Well hello, didn't see ya there. I got a little something for you fellow viewers. A new chapter! This one, I loved writing, I hope you like it. It builds on one question and answer another. It also helps me sag way into chapter 11, which with what is going to happen in that chapter, I think a few are going to like. Please, please review, I live on them, they are my life source.
Now enough of me stalling, please,
Enjoy. ~ JoyfulTrouble
I wake up the next morning feeling great. The sun seemed to shine brighter, I felt well rested, and I felt relieved. I think it might be the relief of Fleur being okay, and no longer having to worry about her being eating by overgrown lizards. Well, until the second task, but that's not until a while yet, and hopefully no reptiles. Either way, I am not going to question my good mood.
I quickly get dressed and make my way downstairs for lunch. It was a Saturday and I slept in. Having to get up early during the school week, who could blame me?
Entering the great hall, I see Ron and Harry sitting and eating, but no Fleur. I wonder if maybe she already eaten and had left. I look over to the Ravenclaw table and notice her sitting with her sister, so she didn't leave. Confused, I walk over and sit beside Ron, and grab a plate.
"Why is Fleur sitting over there?"
"Her sister wanted to talk to her about something, she said she'll eat with us at diner."
"Oh, okay." I go and grab a chicken sandwich (taking off the lettuce) and start munching on it. I look over to Ron who seems to be working on a project. I glance over, and notice it was potions. I laugh on the inside, because of course Ron would do the project last minute. The project was due Monday, and we got it two weeks ago.
"Excuse me." I hear a girl with a French accent ask, I turn to look at her, and I realize it was one of the girls from yesterday. Not one of the main ones, but one of the followers.
"Ah, hi?" I say hesitantly. I don't know what to think of her, I mean, she didn't outwardly insult Fleur, but she was there when her friend did it. No matter what, she is still an enemy.
"My table 'as no orange juice, may I 'ave yours?" She asks, looking really hopeful. Does she want the orange juice that badly? I guess it couldn't hurt.
"Oh, sure, here." I say, handing over the pitcher.
"Zank you, but please, 'ave some before I steal it, non?" Before I could decline the drink, the woman already has a glass set in front of my plate and orange liquid being poured into it.
"Oh, thanks." I say, to which she smiles a little too widely for it to be genuine. What was that about?
Weird.
"What was that about?" Harry asks the same question I was thinking. I look over to him, in which he was staring at the retreating girl. He is sitting in front of me, looking back to the Ravenclaw table, where the girl now sat. He had the same confused expression on his face that I had a feeling I was sporting as well.
"I have no clue, we got into a little mishap yesterday, but that was it." I shrug my shoulders before I go back to my food, I take a sip of my orange juice before grabbing another sandwich.
"What potion did you pick again, Hermione?" Ron asks.
"Wolfsbane potion."
"I picked an easy one, Love Potion."
"Of course you did."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"What I mean is that you don't work for your marks. You get a project two weeks in advance and you wait until last minute to complete it. So you go down the easiest route to completion, therefore giving yourself a lower mark than you can get, and I know you can get a better mark if you tried." I slowly go back to eating my sandwich, wonder what just happened. I didn't mean to say any of that. Well, I meant it, but I wasn't going to say it.
"Jeez, Hermione. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"No."
"It was a figure of speech." Ron says, and that is when a hear sniggers from behind us. I whip my head around, maybe a little too fast for human pace, to see two Slytherin boys. One was hiding his face in his arms, trying to stop his laughing, the other was staring straight at me with an evil glint in his eye while he laughed.
Okay, now things are really weird.
"So, Ron," Harry starts, sensing that he should change the conversation, "Have you gotten any farther with Charlie?" Ron's face brightened instantly.
"We had a full conversation after the task yesterday. It was amazing!"
"What did you talk about?" I ask as I take another sip of orange juice.
"Well we started talking about the task and the dragons, and we ended up talking about squirrels.
"Squirrels?"
"Yeah, I know, weird right? But it was still great."
