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CHAPTER 14
Ron thought that the boy's dormitory seemed much smaller than usual. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, still clutching Hermione's letter, while she stood pacing the room. This is worse than a Quidditch match, Ron thought absently, more like…a lion's den. Just then Ron heard footsteps coming up the stairway, and the voices of Harry and Neville. Hermione stopped pacing and stared at the door with a somewhat crazed look on her face.
Harry's and Neville's talking died out immediately as they entered the room. They both looked from the sullen Ron to the crazed Hermione. Neville actually took a step back after looking at Hermione's expression.
"Uh…Neville, I just remembered…I haven't played … um … Exploding Snap with Seamus and Dean in a long time…maybe…" Harry said distractedly.
"Yeah…um…Seamus and Dean…I can hear them shuffling the cards now…" Neville said nervously. Harry took one last look at Ron before he and Neville quickly descended the stairs. When Ron looked back at the livid Hermione, he considered yelling for them to come back. Hermione strode over to stand directly in front of Ron and outstretch her hand.
"Give…me…my…letter." She said dangerously quiet. Ron, grudgingly, handed it over. "Now, if you would be so kind as to explain your imbecilic behavior." Ron was briefly confused as to which imbecilic behavior she was referring to; his leaning over her like a hungry animal in the hospital wing, or his basic thieving of her own personal letter…he was such a jerk...
Ron shifted unnecessarily on his bed and cleared his throat. "Viktor Krum is a twenty-year-old…"
"Nineteen." Hermione interrupted haughtily. Ron let out a frustrated sigh. Okay, Ron thought, she definitely needs to be arm-wrestled right now.
"…a nineteen-year-old international Quidditch player from Bulgaria." Ron said matter-of-factly.
"And?" Hermione prompted.
"And?" Ron repeated, aghast. "That's enough, isn't it? He's too old for you, he's a pompous celebrity, and he lives miles away!"
"Ronald, yes, he does live miles away. That's why we are penpals!" Hermione said smartly. "Furthermore, he never even mentions his celebrity status!"
"Well, what do you two talk about then?" Ron asked emphatically.
"That's absolutely none of your concern, is it?" Hermione said, throwing up her hands. "But you obviously don't understand that! You had no right taking that letter from me, Ron!"
Ron let out a long sigh. "Okay, you may be right there, but…"
"What are you so afraid of?" Hermione inquired excitedly.
Ron's mind suddenly went blank. What was he so afraid of? Again he briefly pondered which invasion of her personal space she was referring to. He mentally cursed himself; he knew what he was afraid of. It had nothing to do with Krum's celebrity status, age, or location. Ron was jealous; pure, plain, and simple of any guy vying for Hermione's attention. He'd been dreading the thought of Hermione getting another letter from Krum since the beginning of the term. He knew that he was most afraid that Hermione would, if she hadn't already, realize how much better Krum was than he, and that then, Krum, or some other git, would take Ron's place in Hermione's heart…even if that place were only for him as a friend.
"Look," Ron began nervously, "I'm just afraid that…that…that if you two start something…together…" Blimey, that was hard to say! "…you'll only end up getting hurt." Wow, that sounded lame, he thought. But Hermione must have bought it, since her scowl was turning into more of a slight frown. She heaved a great sigh before sitting down next to Ron on his bed. Her knee lightly brushed his own. Okay, forget arm-wrestling…
"Viktor knows how I feel about him," Hermione began softly; a sharp pain cut into Ron's heart. I knew it, he thought. "And he has accepted that we are only friends." The pain immediately began to subside.
"What?" Ron asked hopefully.
"Oh sure, he crosses the line sometimes." Hermione carried on casually, looking down at the floor. "But I always set him right. For example, he's asked me to spend my Christmas holiday with him in Bulgaria, and I'm replying to him tonight that I'll be spending it at the Burrow." Hermione cut her eyes in Ron's direction. "Ginny's already invited me, and even if she hadn't, I don't want Viktor to get the wrong impression." If Ron's exterior showed what his insides felt like at the moment, he probably would have jumped through the roof in a fit of joyful whoops. But, instead, Ron determinedly kept his exterior calm and collected.
"Ron, I wish I could have your blessing to continue being friends with Viktor. I won't quit writing him regardless, mind you. But still…I just wish you could understand." Hermione looked up into Ron's face. Ron didn't think there was anyway in the world he would ever feel completely fine with Hermione writing to Krum, but he would never tell her that; not after tonight.
"I'm sorry I've been a jerk, Hermione. It really isn't any of my business who you talk to, and I won't say another word about Krum, all right?" Ron said, sincerely, looking into Hermione's indecipherable expression. She nodded then, and stood up from the bed.
