Half the World Away

Chapter 5 Is this really Hermione?

"The future Mrs. Snape? I am crazy if I am going to marry Snape."

BANG!

"Those Slytherins just DON'T grow up, do they?"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"I am going to kill them. Chop them up into a million pieces and feed them to sharks!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

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It was a good thing that all Head Girls had their own room. Most of the Gryffindors didn't know what that 'BANG' was about, but Harry and a few other muggle-born guessed that that was the sound made by hitting a punch bag. Only Harry knew for sure that Hermione did own one. She normally hid it under her bed, and he had seen her use it once --- two years ago, after she broke up with Krum.

"Harry, are you sure it is wise to leave Hermione in her room like that?" Ginny asked, when the loud 'Bang' came again. She was getting worried about what Hermione was doing in her room.

"I am absolutely sure, Ginny. I doubt very much she would want to see anyone, at least for tonight," Then Harry remembered, and also hit himself for forgetting it. "Ron, have you seen Professor McGonagall anywhere after dinner?"

"No, we were all sent back to our common room. Why? What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"We have all forgotten that Hermione 'dueled' in the Hall. What do you think they are going to do with her?"

Oops! "At least... none of the tutors have reappeared yet. Well, it won't be too serious I think. It's obviously the Slytherin's fault."

"I very much doubt it." Harry and Ginny looked at Lavender and Pavarti, who had positioned themselves at the far end of the common room.

***********************

Lupin groaned when he was 'sent' to tell Hermione the good news. But first, he had to get past Harry, Ron, and Ginny. "Harry, I have to tell Hermione about the decision first." Lupin sighed. Harry had the same determination of his parents --- James and Lily. Now, he, Ginny and Ron wouldn't let him go to Hermione's room.

Harry was determined not to let Lupin see Hermione tonight, and Lupin could sense it. "Okay, Harry, what's going on?"

Harry looked at Ginny and Ron, then said finally, "Moony, I would 'advise' that you don't speak to Hermione tonight. If you 'have to' tell her what the staff had decided on her punishment, you better write it down, and give her through the gap of her door."

Ginny added, "Professor, you are in danger if you insisted on seeing her tonight."

Lupin was quite shocked that they told him this. He could only sighed and rubbed his temple, "Why am I sent to break the news?" Before Lupin could react on Harry's and Ginny's advice, Ron had already taken off the silencing charm, and the loud and sudden 'Bang' almost knocked Lupin off his feet. "What's that? Is it coming from Hermione's room?" It was followed by a lot of groaning from different floors of both dorm.

All three nodded. Harry said, "She had been hitting that punch bag all night, and the sound scared quite a number of the younger years that we put a silencing charm on. She has been hitting the punch bag unstopped for three hours already."

Lupin was fighting inside. He should leave a message for Hermione that the staff didn't blame her at all, and there was no punishment going to be put on her, but... With the situation now, it was wiser for him to leave it till tomorrow.

***********************

Lupin had been keeping a journal since he was eleven. But for tonight, he didn't know what to write down, or more accurately, what he should write down. everything seemed so bizarre to him --- Hermione's fiery character underneath, Snape's reaction, Dumbledore's amusement of the situation, McGonagall's expression of shock...

***********************

It was quite some time after the staff had finally cooled down, and could talk 'relevantly' about the incident.

"I assume that Miss Granger shouldn't be blamed?" Dumbledore said, while looking at both McGonagall and Snape.

All the staff nodded their head, except for Snape. McGonagall added, "Miss Granger is defending for herself, although I think her reaction is a bit too vigorous, still I couldn't blame her for that." She mumbled, "I should better find out who leaked this information to the Slytherin." She glared at Snape.

"What information?" Lupin, who was sitting right next to McGonagall, asked.

McGonagall neglected Lupin's query, glaring at Snape and Dumbledore, "I told Dumbledore before not to let the students order 'Witches' Weekly' a whole lot of times, and now, what I have worried all the time had come true."

