Chapter Nine
That night Hermione awoke with a start. It sounded like there had been an explosion in the main room. Immediately following, Hermione heard three distinctly different male voices raised in anger. She strained to hear. One was definitely Snape, but the other two...was it possible? She jumped out of bed and without bothering to put on her bathrobe, ran to her door. She paused and put her ear to the wood, just to make sure. Then she swung the door open and scanned the room for the two people she had missed the most during her confinement. The room was filled with smoke and Hermione began to cough. Suddenly the voices quieted and Hermione found herself pulled into a crushing embrace. She quickly pulled away to see who it was and found herself face to face with Ron. Hermione was at a loss for words and found herself laughing and crying at the same time. Harry then found his way to her, looking like he'd just been through a war. Hermione grabbed Harry and pulled him to her, burying her head on both her friends' shoulders, hugging them close to her. All they could do was hold each other, all realizing that words would be impossible at the moment.
Hermione suddenly realized that Snape hadn't said anything yet. She would have thought he'd make them leave immediately. She lifted her head and found herself locking eyes with the professor. Hermione could see the inner turmoil in his face and realized that he was deciding whether or not to make her friends leave. Hermione gave him a small pleading smile. After a moment, the potions master's face softened and with a nod of the head he turned and with a swish of his robes went back to the lab. Hermione stared after him, only remembering her friends after Harry said her name softly. Hermione blushed and pulled away from her friends.
"We have so much to ask you!" Ron blurted out loudly.
Hermione laughed and led her friends to her fireplace. After they had all settled down, Hermione and Harry on the seats and Ron on the floor, Hermione smiled and decided she should start.
"How did you figure out where I was?" she asked, looking from boy to boy.
Harry volunteered the answer."After you disappeared, we were frantic with worry. Nobody would tell us anything. I asked Professor McGonagall and she almost started to cry. Finally, Ron and I went to see Dumbledore. He told us that your parents had been in a terrible accident and you had been forced to rush home in the middle of the night. Well, we accepted that at first."
"Of course, we found it strange that you hadn't woken us or left a note to explain anything." Ron added.
"Right." Harry continued."But we simply went on with school and waited to hear from you. As the weeks went by, we grew more and more concerned for you. And it became obvious whenever we asked the professors about you that they were hiding something. And, to make matters worse, Malfoy started making little comments, as if he knew something we didn't. That's when we decided to begin an active search for you. We knew that if the professors were going to tell us anything then they already would've. So, it was up to us now."
Ron cut in. "However, we ended up owing our success purely to accident. Harry and I were walking back to the common room one night, and as we passed the professor's lounge the door happened to be open. We heard Snape and McGonagall talking and stopped to listen. They were discussing some girl that apparently was living with Snape. We figured that it might be you and decided to try and sneak into that bastard's rooms. Harry used the cloak to follow Snape to the dungeons and then learned the spell he used to open his door."
"Which incidentily was not easy, considering the complexity of the words and how quietly he says it. He kept sensing me and trying to see me by using a revealing spell." Harry said. "Anyway, it was a difficult spell for us to learn and took us some days before we were confident we could do it. But as you saw, Snape must have put some extra protection on the room. We were actually lucky to come out alive." He added as an afterthought.
Hermione smirked at that, to Harry and Ron's dismay.
"Anyway," Ron continued, with a bit of a scowl." Snape immediately came tearing at us and threatened to use every curse he knows on us."
"Not to mention, he took two hundred points from Gryfindor." Harry added, pouting slightly."Anyway, that's our story. It's your turn now."
Hermione paused and worriedly looked at her two friends. She then took a deep breath and slowly stood up, exposing her round belly. Ron and Harry's eyes immediately fell on her stomach and they both jumped up at the same time, shouting questions at her. Hermione raised her hands up to silence them. They both stopped talking, and stood stiffly, glaring at her.
"Please sit down. Let me explain." Then she stopped and thought for a moment. Of course, there was no way she could really tell them the truth. They'd do something crazy, she knew them far too well. She quickly scanned her brain for a good explanation as to why she was in her present situation.
"Well...there's not much to tell. I made a mistake with a boy and now I'm paying the price. As is the traditional school rule, pregnant girls aren't allowed to continue attending classes. It sets a bad example to the other students. Dumbledore has graciously agreed to allow me to remain here secretly and continue my studies. No doubt you're surprised that this is where I'm required to stay, but that's just how it happened. I'm really sorry, but I had to swear not to tell anyone."
Harry and Ron simply stared at her for a moment, quite obviously feeling more than a little skeptical of the story Hermione had just told. Hermione held their gaze, frantically hoping that they wouldn't see through the lie. Ron was seemingly speechless, and Hermione had a good idea why that was. She hated the fact that this story would cause Ron more pain than the truth, but in the long run maybe it was better this way. Harry was the first to speak.
"Hermione, did I miss something? This doesn't make much sense. I understand about the school rule, but why on earth would Dumbledore force you to keep this secret from Ron and me? I don't see the purpose in that. Was it your idea?"
Hermione quickly shook her head and took Harry and Ron's hands, squeezing them both. She looked up at her friends with overwhelming feelings. She knew something would have to be done to alter their memory. They simply couldn't know about her being here. It was too dangerous for everyone involved. She knew she didn't have much time with them and wanted to make the most of their situation.
