Harry put his hands over his face, then, covering his eyes.
Hermione felt the queasy feeling all through her stomach.
"Are you crying?" said Hermione.
"Yeah," said Harry, his voice sounding a little breathy. "I don't want anyone else to see."
There was a little silence. Hermione wanted to help but she didn't know what to do about a boy crying, and she didn't know what was happening; she felt like huge things were happening around her - no, around Harry - and if she knew what they were she would probably be scared, or alarmed, or something, but she didn't know anything.
"Did Professor Quirrell do something wrong?" she said at last.
"That's not why I can't go to lunch with him any more," Harry said, still in that bare whisper with his hands pressed over his eyes. "That was the Headmaster's decision. But yeah, Professor Quirrell said some things to me that made me trust him less, I guess..." Harry's voice sounded very shaky. "I'm feeling kind of alone right now."
Hermione put her hand on her cheek where Fawkes had touched her yesterday. She'd kept thinking about that touch, over and over, maybe because she
"Is there any way I can help?" she said.
"I want to do something normal," Harry said from behind his hands. "Something very normal for first-year Hogwarts students. Something eleven-year-olds and twelve-year-olds like us are
"Um... I
"I don't suppose Gobstones?" said Harry.
"Don't know the rules and they
There was a pause. Harry ground his hands against his face to wipe it, and then took his hands away; and then he was looking at her, looking a little helpless. "Well," Harry said, "what
"Hopscotch?" said Hermione. "Jump-rope? Unicorn attack?
Harry started laughing, and Hermione started giggling along with him even though she didn't know quite why, but it
"I guess that helped a little," said Harry. "Actually I think it helped more than playing Gobstones for an hour could've possibly helped, so thanks for being you. And no matter what, I'm
"
Harry stood up from the table, and there was a rush of restored background noise as his rise broke the Quieting Charm. "I'm a tad sleepy so I'm going off to bed," Harry said, now his voice was ordinary and wry, "I've got some lost time to make up for, but I'll see you at breakfast, and then at Herbology, if that's all right. Not to mention it wouldn't be fair to dump all my depression on you. G'night, Hermione."
"Good night, Harry," she said, feeling very confused and alarmed. "Pleasant dreams."
Harry stumbled a little as she said that, and then he continued on toward the stairs that led to the first-year- boys' dorms.
Harry turned the Quieting Charm all the way up, on the head of his bedboard, so that he wouldn't wake anyone else up if he screamed.
Set his alarm to wake him up for breakfast (if he wasn't up already by that hour, if indeed he slept at all).
Got into bed, laid down -
- felt the lump beneath his pillow.
Harry stared up at the canopy above his bed.
Hissed under his breath, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."
It took a few seconds before Harry could muster the heart to sit up in bed, pull the blanket over himself and his pillow to obscure the deed from the other boys, cast a low-intensity
There was a parchment, and a deck of playing cards.
The parchment read,