"Minerva, I know what you are worrying about, but we can't ban them from ordering Witches'..." Dumbledore wanted to calm her down, but was further interrupted by McGonagall.

"Oh no, we can! Using muggle's term, this is an anti-feminist publication, which taught them nothing at all, but pushing their teenage-hormones."

Surprisingly, Snape nodded in agreement.

Regardless of Snape's agreement of her opinion, which was extremely rare, she continued, "There is this test in this week's Witches' Weekly, about finding the perfect match. The Fat Lady told me about Hermione taking that test, which is still a shock to me, and her match being Snape," she glared at Snape, "was more than shocking to the poor dear girl." McGonagall ordered, "I demand to know who leaked this information to the Slytherins and Miss Granger will not be punished for dueling in the Hall."

"You wish would be granted, Minerva. Firstly, Minerva, please ask the Fat Lady and all the Gryffindors if they know anything about the leakage of the 'information'. Severus, could you ask Miss Blaise and Miss Parkinson where they got that 'information'... erm, tomorrow. They had a fair degree of shock and punishment for tonight." Dumbledore was restraining himself from smiling. "Anything more?" Silence. "Okay, that's it."

The staff started moving out, but Dumbledore asked Snape to stay after. Snape stayed in his seat, and both of them kept silent until the door was closed behind them. "Severus, are you really that against the idea of..." Before Dumbledore could finish the question, Snape had already jumped up from his seat and left, closing the door behind him loudly.

Outside the room, the staff was actually watching from a distance. They heard what Dumbledore had asked (thanks to Flickwick for his spying charm), and Snape's reaction of leaving immediately without a word. This was getting stranger that they would like it to be.

They were so deeply in thoughts that they didn't notice Dumbledore approaching them, "Had you all heard and seen it?"

Chapter 6 So, what's now?

"Have you seen Miss Granger today yet, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, who had finally noticed Hermione's absence from meals since Friday evening. It wasn't really a problem, as it was Sunday. On one hand, she was not going to miss any of her lessons. On the other hand, she knew where to get food when she wanted, especially that Dobby and Twinky answered her needs the best they can these days, even she didn't ask for the attention. There was really no worry about her physically, but emotionally, he really had no idea.

"I haven't. Remus said, as I quote here, 'We better leave her alone for the weekend.'" Minerva made that hand-movement of 'apostrophe'.

Dumbledore turned to Lupin, who seemed a bit spaced out, "Remus? Are you there?"

Lupin came back suddenly, and noticed that Dumbledore had asked him a question, " I beg your pardon?"

"Minerva said that you told her to 'leave Miss Granger alone for the weekend'." Dumbledore was amused, "What did she do?"

"Erm... " Lupin didn't know where to start. "I could only say she is still 'pretty' unstable." He still had difficulty believing what happened on Friday --- the incident in the hall and all.

"Well, I'm afraid that she would be more unstable if she had read Wizards' Weekly." Vector added.

Lupin looked puzzlingly at Vector. "What do you mean?"

"For God's sake, don't you read?" Vector snapped at him, but couldn't keep up her irritation after seeing Lupin's 'innocent' face. Why him?! She threw him a copy of Wizards' Weekly, which Lupin caught it in mid-air. "Read page 10."

Lupin was rather surprised that she read Wizards' Weekly. Well, he didn't mean to stereotype anyone (he was still a bit shocked at Hermione's fiery side which had finally emerged), but this was a male magazine. Anyway, he turned the pages, and read the page that Vector mentioned. He read to himself... "Sometime ago, there was a test on Witches' Weekly that could find the perfect match for a witch. This only means that the wizard allocated to be her match would suit her character, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the wizard could actually stand her . Therefore, for this week's special features, we have asked Madam Wilson who designed the test for Witches' Weekly, to design an exactly identical test for our male readers. And here it is . To start the test, please point your wand at the presenter below." Lupin shot up from his chair, shocked. He looked back at Vector, who was nonchalantly draining a goblet of pumpkin juice. He tried to speak up, but couldn't quite find the right words.

