Chapter Nine
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES
The stairs circling the boys' dormitories were dark when Harry finally made his way up to his room that night. It was just past eleven; the dance had ended at ten. Harry wasn't sure how long he and Hermione had been outside, and he wasn't sure how long they had spent in the common room after that. Judging by the intense silence, everyone else must have gone straight to bed after the dance.
Harry pushed open the door to his room as silently as possible because he was sure that Ron was already asleep. He also avoided the floorboards he knew creaked, but it was no use.
"Where have you been?" demanded Ron. "Pansy Parkinson started a big row about Hermione down at the dance, saying she'd seen Hermione's scabs from the Forveret Bursen. She has half the school convinced Hermione's got some kind of disease, and she said Hermione ran off crying. We spent the last hour of the dance looking for you, but you were no where to be found-"
"Ron," interrupted Harry, "I know what Pansy saw. I was there. A whole lot of Slytherin girls started in on Hermione, calling her unattractive and talking about how they wish she'd gotten expelled instead of Malfoy. She did run off crying, and I found her in the courtyard. That's where I've been."
"With Hermione?"
"Yes, with Hermione," said Harry. He had managed to locate his pajamas in the dark. He discarded his dress robes on the floor, too tired to care if they got wrinkled.
"Lumos!"
Harry squinted when he realized Ron had picked up his wand and illuminated the room. Ron's freckled face was filled with concern.
"Is she okay?" asked Ron. "I heard what they were saying. They made it sound like Hermione was devastated."
"She was," said Harry grimly. He hopped into his four-poster, but he did not pull the curtain shut. "I think they took a lucky guess on that one. She was crying when she left, after all."
"What about now?"
"Okay, I think," said Harry. He pulled an extra blanket up on the bed, still cold from being outside for so long. "I don't know why they went off on her like that. It wasn't like she was doing anything, just sitting there, talking to me."
"So they just attacked her?" Ron wanted to know. "I really hate those girls."
"More or less," said Harry. He quickly explained how her bracelet had come unclasped and, when she went to fix it, her sleeve had fallen back and showed the scabs.
"And they just started in on her?" Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."
"It is," agreed Harry. "We had been talking about Malfoy, but they never once looked in our direction before. Maybe they heard, but we were talking awfully quietly. It would have been hard."
"Knowing Pansy, she had it planned the entire time," quipped Ron. "She's that type. She's always finding something to pick at someone for. Hermione was probably just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Poor Hermione. I believe that, but even so, I just couldn't believe how vicious they all were. They all just look at her with this cruel stare. I don't blame her for running off in tears."
"Probably not," said Ron, and he yawned. "Where'd you go after the dance?"
"We stayed out in the courtyard for a little while," said Harry, being carefully not to mention the dance they'd shared. He knew full well Ron would give him hell about it if he did. "Then, we were down in the common room for awhile."
"But she's all better now?"
Harry noticed that Ron had put out his wand, and he rolled over in the darkness, putting his glasses down on the bedside table. "I don't know if you'd say all better," said Harry quietly, "but I don't think she's any worse off."
"That," said Ron, "if I didn't know better, would be called avoiding the question. What have you been doing for the last hour, though?"
"I told you," said Harry. "We were outside in the courtyard for awhile, and then we were downstairs in the common room."
"I know that," agreed Ron. "But what were you doing?"
"Hermione just needed someone to be there for her for awhile, and I was there. Okay?" Harry grimaced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, and he couldn't figure out why he was so protective of Hermione all of a sudden. There was silence from Ron's side of the room, and it stretched on for several minutes.
"Harry?"
"Yeah?" Harry could tell Ron was squirming around because his mattress squeaked. He wanted for his friend to go on.
"I'm not trying to pry, and I'm not going to tease you, okay?"
"Okay... what are you talking about?"
There was another squeak of the mattress, and Harry was starting to feel very curious. Ron seemed to be squirming around a lot more than usual, which meant he was uncomfortable.
"Well?"
"Is-is there something, er, going on between you and Hermione?" said Ron quietly.
Harry was silent for a few minutes. There wasn't anything going on between them, of course. "No, there's not, Ron," he said finally.
* * *
By the next morning, the Great Hall was back to normal. The two middle tables had been added again, the ice sculpture had been taken outside, and the Christmas trees had been stripped of their tropical flowers. Hagrid's garlands remained, however, as did the wonderful, Christmas smell.
The commotion that morning was more than usual, for majority of students were heading home for the holidays directly afterwards. Only six people from Gryffindor had opted to stay: the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione, though Harry had a feeling the others were staying out of pity for him. In the other three houses, there seemed to be similar amounts of people leaving, and even some of the professors were going home.
However, something set that morning apart from the others. While everyone from Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff had found their way down to the Great Hall, not a single person occupied the Ravenclaw table, even after the food had been served. Ron, of course, was worried about Anna, but Harry had his own concerns. Hermione had seemed fine when she'd gone up to her dorm room, but she wasn't looking that well now. She hadn't said a word yet that morning-not even a hello-and she kept pushing her food around on her plate. For Harry, Ron, and Hermione, breakfast was a quiet affair.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened again, and the whole slew of Ravenclaws burst in, all with different degrees of concerned looks on their faces. Anna made a beeline for the Gryffindor table.
