Author's Note: Wrote this so long ago that I forgot about it, so here it is (about six months late). For any of you who are interested, this takes place with the same setting as the anime, Sword Art Online, though the story will deviate from that pretty soon. Though if you're curious about the setting, I think watching the first episode will give you a pretty good idea about this world.

Read over by Nerys (this also happened back in the dinosaur age) so I doubt she even remembers reading this, but thank you all the same for offering suggestions and brainstorming with me.

On a separate note, all other fics will probably come out of hiatus soon. I've been suffering a pretty bad writer's block, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! So yay. I'm not a hundred percent sure, though, so don't quote me on that.

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough." ~Og Mandino

NOVEMBER 7, 2022. THE BURROWS

30 MINUTES BEFORE GAME START

0 DEAD

"Teddy, what is this?"

"It's a video game console. A MMORPG," Teddy said eagerly. She hadn't seen him this excited about something since Ron had showed him what Quidditch was. "The game is called Sword Art Online. Nicknamed SAO. And this—" he held out something that looked like a helmet. "—is called a NerveGear."

Hermione made a disinterested noise.

"It's a complete virtual environment," Teddy continued excitedly. "Your character is you. You get to be the person who runs around, collecting items and defeating bosses. You can meet new people from all over the world!"

"Sounds fun."

Teddy's eyes immediately lit up, obviously missing Hermione's sarcasm. "I knew you'd like it!" He held out the helmet for her. "There is a rare item event at eleven." He grinned sheepishly. "Vicky asked me to go to Three Broomsticks with her, though. So can you do it?"

"Can I do what?"

"Play the game for me!" Teddy said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. When he saw Hermione's scowl, he quickly added, "It'll only be for a couple minutes! Just get the item for me and then you can log out."

Then he gave her his best puppy face.

Hermione sighed. She supposed that one little item couldn't hurt. And to be honest, she had been rather curious about such a game. She still didn't quite believe that such an advance level of technology could exist. "Where is the item located?"

Teddy beamed at her. "When you get in the game, you'll automatically arrive in the Town of Beginnings. There are tutorials around the market if you want to learn how to move. The gamemaster will be giving the item out in the plaza." He glanced at the clock. "I was supposed to meet Vicky three minutes ago!" He hugged Hermione. "Thanks, Auntie. You're the best."

He disappeared out the door.

Hermione glanced at the clock. Harry and Ron wouldn't be over for another two hours. She supposed that she had some time to spare. Hermione plugged the device in and dropped the NerveGear on her head, lying down on her bed.

TYPE IN YOUR NAME

Hermione raised her hand, trying to touch the keyboard, before she remembered that it was all in her head. Surprisingly, she could type the letters as she thought about it. She tried typing in Teddy's name, but it wouldn't let her; somehow, the system seemed to recognize that she wasn't Teddy.

HERMIONE - she typed. She supposed she would just get Teddy's rare item for him and send it to his account. However, she wondered if she had to deal with all the tutorials that one usually had to go through at the beginning of a game. She wasn't in the mood for those kinds of things. She had never been one interested in video games.

As soon as she finished typing, a bright light flashed in front of her eyes.

NOVEMBER 7, 2022. THE PLAZA

5 MINUTES BEFORE GAME START

0 DEAD

Hermione landed in what appeared to be a plaza. There were people all around her, laughing and talking just as real people would. Hermione clenched her fists a couple of times and flexed out her muscles, but there didn't seem to be any setbacks. She twirled around in a circle, and found that everything, from the wind biting her cheeks to her hair floating behind her, seemed to be very real.

Hermione waved her arms around a bit, and what appeared to be a menu screen popped up in front of her. It was almost like a real video game. There was an avatar of her which resembled her exactly. On the sidebars, there were tabs for her items and skills.

'Who knew that this type of technology could exist,' Hermione smiled to herself. 'Humans can be quite brilliant sometimes, can't they?'

Behind her, someone whispered, "Do you think he'll have enough for everyone? There are a lot of people here."

"He's the gamemaker. He can do anything."

