Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter just as much as I own a Ferrari 458 Italia. I do not own a Ferrari 458 Italia
Chapter 19
"Are you insane?" Ron panted as he and Harry sprinted from the dungeons towards the first-floor girls' bathroom. "Do you have any idea how stupid that was?"
Harry turned to throw Ron an irritated glare, except it wasn't Ron at all. It had been almost an hour since he, Ron, and Hermione had downed Polyjuice Potion in Moaning Myrtle's empty bathroom in hopes of getting information about the Chamber of Secrets out of Malfoy. So, instead of Ron's freckled face looking at him with shock, it was the confused flat-nosed mug of Malfoy's lackey Vincent Crabbe.
"I said, do you have any idea how stupid that was?" Ron gasped out in between deep breaths as the two of them dashed up a staircase. "If Malfoy didn't have the common sense of a mashed potato you would have just blown everything!"
Harry ignored his comment. He'd been fuming at Malfoy for the past hour, and even when he wasn't in his presence he was still furious. As he ascended the stairs and sprinted into the girls' restroom they'd departed recently. He practically kicked the door down, with Ron running in behind him.
"Hermione?" He barked out, his voice still the low rasp of Gregory Goyle. "We're back!"
"Harry, sorry, Goyle here almost blew the whole thing!" Ron griped as he and Harry neared the stall they'd left Hermione in. "But thanks to my brilliance and quick-thinking, we were able to escape before Malfoy realized we were spying on him."
Harry suddenly felt like he was shrinking, and a quick turn to the mirror showed him he was transforming back into his real self. He and Ron quickly changed into their original clothes once they had returned to their normal selves.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked as he slipped his glasses back on. He gingerly rapped on the locked stall door. "We're all transformed now, is something wrong?"
"Go away!" She squeaked, and Harry swore he heard a sob. He turned to Ron, who looked equally as bewildered as he was. They glanced back to the locked door uneasily.
"Do you still look like Millicent Bulstrode? We know she's ugly, we won't hold it against you." Ron offered cheerfully. His smile faltered when the lock slid open and the door creaked outwards. A pair of yellow eyes blinked back at the two boys, surrounded by black hair. Out of a familiar mane of bushy-brown hair poked two pointed ears.
"Millicent…" Hermione trailed off, trying and failing to steady her wavering voice. "M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations, and now I'm h-h-hideous!" She howled, burying her face in her hands.
Harry was stunned. His brain was still working overtime to process the cat-humanoid hybrid that stood in front of him. He blinked, half-expecting the mirage to fade and for Hermione to be standing in front of him, watching him quizzically as he stared at her.
"Oh no…" Ron whispered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It's alright, Hermione." Harry managed to sputter, still feeling more confused than anything. "Let's get you to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey's pretty good about not asking questions. Come on." He said, holding out his hand. Hermione gingerly opened her eyes and took it, and he quickly ushered her out of the bedroom.
"The Hospital Wing isn't far, come on. There's barely a dozen people in the castle anyway." Ron added as they entered the – empty, thankfully – corridor. They arrived in the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey stood bewildered for a few seconds before shepherding Hermione into one of the beds.
"She needs to take about a dozen rather unpleasant remedies right now. No more visitors until tomorrow morning. Out, out!" The nurse practically shoved Harry and Ron away from Hermione's bed and into the corridor.
Harry walked dejectedly back to the common room. Neither he nor Ron felt they had it in them to talk about anything, so they went to bed early. Harry practically collapsed on his bed, not even bothering to change out of his Christmas jumper from Mrs. Weasley and his black jeans from J. Crew. He glanced down at the pants and smiled at the memory of going shopping with the Grangers.
"Take care of her." Mr. Granger's voice echoed in his head. He felt like ripping the dormitory to shreds. He'd said he would protect Hermione, no matter what. Now, their desperation to prove that Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin had landed her in the Hospital Wing for whoever knows how long.
