Less Than Strangers

Less Than Strangers

Chapter Three

It took Hermione longer than she thought to find the time for Future Confounded. In addition to her classes, she had an abundant amount of homework. Her usual studies aside, Harry and Ron always found a way to keep her occupied. Her insomnia had vanished after one day of classes, allowing her to get her mind off the past events by studying and playing exploding snap in the common room. In fact, she'd never slept better.

On Friday morning, after a double class of Potions, she went to the library. Madam Pince greeted her with considerably more warmth than the usual, and Hermione had no difficulties in finding the book she wanted.

The last chapter of the book Future Confounded really was the most interesting one. She was so engrossed in reading that she didn't even hear the bell announcing lunch.

Harry and Ron finally found her in the far corner of the library, still translating some of the Latin prophecies. They soon realised that Hermione was in a 'do not disturb - I'm studying' mood, so they just told her that Dumbledore would meet them in the Entrance Hall after dinner to take them to the Order meeting. Hermione waved a hand dismissively, and was left alone again.

One prophecy was a bit ambiguous with the meaning, and she had trouble translating it, but when she finished, it wasn't the ambiguity that worried her, it was the content. She paled considerably when she re-read the prophecy again:

The boy will defeat the Dark Lord... a woman by his side. And she will be a mother, her virginity taken by the father. The blood of the mother and the blood of the child - born from Light and Darkness - will weaken the Dark Lord, and the Light will triumph...

Hermione swallowed. This couldn't possibly mean what she thought it might mean, but it would explain Dumbledore's strange glances in her direction, and his fascination with that chapter of Future Confounded. She shook her head. No, it couldn't be true. They would have told her. Dumbledore would... not have told her. Dumbledore wouldn't bother to tell her anything if he didn't want her to know. He had proven that on various occasions in the past few years when Harry was concerned.

Well, she certainly wouldn't wait for Dumbledore to tell her. She'd just walk up to him and ask and probably make a complete fool out of herself in the process. What if the prophecy wasn't about her at all? What if Dumbledore was just fascinated with it because he was a strange old wizard who ate Muggle sweets and wore purple cloaks?

She decided to wait for the Order meeting to pass, and re-think the whole prophecy thing in the morning.

***

Dinner had been considerably quiet. Harry and Ron seemed to be nervous because of the Order meeting, and Hermione wanted to simply think about the prophecy. She made another attempt to translate the prophecy, but it wouldn't make sense. She finally gave up and concentrated on the meeting.

Later she, Harry and Ron waited in the Entrance Hall for Professor Dumbledore. When the Headmaster finally arrived, he was in company of Professor Snape.

"Oh, no!" Ron sighed next to her. "Not the greasy git!"

Harry eyed Snape with contempt, but didn't say anything.

"If you would follow me to my office?" Dumbledore asked, but everyone clearly heard the order behind the words.

Hermione quickly exchanged a look with Harry and shrugged. She didn't know why they went to the Headmaster's office. She thought they would take a Portkey out of the castle but of course, they could hardly take a Portkey in the middle of the Entrance Hall, with students lounging around to see them.

On their way to Dumbledore's office, various students shot them sympathetic glances. Everyone knew that the trio tended to get into trouble often enough and assumed that now was no exception.

When they were all inside Dumbledore's office, the Headmaster turned around. "There is a secret passageway in my office that will lead us into the dungeons." Dumbledore opened a door in the wall and stepped through, obviously wanting them to follow him. Harry and Ron followed Dumbledore, and Snape gestured for her to precede him. Then they were all inside the narrow passage, going toward the stairs that led downwards, as Dumbledore's wand illuminated the corridor.

"We will end up in the dungeons, near a side entrance of the castle. From there it's only a short distance to the Forest."

They walked mostly in silence; everyone seemed to be preoccupied in thought. Outside, it wasn't very dark yet, and Hermione saw why Dumbledore had chosen this particular entrance. It was the same one that Snape had used to get her into the castle, if she remembered correctly, and as far as she knew, no one used it any more. In fact, only the teachers knew about it, and it was guarded by high walls and bushes. No one would be able to see them from the castle.

Once inside the Forest, memories from the previous activities over the years came flooding into her mind, temporarily replacing the worries about the prophecy. Her detention in first year, Harry's and her travel back in time to save Buckbeak, and most of all her fifth year with Grawp, Hagrid's "little" brother, and the centaurs.

