CHAPTER SUMMERY - Hermione never went to Hogwarts. She's living in a small town as a normal teenager with normal friends and going to a normal school. But what happens when her friends tell her of a mythical place that is so unbelievably beautiful, yet so frightening that no one ever goes there? Is it true... or is it just a myth? And if it were so real and magnificent, why hadn't anyone ever taken a picture of it? And if it were so frightening and haunted, why hadn't it been torn down?

Chapter One

The hills were green. Greener than any of the other hills in London. There was a giant lake, that was blacker than the night sky, even during the day. There were ruins of a castle up on one of the hills, with several tall towers and bridges that connected the other parts of the castle. There were dirt paths leading from the castle down to the lake, and a large cabin with the roof caving in. The paths continued on through a magnificent courtyard which was surrounded in the most beautiful trees and flowers imaginable. Then the paths disappeared under a large stone arch way, down a long straight distance and finally into a small forgotten town, where all the buildings were falling apart and the cobblestone roads where cracked. And yet, with all this destruction, theses were still the most beautiful and unforgettable sights to ever see...if one were to ever find them.

Hermione's friends, Trevor, Jessica, Emily, and Dan had told Hermione that the ruins were haunted, which was a mistake. Once Hermione heard that, she wanted to go up into the ruins to see if it was true. After a few days of asking them to go with her, she said that she would go alone and they gave in. Now the 5 of them were making their way up a dirt road that lead to the hills.

"Hermione, are you sure we should be doing this? I hear this place is really dangerous." Panted Emily as they climbed up a steep hill.

"If it were so dangerous, why hasn't it been torn down yet? And you guys shouldn't have told me about this place if you didn't want to see it. You knew once I heard about it I would want to find it." Hermione called back to Emily.

"Well yea, but we didn't think you would actually do it!" Said Jessica.

"Well then you were wrong!" Laughed Hermione. "Honestly, don't you four know me by now?"

The four of them looked at each other and sighed. Then followed Hermione down the path that lead them through the woods. The leaves were emerald green and the bark of the trunks were a warm chocolate brown. The large boulders were a bright gray and the plants on the ground were just as green as the leaves above them. There were small brooks and streams flowing with the clearest water any of them had ever seen.

Hermione stopped and watched the water with wondering eyes. Her friends stopped beside her and looked at the water also.

"Why did you stop? It's just water." said Dan.

"No, it isn't just water. Look over there, where it comes out from under that log..." Hermione pointed at a log laying over the brook a few feet away.

"What about it?" Asked Dan.

"It's darker." Said Trevor.

"It isn't just darker... its black." Said Hermione with a large smile on her face.

"Okay, so, its dirty water. So what." said Dan.

Hermione turned to face her friends with a large smile. "It's true..."

"What? Hermione we told you, its just a myth. We're out here on a wild goose hunt because you can't separate fact from fiction." Said Jessica.

"God, don't you get it? Think about it...the dirt paths...the emerald green trees, the black water... the ruins are real! All we have to do is follow this path and we'll find them!" Hermione smiled.

"Hermione I'm sure its just a coincidence." Said Trevor.

"No way. This is not just a coincidence." Hermione smiled and took off down the dirt path.

Her friends sighed and chased after her. After a few minutes of running after Hermione, they found her standing on the edge of the forest starring up the hill with wide eyes. They stopped behind her and gasped as they starred at the most beautiful sight they had ever seen. It was more beautiful than the myth said and they couldn't bring themselves to tare their eyes from it.

The Ruins.