Chapter 45
Hermione's schedule was so hectic, that she didn't get a chance to respond to Oliver's letter, however, his words confirmed that they were indeed thinking of the same part of the letter when it came to what had confused her. She debated if and when she got a chance to respond, if she should tell him what the Dementor had made her experience and what she thought her Boggart would be.
The more she studied the letter, turning it over and over in her mind, the more she wasn't really certain if her changing feelings would be returned. Maybe, she surmised, becoming frustrated with it. Maybe, it should just be avoided all together. Her mind made up, she was able to focus on her school work more and didn't let the puzzling emotions and Oliver's letter affect her.
She followed his advice though, and got her parents to wait on a gift for her, and she used the time to scour the ads in the Daily Prophet looking for something that really struck her interest. She had been so involved with her studies that the days slipped by in a hazy blur of studying and little sleep. She came out of the haze as though waking in a daze when several packages landed on her open book at the Gryffindor table one morning as she was eating as quickly as she could so that she could head off to her first class.
Blinking, she picked up one package and found that it was from the Weasley twins. Unwrapping it, she found a pack of sugar quills and a note.
For you to nibble on for energy in your classes. Might come in handy. Oliver told us you've picked up a heavy workload this year, but we're not surprised. Hope they help. Happy birthday.
F
Hermione blinked. It was her birthday already?
With a slight shake of her head, she turned to another package that she found was from Lee.
Opening it, she found a large pack of parchment, a bottle of ink and another note.
Fred and George covered the quills so I thought with your extra classes, you might need some ink and parchment. Happy birthday.
Lee
She smiled as a laugh bubbled up inside her. She'd forgotten to tell her friends she didn't need these anymore, with the use of her charms, but tucked them into her bag just the same. Finally, she picked up the last package, noting it was from Oliver. Opening it she saw a letter on top and tore into it.
Lass,
I hope you don't mind that I told the lads that you've got a full schedule. I had to tell them something when you didn't reply to the letter I sent in order to assure them you're not mad at me. You're not mad at me, are you? Don't worry, I didn't tell them anything else.
Couldn't quite think of anything to get you this year, so I hope you don't mind that these aren't for you. Well, I guess they kind of are, I mean, you don't have to send for them. I got some treats and toys for Crookshanks. I heard that Ron is giving you a hard time about him, so maybe these will keep him distracted.- smile -
Miss talking with you, hope we can talk again soon.
Oliver
Opening the package, she saw several pouches of Whiskas cat food, and Temptations cat treats along with an assortment of cat toys including jingle balls, mice, and feather sticks. Hermione grinned, shaking her head as she looked up and met her friends' eyes as they watched from not far away.
"Thank you," she mouthed to them.
Oliver, Lee and the twins each nodded as they saw her finish packing her presents away in her bag, and then returned her wave as she headed off to class.
Halloween came before she knew it. She was sitting with Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table at breakfast where Malfoy and his cronies were sitting across the way talking loudly.
"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" she heard Pansy Parkinson ask.
"It comes and it goes," Malfoy replied, his arm still in a sling although the accident in Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid had happened on their first day of classes. "Still," Malfoy continued. "I consider myself lucky. If it weren't for Madame Pomfrey, another minute or two and I could have lost my arm."
Hermione rolled her eyes as Malfoy continued to spout his lies, wondering at the gullibility of the other students.
"I couldn't possibly do anything for a couple more weeks," Malfoy said.
"Listen to that idiot," Ron said, and Hermione turned to look at him in surprise. "He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?"
"Yeah, but at least Hagrid didn't get fired," Harry murmured.
"Yeah, but I hear Draco's father's furious," Hermione added. "We haven't heard the end of this."
Hermione sighed as her thoughts wandered back over the last few weeks. There hadn't been a day since their first day of classes that Malfoy had actually done any work in class. She knew from her close relationship with the matron from last year, that he was lying, and was milking his injury for all it was worth to get out of classes. No one but Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin, could really do anything about it, and Malfoy seemed to be his favourite student.
