Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter universe (although it would be nice). Harry and his friends all belong to the wonderfully talented J.K. Rowling. I am only borrowing her wonderful characters. Only the original characters belong to me.

By: Angel: da Newsies fan

Chapter 3: Steadfast Suspicion

The next morning in the Great Hall, Harry was feeling uneasy. What had that dream been all about? Should he take it literally and not trust her?

Harry thought about this for a few minutes before he decided that, despite what his dream had said, she was of no physical threat...now emotionally, that was a different story.

So what could his dream have really meant? Just as he thought this, Ron and Hermione walked into the hall, deeply immersed in a conversation. When they spotted Harry, Ron's jaw tightened and Hermione heaved what looked like a sigh of relief. Both of them hurried over to him quickly and sat on either side of him.

"Harry, why didn’t you wait for us this morning? Ron and I were looking all over for you." stated Hermione as she placed her napkin in her lap.

Ron nodded in agreement as he reached across Harry for the butter.

Harry shrugged and picked up his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"I was up really early this morning and was hungry, so I got up, got dressed and came down for some breakfast. No big deal."

Hermione looked at him strangely.

"What time did you wake up, Harry?"

Harry paused his eating momentarily in order to think.

"Umm, around five or six. Why?"

Ron looked over at him in disbelief.

"You got up that early, voluntarily? Why?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Ron I didn't intentionally wake up that early, it just happened. I had an odd dream, woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. What would you have done?"

Ron pondered this for a moment and opened his mouth to respond.

"Actually--"

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Potty and the Weasel." interrupted an amused voice.

Ron and Harry stiffened, mild rage pulsing through their veins. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to view the source of their annoyance.

"Just bugger off, Malfoy."

Malfoy raised a golden brow and looked Hermione up and down.

"Hello there, Granger. It's nice to see you as well." he retorted with an amiable tone and a small smirk.

Hermione rolled her honey eyes once more and turned her attention toward gathering food for her breakfast.

Realizing they were getting no like this, Harry decided he'd hurry the ferret on his way.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" he asked icily.

" And make it quick, we've got classes to get to." added Ron testily, not actually caring if he was late to his next class.

Malfoy rolled his ice-blue eyes and sighed.

"Cool it, Weasel-boy, I come in peace.'' he claimed, making the sign for effect. "I only came over to inform Granger of our Prefects meeting tonight. So now that my mission is completed, I will happily leave you to yourselves."

After a dramatic wave in Hermione's direction, he smirked and waltzed out of sight.

*Bloody ferret. I wonder what he really wanted.* thought Harry half-heartedly.

"Malfoy's been acting really weird this year." Ron voiced, still glaring at the door Malfoy had exited from.

Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yea, he is different for some reason... I just can't seem to figure out why."

Ron nodded in agreement this time.

"Bloody git." he grumbled softly.

Suddenly, Hermione jumped up from her spot at the table and grabbed her bag.

"Um, I've gotta go to the library, boys. I just remembered that McGonagall's essay is due in two weeks and I haven't even begun researching. I'll see you two in Potions."

As Hermione scurried out of the Great Hall, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance.

"You think she's really going to the library, Harry?" asked Ron, moving some food around his plate.

Harry looked at Ron oddly.

"Why would she lie to us?" he responded rather defensively.

Ron shrugged and continued playing with his food.

"Let's just say that Malfoy isn't the only one who's been acting different this year...C'mon," Ron said, rising from the table, "Let's get to Potions early, I don't wanna sit in front with Crabbe again."

As Ron grabbed his bag and made his way slowly from the Hall, Harry sat dumfounded. 'Malfoy isn't the only one who's been acting different this year'? What was that supposed to mean?

Harry sighed, deciding he'd ask Ron what he meant later. He rose quickly and looked at the door to see Ron gesturing for him to hurry.

Harry nodded, grabbed his bag and quickly walked over to Ron. Ugh, Potions...not a day went by where Harry didn't marvel at its pure atrocity. What wouldn't he give to drop that class?