"What's going on?" asked Ron. Anna's eyes went wide.
"Mandy Brocklehurst is missing-she stood up her date up for the dance and no one remember seeing her at the snowball fight," she said, and she rushed on. "She's a prefect, and she has her own room. When someone realized she hadn't been seen in ages, they checked her room. Everything was thrown about here and there, all out of place-and they say there was another message in smoke."
* * *
The news spread around the Great Hall like wildfire. Before Dumbledore or any of the teachers had a chance to saying something, the whole place was nearly in uproar. Not a lot of people seemed to know Mandy, but those that did all described her in the same way: very smart, very talented, very quiet.
When Harry heard this, he couldn't help but look to Hermione. She was always two of the things, and today she was also the third. Something wasn't right, and Harry made a mental note to talk to her later. There wasn't much point of trying amidst the commotion that was the Great Hall.
Finally, Dumbledore managed to silence everyone, but not until he resorted to the use of his wand. He stood before everyone, a very stern look on his face.
"Thank you," said Dumbledore. "I will not waste your time repeating information, as it seems you all already know. However, even in light of recent events, the majority of you all are expected on the Hogwarts Express in little over an hour. There is an explanation for everything, and you need not worry that we will get to the bottom of this. Please head back to your rooms right after you finish eating to gather your things. For those students not leaving, you will still accompany us to the platform."
With another wave of his wand, the silence was lifted from the Great Hall. The whispers began again, and no one seemed able to believe Dumbledore's calmness in the matter. Harry looked over to Hermione, about to say something, but she suddenly stood up. She looked unusually pale, and she still hadn't touched her breakfast. She must have seen him looking at her with confusion.
"I-I have to go," stammered Hermione. "I just remembered I-I promised Lavender I'd do something for her before she left."
Before Harry could say anything, she was gone. He looked at her empty seat for a moment, wondering what could possibly be going on. It didn't take a genius to realize there wasn't any promise to Lavender involved. Harry just couldn't figure out why she would want to lie to him. He wasn't finished with his breakfast yet, but he decided that dragging the truth out of Hermione was more important.
* * *
"Hullo, Mr. Potter! How are you this morning?" welcomed the Fat Lady as Harry approached the Gryffindor tower.
"I'm fine," said Harry. "How are you?"
The Fat Lady clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, I'm having the most lovely day! I'm looking forward to some rest and relaxation with so many of you ragamuffins leaving! Will you be staying?"
"Yes-I'm one of the few that are," said Harry, trying not to sound impatient. He wanted to find Hermione, but he didn't want to be rude, either. "Say, did Hermione rush through here a few minutes ago?"
"Hermione, you say? No, I'm sorry, dear, she hasn't been through here."
"Oh, it's okay," said Harry. "I'm going in, anyway. Christmas pudding."
"Very well then!" called the Fat Lady cheerfully as she swung open. "It was nice talking to you, Harry!"
Harry said his goodbyes and darted through the portrait hole. He couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion once in the common room. If Hermione hadn't gone back to Gryffindor, where could she have gone? As it turns out, the portrait hole opened a few seconds later, and Hermione climbed through. She made a beeline to the staircase up to the girls' dormitory, brushing past Harry without so much as a word.
"Hermione!" he called, and she stopped halfway up the staircase. She gripped the railing as she turned around.
"Oh, hello Harry," she said quietly. "I really can't talk long. I've decided to go home for the holidays; I have a sudden homesickness. I've just talked to Dumbledore and sent an express owl to my parents, and I really must get my things together."
"Oh," said Harry. He didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that. He could have sworn she told him how much she loved the holidays here just the night before. As he thought, she started up the staircase again. "Hermione, wait. Is there something bothering you?"
"Everything's fine." Hermione stopped, and Harry noticed she looked unusually pale. Suddenly, she rushed back down the stairs and threw her arms around him. "Oh, Harry!"
"'Mione? What's wrong?" Harry was so confused that he pulled back from her grasp.
"I-I can't explain it," said Hermione, and she brought her hands up behind her neck, fumbling with something. "I have to go, Harry. I just can't be here, not right now. A-a-and-I'm sorry Harry."
He felt her open his hand and slip something into it. He looked down to see the necklace he had given her coiled up in his palm. "Hermione-what's this about? This was a gift. You don't have to give it back to me-"
"Yes, I do," said Hermione quickly. She had backed away from him and looked dangerously close to tears. "You wouldn't understand. You'd think it was stupid, but this isn't right. You might not realize it now, but you don't want to be around me, Harry. I-I'm sorry."
Harry was still looking at the necklace in his hand, dumbfounded, when she dashed up the stairs. He was about to call for an explanation, but she had already shut the door to the girls' dormitory.
