Chapter Fourteen: Are Things Really What They Seem?
12:04 p.m., Tuesday afternoon, The Great Hall
Hermione spent the better part of her lunch hour glancing uneasily at the staff table, where Snape was supposed to sit, and glancing back at Dumbledore, willing him to look at her and give her an answer to her questions, which had only increased after their conversation this morning. She had barely been able to concentrate in Charms, yet she supposed she was lucky that Professor Flitwick had taken to giving them theory today rather than a practical class. She could always copy the notes, after all-not that that set her at ease at all, but still, better than nothing. With a loud sigh of frustration, she set her fork down and began to think about where could Professor Snape have gone before they entered Dumbledore's office.
Her thinking, much to her dismay, did not have good results. By half-past twelve, she still hadn't eaten much or managed to come up with any logical explanation. She looked up and saw Harry looking at her questioningly. She gave him a half-hearted smile and said, "It's nothing…I'm just so confused about all this. Where could Snape be?"
Harry frowned, "I don't know. But he left just before we entered Dumbledore's office…he can't have gone far," he said in a low voice, and snapped his fingers suddenly, "Maybe he just hid somewhere in Dumbledore's office so he could talk to him when we left?"
Hermione shook her head, "Then where is he now? And besides, the fire roared before the door was opened. I think he left by Floo Powder,"
"But where did he go? He's either locked in his office or simply not in the Castle,"
Hermione placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand, heaving a large sigh, "And what about those voices we heard earlier? I could have sworn that sounded like…" she paused, giving Harry an uncertain look, "Don't laugh…I could have sworn that sounded like Professor Trewlaney,"
To Hermione's surprise, however, Harry nodded enthusiastically, "And Dumbledore mentioned a name when he spoke to that woman…"
"Sibyll!" Hermione exclaimed, a little too loudly. Several students looked up from their meals and gave them odd looks, while others snickered at them. With a raise of an eyebrow, Hermione turned her attention back to Harry, who was, apparently, deep in thought.
Harry looked up at Hermione and gave her a grim look, "And she mentioned someone she didn't want to be with-maybe he was a liability to her in whatever she's doing-and someone that would kill her," he paused, before voicing out the name in a mere whisper to avoid attracting more attention, "Voldemort's definitely that last one,"
Hermione nodded, "Probably. Either him or one of his followers. There aren't much people up to killing, really,"
"Which brings us to this:" Harry said excitedly, "what is she was complaining about having Snape tag along with her to where she's going? I mean, he's with Voldemort, and if he's being pursued by the other Death eaters for any reason, they surely wouldn't hesitate to kill any of them,"
Hermione frowned, thinking things over, and shook her head, "Dumbledore mentioned something about not being able to keep whoever they were talking about in the Castle. Snape's already here, so what would the point be?"
"He isn't now. You never know, they might have been referring to that," Harry retorted, looking pretty convinced of his theory.
Hermione mulled things over in her mind for a few minutes, thinking that although Harry had a point, it seemed unlikely that Dumbledore would let another teacher just leave like that. After a while, an idea occurred to her. And, although it gave her shivers just thinking about it, it was the best way to make sure if Snape was really out of the Castle or not, "Harry, why don't we go down to the Dungeons later and see if Snape is there?" she suggested quietly.
Harry's eyes snapped onto her in surprise, "Hermione Granger is suggesting that we sneak after dark into Severus Snape's quarters?" he teased, "Are you serious?" His tone was light, yet the last words held certain incredulity that made Hermione feel a touch of indignity.
