Brood Mare
Harry and Ron had missed the Hogwarts Express when the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ sealed itself against them. They decided to make the trip to Hogwarts by flying car instead! Now it was night and on the dark horizon, they saw the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts, looming over the lake.
The car waved its windscreen wipers as though in protest.
"Not much further now," said Ron, patting the steering wheel.
Suddenly, the outline of the castle trembled and a tower collapsed and fell into the lake.
"What in the name of Merlin…?" exclaimed Ron.
"Is it an Earth-quake?" Asked Harry, his heart thudding in his chest.
"We live in the magical world," Ron reminded him. "There could be any number of magical explanations you don't know about."
But they had other problems… There was a loud clunk, and the car's engine died completely.
"Uh Oh…" said Ron.
The car fell like a stone, but Ron was still able to steer with the steering wheel. They turned in a great arc, soaring over the dark greenhouses, the vegetable patch, and then out over the black lawns, losing height all the time.
"Mind that tree!" Harry bellowed, but it was too late. The car crashed into the whomping willow with a bang of metal on wood.
"My wand!" said Ron, holding up his broken wand.
WHAM.
The branches of the whomping willow battered the car and the roof began to sag. Then the car came back to life and went into reverse. The tree almost uprooted itself trying to batter them as they sped out of reach.
"That," panted Ron, "was close. Well done car."
But the car had reached the end of his tether, and ejected them and their luggage, including Hedwig's cage, out of the doors and boot. Then the car rumbled off into the Forest, its rear lights blazing angrily.
Stiff, cold and bruised, they traipsed into the Great Hall. The sky was enchanted to reflect, the clear, starring night sky outside. The Sorting was about to start. Ginny's pale, freckly face and vivid red hair were easily visible in the group of first years. She was the only one not wearing one of those pointed hats that will later be dropped from Hogwarts uniform without explanation.
"Where's Snape?" said Harry. "He can't have been worried about us and been skipping the feast to find out whether we were in trouble. He might have left when Lockheart beat him to the Defence Against the Dark Arts post."
"Or he might have been sacked," said Ron enthusiastically. "I mean, everyone hates him."
"Or maybe," said a very cold voice right behind them, "he's waiting to hear why you two didn't arrive on the school train."
Harry spun around. There stood Snape, greasy black hair hanging limply down his shoulders. He glared at them. "Follow!"
They traipsed reluctantly after Snape, following him to his office. "In!" commanded Snape, opening the door and pointing.
The walls of Snape's office were lined with shelves of jars containing revolting things pickled in preserving potions.
Snape lifted up a copy of the Evening Prophet, which had already pieced together an article about their exploits in the car. "You were seen!" hissed Snape. "Six Muggles in all. I assure you, that if I had the authority to expel you, I would do so right now. Since you are not in Slytherin, I do not have that happy power. I will fetch the people who do. You will wait here."
McGonagall entered, her glasses glinting angrily. "Explain!" she demanded.
They launched into the story of how the barrier sealed itself and McGonagall asked why they didn't send an owl.
"A mad house elf has been stopping my mail," said Harry. "I wonder if he sealed the barrier. Shouldn't someone be investigating this?"
But although this was obvious, the magical world never runs on logic.
Dumbledore entered next. "Please explain why you have done this," he said.
"Oh I don't know, I wasn't thinking straight after the relatives you put me with tried to starve me," said Harry irritably to the old Machiavelli.
Just then, Hermione burst in. She looked awful, her face all pale and blotchy, her bushy hair askew and her eyes bloodshot, like she'd been worried sick and crying.
"Professor Dumbledore, please don't expel them, I'd do anything."
"Anything? Very well, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I won't be expelling them, but you will owe me a favour."
Released from Snape's office, they went back to Gryffindor Tower.
"You two are so stupid!" stormed Hermione, then she hugged both of them.
00O00
The collapsed tower was an ominous portent of things to come. The foundations of Hogwarts had trembled as a worm awakened at the heart of the school's foundations.
The next morning, Molly sent Ron a Howler, which screamed sensitive family information in the crowded hall, but even that caused less commotion than the giant mason Dumbledore hired to repair the tower. He was a great brute of a giant, with rocky skin and eyes like blue saucers. He had a great golden stallion, a magnificent beast, to help pull the blocks from the quarry to the castle.
Parvati gazed at the stallion in awe through the window during History of Magic. "Magnificent," she breathed.
"Can't the tower be repaired by magic?" said Harry.
"Magic doesn't work logically or consistently in our world," said Hermione.
"How do you always know what's plausible by magical standards when you were also raised by Muggles?" said Harry suspiciously. "If we were in a story, I'd say the author never gave that point any thought at all."
00O00
Dumbledore called Hermione into his office the next day. "Ah Miss Granger, about the favour you owe me… I have no intention of paying the exorbitant price demanded by the giant mason. I intend for you to distract that magnificent Stallion of his. He won't be able to complete the contract without the aid of such a great beast of burden. Hagrid will tell you how."
