Chapter 5
Hermione couldn't remember being much happier than she was the moment the sorting hat called out her house name. She cheered wildly, abandoning the stuffy English persona Morganna always said she had, as she stood, enveloping her friend as she came tearing down the divide.
This was happiness. To finally not be the only girl, to know somehow that their group of three was about to be expanded to four made her heart flutter with joy. There were just some things that a girl couldn't tell a boy, some things that could only be shared between women. It didn't seem real, as if she'd wake up from some great dream only to realize it would only be her this year, another year against Ron's over-protectiveness and Harry's easy going maleness.
As they sat down, Morganna hugged her again, and Hermione hugged back, praying to whoever would listening that this wonderful feeling of camaraderie never go away. She'd been through more than her fair share with Harry and Ron, and Hermione was definitely looking forward to a little more normal girly interactions.
But as the events of the evening progressed, Hermione thought she should have known better than to ask for a miracle.
At first things went well. Morganna waved to Harry, once again flirting obscenely with him. "Harry, isn't it exciting! Now we're in the same house too! I'm so excited!" And she leaned over to squeeze his hand. Harry for his part, looked like a blushing fish out of water as he nodded wordlessly.
Knowing Harry was too muddied to remember edict, Hermione turned to Morganna and introduced her. "Morganna, this is Ron, he's Harry and my best friend. That's Ron's sister Ginny, she's a year younger than us- that's fourth year to you. And these are Ron's twin brother, George and Fred, don't worry if you get them mixed up, they like it better that way." She would have continued, but at that moment, George thrust a quill at Morganna, while Fred nearly threw her a whole ream of parchment.
George's voice was slightly shaky as he spoke, his eyes star struck. "Would-would you give us your autograph, Miss?"
Morganna giggled, turning to Hermione before offering a smile. "Sure. It's George, right?"
George nodded, that is until Fred hit him in the arm with his fist. "Oh, and would you make one out to Fred too?"
Morganna nodded, signing her name to the piece of parchment along with the sentence, "Very nice to meet you, George. Mellisson." She did the same for Fred, before handing them back the parchment and quill. "I signed Mellisson, but just call me Morganna, ok?"
The twins nodded together, insanely loopy grins on their faces.
Oh, but if only it had stopped there.
Suddenly Dean Thomas was thrusting one of the cloth napkins towards Morganna. "Can I have your autograph too? It's Dean, Dean Thomas."
Morganna looked quizzically at the napkin before turning to Hermione. "Am I supposed to sign the dinner wear?"
Harry tried to save her. "Dean, she's in our house, you an ask her when we get back to the common room. You know, when you've actually got something to write with." For indeed, Dean had forgotten to hand Morganna a quill.
"I've got parchment!" Another roll of parchment was nearly hurled at Morganna and Hermione from the lower reaches of the table. Aghast, Hermione turned to see Collin Creve waving wildly, in his hand a sharpened quill aimed for them both.
Hermione called for him to stop, but the boy either didn't hear, or didn't want to listen. The quill went sailing through the air and managed to hit Ron right on the head. Normally Ron would have been more than a little angry, but it seemed Ron had caught a hold of Mellisson fever as well, because he only pulled the quill from his hair before grabbing George's parchment roll and thrusting them both at Morganna.
"I'm your biggest fan! Just make it out to Ron, and would you write, 'Love Mellisson' on mine?"
Hermione could only roll her eyes as Morganna giggled nervously.
"She's not writing "love" on there you git! What do you think she is, your girlfriend?" This from Fred who looked suddenly envious as Morganna raised the quill. "If he gets 'love' I want a new one."
And that was it. Suddenly, Griffendors from the very ends of the tables were calling out to Morganna. Some wanted 'love' others wanted 'best friend' while still others wanted her to kiss the paper when she'd finished.
But it didn't stop there. Right over the top of Headmaster Dumbledore's introductory speech about the forbidden forest, students from Hufflepuff started shouting to get Morganna's attention, and when she couldn't locate them in the crowd, they started throwing up Sparkler charms- right in the middle of the main hall.
That wasn't the worst though. Hermione had to question the intelligence of the Ravenclaws as a group of boys from that table sent a full ream of parchment right over everyone's head to slam into Harry's chest. On the outside was a listing of the boy's names and what they wanted Morganna to write.
After that, things got ugly pretty quickly. Not to be outdone by anyone, and unmindful of the rules to begin with, a group of Slytherin seventh years braved Snape's wrath and walked right over to Morganna, tapping her on the shoulder and presenting a slip of parchment.
From there it was chaos. Not to be outdone, members from every table raced up to Morganna to get her attention. When those few got up, so did the rest of the tables, and before Hermione could blink, all of the Hogwarts student body was up from their seats and crushing in around she and Morganna, begging the raven haired girl to sign her name to anything from parchment to even Trevor, Nevills toad.
From the staff table, heads of house tried in vain to control the throngs of students, but to no avail. Threats went unheeded, and some students even had the gall to shout back. Dumbledore looked quite perplexed, as if he couldn't figure out how things had suddenly gotten so out of hand.
Boys and girls pushed in against the girls, forcing them into the table, and in Hermione's case, her arms to knock over all of her flatware. She called to Morganna over the riot of students, but her friend seemed to be able to do little more than cry out in pain as the crowd crushed her.
Someone managed to slam their elbow into Hermione's head so that her cheek fell down and onto her dinner plate. From this angle, she could see Professor Snape, his eyes flashing in a color that was visible even from this distance. It was a look of complete and total rage, and also one of abject fear and horror.
But Hermione didn't have time to ponder that look. Suddenly, Harry cast a Bump charm, which forcefully pushed the crowed away as if they'd been bumped by a pillow-covered truck. She looked up to see him on top of the table, his hands reaching down to pull Morganna from her seat on the bench, onto the table top as well. Hermione turned then, as Ron grabbed her about the upper arms and hoisted her onto the table as well.