"Well, it's getting late, and I still have some Ancient Runes' homework to catch up on. I should probably head on over to the girl's dormitory." Hermione headed for the door, but as she got to the doorway, she turned around with an anxious look on her face before asking, "So, there was no other reason you got so upset over Viktor's letter?"
Ron's heart did a somersault. What exactly was she asking of him? He felt as if she were trying to tell him something with her eyes, but he was afraid to incorrectly decipher their meaning. Is she asking me if I'm jealous? For a brief moment, Ron wanted to just take his chances and tell her everything that his heart had been feeling toward her for the past few years, but then he came to his senses…I'm just Ron Weasley…
"No…no other reason," Ron sad despondently. Hermione simply nodded her head before giving him a half-smile and exiting the dormitory.
A light snow now covered the grounds, and other than the plants in Professor Sprout's greenhouses, the evergreen trees were the only signs of live foliage. Hermione wondered how December had managed to sneak up on them like this. Though, she definitely wasn't going to complain. Christmas break couldn't come too soon.
Harry and Ron both seemed extraordinarily depressed lately. Harry was still taking his numerous 'walks' and 'flying trips,' so meals and classes were the extent of Hermione's visits with him. She and Ron were both starting to really worry about his constant state of exhaustion, too. Were the Occlumency lessons that intense? Harry claimed that he had not had any dreams since the one over summer holiday, so apparently the lessons were working…but…shouldn't that make him sleep and feel better? Instead, he had dark circles under his eyes, which were oftentimes bloodshot and he had appeared to have lost some weight. Hermione often wondered if his seemingly poor health were due to that stupid prophecy…
And then there was Ron, who seemed to be sulking a lot lately. He complained about his homework endlessly, which Hermione had to admit he did have a considerable amount of. Madam Bones seemed to think homework was necessary after every class, and it only got harder as the term wore on. Hermione had taken pity on him and had even volunteered to write one of his essays for him, but he had refused. He seemed to be taking his N.E.W.T. classes very seriously, which had surprised, yet pleased, Hermione greatly.
Ron definitely hadn't shown any more signs of temporary insanity, though. The closest he'd come to kissing her was at lunch one afternoon when he'd eaten something hot and taken a gulp of her tea because he'd already drank all of his. Hermione had felt extremely girlish and silly when she had received stomach butterflies from the sight of his lips touching where hers had been. After that, Hermione had begun wondering if Ron and Harry's gloominess were causing her to suffer from temporary insanity.
So, Hermione had spent a lot more time with Ginny over the last couple of weeks. At least Ginny smiled every once in a while… Hermione had also asked her to start eating with her, Harry, and Ron since Ginny seemed to be the only one that could get any semblance of a smile out of Harry. She could always seem to come up with some witty comment to everything.
But other than semi-happy meals with her three friends, Hermione's classes were the only things keeping her from going mad while she waited impatiently for Christmas holiday. Healing, in particular, seemed to cheer her up and make her feel somewhat competent. It made her feel good to be skilled at something since Harry and Ron always out-performed her in their Biweekly Defense classes.
Therefore, Hermione was in good spirits this Thursday morning as she, Harry, and Ron left the Great Hall after breakfast. Professor Sinistra had mentioned something about learning a pain-relief spell at their last class meeting. It could apparently be used before, during, or after any healing procedures, and would immediately lesson the pain of the injury.
"You mean to tell me that if we could learn this Pain-relieving spell, we could basically prevent ourselves from ever feeling pain again?" Ron asked Hermione disbelievingly as they walked up the many stairs to the fifth floor.
"No," Hermione replied casually, "It lessons the pain of the injury; it doesn't make it disappear. Plus, it depends on the skill of the Healer and the severity of the injury as to how well it will work."
"Well," Ron said turning to Harry, "If I'm ever in pain, make sure you let Hermione heal me, alright mate?"
Hermione looked up smiling to see Harry staring off into space, completely oblivious to his two friends' presence. Ron turned to Hermione and gave her a lopsided frown. She just shook her head worriedly as they entered the classroom and took their seats.
Professor Sinistra arrived promptly, wearing her dark purple lipstick and polish again today. Hermione sat up straighter in her seat; she had been waiting for this lesson. Sinistra levitated a Basic Healing Kit from a shelf behind her, bringing it to rest on her desk before turning to address the class.
"Alright everyone." She said quietly. "I've already informed you that today's lesson will be on a Pain-relieving spell. So I want to begin the class by explaining to you the difference between the effects of the spell and the effects of these…" She opened the small metal box and removed two small glass bottles of the blue Pain Relief Potion. She held them up, one in each hand, as she continued, "Now, the potion as compared to the…ahhh…!"
