Armilla

Chapter 49

"You didn't tell me we were coming here," I said resentfully. Snape hadn't apparated us back to the apparition borders of Hogwarts as I expected. Instead, after disapparating from Grimmauld Place, we appeared in the middle of the cemetery in which Merle was buried.

"If I had, wouldn't you have tried to talk me out of it?" Snape said, looking around. He was still frowning, apparently still angry about whatever had transpired in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place whilst I had been waiting. The Snivellus remark had certainly made Snape flush with anger. It didn't seem a nice name at all to me and I would have bet my whole inheritance that Snape would never tell me how he had gotten such an awful nickname.

"I don't know," I answered quietly. It had been Snape's idea to visit the cemetery regularly, at least until I managed to accept Merle's death without having memories dominated by Shar's presence. I hadn't readily agreed to the idea straightaway; I found it hard going to the cemetery. I didn't like thinking that Merle was actually buried there. Shar's face hadn't been coming into my mind so speedily lately when I thought of Merle. I supposed that was an improvement. But even so, I found it unnerving to look at Merle's grave. It didn't seem that long ago that we were shopping in Diagon Alley.

Snape had the idea that my reluctance to go to the cemetery meant that I would rather ignore Merle's death and pretend that it had never happened rather than accept it. I would have been offended, but the man had a point. He always did.

"Generally when you say you don't know, you mean yes," he said, walking over to the grave, "You just don't want to say so." He held up an arm and gestured for me to join him. "Come."

Begrudgingly, I slowly walked over to stand next to my brother. We stood in silence for a few moments, staring at Merle's name upon the headstone.

"I don't see how this helps," I said bitterly. "I don't see Shar so much anymore, but it still makes me uncomfortable."

"Why?" Snape asked, looking down at me.

I shook my head. "I'm not sure why...I don't like standing here...I don't like the thought that she's..." I trailed off, staring at the ground directly in front of the headstone. Snape followed my gaze.

"Six feet under?" he offered, frowning slightly.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's creepy." I couldn't properly explain why I found it so creepy.

Snape was silent for a moment, still frowning.

"You know that she's not really there?" he said, nodding down at the ground.

I looked up at him. "Well, it's her body under there, isn't it?"

"Of course it's her body," he went on, looking serious, "but the essence is gone, Armilla."

I nodded. "Like an empty shell you mean?"

"Yes," he said, inclining his head. "If you want to look at it that way. The body is not what makes a person whole, Armilla. The soul inhabits the body for as long as it can...but when it is no longer possible, it moves on." He looked down into my eyes. "It is not Merle that makes you uncomfortable, then, merely the shell she left behind."

"It bothers me that she's not there," I said. "Where would she have gone?"

"Well, that depends on what you were brought up to believe in," he said thoughtfully, after a moment's silence. "Some believe the soul goes on to an afterlife. Some believe in reincarnation and some believe nothing happens at all. One moment you exist, and the next, you don't. What did Merle always tell you about death?"

"She believed in an afterlife," I said quietly. "A place you go to meet others who have died before you." I paused, thinking of Merle being alive again in some other universe. I looked back at Snape. "What were you always told?"

"The same thing," he acknowledged.

"Do you believe in it though?" I asked, hoping it was not too personal a question.

Snape looked pensive as he stared down at the headstone. "For a long time I wasn't sure," he said, frowning again. "But after discovering how Mother used magic to preserve her soul...I am inclined to believe that it is possible for a soul to move on to something unbeknownst to us."

We were silent for another minute or so. I was thinking about Merle being somewhere else and the thought actually made me feel better. It was better than thinking of her being stuck six feet under. Thinking about her body made my thoughts turn to my mother.

"When Mother died," I said slowly, "she said her body vanished and her spirit took over that ring."

Snape nodded. "That's right."

"So obviously...there's no place...-"

"No place in the cemetery that acknowledges her?" he offered.

I nodded.

"No," he said quietly, "it all happened so suddenly and the circumstances were so suspicious at the time. I never arranged anything."

"Why not?" I asked softly.

Snape stared straight ahead. "For the same reason you don't like coming here," he said finally. "You know someone is dead, but avoiding cemeteries can help you to avoid remembering that fact. You just go on with your life."

