Chapter Seven:
The Unknown
Come into my world,
See through my eyes
Try to understand,
Don't want to lose what we have
We've been dreaming
But who can deny?
It's the best way of living
Between the truth and the lies.
-See Who I Am by Within Temptation
"George? Where are we?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know." He said gripping her hand a little tighter. "This wasn't supposed to be where we were port-keyed to."
"I think we should leave George." Hermione said quietly. She could barely see anything in the darkness and what little she could make out was unfamiliar and frightening. They shouldn't be there, that much was clear.
"I'll take us back." He said wrapping his arms around her, preparing to apparate them both back to Hogwarts gates.
"George?" Hermione asked when nothing happened.
"I can't apparate." He whispered and Hermione stiffened in his arms. This wasn't good, no, this wasn't good at all.
A twig snapped behind them and they both whipped around. All Hermione could see was darkness.
"Someone of your intelligence should know better." A voice came from behind her.
"Silly girl, don't you know better than to play in the dark?" the voice was to their right now.
"How do you always manage to find yourself in these situations? When are you ever going to learn?" The voice came from the left.
"What's going on? Whose there?" George called stepping in front of Hermione.
"Is it really a good idea to call the unknown out?" The voice was right in front of them now, causing Hermione to take a step back.
"George, quiet." Hermione said putting a hand on his arm, pulling him back. She was beginning to see figures out in the distance, grouped in with the trees. They were getting closer.
"Do you really want to know what we are?"
They were surrounded. Hermione knew they were.
"This is what you get for playing in the darkness."
Hermione spun around but she couldn't tell where the voices were originating from. The voices echoed in the forest around them, becoming louder with each word.
"There's never anything good to find in the dark. You should know that better then anyone Miss Granger."
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green lit up the sky and Hermione felt George's hand slip from her own. The thud of his now lifeless body echoed in the now silent forest and Hermione couldn't breathe. She wanted to scream, but no sound came.
She fell to her knees, crawling through wet leaves to reach him. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. "Wake up George!" Hermione said shaking him, "Please George, wake up."
He didn't move. He wouldn't open his eyes, no matter how much she begged him too.
"Nothing good ever comes from the dark." The voice came. This time it was much closer.
"Why do you choose to keep us there?"
Hermione looked up from George's body to see someone else there, their dark robes disguising who they were.
"Why do you keep us hidden?" The words were soft but they echoed loudly in Hermione's mind, reminding her, taunting her with the knowledge that this was her fault, that it was her choices that had led them there.
A high pitched scream pierced the air. Behind her Hermione saw Mrs. Weasley on the edge of the forest, she could just make out the shape of Hogwarts in the distance behind her. She was sure that it hadn't been there a moment before.
"How did…" She turned back around, the words dying on Hermione's lips. The hooded figure was gone.
Mrs. Weasley screamed again, falling to her knees beside Hermione. She was crying hysterically, her hand reaching out for George's own. "What…what happened?" she stuttered.
"I don't…I don't know." Hermione whispered. "They just—"
"What did you do?" Mrs. Weasley's head snapped up, her angry tear filled eyes piercing Hermione where she was. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Footsteps came from behind her and she turned to see Mr. Weasley running towards her, Fred, Ginny and Ron close behind him. "George! George!" he called.
"You've killed him!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, clutching his hand to her face. "You've killed us all."
"Is that why you keep us hidden?" the voice asked. The figure was standing before her in the woods. Only she could see it there. "Because this will happen?"
"What did you do?" Hermione was forcefully turned around, forced to look into those familiar blue eyes. Eyes that looked so much like his, but they were alive and they were angry. Angry in a way his eyes had never been. "What did you do?" Fred demanded.
"I didn't do anything." Hermione said, her voice quivering. His grip on her arms was so tight.
"Don't lie to me." He said shaking her forcefully.
He looked so much like George. But he wasn't George, she reminded herself. He could never be George. He was gone. Gone because of her.
"You should have stayed hidden in the dark." The voice whispered in her ear.
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A scream died on Hermione's lips as she rocketed forward and panting for breath. She could feel tears prickling at her eyes but pushed them away, focusing on the person hovering over her.
"Are you alright Hermione?" Parvarti asked her eyebrows contorting in concern, marring her normally perfect face.
Forcing a small smile, Hermione met the girl's eyes. "I'm fine." Hermione said setting up. She must have looked a right state for Parvarti of all people to notice. "Just a silly dream is all."
"George wanted me to tell you that he's waiting for you downstairs to go to Hogsmeade. So are Harry and Ron." Parvarti told her. "Do you want me to tell them to go on without you?"
"No, I'll be down in a few minutes." Hermione said rubbing at her eyes. "Thanks Parvarti."
Hermione quickly climbed out of bed, grabbing the first thing of clothes she could find. Parvarti had already returned downstairs to pass along the message but Lavender was still in the room, putting the final touches on her make-up, and she didn't want her to see her cry. She would ask too many questions, tell too many people…
Hermione locked the bathroom door behind her, muttering a silencing charm. The first tear drop had already fallen; she knew she wouldn't be able to stop the rest. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have forgotten her sleeping potion?
She slammed her hands down roughly on the porcelain sink, but the stinging in her hands only made the tears fall harder. She had seen him die. She had seen the life drain out of him. He had died right in front of her and she hadn't been able to do anything to stop it. Just like in all her other dreams, no one had been there to save her. To save him.
She felt empty inside, like the dream had taken something away from her. Logically she knew that it had been a dream, that downstairs George was wondering why she was taking so long, but the image of his blank eyes was still engraved in her mind and a voice in the back of her mind was shouting that it would destroy her if she lost him. That it would destroy Mrs. Weasley, his family, Fred; that she alone wouldn't loose him, the world would. She could never live with that if it happened. She would never be able to live down Mrs. Weasley's haunted eyes, Fred's denial. She couldn't do that.
She didn't know how she was going to spend the day with him today. She didn't want to have to lie when he asked her if she was okay. She didn't want to see the images from her dreams every time she looked into his eyes. She didn't want to have to explain why she was crying when he hadn't done anything at all. She couldn't keep doing this.
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The moment Hermione stepped off of the stairs and into the common room she was bombarded with questions.
"Where were you?" George asked her.
"We were worried." Harry told her.
"We thought you didn't come back to the common room last night." Ron said.
