"How can it be fine?!" Granger continued indignantly. "My timetable says Arithmancy is at nine in the morning!"
Patil smirked.
"Your prefect probably made a mistake when copying out the timetable. All of ours say Arithmancy is at eleven. Professor McGonagall isn't stupid enough to schedule Ancient Runes, Divination and Arithmancy at the same time! We can't exactly be in two places at once. Richie there"—she nodded towards Grosvenor—"has just come from Divination, and Michael and I have come from Runes."
Hermione looked at each of the three pupils in bewilderment. She frowned and said quietly:
"I don't remember seeing any of you in Divination or Runes..."
"Hermione," Richard said, drawing the girl's attention to himself. "Did you run away from the hospital wing?"
Granger snorted contemptuously.
"Why on earth would I be in the hospital wing?"
Richard took a step backwards. He pulled out his wizardphone, which Hermione stared at with wide, astonished eyes, plainly not expecting to see such a device. The boy dialled Hermione's number. Her voice came through the speaker:
"Hello, Richie. What is it?"
"Where are you?" Grosvenor asked curtly.
"What do you mean, where am I? In the hospital wing," Granger replied, puzzled. "Richie, you brought me here yourself yesterday. Has something happened?"
"I'll explain later."
Richard ended the call and put the phone away in his bag. He tensed like a coiled spring. The gaze he fixed upon what he now considered the false Hermione was as cold and sharp as the point of a fighting rapier.
"Padma, move away!" he ordered in a commanding tone.
Patil recoiled from the front desk and stared at Richard in confusion.
"Richie, what's going on?" she asked.
Instead of answering her, Richard addressed the false Granger forcefully:
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
The counterfeit Hermione was taken aback and answered in confusion:
"Hermione Granger."
"Don't lie to me!" Richard's eyes narrowed angrily as he levelled his cane at the girl like a weapon. "Who are you? A Metamorphmagus? Have you taken Polyjuice Potion? Who are you working for—the CIA, the KGB, Mossad, the Department of Mysteries?! Who sent you? Are you an assassin? A spy? Were you ordered to kill me?"
"I..." The fake Hermione looked completely lost. "I don't understand what you're talking about. I've never seen you before in my life. I only know Padma, and that's because she looks so much like her sister."
"Oh..." Padma drawled meaningfully. Her wand had appeared in her hand and was now casually pointed towards Granger. "Richie, where's the real Hermione?"
"In the hospital wing," he told Padma.
Michael looked up from his textbook, shook his head disapprovingly, and then went straight back to reading as though nothing unusual were happening.
The fake Granger's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She glanced apprehensively back and forth between Richard's cane and Padma's wand, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"What are you talking about?!" she exclaimed indignantly. "I am the real Hermione Granger!"
A crooked grin spread across Grosvenor's face.
"You can tell that story to the Aurors," he said with a threatening edge to his voice. "Whoever you are, you chose the wrong person to impersonate."
"Stop threatening me!" the false Granger shouted angrily. "I'm going to complain to the teachers!"
"Rather an amusing threat coming from an impostor," Richard remarked ironically.
"There's no point denying it," Padma backed Richard up. "Richie is the real Hermione Granger's best friend. The fact that you didn't recognise him is excellent proof that you're not who you claim to be."
The false Hermione was stunned by this declaration. She stared at the Indian girl with enormous eyes.
"What utter rubbish are you talking about? I am the real Hermione Granger. I've never seen this Richie of yours before in my life!"
Padma narrowed her eyes and said:
"Richie, we need to get the professors."
"Yes, we do," Grosvenor agreed. "Michael!"
"What?" Corner looked up from his book.
"You heard me."
"Why do I have to go and fetch the teachers?" Corner sighed mournfully.
"I've got the impostor at gunpoint, Padma's covering me, and that leaves only you," Richard explained.
"All right, all right."
Corner reluctantly closed his book and headed for the door.
The false Hermione still couldn't quite bring herself to believe that any of this was actually happening to her. She looked from one pupil to another, hoping that it was all some dreadful joke.
"All right, that's enough!" she exclaimed indignantly, slapping her palm down on the desk. "This joke has gone on long enough. Stop messing about, the lesson's about to start."
"Tricks won't help you," Richard said with a slight shake of his head. "Whoever sent you and whatever their purpose was, we'll soon find out. And just to be on the safe side, I'll call the Aurors as well."
Under the false Granger's frightened gaze, Richie took out his wizardphone again. Suddenly, her face lit up.
"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I've worked it out!"
Richie hadn't yet managed to place the call. He looked at the fake Granger and asked:
"Worked out what?"
"It's all because of the artefact."
"What artefact?" Grosvenor asked with interest. "Did you use it to change your appearance?"
"I didn't change my appearance!" the fake Granger snapped. "This is what I really look like. I... I can't tell you about the artefact. I promised Professor McGonagall I wouldn't."
"Promised or swore?" Padma asked.
"Promised," the sullen false Hermione replied.
"Then you can tell us," Patil stated. "Or do you think Richie's joking around with you? If I were you, I wouldn't cross Earl Grosvenor."
"Earl?" Deep furrows appeared on the false Hermione's forehead.
"What a performance!" Richard said admiringly. "You must be an extremely high-level agent. No doubt you've had excellent acting training. Unfortunately, your analysts miscalculated—or you were supplied with false intelligence. There aren't many people in Britain who've never heard of me."
Corner hadn't made it out of the room. He had stopped uncertainly by the door.
"Michael, don't just stand there," Richard urged him. "Get a move on, come on!"
At that encouragement, Corner stopped lingering in the doorway and hurried out of the classroom.
"Wait!" the false Granger finally decided. "I'll tell you everything. It's an artefact. I think that... perhaps... I made a mistake somewhere..."
(End of Chapter)
P@treon: /SadRaven
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