*~*~*

Potions went as it usually did; Snape yelled at the Gryffindors, Snape took points from the Gryffindors, Snape separated Harry, Ron and Hermione, the usual. In fact, Harry would be worried if these things hadn't happened.

At seven o’clock that night, Hermione left to go with Malfoy to patrol the halls. Harry and Ron sat alone, books askew, at a table in the corner of the Gryffindor common room.

"Harry, what did Hagrid say a Dugbog ate again?" Ron asked, scratching his head with his quill.

Harry sighed and sifted through some papers, stopping at one with a lot of writing.

"They eat...small mammals and Mandrakes." he answered half-heartedly.

Ron nodded vigorously and scribbled something onto his parchment.

"Right, and why are they particularly dangerous?"

Harry sighed again and looked at his notes once more.

"Because they do severe injury to the ankles of human walkers." he replied again, tonelessly.

Again Ron scribbled on his parchment.

"Also, --" Ron started.

"Look for yourself." Harry said, tossing his notes at Ron.

Ron looked at him for a second before picking up Harry's notes.

"Thanks, Harry." said Ron

"Don't mention it." he said monotonously.

They continued to work, silence enveloping them.

"Hey, Harry, when did Hermione say she'd be back again?" Ron asked as he continued scribbling.

Harry paused his work momentarily.

"Um, I think she said ten...it was after curfew some time. I hope Malfoy isn't bothering her too much."

Ron nodded in agreement.

*~*~*

Hermione sighed with relief as she caught a glance at a clock.

*Only one more hour. Thank God.*

She and Malfoy had been patrolling together for a few weeks now, and even though he wasn't as insufferable as he had been, it still wasn't fun walking around with Malfoy for three hours straight in dark hallways.

When they came to a forked corridor, they stopped.

"I'll go left, you go right...same as always." Malfoy stated in a bored tone.

Hermione nodded and walked down the corridor on the right.

"Don't be long, Granger, I might get lonely." she heard him say a ways behind her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and kept walking.

"Sure, Malfoy. As if you would mind being away from me for five minutes."

She heard him laugh softly and shuffle in the opposite direction.

Hermione, upon hearing no response, turned her attention to looking for anything out of the ordinary.

There were mainly just doors in this hallway, most were probably locked. Hermione walked to the middle of the corridor and stopped.

*All the doors are shut and locked. Looks good to me.*

She sighed contently and turned around to go back the way she came when she heard a single knock.

She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned in the direction of the noise.

"What in the bloody hell was that?" she muttered suspiciously.

Slowly she made her way back down the hall, straining her ears for a clue as to where that noise had come from. As she continued, getting further and further down the hall, she heard voices whispering.

*Now, now, who could that be?* she thought with a bit of happiness, a smirk appearing on her face. *Hope it's a Slytherin.*

She quietly moved along until she found the door; apparently all the doors had not been locked.

She crept up to the cracked door and began to listen.

"--But I can't do that, I'd be caught." pleaded a female voice.

"You know what will happen if you don't. Do as I command or I will not hesitate to finish them off." said the second voice, a man's voice.

There was a pause and a sigh.

"No...I-I'll do it." replied the first voice.

Then there was a mirthless laugh.

"Good. Now, what are you doing again?''

"I know what I need to do, there's no need to repeat it." replied the girl in a shaky voice.

"Enlighten me." was the reply.

There was a heavy sigh.

"I am to-- to--"

"Say it, tell me."

"--To--k-kill..."

"Kill whom?" asked the man, amusement in his voice.

*Sigh*

"Why do I need to say it? You know as well as I--"

"I DON'T CARE! TELL ME OR I'LL--"

"NO! Alright..."

"Now, whom are you going to be doing away with?" the man mocked.

The girl drew a shaky breath.

"H-Harry..."

Hermione's eyes grew wide and she had half a mind to barge in the storage closet and discover who was going to attempt to murder her best friend.

*Now, now, Hermione, perhaps there's more to this then you think.* she thought wearily.