When they reached the Apparition spot and were greeted by an old wizard. He wore black robes and had silver-grey hair. He seemed to be about sixty years old, and Hermione thought she remembered him as the bookshop owner from Hogsmeade.

"Ah, Boxley, here already? Good." Dumbledore shook the man's hand. Professor Snape and Boxley only nodded curtly as Dumbledore introduced them.

"Well, you know the drill, Boxley. Each of us takes one of the students with us. That isn't a problem, is it?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, and Hermione had the impression that the Headmaster wouldn't allow any problems to get in his way.

"Of course not, Albus. I'll take Mr Weasley, shall I?" Before Dumbledore could reply, Boxley grabbed Ron's hand and Apparated with a pop! while Ron still looked as if he had no clue as to what was going on.

"Mister Potter?"

Harry extended his hand to Dumbledore, and soon they were gone, too. Which left Hermione with Professor Snape.

She hesitantly reached out, and to her surprise Snape took her hand without further remark. His hand was warm and dry. She didn't know why that surprised her so much. She surely hadn't expected it to be cold, but... he was Snape.

Instantly, he Apparated. She was overwhelmed by a slightly disorientating feeling of nausea. Of course they had all learned how to Apparate, and she had taken the test last year, two days after her seventeenth birthday, but she wasn't really used to it. Since you couldn't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds, she hadn't had much practice since then and Apparating without a clear place to go was always risky, so being tugged along by Snape wasn't the worst that could happen. It was certainly better than splinching herself.

When she re-opened her eyes, they were in an abandoned factory. She blinked several times. Definitely a factory.

"Where -"

"We're only here to use a Portkey," Snape interrupted her. Upon her questioning glance, he continued, "It's a practice Dumbledore learned from the Dark Lord." Snape smiled wryly.

"Whenever the Dark Lord summons us, we Apparate to a certain place. It's always the same location, and every Death Eater has his own. From there, we take a Portkey that has been placed in the location previously. That way he is reassured that no one knows the location to his lair."

"So that no one can tell..." she whispered.

"Exactly. Dumbledore found it a reliable system." Snape bent down to an empty coke can.

"This is our Portkey, I suppose." He reached out and touched the can. Hermione wanted to yell that he'd forgotten that she needed to touch the Portkey as well, when suddenly the nauseating feeling was back, this time as the effect of a Portkey. She realised that they'd been holding hands the whole time.

***

The next thing she knew was that they ended up in a cellar. It had a concrete floor and stone walls. It was cold and clammy, and this time she was glad when Snape didn't instantly let go of her hand. He tossed the Portkey onto a pile of rubbish that Hermione suspected to be Portkeys as well.

Then the door opened, and Snape dropped her hand. A short witch with huge glasses and chin-long red hair stepped in.

"Snape," said the witch who had opened the door. "You two are the last. Hurry up."

Hermione and Snape followed the witch up a narrow staircase into a large kitchen. There were about eight wizards in the kitchen, each of them with a mug of tea (spiked with rum, she suspected) in front of them. As soon as they arrived, the idle chatter died away and they were greeted with silence. Hermione felt uncomfortable.

"Well, now that you're here, I suppose we can start," said one of the wizards, a tall man in black robes who was standing in the doorway to another room. "Let's go upstairs."

A few minutes later, Hermione followed the tall wizard into the spacious room in the second floor. Professor Snape behind her brushed accidentally against her back, and she cringed unintentionally. But before she could start to think about 'that time', Harry and Ron had spotted her and pulled her into the room.

The room was furnished with various armchairs and sofas, all facing a wall where Dumbledore had placed one armchair to face the others (his own, she presumed). Harry and Ron pulled her down onto a sofa in the last row and started talking rapidly. They couldn't have got there much sooner than Snape and herself, but seemed to know everyone by profession already.

"See that man over there, in the yellow cloak? He's a reporter for Sorcerer's Academic," Harry said, pointing at a man with long shiny hair and a moustache.