"I'm fine." Hermione said quietly, though Harry didn't believe her. There were bags under her eyes and she seemed overwhelmed by their presence and want for answers, much different from the girl he had been expecting. The girl who had always been able to handle things herself, who made a point to stand up to anyone she thought was going over the line. And Harry himself thought they might be doing that. It probably wasn't fair to gang up on her, all three of them together.
"Why didn't you wake us up?" George asked, "When we woke up and it was daylight outside I was scared to death."
"It was late George." Hermione told him. She didn't have the energy to lie to them. "I had just come back from a trying night with Professor Snape and I really didn't want to have to deal with the three of you at that moment or any of the rumors that might have been started this time." She said massaging her temples. A part of her wanted to just go back upstairs and crawl into bed. She felt as if she hadn't slept at all.
"So this is about Snape again?" George asked quietly.
"This has nothing to do with Professor Snape!" Hermione said louder than originally intended. "It has to do with the fact that I can make it back from the dungeons without help. It has to do with the fact that despite what everyone thinks I can take care of myself. If you're so worried about saving some, start looking out for yourself!"
The spark was back and while Harry cringed at the angry voice, partially directed towards him, he couldn't help but be thankful that it was.
"Hermione we never—" Ron began.
"Look I get it." Hermione said in a much calmer tone. "What happened at the bookstore was scary. The idea of someone trying to hurt me, to hurt any of us," she said her eyes lingering on George, "It's scary. But you can't protect me from everything. You just can't."
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The four walked in silence as they made their way to the Entrance Hall to meet Fred and Ginny. Hermione and George were holding hands but there was a distance between them, Harry could tell and he couldn't help but think it was about more then what happened in the common-room.
"Ah, Miss Granger, there you are." Hermione turned around, dropping George's hand in the process, and saw Madame Pomfrey coming down the hall towards them.
"I didn't see you last night." She said.
"I'm sorry Madam Pomfrey." Hermione said looking around nervously. She didn't want her to say anything to make them suspicious. "Time got away from me while I was helping Professor Snape and it completely slipped my mind. I'll make sure to see you tonight."
"I'm sure you will." Madame Pomfrey said with a knowing smile. "But I was actually wondering if you could pick up a few potion ingredients for me when you're in Hogsmeade, for the sleeping potions."
"Of course." Hermione said quickly taking the list from the woman's hands. "No problem."
"Thank you dear." She said turning back around.
"They have you working all the time now, don't they?" George asked, there was a twinge of guilt in his voice.
"I don't mind." Hermione said quietly looking down at the list of ingredients in her hands.
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When they reached the entrance to Hogsmeade Hermione took immediate notice to the Aurors patrolling the area, watching the students carefully.
"So where's everyone headed too?" Harry asked.
"Well Ron's taking me to the Three Broomsticks to meet up with Dean." Ginny said rolling her eyes, "Apparently he doesn't trust Dean to get me there himself."
"To be fair, none of us have ever trusted you alone with Dean." Fred told her with a grin. "Its time you accept that fact."
"Whatever." Ginny said. "Come on Ron. If you're coming, start walking."
"Don't forget, you guys promised to meet me there in an hour." Ron told them, slowly beginning to follow Ginny. "I don't fancy spending any longer then that watching the two of them making googley eyes at each by myself."
"Don't worry, we'll be there." Harry called back to him.
"We were thinking that we'd head over to Zonko's." George said turning to Hermione. "You know, check out the competition. But I know that you need to go to the apothecary, so…"
"It's fine." Hermione told her, "Harry can take me. That's alright, isn't it Harry?"
"Yeah." Harry said quickly, "Don't worry about it." This would give him the chance to be alone with Hermione that he had been hoping for all week.
"Great." Fred said with a large smile. "Come on George, lets go see if we can sabotage something." He said nodding in the direction of Zonko's.
"Don't let me hear about anything blowing up." Hermione said giving George a peck on the cheek.
"No promises." George told her with a cocky grin.
"Come on Harry." She said grabbing his arm and pulling him along the opposite way.
As she walked with Harry towards the apothecary, Hermione couldn't help but notice that the Aurors weren't the only ones surveying the village. There were more teachers there then normal, she could see three of the four heads just where she was standing, and there seemed to be several Order members spread throughout the village as well. As she passed Dervish and Banges she could see Moody in the window, looking at the merchandise with his magical eye watching the streets. She knew it should have comforted her that there were people there to protect the, but it didn't. It only forced her to remember why they needed protecting.
"You okay Hermione?" Harry asked, his unexpected question causing her to jump.
"I'm fine." Hermione said forcing a laugh.
"Really?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.
"I...I guess I keep thinking about everything that happened when I was here last time." Hermione said gripping Harry's arm a bit tighter as an unwanted image of the Lestranges came to mind.
"Maybe we shouldn't have come." Harry said shaking. He hadn't thought of the possibility of her not wanting to come because of what had happened the last time that she had been there.
"No, its okay Harry. I'm going to have to face the horrors of Hogsmeade sometime." Hermione said with a smile.
"Besides I already told Madame Pomfrey I would come." She said stopping in front of the apothecary. "Come on, lets go in." she said reaching for the door.
Hermione grabbed a basket from beside the door and took out the list of ingredients that Madame Pomfrey had given her. Harry watched her silently as she weaved her way in and out of the aisles looking for the proper ingredients. It was obvious that she knew her way around, having been there several times before to pick something up for the professors.
"Do you want to say something?" Hermione asked looking over at him.
"Uhh…"
"Because you keep looking at me like you do." She said carefully placing a vile into her basket.
"Well yeah, there is something that I've been meaning to ask you about." Harry said stepping closer to her. He looked around and the only other person in the store was the clerk, and he seemed more interested in whatever magazine he was reading then he did the two of them.
"Well ask away." She told him.
"It's about Monday." He told her, "When we walked you to Remus's classroom."
"What about it?" Hermione asked, turning to look at him.
"You lied." He said meeting her eyes, "I could see the guilt all over your face."
"Harry—"
"Hermione I don't care why you lied, I just want to know what's going on. You said that you trusted me, but you obviously didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth."
He saw a flicker of sadness cross her face before it turned cold and emotionless. "You know, it's hard enough having everyone else not believe me when I say I wasn't with George." She didn't particularly want to do this, but Harry was pressing issues she didn't want him too. "I would have thought that at least my best friend would have believed me." Hermione told him.