There was a pause. "What if I don't want a motorcycle jacket?"

"Just keep it anyway. It'll be good for trading later on. I do wish he didn't make the event so public, though. This will lower the value of the jacket a lot." There was a sigh. "Think I can still get 500 Cols for this?"

'Motorcycle jacket?' Hermione smirked to herself. It seemed like little Teddy had spent too much time around Sirius.

"Here he comes."

There was a bright, green flash above her. Suddenly, a figure dressed in green armor appeared, floating in air. He was about a hundred times larger than all of them, his piercing green eyes sweeping across the crowd.

"Welcome to my world." His voice was deep and had a slight hiss to it. "My name is Loki."

As soon as he spoke, people started murmuring among each other. Some of them even gave this 'Loki' figure heated glares. Hermione racked through her brain. The name sounded familiar, though she couldn't place where she had heard it.

"As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu." Blinking, Hermione clicked on the little menu button in front of her. It was true. Near the bottom of the list, the last item was blank.

"But this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of SAO. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

Which translated roughly to: You listen to me, or you die.

"You're lying!" Someone in the crowd yelled, and his voice was followed by murmurs of agreement.

Loki's lips curled up, ignoring the crowd below him. "Unfortunately several players' friends and family have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world."

'Two hundred and thirteen,' Hermione's eyes widened. 'Two hundred and thirteen people died because of a video game.'

"I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game." Loki smirked at them. "But I want you to remember this clearly; there is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be lost forever. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain."

The plaza was dead quiet.

"There is only one means of escape: to complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game." His lips curled up in a cruel smirk. "I created SAO for one reason; to create this world and intervene in it."

"You are pathetic," someone behind her said. "Just because you lost the Avengers in New York doesn't mean you can create a video game console to trap us here!"

Loki. That's why his name sounded so familiar. She remembered him now. He was the one who was wrecking havoc in the States while Voldemort was in Europe. She had been too busy fighting to be worried about other countries, but it seemed like the group that called themselves 'the Avengers' did a good job protecting their country.

However, it didn't seem like they did their jobs well enough.

Loki simply smirked cruelly. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. You were meant to be ruled. And in this world, I am your king. You are at my mercy."

And then he was gone.

There was a deathly still silence, where no one even dared to breathe. And then someone from the front of the crowd screamed. It seemed to break the spell. Instantly, people began to murmur among themselves, some panicking, others yelling profanities at where Loki just was.

Hermione gripped her fists, feeling a numbness run throughout her body.

'This is real. If I die in this game, I will die in real life.' She could feel herself shaking. 'This is not a game. This is Voldemort all over again. Life or death.'

Hermione looked around, sizing everyone up. 'The only way to survive in this world is by making yourself as strong as possible.' She tried to remember the games her dad used to make her play when she was just a little kid. 'The resources, money and EXP we can earn are usually limited.'

She could see her dad sitting in front of the living room television. She could almost hear his voice. 'A treasure chest will never appear again. An enemy defeated will not resurrect.'

'The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean. I should head to the next village right now.' She could see everyone flash before her eyes. 'I didn't survive the war against Voldemort only to die by a video game. I need to see Ron again, to see Harry, to see everyone.'

Quickly, she ran out of the plaza. She had to get to the resources before the rest of the crowd shook out of their stupor and did the same. She had to gather anything she could and train herself up.

'I'm going to get us all out of this world.'

NOVEMBER 12, 2022. THE FIELDS

5 DAYS AFTER GAME START

289 DEAD

Two hundred eight nine people were dead already. It was all over the news. Their pictures plastered on the front page. Their heroic stories posted everywhere. But it did not change the fact that they were gone in the game, and dead in real life.

It had been five days since Loki had trapped them all in this video game. The first level hadn't been cleared yet. The boss room hadn't even been found. At this rate, it would take decades to make it to the very top. The difficulty of the levels only increased.

Hermione wandered onto the field, feeling the afternoon sun warming her back. Her sword—which she had bought at the market—was slung loosely on her left shoulder. It still felt rather uncomfortable, though she was slowly getting used to it. It was her only protection, anyway; she found out quickly that she couldn't use any magic in the game.

