Poison
By Slytherin Vampiress
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or other characters made up by J.K.Rowling. I only own the plot. (Hugs plot) Mine!
Full Summary: Four friends discover the Wicked Witch's house. Inside they discover her past and what made her what she is today. So what made Hermione Granger change between 7th year and the age of 31? Who are the people in the pictures? Who was the nursery for? Why does she have a sad and distant aurora? Read on to find out.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Ricky Winter had just moved into his new house in an old neighbourhood.
"Ricky get those boxes inside, you'll have enough time later to look around," his father yelled from behind a large box.
"Sure thing dad," he yelled back and started to unpack the moving truck.
Let's just press the fast forward button on this story to get to the real plot line.
Da-da-dee-da-da-dum-tee-dum-dum, ah here we are.
Ok, now that we've reached the plot lines starting point let me recap you on what has happened. It's been two weeks since Ricky's moved in, made a few friends, one boy and two girls all three of them lived in the same street and were friends before he even moved in…did I mention that the four were all around the same age too? Now Ricky is still getting to know the area in which he lives so let's take it from here.
Ricky, Alicia, Samantha (know as Sam) and Juan all rode down the street happily talking about what they were going to do tonight. For four days they were going camping in the woods at the end of their street, no parents or rules, just four teenage friends, possibly going to be high on sugar and caffeine, in the middle of the woods for four days and able to do anything they wanted.
Each of them had their clothes packed into their bags now on their backs. Ricky had a large portable tent tied onto the back of his bike, it was able to fit four people in it with a divider up the middle, one side was for the girls the other for the boys.
They entered the woods and followed the narrow path, sometimes getting slapped in the face with leaves, until they found a perfect clearing fit for camping.
After setting up the tent they had a look around. According to some of the resident kids a couple of streets up, a witch lived somewhere in the woods. She was mean although no one knew if she was young or old but everyone thought she was old. No one dared to disturb her; she hated kids.
"Rumour has it she has a giant ginger animal that follows her around," Juan said in a creepy voice trying to scare the girls.
"Does anyone know what it is?" Ricky asked.
"Nope, but it's got to be too big for a cat or a miniature dog. Maybe it's a small version of a stripe less tiger," Alicia suggested.
Juan gave a loud laugh, "Yeah right, how on earth would she get a stripe less tiger into the country? It's impossible!"
"Nothing's impossible if she's a witch Juan," Alicia retorted.
"Who even said that she was a witch anyway?" Juan said right back.
As Juan and Alicia squabbled over who the 'Wicked Old Witch' was Ricky fell behind them to walk with Sam along the path.
"You're being awfully quiet. Are you sick?" Ricky joked.
"No," Sam shook her head and looked at the fighting Juan and Alicia, "Just wondering how two people can be so blind."
"I wonder that too. How can you put up with it?"
"Easy. I just shove my fingers in my ears and sing in my head the first song that comes to my mind."
Ricky laughed, "Which one was it this time?"
Sam gave a shudder, "'Kiss Kiss' by Holly Valance."
Ricky laughed again and Sam joined in.
They walked on for another five minutes listening in onto Juan and Alicia's new debate; if Big Foot truly existed.
Sam grabbed Ricky's arm and pointed ahead. They stopped the two bickering 'Blind Love Birds' and hid behind a large log.
In front of them was a large, old Victorian house, no not a house let's try manor, that's it, a large, old Victorian Manor. The paint was worn away with age leaving only the brown wood. The windows all closed, the curtains drawn. The front door flew open and a woman with blonde hair and dark brown eyes came out, she looked no older that thirty-three, following her was the 'Stripe Less Tiger'. It was big, ginger and had a squashed face and shape of a cat.
After the Cat came a large trunk with a crest on the sides. Now this sight would not surprise the teens; that is if it wasn't floating on nothing but air. Their mouths dropped, this just pushed Juan's theory that she wasn't a witch out of a fifty-fourth window.
