On Teenagers & Love

a story by anamatics

Part Two

Chapter Fifteen - On Getting Caught


Delores Umbridge suspects, but cannot prove, Hermione's involvement with Harry's interview in The Quibbler and has taken to watching Hermione like a hawk at all times. Hermione has found this very irritating because it means that she cannot write letters to Fleur hidden up in the owlery anymore, and her movements in the library are monitored as well. Hermione doesn't complain to anyone, however, because she knows that it will only make it worse.

"You should tell McGonagall," Ron says after Hermione comes back to the common room, fuming because Umbridge had followed her from Professor Flitwick's office to Sinestra's down to drop off something for Sinestra with Professor Snape and then back nearly all the way to the Gryffindor common room. "Bloody harassment is what that is."

Harry has his hand soaking in essence of murtlap and rolls his eyes. "It's not like it'd make her stop," he points out sullenly. Educational Decree Number 27 has made his life dreadful, but Hermione is secretly very pleased with the outcome. Umbridge banning the magazine is probably the best way to ensure that everyone in the school (and probably outside of it) reads his interview. Luna and her father (not to mention Rita Skeeter) have really come through. "She'd probably do it more."

"Unfortunately," Hermione says. "But at least there is an upside; Cho's speaking to Harry again." And she's very glad for that because Harry had been absolutely unbearable after his disaster of a Valentine's Day date.

Ron seems to weigh this for a moment before he shrugs, "From what Harry says, she was more interested in talking about Diggory anyway."

Harry groans and sinks down in the chair and Hermione just shakes her head. They're both helpless; she honestly doesn't know what they'd do without her. She figures that it would probably a repeat of second year, only with something more terrifying than a basilisk.

x

Fleur is busy over the next few weeks on an assignment for work and Hermione is completely wrapped up in revising for O.W.L.s. She spends most of her time attempting to avoid Professor Umbridge, who has now officially sacked Professor Trelawney. Hermione can't really bring herself to be too broken up over that particular sacking, but it has freed up Umbridge's time to hone in on Hagrid. She's attending Hagrid's classes (but only the fifth year class according to both Ginny and Colin Creevy), and Hermione knows that Harry is starting to get progressively more and more worried for Hagrid. They're trying, but have had yet to be successful in speaking within him to make sure that he's okay, and he's got all these dreadful-looking injuries injuries. Hermione suspects that he's doing something for the Order at night, when Umbridge isn't watching him, but she cannot prove it.

With Trelawney out of work, divination classes are being taught by one of the centaurs from the Forbidden Forest and Hermione has just about had it with Ron suggesting that she's regretting ditching divination after third year.

"Ronald, I do not find him attractive," Hermione seethes at him one lunch period in late March. The Great Hall is overcast and rainy, like it is outside and Hermione has spent her free period revising third year ancient rune vocabulary in preparation for their exams. This has been the fifth comment of this nature in what feels like as many days. Harry is snickering behind his hands across from her and Hermione scowls at him for a moment until she rounds on Ron. Her hand is halfway under her collar, pulling on the necklace that Fleur gave her. She pulls it out and holds it up; making sure that it catches the light of the candle floating above their heads.

"Blimey," Ron whispers, his mouth slamming shut and his eyes widening.

"Exactly," Hermione hisses, shoving it back under her shirt and returning to her sandwich. "So please, stop."
Ron's staring at her and Hermione feels her ears burn slightly as she straightens her collar. "I can't believe she asked you to," and he lowers his voice with his the worst part, "marry her."

Harry's eyebrows climb up his forehead and Hermione sighs and gestures for them to lean in. "She didn't," Hermione explains. "I'm really, really sorry that I didn't tell you about this sooner, but I wanted to handle it myself."

"Handle what?" Ginny asks, sliding in to sit next to her and selecting a sandwich from the tray in front of them.

"Fleur's given her jewelry," Ron replies.

"Oh, because of what Professor Umbridge said to her?" Ginny looks to Hermione, who throws her hands up in the air, resigned to the fact that her life is apparently everyone else's business and she can't even tell a story in her own words. "Can't say I blame her."

"What did she say to you?" Harry asks, his eyes narrowing angrily.

Hermione sniffs, trying to not sound as put-out as she feels. This was her secret that she'd confessed to Ginny in a bout of homesickness not long after term started – she was not supposed to tell. "Well," and Hermione lowers her voice. "Harry, when a veela gives someone jewelry it is a statement of intent an expectation of fidelity, nothing more. There're certain pieces that are given. A necklace for women and a cuff," she taps her wrist, "for men."

"Hagrid said something about that in class, didn't he?"

And Hermione has to smile, because that was in September and he actually remembers it. There might be hope for him yet. Probably not, but she can still dream.

