Harry Potter and the Crazy Girl's Dream Part V
It's late evening and Harry is sitting in the Gryffindor common room reading by the light of the crackling fire. By this hour, most of the other students have gone to bed. Hermione's cat Crookshanks slinks into the room and hops onto the arm of the comfy chair Harry is sitting in.
"Hello, Crookshanks," Harry says. "Are you worried about Hermione too?" He sets down his book on a nearby table and pulls Crookshanks into his blanketed lap. The cat looks up at him blankly and accepts Harry's gentle hands. The cat meows and then dashes off as the portrait of the Fat Lady opens up and McGonnagal comes in leading a pale Hermione. Neither of them notices Harry.
"Will you be all right from here, Miss Granger?" McGonnagal asks. She looks hurried, but concerned. Hermione smiles weakly, her skin brightly pale against her dark clothes. She stands out ridiculously against the shadows.
"Yes, Professor," Hermione says, "Thank you for all of your help."
"If you feel ill again don't hesitate to go to the infirmary or ask one of the other girls to help you." McGonnagal instructs Hermione. Hermione nods. "Now, good night." McGonnagal quickly turns around and disappears into the darkness to attend to other matters.
Hermione sighs and starts to head towards the stairs, obviously intending to go to the girl's dormitory. From her expression, it's clear she's upset as she moves swiftly across the room.
"Hermione!" Harry calls. She jumps and pulls out her wand, ready to defend herself at a moment's notice.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione says and grins, lowering her wand. "I didn't see you there. What are you doing up at this time of night?" She walks over toward Harry, her smile genuine and beautiful despite her pale demeanor and her obvious exhaustion.
"I was worried about you and couldn't sleep. I was just talking to Crookshanks here, and...where'd he go?" Harry looks around for the cat and hears a hissing sound. He turns and finds Crookshanks backed against the wall, his fur raised, his eyes wide and claws out. He hisses and spits, raking a claw through the air wildly. "That's odd." Harry comments.
"Oh, he's just moody," Hermione says and sits down in a chair near Harry. She leans back into the cushions and smiles at the luxury. Crookshanks gives one more hiss and runs off into the shadows. Silence extends over the two students, Hermione seemingly enjoying hers with her eyes shut and small smile on her face. Harry on the other hand watches Hermione nervously.
"Hermione," Harry starts. "About this afternoon, do you remember what happened?"
"On the stairs?" Hermione's smile disappears, but she does not open her eyes. "I remember dropping my books, but nothing after that until I woke up in the infirmary." Hermione answers concisely. "Madame Pomfrey gave me more antivenom and said that this was probably an isolated incident. She says there's nothing to worry about." Hermione tells him.
"Oh," Harrys say thoughtfully. A few moments pass quietly and Hermione curls her legs up onto the chair starting to fall asleep in the warmth of the fire. "Hermione." She jerks at the sound of his voice awakened. "When Ron and I were keeping you from falling down the stairs you looked at me and said my name. Your eyes...they seemed to change color as well." Hermione opens her eyes and looks at Harry thoughtfully.
"Well, I don't know anything about that," Hermione says rather snappishly and gets up quickly. "I'm going to bed, Harry! Good night!" She gets up and hurries up to her dorm before Harry can object.
'How odd,' Harry thinks to himself and he gets up to head to the boy's dormitory to go to bed. To quell the worried voices in his mind, Harry decides that Hermione's strange behavior is due to the strange events she's been exposed to during these pasts days. As he enters the dormitory, Harry places his hand on his scar. For a second it burns and stings and Harry feels tears in his eyes. He doesn't notice that from the shadows leading into the girl's dormitory, a pair of reptile-like eyes are staring at him. He enters the dorm room and the eyes fade back into darkness.
To be continued...lalala...