Chapter 10
It certainly seemed like Madam Pomfrey wanted to get cursed, and Hermione was beginning to seriously consider it. She was supposed to be let out of the Hospital Wing the day before, but the woman had put it off for another night, giving her some excuse that sounded made up and ridiculous even to her. So she had been a bit overstressed, overtired and whatever else… that was hardly reason enough to be stuck here for this long. There was far too much to be done. Her brief stint with drinking and feeling sorry for herself was over, and they had bloody work to do. Work that couldn't be done sitting in a cot in the Hospital Wing when she was absolutely fine. They had to get Moody out of this school. They had to figure out Snape's loyalties. Hell, the Dark Lord was probably already angry that he hadn't heard from her since her very brief last letter. Hermione didn't let her eyes move even slightly over at the handful of letters she had received since then, all sitting on the bedside table unopened. She recognized all of the handwritings to know whom the missives were from—her father, Lucius, and the Dark Lord. Hermione knew that she couldn't avoid replying to them forever, especially now that she was refocused and ready to do what needed to be done. She had already weighed all the options and knew that there was a possibility that they really never would be able to get Moody out of a position at this school, at least not yet. But she just needed to get off of his radar, or make him realize that she wasn't going to break. Once he realized that he could get nothing from her, he would have to drop it.
As she'd been stuck here with nothing to do, she had been practicing her occlumency almost nonstop, and had a pretty good idea of what she should do to help bring about this realization for Moody. Hermione had to let Moody into her mind, without looking like she was letting him, and allow him to see only what she wanted him to see. That way, he would think that there was nothing for him to find. Of course, her actions thus far this year might lead him to believe otherwise, but if she continued to only show him what she wanted him to see, then he would eventually have to believe it. All she had to do was look worn out and weak like he had successfully broken her, and then he would easily think that he could enter her mind now because her defenses were low. Simple as that, really, she mused, before she glanced over to the matron's office, "Well this is bloody ridiculous," she said to herself, rolling her eyes before moving quietly from the bed. Hermione changed back into her clothes, grabbed her letters and bag, before heading cautiously to the door.
Once she had passed the office, she looked inside to see Pomfrey working in the corner of the room, her back to her. The woman was supposed to let her leave this morning, but here it was late afternoon and she was still stalling. Scowling at the oblivious woman, she continued to the exit, pulling open the door soundlessly and slipping out of it in time for Pomfrey to finally turn around, "Miss Granger," she called, warningly, but Hermione was already down the hallway.
She did wonder why the woman was stalling her release so much. Perhaps Dumbledore had said something—a fact that wouldn't at all surprise Hermione. She couldn't cause much trouble in the Hospital Wing. Merlin, she hated that old wizard more than she hated anyone, and she had a pretty damn long list as of recently. Already having made a list of what needed to be done the moment she got out of that Merlin-forsaken room, Hermione headed straight to the Owlry. She couldn't put off replying to these letters any longer, and it was about time that everything was righted and she set everything back on its proper course. She did wonder where Draco, Pansy, and Blaise had been, as she hadn't seen them all day. Hopefully they weren't doing anything rash, she thought, deciding she certainly needed to stop in to talk to them after this. Walking with purpose through the castle, she was glad to see that the halls were relatively empty. Class, maybe? Dinner? Hermione wasn't even sure what day it was anymore, but she was glad for the lack of interruptions when she had work to be done.
Normally, people didn't write their letters in the owlry, as it was clearly full of the annoying creatures, and bird shit, and wasn't exactly the best place to hang about. However, these letters needed to go from her hand to the owl delivering it, so Hermione headed to the owlry, deciding to sit outside of the doorway in order to avoid the less than pleasant scent of the absolutely disgusting room. Deciding to get the worst over with, Hermione opened her letter from the Dark Lord first, scanning its contents.
Hermione,
You know I worry when you don't write. We have much to discuss, as I find myself particularly concerned by what I've heard and gathered about what is going on with you this term. I understand the year before OWLs can be stressful, but it does seem to be getting the better of you. Let me know when your first Hogsmeade weekend is. We need to talk in person.
