Disclaimer: As we know this is not mine.
A/N: Sorry this took a while. I took a short break, sorry. Anyway here is the next chapter and for those that asked: you will eventually find the prologue within this story…similar to what I did in "In the Rain." You'll just have to wait and see. Please review so I know what you think!
Chapter Two
The Room on the Third Floor
As the grip on her arm grew tighter, Hermione closed her eyes. His voice was familiar, but her thoughts were becoming disoriented from the pain emanating from his vice grip. Then, just as quickly as he had appeared out of the darkness, he was gone. Rubbing her arm, Hermione stepped out of the corner. He was heading up to the third floor. She stood there, daring not to move until he was well out of sight. The moment he was gone she quickly made her way back to her room.
Hermione lay in bed reading as the sun rose in the sky bringing with it myriad shades of reds. Her mind could not wrap itself around what happened in the corridor that night. The voice was familiar, but it struck such fear in her that she couldn't think clearly. Shaking her head as if trying to clear away the cobwebs, she rose out of bed to dress for the day. As she dressed, she tried to ignore the sounds she heard coming from above. A shuffling sound. A bumping sound…like something dropped. Looking behind her, Ginny was still asleep. She couldn't ask her if she heard it. Deciding to go downstairs and see if Mrs. Weasley wanted some help with breakfast, she stepped out the door.
To her surprise, Mrs. Weasley was descending the stairs from the third floor. Mrs. Weasley saw Hermione standing in the corridor slowly and quietly closing her door she smiled.
"Good morning Hermione dear."
"Morning Mrs. Weasley." She wanted to ask what Mrs. Weasley was doing on the third floor, but decided the woman would not take too well to being questioned in such a way. Hermione smiled warmly. "Would you like some help with breakfast?"
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Breakfast was the usual busy affair. Several conversations could be heard at once. As soon as she was finished eating, Hermione excused herself subtly and disappeared from the kitchen.
She stood in her room looking out the window she looked out of the night before. The sun shone down giving the mist a hazy appearance. Her thoughts danced around the image she saw in the yard and met in the corridor. She could not figure out who it was to save her life. From above her, a shuffling sound followed by a thump caused Hermione to jump from her thoughts and look at the ceiling.
Stepping away from the window to the middle of the room, Hermione cocked her head to the side listening. Heavy footsteps were heard. Scrunching her forehead, she tried to remember if Mrs. Weasley said anything about anyone occupying the third floor. As far as Hermione recalled it was empty. Stepping to her door, she looked down the corridor. The sounds from the kitchen were muffled sounding and no other sound seemed to be drifting through the corridor. Taking a deep breath to collect her courage, she stepped toward the stairs.
The corridor on the third floor was darker than the others. It was like night on that floor. Walking as quietly as possible, she traveled down the corridor toward the room above her and Ginny's. Her heart pounded erratically. Who was in this room? As she drew closer to the door, she felt her hands tingling as if they lost all feeling and coolness covered them. Wiping the sweat off her hands on her pants, she leaned slightly against the door to hear. The moment her ear was against the door, she heard a tremendous crash and the sound of shattered glass hitting the hardwood floor.
Jumping, she covered her mouth to stifle the yelp she knew was escaping. Silence followed the crashing sound. Feeling as if she were playing with fire, she turned to leave. She could hear the soft footsteps and whispers of those entering the drawing room on the floor below. That was expected. What she didn't expect was to turn around right into Draco Malfoy.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at Hermione and then to the door she was just listening at.
"Eavesdropping, Granger?"
Her hands immediately went to her waist as she glared at the Slytherin.
"No, Malfoy. Not that it's any of your business."
She pushed past him to leave. He reached out to grab her arm and grabbed the part of her arm that was grabbed the night before. She yelped in pain. Draco, keeping a hold of her, moved his hand down her arm looking at where he grabbed her. He could see the black and blue markings…there were five of them. Draco recognized it as bruises from someone grabbing her rather tightly. Hermione jerked her arm out of his grip.
"Bugger off Malfoy."
She turned and headed for the drawing room.
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Hermione sat curled up in her usual chair in the drawing room. The sound of rain pattering against the house brought about a relaxed air. The room was silent except for the occasional sound a page turning. Oddly enough, Draco was one of the occupants in the room. He too, sat in a chair reading. Ginny stood at the window looking out at the hazy rainy dreary weather. Hermione glanced over at the girl and knew what was on the redhead's mind—Harry Potter. Hermione turned her eyes back to the book in hand, but she wasn't truly seeing the words anymore. Her mind kept wondering up to the third floor and who was occupying the room above hers and why whoever it was seemed to be having some sort of tantrum.
"Turn the page."
Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin at the proximity of Draco's voice. Turning her head slightly she saw that he was no longer in his seat, but standing behind her chair reading over her shoulder.
"Merlin Malfoy," Hermione exclaimed putting her hand to her heart. "No need to give me a heart attack. All you had to do was ask if you could borrow it."