Harry watched as Hermione turned away and went up to the clerk to pay. That wasn't the way he had imagined the conversation going. He had been trying to come up with a way to talk to her all week, and he had finally decided that the direct approach was the best way to confront her. Obviously that hadn't worked as well as he thought it would. He hadn't thought that it was going to be easy, but he thought that he would get through to her in the end. That she would realize he was just looking out for her and that she would tearfully confess everything that had been going on. But Hermione had never been much of crier, she had always kept her problems close to herself, he should have realized that it would take much more then accusations to get her to talk to him about anything so important.
"Are you ready?" Hermione asked, her voice bringing him out of his thoughts. She had already purchased what she needed and was more then ready to leave.
"Yeah, let's go." He said nodding towards the door.
"Do you want to stop anywhere else?" he asked once they reached the streets. He noticed her gaze shift to the bookstore, her eyes holding an almost haunted look, before she shook her head no. Harry couldn't really blame her.
They made their way silently to the Three Broomsticks where the rest of the group was already waiting for them; it was a much longer walk to and from the apothecary then it was to Zonko's. Hermione took her normal seat next to George but as Harry sat down next to Ron he couldn't help but notice she sat a little farther away from him than normal. If the troubled look on George's face had anything to do with it, he had noticed as well.
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Harry continued to watch Hermione the next couple of weeks and he saw that he hadn't been wrong in thinking that she was pulling away from George. She still sat with him at dinner, but she hardly engaged him in conversation, it was always him trying to get her to talk. She would often give him the excuse of having to study, but when he saw her in the library she was frequently staring out the window having completely forgotten about the open book in front of her.
Despite George's insistence that they needed to spend as much time together as possible before the semester ended, Hermione seemed to go out of her way not too. Harry considered talking to her about it, but she had just gotten over the last time that he had tried to get her to talk to him, he didn't want to push his luck again.
But as she came into the common room he couldn't help but notice that she came directly over to him and Ron, barely sparing a glance towards the other side of the room where George was setting with Angelina and Fred. It hadn't been the first time she had done that recently.
Hermione sat down next to Ron, giving a disapproving look at the game of wizard's chess that they were playing. They had been given tons of homework, and she knew for a fact that neither of them had started on it. She had her teacher's aid duties and occlumency lessons, and she was already half-way done with it. She sighed deeply, knowing that they would wind up waiting until Sunday night to do it, and rubbed her temples.
"You okay?" Harry asked her.
"Yeah, it's just a little headache." She said forcing a smile. "I think I'm just going to go to bed." She had had a long night of being forced to relive bad memories and Professor Snape's taunts. On some level she wanted to believe that he was trying to give her the determination to prove him wrong, to finally succeed in pushing him out of her mind, but right now all it did was make her want to agree in Harry and Ron's assessment that he was greasy git who enjoyed her pain. Truth was it was probably a bit of both.
"You sure?" Ron asked. "I almost done beating Harry. You can play me when were done. We both know you're more of a challenge than Harry."
"Hey! I've been getting better." Harry said.
"But still not good enough." Ron said moving one of his own pieces. "Checkmate." He said causing Hermione to laugh. "So how about it Mione, feel like a game?"
"No, I think I'm gonna head up but thanks for the offer, Ron." She said with a smile, causing him to blush. Harry hoped George wasn't still watching. "I'll see you two tomorrow." She said standing up.
"G'night." Ron called after her.
"Night." Harry said watching her climb the stairs towards the girl's tower. "Have you noticed Hermione acting odd lately?" he asked, his eyes not leaving the stairs where she had been just moments ago.
"You mean like just now?" Ron asked as he began resetting the chess board, "She's always like that when she gets back from helping Snape."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked his eyes narrowing on his friend.
"Well she's always acting funny when she gets back lately." Ron said, "She usually goes straight to bed and if she doesn't she's always real spacey, like she has something else on her mind. Haven't you noticed?"
"I guess…I just never made the connection before." Harry said. "She never really does tell us what she does when she's there, but knowing Snape its no picnic." He hated to think of Snape demeaning her, calling her fowl names and making her do things like scrubbing caldrons until her hands were raw or collecting the eyes of newts for potion making.
"You don't think Snape did something, do you?" Ron asked.
"Well I certainly wouldn't put it past him." Harry said darkly.
"So, what are we going to do about it?" Ron asked.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well I don't know about you, but I don't plan to let Snape keep doing whatever it is he's doing. So what do you think we should do?" Ron asked. "Should we ask her about it?"
"She wouldn't tell us." Harry said shaking his head. "She's been defending him all year, if he did do something to upset her she wouldn't want to have to tell us she had been wrong. We could follow her I guess…"
"I don't think Snape would exactly open the door for us to come in and find out just how horrible he is." Ron said.
"He would if he didn't know we were there." He told him with a grin. Next Friday they would go down the dungeons and find out what really happens every time she goes there.
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"You need to practice more." Professor Snape said in a stern voice. He offered her his hand and pulled her up of the ground. She was going to have to learn to block him out of her mind soon; someday someone was going to notice the bruises on her knees.
"You said it yourself; you're beginning to have some resistance to the potions. Soon you will become immune to them and they won't be able to stop these nightmares from coming." He told her.
"Yes sir." Hermione said quietly. It wasn't that she wasn't trying; it was just much harder then she thought it was going to be. Every time she believed that she had successfully cleared her mind, unwanted thought and images began to creep their way to the forefront of her mind, making Professor Snape privy to more information about her personal life then she was comfortable with.
"Contrary to what you may believe, I'm not telling you this to demean you." He told her. She noticed that his comment was lacking his usual sneer. "I am simply warning you. If anyone was to gain the knowledge of what I've seen, they could very easily set a trap for you."
Hermione nodded her head in understanding and took a step back in preparation.
"Now let's try again." He said raising his wand. "Legilimens!"
"You should have stayed hidden in the dark." The voice was echoing in her mind as she was forced to meet the eyes of a tearful Mrs. Weasley and an angry Fred. It was her fault. It was all her fault…. "You lied. I could see the guilt all over your face." Harry was looking at her with such open and honest eyes, just wanting his friend to open up to him. To trust him. But she couldn't do it, she couldn't tell him. She wouldn't tell him….Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange's haunting faces coming forth front in her mind….Deatheaters robes swirling around her as she screamed…And suddenly it was George standing there, leaning down to kiss her, but she quickly turned her cheek reminding herself that it was better this way. The memory of George's lifeless hand slipping from her own began to replay repeatedly in her mind.
