Chapter 1
She descended the stone staircase with the grace of a swan, all the while her head high as she observed imperiously the scene before her. Swathed in an ethereal, light pink, floor-length silk gown that complimented her cream complexion, she was a vision of perfect beauty; a goddess amongst mortals, who gazed in wonder at the flawlessness of her appearance.
Well, the men of the crowd stared at her in admiration at least. The women were another story; gazing, not out of appreciation, but of shell-shocked envy and ruefulness. It was simply unfair, no, outrageous that one girl could silence a room with her perfection; obscene that this insignificant little person could have all that beauty to herself in the first place. As is teenage girls' reasoning so often in these situations.
Hermione Granger was fully aware of the mixed and passionate emotions lying beneath the thick surface of silence that surrounded her. It did not bother her in the slightest, however; being an intelligent young woman with a maturity above her years, she accepted both the unspoken compliments and criticisms, enjoying the fact that every male's eyes were on her. As for the reaction from the girls, well, such superficial feelings were beneath a developed young woman like her.
Hermione reached the bottom of the staircase and took the hand that was awaiting her, which, to no one's surprise, belonged to the kind and gorgeous Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain, Cedric Diggory. It was a match made in heaven, to use the cliché, for no one could deny the utter perfection of each party; they were simply made for each other.
The beautiful pair walked through the crowd, who parted obediently to clear their way. A moment later, the orchestra began to play – the signal for dancers to enter. With a collective sigh, the crowd scattered into couples, who slowly made their way into the Great Hall for a night of mingling and fun.
And so the Yule Ball began.
Hermione Granger awoke with a start, bolting upright in her bed. But the sudden alarm disappeared as quickly as it had come, to be replaced with a groan - she had had another one of those nightmares.
It was bad enough that she had seen the dead face of her beloved Cedric in real life; now she had to suffer seeing the image over and over again in her sleep. Not that you would call it sleep. Such a thing was a foreign concept to Hermione ever since he died.
Cedric. Perfect, beautiful, kind-hearted Cedric. The man who had treated Hermione like an absolute goddess, who made her feel so incredibly special. The man who completed her.
And now he was gone forever. Out like a candlelight. He'd taken a huge chunk of her with him as well.
But Hermione didn't like to dwell on these sentiments. Not only were they horribly clichéd, but they only reminded her more of the things she very much wished to forget. Him included.
Pulling herself out of her miserable thoughts, Hermione suddenly registered that it was still dark. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table, she read that it was 4:30, or thereabouts. Great, she thought sarcastically, now I'm literally getting up at the crack of dawn. I must look like hell.
Knowing for certain that she had no chance of getting back to sleep, Hermione gingerly rose out of bed and crept downstairs for a bowl of cereal.
Momentarily forgetting what day it was, Hermione inspected the calendar in her Muggle-home kitchen. September 1. The first day back of school, she vaguely realised. Not that she cared much. School was surely to be something close to purgatory this year – an opinion shared by so many when they reach 5th year, but one that Hermione herself never thought she would boast.
But there was no denying that the negatives far outweighed the positives at that moment, as Hermione knew full well. She could have made a list out of them, actually, the most tragic being the fact that Cedric Diggory was now a corpse. That would have been enough to send Hermione off the edge, however, the death of a loved one has a funny way of throwing many other things out of place. Namely, her best friend Harry and his reputation for being the brave and noble "Chosen One". Well, that was laying it on a bit thick. Harry had never tried hard to be brave or noble, it just came naturally to him. Part of his personality, you could say. However, the Daily Prophet had other ideas; since the…incident, it loved shouting how much of a liar and a fool Harry was, how dearly the Ministry was attempting to foil his schemes to frighten the wizarding public into the "false" idea that You-Know-Who was back (shock, horror). The Prophet had boasted some shocking lies in the past, but this was by far the worst.
