Chapter 49
The whole common room fell silent later that evening while Hermione was working on her Arithmancy essay when a strangled yell echoed down from the boys' dorm. They waited, with bated breath until hurried footsteps could be heard and then Ron came leaping into view dragging his bedsheet.
"LOOK!" he bellowed, hoisting it after him as he strode toward the desk Hermione was sitting at where she'd been talking with Harry previously, and shoved it into her face. "LOOK!"
"Ron, what -?" Hermione began, in confusion.
"SCABBERS!" Ron shouted. "LOOK! SCABBERS!"
Hermione and Harry leaned away from Ron, bewildered by his seeming attack on Hermione and trying to save their hearing.
"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"
"N-no," Hermione murmured, her voice wavering slightly in Ron's temper.
Ron threw something down onto Hermione's essay, and she and Harry leaned forward, trying to discern what it was. Lying on top of the weird, spiky scraps of material were several long, ginger cat hairs.
Hermione's own temper flared, and she stood up abruptly, causing Ron to stagger backward to keep them from colliding.
"How dare you," she said, her voice low with malice. "Howdareyou?!" Moving swiftly in her anger, she capped her ink and slammed her books shut with a loud bang, making Ron jump before she shoved them in her book bag along with her parchment, ink and quill, throwing the bag over her shoulder. "I have haditwith you, Ronald Weasley! I am sick of you always blaming Crookshanks when you can't keep track ofyourpet! And now you try to frame him? Yes, I admit, he's been in your dorm, and he's chased your pet, it's hisnature! But I have never seen him getcloseto your filthy,stinkingrat enough to do that! Besides, he has plenty of toys to play with!"
"You have to admit, Hermione," Harry said. "The evidence is pretty damning, I mean, ripped sheets and the hair..."
"Okay, side with Ron," she retorted shrilly. "Iknewyou would. First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it? Get out of my way and leave me alone, I have work to do!"
With that, she shoved Ron out of her way, and stomped angrily up the stairs to the girls' dorm, slamming the door behind her so that it echoed down into the common room. She exhaled a shaky breath when she got there, and walked slowly to her bed, letting her bag fall from her shoulder to the floor.
"Merrh." She blinked through tearful eyes as she came to her bed, and saw an orange blur appear on the bed in front of her.
"Oh, Crookshanks," she murmured as she scooped him into her arms and climbed on the bed, burying her face in his fur. "He was so awful!"
Crookshanks meowed again as she settled onto the bed and held him close, then began to purr.
"You didn't do it, did you?" she asked, and then shook her head. "No, of course you didn't, he's just a mean little boy."
Crookshanks meowed again and gazed toward the door when there was a whooshing sound, and she followed it to see something slide under the door and then fly up into the air, working its way closer to her. Wiping her eyes, she saw a dove flapping its way toward her and held out her hand.
The dove landed and unfolded itself and she read:
3February 1994
Lass,
Are you alright? What Ron did was uncalled-for, I don't blame you one bit. Fred and George are talking to him about it now, and Harry's not thrilled with him either considering how old they say his rat was. Fred and George told me that it had been theirs as well as Percy's before it was his, so that's pretty old for a rat. I'm surprised it lasted through Fred and George considering they said that they would do charm experiments on him — you know, change his colour, that sort of thing, as well as using him in Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall.
Anyway, I at least have to say that I'm glad Harry is talking with you again — Er,wastalking with you again. He told me that Professor McGonagall ended up striping down the Firebolt. I was really surprised by that, but then I remembered you said something about Sirius Black being after him and that no one knows where it came from. It was the Quidditch enthusiast in me, but I was shocked that they stripped it down. I am glad they didn't find anything and that they were able to reassemble it and get it back to him as good as new.
I hope that you don't let Ron's behaviour get in the way of your friendship with Harry. Like you said, he needs people looking out for him more than anyone, particularly if Black is around. Maybe all of you just need some space and some time to cool off? There's practice tomorrow, since Harry's gotta be there and from what I am hearing down here, may likely take Ron along, I'm not sure you'll want to come or not, but if you do, you're welcome to. How is Crookshanks doing on treats and toys? Should I order him some more?
Oliver
Hermione smiled, and after scratching Crookshanks for a bit, shifted him to the bed where he curled up and she fumbled in her bag for her quill and ink to write a reply.
3February 1994
Oliver,
No, I'm not okay, but I will be. Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. Ron could have definitely handled the situation better, but I think everyone knows how hot headed he can be. Scabbersisrather old, and even though I have heard him call his rat pathetic, I suppose that given how long he's been in the family, he's kind of attached to him, still that was no reason to attack me as he did.
