Ch. 14: Truth
Under his glare, Hermione swallowed and looked down for a moment, before looking back at him, seemingly finding her courage. He didn't say anything, waiting for whatever it was that she had to say and he could see that she tried very hard to not be intimidated. He knew, also, that she would lose the staring match.
'Look, I didn't know anything about that, alright?' she said finally and, when Ciel didn't reply, looked away. 'Fine. I suspected they might be up to something, when Ginny came to sit with me and Shion earlier today. I also saw Harry and Ron with her at the entrance, but then they were between the shelves,' she paused to sigh and glance at him. 'I knew they were planning something, but I had no idea what. That is why I ran after Ginny, but she just went back to the Gryffindor tower, so I came back to the library and, yeah, you know the rest of the story.'
'Yeah, you eavesdropped on our conversation,' he agreed coldly, making her look up and shake her head.
'I didn't. I just walked in and I heard maybe the last two sentences,' she promised and Ciel could see that she wasn't lying. It was still probably too much, but at least he knew that she didn't listen on purpose. Small consolation, he thought, in the light of the current events. With a sigh, he looked away from Hermione and leaned back on his chair, petting Sebastian, when the cat jumped on his lap again. It was amazing that Madame Pince wasn't there yet, complaining about the noise, but then, maybe she was having lunch or something.
'So what happens now?' Hermione asked after a while of silence. Ciel shrugged.
'You want me to guess?' he asked, looking at her. She nodded. 'My guess is that Nezumi will send Hamlet and Cravat to sneak in on Potter and Weasley and bite their ankles when they least expect it, probably when the shower rooms are full of people,' he said lightly, amused at her alarmed expression. 'They will betray their presence and the Ravenclaws will start a riot because, honestly, it is outrageous to be spied on in the showers.'
'But they will get into serious trouble,' Hermione exclaimed, making a move as though she wanted to leave. Ciel's gaze hardened into a cold glare and she slumped back on her chair, biting her lip. 'I mean serious trouble,' she repeated almost pleadingly. Ciel shrugged.
'Right now I couldn't care less if they got expelled,' he told her honestly. 'Curiosity and sniffing around is one thing, but this,' he trailed off and shook his head. 'They already are in serious trouble, even if the teachers let it slide,' he added with a smirk. He watched Hermione nod and look down and he wondered if she really didn't know about the plan.
'I'm sorry for their behaviour,' she said finally. 'They were always too curious for their own good, but I always told myself that we did save the day couple of times. You know, with Quirrel or with the basilisk,' she trailed off and shrugged. If she wanted to continue, Ciel didn't know, because Safu and Elizabeth chose this moment to arrive, asking about the whereabouts of Shion and Nezumi. Ciel magicked Shion's chair back to an upright position.
'I think they won't be joining us,' he said casually, but Safu looked at the notebook and pointed out that it was Shion's handwriting so he had obviously been there. Ciel flicked his wand and the notebook closed. He really didn't feel like repeating what Nezumi said. He wasn't sure if the words would pass through his throat.
'Is everything alright?' Elizabeth asked, sitting down with a worried expression. Ciel wanted to honestly say that it would be, but he couldn't be sure. He was pretty confident that Nezumi could handle Shion, but the thought that somebody invisible could be hiding just about anywhere was one that made a shiver run down his spine. An invisible person that was smart enough to get into places that they were not supposed to be. He could easily imagine Shion wondering if Potter and Weasley have been listening to their conversations or if they were lurking in his bedroom or- He shook his head.
'I cannot let Harry and Ron be caught,' Hermione whispered. 'They are my friends and they did save my life a couple of times,' she added, pleading for Ciel's understanding. Safu and Elizabeth exchanged worried looks.
'Be caught where?' Safu asked.
'In the Ravenclaw boys' showers,' Ciel replied, knowing that Safu and Elizabeth would patch up the rest of the story themselves. Like that he was spared explaining and could focus on Hermione.
'You're either with us or against us in this one,' he said, keeping his tone casual. 'It's not like you can tell us how outraged you are and then run to save Potter and Weasley so that they are spared the punishment. And believe me, they are much better off facing the headmistress than facing us,' he added, letting his tone grow threatening. Hermione was looking at him with wide eyes. She was spared from whatever else he might have said to her because Tsukiyo jumped onto the table and spit out a small capsule. Ciel took it without hesitation and opened it to read a small note hidden inside: "in the library".
