Power in All Its Glory:

Chapter 31: Questions and Answers

The first thing Harry noticed when he entered the Gryffindor common room was that it appeared to be empty. Not that he expected to find a lot of students there early on a Sunday morning but he did expect to find one …

As he drew closer, he saw her bushy hair; Hermione was sitting there resting her head on the arm of the couch. She looked like she was asleep. Had she been up all night studying? It would not have been the first time, but something was not right.

Hermione raised her head, and stared at him with bleary eyes.

"Hey, Harry."

She looked exhausted, and he noticed it was still there … that hint of desperation.

"Hey, Mione." He wasn't sure how to say what he was thinking, without her going off on him. "You missed breakfast."

"Not hungry," she mumbled.

He nodded at her and took a deep breath. How was it that he had faced Dementors, Inferi, and even Voldemort himself, but he was afraid of invoking the wrath of a teenage girl who had little to no sleep? There was no getting around it. He might as well get it over with.

"What's going on, Hermione?"

"Nothing, Harry." The smile she gave him was weak and unconvincing.

"I am not stupid, you know," he said rather irritably. "I know something is going on. What aren't you telling me?"

"Just leave it Harry," she said wearily. "Please."

"I am just worried about you."

"I can take care of myself, you know." She seemed to have finally reached the breaking point. "Why does everyone keep forgetting that?"

"I see you have been doing a bang up job so far."

"Just mind your own business, Harry," she said, gathering her books together.

"Honestly, Hermione. I am just tired of all this secrecy. I understand that you want me to stay out of it, but I can't when I see what you are doing to yourself!"

She ignored him and continued gathering her stuff.

Obviously, she was planning to just walk out again. Harry realized he was losing his opportunity, and he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"What happened in that detention, Hermione?"

"I don't know what you mean," she replied, pulling her arm away angrily.

"Since that day, everyone in that detention has been acting strangely. Are you trying to tell me it is just a coincidence?"

She ignored him and started to walk away.

"First you and Snape, then Draco and Neville … I want to know what …"

She turned and the look on her face stopped him.

"Harry, you are confused," Hermione said, correcting him. "Snape and Draco were the only ones there with me. Neville wasn't there at all."

"Of course he was." Although, he could tell he had her attention now, he wondered what she was playing at.

"I was there, Harry. You were not. And Neville was not. Don't you think I would know? Snape only gave Draco and me detention that day."

"I was surprised that Neville was there, but that doesn't change the fact that he was, indeed, there," he said, stubbornly.

"Why do you say that?" she asked softly.

"Because he was." How much clearer could he be?

"What is it that you are not telling me, Harry?"

Harry looked down. He had hoped he could have avoided telling her how he knew … obviously not.

"You need to first understand that I was worried about you, Mione. Detention with Snape and Malfoy. I just don't trust those two," he added angrily.

"Harry? What did you do?"

"I used the Marauder 's Map. You have to understand, Hermione," he said. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I watched you, Snape, and Malfoy … and then I realized that Neville was there in the room with you."

"You're positive?"

"Yeah, Hermione I am. I actually planned to go down there, but I couldn't find my invisibility cloak anywhere, although I did find it later." He watched her closely, worried that she was going to hex him, when she suddenly brightened up considerably.

"Harry!" she exclaimed. "That's it!" She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you so much. You are a good friend, Harry."

"I still don't understand …" Harry began, but she had already left the room.

And he still had no idea what had happened.

****

Draco made his way to Trelawney's rooms. He was past caring if he got caught. Well, he did hide from Filch. He wasn't completely gone.

She looked at him in surprise before reaching out and pulling him into the room.

"Draco," she said breathlessly. "I am so glad to see you."

"I have news, Sibyll. Something is going to happen … something important. I am not sure what it is but I know it is something."

"The picture. It will be clear soon."

"How do you know that?" he questioned. Could she really see?

"Hermione Granger. She told me."

He was definitely surprised by this revelation.

"Really? And when did you see her?"

"Last night … I think it was around midnight."

He was sure she was telling him the truth, and she seemed to be sober so …

"What else did she say?"

"I am not sure … We talked about you, mostly."

That really confused him.

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing, of course."

He decided to move on. "Well, what are we going to do? We have to do something if that picture will be clear soon."

"I am not sure what we can do."

He thought about the time Umbridge had fired the Divination Professor. He could still remember the scene in the hall with her and Professor McGonagall. She had been broken by the thought of leaving. He could not let that happen again.

"I will not let you get sacked. I will go to Dumbledore and explain that it was all my fault."

"Draco," she said, shaking her head sadly. "You cannot do that. Your father …"

"Don't worry about that. I will take care of everything."

"But Draco," she said hesitantly. "There is something I need to tell you …"

"Sibyll." He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I will not let anything happen to you. Trust me."

"I do trust you, but ..."

Ignoring her feeble protest, he then kissed her gently on the lips and rushed out the door.

Trelawney watched him go. She really should have told him about that night.

She had found him … but nothing had happened between them.

******

Snape threw the book he was holding across the room. He had found out nothing. Oh, the boy was hiding something but unfortunately his father had taught him well. Time was running out. They now had less than six hours to go.

He could not put it off any longer. In a few short hours Dumbledore would know the truth anyway. He could not let Hermione get expelled. He had to protect her and there was only one way for him to do that …

He had to go see Professor Dumbledore.