Innocent

c h a p t e r e l e v e n

IN THE DARK, HERMIONE SCOWLED. Thinking about the project with Draco made her want to puke. How could she be so humiliating? She rolled over again in her bed. The mattress felt stiff, and her legs were burned up under her comforter. 

It was still early morning. She sat up quietly. Her bed moaned along with her head. She had three days until her next transformation. Unlike normal, she didn't have much of a plan. Her brain felt over cluttered and occupied. Another sharp pain sliced through her head. The symptoms were coming back again. Hermione quietly tiptoed to the window. The Forbidden Forest was a dark shadow in her peripheral vision. It haunted her mind like a cursed totem. 

In her restless state, she snuck out of the common room. She needed space to think. Hermione was still wearing jeans and a button-down from the day earlier. If she got caught lurking in the hallways, at least she looked presentable. Hermione took a sharp turn, and her hands fumbled on the walls. She wasn't risking casting a lighting spell in the pitch black. Her foot brush into a corner and a curse flew out of her mouth. She froze. Her breathing felt loud in the quiet hallway. She held the position for a minute. Her eyes were still struggling to adjust to the dark. Along with that, the werewolf transformation countdown had coated her eyes with a hazy glaze. The walls looked pixelated and blurry. If she had Harry's cloak, this would be a breeze. Hermione took a  gamble and began walking towards the library again. In her foolishness, she had forgotten about silencing spells. She murmured one as she creaked the library door open. It opened silently. The stress was already causing her to lose her logical thinking. 

Even in the utter darkness, Hermione could still make out the library. She had been through this area so many times before, her feet were already walking towards her normal sitting section. Faint light streamed through the windows and cast eerie shadows across the library. The bookshelf's shadows seemed to swallow everything until she had walked through them again. Hermione slid her hand across a row of books, her fingers tracing over the spines. She slid a random book off the shelf before slowly walking towards an empty desk. In the fading light, she began reading. Even though the topic was unknown and useless, her mind relaxed in the presence of words. She focused so hard on reading the terms, the worries of her next transformation moved to the back of her mind. The book was on the secret passages of wizards in muggle areas. 

It was an older book and contained hand-drawn maps of hidden areas of wizarding ownership. She was surprised no muggle had stumbled across them. Magic wasn't hidden, only concealed to the best of the wizarding world's ability. She swallowed. What if she were to bite an innocent muggle?  As she'd read before, in rare circumstances, humans could survive attacks from a werewolf. She would have ruined an innocent human's life. She would almost certainly be punished, have her powers revoked, maybe even be put to death. Hermione closed the book and tried to destruct her negative thoughts. 

A crisp rumple of robes slid through the air. She froze. Her eyes swept across the library. From her view, she could make out a few bookshelves, and the rich shadows basking the areas around her. She had managed to read through faint light from the window panes. If someone was in here, the first thing they would see was her. She was practically standing in the spotlight. Another shuffling noise followed. Hermione ducked behind a table. She should have known this was a bad idea. 

A dark figure moved against the bookcases. They were wearing student robes and had a female body shape. Hermione didn't recognize their face. The girl looked around worriedly, before pulling something out of her cloak. Hermione was still frozen in place. She felt like she was watching a robbery. There was a flicking noise, and a bright light shone from the tip of the girl's wand. Hermione cursed. Any second, a professor would be storming in here and catching them both. The girl was practically screaming for detention. Hermione cast a silencing spell and quickly walked towards the door. The girl reached up for a book and looked at it. Then she grabbed another. Hermione slipped out the door and glided through the hall. A faint "thump" came out of the library. Without a second look, Hermione ran back to her common room.