Hermione held her sword loosely in her hand. She was at level twelve, which wasn't too bad, she supposed, considering her limited time in the game. However, she wasn't going to intimidate anyone with her level. She needed to continue working or else she would never beat the game.

She wasn't going to sit around doing nothing while other people risked their lives trying to clear the game for everyone.

A boar materialized in front of her and charged. She step sided and slashed at it once with her sword on the soft fur right below its neck; its weak spot. It made a grunting noise, and then it disappeared, shattering into millions of pieces. There was a plentiful amount of boars on the field, but they gave very few EXP points. Now, at level twelve, defeating the boars didn't really do anything but sap her energy. Hermione sighed. She had to head towards the next village soon or maybe even start thinking about heading towards the dungeons and try to find the boss room.

She was about to put her sword away when she heard a rustle behind her. Instantly alert, she whirled around, her sword held out in front of her. She saw someone that she never expected to see ever again.

"Tom Riddle?!"

The boy in front of her didn't seem to recognize her at all, though she was certain it was him. He looked rather funny with a sword slung on his back, but she would recognize those dark eyes anywhere. She had spent months researching all she could about him, trying to help Harry.

"Die!" She shrieked at him, slashing her sword down. Unfortunately, even in the video game, he still possessed inhuman speed. His sword was quickly in his hand and he blocked her attack without much difficulty, the two swords scraping against each other.

He eyed her with distaste, and then began walking away, leaving a very troubled Hermione behind. She wanted to clear the game, to save everyone from being trapped in here forever. But wouldn't that also mean releasing Voldemort back into the world? Could she live with herself if she did that?

Hermione shook her head. Her main priority was to get everyone, including herself, safely out of the video game. Having a younger version of Voldemort didn't change that. Hermione ran up to him. "Wait a second," she said, trying to keep up with his long strides.

Tom abruptly stopped and instantly, his sword was at her neck. "I remember you," he said quietly. "You were the mudblood in Ginny Weasley's mind."

Hermione's eyes widened. Was this one of Voldemort's horcruxes? She thought that Harry had destroyed them all. How was he still here, very solid and very real, in front of her?

Tom pressed the tip of his sword into her neck and Hermione glared at him, trying not to show the fear she felt. "We're in a safe zone right now," she said bossily. "You can't harm players."

He simply looked at her before turning and continuing his journey down the field.

"Wait." She didn't want to be anywhere near him, but she felt that it was her responsibility to keep an eye on him. Who knew how many people he would murder if she wasn't there. Granted, she didn't think he was quite as good with a sword as he was with a wand, but she didn't want to take any chances.

He didn't stop walking. "I'm coming with you," she announced, though he gave no indication on whether or not he heard her.

'Oh Harry, Ron, what have I gotten myself into?'

NOVEMBER 14, 2022. THE INN

7 DAYS AFTER GAME START

332 DEAD

Tom stood in front of the dungeon's entrance. In the two days that she had followed him, he had never stopped to rest. The most that he had done was that he had retrieved a sandwich from his item list and ate while he walked.

"You'll have to stop and sleep sometimes," Hermione reminded him, looking into the dark cave. "This might be a video game, but it still uses up energy. If you keep going on like this, your HP will start to drop."

Tom shot her and irritated look, like he hadn't realized she was still there.

"This is still a safe zone, so you don't need to worry about me hurting you. I won't stab you to death, as much as I want to." She huffed and pointed to the inn. "Go get some rest."

The priority was to get back into the real world. Tom, with or without his wand, was one of the only people Hermione believed had the potential to clear this game. She would worry about sidetracks with Voldemort and his younger self later.

Surprisingly, Tom listened to her and went into the inn. She invited herself to the seat opposite of him, observing his features. He was just as she had remembered him. His cheekbones were high and his hair jet black. He was even still wearing his Hogwarts robes.

"So, why are you here?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. "Last thing I heard, Harry killed you with a basilisk fang."

Tom scowled at her. "Loki wanted to prove that he could rule over even the most brilliant humans."

