A/N
Special thanks to Mythrandir for his very helpful review and to Blacksaiyan1103 for his beta reading.
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Gryffindorish Trust
Hogwarts – Hospital Wing – 21st of September
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Her head felt like it was wrapped in cotton wool, her arms like lead, and her mind was working in slow motion. A soft, tender hand caressed her left arm, but she was unwilling to open her eyes yet.
"Only a few more minutes, mom," Hermione mumbled and tried to hide under her sheets.
Someone sniggered and she opened her eyes very slowly. A bright ceiling above, a soft bed below – she knew this feeling, this sight. She was in the Hospital Wing – again. Hermione remembered another time she had awoken in this room. Harry had been here and…
"Ron?" she asked in a whisper as she turned her head towards the person who was sitting at her side.
"Err – no," Hermione heard the well-acquainted voice of Harry. "It's Neville-mom." With a new snigger he tried to hide his anxiety and the reaction on Neville's face, the short moment of disappointment before he forced a concerned smile on his lips again.
"Hello Hermione, good to see you awake again," he whispered. His voice was warm but his face showed a large amount of exhaustion. Deep rings around the eyes told of long hours of watching her.
"How long…?" she asked weakly and turned her head towards Harry. A number of people were in the room too, standing next to him or rising from their seats and beds farther away. Daphne, she noticed instantly. Padma was near another girl… Susan Bones. The woman at her side looked vaguely familiar.
"About time, sleepy-head," a voice growled, the open relief on Agatha Pinegrew's face taming the words' sting.
The other faces shared this mix of concern and relief with the exception of Susan. The Hufflepuff girl apparently had spent hours crying and her eyes were deep red and puffy. She tried to step nearer but the woman at her side grabbed Susan's arm and prevented her movement.
"Hello Miss Granger," she greeted Hermione with a stony face. "I'm Amelia Bones, head of the…"
"DMLE and Susan's Aunt," Hermione interjected with an exhausted smile. Now she remembered the face more clearly from some articles in the Daily Prophet: "Happy to meet you. I always hoped to meet you after all the interesting things I read about your work."
From another person this could be interpreted as empty flattering but the adoration in Hermione's voice told the experienced Amelia Bones that every word was meant as such. It only made her next sentences harder to say.
"I have, more than once, heard stories about your talents, too, Miss Granger. I only hoped the moment of meeting you would be more pleasant." She stepped nearer and took a seat at Hermione's side. For some moments she struggled with words before she started, glancing to her depressed looking niece.
"Miss Granger, at the end of your birthday party you have been poisoned. It was a fast acting and potentially deadly poison. Without the fast reaction of your friends and Madam Pomfrey's healing abilities we wouldn't be standing here now but…"
Amelia Bones stopped and allowed her words to sink in. I could have died, Hermione thought. She remembered Daphne reaching her in that corridor and forcing lukewarm salt water down her throat. She remembered her dizziness and how her lungs struggled for breath. She remembered the smell of her vomit, covering the clothes of Daphne and the worried looks of the twins behind her. Harry had been there and told something about a Patronus… about a bottle of wine.
"The white wine," she asked meekly?
Amelia nodded. "Yes, the poison had been in the white wine. Luckily Mister Potter had been able to avert others from drinking it. Only Miss Davis had a few sips of wine but Mister Potter forced her to vomit and brought her fast enough to the Hospital Wing. She's already in her dormitory again. You on the other hand have been out for two full days. But Madam Pomfrey is certain that you'll recover fully and be able to leave in a few days."
Hermione sighed. Her head was heavy with exhaustion but she looked shortly at Harry and Daphne. "Thank you," she whispered. Harry nodded, started to say something but closed his mouth again and only smiled. Daphne on the other hand stepped closer and put her hand on a small book that was resting on the small table there. Hermione read the title of the worn book: How to feel safe around your family – a guide to poison detection. What a Slytherin title for a book, she grinned shortly.
"I'll expect you to read this before you leave the Hospital. I had totally forgotten how Gryffindorish you are after your last signs of intellect. Really, Hermione, drinking something without examination. Tut-tut. About the book: it is a gift I got from my Aunt Anna before I entered Hogwarts. It is really time for you to read it too. And be sure that you're able to cast the spells correctly when I test you. I marked the most important ones."
"Yes, mother," Hermione grinned.