And if all this wasn't enough, 5th years were required to endure the infamous and excruciating OWL exams. Once, Hermione would have beamed at the thought, but even schoolwork had lost its appeal in the face of unthinkable loss.
The 15-year-old sighed. It was going to be a long year.
***
The piercing whistle of the scarlet Hogwarts Express sounded just as Hermione dashed across Platform 9 ¾ and into the train carriage, panting, her bushy hair wild. Dragging her heavy trunk down the aisle, she was greeted not by the red and black-haired Gryffindors she wished to see, but a pale, blonde-haired Slytherin whose cold grey eyes bored holes through Hermione's own brown ones.
"And what might you be doing in the Slytherin carriage, Mudblood?" Draco Malfoy sneered. Hermione rolled her eyes. Malfoy's face seemed to be contorted in perpetual scorn nowadays.
"So sorry to rain on your parade, Malfoy," she began through her teeth, "but I was blissfully unaware that breathing your air and passing through your carriage required your permission."
Malfoy's nostrils flared. "No-one likes a smart-arse, Granger. Why don't you just sod off to all the other stuck-up Gryffindors where you belong? I know how much fun you guys have, saving the world and sucking up each others' greatness, but spare us nice people your nauseating self-adoration."
Hermione laughed without humour. "Oh, speak for yourself, Your Highness. You really are full of it. And you know what? You're not worth the time or the bother. So I'm off now. If you'd be so kind as to step aside," she said, looking at the Slytherin pointedly.
Malfoy, his face a mask of disgust and fury, swallowed, as if he were keeping down another snide remark; then his expression changed to one of derisive amusement, and he smirked. "But of course, Your Majesty. I am only too happy," he said with mock reverence as he cleared the way for the Gryffindor theatrically.
As Hermione marched proudly out of the carriage, she snuck a look back over her shoulder at her rival, who, to her surprise, was staring after her with an strange expression of – was it regret? - on his pointed face. When he caught her puzzled eye, however, he resumed his usual sneer and walked away. Hermione shrugged and did the same, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Malfoy was definitely hiding something.
***
The journey to Hogwarts aboard the scarlet Express was, as ever, entertaining but relatively uneventful for Hermione, apart from the period of time she spent in the new Prefects' compartment with Ron, who was the other 5th year Gryffindor Prefect (a position Hermione warned him he must not abuse). After the customary train rounds, the two were making their way back to Harry in the Gryffindor carriage when –
BANG.
The train screamed to an abrupt halt, the momentum throwing Ron and Hermione off their feet as the lights went out. Hermione, crumpled on the floor, groped in the darkness for her companion, frantically calling his name.
"Ron! Ron, where are you? Are you OK?"
"Calm down, Hermione, everything's fine. I bet the train just broke down momentarily, it'll be running again in – " he began reassuringly, until he was interrupted by someone who had, it seemed to Hermione, grabbed him roughly and shoved him face-down into the floor. His cries were muffled as he was likely bound and gagged.
Before Hermione had time to react, another figure approached her with his wand lit. He was masked with only the eyes uncovered. There was something familiar about those eyes, she thought fleetingly, before the intruder murmured "Incancerous". Thick, unyielding ropes coiled around Hermione's shaking body, swiftly interrupting her delayed screams. Barely able to breathe, she fell sideways towards the ground, but not before the spellcaster caught her and pulled her to their side. Bewildered, Hermione struggled with all her might, but to no avail – then, a sudden gust of wind appeared and they were flying. Freefalling through space, shooting through an intangible tunnel they could only feel. And then – it stopped. Hermione was released from her bonds and she slowly rose to observe the new scene around her.
A/N: What do you think? I know it's all a bit abrupt, Hermione pining over Cedric then suddenly being kidnapped by – any guesses who? - but I assure you, every little detail is crucial here. Well, please review, even if you hate it! An author needs to know these things so that they can please their readers :) OK, catch you soon with Chapter 2!