In person, she mused, knowing that it certainly might be easier to explain everything to the Dark Lord face-to-face, even though it more than likely could begin with a spot of torture to start it off, "Not as if you don't deserve that," she told herself, before pulling out the necessary supplies to reply to the missive.
I'm sorry I'm just now getting back to you. I have been rather indisposed as of late, but I found myself back on track now. I'm unsure what you've heard, but I assure you that I'm more than all right. The first Hogsmeade weekend is at the end of September. Shall I meet you at the Hog's Head?
Hermione
She really had no idea how the Dark Lord was planning on meeting her in person, and it wasn't as though she could ask him outright. Really, she was sure that he had a plan to make it easier, and meeting in person was bound to help refocus her on their mission even further. Once she had folded up the parchment, deciding to send it with Lucius's to avoid suspicion, she opened his letter, immediately finding herself scowling at the contents, even if it wasn't all that surprising,
Hermione,
I, along with other relevant parties, have received the information you have provided, but it didn't at all have the desired affect. I'm afraid you will have to find another way. Be careful, you know I worry about you as if you were my own. If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to ask me. I'm sure I will be seeing you soon enough.
Have a good term,
Lucius
So the information that they had given the school governors hadn't been enough to get Moody out of a job. She supposed that wasn't exactly groundbreaking news. Moody had been pushing buttons and bending and breaking rules his entire career. But he had Dumbledore's support, which annoyingly meant that he was certainly going to be like a gnat that was impossible to get rid of. It further proved to Hermione that getting him off of her back was the more prudent option at the current time. They wouldn't last through the year if he kept this up, but she was sure she could act enough to make sure he thought there was nothing for him to find out from them. Until they found a foolproof way of getting rid of the former auror, that was the best that they could do. Shaking her head slightly, irritated by the presence of this man, Hermione began her response to Lucius,
Lucius,
Don't worry—regardless of this disappointing news, we will do all right. This year has certainly been more stressful than the previous, but we are all fine. There is no reason to worry, as we would surely tell you if there was anything we couldn't handle.
Seeing you soon,
Hermione
She had long since learned that it was smart to keep these kinds of letters brief and to the point. Talking in mild code and not adding any details was always a bit frustrating, but Hermione had mastered it. Seeing the Dark Lord in person would help fill in any of the blanks, and so she was sure that the first Hogsmeade weekend couldn't come quickly enough. Hopefully, she would have this situation with Moody well sorted by then. Glad that she was quickly moving through these letters, she opened the missive from her father, scanning the brief contents,
Hermione,
Your mother and I are quite concerned. We've heard from not only Pansy, but Draco as well, that you have been under the weather. If there is something going on, I do hope that you know you can speak to us about it. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you've bitten off more than you can chew, after all—but we do have the utmost faith in your abilities, and know that you can do anything you set your mind to. We are looking forward to seeing you sooner than you think.
Your loving father
It seemed that everyone knew something that she didn't… Lucius and her father had both stated that they would be seeing her soon, which was hardly something that she had been expecting. However, now wasn't the time to ponder on what that could possibly mean. Hermione needed to get back down to the common room to speak to her friends. Surely, dinner had to be over by now, and she could see if there was anything that she had missed. Quickly, she scrawled a reply to her father, ready to be on her way,
Father,
Nothing to worry about. I was a bit under the weather, yes, but I find myself feeling completely cured and 100% my old self again. There should be no further problems this term. I'm confident that I can handle everything that comes my way from this point on.
Hermione
Once she had sealed the missives and found an owl, she sent them off. Now, she simply needed to get back down to the common room as quickly as possible. After all, they had some serious planning to do, having to get back on track and finish what they started.
Another night of detention with Moody meant another night of attempting to get him to focus on someone other than Hermione. Draco knew that he had pissed the man off the night before, and it had been surprisingly easy to do. It had been ridiculous that the former auror thought giving him some ridiculous task of looking through those news clippings was going to get a reaction out of him. He would have gotten a bigger reaction if he had stuck to something like making him write lines, as that would have been truly shocking.
