This chapter contains:
-A lot of Bafflegab,
-A popinjay,
-A sapient brunette,
-A ridiculous pairing,
-And quite a lot of tears.
Bafflegab : Incomprehensible or pretentious verbiage.
Popinjay : A vain or conceited person, one given to pretentious displays.
Sapient : Wise, shrewd. Another word form smart.
It's been awhile and I'm sorry, it's been a long time since I last uploaded anything, and for that I apologise sincerely. I have no excuse except that I was maturing, and living, away from the confines of Microsoft Word and fanfiction! But I'm back. And I just had an inspiration which is where this story was born. I hope it's not like anything else you've read lately!
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, settings, spells, charms, or potions. They are J.K.Rolwings.
So here is chapter one…
The Domino Effect
The rain shattered against the glass, smashing and exploding into tiny crystals that fell away as more poured down to replace the lost rain drops. The air was frigid and even in the Gryffindor common room, where the fire was blazing even at half seven in the morning, you could see your breath. Hermione Granger shivered as she wrapped her cloak around her body. She stood infront of the fire, waiting as she usually did for her two best friends, Ron and Harry. Both had a habit of sleeping late. Hermione was even more impatient this morning with them than usual as it was so cold and they were late again, inadvertedly letting her freeze on this rare morning where the cold penetrated into your bones.
She turned to leave without them but then she heard her name being called.
"Hermione! Wait!" Ron shouted out to her as himself and Harry raced down the stairs from their dormitory.
"What do you think I've been doing?" She replied stiffly as they reached her side.
"Hermione" Harry said apologetically, with a meaningful glance at Ron, "We're sorry we're late…again. I know how cold it is, the water in our jug turned to ice overnight and we're sorry you had to wait in it. But can't you just forgive us and we can all head down for a hot breakfast?" Harry asked her, staring at her with his brilliant green eyes. Hermione sighed. Harry grinned, knowing he'd won her over.
"Just this one time, though, if you two are late again I will not wait" Hermione threatened. The three of them linked arms then with Hermione in the middle, staying close for body heat, and they headed down to the Great Hall for a promising breakfast.
"Ah, I just want you to know that I LOVE YOU!" Ron shouted at his plate of bacon, sausages, toast and hash brown.
"Ron, what in Merlin's name are you shouting for?" asked Hermione, her eyes wide as Ron blessed his breakfast.
"I'm praising the house-elves. They mustn't get much recognition for their slaving away all day cooking our food" He said as if it was perfectly normal to shout praise to your food. Hermione was torn between amusement and annoyance while Harry quirked an eyebrow at his friend before returning to his toast.
"What do we have first?" Hermione asked as she savoured the taste of the hot porridge heating her frozen body.
"Potions" Seamus answered as he sat himself next to Hermione, Dean sat opposite him, and Neville placed himself on Dean's right.
They all groaned. The sixth years carried on eating in silence until Neville knocked over his glass of pumpkin juice, sending it all over the table.
"Sorry guys" He muttered, turning bright red as everyone except Hermione and Harry told him off.
"Don't worry about it Neville" Hermione said kindly, "Look, it's gone now. Scourigfy" She said with a wave of her wand, and the juice disappeared. Ron, Dean and Seamus stopped then.
"Sorry Neville mate" Seamus muttered after a brief awkward silence.
"Me too" Dean said solemnly.
"Yeah, bit of an over reaction there" Ron said as he laughed his way through his apology.
They all finished and headed down to the dungeons at quarter to nine.
The group reached the dungeons; it was even colder down here than they'd anticipated. Everyone was shivering. Hermione leaned closer to Harry to stay warm as the rain lashed against the stone walls. She could even hear the boom of thunder.
"Look everyone" said a cold drawl, "The mudblood's finally making a move on Potty!" It was Malfoy. The Slytherins laughed. Ron lunged at him but Harry held him back even though every inch of him wanted to pummel the platinum haired boy.
The words affected Hermione more than they should have, she was already feeling lousy and now she had to deal with this, on a day like today. She didn't say anything but stepped away from Harry, keeping her head down. What no one saw coming was Seamus stepping out of the group and punching Malfoy in the stomach.
