Chapter 9

"I fail to see how any of this is my concern, Miss Granger. The objective was satisfied. Students belonging to years six and seven shall receive their schedules by owl post after they've been arranged by the House Heads. Surely that's all there is to the task of compiling timetables." Snape stated this with a disturbing sort of cheerfulness.

He had chosen to reject the Headmaster's quarters for his use and had boldly decided to run the office from his own rank, dark quarters situated in the dungeons. Hermione couldn't help but help but think that this had something to do with Dumbledore's mysterious directions.

She stood her ground.

"Draco Malfoy forcibly threatened a Hogwarts employed elf into doing something that was his own responsibility. Not only did he abuse his power, he also made an innocent creature drift from his own work and burdened him with a cruel and futile task without paying any thought to the overall motive. I can't help but think, Sir, that it requires some sort of disciplinary action."

Snape settled back in the chair and crossed his fingers in front of him, eyes deceptively intent.

"I believe it does." He leaned forward a bit. "However, this accusation also requires a valid proof. Bring me the elf, Granger. And I'll be happy to tend to your foolish, though admittedly stalwart concerns."

She stared at him while her mind whirred with speculations. Her past experience with elves indicated that she would fail to bring one of them out of their deluded comfort zones in front of the headmaster. But the mere thought of seeing the colour leave his pale face as Draco Malfoy learnt of his demotion from the post of Head Boy was tempting enough for her to try.

She belatedly realized that she was indeed fooling herself. How was she to find and convince a green skinned, goggle eyed elf and present him to Snape? How was she to know if Malfoy hadn't threatened him over this too? Moreover, what were the chances that Snape wouldn't just leave him off with a mere warning?

She lowered her head and sighed. Who was she kidding? Malfoy was not the first, nor the last person in this school to harass them. Hadn't her own friends maltreated the house elves all these years by their random kitchen visits, impromptu parties, essay requests and stalking orders?

They like it, Hermione. They'd said as if it made up for their own insensitivity.

She also realized that Malfoy hadn't simply meant to annoy her by his stupid action. He had also intended for her to go through these very motions of failed attempts to make her feel worthless and foolish. She hated feeling foolish.

Now inexplicably angry, she looked back at Snape. He had been watching her too, as if aware of her every thought and smirked in encouragement. His way of saying, whatcha gonna do now, silly girl?

"Where is Professor Dumbledore, Sir?" she asked him plainly.

His face blanked over as if it'd been like that from the start. But Hermione was smart enough to know that she had asked the right thing.

"What concern is it of yours, Miss Granger?"

"I'm only curious, Professor. He left us with a substantial amount of information and it's not like him to simply disappear without as much as a parting advice." Almost immediately she realized that this was absolutely not the right thing to reveal.

But like always, Snape was back to smirking like he already knew.

"Substantial information, Miss Granger? I'd like to think that any information is given with the sole purpose of the same being put to adequate use, only if one is clever enough to recognize it. However, Albus Dumbledore is a man of strange ideas so I do not pretend to know what he really wants. But I'll tell you this; he left me with the responsibility of this school and the people residing in it, including you. As I told Potter earlier, I'll be helpful in communicating your thoughts and inquiries to him as I do have the means," he paused for effect as his face clouded with warning, "But do not delve into things that do not concern you."

Disconcerted by this non-answer, she spoke again.

"All I asked was where-"

"Enough! You might have gotten away with your meddling ways for all these years, but not while I'm sitting here. Get out." He barked.

She stood up bolt upright, not willing to get into trouble only on her third day back.

As she trudged back to the door, he spoke again.

"And bring that elf if you can find him."

Harry and Ron were sitting in their usual armchairs when she returned to the Gryffindor common room. Ron smiled as he saw her and waved her over. She sat down next to them, completely spent. In between staying up late for her duties and then losing her peace of mind after Malfoy's accomplishment, sleep had managed to evade her. Now all she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and have a good, long soak in the bath, then curl up in her bed and sleep.

"You didn't tell me that you'd spoken with Snape, Harry." She looked over at him.

He threw a guilty glance in her direction.

