A/N: Hello mey friends, hope everyone's OK. You're very good at giving my helpful reviews, cheers! Now, we moved forward in time a bit here; it's about the second week of January. Like it is in the 'real' world, know that place?
Thankyou:
Commodore Aetheflaed the Pink: :D
Witchintraining: hello! So it's not porn then! Are you still not getting my emails. Glad you like the little bits of
humour
PinkAphid: forgiven lol
Kylala-san: I'm glad you've taken the time to read this
Ladyvohn: I've built up the whole Vernon thing here it will appear later again thank you for the helpful review
Natsuyori: quite the little couple now aren't they? ;)
Mysticalfairy-05: here's an update!
sarah loves carby: thank you :D
diamondcrystal124: well let's just say he has a part in my 'secret plan' ;)
Gathering Dust
Hermione sat on her bed cross-legged with the curtains drawn around her. She knew the other girls in her dormitory were asleep but she couldn't be too careless.
"I'd better go, if I'm going to get any sleep tonight," she whispered
"I know, sorry, it's just hard you know?" a voice whispered,
"Goodnight,"
"Goodnight."
Hermione shut the clasp on her watch to hide the inside face and clambered into her bed, she pulled the duvet up over her head was soon asleep.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were helping teachers take down the last of the Christmas decorations in the Great Hall after breakfast. As well as earning them house points they were able to listen in on the teachers' conversations. Flitwick and McGonagall were discussing Alastor Moody again; he was often spoken of, as they still didn't know how he died or his killer. Hagrid was heaving the giant fir trees from the Hall and was chopping them outside to be used as firewood. It looked to Hermione as if the house-elves would have enough wood for the castle's many fires to last until next Christmas.
As they walked back to the Gryffindor common room they passed Dumbledore who beckoned to Harry, leaving Ron and Hermione alone.
"Thank you Ron, for forgiving me, it means a lot to me, and I'm sure to Severus too, though he might not show it."
"Well Christmas is a time of good will, just as long as you don't try to strangle me again,"
"Promise," she smiled at him and spoke the password to get into the common room. Students were already starting the weekend's homework and the floor was becoming steadily covered in books. "I thought we sorted out a tidying rota!"
"Hermione the house-elves tidy up, we don't need to."
"But it's awfully heartless just to leave things all over the floor. Hello Ginny, I hope you're going to put that piece of parchment in the bin." Ginny just managed to catch her crumpled History of Magic essay before it reached the floor.
"Ha Ginny, I never have to do History of Magic again!" Ron flicked his sister under the chin; she pushed him away, scowling.
"Ron, leave me alone, that's the third one I've had to do again, please just leave me alone!" she stormed off.
"Ron, look we had to go through all of that last year, try and be a bit more sympathetic." Hermione started picking bits of paper off the floor, Ron whispered a charm under his breath so that every time she came close to some rubbish it fluttered away in the other direction. He grinned widely whilst she got more and more infuriated. She stood up to find the whole common room looking at her, stifling grins. She could feel her cheeks flushing, "Ron," she muttered, "do you have to completely humiliate me."
He smiled cockily and with a flick of his wand sent all the paper flying into the bin. People around him cheered, "Excellent aim Ron," "Just don't let those Quaffles do that and you'll be fine," "Neat piece of magic there."
Hermione picked up her bag and strode to the library. She picked a table far away from anyone else and began to unload her bag. It was only when she put her books on the table she noticed someone sitting opposite her. "Sorry," she mumbled, "Oh Harry, hello."
"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Harry looked up from the table surface he'd been staring at.
"I was going to ask the same thing of you, Ron humiliated me in front of the entire house, I've just about had enough."
"I though you and him had made up again,"
"Well he still enjoys annoying me,"
"Don't let him get to you, save yourself for people you really hate, like Malfoy."
"Hmm…so what happened? What did Dumbledore say?"
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"Take a seat please Harry," Dumbledore pulled the door up behind them, Harry sat down facing his desk. Dumbledore began to pace his study, exchanging small remarks with the portraits.
"Has my uncle joined the Dark side?" Harry asked,
Dumbledore drew up a chair and fixed his eyes on him, "I don't believe that Harry; for all your uncle's misdoings he wouldn't have done this. And do you really think that Lord Voldemort wants a Muggle on his side? No, I think he was blackmailed."
"They could have just killed him –"
"The Dark Lord's mind works in many ways, he is more cunning than you can ever imagine, he would never slaughter unnecessarily." Dumbledore lent forward, "your uncle would have been threatened with death but he held too much important information, he couldn't be killed. But he will not be set free; he will be used as a bargaining tool."
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"You see Hermione? I'm torn in two, I know the Dursleys never exactly treated me well, but they did bring me up, they didn't leave me at an orphanage or anything; I do owe them something." Harry pummelled his knuckles into the wall,
"Harry," Hermione but her arm out to stop him, "stop it Harry, you'll hurt yourself. Don't you have Quidditch after lunch?"
"Yeah, I'd forgotten about that, let's go and find Ron," Harry rubbed his sore knuckles.
"No, you go I'll meet you there, give you a chance to tell him." Hermione began her Potions essay. "See you in a bit."
She watched Harry out of the door and then continued, after a few minutes she noticed a small voice whispering her name; looking around her she saw no one. And then she remembered the watch. She prized the latch open and saw Snape's face looking back at her.
"Severus! I'm in the library for goodness sake," she hissed
"I know, but I need to speak with you,"
"You spoke to me last night!"
"There's no need to get ratty with me, I mean who are you? My mother?" he smirked,
"Shut up!" she hissed, but gently
"We're not an old married couple Hermione, and in case you hadn't noticed I'm just a couple of decades older than you. Look I need to tell you something," his tone became more urgent,
"Here? Now? I'm trying to do my homework,"
"There are a lot more important things in life than homework, and this is one." He looked deep into her eyes, she sighed and shut her books.
"There, see, all gone. Now what did you want to tell me?"
"I want to tell you something that I don't think Dumbledore knows yet –"
"How come you are more likely to find something out than him and you're in that house all the time?"
"Never mind how I found out, you need to know."
A/N: More cliffhangers :D Sorry I'm so evil. These things all really mounting up though. So any ideas people will be willing to contribute, I do use your ideas, just take a look around. Reviews always welcome!