"Please sit down." Harry and Ron obeyed. Still holding their hands firmly, she continued. "Dumbledore has his reasons. Please don't ask anymore questions. I need for you both to trust me and just be my friends now." She felt her eyes begin to water and hurriedly wiped them dry with the back of her hand.
At that moment, Snape came into the room holding what looked to be a pensieve. Hermione's tears returned and she made no effort to quell them. She met her professor's eyes, silently begging him for more time. However, the Potion Master's face remained hard and resolute. Hermione lowered her eyes in defeat and carefully rose from the chair. Harry looked at the basin knowingly and turned to Hermione in confusion. Hermione looked at her friends apologetically. Ron stood up and looked from face to face.
"What the hell is going on? What is that thing?" he asked, a little more harshly than necessary.
Snape scowled and after conjuring up a small table and setting the basin down, he turned to Ron.
"You will watch your mouth, Weasley, unless you want some more house points taken," he added, the corners of his lips curling upwards slightly.
"Yes, Sir," Ron answered, sullenly.
Snape went on as if Ron hadn't spoken. "This bowl is called a pensieve." He paused, glaring extra hard at Harry, who looked away in embarrassment. Neither of them had forgotten about the last time they had both encountered a pensieve. Snape continued, "I trust Ms.Granger has explained everything to both of you and why this is vital to everyone's safety."
Harry and Ron stared at their professor in puzzlement then turned to Hermione.
"What is he talking about, Hermione?" Harry asked.
Hermione turned and looked desperately into Snape's face, then finding no help there, returned her gaze to Harry.
"Please, Harry, Ron, I promise you you'll get these memories back after all this is over. It's just too dangerous for anyone to know of my whereabouts right now. I'm sorry that I lied to you about why I'm here, but it's just better that you don't know the truth right now." She looked from friend to friend begging for understanding and forgivness.
"That thing is the memory holder Harry told us about, isn't it?" Ron asked, looking at the basin in wonderment.
Hermione nodded and met Harry's eyes, wordlessly asking him if he would agree to this. Harry took Hermione's hand and squeezed it in affirmation. She smiled her thanks and turned to Ron. He met her eyes with a cold, dark visage. Hermione flinched at the loathing she saw there.
"Count me in. If you think I actually want the memories of this evening, then you're crazier than I thought." He tore his eyes away from Hermione's and walked determinedly toward the basin. Hermione hurried after him.
"Ron, wait. Don't leave like this. I've missed you both so much these last months. Please don't let our last few moments together be unpleasant." she reached for his arm and he jerked it away from her.
"Forget it! I feel sick just looking at you. Stay away from me." Suddenly Snape had Ron by the collar of his robe and lifting him slightly off the floor, slammed him hard into the stone wall.
"You will treat Ms. Granger with the respect she deserves. You have no idea of what she's been through," he said in a low and dangerous voice.
Harry and Hermione looked on in amazement. Snape then seemed to realize how odd his behavior must seem and let go of Ron, who collapsed to the floor in a heap. He then adjusted his robes and returned to the pensieve. He turned to Harry expectantly. Harry sighed and turned to Hermione.
"I wish it didn't have to be like this. Why won't you just tell us what's going on? We could help you, Hermione. We've always helped each other through all our problems in the past. Why is this any different?" he asked softly, with a bit of desperation showing through.
Hermione didn't answer, but simply pulled her best friend into a tight embrace. Harry clung to her fiercely, then kissing her cheek and looking firmly into her eyes he let her go and turned to the pensieve and without looking back began to extract the appropriate memories from his head and place them into the basin. Snape then took Harry to the main room and Hermione and Ron listened on as he preformed a memory altering charm on him. Snape chose to make Harry believe that he had just finished detention and, after dismissing Harry, returned to do the same with Ron. Ron stood up from where he had been dropped and without glancing at Hermione fished out the thoughts that seemed to offend him so much. After he, too, was gone Snape once more returned, this time for the basin. Hermione watched him numbly and somehow found her way to the seat she had shortly before occupied. She sat down and tried to wipe away the tears that were still falling. Snape paused at the door and looked at his student in what could easily have been taken for concern. Hermione stared into the fire, rocking her back and forth. Without looking up, she softly spoke,
"I wish they hadn't come at all. I had wanted to see them so desperately all this time, but now I wish they hadn't come at all." She looked up then and Snape was taken aback by the sorrow he saw in her face. He sighed and, setting the basin down, walked toward the fire. He stood there for a moment, just staring down at the dancing flames.
"It was pure foolishness not to anticipate those two boys trying to find you," he said bitterly."We were simply too busy dealing with the other problems." He paused and thoughtfully regarded Hermione."It's time for you to write a letter," he said simply. "You must explain to your friends that you will not be returning to school this year. Blame it on your parent's alleged accident."
He then, once more, started for the door. Pausing under the threshold, he turned back toward Hermione.
"Oh yes, and 200 points to Gryfindor," he said with a hint of amusment in his eyes.
Hermione was confused for a moment. Then comprehension dawned on her. Her lips curled into a small smile.
Hermione was very tempted in those next few days to request the use of the pensieve for her own memories of that emotional night. However, as bad as it had been with Ron, Hermione found that she simply couldn't part with any of those memories. Part of her did actually feel that the visit had been helpful to her. She had been able to see her friends and that was an experience that would always be important to her.
Near the end of the next week Hermione received another unexpected visitor. She had just finished brewing the assigned potion and was headed for her room to lay down when she was suddenly startled by Dumbledore's face appearing in the main fireplace.