Her thoughts wandered again to 9 September, when an ominous air took hold of everyone.
"He's been sighted, he's been sighted!" Seamus yelled, coming down the table, and sitting nearby, slamming a Daily Prophet on the table.
"Who?" Ron asked.
"Sirius Black!" Seamus answered as Hermione pushed herself closer to read the headline.
"Dufftown?" Hermione asked worriedly. "That's not far from here."
"You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?" Neville asked worriedly.
"With Dementors at every entrance?" another boy asked.
"He's slipped past them once," Seamus said. "Who's to say he won't do it again?"
"That's right," Dean Thomas said. "Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. It's like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."
The feeling in the Great Hall after that was rather ominous, and Hermione had a hard time trying to shake it off. She was one of the last to leave the hall after dinner, her mind spinning.
"Are you alright?" Oliver asked her, holding back from the others for a chance to talk with her.
"Oh, um, yeah," she replied, forcing a smile as she looked up at him.
"Really?" Oliver asked, looking at her with an arched brow. "I heard about the paper," he continued. "It's okay to be worried."
"It's just... I'm worried about Harry," she admitted as they began to climb the stairs. "Everyone thinks that's why he escaped." She sighed heavily and bit her lip.
"What is it, lass?" Oliver asked, noticing her pensive mood.
"Really, I'm worried about all of us... I mean, where is he? Would he really come here for Harry? And what will happen to anyone who stands in his way?"
Hermione blinked, coming back to the present to see the glowing jack o' lanterns at the feast. Earlier that day, she and Ron had gone with the rest of their friends who had signed permission forms to visit Hogsmeade. She felt bad that Harry had to stay behind, so she made sure to bring him some Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from Honeydukes.
While she was there, she visited Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop like Oliver suggested. There, she found a lovely tea — of the non-magical variety — that she bought, saving it for a Christmas present for her mother. She was surprised that she actually had a good time and the atmosphere was rather light and fun despite the fact that no one had caught Sirius Black yet.
As she came back to her surroundings, she noticed that the feast was ending and everyone was dispersing to their common rooms. She blinked, looking around, she saw that Ron and Harry were already quite far ahead of her. When she caught up with them, Ron was regaling Harry about the trip to Hogsmeade as she approached.
"Honeydukes Sweet Shop is brilliant, but nothing beats Zonko's Joke Shop," Ron said as they climbed the stairs toward the tower. "We never did get to go to the Shrieking Shack, though. You know that it's the most -"
"Haunted building in Britain, yeah, I know," Harry finished sounding glum. "What's going on?" he changed the subject as they came to the bulk of the Gryffindor students on the stairs.
"Probably Neville forgot the password again," Ron answered.
"Hey!" Neville said from behind them.
"Oh!" Ron said. "You're there!"
"Let me through, please," Percy's voice came from ahead of them. "Excuse me!" he snapped, becoming irritated when no one made room for him. "I'm Head Boy!"
Hermione peered around the students to see him coming from the upper staircase.
"Get back, all of you," Percy said, warning in his tone when he spoke again. "No one is to enter this dormitory until it's been fully searched."
"The Fat Lady," Ginny said, coming up to them when she saw Ron. "She's gone!"
Hermione was then able to peer up the stairs to see the portrait that hid the entrance to their dorms, and saw the slash marks.
"Serves her right," Ron snorted. "She was a terrible singer."
"It's not funny, Ron," Hermione scolded him, knowing that Percy's warning about entering the dormitory was pointless. No one could enter the dormitory without anyone in the portrait to open the door. She wondered again if either of them had bothered to readHogwarts: A History.
"Be quiet," Percy yelled at the portraits who were in an uproar. "The headmaster is here," he continued, talking to the students again.
"Come on," Filch said, coming up the stairs. "Move."
"You heard," Percy shouted. "Move!"
"Mr Filch?" Professor Dumbledore asked after he studied the portrait. "Round up the ghosts. Tell them to search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady."
"There's no need for ghosts, headmaster," Filch said, and pointed out a nearby painting. "The Fat Lady's there."
