Hey guys, this is the newly revised version of chapter 1. Please read and review it. All changes are courtesy of my awesome new beta, The Symbol of Faith so be sure to check out her stories. Anyways, I hope you like it and the new chapter should be coming out soon.

"Aww, is the little mudblood hurt?", A voice taunted from above her. She tentatively raised her eyes, hoping, pleading, begging that she was mistaken. Her eyes connected with cold emerald green ones. A sudden gslap turned her head to the side. Pain shot through her right jaw adding to the throbbing pain that she was already feeling. Still, she was determined not to cry out.

It was their third year at Hogwarts, and something had changed. The famed golden trio, notorious for being as thick as thieves, had fallen apart. What with the pressure that Dumbledore and well, everyone was putting on Harry, it seemed he had lost it. Having a serial killer after him, probably didn't help. Finally given in to the darkness that was always a part of him – the part that the sorting hat had recognized, when he wanted to sort Harry into Slytherin. A dark rage had engulfed him, wanting to take revenge against all those who had wronged him – and in his case – the whole wizarding world. He was a budding Dark Lord, and would be more terrible than Lord Voldemort if not stopped.

At first she and Ron had tried to stop him, and that turned him against them. Ron could hold out only so long under his torture before he too had given in to Harry. It was only her now. And she would not say anything to anyone, because they had been her friends, because Harry had been like a brother to her, because at the beginning Ron too had suffered at Harry's hands before his mind had broken under the torture.

She lowered her eyes to their feet as Ron shouted at her.

"You don't look in our eye bitch! Did you think that you could get away with your little act in Charms? NO! You little mudblood! I am a pureblood male! You're a bitch! Learn your place!"

After another couple of punches, and a few hexes; all dark, though its effects not long lasting,; the boys decided it was enough. They exited through the door of the dungeon that they had previously warded.

Hermione raised her eyes to watch Harry's mops of unruly hair and Ron's red beacon walk out. She curled up into a ball and let out a bitter laugh, remembering the countless anti-bullying assemblies and parades that she had been to at her previous muggle school.

Only this was not the typical bullying, it was recruiting. She knew she was not their only victim. That there were many others in the school who had been subjected to it, and had joined him to be spared of the torture themselves. She could go for help to no one, what with Umbridge terrorising the students and in control of the teachers, no one could control Harry. It also did not help that he was more powerful than them.

The students too wouldn't help her, because the only ones safe from Harry now, were the ones under his rule and those with rich pureblood fathers. Suddenly, small footsteps interrupted her reflections. As her wand was lying a few feet away, she was unable to cast the glamours that she usually had on. She closed her eyes, knowing that the game was up now. Whoever would see her would know, that even Harry Potter's best friend, and sister, was not spared.

"Oh my god! Hermione?! Are you okay? Who did this?!" Hermione lifted her head to see another head of red hair. This time though, it went well past the person's shoulders, almost to her waist, indicating that it was a girl. Ginny Weasley.

"Did Draco Malfoy and his goons do it?" Ginny spoke again, her eyes blazing furiously.

Hermione shook her head bitterly. If only. She was not prepared, however for what happened next.

"Was it- was it Harry and Ron" Ginny's voice had dropped and Hermione could barely make out what she said, when she did, however, her eyes locked with Ginny's and she harshly whispered "How?"

Ginny removed glamours that Hermione had not seen before. Chastising herself for being so oblivious, she looked at the purplish bruises lining her jaw and collarbone. Older, more yellow bruises trailed up her arms and Hermione imagined they continued to her stomach. Faint lines and scars, which could only have come from the spells hurled at her adorned her arms. One began at her collarbone and disappeared inside her shirt. They both stared at each other, their gaze conveying everything that words could not. Sympathy, admiration and understanding. Their gaze was broken by 2 pairs of arms that hugged Ginny and her. Hermione was in Fred's arms while Ginny was in George's. The twins then stepped back, their eyes alight with a roaring fire and asked,

"What-"

"-is this-"

"-we hear-"

" -about a certain-"

"-Golden Duo?"

Even though they were in such a predicament, the twins didn't fail to amuse her and for that Hermione was grateful. Hermione took a deep breath and proceeded to explain how the abuse began, from casual teasing, to the change in Harry's behaviour and their attempts to stop him, ending at physical damage. Ginny then told her story which wasn't much different from Hermione's. By the end of the harrowing tales, the Weasley Twins in the room were seething. They couldn't believe that their own brother could do something so cruel, let alone Harry Potter, the saviour of the Wizarding world. And at last, they felt ashamed – ashamed that they hadn't noticed this before. That the disease, called Harry Potter, was spreading throughout the school and they were unaware of it.

Before they could think too much of it, however, Ginny began to break down in sobs, no longer able to hold them back. Fred and George didn't hesitate and rushed to comfort her. As Hermione watched them, something inside her shifted. But instead of breaking, it clicked.

