'ello! This is my new fanfic! It's kind of like an alternate universe, but not really. Actually, its more of an alternate world. You have the setting of Hogwarts, but then something happens which sends our protagonist to a new world. The pairing is Hermione and Draco. This is not a cross over. The plot has some things that are similar to Yu Watase's Fushigi Yuugi, but there are enough differences to call this plot my own.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series or Fushigi Yuugi.
Title: Beyond the Pages
Chapter One: "AHHHHHH!"
Summary: Hermione reads all sorts of book: spell books; potion books; history books. But, when she picks up a mysterious adventure romance book, she may just get sucked into its pages, literally. A Draco and Hermione story. (Based loosely on Fushigi Yuugi.).
The corridors of Hogwarts gleamed mysteriously. The torches' flames licked the stone walls ominously which only added to the lurking darkness. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione walked along the halls towards their common room. They had gone through a late night study session at the library, and were just now heading back. Harry held his invisibility cloak over his shoulder in case he and Ginny needed to hide from teachers or prefects. Luckily, the other two were prefects and could wander around at night.
"Thanks for helping me with transfiguration, Hermione," Ginny stated quietly. She had tagged along with the trio so that she could get a first hand lesson with her friend.
Hermione looked over at the younger Gryffindor and smiled warmly. "It was no problem, Ginny. I just hope you do well on your finals coming up."
The two other people in the group visibly groaned. "Hermione," Ron said with annoyance, "please stop mentioning that finals are coming up soon."
Hermione giggled. "Well if you two had listened to me about studying, then you wouldn't be worried about it. Honestly, I've been telling you to study for 6 years now."
The end of the 6th year at Hogwarts was fast approaching for the trio. In less than a month they would have their summer break, and then their 7th and final year at school. The year had passed by with almost no major events. Gryffindor had the Quidditch Cup in the bag this year, and Voldemort's existence was still avoided during conversations. The media was barely covering the story.
As the group of four turned the corner, Hermione bumped into another person and fell backwards towards Harry.
"Watch where you're going, Granger," growled a low voice. The witch opened her brown eyes and glared at the sight before her: Draco brushing off his robes as if they had dirt on them and Crabbe and Goyle snickering behind him. Ever since the end of 5th year, Draco's hatred towards the trio had nearly tripled, and he now had the balls to back that hatred up. The Slytherin had grown in height and muscles. He was no coward like Hermione remembered in any of the years before.
"Shut it, Malfoy. I don't feel like arguing with a pimple tonight," the brown-eyed witch retorted back. Draco's shoulders twitched slightly, but his face remained like a wall. Hermione untangled herself from Harry. When Draco had bumped into her earlier, she had basically slammed Harry onto the ground and landed on top of him.
"Well I guess being called a pimple is better than living as a mudblood. How do you ever get clean… oh yea, you don't. Not with your blood as filthy as it is." Draco's lips curled into his unmistakable smirk.
"Alright, Malfoy, you drew the line with that one," Harry barked from behind Hermione. He pushed her aside towards Ron and Ginny, who were by this time as angry as Harry, and swung a punch towards the Slytherin's pale face.
Hermione had noticed her friend getting rather protective over her for the last year. It was obvious that he had developed a crush on her, but still refused to admit it. The Gryffindor witch looked stunned at the all-out battle that formed in front of her. Harry had Draco on the ground and was furiously punching him, and Crabbe and Goyle were trying to pull him off while Ron was attacking them from behind. The two blockheads barely even noticed the redhead trying to attack them. Ginny stood to the side and had the same facial expression as Hermione.
"Stop it, you guys!" the muggle-born witch said over and over. Apparently it was useless. Eventually, Harry and the prick were standing and bashing into each other like drunken football players. The Gryffindor managed to shove the other hard enough to make him stumble, but Harry hadn't realized in which direction the blond was pushed to.
"Shit."
Harry had pushed Draco right into Hermione's shocked body. They fell backwards from the loss of balance and went crashing right towards the stone wall behind them. However, to everybody's amazement, Hermione and Draco did not hit the wall, but simply fell through it and onto the other side.
"What the...?" Harry yelled and took a sprint towards the wall. Ginny also went after to help her friend and jumped through. Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stared stupidly where the four disappeared. Eventually, coming out of his stupor, Ron dashed towards the wall and took a leaping jump as if he were a first year boarding the Hogwarts express. However, he crashed into the wall and fell on his butt in complete shock.
