XV
Graduation
"MUM!"
Hermione nearly tackled her mother in her hug, feeling a great well of emotion bubble up in her chest. A few nearby students and their families watched amusedly as Hermione Granger embraced her mother. All the Seventh Year students had just arrived out on the lawn next to the Black Lake. This was where the outdoor graduation ceremony was taking place.
"Oh, Hermione," her mother sighed, returning the hug, "it's so good to see you." The older woman pulled back, examining her daughter closely, looking her up and down. "You look gorgeous, love," she said, tears in her eyes.
Hermione glanced down at the black Graduation Robes and the beige dress she wore beneath them. Her pointed hat was poised precariously on top of her hair, just like all of the other graduating seventh years. The only difference between her robes and the others was the Head Girl badge pinned on her chest. Underneath her hat her hair was charmed into more manageable, elegant curls. The wrangling of her hair was courtesy of Ginny, a master at cosmetic spells. She looked back up at her mother, the same swell of emotion rising up again. She felt like she could cry. A large part of her desperately wanted to pull her mother away from all the people and explain everything that had happened over the past several months.
But she couldn't do that, not now. In a few moments the students and their families would be told to take their separate seats and the ceremony would begin. There would be time to reveal her secrets when she finally returned home.
"Where's Dad?" she asked, looking over her mother's shoulder, searching the crowd.
"He went to talk to the Weasleys," her mum replied, pulling Hermione deeper into the crowd. The mother and daughter soon found a familiar sea of redheads, and Mr. Granger's greying chestnut curls among them.
"Hermione," he smiled broadly upon seeing her, pulling her into a tight hug and kissing the top of her head. "You look stunning, darling."
She smiled up at her dad, and then over at her mum. "I missed both of you so much."
Just then Mrs. Weasley spotted her, pulling Hermione into a squeezing hug. Hermione worried that the woman would let something dangerous slip, something alluding to her recent discovery about Hermione's lycanthropy. Luckily, however, Mrs. Weasley knew that Mr. and Mrs. Granger were still in the dark. She simply gave Hermione an affectionate smile and pulled away. Next, Hermione found herself moving onto several other Weasleys, greeting Arthur, Bill, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny. Beside Ginny stood Sirius, and then Ron and Harry, who wore the same Graduation Robes as her along with almost identical anxiously excited expressions. Hermione, who was now in a fully over-affectionate mood, couldn't resist pulling both of them into a great hug.
"Isn't this crazy?" she murmured, leaning back and looking at the setup nearby. There were dozens of rows of chairs, all facing a beautiful view of the sparkling Black Lake. Between the chairs and the lake was a raised platform with a chair for each professor, just like in the Great Hall. At the front of the platform was a single podium.
"I can't believe we're done," said Harry.
"It's sort of sad," Ron mumbled wistfully.
Just then Ginny approached, kissing Harry on the cheek and grinning at Hermione and Ron. The redhead looked beautiful, as always, wearing a light blue dress that her mother had given her. "I don't know what I'll do without you three next year," she mused, looking at the chairs and the view of the lake with a saddened smile.
"You know we'll visit every Hogsmeade weekend," Harry said, putting his arm around Ginny and kissing her cheek.
"And maybe Hermione will come visit me whenever she goes to see Lupin," Ginny winked cheekily at Hermione.
"Why would I be visiting Remus?" Hermione replied, narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, I don't know," Ginny sighed, "I'm sure there will be reasons to visit…"
Hermione gave Ginny a sharp glare, frowning at Sirius, standing behind her, when he started to laugh. Harry and Ron looked between the three with confusion. Luckily, though, Dumbledore's voice, amplified by his wand, chose that moment to interrupt. "Please take your seats, we will commence momentarily."
A wave of excitement ran through Hermione. She was going to graduate in only a few moments. It felt strangely surreal. She quickly made her way back over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were currently talking to her own parents. Giving her mum and dad a hug, she said goodbye for now and followed Harry and Ron to take their seats.