Hermione could feel the tears prickling at her eyes. She didn't want to have to deal with this right now, not with Snape's presence in her mind, not with everything still so confusing. "Expelliarmus." She shouted, and Professor Snape's want went flying through the air. Hermione stumbled, grabbing onto the nearest desk to keep from falling. She knew using spells wasn't one of the methods he preferred, but he did say to use whatever means necessary.
"That was better, Miss Granger." He said fixing his robes. Hermione hadn't been the only one to stumble. "We will try again." He said crossing the room to retrieve his wand. He bent over to pick it up but stopped suddenly, his hand hovering over his wand as he looked up.
"Professor?" Hermione asked her voice full of concern.
"It appears we are not as alone as we thought."
Before Hermione realized what he had said he had already jumped into action, grabbing his wand off the floor and shooting a silent spell to the corner of the room. He obviously hit his target because two figures crashed to the ground, parts of them hidden by the invisibility cloak they had been wearing.
The breath caught in Hermione's throat. No, no not even they would do something that stupid, Hermione thought shaking her head in denial.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I suggest you get up before I hex you with something more powerful then that." Professor Snape said his voice dangerously low.
They both stood quickly, their wide eyes still trying to take in the scene before them.
"May I please be excused, Professor?" Hermione asked fighting back tears. She couldn't believe that they had done this, that they would do something so completely stupid, that after six years they still didn't trust her.
"Come to my office a half in hour early next week to make up the time you will miss." Professor Snape said dismissing her.
"Yes sir." She told him quietly. She sent a fearful yet furious glance at Harry and Ron before turning on her heels and leaving. She didn't want to look at them right now, let alone stay while they gave some pathetic excuse for why they had been there in the first place.
"As for the two of you." Snape said turning around to face Harry and Ron. "You have shown disrespect for a professor and a fellow student, as well as interrupting a private tutoring session. A hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor and two weeks of detention with Filch. I'm sure he'll enjoy the company. I will also make sure to notify Dumbledore and your families about this incident. Don't let me catch you in the classroom uninvited again, or it will be a hundred and fifty points each. Am I understood?"
"Yes professor." They said in unison.
"Good, now leave."
"Professor why is Hermione learning—" Harry began.
"I told you to leave Mr. Potter." Snape said, sneering down at him. It was obvious that he did not like this turn of events. "I suggest you do so before I'm forced to take off even more points. Surely you don't want to be responsible for that large of a loss to your house."
They both left quickly before he could follow through with the threat.
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Harry and Ron made their way back to the common room in silence. Of all the scenarios they had considered, all the outlandish things that they had worked themselves up about, they had never once stopped to consider that something like was happening. That she had deliberately been keeping things from them. That she had kept something as big as this from them. From him.
Thinking about it, Harry realized there had been clues. Hermione had brought up his lessons several times, claiming she was just curious and he had spotted several different times with books from the library on occlumency. She had told him that she was researching it for a paper, obviously she was lying. And that bit of information made him furious. How could she not trust him? Why didn't she tell him? He wouldn't have liked it, but he would have accepted it. He might have even been able to help. Instead she left him out of it, leaving him and Ron to discover it on their own. He was sure she was furious at their discovery as well.
"Do you reckon that's what they've been doing all year?" Ron asked him quietly from beside him. He had been unusually quiet since he had seen her with Snape.
"I suppose so." Harry said.
"Makes sense now." Ron said, "That she was defending him I mean. He's seen her memories, seen everything she obviously doesn't want us to know. One wrong word about the greasy git of the dungeons and he could spill all her secrets."
"I don't think that's it Ron." Harry told him quietly. Snape had been gentler with Hermione then he had ever been with him. He had helped her off the floor, he had let her go when he knew she was upset; they had formed some sort of a bond, that's why she had been defending him all year. That's why he had taken house points from his own house.
Harry shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn't want to think about this right now. He just wanted his best friend to explain to him why she had been lying. He just wanted her to say that everything was okay and that there was nothing to worry about. He just wanted someone to say that everything was going to be fine and that Hermione was not going to be taken away from him. By Snape, or by anyone else.
He heard Ron say something and looked up to see that they were already at the Fat Lady's portrait. He hadn't even realized that they had left the dungeons. He glanced over at Ron and wondered if his own face looked as sad and confused as Ron's did. He felt a pang of guilt at not realizing that this was just as upsetting to Ron as it was him. Hermione had lied to them both, had not trusted them both, it had hurt them both.
Harry spotted Hermione across the room the moment he entered the common-room behind Ron. She was talking to George, her cheeks flushing in anger as George spoke to her quietly. Harry had a sinking feeling that whatever she was talking about involved him and Ron. His fears were confirmed as she glared in their direction having realized they were in the room and turned her back on them both as she continued to talk to George.
"I don't want to talk about it" Hermione sighed rubbing her head. "I just want everyone to realize that I can't share everything with them." She said quietly. It was something she wanted George to realize as well.
"Everything will be okay." George told her placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They were probably just worried; you can't blame them for that."
Hermione let out an unladylike snort but otherwise kept quiet.
"Okay, maybe you can." George said, "But you guys have fought before, everything will work out in the end."
"I don't know George, I'm sorry isn't going to cut it this time."
"What exactly did they do, Hermione?" George asked.
"I said I didn't want to talk about it." Hermione told him.
"I know I just—"
"I'm going to head up to bed." Hermione said.
"What should I tell Harry and Ron?" George asked looking past her to the two boys who had just come in.
"That I don't want to talk to them." She said dropping his hand and walking towards the girl staircase. She could feel Harry and Ron's eyes following her but she didn't care. They didn't just intrude on her privacy; they had intruded on Professor Snape. She could only imagine the amount of points he had taken pleasure in taking from Gryffindor before they had left. She hoped that they had gotten detention as well, preferably with Snape so they got the worst punishment, right now she felt like they deserved it.
She had kept her occlumency lessons a secret for a reason, a while they might not have agreed with her reason, they should have respected it, respected her. She didn't push them; she didn't try to force Harry to talk about Sirius's death no matter how much she wanted too, she didn't try to figure out why Ron had been acting so weird since the Halloween Ball. She accepted that they had to figure things out on their own, that not everything was meant to be shared with your friends. Now if only they would understand that as well.
Once he was sure that she was gone, George had made his way over to Harry and Ron, who were still standing dumbly by the portrait hole as if waiting for Hermione to come back and say something to them.
