Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, then I would not be wasting my time writing fanfiction however much fun it is.

A/N: So, I've decided to go into deeper detail about Hermione's summer. I talked this plot over with my dad to make sure I was keeping within character. He helped me with some ideas with Hermione. Its amazing what you can think up at Panera Bread. Green Dragon, Red Lion Chapter 2:

bHermione/b

I lay awake for many hours after I had retreated to my bed, though it was not Malfoy's boxers which kept me awake. I had told him that Harry and Ron hated me because the tattoo and my progression since then, but that was not the whole truth. Neither was my saying that I hadn't done any summer work. I had done summer work, just not the kind my teachers had assigned.

Professor McGonagall had arranged for me to work at the Wizarding Library in Diagon Alley. There I shelved books, checked them out, returned them, and entered in new books. The work was so dismal that I used muggle methods to go through the work in an effort to make it seem more interesting. The redundancy of my work caused the days to all blend together. Each day was another day of library hell. Until, late one day, I yawned as I shelved new books, when I spotted one of interest. It was uSo You Want to Know Everything? /u by Reianna Smoke. I certainly did want to know everything. During school and throughout the holidays I always strove to learn everything that I possibly could. I looked from right to left, then pocketed the book; slipping it into my robes and going about my business.

That night, after I had returned home, I ran straight upstairs to my room, slammed the door shut and plopped down on my bed to read the book. It contained information on everything, just as the title had said. I found myself swimming in a pool of knowledge larger than the lake on the Hogwarts grounds. And yet, I wanted more. Fortunately the book had a sequel. The inside back cover listed uSo You Want to Rule the World?/u. I didn't much care for the title, but if it contained more information such as that contained in its prequel, then I didn't care. I would see if the library had it the next day.

The library did indeed have the required book, but the librarian looked at me suspiciously when I told her the title. I told her that it was for harmless research, but she still hesitated in allowing me to check it out. While reading it that night, I discovered that this book had more information about dark magic than any I had read before. The most interesting fact within that book was that every time a wizard performs a dark spell, a bit of his soul is consumed. If the wizard continues to perform dark magic, then eventually his soul will be consumed and his core will be pure evil. However, the book also contained a spell that would counteract these effects. It involved the binding of one's soul to oneself and sealing the spell wit ha permanent symbol on the wrist, neck, or heart, these being the places where blood flowed the strongest.

I liked my soul very much and did not wish to lose it. The previous year I had begun to experiment with basic dark magic, merely for research purposes. I decided to perform the soul preservation spell as a safety measure in case I dabbled in any more. The book said that the symbol could stand for good, which would protect my soul more but decrease the power of my dark spells, or evil, which would maintain the power of dark spells but had limited soul protection. The good symbol sounded better to me. I performed the spell that night. I would wait till morning to seal it.

I thought that the back of by neck would be the best place for the symbol, i.e. tattoo, since it would escape most people's notice. I had chosen a red lion rampant for the dual power of blood and Gryffindor. I stuffed some coins into my pocket and set off for Knockturn Alley - the only place I knew of with a wizarding tattoo parlor. I threw my cloak around my shoulders and crept downstairs. The parental units were already having breakfast, so I could not go directly to Knockturn Alley without them knowing. The floo network took me to Diagon Alley, from where I could easily walk to Knockturn Alley and the tattoo parlor.

"Dark Marks and Burnt Brands" was easy to find in the dank alley. I walked in and handed a handful of coins to the artist.

"I would like a red rampant lion on the back of my neck with no pain relievers and no questions asked," I explained abruptly as I took off my cloak to reveal my low cut shirt.

"Fine, are you sure you don't want any pain relief spells? A pretty girl like you shouldn't have to feel all that pain. No? Then lie down on that table. I'll get to work on you in just a minute." I watched as he pocketed my coins and pulled out his wand.

The tattoo artist took 2 hours and I felt the sharp pain every second of it. The spell had forbidden the use of pain relief. But I had a lion to show for my hours of torment. I put my cloak pack on, this time with a sweater first and continued on to my library job.

The rest of the summer had followed suit. After the soul protection spell, I delved more deeply into dark magic. As I did, my appearance began to change - subtly at first, then more drastically. This was partly under the influence of the people I met during my research sessions in Knockturn Alley, but I think that it was also some side effect of my soul protection spell. Dark magic had opened the door to an unlimited amount of power and that which I sought above all else, knowledge.

A/N: Ok, now I command you to go and review!