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Chapter 27

The days passed quicker than she could have wished.

She cried herself into a deep sleep on Tuesday. She woke up at eleven Wednesday morning and made no rush out of getting ready. The hot water from her should beat on her skin until she could no longer breathe with the amount of steam in the room. Light makeup did itself upon her face and her hair dried with a simple spell.

When lunchtime came, she left the safe haven of her room so that she could grab something to eat. Yet as she walked into the Great Hall, she could feel the glaring eyes of her friends staring at her. They were inquiring where she had been for morning classes, why she had missed them. Her friends could not believe Hermione Granger, bookworm and know-it-all extraordinaire, would miss any class… yet she had and now they wondered what they had missed. Had she been screaming for their help and suddenly give up hope, turning into a cruel, cold girl that no longer cared for anything she once loved? They knew that that was not their Hermione. She would not do anything like that. She left no problem unsolved. So, they guessed at what else it could be.

As Hermione reached the end of the Gryffindor table, grabbing an apple to take with her, she felt a set of eyes on her that she knew belonged to no close friend but neither to a foe. She looked up, her curiosity betraying her but not showing upon her face. Dumbledore's eyes graced her own with a twinkle. He did not smile, nor did he frown. She took the gesture as a "be careful." To it, she nodded. It was all she could do, and it was only the slightest of nods, nonexistent and indecipherable… unless you were looking for something, some clue exactly like such.

Harry saw it, as did Andy. At the same time, they looked to the Headmaster, wondering what silent conversation was passing between the eyes of the two. When they looked back towards Hermione, she was gone, and their frowns deepened.

Hermione took the time to pack as she ate her apple. She wanted to be prepared, have a complete game plan. Honestly, she hadn't gotten much farther than the huge lie.

So far, she was going to floo home from Dumbledore's office, saying she'd gotten permission due to an enlightenment on her own part. She would tell her dear parents that she'd figured it out, the master plan that is. She knew why they had "lost" their children, and she was sad that it didn't work for whatever reason. Now, though, she was willing to help. She would give details on Harry, on Order movements, anything. Basically, she would skip out of school for two weeks and get on the Dark side's good side, not a simple task. Regardless, if she could be on the inside of the Dark side, feeding them bogus information, then she could help end the war quicker.

It had to be done. That was as much of the plan that she could hold in her hands. All else was just improvising and improvising further. Hermione would make it work though. She had to. Her life depended upon it.

It was too easy to die, and Hermione Granger never takes the easy way out.

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"Harry, tell me why I'm in Gryffindor Common Room at 2 AM in the morning when I could be in my nice, cozy Head Boy bed?" inquired Draco.

"Come off it, Draco. It's about Hermione," Harry said exasperatedly.

Draco's eyes suddenly became alert, all weariness swept from his face. "What about her?"

"Something's up."

"No, really, boy!"

"Shut it! Let me talk."

"Hurry it up!"

"Well, it's not like I know what it is!"

Before Draco could retort, Ginny placed a firm hand over his mouth. "Tell us what you do know and right now, Harry James Potter or I'll be required to hex the two of you into last year."

"When she came down to lunch earlier, after having missed her morning classes, she was set on ignoring all our stares yet she looked up. I noticed the smallest bit of a nod and so I looked to see where her vision was set at and I turned to find it on Dumbledore. His eyes had the twinkle in them. They had a silent conversation, implying there is something we are completely oblivious to. Beyond that, did you notice how none of the teachers minded the fact that Hermione missed her classes… none of them worried or asked of her whereabouts. Snape didn't even remove points for it. There is something that the staff knows that we don't. It's something that's causing Hermione to feel the need to treat us horridly. Maybe she wants us to hate her," Harry finished, breathing deeply.

"Oh God," Ginny sighed.

"What?" he queried as everyone else simply stared.

"She's leaving."

"What do you mean? Do you know something?"

"No, but what other explanation is there. She's leaving and putting herself into a dire situation in which she could possibly die and just in case she does, she wants us to hate her so that it hurts just a little less."

"What? That's impossible."

"She's doing it, and the Order is helping her. I know it. I bet if we all walk up to her right now, for she is probably still up, and confront her about her leaving, she'll evade the matter like the bubonic plague. She'll attempt convincing us that she's not leaving or that she has no idea what we're talking about. But you'll see it. You'll see it somewhere, whether it be in how she flips her hair, or which way she looks as she answers questions. You see the lie as it unfolds beneath her skin. She'll be dying to tell us yet afraid for her life, afraid that we will hold her back.

"She probably came up with some brilliant plan that included each of us and perhaps some DA members and then realized what she was sacrificing, asking us to sacrifice. She isn't willing to give us up so easily, just lest the plan failed." Another sigh escaped Ginny's lips.

"That's crazy, Gin."

"Really, would you like to go talk with Hermione? I'm sure she's sitting quietly in the fire light, basking in what could most probably be her last night within these safe walls for quite some time."

"If you insist."

"I do." She stood with a purpose and strode out the door, making in record time to their dorms in effort of dodging Filch.

Just as she predicted, Hermione was sitting on the floor close to the dying fire. She didn't hear the door quietly open or her six friends (I hope I counted right) gathering behind her. She twitched as someone placed a hand on her shoulder. The warmth in her eyes slid away as they hardened. A glare graced her features. She faced her sister, deciding to take them in one at a time rather than overwhelming herself in one go.

"Hermione?" Ginny whispered softly.

"What?" Hermione's reply came harsh and clipped.

"Why are you leaving?"

The question took Hermione off guard. The wind was knocked out of her, and she fought to soundlessly regain her ability to breathe and speak.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, careful not to look away or move in any gesture that would signify her lying.

"You're leaving soon, aren't you? You're going on some type of mission with Order support. You're afraid you might die. You're freezing us out so that maybe we'll hate you and if death chanced itself upon you, then perhaps it wouldn't hurt as bad. Am I right?"

"No."

"Hermione," Ron's voice surprised. It had never been so soft, so emotional. She'd never heard it in such a way.

"Ronald," she forced the cruelty out.

He sighed, shaking is head in a defeated sort of way.

"Hermione," Draco had begun, "you can't just leave us. Please, don't do this to us, to me. We could help you. We'd accept whatever you're doing, be behind you completely."

"Goodnight," she declared in finality.

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Author's Note: So there is a new chapter. It was exactly three pages on word, which is definitely shorter than usual but the word count was about the same (excluding all author's notes).

Anyways, I sat down and started typing and it turned out completely opposite to what I had originally thought it would be, which you all know what I thought if you read the last chapter's author's note.

I'm sorry to say that no, I don't know when I'll update next. Christmas break is over. We had three days of school this last week and thank God it's the weekend. I have a lot of homework though. I'll try to update on weekends and maybe I'll attempt updating tomorrow.

Hermione won't be mean forever, I promise. :)

Please review, my darlings.

-Heather