3 months earlier.
"Malfoy's a Death Eater!" screamed Harry in frustration. He was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. Rain pounded against the windows and the candles flickered in their holders. Almost everyone had already gone to bed except for a few 1st years gossiping in a corner, jealously eyeing the three friend's seats. Hermione, Ron and Harry were in their 6th year of Hogwarts and so had first dibs on the best seats in the room; Ron still couldn't get over his new found power.
"Harry! Be reasonable! You-know-who would never let someone as young as Draco become a Death Eater." Hermione argued from her red antique armchair.
"How do you know! This is Voldemort we're talking about right? Or are we talking about another Dark Lord that wants to take over the magic world 'cause if so, then my bad." Ron chuckled, lying across a couch that he claimed for his own, but was quickly silenced with one of Hermione's sharp looks.
"Perhaps I don't know Harry! But how do YOU know? How can you be sure?"
"I just know." Harry replied stubbornly.
"That's not enough Harry!" Hermione got up from her chair, knocking her books off a table nearby. "You were sure about You-know-who capturing Sirius and look how that turned out! Sirius is dead!" Hermione yelled desperately before clapping her hand over her mouth. "Harry, I'm so sorry." she stuttered, "I didn't mean it…". Hermione searched Harry's stony face for a sign of forgiveness but he strode past her and murmured something about going to bed. Hermione turned to Ron but he just shrugged, his face pressed against a cushion. Hermione flopped back onto the armchair and groaned. Ron stiffly stood up and stretched before patting Hermione on the back and heading towards the boy's dormitory. After a second, Hermione grabbed the cushion Ron was previously drooling on and smashed her face into it repeatedly. "Boys! Are! So! Stupid!" The 1st years in the corner started to laugh at Hermione's antics but before you could say 'Reducto' Hermione exploded their dinky chairs, her face still buried within the feather cushion.
"Boys! Are! So! Stupid!"
----
Hermione found Harry sitting in the Great Hall poking at his toast and jam the next morning. She cautiously sat down next to him and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't get up. "Harry. I'm so sorry. I was just so frustrated with you. I didn't mean it all."
"No, Hermione. You're right. If I had just listened to you… maybe… maybe he'd still be alive…" Harry said to his breakfast. Hermione reached out her hand and touched Harry's arm. He looked up and gave her a teary-eyed smile and held her hand tightly in his.
"Come on, we have Charms now." Hermione got off the bench and waited patiently for Harry to get up.
"Hermione, I'm still convinced about Malfoy you know." Hermione closed her eyes and massaged her temples using her fingertips.
"Ok Harry. Let's say that Malfoy is a Death Eater. What do you think he's going to do?"
"I don't know. That's what we have to find out!" Harry and Hermione strolled out of the Great Hall and bumped into Ron cautiously looking around a corner.
"Ron!" Hermione waved to him. Ron jumped and shut the door he just came out of quickly behind him.
"What's in there?" Harry asked curiously, trying to see around Ron's form.
"Nothing!" Ron replied quickly. "What's for breakfast? I'm starving!" Ron pushed Harry and Hermione back into the Great Hall but Hermione caught him throwing a look at the old oak door.
Ron sat down heavily at the Gryffindor table and proceeded to shove everything edible within reach in his mouth. Hermione gazed horrified at his pig-like behavior but Harry snapped his fingers in front of her face, pulling her out of her reverie.
"What Harry?" Hermione snapped.
"I've got an idea." Ron looked up, pumpkin juice dribbling down his chin.
"I'm listening…"
"We need someone to follow Malfoy. See what he's doing at every moment. And report back to us about his every move." Ron snorted and started to choke on his toast. Hermione pounded him on the back and looked disbelievingly at Harry.
"Harry! How on earth are we supposed to get someone on the inside? Slytherins stick together, remember?"
"He's talking 2nd year all over again Hermione." Ron finally said after gulping down a large chunk of apple. "Aren't you Harry?" Harry shrugged and looked at his bowl intently. "Harry! Are you nuts! We're in 6th year now! We don't have time for that!"
"Yeah Harry! And who would do it first of all? Who would we pretend to be? When would we do this? Where would we get the supplies from? Have you thought of any of this?" Hermione elaborated.
"Why not you guys! We did it in 2nd year! Why not now?" Hermione ran her fingers through her hair and Ron rested his head against the table.
"Ok Harry. Ok. But we'll need a plan."
"Ms. Granger? Mr. Potter? Mr. Weasley? Shouldn't you three be in Charms?" The three Gryffindors jumped at Professors McGonagalls sharp voice. They uniformly replied yes and shuffled off towards the staircases.
Fellow Gryffindors and other pupils from different houses passed by Hermione and she studied their seemingly care free faces. First years poking their multicolored frogs; Lee Jordan entertaining his little sister by levitating her hat, making it do flips in the air; Ron laughing at Luna Lovegood's newest pair of radish earrings. It didn't look like the most powerful Dark wizard had come back to life at the end of the last school year. Then she would catch a nervous little girl's eyes flicking suspiciously over to the group of sullen Slytherins muttering in a corner, or someone jumping unusually high at the sound of a game of Exploding Snap. It was like Hogwarts was sick; like a parasitic disease was taking of hold it, not just of its' students, but the walls of Hogwarts itself.
"Hermione? Hello?" Harry waved his scarred hand in her face. Hermione shuddered and sucked in a great breath. Passersby shot funny looks at Hermione, who suddenly leant on the wall on her left, knocking a portrait of an infuriated Grendel the Great askew. Then blackness enveloped the school.
