Chapter Four- Year I- Burning Stone
The good thing about Hogwarts, Hermione reflected with a private grin, was that there was actually very little supervision or interference with the students' activities. Many could argue that Albus Dumbledore knew everything that went on in his school, but Hermione felt that this was merely a mixture of brilliance and Legilimency.
Hermione realized she should really work on her Occlumency skills if she wanted to keep her secrets to herself.
There was a loud crashing of metal in the hallway down from her. She ducked behind a nearby tapestry and held her breath. Were there other students out past curfew, or was that a Prefect?
Faint laughter rang through the air. Students, then.
She stepped forward cautiously, wand raised in front of her out of habit. Peering around the corner, she observed several pairs of legs peeking out from underneath an Invisibility Cloak. A suit of armor rested in its newly-dismembered state on the floor beside them. The Marauders chose this night out of all nights to wander around the castle past curfew? They weren't being careful about it at all!
"Ahem," Hermione coughed. They obviously had the Map with them, so they knew she was there.
Sirius lifted the Cloak so the boys could disentangle themselves from each other. "Wotcher, Granger," he greeted. "Mind giving us a hand?"
Hermione grabbed the hand that Sirius held out and pulled, helping him to his feet. They each did the same for the other two boys. Peter was in rat form, which was a good choice, as there was hardly enough room under the Cloak for three of them. She observed Remus sneaking the rat into his pocket. Oh, right, she wasn't supposed to know. It was easy to forget that sometimes.
When everyone was on their feet and the suit of armor was replaced in an upright position, Remus quietly asked the inevitable question. "What are you doing out here? It's after curfew, you know."
"Really? I had no idea," she quipped. "I was just dancing around in the moonlight. You?" Her expression hardened once the sarcasm ceased flowing from her lips.
The three exchanged looks before Sirius said, "Just going to the kitchen. Do you want to see?"
She smiled faintly. Of course she knew where the kitchens were, but it would be highly suspicious if she didn't pretend otherwise. "Sure," Hermione replied with a shrug. "That's much better than my plan for the evening."
James, who had been looking on silently, glanced sharply at his best friend, too polite to express his disdain for the idea and for her. Hermione knew anyway. He was much more transparent than he thought he was. His features being Harry's didn't help, Hermione knew them by heart.
"Or not. You'll have much more fun by yourselves," she offered. Normally she would go just to spite James, but she didn't want him to hate her. He wasn't a run of the mill jackass, he was her best friend's father.
Sirius narrowed his eyes at her. "You're going," he announced firmly.
If James didn't speak up, then it was his fault.
"She's right, we would do better if we just left her alone," James said tactfully. Sirius turned to him to argue, consternation written all over his face.
Hermione used their momentary distraction to slip away. This was becoming a pattern.
And now to her actual plan, she thought. Going to the kitchens would certainly be much more fun, if she ignored the glares she was sure to receive, but going to Hogsmeade was without question more important.
A whispered "Dissendium" later, she ducked behind the one-eyed witch's statue , then closed the hole behind her.
The tunnel didn't seem as long as she remembered. Hermione reached the end with no problem, emerging in the Honeyduke's basement.
Having sneaked out of the shop proper, she made her way down the street to the Hog's Head. It would be open now, of course, and packed with patrons.
She was right. A cry arose as the regulars recognized her in the doorway, and she was pushed up to the front. Aberforth inclined his head to her once she reached the bar. Hermione smiled, reaching out for a rag.
"Why are you here?" Aberforth asked calmly as she wiped out glasses. "And how did you manage to get here in the first place? I know you didn't use the gate."
"Mm," she agreed. "I need to talk to you."
"Speak. They're drunk, and no one's up here."
"I'm going after Voldemort," Hermione declared softly, just loud enough to be heard. Before Aberforth could express exactly how idiotic he thought she was, she went on. "Shh. He's going to become a problem. He might not be much right now, but it will build over the next few years until no one can say his name. The bastard is killing people, and recruiting others to kill people, and he's overall just a giant problem that has to be fixed."
