Mysteries with Followers

Summary: Harry tries to process the new information and Hermione acts suspiciously.

Notes: Two chapters in one day? Extra, extra! Warning: short chapter!

Harry had returned to Hogwarts with his new glamour on. Snape was absolutely silent and told he'd be in the dungeons if Harry needed to talk. But Harry didn't; he needed some time alone.

Thankfully excused from classes, he went into the empty Gryffindor common room and sat at the couch by the fireplace. And thought. And thought some more. He'd taken the parchment that read of his true blood with them and reread the words.

This is why the hat wanted me in Slytherin. It was because I'm the son of Voldemort.

His eyes landed on a specific word at the place of his blocks.

The Horcrux.

He didn't know what a Horcrux was, but it seemed pretty dark and evil. He wanted to ask Snape, but chose not to because he knew they both needed time to process everything.

Harry wasn't sure what would happen now. He felt sick to his stomach. Glancing down at the the parchment again, he read more of his blocks. Or what used to be of them.

So, he was more attuned to Dark magic. Did that mean he was evil? Well, that was difficult to compare, since he'd been raised his whole life as the Golden Boy Gryffindor and not much else. Did it count as brainwashing, what had been placed upon him and what he'd been told so fundamentally that it changed his thinking.

He smiled. It wasn't a pretty one. Well, not anymore.

Suddenly, a faint bell sounded. That meant the end of classes. It was the evening, so... Sighing, he stood and made his way out of the common room and down the hall where he knew most of his yearmates would be.

Surprisingly, he found Hermione.

Not surprisingly, he hesitated. Should he trust her? Did she know of his parentage? Did she know of everything? He shook his head and approached her, who'd been talking to someone who looked extremely bored.

"Hey, Hermione?"

She whipped her head around to look at him, and her eyes flickered with something strange. Then she smiled. Harry recognized that it didn't look very real. Maybe...

"Harry! Where've you been?"

"I was doing lessons with Snape."

She frowned. "Lessons?"

Harry tried to look sheepish. "I'll tell you later. Where's Ron?"

She looked around. "Don't know. He left before I could reach him."

Odd. It wasn't something like Ron to do that.

"Harry?"

He blinked, realizing that he'd somehow zoned out. "Sorry," he said, "I have a lot on my mind."

"What about?"

This is getting weird, Harry thought. They're more insistent now. I hope they didn't find out. Or maybe I'm just paranoid...

"Oh, Umbridge. She's a nightmare."

He'd already had a detention with her and his hands still stung, though he'd hardly felt at all during today.

Hermione had a look in her eyes. Suspicion. "Are you sure?"

Harry, unnerved, stuttered, "Y-Yeah...?"

She looked at him some more and then suddenly gasped, startling Harry. "Oh," she breathed, "I forgot my book! I'll be back soon!"

Harry, feeling quite bewildered, let her go. She went off to the direction of the Gryffindor tower. He watched her walk speedily down the hall, books clutched in her grasp, heart beating abnormally quickly.

The paranoid part of him was telling him that Hermione hadn't gone off to find her book, but to somewhere to tell a certain someone about his abrupt change in behavior.

As she made her way down, Harry decided to follow her. He wasn't very good at subtlety, but did it anyway. He kept his footsteps light and quick and eventually found himself hiding in a little cranny as Hermione spat out the password to the Headmaster's office. "Cauldron cakes!"

He left after Hermione had disappeared behind the gargoyle. She knew. She knew!

Hermione stormed into the Headmaster's office, her breath puffing.

"Hello, Mrs. Granger. How do you do?"

She cut straight to the chase. "He knows. And he followed me."

Dumbledore's eyes grew cold. "Oh, did he now?"