A/N: In the spirit of AU, let's pretend Hermione's younger than the majority of her friends, Harry included ;)
Blow, blow thou gentle wind, I say…
Until I have braided all my hair, And bound it up again.
"You can't go inside with her, Potter, it's against the rules."
"It is not, people go inside in pairs all the time. I went with Neville, you went with Pansy and Theo."
Draco scoffed. "I would have been fine going in alone, it's just the way the moon cycle hit. You want to go exploring, do it on your own time. She's the only birthday that's occurred since the last full moon, she goes in alone."
"I just don't see what-"
"Enough!" Hermione shouted from behind them as they trekked up the hill. "I'm tired of listening to the two of you bicker like old crones. Harry, I am fine going in by myself. I won't be the first to do so and I certainly won't be the last."
"Unless you die and the Village shuts the Castle down for good."
All eyes swiveled to Pansy. She gazed up from the flower she'd been depetalling. "What?"
Neville shook his head. "Nothing is going to happen, Hermione. We've all done it, you'll be fine."
Hermione smiled. "Thanks, Nev. But I think you're forgetting about Luna."
The blonde perked up from her place near the back of the group. "This is my seventh trip to the Castle grounds, by the time my turn rolls around it will be quite lackluster."
Blaise sighed dramatically. "It's already lackluster. Sitting in the dark surrounded by filth and animal carcasses for hours on end. Why the hell do we do this again?"
"It's tradition," Harry snapped. "And if you hate it so much you didn't have to come, we could have found someone else to be our Seventh."
The handsome young man smirked. "Calm down, Potter. If you keep scowling your face is liable to stick that way. Granger went to my Initiation so it's only fair I go to hers."
"She only went for the Patils. She hardly likes you," Pansy said with an air of boredom.
Blaise shrugged. "The feeling's mutual."
Harry stopped his upward trek and spun around, mouth open and eyes narrowed but Hermione cut him off before he could trade barbs.
"How about we play the quiet game the rest of the way?"
Pansy laughed, somehow both melodic and shrill. "What, are we five?"
"Pansy loses. And I forfeit." Blaise flashed Hermione his silver grin, making her roll her eyes.
She blocked out the sounds of the group's bickering and focused on the beautiful nature scene surrounding her. They were deep in the Western Wood, the only path to the Castle that didn't involve scaling an endless cliffside. The foliage was thick, the large trees stretching high into the heavens, casting shade and dancing light along the forest floor.
She'd made this trip four times already. The first was for Fred and George, then for Ron and Seamus, then Harry and Neville, and most recently for Blaise, Padma and Parvati. Hermione was the first among the group to venture into the Castle alone.
While she wasn't thrilled with the idea, she'd be lying if she said the prospect of some quiet solitude wasn't appealing. She'd slipped a few books into her bag, hoping to get some much needed reading done as she passed the long, lonely hours by candlelight.
She imagined the group would continue their arguing while they spent the night camped in front of the Castle. Harry and Draco were often at each other's throats, but she couldn't complain as she was grateful the blonde had volunteered to step up and act as one of the Seven in light of so many of Hermione's friends being absent this weekend.
A large party had traveled to the nearby Town to trade wares. The trip occurred once a month and just so happened to hit on Hermione's Initiation night. Harry had been scheduled to go but asked his father to stay behind so he could be there for her. Ron had offered to do the same but Hermione had staunchly refused, insisting he go to Town and turn a profit to assist his family.
The Weasley clan had always struggled to make ends meet, further hampered by the deaths of their oldest child and family matriarch. Fever took Bill and Molly a few years prior, along with several others throughout the Village, preying the harshest upon the young and elderly. Going to Town and selling their trappings was far more important than sitting outside a desolate Castle all night, Hermione was happy Ron didn't stay behind.
She'd tried to convince Harry to go with the party but he refused to entertain the notion, simply saying he'd meet her at the edge of the Woods two hours before sundown and walking away, deaf to her arguments, and rounding up the remaining Seven.
That was another asinine part of the tradition, going as far back as the ritual itself. The party had to be comprised of Seven individuals, no more, no less, including those spending the night inside. Hermione knew seven was a powerful number according to several cultures and religions, but she didn't know why it was applied to their Village's tradition specifically. No one questioned the rule, no one dared deviate from it, it was simply accepted and adhered to.
Beyond that, the Initiation ritual was pretty simple in terms of execution, it only required sitting indoors for the night and avoiding injury. Getting to the destination was much harder. The Woods were thick and mostly uphill, making everyone look forward to the trip back more than the trip up. Hermione had yet to encounter a wild beast or deadly pitfall, sticking to the slightly worn path that had been created over generations of Initiation rituals. But she'd heard rumors. The Town was full of them.
Everyone knew about the man that was torn apart by wolves because he was foolish enough to carry jerky in his pockets. Others said it was cooked chicken, some said raw beef. Yet no one knew his name or exactly when the so called mauling occured. Similar stories existed about the boy and girl who were chased for miles by a blood thirsty bear, the woman who fell off the side of the cliff and hit every rock on the way down to the water… and those were just the stories surrounding the Woods.
