CHAPTER 1 – HERMIONE'S POV
Is it me!? I'm in my body, but very much unlike myself. How did I find myself in such a situation, kissing Pansy Parkinson? She tastes of blueberry and her skin feels like satin as I move my hand beneath her shirt. I continue going up her bare side until she stops my hand.
"Hermione we can't! It's wrong!" She whispers.
I chose to ignore it, if that was even a choice. I feel like something else is driving the plot here and I'm just a passenger watching the scenery unfold.
"Stop!" She repeats more urgently.
I go on despite her wishes, which is something I'd never allow myself to do, but I'm drawn in by the smell, the taste and this fiery feeling. I grab her arm and twist it away behind her back. Nothing will get in my way, nothing but a hard wooden board.
"Ouch!" It got me right on the forehead! The board beneath the top bunk bed at the Burrow, that's where I am, I realize, at the family home of the Weasley family and right beside me isn't Parkinson, but Ginny.
"Hermione wake up! Dinner is ready! You're not gonna sleep the whole day, are you?!" She yells in my ear.
"What? What time it is?" I mumble blinded by the sudden sunlight.
"Past noon, so get up already!"
"Ok, I'll be down in a minute…" I manage and fall back on the bed.
It was just a dream, just an electrochemical stream, like a peek into a mirror that got shattered waking up. I so wish the feeling was real collecting the broken pieces in my memory. I was so happy in that moment with… whomever so perfect, and stripped of all the connotations that matter to my waking self? Oh… it was Pansy Parkinson, I recall now feeling unusually disgusted. I fucking hate her, and never had anything but violent conscious fantasies about her.
My stomach suddenly growls letting me know the priorities.
After a few days at the Burrow the school starts and we board the train like every year. That's where I happen upon Parkinson, in the train's hallway. I observe her self-absorbed posturing with a mixture of negative emotions, but I can't help noticing that she's gotten even prettier over the summer. That I can't deny though it's like a thorn in my side and just one of her undeserving possessions. Maybe that's why she's like that, or is it the egg before the chicken?
"What are you glaring at Granger? It's not contagious you know?"
"What?" I ask.
"Beauty of course." She smirks curving those dark blue lips. Is it blueberry, I wonder? Just like in the dream… I shake the thought away. Oh yea, she's well aware of how she looks and making no effort to conceal it, even rubbing it in, so I must make sure not to look her way at all. I won't give her that satisfaction, but first… I turn around to see her entering the Slytherin cabin, and just when I thought of a perfect rebuttal. What a shame that it's now wasted, 'cause I'm not about to go in there, not into that den of vipers.
But why am I even concerning myself with such matters? I should be worrying about school and exams, learning as much as I can so I can… The point of all this has become quite unclear. As if getting rid of the dark lord would fix anything, there'll always be another. There's always darkness in the absence of light, the two warring in so many different ways. Yes… the most I can achieve is happiness for myself, which I used to think was such a selfish, petty dream, but in fact is all there is and hiding behind every purpose.
The cabin door screech brings me out of my thoughts, so I flip around.
"Granger, you're still here?" Parkinson exclaims. "You're not stalking me are you?" She inquires jokingly.
"Yea, you wish." I rush off to my cabin.
The first days went as expected. It was fun catching up and learning what everyone did over the summer. It was an easy way to forget about the reality of our situation, the threat looming over the horizon.
However it didn't take long for the first activists to appear. I heard some Slytherins set up a table in the middle courtyard, and supposedly one other location in the castle. I was curious to see who it was. Expectedly I saw Parkinson and Greengrass surrounded by a small and mostly male audience. They handed out brochures along with free indoctrination to their cause.
But what was their cause? I was yet to learn, so I stop the first friendly looking student, requesting to see the brochure in his hand.
"Go get your own, there's plenty." The smug Ravenclaw says, not even slowing down his stride.