Later, Hermione would smile at the boys protectiveness. Harry and Ron pushed she and Morganna between them, their wands out at the ready to cast every defense charm they'd been forced to learn while getting Harry ready for the Triwizard Tournament last year. Still a little disorientated from the blow she'd received to her head, Hermione wobbled on her legs, feeling the world spinning on its axis even as she grabbed for her wand.
She saw that Morganna too had her wand out, but instead of preparing for a defense charm, she quickly raised the tip to her throat and cast Sonarus.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!" The crowd stalled, looking at the pop star surrounded by two wizards at the ready and one witch that looked slightly worse for wear.
And then Morganna did a very dumb thing. Pointing both arms out in front of her, she called loudly. "PLEASE FORM A SINGLE FILE LINE IF YOU WANT ME TO SIGN ANYTHING, AND NO I WILL NOT SIGH ANYONE'S CHEST!!!"
A sudden crackle of lightning and the boom of thunder shook the whole room in the stillness after Morganna's announcement. The student's turned their eyes towards the main table to see Professor Dumbledore holding his wand over his head, his look not happy at all.
"Back to your seats! Everyone!" There was a very marked amount of anger, in Dumbledore's voice, and as the power crackled around him, the student's raced towards their respected tables, slamming into seats as fast as they could.
As the crowd around the Gryfendore table thinned, Morganna uncast Sonarus and turned to Hermione. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."
She heard Harry and Ron ask after her, felt Ron's hand rub comfortingly across her back. But the gentle pressure he used on her back pushed her body gently, and with just that tiny movement of her head, the main hall began to swirl in tight dizzying circles.
She heard Morganna call her name, but was unable to answer. Grabbing her head, Hermione tried closing her eyes, but that only titled her inner world more. She was getting sick to her stomach from all the spinning, and when she opened her eyes to look at Harry who'd called her name, she had to close them immediately to keep from being sick.
Which is how she lost her balance in the dizzying world of her darkened sight, and felt her legs buckle as she fell backwards over the table.
Morganna screamed her name, and Hermione felt Ron grab a hold of her robes only to lose his grip from her momentum.
She didn't consciously prepare herself for the fall, but invariably her muscles tightened up as the mental note that she was about to hit the stone cold floor of the main hall passed through her mind.
Suddenly, strong arms caught her in mid fall, pulling her body close to a hard male chest. Arms were quickly wrapped about her shoulders and under her legs and the male shifted her more comfortably in his grip. The fall had scared her, and without thinking of the consequences, Hermione wrapped her arms about the male's neck and moaned as the world danced at her head movement.
She never heard the gasp from her fellow Gryffendor's, and later she didn't really care. She'd been saved from a very nasty fall, and whoever it had been was getting a definite kiss in thanks.
Opening her eyes slowly, her head resting on his shoulder, Hermione looked up into the face of her rescuer and balked as Snape's face came into focus. Startled, she reeled back from him, only to feel the world twirl yet again so that she moaned once more and closed her eyes, burying her head against his shoulder, her eyes against his neck.
She thought she felt him stiffen, but she didn't know for sure.
"Hermione!" In a thunder of pounding feet, Morganna, Harry and Ron were there, touching her shoulders and asking if she was alright.
"Morganna?" This from Snape, who tightened his hold around Hermione when Harry accidentally hit her legs and caused her to moan.
"I'm fine, Uncle Severus; but is Hermione? Hermione can you hear me?"
"Severus, is she alright?" Hermione recognized Professor McGonnagell's voice from a few paces behind Snape.
"I'm sure Miss Granger is fine, Minerva. She was barely tapped." But something was off in Snape's voice, as if he wasn't quite convinced of the things he said. Never the less, he tried to prove his point through action. With a smooth decent, he lowered Hermione's feet to the ground before letting go of her legs, his arm still wrapped about her shoulders. When she seemed to have her balance, he turned his head to McGonnagell. "You see, she's-"
At just that moment, Snape dropped his arm from Hermione's shoulders, and in a tidal wave motion the faces of her friends rushed at her before receding in rocking, spinning motions that had Hermione grabbing back onto Snape's neck as her knees buckled.
"Hermione!"
Had Snape just said her name?
In a pull, Snape picked her back up, cradling her to his chest in what Hermione thought was the most gentle act she'd ever seen him perform, let alone towards her.
She felt cool fingers touch the bump at her temple before she cried out, pulling away from that hand only to moan again as nausea slammed into her throat. Madam Pomphrey's voice was stern but kind.
"Take her to the medical wing, Severus. She's got herself a nasty bump that's most likely given her a concussion." She didn't hear him say a word, but the next thing Hermione knew, the wind was whipping past her as Snape carried her to the medical wing. Absently she heard Madam Pomphery give one more command. "Miss Michaels, come with us. You two boys sit down for the rest of the feast."
Hermione heard feet run to catch up, and the next thing she knew Morganna was by her side, gently touching her arm to let her know she was there. She tried to look up, to reassure her friend, but that just made her head move which spun the world until she just closed her eyes, and pressed harder against Snape's shoulder. Absently, she wondered at the scent of him. She'd always thought he'd smell like something rotting, but instead it was like the day at her house--he smelled like warm leather and a hint of some cool black herbs. How she could smell black she didn't know, but that was the way he smelled.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry! That happens to me all the time--well, actually, usually I've got lots and lots of bodyguards. Oh, but Hermione! Wasn't Harry amazing?! Did you see how he rescued me?! I can't believe I just got rescued by Harry Potter!"
Suddenly, the forward momentum of Snape's feet haulted, jarring Hermione back into his shoulder so that she moaned and strengthened her hold about his neck. She just wanted to get to a very flat surface before she ended up worshiping the privy for the rest of her first night back.