Draco knew that Hermione would be being released from the Hospital Wing soon enough. There was only so long that it could be put off, even as he had tried to convince Pomfrey of just how unwell she really was. Hermione just needed a break where the pressure wasn't being put all on her. But he knew that the woman was more than likely releasing Hermione later that evening or early the next morning. Luckily, that didn't at all affect him and his idea for this detention. After tonight, he hoped that the focus would be brought more on him, which would at least confuse the auror slightly. After all, Draco was well versed in Occlumency, even if he wasn't trained by the Dark Lord himself.
Without bothering to knock on the door, Draco stepped into the room, prepared to do whatever came to mind in order to irritate the former auror this evening. Clearly, it wouldn't be at all difficult.
After what seemed like ages, Hermione finally made it back to the Slytherin common room, saying the password quickly and stepping inside. It didn't take more than a few moments to see her friends lounging in a corner, her eyes narrowing slightly. Where the hell was Draco? If he was off doing something stupid, Hermione was going to personally Avada him. Raising an eyebrow, she stopped in front of her friends.
"So you see, my dear Pansy, that is why I will never be able to take you seriously. Your complete and utter lack of knowledge about anything having to do with the sport of Quidditch is absolutely too big of a hurdle to overcome—Hermione," Blaise stated, finally noticing his friend approaching. Draco had said she wasn't meant to be released until later this evening, he realized, so this was bound to get a little bit awkward once she asked what Blaise assumed would be the very first words out of her mouth, "Fancy seeing you here. Would you like me to explain to you as well just why Quidditch is the only hobby worth having in the entire magical community?" He asked, figuring that there was nearly an one hundred percent chance that she wasn't even listening to what he was saying at the current time.
"Hermione, I thought you weren't getting released tonight," Pansy said, smiling brightly. Despite Draco and Blaise's ideas of grand heroics, involving stalling Hermione's stay in the hospital wing, Pansy had missed having her best friend around. If she wanted to go curse Draco out for making a decision like this without her opinion as well, that was certainly her prerogative, "How are you feeling?"
Hermione's eyes flickered to Pansy's, ignoring Blaise's statement about Quidditch. She had little idea why he was rambling on, though it probably had a lot to do with wherever Draco was, "Where's Draco and what stupid shit did the boys come up with?" She asked, wondering if she was about to be pissed off or amused. After all, she had come up with a damn plan. If Draco had done something to piss Moody or Dumbledore off, it was just going to complicate things.
"He's… in detention. With Moody," Pansy told her, not seeing the point in lying about it. Hermione groaned audibly, running a hand through her hair in exasperation, "Don't move—I do have a plan, but first I have to stop Draco from doing something incredibly bloody stupid." Without waiting for the response of either of her friends, she turned to leave the common room, her mind already moving at a million miles a minute on just how she was going to stop Draco from whatever it was he had planned.
Author's Note: I'm baaaaaaack! As a college graduate no less. Hopefully that means I will be able to update more consistently, though I suppose I'll have to real-life now and look for a job and such. Regardless, I hope to actually (no bullshit) get onto some kind of updating schedule. So, review if you like the chapter, review if you don't. Tell me your thoughts, hell, tell me how you've all been! I love hearing from everyone.
Before I thank the lovely reviewers, I have something else SUPER EXCITING to talk about. A month ago, I started a HPRP site of my very own with two of my best friends. We have been putting a hell of a lot of time into it (hence why I haven't reviewed, eeeeek) but it's finally done and we're so excited to share it with all of you. I couldn't think of anyone better to join than you guys, since I love you all already. If you want to hear more about it, just PM me with absolutely any questions. If you want to check it out, just google 'Insurrection Harry Potter Proboards' and it'll come up. I hope to see you all there, even if you're just giving it a shot for fun! Okay, moving on!
Thank you to Elased, LadiePhoenix007, SuperWhoMerLockGirl04, AmayaBlack, ashley mercer16, aeireis, zombiekins5948, Mrs. Malfoy, Santana Starr, Natalie8.W, and a guest for reviewing!