He eyed her rather suspiciously. Hermione, rolling her eyes closed the book and held it up and out for him.
"I have already read it more than once, Malfoy. Go ahead."
Taking the book from her hand, he nodded briefly and took back his seat. Reaching down into her bag sitting next to the chair, Hermione pulled out another book and opened it to begin reading. She didn't get very far. Harry stormed into the room, wand in hand, face red, and breathing rather heavily. Harry Potter was not happy.
At his entrance, the room no longer held a relaxed air, but one full of tension and anger. The only sound was of Draco…laughing.
"Merlin Potter! Did someone kill your owl?"
It happened so fast that no one really saw it. Harry swiftly brought his wand up as he crossed over to Draco. Draco looked down at the wand pointing at his chest.
"One. More. Word."
Harry's words were furious and strained. Ginny was watching wide-eyed and Hermione slowly sat her book down. Both girls tentatively approached Harry. Ginny placed her hand on his shoulder, gently.
"Harry?"
Hermione placed her hand on Harry's wand and pushed it down so it was no longer pointing at Draco, but the ground instead.
"No, Harry."
Harry turned away from them all, causing Ginny's hand to fall from his shoulder.
"Harry what is it," Hermione asked, concern filling her.
Harry took a few moments to answer, apparently trying to calm down a bit first.
"There is an Order meeting this evening," he stated quietly.
"Okay," Hermione and Ginny replied curiously together.
Harry turned back to face them.
"I am not to attend."
Hermione's mouth formed an "o" of surprise and understanding. Harry had been certain that he would be allowed to join the Order, but apparently not. Looking down at the floor as if it had personally offended him so, Harry snarled.
"They think I need to concentrate on my education and training."
Hermione was quiet, not quite sure what to say. She knew what she wanted to say, that they were correct, but she knew better. It would not do anyone any good to then have Harry mad at her. She remained silent and let him stew a bit. Ginny was another story however. She stood there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. Harry looked up at her.
"What is it?"
The anger was clear on his face and his voice held an inflection of annoyance. Hermione shook her head, feeling Harry knew Ginny well enough to recognize that look on her face.
"Harry Potter this war is not entirely about only you." Harry looked at her incredulously, which pushed her to continue her line of thought. "You are not the only one whose life is affected by that megalomaniac." Hermione could tell Ginny's irritation with Harry was rising. Ginny stepped closer to Harry, grabbing his face; she forced him to face the occupants of the room.
"Look around you Harry. Everyone in this room has been affected in one way or another by Voldemort." She turned his face back to her. "Think of that Harry when you are too busy feeling sorry for yourself because they don't want you in the Order just yet. Honestly Harry, there are more important things to do than sit in on an Order meeting."
She turned and left the room. Harry stood there staring at the spot Ginny just was. Slowly, he turned to look at Hermione. She shrugged her shoulders at Harry, feeling that Ginny had said it all and she was not going to coddle him. Harry needed to accept it.
"Bloody hell," he whispered as he threw himself into a chair by the fireplace.
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A quiet anticipation covered the drawing room. Harry sat on the sofa staring into the fire, a part of him hoping the Order Members would change their mind and come get him for the meeting. He knew it wouldn't happen, but it didn't stop a bit of hope forming. Ginny sat next to Harry on the couch reading and Ron was playing chess by himself. Draco was the only one sitting at a table doing what appeared to be schoolwork. He had no doubts that Hogwarts would indeed open up and had every intention of trying to return to something that resembled a normal life.
Hermione stood at the window looking down at the street watching for any arrivals. She noticed the sudden appearance of a witch in the middle of the street. Craning her neck a bit to get a better look, she guessed that it was McGonagall, but decided for the best look she needed to be on the second floor landing where she could see down in the foyer at the front door. Letting the drapes fall out of her hands, she walked across the room and out the door. Harry, Ron, and Ginny noticed her movement and followed. Reluctantly, out of pure curiosity, Draco followed.
The all stood on the second floor landing watching in silence each time the door opened and another Order member entered, typically greeted by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione eventually placed her elbows on the balustrade and her chin in her hands. Harry stood slightly behind her to her left. Remus stepped in and immediately looked up to the landing and waved. Hermione smiled and wiggled her fingers in implication of a wave. She watched Remus slowly slip out of sight toward the kitchen.
The sound of heavy footsteps making their way down the stairs at the end of the hallway began to seep into Hermione's mind pulling her straight up…alert. The sound drew closer as they all turned to see who it was. A tall dark figure hidden by a cloak with the hood pulled up obscuring his face from view. She watched his swift step down the hall and its vision seemed to jar something in her…a fear she tried to forget. The figure paused for a moment, as if from beneath the hood he was looking at her. Hermione shivered slightly. She felt Harry's hand instinctively reach out protectively to her shoulder. As the figure began to descend the stairs all eyes went to the door that just opened. As the door shut, Hermione could see who it was. Standing in the foyer was Lucius Malfoy.