She interrupted the family moment with a timid grin, but she knew that if they didn't accept, then she would go alone. She may have been a Gryffindor, with all the bravery and chivalry crap, but she couldn't face this abuse, abuse poured upon her by her own best friends anymore. She couldn't bring herself to blame them, Harry had been wronged by the wizarding world one too many times, but taking out his revenge on her was wrong. She would have been at his side no matter what, but going down a killing spree – or torture spree – was not the best way to exact revenge.

So she thought of doing the only thing she could.

"Guys, how do you feel about leaving?"

"Leaving Hogwarts?" Ginny asked.

"Think bigger," Hermione responded, the grin on her face widening to match the one on the Weasley's' face. "Leaving Europe is more of what I was thinking."

It would be difficult and dangerous, she knew. What with she and Ginny being underage, the only ones could perform magic undetected would be the twins. And she also had her parents and the Weasleys to think of, but she knew they would be safe. And she could always contact them once everything settled down.

Ginny seemed to be on board but the twins were exchanging looks.

"Alright," Fred finally agreed.

"But if we leave," George started

"We do it our way," Ginny finished, having caught on to their train of thoughts.

They spent about an hour there, planning when to meet up. It was a Thursday, and since they planned on leaving on a Wednesday (because the twins didn't approve of the other days), they had almost a full week. When they met up, they quickly thought up of a theme, and while experimenting with them they found out that apparently Arthur's obsession with muggle objects and Molly's love for cooking translated into weird ways.

Fred and George were now (after studying of course, Hermione made them) car experts and Ginny showed an affinity for potions. With the help of a few elves that Hermione had rescued from Peeves, they were soon ready. The twins were in charge of transportation, Hermione was in charge of the lighting charms and Ginny took over the costume department.

She booked airplane tickets through Gringotts and arranged an account under a different name. she then transferred all her money into it. she knew she would be able to access her Gringotts account from wherever she was - a facility that Gringotts had because of their various branches all over the world.

This was a huge thing for Hermione –abandoning her education and more importantly, the war that Voldemort would be sure to bring in the coming years. But as of now, she could only think of this one escape.

Wednesday started out as a regular day for most Hogwarts students, but they would see it was not the case. As soon as all the students arrived at the Great Hall, the doors closed with a slam. The lights that previously illuminated the hall snuffed and the magic ceiling turned black. Instead of the usual mumble of conversations, there were alarmed cries from students. The teachers were restricted to their seats and bound with a silencing charm. Hermione felt the end of her lips curl, here was a lunch they would never forget. A pair of glaring spotlights appeared and roamed around, before settling over the Gryffindor table. The two students they had landed on rose.

Fred and George whisked off their school robes. It was then revealed that they were both wearing identical suits. Fred though, was donning a white shirt and a red and gold tie, while George was wearing a black shirt and blue tie. They gallantly walked towards the door and waited for their companions.

A third spotlight was added, this time though, instead of being a yellow light, it was a dark grey illumination. Ginny stood up and her robes fell back revealing a gold and brown dress. It had swirling designs and fell into folds around her feet, except it was pinned at her thigh, showing her gold strappy heels. She wore no noticeable makeup and Hermione again felt envy for her hair that fell straight on her shoulders.

Then it was her turn, Hermione's light was white. Unlike Ginny's natural colours and makeup, Hermione wanted to be noticed, no more hiding behind overly large clothes or bushy hair. She was wearing a black short strapless dress and black tights. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a gold necklace. Her makeup was eye-popping. She had gold eye shadow and blood red lips on a pale face.

As she joined Ginny and they walked down the middle of the hall, she couldn't help but feel satisfied when gasps and wolf whistles followed them out. The girls joined the twins and they stood, waiting for the transportation to be there.

A shiny white limousine floated inside, but before they left, they had some loose ends to tie up. Ginny had asked Luna, whom had been eager to act as their commentator.

"Messrs Weasley would like to say a few words before they leave this school. Over to you." Luna announced.

"Why thank you!"

"Our dear moon,"

"Now, down to business,"

"We leave all our gadgets to our dear friends Lee Jordan"

"And wish to apologize to Mr Argus Filch,"

"And would like to cuss out Mr Albus Dumbledore,"

"But have been prohibited to by a certain bookworm."

They left the hall. As they left, Hermione knew that the memories of Harry and Ron bullying Hermione and Ginny were replayed. Along with memories they had borrowed from others that showed the bullying done to them by not only the Golden Duo but also those who were under him.

It began from their train ride, where Harry lamented over the fact that everyone was looking at him as if he were an attention-seeking liar. How they were all calling him the new Dark Lord. And his promise to how he would give them a reason to call him evil. It showed her and Ron's attempt to dissuade Harry from his chosen path. How Ginny and many others tried the same, with no luck.

It was as much for the remaining students sake as for their own. They needed to know, in order to be aware of the problem. She knew that by giving them out it pose a huge problem for the. But she hoped someone would be able to stop Harry and Ron before it was too late. However, for Hermione the memory display was also symbolic. Leaving behind the history and all the bad memories, and getting ready for a hopefully, fabulously, fantastic future.