could take his readings. "We were just on our way to see him when it happened. His office was trashed, and so were the dungeons. I've got to find the other teachers."
"Go on, I'll take care of him."
"He has a cut here, on his head," Hermione said, pointing to his left temple and the dried trickle of blood there, "where he hit the floor and bruises on his neck. I did what I could, but you should probably --"
"Hermione Granger, I can take care of things in my hospital wing!" The edge of anger that tinged her voice was suddenly replaced with a ferocity that surprised Hermione. "You go find who did this to him!"
Hermione raced from the infirmary down the hall to the Charms classroom, where Flitwick was deeply involved with going over Cheering Charms with fifth year Gryffindors in preparation for their O.W.L.S. All the Gryffindors watched curiously as she crossed the room and bent over to speak with the tiny professor.
"There's been an incident. I need you to help me round up all the teachers and meet up by the front doors."
"What of the students?" he squeaked.
"I sent my class back to their common room, so I would suggest doing the same with all of the classes until we know what's going on."
Flitwick agreed and announced, "Students, return to your common room and remain there until Professor McGonagall informs you what to do next."
There were murmurs among the students who were obviously confused about the turn of events, but they dutifully packed up and left.
"I'll take the upper floors, you get everyone down here, and I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes," Hermione said and they separated.
Nine minutes later, as the sound of chattering students heading off to their common rooms receded, she made her way downstairs, followed closely by Professor Sinistra, who had been the last teacher Hermione found since her office was up in the North tower, and the only one she had briefed on her race through the castle.
As they descended the stairs to the ground floor, Hermione was relieved to see Severus already there, as were all of the other teachers, including Filch and Madam Pince, except for Trelawny. The Divination classroom had been empty and Hermione decided not to waste time trying to find her, since she surely would know of the trouble before hand. Someone had even managed to round up the House ghosts, as well as Binns, all of which floated nearby.
"But who could have done this?" McGonagall asked as Hermione and Sinistra joined them, and the nodding faces of the teachers echoed her confusion. "And why?"
"I do not know the answer to either," Severus answered curtly. "But we must search the castle to apprehend the culprit. The longer we take, the greater the chance of escape."
"He's right," Hermione spoke up over the murmurs, and the voices immediately stopped to listen to the expert at catching wizards adept at avoiding capture. "We need to move now. I suggest we search the castle in small groups."
The teachers nodded, and she continued, "Alright, pair up. Except for you, Hagrid. You take Fang and walk the grounds. And see if you can find Firenze. Filch, I want you to alert the paintings and have them search as well. We'll use them to communicate if anyone finds something."
Hagrid and Filch both acknowledged with nods and disappeared as the teachers decided the pairs: Anne and Vasily, Flitwick and Sprout, McGonagall and Hooch, Sinistra and Pince, which left Hermione and Severus together.
"Don't separate unless you have to. If you find something, alert the nearest painting. Anne, Vasily, you two take the seventh floor and the towers. Minverva, Madam Hooch, fifth and sixth floors; Professors Flitwick and Sprout, third and fourth, please; and Professor Sinistra and Madam Pince, first and second. Severus and I will take the ground floor and the dungeons. Once you are certain your floors are secure, assist the others." She paused and looked at each one before continuing, "Please be careful. Whomever is responsible will not hesitate to harm any one of you."
The teachers journeyed upstairs, leaving only Hermione and Severus and the ghosts floating nearby.
"What would you have us do, Hermione?" asked Nearly Headless Nick, who hovered nearby wringing his hands.
"I want one of you to guard the front door, and another the one-eyed witch in the third floor corridor. The rest, search through the classrooms."
As they floated off and Severus watched her, she warily asked, "What?"
"You handled that well," he answered, surprising her with a compliment. "Shall we?"
Hermione followed him to the Great Hall, which was empty and disconcertingly quiet, and she warded it after they determined no one was hiding there.
"Who do you think it was?" Hermione asked quietly as they moved down the ground floor corridor, securing the few classrooms as they went.
"I do not wish to speculate at the moment. When Albus awakens, he will be able to shed light on the situation."
Silence hovered over them as they finished the search of the ground floor and moved towards the dungeons, and Severus broke it only to say, "You check the kitchens and Hufflepuff common room, and I will check the Slytherins and begin searching the classrooms."