* * *
Just as Dumbledore had stated, the scheduled events of the day continued on as usual. Still, even as collected as he might appear, Harry couldn't help but notice the wary look on the headmaster's face as students piled onto the Hogwarts Express to go home for Holiday. Harry stayed back with the Weasleys and a handful of other students staying in the castle over the break. Ron looked confused as to why Hermione had boarded the train, but Harry was still working over what she had said to him and didn't offer an explanation. The twins were dueling with their fake wands, and Ginny chatted with her friends to the very last.
Finally, the whistle blew and the train left, leaving only twelve students still on the platform. Standing with them were Hagrid, Madame Maxime, Dumbledore, Lupin, McGonagall, Snape, and Filch. The caretaker had brought his cat, Mrs. Norris, with him, and was grumbling about time he could have spent cleaning being wasted.
Like most students, Anna had chosen to go home, which gave Harry Ron's undivided attention for the first time in weeks. However, Harry was still so caught up in what Hermione had said to notice his redheaded friend trying to get his attention. Finally, Ron bellowed his name in his ear, and Harry looked over with a flinch. Ron was waving his hand in front of Harry's face.
"I've been trying to get your attention for ten minutes, and you almost tripped over a tree root because you weren't watching. What's going on?" Ron wanted to know.
"It's nothing," said Harry immediately, but he sighed. It would be no use lying to Ron. He quickly told him what Hermione had said to him in the common room before leaving.
"That's ridiculous!" protested Ron. "She was just talking about how excited she was to spend the holidays with us on Thursday afternoon! How could she have changed her mind? That was only a few days ago!"
"Not even a few days," said Harry grimly. "She was still looking forward to it last night."
"Do you think it could be because of what those girls said to her last night?" questioned Ron. "She didn't talk to me this morning, but I thought she looked a little out of it."
"She did," said Harry. "I was going to track her down later today and try to talk about it, but you see where that got me."
Ron shook his head. "I think she just disowned you, Harry."
* * *
"Harry, wake up! You might not be in a very merry mood, but I'm not going to let you sleep through Christmas morning! Now get up!" exclaimed Ron a few mornings later, shoving back the hangings on his friend's bed and shaking his shoulder vigorously. Harry reached up, trying to bat him away, but it was no use.
"There's no escaping Christmas, Harry!" called Fred, his voice cheery as he peaked into his younger brother's room. He had his arms full of packages, which he set on the floor in a pile; George was right behind him and did the same.
"Come on, Harry!" exclaimed Ron again, and Harry finally opened his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm up," he said grumpily, nearly hitting Ron as he reached over to get his glasses. He blinked a few times, looking very surprised to see Fred and George there already.
"We thought we'd pay you too a visit and have ourselves a real Christmas party," explained George hastily. "I wouldn't be surprised if Ginny popped in here in a few minutes."
Harry couldn't help but smile as he climbed out of bed and looked around the room. He'd had a rough few days, as he was preoccupied with thoughts about what Hermione had said to him. Now, as his eyes shifted between his three redheaded friends, the piles of festive packages, and the small Christmas tree Hagrid had cut for them a couple days before, Harry made a resolution not to let his concerns upset him that day.
"I think we should all open these first," declared Fred, holding up a lumpy package from Mrs. Weasley. George dug his out, nodding as he held it up.
"A Weasley family sweater!" exclaimed George as he held it up. "I wasn't expecting this!"
Ron, however, was staring at his in disbelief. "I wasn't expecting it not to be maroon!"
Harry peered over to Ron, who, sure enough, was holding up a blue sweater. "Was it finally starting to grow on you, Ron?" he asked, and Ron threw a wad of wrapping paper at him. His own sweater was green.
"She's gotten us confused," said George suddenly. He held up a red sweater with a large yellow F knitted into it. Fred was holding up a similar one, except his had a G.
"Not like you're identical or anything, right?" said Ron with a grin as his older brothers traded sweaters. He was busy putting his own, which turned into a difficult task, as he was trying to shove his head into one of the sleeves.
Harry pulled his on, too, and finished emptying Mrs. Weasley's package. Besides the hand knitted sweater, she had given him matching knit socks, a whole box of homemade fudge and candies, and half a dozen mince pies. He noticed that there were two different packages from Sirius, and he started to open the first one just as Ron let out a cry of glee from next to him.
"Look!" he cried, shoving something in Harry's direction. It was a slightly worn broom, but it was impossible not to notice the "Nimbus 2000" in gold writing at the top of the handle. Ron had a piece of parchment in his hand.
"We know it's neither new nor a Firebolt, but we hope you enjoy it just the same," read Ron. "Good luck in your next Quidditch match, and don't you dare let it out of your sight for a second! Love, Mum and Dad."
Ron looked dumbfounded, so Harry clapped him on the back. "There's no way we won't win the Slytherin rematch now, huh?"
"No-no there's not!" exclaimed Ron finally, and he grinned. Fred and George were also grinning, musing their little brother's hair and punching his shoulder.
"We knew you were getting it," admitted Fred.