"And that witch over there is a former Obliviator," Ron said to her left. A few minutes later, just before Dumbledore finally ended his discussion with one member of the Order (a curse breaker, according to Ron and Harry) and called for silence, she knew that there were medi-witches and wizards, Squibs, a Floo Regulation Network employee, a witch from the Owl Post Office, several researchers and ministry workers as well as one or two foreign countries diplomats. All in all, she was extremely impressed.

In the next two hours, Hermione learned more about the Order and its working methods than she ever imagined. She could tell that Harry and Ron were bored, but she found it very interesting to see a secret organisation at work. Dumbledore called several people up to the front for reports, and she was surprised that he didn't mention her kidnapping once. Perhaps he left that for a smaller circle.

When she was finally starting to get tired, Dumbledore rose from his seat and closed the meeting. All the witches and wizards left, and after another ten minutes, only the Headmaster, Professor Snape, Harry, Ron and Hermione were left.

"I suggest we all go down to the kitchen while we wait for the others to arrive," Dumbledore said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow. So he had been saving her story for a smaller circle. She assumed that at least one of the Weasleys (Bill or Arthur), Remus Lupin and maybe Tonks and Moody would be expected for that second meeting. Ron and Harry had - as usual - not a clue.

They settled down in the kitchens, and soon everyone she had imagined would turn up did turn up.

Dumbledore gave a brief summary of what had happened, and Hermione felt uncomfortable once more. It was her life after all. She was just glad that Molly Weasley wasn't there. She wasn't sure whether she could take motherly hugs and comfort right now.

Professor Snape repeated how he had found her.

Then everyone wondered and guessed who had kidnapped her. Hermione figured that now was as good a time as ever to bring up the prophecy, and took out Future Confounded. She thought she'd seen a twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes upon seeing the book, but she wasn't sure.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to say something?" Dumbledore said mildly.

"Yes," she said. "This is the book, well, a copy of the book that Professor Snape took from one of my kidnappers. Since Professor Dumbledore seemed outright fascinated with it, I signed it out of the library. I translated various prophecies, and one of them seems to be... about Harry." She paused. "And me."

Dumbledore slowly nodded his head. "You mean the one about the mother and the child and their blood?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"What prophecy?" Harry asked, looking confused. Hermione looked around and realised that Dumbledore was the only one who knew what she was talking about, so she recited the prophecy. A stunned silence followed.

"But..." That was Remus Lupin. "You're not pregnant, are you?" He looked worried.

Hermione shook her head. "No!"

"Then how can the prophecy mean you?"

"That, Remus," said Dumbledore, "is one of the things why I called you all in today." He took a sip of tea and placed the mug on the table. "Would you care to enlighten them, Miss Granger? See as you already brought up the topic before I had the chance to do so."

Hermione reddened a bit, but nodded. "Since the... kidnappers had this book, I assume that they know about the prophecy, too. And not just any pregnant woman would give her blood to help Harry, so it must be someone close to him, me for example. They obviously agreed, too, so they kidnapped me to prevent me from becoming pregnant."

"But - that's..." Lupin said again, not sure how to phrase his thoughts. "How?"

"The prophecy says 'And she will be a mother, her virginity taken by the father'. That implies that the prophecy can only be fulfilled if the father of my child is the one who -" (she stumbled slightly before she spoke the words) "-took my virginity. The kidnapper. And that's not going to happen, thus the prophecy won't be fulfilled and I won't be able to help Harry defeat You-know-who." She looked up to Lupin, who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

Dumbledore finally said, "I couldn't have said it better, Miss Granger. I can see why I wanted you in the Order."

"Thank you, Headmaster," she said dryly. Of course it was much more important to tell her that instead of offering further explanations, she thought sarcastically.

"Now that you all have something to think about, let me wish you a good night. We'll meet again next Friday."

He just dismissed them? Didn't he at least want to try and explain a few things? What should they do now? Was it that important to fulfil this prophecy, or was it only speculation? She wanted some answers, but apparently, she wasn't about to get them.

Dumbledore quickly stood up and avoided her gaze. "I think it would be best to arrive back at Hogwarts at different times," he said. "Mister Weasley, you might take this Portkey; it will take you to my office immediately. Mister Potter and I will take a Portkey and then Apparate to Hogsmeade and walk back." With a nod, Ron took the Portkey and vanished, closely followed by Harry and Dumbledore.

