Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 17 - Part 1

It took a full week before Astoria Greengrass' prediction came to fruition. Hermione and Harry had continued to monitor Draco on the map and his pattern of behavior had remained unchanged. He still paced his room...he still kept his head down at meals and in class...he still looked thoroughly lost and miserable. Until Saturday morning.

They didn't spot Draco at breakfast but there were no announcements made and the Slytherin table seemed to be acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She'd been much better at not looking at Astoria after the girl's reprimand but Hermione couldn't help herself that morning. The friendly, enthusiastic girl she was used to seeing was nowhere to be found as the Hufflepuff's eyes remained glued to her food and rarely spoke.

The only bit of excitement was Pigwidgeon struggling mightily but successfully delivering Mrs. Weasley's copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard during that morning's post delivery. "Mum apologizes for the delay," Ron informed as he read the accompanying letter and continued to eat, "the ghoul had made a mess of the things stored in the attic and it took her a bit to find it in the piles."

Dumbledore and Snape were notable by their absence, lending even more credence to their conclusion that Draco had made his escape. She received confirmation of this as she and Harry were waiting on Ron to finish his second helping.

"Mister Potter, Miss Granger, the Headmaster would like to speak to you," Professor McGonagall intoned behind their shoulder.

"When?" Harry asked.

"Now," she replied, brooking no argument. They quickly stood and followed their head of house, receiving a silent nod of support from Ron. Lavender did her best to smile encouragingly but looked slightly terrified on their behalf.

All eyes were on the trio as they left the hall and Hermione felt an odd sense of exhilaration as she realized that Dumbledore now saw Harry and her as a singular unit. She felt Harry grip her hand a bit tighter as the gargoyle came into view and vowed once again not to let him down.

They entered the room to find Dumbledore sitting at his desk, the picture of calm, and the Slytherin head of house pacing behind him, clearly furious at recent events.

"Thank you for coming," Dumbledore intoned pleasantly as he motioned for them to take a seat. Hermione felt the urge to point out that they weren't exactly given a choice but held her tongue.

"Is this about Malfoy's disappearance?" Harry stated bluntly. The headmaster remained calm while Snape looked murderous.

"You are indeed correct, Harry," Dumbledore continued. "We were wondering if you could shed some light on Mr. Malfoy's whereabouts."

She and Harry had a week to discuss what to share with the headmaster if Draco actually did flee the castle and they'd decided that being as honest as possible was the best option.

"I can't tell you how we confirmed it but we were right," Harry began dully. "Malfoy was responsible for Katie and Ron almost dying and he was working on another plan in the Room of Requirement. Now that we've stopped him from whatever he was scheming he is running for his life...running from Voldemort."

"I don't believe you," Snape spit. "What have you and your vigilantes done?"

"He's telling the truth, and we aren't vigilantes. We sit in a hallway," Hermione interjected in annoyance. For the first time that she could recall the Potter sneer was directed at her in full force. Snape quickly moved back to his normal target.

"Tell us what you know and how you know it," Snape continued. She'd never seen him so desperate.

Harry ignored him and turned his gaze downward at their enjoined hands, waiting for the headmaster to speak. She and Harry had agreed that he in particular should avoid engaging Professor Snape whenever possible.