Aberforth shook his head. "I'll humor you. How are you planning to do this, then?"
"He has Horcruxes. A Diadem, a Locket, a Cup, a Diary, and a Ring. I've secured one of them, I know how to destroy them, and I know where the others are." The words fell fast from Hermione's lips. This was all very well known between them when they were allies in the future she was working to prevent.
The older man was silent. All motion ceased, and his hands trembled slightly. "Five Horcruxes?"
"He's planning on making one more. Seven parts of his soul. We need him gone before that happens." Good, he understood.
Resuming his work, Aberforth asked, "Is he recruiting from your school?"
Hermione nodded. "He Marks them as soon as they leave school."
"You're right, then. He must be destroyed."
"Yes."
Then, "What do you need?" Steely determination lined his bright blue eyes.
"I know where they are, right? Well, one is in Gringott's, one is in the Malfoy Manor, one is in Little Hangleton, one is in a cave, and one is with me. It's not safe to get them alone, especially the Locket. I would need your help."
"You said you know how to destroy them?"
She nodded.
"Then I'm in." Aberforth paused, then asked, "So how did you get down here?"
Hermione smiled mischievously. "Hogwarts has secret passageways. I used the statue of the one-eyed witch. You might have cause to come through it," she predicted.
"I look forward to it."
*|II8II|*
Lily tugged gently on Hermione's hair. "Oi," she hissed.
Hermione batted her hand away. She hated it when people touched her hair. "What do you want?" she barked, more harshly than she intended.
"Whoa, chill out. We're game for this weekend, right? Hogsmeade, remember?" Lily's grin was bright and happy.
"Yeah," agreed Hermione. "I remember. Sorry." Normally she wouldn't apologize for being abrasive, but that smile made her feel slightly guilty.
The redhead bumped shoulders with her. "That's all right. Are you excited?"
Hermione hadn't really expected that question, but she should have. As far as Lily was aware, she had never been to Hogsmeade. "Definitely," she replied, pasting a smile on her lips that she felt didn't pull up on the edges as much as they should. She really had to learn how to act the part better around Lily.
Being Lily's partner certainly had its advantages. Slughorn looked up several times to see who was talking, only to realize that it was his favorite student. He would settle down into his chair and watch with an indulgent smile.
She and Lily shared a grin. Of course Lily knew about the special privileges she received in this class.
Lily bottled the potion and Hermione Vanished it in a silent ritual they'd developed over the last weeks. They really did work well together.
They each grabbed their bags and left. Severus Snape was watching them with burning eyes, and Lily was pretending not to notice. This was also a routine, obviously one both were familiar with.
"What's the deal with you two?" Hermione asked casually once they were in the hallway. "Or not, if it's a sensitive issue," she added.
The other girl's expression hardened. "We used to be friends, then he called me a- a Mudblood."
"When was this?" Careful, careful, or she'll get angry.
Lily shook her head, and Hermione thought she wasn't going to answer, but she finally said, "Last year. After DADA OWLs. Potter and his guppies were bullying Sev- Snape," she corrected herself furiously. "I went over to stop them, and I guess I hurt his p-pride and he called me- called me that n-name and now we're not friends-"
Hermione pulled Lily into a hug. The normally-cheerful girl was sobbing piteously right there in the hallway, and Hermione was at fault. "I'm sorry, Lil. I shouldn't have asked."
"No," said Lily, wiping at her eyes. "No, it's fine."
"He was your best friend, wasn't he?" Hermione deduced, connecting the dots.
"Yeah." She sniffed. "It wasn't just that he called me that. He was... well, he was friends with the wrong people. Avery, and Mulciber. You know, those Death Eater wannabees? We'd been growing apart for a while. I'd always forgiven him before, but actually insulting me like he did... it was the last straw, you know?"
"I'm sorry."
