A/N: Thank you guys for all of your reviews

Onwards to our newest chapter …

Chapter 11:

Hermione sighed as she walked up the stairs to the dorms, having left Ginny in the library so she could actually study for her transfiguration work. Biting her lip slightly as she walked into the common room. Hermione was lost in her thoughts until she heard the telltale sounds of Harry muttering to himself in his normal chair.

Smiling faintly at the normality of him just being frustrated with whatever he was doing, Hermione couldn't help but forgo sleep, which was the exact opposite her female ginger haired friend had advised her to do. Making her way to Harry, "Someone seems like they are having trouble." She said softly as to not startle him. "Anything I can help with?"

"Oh, hey 'Mione, I was just muttering to myself about what I have to figure out…" Harry mumbled trailing off at the end leaning back against the squishy red cushion. "It's the only time I've been able to think about everything since we got back. Everyone's busy with work or in Ron's case busy with Lavender somewhere."

Hermione tried to keep her face passive and must have achieved her goal when Harry remained focused on his thoughts, "Do you want me to leave you alone?" She questioned, poised to get up before he shook his head no in her direction.

"No, you asked and I may need you to help me to come up with something or another." Harry said softly as he looked at his friend with a slight smile, "That is if you want to know and you're willing to give me a little help here and there."

"Of course, Harry. You know I'm always going to be here to help you with whatever it is you need." Hermione said quickly and neared automatically as she moved so her body angled towards her friend once more, all fatigue forgotten for the moment. "Well, get on with it." She pressed after the boy went into his head again.

Harry fumbled a little, "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that 'Mione. Dumbledore called me to his office yesterday before curfew for my next session with him and like all the other times he showed me a memory he had collected about Voldemort when he was still going to school here and I saw his death eaters. A lot of the faces I can't place as someone I know today, but that's beside the point of this memory. Tom started to research where he came from and the first person he began with was his father, but instead of finding a pure blooded wizard he found out that his father was a muggle. He's a half blood Hermione…. Just like me and no better than anyone he says non-purebloods should be purged from their schools and murdered."

Pausing, Harry allowed Hermione to digest the information before continuing after a moment of silence, "Dumbledore had a memory from Morfin Gaunt, his grandfather, and it told us that his mother had to use a love potion to get his father to be with her. When he learned this, he went into a fit of rage and killed his father's entire family before framing everything on Morfin. I'm guessing after that we jumped into a memory that Dumbledore had retrieved from Slughorn while Tom was still a student here and it was about him asking about what Horcruxes are. There was this grey fog and then Slughorn just started yelling at Tom for even asking about such a thing. Dumbledore said that the memory was tainted and that my newest objective would be to get the memory from Slughorn because he trusts me. I tried getting answers this morning but Slughorn figured out that Dumbledore set me up and has been avoiding me ever since."

"So you need help getting information from Slughorn?" Hermione asked tilting her head, digesting the information as quickly as possible still a bit hung up on the fact that Voldemort was in fact a half blood, despite his hatred of them. "Well, there's always working diligently with gaining his trust all over again, but there may be other ways." Hermione thought for a second, "But those should be last resort." She said quickly before her friend could inquire about it. "Do you think he would have his true memory hidden away somewhere? So he will be able to revisit it if he ever needed to? If we could figure out a way to get into his room without getting caught we could look for it."

"Yeah that would be the best solution, but think about it . . . how difficult would that be? Even with my invisibility cloak I'd have to figure out how to get inside his room and his wards are geared against humans trying to get into it. He was exceedingly paranoid when I went to fetch him this year with Professor Dumbledore." Harry pointed out to his best friend, putting his face into his hands.

Hermione bit her lip as she waited a moment and then looked at her friend, "I may have a way to do that but I've never tried to do it actively before. I want to see if I can research what exactly Horcruxes are by myself in the library to see if we don't have to go all the way back to Slughorn. I mean, Voldemort had to find out about them from some book, so I'm curious if it could still be there. I'll have to ask Madam Pince if I can access the restricted section, but it shouldn't be too hard if I tell her I need a book on a duel that I know is listed back there."

