Chapter 1 - A strange place

Hermione raised her head. The blue sky was beautiful: cloudless, enlightened by a bright sun. She put a hand on her face, protecting her eyes, dazzled by this bright sunny light. Slowly, her eyes got used to the sun and she gently withdrew her hand. What she saw amazed her: a large garden with daisies, smells of roses and lilacs... She heard a noise, she turned around. She saw a young man coming towards her: gray trousers, a white, disheveled shirt, a half-undone tie. She looked at his face but had trouble seeing his features.

"Hermione!" he cried out with a big smile.

She ran immediately towards him as if she was pushed by a mystery force. However, the further she tried to get close to him, the farther away. She reached out her hand and…

... and banged it violently against the wall. The pain was so intense that Hermione woke up instantly. She tried to catch her breath which had been cut off by the shock of the spell. Slowly, she regained consciousness and tried to open her eyes.

Darkness had wildly replaced the bright light of the sun and she had only one desire: to return to this magical place, to see the sun again, to smell the flowers, to be in the arms of her prince charming…

But everything had been replaced by darkness! She opened her eyes widely, suddenly panicking, and looked around. It was completely dark! Her heart was beating fast. Had she become blind? She heard no sound! Had she become deaf? However, she was somewhere because she could smell wax.

A wind of panic overwhelmed her, tears came to her eyes. What is happening to me? Where am I?

Suddenly she heard a door slam and footsteps. The sounds echoed in the narrow place she was. She realized that she hadn't become blind or deaf! In fact, she was locked in a narrow closet, with only a broom as company. She felt stupid.

She almost laughed when she heard voices. She couldn't clearly hear the conversation, but she knew there were three people, including a young man.

She listened. Perhaps she would learn a little bit more about how she had landed in this closet whereas a minute ago, she was in the middle of a battle.

"But Headmaster," a sharp, plaintive voice claimed. "Don't listen to him! He's just a troublemaker! He was the one who glued Mrs Norris on the wall! I'm sure he was the one who hanged her!"

"I am now accused without any proof!" another voice exclaimed. The voice seemed confident and superior. "I was there by accident, Filch! I was not the one who glued Mrs Norris!"

"You're a liar, Black!" cried Filch. "You were with that Pettigrew and Potter! You always play tricks! I saw you! You were holding my cat's collar!"

"But I was helping her, of course! Poor thing!" Black exclaimed, sheepishly.

But Hermione sensed the young man's mocking tone and didn't believe in any word of what he was saying.

"Were there other witnesses?" the third voice asked suddenly. It was calmer and more serene.

"No, there was no one else in the corridor!" Filch raged.

"But there were witnesses, Headmaster!" Black said, indignantly. "There were James Potter and Peter Pettigrew!"

"Oh no, Headmaster!" the housekeeper replied furiously. "Don't listen to him! They are his accomplices! Their testimonies have no value!"

"Bring them to me, please, Argus!" the Headmaster asked kindly.

"But..".

"Please!" he repeated more imperiously.

Filch seemed to listen as Hermione heard footsteps and an opening door but she didn't hear anything else. In fact, the housekeeper had turned around.

"But Headmaster!" he exclaimed suddenly, panicking. "What are we going to do with Mrs Norris? She is still stuck on the wall, surely glued in a magic way!" he exclaimed again.

Filch paused and Hermione guessed he shot a murderous look at the young Black. The latter was whistling.

"You know, she is still very young, she may be traumatized!"

"Yes… I forgot Mrs Norris!" the Headmaster laughed, strangely amused by the fact. "I will come with you Argus. Mister Black, stay here a few moments, while I unhook the unlucky creature!"

The Headmaster accompanied Filch and left the room. Hermione couldn't hear any sound anymore apart from Black's slow, steady steps. The latter had stopped whistling and seemed to be visiting the Headmaster's office. This gave her time to think about her strange situation.

One moment before, she was in the middle of a fierce battle against the Slytherins. Then, she received a very powerful spell on the chest, which had pushed her on the ground. She had passed out and regained consciousness in this strange closet, which was in the Headmaster's office. How could it be possible? Did she received a spell that made her apparating somewhere else?

And above all, she witnessed a very strange conversation: Filch, the Headmaster (she was almost sure that this voice belonged to Dumbledore) and the young man, who was none other than…

But no, it's not possible, Hermione, you're wrong! she said to herself suddenly.

Black... Black... Black...

There wasn't any Black in seventh grade or even in all Hogwarts. The only Black she knew was dead a year ago! No, it couldn't be him!

However, the young guy was very similar to the Sirius she had known: the voice belonged to a 16 or 17 year-old young man and looked liked the voice of Harry's godfather. The man seemed very arrogant, contemptuous, charming and rather a joker and a liar!

No, he cannot be Sirius! Yet, he looks very much like him when he was young! she thought.

She was absorbed in her thoughts and didn't realize that she couldn't hear any single noise. She couldn't hear the young Black's footsteps anymore.

She looked up and listened through the closet door. No more sound! She wondered if she should go out... Maybe she would find an explanation in Dumbledore's office. At the same time, she was afraid of the truth that seemed to be forming in her mind…

Nevertheless, she was not in Gryffindor for nothing! Although she loved studying, she could become a real adventurer and explore places that others would have fled.

With a beating heart and a tight stomach, she put her trembling hand on the closet door and tried to push it. But to her bad surprise, the door didn't move. She tried again, pushing a little harder. She was trapped in the closet.