A/N – Let me know if I make any errors, spelling or book-wise and I'll fix them right up. Thanks for reviewing, I appreciate it. I haven't written in a while so reviews help to let me know if I should keep this story going or not. It may start out slow, but I have to set the story you know! :P Thanks a bunch, enjoy.
Hermione spent the previous evening scouring over the hefty, aged tome before finally going to sleep very late into the night. As she lay in bed, her mind was reeling with all kinds of new information and it was difficult for her to go to sleep at all. She finally ended up taking a dreamless sleep potion just to get her forty winks for the night. The book was remarkable, to say the least. It drew her attention and certainly kept it. That is not to say that the other books that she had been immersed in over the summer weren't important or interesting; it was just that she had never dared to read a book like this. It was not necessarily a dark book, per say, but it was undeniably no school book. If another copy of this book existed anywhere in Hogwarts, there was no doubt in her mind that it would only exist in the Restricted Section. It was a common fact, however, that all 6th and 7th years had access to the Restricted Section without having to have a note from a teacher, like all of the younger students. Hermione now felt like she would be in their more than she previously anticipated, after having read parts of this.
The fact remained; Voldemort was stronger than he had ever been and if the battle at the ministry in their 5th year was anything to go by, they all needed to bone up not only their defensive spells and their school spell work, but much, much more. The Death Eaters knew too many obscure and dark spells that Harry, Ron, nor she could never even fathom. Hell, even the order probably didn't know many of the spells they used, especially since they were so determined not to use dark magic. If the order hadn't showed up just in the nick of time that day in the Department of Mysteries, there surely would have been dire consequences.
She pondered a bit more while she groggily made her way to feed Crookshanks before he became too angry at her again and decided to hold a grudge. The Death Eaters didn't give two shits about whether one another survived, so it made fighting for the 'light' side a bit more traumatic, where there is always the trace of worry for your comrades on your mind's periphery. Hermione had already lost enough people in this war, Dumbledore, Sirius, and her parents in a way, since she wouldn't be able to see them for an indefinite amount of time. She knew that Harry had lost even more family and friends, and although she knew that he had done at least some studying (from her infrequent visits to Grimmauld Place), she really didn't think he was doing everything he could. Didn't he want to end this war? Didn't he want to stop losing everyone he holds dear and live a better life?
Bah. She was going over the same things in her head that she went over every day, so she decided to put it out of her mind. After feeding her gluttonous cat, she immediately went upstairs to take care of the remaining five potions that were stinking up her room. It was a wonder she could have even slept through that at all. She decided to wait for her shower until after she was done getting filthy from the days' potion brewing.
The first potion of the day was under a stasis spell, already finished. The infamous Felix Felicis. She knew this potion wasn't legal to brew, but desperate times call for desperate measures. To be honest she had started brewing this potion months ago, as it takes a full six months to brew. It was the most desperately tricky potion she had ever made, yet it appeared to be the correct color and consistency as the book showed and yet she was still worried something could had gone wrong. This potion of course was also called "liquid luck", because it makes the drinker lucky for a period of time, depending on how much is taken, during which everything they attempt will be successful. It is meant to be used sparingly, however, as it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence if taken in excess and is highly toxic in large quantities. However, she had not brewed all of this for herself: it was to be evenly distributed amongst those who would need it for the evil that was to come. She let out a deep sigh when she had finished siphoning it up, storing it carefully, and scourgifying the cauldron before moving onto the next one.
The second potion was a Girding Potion. After she added the last of the doxy eggs and waited for it to simmer for five minutes and then finished that one up as well. The Girding potion is, of course, used to increase endurance. She considered an invigoration draught instead, but decided against it due to lack of supplies. Either way this could come in handy at some point in the future, of that she was sure.
The Third potion was Murtlap Essence, which healed up cuts and bruises and soothed the body, just in case anyone got into trouble it seemed like something she should have on hand. This one had only taken three days to brew and was the easiest out of all the potions she had brewed all summer. After bottling it and cleaning up, she moved onto the next and most putrid smelling one of all.
This smelly concoction was the infamous Polyjuice potion. She had already made this once before, in her 2nd year, so it was one that she felt particularly confident about. In fact, she had made triple the amount that she had made back then, ensuring multiple uses, whenever she or perhaps someone in the order, may need it.
The fifth and final potion (and thank Merlin too because her mind was still swimming from all the smells) was as still as glass inside the cauldron. There was not a single bubble disturbing its placid contents and the liquid was crystal clear, colorless, and odorless. This particular potion had been brewing for an entire lunar phase and was almost as tricky as Felix to make. Veritaserum is, of course, a very powerful truth serum. The potion effectively forces the drinker to answer any questions put to them truthfully, though there is an antidote to it and also those skilled in Occlumency can thwart its effects. Naturally, this was also a controlled substance according to the Ministry of Magic, but (and she couldn't believe she was saying this) rules were meant to broken, sometimes.