Then the sunshine came back into Lily's face, forced as it appeared. "No need to be sorry. We've got Ancient Runes next, right?"
Hermione let it go, although she sensed that Lily hadn't gotten all of the toxicity out of her system. "Uh-huh. We're going to be late."
"Run?"
"Sounds like a plan."
*|II8II|*
The Marauders looked up from their chairs in front of the fireplace. This was the first time Hermione had approached them of her own volition, and they were obviously wondering what the matter was.
"Potter," Hermione said, leaning against the arm of Sirius's chair. He looked up at her curiously. "Do you have a moment?"
James's lip curled slightly. "Sure," he drawled.
Hermione waited as he got up and followed her into the corridor outside the Common Room.
"What do you want?" he asked, not bothering to hide his disdain.
"I'm worried about Lily."
"Evans?" he said, startled. His expression changed entirely once she mentioned Lily's name. "Why would you come to me?"
"It's about Severus Snape. There's something with you, him, and her that bothers me. Would you mind telling me?" She took great care with her expression, tone, and body language to make sure that James wouldn't blow up on her.
James furrowed his brow. "Why is that any of your business?"
"Because she's my friend, because she is still really cut up about it, and because I didn't come here to keep my mouth shut. All right? He was her best friend since before she knew what magic was, and now she has to pretend to hate him, but really she just wants everyone to get along. Even you. I've seen her almost go to stop you when you pick on him. Get it? So let's fix it. Help me, please." Hermione's chest was heaving, her breath coming hard, and her eyes were snapping with determination.
The boy in front of her considered her for a moment, for once not acting like she was someone contemptible. Hermione waited patiently for him to speak. His mouth opened and shut several times before he finally said, "All right. For Evans, right?"
"Right."
"Then yes. What do you need?" He ran his hand through his hair nervously.
Hermione smiled briefly. "Firstly, we work in the background. I don't want Lily to think I'm interfering in her life, even if I am. She'll be happier for it. Secondly, leave Snape alone for a while, eh? Then we'll see. Small changes."
James's nose wrinkled, but he nodded.
"Goodnight, then, Potter." She turned and said the password, holding the portrait open for him to go back through before following him.
She hoped her plan wouldn't implode, but she had years before Harry would be born. There was plenty of time.
*|II8II|*
James kept his word, avoiding Snape altogether. It didn't take long for Lily to notice and comment.
"What's up with Potter?" she asked rhetorically, stacking her books to put back on the shelves. "It's been bothering me. Why would he change his habits after so many years?" Lily suddenly paused, looking straight at Hermione. "You didn't say anything to him, did you?" she accused with narrow eyes.
Hermione wasn't surprised she'd come to that conclusion. Lily was unusually intelligent, after all. "Maybe he realized he was being a total douche-bag," Hermione suggested, hoping she wouldn't have to directly lie.
Lily pressed her hands down on top of the stack, leaning forward. "Maybe. I wonder why, though. Oh, no, he's not trying to woo me this way, is he?"
The bushy-haired woman looked up from her book with a raised eyebrow. "Or it could be Lupin. Perhaps he finally grew a backbone. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Potter would do anything for his friends, right? And if Black got behind Lupin on the issue, it's a given." Hermione winced internally, praying Lily wouldn't ask why she seemed just a bit too familiar with their patterns.
She didn't, thankfully. "Yeah," Lily agreed, a smile back on her face. "Yeah, that makes sense. You're probably right, not everything he does is because of me," Lily chastised herself.
"It's fine, Lil. But you don't have to worry anymore, right?" Hermione declared optimistically.
"Sure," said Lily, but Hermione could see the doubt on her face.
*|II8II|*
Now that James didn't openly despise her, the Marauders kept her around a whole lot more often. Hermione suspected that nothing had really changed. James tolerated her because they were working together, and probably hadn't actually altered his opinion of her. Perhaps he just no longer resented her presence.
Sirius placed his arm around her shoulders, startling her. He chuckled like the fetus-bastard he was. Hermione glared up at the boy with infuriatingly perfect hair. Feeling bold, she reached up and mussed it.
