The Strength Of Our Roots
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and no money as been made out of this.
Chapter 1
"Harry, Ron, c'mon guys! We're gonna be late!" a female voice echoos throught the Great Hall as the Golden Trio runs to Charm's class.
"Slow down 'Mione, I'm going to be sick if I keep running like this.." the youngest Weasley boy said.
"I told you not to eat all those chicken wings." sighted the dark haired one, following closely the other two.
"What do you want me to do? They're sooooo good!"
"How about, SELF-CONTROL?"
"Oh, shut up Harry!"
"Do you know what would be good too? Don't be late for a class for once in life!" As Hermione finish saying this, they arrive at the classroom, right on time to go in along the other students. The students sit down, talking with each other while the small professor Flitwick climbs to his desk. Looking to the other side of the room, Malfoy is smiling wickedly, his eyes travelling from the Charms book to the Gryfindors.
"What do you want Ferret?!" spats Ron.
"Soon we'll find out how filthy you'r family is, Weasel."
"Oh, really? How is that, Malfoy?"
"Today we will be learning how to preform a Blood Purity spell." the Gryfindor know-it-all says reading the titul of the chapter.
"The hell is that?" asked Ron stupidly.
"That, Mr Weasley, is a spell that used to be used by pureblood familys that intended to marry their kids with wizards of other countries, to be sure they were pure. The movement of the wand is very similar to some health diagnostic spells we'll learn this term, so it will be a good way of getting some bases."
For half of the class, all the students practiced the spell's words and movement. After every one had mastered the words and clean themselves of the aches of Seamus' explosion, they made groups of two, and prepared to preform the spell.
"Very well class, as the spell is preformed, a smoke will appear on top of your heads. As darker as it looks, the purer is the blood. Very well, let us start. Mr Crabbe, Mr Malfoy, come to the front of the class and show us what you can do."
Crabbe lifts up is hand, and pointing it to Malfoy, he says "sanguinem pudicitiam". A grey smoke, almost black, appears on top of his head. Then Malfoy performed the spell, and a dark blue apeared on top of Crabbe's head. The same went on for the rest of the students. Neville got a darck red, Ron a pink, for every one's amusement and Harry a dark green, that suited his eyes perfectly. When it got to be Hermione's turn, she went along with Pansy. That idiot looks so smuged! Just 'cause she is a pureblood! Pointing her wand to that freak, Hermione says the words, and instantly a purple smoke showed on top of the other witche's head.
"See, I'm from one of the purest familys in Britain, as my smoke clearly shows. Now that see your White smoke, you mudblood!
"Better being a mudblood than a slut!" she spats. Lucky her, professor didn't hear.
"Sanguinem Pudicitiam!"
A weird sensation wahses her mind, and images fly by throught her eyes: a women singing, some guy throwing her in the air... She hears voices, familiar voices, but can't tell who they belong to... And then it's over.
"Bloody Hell..." Ron's voice startles her. Everyone is wide eyes staring at the Gryfindor witch, whispering. Something went wrong. Something went awfully wrong and now I'm deformed! What am I going to do?! They'll kick me out of Hogwarts!
"W-..well...It looks like... ah... Mrs Granger, I believe it's better if you... uhm... Let Miss Parkinson try again the spell, yes?" Professor Flitwick seemed like he couldn't stand still. Changing is wheigth from one feet to the other, he didn't look hopeful about this situation.
But of everyone in the room, Hermione was the most confused. As soon as the meaning of the smoke registered in her mind, her litle grey cels started schearching for a reason.
She had seen the reaction of all class. Most of them had been shocked. Parkinson had paled considerably, and that was saying a lot. Malfoy was gaping, Grabbe and Goyle looking stupidly at each other. Harry and Ron were looking from her to the smoke above her, and from the smoke to her. THE SMOKE!
She looks up just in time to see something dark vanishing. Dark? How is that possible?! It was supose to be wight! No! I saw it wrong!
But when Pansy repeated the spell, she heard the voices again, this time like those people were closer. She had just reached out her hand, was almost toutching them when suddendly she was pulled away. The voices started screaming, hands appeared in front of her, they were calling her name.