She raised her eyebrow and opened her mouth to retort with a snappy answer, yet something held her back. She didn't know if it was the accord they had made, or simply instinct, but something inside her shifted and made her feel guilty for what she had been about to say. She bit her lip slightly, and looked back up at him. The simplicity of the expression in his face was overwhelming. A small grin was playing on his face, and his eyes were alive with playful merriment. He looked like an overgrown little boy, really. With a small smile, Hermione said, "Well, yes. But we could go earlier, and just knock on his door," she paused, before smirking and saying, "If the idea of sneaking around at night scares you so…"
Harry laughed, "And that, coming from the woman that was terrified to death last time we got caught," he winked at her, and Hermione felt as if very small insects we fluttering about in her stomach. She laughed out loud at this, finding it curious that she would feel butterflies around him now. It had been so long since she had felt such a sensation around anyone…
She shrugged, "That was one time. No need for it to happen again,"
"We'll see,"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, grinning.
Harry shrugged innocently, "Nothing. So we'll sneak in, then?" he asked, enjoying the turn the conversation had taken. So far, his conversations with Hermione were mostly about the odd things that had been happening, or about what might happen in the future. This one, however was silly, unimportant, and yet…it held its special sort of importance, because it brought them together just a bit more. Even if by teasing each other, all they did was flirt, the smiles she gave him were enough to keep him happy for the rest of the day.
A conversation such as this, some might say, was a gift, and Harry agreed full heartedly.
Hermione pushed her hair out of her face, wishing it were tamer, and nodded, "Yes, I think it is best," Harry nodded and there was silence. They continued eating, chancing glazed looks at each other and looking away when they realized they had been staring. In between bites of food and long looks in Harry's direction, Hermione took to looking at the people around them as well. For the first time, she noticed just how many couples Hogwarts seemed to had, and was surprised. Yet, the biggest surprise came when she saw Luna and Ron sitting at the Ravenclaw table, talking and laughing in a matter very much like the one she and Harry had been just minutes ago.
She raised an eyebrow, and felt the start of a grin appearing on her face. It vanished instantly, though, when she remembered the last time she had seen them talking. Flashes of all the cruel things Ron had said to her in the last few days came to her mind, and the rage she had felt in those moments seemed to resurface.
Yet, as she remembered those times, she began to see things from a different perspective. She pulled herself from her anger, and managed to see something she hadn't paid much attention to back then. She felt a lump rise in her throat as she thought of all the pain she must have caused Ron, and the wounded looks he had given her before his face contorted in anger and he snarled an insult at her.
Those were empty insults, she realized. Things that he had said to cover up the way he was truly feeling.
And as she thought of these things, she looked at Ron and Luna again and saw them in a different light. If Luna was making Ron feel as happy as he looked right then, then she truly was something. Hermione had never managed to do that, mainly because she always ended up frustrated and proceeded to ignoring him when he was upset rather than cheering him up. Again, she felt guilty thinking about those times. Had she really been so hard on him?
She looked briefly at Harry was he ate his food and looked back at Ron and Luna. With a smile, she thought that maybe Luna was what Ron needed now. Maybe things would turn out well for everyone after all.
Her smile grew more at the thought.
Harry smiled as he saw Hermione looking serenely at the surroundings, a curiously large smile playing on her face. He didn't bother trying to figure out what she might be thinking-she was a woman, after all. Women, for some reason, seemed to reel around in their minds, drifting in seconds from thought to thought, relishing the memories and the safe confines of the mind. Trying to figure out what she might be thinking about would be like trying to catch the wind-whenever he thought he had it, it just so happened to be long gone.
Despite not being able to figure out what was going through her mind, however, he felt comfort in seeing her looking so calm and happy
And as she looked back at him and their eyes locked, he felt as if everything around them disappeared and there was nothing else that mattered.
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9:22 p.m., Tuesday night, The Dungeons
The atmosphere in the Dungeons was not much more different than it had been the last time they had been there. It was cold, damp, and utterly spooky. Deep inside, Hermione was starting to regret suggesting coming here, but her desire to try and solve the mystery of all the odd things that were going on was overpowering.
As they walked around the maze of doors-everything looked so different in the dark-they both wondered what they would find if they ever reached Snape's quarters. They decided that, just to be secure, they would also check the classroom, but they doubted he would be there. Any student could barge in there-not that any of them felt the urge to.
