Keeping Secrets

Keeping Secrets

WHEN we two parted

In silence and tears,

Half broken-hearted

To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy kiss;

Truly that hour foretold

Sorrow to this.

-When We Two Parted, George Gordon (Lord) Byron

"Alright, one last thing before we finish today... I assume you all managed to complete the homework I set you on Tuesday which was to read Magical Beasst of Asia and Europe, chapters 4 through to 6. So... who would like to be the first one to explain how the Pogrebin catch and devour their prey?"

Silence fell over the classroom. Nobody raised their hands. A half-disappointed, half-amused smile crossed Remus Lupin's face as he turned and walked around his desk, giving the students a few more seconds to answer. He turned back to a sea of blank, guilty faces.

"Nobody? I see, then..." he scanned the third row from the front and spotted Hermione Granger, sandwiched between Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, as always, and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

The girl didn't look up. She seemed to be completely engrossed in the book lying open or her desk- either that, or she was actually trying to stare through it and drill a hole in the floor. Hermione's face was bent so low over her desk that all he could see below her brown, curly hair was the tip of her nose. A few seconds ticked by and when she still hadn't shot up her hand, he cleared his throat and sat down behind the desk at the front of the classroom. "Very well, I'll remind you, shall I? They do it by following their human prey and infusing them with a sense of bewilderment and hopelessness until the person loses all strength and collapses, allowing the Pogrebin to freely devour them." His eyes crossed to Hermione a few more times as he spoke, but she still hadn't raised her head. She hadn't shown the slightest interest or enthusiasm for the duration of the lesson, which caused a small pang of concern in Remus. Usually- well, no, always- she was the first one to put up her hand when a question was asked. But not recently.

"That's all for now. If any of you haven't read chapters 4 to 6 I suggest you do it in your own time. We'll be reviewing these next lesson." He smiled and nodded to indicate that the lesson was over.

As the students filed out, Remus cast a few glances at Harry and Ron to see if they were acting unusual, but they both seemed to be fine. They laughed, chatting together, and nudged each other as they trailed along behind Hermione, who was quickly pushing her way out of the classroom.

Remus continued to stare, frowning, and deep in thought at the doorway after the students had left, distracted by Hermione's odd behaviour. She was a very bright young witch. Perhaps the most brilliant he had seen. He was fascinated by her knowledge and always took an interest in her activites in the classroom, which was perhaps why her odd behaviour had stood out from the very start.

After a long while Remus blinked, realized he had another class coming up, and put his thoughts of Hermione aside. He picked up his notes for that class and began to set them in order for the next lesson.