Goodbye For Now
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! It all belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers!
A/N: Thanks so much to my reviewers!
karyna-thanks a bunchie! lol you're not being demanding, I always want other authors to update as soon as they can too!
hpfantic-thank u so so much! I read the 3rd chapter and it was really great!
SecondSkin-thanks for reviewing! Your story is really interesting!
AshleyPotter13-thank u very much! Hope you like this chapter! Also, your story rocks!
Rab8831-thanks a lot for the review!
Ok here's the 3rd chapter! r&r plz!
After checking that the halls were empty, Harry left the room and headed for Professor Dumbledore's office, clutching the notes and the picture in his hand.
He crept by the suits of armor and the paintings until he finally reached the statue. Oh, this is great, I come all the way here and I don't even know the password! He stood there, trying to decide if he should just wait for Dumbledore to come out or just go back to the Common Room, when suddenly the statue slowly opened. Harry quickly turned around and saw Dumbledore sleepily emerging from the door. He was so deep in thought that he walked right past Harry, so Harry ran up to him and said, "Professor, may I speak to you for a moment?"
Dumbledore snapped out of his thoughts and turned at the sound of Harry's voice. "Oh yes, of course Mr. Potter. Do you want to talk later in my office or right now because I'm heading to Hagrid's and that will give you plenty of time to talk."
"Oh, we can talk right now,"Harry replied hastily as they began walking down the hallway. "It's about Hermione."
Dumbledore looked slightly surprised. "Well, I can't say that I haven't been expecting this, especially if you haven't seen her since the feast last night."
"Did something happen to her?"Harry asked worriedly. "Because she wrote me a note saying she had to go study in the U.S., but Ron was just telling me last night that she was so worried that she wouldn't pass the NEWTs next June, so why would she say that if she knew that she had to go?"
"Well, I suppose she didn't want you two to question her about going there, so she had to tell a little white lie to keep it secret,"Dumbledore lied reluctantly.
Harry was confused. Why wouldn't Hermione trust us with something like that? There must be more to it than just that. "Professor, did she come and tell you about it last night?" Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"Did she mention anything else besides that?"Harry asked.
"No, she didn't go into much details,"Dumbledore really hated lying to Harry, since he could tell how much he cared about her, but he had to do it for Hermione.
"Oh,"Harry was crestfallen.
They had come to the main doors. "Thank you Professor, I'll go and have some breakfast now,"Harry said before turning around and heading into the Great Hall.
I'm so sorry Harry, Dumbledore thought as he watched Harry's retreating figure. Then, he opened one door and stepped out to the grounds.
Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and joined the other students who had gotten up early to eat.
He was biting down on a piece of toast when Ron slumped sleepily to the table. "Whurwuryooarry?" he mumbled.
"What?"Harry asked.
Ron rubbed his face to wake himself up more before repeating his sentence. "Where were you Harry?"he asked, helping himself to a blueberry muffin.
"Oh, I uh.....I fancied a walk on the grounds,"Harry said quickly.
Ron looked at Harry, eyebrows raised. "Fred and George stayed up till midnight coming up with ideas for their shop and they said you never came in yesterday night."
Harry tried to think of a good excuse, but unfortunately couldn't, so he remained silent.
Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I also overheard Lavender and Parvati saying that they hadn't seen Hermione since the feast. Are you two..." he couldn't bring himself to say the word.
Harry's eyes widened. "Of course we're not dating Ron. She...she left last night."
It was Ron's turn to be shocked. "Wh-what? Why? Why would she leave?"
Harry took the note out of his pocket and held it out to Ron. Ron snatched it and skimmed the note quickly, his hands shaking.
"She.....she went to the U.S.? No way, that's impossible, there's definitely more to this,"Ron said slowly, handing the note back to Harry.
"That's what I think also,"Harry said, pocketing the note again and picking up his bookbag. "All right, I'm done eating, I'll see you later."
Ron, who had stuffed his mouth with a cupcake, merely nodded and continued eating. Harry smiled slightly, then left the Great Hall.
Once he closed the door, he began thinking of what to do about Hermione. Suddenly, he heard Hermione's name being mentioned nearby. He reached into his bag and pulled out his cloak. Wrapping it over himself, he hid behind a suit of armor and listened.
"But Albus, where is Ms. Granger?"Professor McGonagall said as she walked along the hall with Professor Dumbledore.
"Minerva, she has left,"Dumbledore said solemnly.
"What? Why would she leave?"McGonagall asked, her voice filled with worry.
"It is not easy for me to tell you, but she.....she has catonen,"Dumbledore said quietly. "She has to stay in St. Mungo's."
