Confrontation

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"Hello Hermione How is your day going"

"..."

"Ok let's skip the greetings then, How has it been following me around, Was it fun?"

"How long have you known?"

"Just now actually I had a suspicion someone was following me but I wasn't sure who yet, Though your behavior was a dead giveaway, If I may say so"

"..."

"So is there a particular reason why you have been following me for the last couple of days, Ms. Granger"

"That's not true," Hermione said trying to avoid the accusatory tone

"The fact that we are standing in this dead-end hallway proves quite the opposite"

"..., I meant that i... Why where you... No what did you say to Harry and Ron"

"Well this is clearly not going anywhere, I can see you have many questions, And I won't lie, I also have a few, So how about this Ms. Granger, I read this very fun book and in it, There was two... Let's call them adversaries wanted to have a similar conversation So they played a little game, They each took turns asking questions and agreed not to lie in their answers, You can of course also opt-out of answering a question, But in doing so you give your opponent the same opportunity to not answer or they can choose an extra question in return, The game ends when one party have had enough and there is no debt of questions, Sound fun right ?"

Hermione looked at Liam with suspicion before saying

"Why are you so weird !!"

"I take it that is your first question then, Well you see..."

"NO, That was not my question, Damn it,... Fine, What did you tell Harry and Ron this morning"

"Oh I was just telling them how I spent most of Halloween stranded on a flying staircase, Afraid the troll might hurt me, And Ron and I discussed the conditions of a dare between the two of us, Yes I still have to think about a creative idea for that, I think I can pull it off, Don't you, But I digress, What else did we talk about, Oh they did bring you up near the end of that conversation though, Something about you thinking I am pure evil among other things"

Hermione looked angry for most of that answer and then surprised by the end, And when Liam didn't carry on, She huffed ignoring the urge to ask what they said about her and said

"You said no lies!!, I know what really happened on Halloween, If you aren't going to stick to the rules of your own game then what is the point ??"

"I assure you, Ms. Granger, The content of my conversation is as I just said, Might I remind you that you didn't ask what happened on Halloween, You asked what we talked about, Now it's my turn, When exactly did you start following me "

Hermione stayed quiet for a second considering Liam's justification and if she should continue this game, But she had too many unanswered questions

"On Halloween night"

She answered honestly but with as few words as possible

"I suspected as much, Well then It's your turn, Go ahead "

"Why were you looking for me on Halloween night "

"That is a simple one, I noticed you were missing when the troll announcement, So out of concern for a fellow student I felt compelled to make sure you were at least warned about such dangers, Finding no teachers nearby as they had all gone to deal with the troll, Which assured me that it would be Preoccupied at the very least, And seeing that Percy was busy delivering the students to their rooms, I felt that I was qualified enough to look for you and deliver said warning, What followed was quite the adventure "

Liam continued with his strategy to spout as much unrelated true things as he could while answering the question in the broadest sense of the word, Not lying in the process but not steering away from information he didn't want to give, He had already confirmed that she only started spying on him after Halloween.

'So she shouldn't know about the room of requirements, Well that is a relief, And also I confirmed my theorized timeline and version of events, Now I just need to know exactly what she saw, Let's see if I can ask this question indirectly'

Hermione just exhaled in frustration at Liam's answer which he provided nonchalantly, But she couldn't say anything in reproach, He had answered why he was looking for her but she felt just as lost as before, It didn't make sense.

'You see a missing student and instead of telling someone, You go off on your own under the danger of troll nonetheless to let them know, But his arguments were logical enough even if the overall story is farfetched, To say the least, It's like he prepared his answer beforehand'

"Now it is my turn once again, Quite the fun game don't you agree"

"No" she answered in a cold tone

"Haha well anyways, My question is where was the troll when you first saw it?"

"You are insinuating that I did see the troll ??"

"You merely have to say the truth, Hermione, If you didn't see it then you can just say so, But if you did see it, Then you only have to tell me its condition"

"Outside the second-floor Bathroom," she said

"Then less than a minute later I saw it inside unconscious With you standing near it with a large club floating over its head" She added almost challenging him to deny it

But he showed no reaction and said nothing.

Liam had just confirmed, At least according to her that she didn't see the fight, Not all of it at the very least, It seemed like she saw him enter after it and then saw the aftermath of the fight.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So you won't deny it"

"Is that your question, Ms. Granger"

Hermione stared at him in nonbelief after the display of his uncaring attitude

"Fine, Where do you disappear to every day after classes"

Hermione decided to change tracks and try to interrupt his rhythm by throwing in a non sequitur.