'What do they say?' Safu asked immediately. Ciel looked at her and shook his head almost imperceptibly. He wasn't going to tell Hermione that they had a secret refuge in the Room of Requirement and, much less tell her what it was, so that she could attempt to get in there herself. Not that he expected her to ask the room for a Muggle library. Besides, he didn't think that Safu's presence there could help.
'Shall we get on with the studying?' he asked as though nothing out of order had happened, enjoying the surprised look on Hermione's face. 'Potter and Weasley, getting their ankles bitten, are not going to stop me from doing my best in my studies,' he added, smirking when Elizabeth giggled, probably at the image of Potter and Weasley being bitten by Nezumi's mice.
'Right,' Hermione muttered.
Impossibly enough, they had quite a productive study session. When time of the dinner was drawing near and they were getting ready to leave, Ciel glanced at the books and the bag Shion had left behind and, with a sigh, packed the notebook and the book that he knew belonged to his friend. He needed to put the other books back.
'Do you want me to take it?' Safu asked, nodding at Shion's bag. He shook his head. He didn't think that Shion would be back in the Ravenclaw tower tonight, not with Potter and Weasley lurking. 'I could go as well, you know,' the girl insisted.
'Yeah, I know,' he replied without enthusiasm. They normally didn't have secrets between the five of them, but Ciel knew of one thing that Safu possibly didn't and he didn't particularly want to complicate the situation any further. 'How about you help me with all those books? You know I don't study Runes,' he suggested, surprised, when Hermione offered to take care of them all. She did look like she felt guilty, he noted as he thanked her.
He slipped out of the library, with Sebastian and Tsukiyo in tow, when Safu was busy answering a question from Lizzy. His fiancée really was a person he could rely on, he thought, chuckling. She trusted him unconditionally and she probably saw that Ciel didn't want Safu to accompany him, so she asked a question that she knew would distract Safu for a quick moment. Wiping the fond smile off his face, before anybody could see it, he made his way to the Room of Requirement, arriving there and thinking how much he wanted to find himself in a Muggle library.
It might have not worked, of course, if Nezumi and Shion were not exactly in the Muggle library. Or if they simply didn't want to be disturbed, in which case Ciel really, but really did not want to disturb them. Just in case. It worked though. A door appeared in the wall and, quickly, Ciel slipped inside, closing it as fast as possible. Tsukiyo went to the other mice that were nibbling on something in the corner, while Sebastian curled up in front of the fire, watching Ciel with his red eyes.
He looked around. The books were there, alright, but the three armchairs, which were in front of the fire place the other time, gave way to a huge sofa and, walking around it, Ciel could see Nezumi and Shion sleeping on it. With a sigh, Ciel wished for a blanket and went up to them, noticing darker patches on Nezumi's jumper, where Shion's face was pressed against his chest.
Steel-grey eyes opened as he covered his brother and Shion with the blanket. So he wasn't asleep after all, Ciel thought and sat on the armchair that appeared, facing the sofa. This room really was pretty amazing, he decided for what must have been a millionth time. He dropped Shion's bag to the floor and simply looked at Nezumi.
'How did it go?' he asked quietly, after a moment of silence passed.
'As expected, I suppose,' Nezumi replied without much enthusiasm. 'After ranting about how it was impossible to go on like this, he said that he wants to leave and cried himself to sleep,' he added. Ciel could hear the pained edge in his brother's voice and he sighed, leaning back in the armchair, waiting for Nezumi to continue. 'Not that I blame him really. I hated the feeling of paranoia, when we suspected that Potter was trying to sneak into Slytherin to spy on Malfoy.' Ciel shuddered at the memory.
'I think it's time we burn that Invisibility Cloak,' he said coldly. Nezumi nodded. 'If McGonagall doesn't take it first,' he amended, sharing a smirk with his brother.
'Hamlet and Cravat were thrilled when I suggested they go to spy on the spies and bite their ankles when the showers will be full of people. I wish there was a way to tell them to do it when the sixth-years would be there, but I don't think they would know that,' Nezumi said, confirming Ciel's suspicions.