"Morganna," Snape's tone was hard, with just a trace of remaining worry in it. Hermione didn't care, all she wanted was to be put down somewhere quiet so she could moan. "What in the world were you thinking?! Miss Granger is obviously in need of medical attention, and you request the students to form a line?! Explain your actions!"
Oh great, Hermione thought, she'd landed herself smack dab in a family dispute--one with Snape--that couldn't possibly be good.
"It's called crowd control, Uncle Severus. If I hadn't tried to at least get them in some semblance of order they might have mobbed the table like they did when I was in Houston! Besides, I didn't know Hermione was hurt." Then she must have turned to Hermione, though the blond didn't see it. "I really didn't know you'd been hurt so bad Hermione, I swear. If I'd known I would have--well, I would have done something." Hermione could mentally see Morganna throwing her hands into the air. "Or Harry would have; he was so good with that crowd. Almost like a knight in shining armor!"
This time Hermione did groan, but it was covered by the sound of Snape's snort. "I am sure, Morganna, that Mr. Potter's actions were being entirely ruled by his head!" And then they were moving again, and Hermione wanted to half cry with relief and have scream from the still swirling darkness.
"I'm really sorry, Uncle Severus. I mean, all those kids just came out of nowhere! It was worse than the LA Riots! Trust me, I saw the footage in muggle studies. I mean, even the gang members dressed better than some of the kids here!"
Suddenly, Snape came to a halt again, and Hermione closed her eyes tightly and drew in a deep breath as her head bumped against his shoulder again. "I am well aware of what you are referring too, but there is absolutely no comparison! Think girl! Calling for them to form a straight line?!"
"Well it worked in, Chicago!"
"This is not Chicago! This is Hogwarts, a school! Not some music store or disco!"
"EW!!! I would so never, perform in a disco! What kind of music do you think I sing anyway?"
"Morganna--"
"STOP!!!" Moaning over the movement of her own jaw, Hermione carefully pulled her head back and turned to Morganna. "That was stupid, Morganna. Professor Snape--your uncle's right--Headmaster Dumbledore was giving his speech and we should have been listening." At Morganna's resigned and crestfallen face, Hermione turned back to Snape and glared. "First, haven't you ever heard of waiting to yell until after a girl's friends aren't there? It's embarrassing to be yelled at in front of your friends. Second, every time you stop the world spins like a sneekascope, so if you're going to yell will you please just put me down somewhere so I can die in peace!?"
By the look in his eyes, she knew, she was in for a lot of trouble, but at that exact moment, when Snape opened his mouth to deliver holy hell upon Hermione's still swimming head, Madam Pomphrey made her appearance.
"Oh, good gracious! Severus, what are you doing, holding tea in the hallway?" She moved her hands in a hustling motion. "Get her inside, Severus, get in inside." Then she turned to Morganna. "Miss Michaels, if you'll assist me, I'll need a hand with some ingredients." Then back to Snape. "Severus, put her on one of the beds and stay with her. And for the love of Merlin, don't let her fall asleep!"
Then with an arm on Morganna's elbow, Madam Pomphrey steered the still stunned Morganna through the hospital wing doors.
That left Hermione with a very, very angry Professor Snape.
Closing her eyes, Hermione ducked her head back against his neck and moaned. At the stiffening of his spine, she knew she was in for a lot of trouble.
Without another word, Snape carried her through the doors and set her--a little roughly, Hermione thought--on one of the beds in the middle of the long room. A loud scrapping sound heralded the arrival of a chair, and into sat Snape, his black eyes boring into Hermione's the moment she opened her eyes.
Oh, she was so dead.
"Miss--"
"I'm sorry." That seemed to catch him off guard, and Hermione rushed on before he could get a word in edgewise. "I shouldn't have said anything, but my head hurt and you kept stopping. And if Morganna said one more stupid thing, I was going to have to curse her and she's your niece so that would have just gotten me a whole lot more detention than I've already got, so.I'm sorry."
For a moment she just examined the comfortable down comforter she was resting on. She'd found it oddly comforting that even in the hospital wing, the beds were extremely comfortable and warm. But that was just a passing thought, and the longer the silence continued, the more anxious she got to find out exactly how bad the situation really was.
Resigned to meet her fate head on, Hermione lifted her eyes to Snape's and froze solid. The bastard was smiling!
Her mouth must have opened like a fish, because Snape quickly tried to cover his look, effectively turning the smile into a sneer, but she'd seen it for what it was. She also understood the true meaning of his next words. "The next time I require parenting lessons, Miss Granger, I'll be sure to come to you, until then, you'd do well to mind your tongue!" His tone was sharp and though Hermione nodded obediently, she knew it was lacking in its normal ferociousness. "Further," he added, "my relationship to Miss Michaels should not be a deterrent for you in any future way."
Had he just given Hermione permission to curse Morganna when she got stupid?! Looking into his eyes, Hermione knew he had. She dropped her eyes to keep from smiling.
"You also have another weeks detention."
Damnit!!!
"I believe," he sneered, and this time she knew he meant the cruelly, "that that makes it three weeks. Does my math seem up to task, Miss Granger?" She nodded. "Good, now open your eyes, and don't you dare fall asleep or I'll make it four."
Ooooooohhhhhh, she really, really, really didn't like him!!!
* * *
Later that night, much later than Hermione wanted to consider, the lump on her head had been sizably reduced and she was pronounced well enough to go back to Griffendor Tower. Morganna accompanied her, and together they made their way slowly down the now darkened halls.
Professor Snape had stayed in the infirmary long enough to make Hermione nervous, before he'd received a kiss goodnight from Morganna--a slightly unnerving sight--and returned to the dungeons for the Slytherin common room.
Hermione wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Snape. She'd learned an awful lot about him today. As she walked down the corridor, half listening to Morganna go on and on about how wonderful Harry was, Hermione couldn't stop wondering about some of the expressions she'd seen on his face. It was almost as if.as if.he were human?