"Take care of her." He thought back to Dobby appearing in the Grangers' guest room, and telling him and Hermione that they'd be in danger if they went to Hogwarts. He had adamantly refused, and now Hermione was stuck in a hospital bed while a monster roamed the Hogwarts halls. The very monster had already petrified two Muggle-borns, and it showed no signs of stopping.
"Take care of her." It was only a matter of time before the monster got to Hermione. Before she was petrified. Or worse.
"Take care of her."
He was seeing red now. He wasn't sure if he was angrier at Malfoy, at Slytherin's monster, or at himself, but he was positively fuming. He sat bolt upright and panted for a moment, feeling sweat bead up on his forehead. He swung his legs off of his bed and marched over to his trunk, the sound of his footfalls the only sound in the dormitory besides Ron's snores. He wasn't sure how long he'd laid awake in bed, agonizing over Hermione's new ailment and the danger that had enveloped Hogwarts. He was too upset to even glance at his watch, instead wrenching his Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk and whipping it around himself.
Once he had disappeared entirely he stormed out of the dormitory, practically leaping down the stairs and running across the deserted common room.
He felt his face scrunch up in sheer rage as he stalked the corridors. He didn't even know he was nearing the Hospital Wing until he almost walked into the oak doors. He stood, surprised at himself, and stared at the entrance for a few moments. For a moment, his anger vanished, replaced with uncertainty if he should go in. Then, he thought about Hermione lying on the other side of the doors and he was seething all over again. He jerked open the doors ready to stomp to Hermione's bed, not even sure what he was going to say.
But he froze. Hermione's bed was the furthest from the door, for privacy's sake. He expected her to be asleep. It was pitch-dark outside and had been for some time. Instead, he saw her bed illuminated in the moonlight, clear as day. She wasn't asleep. She was reading.
At least, she had been, before she dropped the book in surprise and peered towards the suddenly-opened doors. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but realized he was still invisible.
"Harry?" She whispered, and her tone sounded almost hopeful.
Every speck of anger he'd been feeling for the entire night vanished. The rage that flowed through him like it had permeated his bloodstream was gone. The fury that had contorted his face into what was undoubtedly an ugly expression dissipated. He blinked, feeling as if every muscle in his body had un-clenched simultaneously. He slowly pulled the cloak off of himself, and he heard Hermione's breath hitch from the other side of the room.
"Hermione…" He whispered. As if by magic, he wasn't angry anymore. He walked slowly, dragging the cloak behind him. Hermione had beamed when he'd revealed himself, but as he drew closer her smile faltered. He knew why. He couldn't subdue the look on his face. He was barely suppressing what was threatening to spill out of his throat. His eyes stung and his whole body trembled as he collapsed in a chair next to his best friend's bed.
It was taking every bit of willpower he had to not cry in front of Hermione. And he was barely succeeding.
"Oh, Harry…" Hermione whispered, her voice breaking. She held her hand out to his and he took it with both hands, squeezing harder than he intended to. He leaned towards her bed, pressing her hand to his forehead and directing his eyes to the ground.
"Hermione, I'm so sorry – "
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Harry." Her voice was soft. So soft, so empathetic, so kind. It only made Harry want to cry that much more.
"I should have listened to – "
"Harry Potter, if you finish that sentence with the word 'Dobby' I'm going to throw you out the window." Hermione was smiling, but her eyes – even without the brown hue that Harry had been used to – showed concern.
"Hermione, look at yourself." Harry's voice was wavering now more than ever. "You're stuck in the Hospital Wing, you're half-cat all of a sudden, and there's a monster going around petrifying Muggle-borns, you…" He paused, taking a shaky breath. "You're in danger, Hermione. I'm scared of losing you."
There was an uncomfortable silence. Harry wanted to walk back everything he'd said. He wanted to travel back in time and place himself back in his dormitory, and force himself not to leave his bed until breakfast. Better yet, he wanted to travel back to his twelfth birthday, and give Dobby his word that Hermione Granger would never set foot in Hogwarts.
"Harry, I have something to give you." She finally exhaled. "It's a gift. And I think you really need it right now." Harry cracked a smile but kept his eyes on the stone floor.
