Chapter 24

Harry ran to the library, Ron trailing him. Harry had pieced together what had happened, it wasn't that hard. He had told Fudge to use Muggles as bait - well, sort of - and that stupid Minister had used the Grangers. Unfortunately there had been an accident with a cursed picnic basket, which had killed them both. Therefore, because it was his idea in the first place, he had killed his best friend's parents.

Harry realised exactly what he had just thought, and stopped suddenly. Ron skid into a halt right before he crashed into him, breathing heavily.

"Are you going to tell me what it is now?" Ron asked, sounding a bit put out. Harry, too busy processing the fact that he had as well as killed two innocent people -who happened to be Hermione's parents-, didn't even hear him.

"Maybe I just won't tell her…" he muttered to himself. Taking advantage of Harry's lack of response, Ron reached over and plucked the letter from his shaking fingers. Harry didn't notice.

Ron skimmed it. His eyes went wide and his face paled, and he read it again. He took a deep breath, and pocketed it.

"Come on, let's tell her. She'll find out soon enough, and it might be easier if she hears it from us."

You don't know the half of it, Harry thought miserably as he nodded, and they continued on to the library.

---

Wordlessly Harry and Ron entered the library, and moved to stand on either side of Hermione. She looked at them in confusion.

"You haven't actually come to study, have you? Or is there some fiendish plot afoot? That's the only time you really come to the library willingly." She smiled a bit at her own joke, but Harry and Ron just exchanged a pained look. Hermione picked up on it, and her humor disappeared.

"There isn't some fiendish plot afoot, is there? Oh no, no one died did they?" she asked, her voice dropping lower as she looked left and right to make sure they weren't being overheard. Ron took the letter from his pocket and handed it over.

"Have you been reading my mail?" Hermione asked suspiciously, and Ron realized that he had forgotten to seal the letter. Harry bit his lip.

"Just…read it, please," he said, and Hermione gave him one last suspicious look before taking out the parchment.

---

Hermione kept reading the letter, over and over again. The words simply didn't register, no matter how many times her eyes passed over them. Dead. Parents. Dead. Both. Dead. You-Know-Who. Dead. Picnic basket. Dead.

It was just too much, and while still reading the letter she sunk to the floor. Harry wrung his hands together nervously.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. I really, really am."

"No…You didn't do anything…" she said, sounding distant. Harry winced.

"Actually…" he began, but stopped. She doesn't need to know it was me, really. He winced again, and opened his mouth to tell her exactly what part he had played in this. Damn Gryffindor honesty. Are Gryffindors even supposed to be honest? Isn't that more of a Hufflepuff deal? Well, I guess this is taking a bit of bravery too. Why couldn't I have been in Slytherin? That would make lying so much easier. Well, I could lie. But the sorting hat put me in Gryffindor. Oh, who cares about the bloody hat. I mean, it is a hat. Why am I letting a hat dictate my actions?

Harry stood there with his mouth open, ready to speak as Ron looked at him strangely. It looked like Harry had been put on pause, not that Ron was familiar with the Muggle version of the word. Then, in a rush, Harry told her everything. Ron turned from white to red, and then to purple because in all his indignation he had forgotten to breathe. Hermione looked like she wanted to throttle him, but was so angry she couldn't move. Instead, she fainted.

---

Draco rolled over from his back onto his side as the Weasley carried in Hermi. Granger. He meant Granger.

"Being apart from me for so long hazardous to her health?" he asked, as bitingly as he could. After Ron put Hermione carefully on a bed he whipped around to face him.

"You- You slimy git!" he exclaimed. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Imaginative, Weasley. And what's wrong with her? Apart from the obvious."

"I'm not telling you, you horrible thing!"

"I have a right to be a horrible slimy git thing. My father-" his voice hitched dramatically, "-died." He had figured out that while it was a personal catastrophe, he might as well use it to his advantage.

"Both of her parents died!" Ron yelled, losing any patience he had.

"Ah." Two less Muggles, can't complain. "When?" Ron, completely put by Malfoy's absolute lack of empathy, started turning even more funny colors. "Something wrong, Weasley?" Malfoy asked, raising an eyebrow. Though he was hiding it well, he actually was a bit sorry for Granger. Only a bit though, why worry about someone else when you had problems of your own?

Ron took a deep breath and, without answering Malfoy, went to find Madame Pomfrey. After alerting her to Hermione's condition, he stomped out of the hospital wing.

---

When Draco woke up he found Hermione lying on the bed next to his. It was obvious that she wasn't asleep; her eyes were trained at the ceiling and she was gripping the sheets balled in her hands so tightly her knuckles were white.

"Granger?" Her eye twitched, but she said nothing. For someone who had just lost her parents she didn't look sad as much as, well, angry. Draco had of course not been around her long enough to realize with these symptoms he was treading on dangerous ground (if Harry and Ron had seen her they would most likely be running for cover). So, against his better judgment, he continued.

"Granger," he tried again. Hermione's eyes flashed and her lips formed a tight line. Her entire body tensed, and for a moment Draco thought that she was going to spring from her bed and attack him. Only now did he realise exactly how thin this ice was, and in anticipation of the inevitable physical or verbal assault he braced himself.

However, it turned out the inevitable was in fact evitable, and instead of attacking him she just went slack. The anger had gone, for the most part, and all that was left was tiredness and a very deep sadness. Draco figured this was safer for him, and again he started to prod.

"You look like it was one of your friends that killed your parents, Granger." He smirked a bit at his little joke, but Hermione didn't seem to find it very funny.

"It was," she said, sounding exhausted.

"Ah. Well then. Which one? It was Weasley, wasn't it?" he asked, growing more and more curious.

"Potter, actually."

"Potter, is it? What happened to," he adopted a ridiculously high pitched tone, "Harry!"

"Not what has happened to him, what will happen to him."

A/N: Um...Hi guys?