When they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione offered the good woman the password, which Madam Pomphrey had given her before they'd left. With one large step over the threshold, the two girls were in the common room--and immediately mobbed by the whole of Gryiffendo.
"Morganna! Can I have your autograph?"
"Morganna, Morganna! Let's be best friends!"
"Morganna, sing us another song!"
Unconsciously, Hermione brough her hands to her ears to block out the sound and to protect her head from further injury. She'd walked back to the tower, that was true, but that didn't mean she was as good as new.
A sudden blast of power came from the back of the room by the fireplace, and Hermione saw Ron and Harry--wands drawn, and pointed at the crowd.
"Alright, you lot, stand back and let'm through." This from Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but smile warmly at her dear friend. Morganna grabbed her hand, and together they walked through the crowd of students towards the girl's dormitory.
Up the winding staircase, the four of them went, Ron and Harry trailing behind them, Ron obviously waiting to catch Hermione if she decided to see if falling from heights was as fun the second time as the first.
At the 5th year door, Hermione set her hand on the handle before quickly pulling away. "I just remembered, as a prefect, I get my own room. It must be down the hallway a little more. Let's go see."
She saw what she thought might be jealousy in Morganna's eyes, but it quickly vanished behind a smile. "I hope my roommates are nice. I haven't had to live with anyone since I was thirteen. You lived with them last year, Hermione, didn't you?"
Nodding, Hermione and the others continued down the hallway. "Pavari and Lavender are nice enough. Don't sit on Pavarti's bed, she gets really annoyed with wrinkled; and don't touch any of Lavender's clothes, even if they're on your bed, she's always thinking that someone's taking her clothes." Morganna nodded as the quartet walked down the hallway.
She was lucky, a bright gold shield--the same design as her prefect badge-- was on the only door up the short flight of stairs at the back of the hallway--and engraved in magic was her name. The door stuck a little, but opened without a squeak, and Hermione couldn't help but thank the elves that kept the old castle up and running.
But the room was pitch black inside, and she suddenly realized that the only light coming into the room was through a skylight high at the very top of her ceiling. Slightly worried about the ominous room, Hermione closed her eyes and cast Lumos to light the candles. She shouldn't have worried.
The most amazingly spectacular room stood before her. A beautiful bed done in an assortment of wine colors was against the left wall, the four posters reaching high towards the ceiling and draped in burgundy velvet. The floor was furbished in a soft cream colored carpet that looked as if her feet would melt right into it. A desk stood away from the front door, and Hermione noted that the dark wood finish looked stunning against the carpet. Her trunk was at the end of the bed, but across from it stood a massive ameuer in the same color as the desk and bed. Candles danced from a high candelabra that dripped light from the ceiling but left room for the circular skylight that Hermione just knew was designed to allow the maximum amount of both sunlight and moonlight into the room. Sconces designed like twisted ivy in black metal wove about cream candles and in the light seemed to move as if leaves on a breeze.
Morganna was the first to notice the door next to the Ameuer. "Hermione, where does that go?" She shrugged and watched as Morganna went to investigate. Behind her, she heard Ron close the door.
"You doing alright, Hermione? Snape didn't yell at you or anything, did he?" She smiled and shook her head, no sense worrying Ron, he already seemed like he wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap--not that he'd know what bubble wrap was.
She heard Morganna cast Lumos in the other room only an instant before the gasp came, followed, by, "Oh my god, I am so showering in here from now on!"
Intrigued, the other three moved towards the door and then stood opened mouth as they looked into the splendor of Hermione's private bathroom. The floor was done in an exact marble to match the carpet in her bedroom, and around the walls were an assortment of fish frescoed into the wall. In the center of the room was a massive sunken bathtub, only this was done in black and white marble, contrasting beautifully with cream marble and the cream towels Hermione saw stacked to the side of the toilet. She also noted that it had a number of spouts, and remembered from Harry's description, the kind of bubble combinations she'd be enjoying for the rest of the year. Above her was the only window, situated as in her bedroom. To the right back corner of the room she saw a glass enclosed shower, the glass clear and sparkling, revealing a very deep shower stall.
"It's.gorgeous!"
Morganna spun around, smiling widely. "Hermione, your crib is sooooo tight!"
Later, when all of her things were unpacked and set right, Hermione turned back to the bed smiling as she watched Morganna softly petting Crookshanks.
Morganna's voice was soft when she spoke, attesting to the late hour and the wariness that comes from finished excitement. "I was so scared about coming here. Uncle Severus told me Aunt Arabella was getting too old to care for a teenager, especially one with my kind of schedule. I didn't want to go at first, I didn't want to leave my friends and, well, my country, you know. But I'm glad. I'm glad I came, and I'm even gladder that we met. I can't imagine being all alone." She looked up then, a strange sweetness in her face. "Thank you for being my friend, Hermione. I know that sounds lame, but thanks."
Moving to the bed Hermione sat down before scratching Crookshanks under the chin. "You don't have to thank me. I'm just as glad as you are. Harry and Ron are great friends, amazing if you want to know the truth. But.well, there are just some things you can't tell boys."
Morganna giggled. "I know what you mean. Uncle Severus and I are really, really close. Back home I used to call him all the time, everyday when I was on the road. I know he's not everyone's favorite guy here, but he's the best uncle a girl could ask for. Anyway, there's lots of stuff I wouldn't tell anyone but him, and yet there's lots of stuff I wouldn't even consider telling him, you know? I guess it'll just be nice to have a real friend. It was getting hard back home, what with me singing and all these stupid girls thinking that if they got on my good side I'd give them free tickets. You start to figure out who your real friends are; and I just know, I just absolutely know, you and I are going to be best friends, Hermione."
They shared a smile, both understanding each other completely in that moment.
Then Morganna ruined it.
"Besides, you know, The Harry Potter!"
"Morganna."
"Yeah?"
"Get out."