The chairs in the back of the setup were the ones for the students. The students were to sit in alphabetical and walk up to the platform to get their diploma when their name was called. Hermione found herself sitting just a row in front of Harry, with Ron another row behind them. As the crowd begun to sit down, she took a moment to examine who was present in the family section.
She spotted several Order members among the crowd, most likely pretending to be parents and trying to blend in with the crowd. That, combined with the fact that Dumbledore and all the other teachers were present, made Hermione feel marginally safer. Almost instinctively, she scanned the crowd of parents for a head of silver-blonde hair that belonged to Lucius Malfoy. She didn't find anyone who looked like Malfoy, though to be honest, she didn't expect he would come here today. It was Draco's graduation ceremony, but Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that if Lucius Malfoy had even attempted to make an appearance here, he wouldn't have been able to because there were Aurors, Order members, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, and scores of other people that hated Malfoy almost as much as Voldemort himself. Yes, it would indeed be unwise for Lucius Malfoy to show himself here.
Looking further into the crowd, Hermione spotted two people, one holding a camera and the other holding an enchanted quill and notepad, most likely from theProphet. She grimaced. Hermione had always hated the reporters from the Prophet. This mostly stemmed from her acquaintance with Rita Skeeter, but she suspected that Skeeter wasn't the only rotten one of the bunch.
The professors had somehow materialized as the crowd flocked to their seats. Hermione watched as they took their seats on the raised platform in the same order as they sat in the Great Hall every day. She noticed Remus first, sitting between Professor Snape and Hagrid, looking happy and healthy. Her heart beat just a little faster when she looked at him.
Beside Remus, Professor Snape wore the usual scowl as he panned the crowd. Hermione wondered if he would yell at her if she tried to hug him when she got her diploma. The students were supposed to go down the line and shake hands with all of the professors when it was their turn, but some students hugged teachers they were especially close to. Hermione thought it would be hilarious to see Snape's reaction if she tried to hug him, but she figured that it probably wouldn't be the wisest choice, especially if she wanted any hope of being able to ask for his help on her research after today.
Beside Snape was Professor McGonagall, looking proud and tearful as she gazed down at the crowd. Next to McGonagall was Dumbledore, standing up at the podium and waiting for everyone to take their seats. When the crowd finally quieted, Dumbledore raised his arms to begin the ceremony. "First of all I would like to welcome all of the family members who have come here today to celebrate this occasion with our graduating seventh years. I'm sure our students will agree with me when I say that an occasion like this is much better when shared with loved ones.
"These students have lived here at Hogwarts for seven years now, and while I know that difficult times may lie ahead, and moving on from Hogwarts may be a daunting task, I also know that myself and all the Professors behind me have the utmost faith in these young witches and wizards. So before we begin I would like to say that, on behalf of myself and all the Hogwarts staff members, we wish you all the best of luck. Now, without further ado, Professor Minerva McGonagall, our Deputy Headmistress, will begin the ceremony."
McGonagall stood from her seat, taking Dumbledore's place at the podium while the Headmaster moved away to the end of the line of Professors. With a loud pop, a scroll appeared floating above the podium, presumably containing the names of all the students.
"Hannah Abbott," McGonagall said. Hannah Abbott, at the front of the group, stood nervously and made her way to the platform. Hannah went along the row, shaking all the hands of the professors as she went. When she arrived at Dumbledore at the end of the line, a scroll of parchment with a golden tie appeared in his hand – her diploma – and he handed it to her. After she was finished, she stepped off the platform and made her way back to her seat.
Several other students were called and went through the procession in the same manner. For most of Muggle-borns a loud cheer could be heard from their family in the audience when their name was called. Hermione found this quite sweet, though she knew it would be embarrassing if her mum or dad yelled like that.
The ceremony continued, many students going up, hugging or shaking hands with their professors. Eventually Harry went, making his way up to the podium and grinning bashfully at the loud cheering coming from Sirius, Ginny, and the twins. He hugged McGonagall, shook the rest of the professor's hands, and then stepped down. As he descended, Hermione heard the distinct flash of cameras. A glance at the two reporters from the Prophet confirmed her suspicions. So it seemed that Harry Potter's graduation would make the papers tomorrow.
