Disclaimer: JKR owns all. I'm not her, therefore I own nothing. I do not make any money from writing this story.

Hermione's Dark Secret- Chapter Ten

"Everyone here?" Draco's voice called out of the shadows. The group of first year Slytherins had assembled out side the third floor corridor.

"Filch must be occupied. He hasn't appeared." Theo whispered to Hermione. She nodded, not remembering that it was too dark for him to see her motions.

"Wands out." Hermione reminded everyone. "I've got no idea what's through here. I don't trust Potter's accuracy."

Draco muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I do."

Hermione lead the Slytherins into the tiny chamber. A large, slobbering, three-headed dog filled most of it. A harp played on magically in the background and a wooden flute was dropped next to a trapdoor that one of the heads was sleeping on.

"What do know. Potter was right!" Hermione exclaimed.

Apparently her voice was a little too loud. The dog stirred.

'Bang!' Pansy crashed into the enchanted harp. It snapped in half and stopped playing.

"Damn!" Draco pointed his wand at the monster. "Take cover!" He was preparing to rush the beast, but Theo stepped in.

Theo banished his wand, twisting and turning it in strange patterns. "Fossa!" He cried loudly.

The results were unexpected. The dog's middle head came flying off. The severed neck began to gush out blood. The floor and Hermione's hair and robes, became soaked with bright red blood. Fluffy staggered around, trying to figure out what to do.

"Stupefy!" It was enough time for Draco to hit him with a stunner.

Hermione wiped the blood out of her eyes. "Let's get out of here." She opened the trapdoor. "Lumos" Her wand ignited the area below.

"Oh!" Vince was crouching down beside her. "My Mum grows that. It's devil's snare."

Theo concentrated so hard, his eyes crossed. "We'll need bright light. I'll go first." He volunteered.

The others made way for Theo to come to the front. "Incendio!" He lit a fire at the end of his wand. "I'll be ready in a moment." He jumped down. His wand leaving a fiery trail as he went. The devil's snare parted as fast as it could to get away from his lighted wand. Theo fell heavily to the ground in an open area.

"Come on down." He called up, holding his wand to light their way. Hermione leapt through the trapdoor. Her feather light charm made the landing controlled and painless. She moved back into the wall as quickly as possible. Just because a deadly plant was dormant, didn't mean it would remain dormant forever.

"Let's go." Draco held his lightened wand ahead of himself. "Quickly!" He urged them as the plant slowly came back to life.

Ahead of them was a stone door in the stone wall. A large bolt opened the door to reveal a chamber. Hermione slid inside the door. Hundreds of flapping wings made the air buzz around them. The group proceeded to the other side of the room.

Theo pulled on the door. He tried a spell.Nothing happened. "We have to get the key." He announced sadly.

Hermione looked around the chamber. It was large, and it had a very high ceiling. "How do we get it?"

"With these." Millicent brandished a broomstick she'd found hanging on the wall. "Here." She offered Draco the second one. "It's a pity Daphene's not here. She's the best flier."

Blaise laughed. The other Slytherins turned to him in surprise. He was quiet and his blood status and mother's job made him victim to inter-house bullying. He normally tried to blend into the background. And he usually did a decent job of it.

"Yes?" Hermione rounded on him. She wanted the stone and making light of their struggles to get it angered her.

"There's a much easier way to do this." At their baffled expressions he drew his wand and walked over to the keyhole on the door.

Theo stepped protectively in front of the door, raising his wand to Blaise's face. "What do you want?"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Please. Let me try."

Theo huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine."

Blaise aimed his wand straight at the centre of the door. "Reducto." He said quietly. A bolt of light shot out of his wand and blasted the door to small pieces Blaise bowed and pointed ahead. "After you."

Theo's face was turning slightly pink. "I know that curse." He told Hermione, in voice just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Hermione smiled at her friend. "I know Theo. How about you teach me some better curses soon? I know so little compared to you."

"Who doesn't." Draco muttered. He was still in a bad mood. Even Vince Crabbe was avoiding him.

"Whoa." Hermione stopped shot. In front of them was a chess board. A giant chess board.

"Come on." Blaise took out his wand. "The blasting curse should work here too."

"Or whatever." Hermione added.

"Or whatever." Theo said, he seemed desperate to regain control of his standing as genius.

Moments later the air was filled with the sound of blasting curses. It was Theo who noticed the problem.