"Yeah," Ron nods before he turns back to Hermione. "If she doesn't want that then why'd-"

"If you would let me finish, Ronald," Hermione says exasperatedly. He holds up his hands in defeat and Hermione continues. "Anyway, when Fleur came to visit me the second Hogsmeade weekend, we ran into Professor Umbridge and she had some choice words to say about the 'unnaturalness' of our relationship."

The only reason Hermione's willing to talk about this at all is because this is the end of the lunch hour, the Slytherin table contains only a few first years, and only Professor Sinestra is sitting up at the staff table, apparently eating lunch and grading papers at the same time. Professor Umbridge cleared out about ten minutes before Ron and Harry arrived from divination. Still, she looks around nervously after she says it, because the walls have ears in a place like Hogwarts and Umbridge is already paying her far too much attention.

"Because you're both girls?" Harry asks.

"No, because Fleur is part veela," Ron replies, comprehension dawning on his face. "Tha's gotta be why she doesn't like Hagrid either. He's mixed as well."

Harry looks as grim-faced over the realization as Hermione has felt for months. "But I don't understand..." He begins and Hermione just shakes her head. There's no reasoning with it. Prejudice is part of the wizarding world, no matter how bizarre and unique Professor Umbridge's is.

After that, Ron shuts up about Firenze the Centaur and Hermione is grateful that she can go back to thinking of divination as nothing more than the load of bollocks that it is. She's able to go back to her revising and Ron's able to go back to very pointedly not revising. It's a good system, Hermione thinks, only it will end with Ron getting straight Trolls on his O.W.L.s.

At the next DA meeting, Harry teaches them how to create patronuses. Hermione's known of the spell since third year, but she's never been able to create a corporeal patronus. She remembers what it was like, to be that close to the dementors. She never wants to feel that way again in her life and it is with this determination that Hermione finds herself pondering what Harry says that session.

"There's a muggle novel called Peter Pan" he begins, standing in front of them as they sit on the cushions at the end of the Room of Requirement after their first disastrous attempt to create patronuses on their own. "And there's this scene where he's trying to get his friends to think happy thoughts. They keep suggesting happy things, but they're never quite happy enough." Harry rubs at the back of his head and Hermione rolls her eyes in Ginny's direction as Cho looks at him all doe-eyed. The pair of them are positively revolting with each other.

"So you want us to think of even happier memories," Zacharias Smith drawls. Hermione's eyes narrow and she tries not to turn around and glare at him. He's been a total prat throughout this whole process, and she knows he has designs on an O on his Defense O.W.L. and very little else.

Harry shrugs. "If I tell you to think of something that made you happy and you think of something like flying or being with your friends, you're not thinking hard enough. It's not so much a happy feeling as it is a feeling of complete and utter elation." He pulls out his wand and turns away from them, holding his arm out so that they can see the wand motion. "Expecto Patronum," he says, and they all watch as the silvery-white stag of Harry's patronus erupts from the tip of his wand.

"Then what did you think of?" Fred asks.

There's a hush that falls over the room then, and Harry's shoulders seem to crumple a little bit as he relaxes his wand arm and the patronus flickers out of sight. "I thought about the photo album that Hagrid gave me my first year. It had pictures of my parents from everyone who had known them before they died." Hermione's heart breaks for him when he adds, "I had never seen so much as a photograph of them before that point."

It clicks for Hermione then, and she realizes what she's been doing wrong. She's pretty sure that it makes a lot more sense to everyone then, as they all seem to have much better luck creating a patronus afterwards.

The silvery otter that erupts from the end of her wand is troubling, because she knows that the corporeal form of a patronus has some sort of meaning to the caster. She's always thought that otters were cute, but that was about the extent of her connection to them. She watches as it dances around the room, her mind concentrating on the memory of the first time she'd seen Hogwarts.

One by one, though, the patronuses are flickering out into silvery white mist. Hermione turns to see Harry standing by one of the door ways, speaking to what looks like Dobby. Hermione takes half a step forward, hears the absolute worst news she can imagine, and feels Ginny and Neville grab her hands and pull her towards the exit.

"Run!" Harry roars, "What are you waiting for!"

Umbridge has found them. They're going to be expelled for sure.

Hermione shakes her hand away from Ginny and points her wand at the parchment that she'd pinned to the message board with their members. She flicks her wand and whispers a liquidation charm, knowing that it can be fixed easily enough. It's all she can do before Ginny and Neville pull her from the Room of Requirement and yank her towards the sliding wall and secret staircase that will lead them three floors down near the Charms classroom.

"FIND THEM!" she hears Umbridge's voice shriek as the sliding wall panel closes behind them. "I want them all!"