*YEAH RIGHT! What else is there to know? Someone, the person in this closet, is plotting to kill your best friend! What more is there to know?* was another thought.

Hermione, not knowing which thought to agree with, Alohamora-ed the door across from the closet open the hid with in the room.

She gulped when she heard the closet door creak open slowly and peaked out of the cracked door.

What she saw made her eyes bug out of her head.

*What the--*

*~*~*

''Harry? Harry? Hullo? Come back to us, Harry!" screeched Ron, madly waving his pale hands in Harry's blank face.

Harry jolted out of his thoughts and looked at Ron.

''What? What happened?'' he cried frantically, looking in all directions.

''Harry, calm down, nothing's happened, sit back down." said Ron calmly.

Harry stopped flailing and looked down at his redheaded friend.

''Oh...sorry...'' he replied sheepishly.

Ron merely rolled his eyes.

" 's alright, mate. I had a feeling you weren't listening.''

Harry sat back down and stared at the table.

"Sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to ignore you."

Ron waved a hand at him and picked up his quill.

"Ya know, Harry, you really should tell her."

Harry looked at him in puzzlement.

"Tell who what?''

Ron smirked knowingly and leaned closer to Harry.

"Tell Emma that you fancy her.'' he whispered.

Harry's emerald eyes widened.

"W-What do you mean?'' he replied, wringing his hands beneath the table.

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really think I'm that stupid? It's so obvious, Harry. She probably even knows, you stare at her so much.'' he replied absent-mindedly.

Harry bit his bottom lip.

''It's really that obvious?"

Ron looked at him knowingly.

"If you were any more conspicuous, you'd have a sign that said 'Emma, I'm staring because I fancy you.' Really, Harry, just tell her already."

Harry sighed and looked around the room. He noticed something odd: Emma was no where in the common room...and it was far too early (as early as 9:30pm is) to be asleep.

Harry mentally slapped himself. He really was obsessed, it was sad really...

*~*~*

Hermione stood wide-eyed, staring outside the door.

*Oh, I knew it, I knew she was bad news! But, wait, perhaps I should tell Harry before she tries anything...I mean, for God sake, he’s head-over-heels in love with her, he'll believe whatever she tells him...*

Hermione breathed deeply as she watched the girl leave and leaned up against the wall beside her.

''What am I going to do?'' she whispered to herself.

With those words, the door to the closet slowly opened a little more.

Hermione started and quickly pulled out her wand.

"Who's there?'' she asked tentatively.

The only answer was a small, practically silent, whisper and a soft -thud- as Hermione's stunned body hit the ground.

*~*~*

"Granger?'' called Malfoy, running a pale hand through his platinum hair.

''Where did that damned girl run off to now?'' he pondered aloud.

''Granger...'' he stated in a singsong voice. ''I can't go back to my common room with out checking in first...and guess who needs to be there..."

Draco stood momentarily still, wordlessly gazing around the empty hall.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are, Granger...'' he said, remaining still.

Sighing, he turned back toward the direction he'd come and began walking slowly away. That is, until he heard a soft -thud- somewhere behind him. Startled, he swiveled around and began prowling back down the hall, this time opening every door he passed. When he reached the middle, he noticed one was unlocked already and the one across from it was slightly ajar. Furrowing his brow, he pulled it open more, only to reveal a utility closet as well as the exact person he was looking for, leaning up against the wall unconscious.

"Damn it, Granger...What the hell did you do?'' he asked Hermione's unconscious body.

*~*~*

By 10:45 pm, Hermione was still not back from her Prefect duties. Harry and Ron were beyond frantic and were now devising a plan using the Marauder's Map to go and get her.

''She's in the hospital wing? What in the Wizarding World is she doing there?'' asked a flabbergasted Ron. ''Her and Malfoy's area is all the way over here.'' he states, pointing to the opposite end of the map.

''Maybe she's just been talking to Madam Pomfry and lost track of time.'' suggested Harry, rubbing his eyes in tiredness.

