Disclaimer I do not own Harry Potter. This is for fun and by no way being profited from. Anyway. Hello! I want to thank everyone sticking with this story, and sorry it's taken me so long. Lifes been very very busy. Also been working on other stories and briefly lost inspiration. But, I have a beta now. KITKAT so this has been updated. Also, I will have a chapter out by Halloween. I have not forgotten about this story.
"Hermione, for the last time I'm sure you've aced all of your O.W.L'S. " Harry groaned at his best friend, clearly annoyed. Watching the bushy haired witch pacing back and forth in front of him. It was all he could do not to grab her by the shoulders and shake some commonsense into her.
"Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no!" Hermione the witch in question said, pacing across the floorboards enough times to make them squeak in protest. Before stopping frozen in front of the window she passed by, three owls carrying letters flew straight toward them.
"I'm not ready! I'm sure I messed up runes. The DADA practical was awful and I made several miss calculations in Arithmancy!"
"I'm sure you aced everything." Harry reassured her again. Hermione however remained unconvinced and was pulling at her hair. The owls landed on the windowsill and Hermione shakily removed the scroll addressed to her. The boys doing the same to their owls.
"Stop pulling your hair, Hermione." Ron warned. "You'll lose all of your hair if you keep doing that."
She gulped and unrolled her scroll, her heart stopping for several seconds before starting back-up. 10 Shiny letter O's stared up at her in dark ink and one letter E.
She felt relief wash over her and she relaxed for the first time in months. She no longer had anything to worry about. Except the Dark Lord, but she tried not to think about him.
"See, I knew you could do it mione." Harry whispered into her ear, giving her a tight hug from behind and gave her a small kiss against her ear in a way of praise before moving away. Harry was the only one she would ever allow to call her "Mione" She hated the nickname except when her best friend said it.
Hermione smiled. It was impossible to feel down around Harry. She playfully smacked his arm and unrolled his scroll.
"You beat me in a defense against the dark arts, it's the one class you always manage to beat me in!"
"How is it you always do so well?" Ron complained, having picked up her report card.
This caused her temper to flare and she glared at the redhead. "I study!"
"Well so do I but I don't do this well."
Harry, obviously sensing a fight about to start, cut in as she was about to retort. "Lets go see if the ministry cars are here to take us to Diagon Alley."
"Alright, then." Ron nearly growled still glaring at her. She stood her ground staring right back and silently daring him to say anything else. She had a few choice words she would just love to say to her red-headed friend. She didn't even budge as he bumped his shoulder hard with hers as he walked out of the room.
"What's his problem?" Hermione turned to Harry for the first time, letting the hurt show in her eyes.
"I don't rightly know. He's probably just upset over his barely acceptable grades. He'll come around like always. Don't let him get to you, Mione."
"Alright, but if he starts something again I'll finish it! And you better not stop me next time!"
"I won't Mione, I promise." Harry chuckled and took her by the arm, dragging her downstairs just as Molly called for breakfast. She barely had time to put her O.W.L results in her back pocket.
The Weasley kitchen was cramped. It had one long table that was able to seat the clan of Seven Weasley children and their parents, all of whom had fiery red hair that matched their tempers. However 5 of them lived on their own now, so it was more than enough room for Harry, Herself, Ron and Ginny. Mr. Weasley was nowhere to be seen. And Mrs. Weasley was busy setting the table with plates of egg, bacon, toast, and pancakes.
Hermione sat on Harry's right in order to avoid Ron who was on his left, and helped herself to a bacon and egg sandwich.
"Eat up, Dears. Arthur will be back any moment now. We will be meeting up with Hagrid in Diagon alley. We are not going to linger, best get in and get out as quickly as possible. Chop chop. "
"Oh mom, stop worrying." Ginny yawned. "What on earth could possibly happen? "
"Several people have already gone missing from Diagon alley. We need to keep ourselves safe and be ready for any possible attack from the Death eaters."