The ceremony continued, all the names being called and all the students taking their turns. Prefects were skipped over, along with Head Boy and Head Girl. That would be at the end. While Hermione didn't need any special recognition for being Head Girl – especially after feeling so guilty about all the partying and inebriation she'd allowed among the Gryffindors lately – she appreciated it deep down.
"Now, for the Prefects," McGonagall chimed, calling off all the Prefects one-by-one. When Ron stood, his Prefect badge pinned proudly on his robes, most of the Weasleys went wild. Hermione couldn't help but grin at Ron's happy expression as he got his diploma.
"Finally," McGonagall spoke again, "our Head Boy, Evan Barlow."
A loud cheer erupted from most of the Ravenclaws, and Evan stood, making his way to the podium with a shy smile. When he sat back down Hermione felt the attention shift to her.
"And our Head Girl," McGonagall smiled widely, "Hermione Granger."
Several cheers were heard from the Gryffindors, but the thing that made Hermione blush with embarrassment was the loud whooping coming from Ginny, Fred, and George. Nevertheless, she tamed her embarrassment and stood from her seat, walking up through the crowd of parents and approaching the platform. Behind her, she could hear the snapping of a camera, and she knew that one of the journalists from the Prophet was taking a photo of her. She tried to ignore it and started shaking hands with the professors. First was Flitwick, then Sinistra. Next was Hagrid, who looked almost teary eyed while he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. Hermione had to take a deep breath after this, moving onto Remus.
Coming into today, she hadn't known what to expect from this interaction with Remus, but she'd guessed that a hug would not be the wisest choice for either of them. She'd also anticipated that this might be just a little awkward. Surprisingly, it wasn't awkward at all. Remus reached out and shook her hand, giving her an endearing half-smile. "Congratulations, Hermione," he whispered, just loud enough so that the pair of them could hear it with their amplified senses. Hermione smiled in return, not trusting her voice enough to whisper her thanks back.
Up next was Snape, who shook Hermione's hand in much the same way he'd done with all the other students. The only difference was the slight, tight-lipped nod he gave her. She felt a flutter of pride at the fact that he'd acknowledged her that much, even if it was barely noticeable.
The Head Girl continued down the line, earning a proud hug from McGonagall and her diploma from Dumbledore. When she turned around the distinct noise of cameras flashing and snapping photos was heard once more. She shifted from toe to toe, anxiously hoping that all her scars were hidden safely under her robes.
As she stepped off the platform and walked back through the crowd she made eye contact with her mum and dad, both were grinning from ear to ear. Her mum was crying. She sat down in her seat. At last, the ceremony ended. Dumbledore stood and told the crowd that there would be food and drinks back in the Great Hall so that students could introduce their parents to professors or classmates and say goodbye. The students were leaving on the Express tomorrow, so there would still be plenty of time to say goodbye to classmates, but this was indeed the last time they would all be together with their professors and without any younger students.
Hermione found her parents and ushered them over to the large group of Weasleys, earning many hugs and congratulations along with Harry and Ron. Together, the Grangers, the Weasleys, Harry, and Sirius made their way up to the castle and into the Great Hall. Hermione's parents were awed by nearly everything. Her father in particular couldn't get enough of the floating candles on the ceiling of the Great Hall. She was fairly certain that he stared at them for at least fifteen minutes before socializing with anyone.
"So," Hermione's mother began, looking at Hermione and then at the crowd around them, "are you going to introduce us to your teachers?"
Hermione sighed, looking over at Harry and Ginny, whom she'd just been speaking with. She'd wanted to spend a lot of time with Harry tonight because she knew that it was hard for him to be around so many classmates and their parents when he only really had Sirius — the Dursleys didn't come, of course — but she supposed she had to separate from him at some point. Both Harry and Ginny waved her off to go with her parents, so Hermione turned away and ushered her parents to the nearest Professor.