"It's solid!" the redhead yelped in pain. "What in bloody hell is going on?"
On the other side of the wall, the Gryffindors and Slytherin jumped to their feet and looked around. Malfoy and Harry both unconsciously wiped the blood that was dripping from their noses and mouths. They were surrounded by four stone walls that were bare with the exception of four torches, one on each wall. In the center of this small, hidden room was a pedestal, and sitting atop it was a book.
"I am officially weirded out," Ginny stated from where she stood behind the scar-faced Gryffindor.
"Well that makes two of us," Hermione replied while staring at the center of the room. The redhead Gryffindor and the Slytherin turned on their toes and tried to leave the way they came in. The stone wall had returned to its normal solid state.
"Okay, I was hoping this would be simple, but I guess that wasn't going to happen." Ginny looked around hopelessly and desperately.
Hermione walked to where Ginny was standing and placed her hand comfortingly on her friend's shoulder. She then moved her hand to the wall where they had stumbled in. She walked along the four walls with her hand dragging along the stone.
No way out.
Draco snorted and whipped out his wand from within his sleeve. "Destructo!" he yelled facing the wall they had come through. The spell hit and ricocheted right into his chest. The Slytherin was blown backwards and crashed onto the floor motionless.
"Moron," Hermione muttered. She walked over to his lifeless body and muttered the awakening spell.
He moaned for a few seconds until he spoke through gritted teeth, "You could have woken me up after you healed me." He massaged his chest where the spell hit and noticed his ripped shirt.
The Gryffindor witch repaired the shirt and walked off. "You can heal yourself, you ungrateful prick."
A few moments passed with Hermione staring around the room, Harry watching Hermione, Draco muttering nonsense on the ground, and Ginny silently whimpering in the corner.
"Well, I guess the book is the only thing we can do," the 6th year witch mumbled. She didn't want to show it, but she was enthralled by the book. All she wanted to do was walk over and touch it. She took a step towards the center of the room as everyone else shrunk into the corners.
"Don't, Hermione! I really don't like books that I don't buy from Flourish and Blotts," the redhead exclaimed. Harry quickly walked over to where Hermione was slowly taking steps towards the mysterious book. The ominous feeling in the air was evident, and the witch could almost taste the magical feeling.
Hermione noticed that Ginny's breathing was heavy and frightened. She turned towards her friend and stared softly at her with her soft brown eyes. "Listen Ginny. We know that there is no other way out. All the walls are solid and the ceiling is up too high for us to check. Even if we balanced on each other's shoulder we wouldn't reach it. The book is all we have left."
As she and Harry approached the book, Draco scrambled up from where he sat and moved over towards the book. The Weasley stayed where she was. Hermione finally reach the pedestal and stared open-eyed at the book in front of her.
"No title," Hermione whispered with confusion evident in her voice.
"No author," Malfoy muttered back.
"What does it look like?" Ginny asked.
"It's gold with a silver border," Harry responded, "but there aren't any words or pictures on it. It's just blank."
Hermione reached towards the book and wrapped her slender fingers around its covers.
The book was thick with pages. Maybe a thousand pages, if not more.
And it was old.
The curious witch lifted the book from the pedestal and held it in front of her. Her brown eyes stared in open wonder as the book's cover began to glow. Slowly, curving handwriting in silver appeared. She read the words out to the thick silence:
The eight elements of life
Battle at the sight of the enemy:
Light and Dark
Fire and Water
Ice and Lightning
Air and Earth.
Those chosen by the stone
Will breathe the lives of others
Passed the Glistening Mountains
And through the Wailer's Cavern
To the Meadows of Decisions
Until the destiny of she
Whose love is pure
And whose will is strong
Will carry the fate of them all.
"What the hell does that mean?" Harry whispered behind his friend. Hermione shook her head slightly as a response and lifted the hard cover of the book. The moan from Ginny told everyone in the room that this might prove to be a bad idea, but the Gryffindor continued until the first blank page radiated before her.
The glowing of the book began to deepen. The color was a pure white. It wasn't like the subtle red glow of the torches, or the yellow twinkle of the stars, but an untainted white light. It began to grow until it swallowed Hermione's hands.
"Granger, close it!" barked the Slytherin who thus far had remained silent. Hermione did so without hesitation. Her longing to read the pages quickly washed away by her growing uneasiness. She set the book down on the pedestal and backed away. The glow still radiated from the book.
