Author's Note: Yay for an update! Perhaps not as long as some, but I didn't take exactly forever. Once again, this goes without saying: thank you all for the reviews/alerts! I love to see that people are reading!


Security

Hermione and Harry ate breakfast in a stony silence. She couldn't believe that he had actually been stupid enough to openly attack Riddle. What was he thinking? Not only was he drawing unwanted attention to them both, but he was getting on Riddle's bad side. And seeing as they had already been there once before, Hermione wasn't too keen to get back any time soon.

Not that Hermione wanted to be on Riddle's good side; no, she would never allow herself to do anything that would ever warrant his approval. If she had the choice she would have preferred to lay low, go unnoticed... the less interesting they were, the less likely they were to mess something up. But unfortunately, that looked like it wasn't going to happen now.

Harry was still evidently annoyed at her, too, because he spent the entire meal scowling and occasionally glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the Slytherin table. Every time he'd do so, Hermione would flick her eyes up menacingly and huff impatiently. After he turned around for the fourth time she couldn't take it anymore; grabbing her books, she got up and left without a word.

Not really caring where she went, she left the Great Hall, crossed the Entrance Hall, and left the castle. It was still rather early so the sun hung low in the sky. The grounds were cast in long, dramatic shadows from the castle, and the grass sparkled with dew. Hermione descended the stone steps and stopped before going any further. Overcome with a feeling of uselessness, she sank to her knees and closed her eyes.

She kept picturing the look on Riddle's face when Harry had shouted...it had been awful. Perhaps he didn't explicitly show it, but she knew that he had been really annoyed. The way his eyes flashed and bore down into them... well, it was downright creepy. She was terrified to think what would happen if Harry happened to anger him again.

After sitting there mulling these thoughts over for a few minutes, Hermione heard footstep approach her from behind. Some cleared his throat, and Hermione lifted her head to see Hagrid standing hesitantly beside her.

He looked uncomfortable. "Er, are yeh alrigh'?" he asked awkwardly.

Hermione cleared her throat and stood up. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I was just tired... trying to clear my head, you know, out here for a bit..."

There was a pause. Hermione kept shifting her weight from leg to leg, not knowing if she should excuse herself or stay and talk a bit.

"So I heard yer goin' ter be a student here now," he said.

She nodded. "Just for a while... until Dumbledore gets back and decides what to do with us."

Hagrid nodded also. He looked as though he was on the verge of asking her something. "I talked ter Professor Dippet las' night," he said.

"Oh I hope you didn't get in trouble for letting us in yesterday!"

"Nah, not really. Jus' gave me a warnin.' But he also mentioned you and yer brother."

"Oh?" Hermione wondered what he could've possibly told Hagrid.

"Yeah. He told me 'bout why yeh're here. Asked me ter keep a special watch on the grounds, ter make sure no one came here lookin' for yeh."

For some reason, this surprised Hermione. Perhaps she had underestimated Dippet's level of interest in her and Harry. "Really?"

He nodded importantly. "Yeah, gave the job ter me, special. Can' let anyone in the grounds now; need Professor Dippet's permission firs'. I think he put some kind o' charm on the gates or somethin'."

That stirred something in the back of her mind. "Hagrid," she said suddenly, "can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why is the security so high at Hogwarts? Before we even got here, I mean. Why were the gates locked in the first place?"

He looked at her like she had two heads. "Well, 'cause o' the war, 'course."

"But," she said impatiently, "isn't the war contained mostly in the north?" She looked at him eagerly.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "No, why would yeh say tha'? I thought Professor Dippet said yeh're involved an' everythin'."

"Well, I was a while ago," she said quickly, trying to sound convincing. "But we've been on the run for a while... haven't read the paper in ages. I honestly have no idea what's going on anywhere."

He peered at her closely. "Yeh don' know anythin' that's been happenin' 'round here?"

"No."

"Nothin' at all?"

She shook her head. "Can you tell me?"

