Chapter 1: Blackmailed
Hermione Granger glanced over her list, mentally checking off each task she needed to perform before heading off to the Burrow.
Perform undetectable extension charm on bag. Check.
Pack warm clothing for cold winter nights. Check.
Pack first aid kit. Check.
Pack dittany for more serious wounds. Check.
Pack two sets of tents for travelling. Check.
Pack all necessary books for research and quiet reading. Check.
Pack money. Check.
Perform false memory charm on parents.
She had been struggling with the last part of her checklist for days, agonizing over the details. She had arranged for their flight to Australia, the last place she believed Voldemort would look if he decided to target them. She had performed enchantments on their passports and other forms of identification to create the story that they were Wendell and Monica Wilkins. The last part of her plan involved erasing every detail of her from their memories and confounding them into believing they were Wendell and Monica.
She reached for a photo on her nightstand, taken last year shortly after she had gotten home from her sixth year at Hogwarts. They had taken her on a surprise vacation to cruise the Bahamas, and were standing on the deck of their boat. Her dad was sporting a ridiculously floral shirt and her mom was laughing in a long sundress. Her eyes teared up as she shoved it into her bag as well.
Hermione picked up her wand and, after several deep breaths, made her way out of her room.
"Mom? Dad?" she shouted down the stairs. "Could you guys come up here a minute? There's something I want to show you."
She listened down the stairs, furrowing her brow when she heard no sounds. Her mother should have been preparing dinner by now, her father watching the evening news.
She called after them again, hesitantly making her way down the stairs. The living room was empty, the television off but her father's cup of tea still sat on the coffee table. She put her palm against the ceramic. Still warm. She gripped her wand tighter. Something was amiss.
As she rounded the kitchen, she felt her blood freeze. Her parents were huddled together at the kitchen table, surrounded by Death Eaters in full regalia.
"Hermione!" her mother shouted as she stood, frozen in shock. A Death Eater immediately raised his wand, and a long cut appeared on her mother's cheek, which immediately began to drip blood.
"Mom!" Hermione shouted, rushing forward. She was halted by another Death Eater pointing his wand at her head.
"What do you want?" she asked them, desperately.
"The Dark Lord requires your assistance in a matter that is of special importance to him," a familiar voice drawled.
"Professor Snape?" she inquired, dumbfounded. "Please tell them to stop!"
"They are here on my orders and have been told to act accordingly," he said, pulling off his mask and smirking down at her. "Be glad that your cooperation is important enough to be keeping them alive, silly girl."
He pulled a worn book out of his robes and placed it on the table.
"Sit," he ordered sharply, pulling out the chair across from her father.
Shaking, Hermione gingerly perched herself on it, and eyed the book nervously.
"Hogwarts: A History?" she read, surprised. "You did all this to give me a book?"
"Not just any book, Miss Granger," Snape murmured. "I thought you were smarter than that. Look again."
Hermione stroked her fingers across the cover and gently opened it. Its contents were hand written in small, loopy script, and its pages stained and stiff.
"It's a first edition," she whispered.
"Not just a first edition," Snape replied. "The first Hogwarts: A History ever created, hand-written by Bathilda Bagshot herself. I would like you to turn to Chapter 3, and read aloud for everyone what is written in the first few pages."
"Chapter 3: The Repopulation Efforts," Hermione read shakily. "After the effects of the plague had made itself known, the population of the wizarding community throughout Great Britain had been decimated to less than a quarter of what it had been previously. The surviving leaders throughout the country met, deciding to task the four greatest living witches and wizards of the time with the creation of a plan to restore the wizarding numbers to its previous glory.
"After much brainstorming and experimenting, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw delivered a spell, a charm, or a potion (sources disagree on the exact measure of magic) that achieved the incredible task of transforming Muggles into a full-fledged wizard or witch. The first to receive this treatment, purported a relative of Ravenclaw herself, was closely observed for a year's time, in which they proved to be comparable to any true-born magical person. The procedure was then performed on a larger pool of Muggles, who either volunteered themselves or were coerced into the task. Most subjects took well to the transformation, although there were reports of some Muggles rejecting the magic outright or regressing to their Muggle forms after a few weeks.