As Hermione began to feel a mixed feeling of relief and disappointment at not finding Snape's classroom, Harry stopped dead in his tracks. He took a step backward and seized her arm, clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her close to the wall. Hermione, bewildered and taken by surprise, swung her elbow backward and felt it make contact with him. Harry bent forward in pain, releasing her and clutching his stomach. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized that she had hit him and she bent forward towards him, patting his back.
"Are you okay?" she whispered urgently. Harry managed to bring himself to a proper standing position and placed a finger over her lips. Silently, he pointed to the other side of the corridor, where a shadow could be seen moving towards them. Hermione uttered an irrepressible 'Oh!' of understanding and quickly pulled out the Invisibility Cloak from her bag. She draped it over them and backed up towards the wall alongside Harry, squinting to see clearly who it might be that was striding towards them in the shadows.
As the figure stepped closer towards them, Hermione realized who it was. Her vision had accustomed nicely to the dark, thus it took her a short time to realize that it was Professor Snape. His cloak was billowing behind him, as usual, which gave off the appearance that he was flying. His face was unreadable, yet his eyes were narrowed in a way that said he was not at all happy.
As he whisked past them, Hermione held her breath, waiting until he was far enough to be unable to hear them speak. Harry, however, waited until he was far enough to not hear their footsteps behind him. He grabbed Hermione's hand and set off behind Snape, fully expecting Hermione to try and stop him from going after the git. Yet, much to his surprise, she didn't. She actually seemed intrigued by Snape's sudden appearance, and Harry was glad for that. If they wasted more time, they could lose him and wouldn't be able to find out what he was up to.
And so they continued following Snape out of the Dungeons, up the Grand Staircase, and through a secret passageway Harry would have never dreamed existed. It was located just beside the entrance to the first floor. Probably because it was such a blatantly visible place, no one would ever think there was anything hidden there. It was quite clever.
The passageway was simple and hard to get lost in. It was a very steep and excruciatingly long stone staircase, leading up to a destination yet unknown to Harry or Hermione. It was impossible to tell in what direction, as the staircase turned and twisted in different angles, and there were no torches. The only source of light was the window situated high up on the walls, which let the moonlight stream in briefly. Straining his eyesight, Harry was able to make out the shape of the walls beside them. He pulled Hermione's hand gently and began walking forward slowly, searching for the first step of the staircase. Finally, he found it, and they began walking up the staircase at a reasonably quick pace behind Snape.
The staircase seemed to go on forever. Whenever they thought they saw the outline of a door, it turned out that it was their eyes playing tricks on them. Their legs began to ache from ascending so many stairs, and they began to feel fatigue. They were thankful when Snape finally stopped and stood facing the wall, brandishing his wand. Harry stopped, too, with a mixed feeling of bewilderment and relief. The place seemed utterly random and plain, and he had no idea of how Snape could identify this place. Perhaps he had counted the stairs?
He heard Snape muttering in a low voice, his wand pointed at the wall, before he pocketed it and gazed expectantly at the wall again. Slowly, a gold light began tracing the wall in an outline of a door, and when it finished, a large oak door materialized right there on the wall. Snape extended his arm towards the doorknob and wrenched it open, stepping hurriedly inside and not bothering to close it behind him. Harry lunged for the door, seizing the doorknob before it closed and holding it open until he and Hermione were safely inside the room. Then, he closed the door behind him quietly.
It was then when he realized where they were. In truth, he should have expected it, considering how many stairs there had been, but it came as a total surprise for Harry to realize that they were deep in the fireplace in Professor Trewlaney's classroom. He knew because of the mixed smell of soot and perfume clouding the air-he could never forget such a heavily perfumed smell. It flew up his nostrils and difficulted his breathing, and he thought he heard Hermione let out a muffled cough. They walked at a slow pace far behind Snape, tired from their journey up the long staircase and having to restrain their coughs.