"Well..." he paused, looking pensively. "I s'pose things started getting' bad a couple o' months ago, durin' the summer. Before tha', they say Grindelwald stayed out o' Britain, kept ter his own land. I don' think many even knew wha' was goin' on. I know I didn'"

Hermione nodded; that sounded familiar enough.

Hagrid continued. "Firs' we jus' started ter hear things... stories, rumors. Then back in June were the firs' disappearances. I heard tha' some witches went missin' an' no one ever found them. There were some accidents, too, with Muggles. Magical accidents, if yeh know wha' I mean. Stuff was happenin'; we just didn' know wha', an' most didn' even care yet."

"But," Hermione interrupted, "what happened to make Hogwarts so worried? I mean, the way Riddle and Dippet were acting yesterday, you'd think they were afraid of Grindelwald himself breaking into the school."

He waved his hand impatiently. "Hold on, I'm gettin' there," he said. "No one started ter get worried 'till 'bout a month ago. I was here, yeh know, helpin' get the school ready, when we heard tha' a group o' wizards got inter a Muggle village not far from here. We think tha' they were some o' Grindelwald's men..." A strange look came over his face. "Well, they broke inter houses, set things on fire, tortured the Muggles... even killed a few. After tha' we put up the gates, jus' in case. They were gettin' too close an' too dangerous ter ignore 'em anymore."

Hermione started at him open-mouthed. "Were they caught?" she said quietly. "Did the Ministry get them?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Nah, by the time anyone found out 'bout it, they were gone. We thought tha' maybe they had gone back ter where they came from 'cause they didn' do anythin' else for a while... but then a wizard was killed really close ter Hogwarts. He was found dead 'bout two weeks ago in his home. Now ev'ryone's gettin' real scared."

"But how do you all know Grindelwald's men were behind it? Couldn't it just have been an accident?"

"No, it was Grindelwald, alright..." He lowered his voice. "They found his mark, yeh see. Righ' on the front door, plain as day. No mistakin' tha'."

Hermione's stomach gave a jolt. His mark? What was he talking about? No one ever knew about the sign of the Deathly Hallows... no one around here, anyway.

"His mark?" she asked carefully. Perhaps it was a mistake; maybe Hagrid didn't know what he was talking about.

He nodded. "You know his mark, righ'?"

Hermione didn't say anything.

"Surely, yeh know..." He gave a nervous cough and picked up a nearby twig from the ground. "Look," he said, bending down and drawing a shape in the dirt. First a line... then a triangle around that... and then a circle around the whole thing. The sign of the Deathly Hallows. Hagrid knew the sign of the Deathly Hallows? Unbelievable...

As soon as she got a good look at it, he brushed it away. "Don' want anyone ter see tha'," he said in a low voice. "It's scary," he explained, "'cause ev'rywhere there's been trouble, there's been this mark. It's his signature. Tha's how ev'ryone knows it's been him."

Hermione didn't know what to say. All she could think about was how out of place everything seemed. She could've sworn that Grindelwald had stayed out of this area... it had been in all of the history books. Hadn't he been afraid of getting too near to Dumbledore? And never once did anyone mention the sign of the Deathly Hallows – only a select few around here knew about that. How could Hagrid have heard about it? Better yet, how could he have made it sound like common knowledge? Something like the Dark Mark?

"So yeh see, tha's why we're so scared 'round here. Professor Dippet thinks Grindelwald is goin' ter come ter Hogwarts next... well, he's been movin' in this direction, anyways..."

She shook her head slowly. "I had no idea."

"I guess it's all been happenin' real quick."

"Yeah..." There was an awkward pause.

"Anyway," Hagrid continued. "What I meant ter say before was tha' Professor Dippet wanted me ter keep an eye on you an' Harry. I mean," he stumbled over his words, blushing, "if yeh're ever outside. Jus' let me know an' I'll come out too, jus' in case anythin' happens. If tha's alright with you, I mean."

"Oh, yeah!" Hermione said, slightly surprised. "That's fine, Hagrid." She gave him a smile which he returned.

