Disclaimer: JKR owns everything and all the Harry Potter money. I don't. :(
Hermione's Dark Plan - Chapter Two
After Headmaster Dumbledore made his start of term announcements, nothing usual, just reminders to not use magic in the corridors and stay out of the Forbidden Forest, the hall turned to chaos. This time Hermione as able to pay attention and watch what the prefects did. She wasn't a terrified first year any more.
The prefects spilt into three teams of two and stood along the sides of the Slytherin crowd that weren't next to the crowd. Heather Duke, the head girl, lead the way into the dungeons with the others making sure that no one fell behind or got lost.
As they left, Hermione scanned the Gryffindor table one last time. Harry Potter had not been spotted and she was starting to worry. If Potter doesn't show up then who will Snape vent his frustrations on? Who will we pick on everyday? Hufflepuffs, I guess.
Once they arrived at the entrance to the common room, a new prefect stepped up. Lila Murdock was her name and she looked nervously at the Slytherin students assembled before her.
"This is the uh- entrance to our common room and dormitories." She looked nervously at the head boy and girl who were starring at her intensely. "You have to have a password to get in. It's Asphodel."
Hermione wanted to sigh in relief when the wall slide aside and the Slytherin common room was revealed. All was exactly as she remembered it. The drapes of cloth and been washed and the snake sculptures polished. A fire burned cheerfully in the hearth and the dormitory doors had been replaced with new wood.
"Miss it?" Theo asked under his breath as the prefects got everyone in and assembled at the front of the common room. Lila Murdock stepped up onto one of the work tables and sent a stream of sparks shooting from her wand to get every ones' attention.
"Up here everyone!" She gave her wand another wave. "Thank you, the first house meeting will be starting in ten minutes. Return to the common room by then." Lila jumped down off the table and headed over to the other fifth years.
Hermione caught Millicent's eye and pulled Daphene along with her towards the girls dormitories on the left. Pansy arrived a few seconds before them and opened the door. "Remember the times we've had?" She asked, smiling.
Millicent smiled. "Last year. The dueling and Weasley dying! And having that hair dying party. I wish that Snape hadn't made us wash it out." She laughed as the image of Pansy's hair a bright green instead of chestnut brown.
Pansy ran her hand over the lighting plate and headed down the hall. "We get the nicer bathrooms this year. Moving up!" She pumped her fist in the air. "New dorm!"
Hermione glanced at the list on the door. It held the same four names it had last year, simply one room down. She turned the doorknob and stepped in. The room was almost the same as the first year one was. But the green paint and the curtains around the bed were a slightly darker shade. The desks had another drawer and there was an extra hook on the wall for each girl.
"Nice." Pansy looked over the four sections and pulled her trunk into the one closest to the door. "This year I'm not going to miss the best sink and shower. I'll get there first every time."
Millicent shrugged and headed to the third bed from the door. Hermione claimed the one farthest away. She didn't really care for Pansy and both Daphene and Pansy were light sleepers. Keeping them up at night with her reading lamp was a good way to make enemies.
"Girls, are you in here?" Heather Duke opened the door and stepped in. Her auburn hair was braided neatly up and fastened to the back of her head. Nothing like the mop Weasel junior had. "Professor Snape is due to arrive any second. Do you really want to get chewed up on the first night?"
Nothing else needed to be said. All four dropped what they were doing and high tailed back to the common room, praying that they'd arrive before Snape. They had managed to avoid detention for the entire day, it wouldn't do to fail now.
And sure enough, as they arrived and took their places standing behind the firsties, the door marked 'Office' burst open and Snape strode out, his cloak billowing out behind him. He stopped in front of his students and looked over them. As if evaluating each and everyone of them. It was unnerving to say the least.
"This, most obviously, is Slytherin House. Welcome, to those of you in the first year. To the rest, welcome back." Snape looked over them again, as if trying to determine who would not be welcome tomorrow. "Prefects." He motioned to the side and the six stepped up to join him.