Opening up her window once more to let the last of the fumes out, Hermione headed to the shower to clean up. She was glad all of those were finally out of her room and just in the nick of time for her to pack up all of her belongings and get to Grimmauld Place tonight, so she could go with everyone else to Kings Cross tomorrow morning.
"Hermione, dear, you're looking rather peckish," Molly Weasley admonished, as Hermione stepped foot into the kitchen of Grimmauld place. "Come on over here and get yourself some of my Shepherd's Pie".
Hermione did as she was told, and upon taking her second bite Fred and George burst through the kitchen door singing something about the womping willow and a brothel. When they finally spotted her, she had already braced herself for the onslaught of friendly attacks. Fred came over and sat on her left, grabbing her spoon and taking the bite of food she was just about to put in her mouth. Meanwhile, George jumped over the bench to her right and hit the table with his shin, causing him to howl out in pain and let out a string of expletives. In the interim, Fred was startled by George's outburst and choked on his spoon, sending bits of carrot flying all over the table. Fred stopped shrieking with pain long enough to roughly hit his brother on the back, while simultaneously jostling Hermione, who was still in between them. Molly started yelling for them to 'just behave, already!', when the door to the kitchen swung open again.
Remus Lupin, her former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor entered, followed closely behind by Harry and then Ron. They were in the middle of a conversation about the difference between transfiguring a human body into an animal and an actual Animagus transformation, but they quickly noticed her, partially due to her large hair, and partially due to the commotion that Fred and George were still causing.
"Hermione! Why didn't you tell us you'd gotten in?" Ron yelled, who grabbed an already made-up bowl of Shepherd's Pie, and sat down across from the three of them. Harry closely followed, and Remus went to talk to Molly near the stove.
"I had only just arrived when, well you know how Molly is," she explained, nodding to the food in front of her. Fred let out one last loud cough, and then belched loudly. George, of course, began to clap.
"Hey Won-Won, where's your snuggle buddy?" George implored Ron, snickering. Hermione looked up at him questioningly.
"What snuggle buddy…?" Hermione asked slowly.
"Yea, go ahead and tell her Won-Won!" Fred roared with laughter.
"Quit calling me that! I don't know how you two idiots found out that wretched nickname, but as soon as I find o—"Ron began but Harry cut him off.
"Ginny thought it would be cute to get Ron a Pygmy Puff as a gift, although no one knows if it was an honest gift or just her own personal joke. The thing is, it's obsessed with him now and won't leave him alone!" Harry barked out a laugh and Hermione grinned.
Ron scowled. "It's not funny. I have to lock the bloody thing in a cage now or it follows me everywhere!"
Hermione was trying not to laugh, "Oh Ron, why don't you just take it back to your brothers' joke shop when you get the chance?"
"Why don't I just…Hey! That's a good idea!" Ron said, a grin spreading out on his face.
"Sorry little brother," Fred began, smirking.
"No refunds, and no returns," George finished, flicking one of the spit up bits of carrot on the table at him. Ron grumbled out loud and stabbed at his pie violently. Harry laughed out loud and turned to Hermione.
"Hey Hermione, how's your Animagus transformation coming along?" Harry implored. The room got quiet rather quickly and Hermione squirmed a little in her seat. Ever Lupin was looking at her, waiting for an answer.
'Of course he'd be interested', Hermione thought to herself, 'Although I doubt I'll be able to help him out with his transformation much like his friends did back in school.'
"It's going alright, my tail has really started taking form, but it's still a bit lumpy and fleshy looking. I grew whiskers the other day, which was pretty weird feeling, and I could smell the fish from my neighbor's kitchen, too. So, I'd say it's coming along nicely," Hermione said modestly, looking down at her pie and taking another bite, her cheeks turning red. She was saved from further conversation when Harry turned to Lupin.
"Is it true that your Animagus form can't be chosen? Like it's always going to be what you're Patronus takes the form of?" He asked his former professor, cocking one brow.
Lupin cleared his throat once before speaking, "Well, I don't exactly have firsthand experience, since I never practiced to become an Animagus, but as to my knowledge you cannot chose the form of your Patronus, nor of your Animagus form. It is very likely that they will be the same type of animal, as was your father's stag, Harry. Unless some kind of emotional turmoil affects you or some kind of magic unbeknownst to me occurs, I'm pretty sure you can't change what it is either."
Harry turned to Hermione, "So yours is an otter then, right?"
"Yes," she said matter-of-factly.
"Wicked," George and Fred exclaimed in unison.
