A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am glad you guys liked Adrian's POV. We will be jumping between the three of them for the rest of the story. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six soon!
Hermione was not about to let the most interesting thing that had happened so far that year slip through her fingers. The non-explanation that she'd gotten from Max had captured her attention and she was not going to rest until she got the full story about the wizard who had just appeared in the Hogwarts library.
She hadn't seen him since she'd spoken to him in the library, despite looking for him every day. He didn't join the other students at lunch, and so far, Headmistress McGonagall had not made a general announcement about who he was, or why he was at the school.
When she couldn't wait any longer, Hermione finally cornered her former Head of House to demand some answers. She intercepted her on a Saturday morning, after breakfast.
"Good morning, Headmistress McGonagall," she said, hoping that sounded innocent enough.
"Good morning, Miss Granger," the older witch answered, before raising an eyebrow. "What are you fishing for now?"
Hermione was taken aback. "What makes you think that I am looking for anything at all?" she questioned. "Perhaps I just wanted to walk with you in pleasant conversation."
The Headmistress smiled. "Because, Miss Granger, you wear a particular look on your face when you want something from me," she answered, sounding fond and slightly sentimental. "That, and you made an absolute beeline for me when I left the Head Table."
The Gryffindor flushed at being caught so obviously. People always told her that her face was easy to read. "Well, as it so happens, there was something I was wondering about," Hermione said, her eyes darting to the ground in front of her. "Max Purney? I visited him in the Infirmary, but I haven't seen him since. Is he still at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, he is being housed in the staff quarters," McGonagall answered.
"Oh, well, I just wanted to see if he was still doing alright. He had quite a fall in the library," she lied. "What is his purpose at Hogwarts, if I might ask?"
McGonagall turned to face her. "Mister Purney is a visiting student from one of the local schools," she explained. "He is just here to observe for a few weeks, to see if he can bring any of our teaching methods back."
"Oh," Hermione said, with a furrowed brow. "I didn't even realize there were local schools."
"They aren't large, but there are several scattered around," McGonagall said. "Unfortunately, Hogwarts does not have the capacity to teach every witch or wizard across the UK."
"Of course," Hermione said, her mind whirring away. Was there some sort of entrance process to being admitted to Hogwarts that she didn't know about? "It was just so strange, it almost seemed like...well, Max was wearing some kind of Slytherin uniform when he showed up, but nothing like one I've seen before."
McGonagall shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose that even the students who don't go here might have some kind of affinity for certain houses. Perhaps it's related to the Quidditch matches," she explained.
That was not very convincing to Hermione at all. How would someone who wasn't at Hogwarts even follow a Quidditch team at the school? It wasn't as if they published scores in the paper, and the school didn't even allow spectators outside of the students, professors and Board of Governors.
"So you were expecting his arrival?" Hermione asked, unwilling to let this thread go just yet. There was something...not right about Max, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. "I just thought he made an unusual entrance. How did he get to the library in the first place?"
The Headmistress was quiet for a beat or two. "We were expecting his arrival," she said. "Although he came about a week earlier than we were expecting. That probably explains how he wandered into the library...he must have just been looking for my office and ended up there."
Hermione was about to question the woman more, but McGonagall quickly turned away. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Granger, I have a poltergeist to deal with now," she excused herself.
The talk with McGonagall had left Hermione feeling incredibly unsatisfied with her explanations. The Headmistress was not very convincing and Hermione was left suspecting that there was more to Max Purney's story than met the eye. Worse, she felt like Headmistress McGonagall knew more and just wasn't telling her.
It was vexing to say the least.
After that very unsatisfying talk, Hermione went to the library. Yes, it was the weekend, and most of the students would be lounging around common rooms, playing games and hanging out, but Hermione still didn't quite feel comfortable hanging around with them. Even her old Gryffindor friends like Neville and Ginny...too much had happened in the year that she was on the run with Harry and Ron, and she just couldn't quite connect any longer.
Besides, Pucey didn't work on the weekends, so she hoped that she might actually be able to get some work done without being harassed. She didn't care for being accused of breathing on the books wrong. The idea was so preposterous, she almost couldn't argue with him about it.
Grabbing a well read copy of The Goblin Treaties of 1245, Hermione went to her favorite little reading nook on the mezzanine level. The seat had a great view of the path down into Hogsmeade and at this time of day, the sunlight was perfect for reading.
Settling into the bench, Hermione sighed and looked outside. It was a very pretty day, even though the sunlight belied how cold it was. She didn't fancy braving the frigid wind just for a bit of sunshine, knowing that the warmth it provided wouldn't win out. Stretching her legs out in front of her, Hermione opened the book in her lap and began reading.
