Chapter 3 None of your Business
After a few more uneventful classes of Advanced Arithmancy Studies and Ancient Runes, the brown-eyed witch found herself sitting in a squashy armchair next to the fireplace inside her common room. She was completely absorbed in a book, which happened to her ever so often. Reading had a relaxing effect on her; it gave her an opportunity to think more clearly, even gave her comfort in the most portentous times. But something about tonight was different.
She became utterly oblivious about her surrounding while her eyes flew over the pages in front of her. Suddenly, an unpleasant feeling spread insight her chest and her mind went numb. Breathing became more difficult, as she tried to get a hold of herself. Hermione looked around panting, when she caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure in the corner of the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She felt a sharp sting inside her head and then everything went black.
Flustered voices reclaimed her from the darkness. Hermione squinted, because a light glared right at her face. A few more seconds past until she regained control of herself. Finally, she beheld the owner of the glooming wand. Right in front of her knelt the new Head of Gryffindor House, who was also the recent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. His name was Elijah LeBlanc. Professor LeBlanc was a secretive man, much like Professor Snape, but he seemed far more pleasant to interact with than the harsh Slytherin. Originally, he came from a small town in Louisiana and he had that affectionate, caring aura to him that most people from that area are famous for. From what Hermione knew, he had travelled the world quite a bit, before he applied for the job at Hogwarts and he was still quite young compared to most teachers at the school. He was probably no older than 34 years old. His chestnut brown hair was kept long on the top and shorter on the sides, resembling a version of the 1940s side parting. His fashion sense was also pretty vintage. He usually wore single-breasted suits with a matching vest, which accentuated his athletic physique quite well. Professor LeBlanc smiled a lot and it almost always was a radiant kind of smile that had something encouraging to it. But he wasn't smiling at Hermione. The look on his face was rather worried, as he examined the bushy-haired young woman.
In his smooth, bassy voice he asked, "Miss Granger, are you alright?" Hermione tried to remember what had happened, but it only made her feel dizzy. "I…. I am not sure", she answered confused, "What happened? What are you doing here, Professor?" She looked around, trying to make sense of the incident. LeBlanc explained, "It was Miss Weasley that notified me of your condition. Apparently, you were screaming right before you fainted, which caused you to drop out of an armchair. Thankfully, your fellow Gryffindors were quick to shift you into a safer position, laying you on the ground. When I got here, you were still unconscious. It took you another five minutes to regain your consciousness, after my arrival. Now, what is it you remember?" She shook her head trying to put the pieces together. An image of a dark figure flashed before her eyes. That couldn't be right. How was it supposed to have gained access to the common room? It was well protected and no one could enter, unless they knew the password. Ever since Sirius Black had intruded Gryffindor Tower in her third year, more wards had been put into place and the Fat Lady wouldn't have let anyone enter that she wasn't familiar with. Realizing that her imagination must have played some tricks on her, Hermione simply said, "I don't remember anything. I guess, I was just exhausted from all the studying and lack of sleep." That sounded reasonable. She had studied quite a lot recently and she had definitely missed one or two meals before. There was no need to assume the worst, she told herself. Trying to demonstrate her wellbeing to her professor, she attempted to stand up in a swift motion. Her head spun and she felt something warm run down her nose onto her lips. The taste of iron spread on her tongue and she realized that her nose had started to bleed. "That's it. I am taking you to Madam Pomfrey immediately", the teacher said. He slipped his arm around her waist, half carrying her, which made her blush a little, and hurried to the Hospital Wing.
