Suspicion

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Three days have passed and Liam's suspicions only grew with time, Whenever he would look at Hermione during classes or meals she would look away right away as if to deny she was looking at him first, The problem was he didn't know what to do, He didn't know if he should confront Hermione and if he did he didn't know what to say.

He had planned some cover stories to make sure at least that his reincarnation isn't exposed but this was too early and he acted out of impulse, Plus he had no idea what she actually saw and heard, And he didn't want to let something slip in an effort to cover-up his current mess and create an even bigger mess.

On the other hand, Hermione wasn't pressing the issue on the contrary she was avoiding him entirely, And it seemed like her relationship with the trio is still strained and didn't show any signs of improving at the current rate.

'I can't just do nothing, At this rate, The trio might not form, And even worse if Hermione suspects me of having an ulterior motive then even they form in the future I won't be able to nudge them in the right direction '

'Should I go with the canon reason of Harry and Ron, That I didn't see her at the feast so I went to warn her about the troll, She might buy that, No we aren't really that good of friends, By my design no less, Not to mention the fact that looking for her and fighting a troll are two very different things, Any normal student would run away if it was just one on one with a troll, At least Harry and Ron knew that she was in the bathroom, But I have no evidence that I knew that How would I explain that I was there specifically of all of Hogwarts '

Liam feeling at a loss decided to at least try and find out the reason there was a fight this time around, So he went to talk with Ron and Harry who were sitting alone in the common room at the moment.

"Hey guys how is it going "

"Liam where were you on Halloween mate ?"

Ron replied with a question right away then followed up with another question

"As a matter of fact where were you for the last three days, We barely see you outside of class"

Ron asked, The question arose from his curiosity that Hermione had picked when she pointed out Liam's behavior

"Well you see I was so scared of the troll that I was kind of out of it, So I missed the staircase when everyone got on, I then snapped out of it and caught the next one, But when it stopped at the next floor I realized that I would be walking the halls alone with a troll on the loose, So I decided to stay on the staircase until the troll was dealt with, I thought I would be safe up there you know, Mid air where the troll can't catch me"

Liam lied with a straight face while ignoring Ron's second question.

"Blimey, That sounds scary mate, Percy was freaking out when he realized you and Hermione were missing, He thought he was going to lose his prefect badge"

"Ho... How thoughtful of him"

Liam replied amazed by the degree of Percy's self-involvement that the first thing he worried about was the repercussions on him and not if they were safe.

"I am just glad you are safe Liam" Harry added

"But what did you say about Hermione, Was she also outside?"

"Yes," Harry replied without giving any more information.

"Oh my she didn't see the troll did she, Is that why she is acting weird these days"

Liam said trying to sound vague while pointing them to what he needed to know

"That isn't why she is acting weird mate, That is because she is crazy, You know she thought you were some kind of evil mastermi..."

"Ron!!" Harry interrupted him while giving him a stern look

Liam wanted to curse at Harry for stopping the big-mouthed Ron while at the same time he started to worry she had told them something, But when, He hadn't seen them talk to each other since the troll attack, Plus they were supposed to have fought and it didn't seem like they had made up.

Liam looked between the two boys and said

"What are you guys talking about, What does Hemione think I am, And why are you trying to hide it Does it have something to do with the troll"

'Shit I shouldn't have asked that last question, I tipped my hand too much, Why would it have anything to do with the troll, Let's just hope they don't notice '

"Let's just tell him, Harry, He has a right to know, It is about him after all "

"Tell me what?" Liam was getting impatient

"Fine, Hermione found it strange that you disappeared all of the time and she maybe, Somewhat, slightly, Thought that you were up to something bad, You aren't right Liam?" Harry said

Liam was astonished that someone was actually paying that much attention to his movements and was already suspicious of him so early in the school year, But he pulled himself out of his shock to quickly defend himself and also try to get more answers.

"Of course not, I am not up to something bad, Why would she think that"

"No clue mate, I told you she is crazy, She just started saying all these crazy things on Halloween and we fought about it, We haven't been hanging out since, I knew she thought she knew more than everybody but I didn't think she was going to take it that far" Ron answered

"That is enough Ron"

Harry spoke up again feeling guilty about not defending Hermione but he was still angry at the same time, The fight they had came and went so fast he was whiplashed by the time it was over, And he hadn't talked to her since she stormed off that day, And he didn't know how to react, It was his first time having actual friends and he didn't want to start losing them this quickly, But he didn't know how to disagree with her without starting another fight and he didn't want to let her talk about Liam that way also, He was his first friend after coming to Hogwarts and even if they didn't meet up much he still considered him a friend.