"So why do you bring me here then?" I asked. "If you can avoid them, why can't I?"

Snape looked down at me, his dark eyes like endless tunnels. "I have my reasons...I suppose they're not valid anymore now that-" he paused, shaking his head. "Just take my word for it. It is easier this way, Armilla. One can't live a life pretending something hasn't happened...people do die and that is something we must deal with."

I nodded. It seemed that I was not the only one who had issues about death. Snape now seemed just as uncomfortable as me. Something told me that not all the issues were to do with Mother's death either. Perhaps he regretted bringing me here now.

"Does Shar's face stay far from your mind now?" Snape asked, changing the subject.

I nodded. "He's not there so much as before, especially if I think of Merle being somewhere else."

Snape nodded. "Well then, it mustn't have been a mistake to bring you here." He gave me a knowing look.

I refrained from rolling my eyes. "Yes, you were right," I said. "Again."

He smirked. "Of course."

o o o o o o o o o o o o

I must have had very good luck the next morning because Snape wasn't in the dungeons when Morag returned carrying his birthday present. Snape had gone to a staff breakfast meeting in the staffroom, presumably to discuss teaching according to ministry guidelines and the numerous decrees that Umbridge had thought up. I was actually quite appreciative because it meant that I could sleep in - that was until Morag soared in around eight o'clock, screeching shrilly to announce her arrival.

I jumped out of bed upon seeing the package tied to Morag's leg. 'Excellent,' I said, unwrapping it. It was the only thing that I had thought of that had potential for making Snape smile...well the only thing that didn't involve decapitating Black or obliviating Umbridge. I used a concealing spell to hide the present in my bedroom. Snape's birthday wasn't until Tuesday and I wanted to be sure that he wouldn't find it.

I showered and dressed and made sure all my books were back in my armoire so I could access them in Ravenclaw Tower when I returned there that night. Both Lisa and Terry would be back by then and I couldn't wait to see them again.

Snape came in as I was feeding Morag. Upon seeing her supposed nemesis, Morag drew herself up to her full height and screeched loudly.

Snape looked back at her, completely nonchalant. "Oh, you're back," he said dryly before turning to face me.

"I'm not normally a betting man," he said, sneering, "but I think I could make myself obscenely rich if I was to place a bet that Umbridge will be running the school before the school year's out."

"Any more decrees?" I asked, watching Morag nibble at the food in my hand. She kept eyeing Snape suspiciously, apparently jealous that he was taking up some of my attention.

Snape shook his head. "No, but I do believe more are coming." He folded his arms, scowling. "If Umbridge has her way, she'll drive out teachers the Ministry deems a threat and bring in people sharing the same dismal amount of brainpower as her to replace them."

"Wouldn't she think most of the teachers are threats?" I asked, as Morag started nibbling at my finger. "I mean, she thinks you're all loyal to Dumbledore."

"Oh, certainly, we're all threats," he sneered, "but some more so than others. I do believe my position is secure at any rate. Umbridge seems to think that I must be loyal to the ministry due to my association with Lucius Malfoy." He smirked. "And I wasn't about to contradict her."

"Ow!" I said, as Morag nipped my finger. "What did you do that for?"

"I would say because you were paying me more attention," said Snape, sneering at Morag. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Guess we know who Armilla likes more?"

Morag blinked at him and then turned away from both of us with a dignified hoot to her water tray.

"A point to me," said Snape, looking smug.

"Yeah, well, I'll have to pay for it now," I said, looking back at my owl, who was doing her best to ignore us.

"She'll get over it," he said dismissively. "Are you taking her back up to Ravenclaw Tower tonight?"

"I haven't decided. I think she might make too much noise up there. The others will complain."

Snape scoffed. "She'll make noise down here too. But it's my aim to break that habit. Why don't you leave her down here?"

I stared at him in surprise. "But won't that bother you?"

"Not for long," he said smirking.

"What are you going to do?" I asked suspiciously.

"Stop assuming the worst," he said, rolling his eyes. "You never know. By the time I'm finished with that owl," he placed particular emphasis on the word as he glared in Morag's direction, "we'll be the best of friends."

"That makes me more worried."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Hmph."

"Alright," I said. "She'll live down here."

Morag turned around and looked resentfully at me.