"Hermione?!" something hit her face.
"Hermione, wake up!" the faces were closer now, but they had changed.
"Students, please, give Miss Granger some space." something was pointing at her, and she felt a rush of energy wash througth her.
She sat up, knocking Professor Flitwick to the ground. Her forehead was shinning with sweat, her lungs hurt when she breaths and she is shaking. The Gryfindor girl looked around, checking her surounding.
Classroom... Ok, everythings fine! Breath, Hermione, breath! I'm in class. Harry's here, and Ron, and the others, and we were training spells an- THE SPELL!
"Professor, wha- what hapenned."
"Well it seems that... somehow the spell..." he breathed deeply. "The smoke produced by the spell was shown black."
"Black!? How is that possible?!" her eyes darted from Ron to Harry, to the Professor and finally to Pansy, who had preformed the spell. "Maybe you did it wrong!?" she knew that although Pansy was a bitch, she was also a very talented wich, so she had few hopes.
"Excuse me?! I won't be questioned by a Mudblood!" she was about to continue, but somehing that nobody expected happenned.
"Well, tecnically Hermione is not a Mudblood. In fact, she is more of a Pureblood than anyone here."
The voice of Draco Malfoy filled the room before the adult could reprimand the Slytherine girl. The blond Slytherin walked to the ex-muggle-born and helped her up.
What is he doing? No one had ever heard of a Malfoy helping a muggle-born. Or anyone in fact, besides their family. At least not in this kind of situation. The Malfoys were the rulers of the Pureblood sociaty. Now that the only remaining Blacks were Sirius, who had been disowned, Andromeda, who had married a muggle-born, and also been disowned, the Malfoys had taken control.
Ron and Harry also helped Hermione up. The red-head might or might not had muttered something like ferret, but Harry said nothing. He too had been surprised by the smoke, but after finding out that he is a wizard, he believed in almost everything.
"Uhm... Maybe it would be better if you took Miss Granger to the Hospital Wing. Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, please do that. The rest of the class, please go back to your sits."
The trio got out of the room, but Hermione could still hear Goyle asking Malfoy what was that all about. She might not have heard the answer, but if Crabbe's face was someething, than it couldn't be good. She would have to be extremelly carefull.
"What was that, Hermione?" Ron turned his head, facing her. "Why did the ferret help you?"
"I don't know." she rubbed her hands over her face, trying to sooth the growing headache.
"Uhm..." he looked to the many portraits, probably sulking.
"Hermione?" Harry's voice reached her from left.
"Harry, I really don't know, ok? I don't know why he helped me, I don't know why the smoke was black... Maybe she really failed doing it."
"She didn't. When the smok turned black a second time, professor Flitwick tried to do it too, and it ended the same way." he took her hand into his. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be. It's not your fault. It's just all so confuse. Does this means that my parents are not my parents?"
"Your parents are your parents. Their just not who you think they are." Ron finally spoke.
"What's wrong with you dude?!"
"Harry, not so loud. We don't need peeves here." she openned the door. "See you later."
She closed the door and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Madame Popins gave her a sleeping potion and told her to get some rest.
She started undressing herself to get ready for bed. When she took out her robes, a small peace of paper fell. She closed the curtains around her bed so that no one could see her, and casted a mufliato spell. She unfolded the paper. There, it was written:
If you want to know more about what hapenned today in class, come to
the Trophies room at one in the morning. Come alone. ALONE. NO POTTER OR WEASLEY. I might have an idea of who your parents are, but you need to promess
not to freak out.
So there was someone that knew what was going on! And it had to be kept a secret, so or the person wasn't sure about the information, or it was something awfull, or it was a trap.
It had to be someone that was in the class. She was sure that that paper hadn't been there before, and if it wasn't for what hapenned in class, she would still be thinking about herself as a muggle-born.