Malfoy let out an "Oomph" as he doubled over, clutching his stomach, his silver eyes wide with shock. Crabbe and Goyle had no idea what to do.
Seamus looked back at the Gryffindors. He shrugged and flashed a small smile towards an open mouthed Hermione.
"Sorry. I've been waiting to do that for six years" He explained sheepishly as Dean and Ron cheered him.
"You can't be serious" Malfoy moaned, standing up, but swaying slightly, "You're actually defending the Mudblood? You think she's worth something?" Malfoy spat at Seamus, then his eyes landed on Hermione, "I wouldn't pay half a knut for her company in a whore-house. I'd be shocked if she was actually allowed in one in the first place, even if it is where she belongs" He said venomously, his eyes piercing Hermione with such a look of pure hatred that even the marrow of her bones froze. There was a silence Hermione had never experienced before and then all hell broke loose.
Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean jumped on Malfoy, roaring abuse and cursing him. Then the Slytherin boys tried to haul them off their leader. Goyle pulled Neville back and threw him against the wall. Neville stared at him and then head butted the burly Slytherin with all his might. Goyle was knocked unconscious as blood trickled down his face from the force of Nevilles attack while Neville looked stunned. Then he fainted.
Ron was kicking Crabbe, Seamus had Blaise Zabini pinned to a wall while Dean hit him and Harry was hitting any part of Malfoy he could reach. Hermione heard a bone snap and saw blood rush from Harrys nose as Malfoy attempted to fight back. She watched everything in slow motion, not registering any of it. Every muscle in her body was trying to prevent tears from brimming over. Because if she let one fall, she knew they wouldn't stop and would rival the rain outside for its persistence.
There was an almighty bang and everyone was thrown off one another. Snape stood in the doorway to the dungeon, his black eyes furious.
"Finnegan, Thomas, Longbottom, Weasley and Potter" He said, spitting out Harrys name, "Detention"
"But what about Crabbe?"
"…Goyle dragged me…"
"It was Malfoy…defending Hermione"
"…mudblood he called her…"
The boys protested, feeling hard done by as the Slytherins had started it. they shouted and roared their reasons at their professor.
Snape looked over at Hermione. She was biting her lip and had her eyes averted form Snapes penetrating stare. She twisted her fingers and concentrated on keeping control of her emotions.
"Miss Granger" Snape addressed her in a deadly tone, Hermione looked at him. "Is this true?"
Hermione didn't trust herself to speak so merely nodded her lower lip quivering. A strange look flashed across Snapes face but it was gone before Hermione could identify it. He stared at her and then at the rest of the students. Finally he gave out the punishment.
"Detention to everyone involved" He said quietly to a shocked group of students, "And 70 points from Gryffindor" Malfoy smirked but was still confused about the detentions, "50 points from Slytherin" Snape added. He turned on his heel and strode into his classroom, black cloak billowing behind him in thousands of folds.
Everyone was silent. Malfoy even stopped moaning. They went into the classroom. Harry gripped Hermiones hand to show her he was there for her, Ron did the same on her other side.
"I am dividing you into pairs for the rest of the year. You will stay in this grouping. Completing homework assignments and correctly brewing potions will earn you points. Failing to meet the requirements will lose you points. Do you understand?" Snape asked his class. They nodded, none daring to step out of line since his surprise punishment half an hour ago. "The pairing will be done randomly, by a complex spell. One so powerful none of you could even dream of attempting it. It puts together those who are well matched and competent. No one knows how it works and the extent of its knowledge of the people it partners together. It is called the Viniclum Charm" Snape spoke softly, quietly, deadly.
Hermione refrained herself from 'Ooohing'. She knew about the charm, had read it in a book and consulted Professor Flitwick on the matter. Her eyes lit up with excitement as Snape waved his wand in an extremely complex manner over the list of students and said clearly "Viniclus".
Thin lines spidered out all over his page, matching people up, forming bonds and partnerships.
He saw a faint pink-ish glow surround two names and then a thick green line joined them together. When the spell was complete, Snape looked at the partnering on his list. His eyebrows shot up, nearly reaching his hairline as he scanned the page. The class started to murmur excitedly.
"Once I tell you who you're partnering, please relocate to said partner. I want no complaints either" He said eyeing Ron and Harry.