When it came to the Castle itself, the legends were endless. Hermione had trouble keeping track of them all over the years, giving credence to few as her inflexible scientific mind refused to bend the laws of physics and reasoning to make way for the supernatural. But she was in the minority, her parent's science and medical background painting her upbringing a different color than many of the other villagers.
Ron believed all the rumors, no matter how far fetched, claiming it was better to be safe than sorry, crossing himself each time he exited the treeline and the Castle came in to view. His younger sister would roll her eyes at his superstitious antics, only to turn around and do the same to herself, out of view from the others.
Hermione was secretly relieved Ron and Ginny were absent, she loved them both dearly but their irrational beliefs put her on edge sometimes. Now that it was her turn to venture inside, alone no less, she certainly didn't want to hear retellings of all the creatures that supposedly lurked within the ruins.
She spared a sweeping glance at her party, and despite the tensions clearly felt between the two sects of friends, she took comfort knowing the majority of the group was comprised of like minded individuals, at least when it came to the legitimacy of urban legends.
Most of them had at least one parent on the Village council, holding great influence over the way the town was led and business conducted. Being voted into the position required a shrewd and level head, and they no doubt raised their children to have similar dispositions.
Luna was a bit more outlandish than the others, if the dreamcatcher she wore around her neck was any indication, but she didn't drone on about all the horrifying lore that surrounded their destination. Instead she kept the majority of her focus on nature and space. Her father was the Village astronomer and his daughter turned his observations into detailed, beautiful star charts that were highly sought in the neighboring fishing towns.
Hermione admired the girl's skill, wishing she had any artistic ability whatsoever. Alas, Hermione was the daughter of the Village physician and had more skill with a scalpel than a sketchpad. Still, she wouldn't trade her talents for anything. Helping others, prolonging life and overcoming illness was her passion, she was thrilled to officially start her medical training now that she had come of age.
By comparison, taking the two hour trek through the Wood to spend the night in a dusty, barren Castle seemed quite childish now that she was officially an adult. She'd happily do away with the outdated tradition, seeing no value add in the practice. But if she backed out she'd never hear the end of it from the countless others who completed the journey. It was easier to bite her tongue and get through it than cause a stir.
She breathed easier knowing the majority of her friends had completed their Initiation and she'd soon be free from making this long, draining trek. She imagined Luna and Ginny were the final two she'd have to attend.
But tonight, it was her turn, her rite of passage that held little meaning in her heart other than an inkling of nostalgia. The first couple trips through the Woods had been novel, camping out before the Castle's ominous black doors an exciting break from routine, but by the fourth trip the experience had worn thin. And now she stepped over fallen logs and stray rocks with zero excitement or enthusiasm, only resignation for the long and monotonous night ahead.
"Finally!" Pansy groaned, pulling Hermione from her inner musings.
She glanced up, realizing they'd reached the other side of the Wood. A thin sheen of sweat pooled along her temples and the back of her neck, making her scalp itchy beneath the mounds of curls she'd piled atop her head. She narrowed her eyes, gazing through the breaks in the leaves and branches at the ominous structure in the distance.
The group exited the tree line and Hermione slowed her pace to stand beside Harry, both gazing up at the massive Castle. An eerie stillness and quiet settled around the area, a dark, deathly contrast to the lush green forest they'd just traversed.
But the foliage didn't grow any further, an invisible barrier preventing the roots from spreading, the seeds from taking hold. The rich brown soil faded to a dusty gray as it neared the Castle foundation, the earth surrounding the structure creating a lifeless sea of dirt.
Hermione took a deep breath, feeling a strange sensation take hold, a minute pressure differential in the air, almost as if she was being watched. She blinked, eyes transfixed on the tall, menacing Tower that sprang from the unbeating heart of the Castle. There was a single window at the top, displaying only a solid, endless black.
She blinked, forcibly fighting past the annerving feeling and stepping forward, her boot leaving the grass and landing on dry scorched earth as she progressed. Harry fell into step behind her, always the comforting presence at her back, and she heard the others as they crunched through dead leaves and twigs.
A chilling wind stole past, raising gooseflesh along her arms, blowing errant curls into her eyes and mouth. She brushed the hair away, tipping her head back to maintain her view of the Tower, feeling the inexplicable need to keep it within her sights.
She scolded herself for being foolish, for buying into the frivolous legend after all this time. She might as well cross herself the same as Ron. She drew her shoulders back, eyes narrowing, determination stealing her features.
She'd see this evening through with a level head. This trip was no more significant than any of the others that came before it. The only difference was she'd be spending the evening inside rather than out front. Come sun up she'd be back to her usual routine, finally able to put these childish antics behind her.
None of them could have predicted that by morning Hermione would vanish without a trace.