Suddenly Sinistra took a sharp intake of breath and both bottles fell from her hands to shatter on the stone floor. A few of the students gasped. A blue vapor was rising eerily with a hiss from the spilt potion on the ground. What in the world?
Sinistra's usually calm exterior was broken by a furrowed brow and shaking hands. She suddenly grabbed her left wrist and closed her eyes tightly. Everyone in the class was completely still, watching their teacher with silent trepidation.
What was going on? Hermione turned to look at Ron and Harry. Ron was staring at Sinistra in bewilderment; Harry was unreadable. Still gripping her wrist, Sinistra opened her eyes and began walking slowly, almost dazedly, toward the door. Something suddenly dawned on Hermione. No, she thought, she can't be… Harry suddenly stood up from his seat; Hermione reached over Ron to pull on Harry's robes, but he ignored her.
"Show me your arm." Harry commanded sharply. Sinistra stopped in her tracks and turned to face Harry with a fierce look in her eyes. She dropped both arms to her sides.
"Sit down, and shut…your…mouth. Class dismissed." She said in a shaky, yet cold, whisper, before turning to head quickly for the door again. None of the students moved a muscle…except for Harry.
He jerked his robes from Hermione's grasp and walked up behind Sinistra grabbing her right arm and turning her roughly around to face him. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth, as she couldn't contain a gasp; Ron turned around in his chair to face her with a worried look in his eye. He nodded down at his chest where he then pulled his robes back slowly to reveal that he had retrieved his wand from his pocket. Hermione nodded her head slowly.
Sinistra's harsh whisper cut through the silence. "Take your hands off of me or I swear…" She began, but Harry jerked hard on her arm.
"SHOW ME YOUR ARM!" He shouted at her. Hermione felt like she could be sick as Ron stood up from his seat. Everyone in the classroom was now looking anxiously from Sinistra to Harry to Ron. And then, the classroom door was suddenly slammed open.
"Potter!" Snape had entered looking rattled and angry. Hermione had never appreciated his impeccable timing more. He glided swiftly over to Harry, who was still holding firmly onto Sinistra's arm. "You arrogant little…release her this instant, Potter, and stop acting as if you know what's going on!"
Harry simply glared at Snape before releasing Sinistra's arm. She stepped back from Harry and turned an imploring look up at Snape.
"Severus…" She said almost pleadingly.
Snape looked down at her with a dark, stony expression, "Come, Sobrina." He thenplaced his hand on her elbow andbegan leading her toward the door.
Harry followed directly behind them. "I'm coming with you." He said boldly.
Hermione looked up at Ron, who was still standing, his wand held down at his side. She grabbed his hand and he looked down at her with a deep frown. Hermione felt completely hopeless, as she looked into his blue eyes and whispered, "Ron…" He squeezed her hand gently before turning back toward the troublesome scene before them.
"Potter," Snape began menacingly, "When will you learn to…"
Harry suddenly thrust both hands fiercely into his unruly black hair as he shouted, "I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!" Harry's hands fell back down to his sides as he walked up to stand a mere foot from Snape. Harry was much skinnier and about two inches shorter than Snape, but Hermione thought that Harry looked much more threatening at the moment.
Harry then all but growled into Snape's face, "If he is planning something…I have a right to know…"
Hermione's whole body began to tremble at the mixture of anger and sadness in Harry's voice. Ron looked down at her worriedly and sat back down in his seat. He then thrust his wand back into his pocket and took Hermione's other hand in his. With both of her hands in his, Hermione's trembling subsided slightly.
Snape was glaring at Harry. "We'll let the Headmaster decide what rights you have." He spat. Snape then turned on his heel, leading Sinistra out with Harry in their wake. The door slammed shut as they exited, and the room immediately erupted into complete chaos. Everyone's voices began shouting questions and exclamations.
Ron stood up quickly, pulling Hermione up with him. Releasing one of her hands, he grabbed his and Harry's bags while Hermione grabbed hers. Ron then entwined his fingers with hers, and led her quickly from the frenzied room. They both ignored the questions shouted at them… 'what's he talking about?' … 'why did he want to see her arm?' … 'who's planning something?'
Hermione felt like she was in a dream world as Ron began rushing her down the corridor. Sinistra had apparently felt something. The Dark Mark... It had to be; it's too much of a coincidence that Snape would come to her classroom right after it had happened.
