People Watching.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

Exam week was a total hassle for (Y/n). She was sitting at four three-hour exams per every other day. At that point, she was eating, sleeping, and drinking any drink that would keep her body awake. She would skip meals in favour of studying (much to Cho's dismay) and would often be caught up helping Hermione in any spare moments she had. It was amazing she had managed to complete all of her exams.
After her exams, (Y/n) finally caught a moment of peace. A killer headache hit her like a truck and she slipped into an entirely abandoned corridor and slid down the wall, hoping to get through whatever it was without bringing attention to herself. She stretched her legs out and stared at her lap. She covered her ears in an attempt to block the loads and loads of voices and thoughts that had struck her brain all of the sudden but it was something she could not block out. She covered her face, praying to any god there was to ease her aching head. Suddenly, it all stopped
(Y/n) panted, looking at herself and her hands. Why was this happening? It was very out of the ordinary and seemed to come out of quite literally nowhere. Was she drugged over spring break or something? She'd have to find someone to talk to. Not like they'd be able to help much. If she couldn't find anything in her loads and loads of research, who else would? A sudden voice brought her out of her own thoughts.

"—must find (Y/n)," a voice was saying.

"She wasn't in her Tower? Are you sure?" a second voice asked.

"Positive," said the first.

"We'll start in the library, I guess. But we've really got to hurry. If we can't find her, we'll go without her," said a third voice.
(Y/n) got up and brushed herself off. Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of her Harvard sweatshirt and green corduroy shorts. When had she changed? She shook her head.

"(Y/n)!" Hermione exclaimed. "What're you doing down there?"

"Don't know," (Y/n) admitted. "Might've fallen asleep or something." She shrugged, tucking her hands into her back pockets and casually strolling forward. Her steps faltered at the sight of their faces.

"Buckbeak lost," Ron said weakly. "Hagrid's just sent this."
Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible. As she read, the trio brought her to their common room.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset.
Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want
you to see it.
Hagrid

"We're going, right?" (Y/n) asked instantly.

"You've still got my Invisibility Cloak, right?" Harry asked at the same time. (Y/n) gasped. She had forgotten to return it.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," (Y/n) murmured. She pulled back her hair tie and let it hit her wrist continuously as she tried remembering where she had it. Hermione got concerned to the point she slid the hair tie off. "Ah! I put it back at the passage you told me to find it at. I'm sorry, Harry! I didn't have the time to run into you and I didn't want to lose it in my room!" Harry waved his hand in assurance.

"...but if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble," Harry murmured.

"That's true," Hermione said, getting to her feet. "If he sees you... How do you open the witch's hump again?"

"You— you tap it and say, 'Dissendium,'" Harry said. "But—"
Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence; she strode across the room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and vanished from sight.

"She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron said, gaping after her.
She had. Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the silvery Cloak folded carefully under her robes.
"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately!" said Ron, astounded. "First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney—"
Hermione looked rather flattered.