Heather took charge. "Both the Head Girl and Head Boy are Slytherins this year. Abraham Montague and I will be happy to help you if you need anything. The others are, Lila Murdock and Ivan Bole for fifth years and Brighet Sawyer and Samuel Palce for sixth years. Obey them as you would a professor." She stepped back to the side and let Professor Snape take the floor again.
Snape began pacing the exact same path he'd walked the year before. Hermione thought his speech sounded rather familiar to. "Slytherin house is picked on by all the other teachers and students. We cannot afford to be divided. Within the halls everyone must protect and come to the aid of their fellow snakes. Just make sure to preserve as many points as possible. There will be consequences for your rule breaking."
He stopped his rant for a moment, studying the first years. "If you need the rules clarified there is a rulebook in each dormitory and the prefects will be happy to help you." He looked closely through out the crowd for the last time. "That will conclude our meeting. First years please follow me."
Hermione watched at the nervous crowd of firsties followed Snape into his office. That had been her the year before. This year she was free. I've known about my true heritage for a year now. It's only been a year, but it seems like so much longer.
"I'm going to unpack." Pansy announced to the other second years. She lead the way back to the dormitories. This time it took longer to get to their dorm, all the other students were trying to get to theirs and the second years were the smallest. They lost in the pushing competitions.
Finally the four broke through and returned to the long, tedious task of unpacking their trunks. Technically they could live out of the trucks, they were big enough to hold all their belongings. But it was hard to find things and clothes got wrinkled. Using the bookshelves, wardrobes, hooks and desks provided was a better idea.
Millicent was the first to finish. She stuck her last bottle of ink into the bottom drawer of her desk and collapsed back onto her bed. "Done."
Pansy groaned. She was organising her clothes as she hung them up and many of them needed to have ironing charms cast over them after being packed in a tight trunk. Daphene finished shortly after Millicent and let her kitten out of her cage.
"Say hello to everybody." Daphene told the animal. Cuddling it in her arms and making cooing noises of her blue, furry head.
Hermione stuffed another book onto her shelf and neatened up the ones that had to stay in her trunk because the shelf ran out of room. "Did you read all the Lockhart books? I can't believe we're actually having him as a teacher. All the things he's done!"
"He says he's done."
The girls heads snapped towards the door. Draco stood in the doorway, Vince and Greg standing menacingly behind him.
"Hermione, the guy's an idiot. He was over for dinner and I couldn't believe the outrageous things he was saying. He claims to have done so many amazing things." Draco laughed, but this time no one laughed with him.
Theo squeezed into the room, manoeuvring around Greg and Vince's considerable bulk. "Honestly Draco. Just because you can't do anything with you life doesn't mean that other people can't." He glared at Draco until the boy left. "Although I haven't read Lockhart's books yet."
Pansy laughed. That was just like Theo, making assumptions and judging people without a lot of information. It was one of the flaws that could be useful, especially when unleashed on people she was out of sorts with. Like Draco.
"What's with Draco anyway?" Hermione asked, proping herself up on her elbows. "Why did he spend the summer here? He didn't write to me either."
Theo smiled viciously. "Draco's in trouble. He seems to have developed a caring attitude towards muggles. His parents weren't pleased. Apparently his father threw him out and Snape's his godfather so he ended up here. Somehow I don't think Snape was pleased with him either."
Pansy, Daphene and Hermione exchanged incredulous looks. In June, Draco wouldn't talk to Blaise because he's half blood. The next month he's caring about muggles? What on Earth is going on around here?
"So now Draco's trying to find someone to hang with." Theo added. "We should probably ignore, in his best interest of course. Just until he gets the muggle thing under control." He looked at the girls and Greg and Vince. "I can count on you, right?"
Hermione nodded and Greg followed her lead. Daphene and Pansy exchanged looks and nodded together.