Hermione introduced or re-introduced her parents to Flitwick, McGonagall, Sinistra, Vector, and Hagrid before she decided that that was quite enough Professors.
"I think that's enough for now, right?" Hermione asked, pulling her parents away from Hagrid, who was very close to spilling some secrets about the things Hermione, Harry, and Ron had gotten up to over the years. Her parents would truly be horrified to learn some of the details of what had happened over the years. Hermione had always glossed over a few things to spare them the worry…
"What about that Defense Professor?" her mum asked, panning the crowd in pursuit of Remus. "You know, that one you were so excited to have back again this year? Oh and what about the Potions Professor? I want to see how mean this man truly is."
"Um," Hermione looked around the room, "perhaps just Professor Lupin for now. I don't know if you want to meet Snape just yet." Despite her higher standing in Snape's graces as of late, she worried about her parents ruining it for her, plus he appeared to be surrounded by a group of Slytherin parents at the moment.
"Lupin," Hermione's father hummed in consideration, "that's a funny name, isn't it?"
"Yes, very funny," Hermione mumbled, pulling her parents through the crowd, "but don't mention it to him." Her parents definitely did not know that Remus was a werewolf, and she didn't want to start that conversation any time soon. Especially not at graduation.
Remus was standing in a small circle, Sirius by his side, then Harry, then Ron, then Ginny, and finally the twins.
Just as Hermione approached with her parents she spotted Fred elbow George to get his attention. Together, they both stepped towards Hermione, stopping her and bowing simultaneously.
"The esteemed Head Girl is in our presence, George," Fred said regally.
George turned to the rest of the people around them raising his arms. "Announcing Hermione Granger, Head Girl and also the witch who is rumored to be the only reason our younger brother may have passed his N.E.W.T.s." Sirius barked out a laugh. Harry and Ginny both grinned. Ron did not look very pleased at all with the comment. Remus, across the circle, looked at her with a wry smile, something else that looked like anxiety hidden beneath his expression.
"Enough of that," Hermione retorted pointedly. She quickly pulled her parents beside her, moving closer to Remus. "Mum, Dad, this is Professor Remus Lupin. Professor Lupin, these are my parents, Nancy and William Granger."
It was so odd calling him Professor to his face after so many months of just Remus.
Remus shook both of their hands; muttering a polite, "pleasure." She could see that he felt immensely uncomfortable, but he hid it well.
Hermione smiled tightly as she went around the circle with introductions, "you know Harry and Ron of course. Ginny, Fred, and George I think you saw earlier, and this is Sirius Black, Harry's Godfather." She hoped that her parents remembered everything that she'd told them about Sirius and that it was very important for them to know that he was not actually the mass murderer the news had made him out to be several years ago.
Sirius shook both Mr. and Mrs. Granger's hands with a broad smile. If her parents did have a mixed reaction to him, Sirius didn't seem to care at all. He was in a brilliantly cheerful mood, presumably because Harry was no longer going to be separated from him for such long periods of time and the fact that Dumbledore had allowed him to attend tonight as himself and not Padfoot (which was a risky decision in Hermione's opinion, but she didn't want to spoil the night for either of them by complaining).
Soon both of Hermione's parents decided that they wanted to speak to the Weasleys more and give Hermione the opportunity to spend some time with her friends. She watched Remus' expression as they left, noting his slight discomfort when they said goodbye to Sirius and himself. Despite feeling bad that he was uncomfortable, it couldn't bring her mood down. She found that she was elated with everything right now. She was happy to be around her friends and family, happy to have the accomplishment of N.E.W.T.s and graduation under her belt, and happy to look to life in the coming days, even if a few things were still up in the air and she did have her worries.
She moved to stand between Harry and Ron, slinging an arm around each of their shoulders and grinning at them. They chatted about how they thought the graduation ceremony was, and what all their plans were in the coming weeks. Harry and Ron weren't completely sure of what they were going to do, but she suspected that they would both want to go into Auror training right away if their N.E.W.T. scores turned out well.