And it kept growing brighter.
Eventually the whole book was glowing. Harry grabbed Hermione's warm hand and pulled her towards the wall. Draco followed suit. A deep whisper started to glide through the air. Hermione could here every word as it repeated the message that was on the cover. The bodiless voice spoke through the riddle three times before disappearing.
That's when the light erupted.
It consumed everybody in the room; it swallowed their bodies and blinded their eyes.
Everything went black.
Elsewhere, Ron Weasley, tall and lanky Gryffindor, sat awkwardly in front of Headmaster Dumbledore who, very comfortably, sat in his pajamas. Next to the Gryffindor were Crabbe and Goyle. The hour was near dawn.
"So, tell me why you woke me up at such an odd time," the old man spoke from his large chair in front of the fire.
Ron shifted in his chair uneasily. He noticed Crabbe and Goyle were playing stupid.
Well… maybe not playing.
But at any rate, it was up to him to inform Professor Dumbledore of what happened.
"They disappeared," Ron said quietly.
Dumbledore's eyes closed silently as his breathing drew heavier.
"Who?"
"Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy, Sir," the Gryffindor responded. He looked over at the phoenix that recently was reborn. Fawkes' eyes twinkled as it sat and stared at the uncomfortable group. The twinkle in Fawkes' eyes was the same as Dumbledore's.
"How did they disappear?" Dumbledore asked as if already dreading the answer. The number of times that Harry and Hermione disappeared weighed heavily on him.
"Through a wall, Sir.'
"A wall, did you say? Would that be on the 2nd floor?"
Ron nodded.
"Then the book has chosen," the headmaster said quietly to himself. Ron, however, thought that this was directed towards him.
"What book?" Weasley asked.
"The Book of Decisions," was all that he responded before standing up and waving his hand for the three students to leave. They did so hesitantly: Crabbe and Goyle for wandering if they were really supposed to leave or just wave back and Ron for not getting a proper answer. The Gryffindor decided to ask one of his professors about it later. McGonagall was a good plan, and so was Professor Binns.
Ron Weasley slowly made his way towards the Gryffindor Tower. For nearly 20 minutes after his friends disappeared he had tried furiously to open the wall that had swallowed them. He wasn't sure what to do until finally he had given up and went to wake up Professor Dumbledore. Luckily, the headmaster didn't ask why Harry and Ginny were with the two prefects after curfew.
The Gryffindor took a detour and went towards the wall. He marked it with his wand. In the center of the wall he had placed a little red line that would disappear to others, but appear when he approached. As he walked down the corridor, he found the red line and touched the strange wall once more. It still stood solid in front of him.
"Why did he say that the book has chosen? Chosen what?" Ron shook his head and continued to walk towards his dorm. He couldn't understand what was going on. If only he didn't stare stupidly at the wall for so long after the others disappeared; if only he took the opportunity to jump through the wall when Ginny and Harry did. Would he have been able to go through with them? Or would he still have been stopped?
The Gryffindor crawled into his bed with a worried mind. He figured once the morning came he would have to find some excuse as to why Harry wasn't in his bed. Seamus and Dean would probably think that he was with some girl. Hopefully, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny will come back soon, but Ron doubted that since even Dumbledore sounded worried. Finally, just before dawn, Ron fell into an uneasy sleep.
Hermione rolled around in her comfortable bed as she felt sunlight peek through her window. She wondered what time it was. She was sure she was late for breakfast again. Eventually, the girl felt a persistent soft tapping on her shoulder. She opened one eye and closed it instantly because of the burning light that was coming through the window.
The poking had stopped for a moment, but then continued. She heard a soft muttering next to her and felt warm breath tickle her cheeks. She smiled from the dreamy feeling that filled her body, as if this was the most comfortable thing in the world. The tapping on her shoulder became a bit harder as if it was getting impatient.
Finally, Hermione opened her eyes fully. She waited until her eyes focused, and then stared in confused shock at what lay in front of her. She screamed.
Loudly.
The person next to her woke up at the sudden eruption of yelling. He sat up and stared at the girl next to her. And of course, he started screaming.
The screaming continued.
And continued.
Until suddenly, Hermione looked down and noticed her nude body. She started screaming louder. In all actuality, the screaming had transformed in to pure screeching. The blond next to her noticed her nude body as well. He stopped in momentary pleasure, until he noticed who he was looking at. Then he glanced at himself and noticed that he too was naked. Again, the screaming persisted.
