When Hermione Fights

Hogwarts' Headmistress

Chapter beta: the one and only Dani

Chapter translator: Aivy & Sophie (my co-translator is back. Yay!)

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That night I laid in bed for a long time and planned. Technically, I was not allowed to leave the castle during the holidays, but now Snape wanted to meet Minna to... Well, I didn't have to go into that just yet. Thus I would schedule all my errands around this excursion, that much was clear! I wouldn't inform Draco. As I had said, he had not addressed this topic for weeks and he didn't seem to want to know, so why tell him? No, I couldn't, it was already hard enough for me. Though how could I get out of this unharmed? I hoped my ointment worked on the mark... Argh! I rolled back and forth uneasily in my bed; today I wouldn't find any peace of mind.

By now I knew Snape better, not only could I see the evil professor that lived in the dungeons but also, incredible as it was, family in him, thanks to Draco. I was not aware yet how I could survive the encounter in one piece, but I was reinforcing my heart and mind to do it already. I tried to convince myself. It's just work. Do it and then put it behind you You can do it, Hermione, you're cold and calculating enough for it. Exactly, if I said this mantra often enough, then I'd, for sure, believe it soon!

Grit your teeth and get on with it! It was .. it would be a fast number. Yeah, right, it worked, really fantastic, the mind was a great thing! That was meant ironically; the irony dripped downright out of my thoughts. I lay down on my stomach and screamed my frustration into my pillow. It was unbearable. I had been expecting a letter of that kind for weeks, and when I had held it in my hands I could not and did not want to be able to contemplate it.

Luckily, I had been able to turn Ron's and Harry's interest away from the letter.

Oh well, my not yet silenced conscience had decided to come back after a long absence and deprived me of my well-deserved sleep, great. Professor, why did you decide to call upon Minna at this time? I was wondering to myself with slight annoyance.

Also, the files I had stolen from Umbridge were still occupying my thought. My mood increased minimally. I loved it when I was successful but even that didn't cheer me up fully.

Finally, I gave up, annoyed, and got up to prepare for our daily run. Armed with a book, I took up camp downstairs in the common room to wait for Harry. I didn't have to wait long. The slight bags under his eyes showed that he, too, had had a truly restful night.

We didn't speak; we found solace in our common silence. It gave us a lot and did us good, more so than if we had chewed each other's ears off and I understood that he had a lot to think about, just like me.

When the three of us entered the Great Hall again as a unit, almost everyone looked up immediately, still hoping for a continuation of yesterday's soap opera. But we just took a seat, began to eat, and gradually the other students also turned their attention towards their own food, disappointed that we were getting along again and demonstrated unity. The everyday gossip bubbled up, because now it was time to dissect the story around Marietta, Dumbledore and Umbridge.

As the new Educational Decree No. 28 appeared everywhere, informing the students that Professor Umbridge had been appointed Headmaster, it led to indignant and angry opinions being voiced, which were expressed louder in some places and quieter in others. Everyone was shocked, downright unsettled and so the events of yesterday went from mouth to mouth at lightspeed.

I could hear the loud, curious conversation between Lav, Pav and Padma, who was just saying that it was somehow related to her Housemate Marietta, who had been in the infirmary since yesterday. It caused a lot of excitement and I really couldn't resist a nasty, vicious grin.