Poppy Pomfrey was a very skilled healer and had proven her abilities during the war on countless occasions. If there was something wrong with Hermione, she would definitely find out. After a thorough analysis spell had been performed, the matron administered a healing potion to her patient and explained "Apart from the nosebleed you seem to be quite healthy. The potion I just gave you, will help you take care of that. There is no need for you to stay overnight, but I highly suggest you refrain from late night studying and get yourself some rest." The potion increased her health almost instantly. The headache subsided and her nose stopped bleeding quickly. The keen-minded student felt very relieved and from the softened expression on her teacher's face, who had not left her side for even a moment, he was too. Hermione thanked Madam Pomfrey sincerely and headed out towards the south wing and back to her dormitory. Pondering over today's events, she felt somewhat embarrassed about it. She wanted to get to her bed and let a good night's sleep take care of that. Deep in thought, she hadn't noticed that Professor LeBlanc was walking her back to Gryffindor Tower, until he broke the silence. "That was a rather peculiar evening, wouldn't you agree?" His words had startled her. "My apologies, Miss Granger. I didn't mean to scare you, especially now", he tried to reassure her, "I just saw it as my duty to walk you back to your chambers. It is well past curfew after all." He gave her a radiant smile. She couldn't help it. Inevitably, her lips curled into a grateful smile. "Thank you, Sir. I really appreciate what you did for me." After that, they continued walking in silence, which had something strangely pleasant to it. As soon as they arrived at her dorm, they said a polite good-bye to one another and she disappeared behind the portrait.
The common room was almost empty. Only Ginny had been waiting up and watched Hermione enter with sleepy eyes. Yawing, she uttered "Mione, are you ok?" Her friend assured her that she was doing fine. And then both of them went to bed to make use of what little was left of the night.
The morning arrived far too early, so Hermione thought. Still somewhat exhausted, she climbed out of bed, hurried to the bathroom and took a look in one of the elaborate mirrors. The bags under her eyes were undeniable. The young witch decided to regard Madam Pomfrey's advice and chose to let her schoolbooks rest for the day. Since it was a Saturday, she didn't feel too obligated to study anyway. She ran a long hot shower which improved her mood considerably. When she had gotten dressed, she went downstairs, where Ginny was already waiting for her. The red-haired witch smiled at her. "Good morning, sleepyhead. By the way, what was it like to be taken care of by the new hottie of a professor?", she asked with a cheeky expression on her face. Hermione blushed and tried to laugh the comment off. Her sassy friend was far more open when it came to intimate subjects. She liked to talk about her experiences with Harry a little too graphically, too. Hermione rolled her eyes at her, but she wasn't really mad. Ginny was like family to her and she was very glad that this hadn't changed after her breakup with Ron. Giggling, the two Gryffindors left the dorm and made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast in hopes of a relaxing morning.
Unfortunately, the proceedings of last night had already attracted a lot of attention among the gossiping pupils. When they entered the Great Hall, students started to mumble and looked at Hermione dismissively. Normally, she didn't bother caring about these kinds of things. Merlin knows, people had been talking about her behind her back for pretty much all her life. Although it had been especially hard on her during her adolescence, eventually she understood that reacting to it would make it even worse. Thankfully, her friends weren't paying attention to it either. Ginny complained about her life at Hogwarts and how hard it was for her to be away from Harry for so long very audibly, which gave Hermione a great opportunity to block out most of the chatter. Her lips curled up in a slight smile, knowing that the Weasley had noticed her discomfort and was deliberately creating a distraction. Munching on her porridge, the young woman pondered over what she had seen a few hours ago. Still, she wasn't able to make sense of it.