"Yeah," added George, "Dad wanted to know if we thought you'd be offended about getting a secondhand broom."
Ron shook his head. "This is the greatest!"
Harry could tell that Ron really meant it. He took Sirius's larger package up again and peeled away the paper. There were actually several things inside: two Quidditch posters for his wall (one of them was of the Chudley Cannons, which Fred helped Ron tack up to the wall immediately), a set of wizard chess pieces (Ron challenged him to a game that afternoon), some Chocolate Frogs (George snatched one to eat), and a deck of magic cards (Harry set them aside before any of the Weasleys took notice). The other package was much smaller, and Harry noticed a note on top.
Harry-
This really isn't a present, but I wanted you to have it. It was your father's; his own father gave it to him when he was fifteen. Merry Christmas!
-Sirius
It was a wristwatch, and his father's initials were inscribed on the back. Harry put it on his wrist and took a closer look at the face. It had the normal hands of a Muggle clock, but it had a second dial that Harry didn't understand.
"That's a nice watch," observed Fred. "Who gave that to you?"
"Sirius did," said Harry, "but it was my father's. I think it's a wizard's watch because I don't understand what the center dial is for."
George grabbed his wrist and looked at it closely. "Ah, a sensory dial, I see," he said, releasing Harry's arm and giving him a knowing look. "They don't make them like that anymore, but they're a lot of fun. It's supposed to be able to tell how other people feel about you, but I think it's mostly for show."
"How do you use it?" Harry wanted to know.
"The back panel changes color every so often," explained Fred, "and then the hand moves. Each color's supposed to be a different emotion, and the hand points to how many people feel that way."
"Dad has a really old one," added Ron. "His changes between over a hundred different colors. He doesn't wear it anymore because the time part stopped working, but we used to play with the sensory dial sometimes."
Harry nodded, and the boys went through the last of their gifts. Hagrid had given both Harry and Ron a tin of homemade peanut brittle, and he had whittled them each a small Gryffindor lion. Harry gave Ron a bright orange Chudley Cannons shirt, and Ron gave Harry a third Quidditch poster and a vast bag of candy. Harry had just finished unwrapping his last gift when Hedwig fluttered through the window with a letter for him. She nipped Harry's fingers affectionately, and then she perched on the frame of his bed instead of heading back to the Owlery. Harry opened the letter, which was from the Dursleys, and read it quickly.
"Did they bother with a Christmas gift this year, Harry?" asked Fred, scratching his head.
Harry shook his head. "No, but they've moved into a larger home," he said, "and they're going to be vacationing for most of the summer and want me to find another place to stay."
"I reckon they're still mad you left in the middle of the night," said George.
"Don't worry about it," said Ron. "You can stay with us this summer."
Harry smiled gratefully, thanking Hedwig for making the long journey. She nibbled on his fingers once more before retreating out of the room in the direction of the Owlery. Ginny was on her way in just as Hedwig was on her way out, and she ducked out of the way.
"Merry Christmas!" she said brightly, her own knitted sweater pulled on over her dressing gown. She was nuzzling a small gray kitten in her arms, and all three of her brothers groaned. "Look what mum and dad gave me! I've named him Jiggers."
Ron turned up his nose immediately. "Crookshanks isn't going to appreciate sharing his living space with him."
Ginny scowled at her brother. "For your information," she said curtly, "Hermione left Crookshanks here over the holiday, and the two have gotten along just fine!"
"I always knew that cat was dumb," muttered Ron. The twins sniggered, and Ginny stuck out her tongue.
"You're very immature, Ron," decided Ginny. "Well, I'd better go back before Professor McGonagall gets upset. I'll see you all at lunch!"
"I don't like cats," said Ron as soon as she was out of earshot.
"Oh, it won't be that bad," said Fred. "He'll scare away the garden gnomes this summer, at least."
George nodded, but he didn't seem too interested in his little sister's new pet. "What's your watch doing, Harry?"
Harry looked down at it. "It's blue and pointing to three."
"What shade?" asked Ron knowingly.
"Umm… it's sort of a periwinkle?" offered Harry.
"Worried, then," said Fred. He grabbed Harry's arm again, inspecting the watch. "Your watch reads even more emotions than dad's! See the 134 right there? That's the number of feelings it can pick up."
"Tap it," suggested George. "It'll move on to the next color."
"Lime green, two," said Harry.
"That's the number of people thinking about you right now," said Ron. "Try it again."
Harry did, and the three Weasleys gathered around him. They were right when they said it was fun. Each time Harry taped the watch, they would tell him what the color meant and try to guess whom those people might be.
"Golden yellow, one," said Harry.
"I'll bet it's Snape," said George with a snigger. He explained, "Golden yellow means annoyed."
"What does it do if no one is feeling any of those things about me?" Harry wanted to know.
"It only shows the feelings that people are actually feeling," said Fred. "It'll just skip over the ones that no one is having at the moment."
"Red, five," said Harry. The twins peered down at the watch.
"That's one of the love shades," said Fred. "It's for parents-and people like that," he added hastily.