"Oh stop being so dramatic," Snape snapped at her. "It's not like we're asking you to live with the Hufflepuffs." He positively cringed at the thought.

"I'll come and see you," I said, smiling down at her.

"Really?" said Snape, frowning slightly as he addressed me. "How often are you going to grace us with your presence? Are you going to wait for an invitation?"

I wondered how long he had been waiting to ask that. He hadn't brought up the issue of me not coming down to the dungeons unless I had a reason since before Christmas. He had been rather touchy about it at the time. Before Christmas, I had only come down for defence and healing lessons.

"No, I'm not waiting for an invitation," I said evenly. "I'm not a guest."

"Touché," he said, smirking.

"Are we still doing defence and healing lessons?"

Snape gave a curt nod. "Oh, yes," he said. "You have to keep up your practice. Perhaps not as often though since you have your OWLs to study for."

"What nights are you teaching Harry Occlumency?"

"Monday and Wednesday evenings," he answered, his lip curling. "Keep Fridays evenings for practice then and you can stay the night down here like you were before." He folded his arms, looking grave. "You know that there is a lot of pressure on you from Father to do well in your OWLs. I do not wish that pressure to cause you any anxiety over the next few months."

'How can it not?' I said moodily. 'He'll probably send me reminders to keep studying.'

"I dare say he will," said Snape, inclining his head. "For that reason, I would like to oversee your studying in all subjects from now on. I want to do as much as possible to have you more than prepared by the time the exams start."

I nodded. I was happy with that. If extra help got me good marks and fewer curses from my father, then I was all for it.

"And," he said darkly, narrowing his eyes, "that way I can make sure you're not studying till midnight every night without breaks."

"I don't do that now," I said indignantly.

"Oh, pardon me," he said sarcastically. "Eleven-thirty is it?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't contradict that.

"So," Snape said smoothly, "why don't you come down here on Tuesday evenings as well? We can use that time for reviewing your homework and study notes. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"And finally," he went on, "Sunday afternoons and evenings. You can see Mother with me or by yourself and then spend the rest of the day not studying."

"But-" I protested. That was good hours wasted!

"I didn't think you'd buy that," he said, sneering. "However, why don't we leave Sunday afternoons open? If there is urgent study to be done, so be it. Otherwise, we may utilise the time doing something else. Will that live up to your Ravenclaw expectations?"

"I suppose so," I said.

Snape nodded. "Good. That's settled then. Just don't get yourself stuck in the mind frame that you're only restricted to those days though."

"I won't," I said. "Besides, I'll have to keep coming to see if Morag is surviving."

Snape narrowed his eyes, his lip curled. "She'll survive if she behaves herself."

We both looked down at her. She glanced up at Snape and gave a faint hoot.

"Melancholy hooting will not draw my sympathy," he scoffed.

I shook my head. If I was a betting person, I would have bet against Snape and Morag becoming friends in the next few months.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

"Mill!" Lisa shrieked, when she spotted me entering the common room that evening. She nearly upset a game of wizard's chess between a couple of first years in her haste to jump up and give me a hug.

"Steady on, Lisa," said Terry, who had jumped up as well.

"I missed you too," I said laughing, as I hugged her back. "Did you get the letter I sent back?" I had sent letters back to Lisa and Terry, informing them that I was alright, and I was happy. They needed reassuring every now and then.

"Yeah, I did," said Lisa, letting go so Terry could hug me. "You have to tell us everything, Mill. We mean everything."

"Fine, fine," I said, waving a hand aside. "Let's find a private place to sit then."

We sat down at a small table in a corner of the common room, quite far from everybody else. The common room was unusually loud for Ravenclaw standards, as all returning students were happily exchanging holiday news with friends.

Lisa and Terry insisted on hearing all about my holidays first and wanted every detail, even down to what Snape had thought of their Christmas gifts to me. They were both very impressed with Snape's gift of Morag, and were very eager to meet her.

"Well, she lives down in the dungeons," I said. "I might be able to bring her up to the owlery one morning so you can meet her. It isn't supposed to be common knowledge that she's a Metamorphmagus."

"That's so cool," said Terry, his eyes wide. "That beats my mooing alarm clock. Shame Snape didn't like it."

"Mm," I said. "Can you really imagine Snape starting his day to a moo?"