---
Whispered conversations woke Hermione. She opened her eyes blearily and saw two Harry's arguing with a three-headed Madam Pompfrey overhead. Hermione closed her eyes again and dug her face deep into her pillow. A pressure on her right hand appeared, and became increasingly uncomfortable. Hermione groaned, hoping the one crushing her hand would understand her request, but the pressure only became greater. Hermione groaned again and shook her head, her eyes still firmly closed. A sound in hear ears, at first a calming whisper, like the sound of a breeze rustling through dried leaves, gradually grew louder. It quickly became a dull roar, reverberating in Hermione's ear drums. It seemed all of the elements were calling for Hermione to arise, and she didn't want to cooperate.
"Hermione… Hermione… HERMIONE!"
"WHAT!" Hermione yelled back, jumping upright. Ron screamed with delayed surprise dropping Hermione's hand, backing away with his hands up in the air. The whole hospital wing to fell silent, all eyes were on Ron who blushed tomato red and started coughing, deeply embarrassed. Harry suppressed a laugh, disguising it by knocking over a box of Honeydukes Chocolate that was lying on the bedside table. Hermione raised one of her light brown eyebrows at Harry, and then at Ron and finally rested her cynical gaze on Madam Pompfrey. "So, what am I doing here?" she asked.
"You passed out dear, in the hallway." The plump nurse answered, brushing Harry aside to get a closer look at Hermione. "Back-to-school nerves I suppose." Hermione opened her mouth at this, determined to quell doubts on her state of mind, but Madam Pompfrey waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing to be ashamed of! Many young people in your year, especially your year, start to become anxious due to N.E.W.T's." She pushed Hermione back down on the bed and used her thumb and index finger to open Hermione's eye wide. After peering at her pupils for a bit, Madam Pompfrey waved her wand and bottles of interesting shapes and colors floated over.
"I don't really need to be here!" argued Hermione, "Just give me some chocolate so I can go back to class!" she said, struggling against the nurse's strong arms. The potions mixed themselves, hovering just above the side table, and omitted colorful clouds of gas, causing Harry and Ron to cough and choke, fanning the smoke away from their faces.
"Nonsense girl! Now just sit back and let me finish your anti-anxiety potion!"
"No! I don't need it!"
"Who's the nurse here?"
"Who's the one who has to drink the foul stuff?"
"Rubbish! Now hush, and drink this!" Madam Pompfrey said, shoving a bottle shaped like what could have been mistaken for a duck into Hermione's hands.
"Can I go now?" Hermione asked. Madam Pompfrey nodded her head and bustled off towards her office. "Come on guys!" Hermione swung her legs off the bed, downed the potion in one swig, and stood up with a glint in her eye.
Ron looked at Harry and whispered "I don't like the look of this…"
Hermione strode down the flagstone hallway, not keeping in mind Harry and Ron a few paces behind trying to keep up.
"Alright guys, it's October so not long before the snow starts to fall. We need a plan before December break ok?"
"Hermione! What are you on about?" Ron asked, breathless.
"The plan to uncover Malfoy's plan of course!" Hermione turned right into the empty Transfiguration class. Harry stopped by the doorway, clutching his side and asked,
"Whose plan are we talking about again?" Hermione sighed, and shook her head, sitting down at a wooden table near the front of the room.
"And, why exactly are we in here?" Ron closed the door behind Harry and sat down on the Professor's table at the front, curiously looking papers and miscellaneous artifacts.
"Because we have Transfiguration after Charms and – Ron! Put that down!" Ron, startled, set down the whirring contraption he had been poking with his wand a second ago. "As I was saying, since we were wasting time in the Hospital Wing for NO REASON AT ALL," Hermione yelled, glaring at Ron and Harry in turn, "then there was no point to go to Charms halfway through when we could plan!"
"Again with the plans!" Harry cried, throwing up his hands, hitting Ron in the face. "Hey! Watch it man!"
"Sorry, your big head got in the way of my hands!" Harry grinned.
"Both of you shut up!" Hermione whispered viciously before racing down the aisle between desks, and putting her ear to the door. Harry and Ron exchanged looks, and tiptoed across the room to join Hermione. All three sixth years pressed the faces as close to the knotted wood as possible but they could only hear muffled incomprehensible sounds. Both boys looked to Hermione, who rolled her eyes and pulled out her wand. After an interesting and complex looking twist, they could hear more clearly but once they did hear what was going on outside, the trio pulled away holding their ears. It had sounded like nails against a chalkboard mixed with the sound of something rusty being slowly pulled out of its case. Hermione frowned and tried the spell again but with the same result. She shrugged and looked at Harry and Ron for new ideas. Ron opened his mouth, indicating he had something to help. Ron dug deep into pocket, and after pulling out several moldy and diseased looking sweets, he finally retrieved three Extendable Ears. Harry grinned and pounded Ron on the back, and Hermione flashed him a quick smile before grabbing one and stuffing it in her ear.
"I don't think I can do it..." said a miserable voice clearly in their ears. Hermione marveled at how the Weasley twins managed to create such an ingenious eavesdropping device but couldn't earn a single O.W.L. Ron smiled with pride. Harry crinkled his eyebrows and shifted position.
"No! That's not true! I am loyal!" the voice went up an octave, defending itself. The person had to be talking to themselves, reasoned Harry.
"Yes. Of course I will." The voice started to fade away, still muttering, as the speaker walked away.
Harry, Ron and Hermione all looked at each other. Harry cocked an eyebrow and said,
"Do we really need to guess who that was?" Hermione chewed her lip feeling anxious and subtly shook her head, not saying anything.
There was a silence before Ron, looking confused, asked,
"Seriously, who was that?"