"Sirius?" suggested Ron, and Harry nodded. The face went black when he tapped the watch.
"Ooh," murmured George, "black is hate. You've got an enemy, Harry."
"That's always reassuring," said Harry uncomfortably. He tapped it again because he didn't want to think of who might hate him at the moment. It went to a very deep shade of red.
"Oh la la!" declared Fred in a singsong voice, punching Harry's arm. Harry looked at him, confused.
"Somebody loves you," said George, "and I mean love-love. Romantic love."
"I see why you said it might just be for show," said Harry, blushing slightly.
"Live a little, Harry!" ordered Ron, tapping the face for him. "You're supposed to be happy that a girl likes you."
"Right," muttered Harry. "What's it doing? It keeps changing from one color to another, but it's still pointing to one."
"That means someone has a lot of unsure feelings about you," said George.
"When it proceeds love, it's always the same person," said Fred in a stage whisper. He and George and Ron all sniggered.
"Look at him blush!" declared Ron, which only made Harry blush harder.
"Maybe I should just take it off," muttered Harry, starting to undo the clasp.
"Nah, just turn off the sensory dial," said Fred, tapping a button on the side. The dial disappeared, and it looked like a normal watch again. "Come on, let's go downstairs. I'm hungry, and breakfast might still be on the table..."
* * *
Ron and Harry spent the week leading up to the New Year gorging themselves on food and candy, playing games of wizard chess, watching the sensory dial, and sharing theories about what would make Hermione so upset to say what she said to Harry. On January the second, the Hogwarts Express began making daily trips between the school and Kings Cross, bringing students back, even though the term wouldn't start until mid-January.
The boys hadn't heard from Hermione once during the break, and they began checking each day to see if she had come back yet. When the first day of the term rolled around, Ginny conveniently informed them that Hermione had been back for about a week. She offered no other information, and Harry and Ron were thoroughly confused. It just didn't make sense that their best friend suddenly didn't want to have anything to do with them.
It was at breakfast that morning that Harry and Ron finally caught a glimpse of Hermione. She had gotten there before them and sat down amidst a bevy of girls in the house. She buried her nose in her Arithmancy book and made no acknowledgement of them.
"This just doesn't make any sense at all," said Harry, exasperated. He kept glancing down the table during breakfast to see if Hermione would look up.
"No," agreed Ron, reaching for his fifth piece of toast. "Don't worry. We have Professor Lupin's class first thing this morning, so she'll be forced to at least sit with us."
"I have a feeling that doesn't mean she's going to talk to us, though," said Harry grimly.
* * *
Professor Lupin was late for class-very late for class. Several boys, still restless from their vacation, had moved to the back of the room where they were putting minor hexes and curses on each other, laughing with each pigtail they managed to create and cursing with each thing to sprout on their own body. Ron and Harry stayed in their seats, with Hermione in between them. She pulled out a book and started to read. Ron and Harry shared helpless looks.
"How was your break, `Mione?" asked Ron politely.
"Fine," said Hermione.
"Was your family surprised to see you?" questioned Harry as Ron gave him an encouraging look."
"A little," said Hermione.
"How are they?" asked Ron.
"Good," said Hermione. Ron threw his hands up silently and shrugged.
"Is something bothering you?" said Harry, concerned.
"No," said Hermione. She was starting to sound awfully short.
"Are you trying to ignore us?" asked Ron finally.
"I'm trying," said Hermione curtly, "to read."
Ron let out a low whistle, leaning back in his chair, past Hermione's head. "She's lying," he mouthed. "Whatever's bothering her is really bothering her."
"I noticed," Harry mouthed back. There were footsteps outside in the hallway, and the boys in back began to cast counter curses with frantic waves of their wands. The last one hopped back in his seat just as Lupin entered the room. He looked very serious and very distressed as he took his place in front of the class.
"There has been," he stated softly, "another disappearance."
There were gasps and mutters all around, and someone in the back row called, "Who was it?"
"Petey Mums," said Lupin, "a first year from Hufflepuff. His friends saw him exiting the train yesterday afternoon and never found him once they entered Hogwarts. Needless to say, something very serious is going on."
"Was there another message?" asked Lavender.
"What did the one in the Ravenclaw prefect's room say, anyway?" called another student.
Lupin sighed heavily. "The messages have been declared another practical joke and are in no way related to the disappearances, but yes, another message was found in the Hufflepuff common room this morning. The one found in Miss Brocklehurst's room read `Let this be your third warning,' and the one in the common room stated `Why won't you believe me?' Personally, I find it sick that someone would take the misfortunate disappearance of someone so lightly as to perform such a joke.
"However, it is not part of my position to pass judgment on the situation. I have just come from a staff meeting-the cause for my lateness-and I have been instructed to announce some new rules to you. First, you are to pair off with someone you share a room with and stay with them every moment outside of class. You will not be allowed to leave your house's area except for meals and classes without written permission from a teacher, and even then, someone will accompany you. Students will be walked to and from classes with teachers. There will be no going out on the grounds unless to go to class-and I think that's everything I'm supposed to tell you."