"Suppose not," he admitted.

"What about your gift to Snape?" Lisa asked eagerly. "He wouldn't tell you what it was."

"Oh...er-" As close as I was to my friends, playing the piano for Snape was a bit personal, for him as well as me, and it didn't feel right to be sharing it with them. That was just something between Snape and I. Telling Lisa and Terry would mean having to delve into all the reasons I didn't play in the first place and Snape knowing those troubles. Lisa especially would be offended that I had confided in Snape rather than her over my Shar and Merle issues. I got the feeling that they would be offended either way.

"Oh," said Terry, looking aghast. "Was it that bad, Milla?" He leaned forward. "Did he want a pet bat from you or something?" he whispered. "He just didn't want to tell you because you would refuse to live with a bat?"

"No!" I said, laughing. "Not at all like that!"

"What then?" asked Lisa.

"Well..." I said, feeling uncomfortable. "It's sort of a private thing that involves going into lot of issues to explain...I wouldn't think Snape would appreciate me telling you both about it."

Lisa stared at me. "Snape wouldn't appreciate it or you wouldn't appreciate it?"

"Don't be like that," I said evenly. "It wouldn't be fair to him either if I started giving out every detail about his gift. Don't you agree?"

Lisa sighed. "Oh, alright," she said grimly. "We're not going to have the same fight again. You would tell us if you thought we needed to know."

"That's right," I said, feeling a bit guilty for not telling her things lately. We used to share all our hopes, dreams and fears with each other. But in the past few months, it had become dangerous for me to share too much information with her and I had sought confidence in Snape instead.

"Well, then," said Terry, leaning back. "Tell us about your holiday at your father's house."

"That," I said, "I can tell you."

I didn't give them every detail, such as Coleman coming to 'test' me; that would have only freaked them out. I also didn't tell them about Tonks; I didn't want to blow her cover in case it was needed again in future. Instead, I told them about memorising books, having a governess and socialising with Slytherins at the dinner party. I also conveniently left out the bit about Flint's drunken behaviour. Lisa and Terry seemed appalled enough anyway.

"Well we knew your father was a right git, but I'd like to meet that governess in a dark alleyway someday and duel," said Terry, looking disgusted.

"You'll have to get in line," I said. "I'm first. Actually, Snape would want to go first, but he's much better at duelling than me and I might not get the chance to hex her if he attacks first."

I told them all about Snape threatening Rougier in Diagon Alley.

"Wow," breathed Lisa.

"I'm afraid this means Snape will have to go up in our esteem," Terry said to Lisa. "I wish I could have seen it!"

"Oh, the facial expressions alone were impressive," I said. "He knows how to threaten."

Terry looked at his watch. "We'll have to tell you about our holidays later, Mill. We have to go and meet Hermione Granger."

I raised an eyebrow. "We?"

"Yeah, the three of us," said Terry.

I looked at Lisa in confusion. "Hermione? What about?"

Lisa shrugged. "Don't ask me. Terry won't tell me. Apparently he will suffer the consequences if he does...whatever that means."

"Don't worry," said Terry, getting up. "We'll be back before curfew."

Lisa and I followed him out of the common room and through many deserted corridors until we came to a stop in the middle of one. All I could see was a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Terry stared hard at the opposite wall in concentration and suddenly before our eyes, a door appeared.

"What-" Lisa began, looking bewildered.

"Shh!" said Terry, taking her hand and opening the door. He gestured for me to follow.

We walked into a fairly large room that was lit with flickering torches. Many bookcases lined the walls and there were silk cushions everywhere. Seated primly on a purple cushion a few metres from where we stood, was Hermione Granger. She looked up from her book and gave a wide smile.

"Hello!" she said brightly. "I thought you might have forgotten," she said to Terry.

"No," he said. "I thought they would want to know."

"Know what?" said Lisa, completely exasperated.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around. "I didn't know this place existed."

"Well this particular type of room didn't exist until we needed it," said Hermione, standing up. "This is the Room of Requirement. It appears here when one really needs to use it for something. It changes its décor depending on what it is needed for."

Well, that was impressive.

Lisa spun around to face Terry. "So this is where you have been coming with the other Ravenclaws?"

"Yeah," he said, going red. "But I couldn't tell you about it. Hermione has us all in a binding contract. Only she can divulge information about it to people who aren't members."