But Daphne snarled back: "No, Neville is the mother. I don't want to be related to you; way too much lion's blood in your veins." At least she had to battle the smile that tried to invade her face. Harry failed horribly at remaining serious and laughed out loud.
"I see you still try to instill some Slytherin traits into her, Daphne," Agatha joked.
Daphne made a depressed gesture: "I struggle and fail hopelessly. She'll never be accepted into a worthy house."
"You mean like Ravenclaw," Padma interjected with a smirk, causing Agatha to laugh heartily.
"I'm truly sorry to interrupt this moment of joy," Amelia Bones tried to remain calm," but there is something I would like to address now before Miss Granger is too exhausted."
Hermione nodded in her direction, her eyes shortly wandering towards Susan. The Hufflepuff girl still seemed ready to start crying again and nothing of the last happy banter had been able to lift her mood. She had been there too. Had she been poisoned as well?
"We have some serious matters to discuss and decide how to proceed. Because my niece is involved I'm not here in my official function but as Susan's relative."
The conversation slowly got very weird in Hermione's opinion, but the suddenly very sour expressions on the faces of Harry, Daphne and Padma told her that this would be no fun. Apparently the trio had been discussing with Amelia Bones before and didn't seem to share her opinion.
"The bottle of wine had been a present of Susan to you, as you perhaps remember. After your rescue there had been an investigation and we found the empty poison vial in Susan's trunk."
Hermione paled in shock. She glanced at Susan, tears running down her cheeks, then at Harry, his jaws clenched and his teeth grinding, and at Daphne at last, the black-haired girl showing a mask of iron. Padma stepped forward and put a reassuring arm around Susan's waist to steady her and the Hufflepuff girl put her head on Padma's shoulder.
"She wouldn't do that," Hermione whispered with a coarse voice. "Someone framed her." The glaring grey eyes directed at Amelia Bones and the wheeze escaping Daphne's voice spoke clearly of her 'told you so' opinion. Daphne showed Hermione a hint of a smile and her shortest nod of approval.
"It is not that simple. Susan has done this. She bought the wine and the poison, put the poison into the wine and offered it to you. She can remember that. Only she can't say why she would have done this," the voice had a tune of steel but her eyes told clearly how unhappy Amelia was about this.
"Susan?" Hermione asked in a whisper.
The girl nearly cracked and would have collapsed without Padma's support.
"Get a grip," Daphne snarled. Shocked eyes stared at her but she was unfazed by their reactions. "Tell her, Susan. Pull yourself together and tell her what you told Padma and me two days ago."
Padma led Susan to the bed beside Hermione's. On a short nod of Daphne, Harry stepped at Amelia's side and signaled her to distance herself, allowing her niece to calm herself without the glaring eyes of her Aunt. Hermione would have smiled about her friend's impertinence to order around one of the highest Ministry officials but she was too much troubled about Susan in the moment.
With a barely hearable whisper the girl started to explain, her sentences several times interrupted by bitter sobs. "A few days ago I thought about getting you a present. Somehow the idea of buying a bottle of wine crossed my mind. I went to Madam Sprout and presented her a written permission of my Aunt to visit Hogsmeade to buy one. The permission was false, the signature faked. In Hogsmeade I bought the wine and the poison and stored them away. At the evening of your party I put the poison in the wine and offered it to you. I only pretended to drink it too. Afterwards I left the wine so that some of your friends could use it too."
"But why, Susan, why?" Hermione asked flabbergasted.
The girl shook her head. "I have no idea. Hermione… Daphne, Padma and you are my best friends here at Hogwarts. I can't imagine why I could have done this. I don't even know why I chose the wine as a present. I had something different ordered for you before. My first present is still in my trunk."
"Another question is: how did you know where to get the thorn apple poison," Agatha interrupted. "It is not that simple to get something like that, especially in Hogsmeade."
Susan nodded weakly. "That I don't know either. Somehow I knew where to find the woman who sold the poison and what I had to say – the keyword. And after the poisoning I simply walked away. I didn't destroy the empty vial; I didn't flee but simply went to sleep."
"Sounds awful like the use of mind alteration spells to me and an Imperio curse to boot," Harry stated and Hermione agreed inwardly.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious, for stating… the obvious," Daphne growled. Her face and even more the lopsided smirk on Harry's told Hermione that her friends had this discussion before… and apparently this wasn't their first exchange of insults too.