"Care sharing what the two of you did?" he asked them.
"I don't think its any of your business." Ron told him.
"When my girlfriend comes back practically in tears, and tells me that it's the two of yours fault, I intend to make it my business." George told him. It was rare to see George so serious, and that made the realization of what they had done finally sink in for Harry. They both had been so worried about what could be happening that they never stopped to consider what would happen once they went, once they found out what had been happening. They hadn't stopped to think about what Hermione would think.
"Now, would one of you care to tell me what's going on, or should I call Fred over here to help me test some new products on you until you do?" George asked.
"You can't threaten us with that stuff." Ron told him. "So just shove off, we haven't had the best of night's either."
"Yeah, and according to Mione that's your own fault."
"Hermione is wrong then." Ron snapped at him.
"Hermione's never wrong; you should know that by now." George told him. "But you know what...I don't care what the two of you did. Just apologize to Hermione the next time you see her. I don't care if you have to beg on your knees, I don't want to see her crying over the two of you again."
"She was crying?" Harry asked quietly.
"She was close to it." George said. "Rambling on about the two of you following her into places you were never supposed to go...finding out things...You guys didn't catch her with some other bloke did you?" He asked, suddenly looking nervous.
Harry suddenly felt bad for him, it didn't seem like Hermione was being completely honest with anyone right now. Poor George probably thought that she went and found herself a new guy, someone she had more in common with.
"No, there was no guy." Harry said shaking his head.
"Not unless you count Snape anyway." Ron said quietly so only Harry could hear.
George looked relived, but not entirely happy. Another guy would have at least explained her strange behavior, no matter how much it would have hurt.
"I'm going to bed." Harry said, suddenly feeling very tired. He hadn't realized just how much they had hurt her. He was angry that she hadn't trusted him, but hadn't he just done the same thing. He hadn't believed her when she said that she could handle Snape herself and had followed her.
"Yeah, me too." Ron said.
"Just don't forget to talk to her." George said, "Just apologize and tell her you know what you did was wrong. She'll forgive you, she always does."
"Don't worry we will." Harry told him. But they never had the opportunity.
When they came to breakfast the next day she wasn't in the Great Hall and she didn't make an appearance the entire time they were there. They didn't have class, so they went looking for her at the library but she wasn't' there either. They tried the owlery, the astronomy tower, and the grounds but they couldn't find her. Hermione knew this school almost as well as the twins, and if she didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be.
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Hermione kept her distance the rest of the weekend. She saw Harry and Ron but she never spoke with to them. Never stayed too long in their presence, never being in the same room unless there were enough people they couldn't confront her about what they had seen. They wanted to talk to her, to find out what was going on, but they knew better then to bring up such a sensitive subject out in the open. They hoped that if they gave her some space she would come to them, but as she brushed past them in Defense against the Dark Arts Monday morning, choosing to set with Neville and Hannah Abbott over them, they began to have doubts.
"I guess this means we're gonna have to take are own notes as well." Ron said pulling out his parchment.
"I think we're going to be taking are own notes for a long time." Harry told him. Hermione was nothing if not determined.
"She has to talk to us eventually." Ron said, "We're her best friends."
Harry snorted disdainfully. "Sure we are," He told him, "That's why she told us about her….lessons." he said looking around to make sure that no one was listening.
Ron didn't answer instead he pulled out his quill and ink from his bag silently.
Remus came in a few minutes later, his eyes sweeping over the students. Harry saw him frown as his attention lingered over Hermione setting in an unfamiliar seat before looking at the empty space between Harry and Ron. He hadn't been the first person to notice Hermione avoiding them. Breakfast had been spent awkwardly trying to explain why she was setting so far away from them and why George was constantly glaring in their direction. Most people listened to them when they told them to bugger off, but others, like Lavender and Parvati, didn't leave it at that. "She's been upset all weekend. Are you two the reason she cried herself to sleep?" Parvati had asked them. She had seemed almost angry at them and Harry couldn't blame her. If they had made Hermione cry, then he didn't like them much either.
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"That essay is due, in my hands by next Friday." Remus called to the class as they filled out of the room as quickly as they could. "And I expect you to cover all five principles of rematerialization, not just some of them."
"I'm going to stay and talk to Remus." Harry told Ron. "I'll meet you in the Great Hall."
"Alright." Ron said grabbing his bag and hurrying out the door, ready to get to lunch.
"Hello Harry." Remus said as he walked towards his desk. "Did you want to talk about the essay?"
"I wanted to talk, just not about the essay." Harry told him.
"Then why don't we go up to my office?" Remus suggested. "You can leave your things down here."
"Thanks." Harry said quietly following him up the stairs. He needed someone other then Ron to talk about this too, someone he could trust. Remus would be able to help him find a way to fix what he had done.
"How have you been doing Harry?" Remus asked setting down behind his desk.
"Alright, I guess." Harry said.
"Anything particular that you wanted to talk about?" He asked.
"Hermione."
"That name does seem to come up a lot when we talk." Remus told him with a smile. "Something you'd like to share with me?"
"What?" Harry asked confused noticing Remus's knowing smile.
"Never mind." Remus said shaking his head. "Tell me what's going on."
"We were worried about her, Ron and me. She's been acting odd lately, especially after she's gone to her teacher's aid with Snape each Friday night."
"What do you mean odd?" Remus asked setting straighter in his seat.
"More tired then usual, spacey, more quiet than normal…I don't know she's been acting funny all year if we had thought about it. But on Fridays….we just wanted to find out what had been going on. So we followed her."
"And what did you see?" Remus asked, he appeared outwardly calm but his eyes revealed someone worried.
"She was with Snape; he was giving her occlumency lessons."
"What?"
"We followed her in the invisibility cloak and they caught us. She and Snape both were furious."
"Understandably." Remus said quietly.
"But it's been a week and she still won't talk to us." Harry said.
"I did notice you weren't setting together in class." Remus said, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"You know Hermione, when she makes up her mind to do something, she does." Harry said with a wry grin, "This time she decided to avoid us."
"I just thought that he was treating her badly." Harry continued. "You know making her scrub caldrons repeatedly and yelling at her whenever the slightest opportunity to do so came up. I never thought that it would be her learning Occlumency. Why would she be learning Occlumency?" he asked. It had been something he had been wondering a lot lately.
"Honestly Harry, I'm not sure." Remus told him. "I wasn't aware that she was." Harry could tell from his tone of voice that he was telling the truth and that he was trying to fight back his own anger. He apparently didn't like to be kept in the dark either.