"I don't care." Millicent declared. "I only talk to people if it's convenient. And usually talking to Draco isn't convenient for me so it won't make much of a difference."
Everyone turned to Vince. He was sort of Draco's bodyguard and he would be the deciding factor. Whether or not he would abandon Draco, his master and leader. "I guess. But I'm not talking any orders from girls!" He added quickly. "Theo can help me with my homework."
Theo smirked. "Good, good. Thank you ladies, for helping me solve this little dilemma." He stopped posing against Pansy's desk and headed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Joy." Hermione looked at the other three girls. "It's not even the first day of classes and we're already turning against each other. I don't know what you think, but this sounds like the kind of plan that will bring Snape on our heads. He hates inner Slytherin conflict more than anything."
Daphene looked nervously at Pansy. She didn't want to end up in trouble with her Head of House after all he'd done for her. "I'm sure Draco will come around quickly. Besides, it's not like we'll pick on him, at least out side of Slytherin."
"I'm going to bed." Hermione pulled the curtains closed around her area and relaxed. That was the best part of being a second year. There weren't just curtains around the beds, when pulled closed, the first set of curtains created a small room with a bed, wardrobe and desk. There was still a second set of curtains around the bed. Hermione loved the privacy and quiet it created.
She changed into a Slytherin green flannel nightgown and climbed into bed. It would be a long day tomorrow. A good day, an exciting day. But getting back into the school schedule took a few days and the first few were exhausting.
**
Surrounded by people. But they weren't really people. They were chanting in some strange tongue. The sound scared her. It shook her down to her bones and Hermione could feel it in her spine and feet. It was coming closer, it was coming to get her.
Hermione looked around wilding for something that she could use as a weapon. There had to something, a rock, a shard of glass. But there wasn't anything. She was somewhere empty, somewhere only the chanters could find.
The chanters were drawing closer. Enclosing her in a very visible circle. A teeming mass of bodies flowing around her, turning to one as they moved faster and faster and one couldn't see individuals any more. There was only one.
Then as suddenly as the display had started, it ended. Two figures emerged from the many. Two figures that screamed danger to Hermione. But her feet were rooted to the ground, no movement was possible. All she could do was wait.
The figures were clear now. A man and a woman. But they were not human. Hermione watched, horrified as they lifted their left arms to her in an odd salute. Both of them kissed their forearms and then they turned their arms and kissed their elbows.
Snakes began to crawl, snakes that had been tattoos on their arms came to life. They came out of their skin and began to slither towards Hermione.
But they were bad. Hermione knew they were bad, she knew that they would hurt her if they touched her. She wanted them gone. Hermione twisted and turned, pulling at the bonds that kept her still. She screamed for help, noise finally coming to her.
**
"Hermione! Wake up!"
Someone was shaking her. Hermione opened her eyes, gasping for breath. She sat up, grabbing Daphene's thin shoulders. "Where are they, the snake people? Are they gone yet?" She demanded, terrified to the point of hysteria.
Daphene pulled away, frightened by the wild, angry look in Hermione's eyes. "I-I don't know what you mean. Hermione please, just wait. Pansy went to get Professor Snape."
Hermione shook her head. "Daphene, I need to know where the snake kissers are. They want to get me! They'll kill me if you don't stop them!" Hermione was dimly aware of two other people entering the area around her bed, both in nightclothes.
A cool hand touched her forehead and the nightmare evaporated, Hermione came back to the real world. "Sir!" She exclaimed, looking into the dark eyes of her Head of House. "I'm sorry Sir. I didn't mean to wake you."
Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "Miss Morter, you did not wake me. Miss Parkinson was most adamant that I come at once. She said you were screaming and thrashing about. Is, was there a problem?"
Hermione looked nervously at Daphene. "I don't think so Sir. There was a nightmare, but it passed. Sorry for waking you Sir." She tried to glared at Pansy, but after just waking up the intensity was practically in the negatives.
