"Honestly, you two are impossible," Hermione sighed angrily as she tried in vain to boost her over-full book bag higher on her shoulder as she lagged behind the two boys. Neither offering to carry the over-weight schoolbag for her when both could see she was struggling as it weighed down her lithe frame when both far exceeded her in strength, height and muscle.
"Hurry up 'Mione," Ron screeched back at her, his fiery red hair getting further in the distance with ever large, lanky step he took.
"Thanks for the help," She grumbled angrily under her breath, leaning coolly against one of the portraits. Her stomach dropped to her toes when she felt a lurch backward, teetering precariously on her feet, arms whirling around at her sides trying to keep her upright but the weight of the book bag dragged her back, landing on her backside with a deep thud.
"What the." She blinked rapidly, rising to her feet with trepidation, rubbing a hand over her now sore, and probably bruised butt.
She struggled to drag the bag back up on her shoulder, sagging under the immense weight as she did so.
"Hermione, hurry up, where are-" Harry called to Hermione, coming to a skidded halt in front of her, his best friend was right before him, standing in the portrait in which she had leaned against.
"Hermione?" Harry asked softly, blinking rapidly, almost like he couldn't believe the scene before him.
"I'm right here, why do you look like you just saw Voldemort saunter past?" Flicking her mass of Auburn, sun-kissed curls over her shoulder.
"Hermione, you, you're in the portrait," Harry's voice caught in his dry throat, running a hand shakily through his Raven hair, the color in his face drained till he was a white as a sheet, just as Ron came skidding along behind him.
"Hermione!" Ron screeched, the freckles on his face intensifying as the color drained from his cheeks as well.
"Relax, I'm sure this has happened before," Hermione said casually as she dropped her bag on the ground with a resonating thud and stepped out of the portrait casually. "See!" She said matter of factly, giving both the boys an I told you so look.
Ron raised a brow in question as he pressed a palm to the portrait and to his dismay, he didn't force his way through. Harry did the same, and again, nothing happened.
"Why are you so special?" Ron protested with the petulance of a child.
"Has this portrait always been here?" Harry asked wearily, casting a dark glance towards it.
"Honestly, Harry, I don't know. I'm not the portrait keeper of the castle." She sniffed indignantly at him, stepping back in the portrait to collect her bag. She bent down and frozen.
The cogs of her mind began to tick slowly at first and then at full speed. A long, dark corridor beckoned to her, called her like a sweet siren song. She looked back at the boys and raised her self back up to full height.
"Hermione, no!" Harry protested with every fiber of his being, knowing exactly what the girl was going to do, but she didn't even give them a second thought or a backward glance, the urge to walk down the incredibly dark and narrow corridor called, beckoned, screamed to her.
Her soft footfalls reverberated off of the stone floor below and off of the walls of, each tentative step she took, the protests of her friends grew fainter.
Step after tentative step.
Silence.
Darkness.
A/N: Like I need to start another story… This has been trying to claw its way out of my brain for weeks, and if I didn't start it, my brain would just implode with all the plot bunnies that were breeding there.
Before you invest too much time in this, it will be an ss/hg fanfiction.
-Aliasmel1