"He's starting pretty low, isn't he?"

Tom looked like he was going to reach over and choke her, but the waitress arrived with their order before he could. He sent her a flirty smile, which left her blushing from head to toe. She had heard stories of his manipulation, yet she had never seen it for herself. It seemed weird, watching him smile.

"Do you remember anything after the Chamber of Secrets?" She asked innocently, taking a sip of her drink.

"No."

"Well, we defeated you," Hermione said smugly. "You're dead now."

Tom's lips curled up. "Even then, it seems that I am still able to conquer over death."

Hermione scowled at him. "This is a video game. No one here is alive."

"But no one here doesn't have a living body outside," Tom said smugly. "I believe it is safe to assume that I am quite alive."

Hermione glared at him.

"Well, well. If it isn't Hermione Granger."

Hermione's head shot up. "If it isn't the little ferret," she sniped back.

Draco Malfoy smirked down at her. "Who would have thought our little bookworm was a gamer?"

"What about you, Malfoy? Too sad to face reality so you had to run away in a virtual game?"

Draco glowered at her. "My father helped make this game," he said smugly. "I was the one who he asked to test it."

'So Lucius Malfoy has fallen from the wealthy, influential pureblood to a muggle video game creator.' However, she couldn't deny that the game was brilliant, if they left out the fact that Loki managed to take over it. "Then I suppose he's the one to blame for being stuck in here?"

Draco's face turned red and he looked like he was about to say something else, but then he noticed Tom. His face turned pale as a look of recognition appeared on his face, and he could do nothing but gap. Hermione smirked, watching amusedly as the young Malfoy debated on whether or not to bow.

Tom sighed. "It appears as if my fame exceeds even my own expectations." He didn't seem to recognize Draco and paid the blonde no attention, returning to taking meticulous sips from his drink.

Draco cast one more frightened look at Tom before deciding to sit down, coming to the conclusion that no matter how terrifying Tom was, it was probably a lot safer with him.

Hermione sighed. She supposed it would be easier to keep an eye out on the ferret just in case he ran away and did something stupid again. Besides, Malfoy had never managed to beat her ever before anyway, and she didn't plan on letting him start now.

NOVEMBER 15, 2022. THE DUNGEONS

8 DAYS AFTER GAME START

357 DEAD

Tom was in the front, leading the way. Behind him was Draco, who kept looking back as if she would stab him in the back. While the option seemed very appealing, she didn't see a reason to kill him now. After all, he was another player who could help them clear the game.

Hermione squinted at the little name bar above Tom's head. At the top left corner was his name. Glancing left, she saw the words: LEVEL 21. She sighed. Of course Tom's level would be way higher than hers.

Hermione suddenly noticed that Tom was in front, killing all the enemies before they had a chance to reach her and Draco. She huffed and ran up to him.

"Stop stealing all the EXP," she said to him. "You're high enough leveled as it is."

He made a sweeping gesture. "Be my guest."

A skeleton appeared from behind the corner and charged at her. She swung her sword forward, almost taking out Tom's head in the process—'too bad I didn't'—and jabbed at its chest. It made an attempt to stab her with its own sword, but she blocked it and thrust her sword forward, catching its skull. It disintegrated.

Hermione focused her attention on another skeleton that appeared. A couple of well placed blows and it was gone. A message screen popped up in front of her.

LEVEL UP

HERMIONE LVL 13

It wasn't too bad, she supposed. The guide book that she had bought at the market said that she only needed to be level eleven to beat the boss on this floor. "There's a light," Draco said, pointing towards the end of the corridor. Indeed there was. There was a little doorway in the wall with light streaming out. The three of them walked into the room and looked around. It had nothing in it. Nothing, except the moving blob in the corner.

"Luna?!"

"Hello, Hermione," Luna Lovegood said dreamily, getting to her feet. She had a sword strapped to her waist. "It's nice to see you here."

"What are you doing here?"

"There were monsters chasing me earlier," she said. ""This is a safe room. Nothing can hurt you while you're in here." She smiled at the room. "It's rather cozy in here, isn't it?"