The class was silent, and none of the usual whispering went on as Lupin taught his lesson. When the bell rang an hour later, he made sure they paired up as they left the room, and, in the commotion, Harry and Ron didn't get a chance to talk to Hermione.
* * *
Things reverted back to normal with the new safety precautions. There were no more disappearances, and the teachers maintained a tightlipped response to any questions about either Mandy or Petey. Like many students, Harry and Ron had trouble getting used to the new regulations; however, they were having more trouble getting used to Hermione's sudden change of attitude. Halfway through the week, Ron had managed to corner her in the prefect common room, but their discussion hadn't gone anywhere.
"Hey Hermione," said Ron, sneaking up on her. She was engrossed in her Potions essay and only noticed him when he practically screamed in her ear.
"Ron," she said, startled, her hand over her heart. Hermione immediately began gathering her scrolls and quills and books.
"No," stated Ron firmly, his hand on her shoulder. He forced her sit back down. "You're not going anywhere, Hermione, until you tell me what you suddenly have against Harry and I."
"I have nothing against you," said Hermione. "Where did you get that idea?"
"Oh, maybe because you've been avoiding us every day since the Christmas holiday?" said Ron sarcastically. "Really, Hermione, for someone so bright-"
"I have nothing against you," repeated Hermione briskly. She wiggled her way out of Ron's grasp and began shoving her things into her bag. "It's more of a conflict of interests."
"Hermione," reminded Ron, "we aren't fighting with you. We never were. How can we be having a `conflict of interests'?"
"Oh, not that kind," said Hermione, finally looking up at him. "I'm just looking out for what is in your best interest."
Ron's look would have not been unusual-had he been looking at Fluffy, Hagrid's three-headed dog. "Hermione," he said calmly, "I don't think I've ever heard you say something that made so little sense."
She was standing now, and she was heading to the portrait hole. "Really Ron, it's not that difficult to understand," she said sharply.
"Then why don't you explain it to me?" asked Ron. He was trying not to sound agitated.
"Like I've said-twice before now-I have nothing against you. In fact, I care about you both very much," said Hermione matter-of-factly, "which is why you shouldn't be worried about me or my affairs."
"Hermione!" exclaimed Ron. "Harry and I are worried about you because you're our friend!"
Hermione smiled sadly. "That, right there, is the problem," she said, and she hesitantly crossed the room and hugged Ron quickly before heading to the door. "Don't worry. You'll understand soon enough. Bye Ron."
Ron watched her until she had left the room, and he shook his head. Now, he didn't blame Harry for being so worried. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
* * *
Ron came back to his and Harry's room sputtering curse words under his breath. He slammed the door, startling Harry so badly that he spilled ink everywhere.
"We're in trouble," said Ron, kicking his foot against the floor.
"Was it that bad?" said Harry, accepting that half his schoolwork would have ink stains on it and turning in his chair to face his friend. He knew that Ron had gone to track down Hermione.
"Yes, it was," said Ron with a sigh, collapsing onto his bed, "and then I got caught by McGonagall wandering without a partner."
"Which means?"
"We have detentions," said Ron. "I'm sorry."
Harry shrugged. "We'll live, I guess. It's not like we haven't had one before. What happened with Hermione?"
"She wouldn't give me a straight answer," said Ron, frustrated. "`I have nothing against you or Harry.' `It's in your best interest, Ron.' `You'll understand soon enough.' I don't know what's laid eggs and hatched in her brain, but it's something rather vile."
"Do you understand now why I'm so worried about her?" asked Harry.
"Yeah..." said Ron slowly. There was silence. "Harry, you don't think she's... unstable, do you?"
"Unstable?"
"I don't know," said Ron softly. "She kept saying everything like she expected something bad to happen at any moment. You don't think-"
"No, I don't think," said Harry firmly, catching on to what Ron meant. "Hermione is too-you know-too... you know what I mean. She's definitely not-er, suicidal. She must be-oh, I don't know what she is right now. I wish she'd just talk to us about it!"
"Me too," said Ron quietly.
Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by a piercing scream from below. Both Harry and Ron were on their feet in an instant, scrambling to the doorway. All around the stairway, boys were looking in the direction of Colin Creevley, who was backing out of his dorm room, a terrified expression on his face. The Weasley twins were the first to peek inside the room: the place had been thrown into upheaval and a formidable plume of smoke spelled out the message, "Three students? That's not a prank."
"It's my little brother Dennis!" cried Colin, on the verge of tears. "He's disappeared!"
* * *
Half an hour later, the entire student population had been crowded into the Great Hall. The tables had already moved, so each house took a different corner of the room. Within a few minutes, most everyone was calling the night a double attack. In addition to Dennis Creevley, a sixth year Slytherin girl had disappeared. The teachers had pulled both Colin and the Slytherin girl's partner aside to talk to them.
Colin had already relayed his story to the rest of the Gryffindor boys. He had gone across the hall to the bathroom and left Dennis, his partner, in their dorm room. The other four boys that lived there were down in the common room at the time. When he got back, the room had been torn apart, Dennis was gone, and there had been a message left in smoke.