"I agree with everything you want, Hermione… Legilimency, Veritaserum… decide and I'll do it." Susan's voice showed her desperation clearly.
"That won't be necessary," Hermione uttered. It simply didn't cross her mind that someone could really believe Susan to do this willingly.
A deep groan to her left, a groan sounding like 'Gryffindor', alarmed Hermione. "You're lucky that you're too weak to get slapped for this nonsense." After a short harrumph of Harry Daphne added with a smirk: "This and that Mister 'I-defend-you-with-my-teeth-and-claws' would try to protect you."
"But I believe her," Hermione moaned in despair.
Daphne rolled her eyes: "Tell me something new. Do you remember, Padma, what I told you? I said, 'she'll simply believe every word of Susan without proof'. Didn't I, Padma? Sure I did."
Padma sniggered and Harry agreed: "Yes, you did; omniscient-one."
Daphne totally ignored the irony and nodded regally.
"You should take this more seriously," Amelia Bones interjected. "As much as I'm happy about your trust, we can't simply ignore the facts and doubts."
Hermione signaled Harry to help her sit up and gestured Susan to step nearer. With much hesitation and only after reassuring nods of Padma and Daphne she followed the invite, only to tense as Hermione simply hugged her. "I believe you, Susan. There is no need for Veritaserum."
"Ouch," Hermione yelled as she received a slap at her head from Daphne.
"Sorry, reflex," Daphne shrugged without much remorse. "You're wrong, Hermione."
As Hermione tried to interrupt, Harry stopped his friend: "Let her explain."
"Thank you," Daphne nodded regally again and accepted Harry's mocking bow. "Naturally there is no need for such things to convince us. I'm certain every one of us is willing to believe Susan and, while it hurts my Slytherin soul to do so, I would even back away from using such methods of truth-proving in this case." Daphne shuddered slightly: "Bad-lion-influence. I spend too much time with you three. Next month I'll get warm blood and wear a happy smile around all the time." The following laughter caused even Susan to relax a little bit.
Much more serious Harry continued: "But we know how stubborn our housemates can be, Hermione. Some of them – and certainly many others from the other houses too – won't simply trust her."
Daphne agreed: "My housemates won't believe anything, that's for sure. But with Veritaserum we could at least try to convince the rest of the student body. This wasn't Susan's fault, and I'm not happy at the thought of her suffering from ridiculous rumors for the rest of her time at Hogwarts."
"If you're both agreeable, we'll use Veritaserum and Legilimency to prove Susan's explanations. Professor McGonagall agreed to publish the result."
Susan simply nodded, unable to speak, and after some moments of considering the idea Hermione agreed too. "Who'll execute this," she asked?
"I will do it," Agatha stepped forward. "I don't belong to Mrs. Bones' department and I have the needed skill to brew the serum and use Legilimency on her. Minnie agreed to oversee this."
Minnie… Minerva McGonagall, Hermione smiled a bit and nodded again. This would be the best course of action.
"And Susan…" Harry started, staring at the still frightened and depressed looking girl.
"You won't hide from the stares," Daphne continued.
"You'll study with us as before," Padma declared.
"And you'll eat with us," Neville ended the collective explanation of trust and support.
Hermione simply nodded and even Amelia Bones shared the smile of approval Agatha showed.
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Susan had left the room with Daphne and Padma accompanying her. That Hermione trusted her and the vocal support of Hermione's friends had meant the world to the Hufflepuff girl. The next few weeks wouldn't be easy for her, but at least there would be a future at Hogwarts.
"This leaves us with the important question unanswered: who casted these mind alteration spells? Who was daring or determined enough to try this attempted murder and even went so far to use an Unforgivable on my niece," Amelia broke the silence.
"Hermione, I would like to tell Mrs. Bones about the… other incident. Do you think that Mr. Longbottom should stay for this talk," Agatha suddenly asked, stunning Hermione with the question. It was a risk: telling Mrs. Bones and even more with another student learning that secret. It was a risk especially for her daughter. The simple fact that Agatha asked her, showed her trust in Hermione's opinion and her choice of friends. Slowly she nodded. "I trust Neville without any doubt, Agatha. He won't tell anybody." For a moment Hermione mused that this statement was simply correct. She trusted Neville with such a secret, much more than she would do in the presence of hot-head Ron.