Deep inside, they were strongly beginning to regret coming.
They were so far behind Snape, they were barely able to see the hem of his cloak as he strode inside another door that had appeared out of nowhere near the back of the classroom. They walked around the copper kettle blocking the fireplace entrance, and stood uncertainly, wondering what to do.
"Should we…hide?" Hermione whispered softly, her voice showing a faint note of fear and uncertainty. Under the cloak, Harry could barely see her face except for a bit that was illuminated by a faint ray of moonlight, and yet, he could imagine her face showing concern and expressing a hidden question in her eyes. A hope that he could do something to better the situation.
Despite this, Harry could come up with no better suggestion. They were certainly not going to run now that they were finally here, "Yeah," he said, nodding, "Maybe we could sit behind one of the armchairs, or put to poufs together and crouch behind them,"
Hermione frowned, looking unconvinced, "But don't you think he'll notice if we move something? Or what if he hears us?" she asked, clearly worried. Harry suspected that she was beginning to fear that Snape was on Death eater business or something of the sort, and would do something to them. That was ridiculous, of course. He would probably take house points off, give them detention again, and verbally insult them.
But then, hadn't he threatened Harry the last time they had met after hours? Harry remembered clearly his parting words to him the other night: "Now, get to bed. And should I find you strolling the halls at night again, Potter-accompanied or not-you shall regret it deeply." As the words came back to him, he felt a bit of a shiver cross his spine, and he silently vowed to not let themselves get caught.
"He won't," Harry said simply, determination etched on his face. Hermione's initial instinct to feel worried at this was crushed at the sight of him. The corners of her mouth twitched in a small smile as she walked behind Harry to a large armchair. They strode to the back, which was facing the front of the classroom, and they sat side by side behind it.
"Uhm…Harry?" Hermione murmured quietly after a few moments, "We can't sit like this," she said
"Why?"
With a sigh, she gestured to their sides, clearly uncovered by the cloak. Harry nodded, "You'll have to sit on my lap, then," he said absentmindedly.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, a rosy blush creeping on her cheeks, "Smooth, Harry," she whispered, leaning unto him, "But I think we can manage to cover ourselves by moving closer,"
Harry frowned, wondering why she had said that, and then he realized the implication his suggestion might have had. He laughed, "I did not mean it that way…" he said, "You were the one that thought about that!"
Hermione's grin widened, "How do you know?" she asked, winking at him and resting her cheek on his shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, wondering how she could be so beautiful and seductive without noticing it. She wasn't wearing anything special-a sweater, her Hogwarts skirt, and her robes. Yet to Harry, she always looked beautiful, no matter what she was wearing, "So, how long d'you think we'll be here? What's he doing in there, anyway?" Harry asked, clearing his throat slightly.
Hermione shrugged, closing her eyes, "I don't know. But maybe he really is tagging along with Trewlaney. Why else would he come here and raid a secret room in her classroom?"
"Voldemort,"
"Listen, Harry, I know you think he's on that side, but…I can't see Dumbledore falling for that kind of thing," Hermione said with a sigh, wrapping her arms around Harry as well, "He's not stupid, you know that,"
"Neither is Voldemort, Hermione. I can't see either of them actually believing Snape, actually,"
"Then you're saying they're using him to their convenience? Are you implying that they'll dispose of him when they see fit?" Hermione pulled away from him and gave him an incredulous look, "'Cause Voldemort would do that, but not Dumbledore, Harry. He's not like that and you know it,"
Harry sighed, "I don't know. I just wish everything would be over. That all these questions could be cleared up and I could just stop worrying so much," his tone had a note of finality, and Hermione let the issue drop. The mood seemed to have gotten tense with only a few words, and she didn't want to have another fight with him. Unable to come up with something to break the silence, Hermione took another approach. She softly ran her fingers along the side of Harry's face, causing him to turn his face towards her. Slowly, she bent her face forward towards his lips, giving him time to back away if he were truly upset, but he didn't. Their lips made contact and she felt his arms curve around her body again, slowly moving across it. She moved her hands up to his shoulders and caressed him softly, enjoying the way his hands felt on her body, even if layers of clothing separated them from her skin. She let out a soft noise of pleasure, barely audible, even to Harry, and their lips parted as Harry began to create a trail of kisses down to the small part of her neck that was visible.