Everyone went silent and Hermione pushed her half eaten sandwich away from herself, suddenly not hungry with a feeling of dread creeping through her body as she looked sideways at Harry. Suddenly afraid of losing him and becoming unsure if going to Diagon alley was a such good idea.
She didn't get long to ponder the logic of this when she heard the honking of horns. With a sigh she got up and left her half eaten food behind.
The car ride was a quiet one, her and Ron hadn't spoken two words to each other since their O.W.L's came. Not that she minded. Ron and herself had been arguing a lot lately and she hated how it put Harry in the middle though.
"H'ya 'Arry , Ron, 'ermione." A giant of a man greeted the second they walked into a dingy, and empty pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Her face broke into a smile. Hagrid! She ran over and gave her friend Hagrid a hug around the middle. Well the best she could, because she couldn't even get her arms around him.
"Are you all ready? I figured we should start with your robes."
"Sounds brilliant, Hagrid" Harry chimed in and followed Hagrid out of the small pub into an almost empty street. Most of the shops were closed with broken windows. There were also wanted posters of Death eaters and missing person posters.
Hermione instinctively clutched Harry's hand and moved closer to him, her wand clutched tightly in her free hand, fully alert as she kept peering between each shop down the alleys as if waiting for Voldemort himself to attack.
Most of the shops were bordered up and closed, the place that first years and adults who have had their wand broken would go to get their wands, Olivanders was dark and dusty inside. Its windows smashed open, broken objects littered the floor. It looked like there had been a struggle.
Hermione remembered reading about Olivander's disappearance in the Daily prophet. Not wanting to dwell on his fate she and Harry both quickened their pace, their hands still locked. She didn't notice her other best friend Ron glaring at where their hands were connected.
They quickly walked into Madam Malkin's robes for all occasions, rather quickly. None of them wanting to be out in the open for very long.
It took them a half an hour to get their new robes. (Madam Malkin was having trouble with Ron. She swore he grew an inch when she was measuring him. Twice.)
Once they got their robes, they got their school books, apothecary supplies, and several odds and ends. Which Hermione thought would be useful. (Most of them books not on their school supply list.)
Once they were done they met up with the others at Ron's twin brothers joke shop. "Weasley's Wizard Wheezy's"
Deciding she wanted to get away from Ron, who's mood was getting worse and worse since that mornings argument she split away from the others. Breathing a sigh of relief as she felt liberated from a sort of pressure she didn't know was weighing down on her.
Why can't he be happy for me? I worked really hard for those grades! She thought bitterly, wandering over to the "Wonder Witch " product area. Where she saw Ginny and Luna, a blonde, spacey Ravenclaw she befriended last year, Lavender Brown an annoying girl she shared a dorm with and her best friend Parvati Patil. They were all gathered around a stand with a bunch of Pink and Red Potion bottles. One of them she recognized immediately as Love potions, and as much a she loathed the twins disregard for laws and knickknacks for trouble, they were very smart and talented so the potions probably worked.
Curious she picked up the bottle and opened it to give it a sniff. It wasn't Amorantia but a lesser love potion. But she still got a whiff of spearmint toothpaste, old dusty books, some form of incense, Frankincense and Mare, and something she couldn't describe. Old and familiar and yet, she knew she had never smelled it before.
Shrugging her shoulders, she put the potion down and was about to see what the other bottles were when a cold voice spoke from behind her.
"Figures the Mudblood would need a potion to get a man's attention."
Hermione turned around to glare at who was talking to her. It was Pansy Parkinson, a pug faced Slytherin in her year.
"I don't need a potion, but I suggest you may want to try it. Everyone knows your "Boyfriend" Malfoy will sleep with anyone that spreads their legs!" She hissed, anger building up inside her.
"At least I can get a boyfriend, unlike you. With your dirty blood, and know-it-all personality, you would and do repel every respectable wizard."
"We have different view of "Respectable" Parkinson." She retorted hotly.
Pansy glared at her with her dark eyes and walked closer to her, so only Hermione could hear.