And that was how the rest of her night went at Grimmauld Place. It was a nice, somewhat relaxing evening with her two favorite boys (and sometimes her other two favorite boys, George and Fred). Even Ginny popped by for a while and perched herself rather close to Harry, who didn't seem to mind one bit. Ron seemed to have forgotten his grudge against Ginny for the time being, until she mysteriously disappeared for an hour or so, only to return with Pomegranate, the Pygmy Puff. The tiny little pink and purple puff zoomed out of her hand and hopped over to Ron and perched on his knee, and then on his shoulder, and then on his head. It let out high pitched little 'Puff's' every so often, which made everyone snicker, except Ron who looked mortified. Hermione finally retreated to her room near midnight, so that she would be ready for the train by morning.
Once she had put on her pajamas and climbed into bed, Hermione propped herself up on her elbow and muttered "Lumos" to light up the tip of her wand. She pulled the old, decrepit book out in front of her and resumed reading where she left off earlier that day.
"Hurry up Ron, or all the good ones are gonna be taken!" Harry rushed along the aisle of The Hogwarts Express, looking for an empty compartment to sit in.
"They're all the same Harry, you should know that by now," Hermione admonished, but chuckled all the same. She was following behind them, albeit at a much slower pace. Honestly, there was no need to rush.
Harry finally found an empty compartment a little farther ahead and Ron followed him inside. There was a bit of congestion in the aisle way so Hermione had to wait behind some students, tapping her foot. Due to all the muttering ahead of her, apparently all the congestion was due to something involving Neville getting into a fight, which didn't make any sense at all. Figuring this could take a while, Hermione magicked her old dusty book out of her bag and propped it open, flipping ahead to the page she was currently at.
After only a minute, there were a couple yells and a noisy commotion down the aisle but nothing could be seen through the swarm of students blocking her path. Hermione looked up just in time to see students being roughly pushed aside, some into the walls of the train, and some stumbling into open compartments if the doors were open. She moved to the left side of the hallway in time to see a young man with platinum blonde hair appear through the crowd looking murderous. Her eyebrows shot into her forehead at the sight of him. He shouldn't be here! He roughly pushed past her, slamming his shoulder into her own, causing her to drop her fragile book on the floor in her shock. He stopped momentarily to turn around to berate her, when he saw her picking up the aforementioned book. He took one look at it, then looked back at her, then looked at it again. He closed his mouth and stared at her. She stared back.
What the bloody hell is he doing here? She thought angrily to herself.
What the bloody hell is the mudblood doing with a book like that? His mind spat.
He watched as she used wandless magic to conjure a new, dark blue cover for her book. She shot him a nasty look, turned on her heel, and marched down the aisle to where Harry and Ron were surely waiting for her.
Draco sneered and turned around, striding towards the opposite end of the train. This year is going to fucking suck.
"Did you two see that blond ferret?" Hermione shrieked, upon entering the compartment with Harry and Ron. Ron was already furiously stuffing a pumpkin pasty in his mouth and Harry was so red in the face, no one would be surprised to see steam pouring out of his ears. Hermione threw her luggage on the rack, and gently pushed Crookshanks' carrier next to it. She could see him evilly eyeing Pomegranate's cage. She set her book down and plopped herself down next to Ron. "What in the world do you think he's doing, showing his traitor face around here?"
"Oh believe me, we saw the little twit!" Harry fumed. "He's back! He's bloody back for his 7th year!"
"How is that even possible, Harry, with what happened last year with Dumbledore on the tower?" Hermione implored.
"Erishtershrm," Ron said through a mouth full of pasty.
"Ronald how many times have I told you not to -"Hermione began.
"Veritaserum!" Ron exclaimed, after swallowing. "The Ministry used truth serum on him and found out that he apparently was being coerced by You-Know-Who to kill Dumbledore. If Malfoy didn't do it, he was going to kill his mum. Personally, I think it's a load of –"
"Bullocks!" Harry finished at the same time. "He must have lied. I don't know how, but there's no way… I just can't believe it. I won't."
Hermione just said, "Hmm," and left it at that. She'd have to think about this further, but later. To be honest, Malfoy was going to have a hell of a time trying to fit in around Hogwarts anymore, what with all the people who were loyal to Dumbledore. Threat or no threat, almost killing one of the best and most loved wizards of all time was not the best way to make friends. He should have just gone to Durmstrang, either way, the little ferret. Anyway, Hermione had bigger things to worry about than Malfoy.
"Did you two study up anymore? I really think you need to think about what you're going to do Harry, you need a plan," Hermione said in her authoritative voice.
The boys groaned. This was going to be a long train trip. First Malfoy shows up and now Hermione was harassing them. Although, perhaps she was right; even if they were just 16, they needed to start focusing on saving the world and all that. Reluctantly, they retrieved two of the books that Hermione had gotten them at the beginning of the summer and began to read. Hermione smiled and pulled her book into her lap, hiding its pages from their eyesight. She didn't think they would approve of slightly less than honorable spell work, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
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P.S. You will find out some of the stuff that's in her book in the next chapter.