"It's not working." He complained.

Hermione looked at the chess pieces for a moment before pointing her wand at a white pawn. "Wingardium Leviosa" The pawn rose in the air. Hermione moved it over a white rook. "Here goes." She let it fall.

Both pieces were smashed beyond repair. Bits of white dust and chunks of white stone littered the chess board.

Draco was already copying her idea. Theo added in a summoning charm. Wizarding chess pieces have a special core. Summoning it tore them apart from the inside out.

Together the first years made short work of the remaining chess pieces. It was so much fun that they destroyed the black ones and the white ones. By the time they were opening the other door, all of them were so covered in stone dust. Draco's hair was now blacker than Blaise's skin. Theo's black robes were whiter than Draco's hair used to be.

"Onward!" Hermione was giddy with excitement. "What was Dumbledore thinking when he said we'd die a most painful death?"

Theo laughed. He was still on a killing high. Blasting things to pieces was very good for relieving post-exam stress. "No idea. Probably thought everyone was as stupid as his silly Gryffindors."

"What is this?" Pansy pinched her nose. She'd just opened the door to the next chamber.

Hermione shoved Blaise forward roughly. "What's in there?"

"Troll." Blaise turned back. His eyes were wide. "It stinks."

"Let's get this over with." Theo pointed his wand at his face. A few seconds later a pale bubble was floating around his hand. "Bubble-head charm." He told them, his voice sounded as if he was speaking through a drinking glass.

"I want one!" Hermione stepped up. "Please?" A few seconds later the nasty smell was gone and everyone had a pale bubble around their head.

"Let's get this over with."

The group rushed through the next chamber. The thought of a troll scared all of them. Only Hermione hadn't grown up in a family, being told nightmarish tales of the stupid, blood thirsty creatures. But she was smart enough to figure out what the others reactions meant. They stepped into the next room, dispelling the bubble charms.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, watching in astonishment as fire sprang up on either side of the room. Covering both the door onwards and backwards.

"Here." Theo picked up a piece of paper from a table with seven potion bottles. "It's a riddle."

"Great. Logic." Draco sighed. Logic was not something he was good at.

Hermione read over the riddle. "This should be easy enough. I think I can figure it out."

Theo starred at her. "Why bother?" He pointed his wand at a bottle. "I'll just use magic."

"Of course." Hermione coloured. Magic was so much easier.

"Manifestum Virus" He incanted. The bottle glowed red. "Poison. Reducto." He went through the rest of the bottles, eliminating the poison when he found it.

"Wow." Hermione breathed. "That's quick."

"Here you are." Pansy picked out two little bottles. "These are the ones you want."

Hermione took the forward potion and eyes it critically. "How do you know?" She was rather suspicious, especially because Pansy did not have a reputation on being bright.

"The potion was to be the same colour as the flames." She pointed to the black fire, then to the black potion. "Black and black."

"There's not enough to go around. Even if we stretch it." Draco noted. "There's more of the back potion."

"I'm going forward." Hermione announced. No one argued. "Theo's coming with me."

"Now wait a minute." Draco stepped forward. "I should be going too. Since Hermione gets first choice." His argument of his father was left unsaid.

"No." Blaise cut in. Everyone starred at him.

"Your mother's not one of us." Draco spat. "You have no say here."

Blaise was mad. "I didn't tell my mother to become an auror! I want the stone just as much as you do!"

"It's not your place." Hermione barked. "Draco you can lead everyone back. Theo and I will go ahead." She glanced around. "Alone."

"Fine." Draco picked up the bottle of purple potion. "I don't want Zabini with me."

Theo sighed. "Let's go."

Hermione took a quick sip of the black potion. A cold, icy sensation spread throughout her body. As if her very bones were turning to ice. "Hurry. Before it wears off."

Theo, Hermione and Blaise hurried through the black fire to the next chamber.

"Harry Potter!"

"Professor Quirrel!"

"You!"

Hermione took in the situation very quickly. Potter and Quirrel were in the middle of some sort of stand off. Both had their wands out. Various things around the room had already been destroyed. Someone was playing to kill.

"No!" Zabini jumped in front of Potter with his wand out. A bolt of red light hit him in the chest and he went down.

Theo and Hermione watched him fall. Potter bent down next to his still form. "He's not dead." He assured everyone. "I don't know..."

"A stunner. They're red." Hermione offered. "He should be fine."