Hermione couldn't remember being much happier than she was the moment the sorting hat called out her house name. She cheered wildly, abandoning the stuffy English persona Morganna always said she had, as she stood, enveloping her friend as she came tearing down the divide.
This was happiness. To finally not be the only girl, to know somehow that their group of three was about to be expanded to four made her heart flutter with joy. There were just some things that a girl couldn't tell a boy, some things that could only be shared between women. It didn't seem real, as if she'd wake up from some great dream only to realize it would only be her this year, another year against Ron's over-protectiveness and Harry's easy going maleness.
As they sat down, Morganna hugged her again, and Hermione hugged back, praying to whoever would listening that this wonderful feeling of camaraderie never go away. She'd been through more than her fair share with Harry and Ron, and Hermione was definitely looking forward to a little more normal girly interactions.
But as the events of the evening progressed, Hermione thought she should have known better than to ask for a miracle.
At first things went well. Morganna waved to Harry, once again flirting obscenely with him. "Harry, isn't it exciting! Now we're in the same house too! I'm so excited!" And she leaned over to squeeze his hand. Harry for his part, looked like a blushing fish out of water as he nodded wordlessly.
Knowing Harry was too muddied to remember edict, Hermione turned to Morganna and introduced her. "Morganna, this is Ron, he's Harry and my best friend. That's Ron's sister Ginny, she's a year younger than us- that's fourth year to you. And these are Ron's twin brother, George and Fred, don't worry if you get them mixed up, they like it better that way." She would have continued, but at that moment, George thrust a quill at Morganna, while Fred nearly threw her a whole ream of parchment.
George's voice was slightly shaky as he spoke, his eyes star struck. "Would-would you give us your autograph, Miss?"
Morganna giggled, turning to Hermione before offering a smile. "Sure. It's George, right?"
George nodded, that is until Fred hit him in the arm with his fist. "Oh, and would you make one out to Fred too?"
Morganna nodded, signing her name to the piece of parchment along with the sentence, "Very nice to meet you, George. Mellisson." She did the same for Fred, before handing them back the parchment and quill. "I signed Mellisson, but just call me Morganna, ok?"
The twins nodded together, insanely loopy grins on their faces.
Oh, but if only it had stopped there.
Suddenly Dean Thomas was thrusting one of the cloth napkins towards Morganna. "Can I have your autograph too? It's Dean, Dean Thomas."
Morganna looked quizzically at the napkin before turning to Hermione. "Am I supposed to sign the dinner wear?"
Harry tried to save her. "Dean, she's in our house, you an ask her when we get back to the common room. You know, when you've actually got something to write with." For indeed, Dean had forgotten to hand Morganna a quill.
"I've got parchment!" Another roll of parchment was nearly hurled at Morganna and Hermione from the lower reaches of the table. Aghast, Hermione turned to see Collin Creve waving wildly, in his hand a sharpened quill aimed for them both.
Hermione called for him to stop, but the boy either didn't hear, or didn't want to listen. The quill went sailing through the air and managed to hit Ron right on the head. Normally Ron would have been more than a little angry, but it seemed Ron had caught a hold of Mellisson fever as well, because he only pulled the quill from his hair before grabbing George's parchment roll and thrusting them both at Morganna.
"I'm your biggest fan! Just make it out to Ron, and would you write, 'Love Mellisson' on mine?"
Hermione could only roll her eyes as Morganna giggled nervously.
"She's not writing "love" on there you git! What do you think she is, your girlfriend?" This from Fred who looked suddenly envious as Morganna raised the quill. "If he gets 'love' I want a new one."
And that was it. Suddenly, Griffendors from the very ends of the tables were calling out to Morganna. Some wanted 'love' others wanted 'best friend' while still others wanted her to kiss the paper when she'd finished.
But it didn't stop there. Right over the top of Headmaster Dumbledore's introductory speech about the forbidden forest, students from Hufflepuff started shouting to get Morganna's attention, and when she couldn't locate them in the crowd, they started throwing up Sparkler charms- right in the middle of the main hall.
That wasn't the worst though. Hermione had to question the intelligence of the Ravenclaws as a group of boys from that table sent a full ream of parchment right over everyone's head to slam into Harry's chest. On the outside was a listing of the boy's names and what they wanted Morganna to write.
After that, things got ugly pretty quickly. Not to be outdone by anyone, and unmindful of the rules to begin with, a group of Slytherin seventh years braved Snape's wrath and walked right over to Morganna, tapping her on the shoulder and presenting a slip of parchment.
From there it was chaos. Not to be outdone, members from every table raced up to Morganna to get her attention. When those few got up, so did the rest of the tables, and before Hermione could blink, all of the Hogwarts student body was up from their seats and crushing in around she and Morganna, begging the raven haired girl to sign her name to anything from parchment to even Trevor, Nevills toad.
From the staff table, heads of house tried in vain to control the throngs of students, but to no avail. Threats went unheeded, and some students even had the gall to shout back. Dumbledore looked quite perplexed, as if he couldn't figure out how things had suddenly gotten so out of hand.
Boys and girls pushed in against the girls, forcing them into the table, and in Hermione's case, her arms to knock over all of her flatware. She called to Morganna over the riot of students, but her friend seemed to be able to do little more than cry out in pain as the crowd crushed her.
Someone managed to slam their elbow into Hermione's head so that her cheek fell down and onto her dinner plate. From this angle, she could see Professor Snape, his eyes flashing in a color that was visible even from this distance. It was a look of complete and total rage, and also one of abject fear and horror.
But Hermione didn't have time to ponder that look. Suddenly, Harry cast a Bump charm, which forcefully pushed the crowed away as if they'd been bumped by a pillow-covered truck. She looked up to see him on top of the table, his hands reaching down to pull Morganna from her seat on the bench, onto the table top as well. Hermione turned then, as Ron grabbed her about the upper arms and hoisted her onto the table as well.