I'm not sure if he was trying to be rude or helpful, but that certainly doesn't help my situation. I have to see what's on these brochures, and though I'm sure one will end up in the bin eventually, I lack the patience to wait.
Seeing as the crowd dissipated I thought I might snatch one off the table unnoticed. Of course that didn't work, soon as I reached for the stack Parkinson stopped talking to her blonde friend and turned to me as if she had a supernatural sense of some sort.
"Granger…?! Go ahead and take one, though it's probably wasted on the likes of you."
I frown, but not willing to argue with her further I opened up the neatly folded brochure. No surprise there, the whole thing was basically a rant against Harry. Saying his presence here is a danger to us all, that we should surrender him to the dark lord or at least expel him in order to protect ourselves and our families. "Potter is holding the entire school hostage…!?" I quote loudly one of the last lines. "Are you seriously suggesting what's stated here?!"
"Sure I am! We have a petition to expel him. Wanna sign it?" Parkinson suggests spitefully, knowing full well I would never do that.
"You're despicable."
"Am I?! Let's examine that shall we? They say that every human life is worth the same, so let's assume that for a moment?"
"Ok…" I accept, stepping back to cross my arms.
"So do the math Granger! Are hundreds worth one Potter's measly life?!" Parkinson shrieks. Her shrill voice echoes trough the courtyard even startling poor Daphne right beside her, though I shouldn't say poor, that girl is just as mean herself.
I squeeze my brows, thinking how to argue with such logic. "Yea, but… what if it was you? What if you happen to be Harry?"
"I'd… do the right thing, of course… I'd give my self up." She says, though she did seem stumped, like it never crossed her mind before. I wouldn't be surprised.
"I doubt you'd do that Parkinson."
"And why is that Granger, because you wouldn't?! I'm not a coward like you lot, sitting idly by or just doing as you're told. I'm already doing something about the situation, and I plan to do a whole lot more!"
"You're making things worse! Why are you even doing this?! Just for the attention?! 'Cause I'm pretty sure you and your family are safe from any potential threat."
"How dare you?!" Parkinson snaps. With fire in her eyes she's attempting to break lose from Daphne's grip and pounce on me, but unable to do so, she gives up. "My family was never associated with death eaters! …and I won't stand for such slanderous accusations!"
"Alright, chill." I say taking another step back. That little outburst seemed oddly righteous and convincing. I wonder if she could actually be innocent it all this? Nah… but it was a skilled performance.
"The irony is you are smart Granger. You're one of the few people here who could actually make a difference…" She says unprovoked, sounding almost regretful.
My eyebrows go up. Is she being serious?
"…if only you weren't so brainwashed by the powers that be. I guess it's not your fault when you've only been fed lies, but I could show you the truth if you're really worthy."
"What are you on about Parkinson?"
"You wanna find out? Come to our club meeting tomorrow."
Daphne gasps grabbing hold of Pansy's shoulder.
"It's ok." Parkinson assures her turning back to me for answer.
As if I'd join her Muggle or whatever hating club… though it might be useful to scout the situation, to see if she's a nuisance or actually a threat. "So when tomorrow?" I ask.
"8 pm sharp, meet us at the clock tower courtyard."
I nod in agreement, curious, but still not entirely decided. "Hmm… what exactly do you intend to show me?" This at least I have to know.
"Just show up… or don't, it doesn't fucking matter." Parkinson says in an agitated and once more hostile tone.
I have a feeling another question might get me uninvited, so I head back up to Gryffindor common room.
Ron and Harry are already there drinking their hot cocoa by the fireplace and bantering about Quidditch. I'm only half-paying attention and they soon notice that my mind is elsewhere.
"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asks.
Reluctantly I tell them all about today's encounter with Parkinson and tomorrow's little venture.
They, of course, advise me not to go.
It could be dangerous, I know, but that's where also lies the thrill. I insist I'm able to defend myself against a dozen Parkinson's, if fact I'm a little disconcerted that they doubt in my ability, so much that I end up declining Harry's offer to go along under the invisibility cloak.