Harry nodded as he leaned back in his seat, "What kind of magic could that be. . ." he pondered "if it has Slughorn so scared to even tell the truth about it in a memory."

"Whatever it is, Harry, it could have something to do with how he was able to come back. Dark magic like that can do things like that especially if it's a really old form of it." Hermione said softly thinking the same thing if she were honest with herself before shaking her head. "Try to get some rest Harry and don't worry about it. When has the library ever failed us?" Hermione said with a smile upon her face as she bid her friend a tired goodnight and went to her bed.

As she made her way up to the empty dorms, something she was mildly surprised about, Hermione heard the distinct sound of tapping and tilted her head slightly as she made her way sluggishly to the window and opened it. Before her stood Argo with a message tied to his leg and snow starting to form on his feathers and once she noticed she immediately brought the bird into the warm room. "Hey there boy, what are you doing here?" She questioned softly as she stroked the birds head removing a bit of snow that was on it before she had to move it away when he shook himself free of the snow on the rest of his body.

Watching curiously, Hermione waited until the bird was okay with his appearance and his eyes trained back onto her lifting his leg in offering where Hermione noticed a small sheet of parchment tied to it. Blinking, the bookworm removed it from the bird and unfolded the small sheet unable to keep the smile off of her face when she read the words on the paper.

'I'm safe. I'll be back for that conversation by Sunday, latest Monday.'

Finally allowing herself to let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, Hermione sat down on her bed as all of the worry she had left her with that one little note. "Thank you Argo for delivering this. I know you just got here but would you be willing to deliver one back to her?" Hermione asked the bird,only receiving a tilted head in response. Taking that as an okay to write, Hermione pulled out a scrap piece of parchment and a muggle pen jotting down a quick note to the woman and folded it up. Turning back to the bird she was pleasantly surprised to see that his leg was already up waiting for her to secure the message onto it and she quickly did so as to not take the birds kindness for granted. Allowing him to perch on her arm, Hermione walked back over to the window and smiled at him, "Be safe Argo and when you get back I'll have some treats for you." She promised stroking his feathers one more time before allowing him to take off from her arm and out the now opened window.

Making her way back to the bed and under the covers, Hermione pulled the small note close and put it under her pillow finally able to get a restful sleep with it safely tucked away.

"I don't know what it is Harry, but there is absolutely no reference to that bloody word anywhere in the entire Hogwarts Library! I've checked every single book through the whole week and still nothing!" Hermione ranted a few days later after her last fruitless search of the Hogwart's library on anything pertaining to Horcurxes or even referencing to what they could possibly be. The book worm paced in front of her friend in the common room after dinner, her hair wilder than ever as she tried to process how the library had failed her in her search, not able to mentally comprehend how such a thing could be physically possible. "It didn't even hint at what book I would have to find that contains information on such a spell." She raved once more running her fingers through her hair for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes.

"I think she's broken, mate." Ron said softly as he watched his friend go back and forth in front of him and the boy who lived, his fingers absently returning to his forehead where his left eyebrow should be mumbling incoherently when he was met with a bald spot.

Hermione sent him a withering glare that quieted him immediately before she fell into her seat in pure exhaustion even though she physically looked fine, "I just don't see how it's possible not to even reference. I mean, the Philosopher's stone was referenced multiple times in the forbidden section and that was supposed to be one of the best guarded secrets of our millennia." Hermione pointed back leaning back in the squishy arm chair.

"We will just have to come up with some other plan? I thought you had a backup you've been practicing." Harry pointed out looking at her expectantly.

"I. . . I may have another solution, but you'd have to give me a little time to figure out how to exactly execute it before I go and retrieve the memory. Which, might I add, might not even be in the room if he does have the real memory locked away." Hermione said softly going back deep in thought for a second.

"Alright, and in the mean time I'll try to win my way back into his good graces." Harry said softly giving her an appreciative look when she met his eyes.

