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HP Chapter 57: Blinded by the Situation
🕑 Added 2025-08-27 14:00:10 +0000 UTCWhen the Christmas holidays ended, Anne left Paris reluctantly and returned to Hogwarts. The very first thing she did upon arriving was dive headfirst into her mountain of overdue homework.
The Flobberworms had died from overeating lettuce, which made Care of Magical Creatures a lot more interesting in the new term. For their first class, Hagrid lit a huge bonfire and introduced Fire Crabs. Students gathered dry twigs to keep the fire going while flame-colored lizards leapt about inside. In the dead of winter, this was a welcome activity. Malfoy had Crabbe and Goyle fetch a whole heap of firewood and flung it into the fire proudly, as if he’d gathered it all himself.
Divination, on the other hand, remained as dull as ever. Professor Trelawney had begun teaching palmistry, and on the very first day, she told Harry that his life line was the shortest she’d ever seen. Anne was pretty sure she saw Hermione roll her eyes.
Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the favorite class of the entire year. Professor Lupin’s lessons were always engaging and lively, though his sickly appearance worried many students, who wondered if he’d be able to keep teaching much longer.
After one of Lupin’s lessons, Anne and Fanny were walking through the corridor toward the Great Hall when they came across Hermione, Harry, and Ron locked in a standoff.
Ron and Harry stood side by side, while Hermione stood stiffly near a suit of armor. Ron looked irritated, and Hermione had that superior air she used to have when they first met her on the train.
“If you don’t want to tell us, then don’t!” Ron snapped.
Alarmed by his tone, Fanny rushed over. “What happened? Why are you arguing? And why haven’t you been walking together these past few days? Did something happen over the holidays?”
“Hmph,” Ron grunted. “Harry and I were just talking about why Professor Lupin always looks ill, and guess what she said? ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ Like she knows something we don’t, but then she refuses to say what!”
Hermione looked past Ron and locked eyes with Anne, ignoring his complaints entirely. “Anne, you’ve noticed too, haven’t you?”
Anne narrowed her eyes. Had Hermione figured it out already? That Lupin was a werewolf? She couldn’t be sure. So, instead of answering directly, she tested the waters. “Noticed what? Something… to do with the moon?”
Hermione gave a small smile and nodded. She glanced at the others, then slung her bag over her shoulder and walked off.
Harry and Fanny gave Anne confused looks, they clearly hadn’t caught the meaning of what had just passed between the two girls.
“You see the way she acts?” Ron complained. “Her cat nearly ate Scabbers, and just a few days ago, she told Professor McGonagall about Harry’s Firebolt!”
“What did happen exactly?” Fanny asked, trying to mediate.
So Ron launched into the whole story. After hearing him out, Fanny said, “Honestly, I think Hermione might’ve been right. That broom really did sound suspicious.”
Ron puffed up, annoyed and unwilling to respond, while Harry stood there looking awkward. He hadn’t said a word the entire time, and Fanny seemed to be echoing Ron’s every thought perfectly.
Anne, who had been standing to the side with her arms crossed, finally chimed in. “Just for the record, I think Professor McGonagall really wants Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup this year. So I’m pretty sure she’ll make sure that broom is perfectly safe before the next match.”
With that, she turned to go, dinner was long past. But just before she walked away, she added over her shoulder, “Also, Crookshanks was just doing what all cats do.”
Ron muttered under his breath, “You’re all on the same side...” while Harry quietly tugged on his sleeve.
Before the match, Harry finally got his Firebolt back. But another incident occurred, Scabbers went missing. Ron had found bloodstains and a few ginger cat hairs on his bedsheets and was convinced Crookshanks had eaten him. Hermione insisted he had no proof. Their friendship seemed to fall apart right then and there. Ron was devastated over the loss of his pet.
After one practice, Harry brought the Firebolt to the Great Hall, causing an immediate stir. Students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crowded around to get a look.
“Anne, look at Malfoy!” Fanny nudged her. Anne glanced over and saw Malfoy staring at Harry’s broom, eyes wide with disbelief.
Fanny snickered gleefully. “Haven’t seen that look on Malfoy’s face since first year.”
Anne casually forked a piece of perfectly roasted lamb. “That expression isn’t a good sign. Feels like Malfoy’s cooking up some new scheme.” She bit into the lamb. It was tender and delicious.
