Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim to own Harry Potter or any related material. All of this was the brilliant work of J.K. Rowling and her publishers.
Snape's black cape snapped swiftly at his heels as he strode towards Dumbledore's office. After sharply saying the password ("Sugar Quill"), he bounded up the winding stairs.
However, he found the office, though crammed with a plethora of magical instruments, portraits of past headmasters, and a beautiful scarlet phoenix, vacant of Dumbledore. A swear word later, he was leaving the office in disgust.
Snape muttered nastily, "Potter and his tag-alongs once again are above the rules." As he proceeded back to the dungeons, in the back of his mind, contrarily, the potion's professor was indeed slightly alarmed. Though he had not stated so in class, he found Hermione's unexcused absence extraordinarily odd. Granger, he thought, was certainly not the type to skip a class for the idle pleasures of laziness. Snape made a mental note to seek out Professor McGonagall to inquire on Hermione's recent performance in all of her classes, she could be letting her grades slip. Also, he could make a point to complain about Potter's complete lack of discipline in his class (and his request that Potter be removed from Potions, as a result).
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"Well, alright I will see you in Transfiguration, mate. I still think I should come along too, though," Ron resided to a previous argument.
"No, Ron. It will be faster for me to go alone. I do not want to be late for McGonagall either. But, if it takes longer, make up an excuse for us. I do not want any more 'disciplinary' warnings from her!" Harry exclaimed.
With that, Harry ran furiously to the portrait of the Fat Lady, where he arrived panting and red-faced.
"Running a marathon?" asked the Fat Lady disdainfully.
With no time to explain, Harry spluttered, "Co-co-pernicus," and ran immediately through the porthole as it opened into the Gryffindor Common Room. "Hermione!" he called, in vain. Forgetting in the urgency of the impending time restraint, he proceeded to sprint up the girl's staircase. Unfortunately, with a loud slam, he was thrust backwards down the stairs, with a forming bruise on his back as a souvenir.
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Hermione awoke with a start on top of the bed sheets on her four-poster bed. Groggily, she pondered, wondering if the large bang she had heard in her sleep had been a figment of a dream or a Common Room disturbance. Suddenly, she realized the time. She cried out aloud, then frantically grabbed her book bag. As she started to dash down the stairs, the heel of her loafers caused her a nasty trip to the floor, where she landed with a thump…on Harry!
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed.
"Oh, Harry! What have I missed. I must be in ever so much trouble! Where is Ron? Do I have detention with Snape! Oh, Harry! How could I act so foolishly!" Hermione frantically cried out.
"Whoa, slow down. It is alright. Um, at least I think so. We are already late to McGonagall's class," Harry calmly answered as Hermione still bit her lip nervously until he answered again, "Oh, and I do not think you have detention with Snape, though Ron does."
Hermione, still most flustered, replied with, "Late! We have to go now!" Grabbing Harry's wrist with all of her might, she tried to pull him towards the porthole. However, due to Hermione's lack of strength and Harry's defiance, he held still as a statue.
"No, Hermione. Erm, we need to talk."
With that, Hermione paused. Her thoughts immediately drifted to her purging episode. Harry must never find out, she thought, no one was must discover my secret, but especially not Harry. He already has been through so much, with Sirius and Voldemort. In addition, she contemplated, if anyone knew, they most certainly would worry and make me stop. I must not stop until I am perfect! I can not let them down.
As she mulled over this, Hermione's stomach growled uncontrollably. Though uncomfortable, it gave her an odd sense of satisfaction. It was as if her hunger was a measure of her success.
"Hermione?" Harry said to fill the uncomfortable silence.
Gaining composure, Hermione answered, "Yes?"
"Well, blimey. You mean to tell me that everything is normal?! You have not missed class for no reason since our third year, and that was because of a mistake with the time-turner. What I am trying to ask is, are you alright? Is everything alright?"
Hermione exhaled and sat down on her favorite armchair. Harry followed. "Listen, Harry, I am fine. I just have been extremely busy with my studies. You know how I can get. I just made a mistake today. But, come on, we really must get going! We are already late, and I do not want to talk to both Professor McGonagall and Snape!"
With this answer, Hermione stood up quickly, too quickly, from the squashy chair. Hermione blinked her eyes quickly, and the room began to spin around her. She was falling, falling, falling…
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Author's note: Sorry, once again, this took forever to update! I will be updating again this weekend, I promise! Thank you very much, as always to my faithful reviewers! Please continue to review…I love the input, and it helps tremendously to try to improve my writing for all of you.
Now, review! If you wish, I will review one of your stories!
Have a wonderful weekend!