Smiling a bit at it, Hermione stood up quickly, "Well, since I need to concentrate on what I may need to do while you play, I am going to head up to my bed and research that method a little more." Only receiving the two nods, Hermione made her way to the empty dorms and to her bed her wand out as she got herself comfortable. Flicking her wrist in the correct movements, the young witch casted a few different spells to make sure that she was secure and if someone was coming to disturb her she would know. Once she was thoroughly pleased with her work, Hermione reached over to her nightstand and opened the second drawer fighting a smile as she looked at the few notes that were short and simple, assuring her that the dueling Professor was indeed alive and breathing, and then allowed herself to look at the poetic notes she had received from the beginning of the year. She was nearly positive that Callisto was the one responsible for them, seeing at they stopped coming in the same time that the woman left and just the thought of that had her blushing faintly.

Going back to the task at hand, Hermione grabbed the nameless book that she had put away from prying eyes and opened up to the first index page allowing her finger to drag over every word she saw. Checking every section twice, Hermione glared ever so slightly at the book, "I can find spells to do horrible things to people but I try to look for one little reference and there is nothing." She muttered annoyed before allowing a sigh to leave her body while she counted to ten really slowly. Hermione nodded as she felt herself return to normal stress level, opening the book up to the dog eared section she had been studying – or at least looking into – since her third year at Hogwarts. Sliding her finger over the title of the section she bit her lip lightly muttering the title to herself in a fascinated voice, "The Forbidden Art of Blood Magic."

Quietly, she started to read the page smiling to herself as she read the first page of the lengthy chapter once more.

The most common belief behind the origin of magic is that it's found in the blood. This belief is one of the major points thatare used to support the pure blood theory. That they are superior to others because their lineage is completely magical. However, despite that there have been an equal number of pure blooded blood mages as there have been non pure. Blood magic, first and foremost, is the practice of using blood—life itself—as a potent fuel for casting spells. This life may be supplied by either the witch, wizard, or sacrifices, whether willing or unwilling. As such, the use of blood magic often allows a mage to cast spells that would otherwise be beyond the abilities of any mage.

As such, the usage of it is forbidden in nearly every country of the world for over a thousand years ever since the tyranny of Morgana Le Fay and her use of the magic to rule over the vast country that had been under Arthur Pendragon's control. It took all of Merlin's power to destroy the witch's magical hold on the knights and the subjects she had ensnared. Since then,only a select few families even remember the art form that is blood magic. Besides control over one person or another, blood magic can be used to reanimate the dead, destroy a being that is possessing another, cause mental instability, give someone the ability to kill silently, and can even give someone the ability to slip into someone's consciousness without the use of a common spell that could be detected and countered.

Common wisdom holds that there is no way to use blood magic with good intentions. Inevitably, even blood mages who tap their own blood find a need for the power of others, or find a need to control life itself. However, for those talented enough to realize the limitations of human existence and that power is not to be expected without a price, it is reasonable to say that the art of blood magic could be controlled.

Some spells that can be learned only by using blood magic are as followed: SACRIFICIUM, SANGUINOLENTIA, SANGUIS SERVUS, SANGUIS VULNERE, and CIRCUMRETIO. The descriptions of each are located further on in this chapter.

Hermione continued to read up on the deadly art of blood magic, taking notes here and there on her parchment with a look of concentration on her face. After finishing the chapter, Hermione looked down at her notes biting her lip a bit and started formulating a plan of action silently in case it came down to that with Slughorn. "I only need to find a place to practice the other part of the plan..." She trailed off looking at the clock that was at her bedside table, "Nearly lunch time..." She mused before her eyes lightened a bit as an idea came to her, "that's it!"

Smiling a little bit, she put the book away and pocketed the notes she had written. Removing her spells from around her bed, Hermione moved the curtain away and walked out of the dorms to the now barren common room. Making her way towards the exit, a slight sound stopped her from leaving immediately. Turning back around Hermione walked over to the fire place where the sound originated from.