As for Hermione, she truly didn't know where she wanted to go from here. For a short period of time recently she'd seriously considered going to a Muggle University simply to further her general education. That idea had been eliminated when she realized that she wanted an education in the magical world more than anything. If she wanted to learn Muggle subjects, it was easy enough to teach herself. Another idea that she'd considered was taking up an offer to intern at the Ministry of Magic starting immediately after school ended. She'd also seriously considered this, knowing that it was a very important pathway and the Ministry was highly selective in the students they picked up straight out of Hogwarts. In the end Hermione had decided against it, not wanting to go immediately into the heavily political environment that the Ministry had been lately and also desiring some time to think through her choices and hopefully see an end to this war.
The more she thought about it, the more she actually started to realize how much gravity the war and Voldemort had in her life. She couldn't realistically think of making any choices in the near future that would take her away from Harry or the Order. In fact, the only things she was absolutely certain of were the fact that she wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix and that she wanted to see this war through to the end, hopefully coming out alive.
The conversation followed this path. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all seemed to agree that they wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix as soon as possible. Remus and Sirius were both wary of this, but they had no real argument for the trio not to, especially when Harry mentioned that the Marauders and his mother had joined the Order straight out of Hogwarts. Harry couldn't live with himself if he didn't try to push forward and become more active in the effort of the Order. It was essentially set in stone for him.
Lavender Brown, pushing her way into the circle and grabbing Ron by the arm, interrupted the deep conversation. She pulled Ron away from Hermione's side with a suspicious expression, informing her boyfriend that he had to come meet her parents now, not leaving any room for protest. Hermione didn't miss Ron's grimace, nor did anyone else in the group.
As Hermione watched Ron and Lavender walk away, she spotted another familiar face among the crowd in the Great Hall. It was Evan and he was walking in her direction. Like Hermione, he still wore the badge pinned on the front of his robes indicating his Head Boy status. She figured that he had gained a similar attachment to it over the year. She didn't want to part with it until tonight was over, knowing that this was the last time she would actually be able to wear it.
"Professor Lupin?" Evan called, looking through the rest of the group awkwardly. Sirius had been speaking quietly to Remus, but he backed away to Harry, Hermione, and Ginny at the sight of the approaching student.
Remus spoke to Evan for a little while. Hermione tried not to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was hard to avoid catching what they were discussing with her increased hearing and a strange attunement to Remus' voice that she seemed to have developed.
Evan thanked Remus for all the help he'd been over the year. Hermione never thought that they were very close, but Remus obviously liked and respected Evan very much, wishing him the best of luck at his internship at the Ministry. Hermione had known that Evan was offered the same internship as her, but she, essentially his roommate, had no idea he'd accepted it.
Evan thanked Remus once more before turning to the rest of the group and making eye contact with Hermione. She smiled, silently telling him to approach. "It's been a great year," he said.
Hermione gave him a friendly hug, endeared by his awkward sentimentality. Evan left soon after this, going back to his family and a group of Ravenclaws across the hall. Hermione fell back into conversation with the others.
It was much later when she finally noticed Draco Malfoy. She realized upon seeing him that she hadn't paid any attention to him at Graduation at all. He looked lonely; that was the only word Hermione could find to describe it. He stood alone, sipping a glass of what looked like pumpkin juice and gazing at crowd around him. A group of Slytherin students were nearby, but he didn't interact with any of them. He looked quite out of the ordinary compared to them; lacking the same prideful and broad demeanor they all wore. Hermione remembered that not only had she not seen his father at graduation, but she also hadn't spotted his mother. She didn't know much about his mother, but she couldn't imagine that Mrs. Malfoy was half as bad as her husband.
Taking a deep breath, Hermione strode towards Draco, muttering a quick "I'll be right back," to the others. Their eyes followed her as she approached Draco, but she didn't look back.
He picked his head up when she was only a few feet away, an expression of surprised suspicion crossing his face.