"Remus, I suggest you close your mouth. A sagging jaw does not exactly give you the air of an intellectual, " Vector said before leaving the Hall, surprisingly followed by both McGonagall and Sprout.

***********************

When the three witches were outside the Great Hall, Professor Sprout quickly pulled the Arithmacy teacher towards the staff room, followed by McGonagall. Sprout pushed her down on one of the single sofas while McGonagall moved a chair under the knob of the door to block it physically They are witches and would probably use a spell.. They both sat down opposite Vector. Vector just frowned at them, not knowing what they wanted. All she wanted now was go shopping in order to let off her ridiculous anger. It's Sunday, so the shops were probably closed

"Cynthia, what's wrong with you?" McGonagall asked, who had noticed her uneasiness since Friday.

"Me? Nothing."

"Don't. Cynthia, there is something wrong." Sprout, who was always gentle and soft, demanded an answer.

"Nothing, just angry."

"Angry about what?" They were getting near to the point.

"About nothing."

"No. Something."

"Nothing."

"SOMETHING!!!"

"NOTHING!!!"

"No, there must be something." McGonagall insisted.

"Nothing!!! Even if I am angry about someone, it's none of your business!" Vector jumped up from the sofa, and started walking around the staff room, murmuring 'that werewolf moron'.

Sprout and McGonagall both raised their eyebrows at murmuring.

***********************

As McGonagall and Sprout had 'extracted' what they wanted from Vector, the three of them moved to Gryffindor Tower to check on Hermione. Lupin had said to leave her alone, but being women and also Hermione's professors, they knew clearly what was best to do about the situation.

As it was still dinnertime, they didn't meet any student on the way. When they were just a few steps away from Hermione's room, Twinky came out of Hermione's room.

"Professors." Twinky greeted them with a bow.

"Twinky, how is Miss Granger doing?" McGonagall asked.

"Miss Granger has had all her meals in her room. She is playing the same song over and over again, using a charm. She has also been asking for anything sweet, and even asked Twinky to eat with her too." Twinky frowned when she mentioned it. "Bad Twinky. Twinky shouldn't be doing that."

McGonagall smiled at Twinky. "No, you have done a very good job."

Twinky was flattened by the comment. "Do Professors need anything? Twinky can get it for Professors."

Vector nodded at her. "Could you go get some more sweet things and a few butterbeer for us? And send it to Miss Granger's room?"

"Twinky will get them. Twinky will be back quickly!" Twinky disappeared with a 'pop'.

Minerva knocked at Hermione's door, "Miss Granger, can we come in?"

The door was quickly answered by Hermione, who was a bit surprised to see that McGonagall, Sprout and Vector were standing outside, waiting to see her.

"Please, do come in, professors." Hermione stepped aside and let the professors came in.

***********************

Lupin was rather confused why Vector had been acting so weird towards him. They weren't close, but she had never been like this before. She seemed really angry with him for reasons he didn't understand himself. Looking back at the magazine in his hands, an idea had came up in his mind --- make Snape to take the test.

***********************

Hermione was not the only one absent from meals in the Great Hall. Snape had not made an appearance there since the incident. It was a relief for the Slytherins, as they couldn't stand Snape either since the incident. Snape had been in such a vitriolic mood that even just the sight of him would scare anyone to death if they were conscious of the slightest misbehaviour.

Snape knew what was wrong with him. He fought hard with himself in order not to admit he resented the situation, but in vain. In return, he expressed his frustration and anger through his acidic mood, which was too much even for his Slytherins to endure.

His tranquility was disrupted by a knock at his office door. "Come in." To his amazement, it was Lupin. "If you are here for the wolfsbane potion, it will be ready a day from tomorrow." It was a silent request to be left alone.

"I am not here for the wolfsbane potion." replied Lupin, neglecting the silent request. He put the magazine on Snape's desk. "Read page 10, it might help. But I want it back, as it's not mine. I'll be waiting outside in the classroom."