Hermione did her best to grab the red, silk covers that were bundled up next to her in order to cover her bare body up. Draco Malfoy, the blond-haired boy who sat next to her, scrambled to do the same. However, the screeching still pursued.
It felt like hours that Draco and Hermione just stared at each other screaming at the top of their lungs. Eventually, as their throats grew hoarse, they realized that there was a little, blond-haired girl sitting on the bed screaming at the top of her lungs too. Hermione and Draco stopped instantly with the killing of their throats and stared at the little girl next to them. The child's screams turned instantly into giggles as if this all was a game.
"That was fun, Mommy!" the girl said cheerfully. She scrambled off her knees and went to give her mom a kiss. Draco stared in pure shock, as did Hermione.
"You got pregnant?" the Slytherin asked stupidly.
Hermione threw the boy a side-long glance before she looked back at the girl that was now sitting only a few inches away. "I'm not your mother, Sweetie."
The girl giggled again. "Don't be silly, Mommy!" She then wiggled her little butt over to where Draco sat shocked. The little girl gave him a kiss on the cheek as well and said, "Good morning, Daddy!" The Slytherin, whose mouth was already opened, stared in blank stupidity at what the girl just said.
Her hair was a rich blond, much like his own, but her eyes were unmistakably the same brown as Granger's. The girl looked to be about five, and her eyes were as innocent as a new born baby's. She was wearing silk pink pajamas and her messy blond hair reached passed the middle of her back.
The little girl's eyes twinkled. She squirmed off of the bed and looked over at the two shocked 'parents'. "Thimmie said I could go play outside with Andy! Is that okay, Mommy? Daddy?"
Hermione noticed the hopeful look in the girl's eyes. It was much like her own when she wanted to go to the library or to a museum. How could she say no to that face?
"Sure, Baby, but come back inside once Thimmie asks you to," the Gryffindor said in hope that she answered correctly.
The little girl smiled brightly, jumped back onto the bed, and threw her arms around Hermione and Draco.
"Thank you! I love you!" She scampered off towards the large oak doors that sat on the other side of the room. She pulled at the handle of the great doors with as much strength as she could muster, but couldn't quite get it to pull open.
The girl whined a little and tried again.
"Thimmie opened it for me before," the girl said sadly, "'cause I still can't open it." She brought her brown eyes to where Draco was sitting. The little girl smiled hopefully.
"No way in hell I am getting out of this bed," Draco muttered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, we can't exactly discuss what is going on unless she leaves."
Draco looked at the witch with a hard glare. "I refuse to get out of this bed."
"Fine then," Hermione answered before grabbing one of the loose silk blankets. She wrapped it around her as fully as possible before carefully peeling herself out of the bed. Then, grudgingly knowing that the git just won, went to open the door for the small girl.
"Thank you, Mommy!" the little girl said and then left the room with a bounce in her steps. Hermione let the door swing closed, and then stared coldly at where the Slytherin sat on the bed.
"What did you do, Malfoy," Hermione asked with hatred etching her voice. Draco looked shocked at being accused for this and glared angrily.
"If you think I had anything to do with this, Mudblood, then you are stupider than I thought. The book must have been a portkey."
"Don't be a moron. If it was a portkey then we wouldn't have blacked out and you wouldn't be here too. I was the only one who touched the book," Hermione responded.
"Well then this is your fault," the Slytherin responded icily.
At that moment, the oak doors flew open and a man with graying hair walked through the opening. He wore expensive robes that shone the color of crimson. At his waist was a detailed looking sword and around his neck was a key that hung on a chain.
With as much confidence as he had when he walked in, it all washed away when he noticed that the girl in front of him was in nothing but a bed sheet. The older man shielded his eyes and turned away embarrassed.
"Forgive me, Priestess. I had assumed you were fully clothed," the man stated. Draco smirked at the blush which was developing on the witch's cheeks.
"No, it's alright. If you don't my asking, are you Thimmie?" Hermione asked timidly. The graying man in front of her looked startled at this. He immediately unsheathed the sword at his side and pointed it towards Hermione. The girl visibly paled.
"Who are you, Imposter?" the man bitterly questioned.
Well, that's the end of the chapter! Did you like it? Hate it? Random question: should I give them their wands? I'm rather proud of this first chapter! Please review! In full honesty, I really love reviews! They give me a warm fuzzy feeling!
Melissa