"I told the others not to split up!"
"There is little chance the culprit would return to the dungeons, as there is no escape from them."
"Fine," she conceded after a moment's thought, then turned to check on the Hufflepuffs.
Hermione gave the emergency teacher password, which opened the door to the all of the common rooms, and she tucked away her wand before entering. This was her first time in another House's common room, which was not much different from the Gryffindor, aside from the colors, and she wondered why she had expected something different. The Hufflepuffs in the room all stopped to stare at her, books falling open, chess pieces in mid-move, conversations hanging, and Hermione cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, but none of you have seen anything out of the ordinary, have you?" Blank stares answered her query. "Any visitors, or anything strange?"
A few heads shook and she forced a bright smile.
"Well then, thank you, and Professor Sprout will be with you shortly."
She turned to leave when one Hufflepuff, a seventh year named Amanda, asked, "What's going on, Professor Granger? Did something happen?"
"We are handling it at the moment, but as long as you remain in your common room, everything will be fine. Professor Sprout will join you shortly and give you further instructions."
Hermione ducked out the door before she had to answer anymore questions, removing her wand as she turned towards the kitchens, then tickled the pear and opened the door cautiously.
"Miss Hermione!" a cry greeted her as she entered and Dobby scampered towards her, clutching her legs before she could fend him off. "Dobby is hoping you would come and visit!"
"Dobby, have you seen anyone down here? Someone not a teacher or student?"
The house elf frowned. "No, miss, Dobby only see other house elfs today. Is something wrong, Miss?"
"There's an intruder in the castle and we're trying to find him before he can escape, so if you do see anyone, anyone at all that's not a teacher, stop them and send for a teacher."
"Yes, Miss," he answered, nodding his head gravely.
"Even if it's Harry Potter."
"But Master Harry would never--"
"Dobby, anyone."
"Yes, Miss," he repeated, his eyes wide and fearful at the prospect of having to detain Harry Potter. "If I sees anyone, even Master Harry, I call you, Miss."
"Thank you, Dobby."
Hermione started towards the door, refusing offers of food from the distressed house elf, when Severus burst through.
"Let's go, someone was spotted on the third floor and a teacher was attacked."
She ran out behind him and through the corridors back to the huge marble staircase leading up into the castle, taking the steps two at a time, and as they rounded the stairs up to the second floor, Sprout raced down towards them, her eyes wild with fear.
"Someone's up there! He shot Filius and nearly got me! I don't know if he's still alive!"
Hermione grasped the frantic professor by the shoulders and tried to calm her. "Are you alright? Were you hit by anything? Did you get a look at him? Where was he?"
She shook her head, the gray strands flying about dangerously, and she cried, "I can't go back up there! I'm terrible with curses! I just can't!"
Severus scowled and said, his voice gruff, "We're wasting time. Get her out of here before he escapes."
Nodding at Sprout, whose eyes showed some measure of relief from being spared from facing the intruder again, Hermione began to climb the stairs to the third floor with Severus close behind as Sprout made for the stairs to the first floor. Her wand felt slick with sweat, and as they paused before the third-floor landing, Hermione quickly wiped her hand and wand on her teaching robes while he waited for her direction.
She crouched down and peered around the corner, trying to reveal as little of herself as possible, but the hall was derelict and a heavy silence covered everything. She stood back up and turned the corner, motioning for Severus to follow as she spied an open classroom door halfway down, so she eased quietly towards the door, wishing she had had the presence of mind to retrieve the Marauder's Map while alerting the teachers earlier.
They stopped before the entrance, both pressed against the wall separating the hallway from the classroom, and Hermione felt in her pockets for something, anything of substance, finally finding a quill. She muttered quietly and the quill reshaped itself into a small, hooked mirror, reminiscent of something her parents might have used in their dental practice. She extended the mirror into the room. It did not afford her a very thorough look of the room, but it did seem that the room was free from intruders.
She stuck her head into the room and gasped when she saw Flitwick's body on the floor.
"What?" Severus hissed from behind her.
"I've found Flitwick."
She felt him move around her to peer over her shoulder, and they both saw the second body at the same time.
"Sprout!"
There was no mistaking it for anyone else, and before Hermione could say anything, Severus bolted back down the corridor and barreled down the steps.