And although I am loath to admit it, I do understand why Harry sided with him. I mean, they've been friends for longer. I think you're right though, that we all just need some space, and some time to cool off. I probably won't take you up on the invitation tomorrow given that Harry's taking Ron and I don't want to cause any further problems. Crookshanks is doing good with toys. I think he followed me up here and darted in before I slammed the door. He's here trying to console me, though I really think he's just sleeping now.
Hermione
True to her word, Hermione didn't appear at Quidditch practice the next day, much to Oliver's disappointment, though Harry had indeed brought Ron. He figured that instead, she was either in the common room, or dorm or library. It was amazing seeing the Firebolt in action, and he and the rest of the team decided that it was too risky to put the broom in the cupboard with the rest of the team brooms, instead, to his relief, Harry was staying behind with Ron after practice when they locked up their brooms for the night, and was letting Ron have a go to cheer him up. That meant that Harry would be bringing the broom back to the castle with him instead. He chuckled to himself as he headed back up to the castle with the team.
"What?" Fred said, hearing his laugh.
"Yeah, what's going on, Ollie?" George asked.
"Nothing, you two," he said and shook his head again, but couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Go on with you," he said pushing the pair ahead of him. They went under protest, but allowed him some peace where his thoughts returned to Hermione and the reason he'd laughed. She knew he was into Quidditch pretty heavily, but he could just picture that even she would shake her head in amusement when she saw what he had planned.
The next morning, Oliver and the team walked into the Great Hall in something of an honour guard for the Firebolt, and just like he'd thought, Hermione tried to hide her amusement as she shook her head when she saw them. She didn't smile, likely because of the fight with Harry and Ron still being fresh in her mind, but he could see the amusement in the sparkle of her eyes before she turned back to her books.
Hermione was late to the game, not heading down when the rest of the school did to avoid having to sit near Ron. Unfortunately, that meant that she didn't sit near Hagrid either. She showed up in time to see Harry being blocked a few times by Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker in the game, and saw Oliver yell something at him, though she couldn't quite hear it. She watched them for a few moments, noting that Cho was a good flyer and envying her ease on a broom, until she saw a look of fear come over the girl's expression and turned with her and Harry to see what looked like three Dementors moving to the end of the field. Hermione had barely even blinked when her heart sank as Harry raced toward them, wand in hand.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted as he got closer to them, and Hermione saw something silver white and enormous burst forth from his wand before she lost sight of him, watching as the great white Patronus form headed toward the three Dementors. She barely heard the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle as she watched the three Dementors stumble back, their hoods falling back and exposing... she really couldn't tell from there as people began pushing past her now that the game was over. From the cheers, Gryffindor had won, not something that really surprised her given the fact that Harry was the only one with the top of the line broom.
She made her way over toward the place where the Dementors were, hanging back as she saw Professor Lupin, Harry, Ron and Professor McGonagall also heading that direction.
"An unworthy trick!" she heard Professor McGonagall say as she came upon the scene and had to fight back laughter of her own, so she wouldn't give away her presence as the growing crowd laughed at the sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Flint from Slytherin trying to extricate themselves from the large robes they had shared to make themselves appear as Dementors. "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking with Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
Hermione turned to see that Professor Dumbledore was indeed coming upon the scene to see what happened, and though Hermione was dying to chide Malfoy for his idiocy herself, took her leave and headed back to the castle trailing behind the rest of Gryffindor house and the other students. She had to admit, she thought hugging herself. Professor Lupin's private lessons really paid off for Harry, and she was happy for him.
She entered the common room pulling out her copy ofHome Life and Social Habits of British Mugglesfrom the bag she'd taken with her, noticing the celebration going on around her and sat down beginning to read.
"Did you even come to the match?" Harry asked.
"Of course I did," Hermione said, not looking up, her voice rather high-pitched at getting caught. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."
"Come on, Hermione," Harry said. "Come and have some food."
"I can't, Harry," Hermione replied, feeling as though he was putting her on the spot and her mind went to all the possible outcomes that she didn't want to face. "I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" She looked over around Harry and over at Ron. "Anyway, he doesn't want me to join in."
Harry opened his mouth about to argue and then exhaled heavily when Ron chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He use to really like them -"
Hermione burst into tears before Harry could say anything, and gathered her book running up to the dorm.
Oliver saw her go, but was stuck with Fred, George and Lee on the far side of the common room and couldn't get away to send her a note to find out what had happened and if she was okay. He glared at Ron who had a smug look on his face, but hadn't heard what was said. It wasn't long though before his friends distracted him though, and he returned to their conversation.
Hermione was woken in the middle of the night by the noise in the dorms and made her way out into the hallway just in time to hear Percy say, "Everyone back upstairs!"
"Perce -" she heard Ron's fearful voice. "Sirius Black! In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"
Hermione blinked, coming fully awake as the common room went still.