Looking at the hot coals for a moment as the heat ebbed away, Hermione shook her head thinking that whatever it was had been a figment of her imagination. Turning away, Hermione heard the crunch of paper under her foot. Tilting her head slightly, she bent down and picked up the slightly burned piece of paper off of the floor her eyes widening as she looked at it, her name written in plain English over the top of it. Biting her lip ever so slightly, she gingerly opened the piece of paper brushing away some spot that was on it and read the words on it quietly.

There isn't a day I don't ponder your taste,

When I don't imagine your skin against mine,

When I imagine your heart thundering for me,

I can barely contain the monster within.

I'm coming for you.

Like a thief in the night

I will whisk you away.

Come to me...

Hermione's face was red with a blush as she finished the letter a slight smile upon her face. Her heart fluttered with the possibility that she would be able to see her sweet admirer, who she knew to be her Professor.

Nodding to herself, she put the letter away with a smile on her face thinking about the woman and her way with words her hand absent mindlessly stroking the necklace. Hermione walked out of the common room with the smile still upon her face headingtowards the Great Hall. Passing the other house tables and going to the other Gryffindors, Hermione sat in her chair between Harry and Ron and smiled in a slight way of greeting to her other friends that sat around them.

"Looking forward to Hogsmeade in a bit, Mione?" Ron questioned as he swallowed his food for once before talking.

"Slightly. I'm going to be busy in the bookstore through most of our time. I want to see if I can find some useful reference books that I could use later on." Hermione said softly, lying easily towards them hiding her smile behind a goblet of pumpkin juice. "I'm assuming you will be in the Three Broomsticks all afternoon?"

"Probably. Or we will be at the new quidditch shop they've opened up there." Harry muttered a bit stretching his back before returning to his food. "I guess we won't be near each other much today."

"Unless you want to be in the bookstore..." Hermione chuckled a little bit with a smile upon her face at the boy's expression of repulsion at the offer. "Thought so." Hermione laughed eating her turkey sandwich still. "Don't worry I'll meet up with you when we are about to leave."

"Sounds like a plan, right Harry?" Ron smiled out after taking a drink of his juice.

Harry nodded a little bit his mouth full with food before swallowing. Hermione relaxed a little bit at the nods and finished her food waiting with her friends until they finished. Standing with her group of friends, she smiled as they joked around with one another before they made their way from the hall to the main gate of the school where McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, Snape, and Hooch all stood waiting on the students to make their way to the small town. Falling into step with the older witches and wizards, the Golden Trio walked down the road with a smile on their faces until they split up in the Main Street of the town.

Hermione waved to her friends as they headed to the pub and she feigned going to the bookstore until the Professors were out of sight doing their own thing before making her way towards the wooded area of the town going closer towards the Shrieking Shack and pulling out a blade she had purchased some time ago. Closing her eyes, Hermione rolled her shoulders as she thought back to the book she had read kneeling down on the snow covered leaves. Rolling up her right sleeve, Hermione quietly began mumbling a spell bringing the tip of the ritual knife to the center of her wrist biting her lip before stopping as she heard a sound of crunching leaves and snapping sticks.

Putting the athame behind her back and into her back pocket, Hermione stood fully looking around for a moment, "Hello?" She questioned from the piercing silence that now permeated the forest around her her body rigid before swiftly turning one hundred and eighty degrees when the sound appeared behind her, "Callisto? Is that you? This isn't funny if you are trying to play some kind of hide and seek game." Hermione called out her voice breaking half way through her statement her fingers brushing the wand holster attached to her wrist.

Waiting for a moment, Hermione watched the area around her before she noticed a shape flittering by out of the corner of her eye and by the large mass of the particular thing she was hit with the realization that whatever it was, it definitely wasn't theslender Auror. As that finally registered in her mind a half second later, Hermione hit the release button for her wand holster gripping it in her hand as she took an involuntary step back.

Things were silent for a moment for a moment longer before a deep, raspy chuckle made its way from everywhere around the muggle-born or so it seemed, the very sound of it making a chill run down the back of her neck. It only took one more fleeting glimpse of the hulking figure for Hermione's flight or fight instincts to finally decide on the one she would be doing as she quickly turned and ran in the opposite direction of the figure her adrenaline pumping faster when she heard a loud guttural laugh coming from behind her.

