Chapter One
There is no easy way out
The moon was glowing high in the night sky, watching as it had done for millions of years. It had been witness to many things such as secret lovers, hiding from the harsh reality of life, and innocents snatched from the ones they love. It was like a trusted friend, never revealing the mysteries it has so discreetly been a part of. Tonight was no different as the cloaked figures moved silently through the forest. If there truly was a "man on the moon", he would have turned with interest to see what scandals and conspiracies that the humans would bring upon each other now.
The three figures came to a stop in a large clearing. For a while no one moved and all was silent other than occasional cry of an animal and the sound of crickets. The cool summer night air was blowing calmly, sending the salty smell of the nearby ocean their way. No doubt, during the day it would have been a beautiful sight but now, when you could not see much more than what was directly in front of you, you had to rely on your other senses. It was rather eerie, especially with a war raging and no one was sure who they could trust.
One of the three stepped forward, lighting the tip of his wand and removing his hood, revealing himself to be Albus Dumbledore.
"Severus. May I ask, what is s important that I had to be dragged from my bed at such an early hour?" The Headmaster's voice was in no way cruel but Severus could not help but flinch. The tired tone the older man's voice showed, for once, that he was truly overwhelmed and exhausted from the recent events. Most men Dumbledore's age were retired or dead by now, not dealing with the stress of running a school and fighting off the Dark Lord.
"Yes Albus, it appears that Voldemort has discovered the identity of The Guardians." Severus spoke quietly, fearing who might be listening to their conversation.
Dumbledore's eyes widened all traces of exhaustion gone. "Who are they?"
This is where their companion finally stepped in, "Hermione Granger and Blaise Zabini."
It is a very rare occasion for The Headmaster to be caught off guard, but it seems that there was a first time for everything. To realize that the two people had had been looking for had been under their noses the entire time.
"They will need to begin their training as soon as possible. You two will be seeing to this, correct?" Dumbledore asked the two men in front of him.
Both nodded, slightly reluctant. It was a big deal to train a Guardian and it took much dedication. But these teenagers, Hermione and Blaise, had to succeed. There was not much time before the final battle. It was regrettable that they should have to rid themselves of childhood. But this was entirely necessary if Harry Potter were to win this war.
*******
The sounds of her mother and father's shouts were the first thing Hermione heard when she awoke that morning. Jumping out of bed, she grabbed her wand from her bedside table and ran down the stairs two at a time, nearly falling three times. She moved slowly and as quietly as possible, keeping her wand in front of her, afraid of what she might see. But her attempt at surprising her mother's attacker failed horribly as she tripped and went crashing down to the floor.
'Damn…'
Her wand, and only means of defense, rolled out of arms reach, hitting a black shoe and coming to a stop.
"Well, Miss Granger, it seems that you are, once again, entirely too eager to rush into danger, ill- prepared at that."
'Professor Snape..'
Hermione stumbled to stand, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She straightened herself out and turned to walk towards the kitchen, leaving the wand at the dreaded teacher's feet, not willing to embarrass herself further. Her parents sat at the dining room table; Marcus, her father, staring at his untouched plate of bacon and sausage and Jane, her heavily pregnant mother, playing with a loose thread on her shirt. She ignored them momentarily and began searching the many cabinets for something to eat. Snape stepped behind her and laid the wand on the counter.
"Professor, I mean no disrespect but, why are you here exactly?"
It was a very understandable question. Who would not curious when the most hated man at Hogwarts showed up at their doorstep two weeks after school had let out. Just as Severus was about to reply, he was rudely interrupted by the angry father.
"They want to snatch you away and drag you off to that bloody school early. It's not right; we don't get to see other than Christmas and summer." The woman at the table burst into tears as she listened to the man ramble on and Hermione rushed over to comfort her.
"The baby is due any in two weeks, why must you leave? Wouldn't you like to see your baby brother?" Jane Ganger rubbed her enlarged stomach and her questions were just barely audible between large sobs.
"Mama, you really need to calm down." But the woman shook her head stubbornly and continued to cry. It was to be expected of course, tensions had been running high in the Granger household what with the new baby coming, things were bound to snap anyways.
