Harry Potter gets smart and takes control - The Goblet

Chapter 40 Escaping Hogwarts

The following morning, his things all shrunk and in his warded bag, Harry dressed in his charmed cloak, his invisibility cloak and a weak disillusionment charm. It was alarmingly easy to slip out of the castle, now. It always was. Hermione met him at the base of the stairs, and they huddled under the clock and snuck into the forest for a run. After stashing his bag and extra layers under the willow, they headed through the forest for their last morning run before the holidays.

"You okay Hermione?" Harry asked after a while, looking at his friend closely. She'd been really quiet that morning, and there was something that just seemed... off about her.

"Of course," she said, with a smile. But Harry just raised an eyebrow at her. She sounded exhausted and a bit too cheerful for this early in the morning, she was normally not a morning person.

"I'm fine," she said falsely.

"Are you sure? You've been a bit off this week, I thought it was just the Gryffindor situation, but I'm not so sure. Do you need anything?" He asked again.

She was silent for a long time before saying, "I'm okay."

And he left it at that, even if it sounded a little brittle. She'd tell him when she was ready. It was only when they were washing up in the change rooms later that Hermione finally said something.

"I got punched again, by one of the seventh year girls last night." She said as she towel-dried her hair

"What? What happened?" Harry asked appalled.

"They were talking about the un-housing again, and I ripped them a new one about how unfair it was, and well... I guess I hit a nerve because she punched me. She caught me by surprise I didn't have a chance to block her." Hermione said, waving her wand over her face.

The magic rippled, and the glamour fell. A glamour, that's what had been wrong, he thought. The glamour had been hiding a spectacular black eye.

"Please just stop Hermione! This is hurting you." Harry said, "it's not worth it."

I'm not worth it, went unsaid.

"No," she said shortly.

"Brave and courageous. Gryffindor all the way," he said fondly.

Hermione flicked her wand at her hair again, and it dried. A few more flicks of her wand as well as some potion and it was in neat curls tied back in a sensible ponytail.

"Yes," she agreed, "but that's not all I am. Just like it's not all you are. It's them that are letting down the house. Not us, and it infuriates me, that I can't make them see that. I'm done."

"Oh, good," Harry said relieved.

"No, I'm done with them. I'm going to leave Gryffindor. I'm done."

"Hermione you don't have to do that for me-"

"I'm not asking your permission Harry Potter; I'm telling you politely! You're not going through this alone. We're in this together. I've had enough."

"Okay okay," he said, slowly digesting it, guilt crawling in his stomach.

"Anyway, I'm not doing it just for you," she said with a grin, "I'm doing it for me too."

"Thanks, Hermione," he said eventually, pulling her into a gentle hug, "come on, I have some cream in my bag you can use on your eye."

"Oh good! I was worried, you'd really object," she said with obvious in relief, "because I've already done it," she blurted out.

Harry just laughed and hugged her again, "thanks, Hermione. Anyway, what happened? Why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey or McGonagall?"

"Madame Pomfrey would ask questions and tell McGonagall," Hermione started. Harry narrowed his eyes slightly when he noted that she did not use the professor's title.