Fighting her way past dead plants, clumps of snow that were obstacles to get past in some section, Hermione felt the fear that many smaller creatures felt when running from their predator, though that they at least knew what was chasing them she argued mentally as she bolted over a larger rock formation and landed on her feet clumsily.

Gaining her footing once more the witch picked up the pace with her running again as the maniacal laughter persisted, and somewhere in the back of her mind Hermione could have sworn she had heard it before as she continued to run as fast as her legs could take her. As she ran through the snow and felt branches scratching at her body she couldn't help but ponder if this would be the end of her. Her persistence in breaking the rules to learn things she should never attempted to learn just to help destroy Voldemort, whose own pawn was probably hunting her down, toying with her. Crying out, Hermione tripped on a fallen tree limb landing on the snow roughly with a wince as she put a hand to her bleeding forearm cradling it as she forced herself back onto her shaky legs clutching her wand in her pale hand once more looking around for a moment to see if she could find her hunter.

Hearing snapping twigs to her right, she turned raising her wand in a defensive stance only to have it blown out of her hand by a silently disarming charm. Looking to her empty hand, Hermione swallowed roughly before allowing her eyes to shift to the figure that stood not ten feet from her. He was a hulking, shaggy looking man with broad shoulders as he looked down at the shorter woman with a stare. That stare, Hermione realized, would haunt her for the rest of her life, for however long that was, as she locked eyes with the one person whom she had feared since her third year at Hogwarts. Backing up a step, Hermione shook in mild fear as Fenrir Greyback smiled darkly at her his wand gripped loosely in his hand as he looked down at her.

"Hello there, My Sweet Little Gryffindor." He purred out taking a menacing step forward, his voice dripping with a sickeningly sweet veil over them.

Hermione's body froze at the nickname he used for her andstared wide eyes into the face of the werewolf as he came even closer to her.

"Come now, my Angel. Were you not expecting me to be your arduous admirer." Fenrir growled out from deep in his throat, his honeyed words coming out akin to acid as he stood before the frozen witch, his hot rancid breath tickling her skin making it crawl. "Did you expect it would be that Weasley boy you fancy?" He growled loudly in her ear a smile on his face as if there was some kind of joke she didn't yet realize, "I'd rip him apart before he would have the guts to confess his feelings to my mate."

Hermione whimpered at his voice dropping lower with that confession, backing up until her back was pressed against something that dug into her bringing a hand behind herself to feel the bark of a tree. Hermione watched him sniff the air, pleased with her fear as he started to move closer to her.

"I've been watching you ever since I caught your delicious scent in Knockturn Alley, mate. My wolf yearned for me to watch you at every chance I could, to court you with honeyed words, but I just couldn't stand being without you any longer. Not when you have been so receptive." Fenrir chuckled as he came closer to her nearly pressing into her as he inhaled her scent with a grunt his whole body shivering.

"You're insane if you think that I'm anything to you. Nothing could make me want you..." Hermione said in the strongest voice she could manage pressing more into the tree to get away from the male above her.

"The only mates worth having make you fight for them." Fenrir chuckled as he lifted her face. "You won't be complaining much. I'll turn you and then make you my personal bitch every full moon. Just think of the pups you will bring me." Fenrir muttered as he leaned his face close to her neck his tongue ghosting over her quivering flesh, tasting the fear and anxiety upon her.

Hermione bit back a panicked whimper, and with as much will power as she could she pushed him back with the hand that was in front of her body, stuttering as she spoke. "Stay away from me!" She screamed her body shaking as she watched him laugh at her feeble attempt at pushing him away.

"You are quite strong willed." Fenrir purred with deep lust coating his words as he straightened. "It just makes me want you more." He roared out lunging towards her with glee evident in his amber colored eyes.

Hermione reacted as quick as possible, pulling her athame from her back pocket and slashed the werewolves face with the sharp blade, damaging one of his eyes and making him howl in pain stumbling beside her. Before he could recover, Hermione slammed the blade into his right shoulder as hard as possible, and quickly rushed to the area her wand had landed scooping it up before taking off in the fastest run she had ever done, the roar of rage coming from the man behind her fueling her already achy legs.