They were both drifting off into an entirely different world as they forgot where they were and who was in the room next to them. Harry began pull Hermione's robes off, and Hermione didn't even think about what he was doing. She was utterly entranced by the person that was now kissing her in a way she had never been kissed before, touching her with both passion and love…
Then there was a loud, echoing clatter that broke the silence and the sound of Snape cursing. Hermione gasped and Harry pulled himself away from her quickly as she slipped her robe back on and straightened her skirt, which had ridden up to mid-thigh. Harry stared at his hands, embarrassed and feeling stupid for letting himself get carried away like that.
She didn't seem to mind, but…I don't know. What kind of a person tries to make love with someone in a classroom, with a teacher next door?
Wait a minute-make love?
When did we decide we were going to make love? We were kissing…and I began to pull of her robes. In a classroom. With Snape in the other room.
Huh.
Maybe I should try to control myself more…another time she might not take it so well…or we might do something we'd regret…
Oh, Merlin…
Hermione was sitting a good distance away from Harry, the left side of her body poking out of the Invisibility Cloak. Her eyes were wide as she realized what they had almost done-and where-and she was fumbling with her hands frantically, trying to concentrate on the noise coming from the room as an attempt to distract herself.
There were several loud cluttering sounds again, then the sound of a metal violently hitting wood, and a rustling of papers. Then, they both heard Snape walking out of the room. Hermione moved as quickly yet silently as possible towards Harry, but stumbling on her robe. Harry's arm broke her fall, holding her tightly and pulling her towards him to cover her with the cloak. They huddled together, Hermione's head leaning unto Harry's chest and his arms holding her tightly as they waited to see what Snape would do next. Harry craned his neck and peered behind the armchair, and managed to catch a glimpse of a fuming Snape holding an old, battered notebook and exiting through the secret passage he had used to come.
Harry turned back to Hermione. She was gazing absentmindedly at something on the floor, so that Harry could only see the top of her head. Her hands were clutching Harry's robes as if she were holding onto them for dear life, and could see that she was breathing quickly. Uncertainly, Harry patted Hermione's shoulder, his other arm still around her, "Err…he's gone," he said, wondering what else he could say.
Hermione nodded and pulled away from Harry. He couldn't see the expression on her face clearly, but he thought she was frowning, "I'm not mad at you," she said quietly, "You don't have to worry about that,"
Harry sighed, glad that he didn't have to start the conversation, "But we shouldn't have done that,"
"Yes. We shouldn't have. It was both our faults, Harry," Hermione said, "I shouldn't have kissed you to begin with," she blushed slightly at this, though it was barely visible in the darkness. The moonlight was illuminating her from the back, so that her face was hard to make out.
"And I shouldn't have gotten so carried away,"
"And just so you know, Harry…" Hermione began in a low voice, "We wouldn't have gotten much farther. I don't think we're ready yet. At least, I'm not," she looked down at her hands, which were rested on her knees, before continuing, "You understand, don't you?"