The Witch used a stick that she pulled out of her jacket pocket to put the trunk into the black car beside her house. The Witch went back to the door and locked it. She walked back the car. The Cat sat on the roof and waited for its master.
"Come on boy, time to go see the Harry and Ron," She said to it, her voice full of sadness.
The Cat looked at her with mournful eyes. It gave her hand a lick.
"Crookshanks. You and I know they won't there. It's been ages since…since…since it happened, there's nothing anyone can do for us."
Crookshanks tilted his head, "No, not even Neville. I've told you that a thousand times."
The Witch got into the car with Crookshanks climbing into the back seat. He looked out the window and straight at the four hiding behind the rotting log.
The car started and drove off without a sound, all the time the cat kept looking at their hiding spot, it's eyes all knowing and sad.
Once the car was out of sight they all let out a breath they never knew they were holding.
"That cat is freaky," Sam, said letting go of Ricky's shirt; she'd grabbed it when she saw the floating trunk.
"Yeah and did you see the trunk?" Alicia exclaimed.
"No I didn't I was too busy looking at this lovely rotting log, of course we saw the trunk, we're not blind!" Juan yelled.
Alicia glared at him, "You still think she's not a witch?"
"Of course she isn't, she must be really good at illusions," Juan said back.
"Oh yeah? Then how about we prove you wrong Juan, for once you are going to be wrong," Alicia jumped over the log and ran to the house.
"Nice going Juan," Ricky said and ran after Alicia. Sam and Juan followed.
Alicia ran around the side of the house and found an open window. Ricky rounded the corner just in time to see her white jogger disappear through the window.
"Alicia," he called and ran to the window.
Shaking his head Ricky went in after her. As he went through the window he tripped and fell to the floor.
"Ow," Ricky muttered.
"Can't you go anywhere without hurting your self?" Alicia asked helping him off of the floor.
"Apparently not," Ricky answered.
Sam came through the window followed by Juan. Alicia and Juan ignored each other. They looked around. The room was a deep red. A big fireplace stood along one wall looking like it hadn't been used in years, a couple of black comfy looking arm chairs sat in front of it. The rest of the room was decorated with an assortment of things, the curtains were black lace. The floor was clean but the tables along the walls, the mantle above the fireplace and the windowsills were all dusty.
Sam was looking at the dusty photos on the mantle piece. "Hey guys, look at these."
All the photos were moving. There was one of three people around eleven, two boys and one girl, all waving and smiling dressed in black cloaks and uniforms underneath. Working their way in from the sides they saw the same three, as they grew up still dressed in the same uniform and black cloak. That is until they reached the middle two.
The first had the girl at around seventeen. She was on a blonde boys back holding on for dear life as he ran around, sometimes spinning in circles, trying to annoy her. Her brown curly hair flying around her face as she laughed. The boy looked at her as he stopped momentarily, his silver eyes locked with her brown ones. She leaned down and gave him a kiss.
The second was of the same two except this time there was a third in the picture. The setting was a hospital room. The girl lay in a bed holding a baby rapped in a white blanket. The boy leant next to the bed as the two looked down, smiling, at they're new baby. The boy kissed the girl on the forehead and gave her a hug.
"Why would she have pictures of these people? None of them look like her," Juan said.
"Maybe they're her relatives," Sam suggested.
"Pfft," Juan scoffed.
"What's gotten into you Juan?" Ricky asked.
Juan ignored Ricky's question and walked out of the room.
"Ignore him. He's being a jerk," Sam said.
"Maybe we should leave. I don't like this place, it's creepy. Reminds me of too many horror movies. They're in an old house and then they get trapped cause the house won't let them leave and then-"
"Alicia! Snap out of it! That stuff only happens in movies," Ricky cried.
"But she's a witch! We don't know what she's capable of," Alicia retorted.
"Yes that's true but she isn't here. Nothing can get us."
"She could have wards around her house and inside it. They could be telling her right now that someone has broken into her house."