Hermione suddenly realized that Ron was rushing her in the opposite direction of the Grand Staircase. She looked over her shoulder to see Snape, Sinistra, and Harry disappearing down the stairs.
"Wait!" Hermione breathed. Ron stopped and turned to face her with a serious frown; they were both breathing heavily from sprinting down the hall, and were now standing a few yards away from the entrance to their common room. "Ron, they were going to Dumbledore. We need to go down to the second floor!"
Hermione turned to go back toward the Grand Staircase, but Ron remained where he was standing, holding tightly to her hand. She looked at him curiously, "Hermione, I'm taking you to Gryffindor Tower. Come on."
Ron turned to head toward the entrance, but this time, Hermione held back. "No! We need to follow Harry!"
Ron shook his head; he was beginning to look frustrated. "Harry can take care of himself."
"Ron…I..." Hermione began, but Ron suddenly turned toward the entrance and pulled hard on her arm. She had to choose between falling to the ground and being dragged or consenting to follow him…she followed.
Ron spat the password and led her into the empty common room. Hermione suddenly realized that everyone who wasn't in Basic Healing or Snape's abandoned class was probably sitting quietly at their desks taking notes in their own classes. Ron led Hermione over to the sofa where he released her hand and threw his and Harry's bags down on the coffee table; he then started pacing in front of the fireplace.
Hermione sat down slowly on the couch, watching Ron pace back and forth madly. He was beginning to make her head hurt. "Ron, why can't we just go down to Dumbledore's office and wait for Harry? I want to know what's going on!" She said desperately.
Ron stopped his pacing and stared wide-eyed at her before coming to sit in the armchair beside her. "Hermione, You-Know-Who is calling to them! Don't you understand that you don't need to be walking around the castle right now?"
"Ron, we're safe as long as we're in this castle and Dumbledore is here. Now, please, let's just…"
"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed loudly causing her to jump, "As far as we know Draco Malfoy has one of those damned skulls on his arm! And I believe you were in this castle with Dumbledore present when you were put under the Imperious Curse by, none other than, Draco Malfoy!"
Hermione felt a chill rush through her. He was right. There was a possibilitythat Malfoy was working for his father's master. But then, if Harry's dream were true and she was the Muggle-born in question...why hadn't Malfoy just led her into the arms of a kidnapper then? Or, why hadn't he kidnapped her himself…or…killed her, for that matter? Hermione shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts.
"Come here." Ron said quietly standing up and holding out his hand for her. Hermione looked up at him and her stomach began fluttering. She grasped his hand tentatively. What was he doing?
Unexpectedly, he led her over to the chess table. He released her hand and sat down at one side. He then motioned for her to seat herself across from him; he now had a weak smile, but his eyes still held worry, "Play me. It will make us both feel better while we wait for Harry to get here. You always feel better when you have to concentrate on something difficult…and I always feel better when I beat you at something."
Hermione sat down slowly, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep from smiling. She shouldn't want to smile at a time like this. Harry was probably in Dumbledore's office right now hearing awful things about Voldemort and his Death Eaters and what horrible things they may be planning…but somehow, Ron's smile, however weak, made her feel much more relaxed thanwas probably fitting...
Ron and Hermione were halfway through their chess match when they realized that they still had their N.E.W.T. classes ahead of them. Since Sinistra had barely begun her lecture when her mark had burned, they still had twenty minutes to get to their classes after they'd remembered their schedule. Ron really wanted to skip the classes and remain by Hermione's side until they knew exactly what was going on. But she had insisted that they go, so he had settled with walking her to her class before going to his.
The chess game had apparently worked. He had seen the look of fear pass over Hermione's face when he'd mentioned the Boggart incident. It had made him feel horrible, but he didn't know how else to get her to understand that Hogwarts wasn't completely safe as long as there was evil inside its walls. But, as soon as they'd begun playing chess, she seemed to lighten up considerably. Ron had pretended to lighten up as well, but on the inside he was burning up with fear. What did Voldemort have in mind? The only two thoughts that kept swaying back and forth in Ron's mind were Harry's dream and Trelawney's prophecy…
With this horrid pendulum of thought, Ron felt that each second of his classes ticked by in slow motion. When Magical Law was finally over, he met Hermione in the hallway and they walked down to the Great Hall together. They were both relieved when they saw Harry already seated at the house table. Ginny was seated beside him and they were deep in conversation. Ron and Hermione quickly made their way over to sit across from them. As they sat down, Ginny looked from them to Harry.
"Harry, I'll tell them if you want." Ginny said quietly. "You've already been through it all once and you haven't touched your food." Harry just nodded at her.
Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione and they each leaned in toward one another. "Okay," Ginny began with a deep breath, "Sinistra is a reformed Death Eater, but she isn't a double agent like Snape. Apparently, Voldemort killed her mother and father,supporters of Dumbledore, after Sinistra refused a mission involving harmingchildren. That's what caused her to reform. This was about seventeen years ago."
Ginny took a deep breath to continue, but she suddenly furrowed her brows and turned to look at Harry who was leaned in listening to her retelling of his story. "Harry you need to eat something. I swear if you don't start eating better, you're going to be able to borrow mine or Hermione's jeans…and if you ever fit into my jeans I'll kill myself."
Harry smiled that smile that only Ginny could manage to get out of him before Ginny turned back to Ron and Hermione to continue, "Anyway, Sinistra refuses to be a spy for Dumbledore because she apparently lost all nerve after witnessing her parents' murders."
"She saw them being murdered?" Hermione gasped; Ron noticed her put a hand to her mouth. Ginny nodded solemnly. Ron remembered what Hermione had said about Sinistra's father being a Healer. He wondered if her father's death was the real reason Sinistra had dropped out of Healing school to become an Astronomy teacher. Hermione must have been thinking along the same lines as she continued gravely.
"If I knew that I was responsible for my father's death, I wouldn't want to be a dentist…I would think of him constantly." Hermione was shaking her head sadly.
Ginny briefly nodded in agreement before leaning in close. "Now, this next part you're really going to want to hear." Ginny said enthusiastically. Ron and Hermione leaned in a bit closer. "Dumbledore told Snape that he needed him to 'look into things,' and then Dumbledore asked Sinistra if she could help too. Well, she refused, and Snape bellows out, 'Sobrina, don't you realize what is happening here? Don't you realize what Potter's mother sacrificed for him? Her life! Our world is jeopardized if this boy dies, and you can't even sacrifice your pathetic feelings of security?" Ginny paused to watch Ron and Hermione's reactions. Ron couldn't believe what he'd just heard, and he let out a low whistle. Hermione was just staring at Ginny with wide eyes and her mouth partway open.
"Snape said that?" Ron exclaimed incredulously.
Harry looked up at him and nodded slowly. "My reaction exactly…and I was there."
"But, what did Sinistra say to that?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"Nothing." Ginny said plainly. "She just looked on the verge of tears and then Dumbledore told Snape to cool it. Dumbledore said that Sinistra had the right to make her own decisions."
Ginny turned to Harry. "Did I miss anything?"
"I think you nailed it." Harry said glumly. "Well, except for Dumbledore informing me that this was the first time the Dark Mark has been summoned since mid-June, but it's not the first that they've heard from the Death Eaters. Apparently there have been attacks that the Order has managed to keep out of the Daily Prophet. Of course, Fudge doesn't complain since he doesn't like the idea of the Wizarding community really knowing what's going on anyway. As long as he holds the seat of Minister of Magic, he wants to ensure this sense of false security. I think it's crap, but Dumbledore seems to think he's right in this."
"Well," Ginny began matter-of-factly, "Dumbledore actually wants us to feel safe here because he thinks its best for us. Fudge wants us to feel safe because he thinks its best for his job security…but regardless of what they've told us, there have apparently been around seven attacks already this term."
"SEVEN!" Ron exclaimed loudly. Hermione elbowed him sharply in his side, and he looked down at her guiltily. A few people down the table had looked over at their huddle, and Ron's ears turned a bit red as he turned back to Harry and whispered, "Seven?"
Harry nodded solemnly. "Four Muggle families and three Wizarding families…twenty-three deaths total..."
Ron's head was aching slightly with the weight of everything he'd just heard. He noticed that Hermione now looked really uncomfortable. He was suddenly ready for this conversation to be over with.
"So, anything else?" Ron asked hesitantly. Harry and Ginny both shook their heads.
Ron turned to Hermione, who was now staring at the table, blindly, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger while she bit her lower lip. She looked extremely lost in thought and adorable at the same time. Ron wondered if she were in the same maze of worry that he was in at the moment. Voldemort was summoning his Death Eaters. There had already been other attacks this term, resulting in nearly two dozen casualties. What could they be planning that required his whole horde of Death Eaters? Was this Sinistra woman really trustworthy? Were his parents safe at the Burrow? And…at the heart of Ron's maze of worries…were Harry and Hermione even safe at Hogwarts?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The reviews have been sooo encouraging and thoughtful. Thanks so much, and please continue to review! Everytime I read a new one, it makes me want to stay up all night writing!Well, buckle your seatbelts for Chapter 15! Mwah-ha-ha...