And there it is, the second chapter! Much quicker then I usually would update so hope you all enjoy it!
Much love x
Chapter 2: Nightly Errands make for Heart Breaking Palpitations
Hermione's breath was harsh in her ears as she stepped lightly under Harry's invisibility cloak, her wand safely tucked into the back pocket of her jeans and just as long as Mrs. Norris stayed away, her plan should go smoothly.
Perhaps she should have asked Harry for the Marauders Map she thought as she peeked around the corridor leading up to Dumbledore's office. She could see the grand eagle from where she stood, its wings curved beautifully and outspread, perched proudly above the lavish staircase that led up to the door of the Headmaster's office. The brilliant gold was now paled in the moonlight's hue. It was too late to turn back now Hermione thought.
As she made her way towards the staircase a sudden high-pitched howl startled her. She quickly glanced up at the tall windows that overlooked into the green of the Hogwarts grounds below and she could see the moon was full and bright tonight. She mentally scolded herself trying to calm her jitteriness. She needed to concentrate she reasoned so she strode forward confidently and stopped in front of the archway.
After taking a final glance around her, making sure she was alone, Hermione pulled off the cloak. She draped it over her arm and slipped her wand out of her pocket. She hoped dearly she could live up to her title of being the smartest witch of her age, otherwise losing her status as a Perfect and her dreams of Head Girl would be the least of her worries.
She stilled herself, raised her wand confidently and swished it in the way she'd seen Madam Pomfrey execute a few weeks earlier and spoke clear, staring the eagle directly in the eye, "Lemon drop!"
Hermione waited as nothing happened at first. Then the silence broke, the rocky creak was music to Hermione's ears as the eagle began to turn and the staircase began to climb. She took one more final glance behind her before hopping onto a step and she ascended higher and higher towards the Headmaster's office.
Not entirely sure what she would find when she reached the door she slipped her wand back into the pocket of her jeans and pulled the invisibility cloak over herself just as a precaution.
When she had reached the first landing the staircase slowed to a halt, the door in front of her was ruby red with 'Headmaster' scribbled in elaborate golden script across the front. Grasping the golden knob Hermione turned it slowly, edging the door open just wide enough for her to slip inside and quickly closed it behind her.
She'd been in Dumbledore's office on previous occasions. All manner of titled books, in various languages, lined the curved walls whilst amongst the shelves previous headmasters of Hogwarts slumbered in their hung frames, a few of them even snoring peacefully. The books scratched at Hermione's fancy, what she wouldn't give to be allowed a few hours in the headmaster's personal library! She had no choice though; she had to silence that particular itch in favour of her errand. Trinkets and gadgets that Hermione had only seen in illustrations were scattered and placed neatly around the office and walls. The only change from the last time she stood in this room was the office was now quiet and dark, save for the slight silver hue from the full moon that was peaking in from one of the high windows.
Stealthy Hermione made her way up the stairs towards the headmaster's desk, glad to see Dumbeldore's Phoenix wasn't present on his perch, she was sure she wouldn't get away with this if he were here. She slipped past the desk and moved to the mirrored cabinets that lined the far end of the office, silently opening one of them just as she had seen Dumbledore do.
She scanned the contents and it didn't take long for her to find her prize, it looked identical to the drawing she had been shown. A silver pocket-watch with a small red jewel locked tightly in the center of its outside surface; it twinkled at her from the shelf second to the bottom. Hermione slipped a hand from inside the cloak and lightly picked up the trinket.
The chain whispered softly along the surface as Hermione drew the watch to her, it felt cool and light in her hand. She tried to open it but it was sealed shut. She turned it over in her hand and saw on the back there was a tiny keyhole against the watch's clasp. She frowned and scanning the contents of the shelf again but didn't seeing a key. Nobody had said anything about a key.
"Ah!"
Hermione jumped from her skin as she spun on her heel clutching the trinket closely to her chest looking back at the office, her eyes scanning the space wildly but found nothing.
"Alfred?" came another voice, exasperated and gruff from sleep, "What in the blazes are you yelling about at this hour?" This was accompanied by additional voices, all grumbling and a few annoyed murmurs and tuts.
Heart still hammering against her chest Hermione let out a sigh of relief. It was only the bleeding paintings!
"I was dreaming and then there was a sound, it woke me."
"There's always a sound with you! Like you said you were dreaming. Go back to sleep before you wake the whole castle!"
Hermione could still hear grumbled and muttering about jumpy old wizards as she remained rooted to her spot. As the voices slowly quieted and returned to silence she slipped the pocket watch into her second back pocket and slowly closed the mirrored cabinet door.
She made her way silently back around Dumbledore's desk, down the smooth stone steps and towards the door just as it suddenly swung open, a lit wand nearly blinding her as she jumped out of the way, clutching the cloak tightly around herself.