Professor McGonagall gasped. "Oh my, please tell me you're lying Albus." Dumbledore shook his head.
"Why did this have to happen to her?"Professor McGonagall said sadly.
Dumbledore sighed. "There's nothing we can do. But Minerva, she has requested that no one know about this, so please don't pass this on to anyone else." Professor McGonagall nodded silently.
"Well, I have to go see Sybill about her Divination classes,"Dumbledore said, making his way up the Grand Staircase. Professor McGonagall went into the Great Hall.
As soon as he heard the door of the Great Hall close, Harry came out from behind the suit of armor and took off his cloak, stuffing it back into his bookbag. Ok, this is getting weird, what in the world is catonen and why would Hermione go to St. Mungo's?Harry wondered. Oh well, there's only one person who knows all the answers. He ran up the Grand Staircase towards the headmaster's office for the 2nd time that morning.
He sat down in front of the large statue and waited for Dumbledore. He checked his watch. Good, I've still got half an hour before class begins. He took the picture out of his bookbag and held it against his chest, remembering all the good times the 3 of them had throughout the last 6 years. Soon, he heard footsteps approaching, so he carefully put the picture back into his bag and stood up.
"What are you doing here again, Harry?"Dumbldore asked pleasantly.
"I.....I was wondering what catonen is..."Harry trailed off.
Dumbledore took a long, deep breath. "You were there after breakfast, weren't you?"
"Er...yes, sir, but I didn't mean to...I mean I was just coming out and I heard Hermione's name being mentioned, so I had to listen,"Harry said guiltily.
"Well, I cannot keep it from you much longer. Please come into my office and I will explain everything,"Dumbledore said solemnly.
"All right,"Harry was becoming a little impatient.
Dumbledore said the password and they entered. Harry settled into an armchair and Dumbledore sat behind his desk.
"You won't like what I have to say, but please listen to everything before you decide on anything,"Dumbledore began. Harry nodded quickly.
"Well, catonen is an extremely rare disease found only in wizards and witches with nonmagic parents. And Hermione got it from her pet cat, so she has been infected with catonen."
"But.....she'll live won't she?"Harry thought he might collapse from the suspense.
"That is the thing. She.......she won't,"Dumbledore said quietly. "She has about 6 months left."
Harry shot up from his chair, gripping the sides of the chair so hard that it began to tear. "No, that can't be! No, that's impossible. Please sir, can't you do anything?"
"I'm sorry Harry, but she chose not to,"Dumbledore replied sadly.
Harry began walking towards the door. "Thank you sir, I need to go now."And in a flash, he was gone.
Hermione opened her eyes. Where am I? She thought to herself. Then, she remembered. She remembered everything that had happened the night before. She bit her lip and slowly got up from the bed, heading for the bathroom.
She changed quickly, then brushed her long brown hair slowly, looking at herself in the mirror. She saw a normal girl staring back at her. A girl as normal as every other girl, except for one major difference: the others were all living happily, and she was the only unhappy one.
Hermione sighed and stood up. She was about to leave her room, when suddenly...........
Harry raced back to the Common Room and up the stairs to his dormitory. He grabbed his Firebolt and flung open the window. Slowly, he got on and flew out, with only one destination in mind: St. Mungo's.
He flew slowly at first, but then gained speed until he was whooshing through the clouds. Soon, he carefully put his Invisibility Cloak over him, then began descending.
Harry landed in a small alley, took his cloak off, then performed a spell so that both his broom and cloak were minimized to fit in his pocket.
He walked along the sidewalk until he saw the dummy behind the glass.
"I'm here to see Hermione Granger,"he said hurriedly. The dummy nodded and pointed a finger at the glass, so Harry stepped through and into St. Mungo's waiting room. He ran up to the woman behind the desk.
"Can you please tell me what room Hermione Granger is in?"Harry asked.
"Oh I'm sorry sir, but she has requested that no one know except for the Healers,"the clerk replied.
"Please, I'm begging you. I really need to find her,"Harry said desperately.
The clerk raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry sir. Next please."
Harry stepped away from the desk, then began running through the halls, checking the names of the patients on each and every door. When he finished searching the 4th and final floor, he leaned against the wall, out of breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a very small staircase going up. He squeezed up the stairs, keeping his head low. He came out to another hall, and felt a gush of hope swell up inside him.
Harry began checking the names on the doors, losing hope with each step. He soon reached the last door at the end of the hall. He closed his eyes briefly, praying and hoping that it said Hermione.
He opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the name. Hermione Granger!
Hermione was about to open the door, when it burst open in front of her. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Harry?"
A/N: Ok there's my 3rd chapter! Sorry if it was a long wait! I'll try my very best to get the next one up within the next month!