"That is… great?" Harry asks, which Ron nods enthusiastically. Quickly after, though, he hangs his head sadly. "But I am still having doubts."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Well, what if this is for nothing? What if he isn't… you know-
"Are you wondering whether or not he is into men?" Ron nodded, "Well, isn't that pretty obvious? He isn't that discreet. I mean, he wears pink every Wednesday because of the muggle film Mean Girls." My eyes instantly widen. That I defiantly did not mean to say. I look between Ron and Harry, a growing panic starting to form. I could hear the laughter from the Slytherin table continuously grow in volume. Then Ron cleared his throat, snapping me out of my thoughts. He, as well as Harry, was staring at me worriedly. I looked behind Harry, and notice Fleur staring at me with worry. They all seem to know something is up as well.
"Hermione, you seem to be eating a lot." Ron comments as I grab two more sandwiches, and I know he is trying to ease the mood.
"Of course I am, I'm eating for two." With that I quickly cover my mouth with my hand. What the hell? Why did I say that?
The weird-o-meter has reached its limit.
"Wait… are you saying you're pregnant?"
"No!" I instantly shout. I am defiantly not pregnant. Both the wolf and I were now panicking. It felt like it was scratching my insides, trying to break free and run from this particular moment. Which seems to be getting worse and worse.
"Then what did you mean by-"
"Well hello mudblood." Someone spat from behind me. I turn to see the two Slytherins as well as the three girls from yesterday. Okay, now things are starting to get really weird.
"Don't call her that!" Ron yells, which only makes them laugh.
"I can call her whatever I want, homo."
"Hey, leave him out of this, you came over here to talk to me, now what do you want?" I know how this works, and the least amount of conflict usually works best. Let them do their thing so we can get on with our lunch.
"Oh, we just wanted to ask you a few… questions." One of the girls say, and they all start laughing again.
It was then that the pieces start to go together. The girl asking for the orange juice, me drinking the orange, and me telling the absolute truth with every question; no filter.
"Veritserum…"
"Ooh, she is a smart one, isn't she?" I look at them in horror. This is not good, not good at all. I have too many secrets that I don't want anyone to know; that no one can know, couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't. I have to get out of here, and fast.
I shoot up my spot quickly, ready to bolt. Only they seem prepared for that to have happened, because I instantly find myself back on the bench, staring up at them towering over me.
"ey, where do you zink you are going, hmm?"
"Anywhere but here."
"And why is that?" The Slytherin asks.
"Because I don't want to say anything I shouldn't."
"So the mudblood does have secrets? This'll be fun." I try to get up again, but one of the Slytherins holds me down again, and this time keeping a permanent hold on me. Damn, now I can't get out unless I use my heightened strength, which would probably causes suspicion. This is not good. At all.
"Zo who wants to go first?" The main Beauxbatons asks. I can't believe they are just going to take turns ripping a piece of my dignity away, until I have nothing left and I'm and open book for all to see and judge. I can feel my wolf panicking more that I am, whimpering with its tail between its legs. I need to find a way to get out of here, since no one else is going to help. I have a feeling Ron nor Harry is going to help. Probably because they'll have a hard time against five others, and they are probably curious. I do keep a few secrets.
And I intend to keep them.
"Oh, me first!" The French sidekick shouts excitedly. "Do you 'ave a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Really, Veronica? Zat was ze only question you could zink of?" The main one asks, which causes Veronica to bow her head in defeat, mumbling an apology.
"I got a better one! Have you ever been kissed?" The smaller Slytherin asks. I look down into my lap before answering.
"No."
"So that means you're a virgin?" I grit my teeth, trying to stop the answer from coming out, but I know it's no use. I look straight up to the guy holding me down, who asked the question, and replied,
"Yes." They all burst out laughing at that one, while saying through laughter,
"Ha…She's a virgin… virgin mudblood!"
"No wonder… no one… would want her!"
"Virgin mudblood, virgin mudblood, virgin mudblood!" They start to chant, and because the universe seems to hate me in this moment, it causes a crowd to form, probably wondering what the ruckus was about. That's all I need… A bloody crowd.
They continue chanting, a few of the other students actually joining in. Maybe if they're distracted enough, I could get out of here before any of my bigger secrets are known.