She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there before she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking out the window, she gasped when she realized that Max was walking down the path towards the little village. Snapping her book shut, she propped herself up on her knees, hands pressed to the cold glass while she watched him. Just what could this odd new wizard be doing leaving the castle, she wondered?
Biting her lower lip, Hermione briefly thought about following him. Maybe she could get to the bottom of what was off about him, if she figured out what he was doing. If she left now, she might be able to catch up with him still.
But then, she dismissed that out of hand, knowing that she wasn't allowed to leave the school grounds herself, unless it was a Hogsmeade weekend (a policy that truly rankled, seeing as she was a legal adult and had technically graduated Hogwarts already!). Briefly, she considered using one of the secret passages, before she remembered that they had all been sealed up after the war. The passage behind the one-eyed witch had, unfortunately, even caved in during the fighting.
Merlin, if only she was a bit more reckless still, she knew she would be sneaking out of the castle after him.
"What are you doing?" a sharp voice asked behind her.
Hermione whirled around, pressing her hand to her heart, her leg knocking her book to the ground. "Godric, Pucey, what's wrong with you?" she hissed. "Why are you always lurking around and intent on frightening me?"
He sneered, before bending down to pick up the book. "I wasn't sneaking around," he insisted. "And maybe I have to keep a special eye on you if you insist on throwing books around."
She rolled her eyes, hopping down from the bench. "You know that was an accident, and if you hadn't scared me I wouldn't have dropped it," she countered, pressing her hands to her lips. "Besides, aren't you off work today? I think you can leave the superior attitude at the door."
Pucey looked a bit amused. "Unfortunately, protecting the library from you seems like a job with no time off, Granger," he said, before his attention was also caught by the man walking down the path. "You accuse me of lurking, but here you are spying on some poor wizard. Who is it anyway?"
He entered the small nook with her, his shoulder bumping against hers. Hermione had to bite her tongue before she said something truly rude about him taking up space with his broad shoulders and impressive biceps. Honestly, he hadn't played Quidditch in years, who did he think he was fooling?
"It's the wizard that we found the other night," Hermione said softly. "Max. Looks like he's headed to Hogsmeade."
Pucey peered out of the window, before his jaw tightened in annoyance. "Swooning over him already, Granger?" he questioned, trying to be mean.
Hermione recoiled, realizing that she found the idea of swooning over Max to be deeply unsettling. Of course, she could objectively confirm that he was handsome and his smile was quite nice, but there was something about him that made her uncomfortable. "No!" she said, emphatically, hoping to clear up any ideas Pucey might have about her and Max.
"Don't put up too much of an argument," he said with a derisive snort, making it clear that he didn't believe her. "I can't say that I'm surprised you'd go after the first new wizard to waltz in here, now that all your friends abandoned you here."
She was upset with his words, but she knew that there was some ounce of truth to them. "I knew that I'd be returning here alone," she said, almost trying to convince herself as much as Pucey. "It's only for a few months, and then I'll return to London, and everything will be the same as it always was."
"Except Weasley and Potter will have all sorts of new experiences that they bonded over during the last year. Experiences that don't include you," he said. "So I don't imagine you'll just go slotting right back into their friendship. Weasley's probably already got a new girlfriend."
Hermione flushed. "Ron and I are not together, and I don't care if he dates someone else," she insisted, knowing it was the truth, but unsure why she cared that Pucey knew there was no lingering flame between the two of them. "And I'm not interested in Max either. Merlin, Pucey, you care more about my love life than Witch Weekly," she added with a laugh.
Pucey's cheeks flushed a bit pink, perhaps embarrassed at being called out for being interested in who she dated. Hermione was certain he couldn't care less who she kissed, but rather just wanted to be mean about her lack of boyfriend. "Well, if you aren't interested in him, then why were you watching him?" he questioned.
She bit her lower lip, unsure if she should open up to him. "I'm not sure," she said finally. "I just thought that it was odd that he was going to Hogsmeade, that's all. After all, Headmistress McGonagall said he was a visiting student, so I didn't realize that he would have privileges to go to the village. Especially when it's not a Hogsmeade weekend."
He turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed together, considering something. "Your book, Granger," he said eventually, before pressing the copy of Goblin Treaties into her hands.
Hermione looked at the book dumbfounded, while he exited her window nook and turned to leave. "Wait!" she shouted after him. "Aren't you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to take this one of out of the library?"
Pucey fought the smile on his face as he turned to look at her. "You were right - I'm off work today," he said. "But if I don't see it back on Monday, we will have words." Then he turned away, leaving her to stare at his retreating form.
She felt an odd swoop in her stomach at his promise of an argument and she was left wondering if she was actually looking forward to the interaction or not.