Hermione groaned and rolled over. Her head was pounding. She opened her eyes slightly and quickly slammed them shut. The light was too much.
She had no idea where she was or how she got here. She felt her surroundings. She was in a bed. Was it her bed? She wasn't sure. She focused on the last thing she remembered. She remembered going through the trap door and getting to the last room. She remembered Quirrell and then nothing.
Well not nothing. She remembered three words: soul bonds and pendant. She had no clue what that was supposed to mean or where she heard it.
"Ms. Granger, you're awake," Madam Pomfrey said relieved.
Hermione forced herself to open her eyes. She turned to Madam Pomfrey. So, she was in the hospital wing. "H-h-how did I get here?"
Madam Pomfrey pressed a glass of water into Hermione's hand. Hermione slowly sipped the water. "You, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were found down the trap door on the third floor." Madam Pomfrey glared at her. "I suppose you thought the Headmaster's warning was a joke?"
Hermione shook her head and winced. "No, Harry was convinced Vol—um You-Know-Who was going to steal the stone. He asked me to go with him, so I did."
Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at her. "The three of you decided to confront a dark lord with one-year magical experience? That was foolish of you. You're all lucky to be alive right now."
"Who found us?" Hermione asked curious.
"The Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey answered. "He had a ward on the trap door. When the ward went off, he came rushing back from the Ministry. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to catch you three before you got to the end."
"How are Ron and Harry?" Hermione finally asked.
Madam Pomfrey was surprised it took until now for Hermione to mention her friends. "They are fine. Mr. Weasley suffered from a head injury. He is fine and currently resting. When the Headmaster arrived, both you and Mr. Potter were unconscious. No lasting damage for either of you. Mr. Potter is still unconscious at this time."
The door opened and in walked the Headmaster. "Ms. Granger, you're awake," Professor Dumbledore said. "Madam Pomfrey, may I speak to Ms. Granger alone for a minute?"
Madam Pomfrey looked back and forth between Hermione and the Headmaster. "You have five minutes Headmaster. Ms. Granger needs rest."
Professor Dumbledore sat in the chair beside Hermione. "Ms. Granger, what do you remember about your time in that chamber?"
Hermione frowned. "I remember Professor Quirrell being there," Hermione began. She thought long and hard. Unfortunately, all that came to mind was soul bonds and pendants. Something told her not to tell Professor Dumbledore about that. "I'm sorry Professor. That's all I remember."
"Nothing about the stone?" Dumbledore pressed.
"The sorcerer's stone?" Dumbledore nodded. "No, I don't recall seeing it. Why?"
Dumbledore sighed. This wasn't as helpful as he hoped. If Hermione did know anything Voldemort had successfully removed the memory. If Voldemort removed her memory, he had no hope of learning what happened. His only chance was that Harry would remember more.
It was peculiar that Hermione remembered seeing Quirrell and nothing else. Something had to have happened. Did Voldemort force Hermione to help him get the stone? Or maybe he used Harry? Dumbledore wouldn't know until the boy woke up. Either way Voldemort had the stone and Dumbledore was at a loss on what to do.
"The stone is gone," Dumbledore said honestly. Maybe that would jog her memory.
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. The stone, the whole reason they went down the trap door, was gone. "Does that mean Voldemort is back?" she whispered.
"Not necessarily," Dumbledore said. "He may have the stone but it doesn't mean he knows how to use it. Or that's our hope." Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat. "Are you sure there is nothing that you remember?"
Hermione was very careful to not look Dumbledore in the eye. "No sir, I don't remember anything else."
"Time to go Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey said walking back into the room. "Ms. Granger needs her rest."
The Headmaster reluctantly left the Hospital Wing. Talking to Hermione had been a waste of time. She didn't know anything about the stone. Still it was suspicious that he found her right beside the mirror, while Harry was found across the room. There was no way Tom got the stone on his own. Dumbledore had made it impossible. The only reasonable explanation was that Hermione had helped Tom get the stone. Now the question was why?
"When can I leave?" Hermione asked Madam Pomfrey. She needed to get back to her room and see if Morgana messaged her. She was sure Morgana was worried, and a little mad, at her for going after the stone.
"In the morning," Madam Pomfrey stated. "And not a minute sooner. I want to monitor you one more night."
Morgana was going to kill her. Images of what she had done to the troll flashed in her mind. She imagined that spell aimed at her and winced. She jumped out of bed and started looking for her clothes. "Is there any way I can leave tonight?" Hermione pleaded.
"Not a chance Ms. Granger. You need to rest. Now, back in bed before I make you," Madam Pomfrey threatened. Hermione hesitated before crawling back into her bed. The sooner she got out of the hospital wing the better.
The next morning Hermione practically ran all the way to Gryffindor tower. She, Ron and Harry were all released at the same time. Harry had woken up not long after Professor Dumbledore had visited. He had returned after dinner to talk to Harry but Harry hadn't known anything. Hermione watched him deflate as he realized the stone was taken by Voldemort. Harry hadn't even looked at her after Professor Dumbledore left.
Hermione burst into her dorm room and grabbed her journal. There were at least a dozen messages from Morgana.
Hermione, don't do it. It's not safe!
Hermione! Hermione!
Please tell me you didn't actually try to confront the Dark Lord.
Hermione, this isn't funny. I need to know you're okay.
Hermione, please respond. I need to know you're okay.
More and more messages covered the page. Hermione quickly grabbed her quill and ink.
Morgana, I'm okay, she scrawled quickly. We got to the stone. I don't remember anything other than getting to that chamber. Professor Dumbledore says Voldemort got the stone. Harry's not too happy about that. Me, I don't really care either way. I don't care about the sorcerer's stone or who has it. I just wanted to help Harry.