I shoot up from the seat, catching the one holding me hostage off guard, and a try to bolt through the crowd.
I try.
"Hey, she's trying to leave!" One yells, and in an instant, everyone is on high alert. I feel a set of arms grab me by the waist, and pull me back towards the bench. I kick and claw as best as I could, but it was no use. I found myself back on the bench, a few people keeping guard of me, and the same guy as earlier having a tight grip around me. I was quickly finding my panic turning to anger.
I mean, where the hell are the teachers?
And how dare they hold me hostage? If only they knew, that in mere minutes, I could have all of them dead. Torn, claw, ripped apart until they are nothing but bloody slumps of meat on the wooden floor. It would be so satisfying, to hear there scream die slowly as their life seeped from their bodies an-
Okay, I need to stop. Well, more specifically, my wolf needs to stop. Because I could feel it getting more and more agitated by the second, wanting nothing more than to escape its prison that was my body and have at it with the students causing a threat against us. It was one of the flaws with getting angered, the amount of control (what little I had) on the wolf loosened, causing the wolf to dig deeper into my thoughts, as well as get closer to escaping.
And being let loose in a Forced Transformation. Which is not good at the moment, or at any time for that matter.
"You're a feisty one aren't ya?" The Slytherin holding me smirked, and I couldn't help the low growl escape my lips.
"Only proving my point, sweetheart. Now, ask some questions, and make it good. We don't know how much time we have until the teachers are back." The four others seemed to be one full alert then, coming to stand in front of me.
"Okay, let's ask zome good questions," The main Beauxbaton asks, and she seems to be the leader of this… thing. "But first, where are my manners? 'Ow are you today?"
"Terrible, thanks to you." I spat.
"Oh, angry little mudblood, hmm?"
"Okay, which boy do you have crush on? I virgin like you must have some degusting fantasies to deal with your pathetic life." I few laughed at that, and I even heard one say 'oh, good one.'
"I don't have a crush on any of the boys." They all seemed to be taken aback by that answer. They main girl, recovered quickly, schooling her features, and went back to questing me.
"And why iz zat, hmm? All ze boys don't fit your standards?" Almost everyone laughed at that.
"No, they don't." I said, and I really didn't like where this was going. It was like I could sense that something bad was going to happen. My heart was pumping rapidly, my stomach knotted, and my wolf vigorously clawing, scratching and tearing. I needed to flee. Tapping into my wolf strength, and my wolf happily agreeing, I shoot up quickly, surprising them all as they take a step back. The guys who was holding me fell backwards, his face a priceless concoction of shock and fear. I was about to bolt when two other guys latch themselves onto my arms, holding me in place.
I can't catch a break.
I struggle against their hold, shoving and kicking, but all attempts to break free fail. My rising panic seems to be reaching its breaking point, to which I am afraid I am going to lose all holds I have on my wolf, and reveal another secret; whether it be going full out wolf, or even as simple as my nails sharpening to claws, or my eyes glowing. I didn't know what was going to happen next, but what I did know, was it wasn't going to be good.
The main Beauxbaton, who back up like the rest of them in shock, recovered quickly and went back into interrogation mode. She stormed up to me, face inches from mine, enough that I could feel her warm breathe cascaded on my cheek.
"Now you filthy mudblood, answer me zis: why do they not fit your standards?" And right then I knew I was screwed. I could feel the answer being forced out of my body; pushing its way past my lips. I tried to repress it, begging anything any everything that the truth will not escape my lips, that somehow I could fight it. To make it stop, to fight the potion, to just make it stop.
But the struggle only seemed to make it worse. Made the truth build up, make it stronger as it forced its way out. Made it strong enough that, when it did come out, when my secret was forced to be known, it was a scream. A shout, loud enough I am sure all the hall herd it. Desperation and sadness infused into the cry, and I hated myself for succumbing to the powers of a stupid liquid.
