Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 12 - Part 1

It had taken five minutes of rather passionate debate to convince Harry she would be safe going alone and another ten to retrieve the cloak and map from Harry's trunk but she was now on her way to investigate what Draco was up to.

As she exited the Gryffindor common room Hermione did her best to calm the nerves that had started to grow but it was a losing effort. Planning calmed her. Studying calmed her. Having the time and space to prepare for any and all potential outcomes calmed her. But those were not options this time...she had to think quickly and react and move...and she hated it.

She'd done it before and done it well in the past...saving Sirius and introducing Umbridge to her friend Grawp were the first examples that sprang to mind...but that was different. Harry had been there with her and she felt like she was capable of anything when Harry was with her. He made her better and she made him better...that was an indisputable fact at this point. The loss of his presence was profoundly felt as she activated the map herself for the first time.

She was grateful for the brief moment of levity as Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs commented on how much they'd been looking forward to Harry's uptight friend finally uttering the words I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. According to them, she had now been thoroughly corrupted and if they were to be believed Mrs. Prongs had also succumbed to the temptations of the map late in her sixth year as well.

A quick scan of the map showed that Draco was nowhere to be found but his two usual lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle, seemed to be pacing back and forth in a very familiar seventh floor hallway. The riddle of Draco's new traveling companions was now obvious: Polyjuice potion. The girls' seeming awkwardness within their own bodies was due to the fact that they weren't themselves. Literally.

She made her way to the seventh floor in a near sprint and did her best to quickly come up with a plan. It was clear that the two buffoons were serving as a lookout for Draco but as a prefect, she couldn't just accuse or attack them without some sort of proof. According to Harry, his accusations had fallen on deaf ears with the headmaster so she needed to provide as much tangible evidence as possible.

She'd promised Harry she would do her best to hide and keep herself out of harm's way but her best option was to get the oafs to incriminate themselves. Outwitting them would be an easy task and outduelling them if it escalated to that point seemed more than likely thanks to Harry's training.

As she approached the hallway where both boys were standing guard she paused and gathered herself...she needed to look relaxed and unaware if she was going to pull this off. She took a few calming breaths, stowed away the map and cloak, and resumed her walk.

Upon turning the corner she was immediately spotted by the pair, drawing instant reactions from both. One 'girl' dropped the scales she had been holding and began walking in the opposite direction while the other one quickly looked in every direction...not sure whether to flee or stand her ground. She silently exalted as the remaining girl did her best to calm herself and eventually decided to stand firm.

Hermione quickly cast Accio and summoned the discarded scales before smiling kindly at the remaining girl. "Where is your friend going?" she asked. "She'll need these for potions."

"Um...she needed to use the loo," the girl replied gruffly. "I can make sure she gets those back."

Thanks to the student roster that all prefects had received at the beginning of term Hermione knew the girl in front of her was supposed to be Meredith Blackpool. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't recall what the girl's middle name was but she was betting that the oaf in front of her had no idea either. Time to find out.

"That's very kind of you...Meredith is it?" she asked as she handed the scales to the imposter and readied her wand in her other hand.

At the girl's uncomfortable nod she continued with the plan. "That's what I thought. I remembered your name because you have the same middle name as my Mum. It's Elizabeth, right?"

Her question was greeted by a much more muted and tentative nod. It was clear this person desperately wanted Hermione to go away and had no clue what Meredith's actual middle name was. She now had enough proof to take action.

"Expelliarmus!" she said in a near shout, causing Meredith's wand to fly out of their hand. She had limited her wand flourishing as much as possible to make sure her aim was as precise and quick as possible, just as Harry had taught her.

"Meredith Blackpool's middle name isn't Elizabeth," she informed as she pointed the wand at the girl. "Who are you really and what are you doing?" she demanded, already knowing half the answer.

The look of abject fear and panic on the girl's face was immediate and Hermione stayed on guard, ready to unleash a stunning spell if she tried to run away like her friend. Without warning, she saw a flash of red narrowly miss hitting her. Apparently, the other crony had not fled, only hid. Hermione cursed her carelessness as she ducked away from the attack.

'Meredith' seized on the distraction and started running. Unfortunately, instead of running away, the girl started sprinting directly toward her, emboldened by their nearby ally's presence.

"Stupefy"! she incanted desperately just as the girl reached her, knocking them both to the ground as the spell landed and knocked the girl unconscious. She heard and more distressingly felt the crack of several of her ribs as the girl fell forcefully on top of her. She would deal with the pain later...there was someone else out there to deal with before she could relax. Her plan had gone a bit sideways but she had one of them unconscious and at wandpoint now...Draco could still be properly dealt with if she could summon one of the professors.

Hermione pushed her wand into the side of the now unconscious girl and cast Incarcerous. With the faux Meredith dealt with and now providing a convenient human shield it was time to eliminate or scare off the other threat. "Your friend is bound and unconscious," she stated as loudly as possible, doing her best to sound as confident as she could manage, "you can't save them. Come out now or your punishment is only going to grow."

After several moments of silence Hermione gingerly removed the map from her pocket with her free hand, never taking the wand away from Meredith's side. A quick glance showed that the other girl, Gregory Goyle, was now fleeing back to Slytherin house. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed Meredith, no, Vincent Crabbe, off of her and propped him against a nearby wall.

She caught a breath at the sharp pains that shot through her body with every movement. Crabbe's blunt attack had definitely broken at least a couple of ribs. She shuddered to think of the damage he would have done had he been in his own massive body. A quick Episkey helped mitigate some of the pain but she knew proper treatment was necessary.

She quickly ran through her options. She was fairly certain she would be able to levitate Crabbe to the hospital wing where she could receive treatment and have multiple witnesses to Crabbe's transformation when the polyjuice potion wore off. But to do so would allow Malfoy the ability to escape from the room. As long as she stood guard in the hallway he was trapped.

Her next thought was to stay put, monitor the map against any threats, and wait for someone else to stumble upon her in the hallway so they could get help. She then realized why Malfoy had picked this moment to work on his plan...the castle was virtually empty thanks to the Quidditch match going on. It was crucial that she had witnesses to Crabbe transforming back to his own body so she couldn't afford to be patient. And Goyle could return with more allies while she waited...more than she would be able to handle.

And then it struck her. She had an ally who could send help to her. She only hoped he was awake and had his mirror close.

Ron, I need your help immediately. Please respond to this message.

Her heart surged as she felt her mirror warm with his response.

Are you at the match? What's going on?

Hermione forced herself to calm down and think. They had one chance at this and needed to get it right. She quickly came up with a plan and tapped back her instructions.

Send Madam Pomfrey to the Room of Requirement entrance immediately. I'll explain everything later but I need you to send her NOW.