"Neither of your parents are here," she said, moving to stand next to him and watch the passing crowd just as he did. It was only now that she noticed how many parents and their children were here, and how alone people like Draco, Neville, and Harry must have felt.
"The possibility of my father attending was out of the question," he said, his shoulders set stiffly, "as I'm sure you understand."
She nodded once. "And your mother?"
Draco seemed to sense the hidden questions behind Hermione's innocuous question. She was trying to gauge where his mother stood in all of this. "My mother left my father a short time ago. She too found out some details of what he has been up to lately." His meaningful glance in Hermione's direction told her exactly what those details were. "While she would be the person I would like to have at an event such as my graduation, Professor Snape strongly advised her against coming tonight."
Hermione gave a solemn nod of understanding, her eyes finding Ron and Lavender across the hall. Ron was talking to a man who appeared to be Lavender's father, looking intimidated and skittish. "What do you think you'll do now?" She asked, turning to Draco once again. When she looked his way she noted that Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass were standing just behind Draco, openly glaring at Hermione.
"I'm not sure," he admitted, his tone clipped. "My mother and I will need to go somewhere quiet for a while, but I don't know where.
She nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure you'll figure something out."
"Of course," he sighed, pausing before speaking again. "Not that I don't appreciate your company in all my pitiful solitude, Granger, but it seems that your friends want you back."
She followed his line of vision to Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Remus, and Sirius, who were all trying to hide the fact that they were watching Hermione like a hawk. She huffed out a laugh. "Typical. I'll head back there."
Just as she was leaving Draco, however, she turned back around, stopping in her tracks looking at him with a tight expression. "I know you'll probably hate me for saying this, but I'm really proud of what you've done and the choices you've made over these past couple months."
He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and adopting his usual pureblood stature. "Hmm," he sighed, pursing his lips, "maybe just a little too patronizing for my taste, Granger."
She couldn't resist smiling as she raised her hands up in mock surrender, turning around and retreating. Just before she was out of earshot she heard something that made her grin even wider. "Thank you," said Draco.
Arriving back with her fellow Gryffindors on the opposite end of the Great Hall, Hermione failed to do away with her happy smile. Her mistake there was something that no one failed to notice.
"So how's it going with Draco?" Ginny asked in a faux-conversational tone, smirking with amusement.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I was just talking to him." Just as she finished saying this, her mother walked over to the group.
"Who was that handsome boy you were speaking with?" she asked with mirthful intrigue, looking back at Draco.
Hermione blushed crimson red. "Mum!" she gasped, scandalized, "he's not- it's not like that at all." As she said this she couldn't resist nervously glancing across the circle at Remus. He watched her closely, with an unnerving sort of intensity.
It wasn't long after this that the Great Hall started to die down a little. People began to leave, the noises of conversation and laughter abating, along with the general feeling of excitement. The Leaving Feast would start in a short while, and then it would no longer be just the Seventh Years celebrating together. As parents started to leave, Hermione found herself and her parents approached by Tonks.
"Wotcher, Hermione," Tonks grinned, giving the girl a hug before shaking the hands of her mum and dad. Tonks had met Mr. and Mrs. Granger before, presumably earlier this afternoon when she'd brought them to Hogwarts from their home. "Are we almost ready to go?" she asked, looking from Hermione to her parents.
Hermione nodded. Most of the Great Hall was empty now. She turned to her mum first, hugging her briefly. After this she turned to her dad, doing the same and receiving one of the same proud smiles she'd been seeing all afternoon. "I'll see you both at King's Cross tomorrow," she breathed, pulling back.
"Looking forward to it," her father grinned. He then turned to Tonks, asking her to lead the way out of the school. Hermione walked with them out to the entrance of the castle, saying goodbye once more and watching as Tonks lead them away into the darkness of the afternoon. She stood there for a short while afterwards, watching the land around her with a strange sense of nostalgia. She must have been there for much longer than she thought, because eventually Harry and Ron came outside, standing beside her, looking out at the Black Lake and down at Hagrid's hut and at the tall darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
"I'm going to miss it," she admitted.