Disregarding Sirius's outraged yelps, Hermione smirked and hoisted her bag up on her shoulder. "Don't do that," she explained simply. Contact in general was a giant no-no. Not that she was overly jumpy or sensitive, but she'd never enjoyed it, especially not from near-strangers. Her best friends had hugged her very rarely, respecting her intense need for personal space.
Remus glanced up from his conversation with Peter, shared a brief grin with her, and then went back to ignoring her existence.
The werewolf was odd, all right. He obviously noticed the things that went on around them, but rarely chose to engage. There were subtle reminders that he wasn't actually ignoring her, no matter how he appeared, like an absent-minded pat on Sirius's back when she humiliated him, or that grin. Perhaps he wasn't quite as disinterested as he seemed.
"Some people are trying to pass, you know," drawled a familiar voice. They had indeed stopped moving entirely, plugging up the hallway. Hermione moved aside wordlessly, but she was the only one. She looked up curiously and found that the voice belonged to none other than Severus Snape.
Praying fervently that James wouldn't choose now to be a complete douche, Hermione poked him lightly in the back.
James seemed to remember himself. "Sure," he said. "We'll go."
The rest of the Marauders looked on in shock as he began walking in the direction of their next class, Hermione falling in step beside him. They didn't see her grin, or the mouthed "Good job!"
*|II8II|*
"Come on, Hermione! Why are you being so slow?" Lily called, drawing out the vowel in "slow".
Hermione grumbled her way up the path to her friend. It was the first Hogsmeade weekend, and it seemed like everyone but Hermione was absolutely thrilled.
"Where do you want to go first?" asked Lily. "Zonko's is fun when Potter and his twits aren't there. I don't think we should go there first, or we'll meet them. Honeyduke's is great, too, but we'll be tempted to buy things. The Shrieking Shack is only really fun the first time you see it, because they don't let you in and nothing really happens. A lot of people end up making out down there, so I wouldn't suggest that. Maybe the Three Broomsticks is our best bet."
Hermione looked around before her eyes fell on the building she'd seen when she first arrived, Harry's. "What about that one?" she asked, pointing to it.
Lily paused. "Oh, that's the one they've been building all summer! You're right, let's go there first!" Lily set off towards it, and Hermione followed hurriedly, wrapping her robes tighter around herself.
"What kind of place do you think this is?" asked Lily, her hand hesitating on the door.
"I believe we can rule out brothel," Hermione suggested. "Let's go in and find out." She was no fan of stupid questions.
Lily pushed open the door, and a bell trilled inside the place. The pair were faced with shelves upon shelves of books. "A library?" she mused aloud.
Hermione shook her head. "No, a bookstore." She strode up to one of the nearest shelves, running a finger along the pristine spines. "Selling Muggle books. We're in the fiction section."
"Oh, Hermione, look!" cried Lily exultantly. "Science books! I've been dying to get my hands on some of these!"
After several further minutes of exploration, Lily found yet another door. There were no signs that the room beyond was off-limits, but neither was it propped open to allow patrons to go through.
"Probably just a loo," said Lily, pushing the door open.
It was not a bathroom, however. This was another room with even more books, these ones magical. Rare ones, too. Hermione and Lily were both thrilled to find that most of the books weren't in the Hogwarts library. Hermione smiled as she found an entire section dedicated to time travel.
And then Hermione found another door. She opened it without hesitation, Lily following with a puzzled look on her face.
These books were Dark. Darker than anything Hermione had ever read. She didn't even need to read the titles to know it, there was just an energy radiating from them that was equally seductive as terrifying. "Don't. Touch. Anything," Hermione ordered, moving forward cautiously.
"What? Why?" asked Lily.
"Dark books often have curses put on them, curses that- well, you get the idea." Hermione shivered. "Let's just see if there's another door, but don't look at any of the books."
Hermione skirted around a shelf. This room seemed so long...