Before Snape could realize what that page was about, Lupin had already left his office. Good that he had exited, or else Snape couldn't be held responsible for what he was going to do to him. Anyway, it wouldn't be a bad idea. It would let his worries rest in peace. So, hesitantly, he pointed his wand at the presenter on that page. The presenter came to life, and like the one in Witches' weekly, he was equally shocked to see Snape.

"Oh, Professor, what can I do for you?"

"The test."

"The test?" The presenter was still in shock and thus didn't quite understand what Snape had asked him to do the first time. "Oh! The test."

Snape nodded at the presenter. He had never seen a presenter so thick before.

The presenter took one scroll and unrolled it and started the first question. "Okay. Professor Snape, here is eight colours --- green, brown, purple, blue, red, orange, white and yellow. Could you arrange these colours starting with your least-liked one?"

"Red, purple, white, orange, yellow, brown, blue, green."

"Which of the following do you like best? a) curry b) spaghetti c) soup noodles or d) macaroni?"

"Spaghetti."

"If you are going on a barbecue picnic with your friends, which of the following would you volunteer to take care of? a) the tools, b) the food, c) the drinks or d) the cleaning afterwards?"

"The food."

"If an artist offered to draw you a portrait, which of the following medium would you prefer? a) oil-painting, b) charcoal drawing, c) watercolour or d) crayon drawing?"

"Charcoal drawing."

"Which of the following body language would most probably be yours if a friend of yours were late? a) touching your mouth with your hand, b) crossing your arms in front of your chest, c) putting one hand in your pocket, or d) clasping your hands behind your back?"

"Crossing my arms in front of my chest."

"Okay, that's all the questions for the test." Then the presenter unrolled another parchment, and explained. "For the first question, the last colour, which is also your favourite colour, is green. People who choose green have two faces. They could be enthusiastic and cool at the same time. However, they have difficulty in showing what they really meant most of the time. Therefore, if their actions are understood and appreciated, they would in most cases be the most reliable and trustworthy colleagues, friends or lovers.

The second question is about what type of girls you think you would like. Your answer is spaghetti. It shows that you have both a rather traditional and modern ideas of females. You would expect them at least to be educated, like females in the past centuries. However, you would also expect them to put their knowledge to use, and be an independent being.

For the third question, your answer is the food. Food and drinks are both consumable, but the difference between them is that food more time-consuming to prepare, especially if you do it manually without magic. The measurements for seasoning etc. has to be exact, and you can't really change the taste once it's done, unlike drinks. It shows that you are really careful about details, and would like to bury yourself in any academic researches.

You chose charcoal drawing as your fourth answer. You don't care much about what others think of you, so you adjust your behavior to the people you are interacting with. Different people will have very different ideas of who you are.

Crossing your arms in front of your chest when your friend's late shows that you are rather stubborn at times. But it is also an archetypal male gesture of defense, so this means that you are rather a masculine type.

Overall, it seems that you need someone who could let you take control or guide at times, but also has a mind of her own. As you are occasionally very stubborn, she also needs to be as stubborn or strong-willed as you are in order to have a chance to stand up to you.

And your match should be... " The presenter couldn't say a word, not even a syllable, after he saw the name on the scroll.

Snape waited for five minutes, and still not a single word had escaped from the presenter's mouth. "Who?"

The presenter came back to his senses, and suggested carefully, "Professor, do you mind taking the test again? I am sure there is a mistake here."

"Who is it?" Snape insisted, with menace in his voice.

The presenter appeared to be very scared. He became as lifeless as before once the name had left his lips. "Miss Hermione Granger!"

***********************

Lupin turned his head towards Snape once he heard the opening of the door. Snape threw the magazine back at him. Lupin was tempted very much to ask him about the result, but by the Potions Master's frustrated facial expression and restless body language he already knew the answer. Instead of asking, he just looked at Snape, with an evil smile on his lips.

"We still have enough time to go to the Three Broomstick for a drink or two. C'mon," Lupin said, although he doubted a drink or two would be enough.

To Be Continued