Ron shook his head.

''No, I think Malfoy's done something to her. We should go see if she's alright. C'mon, I'll get your invisibility cloak.''

Harry, deciding not to argue, sighed and trudged up to the boy's dorm after Ron.

Minutes later, an invisible Harry and Ron were leaving the Gryffindor common room and heading in the direction of the hospital wing.

''Hurry up, Harry! Why are you going so slow?'' Ron whispered harshly.

Harry shot a glare at him.

''Calm down, Ron, I'm going as fast as we should be going. Besides, Hermione is obviously alright if she's in the hospital wing. Plus, if she leaves, we'll know.'' Harry said, holding up the Marauder's Map.

"I know, but I'm still worried about her. Can't we just walk a little bit faster?''

Harry sighed exasperatedly and sped up a little.

''Fine, but if we get caught, I'm blaming you.''

Luckily, the only thing they passed on their way down stairs was Nearly Headless Nick, who took little, if not no, notice of them.

Ron made a beckoning gesture with his hand.

Harry rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the door to the hospital wing.

''Alright, Harry, let's go.'' whispered Ron, getting ready to push open the door.

Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Wait, how are going to explain how we knew Hermione was here?''

Ron pondered this for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

''I dunno. Does it really matter anyway? Hermione's hurt, we need to know what happened and whether or not she's okay, Harry.''

"Look, I'm just as worried about her as you, but we can't go barging in there with out a reason. Besides, it's not like we can say 'Oh, hello Madam Pomfry. We saw that Hermione was hurt by looking on this map here and we decided that we needed to come and investigate.'''

Ron rolled his eyes and glared at Harry.

''Yeah, yeah...I know. So what are we going to do?'' Ron asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Harry pondered this momentarily. Then an idea struck him. He turned quickly toward Ron.

''Hex me.'' he whispered, pointing enthusiastically at himself.

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Are you mad? I'm not hexing you!''

Harry donned a look of annoyance.

''C'mon, Ron, just do it.''

Ron shook his head frantically.

''No way, mate. If Madam Pomfry ever found out I'd hexed you, I'd probably be in detention for weeks.''

Harry sighed impatiently.

''Fine, then I'll hex you. Detention for a week is probably better then being hexed anyway.'' he stated, raising his wand.

Ron's eyes grew wide as he threw up his hands in an attempt to block.

''No! No, I-I'll hex you.'' he pleaded sadly.

Harry nodded and lowered his wand.

''Go ahead then.''

Ron gulped and raised his wand, pointing it at Harry.

''Furnuculus!''

*~*~*

"Madam Pomfry! Madam Pomfry! Help, please!'' called Ron, busting down the door and dragging Harry in with him.

Madam Pomfry, hearing his cries, hurried out of her office and gasped when she spotted Harry covered in large, painful boils.

"I was practicing hexes and this one sorta bounced off of my target and hit Harry. We would've come sooner, but he wanted to see if we could get rid of them ourselves...''

Pomfry held up her hand.

''Alright, alright, that's enough. Bring him here.'' she stated, the annoyance obvious in her voice.

Ron nodded, huffing and puffing from fake exhaustion, and staggered with Harry over to a hospital bed.

''Where is she?'' Harry whispered, holding his side, pretending he was in an immense amount of pain.

Ron scanned the room and spotted a bed with a curtain around it.

''Probably over there,'' he whispered back, nodding toward the back of the hospital wing.

Harry looked there and nodded.

''Ok, lay me down next to it and go and check.'' he said, continuing to wince in pain that was no longer fake.

Ron nodded and stumbled clumsily toward the bed beside the curtain, carefully sitting his friend upon it.

''Go and look, I can take it from here.'' Harry whispered, pulling himself to the head of the bed.

Ron nodded once more and made his way to look behind the curtain.

Slowly and quietly the red head tip toed toward the beige curtain beside Harry’s bed and tentatively pulled it back a bit. What he saw made his eyes go wide and a small gasp emit from his mouth.

