A Very Horrible Idea?

Harry and Ron sat on Harry's bed, watching the Marauders Map closely under the light of a wand.

Ron shook his head and whispered, "It was Malfoy. I know it. How could he do that to a poor little cat?"

Harry gave Ron a sharp look, "You didn't even like Crookshanks. Don't try to pretend you did just to get in Hermione's good books. She isn't stupid, you know. She'll see right through you. You don't have a chance." He looked down at the map, "Just accept the fact and move on."

Ron made a face, "You don't have a chance either!"

"I don't want a chance... and even if I did - which I don't - I would have more of a chance than you." He shook his head, "I've got someone else in mind. Anyway, it's got to be Malfoy. We'll get him for this..."

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Hermione and Ginny stood outside Hermione's room. The door opened and Dumbledore stepped out, "Can you tell us exactly what you saw, Miss Granger?"

"She already has, Professor." Ginny protested, "You must have seen it in there. It's pretty hard to miss."

Dumbledore looked at Ginny approvingly, "It's very good to know that Miss Granger has a friend like you to look after her, but there has been a problem."

Hermione sniffed and looked up, "Problem? Of course there's a problem! My cat -"

Dumbledore shook his head, saying gently, "You misunderstand. We can find nothing in your bed, Miss Granger. Not even a trace of your cat."

Hermione glanced at Ginny desperately, "You saw it, didn't you?" She looked up at Dumbledore, "It was there! It was horrible... Please, Professor -"

The door opened again; Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape appeared. The Headmaster carried on sympathetically, "I know this must be hard - our animals can be a very big part of our lives - but it would be very helpful if one of you could tell us exactly what you saw."

Ginny, realizing that her friend was very upset and shaking, took a deep breath and relayed the sight of Crookshanks, the word 'mudblood' smeared in red across the white sheets and - Ginny shuddered at the memory - the maggots to the three Professors. When she had finished, she said, "It must have been Draco Malfoy, Professor. Who else would have done that?"

The Headmaster nodded, "It seems very likely that Mr. Malfoy was involved." His eyes flickered to Snape quickly.

McGonagall put a hesitant hand on Hermione's shoulder, "There is nothing we can do this evening. I think it's best if you sleep with the other girls in your year tonight. You should try and get some rest after this horrible ordeal."

Hermione nodded, and Dumbledore said, "Yes, I agree that you should get some rest, however, I would like to talk to you; I think it's safe to say that what you saw was not real."

Hermione brushed some hair out of her face, "It looked so real... but if it wasn't then where is Crookshanks?"

Dumbledore gestured towards the stairs, "Let us go to my office and perhaps we can shed some light on the matter. And you should go to bed, Miss Weasley. It is very late."

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Severus stood in the shadows outside the Headmasters office, waiting for her to come out. He had actually been in her bedroom, and it had been like heaven and hell at the same time.

He had wondered and thought about every aspect of her life - as one did with ones obsessions - and that hadn't excluded her bedroom, he was sorry to say. Now he really did feel like a dirty old man.

She was very organized and tidy, but he had expected that. What he hadn't expected was the overpowering urge to touch things. He had a very strong suspicion that, had his reason for being there been different, he would have given in to those urges.

But the circumstances hadn't been different.

Severus knew, without any doubt what so ever, that Draco Malfoy had been involved and the only thing that was stopping him from murdering the boy that very second was his concern for Hermione. The state she had been in had given him... strange feelings. Very strange feelings. Feelings that were not nice at all.

He hadn't liked the idea of her wandering back to the Gryffindor Tower on her own after talking to Albus, especially not when Malfoy was out for revenge, so he waited. And while he waited, he formulated the best way to murder Malfoy, but then he had remembered that doing that would probably get him put in Azkaban.

Severus had just begun to think up forms of legal torture, when Hermione appeared from the Headmasters office. She looked very relieved as she crossed her arms, glanced up and down the corridor and then started to move in the direction of her common room.

Severus followed silently. She stopped at a window and looked out. She was about to start playing with her earring and then realized that there was no earring there. In the shadows, he held his breath. She curled her fingers into fists and let out a long sigh.

And then, to Severus' shock and intense displeasure, she turned and headed along the corridor. Away from the Gryffindor common room.

“!”!”!”!”!”!”!”!”!”

A/N: Oooooh! That was evil of me! Where is Crookshanks? What happened? You’ll have to wait and see!

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