Percy shouted in protest as he was practically run over by many students as they rushed up the stairs toward the painting Filch had pointed out.
"Keep moving!" Professor Dumbledore called as he followed the flow of students to the next landing. "My dear lady," he said as he came up to the portrait. "Who did this to you?"
Peering out from behind some hippos grazing in the Savannah in the portrait she was hiding in, she whimpered before she replied, "Eyes like the Devil, he's got, and a soul as dark as his name. It's him, headmaster. The one they all talk about. He's here, somewhere in the castle! Sirius Black!"
"Secure the castle, Mr Filch," Professor Dumbledore said, turning to the caretaker. "The rest of you," he said addressing the students, "to the Great Hall."
Once in the Great Hall, teachers and older students helped the younger students prepare for bed. They banished the long tables and transfigured sleeping bags and sleep wear for all the students. There was a curtained off section where the students went to change before returning to whichever sleeping area they chose.
"Hermione!"
Hermione looked up and saw Oliver waving at her.
"Over here!" he called, beckoning her toward some free sleeping bags near the wall.
She paused and looked over at Harry and Ron who were more toward the centre of the room, talking, and then headed over toward where Oliver waited.
"Are you all right, lass?" He asked, settling into one of the sleeping bags.
"Y-yes," Hermione answered quietly. "I - I think so. It's just... how was he able to get in?"
"I don't know," Oliver said, and shook his head. "Hey, listen," he said, drawing her attention back to him. "I'm glad I got a chance to talk to you."
"Yeah," Hermione said, feeling a little uncomfortable as she climbed into one of the sleeping bags next to his, knowing where this conversation was bound to go. She'd never replied to Oliver's letter, neither confirming nor denying what part had confused her. "A-about that," she said. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to reply to your letter."
"Hey," Oliver said and smiled at her when she looked up at him, both sitting in their sleeping bags, their backs against the wall as they talked quietly. "It's okay. I know you're busy with classes." He paused and reached up, and he hesitated a moment when she inhaled sharply, stiffening a moment. Moving slowly, as he watched her, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and pulled back, biting his lip. "Hermione," he murmured.
"I'm sorry, Oliver," Hermione returned, apologising for her reaction as her heart hammered in her chest. "I - I don't mean -"
Oliver smiled at her again. "It's all right, lass," he said. "I - I actually wanted to talk to you about this... I want you to understand, I don't want to hurt your feelings..."
Hermione's heart clinched in her chest, and she panicked.
"Oliver," she interrupted, shaking her head. "Can... can we just forget about it?"
Oliver paused, mid-sentence, looking at her in surprise.
"Oh, um," Oliver said when he'd recovered. "Y-yeah, sure..." He studied her for a moment, and wrinkled his brow. "Hermione, are you all right?"
Hermione blinked again, her eyes misting as his words sank in, her mind registering them on a delay over the sound of her heartbeat. Did he just say he liked her? Did he just say that he didn't want to start anything yet? She wasn't sure, really, her heart was hammering so hard and her pulse rang in her ears. She swallowed and looked up at him again, a timid smile on her face, and he met her eyes, and nodded as he reached out and caressed her cheek.
"I want you to understand, I still want to keep in touch with you after this year," he said. "Okay?"
Hermione reached up and held his hand to her cheek, closing her eyes a moment before she met his gaze again and nodded. "Okay."
"Good," Oliver said, turning his hand so that he clasped hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Because I know with everything going on, I'll be worried about you. I want you to understand though, that it's okay... I don't want you to wait for me, all right?"
Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "A-all right," she murmured.
"Friends?" Oliver asked and drew away.
Hermione nodded. "Friends."
"Good," Oliver said with a smile and took her hand. "So, did you have fun earlier today? What'd you do?"
They talked quietly for hours, and settled down to sleep when Hermione began to yawn, and that night, they comforted each other and fell asleep holding hands, and Oliver held her close, his arm draped protectively around her sleeping bag drawing it against his own.