Suddenly, a door appeared in front of her. Hermione reached up to turn the knob-
"How may I help you?" A voice appeared behind them. Hermione started violently.
She turned around to see a man in a Muggle suit. His hair was thick and black, swept back so that it was out of his face. His eyes were piercing and blue, so pale that Hermione could hardly make out the iris.
"Good morning," Hermione greeted. "We're still exploring, not really looking for anything in particular."
"I see," said the man. "Are you two finding everything to your satisfaction?"
Hermione glanced at the other girl. Lily was standing silently with a slack expression and a glassy look in her eyes. "Did you do that to her?" asked Hermione, ignoring the man's question.
"Yes," he replied simply.
"Light witch?"
"Yes. She was never supposed to be here. No Light wizards make it past the second room."
"I see," Hermione said. "But since I found the door..."
"She was able to follow you, yes. You are not Light, but not Dark either."
The time-traveler considered. "I am Grey, I guess."
"Grey," mused the man. "Grey wizards are more rare than one would think."
"That's news to me, but I suppose it makes sense. What is your name, anyway?"
The man twitched slightly. "I am Keane, Grey witch. Dyson Keane."
She smiled. "I'm Hermione Granger, and that's Lily Evans." Neither made a move to shake hands.
Keane turned to gesture behind him. "This is my business, Hermione Granger," he declared.
"Congratulations," said Hermione dryly. "Why isn't it named after you?"
"Just-" Keane paused, "-a reminder of my past."
Hermione nodded. "None of my business then. I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's fine." Keane nodded, tone stiff once more. Hermione hadn't realized that it had become much more casual.
She felt a brief sense of loss as she started back on square one. "I'm assuming that if you can find a door, you can go through it? Like this one?" She touched a finger to the door.
"Yes, that's about right. Most people don't make it to this room, much less the one beyond."
"How many rooms are there?" Hermione asked.
"More than you can get to, although you can get to the first few."
Hermione frowned. "Like what?"
Keane waved his hand vaguely. "There's a room for pretty much everything. As a Grey witch, you can access more than either a Light or Dark wizard can, but you are still only human. House elves, for example, have their own room, and most books have literacy spells woven into them, so even if one is never taught their letters, they can still understand the words. This spell also translates the written language to whatever language the reader is most familiar with."
"Sounds brilliant," breathed Hermione. "What would this next room be, then?"
"The shop knows, not me. Why don't you find out?" Keane's expression was nonchalant, but his eyes sparked with excitement.
"I thought you implied...?"
The shopkeeper shook his head. "No, Granger. It isn't linear by any means; after all, what if a room should be accessible to you but you are not accepted by the one before? You go around, of course. See?"
She nodded, confusion gone. Hermione opened the door with very little flourish, not sure what she'd find within.
The room was plain and nearly empty, except for the stool in the center of the floor. There was something resting on the seat, and Hermione moved closer to see what it was. The object glittered sharply, refracting light onto the walls. Hermione felt her heart beating faster. A smooth purple stone sat innocently on the seat.
"Er..." said Hermione incoherently. "What is it?"
Keane's expression was entirely too confused for it to be genuine. "I don't know. I suppose you'll just have to find out." His wicked grin made Hermione scowl.
She picked up the stone anyway, and it was unnaturally warm. She smiled down at the colorful object, noticing that it had streaks of blues and greens and reds as well. There were next to no lumps in the exterior, and it was almost perfectly round. It was truly beautiful.
"Perhaps you should acquaint yourself with it," Keane suggested, in a way that made it perfectly plain that it was not a suggestion. "After all, there must be a reason the shop gave it to you." The condescending smile that went along with his words made Hermione want to hit him.
"Fine," she said neutrally, reigning in her immature desires. She swept out of the room and pulled Lily out of the Dark room.
"Are we leaving?" asked Lily bemusedly as Hermione dragged her out of the shop and onto the comfortingly normal streets of Hogsmeade.