Puzzle
Harry walked tiredly down to the Common Room. He couldn't sleep; he had gotten another nightmare about Voldemort torturing his mum again. Apparently, his screaming had overpowered his Silencing Charms, or so he was told by an irate Ron. Some of us have more important things to do than listen to your whining. Harry mused that this could describe their entire relationship. It was rather sad.
He stumbled towards one of the couches right in front of the fire, ready to collapse on one and spend the rest of the night there. And then he halted abruptly. There, prone in front of the roaring blaze, lay Hermione. Her back shook violently, and Harry heard small hiccupping noises emanating from her.
He sighed, not wanting to deal with one of his so-called friends at this time. Although Hermione's subtle rejections of him had hurt worse than Ron's, or Ginny's. Harry knew they were genuinely friends when they had gotten off the Express at the end of their Fourth Year. He could still feel her fierce hug and cheerful smile in his bones. But when he got back on the train, ready to face his Fifth Year, nothing was the same. Her smile had grown more condescending, her conversations with him now only revolved around the subjects of the O.W.L.s and Harry killing You-Know-Who.
Harry couldn't explain it; all he knew was that he had lost his best friend. Oh, well. At least Hermione hadn't shown this side of her last year. He wouldn't have been able to handle it if Hermione and Ron had betrayed his trust at the same time.
He suspected that something had happened at that place which he hadn't been allowed to go to. Too dangerous, he remembered bitterly. Sure, Harry Potter gets attacked by Dementors within one street of his own house, fights them off with some weird burst of wandless magic, but isn't permitted to visit his godfather and his friends. That's much too dangerous.
All Harry could think about was when he had gotten on the train. How he had seen her bushy hair through the compartment door, and had tripped on someone's luggage in his haste to see her. How he had hugged from behind, and she had frozen, then pushed him off. He thought he had squeezed her too hard, but her frosty eyes discouraged him of that theory. Harry. You almost scratched my Prefect's Badge. Be more careful, will you?
He was more careful now. He hadn't touched her since that day. But now, with her weeping form laid out on the floor, he couldn't help but rest a hand on her shoulder, and ask gently, "Hermione? Are you all right?"
She sat up abruptly, and wrenched around to look at him. Her tear-stained, puffy face shocked him. What shocked him even more was the way she threw herself into his arms, sobbing so hysterically he couldn't understand what she was trying to tell him.
"Harry!" she blubbered. "So…sorry…didn't realize…I was so-"
He hushed her, gently rubbing her back until her shudders reduced to tremors. He put aside the growing resentment that was sowing seeds in his soul. He had to. That was what friends did.
About ten minutes later, she had stopped crying enough to be coherent. She grasped his chin when he tried to gaze at the flames, and said quietly. "No, you need to look at me. I am so sorry for this. It's partially my fault, but I need you to understand why I've been acting this way since September. Please, just listen. That's all I'm asking you to do."
He looked into her sincere, watery eyes, and found himself nodding. What else could he do? He still thought of her as his best friend.
She sighed, let go of his face, and grabbed his hand. They settled onto the rug for what appeared to be a long tale.
She began.
oOo
In the middle of July, I was invited to a place for the rest of the summer. I can't tell you where it is or what it is, for I am not the Secret Keeper. But I can tell you that it is the headquarters for a resistance group against You-Know-Who. Sirius, all the Weasleys, and the members of this organization were there when I arrived. I was happy to see them all, but I wondered where you were. They told me You-Know-Who was watching your activity very closely, and it would mean an attempt on your life if you were tried to be moved from the Dursleys.
I was upset, naturally, but tried to send you letters that were encouraging. I couldn't tell you anything, but I wrote anyway. I sent you a cake for your birthday, and a wish that we would be together soon.
Around the middle of August, I received my Hogwarts letter. I was excited, as I hoped this meant I would see you in Diagon Alley while getting supplies. I was rather upset to learn that Mrs. Weasley was going to get all of our supplies, and that yours would just be owled to you.
And then, I received another letter from Professor McGonagall. I didn't pay much attention to the contents, seeing as my hopes of seeing you soon had just been dashed.
A cool, golden-coloured badge fell out of the envelope with the letter I didn't read. And suddenly, everything was different. My worries and thoughts about you faded away, and all that was left was this weight in my hand. It was a Prefect's Badge. And it was all that occupied my mind until I met you on the train that day.
You hugged me from behind while I was polishing my badge. I pushed you off, so concerned that you might've scratched it. I saw the hurt in your eyes, but there was something that made me not care, and go back to polishing the little square of metal.
I noticed my conversations with you were becoming stranger, and yet, it didn't matter to me. As a Prefect, I should be concerned about your grades more than your personal feelings. I noticed you growing more distant from me, and I thought that was a good thing. Friends just distracted you from your studies, after all.
But at night, I would feel differently. I would think over the events of the day, and realize that I must just be imagining the cruel way I was treating you. I was your best friend. I would never do things like that to you. And I would resolve to talk to you in the morning, and set things right.
I would wake up in the morning, and put the Prefect Badge on, and all my musings of the previous night would immediately seem stupid. I didn't need to talk to you; I could spend my time better patrolling corridors. Who needed friends, anyway?
It all came to a head about four days ago. I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard Lavender and Parvati talking about me. It's so odd, they said. Hermione turns into a completely different person when she doesn't have her stupid badge on. She's so nice without it, but once she puts it on, she turns into such a bitch. Dumbledore never should've made her a Prefect.
And then it hit me. I was a completely different person without the badge. Too different. There was something wrong with my badge. I ran from the shower, and grabbed it. Tapping it with my wand, I whispered, "Revelio." And a blackish purple color swashed over it. It reeked of Dark Magic.
I skipped class the next day, and spent all my time in the library, looking up spells. I didn't eat or sleep for the next two days. I looked through hundreds of books, and couldn't find any mention of spells influencing people's behavior to the degree that I had experienced.
I knew for a fact that someone had been controlling me through the badge. As a test, I hadn't worn it for two days, and I felt so clear headed. I longed to go to you and beg your forgiveness, but I knew you wouldn't believe me without proof.
So I convinced Madame Pince to let me into the Restricted Section. I told her it was for an independent study I was doing with Professor Flitwick. She believed me, of course. Why would I be lying?
I looked for any books that looked helpful. In the far back, I found a dusty copy of Variations on Imperio. Flipping through it, I found immediately what I was looking for.
The Imperia Charm. Only one vowel away from the Unforgivable, it gave semi-control over the victim to the caster. By casting the charm on an object that the victim would use daily, they could regularly reinforce whatever ideals they wanted their victims to have. It would leave behind a dark purple hue if correctly revealed.
So there you have it. Someone put an Imperia on my badge, and forced me to be cruel to you. I know that I should have fought it; I should have been stronger for you, Harry. But I couldn't be. I'm so sorry.
oOo
She started crying again. Harry held her again, and whispered firmly into her ear, "Don't you dare blame yourself for this. You could've never suspected that someone would do this to you. I don't forgive you, for there's nothing to forgive. This is not your fault. Always remember that."
She pulled back with a sniffle, and tried to give him a smile reminiscent of her Fourth Year goodbye. He smiled back. He thought he had started to cry, too. It didn't matter. He had his best friend back.
And so the two held each other until long after the rosy fingers of dawn crept through the windows.
oOo
A/N: Err… not exactly a drabble. :] I think you'll forgive me, though.
I changed the summary. I just couldn't be mean to that many people. I'm sorry. I love Hermione too much. But rest assured, I will make up in bitchiness to Ginny!