'Are you planning to sleep here?' Ciel asked after another moment of silence. Nezumi nodded and said that Ciel was welcomed to join them, but Ciel shook his head. 'I'll come back for breakfast and tell you how things in the Ravenclaw tower went,' he said. 'I'm sure you'll be glad to have some quiet time with Shion,' he added with friendly mocking and chuckled when Nezumi's cheeks blushed slightly.
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Hermione noticed, without much surprise, that Harry and Ron didn't come to the dinner and her stomach churned with anxiety when she thought about the reasons. She was torn between worry for her friends and anger at them. Anybody else and she would have been furious at the very mention of this kind of idea, but they were her best friends and more than angry, she was hurt that they would think of something so outrageous. She saw Ginny's questioning gaze when Hermione sat at the Hufflepuff table with Safu and Elizabeth, but she looked away. Guilt wrenched her and she felt like she needed to prove that she wasn't going to save Harry and Ron from the trouble.
She was surprised when Ciel joined them for dinner, but the other two girls didn't say anything so she didn't either. However, she didn't fail to notice the insistent expression with which Safu was looking at the Slytherin. Ciel seemed to ignore her as he kept a casual conversation with Lizzy, and occasionally Hermione, throughout the whole meal.
Once she was back in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione ignored pretty much everybody, waiting for Harry and Ron to come back, but time passed and there was no trace of them. The other students went to sleep and the clock chimed midnight. Hermione was thinking to go to sleep herself, resigned that they would not arrive, when the portrait opened and she saw them walk in.
She took in their disappointed and angry expressions and watched how they stopped when they noticed that she was still up. She looked at them for a long while, wondering what she should say, if she should even waste her breath.
'You're awake,' Harry noted with a fake casual tone. 'Aren't you overworking yourself, Hermione?' he asked with some concern and she exploded.
'What the hell were you two thinking?' she yelled, grateful that they were alone. She didn't like to make a show of herself. 'Were you even thinking?' she asked. They looked at each other. 'Look at me when I'm talking to you! I want answers!'
'Hermione, what-' Harry, always the braver one, started, but she didn't let him make excuses or pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about.
'You know very well what I am talking about,' she growled and focused on Harry. 'You, out of all the people, after what you went through in the second year, after the fourth year, I would have thought that you would be more considerate.' Harry had the grace to blush at her words, looking honestly remorseful. 'You know first-hand how people say things that are not true, how difficult it is to have the hostile attention of half the school, how horrible it is to have people you thought friendly avoid you and spread hurtful lies,' she added and, with each word, Harry seemed smaller. She took a deep breath. Ron opened his mouth.
'Not to mention that the idea itself, regardless of your reasons, is absolutely outrageous,' she went on, not letting Ron speak. 'Did you even pause to think how it would feel to be observed by invisible people? Would you like that somebody spied on you as well?' she asked, feeling her anger burn. 'You should be happy that this is not a Muggle school or you would be expelled with charges of paedophilia,' she added, almost enjoying how Harry flinched at the accusation.
'Is that some Muggle disease? Anyways, what is there to be happy when McGonagall took his Cloak?' Ron asked. 'And we have a detention for a week!' he added, sounding outraged. 'A week with Snape, Hermione!' She was so furious that she didn't even know what to say.
'Ok, Hermione, I admit it was stupid,' Harry spoke up, looking at her and biting his lip. 'It was Ron's idea and it seemed like a good idea at the moment. We only wanted to sneak into the tower to look for clues, really. But then R-we realised that we are invisible and we could stay longer and,' he trailed off and looked down, as Ron narrowed his eyes at her.
'Just how exactly do you know what we did Hermione? We didn't even tell Ginny,' he said.
'How I know is none of your business, Ronald,' she hissed in reply, finally finding her voice back. Ciel's words echoed in her thoughts: "You're either with us or against us in this one," and she knew there was only one side she could take, at least for the moment. 'Right now I don't even want to talk to you and if you ever want me to consider forgiving you, you better go and apologise to Shion tomorrow.'
With those words, she turned around on her heel and left the common room.