Helpless

Chapter 2 - Disappearance

Harry stood there, stunned. Behind him, he heard Ron leap out of bed. Suddenly he felt wide awake.

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" Ron barked, pulling a jumper over his head.

"Just what I said." Lavender turned and walked towards the girls dormitory. Harry and Ron followed her into the room, where Parvati Patil was sorting through the scattered contents of Hermione's trunk. "We came back from Divination, we were talking about how well the exam went. Parvati was telling me all about what she saw, and how Professor Trelawney told her how talented she-"

"Lavender!" Harry said impatiently. Lavender started.

"... and we opened the door, and everything was scattered, and she... I don't know where she is. She usually comes back here after Arithmancy, going on about how fantastic Vector is... but we looked in the common room, she's not there. She wasn't even in Arithmancy, we asked Padma, she's in that class."

Ron and Harry exchanged a horrified look. Never once had they known Hermione to miss her favourite class.

"Is the place just ransacked?" Ron said shakily. "I mean, could she have been, was she..."

Parvati shook her head.

"Her robes are here, but most of her Muggle clothes are gone and a few other things. She... she didn't take any of her books."

This fact hung between the four of them as they worried in silence.

"I think..." Ron began, swallowing heavily. "We need to talk to McGonagall."

Harry nodded and they dully thanked their friend's roommates. As they walked out the door, Ron spoke again. It sounded like he had something unpleasant caught in his throat.

"I mean, if she's been..." Ron didn't seem able to finish this thought. "If she left, McGonagall'd know."

Harry awkwardly patted his friend's arm. "She'll know where Hermione is." I hope. "I'm sure."

* * *

As it turned out, McGonagall did little to calm their minds.

"Yes, of course I know Miss Granger has left," she said stiffly, marking a Hufflepuff fourth-year's essay on the moral issues involved in animal transfiguration. Harry felt his shoulders relax, while Ron sighed audibly from beside him.

"She didn't take any of her books and we're worried. Is she alright?" Harry said, a little too urgently. McGonagall's lips thinned, as though she found this a very odd and presumptuous question.

"I would hope that you are a little more worried about your own studies than that of Miss Granger."

"Professor, it's not like her!"

"Please, Potter, refrain from raising your voice at me." She stood, apparently greatly annoyed, but it was with a softened expression that she spoke again.

"Weasley, Potter, your friend is not hurt. She has had to leave for an undetermined period of time, the reasons for which are not mine to discuss. Now, if you please, I'm extremely busy." She waved her hand dismissively at the two of them and sat again, returning to the essay.

Feeling slightly less concerned, the two boys left the room and continued down the hall, back to the common room.

"You'd think she would have left a note or something, though," Ron said, a note of annoyance in his voice.

"Well, if she left in a hurry, maybe..."

"How long does it take? 'Ron, Harry, I'm fine, I'll be back in a week, don't worry.' Knowing how quickly she writes, that's three seconds. Three seconds she couldn't take for us."

"If there was something really wrong..."

"But there wasn't!" Ron exclaimed. "McGonagall just told us she's fine."

"No, she didn't," Harry said grimly. "All she said was that she's not hurt."

* * *

Ron and Harry had told the girls what McGonagall had said, and the four of them went down to the Great Hall for the end of lunch. As they half-heartedly spooned beef stew onto their plates, they fielded questions from much of the rest of the Gryffindors about the location of their prefect. Most of the answers they could offer consisted of "I don't know," which none of the rest of the house seemed to accept, until Ron regrettably snapped at Seamus Finnigan, silencing the table. A few of the heads at nearby tables turned, but no one asked any more questions - a fact for which Harry was extremely grateful.

Seamus sat down in a bit of a huff next to Dean Thomas, but seemed to understand and accept Ron's apology when it was offered. Eventually, a general buzz of conversation began and the topic stayed away from Hermione from the rest of the meal.

Harry soon found himself hustled down towards Hagrid's hut with the rest of the Care Of Magical Creatures class, but barely felt his body moving. He realized after they arrived that he no longer wanted to think about it, that it was too confusing to try and figure it out - he'd have to take McGonagall's word that Hermione was safe and healthy, and wait until she came back.

Ron appeared to have come to the same decision. Before the class began, they showed Hagrid the cards that Dudley had sent, who came dangerously close to crying at the sight of the Three of Cups, which held a striking resemblance to Norbert, the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon Hagrid had been forced to give up in their first year. He pulled himself together just in time for the arrival of the Slytherins, which was lucky, as they'd never been understanding of Hagrid's emotional attachment to his creatures.

Sighing, Ron and Harry listened eagerly to Hagrid's excited explanation of the creation of his Blast-Ended Skrewts (for the past few weeks, they had been learning about cross-breeding and compatible species), ignoring the rude whispers of the Slytherins. He didn't even want to know what they were talking about. He found that he didn't remotely care.

When class ended, he and Ron lingered to have a cup of tea with Hagrid before supper and go through the cards. None of them mentioned the missing member of their group, and Harry had the distinct impression that Hagrid was steering the conversation away from any reference to her.

Before they left for supper, though, Ron turned around and said in a rather small voice, "She's alright, though, isn't she Hagrid?"

Hagrid paused. Harry held his breath.

"Can't really say, Ron. It's 'er business."

Ron scowled and stormed out of the cabin. Harry looked back at Hagrid apologetically and followed his friend to dinner.

* * *

The rest of the week passed in much the same manner. Harry and Ron stopped asking teachers about Hermione after the first day, having exhausted the only two teachers they inherently trusted. On the third day, Hedwig arrived with another letter from Dudley. She looked exhausted, and Harry knew she'd made the journey within only a few hours. Hooting sleepily, she had a bacon rind from Harry's plate, dipped her beak in his orange juice and fluttered off to the Owlery. Harry raised an eyebrow - he hadn't yet responded to Dudley's last letter and rarely did two bits of mail from him come so close together. He opened the letter and Ron, curious, read over his shoulder.

Harry,

When I went to the dentist to finish my root canal, there was this girl there, working at the reception desk. She seemed to recognize my name and then mentioned yours, I don't think she liked me much. I wasn't sure if I should tell you or not, but then your owl (what's it's name, by the way? I only know it as "that ruddy owl") showed up. Smart bird.

Ron looked up at Harry, his eyebrows raised. They looked back down.

Is she from your school? Do you get your Christmas break this early? I'm jealous, if you do. I hope you liked the cards!

Harry opened his mouth and then, finding no words, closed it again. Ron sputtered a few random syllables before forming words.

"What's she doing working at some dentist's office?" Ron said, then his eyes widened in understanding. "No, she didn't. She... she went HOME?"