"The worst thing was that we never even realized it." Harry said. "Occlumency lessons aren't fun, especially with Snape. I hate that she had to go through that alone, no matter what the reason. We were so distracted by ourselves that she could keep this from us. She's always asking us if were okay, she's always comforting us, me, not the other way around.
"Some best friends we are." He snorted.
"Harry the best advice I can give you is to apologize." Remus told him, "Tell her what you told me. That you were worried and you did something that you shouldn't have and you realize that now. Hermione knows you and Ron do stupid things sometimes, she'll understand. You may just have to wait a few more days until she's willing too."
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"I think you might have spelled Animagus wrong." Hermione told Neville with a smile. "And you might want redo your last paragraph, you repeat a couple things, but other than that it's great."
"You think so?" Neville asked with a grin.
"Of course, Neville." She said handing back the paper to the blushing boy.
"Thanks for helping me with this stuff Hermione." Neville told her. "I understand if you would rather hang out with Harry and Ron, or be with George instead of me. You've been helping me for awhile."
"It's no problem, really." She told him. "George has his own friends and a twin to create mischief with. I'm not really in the mood for that right now. And right now I'd much rather be with you then Harry and Ron."
"You guys are fighting again." It was more of a statement then a question.
"You have to be talking, to be fighting." She said quietly.
"Do you…Do you wanna talk about it?" he stuttered.
"That's sweet Neville, but no. Right now, I'd much rather forget about it." She said. She could see the relief written all over his face. "I will however help you with your transfiguration if you want."
"You're working on the Transfiguration essay?" Hannah Abbott asked shyly coming up to the table.
"Yes." Hermione said.
"Do you think you could help me with mine?" she asked.
"Sure." Neville said standing up, "I mean, if Hermione doesn't mind."
"Not at all." Hermione said smiling at the blushing Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. At least someone was happy.
"I'm just going to go grab a couple of books that will help." She told them standing up. "I'll be right back." She said heading towards the back of the library. She quickly glanced behind her to see the two of them talking quietly together and she couldn't help but smile. She was still grinning like an idiot, skimming the titles of the books in the transfiguration section, when Malfoy stepped in front of her.
"Why the long face?" he asked with a smirk. "Or is it always like that. It's so hard to tell with your kind."
She rolled her eyes but chose to ignore him, not wanting to give him the pleasure of knowing he was upsetting her.
"Seems like the Gryffindor trio has finally broken up." He continued, "What happened, Potty and Weasel cheat on you with each other?"
"Shove off Malfoy." Hermione said turning away from him.
"Seems like I hit a sore spot." He said smirking. "What happened, Granger? Suddenly realize you had higher standards then your friends. Probably not, considering who you're dating. So I guess that means they finally recognized you for the filthy little mudblood that you are."
"Why don't you just slither back to your common-room?" Hermione ground out between her teeth.
"Just speaking the truth, you can't blame a guy for that." He said. The annoying smirk had returned to his face, before he turned around and left. She felt the urge to hex him but knew it was unfair to curse someone with their back turned, besides they were in the library, if the curse when astray it could hit something important.
"He's got a point you know." Ginny said from behind her, causing Hermione to jump and spin around.
"Ginny…" She said shaking her head.
"Everyone's been wondering what happened between you three." Ginny continued. "But none of you are willing to tell."
"That's because it's no one business." Hermione said. "I have enough rumors going on right now without explaining why I'm angry with Harry and Ron."
"You have even more by not explaining." Ginny told her, causing Hermione to look away. "Besides, I'm not talking about telling the entire school. I'm talking about telling your friends, telling your boyfriend."
"George doesn't have anything to do with this. And neither do you." Hermione said.
"I just want to know what's going on, Hermione." Ginny said. "You've been avoiding Ron and Harry for a while now. They keep trying to get you alone so they can apologize, but you never stay long enough in the room to let them."
"They violated my trust, Ginny." Hermione told her quietly. "They pushed issues I repeatedly told them to let go of. They followed me with that damn invisibility cloak…" She trailed off before turning around. "I'm not going to forgive them, just because they say sorry."
"But shouldn't you at least give them a chance?" She heard Ginny ask quietly. When she turned back around, she was gone.
If she was honest with herself she knew Ginny was right, that she was deliberately not giving them the chance to explain themselves. She was angry with them, angry at what they did but that wasn't the only reason she was avoiding them.
Right now she had reason to push them away, a reason to say that she didn't want them there. Once she forgave them, they wouldn't understand why she was trying to distance herself from them.
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"Hermione! Hermione slow down!" Harry said hurrying down the hallway after her. She wasn't running but she was still a lot farther down the corridor then him.
"Come on Hermione, we're not going to just go away!" Ron called. Hermione seemed to slow down for a moment, before she continued at her previous pace.
"I have to get to Professor Vector's office." She said, still not looking at them. "I have to be there in ten minutes."
"Then why don't you slow down and talk to us, so you get there on time." Ron said finally catching up to her. He had his hand on her arm, stopping her from moving any farther.
"Come on Mione, please just talk to us. Give us a chance to explain." Harry said. And that please almost got to her, made her want to hug him and tell her everything was forgiven. But she didn't.
"I would have thought by now you would have realized that I don't want to talk to you." She said quickly moving out of his grasp. "Now I'm in a hurry."
"We were worried about you." Harry called after her.
"Then why didn't you just ask me?" Hermione asked whipping back around.
"Because we…" Ron was unsure how to finish.
"We didn't think you would tell us." Harry told her.
"So you didn't trust me again?" Hermione asked her voice getting higher. "Oh, that really makes me want to forgive you." She said beginning her walk again.
"Well we were right weren't we?" Harry asked, following her. "You never told us what was really going on."
Hermione stopped suddenly, making Harry almost run into her and Ron into him. She turned back around, a furious look in her eyes. "I didn't tell you, because it was none of your business." She said. "The sooner you realize that, the sooner I'll consider accepting your apology. I've let you be this year, the both of you. I haven't gotten into your business; I haven't tried to make you talk when I knew you didn't want to, no matter how much I wanted too, I realized that not everything in your lives was my business, even if I was your best friend." She said looking between the two of them. "Was it really too much to ask the same of you?"
