94 Chapter 94: Bleeding Leg!
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"Have you calmed down," Charles asked, passing her the box of tissues.
The smaller witch nodded with a sniffle, trying to get her breathing under control.
"Alright, so why don't you tell me everything," he asked.
Her eyes were red, and her throat was tired from crying, but she pushed it aside as she confessed to everything that the Trio had been up to since the beginning of the year.
She hesitated momentarily when the topic about the Philosopher's Stone came up, but determined not to make the same mistake again, she told him about what they had found.
Throughout the entire conversation Charles remained completely silent which she was thankful for.
Once everything was said, she expected Charles to start yelling at her, but his only response was to give a tired sigh and shake his head, "Those two are a real bad influence on you, Hermione."
"I know." She looked down in shame but couldn't help but feel a little happy that he started calling her by her first name again.
"I guess this is why you were looking for information on Nicholas Flamel."
She nodded.
"And you think Professor Snape is after the stone?"
"Yes," she said with a sore throat.
"Here," Charles said, reaching into his robes and pulling out a bottle of water.
She took it gratefully, too exhausted to wonder where he had got it from.
"Unfortunately, there's several holes in your theory?"
"Spit! Cough! What?" she said looking at him wide eyed.
Holding up a finger Charles explained, "First of all, who could he let the troll in like you say if he was at the Halloween Feast the whole time."
"He could have let it in beforehand," she tried to justify herself.
"Unlikely, given the fact that someone would have seen it wandering around the castle much earlier, a painting or a ghost at the very least."
"What about his bleeding leg?"
"He could have just gone to check that the stone was safe."
"I suppose, but I definitely saw him cursing Harry's broom during the Quidditch match!" she said vehemently.
Charles raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that? I can't even recognize them from sight alone yet."
Suddenly she wasn't feeling so sure at the moment. Could she have seen something wrong? "But the jinx stopped when I set his robes on fire."
"Right, we're just going to ignore the whole setting of a teacher on fire. But even if he was behind it, that doesn't prove he wants the stone. It just means he hates Potter."
"Why would he though, he's a teacher?" she asked, confused.
Charles suddenly looked uncertain. Looking around the room to make sure no one was there he leaned in closer, "I think I know the reason, but you have to promise me that you won't say what I'm about to tell you to anyone else?"
Hermione was suddenly very curious as she nodded, "Okay."
So, Charles told her a shorter version of Snape's past and his hatred for Harry's father.
Hermione was obviously left slack jawed at the shocking reveal, "So, you're saying the reason why he seems to hate Harry is because Harry's father used to bully him at school."
"Well that and the fact that he married Harry's mother. I bet that must have been a hard pill to swallow, your long-time bully marrying your crush and childhood friend. I would bet that would make anybody bitter," Charles said in an off-handed manner.
"But that's so unprofessional."
"What can you do? Teachers are still human; they can make mistakes."
"Ugh. I suppose. At least it makes sense now," she said, then she turned to face him, "How did you even find this out?"
"You'd be surprised by what the portraits will let slip if you ask nicely," he said with a smirk, "Do you want to hear about the secret romance between Filch and Madam Pince?"
She made a face at that, "No thank you."
He shrugged his shoulders, "Your loss. But it seems we've gone off topic."
"Right. What about Harry overhearing Snape threatening Professor Quirrell?"
"Honestly at this point I'm more suspicious of Quirrell than I am of Professor Snape."
"What? Why?"
"Well other than the fact that his stuttering is obviously fake. He's a recent addition to the school and there's not much people know about him. There's also just something not right about him. I always get this odd feeling when I'm around him."
"So, what *yawn* do you think I should do?" she asked, exhaustion finally setting in.
"Right now, you need some much-needed sleep," Charles declared as he stood up.
"Sleep sounds good, but I can't. I just remembered that I should be looking for the dragon," she said, starting to stand up only to be pushed back down.
Charles then walked to a cupboard and opened it causing a brown something to leap at him.
She looked at him in shock, "You had him all this time?"
"Her actually, it's a girl dragon," Charles corrected as he walked back to her, cradling it in his arms.
"You should have told me," she said, trying to sound angry but was too tired.
"Think of this as payback for not telling me sooner," he said, back to his joking self, "found her trying to start a fire two doors down."
"That reminds me, how did you find out about the dragon?" she asked to relax a bit.
Suddenly his face went serious again, "I got word of Draco planning to report the three of you to the Headmaster."
"What?!" she shouted in alarm, glancing at the door expecting the magical police to burst open any second to arrest her.
"Don't worry, I managed to stop him from trying anything for at least a couple of days," he said, rubbing the dragon's stomach.
"How?"
"Despite what others might lead you to believe, having friends in Slytherin does have its benefits," he finished with a cocky smirk.
"Charles, thank you," she said with as much gratitude as she could manage.
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Dont forgot to comment and power stones.):
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