Hermione checked her watch. "Actually, I've got to go to class now, back inside, you know..."

Hagrid blushed again. "Oh! Yeah, sure, go ahead. Have fun, then."

Hermione looked at him sadly; he was probably so alone – she was sure Dippet, unknowingly, given him the chance to make a friend. Not that Hermione needed this as an excuse to visit Hagrid; assuming she and Harry were stuck in the past for a prolonged period of time, she would certainly try to befriend him once again.

"I'll definitely let you know if I ever decide to take a walk outside. And I'll tell Harry, too," she said kindly. "So I'll see you later, then?"

He smiled broadly. "Yeah, see yeh later!"

Hermione hitched her bag over her shoulder and ran back towards the castle. She had to tell Harry about this right away. Never mind their fight and bout of silent-treatment, what Hagrid had told her was important...

She skidded to a halt in the Entrance Hall and thought to herself for a moment. Their first class, Transfiguration, didn't start for a good ten minutes, but she was sure Harry hadn't stuck around the Great Hall by himself while she had been gone. Figuring that he had gone to wait outside the classroom, she bolted up the stairs and down the second floor corridor.

Just as she suspected, there was a small crowd of students already waiting outside the Transfiguration classroom's door. Hermione slowed as she approached them, and saw that there was some kind of commotion. Everyone was standing in a semicircle and staring in the center, talking excitedly amongst themselves. In the middle stood two boys: a tall Gryffindor with mousy brown hair and glasses, and Harry.

Hermione groaned and inched her way in through the crowd. A couple heads turned her way, but for the most part, everyone's eyes were plastered on Harry.

"Woah," the boy was saying. He stared open-mouthed at Harry. "I didn't know Potter had a twin."

Harry shifted uncomfortably under the scrutinizing gaze of half the class. "Potter? I don't know what you're talking about..." He looked at the class innocently, and caught Hermione's eye. Ever so slightly he made a jerking motion with his head, as though to ask her to come join him. However, she just crossed her arms and stood rooted to the spot. No way was she going up there to be ogled at, too.

Meanwhile, the boy wasn't listening to Harry. He looked around excitedly and said to a girl standing next to him, "wait 'till Potter gets a look at him! Is he here yet?" He stood on tiptoes and gazed over the heads of everyone around him. He raised an arm and yelled out, "Oy! Potter!"

Everyone turned their heads in the direction he was pointing, and the crowd parted to let through the strangest sight Hermione had ever seen.

The boy wasn't joking when he said Potter could have been Harry's twin. Aside from Fred and George Weasley, Hermione had never seen two people look more alike in her life. They had the same face, the same nose, the same build... He was wearing a look of bemusement that seemed so familiar; Hermione could have sworn she'd seen the same exact expression on Harry's face countless times before. True, this new boy was slightly taller, had light grey eyes, and was sporting his hair in a sleek, clean cut, but besides this, they were almost identical.

As Potter stepped up to Harry, the crowd broke into a fit of whispering. It seemed as though neither knew what to say to the other; the other boy was probably confused as ever, while Hermione was sure Harry was trying to think of a convincing story to tell his ancestor.

Finally, someone from the crowd spoke up. "What's your name?" an unidentified voice called.

"Err," Harry cleared his throat. "I'm Harry Wilkins and this," here he walked to the edge of the circle and pulled Hermione into view, "is my sister, Hermione."

"She doesn't look like your sister," the mousy-headed boy observed.

Hermione laughed awkwardly. "Really? Everyone says we look exactly alike..." She turned to the crowd standing behind her. "It's the hair," she said knowingly. "I got our mother's, Harry got our father's."

The shock seemed to be wearing off the Potter boy, because he said to Harry, "Wilkins? Is that right?"

Harry nodded.

"Really...? You look as though you could have some Potter blood in you."

"You think so?" Harry said coolly. "Or perhaps... you look like you could have some Wilkins blood in you."

Several people around them snickered.

The boy stared at him curiously for a moment, and then cracked a grin. "I like the way you think," he said, extending a hand. "The name's Potter. Charlus Potter."