“Harry,” Ron squeaked frightfully, “Harry, it’s Hermione...she looks like she’s...dead...”

Harry, momentarily startled, twisted his head more toward Ron’s location. Then he shook his head in disbelief.

“There’s no way she’s dead, Ron. Dumbledore would’ve told us. She’s probably just unconscious.” Harry rationed, wincing a bit as he slid the cotton bed sheets over his body.

Ron looked at his best friend, a look of relief spreading across his freckled face. He nodded in approval.

“Yea, you’re right, Harry. Dumbledore would tell us if anything horrible had happened...that is, unless he doesn’t know yet.”

“Ron, don’t be stupid. Dumbledore knows about everything that goes on around here.”

Just as Ron turned to look back at Hermione’s unconscious form, both boys heard the clunking of heeled shoes on linoleum.

“Ron!” Harry whispered harshly, “Get away from there, Pomfry’s coming!”

Ron nodded hurriedly and stealthily slipped in the chair beside Harry’s cot just as the nurse hustled back into the room.

“This should remove the hex in no time, darling,” she said, holding up a vile of greenish-yellowish potion.

She uncorked the top and handed it to Ron.

“Might be best if you held it for him, dear. It probably hurts him to move.”

Ron nodded and gently took the vile from the nurse. He gulped and held it up to Harry so he could ingest it.

Harry gagged a bit when he tasted the potion, nearly spitting it out. When it was completely gone, Madam Pomfry took the vile from Ron and looked over at Harry with pity.

“It should start working any minute now. Those boils should be gone within the hour.”

Harry nodded, already feeling the pain begin to ease.

Then she shot a disapproving a look at Ron.

“You’ll want to be more careful in the future, Mr. Weasley. Next time it may not be your best friend that you accidentally hex.”

Ron nodded dejectedly. “Yes, Ma’am. It won’t happen again.”

“To right it won’t.” she replied, walking toward the door that led to her office across the hall. “You are free to leave whenever you wish, Potter. Good night to you both.” And with that, she was gone.

Harry looked at Ron. “Go back to the common room, Ron, I’ll be along in a bit.”

Ron looked at him and nodded slowly. “Are you sure? I’ll wait.” he said, rising from his chair.

Harry shook his head. “No, you go on ahead. I can tell you’re tired.”

Ron nodded dolefully and sluggishly ambled from the room. “G’night, Harry.” he called as he continued through the door.

“Good night, Ron.” Harry replied, almost inaudibly.

With that, Harry settled comfortably into his cot and waited for the boils to fully rid themselves from his body.

*~*~*

The following morning in the Great Hall was an interesting one. The Gryffindor fifth year girls from Hermione’s dorm were gossiping like mad about her not turning up the entire night.

“I’ll bet she and Malfoy were...‘sorting out some differences.’” they’d say, giggling like mad.

Ron was beat red with anger when he heard these rumors.

“Oh, please. They know Hermione better than that, don’t they?” he grumbled harshly to Harry, whose boils were now completely gone.

Harry merely shrugged and continued eating his breakfast.

“You think we could go and visit her now?” Harry asked nonchalantly, scooping some eggs onto his fork.

Now it was Ron’s turn to shrug. “I don’t see why not. She is our friend.”

Harry then nodded, putting down his fork.

“Good, then let’s go now before classes start.” he stated, rising from his spot on the bench.

Ron rose as well, following Harry out of the Great Hall.

When they reached the hospital wing, the door was wide open and Madam Pomfry was stationed by it in a comfy armchair.

“Ah, you two again. I suppose your here to see the Granger girl.” she asked in a business-like tone, merely glancing at the boys.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Harry answered wringing his hands in mock nervousness. “Is she alright?”

Madam Pomfry’s head shot up to look at them.

“Why, yes she’s perfectly well. Just unconscious. She should come to in the next few hours.” she replied, rising from her chair and motioning for them to follow her.

Harry and Ron both nodded and followed the nurse to Hermione’s curtained cot, which she pointed to.