"Well, maybe I can stay?" Hermione looked hopefully at her professor who shook his head, a frustrated scowl appearing on his usually emotionless face.
"Miss Granger, I am afraid that it is of the utmost importance that you return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. If need be, I can return in a few hours to give you time to pack and say goodbye to your family."
The muggleborn nodded, chocking back her million and one questions. When the man had left she made her mother a calming cup of tea and went up to her room.
Glancing around, she smiled. It was always hard to leave home. She walked over to her stereo and placed a CD in to listen to. As the familiar beat pulsed around her room, she reached under the bed and pulled out her trunk, filling it with clothes and cloaks. Her schools supplies had already been packed within a week of returning home. Hermione loved being prepared and having things out of the way. It gave her more free time to relax.
She stretched out on the bed and began thinking on her last few years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was her sixth year, and the next one would her last. It would be hard to part with the place she had considered a second home. She had always felt welcome their, no matter how hard people tried to make her feel otherwise. For a while she felt the need to prove herself. Working hard to make them see, make them all see, that muggleborns could be just as powerful and successful as everyone else. But it was no use and she had been labeled a know-it-all show off, no more than a sidekick to the infamous 'boy-who-lived'. Harry and Ron were the best friends a girl could ask for but it would be nice to be ones own person. Not one of the 'golden trio'.
A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. Without waiting for a reply, her two younger siblings tried pushing themselves through the door at the same time, collapsing in a heap by the end of her bed.
"Hermione! Are you really leaving early?" Ten- year-old Atlantis questioned, pushing a long auburn curl out of her eyes.
The twins had been looking forward to their older sister taking them to the amusement park this summer. Regretfully, Hermione nodded.
"Why?" Lysander, the twin of Atlantis, asked. He was the much more emotional of the two and, much unlike his twin, was easily influenced into tears.
"I'm not entirely sure."
Unfortunately, the time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and soon it was time for Hermione and her family to part ways. Her mother was sobbing again and her father barely spoke, even the twins were pouting and unhappy.
****
Blaise Zabini sat quietly in the Great Hall. There were eight other students all of whom had stayed for the summer vacation for one reason or another, all except one. He watched as the lone Gryffindor ate her dinner in peace. Having been requested to return weeks before schedule and arriving just yesterday, he wondered if she had been brought under them same strange circumstances as he did.
As he looked over her, he wished he could say that she had changed into something beautiful and sexy over all of the years since he had first seen her, like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. But she hadn't, she was still the same bushy haired girl who wore the frumpy oversized clothing. But maybe this was a good thing; she wasn't as fake as some of the other girls he had gotten used to. Taking another look around the room it appeared that he and Granger were the only ones sitting on their own. Down the long table to his left, two Slytherin third years were arguing quietly about some unknown subject. Across the hall three Hufflepuff students sat with two Ravenclaws, all had a book on Care of Magical Creatures in their hands and were discussing it adamantly.
There were only four adults at the Head table. Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Sybil Trelawaney, and someone Blaise had never seen before.
'Surely this man could not be a new professor...'
Of course not, all the spots were filled. As far as he knew no teachers had been fired and there was something weird about him.
Shrugging to himself, he decided to leave it alone for the moment. Standing, he threw another look to the entire room and left, walking with the long and graceful strides he had been taught to maintain.
'You must always impress, walk gracefully, speak as little as possible to uphold a sense of mystery but, when you do speak, make sure you sound intelligent, we are not barbarians…'
His mother's voice rang through his head. Strive for perfection.
But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he was always third best when it came to grades, Granger and Draco taking the leading two spots. He was always grateful to be in the top ten, at least. His mother, however, did nothing to hide her disappointment.
'You were bested by a mudblood? This is a disgrace…'
Then Blaise had foolishly reminded his mother that Malfoy too, had fallen behind the girl who was believed 'undeserving of the term 'witch''. This had earned him quite a harsh beating for disrespect.
The Slytherin Common Room was pleasantly empty and he relaxed on what of the couches.
'Why was I asked back so early?'
There was, of course, no answer to this yet. But one would come soon. It was not as if he was taken from home and brought back to school just to relax. Everything had an explanation.