Harry grasped his hand. "Nice to meet you, Charlus."

They broke apart and Charlus indicated the mousy-headed Gryffindor. "And this is my good friend Benjamin," he said, grasping him by the shoulder.

Benjamin grinned. "It's Ben," he said. Then he stepped back and gave them both a once over. "Are you sure you're not a Potter? It's just..." He motioned between Harry and Charlus, apparently at loss for words.

Harry just shrugged.

"Who cares what he looks like – why are they here?"

Everyone turned at the introduction of this new voice. A seventh-year Slytherin was pushing her way through the crowd of Gryffindors. She had jet-black hair and a thin, pallid face. "So?" she asked, standing next to Harry with her hands on her hips. "We've never had a new student before. What's the story?"

Hermione and Harry didn't say anything.

"Well?"

"Hey," one of the Gryffindor girls standing near Ben stepped forward. "If they don't want to tell, they don't have to."

The Slytherin gave her a look of absolute disgust. "Who're you to say that, McKinnon?"

The other girl scoffed. "I just happen to be Head Girl this year, Purkiss, if you've forgotten already. Wouldn't surprise me, to be honest."

"Hey, you watch your mouth –"

"No, I'd watch your mouth, seeing as I can take points from Slytherin..."

A bunch of voices rung out from the back of the crowd; apparently the Slytherins were getting annoyed.

Charlus glared at her. "Just shut up –"

"I will not shut up –"

"you annoying –"

"piece of filth –"

"slimy-arsed –"

" – Mudblood!"

"Woah, woah, QUIET!" A woman's voice rung out above everyone else's arguing. For the third time, the crowd moved apart to let someone through; this time, though, it was not a student. An elderly witch with short, white-blond hair and bright, magenta lips strode briskly across the corridor and stopped in the middle of the semi-circle. The noise of the group immediately extinguished.

The witch stared at everyone open-mouthed.

"I've been gone for two weeks – two weeks – and already you're all behaving like animals?"

No one said a word. The corridor was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

She let the insult set in for a moment. Narrowing her eyes she turned her attention to everyone in the center of the group, namely, the Slytherin girl, Ben, Charlus, and the Head Girl. "Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin, each. I'd expect better from you by now. Seventh years." Then she saw Harry and Hermione, cowering off to one side, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Her entire demeanor changed.

"You must be the new students," she said. "Armando told me about you."

Once again, they didn't say anything. To be honest, Hermione didn't know what she could say to this loud woman wearing hot-pink lipstick. She almost reminded her of an old McGonagall, but with attitude. It was quite disconcerting.

She apparently accepted this shock as normal. "My name is Galatea Merrythought," she said. Then she raised her voice. "As I'm sure most of you are aware, Professor Dumbledore had to leave the other day on urgent business. I've been asked to temporarily come out of retirement to fill in for him while he's gone."

Almost everyone broke out into a fit of whispering.

"Yes, I know you're all so pleased to see me again," she continued smartly. "But let me assure you, although Transfiguration is not my particular area of study, I will have you all up to date when Professor Dumbledore returns."

Hermione caught Harry's eye. Though this news didn't seem very significant to her, he seemed to be just as surprised as the rest of the class.

Merrythought gave a loud sigh and tapped the heal of one of her boots impatiently. "Now are you going to stand out here all day or are we going to go inside and actually have an intellectual discussion about the properties of advanced human transfiguration?"

The class immediately began to move forward. Hermione could see that this witch exuded a sense of authority about her, and no one dared disobey what she had to say.

"Come on everyone, hurry up; I may be old but I'm not dead yet."


Author's Note: Before any of you say anything, I realize that having Harry meet one of his ancestors in the past is kind of cliché. I also realize that, although we don't know the exact age of Charlus Potter, he probably graduated from Hogwarts several years before this. But seeing as there's no canon in respect to this character, I decided to use him – and it turns out that I do need him for later chapters. So don't worry; he's going to be more use than just the "omg he looks just like harry!" shock factor...