Harry and Ron gaped at the angry girl, unsure of how to respond. She was right, he knew that, but he had never realized that before. He had never realized what she had been trying to do for them. She had been a comforting presence since Sirius death, in a wonderfully predictable and dependable kind of a way. She hadn't asked him to cry on her shoulder, she hadn't expected him to talk about how she was feeling. She had realized that he wasn't ready to talk, had distracted him with other things…He just hadn't recognized what she was doing before.
Hermione shook her head at the two boys, they didn't get it and she didn't expect them too. She turned to go and almost ran into a body wearing black robes.
"Professor Snape!" she said stepping back in surprise.
"The headmaster sent me to find the three of you; he 'd like to speak with you." He said. "Luckily your loud voices carried off of the walls making it easier to find you."
Hermione blushed as Professor Snape sneered down at her. If she hadn't been embarrassed after what happened at her last occlumency lesson, she was certainly embarrassed now. They had just given Professor Snape another reason not to like the Gryffindor trio. Hermione couldn't help but feel like this time, they deserved it.
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Harry, Ron and Hermione silently followed Professor Snape into Dumbledore's office, he and Remus were already there waiting for them. Remus offered them all a comforting smile as they took their seats across from Dumbledore.
"Thank you all for coming." He told them. "Lemon drop?" he asked offering the box.
Harry and Ron both politely refused but Ron took one as well as Dumbledore.
"We asked you to come here to talk about the Christmas holidays." He explained. "After the latest gatherings, it has been confirmed that Hermione is in fact a target. One rather high up on their list in fact."
"Lovely." Hermione said looking down at her hands.
"There's no need to worry, Hermione." Remus said with a reassuring smile, "Hogwarts is safe."
"What about when I go home for Christmas?" Hermione asked. "What about my parents?"
"You will be going back to the Burrow with the Weasley's." Dumbledore explained, "As will Harry. Your parents have already been notified already Mr. Weasley. As a precaution we would like for none of you to mention it to your other classmates. If they ask you where you are going for the holidays just say you're going home."
"You think one of our classmates would do something?" Harry asked.
"I'm sure it would be accidental, but there is a chance that they might let something slip. They might be talking to their family or a friend and someone could overhear that shouldn't. Or maybe they wouldn't say anything at all. We can't know and it's better to take precautions." He explained.
"Don't worry" Dumbledore said noticing the worried expressions on Harry and Ron's faces. "The Burrow is one of the safest places to be right now. There are wards all around the house and there will be several Order members staying there throughout your stay. As you know there are already wards around your parent's house Miss Granger, though it is unlikely they will attack when you are elsewhere."
"What do they want with me?" Hermione asked softly. It had been the question she had been thinking about since the beginning of summer. It was the question that no one ever seemed to want to answer.
"Hermione we've been over this…" Harry said guilt apparent all over his face.
"Harry unless you've recently become a Deatheater, I don't think you can answer that question." She snapped at him. She was still angry at him and he wasn't helping his cause by assuming he knew things he obviously didn't. That was why they were currently fighting in the first place.
"We cannot answer that Miss Granger either, as we do not know."" Dumbledore told her quietly. "We are working hard on finding out more, but right now that is all that we can tell you."
"As soon as we know something we'll tell you." Remus said, earning a sharp look from Professor Snape.
"Thank you, professor." Hermione said softly, she continued to stare at her hands not meeting any of the men's gazes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to my room if that's alright. Can someone please inform Professor Vector that I don't think I'm going to make it to her office tonight?"
"Of course, Miss Granger." The Headmaster said with a smile. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley you may go too."
Hermione rose from her seat quickly, hoping to escape the stares of the others in the room. They were watching her as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment. She didn't know what they expected, this wasn't news to her. She knew she wasn't safe. Her dreams never let her forget that. This meeting did nothing more then to remind Harry and Ron of another reason to constantly follow her. They were doing it right now as they followed her down the stairs and into the hallway. She knew that this time it was going to be much harder to escape them.
"Will you talk to us now?" Harry asked coming up next to her.
"Is there really an explanation for what you did?" Hermione asked him.
"Of course there is Hermione." Ron said with a small smile. "We always have a reason, even if it's a bad one."
"There's an empty classroom up ahead." Hermione said shaking her head at Ron, "Let's talk in there."
"Alright." Harry said taking her arm and guiding her forward. He didn't want her getting away.
Harry and Hermione went into the classroom first, followed by Ron who quickly shut the door behind them before muttering a silencing spell.
"I figured we wouldn't want anybody overhearing us." He said at Hermione's raised eyebrows.
"Probably not." Hermione said quietly as she hopped up on one of the desk nearby "Now, I think the two of you promised me an explanation for what you did. I for one would like to hear it, it must be fascinating."
"There's no need for sarcasm." Harry said.
"I think I'll decide that for myself." Hermione said glaring at him. "Now start explaining before I start hexing."
"Look Hermione we…we noticed you acting odd after your meetings with Snape." Harry said looking at her intently. "We thought, well we thought that he was being the bastard that we all know he can be. We thought he was treating you unfairly and that you just were saying anything." He continued, "We were just worried."
"Why didn't you just ask me?" Hermione asked with a sigh.
"Probably for the same reason you didn't tell us in the first place." Harry said.
Hermione's face dropped, guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. "I didn't tell you because…well because I thought you'd think it was stupid." Hermione said quickly.
"Stupid?" Ron asked.
"Look, I wanted to learn occlumency." Hermione lied, "I read a lot about it last year when Harry told us about it and I had been thinking about it over the summer. I asked Professor Dumbledore about it when we came back to school and he permitted me to study it with Professor Snape. It really is a useful skill and I thought that once I learned, I might be able to help Harry learn. I know your experience with Professor Snape wasn't that pleasant, but I thought maybe I could teach you instead."
"But my scar hasn't been hurting this year." Harry said shaking his head. "Dumbledore explained that Voldemort has considered it to be a threat now. He has as much control over it as I do. There's no need for occlumency."
"Right now there isn't, but what happens if he starts sending visions again?" Hermione asked, "You may be able to recognize them for what they are but that doesn't mean they won't hurt. It doesn't mean that it won't hurt to see images of things you can't control…" She shuddered slightly, remembering the endless images that she could still see when she closed her eyes, and hoped the boys didn't notice.
"Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Sorry." She said with a small smile, looking up at him. "I just…I just want to be helpful. This was a way that I could be."
"So you didn't tell us because you thought we'd think it was stupid?" Ron asked slowly. Hermione realized that it sounded a bit ridiculous as well, but it was the best she could think of off hand.