Later, Hermione would smile at the boys protectiveness. Harry and Ron pushed she and Morganna between them, their wands out at the ready to cast every defense charm they'd been forced to learn while getting Harry ready for the Triwizard Tournament last year. Still a little disorientated from the blow she'd received to her head, Hermione wobbled on her legs, feeling the world spinning on its axis even as she grabbed for her wand.
She saw that Morganna too had her wand out, but instead of preparing for a defense charm, she quickly raised the tip to her throat and cast Sonarus.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!" The crowd stalled, looking at the pop star surrounded by two wizards at the ready and one witch that looked slightly worse for wear.
And then Morganna did a very dumb thing. Pointing both arms out in front of her, she called loudly. "PLEASE FORM A SINGLE FILE LINE IF YOU WANT ME TO SIGN ANYTHING, AND NO I WILL NOT SIGH ANYONE'S CHEST!!!"
A sudden crackle of lightning and the boom of thunder shook the whole room in the stillness after Morganna's announcement. The student's turned their eyes towards the main table to see Professor Dumbledore holding his wand over his head, his look not happy at all.
"Back to your seats! Everyone!" There was a very marked amount of anger, in Dumbledore's voice, and as the power crackled around him, the student's raced towards their respected tables, slamming into seats as fast as they could.
As the crowd around the Gryfendore table thinned, Morganna uncast Sonarus and turned to Hermione. "Are you alright? You don't look so good."
She heard Harry and Ron ask after her, felt Ron's hand rub comfortingly across her back. But the gentle pressure he used on her back pushed her body gently, and with just that tiny movement of her head, the main hall began to swirl in tight dizzying circles.
She heard Morganna call her name, but was unable to answer. Grabbing her head, Hermione tried closing her eyes, but that only titled her inner world more. She was getting sick to her stomach from all the spinning, and when she opened her eyes to look at Harry who'd called her name, she had to close them immediately to keep from being sick.
Which is how she lost her balance in the dizzying world of her darkened sight, and felt her legs buckle as she fell backwards over the table.
Morganna screamed her name, and Hermione felt Ron grab a hold of her robes only to lose his grip from her momentum.
She didn't consciously prepare herself for the fall, but invariably her muscles tightened up as the mental note that she was about to hit the stone cold floor of the main hall passed through her mind.
Suddenly, strong arms caught her in mid fall, pulling her body close to a hard male chest. Arms were quickly wrapped about her shoulders and under her legs and the male shifted her more comfortably in his grip. The fall had scared her, and without thinking of the consequences, Hermione wrapped her arms about the male's neck and moaned as the world danced at her head movement.
She never heard the gasp from her fellow Gryffendor's, and later she didn't really care. She'd been saved from a very nasty fall, and whoever it had been was getting a definite kiss in thanks.
Opening her eyes slowly, her head resting on his shoulder, Hermione looked up into the face of her rescuer and balked as Snape's face came into focus. Startled, she reeled back from him, only to feel the world twirl yet again so that she moaned once more and closed her eyes, burying her head against his shoulder, her eyes against his neck.
She thought she felt him stiffen, but she didn't know for sure.
"Hermione!" In a thunder of pounding feet, Morganna, Harry and Ron were there, touching her shoulders and asking if she was alright.
"Morganna?" This from Snape, who tightened his hold around Hermione when Harry accidentally hit her legs and caused her to moan.
"I'm fine, Uncle Severus; but is Hermione? Hermione can you hear me?"
"Severus, is she alright?" Hermione recognized Professor McGonnagell's voice from a few paces behind Snape.
"I'm sure Miss Granger is fine, Minerva. She was barely tapped." But something was off in Snape's voice, as if he wasn't quite convinced of the things he said. Never the less, he tried to prove his point through action. With a smooth decent, he lowered Hermione's feet to the ground before letting go of her legs, his arm still wrapped about her shoulders. When she seemed to have her balance, he turned his head to McGonnagell. "You see, she's-"
At just that moment, Snape dropped his arm from Hermione's shoulders, and in a tidal wave motion the faces of her friends rushed at her before receding in rocking, spinning motions that had Hermione grabbing back onto Snape's neck as her knees buckled.
"Hermione!"
Had Snape just said her name?
In a pull, Snape picked her back up, cradling her to his chest in what Hermione thought was the most gentle act she'd ever seen him perform, let alone towards her.
She felt cool fingers touch the bump at her temple before she cried out, pulling away from that hand only to moan again as nausea slammed into her throat. Madam Pomphrey's voice was stern but kind.
"Take her to the medical wing, Severus. She's got herself a nasty bump that's most likely given her a concussion." She didn't hear him say a word, but the next thing Hermione knew, the wind was whipping past her as Snape carried her to the medical wing. Absently she heard Madam Pomphery give one more command. "Miss Michaels, come with us. You two boys sit down for the rest of the feast."
Hermione heard feet run to catch up, and the next thing she knew Morganna was by her side, gently touching her arm to let her know she was there. She tried to look up, to reassure her friend, but that just made her head move which spun the world until she just closed her eyes, and pressed harder against Snape's shoulder. Absently, she wondered at the scent of him. She'd always thought he'd smell like something rotting, but instead it was like the day at her house--he smelled like warm leather and a hint of some cool black herbs. How she could smell black she didn't know, but that was the way he smelled.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry! That happens to me all the time--well, actually, usually I've got lots and lots of bodyguards. Oh, but Hermione! Wasn't Harry amazing?! Did you see how he rescued me?! I can't believe I just got rescued by Harry Potter!"
Suddenly, the forward momentum of Snape's feet haulted, jarring Hermione back into his shoulder so that she moaned and strengthened her hold about his neck. She just wanted to get to a very flat surface before she ended up worshiping the privy for the rest of her first night back.