She instantly recognized the curtain of greasy black shoulder length hair of Severus Snape, his usual robes as dark as ever. He looked around the office suddenly frowning deeply his eyes narrowed.
Hermione didn't dare move or even breathe; she could feel her heart racing. If she was caught now-!
But just as suddenly he had paused the potions master strode purposefully towards the headmaster's desk, his robes bowing behind him rather impressively. Hermione watched curiously as he rounded the desk, ruffling through some paperwork quickly, obviously searching for something, before pulling a vial of gleaming yellow potion from one of the draws. Hermione couldn't recognize the liquid from such a distance away.
"You see!" came Alfred's cry again as the other wizards grumbled about lights at ungodly hours, "I told you I heard something! Young man, can't you see we're trying to sleep?!"
Snape only spared a reproachful look at Alfred's painting but said nothing to the old headmaster as he rounded the desk, quickly making his way back towards the door just as Hermione sprung into action. She darted out the doorway and scurried silently down the stone staircase reaching the bottom just as the stairs began to move back downwards.
Hermione flattened herself against the wall of the corridor, her heart beating painfully loud in her ears as she tried to keep her breathing silent just as Snape appeared at the bottom, and without pausing, strode forward and down the corridor away from her and Dumbledore's office.
It was only once Snape's robes disappeared from sight around the end of the corridor did Hermione let her clutched breath go, resting her hands on her knees trying to calm her beating heart as she took in some deep long breathes. She almost laughed as the adrenaline slowly dissipated from her body. She was never doing that again!
When she was sure she'd found her nerve again and after checking she was completely covered by the cloak Hermione pushed away from the wall and hurried away from Dumbeldore's office and in the direction of the Gryffindor common rooms.
As she walked she could still feel the silver pocket watch tucked securely in her jean's pocket. She finally allowed the feeling of triumphant success to wash over her. After months of researching and searching the castle she'd finally succeeded in attaining the trinket! Ha! Let the others say and think what they wanted about her, she'd attained this item on her own! None of them would have been able to, that was for certain!
Her utopia of success however was short-lived. It was only once Hermione was tucked safely in her old four-poster bed and sleep had nearly overcome her did she suddenly sit upright in horror.
A hand came to her mouth as she suddenly realized what had made Snape pause when he had entered Dumbledore's office and looked around with that sharp suspicion. He had expected to find an intruder or Dumbledore, at least, because the golden eagle was not at its rightful position waiting at the bottom of the stairs! And Alfred had certainly confirmed it to Snape when he had called out the second time!
Oh God! Hermione thought as she dropped her face into her hands, the shock of her idiocy amazing her whilst her rational instantly fought back saying Snape would have no proof she was in any way involved.
Needless to say Hermione Granger got very little sleep that night.
000
Harry slipped into the seat next to Ron and opposite Hermione the following morning at breakfast. He didn't sleep very well the previous night. He'd awoken to the sound of high-pitched howls coming from outside the dormitory window, his brow feeling clammy. It had been about 2am when he'd last checked his watch and after that he'd had a restless sleep of disorientated dreams. Mostly colours and flashes of faces; his parents, Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, his classmates, and then places; Hogwarts grounds, Private Drive, a dark and abandoned home near a softly lit church, a small candle-lit room with a roaring fireplace with an old rotting wooden floor. What was even worse was the burning in his scar this morning, he knew it would be giving him a terrible headache soon. He didn't want to mention anything just yet though, especially with Hermione present, she was bound to fuss. So he reached for a piece of warm toast instead.
Hermione glanced at him over the top of the Daily Prophet, she looked just as tired as Harry felt, there were dark circles under her eyes and she looked paler then usual. Harry suspected that has something to do with her nightly adventures involving rosewood.
"You look tired," she greeted him rather ironically.
Harry simply shrugged his shoulders, pouring pumpkin juice for himself, and instead asked, "Everything go alright last night?"
Hermione simply nodded across the tablet at him, a secret twinkle in her brown eyes, and Harry took that as a yes.
"Last day of classes today!" Ron announced happily, "You sure you don't want to come stay for the holidays Hermione? Mum says you're more then welcome and she makes the best Christmas dinners!"
"It's okay Ron," Hermione took a sip from her orange juice, "Tell her thank you but my parents want to visit Egypt again this Christmas, they went before I was born and said it was amazing and that I'd love it too. All that ancient history of the Egyptian Gods and the customs of the people are rather fascinating don't you think? And the pyramids would be interesting to see! I suppose one of the disadvantages of not going to a Muggle school means I miss out on the history of the Muggle world, from their perspective at least."
"Bill showed us some flesh eating beetles when we went to Egypt," Ron said through a mouth full of maple syrup pancakes, "they were used to torture people, eat them from the inside out!"
Harry grinned whilst Hermione made a chocking noise as she roughly swallowed her orange juice before her reply came dripping with sarcasm, "Charming."
End of Chapter 2.
Please R&R!