"I think we're missing the point here. He attacked a student!" Potter told them. "Lavender already took a portkey to find Dumbledore. He should be here soon."

"Sir?" Theo approached Quirrel. "What's going on?"

Quirrel smiled down at them. He spoke without a hint of a stutter. "My master will return tonight. I have been a faithful servant. He will reward me." His face was rather blank.

"Let me see them." A harsh voice was coming from somewhere else close by.

Quirrel smiled wider and reached up to start unraveling his turban. "Are you strong enough master?"

"Sir?" Hermione took a step towards him. "What are you doing? What's going on?"

Quirrel's face hardened. "Don't mess with things you don't understand!" He turned and pointed his wand at Theo. "Crucio"

Theo fell to the floor. He was twisting and turning, his body racked with pain. The most horrible screams came from his mouth. Soon his mouth was full of blood and it began to pool beneath him.

"What are doing?" Hermione threw herself at Quirrel's wand arm, forcing him to lower his wand and break the curse on Theo.

Quirrel faced her. "His mother was disloyal. And his father never was much use." He looked at her more closely. "You're luck you're a Morter, otherwise you'd already be dead." With that he raised his wand and Hermione felt something hard hit her and darkness rushed up to meet her.

There was light above her. A warm, glowing ball of light. Hermione needed to get it. It would warm her up. She needed to spread it over her entire body. She was so cold.

Then she snapped her eyes open, sitting up suddenly. Her head spun in circles, making her nauseous. She shook her head, her hair flying out of her eyes and looked around.

She was in the Hospital wing. The white, sterile area couldn't be mistaken for anything else. She was in the back of one of the rows of beds. About five, or was if four? Her brain felt like mush. But she thought that five beds were occupied with other students.

Hermione swung her legs over the side of the bed. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Then rubbed hard on her forehead. She had a headache that refused to go away.

"I suggest you stop rubbing your head and return to bed Miss Morter."

Hermione jumped and turned surprised to see her head of house standing in the doorway of Madam Pomfrey's office. He made his way over to her bed. "How badly does your head hurt?"

"Bad." Hermione told him, wincing as he placed a hand on the back of her neck.

"Lie down." He ordered her, before returning to the office.

Hermione swung her feet back onto the bed and squirmed under the covers. Her head felt much better once it hit the pillow. She sighed and closed her eyes. Going back to sleep didn't seem like such a bad idea.

"Miss Morter." Professor Snape's voice brought her back to the situation at hand.

Hermione sat up, ignoring the pain as her head spun. "Yes sir?" She gasped, trying to control the pain. "What happened sir? Whose got the stone?"

"Relax." Snape told her. "The Headmaster is once again in possession of the stone. It will remain with him." He gave her a cold, hard look. "I must say, I was quite disappointed with the merry band you lead to retrieve it."

Hermione gulped. "Sorry sir."

"Drink." He held out a strange, brownish potion.

She took the brew. "Concussion potion sir?" She asked. "When did I get a concussion?"

"During the fight. You were hit with a stunner. You also hit the floor with a great deal of force." He glared at the potion bottle. "Drink it."

Hermione shuddered as she swallowed the foul tasting draught. She moved to lie back down, but Snape's hand told her to wait.

"Take this first." He ordered her, holding out another two potion vials.

One contained a headache potion, the other a sleeping draught. Hermione frowned at the second one. She swallowed the first one. "I don't want this. I don't need this sir." She told him, holding the sleeping draught for him to take.

"I didn't ask you. Drink it."

Hermione gulped the potion. Unlike the previous two, its taste was not offensive. She felt her eyes slipping closed and her body falling back onto the bed.

"Let's get out of here." Theo shifted on his feet. Hermione couldn't wait to get out of the hospital wing.

"Wait for Blaise." Hermione reminded him. "He took a hard hit."

"For Potter." Theo scoffed. "That alone speaks volumes."

"Let's go." Blaise said as he walked out of the office. "It's getting late. And thanks for waiting."

Since they'd gone through the trapdoor the Slytherins seemed to be dividing into factions. And they were not factions of Death Eaters and followers of Dumbledore. Draco seemed to be the odd man out. He spent most of his time alone, no one knew exactly where and Blaise was finally counted as one of them.

The Slytherins walked through the entrance hall down to their dungeon common room. They'd all been cooped up in the infirmary for the past three days. Harry Potter and Lavender Brown had been there for the first two days, but they weren't hurt as badly and left earlier.

