Memo: I did it again didn't I? Sorry. I just get carried away and forget about the smaller things. I'll try and update once a week from now on. I'm sure you're all DYING to know whats wrong with Hermione Granger. I'm sorry to say though that she's rather stubborn and rather not disclose it to her readers at this very moment ;) But why not read and find out right?
Hermione sat inside of Dumbledore's office. She was so nervous that her palms had become clammy and sweaty; she had a mild headache and voices rushed through her head, telling her to run away. It was telling her to just go to her room and sleep it all away. When she woke up it would all be gone. It would be as if it were all just some sort of horrible nightmare.
She knew that this fantasy would never hold. Every time she closed her eyes this false hope fluttered through her thoughts and mixed in her blood, pounding through her heart with every weakening beat.
She had to stay strong though. She had come back to Hogwarts this year to prove she was strong. She had come back to Hogwarts to prove that she wouldn't give in.
Dumbledore stepped into the office, his robes swaying about his feet gracefully. His long white beard covered his chest and his long white hair covered his back. His blue eyes weren't twinkling very brightly behind his moon-shaped spectacles.
Whenever he was around her, they seemed to lose their shine.
"Good evening, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said with barely a shadow of a smile.
"Good morning, Professor," she said quietly, staring at her sweaty hands. She took a shaky breath and felt her body shiver. She got control of her emotions and worries before looking up at the man, pride, strength, and confidence in her eyes and posture.
Still, even Hermione knew that her deep seeded fear and worry was obvious to the naked eye.
"How are you feeling?"
"As well as can be expected," she answered. "Thank you," she added quickly as she remembered her manners. Dumbledore smiled and took his seat behind his large desk. He began to fiddle with a beautiful red and black quill. Hermione watched him in silence.
"You remember your appointment at St. Mungo's?" he asked. Hermione went pale and nodded quickly.
"Yes sir."
"Will anyone be accompanying you?" he asked. Hermione looked up at him and furrowed his eyebrows.
"No, sir. I'd prefer if I did this on my own," she answered quietly. Dumbledore sighed and looked at her before turning gently, back and forth, in his chair. The squeaking was slowly getting on Hermione's nerves.
"Professor McGonagall will be escorting you there. In case the news you receive isn't exactly... pleasant... are you sure the shoulder you want to cry on is that of a Professor and not of a friend?" he asked, cocking his head. Hermione sighed and shook her head.
"Professor, I know the news will not be in the least bit pleasant. I don't plan on shedding a tear. I just want to get this over with and then come back to Hogwarts," she answered simply. Dumbledore shook his head sadly.
"Miss Granger, I can see that you think it's strong to carry this burden all by yourself. What you don't seem to realize is that it's the strong that let others help them. It's the strong that can admit defeat. It's the strong that accepts the helping hand of one outreached, not shoving it away," he told her. Hermione's lips went tight and she clenched her hands together. He knew nothing of what she was going through, so he should tell her nothing about being strong.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Professor. But this is something I really wish to do on my own," she told him once again. Dumbledore nodded deeply.
"Very well, Miss Granger. Your carriage will be waiting for you at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. I suppose you should inform Mr. Potter and the young Weasley's of this?" he added. Hermione shook her head.
"They know nothing about what I'm going through," she said quietly. Professor Dumbledore sighed and stared at Hermione sadly.
"I was informed that you would be informing them after your appointment tomorrow," he said. Hermione paled as she remembered her promise to Hagrid. She bit her lip nervously and shrugged.
"I will tell them, Professor. I just don't know if it's going to be immediately after I return. I plan on telling them everything," she said quietly, lying through clenched teeth. Dumbledore could see the lies. He could see how she couldn't look him in the eyes. He could see that she was indeed too stubborn for her own good.
"Very well, Miss Granger. It is still in my advice that you bring someone along with you tomorrow. You have the ability to hold it all inside tonight, but there is no telling of tomorrow," he said with a shrug.
Hermione nodded.
"Yes, Professor. I'll consider it." He nodded and waved his hand as he dismissed her. She stood and wrapped her clothes tightly around her figure. She caught sight of her thin hand and grimaced. How much weight had she lost? Twenty pounds at least. She shook her head sadly and left the office...
Just to run into the three most unlikely people.
"Ron! Harry! Ginny! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. They looked at her, tears immediately filling their eyes.