"Stop thinking like that Alicia, just stop worrying for one second about what's going to happen and just take in what's in front of you. We have the chance to be the first people to discover who or what this woman is. Aren't you at leased a little bit curious?" Sam asked.
Alicia mulled it over for a few seconds. "I still think we should leave, this just doesn't feel right."
"Fine but we have to get Juan," Ricky said.
"Let's just leave him here," Alicia suggested.
"No and like it or not he's our friend. Yeah sure he's being a total jerk over nothing but that still makes him our friend. I ain't going to leave him here by him self," Sam said and walked through the door after Juan.
No matter how much coaxing they did Juan remained determined to explore the house and so they were forced to follow him; although they did find their own curiosity over flowed that of the wrongness of breaking and entering.
The rest of the rooms were like the first, big, and painted in dark colours, curtains drawn letting barely any light in. Sams' hay fever started acting up from the dust. Opposite the front door was a staircase. As they stepped on it Sam started having a sneezing fit from the dust swirling up from the carpet-covered stairs. Alicia helped Sam up the stairs as they explored the house.
The first door on the second floor was to a dark room. White sheets turned grey covered the furniture with a layer of dust blocking out all colour in the room. Many rooms were like this.
Three doors left. One room was a dark ocean blue. A bed sat in the middle of it. From the dim light they saw a wooden dresser, carved with eccentric designs; it must have cost a fortune. On the dresser was a small wooden chest covered in curvy metal designs. On the mirror along the sides where old and worn photos though of what they couldn't see.
When they opened the second door they were blinded by the bright sunlight streaming in through a window. Their eyes, being accustomed to the darkness of the house, burned as the bright light filled their retinas. What they saw made them shudder. The walls were a pale powder blue, a white cradle sat along near a white rocking chair, baby's toys littered the walls, chairs and tables, another exotic dresser sat in a corner and for once in the whole house was there no dust. The room almost looked cheery but it concealed a sad glow.
"A nursery," Alicia gasped.
"But when she left she had no baby with her and she didn't look pregnant," Sam remembered.
"This woman is getting weirder but the second," Ricky commented.
Juan gave a shrug and disappeared through the third door. It concealed a set of wooden stairs that creaked with every step. They winded upwards, at the top they reached a flat wooden roof.
"What the…? Where's Juan?" Ricky muttered.
"Juan!" Sam and Alicia yelled.
The rood lifted to reveal Juan looking grumpy but excited at his discovery.
"It's a trap door, you push upwards," he sneered.
"Well sorry if we didn't notice," Ricky snapped.
The room was an attic. A circular window was at the opposite end of the door. The light filled the room. Lots of old furniture was pushed against the wall and then against more furniture. All covered in the grey sheets. Books littered the many tables through the maze of tall bookshelves, giant dressers, cupboards and display cabinets. In single file they wandered through the maze.
As they walked they looked in the display cabinets. Something's creeped the girls out while something's were able to make even the boys skin crawl. They came upon a round cleared area. Around the edges there were numerus trunks and chests all covered in dust. In the centre was a large stone basin upon a stone pedestal. Silvery liquid swirled in side it. The four approached it with caution. Sam and Ricky stood opposite each other and Juan and Alicia stood opposite each other around the edge of the stone basin.
"What do you think it is?" Alicia asked, her eyes transfixed on the swirling silvery liquid.
"I dunno. It's got to have something to do with magic," Sam muttered.
All were staring into the liquid; all feeling a tugging sensation drawing their faces closer to the liquid. An invisible hand seemed come out of the silver liquid, grab their heads and pull them all in at the same time.
Images that seemed to be on fast forward sped in front of their eyes but all the information, events, everything about these images appeared in their minds and they all knew what they meant. They saw the girl receiving a letter from an owl, going on a train, performing magic for the first time, making friends and her life from then on, that is until they got to her seventh and final year at the magic school where everything slowed down so they could recount everything in her life.
This is the story of how Hermione Jane Granger went from an excited, smart enthusiastic girl to the sad, anger filled woman she was today.