"Yes, That is what drew your suspicion in the first place correct ?, Well I hate to disappoint you but I simply do what my studies require, I go somewhere quiet, As I told you before, I do my best studying alone, And the place even changes according to what I am studying, I study all sorts of things, From spells to charms it's mostly things I think will be useful for me in the future, For example, Have you heard of the Engorgio charm, It can be quite effective when tried on vegetables though I still haven't been able to cast it without exploding the vegetables just yet, But I am making great progress, Oh but it is best not to try with animals it can be... unpleasant "

Hermione just throw back at him her next sentence

"What are you even talking about right now, If you go all around like you say you do, How come no one ever sees you anywhere "

Liam just smiled and said

"I assure you, Ms. Granger, My statement contained no falsehoods, And I Can't comment on what other people seem to notice or not notice to be more accurate "

Liam was about to ask his next question when he realized what he was doing, He was taking too long with his question, He was trying to annoy Hermione with his answers, It was like they were actually playing a game, And he caught himself having fun, He shouldn't be, He was dreading a situation just like this, He thought his best path was to stay in the shadows, He knew how heavy the stakes were, But he was having fun, It brought back memories of him teasing his brother back in his first life, When he would tell him stories or read to him, When he would stop in the middle of the story to raise his brother's anticipation, When he would tell him to guess what happened, And that he would tell him if the guess was right or wrong.

He didn't realize how much he missed those little things, When he decided to give his second life a try, He kind of skipped the childhood part of that life, He thought he was too old for it mentally, And he was but he also wasn't at the same time, He was still a kid, Inside and Out, And when this whole Harry Potter world surprise fell in his lap, He took on even more reasonability and let things like living a nice second life fall on the wayside, He then found himself chanting in his head

'My name is Daniel Chase'

'My name is Daniel Chase'

'My name is Daniel Chase'

'My name is Daniel Chase'

'My name is Daniel Chase'

"So are you going to ask or not ?"

Hermione's question broke him out of his stupor

"I apologize, I lost my focus for a second, Where were we, Oh yes my question, Well here it goes, What made you so convinced that I was up to no good, Surely not just because I wasn't around all that much"

Hermione thought for a second, Not sure whether to say what she noticed or not

"Back in... Mrs. Hooch's class, You started that fire didn't You? , Were you trying to hurt Neville"

"Hmmm, so that was what led you down this road, interesting, I take it that is your next question then"

Hermione annoyed with him going back and forth without giving any clear answers decided to be direct and said

"YES, That is my question"

"Well all I can say is that I absolutely never had, Nor have Nor do I think I will ever have the intention cause Neville any harm, On the contrary, As I have gotten to know him, I have done my best to help him out "

Liam spoke that last bet with absolute conviction and a confident look on his face

Hermione said now mentally tired of all the fox chasing

"And how do I even know that you haven't been lying the entire time and you didn't say anything about the fire"

"I can only give you my word, The rest is up for you to decide Hermione, And I answered the last question you asked, Before I ask this question how many more questions do you think you have?"

Hermione answered quickly, Like she was waiting for such an opportunity

"Is that your question?"

"HAHA no, It isn't, Nevermind that, What is being hidden in the forbidden corridor on the third floor"

"What how do you..., Did Harry and Ron... I don't want to answer that question"

"Sure thing, I think I will then take an extra question"

Hermione was shaken by Liam's last question and now she was even more so on the back foot

'How could he possibly know about that, Did Harry, Ron, Or Neville tell him, But we agreed we were going to keep it a secret, I should stop playing this game, I haven't figured out any new information not really, If anything it was Liam who was getting everything he wants, And Now my reaction already told him that I went to the forbidden corridor, And he got an extra question out of it, He wouldn't use that information against me right?

'Damn it I am such an idiot, Now if I tell any teacher about the troll he could tell them about me trespassing, He doesn't have any evidence, But I don't either, And his supposed crime was fighting a troll for the sake of a fellow student, Very reckless but not really ground for that big a punishment, While I might end up being expelled if they believe him '

"Well ask your stupid question then, What are you waiting for ?"

"Alright you don't have to be so rude, My question is Ms. Granger, Would you like to be my friend"

"WHAT ????"