Snape continued to look down at Hermione. He didn't believe her, but after being the Head of Slytherin for many years he knew that most students would not share their nightmares and weaknesses with him. All he could do was provide them with potions or send them to the Hospital wing if they were truly becoming sleep deprived. "It's too close to morning for me to give you a dreamless sleeping potion. But you may still take a calming draft."
Hermione shook her head. "No Sir. I don't need a potion. But thank you for offering Sir." She looked down at her clasped hand and moved back under the bedclothes. "Good night professor."
Snape muttered, "Good night", to the four second year girls as he made his way back to his quarters in hopes of getting a few more hours of sleep. Pansy returned to her bed quietly, but Daphene glared at Hermione and such a glared Hermione had never seen before. She was still pondering over it when Daphene returned to bed and turned out the room's lights.
The darkness struck Hermione in a bad way. It was scary and made then room seem like the one in her dream. Imposing and terrifyingly small as if the walls would close in and crash her at any given moment. Hermione managed to cast a silent Lumos charm before she hyperventilated, but it was a close thing.
I guess there will be no sleeping tonight. Hermione picked one of the books off her bookshelf. Peter Pan. I remember the first time my mother, no she's not my real mother! Hermione shook her head angrily. She didn't like it when she thought of the Grangers as her parents. It had all been a cruel Ministry trick and she wanted to moved past it, forget it ever happened. Yet there was nearly ten years of memories spent with her parents. Baking cookies, visiting grandparents, story time and bedtime stories.
"No. I'm not going to think about that." Hermione whispered determinately to herself. I am stronger than my memories. I have self control and I can control what I think about! She put Peter Pan back on the bookshelf and grabbed Hogwarts: A History, it was one of those books that you simply couldn't read too often.
Hermione tried to enjoy her book once again. But it was growing dry, repetitive. After all, she did enjoy learning and reading factual texts. But shockingly, Hermione was ready was some fictional. A novel, maybe wizarding classics. I've never read any wizarding fiction. It could be a good opportunity. I'll ask Pansy tomorrow and Theo of course.
Time passed slowly as the hands on the clock began to creep closer and closer to 6 o'clock. Hermione had heard that anyone who left their dormitory before six set off Professor Snape's alarms and she didn't want to have to make excuses to the man twice in the same day. She respected Snape.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the minute hand moved past twelve and it was officially 6:01. Hermione hopped out of bed and removed her sweat soaked pyjamas. She dropped them in the laundry basket, hoping the house elves would clean them as quickly as possible. Her nightmare had been embarrassing enough.
The showers were empty and Hermione took the best one. None of them had been used yet and she relaxed for the first time since her nightmare under the hot stream of water. She washed her long tresses and applied plenty of the special conditioner that Sarah Cutter had given her as an early Birthday gift. It worked wonders in keeping her hair sleek and behaved. Hermione was already working on making buckets of the stuff for herself.
By the time Hermione had finished showering, dried off and dressed it was almost seven o'clock. Spending ages in the shower, what a wonderful new way to waste my precious time. She gathered up her bathrobe and towels and headed back to the second year dormitory. Now there was the nose of other students stirring. True, breakfast didn't start until eight o'clock and few people arrived before hast past eight, but it was the first day of classes. There was nervousness, there was anxiety. And there were new firsties.
Hermione put her stuff back into her dorm and gathered her supplies for the first day. She brought all her books, since they hadn't received their schedules yet and immediately changed her opinion on Lockhart. He might have been a good writer and have claimed to do all kinds of amazing things. But he had too many books and they were too heavy for her to carry all of them around. I could always get Greg to carry them of course.
The Slytherin common room was empty, a rarity. There were always couples on the couches, study groups working together and people just relaxing out of their dormitories. Looking at the same four walls got old very quickly. In the common room, something was always changing.