They missing Slytherin girl's name was Amy Pettlehouser. She had been working on her homework the last time her partner had seen her. The partner, whose name was Tina, had fallen asleep on her bed, and when she woke up, the room had been ransacked and Amy was missing. There had been a message left-"This time, I really mean it,"-and Tina looked even more shaken than Colin.
"May I have your attention please?" called Dumbledore, and the room went silent. "As I am sure you've heard by now, two more of your classmates-Dennis Creevley and Amy Pettlehouser-have seemingly disappeared into thin air. It is easy to see that this is a very elaborate prank that has been pulled off, but it is also common knowledge that it is very, very difficult to hoodwink a wizard. For any of you that are or may be involved with this, I give you fair warning. Prank or not, the disappearance of a student is a serious matter. For that reason, everyone will be sleeping in here tonight. Please go to your rooms-quickly, with your partner-and get on your pajamas. Thank you."
* * *
Harry and Ron had been exceptionally quiet in the time it took to push through the throngs of students rushing back to their dorm rooms, and nothing had changed now that they were back in their rooms, hurrying into their pajamas. Outside, everyone was talking in hushed whispers about the disappearances, but it wasn't in either boy's nature to gossip.
"Hey Ron," said Harry finally, fishing through his wardrobe for his clean set of pajamas. "Did you think that Dumbledore's speech was kind of-odd?"
"Odd, as in, he didn't seem to believe what he was saying?" said Ron, an almost mischievous smile on his face. "Yeah, I noticed. I think he's trying to convince himself it's true."
"I just can't believe Dumbledore would do that, though," said Harry. "He's always trying so hard to keep anything bad from happening here. Why would he mess that up by ignoring every obvious sign that something's wrong?"
"I can't believe that everyone every bought it," declared Ron, shaking his head, "but what you said, too. I'm getting a bit worried, though. If Dumbledore isn't going to do anything about it, than who is?"
"Well," said Harry, hanging his robes on one of the bedposts, "I don't think Dumbledore's not doing anything. He wouldn't just let four students go missing and not do anything about it-"
"No, he's just not willing to identify what's really happening," said Ron. "I, for one, want to know what's going on before I get snatched."
"Er," said Harry. An idea was forming in his mind. "Then let's try and figure it out."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's try to figure it out on our own," said Harry. "If Hermione happened to be speaking to us, we would probably already be looking into it. Tonight would be the perfect time to take a look around."
"You aren't saying," said Ron, eyeing Harry's trunk, where he knew the invisibility cloak was stored.
"I am," said Harry. "You said yourself that Dumbledore and the teachers don't seem to be doing anything about the disappearances other than search for the missing. There has to be some kind of clue out there, and we could probably find it if we looked in the right places."
"You have a point," said Ron slowly. "Let's do it."
"Seriously?" said Harry, suddenly realizing what he'd just suggested. That had been out of nowhere.
"Hey, you're the one that brought it up," said Ron. Harry nodded, and he opened his trunk to find the invisibility cloak.
"It's worth a shot, I guess," said Harry, swallowing hard. He watched as Ron put his school robes on over his pajamas, and he did the same, stowing the Invisibility cloak safely in one of the pockets.
* * *
"How long do you think it'll be before everyone falls asleep?" whispered Ron later that night. They were laying in sleeping bags on the floor of the Great Hall. The prefects had originally been told to patrol around, hushing the younger students, but the teachers had quickly realized it amounted to too much commotion having that many people up. Now, just the Head Boy and Girl were walking through the hall.
"Not much longer," said Harry quietly, rolling over on his side to face Ron. He suddenly felt something hard against his thigh, and he dug into the deep pockets of his school robes to see what it was.
"What are you doing?" hissed Ron.
Harry fished out a delicate silver necklace from his pocket. "I forgot I put this in here the other day," he said softly.
"Hey!" said Ron in an excited whisper. "Why'd you have that? I thought you gave it to Hermione..."
"I did," said Harry grimly. "She gave it back. Didn't I tell you?"
Ron shook his head. "What are we supposed to do about her anyway?"
"I don't know," said Harry. "I don't know if there's much we can do. Maybe if we leave her alone and give her the space she wants, she'll eventually come around."
"Do you think?"
"It's worth a shot," said Harry, closing his eyes and shutting up quickly as the Head Boy walking in their direction, guided only by the light of his wand. Satisfied, he turned around in the other direction. A few minutes later, the Great Hall was completely silent and completed dark, as it seemed the Head Boy and Girl had finished sweeping through it. In the dark, Harry seized the invisibility cloak and tapped Ron's arm. The two of them huddled under the folds of the cloak.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" said Ron as the left the confines of the Great Hall. "I mean, what if it is a someone or something that's snatching the students, and it sees us roaming around the hall?"
"The only thing that can see through the invisibility cloak is a dementor," said Harry slowly, "and I highly doubt there's one here. I would have known if one was as close as the Creevleys' dorm room."