"Argue all you want, you filthy little Mudblood. Who would ever love a pathetic book worm? You might as well get married to one of your books. I see the way Weasley glares at you, even he wouldn't want you. I highly doubt even Potter would look at you twice. I hope you have a nice lonely life. It's what your kind deserve!"
Before Hermione could retort Pansy left the store. Tears swam in front of her eyes and she tried to blink them away. She knew that Pansy was just trying to get to her, yet a part of her believed Parkinson's words.
Not that she wanted Harry, he was her best friend and their relationship was a strictly platonic one. Though some people read more into it because of how comfortable they were around each other. Ron on the other hand…
Feeling tears starting to fall down her cheeks she ran out of the joke shops doors. Ignoring Harry's familiar cry of "Hermione!" When she bumped into him in her retreat. She didn't want him to see her cry. But she knew he had glimpsed her red eyes as she passed.
Picking up speed once outside, she ran, trying to find a place to hide and be alone. Still hearing Harry call for her, as well as the familiar voices of Ron, Luna, and Hagrid.
Darting into an alley she pressed herself up against the corner of one of the shop doors and a brick wall, hiding in the shadows. Once the call of her name died down and she could no longer hear it she deemed it safe to remove herself from her hiding place and look around.
Her blood froze. She was in Nocturne Alley. An alley full of shops of dark objects that catered to usually the darkest of Witches and Wizards. She turned to leave the alley when she saw a streak of blonde. Stopping she turned to see Draco Malfoy, her worst enemy enter one of the shops.
Curious, she debated for a few minutes against the logical decision of getting out of the alley while she could. And her curiosity to know what Malfoy was doing.
Curiosity won over logical thinking. She crept down the alley, moving into the shadows to avoid being a detected. It wouldn't be good for her to be caught there without any back up with Death eaters out their wanting to get rid of Witches and Wizards of her blood status.
She peered into the shop windows until she found the familiar platinum blonde hair of her worst enemy. Crouching down under the window she peered inside.
Malfoy appeared to be in an argument. His hands were pointing angrily at a large cabinet. With a balding, greasy looking man that looked like he hadn't had a bath in a week. Hermione strained her hearing and pressed her ear against the window. Wishing she had one of the twins extendable ears so she could hear what was going on.
She managed to catch something about instructions, something was broken that he needed fixing and he couldn't bring it to the shop. Biting her lip she crawled closer to the door, hoping to hear better from there. Only to knock over a vase near the door.
There was a rather loud crash and she heard feet coming toward her. She froze in panic and nearly screamed as a hand moved in front of her mouth and she was pulled against a males form and felt a cloak being pulled over her.
It was the invisibility cloak and the male's chest her back was against was Harry's. She relaxed suddenly relieved that it was just Harry. Sensing her relief, he removed his hand from her mouth. And hissed in her ear,
"What were you thinking running down here? I don't need to loose anyone else important to me Hermione."
"I'm sorry Harry, I-I was upset and wasn't thinking." She bit her lip, feeling ashamed. It was true. He had lost too many close to him already.
"It's ok just… just don't do it again, I couldn't handle it if I lost you too. You're the only one who's been their through everything, even when Ron wasn't speaking to me fourth year. Shhh they are coming." He hissed not giving her a chance to apologize again, feeling even more guilty.
They fell silent and saw Draco and Mr. Brogan leave the shop and look around. Harry backed up with her with his arm pulling her back by the waist and narrowly missing Malfoy's wand which probed the area they had just been standing in.
"Accio Cloak" Draco muttered. The cloak they hid under didn't budge and they waited with bated breath. Eventually Malfoy and Borgan stopped looking.
"Must have been a cat." Borgan stated with a wheezy voice.
"Must have been" Malfoy agreed. "You can't be to careful though nowadays Borgan."
"Quite, Quite. Alright we are at an agreement. I will keep the cabinet here. I'll send owls with instructions if you so will it.. You better get going before you draw too much attention to yourself. A wizard your age shouldn't be caught down here without a parent."