“She’s in there.” she said shortly, before walking past the boys and back to her chair by the door.

Harry and Ron said nothing to one another as they pulled back the curtain and stepped inside it.

There were three chairs positioned around the bed; two beside each other on the left and one by itself on the right. Harry and Ron sat in the ones on the left.

After a few minutes of silence, Ron sighed.

“What do you think happened to her?” he asked, staring at Hermione’s comatose form.

Harry shrugged and fiddled with the end of one of Hermione’s blankets.

“I dunno. But it’s obviously not that serious. Madam Pomfry doesn’t seem too worried about it. Who do you reckon brought her in?

Ron gulped a bit and turned his head to look at Harry.

“I hate to say it, but it must’ve been Malfoy. He was the only one with her...”

Harry nodded slowly before glancing at his watch.

“C’mon, Ron. Classes start in five minutes.” he said shortly, rising from his chair and turning to exit the curtained area.

“Do you think it’s possible that Malfoy did this, Harry?” Ron suddenly blurted out.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned back toward Ron.

“No way.” he said confidently. “Even he’s smarter than that.”

Ron sighed and nodded in defeat.

“Yea, you’re right. He knows we’d kick his ferret arse if he ever hurt Hermione.” he stated, rising from his chair as well to follow Harry.

“But, Harry,” he said, glancing back once more at Hermione, “Could we kick his arse anyway?”

Harry smiled a little and shook his head.

“Not unless you want detention, mate. C’mon, let’s go, we’re going to be late for Potions.”

As they left, Ron took the lead, deciding he definitely didn’t want to be late for Snape’s class.

Harry, however, straggled behind to speak with Madam Pomfry.

“Madam Pomfry,” he asked, “Who brought her in?”

The nurse looked at him with an expressionless face.

“Mr. Malfoy. He said he had found her out cold in a utility closet on the fifth floor.”

Harry gulped.

“Does he know what happened to her?”

Pomfry shook her head.

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Potter. He merely came into the hospital wing carrying her, frantically telling me that he thought she was dead.”

Harry’s brow creased. Malfoy had been frantic?

*~*~*

In the middle of History of Magic, Professor McGonagall came in to take out Harry and Ron. She explained, once they were out of class, that Hermione was awake and was asking for them.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look of happiness mixed with relief.

When they reached the hospital wing, McGonagall left them to speak with Pomfry, who was now back in her office across the hall.

Harry and Ron immediately hurried over to Hermione’s bed, from with the curtains had now been removed. She was propped up in the bed reading a book; typical.

“Hermione!” Ron cried gleefully.

Hermione looked up in the direction her name had been called and immediately smiled broadly at the site of her two best friends.

“Harry, Ron! Oh, I’m so happy to see you.” she said, hugging each of them tightly.

Harry decided to cut to the chase.

“Hermione, what happened last night? Who did this to you?”

Hermione’s smile instantly dropped.

“Oh, um, right. About that...I don’t quite remember I’m afraid. Whoever did it must’ve cast a Memory Charm on me. All I remember is walking around the floor I patrol with Malfoy and then all of a sudden I woke up here. It’s quite weird, actually.”

Ron’s fists clenched in furry.

“I’ll bet it was Malfoy, then.”

Harry immediately shot him down.

“No way, Ron, I told you earlier, even he’s not that dumb. Besides, I talked with Pomfry and she said Malfoy brought her here. She claimed he was utterly hysterical, thought she was dead.”

Ron raised an eyebrow.

“Malfoy? Hysterical about Hermione? Are you joking? The only emotions he shows are annoyance and cruelty. Besides, he hates Gryffindors, especially us. And he also hates Hermione. Remember second year when he said that he hoped the Basilisk would kill her? Remember?”

This time, Hermione spoke up.

“Firstly, Ron, I’m sitting right here and you’re having a conversation about me. Secondly, that was second year. We were all a little immature then. And contrary to popular belief, Malfoy really isn’t as bad as he seems. The only reason he’s mean to Harry is because he’s jealous. He’s mean to you because your friends with Harry and because his dad hates your dad. Also, he may say that he wants me dead, but I highly doubt he’d have the guts to actually wish it upon me, or actually do it.”