"Good point," whispered Ron. "Besides, you could always conjure a Patronus, right?"
"Yeah, I think could," said Harry. He saw a sliver of light in the distance. "Look over there-I think something's going on."
And something going on, there was. As they approached the door, Ron and Harry heard the distinct voices of several of their teachers.
"Let's listen," said Ron, "they're probably having a meeting about what happened." They leaned back against the wall, listening eagerly.
"-I simply won't accept it, Remus," Dumbledore was saying. The light pat of feet on the stone floor also suggested that he was pacing. "Yes, it was unfortunate what happened to both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but as Madame Maxime has expressed several times, the kind of precautions that have been taken here were never taken at her school. With a new headmaster at Durmstrang, I doubt they were taken there, either. Hogwarts has always been, and still is, untouchable."
"How much longer are we going to deny it?" demanded Professor Lupin angrily. "Two students dead, Dumbledore, and four others missing! What are the chances we will ever hear from them again? I don't want to admit it either, but it hardly seems to matter whether we look or not? We might as well count six deaths!"
"Seven." The whisper came from Professor McGonagall. "Albus, I agree with Remus. This is much more than a student prank. It was you that told everyone to remember Cedric Diggory, yet it is you that seems to be trying to forget him."
"I have not forgotten Cedric," said Dumbledore sharply. "I will never forget him, either. This has nothing to do with Voldemort's return."
"How can you be sure?" asked Lupin. There was a loud crash and a thud, which sounded like someone jumping to their feet and overturning their chair. "Anytime a curse is involved it is considered a form of Dark Magic."
"Remus, the Belwit Curse is really no cause for alarm-"
"Why don't you tell that to the Weasley family? If Ron had died-like we all thought he would, I might add-would you have been able to look Molly and Arthur in the eye and tell them that the Belwit Curse is no reason to worry? Wait, you would say that the bewitching of those brooms was just a prank!"
"What happened at the Quidditch match has nothing to do what happening right now," said Dumbledore.
"How do you know?" called an angry voice. It was Snape. "Everything that's happened this year has been quite dubious. If you ask me, it's all related."
"Okay," said Dumbledore finally, "assuming that it did start with Halloween-"
"I never said that," said Snape coolly. "When I said everything, I meant everything, and everything happens to go back to the very first week of school."
"You're not suggesting that Miss Granger's misfortune, Severus, has something to do with the incidents at Halloween, the November Quidditch match, and the disappearances now?"
"I certainly am," said Snape. "Don't you find it odd that Lucius Malfoy stopped contacting the board of governors just before we expelled the young Mr. Malfoy? Not one angry word from the senior Malfoy? Am I only one that finds the entire situation quite unusual?"
"No," cut in Professor McGonagall, "but I don't see why you've suddenly turned against Malfoy. I remember you saying something about `star student' this summer."
"Times change, Minerva," said Snape coldly, "and there was no pardoning someone that inflicted that kind of pain on another student. I'm surprised to see that you and Albus aren't fussing over your golden boy."
"Excuse me?" said Dumbledore.
"Potter, sir," sneered Snape. "Am I the only one that has noticed his two closest friends have been down for the count for at least part of the last term? What's to say he isn't next? It would only make sense, wouldn't it?"
"You sound like you're expecting something to happen to him. Is there something we should know about?" questioned Lupin.
"You would think I was plotting something," growled Snape. "You would all think that I was. I'm sorry I'm not a part of your so-called `old crowd,' and I'm sorry I feel you're going too easy on Black, but I'm sure it doesn't really matter. My opinion is yet to count for something."
Suddenly, the door flew open as a very angry looking Snape burst out. Harry, the closer of the two to the door, was nearly flattened against the wall. Ron had to throw his hand across his friend's mouth to keep him from hollering in pain.
"I shouldn't have said that," said Lupin a few seconds later. "I don't blame him. At least he's seeing the obvious."
"Are you saying that I'm not?" questioned Dumbledore sharply. "I seem to remember that I am in charge of this school. You've never doubted my instincts before, and I don't see why you won't trust me now."
"He's not saying anything of sorts," said McGonagall quietly. There was a brief pause. "Albus, we both know how much this school and these students mean to you. I don't want to admit it either, but something could be very wrong. It's still a maybe, but we have to act now. If we don't, it could be too late."
"Nothing major," said Lupin quickly. "We just need to keep our minds open at the moment-and our eyes, too. There has to be something, somewhere, that will help us figure out the truth."
"That's just what you were saying!" said Ron softly. Harry nodded.
"All right," said Dumbledore finally. "I think it is about time you called upon the Order again, Remus. Send them my apologies for not acting sooner, and inform them of everything that's going on. Perhaps whatever is happening can be stopped before it's too late."
Harry and Ron saw the light go off, and they scrambled away before the door could open. Five minutes later, they were back in their sleeping bags, slightly out of breath.
"So something really is wrong," said Ron softly.
"I'd say something was very wrong," said Harry. Neither of them got much sleep that night.
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