"Longbottom – Mr Goyle. Weasley – Miss Parkinson. Potter – Mr. Crabbe. Thomas – Mr Zabini. Finnegan – Ms. Bulstrode. Granger – Mr Malfoy"
There was an intake of breath and then everyone protested except Hermione and Malfoy. Hermione, sat there knowing how the spell worked, and wondered why it had paired her with a guy who she utterly despised. Unknown to her, Malfoy had read a brief excerpt on the Viniclum Charm himself and was wondering the exact same thing. Ron blocked Hermione as she made to go to Malfoys desk.
"I don't like this Mione" He said quietly.
"What? And I do?" She snapped.
"Hermione" Harry said softly, "If he gives you any trouble-"
"I know. I'll come straight to you. Oh and Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you go to the hospital wing to get your nose mended after class?" She asked as she stared at the dried blood on his face. He grinned and nodded at her.
She walked over and dragged her chair as far away from Malfoy as was possible. She even leaned away, so that she was nearly off her stool.
"What's the matter Mudblood? Got no one to protect you?" He smirked.
"I was going to say the same thing to you" Hermione said indifferently, "I mean, even Snape is against you now ferret" She didn't have the energy to sneer or even sound spiteful. She just didn't care anymore.
"The potion we'll be brewing today is the Confusing concoction. Starting from tomorrow we will begin making a Polyjuice potion" Snape said, his eyes lingering on Ron, Hermione and Harry who tried to keep their faces straight and look innocent.
"The ingredients are in the store room, the method on the board. You have one hour. You start now"
Malfoy kept up tirade of insults for the entire class. He called Hermione every name under the sun…and the moon! When the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson Hermione left immediately, not even bothering to tidy up, she walked out of the classroom. The minute the dungeon was out of sight she broke into a run, tears blurring her vision and as she reached the entrance hall she found herself sprinting out into the pelting rain.
Hermione ran until she could move no more. She collapsed in a heap by the lake. She was already drenched. Her tears mingled with rain drops before they froze on her face. She was hysterical. Her bushy hair matted to her scalp.
She cried for Harry, who lost his parents and was alone, she cried for Ron who was always having to compete with his brothers. She cried for Neville who, probably had it worst. She cried for herself, how she knew she'd never be good enough. She cried for the unjust and unfair Wizarding world and their prejudices. She cried for the muggles who had no idea about all of this but who would be affected most by it.
She lay there for hours. Then her throat started freezing. Pretty soon every part of her body was numb and Hermione couldn't breathe properly. She felt strong hands pull her from the sodden ground and they held her and brought her somewhere. She didn't know, she didn't care, all Hermione wanted to do was fall into oblivion and never wake up; she was slipping in and out of consciousness, seeing only a blur. But a wave of heat washed over her body suddenly.
She was put down gently after what seemed like an age, the strong hands releasing her slowly. Hermione struggled to open her eyes, she needed to get her bearings, but she felt as if she were dying. She couldn't do anything. All she managed to see was a flash of platinum, almost white, and then it disappeared and she passed out. Not knowing if she would ever wake up. But Hermione somehow took comfort in seeing that strange light as her last memory. It stayed with her as she did eventually, fall into oblivion, with tears frozen onto her pale face and her breathing became slower and slower until you could barely hear it. Her blue lips were cracked and sore, they closed when she took a last breath. She was at peace... finally.
Authors Note:
So there you have it, the first chapter. I hope its okay. And that you enjoyed it and that hopefully you want to read more! Also, if you have time, could you review? I just love hearing what you have to say. Any pointers, ideas or theories you have are wholeheartedly welcomed. I really hope that it's not too much OOC, Hermione, I mean. I needed her to cry in this chapter, and I figured that she'd probably been holding a lot of things in and needed to get it all out of her system before this fic could progress any further. Thanks for reading, and if you're reviewing, thanks in advance for me thanking you (confusing, I know!). I must go to sleep now. Good Night…or Good Morning! Wherever you are…even Good Afternoon maybe!!
Preview of chapter two…
It contains:
-Two Jobbernowls,
-Tricky wandwork,
-A tatteredemalion,
-A rambunctious idiot,
-And an unforeseen bond.
Watch this space!
FireboltPheonix