"I know…but I was just so angry. I wanted to pack up and leave. He said he doesn't know where Dumbledore's gone but he'll give my letters to him. Can you believe that? I've been sending letters all summer and he says he'll just give them to him! I bet he's lying. I just know it."

"I asked him too. He told me to stay out of it." She said.

"That just proves it. He knows something, but he won't tell us. Dumbledore could be in danger or worse, dead for all we know but he won't tell us, simply because he holds a grudge against my father."

"Don't be so pessimistic, mate", Ron interjected, "Who knows? Dumbledore has disappeared without a word before. He could be anywhere in the world doing his own stuff. He wants to kill You-Know-Who too. Maybe he just wants you out of it."

"He's got no right to keep me out of it! Voldemort killed my parents and I have every right. Why did he tell me about the Horcruxes then? Why show me all those memories in the Pensieve? I deserve to know more than anyone."

"You could ask for a Floo call." Hermione said, after thinking for a while.

They looked at her curiously.

"Well, Snape told us that he has the means for us to communicate with him. You could ask him to place a Floo call to wherever he is staying. Or he could call you back. I know the chances are slim but we can try."

Harry appeared to be pondering it over.

Ron scoffed.

"Yeah, and the old bat would just jump at the chance to cater to our every wish. When was the last time Snape helped us by the way?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, mentally willing him to recall all the times that Snape had tried to help Harry; saving him from Quirell in their first year, rushing after them into the Shrieking Shack in their third year, keeping a keen eye on him during the Triwizard Tournament, saving them from Umbridge in their fifth year by alerting the Order, not to mention he'd obviously been spying on Voldemort all this time.

"Oh don't give me that look, you know what I mean! He hates us! But he also has to obey Dumbledore. And even then how can we be sure that he isn't just reporting to his old master anyway? Harry could be right. Maybe he's hiding Dumbledore's whereabouts from us on purpose."

"Since when do you know more than Dumbledore?," she argued, "He trusts him and has trusted him for years. Besides, Snape has made it clear that he can help us talk to him and you should realize that we have no other option."

"I'll talk to Professor McGonagall first, see if she knows anything." said Harry.

Hermione shook her head but chose not to say anything.

Harry didn't know it but he held a grudge too. He'd be willing to try everything he could before he finally went back to Snape and asked him for help.

They were silent for a few minutes, each lost in thought.

"How's Head Girl treating you anyway?" Ron addressed her. She inwardly rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm still in one piece, and that's saying something considering the number of hours I've been awake since we got here."

He frowned. "Malfoy's giving you trouble again?"

"He's always giving me trouble. Merlin, sometimes I just want to scratch that smirk off his stupid face. Just so I can hear him shrieking like a girl."

He looked at her with a disturbed expression on his face. "That bad?"

She sighed. "I just never thought anyone could be so unbelievably petty. I know he's a spoilt brat with absolutely no morals whatsoever, but he's got zero work ethics. He's lazy, irresponsible and completely unsuited for the post. Anybody from Slytherin would've been a better choice; Neville would've been a better choice but Malfoy could be a ferret wieilding a plastic wand for all I care, he's that useless."

For a bizarre second, a single image stole into her mind…Malfoy standing in front of her, face inches from her own, his wand pressed into her throat, raw fury etched upon his pale face. She blinked the image away.

Ron seemed to be laughing. Why was everyone treating her partnership with the Slytherin as a joke?

"What's plastick, by the way?"

She walked down the narrow passage to her dormitory and stopped at the sight of Leonard entertaining a buxom blonde woman in his portrait. They appeared to be flirting. The girl with him looked young and really pretty, she had slightly upturned, green eyes and a long emerald dress that cinched at the waist and enhanced her considerable chest.

They paid her no attention, laughing and enjoying themselves. She cleared her throat loudly. Leonard's head swivelled in her direction with mild surprise on his face. Who else did he expect?

"Oh forgive me Hermione, I didn't see you. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long." She said, slightly mollified.

"Meet Ellnora."

Ellnora was smiling pleasantly down at her, and appeared not the least bit annoyed at having been interrupted.