"Hermione, we're not talking about gifts right now." His voice was trembling, and he wanted to steady it, to seem much calmer than he was. "We're talking about you. And how you're not safe – "
"It wasn't even supposed to be a Christmas gift, actually. Truth be told it's not finished." She chuckled, and Harry wondered how in the world she could be laughing right now. "I thought about giving it to you as a last-day-of-term gift, or maybe as a birthday gift. I don't really know, honestly. It was a spur of the moment idea to make, and I – "
"Hermione, what on Earth are you talking about?" Harry finally lifted his head and saw she was holding something. He raised an eyebrow, trying to make it out in the moonlight. It was a round piece of paper, by the looks of it, maybe three inches in diameter.
"Hermione, as much as I appreciate it, this gift is not what I think we should be discussing right now." She held it out to him and he shook his head. "Hermione, listen to me, I think you should write home – "
"Honestly, Harry, just take the damn thing!" She snapped, her tone sharpening all of a sudden. He flinched at her sudden terseness, and gingerly grabbed the unexpected present.
The paper was thicker than he was expecting, and he realized it was a sticker. He couldn't mask his amusement that his best friend had decided to give him a sticker until he took a closer look at it. The sticker was emblazoned with two words in beautiful calligraphy – Quidditch Resistance.
"Hermione, what is this?" He asked, examining it with curiosity. He saw several small shapes flying around, and upon closer inspection he saw that they were figures on broomsticks. "Really? You remembered the Quidditch Resistance? That was over a month ago!" He couldn't hide his incredulousness at what he was looking at.
"Of course I remembered. I was actually quite proud that it made you laugh." Hermione practically scoffed at the assumption that she wouldn't remember. "I was going to add some more colors, try and make it look prettier before I gave it to you."
"It's amazing, Hermione, but why – "
"After what you just said, I think it's clear you need a reminder of something." She said pointedly, and Harry glanced up from the sticker. "Do you remember anything else about that conversation besides the fact that McGonagall threatened to cancel Quidditch?"
Harry thought back to their night in the Hospital Wing after Lockhart had removed every bone in his right arm. Before Dobby had shown up and confirmed that the Chamber of Secrets was real. Before a petrified Colin Creevey had been carried in by Dumbledore and several other professors. Before the Hogwarts faculty had departed the room and Harry and Hermione spent hours talking about the attack and what might have been in the Chamber of Secrets. Before all of that, Hermione had told him something.
"You said you'd be by my side for anything. From You-Know-Who…"
"…to the Quidditch Resistance." Hermione's new whiskers twitched as she beamed at him. "That includes the Chamber of Secrets. I'm not going anywhere, no matter how much you want me to lock myself in my room in Crawley."
Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning in admiration. He felt a rush of warmth flow through him at the sight of Hermione's confident smile. And her words echoed around in his brain for a moment.
'She's not going anywhere. No matter what.' He thought to himself almost giddily. 'I've got Hermione.'
"I said I'd be by your side, Harry, and I meant it. I know you want to find out what's in the Chamber of Secrets and why it's gone after Mrs. Norris, and Colin Creevey, and that prat from Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley." Hermione grabbed his other hand with her free hand, and Harry felt electricity course through both of his arms all the way to his heart. "I'm going to be there with you. I don't need you to protect me, Harry Potter."
Harry sighed, and somehow his smile widened. He nodded his head in understanding, and Hermione beamed once again.
"Fair enough." Harry stood, squeezing both of his friend's hands affectionately. Then he realized what he was doing and hurriedly sat back down. Hermione cocked her head, her pointy ears scrunching up as her eyebrows crinkled together.
"Why'd you sit down so fast?"
"Oh, well…" Harry suddenly was very unsure of how he would explain it. "I just remembered how much time you've spent at my bedside while I was in here…" He gestured to the surrounding beds. "I don't know, it just suddenly hit me that it was the least I could do to stay here for a little while longer."