"Members of what?' I asked curiously. "What do you do here?"

"Before I tell you both," said Hermione, looking at Lisa and I, "I must have your word that you won't sneak to anyone what goes on here. I need a magical promise. If it gets broken, you'll suffer the same consequences that a group member would suffer for the same crime."

"Alright," said Lisa, looking nonchalant.

Hermione looked at me. "Armilla?"

"Yeah, okay," I said, taking out my wand.

The three of us held our wands out so the tips connected and Hermione started muttering a charm under her breath.

"Alright," she said finally. She pointed her wand at a wall and said a revealing charm. A big piece of paper came into view. In big letters, it read Dumbledore's Army. Underneath it was a list of names, the people who were members. I scanned down the list. Not one person was a Slytherin.

"I had to hide it until I had their word," Hermione explained to Terry.

"Dumbledore's Army?" said Lisa. "What's this about?"

"Well, we were fed up with the lack of a practical approach to Defence," said Hermione. "Umbridge is hopeless and the Ministry doesn't want students learning to protect themselves obviously. Harry's been teaching all of us."

"Harry Potter?" said Lisa, incredulously. "I know he's gotten himself out of a number of tight spots and all that, but-"

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Terry got in first.

"More than tight spots, Lisa," he said. "Potter's really good at defence and we've learnt loads from him. Even if the Ministry's ignoring the fact that You Know Who's back, we're not. We want to be able to protect ourselves and we support Dumbledore." He gestured up at the sign. "Hence the group's name."

It all sounded really interesting to me. And very risky. They would all be expelled if Umbridge ever found out.

"It's a dangerous thing to do," I said, looking up at the sign. "What if you're caught?"

"We're extremely careful," said Hermione. "We have secret means of contacting each other and we arrive and leave in small groups, so as to avoid detection. Believe me, the risk will be worth it in the long run."

Lisa looked uncertain. "I don't know..." she said.

"You don't have to join if you don't want to," she said. "I already have your magical promises that neither of you will give us away. Terry had the idea that the two of you might want to join. I organised this meeting tonight with Terry after Harry and Ron agreed to it."

Terry turned to look at both of us. "I don't want to pressure either of you," he said. "Especially you, Mill, being a teacher's sister and all. But I think this is a really good opportunity. You have no idea how good Potter is and you'll really make up for time wasted in Defence class."

Lisa nodded slowly. "You've got a good point," she said. "It's just the risk that worries me."

"We're really careful, Lisa," said Hermione. "The DA has been doing this for months now and no one has detected anything."

Lisa nodded again. "Alright. Count me in. I suppose it will be worth it in the long run."

Hermione nodded and silently offered her a quill. Lisa took it and went to add her name to the bottom of the list on the wall.

"How about you, Armilla?" asked Terry.

I didn't answer at first. I didn't care what they said. It was such a risky thing to be involved in. I knew it was for a good thing in the long run, but joining held no advantage for me. True, Harry Potter was excellent at Defence, but he was nothing compared to Snape. And I had already been getting (and would continue to get) defence lessons from an expert. I probably already knew just as much, if not more than all the members of the DA. And the thought of getting caught terrified me. What would Snape say if I got expelled? What would Father say?

I shook my head. "No," I said quietly. "Thanks for telling me about it and everything. I'm glad you're all learning heaps...but it's too risky for my position." I glanced around at all of them. "You understand that, right?"

They all nodded. Lisa looked troubled, seeing as she had just signed herself in and I had said no.

"And I've made a magical promise," I said, "so your secret's safe with me."

o o o o o o o o o o o o

It was with a light conscience that I made my way down to breakfast with my friends the next day. Lisa was still troubled, even though she had accepted, and Terry had been doing his best to reassure her that they would not get caught. Her eyes had lit up when Terry had presented her with a fake galleon that would communicate meeting times. It reminded me of my chocolate frog card.

I didn't regret saying no. I believed that by joining such a group, I could only stand to lose.

It soon became clear that other DA members who had known about the meeting the night before were not so impressed with my decision not to join. Namely, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Ron especially wasted no time in sending suspicious glances my way and then muttering in Hermione's ear.

Harry wasn't so obvious as Ron, but he did keep shooting curious glances in my direction.