"BECAUSE I'M GAY!" I instantly broke down, losing the fight in me as I fall limp into the holds of the enemy students. Tears rolled down my face, and all you could hear was my sobs as they racketed through my body. I don't know when it happened, but I was dropped to the ground, and just laid there. I just wanted to stay here and cry. Cry until I hade no more tears, until I was nothing. But the thought of them, all of those people, by bystander's and the bullies, standing over me, around me, just everywhere, was enough to make me get up. It was enough for me to get strength to get on my feet and run out of the hall, to get away from everybody, to get away from the horror that just happened.
All of them were silent. Watching the door in which Hermione just ran through. Some were thinking about how horrible it must have been for her to deal with such an outing, but for some, like the five who were attacking her with questions, were happily shocked. Yes, they weren't expecting that outcome, but nonetheless, they were satisfied. That had humiliated her like she once did. The Slytherins were just always willing to help in any sort of
The silence was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps echoing from the hallway. The sound getting louder and louder until three people emerged from the door Hermione recently escaped from.
An angry Professor McGonagall came barging through first. Walking straight up to the five that stood out from the crowd like a sore thumb. Next was Fleur, looking panicked and distraught. She was looking every inch of the hall, in silent search for Hermione. She locked eyes with Harry, who shook his head no. She knew immediately what he meant, and ran back from which she came. The last person to walk through the door, walking at slower pace than the other two, was the headmaster, Dumbledore.
"What the bloody hell do you think you five were doing? Hmm?" McGonagall yelled, starring daggers at the five students. Four of them seemed to at least pretend to look guilty for what they did, but not the leader.
The main Beauxbaton, whose name was Mariya, looked smug, as she stood her ground.
"We did exactly what we wanted to, professor," She spat the last word, as if it was poisonous, "Now, you can give us our detention and we shall go."
"Detention?" McGonagall asked, which caused Mariya to start to lose her bravado. "You used Veritserum, an illegal truth potion. Using it without the ministry's consent, is a two week sentence Prison. So you won't be getting detention. Instead you'll be going to the Nurmengaurd Prison for Young Wizards." The five students all had the same expression on their face: horror, panic, and shock.
"What? No, you can't do that!" One of the Slytherins shouts.
"You're right, she can't." Dumbledore finally steps into the conversation, "But I can."
So the five students get escorted out of Hogwarts by a few ministry police that arrived moment after. Both professors were sad that they had to do it, but it was there responsibility and the law.
As Mariya was walking away, Dumbledore heard her say something that shocked him.
"Merde, we didn't get to ask ze question about ze glowing eyes!"
He was glad they didn't.
"I assume Ms. Delacour is taking care of Ms. Granger?" Dumberldore ask, looking over his shoulder to Harry and Ron.
"We believe so." Ron answered.
"Good." And that was all he said before he left with McGonagall.
I ran as fast as I could, the only thought going through my mind was to get away. To be anywhere but the great hall, or around people in general. Because if I was around people, they could ask questions, and with questions I would be forced to answer them. And merlin knows some of the things I could say could end up badly. Horribly. Terribly.
It already has.
In the proverbial sense, I was shoved out of the closet; out of my safe haven. Now everyone can see me, hate me, and judge me to their hearts desire. I can't stay hidden anymore, where I could think and learn and process without being bothered. Now everyone knows a little piece of the puzzle that made me.
I wish I could just be like Fleur. She is so strong. I know the bulling still hurts her, but she has held that on her own shoulders, and has lived with it with no help. I wold have never known if she hadn't have told me the things she has dealt with. I don't think anyone would have.
But I am not as strong as Fleur, I am still getting used to the terms gay, and lesbian. That is why I find myself running. Running from my problems and my issues. To find somewhere private and try to ignore; try and forget.
That is how I end up here, in a bathroom with an old, rusted sign hanging slightly tilted saying 'Out of Order'. I rush in, tears still heavily pouring down my face, and I don't care. I am just happy that I am finally alone. In solitude. I walk over to where two sink stand, and I slump in the space between them. Feeling a slight sense of security with the privacy it gives.
I pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them to hold them tight. I lay my head, to the right, facing the blank wall.
And let myself succumb to heavy sobs.
Hopfully next chapter will be up soon. I have a lot of projects this week so I am uncertain. But I hope you liked this chapter, as well as the next ;)