Tomorrow evening I make my way over to the clock tower courtyard. There I see three figures hunched over a scruffy parchment. Parkinson's bob hairstyle is easily recognizable, and there's Daphne to her right but I fail to identify the third girl.
"Hey!" I announce my presence.
"Granger?!" Parkinson turns around genuinely surprised to see me.
"I'm here, like we said, so…"
Parkinson looks down on her silver watch than stuffs it back in her pocket. "You're five minutes early."
"Yea, but so are you." I point back at them smirking.
"Fine, let's just go than." She orders and all four of us start moving up the path and trough the covered bridge.
"Where are going?"
"To the base… I mean our clubhouse first." The girl whose name I don't know comes over and starts walking by my side. "I'm Molly Harper by the way."
"Granger… Hermione." I reply and shake her hand. She's got a very friendly face, short dark hair and big brown eyes. She's quite pretty, though a bit shorter than the rest of us. I can see from her scarf and robes that she's in Hufflepuff, but I can't recall ever seeing her in classes.
"I'm a year bellow you." She explains as if she knew what I was thinking, she must have gathered from my puzzled stare.
"Oh, that explains it, I'm sure I'd notice you otherwise." I say getting slightly flustered underneath my scarf. That slipped out and sounded a bit corny, but Molly doesn't seem to mind the compliment.
"Thanks Hermione. I heard you where top of your class…"
Pansy sighs so loudly that it gets everyone's attention. "Will you just shut up Molly!? Focus on the mission!"
"What mission?" I immediately ask. What are they keeping from me?
"Your initiation…" Tall Daphne appears on my other side. "…it's just a test to see if you're worth a damn."
"And this won't be like one of those worthless school tests." Parkinson adds. "So it's important you don't know everything ahead of time, got it?"
"Alright." I accept. I can see they're making an effort to intimidate me with the secrecy, but I'm sure it will be easy for me, whatever they have in store.
We finally reach the graveyard and jump over the wall at a well selected spot. They've done this many times I'm sure, but there's no building in sight that could serve as a clubhouse, not except one rickety old tool shed. "I hope that's not it?"
"Don't be silly Granger." Parkinson says. "Just come along and stop assuming things, or at least keep your assumptions to yourself."
I do just that until we reach a mausoleum. This is one is up on a small hill and octagonal in shape. Daphne steps to the door and performs some complicated wand movement making sure it's blocked from my sight. The stone slab door slides down and we step into the darkness.
Someone lights up a candle before I am able to cast Lumos charm. Now illuminated by the candlestick I can carefully expect the interior. Quite cosy and they really made it their own as evident by all the decorations, torn off rugs and wallpapers, very likely stolen from Slytherin dorms or other places in the castle.
"It's nice." I have to give them credit, but before I can figure out what's going on they all start taking off their clothes and hurriedly tossing them aside. I really didn't expect to see these girls in their undergarments merely twenty minutes in. "What are you doing?" I ask looking around aimlessly and trying my best not to stare at any one of them directly.
"Put these on Granger." Pansy tosses over to me a pair of pants.
"Muggle clothes? But I'm already in those, they're underneath my cloak." I undo it to reveal my jeans and crimson woolly sweater.
"Good."
"So what are we doing in Muggle clothes?" I ask when everyone is nearly finished dressing.
"We're paying your favourite place a visit, the Muggle realm." Pansy explains.
Next I hear a loud metal clang and turn to see Daphne adjusting a long hooked metal rod on the inside of her coat. I'm really intrigued now, just what are they planning?
Carefully with her scarf Pansy takes out a large silver trophy from the nearby junk-filled coffin and places it on the central table where we gather round. "Alright, on three everyone touch the Portkey!" She orders immediately starting the countdown. "One… two…"
There's no time to reconsider anything so I outstretch my arm and throw all caution to the wind.