Hermione turned back to Professor Snape. He was pale, but she didn't say anything - partly because he was always pale, and partly because she wouldn't want to lose house points for insolence. "Professor?" she asked finally. "Are you ready to go back?"

Professor Snape jumped slightly and his unfocussed gaze rested on her briefly. He then nodded his head slightly and stood up.

He extended his hand and they Apparated back to the Forest. Neither of them seemed to notice that it was unnecessary to hold hands - Hermione knew perfectly well how to Apparate to the Forbidden Forest.

***

Hermione was glad that the next day was Saturday. Again, she couldn't sleep. It was well past midnight, so it was - strictly speaking - Saturday already. Whatever.

She sighed and rested her head against her bed's headboard. Of course she could go to Madam Pomfrey and ask for more of that sleeping potion, but the nurse would probably worry, and ask how she felt, and if she wanted to talk. Hermione didn't feel she could handle it. Besides, it was Saturday. She didn't have classes, so what it if she stayed up a bit longer than usual?

She sighed again. 'Sleep,' she commanded her body, but it didn't comply. She shook her head. 'Might as well get a little work done,' she mused and got out of bed. Carefully, she opened the trunk at the end of her bed and took out a fresh roll of parchment, an ink well and quills, then she considered which essay she should write. Not Arithmancy. She wanted that essay to be perfect, and she didn't trust herself to be perfect in the dead of the night. (Of course she wanted all her essays to be perfect, but... Arithmancy was still her favourite subject.) So it was History of Magic then. Binns had assigned them one foot of parchment about the Brighton Werewolf Trials of 1879 - highly interesting, of course, but Binns had managed to tire even Hermione in his class on Wednesday morning. She considered going down to the common room to write (she'd have actual tables) but decided to stay upstairs and settle down on her bed again (much more comfortable). She pulled the curtains closed and cast a weak Lumos. This way, the light would be bright enough to read and write, but it wouldn't disturb Parvati and Lavender. After all, it was the middle of the night.

She had already eight and a half inches done when she needed her History of Magic textbook for a reference. She bent over to read the last paragraph again when the stack of quills went spiralling off her bed. She cursed slightly. Putting her things in her hands, she clumsily leaned over to pick up the quills when she lost balance and fell out of the bed. She lay silently for a few moments, trying to even out her breathing and checking if she'd woken the other two girls. Hearing the deep steady breathing coming from their direction, she hadn't.

'Well, at least I can pick up the quills rather comfortable now,' she thought dryly, and gathered up the feathers. Suddenly, something shiny caught her attention. She pushed the remaining quills aside and looked closer at the shiny item. It was glittering in the light, and when she turned her head, she could see that it was silver. A necklace? She picked it up. It was definitely a necklace, but the pendant wasn't a pendant. It was a ring. 'Silver', she thought, with a bright blue stone embedded in the metal. She wondered how that came to lie under her bed. It wasn't hers, and she hadn't seen it with Parvati or Lavender either. She shrugged and put it down on her bedside table. She'd asked them tomorrow ('Today,' she reminded herself).

Soon, she went back to bed and finished the essay before falling into a light slumber.

***

Hermione woke from a punch in the stomach. Her eyes flew open with shock, and she was upright in bed before she realised that it had been Parvati's old teddy bear, thrown from across the room. Hermione tried to slow her breathing and not let it show how fast her heart was beating. She was sure that Lavender and Parvati would ask where that loud, pumping sound came from any minute now.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Do you want to get up some time today, or do you want to sleep until tomorrow?" Lavender asked, laughing.

"Huh?" Hermione bent over and checked her watch. It was after lunch already. She got up and pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of the wardrobe.

"Your two shadows are waiting downstairs," Parvati said, sitting down on Hermione's bed. "That's why I woke you. Sorry if I startled you with Mr Toodles here." She tossed the bear back onto her own bed. "Hey, you found your necklace!" Parvati picked up the silver necklace with the ring. "Where did you find it? We must have searched for ages last year!"

Confused, Hermione frowned. "*My* necklace?"

Lavender and Parvati exchanged a look. Then Parvati turned and shot her a glance that said 'And you want to be the brightest student at Hogwarts?' while Lavender asked, "Hermione, are you sure you didn't sniff that Forgetfulness Potion in class yesterday?"