The slight gasp that escaped Hermione's lips brought Malfoy's attention away from the dark figure greeting him to Hermione up on the landing. His cold grey eyes looked up at all of them. His eyes rested for a moment on his son and then to Hermione. As he nodded slightly, Harry, with his hand still on her shoulder, pulled her back and against him, as if he were pulling her from his grasp. Hermione felt the blood drain from her face. With a smirk on his face, his eyes shifted from Hermione to the cloaked figure, who he began talking with as together they entered the kitchen. Hermione's heart continued to pound after they were out of sight and her mind was a whirlwind of thought. Lucius obviously was not missing and knew who this mysterious guest was at Headquarters. Taking a deep breath, she turned from her observation spot and headed down the hall.
"Where are you going," Harry called out.
"I'll be back. I just need to check something out."
The boys shrugged their shoulders and turned back around to watch for more arrivals anxious if there were any more surprise members.
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As quickly and silently as she could, Hermione made her way down the third floor hall toward the room that sat right above her and Ginny's. The stranger's room. She stood outside it as if second-guessing what she was about to do. Taking one last look around her she strained her ears to listen for any sound. The boys and Ginny were still on the second floor landing. She could hear their muffled whisperings about what the meeting could possibly be about and why Lucius was there. Giving in to what was often misconstrued as "Gryffindor bravery," Hermione opened the door blindly, without thinking ahead.
The room was dark. She left the door open so she could still hear for any sounds coming from below and to offer a tad of light in the room. The grand mahogany bed was neatly made. Her eyes skimmed the room for any indication as to who it was…any hint. She found the source of the crashing sound. Beneath the frame of an empty portrait was what appeared to be the shattered remains of a vase. Whoever it was did not bother to clean the mess up. Several parchments littered the desk in the corner. Books were piled up on the edge of the desk, on the nightstand, and on the floor.
Walking further into the room, she came across the books piled on the floor first. She glanced at the spines, scanning over their titles. They were a mixture of potions books and ancient runes books. Feeling her heart thud harder and faster she stepped closer to the desk. The books rusting all over the desk were all Defense Against the Dark Art and Dark Arts books. Her eyes were drawn to the parchment…the handwriting was familiar. It was merely a list of ingredients, but the art of each character…so precise, was so familiar. A feeling of fear and terror washed through her as her mind raced to deny the possibility.
Turning from the parchment, she walked toward the bed with her eyes focused on the nightstand. Her eyes once again scanned over the titles. Her mind seemed to come to a halt. It was all literature…ranging from Shakespeare to Tennyson to Yeats to Elliot. Her hand reached out and gently ran a finger along the cover of the top book. The world seemed to cut off around her as she stared at these books trying to figure out whose they were. The sliver of light that poured in through the open door, casting its line across the bed and nightstand began to diminish into darkness. With the soft sound of the door clicking shut, Hermione quickly pulled her hand away from the books and looked up toward the door feeling the panic take over. Her eyes darted over the room, now completely lost in the darkness.
Silence followed.
Her heart pounded, her breath increased…warning bells were going off in her head. Then she felt it…the soft tickle of someone's warm breath barely caressing her neck as the man occupying the room whispered behind her.
"What has your Gryffindor bravery walked you into now, Miss Granger?"
Fear coursing through her veins…a shiver running down her spine…she jumped at the proximity of the voice and stepped sideways, out from behind this man. She turned to see the man standing over her…black cloak and hood obscuring his features again. She tried to back away, but this man stepped forward. She backed away again and he stepped forward again. Her hands began to twist in knots in front of her, knowing the wall was near and then she would have nowhere to go.
She suddenly became aware of everything around her, every one of her senses seemed heightened…hyperaware. The air around her was heavy and dark, her eyes could see the man clearly before her, no longer blending into the darkness quite as much, the smell…so familiar to what she associated with an ex-professor's office, the floor beneath her bare feet became ice cold. Backing up slowly she wished someone would come upstairs…anyone. She would welcome Malfoy at this point—either one. She took another step back and then another slowly registering the new sensation at her feet. Another step back and tears sprang to her eyes as pain surged from her feet. Too scared to look away from this intimidating person hovering before her, her eyes darted quickly down to notice. She was backing up toward the empty portrait and was currently standing among the broken shards of glass that, for the past three steps were now slowly grinding and embedding into the bottom of her feet. She let out a hiss of pain as she took another step back into the wall and empty frame.
The figure hovering over her like an overbearing bat must have noticed her feet as he hissed at her.
"You stupid insolent girl!"
Her eyes widened in panic and utter terror. There was only one voice in her memory…one voice that flashed in her mind…hissing and spitting, filled with hate even in moments of protection that seemed so unlike him. The realization of who this most like was is what frightened her so. The words cut through her memories sending them all crashing onto her building up the reality of what she just walked in to.
With a quick flick of his wand behind him, he locked the closed door.