Hermione checked her watch one last time. It said that it was nearly eight o'clock and since Hermione didn't think that Hogwarts curfew was in effect after six or seven o'clock, she set out. It took a few minutes to walk to the Great Hall. And I'll talk to the Gryffindors. Hopefully get some dirt on Potter, if he's even bothered to show up yet. Maybe he died!
But even the Great Hall was nearly empty. There were four Ravenclaws eating quickly, hoping to get into the library before classes that morning and a group of porky Hufflepuffs all wearing matching purple and pink badges that told everyone they were the 'food club'. Hermione was tempted to laugh at them, but she was out numbered and they were rather large.
There was one lone figure at the Gryffindor table, a red headed Weasley wearing a prefect badge. Hermione almost ignored him and continued on to the Slytherin table. But at the last second she changed her mind and headed across the hall to talk to him.
Percy Weasley looked up from his Arithmancy textbook when he heard footsteps coming his way. Then the figure drew nearer and his glasses sharpened the image enough for him to see the face of Hermione Morter, Slytherin enemy of all Weasleys Percy was busy and not exactly in the mood to be insulted.
"Percy Weasley?" Hermione stopped in front of the Gryffindor and offered her hand. "I'm Hermione Morter. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."
Percy glanced up, wanting more than anything to yell at her and order her to leave him alone. But he didn't. Instead he said, "certainly Miss Morter. What would you like my assistance with?"
Hermione bit her lip nervously. If I do this the wrong way, I'm dead and no one will ever trust me again. "You see, it's about Harry Potter. I was getting worried, has he arrived yet?" Perfect Morter, absolutely amazing. Just hope he doesn't ask why you're worried.
But it was too early in the morning for Percy to be thinking at the speed and level he usually did. "I'm sorry, I can't help you there. He wasn't on the train and he didn't come to the common room last night." His chest swelled with importance, "Professor McGonagall told us prefects that she was going to his house last night. Just to see if he was ill or missed the train."
Hermione nodded, that was all she wanted to know. But it never hurt to keep a good informant happy. "Thank you Percy. That really helped me." She smiled sweetly and headed to the other side of the Great hall to take her place as ruler of the Slytherin second years.
"Sleep well?" Daphene hissed into Hermione's ear before she sat down. "Or did you even sleep at all?" She asked under her breath.
Hermione glared sharply at her. "Not that it's any of your business, but I slept wonderfully." She looked around the Great Hall. It was full of chattering students, excited and anxious to get their schedules. And for the third and sixth years there would be new courses and new teachers.
Lila Murdock had the schedules for the first four years and spent the majority of breakfast handing them out. Hermione was tense and full of nerves by the time the piece of paper was handed to her.
Monday – Transfiguration , Potions, Charms
Tuesday – History, Free, Defence
Wednesday – Herbology, Charms, Astronomy
Thursday – Defence, Free, Charms
Friday – Potions, Transfiguration, History.
"And today's Tuesday!" Draco's voice ran out unhappily. "Binns and then Lockhart! This sucks!"
Hermione opened her mouth to remind him of the free period, but stopped just in time when the rest of the second years glared at her. She'd almost slipped up before they'd even really started! But the stony silence remained unbroken and Hermione continued to chew her cornflakes as if nothing had happened.
Pansy finally tired of the quiet and smiled at Theo across the table. She was still looking forward to another conversation with him in the rose garden. "Say Theo, think that Binns will talk about anything other than goblin rebellions this year? Maybe he might even mention something that happened less then five hundred years ago?"
Theo laughed and the laugh disturbed Hermione. There was too much pleasure in it. As if he was enjoying shutting Draco out, not just doing it to help the boy. "Dream on. It will be another year of Uric the Unclean and Bodric the Bald. Binns just loves digging deeper and deeper into the past, the closer he comes to now the less he seems to enjoy himself."