Hermione supposed so, if one liked empty space.

Luna walked quietly next to Hermione, occasionally pointing out things. "That's a Little Nepent," she said. The monster that Draco was currently slashing at was anything but little. It was a very tall plant with two leaves swinging dangerously. "It is level 3, and it drops an ovule when you defeat it."

Hermione glanced over at her, her eyes swept over Luna's name bar, and she froze. Luna was only a level 4? Then what was she doing in such a dangerous dungeon?

Hermione was stuck between bringing Luna back to the town or to keep going. In the end, she decided to keep going; after all, it was always safer to travel in a pack.

"Look!" Draco dashed forwards into the next room. There was a treasure chest in front of them. Tom was eyeing the treasure chest greedily as well, though Hermione noticed that unlike Draco, he was much more careful with his approach, loitering on the outskirts of the room and letting Draco test for traps.

However, any way that she looked at it, the treasure screamed 'trap!' at Hermione. Luna, too, seemed to notice and was shaking her head. "I don't think—" Before she could finish, Draco grasped the chest with both hands.

The door slammed shut behind them. An alarm blared from above them, releasing a shrill noise. And from all sides, enemies can out of walls, arranged in perfect phalanx formation so there was no room to hide.

"You idiot!" Hermione screamed at Draco, holding up her blue crystal. "It's not letting me teleport out of here. It must be an anti-crystal zone."

"Running away, Granger?" Draco leered, drawing his sword. "I didn't think you were such a chicken." However, she could clearly see his hands trembling as he pointed his sword at the monsters, the quickness of his breath.

Of course he was scared. She was scared. Even after countless battles with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, she still couldn't stop herself from being terrified in a near death situation. No one really could.

Except Tom, who was strolling around the room as if he was just enjoying a walk in the park.

Hermione turned around, placing her trust—though only a miniscule amount—in Draco to kill the monsters behind her. She charged at the row of monsters in front of her. They raised their swords, but they were much too slow. She slashed at their heads, their arms, anything she could reach.

They were surprisingly easy to defeat. 'I can do this,' Hermione thought to herself, whispering motivational quotes in her head to keep her from noticing the fatigue in her muscles from over-exertion. 'If I can continue on like this, then—"

There was a scream behind her.

Hermione spun around, a cold dread filling her heart, to see Draco, his sword hanging limply in his left hand. A look of shock was on his face as he turned his head slowly to face her. It was filled with fear, the most panicked she had ever seen him look. His eyes begged her to help him.

There was a spear sticking out of his back.

She moved towards him, but she felt as if she was making no progress. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, the battle around her dimming. Her eyes were focused only on Draco, and the spear, and he had been her classmate ever since first year, and oh there was a spear sticking out of his chest.

And then he disappeared.

"Malfoy," she whispered, unable to stop the tears from wetting her eyes. He had been nothing but rude to her ever since her days in Hogwarts, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead. He was an arrogant bastard, but that didn't mean he deserved to die in this cruel game. No one did.

If she thought the worst was over, she was sorely mistaken. A cry came from behind her. "Hermione!"

Luna was all the way on the other side of the room, surrounded by monsters who were trying to probe her with their spears. She was making a valiant effort to fight them off, but Hermione could see that she was fatiguing.

Hermione charged across the room, hoping to get there in time. But then, she saw one of the monsters raise its sword. "LUNA!" She screamed, hoping that the girl would turn around and block it. "Watch out!"

Luna's eyes widened and she quickly turned around. At the same time, the monster brought its sword down in a swirling arc. Luna made a belated attempt to block it, but to no avail. The sword connected with her shoulder and she let out a yelp of pain, staggering backwards. Hermione could do nothing but watch as her HP quickly dropped to zero.

And then she was gone.

In case you guys had questions on the words:

Aincrad: The location the game is taking place in.

Col: The currency of the game.

MMORPG: Massive multiplayer online role playing game.

Nervegear: The equipment placed on the players' heads that allows them to enter the virtual game.

If any more were unclear, feel free to ask.