"You're back!" Pansy grabbed Hermione in a tight hug. Hermione had barely had time to get into the room. She could see Daphene and Millicent in the background over Pansy's shoulder.

"Yes, I am." Hermione said, as she carefully detached herself from Pansy: the human octopus. She walked to Daphene and Millicent. "How was the last Quidditch match?"

Daphene didn't smile, but her frown seemed to lighten a little. "We flattened Gryffindor. Potter was still in the hospital wing and they had no reserve seeker."

Millicent laughed. "Our seeker put on a stellar performance. I've got no idea how Daphene plans to steal the position next year."

"I'll sure manage." Hermione told the girls. "All right." She whispered, seizing Daphene's arm. "Come with me."

The two girls slipped quietly out of the common room into their dormitory. Daphene collapsed onto her bed. "Yes?" She asked Hermione tiredly.

"What did Snape want with you? Did your Grandfather really die?"

Daphene sighed. "No."

"What do you mean, no? What happened?" Hermione demanded. She remembered. "Let me see your back."

Another sigh. Daphene stood up and turned her back to Hermione. She slowly unbuttoned her robes and pulled them up over her shoulders. Her back looked much better. All that was left of the beating was a few long pink scar lines. She dropped her robes and whirled around to face Hermione.

"Does it make you happy?" She yelled. "Are you glad I'm hurt?"

Hermione shook her. "No. I'm sorry. I was worried."

Daphene sat back on her bed. "Don't mention it." She pointed to Hermione's over flowing trunk. "You should finish packing."

"Yeah." Hermione started folding clothes and throwing books and parchment into the trunk. Bits of junk covered the floor. Old notes, dirty clothing or maybe it was clean...

"Little firsties!" A fifth year stuck her head in around the door. "Get out here! On the double!"

Hermione and Daphene scrambled out of the common room. The entirety of Slytherin house was assembled in the common room. A silent crowd of green and silver. The seventh years standing in the back, looked both proud and sad at the same time. They were leaving now. Off to somewhere else. Most would continue in their training.

Professor Snape stood in front of them. His long black robes were still. He was closely looking over each student's face. As if trying to memorize every feature. Finally he spoke.

"This is the end of the year. Once again we will begin to prepare for another year. I find myself taking more involvement and interest in your lives than I believed I ever would at the beginning of the year. This marks a end and a rebirth. A fresh start. Do not waste it"

He began to pace back and forth. Hermione watched as his robes began to billow, almost as if it was simply natural for them to do so. His eyes swept of the students one last time. "First years stay. The rest of you are dismissed."

Six sevenths of the house scampered away. They had packing to finish. Good byes to make and summer addresses to exchange.

"Follow me." Professor Snape lead them into the side office off of the common room. Hermione looked at the walls and the low table. It seemed ages ago since she had watched her parents memories in this room.

"Sit." Snape ordered. He took the largest armchair for himself.

"Is this about summer?" Pansy asked him.

He glared at her. "Yes. This is about summer." He pulled out a list of names. "Everyone on this list gets a visit. It is not scheduled and it cannot last longer than a day. But many Slytherins find it extremely important and reassuring." He gave Daphene a pointed look. "The list will be on the announcement board for the next two hours. Please sign up if you feel the need too."

Thank you sir." Hermione said. She stood and the rest of the students followed suit. Snape lead the lay back to the common room, where he used a sticking charm to attach the list to the board.

The empty boxes, marked by year quickly filled up. Only first years was empty. Draco went first. He lent his quill to Daphene. Theo refused.

"I've already got a plan." He told the first years. "I won't starve. And I won't spend the whole summer in the library!" He protested when Pansy punched him playfully.

Pansy also sighed the list. Blaise refused the quill. So did Vince and Greg. Millicent and Hermione both signed their names neatly. Hermione watched as the ink turned from black to green.

There it was. Now in writing. Proof that her first year of Hogwarts was over.

"Let's go win the house cup." Pansy said. The two linked arms and trotted off to the Great Hall.

THE END

The End. 86 pages! The longest thing I've ever written. Hermione's first year is now over. I've already started the sequel. The first chapter is almost finished. The title will be something along the lines of 'Our Summer'. It will not cover her second year. Many thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I hope you enjoyed it and will read the sequel. Thanks to everyone.

N. Forest