Hermione's Mistake

The Gryffindor students were all lounging around in the Ravenclaw common room. Everyone had been getting so tired of their own common rooms that they had decided to swap around. The Gryffindors were in Ravenclaw's room; its walls covered with books and copies of famous wizarding and muggle artworks. The Ravenclaws were in Hufflepuff's sunny room, and the Hufflepuffs had moved into Gryffindor's cozy room. No-one had wanted to venture into the Slytherin dungeon, and they had no doubt that the Slytherins had certain things in their common room they wouldn't want anyone else to see. It was a telling fact that the one book every common room had to have, Hogwart's Greatest Witches and Wizards, had been replaced in the Slytherin common room by Hogwart's Most Powerful Wizards and Witches.

Dean leaned back in an armchair and gazed around him. He jumped when he saw a print of the Mona Lisa. 'She winked at me!' he said, startled. Then he laughed. 'So that's why everyone says her eyes follow you around the room.' Seamus frowned.

'I don't get it. Surely you don't mean her eyeballs pop out and...'

Everyone jumped as a loud bang came from the corner of the room closest to the window. Harry was trying to wince and frown all at once as he held his hand, which he had apparently just slammed down on the table next to him. Parvati ran to sit next to him.

'It's not fair,' he said grumpily. 'Look at it out there,' he said, waving at the window. Everyone looked obligingly. Through the faint, coppery mist of the adamas gas, they could see it was a lovely, sunny day. 'I could be out playing Quidditch right now.' Parvati patted him on the arm kindly. Ron, standing right behind him, shook his head.

'Harry, you said it yourself. Right now, you could be cleaning the stairs under the cupboard with a - what was it?'

'A toothbrush,' muttered Harry.

'Yeah, a toothbrush, whatever that is.'

'Some hideous instrument of muggle torture, I'd guess,' said Neville. Harry grinned.

'Oh, absolutely, you should see they way some kids scream when they have to use them. Isn't that right, Hermione? Hermione?' Everyone looked around, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen. There were a few mutters of surprise; they didn't think anything would stop Hermione from getting a close look at the Ravenclaw book collection.

'Has anyone seen Hermione?' Harry asked, but was met by a general shaking of heads.

'She was right behind us when we left the Great Hall,' said Dean. 'It was really crowded, though, so I guess she got separated. Maybe she forgot and went to our common room?'

'Not Hermione,' said Ron. 'She was so excited about coming in here. Anyway, even if she had, the Hufflepuffs would've reminded her to come back here by now.'

'She's not upset again, is she?' said Seamus. 'She seems to be going off a lot lately.'

'Maybe she's got a boyfriend,' giggled Parvati.

'I'm going to find her,' said Harry.

'No,' said Ron, pushing him back into his armchair. 'I'll go.' A mutinous look crossed Harry's face, until Parvati laid a hand on his arm.

'Let Ron go,' she said. 'You promised to tell me about your first Quidditch match.'

'Oh, yeah,' said Harry, grinning. 'Well, I was really nervous, as you can imagine, but as soon as I got on the broomstick, it was like I was born to do it, you know?' Parvati smiled at him admiringly. Ron shook his head, and left the room without another word.

Ron went back down to the Great Hall, but there was no one there at all. His next stop was the Gryffindor common room. It was rather bizarre to see the Hufflepuffs sitting around in the cosy room. Ron, with the help of those who knew Hermione, such as Ernie MacMillan, asked if anyone had seen her, with no luck. He climbed back out of the portrait hole, and stood in the corridor, head hanging low. He didn't know where to look next. Then an inspiration struck him. The Marauder's Map! He should have thought of that at once, but then that sort of idea was more Hermione's department. Quickly, Ron ran back to the Hufflepuff common room to get Harry's help.

Of course, if Ron had used his brains and his memory more effectively he wouldn't have needed the Marauder's Map to find Hermione. There was one place she always went when she was upset.

As Ron ran back to the Hufflepuff common room, Hermione was still sitting in a cubicle in the girl's toilets, trying not to cry, or retch. At least she was successful in keeping her breakfast down, but she couldn't help letting a few tears well up in her eyes and run down her cheeks. She heard a noise above her, and jumped.

'Myrtle!' she exclaimed. 'What are you doing here?'

'I felt like a change of scenery,' said Myrtle. 'It can get terribly boring, being stuck in the one place. You know, when you're dead.' Myrtle drifted down until she was level with Hermione. 'Ooooh, are you crying?'

'No,' said Hermione, rubbing at her cheeks.

'Yes you are,' said Myrtle. 'I bet you're crying about a boy.'

'Myrtle, this really isn't a good time,' said Hermione.

'Oh, not good enough to talk to Myrtle,' said Myrtle bitterly. 'No one ever wants to talk to me. Just because I'm dead. Well, maybe I can help you.'

'Thanks, Myrtle, but I really don't think so,' said Hermione, trying to placate her.

'I can help. I can give you lots of good advice about boys. Who is it? It isn't Harry Potter, is it?' Myrtle looked fierce as she said this, and if Hermione hadn't been so upset she would have sniggered.

'It's not Harry,' she said eventually. 'It's...well, it's complicated.'

'These things always are,' said Myrtle, nodding wisely. 'I remember, there was this boy, back when I was still alive...'

'Myrtle, please, I really need to be alone right now,' Hermione interrupted. 'Perhaps, you know, when I'm feeling a bit better, you can tell me about it?'