"After a time, as the population of newly made witches and wizards rose, the four decided that an institution was required to teach them about their new powers. Thus, Hogwarts, in its most primitive form, was founded. Each founder taught students in different manners and it wasn't long before they were hand selecting their apprentices for traits that each founder valued. Gryffindor selected students that had previously been Muggle knights and warriors; Hufflepuff selected students that had previously been Muggle caretakers and farmers; Ravenclaw selected students that had previously been Muggle scholars and thinkers. Slytherin, however, was the most selective of his students. He eventually began rejecting all Muggle-born wizards and witches, instead preferring to teach only those that he considered of pure blood.
As their student body grew, the founding four built up Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At first, it started small. Each founder had his or her own wing of a complex of small huts, which eventually grew into the Hogwarts castle known today over several decades.
The exact nature of the spell has been lost to the ages, perhaps due to the actions of Salazar Slytherin himself. It was rumored that this particular magic was what caused the rift between Slytherin and the other founders, up to the point that Slytherin was either expelled from or chose to depart the school.
"To this day, no wizard or witch has any knowledge of the spell or recipe that the founders created. It is said, however, that Slytherin left clues to the magic's origins in Hogwarts itself, possibly in the legendary Chamber of Secrets itself."
"Harry's already been in the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione said, rather hoarse after reading the chapter aloud. "I don't know what you want with me."
"The Dark Lord himself has opened the Chamber twice," Snape stated slowly. "He has a keen interest in discovering this spell or potion. We have already experimented on several Muggles to attempt to turn them, and they've had…well, let's just say, varied results. Most have ended up dead- if they were lucky."
The group around Snape chuckled, and Hermione's feeling of dread only deepened.
"Oh that reminds me, I haven't fed Noseless yet," a deep, gravelly voiced Death Eater said. The laughter intensified.
"Quiet, fool," Snape hissed. "The Dark Lord said to stay silent."
"Is that why you want my parents?" Hermione asked, never taking her eyes off of Snape.
"We could care less about your parents, foolish girl," he replied, waving his hand dismissively. "Although we will be taking them into our custody until you fulfill the task the Dark Lord has entrusted to you."
"What would that be, exactly?" Hermione inquired reluctantly.
"Find the spell or recipe," was the simple response.
"How? I can't get into the Chamber of Secrets."
"As I stated before, the Dark Lord has been to the Chamber but believes that the clues are not in the Chamber itself," Snape said. "The Dark Lord cares not how you go about your investigation, but if you ever want to see your parents alive again, I recommend you make haste."
"Where will you take them?"
"That is not your concern, Mudblood," one of the Death Eaters spat at her. "Just be thankful the Dark Lord has chosen to spare them."
"And you won't hurt them if I agree to do this for you?" Hermione questioned.
"They will live, that is all I can promise," Snape said.
Hermione's eyes became clouded with tears as she looked toward her parents. Her mother still held a paper napkin to the cut on her cheek. Her dad was pale and sweating profusely, but had both arms around his wife's shoulders.
"Alright," she agreed. "I'll do it."
"I thought you would, Miss Granger," Snape said with a small smile. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, make no mistake."
Snape nodded to the other Death Eaters, who forcibly lifted Mr. and Mrs. Granger by their arms and started to muscle them out of the house.
"Don't worry about us, honey!" Mr. Granger shouted back to Hermione.
"We love you!" Mrs. Granger cried in turn before, with a faint pop, they disappeared from sight.
Snape also turned to leave, but paused before he reached the front door.
"Oh, and Miss Granger," he added. "This shouldn't need to be said, but not a word to Potter or Weasley."
Harry and Ron. She hadn't even thought what she was going to tell them. They had not planned on going back to Hogwarts for their final year. How was she supposed to tell them that they would have to go without her? How was she supposed to survive at Hogwarts without them?
Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading! Reviews and input on this would be greatly appreciated! This story may or may not follow canon aspects of the original Harry Potter by JK Rowling, so if something deviates from the norm, it's intentional!