Slightly confused Neville followed the exchange but calmed down as Hermione pressed his hand reassuringly.
Amelia Bones stared at Agatha Pinegrew: "another incident? This hadn't been the first attempt?"
"No," Agatha shook her head. "A month ago, at the Quidditch finals, when those dumb-headed Deatheaters fooled around, two of them used the confusion to attack Miss Granger and Mister Potter."
Neville paled and looked questioning at Hermione, but the girl said with a soft voice: "It is okay, Neville, nothing happened to us."
"How serious was that attack," Amelia asked.
"Serious enough," Amelia responded. "They used Reducto spells several times."
"They would have killed us," Harry interjected. "They were really good, very strong spells. Without…" He glanced at Agatha and after a short nod he continued: "without the help of Roxanne Greengrass we would be dead."
"Roxanne," Amelia asked flabbergasted: "your daughter?"
"Yes," Agatha confirmed. "She helped Hermione and Harry to escape. In the fight one of those Deatheaters had been wounded… he lost his wand hand."
Amelia took a deep breath. "Does she know who…?"
"No," Agatha denied. "Until now the identity isn't known. She had tried to spend more time with the friends of Mister Malfoy in the last weeks but until now none of his friends showed signs of that battle. Perhaps he hides to recover. We hope that we'll be able to identify him in the time around Christmas. Everyone will participate in the Christmas Ball season. Hopefully he'll be there too. Perhaps you could use your influence to get to know if someone received an artificial hand at St. Mungo."
"I'll do that," Amelia Bones agreed. For a while she looked thoughtfully before she asked with concern in her voice: "Does he know? Does that Deatheater know about your daughter's part in that battle?"
"I don't think so. She had her face hidden behind glamour and only a handful of persons know about it."
"Good," Amelia relaxed.
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Amelia Bones and Agatha Pinegrew exited the Hospital Wing to speak with Professor McGonagall about the examination Agatha had planned for Susan Bones. That left only Harry and Neville at Hermione's bed, as the girl – now thoroughly exhausted – remarked: "I don't know what I despise more: the fact that someone tried to poison me or that this someone used Susan to attempt it."
"Both deeds are disgusting," Harry agreed. With a short snigger he continued: "Daphne spend the last two days reading her books, searching for a number of especially painful hexes she wants to teach you after your recovery to use for revenge."
"Her temper has been really bad," Neville added with a soft smile. "Hopefully you're faster than her when we learn about the culprit's identity." Harry thought otherwise but stayed silent. Whoever did this poisoning deserved anything Daphne was able to come up with, as long as she didn't get caught.
Hermione mused: "I was astonished to see her simply trusting Susan's story."
"You only know half of it," Neville mumbled.
At Hermione's questioning look Harry tried to explain: "Susan wanted to stay with you, to watch you recover. But her Aunt opposed that. Susan was heart-broken. I think this whole poisoning and her part in it… she was really devastated. Mrs. Bones and Professor McGonagall only allowed Susan to stay with you after Daphne invoked something…" Harry struggled for a moment. "I didn't really understand, perhaps Neville is able to explain, it was some pureblood society thing."
"Honor witness," Neville went on. "Daphne asked if Susan would be allowed to stay with honor witnesses and Padma supported the idea. Mrs. Bones and Minerva agreed."
"What's an honor witness," Hermione wondered. "I never heard such a term."
"You won't hear it very often in the future, I assume," Neville smiled shyly. "Daphne and Padma accepted the role of being Susan's honor witnesses for the time until you awake and decide how to continue. Until that moment they were responsible for everything Susan would do. Had Susan tried another attempt on your life, they would have been responsible too."
Hermione gasped and Harry muttered: "I didn't know that this had been so serious."
Neville nodded slightly: "you can imagine that there aren't many purebloods willing to take such a risk even for their best friends, especially… especially not a Slytherin."
The three friends stayed silent for a long time before Hermione broke the thoughtful silence with a loud laugh: "Daphne is correct about one thing." On the questioning looks of her friends she explained: "We're bad influence for her. To trust a Hufflepuff's word in such a matter, that's so un-Slytherin."
"Gryffindorish trust," Harry sniggered: "too bad, poor thing."
Neville shared the laughter: "Soon they'll revoke her Slytherin house honors. Perhaps you should adopt her."