My friends and I met Draco Malfoy with Crabbe and Goyle in the Entrance Hall as we made our way to Transfiguration. Thankfully, Pansy was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Armilla," said Malfoy pleasantly, completely ignoring my friends. "How were the rest of your holidays? Good?"

"Lovely," I said evenly. "Yours, Draco?"

"Oh, pretty good," he crooned. "I wanted to go shopping in Paris, but Father was too busy at the Ministry." He sighed. "He has such an important position at the Ministry, you see, and so it's hard for him to get time off because he simply cannot be spared."

Oh spare me the Lucius Malfoy should be King speech. "Oh well," I said, "there's always next holidays. Maybe you can go then."

"Armilla, we're going to be late," said Lisa, looking pointedly at her watch.

"I had better let you go then," said Draco, "I wouldn't want to cause Ravenclaws to be late for class. That wouldn't look good, would it?"

"No," I said politely, "it wouldn't. See you."

"Bye," he said airily, as he walked off towards Charms with Crabbe and Goyle.

Terry was positively growling beside me.

"If I could give points, Terry," I said, as we hurried to McGonagall's classroom. "I would award you fifty points for an excellent example of self-restraint."

Terry merely grunted in reply.

o o o o o o o o o o o

All day long, whenever I saw Harry and Ron, I got the same suspicious looks. Sometimes Ron would just glare at me, while Hermione would give me apologetic smiles. By the afternoon, I had gotten really irritated by it and I decided to ask Hermione about it.

I hung back after Ancient Runes, the last class of the day, and let Terry and Lisa head back to the common room. I stood outside the classroom, waiting for Hermione to come out. She was generally always the last to leave because she had the most books to pack and carry.

"Oh, hi Armilla," she said when she finally came out. She looked a bit flustered as she swung her bag over her shoulder.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with you," I said.

Hermione looked like she had been expecting this. "Of course," she said. "I'm heading to the library if you want to walk with me."

"Alright," I said, falling into step next to her. "Harry and Ron haven't been that subtle with their glances in my direction today. What's that about?"

Hermione went pink. "I'm really embarrassed about this, Armilla. I'll tell you why, but you mustn't think that I feel the same way."

"Well then?" I asked.

Hermione looked agitated. "Well, it took a lot of convincing to even get Harry and Ron to let Terry invite you last night," she whispered. "I mean, they think you're nice and everything...it's just that-" Hermione broke off, looking embarrassed.

"I'm Snape's sister?" I offered. "Or from their view, the enemy's sister?"

Hermione shook her head. "Well not really the enemy," she said. "Harry and Ron don't really trust Snape. I do," she said quickly, "but even after I convinced Harry and Ron that you're trustworthy, they thought it was risky in case Snape found out."

I nodded. I understood that perfectly. Snape would take the case straight to Dumbledore if he found out.

"So then," Hermione went on, "when I told them last night that you had said no, they thought there was an even bigger chance that you would tell Snape, magical contract or not."

"Well, I wouldn't," I said heatedly.

"You don't have to convince me," she said quickly. "I know you wouldn't. That's not the only reason."

"What then?"

"They think that if you had joined the group, that would have proven to everyone that as a Snape, you're truly on the Light side. You know of course, that many students have their doubts about your brother."

I stopped abruptly and turned to face her. "So by not joining, I am giving the impression that I'm on the Dark side, because of my brother?"

Slowly, Hermione nodded. "It's not just Harry and Ron," she said quietly. "A few of the others knew about the meeting last night and they think your refusal means that you're on Snape's side...and many think that Snape's side is the Dark side."

"That's ridiculous," I whispered angrily. "I thought they had more sense than that. Evidently not."

"Armilla, we don't all think that," said Hermione, looking upset. "It's just that you've also been seen being friendly to Malfoy and some of the Slytherins were overheard talking about dancing with you at your Father's house. It's made people think that you've joined their side."

"Has it?" I said furiously. "Well, then you can all think what you like. You all seem to have wild imaginations. You obviously don't need me to set your facts straight, do you? You just see things and spin wild tales to spread around. I'm glad I didn't join!"

With that, I spun on my heel and hurried off in the opposite direction, leaving Hermione standing open-mouthed outside the library.