"Morganna," Snape's tone was hard, with just a trace of remaining worry in it. Hermione didn't care, all she wanted was to be put down somewhere quiet so she could moan. "What in the world were you thinking?! Miss Granger is obviously in need of medical attention, and you request the students to form a line?! Explain your actions!"
Oh great, Hermione thought, she'd landed herself smack dab in a family dispute--one with Snape--that couldn't possibly be good.
"It's called crowd control, Uncle Severus. If I hadn't tried to at least get them in some semblance of order they might have mobbed the table like they did when I was in Houston! Besides, I didn't know Hermione was hurt." Then she must have turned to Hermione, though the blond didn't see it. "I really didn't know you'd been hurt so bad Hermione, I swear. If I'd known I would have--well, I would have done something." Hermione could mentally see Morganna throwing her hands into the air. "Or Harry would have; he was so good with that crowd. Almost like a knight in shining armor!"
This time Hermione did groan, but it was covered by the sound of Snape's snort. "I am sure, Morganna, that Mr. Potter's actions were being entirely ruled by his head!" And then they were moving again, and Hermione wanted to half cry with relief and have scream from the still swirling darkness.
"I'm really sorry, Uncle Severus. I mean, all those kids just came out of nowhere! It was worse than the LA Riots! Trust me, I saw the footage in muggle studies. I mean, even the gang members dressed better than some of the kids here!"
Suddenly, Snape came to a halt again, and Hermione closed her eyes tightly and drew in a deep breath as her head bumped against his shoulder again. "I am well aware of what you are referring too, but there is absolutely no comparison! Think girl! Calling for them to form a straight line?!"
"Well it worked in, Chicago!"
"This is not Chicago! This is Hogwarts, a school! Not some music store or disco!"
"EW!!! I would so never, perform in a disco! What kind of music do you think I sing anyway?"
"Morganna--"
"STOP!!!" Moaning over the movement of her own jaw, Hermione carefully pulled her head back and turned to Morganna. "That was stupid, Morganna. Professor Snape--your uncle's right--Headmaster Dumbledore was giving his speech and we should have been listening." At Morganna's resigned and crestfallen face, Hermione turned back to Snape and glared. "First, haven't you ever heard of waiting to yell until after a girl's friends aren't there? It's embarrassing to be yelled at in front of your friends. Second, every time you stop the world spins like a sneekascope, so if you're going to yell will you please just put me down somewhere so I can die in peace!?"
By the look in his eyes, she knew, she was in for a lot of trouble, but at that exact moment, when Snape opened his mouth to deliver holy hell upon Hermione's still swimming head, Madam Pomphrey made her appearance.
"Oh, good gracious! Severus, what are you doing, holding tea in the hallway?" She moved her hands in a hustling motion. "Get her inside, Severus, get in inside." Then she turned to Morganna. "Miss Michaels, if you'll assist me, I'll need a hand with some ingredients." Then back to Snape. "Severus, put her on one of the beds and stay with her. And for the love of Merlin, don't let her fall asleep!"
Then with an arm on Morganna's elbow, Madam Pomphrey steered the still stunned Morganna through the hospital wing doors.
That left Hermione with a very, very angry Professor Snape.
Closing her eyes, Hermione ducked her head back against his neck and moaned. At the stiffening of his spine, she knew she was in for a lot of trouble.
Without another word, Snape carried her through the doors and set her--a little roughly, Hermione thought--on one of the beds in the middle of the long room. A loud scrapping sound heralded the arrival of a chair, and into sat Snape, his black eyes boring into Hermione's the moment she opened her eyes.
Oh, she was so dead.
"Miss--"
"I'm sorry." That seemed to catch him off guard, and Hermione rushed on before he could get a word in edgewise. "I shouldn't have said anything, but my head hurt and you kept stopping. And if Morganna said one more stupid thing, I was going to have to curse her and she's your niece so that would have just gotten me a whole lot more detention than I've already got, so.I'm sorry."
For a moment she just examined the comfortable down comforter she was resting on. She'd found it oddly comforting that even in the hospital wing, the beds were extremely comfortable and warm. But that was just a passing thought, and the longer the silence continued, the more anxious she got to find out exactly how bad the situation really was.
Resigned to meet her fate head on, Hermione lifted her eyes to Snape's and froze solid. The bastard was smiling!
Her mouth must have opened like a fish, because Snape quickly tried to cover his look, effectively turning the smile into a sneer, but she'd seen it for what it was. She also understood the true meaning of his next words. "The next time I require parenting lessons, Miss Granger, I'll be sure to come to you, until then, you'd do well to mind your tongue!" His tone was sharp and though Hermione nodded obediently, she knew it was lacking in its normal ferociousness. "Further," he added, "my relationship to Miss Michaels should not be a deterrent for you in any future way."
Had he just given Hermione permission to curse Morganna when she got stupid?! Looking into his eyes, Hermione knew he had. She dropped her eyes to keep from smiling.
"You also have another weeks detention."
Damnit!!!
"I believe," he sneered, and this time she knew he meant the cruelly, "that that makes it three weeks. Does my math seem up to task, Miss Granger?" She nodded. "Good, now open your eyes, and don't you dare fall asleep or I'll make it four."
Ooooooohhhhhh, she really, really, really didn't like him!!!
* * *
Later that night, much later than Hermione wanted to consider, the lump on her head had been sizably reduced and she was pronounced well enough to go back to Griffendor Tower. Morganna accompanied her, and together they made their way slowly down the now darkened halls.
Professor Snape had stayed in the infirmary long enough to make Hermione nervous, before he'd received a kiss goodnight from Morganna--a slightly unnerving sight--and returned to the dungeons for the Slytherin common room.
Hermione wasn't exactly sure how she felt about Snape. She'd learned an awful lot about him today. As she walked down the corridor, half listening to Morganna go on and on about how wonderful Harry was, Hermione couldn't stop wondering about some of the expressions she'd seen on his face. It was almost as if.as if.he were human?