Hermione heard the sound of his feet beating down on the snow behind her and turned firing rapid curses wordlessly from her wand, not taking the time to check and see if they were landing. Dodging some curses he sent her way Hermione pushed herself harder as she sent a volley of hexes over her shoulder, her mind racing as she fought for anything that could save her at the moment from the angry werewolf. Drawing only one conclusion, Hermione threw caution to the wind, and sending an impedimenta curse over her shoulder that she was nearly positive hit its mark if the stumble and crash was anything to go by. Clearing her mind and gripping her wand tightly, Hermione envisioned herself within her mind searching for the light within connecting herself to it in an unbreakable bond, and vaulted over a fallen oak tree as she felt magic course through her veins and over her skin, pulling, shrinking, and stretching it. It wasn't until she landed did Hermione falter in her running for a moment. Looking around herself and at her smaller disposition, she inwardly applauded herself before taking off at a faster pace than her human legs could ever carry her weaving expertly through the brush and snow until she found a log buried under the snow bounding over towards it and nestled within.

Breathing rapidly, Hermione listened for any sounds coming from outside of her haven relaxing only after ten minutes passed. Relaxing her muscles, Hermione took a second to look down at her paws flexing them slightly enjoying the feeling of her claws and the pads under her feet. Looking over her shoulder to her fluffy red, black, and white tail, Hermione flicked it experimentally before curling it around herself slightly as she laid down watching the mouth of her haven. Looking at her wounded forearm she immediately started licking it slightly to clean it as best she could for the moment closing her eyes for a second to regain her energy once more.

The second she tried, a powerful hand crashed through the roof of her haven a clawed, yellowed hand gripping her body tightly causing her to yowl in pain. Hermione whimpered as she looked into the angry eyes of Fenrir Greyback who threw her into the nearest rock, her body landing in it with a crack before slumping down.

The world spun for Hermione as she lay on the snow, one second she was in her animagus form and the next she laid as a human with her wand three feet from her in the snow. Trying to reach for it, Hermione cried out in pain as the man's booted foot stomped down into her hand stopping her as he growled.

"You were a very bad mate." Fenrir roared at her, "It seems I'll have to make you submit now rather than later." He growled pulling out his wand and waving it over her body so her clothes ripped off of her and landed to her side. Waving his wand over her again he bound her legs, still standing on her hand as he removed his large jacket letting it fall to the snow covered ground.

Hermione cried as she bit her lip, the biting cold from the snow against her naked skin, the pain in her head, the weight breaking her bones in her hand, and the exhaustion she already felt fogging her mind. Hearing him fiddling with his belt for a moment, Hermione lifted her hand to her neck tracing the snake pendant that was there and clutched it in her fingers her voice coming out weakly "Callisto . . . I need you, please. Save me." She whimpered softly into the pendant as she felt the man's pants fall onto her arm.

"No one is going to save you, mate." Fenrir muttered as he forced her arms down and looked at her bruised body with a wild gleam in his eyes running his claws over her stomach drawing blood.

A/N: I'm expecting you all to hate me for this, but I'm sure that none of you expected this to happen eh? It was all a necessary evil I promise. This chapter set up for the rest of them and my slight deviation when I get to the seventh book. I plan to update as soon as possible now that I have a better typing app for my phone. Now (dodges your thrown objects) on to reviews.

kapuis - I have that interaction between the sisters to happen in the seventh book :).

sweet evil angel - ah, I've been looking around for your review. I've missed you :). I understand your feelings on Ginny because I've seen the same yet I think Ginny would not be as crazy as other fics portray because it just doesn't seem organic to me.

I hope you like my choice in her animagus form :). I got the idea from a previous reviewer.

Thank all of you for your reviews I hold them all dear to my heart. I'm sorry my answer section is shorter than ever before but I'll make it up to you guys next time I promise. Until then...

Rose Russo - formally Fenrir The Alpha Silver Wolf.