Morgana's reply was instant. Hermione suspected she had been sitting by the journal until Hermione replied. Hermione, thank Merlin you're okay. What you did was incredibly stupid! Why would you go after the stone knowing the Dark Lord wanted it? You could have been killed. You're lucky you weren't. Did you meet the Dark Lord?
I know Quirrell was there, but I do not know if Voldemort did show up, or if I met him. My memory of what happened is gone. I'm sorry for scaring you.
Missing memories. It sounds like you were oblivated. In case you're wondering, it means your memories were erased. They can also be altered but not in this case.
My memories were erased? Why? Hermione wasn't sure how to feel about that. Why would her memories be erased?
Yes. My only guess is that… maybe you helped the Dark Lord get the stone. Either that, or you or he said something that he didn't want Dumbledore to find out about. It is rather curious.
Hermione dropped her quill. Was it possible she helped Voldemort get the stone? Hermione wasn't sure. Even if she did help him, it didn't mean she did it voluntarily.
Once again, the words soul bond and pendant echoed in her mind. Part of her wanted to ask Morgana about it but something told her it wasn't a good idea. That if she asked Morgana wouldn't tell her.
If I helped him, would you be mad at me?
No Hermione. I would not be mad at you. But you need to think about which path you want to take. If you did help him, there's a chance the Dark Lord won't let you hide in the shadows. Choose your path wisely.
Hermione shut her journal. She grabbed her cloak and made her way down to the library. She only had two days before they left Hogwarts for the summer. She was running out of time to research these words that kept popping up in her mind.
Madam Pince didn't acknowledge her as she walked into the library. Hermione was tempted to ask the witch where she could find the information she was looking for. For now, she decided against it. She didn't want anyone figuring out what she was doing. If she couldn't find anything, then she would ask for help.
An hour of searching led to nothing. She thought she had found what she wanted on soul bonds but it was mentioned once and then no other details. As for the pendant the closest she got was looking up cursed objects. Her pendant wasn't cursed so it didn't help her in the slightest.
Hermione pushed the books aside and ran a hand through her curly hair. This wasn't helping. All it did was make her more determined to find what she wanted. She wanted to ask Madam Pince. She was more likely to get answers from her than from these books, but something told her not to.
So, she continued to search. She got close to what she wanted in a book. It was one line.
Soul bonds are extremely rare and unbreakable bond.
It was interesting but gave Hermione more questions than answers. If they were so rare then why was she thinking about them? How did she even learn about them? Hermione put back the History of Magic book with a sigh.
Her search into magical objects yielded even less. She found nothing she needed. Sure, there were magical objects in the world. Some with extra enchantment and others without. There was nothing that resembled her pendant, or its meaning.
After three hours wasted in the library Hermione made her way down to lunch. Her friends, her real friends, not Harry and Ron, were waiting for her in the Great Hall.
"Hermione," Draco yelled relieved. Theo, Draco and Pansy made their way over to her. "What happened? There's a rumour you fought the Dark Lord."
Hermione frowned. "I didn't fight anyone. I went to the third-floor corridor with Harry and Ron. Harry thought Voldemort was going to steal the stone and wanted to stop him. We made it to the stone but we were too late."
"The Dark Lord has the stone," Theo breathed.
"Explains why Potter is sulking," Draco commented. He studied Hermione. "Come on. You need to eat." He grabbed her arm and escorted her inside the Great Hall.
"I can walk on my own," Hermione protested.
Theo grabbed her other arm and led her to the Slytherin table. "We know," he said with a grin. "Eat."
Hermione rolled her eyes at her friends but did what she was told. She loaded her plate up and started eating. "So, what's your plans for the summer?" Pansy asked Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. "My family and I usually go on a trip during the summer. I don't know if that will happen this year," Hermione said sadly. "I need to go to Flourish and Blotts soon."
"What if you come stay with me for part of the summer?" Pansy suggested. Theo and Draco stared at her. Draco wasn't sure if this was a brilliant, or stupid, idea. "You could come for the last month of summer. I'm sure my parents won't mind."
"I'll ask my parents," Hermione said. This was perfect. She didn't want to be cut off from the wizarding world all summer.
Pansy and Draco exchanged looks. "Perfect," Pansy said ignoring the look Draco was giving her. She understood his concerns with having Hermione so close to Death Eaters now that the Dark Lord was back. But she wasn't worried about it. She had a feeling the Dark Lord wouldn't target Hermione. Whether is was because of Bellatrix, or something else, she wasn't sure.
"If you get bored of fashion you can stay at my place too," Theo offered.
Pansy smacked his hand. Hermione smiled at her friends. "Thanks Theo."
She scooped more potatoes onto her plate. Hermione was starving after being in the hospital wing for two days. Even though she had eaten in the hospital wing it felt like she hadn't.
"Are you all packed?" Hermione questioned.
"I have a few last-minute things," Draco said. "Everything else is ready."
"I haven't started," Pansy admitted.
"Me too," Hermione agreed.
After a plateful of desserts Hermione was stuffed. She said goodnight to her friends and made her way to her dorm room. She checked her journal but there were no new messages from Morgana. Hermione stared at the journal and sighed. She grabbed her quill and ink.
If you want to reach me this summer, I was invited to stay with my friends Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson.
Bellatrix stared at the last line in the journal. Hermione was staying with well known Death Eaters. Bellatrix wasn't sure how she felt about that. Now that the Dark Lord had what he needed to return Bellatrix had to be careful.
Whether it was intentional or not Bellatrix was certain Hermione helped with Dark Lord's return. Even though she is a muggleborn the dark-haired witch had no doubt the Dark Lord wouldn't kill her. He would reward that help. She also figured he knew the truth about their relationship. But the question became, what did that mean for her?