“Speaking of trouble,” Fanny said, sitting up straight, ignoring her food, “Hermione and Ron haven’t spoken for days because of Scabbers. Harry’s not talking to Hermione either.”
Anne swallowed her bite and frowned. “Harry too? How do you know?”
“I’ve been watching Ron. He’s been glued to Harry lately. And think about it, they don’t sit together in class anymore. They eat at different times. I’ve only seen Hermione in the library, and on weekends she’s there the whole day. You haven’t been going lately since the fireplace was under repair and it’s too cold, but if you had, you’d see, her homework is spread across an entire table, no space left at all.” Fanny paused. “I don’t know how she keeps up with so much work.”
Anne picked up another piece of meat and asked before taking a bite, “The Gryffindor–Ravenclaw match is this weekend, right?”
Fanny nodded, looking worried. “I think Ron and Harry aren’t handling this well. Hermione’s their friend. A friend’s more important than a pet… but I don’t know how to tell them that. Especially Ron, he used to complain about that rat all the time!”
“There’s a saying: ‘The person in the middle of it is often blind to the truth, while outsiders see it clearly.’ Friendships need to be tested sometimes.”
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The next day, before Arithmancy class began, Anne strolled into the empty classroom and walked to the front row, where someone was already sitting. It was Hermione. Her left hand flipped through a book while her right scribbled rapidly across a piece of parchment. She kept her head down, her presence oddly at odds with the otherwise quiet, empty classroom, or so Anne thought.
Anne sat down next to her. Hermione didn’t even look up.
“Lovely weather today…” Anne said, deploying a universal opening line.
Hermione blinked as if startled out of a dream. She turned and saw who it was, and her eyes widened. She began frantically packing up her things. “Is it that late already?”
Anne quickly stopped her. Hermione looked confused.
Anne showed her the time on her watch. “It’s still early, Hermione. Look around, no one else is even here yet.”
Hermione turned her head stiffly and, sure enough, the classroom was still empty.
She exhaled in relief and turned back to Anne. “But Anne, what are you doing here?”
Anne didn’t answer directly. She noticed how tired Hermione looked, about as exhausted as Professor Lupin. And it was still early morning. She grabbed Hermione by the shoulders, her expression serious.
“Hermione, be honest. How many hours have you been sleeping lately?”
Hermione answered instinctively, “About four or five?”
“Four or five?! Hermione, that’s…” Anne trailed off as she glanced at the parchment and books on Hermione’s desk. “I heard you’re taking all the electives, but you still shouldn’t push yourself like this. Is this all for class? What is it?”
She saw a familiar term written on the parchment, Hippogriff. Then she glanced at the book next to it: Notable Legal Cases Involving the Protection of Magical Creatures in Britain.
Anne’s feelings were complicated. Hermione already had more coursework than most, yet here she was, squeezing out time to help Hagrid.
Hermione rubbed her eyes. “Buckbeak’s hearing is coming up. I’m trying to help him by preparing a defense.”
“You…” Anne almost said it was useless, that Buckbeak would be sentenced no matter what. But seeing the thick stack of parchment covered in notes, the words caught in her throat and twisted themselves. “Are you going to the library after class?”
Hermione nodded. “Yeah. I still have some books I haven’t finished.”
“I’ll help you with this.”
Hermione blinked. “What?”
Anne pointed at the pile on the desk, her tone serious. “I’ll help you with the defense for Hagrid. You take the time you save and rest.”
“But…” Hermione hesitated. This wasn’t Anne’s responsibility at all.
Anne flipped through the parchment, it was filled with detailed accounts of magical creature incidents, all neatly categorized. Hermione had done all this on her own?
“This is something Harry and Ron should be helping with too, right? Why are you the only one doing it?”
Hermione opened her mouth to explain but faltered, unable to find a good excuse.
“Forget it.” Anne sighed. Pressing the matter wouldn't help. “When do you usually visit Hagrid? Let me know next time you go.”
Students were beginning to trickle into the classroom. Anne glanced around and said decisively, “It’s settled. Pack your things, we’ll talk more on the way to the library.”
Halfway through packing, Hermione noticed Anne had pulled out her own book. She blinked. “Anne? This is the front row.”
“I know. Why?”
“I just… You never sit in the front.” Then the morning’s conversation flashed through Hermione’s mind, and she suddenly smiled. “Never mind, Anne. Of course you can sit in the front.”