"Fine Harry, Anyway Liam did you see the troll ?"

"Huh... Oh no I just stayed on the staircase until I got to the seventh floor then I made a run for the portrait"

Liam answered absent-mindedly while processing the information and trying to decide how to move the conversation forward when Ron said something else that he missed.

"LIAM !"

"What... sorry I wasn't listening"

"I said you still owe me a dare "

"What do you have in mind Ron?"

"Well I dare you to play a prank on Malfoy, But it has to be public and you have to embarrass him"

"Ron, Liam can get in trouble because of that" Harry said

"Hey that rotten egg has it coming, Plus Liam owes me a dare, Right Liam?"

"Yes I do Ron, Just give me some time to think about it ok"

Liam said with an idea blooming in his mind then he got up to leave but voted to say something first to try and fix the situation with the trio since it was his fault technically.

"I'll see you guys later ok, And do me a favor and don't be too harsh on Hermione, Ok, She was probably just curious where I go and the whole thing turned into a misunderstanding, Just don't be angry on my account, And I am sure she doesn't appreciate being called crazy either Ron, So maybe everybody didn't exactly put there best foot forward "

"HOW am I the bad guy here, She thought you were the next dark lord or something"

"I didn't say you were the bad guy Ron, I am just saying she isn't one either, She will probably apologize if you guys said sorry first, Again I think the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding, I'll try to clear it up with her when I get a chance, But you shouldn't stop being friends because of me ok, I would feel bad if that happened, Anyway I've got to go, I'll see you in class"

Then Liam bolted out of the common room leaving Harry looking relieved that he didn't have to choose between his friends and Ron who had a contemplating face for a second before saying

"Wait he didn't say where he disappears most of the time, In the end, Did he ?"

"Not you too, What does it matter, Let's just go find Hermione and say we are sorry and try to make up with her"

"What but we didn't do anything wrong, And she.. she"

"You kept calling her names Ron, And you heard What Liam said, He is fine with it why shouldn't you be"

"Offfffffff, You two are a couple of idiots you know, I'll go with you but I am not saying sorry you hear "

By then Liam was on his way to the room of requirements to clear his head and try and get some work done, He had reached the Troll tapestry, And before going back and forth he looked at it and started comparing the trolls in it and the one he saw three days ago, And then he felt a shiver in his spine, At the time he had acted with impulse and adrenaline as his driving force, But thinking back on the act itself he couldn't believe what he ended up doing, In the movie, It was kind of played for laughs and the fight was also comical and the stakes seemed low, But in reality, It was anything but comical, He kept playing back the whole thing in his head thinking of all the things that could have gone wrong, And how he could have ended up a splash on the bathroom wall.

'And for what Hermione wasn't even there in the end, Wait... but she was there wasn't she, Just not in the bathroom, Not crying about an insult, Why was she there..., ME, That is the only answer, She was suspicious of ME, But how did she know I was going to be there, Even I didn't know I was going to be there, She must have been following me, She must have been somewhere out of the hall waiting for me to come out so she can follow me, That was why she wasn't in the hall, Yes after the fight with Ron and Harry she must have wanted to get to the bottom of it more than ever so she started following me, Or was she following me before, Oh shit, She didn't see me enter the room of requirements did she?, Huuffffff calm down Liam, She was still running around with the boys then, She didn't have the time to also follow me around '

'But she has the time now doesn't she, Crap is she following me right now'

Liam kept walking towards the other side of the hallway opposite where he came from and then took a turn and waited at the corner, And sure enough, He started hearing the sound of approaching steps, And then he felt nervous all of the sudden, Should he confront her, Is it even her, And if so what should he say, How much does she know.

'If try to lie about something she knows she won't believe anything I say, Damn it how did it come to this, I am barely at the starting line and I already tripped and made a mess, Why am I now enemies With one of the members of the trio, All this because I didn't want them to fight a fucking troll, No it's not that bad yet, I can fix this, I know I can fix this, Shit, No use crying over spilled milk, lets deal with the hand I was given.

And with that Liam jumped out of where he was standing back in the hallway he just left and there he found a shocked Hermione who was walking on her tiptoes in a very statuesque pose after being caught red-handed and Liam said

"Hermione, I think we need to talk"