"I know it sounds silly but if the two of you heard the way that you talk about Professor Snape sometimes you'd understand."
"I guess I get it." Harry said hopping up on the desk next to Hermione. "I probably wouldn't have understood if you just told me, I'm still not sure I understand it…"
"You don't have to understand it, you just have to trust me. You just have to trust that I have secrets, that I can't and won't tell you everything just like I don't expect you to do the same. I need you to trust that I know what I'm doing."
"Of course we—" Ron began.
"No you don't." Hermione told him, "Or else neither of you wouldn't have been there. I can't promise either of you one hundred percent disclosure on my life. Honestly, I don't think either of you would want that knowledge. But I would never keep something from you with the purpose of hurting you, you know that right?"
"Of course we do." Harry said slowly. The way she was talking, the look in her eyes, it made him think that there was something that she wasn't saying, that she wasn't talking about her occlumency lessons with Snape.
"Good." Hermione said forcing a big smile.
"Then we're friends again? If we set next to you in Defense, you won't go set with Neville?" Ron asked.
"No," Hermione said, "I won't set next to Neville. But you do still have to take your notes."
Ron groaned loudly and Harry couldn't help but smile, some things never changed and for that he was grateful. Things were back to normal. He had figured out what was causing Hermione to act strangely and she had finally forgiven him for it. She had willingly opened up to him. Things weren't perfect, they were still in danger, but when were things ever perfect?
But if things were back to normal, Harry couldn't help but wonder why things still felt so wrong, why Hermione still had a slightly guarded look as she talked with Ron, her best friend. Why she hadn't spoken with them about this before. Why every time he looked at her, he felt her slipping away.
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Hermione climbed in the portrait hole after Harry and Ron, shaking her head at something stupid Ron had said. As much as she hated to admit it, didn't want to admit it, she really had missed her best friends. She had missed how Ron could make her laugh without even trying, she had missed Harry's strong presence and the feeling of being needed whenever they had waited too long to do their homework; she missed talking to the people who knew her the best.
"So you two finally convinced her to forgive you." George said coming to stand in front of them. He was wearing a goofy grin that exceeded his twin as he came up beside him.
"About time." Fred said. "I was beginning to think that she was never going to forgive you and you would fail all your classes. Mum wouldn't have liked that."
"Not at all." George agreed. "So what did it take? Begging? Groveling? "
"Did they have to promise you their first born?" Fred asked.
"Nothing quite so dramatic." Hermione said with a small smile.
"We just apologized." Harry said quietly.
"Well that's disappointing." Fred said, shaking his head and walking away.
"George?" Hermione asked and then paused. "Do you…do you think we could go and talk for a moment?"
"Sure." He said with a smile. "I'm just happy things are back to normal. Our dormitory's open if you want to talk there."
"Okay." Hermione said nodding her head. George took her hand in his own and it took all her willpower not to flinch at the memory of her dream. This was the real George, she reminded herself. He was safe, he would be safe; she would make sure of that.
She followed him up the stairs silently, not being able to concentrate on what he was saying. She thought it was something about her and Harry and Ron but she wasn't sure.
"So what did you have on your mind?" George asked guiding her into the room.
"Nothing you're going to like." Hermione mumbled.
"What?" He asked turning back to look at her.
"Nothing, let's just set down." She said gesturing towards his bed.
"Whatever the lady wishes." He told her.
"George…"
"Hermione…" He mimicked with a smile.
"George I know I haven't…been acting like I should lately. I've had a lot going on and I let it get to me and I'm sorry for that." Hermione told him.
"I understand." He said, "I know I can't be the only thing in your life. Though if I could—"
"Please, don't say whatever your about to say." Hermione interrupted him. "I don't deserve it." She said quietly. She glanced down at the comforter hoping to find the courage to say what she needed. "The end of the semester is just a couple of weeks away" she continued, "And I know you want to spend as much time together as possible before you have to leave, but I think that's only going to make it harder to say goodbye. So maybe we should start saying goodbye now."
"What?" George asked. The hurt was written all over his face and knot that had taken permanent residence in Hermione stomach got tighter.
"George, right now everything is so crazy and complicated and you're going to be gone soon, you're not going to be here anymore."
"But I thought that we had this all figure out." George said.
"I just don't think I can do it." Hermione said, "Not with everything that's happening."
"With what's happening? What do you mean with everything that's happening?" George asked her.
"Nothing." She says quickly. "I'm sorry George, I don't mean to make things awkward for you over the holiday or upset you, that's the last thing I want. I hope you know that. I just can't…"
I can't watch you die because of me. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say them. She knew that he wouldn't understand, that he would try to stay. She couldn't allow that.
"Please, just don't hate me." She said instead.
"I could never hate you." He said pulling her into hug. She melted into the embrace, clinging to him as if she would never see him again, like one of them were dying and he could tell that she wasn't telling him the truth, that there was more to it then she was letting on. This was killing her and he wished he could stop it, for the pain it was causing for the both of them, but she had made up her mind and it was obvious she wasn't changing it. He didn't hate her, but he certainly hated her decision.
A/N: There, finally I got this out. I really am sorry about the length it takes sometime but I can't control when I'll have time for it. And this time I actually have a good excuse. My old computer is no more. It died along with most of the things saved on it. So not only did I have to wait until I got a new computer, I had to wait to find all my files that I had saved different places and redo a bunch of things that never got saved in the first place. I had the first half of this written and then I had to redo the whole thing and I didn't really have the time to do that until I got sick. Which is good for you guys but bad for me.
This was a hard one to write because so much was happening and changing and I needed it go over a large span of time. Hopefully it all came out smoothly and you guys like it. I know I took some liberties with certain things, like the apothecary in Hogsmeade that I don't think is supposed to be there and that they would be having another Hogsmeade weekend so soon. I know that there only supposed to happen four times a year, but for my purposes I'm going to say that they have one every month. This is a fan fiction, so I figured I can get away with this.
Thank you so much for the reviews, I always love getting them and everyone is so nice. I can't say thank you enough. The next chapters all lined out, so it should be out sooner then this one, but no promises.
There's in my opinion, a really big clue about the dreams in the wording choices used in the dream at the beginning. The 150 points that Harry and Ron lost if anyone can find it. That and a cookie, but you have to buy that yourself.
Please Review!!
P.S. Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm horrible at that part, which I'm sure you know by now. Review!!