"Homework!" Hermione's mouth flew open and her hands flew to her bag in worry. But a few moments later she breathed a sigh of relief. Upon seeing the stares of the others she hurried to explain. "I almost thought that I'd forgotten the assignments at home or in the dormitories. But they're here." She patted her bag comfortably and winced. "I forgot how much I'd stuffed in here."
Millicent looked in and laughed. "We've never used our textbooks in Binns class unless it was to work on an essay and that has always been outside of class! You really are through Hermione. Your bag could probably see us through a lab explosion and an earthquake."
Greg grinned stupidly. "With Longbottom is there really any difference?"
The general consensus that morning was a resounding "NO!"
Finally the tabled cleared itself and the Head table emptied as teachers left to prepare their first classes of the year. Hermione had glanced up there from time to time and noticed that none of them, save Lockhart, did anything more than drink a few cups of steaming tea. It was just like exam week, only shorter.
Hermione gathered up her pile of books and dumped as many of them as she could into Goyle's arms. There's no way I'm going to carry all those books, I don't even think I could carry them all that way. "I'll be right back." She told her friends before slipping over to the first year section.
The firsties were sitting quietly, nervously looking around at their surroundings. Hermione stopped next to one of the girls and plucked the schedule out of her hand. "What do you have now?"
"Potions. Then Defence." The girl Hermione had taken the schedule from said.
Hermione looked at her more closely. "I'm Hermione Morter." She offered her hand. It's always good to make allies and friends. In every year.
"Jessica Watson." She motioned to the boy sitting beside her. "This is my brother, Jacob Watson."
Hermione nodded. "I've never heard of the Watsons before. Are you related to the Malfoys?" Draco already said that they're not closely related, I wonder what their story is.
Jessica shook her head. "I don't think so. My parents have lived in Brazil for most of their lives, doing research on the local magic. They only moved back so that we could learn more about England before coming to Hogwarts."
Hermione smiled and handed the schedule back. "Nice talking to you." She returned to the second years and picked up the full bottle of ink that wouldn't fit in her bag with all the books. "Let's go." She groaned. "More history."
The second years headed through the halls and up four flights of stairs until they arrived at Professor Binns classroom. The door was unlocked and they made their way in and took their seats. It seemed exactly the same as it had been the year before. Boring and dull.
"I'll take notes today. But someone else has to take them next class." Theo declared, getting out his supplies. "If someone takes notes each class, then they won't get as tired and we'll all have good notes." He looked around. "Great. Hermione can take them next time."
"Whatever." Hermione shrugged and put her head down on her desk. The excitement of the first day was gone and she was back to being exhausted after the small amount of sleep she'd gotten.. "Whose history with this year? Please don't tell me it's the Gryffindors. I can't handle them this morning."
"It's Hufflepuffs." Daphene said as soon as the second group of students began to make their way through the door. "This class certainly is going to be a quiet one." She moaned in frustration. "Lockhart had better be good. Otherwise Tuesdays are going to be hell!"
At that moment Professor Binns floated in through the chalkboard and settled down in front of his podium. He opened his mouth and began yet another lesson on goblin rebellions. The snores could be heard throughout the classroom was the students started dropping like flies.
"Morter. Morter!"
Hermione jumped as the sound of someone whisper-calling out her name. She looked around wildly. "Yeah?"
"Hermione Morter." The girl in front of her turned around and Hermione relaxed. It was Susan Bones, a good pureblood family, even if they all tended to be Hufflepuffs.
"Yes Susan Bones?"
Susan smiled. "I heard you were worried about Harry Potter. He's at school now. Hannah and I went to visit him in the Hospital wing. But they wouldn't let us in."
Hermione nodded. "Thanks." Susan smiled and turned back to her notes. Why is Potter in the Hospital wing? Maybe he almost died! Probably he just needed some more sleep and he got it just because he's the 'Boy-Who-Lived', I hope that Snape will put him in his place in class. I haven't gotten to make fun of him yet.