A bassy voice behind her made her jump and a piercing squeak escaped her mouth. Her muscles tensed and she completely lost her thought. "Ah, Miss Granger. It's good to see you again. You seem a lot better this morning. I am glad.", the wizard said, a warm smile around his lips. She relaxed as soon as she recognized the man. "Em… thanks, Professor. I am feeling a lot better, indeed", she responded genuinely. More noises erupted in the Great Hall with some students almost standing to get a better view of that was going on. Hermione didn't think any of it. Maybe, he was just a considerate person. He was her Head of House after all and she remembered that Professor McGonagall had looked out for her too, when she had occupied the position. She looked up at him and saw an unusual sparkle in his amber-colored eyes. For a moment, she felt absorbed in his gaze. The sound of determined footsteps echoed in her head and drew her attention away from Professor LeBlanc. The whispering students fell silent, as Professor Snape approached the scene. In his husky voice he snapped, "What on earth is the meaning of this commotion? All of you better pay attention to your meals, before I start taking House points from each and every one of you for such an improper behavior. As for you Miss Granger, best believe I will not tolerate such a childish, brainless ruckus. Not in my classroom and not here…" Before he could finish his ranting, Professor LeBlanc cut him off. "Excuse me, Severus. I am afraid that it is I who caused the commotion. My approach seems to have startled the young Miss by mistake", he elucidated. He gave Snape a sheepish smile which had the Slytherin shoot daggers at him. It was incredibly hard to remember his noble deeds that had fundamentally contributed to the downfall of the Dark Lord, when he had such a hateful, annoyed look on his face. "Very well. And why is it that you were approaching her like that to begin with?" Professor Snape had always been of a suspicious man, but after the war he became almost paranoid. Hermione suspected it had something to do with him almost dying at that time. He was even more intimidating like that. Only, the teacher didn't seem to be intimidated at all. LeBlanc answered, "Forgive my bluntness, but this is none of your business. I was simply checking on my student. There is no need for such an exaggerated reaction on your account. Now if you excuse me, I don't particularly have time for this anyway." The Gryffindors had a hard time holding back their laughter. No one had ever stood up to Professor Snape like that and it was rather amusing to see the dark wizard taken by surprise. Snape's expression darkened even more, but without a word he turned around and headed back to the staff table, boiling inside. The young wizard gave Hermione another cheerful smile and then took his leave.
Naturally, Ginny rushed to her side and started laughing wholeheartedly. Her friend couldn't help but join in as well. For the rest of breakfast, Hermione's mood had improved yet again and the innocent jokes, they were making about the dungeon bat, kept any troubled thoughts away.
The day proceeded mostly like any other Saturday at Hogwarts. After lunch, Hermione took a stroll around the castle grounds until it was time for tea at Hagrid's. As usual, he had already set up the tea set and the water was nearly boiling in the kettle. When Hermione knocked on the door, she was greeted by Fang's booming barks and Hagrid's resounding "Hello, Hermione", as she entered. After a few sips of tea, Hagrid told her about an encounter he had in the Forbidden Forest a couple of days ago. "There I was mindin' me own business, when I saw yeh professor sneakin' around. Tried to find out wha' he was up to, bu' as soon as he saw me, he pu' on a smile and left", he reported. Getting ahead of herself she thought he was talking about Snape, so she said, "Professor Snape has always been a strange fellow. Maybe he enjoys the thrilling adventures of late-night walks in constant danger." Hagrid shook his head. "Wasn't talkin' abou' Snape. I saw the new guy, Le-What's-His-Name." This piece of information left Hermione confused. What was her new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher doing in the Forbidden Forest at night? Right then and there the inquisitive witch decided that she was going to find out. Putting on a little bit of an innocent act, she asked her gullible friend, "By the way, Hagrid, I was wondering if you ever needed any help with the creatures you take care of. You know, the ones that can't or won't stay at the castle. The other day I was reading about Bowtruckles in a book and have been fascinated by them ever since. Do you think we might find one there?" The bear-like man roared laughing. "My! I didn' kno ye liked the littl' guys. Sure, I can take ye. Was goin' to check on 'em on Wednesday, anyway. Ye can come along if ye'd like." Hagrid got very excited at this point. He loved to take care of magical creatures and he adored them very much. It made him happy to find someone interested in them and was more than eager to share his affection and knowledge at times, especially with someone he considered a friend. Returning his smile a little half-heartedly, Hermione responded, "Wonderful. I meet you here on Wednesday after sundown, then." She took another sip from her cup of tea and then excused herself to leave, so she could get back to the castle before curfew.