Ron’s mouth fell open.

“You’re joking, right? ‘Malfoy really isn’t that bad’? Are you mental! I think that Memory Charm did more then erase your memory, I think it screwed you up mentally as well!”

Hermione’s glared daggers at Ron as she clenched her fists.

“Don’t even go there, Ron. You have no right to judge someone you know absolutely nothing about!”

“Are you defending him?” Ron asked, flabbergasted.

Hermione stopped for a moment and thought about this.

“Yes,” she replied in a calmer voice, “I suppose I am.”

For Ron, this was the last straw.

“That’s it! FINE! Defend the damn ferret. DATE him for all I care! Do whatever the bloody hell you want, I don’t give a damn!”

With that, he stormed out of the room, his face redder than his hair.

Harry stood rooted in his spot.

“Uh,” he said, “How are you feeling, Hermione?”

Hermione sighed and laughed slightly.

“I’m fine, Harry. Thank you for asking.”

Harry nodded uncomfortably and wrung his hands.

After a few moments to silence, Hermione sighed exasperatedly.

“You can leave if you want, Harry. I won’t stop you.”

Harry stared at her momentarily, before sitting in one of the chairs by her bed.

“What makes you think I want to leave?” he asked, looking her directly in the eyes.

She smiled slightly and took a deep breath.

“I figured you’d want to follow Ron. You usually side with him anyway.”

Harry’s throat clenched when she said this. She was right, however. Whenever they had fights, he did tend to gravitate more toward Ron, rather than Hermione. Having two best friends was so bloody complicated.

“Well,” he started, “This time I think he’s way off base. He’s just letting his distain for Malfoy cloud his judgment, leading him to think that a Malfoy could never do anything nice. But, like you said, we don’t really know too much about Malfoy, other than the fact that his Father’s a Death Eater and that he’s a Pureblooded Slytherin.”

Hermione nodded and looked out the window to her left.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover.” she said simply.

Harry laughed a bit and looked out the window as well.

“That’s the Hermione I know. Always talking about books.”

Hermione, in turn, smiled and turned toward Harry.

“Thanks, Harry. I knew I could count on you to understand me.”

Harry nodded.

“You get some rest, alright? I’m gonna go down to lunch now that Binns’s class is most likely over. I’ll see you later, okay?”

Hermione nodded and smiled a bit.

“Okay.”

*~*~*

A day later, Hermione was released from the hospital wing. Rumors of her night escapades with a certain blonde Slytherin had been squelched when people discovered where she’d been taken. She and Ron had sort of made up, or were at least decent to one another in Harry’s presence.

A few days after Hermione’s return, she was sitting in the Great Hall beside Harry, thoroughly enjoying her meal, when she suddenly had a sharp pain flash through her head.

She blinked quickly and shook her cranium.

*Must be the beginnings of a head ache.* she thought, casually waving it off.

She turned her attention now to looking around the Hall, just looking at people. There were Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil chatting up a storm; There was Hannah Abbott flirting mercilessly with Justin Finch-Fletchly; There was Cho Chang laughing at one of Roger Davies’s jokes; There Draco Malfoy, glaring at Pansy Parkinson for hanging all over him; There was the love of Harry’s life, Emma Creevy, quietly eating her breakfast.

Suddenly, the flash of pain returned and Hermione clutched her head.

“Hermione, are you alright?” she heard Harry ask faintly.

She nodded her head, still clutching it, signaling that everything was fine.

However, she did not hear whether or not Harry asked her anything else, for now her mind was quickly spitting out random memories. Receiving her letter from Hogwarts in first year; Her first Potions class; Her first detention; Sirius and Buckbeak flying off into the sunset; Harry clutching the lifeless body of Cedric Diggory. Then there was a vision she did not recall ever seeing; it was Emma Creevy exiting a closet, her usually bright eyes bloodshot, clutching her wand tightly to her body.