"Pleasure to meet you."

She smiled wider, revealing even, white teeth.

"Likewise. I've heard a lot about you Hermione Granger. You're Harry Potter's best friend, said to be the smartest witch of this age. You'd have made quite an invaluable gem in the house of Ravenclaw, not that we're short of those in any way."

She appeared nice enough, but her demeanour was reminiscent of Professor Slughorn. Or maybe it was just the way people who had seen the world viewed their students. Speaking of which…

"Are you Rowena Ravenclaw's sister?"

She looked at her appreciatively.

"I certainly am. I commonly guard the Ravenclaw Head dormitory but it does get a little lonely." She smiled deliciously in Leonard's direction, "And you're the only one in this castle marginally worth speaking with."

"Is that right?" He responded in kind.

"Of course. I spent a month waiting around for you to come by and you show up two nights ago. I imagine you must have acquired a new audience these days, they're all so dreadfully enthusiastic about your company. Though I surely wouldn't count myself as an exception."

Leonard threw a crooked smile in her direction.

"You need to be quite forthright in your advances, my dear. Had you given me but an indication that you favoured my visits, I'd have darted across the canvases of Hogwarts in a heartbeat. I'm afraid, Ravenclaw subtleties quite evade my crude Gryffindor senses."

Crude? Hermione mentally huffed, thinking how more forthright she could possibly be.

"Don't be sly, Sir." Ellnora smiled prettily.

As interesting as this conversation was turning out to be, she needed her four hour of sleep before she geared up for the Prefect's meeting at five.

"I'm sorry...Leonard but, I'm really quite tired-" she began.

He looked at her, as if he'd forgotten that she was here.

"Oh forgive me again, dear Hermione. Certainly you must be."

She gave him the password, "Gryffindor."

This was met by a curious expression from Ellnora Ravenclaw. The portrait door opened and she entered into the privacy of her own room. The door clicked shut. She single-mindedly ignored the extra stack of parchment lying on her desk.

She sighed as she sat atop the bed. Leonard's painting must have been at Hogwarts for ages, along with Ellnora's so it was only natural for them to socialize. The countless paintings, murals and portraits of Hogwarts had their own extraordinary world with its own diverse society. It was completely unreasonable for her to feel annoyed at their easy comradeship.

Sir Leonard Gryffindor was consistently absent from his portrait but she hadn't paid much attention to the fact before, as the portrait door was familiar with her magic and granted her free access after she'd uttered the password.

She tried to intellectualize her emotions before sleep, as was her habit. This morning she'd been feeling completely determined to bring the ferret down just as she'd woken up, though 'hefted herself out of bed' might be more accurate since she'd hardly slept. She had been feeling resolute as she made her way to Snape's office but miffed as she'd made her way out. She should have been angry but Snape's rude dismissal had left her feeling dejected and slightly hurt; Snape's raised voice always had that effect on her. Meeting with her friends had lightened her up considerably. Even though their conversation had been far from lively, she'd been tired but in better spirits.

Now she was back to feeling dejected but couldn't make out whether it was due to Leonard's divided attentions or simply due to her own insecurity at having met a beautiful woman who was unquestionably far better looking than herself and also quite witty.

"Just a bunch of mouldy paintings," she spoke out loud, disgruntled.

These were the thoughts that occupied her mind as she slowly lied down on the bed. Too lazy to change, she curled herself into a ball on top of the covers, fully dressed and her plan for a bath forgotten. She thought of her parents who'd be really proud of her for being selected as the Head Girl. Right now she couldn't think of a single thing that appealed to her about this overrated position. She was tired, annoyed, miserable and lonely. She wondered if her old dorm-mates would let her stay there for a few days. Or maybe she could invite Ginny over.

The late morning breeze lulled her eyelids shut, and though she wouldn't have remembered it later, a brief image of angry grey eyes flashed across her mind moments before she drifted off to sleep.

A/N: This chapter made me sleepy. There's more of DM/HG interaction to come in the next chapter, but I still hope you liked this one. Please do leave a review! :)