Draco nodded his head sharply and sneered at Borgan. "I'm glad we have come to an agreement then. It was nice doing business with you." He dropped a bag of what sounded like galleons into the older mans outstretched fingers. And took off down the street and disappeared into Diagon Alley.
Mr. Borgan shut the door and locked it with some keys. And disappeared toward the other end of the street and into one of the other shops.
They took off the cloak and Hermione went over to the door, muttering Alohamora there was a soft click as the door unlocked and she walked in followed by Harry.
"What is it Malfoy wanted in here?" He asked curiously, looking around the shop and Hermione remembered he had been in their once before their second year.
"Some cabinet, I want to know what it is. If Malfoy want's it and it is in this shop, it mustn't be good. Has it changed much since you were last in here Harry?"
"I agree, and it's the same dark evil place, the only difference is some of these dark objects weren't here before."
"Keep a look out, will you, Harry. I'm going to go check out what the cabinet is."
"Alright, but be careful Hermione, and be quick!" He went over to one of the windows and pulled his cloak over himself. Hermione watched him disappear and knew he was keeping an eye out at the window.
Hermione walked over to where she saw the cabinet but didn't see it but the room leading to the back was a jar. Cautiously she walked into the room, there in the center was a large black cabinet. The walls were surrounded by many dark objects, most of them jewelry or small trinkets, Various decaying body parts and one suit of armor by the door.
She looked over her shoulder to make sure she was really alone before going into the room and over to the cabinet. Running her hands along the wood she studied the runes along the top.
"What does Malfoy want with a vanishing cabinet?" She muttered to herself and opened the cabinet. Nothing was in there of course. If there had been it would have disappeared by now.
She didn't notice upon opening the door. One of the cursed armors got up until she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head as it hit her with the hilt of it's sword hard. She grunted in pain and stars danced before her eyes and she started to fall into unconsciousness. She was barely aware of being shoved hard into the cabinet before she lost complete consciousness.
She groaned, there was a stabbing pain on the back of her head and it hurt to move. Her eyes were heavy. She moved to stretch and found there was no room. Confused she opened her eyes a bit and noticed she was somewhere cramped and dark. Panic started to rise within her and she got up. Wincing everything was cramped and hurt to move to fast. Slowly she used the back of wherever she was, she felt wood beneath her fingers as she used it as support she got up.
She moved her hands along the wall, she realized after walking a square that she was in some form of closet, or box. She groped around for a knob anything. When she finally felt the cold metal of a knob beneath her. She turned and pushed.
It didn't budge.
She tried pulling.
It still didn't budge.
"Hello?! Hello?! Is anyone there? I seemed to be trapped."
She waited for an answer, when none came she tried again. "Someone help me if you can hear me please! I'm stuck!" There again was no answer. With rising panic she slammed her shoulder against the door. Feeling claustrophobic she wanted to get out of… wherever she was.
Again and again she tried opening the door and it was stuck tight. Again she cried for help hoping someone would hear her and help until her voice became hoarse. And the back of her head throbbed even more.
Giving up she huffed and leaned her back against the wall of what she thought was a closet and wrapped her arms around her knees and her chin on her knees. Her tears started to fall as she became more and more scared as she tried to think about where she was and where she had last been.
Only, she couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything. Maybe she was kidnapped and held for ransom but who would want to kidnap her? Maybe someone her parents knew.
Who were her parents? Panicking more she wracked her brains trying to remember who her friends and family were. Nothing came to mind except once she though she saw in her minds eye someone with emerald green eyes. As well as some images of a brown haired couple. Was that her family?
She couldn't remember. The more she thought the more the back of her head throbbed. Deciding to give it up for now she shut her eyes trying to relax and stop the aching in the back of her head.
She didn't know how long she was sitting like that. Her legs were starting to cramp but she dared not move, she didn't want to be reminded that she was in a small unknown space.