Harry had really never thought that perhaps she wasn't ready. He had really never considered if he was ready, though he supposed he wasn't if the mere thought of almost making love with her made him explode in concern and surprise at the consequences of his actions. Besides, what if she became pregnant? "Yes," he said, "I understand, Hermione. It's okay,"
Hermione looked up at him to see if he was telling the truth and smiled, "Thank you, Harry. It means a lot," she said. Harry smiled back at her and they were again immersed by a deafening silence until they remembered where they were and why they were here. Harry helped Hermione up and uncovered themselves from the Invisibility Cloak so they could be more comfortable. Harry walked towards the fireplace and was surprised to see that the secret passageway was no longer there. Confused, he lit it, casting a brilliant light around the room. Now capable of walking without colliding with anything, Hermione strode to the back of the room, where the other door had been. It had also vanished, and yet, if she looked closely, she could see the outlines of a door. She tried Alohomora and several other spells she had learned to open doors and reveal secrets, but the door wouldn't budge.
Frustrated, she kicked it fiercely. Still, it wouldn't open. She turned back to Harry, who was looking through papers and things that littered the floor and tables, but apparently hadn't found anything important.
"Did Snape use an incantation or a password? Because if it was a password, I don't think we'll ever get through,"
"I don't know. We were in the passageway when he opened this, remember?"
Hermione let out a noise of frustration as she nodded, "So we came all this way for nothing? I hardly think there will be anything useful out here,"
Harry looked at her uncertainly and shrugged, "I don't want this whole thing to be for nothing, either, Hermione, but I don't think we'll get in there. Still, we saw something relevant,"
"What would that be?"
"Snape. He wasn't in the castle, and now he suddenly appeared and sneaked into Trewlaney's secret room? I don't think it's a coincidence,"
"Yes, but it doesn't answer anything! We were sneaking after him to find answers, Harry. Something that could clear this whole mystery once and for all," Hermione snapped, feeling her temper rise steadily with every second that passed. She was beginning to feel annoyed at everything-like the large pouf that was sitting in front of her, or Harry's continued attempts to make things seem less horrible.
Harry seemed to sense danger, as well, because he moved towards her and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him, "Relax, Hermione…I wanted answers, too…but sometimes things don't go the way you'd like them to,"
Hermione huffed, "We should be getting back soon," she said quietly, hating herself for acting like such a child.
"Yeah," Harry said, smiling and kissing her lips lightly, "We should. Let's go," he grabbed her hand and led her towards the trapdoor they usually used to enter the classroom. He opened it, and gestured for her to go first. Later, when they were both out of the room, they casted a Colloportus charm on it, causing it to swing shut with a nasty squelching sound. Hermione shrugged, "Ah, well. At least there isn't proof that it was us,"
They walked through the darkened castle in silence, making light comments from time to time and flashing each other smiles. The way from North Tower to the Gryffindor Common Room wasn't long, and in a few minutes they were already there. They gave the Fat Lady the password and stepped inside, still not letting go of each other's hand and gazing into one another's eyes.
Hermione cleared her throat and smiled, "Err…I think we should go to sleep. We have class tomorrow," despite her words, she didn't move or let go of Harry's hand.
Harry bent forward towards her lips and kissed her softly, letting go of her hand and burying his own hand in her hair, while his other hand laid on her lower back. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back ardently. Then, abruptly, Harry stepped back, giving Hermione an apologetic look. He opened his mouth to explain, but Hermione stopped him, placing her fingers on his lips. She shook her head and smiled, saying, "It's okay, don't worry,"
Harry smiled back, relieved, and caught a wisp of her hair between his fingers, "Then, I bid you goodnight. Sleep well, my love," He bowed and winked at her.
Hermione felt her cheeks redden slightly and nodded sheepishly, "Yes…sleep well, my love," They both grinned at each other, and, with one last kiss, they headed off into their dormitories. Their problems and worries forgotten, all they could think about was the way they had kissed and their parting words to each other.
Sonno bene, il mio amore.
A/N: w00t! Quick update! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter...it's certainly romantic, and I think the plot still shows itself quite nicely. I hope more of you review this time, though. I know I kind of deserved your silence for not updating in so long, but I've updated very quickly this time. =)
Well, there's not more to say…till the next!