Hagrid led Hermione to a hut in the Forbidden Forest. Inside, there was a strange, green horse skin. Was it some kind of alien horse?
"Let ole' Hagrid turn yer into a mare," said Hagrid, "just our little secret."
He picked Hermione up in his dustbin lid hands and shoved her into the green mare skin. It clung to Hermione, and she screamed in agony as her body melted and warped into horse shape, until she was a shiny green mare herself!
00O00
The giant mason was perturbed when his great golden stallion was distracted by the sight of a bright green mare stumbling clumsily out of the Forbidden Forest as if she were unused to walking on four legs. The stallion immediately ran after her, and she stumbled back to the forest.
"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore to the giant. "It would seem that you cannot complete our contract."
The giant roared in rage, and would have attached, but Dumbledore performed the Avada Kedavra curse right then and there, and he froze into a stone statue and crumbled into rubble.
00O00
Harry spent a lot of time dodging Gilderoy Lockhart over the next few days. Harder to avoid was Colin Creevey who seemed to have memorised Harry's timetable with the sole purpose of stalking him. Hermione had been missing, which worried Harry and Ron. On Saturday, after a very boring Quidditch practice and altercation with the Slytherins, Harry and Ron went to Hagrid's cabin. Hermione was there, wrapped in blankets. She was shivering and looked ill and exhausted.
"Hermione's jus' done very well," said Hagrid. "Seducin' tha' stallion."
"What are you talking about, Hagrid?" said Ron, as Hermione glared.
"I shouldn't a told yer tha'," said Hagrid.
00O00
October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madame Pomfrey was kept busy by a spate of colds. Her Pepperup Potion worked immediately, but made the drinker smoke at the ears for hours. Ginny had been looking peaky, so Percy, the only character who cared about her, made her take some potion. The smoke issuing from under her vivid hair made it look as though her head was on fire.
Hermione was feeling ill too. There were changes taking place in her body and she was throwing up in the mornings and was generally pale and sickly the entire time.
She vividly remembered her encounter with the giant's stallion. She even dreamed about it sometimes.
The stallion had caught her as she staggered into the forest in an ungainly way on her four hooves. He had mounted her and then…
As a result, Hermione was pregnant. Hagrid had taken the green mare skin off, but Hermione was still carrying his foal inside her. She looked forward with apprehension to giving birth. What exactly would she give birth to? And would she be able to continue her studies? What if she gave birth during exams?
She sat next to Ron in the common room and tried to knit a baby grow and a little foal shaped coat as Ron struggled through his Potion Homework. Ron was grumpy, so Hermione put an arm around him, feeling nurturing. It was probably her pregnancy hormones.
Harry came back from Quidditch practice at that moment. He had an invitation to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party.
"I bet there aren't many living people who have been to one of those," said Hermione. "How fascinating."
"Why would anyone want to celebrate the day they died?" said Ron. "Sounds dead depressing."
To Hermione's disgust, Fred and George were torturing a salamander, force feeding it a firework.
Percy bellowed himself hoarse at the twins as the salamander vomited sparks and escaped into the fire.
00O00
It was Seven O' Clock on Halloween. The trio directed their steps towards the dungeons. Jet black tapers cast ghostly blue light over everything. The dungeon was full of pearly white, transparent people and a chandelier of the black candles blazed midnight-blue. The smell from the snacks was disgusting. It made Hermione want to throw up again, even though she had puked a lot that morning. Large, rotten fish and burned cakes and mouldy cheese were piled on platters.
"I suppose they let it rot to give it a stronger flavour," said Hermione, holding her nose.
The party was not fun at all. The trio went back to the Great Hall, having put in a token appearance. Hermione was feeling the need to lie down, when Harry gave a start.
"Harry, what's wrong?" asked Hermione anxiously.
"Shush. Listen," said Harry. Hermione listened, but heard nothing. Harry ran up the stairs, and she and Ron followed, Hermione soon getting out of breath. The foal inside her was sapping her energy.
"It's going to kill someone!" said Harry.
Hermione felt queasy with anxiety. What was going on? For all her book smarts, she still didn't know everything about the wizarding world. Surely Harry hearing voices couldn't be a good sign, even in a world of magic? For his sake, she hoped there was a magical explanation.
Hermione stumbled after Harry and Ron, and arrived in the flooded corridor outside Moaning Myrtle's toilet.
Hermione felt a chill. Foot high walls had been daubed on the wall in paint that was resistant to magical mess remover (though it's never explained why).
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE!
Mrs Norris was hanging from the torch bracket by her tail, totally immobile, eyes wide and staring.
"Shouldn't we try and help?" asked Hermione.
"No, we obviously don't want to be found here," said Ron.
Too late, a crowd of students, inexplicable including Slytherins who have a common room in the dungeons below the Great Hall, had made their way up to Moaning Myrtles toilet of all places. They fell silent at the sight of the threatening message and the immobile cat.
But not Draco Malfoy.
"Enemies of the Heir beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"
Malfoy's cheeks were flushed pink and his eyes were gleaming as he grinned at the sight of the frozen cat and the message of doom…