Hermione turned to the nearest magical painting, some innocuous wizard, and shouted, "Get Minerva McGonagall up here! Tell her there are injured teachers!"
Hermione followed behind Severus though the gap closed with every set of stairs they descended until it disappeared as they reached the ground floor and exploded through the heavy doors into the bright afternoon sunlight.
"'Ermione!" Hagrid called out to them from the path to the lake and she trotted towards the towering man and the huge dog lumbering towards her. "Professor Sprout wanted me ter tell ya that she had ter go an' you'd explain ev'rythin' ter me. She sure was in a hurry. Even had herself a broom."
"Shit!" she proclaimed as she stopped in front of the half-giant, her lungs hurting from the exertion and angry at herself for not expecting such a diversionary tactic. Severus arrived mere seconds later, his breathing heavy, and he glared at Hagrid.
"Would you not find it out-of-place, Hagrid, for a teacher to be leaving at such a time?"
"Well --"
"That was the intruder, you imbecile!" he yelled, his eyes bulging. "The real Sprout would not dare leave the castle grounds, certainly not while Hogwarts is under such an emergency!"
"Calm down, we were fooled too," she said, placing a hand on his arm in restraint. It worked and he turned away, glaring instead at the castle.
"We should alert the others. And figure out what we're going to say to the students."
Severus immediately began walking towards the castle and without pausing for reply he threw over his shoulder, "I'm going to check on Dumbledore."
Hermione, after comforting and consoling a dejected Hagrid, returned to the castle, the half-giant in tow. Inside the doors, the teachers had reassembled, including Sprout and Flitwick, both of whom seemed a tad disoriented, but otherwise fine since they had merely been stunned.
"I didn't see anything," Sprout was saying, "I just saw Filius going down and by the time I had turned, he hit me too."
"What happened, Hermione?" McGonagall demanded. "Severus said something about an imposter?"
"Yes, someone had Professor Sprout's appearance and slipped past us and Hagrid. Polyjuice I would imagine."
"Do you think he'll come back?"
"Since we're not sure what the intruder was after, it's hard to say. It wouldn't hurt to stay prepared."
"Very well," McGonagall answered, firmly taking control of the situation. "I want an extra teacher on each patrol tonight."
Sprout asked, "What of the students? How do we explain it to them?"
"We should tell them the truth. It's what Albus would have us do."
"But how much of the truth, Minerva?" responded Flitwick. "It would only frighten them."
Hermione quickly said, "He's right. I think we should tell them there was an intruder and he's gone now, but nothing else, especially the teachers and Headmaster."
"We shall tell them that he has taken ill and I will be in charge until he is well," said Minerva, looking at each teacher in turn. "Not only would it be bad for the students, but the wizarding populace as well to know that someone was able to hurt Albus Dumbledore, and so I must insist that this information stay inside the castle without exception." Everyone nodded and she continued, "Poloma and Filius, please return to your Houses and explain to them what has happened. That is all."
After McGonagall's dismissal, Hermione went to the hospital wing, to see Dumbledore, as well as Severus. But mostly it was for Severus and the comfort he could provide, just from his presence. She found him, them, at the same curtain she had left Dumbledore earlier, and a quick glance informed her his condition had not changed much since.
Severus sat rail stiff in the chair beside the bed, arms crossed and head down as he glowered at the floor, acknowledging her only with a slight turn of the head.
"How is he? What did Poppy say?"
She had to strain to hear the growl of his voice as he answered, "Poppy does not know what is wrong, and his condition has not changed since you brought him here."
"Why would this -- this person would hurt Dumbledore so, but only stun Flitwick and Sprout?"
"What is more important," he countered, "is who could have done this to Albus Dumbledore, to take him by surprise. Someone he knew and trusted."
Hermione didn't answer, just stood and stared at the black eyes that bore into her, and the same name that had been bothering her for weeks now slipped out.
"Harry."
___
A/N:
Alright, I have no excuse. I know I said two weeks and here it is two months later. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, and even those who haven't reviewed, thanks still for reading. And a great big thank you to those who've put up with my slow updates since I started writing this behemoth! I'll make no promises for Ch 30 and I'll just work on getting it out before February!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have a safe and happy New Year!