'Oh, when you're feeling better?' said Myrtle. 'You won't come and visit me when you're feeling better. You only come when you're upset. No one visits Myrtle. She's so boring, all dead, with nothing to talk about.' With an enraged scream, she soared out of the cubicle, and Hermione heard her rush down the drainpipe of one of the sinks, still muttering angrily.

Alone again, Hermione buried her head in her hands. All she could think of was the note that had been put into her pocket.

"Meet me at the entrance to the Great Hall at eight o'clock tonight."

The note may have been anonymous, but she knew exactly whom it was from. But what was she to do? She might be widely acknowledged as the cleverest girl in Hogwarts, but right now she felt as stupid as Goyle. Of course, she couldn't meet him, for that would only get his hopes up. But it was her fault that he wanted to meet her in the first place. Perhaps if she went and...no, she couldn't possibly go.

Her thoughts were interrupted again, this time by a knock at the door. She heard it squeak open, and Ron's voice floated into the room.

'Hermione, are you in there?' she heard him say.

'Um, yeah, why?' she said hesitantly.

'Oh, I - I mean, we just wondered where you were.'

'I think I ate something that disagreed with me,' Hermione said, using the first excuse that came to mind.

'Oh,' said Ron, sounding faintly put off. 'Did you want me to get Madam Pomfrey?'

'No, I'm fine,' said Hermione. 'I just felt a bit sick, that's all. I'll be out in a few seconds.'

'Okay,' said Ron, and she heard the door shut.

She flushed the toilet and left the cubicle. At the sink she ran some water, and hurriedly scrubbed her face to remove any sign of tears. She looked at herself in the mirror, checking how red and puffy her eyes were. They didn't seem too bad, and Ron was a boy - he'd never notice.

As she pushed the door open, the first thing she saw was Ron. Not that he was hard to miss - in a corridor of dark wallpaper, his hair stood out. But it was as though he had positioned himself so that he would be the first thing she would see. It was as though he had swallowed the love potion after all. But no, thought Hermione miserably to herself. It hadn't happened that way at all.

'Are you all right?' Ron asked. He put a hand gently on her elbow, but then he realised what she had said in the toilet, and drew away slightly.

'Mmm,' said Hermione. 'I think I might go and lie down for a bit.'

'I don't think you can,' started Ron. 'We're in the Ravenclaw common room, remember? I don't think we can go back to our dormitories until tonight.'

'What a stupid idea,' fumed Hermione. Ron looked taken aback at her anger.

'If you're really not feeling well, perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey after all.'

'I'm fine!' snapped Hermione. Ron looked mutinous.

'Whatever,' he muttered. 'I only came because Harry was worried about you, anyway.'

'Well, next time Harry can come himself, instead of getting you to run around like his little puppy.'

Ron glared at her. 'Well, I bloody won't be coming again!' he shouted. 'Go on, make yourself sick, see if I care.'

'Mr Weasley!' Hermione and Ron both turned to see Professor McGonagall standing in the corridor, arms akimbo. 'What is going on here?'

'It's...private,' said Ron eventually, his face going as red as his hair.

'If it was private, why were you shouting loud enough for the entire castle to hear?' Ron looked at his feet, and stayed silent. Professor McGonagall tutted at him. 'Miss Granger, perhaps you can give me a better explanation?'

'We were having a disagreement,' said Hermione.

'Miss Granger, you may be the brightest student here, but the rest of us aren't complete dullards. Crabbe and Goyle could have told me you were having 'a disagreement'. That doesn't explain why Mr Weasley is shouting such unacceptable things at you. Obviously I can't intervene if you choose to have a falling out, but I cannot have you screaming at each other in the corridors. It is completely uncivilised, and unfitting to your position as senior students in this school.' By now Hermione had joined Ron looking at the floor. 'Well, I see I'm not going to get an explanation from either of you. Perhaps I can have a promise that if you choose to continue this disagreement, it will be in a more civilised manner, and in a more appropriate setting?' They both nodded. Hermione was on the verge of hysterical laughter. Is there an appropriate situation for this? she thought. Professor McGonagall looked at them both keenly, noting the redness in Hermione's eyes. 'Very well. In that case, I will give you no punishment. But if I should ever catch you behaving like such imbeciles again, you will be going straight to Dumbledore.' Ron and Hermione nodded once more, and Professor McGonagall turned and walked off down the corridor. Ron looked at Hermione, his face blank. Without a word, he turned his back on her, and headed back to the Ravenclaw common room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione spent the rest of the day in the library, poring over books of spells and counter-spells, ignoring the bells for lunch and dinner. She found it hard to concentrate on the pages in front of her, as her thoughts became ever more melodramatic. She thought of Draco kidnapping her to become his bride, while Harry and Ron sent in statements to the Daily Prophet saying how she had betrayed their friendship and trust. Perhaps she could tell them of the love potion? But how could she even begin to explain that? Say she thought she was making a good luck potion, and got the recipes mixed up? And then poured it into Ron's goblet by accident? No one would believe that - not even Loopy Luna.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was as though time itself slowed. Hermione could hear the mechanics in her watch whirring, and then all around her, as loud as the horns of a great army, she could hear all the clocks in the castle chiming.

One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight.

For a moment she sat there, staring at her watch, willing time to stop. If only she had her time turner, she thought - but no. She couldn't run away from this. She was no child any more - she had to be strong, and face the damage she had made. Her legs shaking, she stood and pushed away from the desk. Then, every step growing stronger, she walked out of the library and down the corridor.