The Painting

Hermione looked around her. She was standing in front of Dumbledore's office door

but she did not remember giving a password to get past the initial entrance. She shut her eyes and then opened them again. This didn't feel like a painting anymore - it felt real. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door.

"Enter."

That's not Dumbledore's voice, she thought.

She pushed open the door carefully and walked into the office. Professor McGonagall was sat behind the desk, quill in hand, writing. She looked up briefly.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I...Um...Where is Professor Dumbledore?"

"Miss Granger, are you feeling OK?"

"I'm fine I just needed to speak to him about something."

McGonagall rose from behind the desk and gazed directly into Hermione's eyes. Miss Granger I think you should go and see Madam Pomfrey...'

"I'm fine I just had to ask about..."

'Miss Granger, Professor Dumbledore is dead."

Hermione recoiled in shock. "I...What?"

"Miss Granger you were here, two weeks ago, Death Eaters broke into Hogwarts

and Snape killed Dumbledore."

"Snape? No, Professor McGonagall, you're wrong. I've been trapped in a painting, and then I came to Dumbledore's office through the painting to see if he could help me. I saw Snape yesterday."

"Hermione, I really think you should go and see Madam Pomfrey. The shock of Dumbledore's death is only just setting in for you. It's natural for shock to occur weeks, even months after a traumatic event has happened."

"You don't understand I was in a painting."

McGonagall was lost for words. Then she looked at the portraits on the walls above her. "Don't look at me," said one miserable occupant of the portrait McGonagall's eyes landed upon. "I think she had best take your advice and seek medical attention, being in a painting indeed. What an absurd tale."

"The Fat Lady, you can ask her, she saw me. She was the one who told me to go to Dumbledore's office, she'll know what I'm talking about, please!"

McGonagall looked at the portrait again. "Fetch her for me please." The little wizard left his portrait and gave a departing 'tut'.

Hermione looked around the rest of the portraits. They were all asleep, or at least pretending to be asleep. Then she gasped as her eyes fell over a portrait with a familiar wizard in a peaceful slumber. She shook her head. "That's not...That's not."

"It's Professor Dumbledore, Hermione."

"I need to see Snape, you can ask him."

"Snape has fled with the Death Eaters. He's gone, Hermione. Gone."

"But I saw him in Potions yesterday, he made me go and hang my painting up in a public place because I was late for his class."

"Snape hasn't been teaching Potions this year. He's been teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Slughorn has been teaching Potions."

"But I don't know any Professor Slughorn. You must be mistaken it was Snape, Snape was teaching Potions."

"Ahem."

Their attention was drawn to the little wizard in his portrait. The Fat Lady had joined him and was almost squashing him out of the frame.

"Miss Granger says she became trapped in a painting and that you were aware of this predicament. Is this true?" asked McGonagall.

The Fat Lady peered at Hermione. "Her? In a painting? How peculiar. I didn't see her at all."

"You're lying!"

"Hermione, please," said Professor McGonagall sternly.

"But she is, I saw her, she helped me." Hermione looked down at her robes. There was still a splash of green on one of her arms. "Look," she said, frantically tugging at her sleeve. "It's paint from when I was painting, please you have to believe me now."

McGonagall again turned her attention to the Fat Lady. "Well?"

"I can assure you that if she had been in a painting - which is impossible - I would have known about it."

"Thank you for your help. That will be all."

The Fat Lady left. "Silly Girl." Hermione heard her mutter as she departed the frame.

"You have to believe me, Professor. Put me under a spell, read my mind, I am telling you the truth."

"That would be pointless," said McGonagall gently. "You see, Hermione, I have no doubt that you believe you are telling the truth. No charm would work because you have convinced yourself that something has actually happened. It would prove nothing."

Hermione looked at the ground. She had never felt so helpless in her life

"I think that the best thing you could do now is go and see Madam Pomfrey and then have a talk with Harry and Ron."

Harry and Ron. The names seemed almost alien to her. She was so desperate to see Dumbledore and Snape she had forgotten about her friends

"They are going through the same thing," McGonagall continued.

"What?" asked Hermione, forgetting herself. "Have they been trapped in a painting too with nobody believing their story?"

"Miss Granger, I know times are hard, and you are obviously in shock and suffering

the confusing consequences of that shock, but I am headmistress of Hogwarts now and I still demand respect no matter how bad things get."

"I'm sorry. I just don't understand. I'll...I'll go and see Madam Pomfrey now."

"Thank you, Hermione."

Hermione left the office and made her way out into the corridor. She felt completely alone.

"Hermione!"

She turned and saw Ron rushing towards her. "Are you OK? Why did you need to see McGonagall?" He pulled her towards him and embraced her in a tight hug. As he drew away she stared at him, blushing slightly. She felt butterflies in her stomach and forgot, for a moment, what she was going through.

Should she tell him? "How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"Um, well we were walking to the infirmary to see Bill and you said 'I have to see McGonagall' and you left me. You didn't say why. I waited outside but I was just going to leave because you've been in their ages."

"I was with you today?"

"Yeah Hermione, you went into McGonagall's office about half an hour ago."

"Hang on," said Hermione, her mind backtracking through Ron's information.

'Why is Bill in the infirmary?"

"Hermione, he got badly attacked during the Death Eater fight; you were here when it happened."

"That's just it," said Hermione looking blankly at Ron. "I don't think I was."