Just when sleep was about to overcome her she heard it. A door opening in the distance and the sound of door bells clinking as it was opened and some shuffling of papers and a voice muttering to themselves. She decided to try again.
"Hello?!" She said as loud as she could. "Please, whoever you are. Help this door is stuck. I don't know where I am. Please let me out!" She stood still straining her ears to hear anything. Her heart leap, footsteps were coming toward her.
"Hello?" She asked feebly, hoping whoever was out there was in front of the door now.
"So I'm not hearing things." A masculine voice said from behind the door. "Stand back please if you can. I'm going to have to blast the door it's jammed. I'm sure my employer knows how to fix it."
She obediently backed up against the wall. She heard him mutter something and a second later the door blasted open. She moved her left arm to shield her face from dust and debris. She was pulled out of where she was by her right arm. She found by looking back as she was gently taken to a new room that she had been in a cabinet.
How did I get in there? She wondered as she was forced to sit down. Once she was seated the male who had spoken and dragged her out was in front of her and she finally got a look at her rescuer.
He was handsome and looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old. He had dark hair neatly parted his bangs were slightly longer than the rest of his hair but not by much. They fell against the hallow of his cheek bones in un-tamable wisps. His eyes were a rare black. (Or a very very dark brown, for it could be the lighting making them appear black.) His skin was pale and he had sharp features.
"The back of your head is bleeding rather badly and you have a rather bad wound. I will have to wrap it " The young man stated as he moved to look at the back of her head. "I happen to have some bandages right here. I better clean it first. She heard him mutter Aquamenta and point a wand at her head, she felt a stream of water run over her hair cleaning her of the blood and cleaning out the tender wound. She winced a bit but didn't flinch away. He seemed to know what he was doing. When he was finished he moved out of sight toward some drawers.
"So that's why my head is throbbing!" She squeaked excited to know what was causing her discomfort.
"Yes, now lets see. Ah yes, here we are!" There was some rustling and the sound of many objects being moved before he came back to her line of sight and holding a roll of bandages . He unwound it and started to wrap it around her head. Biting it off with his teeth once she was fully covered."
"Thank you for helping me." She said, once he had finished with tending to her head.
"You're welcome. Now I would like some questions answered. How did you get in the vanishing cabinet? What's your name? How old are you? Where are you from?"
" I don't know the answers to any of those questions. I'm sorry." She apologized and blushed, feeling like an idiot for not knowing. She hated feeling stupid.
"Do you have any form of identification?" He asked calmly but there was something in his eyes. They were looking at her with distrust and confusion.
"I think I do. Let me check." Digging into her front pockets she found a chocolate frog box, a Bertie Botts every flavor bean, A cat treat, lint, and a paper clip. Her back pockets proved to be more helpful for she found a piece of paper that appeared to be her O.W.L results. She vaguely remembered them being tests in magic and handed it to the man who held his hand out for the paper. There was a rustling as he unfurled it.
"Hermione Granger. Does that ring a bell?"
"Yes! That's me, tt sounds right. " Indeed it did sound familiar to her.
"You appear to have been about to start 6th year, so you must be sixteen."
Hermione nodded more flooding back to her. She remembered her name and classes. But for some reason she couldn't remember people. Teachers, friends, family. When she thought about them she drew up blanks and it was getting on her nerves.
"What's your name?" She questioned, suddenly realizing she had been rude and not asked his name.
"Tom, Tom Riddle. Come, I better take you to St. Mungos." He got up from his kneeling position in front of her, he was rather tall, 6 inches taller than she was when she stood up. He held his hand out for her to take.
"That's a lovely name… " she started, missing the angry look that crossed his eyes. "But it doesn't seem to suit you." She finished and the look was replaced by one of surprise and a tiny upturn of the corner of his mouth. She took his hand. Ignoring the goosebumps that appeared on her arms and the back of her neck. Putting them off to cold.
With a crack and a nauseating feeling like something had taken a hook behind her navel, they departed.