When they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione offered the good woman the password, which Madam Pomphrey had given her before they'd left. With one large step over the threshold, the two girls were in the common room--and immediately mobbed by the whole of Gryiffendo.
"Morganna! Can I have your autograph?"
"Morganna, Morganna! Let's be best friends!"
"Morganna, sing us another song!"
Unconsciously, Hermione brough her hands to her ears to block out the sound and to protect her head from further injury. She'd walked back to the tower, that was true, but that didn't mean she was as good as new.
A sudden blast of power came from the back of the room by the fireplace, and Hermione saw Ron and Harry--wands drawn, and pointed at the crowd.
"Alright, you lot, stand back and let'm through." This from Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but smile warmly at her dear friend. Morganna grabbed her hand, and together they walked through the crowd of students towards the girl's dormitory.
Up the winding staircase, the four of them went, Ron and Harry trailing behind them, Ron obviously waiting to catch Hermione if she decided to see if falling from heights was as fun the second time as the first.
At the 5th year door, Hermione set her hand on the handle before quickly pulling away. "I just remembered, as a prefect, I get my own room. It must be down the hallway a little more. Let's go see."
She saw what she thought might be jealousy in Morganna's eyes, but it quickly vanished behind a smile. "I hope my roommates are nice. I haven't had to live with anyone since I was thirteen. You lived with them last year, Hermione, didn't you?"
Nodding, Hermione and the others continued down the hallway. "Pavari and Lavender are nice enough. Don't sit on Pavarti's bed, she gets really annoyed with wrinkled; and don't touch any of Lavender's clothes, even if they're on your bed, she's always thinking that someone's taking her clothes." Morganna nodded as the quartet walked down the hallway.
She was lucky, a bright gold shield--the same design as her prefect badge-- was on the only door up the short flight of stairs at the back of the hallway--and engraved in magic was her name. The door stuck a little, but opened without a squeak, and Hermione couldn't help but thank the elves that kept the old castle up and running.
But the room was pitch black inside, and she suddenly realized that the only light coming into the room was through a skylight high at the very top of her ceiling. Slightly worried about the ominous room, Hermione closed her eyes and cast Lumos to light the candles. She shouldn't have worried.
The most amazingly spectacular room stood before her. A beautiful bed done in an assortment of wine colors was against the left wall, the four posters reaching high towards the ceiling and draped in burgundy velvet. The floor was furbished in a soft cream colored carpet that looked as if her feet would melt right into it. A desk stood away from the front door, and Hermione noted that the dark wood finish looked stunning against the carpet. Her trunk was at the end of the bed, but across from it stood a massive ameuer in the same color as the desk and bed. Candles danced from a high candelabra that dripped light from the ceiling but left room for the circular skylight that Hermione just knew was designed to allow the maximum amount of both sunlight and moonlight into the room. Sconces designed like twisted ivy in black metal wove about cream candles and in the light seemed to move as if leaves on a breeze.
Morganna was the first to notice the door next to the Ameuer. "Hermione, where does that go?" She shrugged and watched as Morganna went to investigate. Behind her, she heard Ron close the door.
"You doing alright, Hermione? Snape didn't yell at you or anything, did he?" She smiled and shook her head, no sense worrying Ron, he already seemed like he wanted to wrap her in bubble wrap--not that he'd know what bubble wrap was.
She heard Morganna cast Lumos in the other room only an instant before the gasp came, followed, by, "Oh my god, I am so showering in here from now on!"
Intrigued, the other three moved towards the door and then stood opened mouth as they looked into the splendor of Hermione's private bathroom. The floor was done in an exact marble to match the carpet in her bedroom, and around the walls were an assortment of fish frescoed into the wall. In the center of the room was a massive sunken bathtub, only this was done in black and white marble, contrasting beautifully with cream marble and the cream towels Hermione saw stacked to the side of the toilet. She also noted that it had a number of spouts, and remembered from Harry's description, the kind of bubble combinations she'd be enjoying for the rest of the year. Above her was the only window, situated as in her bedroom. To the right back corner of the room she saw a glass enclosed shower, the glass clear and sparkling, revealing a very deep shower stall.
"It's.gorgeous!"
Morganna spun around, smiling widely. "Hermione, your crib is sooooo tight!"
Later, when all of her things were unpacked and set right, Hermione turned back to the bed smiling as she watched Morganna softly petting Crookshanks.
Morganna's voice was soft when she spoke, attesting to the late hour and the wariness that comes from finished excitement. "I was so scared about coming here. Uncle Severus told me Aunt Arabella was getting too old to care for a teenager, especially one with my kind of schedule. I didn't want to go at first, I didn't want to leave my friends and, well, my country, you know. But I'm glad. I'm glad I came, and I'm even gladder that we met. I can't imagine being all alone." She looked up then, a strange sweetness in her face. "Thank you for being my friend, Hermione. I know that sounds lame, but thanks."
Moving to the bed Hermione sat down before scratching Crookshanks under the chin. "You don't have to thank me. I'm just as glad as you are. Harry and Ron are great friends, amazing if you want to know the truth. But.well, there are just some things you can't tell boys."
Morganna giggled. "I know what you mean. Uncle Severus and I are really, really close. Back home I used to call him all the time, everyday when I was on the road. I know he's not everyone's favorite guy here, but he's the best uncle a girl could ask for. Anyway, there's lots of stuff I wouldn't tell anyone but him, and yet there's lots of stuff I wouldn't even consider telling him, you know? I guess it'll just be nice to have a real friend. It was getting hard back home, what with me singing and all these stupid girls thinking that if they got on my good side I'd give them free tickets. You start to figure out who your real friends are; and I just know, I just absolutely know, you and I are going to be best friends, Hermione."
They shared a smile, both understanding each other completely in that moment.
Then Morganna ruined it.
"Besides, you know, The Harry Potter!"
"Morganna."
"Yeah?"
"Get out."