It was then that she remembered what happened on that night her memory was erased.

As suddenly as the visions had started, they halted, rushing Hermione back to the present where she was clutching the bench below her as though her life depended on it. No one, however, seemed to notice.

Hermione’s eyes grew large. She had to tell Harry about Emma, she had to tell him before it was too late.

She suddenly turned toward Harry, who was having another one of those heated discussions about Quidditch with Ron, and opened her mouth to speak. But then she shut it. She couldn’t tell him here. Emma was across and about six people away from them, she’d definitely hear. No, she’d wait until later, maybe tonight.

Abruptly she became aware that everyone was leaving the Great Hall to attend their morning classes. Hermione picked up her bag and rose to follow the herd of students out into the entrance hall.

Once she made it to her first class, Transfiguration, which they now attended with Ravenclaw, she took a seat in the very middle, quickly unloading her things, getting ready for class to start. As soon as her things were prepared, she glanced to her right where Harry and Ron were continuing their Quidditch discussion. She rolled her eyes and allowed her gaze to travel around the classroom watching people have their pre-class conversations. Her brow furrowed when she stumbled upon Emma’s quiet conversation with Ravenclaw Prefect Jade Hemmingway.

*Hmm...I’m going to have to watch those two more closely from now on.* she vowed in her head.

“Class, class! Settle down, take your seats please.” Called Professor McGonagall’s strict voice.

Hermione immediately snapped her attention to the front of the room, but still kept one eye on the left side of the room where Emma sat still conversing softly with Jade.

*~*~*

Weeks passed and fall was just beginning. Halloween would be here soon and that meant that something...abnormal would happen, as it always had for the last four years.

But, oddly enough, the feast went off without a hitch and even the party in the Gryffindor common room, organized by Fred and George, had gone unnoticed by teachers.

When October slowly transitioned into November, fall, in turn, changed gradually into winter. Hermione was now watching her two suspects with heated interest. She had concluded from her observances that Emma had been sent by a Death Eater to seduce Harry and, after gaining his full trust, kill him. Jade Hemmingway, the Ravenclaw Prefect, was her accomplice. Together, they were to take over Hogwarts through their respective houses and kill all that would be a threat to their cause. Okay, so maybe that last bit was a little overboard, but she was positive about the first part. Now she just needed to find out, for sure, why.

*~*~*

One early winter morning, Harry arose to falling snow and a beautiful sunrise. He had been having trouble sleeping again, still having those odd dreams about a certain girl. He had honestly tried to do what they were telling him, believing them to be a sign (though from who, he didn’t know), but it was proving difficult to just drop his crush. He was really attracted to her for some strange reason, one he didn’t even understand. It’s not like she was constantly graceful, for, while she had her moments, she was almost clumsier than Neville, which was saying something. It definitely wasn’t that she was exceedingly intelligent, for, while she wasn’t stupid, she wasn’t smarter than Hermione, or even smarter than he was. So what was it about her that he liked so much?

He spent most of breakfast pondering this question and was even deep in thought while walking down to the dungeons for Potions. When he arrived, however, his train of thought came to a halt. For when he saw her sitting alone in the very back corner of the room, he no longer cared what he found alluring about her. He followed Ron and Hermione to their usual seats in the back row by the door and placed his bag upon the table. He glanced over in Emma’s direction and saw her gazing at the desktop, seemingly lost in thought. He stared a little longer, when out of the blue, she looked at him. His eyes grew large, but he found that he could not look away.

All of sudden, she vanished into thin air.

*~*~*

End of Chapter 3

Okay:

1: I know that cliffhangers suck, but this is already 17 pages or more.

2: I also realize that you cannot apparate and disapparate in Hogwarts. But, who ever said she was?

That’s all for now. I need to go and write the remaining chappies for my Pokémon story (it’s almost finished!) So I now bid thee farewell. Ta ta!

Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan

Character © J.K. Rowling

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!