"Oh, sorry," Hermione said and sighed. "I guess I'm still a bit, um, off, you know. With what happened to my dad and all..."

Parvati and Lavender exchanged another look, and then Parvati dropped the necklace into Hermione's outstretched hand. "Thanks," she said. "I'd better go down. Wouldn't want to let Harry and Ron wait forever..."

Deep in thought, Hermione went down into the Common Room where Ron and Harry were sitting near the fire. Apart from that, the Common Room was nearly deserted.

"Morning."

"Hullo, 'Mione," Harry said smiling. Ron looked up, too, and asked, "Where have you been? We nearly missed breakfast because we were waiting for you!"

Hermione couldn't quite suppress a smile. "Sorry, Ron. But I stayed up a bit longer to finish my History of Magic essay, and I guess it was a little late, so..."

"It's okay, Hermione. Don't mind Ron," Harry said, and put on his cloak. "Are you ready?"

Hermione frowned. "Um. What for?"

"Hogsmeade. That's where everyone is. We were lucky that Parvati and Lavender want to spend the afternoon with Professor Trelawney so they had to be back early. Otherwise you'd still be asleep," Ron sounded accusingly. He put on his cloak as well. "So, *are* you ready?"

"I'm sorry, Harry, Ron, but I don't think I'll come with you." She sat down on the sofa. "I... I somehow feel safer in the castle. I don't think I'm ready to go out yet."

Ron's face fell, and Harry sat back down beside her. "That's okay, 'Mione. Really. We'll stay with you, if you want," he said, awkwardly patting her arm.

Ron sat down on her other side and nodded. "Yeah. We'll stay if you want us to," he repeated.

"No." She shook her head. "You two go to Hogsmeade and bring me chocolate and a few bottles of Butterbeer. You don't have to stay. It's okay. I wanted to go to the library anyway."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Harry. Now go."

The three of them rose and headed out of the Common Room. While Harry and Ron went down to the Entrance Hall, Hermione decided to make a stop at the kitchens and then head for the library.

***

It was frustrating. She couldn't come up with an alternative. She'd read through every divination book and so far only managed to confirm her opinion about the subject. The percentage of real prophecies was extremely low, and from Divination Facts - Real Prophecies of Ancient Times she'd learned that only five or six prophecies of the hundreds made each year were actual prophecies. Everything else was just basically rubbish. Of course, there were these déjà-vu-like flashbacks people sometimes had, but since they occurred mostly within seconds before the events take place, they are not counted as prophecies, but as instinct or, as Radomila Ruffle, author of A Critical View on Divination, puts it, 'good guesses.'

Hermione sighed and closed the book. She wouldn't find anything in those Divination books. She leaned back in her chair and let her gaze wander over the rows of books while stretching a bit. Her neck was a little sore, so she stood up and rolled her head from one side to the other to relax the tense muscles. From her new position, she could see the lowest row of books, and her gaze fell upon a heavy tome. The title was Cassandra - The Downfall of Troy. Hermione frowned. 'Cassandra?' she thought. 'Wasn't that a Seer as well? Then why is that book in the History selection?'

Soon, Hermione realised that she'd searched in the wrong place. Many actual prophecies could be found in history books. Contemporary divination books were always a bit inaccurate because the future was still unclear - and prophecies couldn't be called real if there wasn't any proof. So history it was then.

After another two hours of reading, Hermione decided to call it a night. She was fairly exhausted and nearly starving. 'Hmm... Wait for dinner, or go down to the kitchens...' she considered both options and then left the library for the kitchens. She could still go to dinner with Harry and Ron, but she was hungry now, and it wouldn't do to wait another hour, but before she reached the corridor that lead to the kitchens, Professor Snape suddenly stood in front of her. "Miss Granger," he said, his voice void of expression. "Accompany me to my office."

"But Professor, I didn't-" she started, but was interrupted by him.

"I don't care what you did or didn't do, Miss Granger. I merely asked you to come to my office." He paused, and then continued in his silky voice, "But since you feel the need to defend yourself, maybe a deduction of house points would be appropriate?"

She shook her head. "No, sir."

"Very well, then. Follow me." And with that, he turned around and strode off towards his office.

Ignoring the gnawing feeling in her stomach, Hermione followed him, puzzled as to why he wanted to speak to her.

End Chapter Three