For a long time the happy laughter of the three friends was heard in the Hospital Wing and the surrounding corridors.
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A totally exhausted Neville had complied at last to Harry's urging and left the Hospital Wing after a last promise to visit her the next afternoon. Harry watched him leave before he quietly told Hermione: "Susan had never been far away the last two days, with Padma or Daphne at her side all the time. There had been many other visitors too, even Lavender and Parvati had been here to deliver flowers and sweets." He sniggered shortly: "Even Crookshanks had been here several times. The last time Madam Pomfrey nearly had a seizure as she tried to chase him away."
Hermione smiled thankfully as she thought about her tomcat. A short glance in Harry's direction: was he thinking about his own tomcat now too? "And Ron," she asked with frightened hope in her voice?
"Yes, sure, he was here," Harry responded a bit grimly. "You know him: he was livid about the matter."
Hermione sensed that there was something else, something she wouldn't like. Did she want to ask? Hermione struggled but in the end she wanted to know what troubled her best friend: "there is more about Ron, isn't it?"
Harry gulped and looked down. Switching from one foot to the other he obviously didn't really want to answer, only increasing Hermione's curiosity: "Harry?"
He sighed deeply, but it was Madam Pomfrey – who had entered the room to look after her patient after all those visitors – who answered: "he was here for a very short visit. He said something about Quidditch training as he left."
Hermione paled and stared at Harry for confirmation. After another deep sigh he said: "even without official Quidditch plays this year the team wanted to train, perhaps plan some friendly matches. Ron wants to be our keeper next season."
"I understand," Hermione said hoarsely and she really did. Quidditch had been more important to Ron than anything else, more important than school, more important than friends, apparently more important than her. Certainly she could excuse his behavior with the fact that he couldn't do anything to help her recover from the poison, but Harry had been here nonetheless. Padma had been here and Daphne and many others. She felt like crying.
"He wanted to evict Miss Greengrass," Madam Pomfrey growled: "uttered some nonsense about Gryffindors not needing Snakes around. I had to send him away to restore peace."
Madam Pomfrey walked away, mumbling angrily. Harry put a hand on Hermione's arm: "I'm sorry, Mione."
"It is okay," Hermione hiccupped and tried bravely to show a happy smile, failing miserably. "You were here, and Daphne, and Neville."
Harry's face softened as Hermione mentioned Neville: "yes he was. He never left your side, brushed your hair with that new brush, read you some novel from this Jane something. Neville even got a special permission from Professor McGonagall to miss classes. I have no idea how he was able to receive one. And don't you dare to scold him about that."
"I won't, Harry," Hermione mumbled as she leaned back at her cushion, now with a real smile on her lips, "I won't."
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Three days later Susan Bones entered the Great Hall at the side of Hermione Granger. Surrounded by Harry, Neville, Padma and Daphne they took seats at the Hufflepuff table for dinner. This show of trust and support made even more of an impression to the student body than Professor McGonagall's speech about 'Miss Bones not being a willing participant in the murder attempt' after the examination.
Slowly peace set in again and the students turned away from the spectacle. Only two pairs of eyes rested on the group of friends for a long time. Their attempt had failed, the Mudblood still lived. They would try it again, plan it more carefully. Their glares switched to the black-haired witch across Hermione. Traitor, they thought. She had been the reason for the Mudblood's survival. She would suffer for this deed too.
The hateful observers didn't notice that they were being observed too. Thinking about all the small hints of the last days and pondering about the hateful stares her two year mates threw at Granger and Greengrass, more than simple suspicions wore their way through Pansy Parkinson's mind. Should she do something about that? She hated and despised Granger, liked nothing more than the imagination of the Muggleborn witch being hexed, suffering, humiliated. But to kill her was something else, something she couldn't agree with despite all her hate. And now Daphne would be in danger too.
Pansy glanced at Draco and Astoria. How would Draco react? What about Astoria? Despite any disputes and conflict – limits existed that shouldn't be crossed. It had been the same reason that her father, despite his part in the Muggle bashing a month ago, had been livid about the attack on Granger and Potter. To kill two children – especially with one of them the boy-who-lived – would be really bad press for the cause. Her father had been full of spite about a certain wannabe Deatheater and his loss of a hand.
Pansy sighed. She would have to think about that. Perhaps a letter was in order now.