"We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore about something," Ginny said quickly and brushed by her. Harry nodded, not even being able to look her in the eyes. He followed Ginny.
Ron stood there, staring at Hermione with tears on the verge of spilling. His eyes flickered over her face, studying her every feature.
"Ron?" she asked quietly and reached out, touching his arm. He let out a strangled cry and threw his arms around her, embracing her so tightly that she could barely breathe. She let out a small yip as his grip tightened and he muffled a sob in his neck.
Then, without even saying goodbye, he rushed through into Dumbledore's office, the stone gargoyle cutting off any way of listening to what they had to say.
"Professor!" Ginny exclaimed to the white haired man sitting behind the desk. He looked up at them quizzically.
"Yes?" he asked innocently.
"We demand to know what's wrong with Hermione Granger," Harry said stubbornly. Dumbledore laughed kindly.
"Mr. Potter, do you really find yourself in any position to be ordering me about?" he asked. Harry blushed and took a single step back. Ron stepped forward.
"We know that Hermione was tortured by Lord Voldemort!" he cried out. Ginny and Harry glared daggers at him, but Ron didn't care. His emotions were pounding in his heart and head. He wasn't thinking clearly. He just wanted to be there for Hermione.
"Wherever did you get that idea?" Dumbledore asked. Ron rolled his eyes and blurted out about his theory on the scalping. Ginny and Harry stayed quiet, not defending their friend nor objecting to his ramblings.
Professor Dumbledore shook his head.
"You have a very wild imagination, Mr. Weasley. I do assume it was not on your own doing that you reached this conclusion, however," he said as his blue eyes flickered over to the two standing in the corner, who began to blush.
"So she wasn't... Voldemort didn't..."
"No, Mr. Weasley. I assure you that Voldemort had nothing to do with Miss Granger's current state," he answered truthfully. The level of relief and happiness in the air after that was astonishing, and Ginny was on the verge of crying from the lift of pressure.
"So... what is wrong with her?" Harry asked, ending his silence. Professor Dumbledore sighed and shook his head.
"She has asked me not to disclose this information. I'm sorry," he said.
"Why not?" Ron demanded. Dumbledore looked at Ron and shook his head.
"Some things, Mr. Weasley, are not information that needs to be known by the entire world. Miss Granger would prefer if she handled this on her own," he said and stood, pacing around the room.
"So there's nothing we can do?" Ginny asked quietly. Dumbledore shrugged, something mischievous brewing beneath those bright blue eyes.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Weasley. Miss Granger is leaving at exactly ten o'clock tomorrow morning in a large black carriage with Professor McGonagall exactly where the students who go to Hogsmeade meet. She will be on her way to St. Mungo's. I told her that she was permitted to have someone accompany her, but she preferred to do this on her own," he said.
'St. Mungo's?' Ron mouthed to Harry, who shrugged.
"So, Mr. Potter, I would advise that you take advantage of what you have, because I don't think that Miss Granger sees things as clearly as others," he said with a wink. "Now, I have some important business to attend to. Hagrid has some new Brandy and I feel that it is my responsibility to make sure that it is only the best," he said with a jolly laugh before escorting the group out of the office.
They stood there in front of the stone gargoyle, watching Dumbledore's retreating figure
"Come on, we need to make a plan!" Ginny squealed in excitement.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked quizzically. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Oh please, you can't tell me that you two didn't understand what Dumbledore was saying!" she exclaimed. Harry and Ron furrowed their eyebrows and glanced at each other in a search for something they might have missed.
"Sorry, Gin. No idea what you're talking about," Ron shrugged.
"I swear, Hermione must have always been the one who handled the complex thinking." Ron and Harry glared at her before she continued. "He told us exactly where Hermione was going, when, how, and who was going with her. Then he told Harry to 'take advantage of what he has' because 'Hermione doesn't see things as clearly as others'. Don't you understand?" she asked one more time.
"Sorry," Harry shrugged. Ginny threw her arms in the air in exasperation before continuing.
"He wants us to use Harry's invisibility cloak and go with Hermione!" she cried out. As she said it all the hints seemed to register with Harry and Ron and they felt like idiots that they hadn't seen it before.
They were going to find out what was wrong with Hermione, whether she liked it or not.
A.N: I checked for errors but knowing me I missed one or two. Tell me if I have please.