"We'll come back, I'm sure," Harry said softly.
She nodded, taking a deep breath. The sun was beginning to set. The Leaving Feast would start very soon. As if attuned to Hermione's thoughts, Ron's stomach made a loud grumbling noise. For a moment she thought that only she'd heard it due to her enhanced hearing, but Harry picked up on it as well. He broke out into a fit of laughter, which Hermione joined in on.
"What?" Ron mumbled defensively, "I'm hungry."
"Of course you are, Ron," Harry breathed between laughs, "let's go inside."
The Leaving Feast was as extravagant and emotional as always. Hermione had always wondered what it was like for Seventh Years, knowing that they wouldn't be coming back to school next fall, but now she understood. It was equal parts exciting, saddening, and frightening.
After the feast Harry tried to convince Hermione to go back to the Common Room with the others, but she just wanted to be alone. She ended up taking a long route around the school to get to her dormitory, taking her time and strolling through the corridors at her own pace. At one point during this walk she neared the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor, containing Remus' office and quarters. She thought about going to see him, but pushed the idea away quickly. She didn't want to keep pestering him. Plus, she was fairly certain that Sirius was still in the castle and probably with Remus in his rooms. No, she couldn't go there tonight.
She continued walking, surprised at the emptiness of the corridors. But then again, most students wanted to spend time with their housemates in their Common Rooms on a night like this.
Nearing the dungeons of the castle, Hermione was startled by the reverberating echo of a door slamming, followed shortly by brisk footsteps. She stopped, recognizing the noise as coming from down a staircase to her right. The staircase led to the Potions classroom. As she stood there Snape emerged from the shadows, climbing the stairs quickly. She could immediately tell that something was wrong. His expression was one of worry, an emotion so rarely conveyed by the closed off man. In addition to the unnerving look on his face, he was clutching his left forearm tightly.
"Professor?" Hermione began, standing still in the middle of the corridor, watching.
He almost looked started to see her there, but quickly mastered himself, righting the collar of his robes. It was now that she noted that his robes were not the usual attire. They were actually very different. She belatedly realized that they must have been Death Eater robes. He probably had his mask on him somewhere as well. "Oh," she breathed, the full realization hitting her.
He started walking again, passing her with the same brisk pace. "Is everything okay, sir?" she asked, turning and jogging to catch up with him, "do you want me to tell someone? I can get Professor Dumbledore-"
He didn't look at her. "The Headmaster is aware of my departure. You need not be involved in this, Miss Granger. In fact, I suggest you return to your dormitory before you find yourself somewhere else where you do not belong." His words were sharp and his tone curt.
She stopped in her tracks, watching Snape as he continued onwards, soon disappearing into the darkened corridor. She stood there for a moment, shivering for no apparent reason other than the memory of Snape's worried expression before he'd spotted her. Something was wrong.
She considered going to tell Harry and Ron about the encounter, but it was late and they didn't need to worry about this now, not while they were celebrating and enjoying their last night. She figured that if Dumbledore already knew then it would be dealt with. If there really was something wrong, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and anyone else would be informed soon.
Sighing deeply, Hermione continued back to her Dormitory, soon finding herself with only Crookshanks to keep her company. She drifted off to sleep, her mind full of worries about Snape and what would happen in the morning. Something, deep in the hazy subconscious of her mind, told her that she wouldn't be taking the Hogwarts Express home tomorrow.
Author's Note: So this chapter was really hard for me to finish. It was a big one – over 6,000 words! – and I changed about half of it last-minute, which took a lot of editing. Plus, I procrastinated because life really caught up with me this week.
Anyway, there's now only one more chapter left of part one! I know I said to a few of you that something big was going to happen at Graduation, but what I really mean is that something happens right after graduation– when Snape gets back. Does anyone have any guesses about why Snape was called away? Also, do you guys think we can get to 200 reviews with this chapter? It would make me the happiest girl in the world.