So, who could be the responsible for this? I fainted, so it could be basicly anyone. But surelly Harry and Ron wouldn't let someone get near me while unconcious... But they did nothing when Draco helped me... they. What if it was Malfoy!? Of course it was him! Maybe I should tell the boys about this... But what if he actually hapens to know somethig!? Goooood, why did this had to happen to Me!?
She let her body fall in bed, exausted. She slowly closed her eyes, trying to forget everything about that day. For one moment, one tiny litle moment, she felt like Hermione Jean Granger, and just Hermione Granger. Then, she fell assleep.
She woke up hours later, when Madame Pomfrey brought her dinner. A simple soup and some meat with vegeteables, nothing to heavy. Her stomach didn't feel very good yet.
She had dreamed with those voices and faces again. However, this time it had all been more clear. It looked like with each time, everything became clearer. This time, she had been able to understand some words, like her name, or pumpkin pie, wich probabbly made does people her parents. There had been also other people, sometimes they were talking with her parents, others with her. There was this song too, that had been in the background. She supposed it was some lullaby.
She waited to be sure that all the enfermery was sleeping, and then sliped out of it. It was dark in the coridors, with just some torches alight,
She tip-toed, always carefull to be as quiet as possible. The last thing she needed was some professor or Peeves asking questions.
It was five to one when she finally arived at her destination. The light was dim there, making it almost impossible to see the further coners of the room.
She walked inside, while observing the trophies. There were plenty of them. Some about Quiditch, others about best students... She saw Harry's father name there, along with Tom Riddle, McGonagall, Malfoy linning in one of the showcases...
"MALFOY!?" she almost jumped when she saw him,managing to knock some of the trophies to the ground.
"C'mon!" he grabed her hand and pulled her behind one of the biggest showcases.
Soon after, Mrs Norris apeared, followed right behind by Filtch.
"Is there someone here?" he stoped in the midle of the room "Did you saw anyone here, darling?"
Hermione had allways thought that the way Filtch talked to Mrs Norris was creepy, but when the cat jumped into his shoulder, they looked so much like a pirate and a parrot, than if it wasn't for Draco's hand on her mouth, she would've burst out laugthing.
When they finally left, Draco freed her of his grip.
"We don't have much time. Those two might come back." he searched in his pockets for something. "And I left Not waiting in the Comon Room for me. They are to come search for us if I'm not back by half past one, and it's already twenty past one."
"What about the information? And how do you know anything about this?" she couldn't leave empty handed! She needed answers!
"Here." the boy gave her a key that he took of his pocket. "I don't have time to explain. Just know that we are on your side, and that we would never hurt you. Dumbledore will probably talk to you, so don't worry. But don't jump into conclusions! He is against us, and will try to turn you against us too!"
"Who are us?! And what am I supposed to do with this?"
"Find a locket that can be openned by it. It's a proof of our trust. And soon you will know what us means." with that, he left.
Hermione stood still. This surelly was more than she knew before, but it really didn't help. In fact, she had more questions now than before. And the key... A locket that can be openned by this? Like in a door? How many doors are in Hogwarts? What if this door isn't here but somewhere else? During her way back to the enfermey, she kept thinking...
Malfoy said it was a proof of trust. Most important, how does he know anything. But if he is right, Dumbledoor will tell me... Maybe I could show him this key! Nah! What am I thinking!? This key came from someone who he is against! He would probably keep it for himself or hex it so that I can't know what it hides... But what does it open?!
Frustrated, she jumped into bed. She started closing her eyes, when she heard it. The lullaby. What if the key didn't open a door? What if it was the last piece of a puzzle? Of if it was the thing that was missing on her litle music box, who no one knew where it came from?
There was only one way to know, and she would figure it out. Or her name was not Hermione!
To be continued...
A.N.: Hey everyone! So, this is the first chapter, did you like it? Sorry for any mistakes, I'm only fifteen and portuguese, so I'm still learning. I hope you like it. By the way, I have other fanfics: Reign – between Catherine and Henry; Hunger Games – Effie/Haymitch; Winx – Trix (their past and familly, but the winx still apear, obviously); Alice in WonderWorld – The Red Queen, and a Bellamione story. Adeus.