"Harry, it's alright, you don't have to – "
"I want to, Hermione. Whether you want to talk or just rest, I'll be here. Remember that night – I said I'd be there for you too."
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione leaned over the edge of the bed so she could wrap her arms around her best friend. Harry winced as his ribs were subjected to another crushing hug from Hermione Granger. "You're so sweet, you know? I don't think you understand just how sweet you are."
"What does that mean?" He managed to splutter, his lungs running low on oxygen. Mercifully, Hermione pulled away with a smile.
"Oh, nothing." She answered, suddenly averting her eyes. "Would you mind just talking for a bit?"
"You usually just start talking without giving me a choice – "
"Oh, honestly…" Hermione shook her head, scooting back so she could sit up better. "Is that a yes?"
"What do you want to talk about?" Harry asked, lounging in his chair to make himself more comfortable.
"Can we start with how Ron said you almost bungled the Polyjuice incident? I heard him grumbling about it when you two came back from talking to Malfoy." Her expression turned pensive. "I've been wondering about what it was that you did."
"Oh…" Harry shifted in his seat again, but this time he couldn't make himself comfortable. He had tried to forget how he'd almost blown his cover during his and Ron's attempt to get Malfoy to confess. "Ron exaggerated, I just – "
"I'm well aware that Ronald Weasley exaggerates a great many things, but I don't think this was one of those times." Hermione interjected, crossing her arms. "What happened?"
"Well…" Harry felt his body tense up once again as he thought of Malfoy's sadistic sneer. "Malfoy said something."
"I would imagine."
"Hermione, as much as I love it when you get cute – get smart, with me," Harry suddenly felt much hotter than he had a few minutes ago, "this is really serious. To me." Hermione nodded wordlessly, dropping the playful smirk from her face. "Malfoy called you it again. The word."
"Harry, surely you expected something like that to happen. What did you do?"
Harry shook his head, finding it very hard to maintain eye contact with his best friend.
"He said last time the Chamber opened, a Muggle-born student was killed." Harry let out a shaky exhale. "And he said he hopes it's you this time."
Hermione hitched her breath, and Harry suddenly wanted to tell her…well, he actually didn't know what he wanted to tell her. He didn't know what he could say to her that would lighten whatever reaction she had to what he'd just told her. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't have the slightest idea how, so he decided to progress with the story.
"We were sitting across from each other, so I kicked him in the shins." Harry finally continued. "If we were standing I probably would have punched him. Ron – er, Crabbe – grabbed me and told Malfoy I'd been having leg spasms all day, and that he was taking me to the Hospital Wing. So we ran."
Hermione just nodded silently, finally exhaling. She gave Harry a look of understanding, one that managed to communicate that they didn't have to talk about that anymore. Harry pursed his lips and leaned back in his chair, and Hermione suddenly reached her arms above her head and stretched.
"I don't think I've ever seen you stretch like that…" Harry wondered out loud before he could stop himself. Hermione was lying over her covers, so Harry was able to see her back arch in a way he'd never seen before as she extended her arms upwards. He realized how moronic he'd sounded and quickly tried to think of something else to say before Hermione giggled.
"I've been doing it ever since this started." She flashed him a smile, and Harry noticed how much whiter her teeth appeared with the black fur that coated her face. "I think it's another temporary side effect of inadvertently turning into a cat…" She mused, and Harry thought her voice seemed more playful than it had previously.
"Another?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Well, besides the obvious…" She gestured to her face and ears before her eyes darted downwards.
"Just that?"
Hermione didn't speak, instead gradually lifted her head to meet Harry's eyes. He was certain that if her face wasn't covered in black fur, his best friend would be blushing profusely.
"What else is different now?" He asked. She slowly curled her knees up to her chest, still not answering. "I won't laugh, Hermione, I promise."
"I purr." She whispered so quietly that Harry barely heard her.
"Did you say you purr?"
"Don't make fun of me!"
"I'm not, Hermione! Honestly, I'm not!" He threw his hands up as if he were surrendering. "So, you purr. Big deal." He tried to keep his expression completely neutral. Slowly, Hermione managed an appreciative smile.
