Guilt and Innocence
Remus had been walking to his quarters when he heard a high pitched scream. Quicker than he would ever admit he spun on his heel and ran back along the passage he came. Within seconds he was at the many moving staircases.
He ran onto the closest and looking down saw a form spread out at the foot of one, on the joint. He quickly ran down the one he was on and across to another. He found himself at the top of the staircase where the woman laid.
As he raced down he noticed that it was beginning to move. He carried on moving and as if in slow motion he watched as the woman's body began to fall as the stairs moved. He dived and slid on his stomach grabbing hold of the woman's arm and dragged her onto the stairs.
He was breathing heavily but he didn't care he looked down and noticed for the first time who he was holding onto. Carefully he picked her up brushing the long brown hair out of her face. Hermione's face was covered in cuts and bruises.
He ran through the corridors without thinking of anything else and found himself in the hospital wing. There he noticed was Kelli Young a third year Hufflepuff looking rather embarrassed that he had run in on her. He didn't care though.
"Luna, Ginny I need help quick its Hermione."
He placed her on the bed as Luna ran out of the office, she was the school nurse she had taken over after Pomfrey had been taken to Mungos after she had been attacked by Death Eaters she was now incapable of working in Hogwarts, she had nightmares of the place.
"Remus what happened?"
"I don't know I found her at the foot of one of the staircases, I think she must have fallen off one, but I don't know how she would have done that, its Hermione."
"Maybe she was pushed."
Luna looked up and Remus turned as Ginny slowly came out of the office a potion in hand. She moved to Kelli and gave it to the girl who was now rather pale and shaking, Ginny though smiled at the girl.
"Don't worry Professor Granger has been through much worse than this."
She quickly moved to Luna's side and the pair started to cast charms on her to discover the damage. Remus though was still thinking of her first words.
"Who would have pushed her though? I know some of the students think she likes giving out too much homework but not even they would do that."
"We have a murderer in Hogwarts though, somebody that she helped to convict maybe he's getting his own back."
Luna looked up.
"Tonks is watching him he can't have gotten out."
The three exchanged a look though, none of them believed that. If he wanted out the prisoner could get out, he knew Hogwarts so well but would he risk it just to push Hermione down some stairs.
"Ginny it's a good theory but why escape to push her down some stairs he could just turn on her in the fight and kill her then."
"Remus she's a good fighter, she could really hurt Voldemort plus she trained with the Prisoner so she knows what he's capable of, maybe he thought if he took her out now it would be one less to hurt Voldemort."
Remus nodded as he looked down and back at Luna.
"We need her though, you can't let her die."
"I won't Remus. She isn't that bad, I think it's just a few broken bones and a concussion. That's what we have to worry about the longer she's unconscious the less likely it is she'll ever wake up."
He sat on the bed opposite as the two witches worked on the woman lying on the bed. It seemed like days before they stepped backwards away from her. Luna looked at Kelli first though, her glass was empty and Luna nodded.
"Miss Young you can return to your common room now, but you must keep everything you've seen and heard to yourself do you understand?"
"Yes Madam Lovegood."
She was out the door quickly and Luna sat next to Remus on the bed with Ginny standing just in front of them. It was the blonde that spoke up.
"She's going to be okay, I think. It's like I thought, she has three broken ribs, a broken leg and a fractured arm. I've given her something for that and they should be fixed by morning but we have to keep an eye on her."
"We need to call a meeting of the Order. I want everybody in my classroom by eight."
"What about the Prisoner?"
He'd forgotten about him completely. They couldn't leave him unattended. He would volunteer to watch him but he needed to led the meeting. It seemed Luna was watching him closely.
"We can bring him up here and make him sit on one of the beds, I'll watch him. I would go down there but I want to keep an eye on Hermione."
"You can't have him up here!"
Luna looked at Ginny and raised her eyebrow.
"Why not if he tried anything I'll just slip him a potion to make him sleep for a few hours and when he wakes up he'll be back in that room again no problem."
Remus nodded and looked at the two women.
"I'm going to go now. You just take care of her okay."
The two women nodded and he went back the way he came until he reached the staircase in question. He looked at where he had found her, there was a clump of blood but a trail led from further up.
It looked like she had rolled all the way down from the top steps, but no that was impossible because the first spot was three quarters of the way up the stairs. Plus with her injures it was more likely she fell from a height.
He didn't like the fact he knew this but he'd seen enough people trip down these stairs and even those who had fallen with force never looked as bad as she had. He walked up to the platform above.
On the floor he found a piece of parchment and on it were the names of the Order members he knew it was the record of their vote to get Prisoner X to be released. She had been standing here.
He felt his eyes widen as he looked down, she had been pushed from up here and that's where the cuts and bruises had come from. A shiver ran up his spine either the prisoner had gotten out or they had a spy.
Suddenly for the first time he began to pray to some great being that could control all, he prayed that the prisoner had escaped because any alternative could mean the end of the war with them on the wrong side.