"Nonsense!" Percy said, though Hermione noticed he looked startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron - had a nightmare -"
"I'm telling you -"
"Now really, enough's enough!"
Hermione turned to see Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as she entered the room and stared around at them all.
"Now I'm delighted that Gryffindor won the match," she said. "But this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"
"I certainly didn't authorise this, Professor!" Percy said indignantly, puffing out his chest. "I was just telling them to go back to bed. My brother, Ron had a nightmare -"
"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Hermione blinked as Ron yelled. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall admonished. "How could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"
"Ask him!" Ron said, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture. "Ask him if he saw -"
Hermione saw Professor McGonagall glare at Ron suspiciously, but she went and pushed open the portrait hole and went outside as the whole of the common room listened with bated breath.
"Sir Cadogan," they heard Professor McGonagall address the portrait. "Did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"
"Certainly, good lady," cried Sir Cadogan.
There was stunned silence, both out in the hall and in the common room.
"You - you did?" Professor McGonagall said. "But - the password!"
"He had them," Sir Cadogan said proudly. "Had the whole week's worth, my lady! Read them off a little piece of paper!"
Professor McGonagall dragged herself back through the portrait hole, chalk white to face the crowded common room.
"Which person," she said, her voice shaking with what Hermione determined to be both fear and anger. "Which abysmallyfoolishperson wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"
There was a squeak from nearby and Hermione turned with the others to see Neville trembling from head to fluffy slippered foot slowly raising his hand.
No one slept that night as they all knew that the teachers were out searching the castle again. Hermione sat in the corner by herself watching as Ron once again told everyone about how Sirius Black had nearly killed him.
"Are you alright?" a soft, but familiar voice asked, and she looked up tiredly to see Oliver settling down beside her.
"Yeah," she said tiredly. "I'm alright." Her gaze went back to Ron, and she snorted softly before shaking her head.
"What?" Oliver asked, looking at her curiously.
"It's just that you'd think with the way he's regaling everyone that Black was after him, and not Harry."
"Yeah," Oliver said as he too, listened to Ron for a while. "I guess that's what comes to being one of the youngest in a large family. Maybe he feels he has to make a mark for himself somehow."
"I wouldn't know," Hermione answered.
Oliver smiled and bumped against her shoulder playfully. "Me neither, lass," he murmured. "That's just what I hear from Fred and George though."
Hermione yawned and leaned against him tiredly as he wrapped an arm around her comfortingly as they sat in the stairwell to the boys' dorm. She really was tired, having been woken like everyone else to Ron's screams, but she had to admit, even if sleep didn't come, this was nice.
On Tuesday of the next week, the Great Hall fell silent as an owl bearing a scarlet envelope flew into the room with the others, delivering the post... and it dropped it right in front of Neville.
Hermione felt sorry for him in a way, but at the same time, it was a bit hard to feel much of anything as she was focused, like many others around her, on covering her ears as the shrill voice of Neville's grandmother issued forth from the Howler, and she saw the boy sink under the table.
Later that afternoon, she headed down to Hagrid's to deliver her notes to him for Buckbeak's trial which was going to be on 11 February, when Harry and Ron showed up. She sank into the chair, staying hidden as Hagrid talked with them about her. It wasn't until Harry and Ron discussed Harry sneaking into Hogsmeade again that she sat up and started scolding them for their idiocy — to do something so dangerous with Sirius Black still out there, and right after he had been in Gryffindor tower, too! She didn't stay long after that, but headed up to the castle in tears, upset not only that Ron had laid in on her about wanting to get Harry expelled, but that they could be so thoughtless for Harry's safety.
The morning of the 12th, Hermione received a letter from Hagrid and her heart sank. Her case for Buckbeak had failed and the Ministry was going to execute the Hippogriff. She had no doubt in her mind that Malfoy and his father had something to do with it, but she didn't know what she could do about it.
"Harry," she said, after she gathered her nerve and walked over to where he and Ron sat.
"What do you want?" Ron asked heatedly, but Hermione just glared at him and turned to Harry.
"I - I thought you ought to see this..." she said and handed him the letter.
Harry scanned over it and exhaled a heavy sigh.
"What is it?" Ron asked curiously now.
Harry handed over the letter.
"I - I know we're not getting on right now," Hermione said carefully after Ron had read the letter and had the same reaction. "But... I - I think we should be there for him... when they come to do it... don't you?"
"Yeah," Harry said sadly.
Hermione looked at Ron and saw him nod, looking pale as she accepted the letter back from him. "I - I'll let you know when I find out when it's going to happen."
"Alright," Harry said. "Thanks, Hermione."
Hermione nodded and headed back to where she'd been sitting before, gathered her books and headed out of the Great Hall. She had to let Oliver know about this, then she intended to go see Hagrid herself.