"Thanks Harry." It was another whisper, barely a few decibels. Harry gave a small smile of his own.
"Did Madam Pomfrey say how long it will take to…you know…"
"She says I won't be fur-free until well after the holidays. Probably early February." Hermione sighed. She blinked her yellow eyes a few times, and Harry saw they were sparkling with tears.
"You'll be alright. I'll bring you notes from every class while you're in here." Harry placed his hand on top of hers. "Although I think my life's going to be pretty miserable in class for the next month or so."
"You'll miss me that much?" Hermione asked playfully.
"Well, yeah. Obviously." He winked, and Hermione's entire face seemed to brighten. "But life will also be miserable because we won't have the brightest witch of our age getting twenty points for Gryffindor every time she raises her hand."
Hermione swatted his arm with the hand that wasn't being held by Harry. "Don't make me blush…" She mumbled, ducking her head embarrassedly. Harry grinned in satisfaction.
"It's not like I'm lying." He squeezed her hand.
"Harry…" She beamed, turning her palm upwards so she could lace her fingers with his. "Thank you for visiting me. I'm glad this night in the Hospital Wing hasn't been interrupted by a house-elf."
"Well, the night is still young." Harry shrugged. "Maybe Dobby will swing by to tell us that he's bewitched our quills to start stabbing us unless we go home."
Hermione burst into a fit of giggles, echoing around the otherwise silent Hospital Wing. Harry couldn't think of a more pleasant sound to fill the cavernous silence. It only took a moment before he fell victim to Hermione's contagious laughter.
Soon enough Harry was biting his knuckles to subdue his merriment while Hermione had buried her face in her pillow to stifle herself. Eventually the pair calmed down, and Hermione lifted her head from her pillow once she was able to quiet down.
Harry felt happiness rush through him as they locked eyes – even though black fur covered her pale cheeks, even though her chocolate-colored eyes had been replaced with yellow ones, even though her current appearance was a far-cry from what he'd seen for the past year and a half, she looked more like Hermione Granger than she had the entirety of the night.
The sheer happiness that exuded from her was something Harry could only attribute to Hermione. Her giddy smile reminded him of thousands of smiles they'd shared since they'd met. Her eyes reflected every bit of whatever emotion she was feeling, as they always had. Right now, to Harry, they looked positively ecstatic.
Part cat or not, the girl in front of him was Hermione Granger. And he was every bit as glad to be around her as he always had been in the past.
Harry didn't leave the Hospital Wing until the sun crept through the windows, casting a warm golden light on his sleeping face. He blinked his eyes open and looked to his right. Hermione was slumbering peacefully, occasionally scrunching her nose or making a small noise in her throat. Harry felt himself smiling at the sight, and his smile widened as he saw his fingers were still laced together with hers. He gave a gentle squeeze before slipping his hand away from hers, then stood to grab the Invisibility Cloak.
"Thanks for coming, Harry." He heard as he wrapped himself in the silvery fabric. He looked back to see Hermione stretching contentedly, flashing him a small smile. Even under the covers he could see her back arching.
"I'll see you later." He grinned before he disappeared from sight. On his way out, he swore he heard purring from behind him.
A/N: Howdy! Back again with another chapter. More Hospital Wing content, but under very different circumstances. Hopefully you all enjoyed it! Gotta love protective Harry and determined Hermione.
I was binging Parks and Rec and arrived at the episode where Leslie is trying to tell Ben that she can't be around him because she wants to run for city council, and Ben won't let her finish her sentence and tries to get her to open a gift. Leslie's super adamant, but Ben makes her look at it, and it's a button for her campaign, showing he understands, but she's not getting rid of him that easily. That's where I got the idea for the Quidditch Resistance sticker sequence. Hopefully you all liked it. I thought it was adorable in Parks & Rec.
To each and every one of you has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story, you guys are incredible! Truly, you guys provide motivation beyond words, and I cannot thank you enough. If you liked this chapter/story, please do follow/favorite/review! I love you all, and stay safe!