Hey everyone. :)

Well, I've got the first chapter up ... thanks for your comments on the prologue. I swear it's significant! I swear! :P

Same rating on this one as the prologue: PG-13 for mild language and sexual references. Hope you guys enjoy, and as always, keep reviewing! I love to know your opinions! BTW, thanks to Hermione Potter for pointing out my typos. I'll have to make sure to be extra careful from now on!

Oh yeah, and I think I have to say this again ... all characters are the property of JK Rowling, etc. (Harry: "Okay, last time, I am NOT ANYONE'S DAMN PROPERTY!")

Adonise Atwater
May 31, 2001

**********

She was running. Quickly. Tirelessly. She didn't understand why, but she simply was. As a matter of fact, the only thing she really could understand was the clear fact that she seemed to be the only person around. Her whole environment was completely devoid from all traces of another life. The girl's heart grew heavy with that awful feeling of loneliness, not from the effort of the journeying. It seemed quite odd, actually.


She didn't seem to realize at first that she was covered in dry blood and mud as she reached into her robes to grab hold of her wand. Taking her eyes off the path before her, the brunette didn't see the small but jagged rock that stood in her way. The wand she had groped for somehow shot forward as she cursed under her breath, scrambling to clutch the end of it. Where was she, anyway?


Suddenly, and without warning, the dry ground before her and underneath her wand split open, leaving a massive canyon right before her. The gigantic crack continued halfing the ground under her own body, and it was only by sheer luck that she reacted quickly enough, rolling slightly over to one side so that she didn't fall into the endless hole below her. However, the girl was still half dangling off the ledge. A cry threatened to escape from the deepest crevices of her throat, but something was holding it back like an invisible hand.


Looking up, she saw the unexpected. A tall, dark, and black robed figure towered before her, somehow making her tremble to the last chestnut hair on her head. All that was visible of the shadowed "thing" were two eyes peering from the very back of the hood, and they were an intense green color. They much reminded her of Harry when he was angry, but it couldn't be ...


The figure slowly reached a hand to its head, pulling the black hood back and off, revealing its face. His appearance was enough to make the girl gasp loudly in complete shock. Black, miskempt hair, the familiar green eyes (now emerald with an unseen darkness), and the remnants of an expression that used to be so friendly.


"H-HARRY?!" she attempted to cry. All that came out was a small yelp.


Lowering his expressionless gaze, "Harry" narrowed his eyes to green slits and made a low growling noise that seemed to come from every which direction. Then he began to speak.


"I do not know you," he said -- or snarled, in a voice that was unusual and alien for him. Instead of the soft boyish tenor he'd always possessed, it was now an extremely hoarse and brutal baritone that threatened death itself.


"But ... you do ... I'm Hermione ... don't you ... " The brunette struggled to reach a hand out to him, indicating that she couldn't hold on much longer to the ledge. Rocks were slipping, and the crevice was still growing. "My wand's gone, and ... "


"You shame me. I do not know you." he said yet again. This was enough to make Hermione almost cry. It made her sick to her stomach to say that she didn't know Harry, and now - "Die. Now."


"What ... what?!"


Harry started towards her, wand pointed in his outstretched arm, his narrowed eyes somehow glassy and without an expression other than utter hatred.


"I should've done this a long time ago. DIE."


A silvery light shot out from the tip of his wand, heading right for the hand that clutched the rock. It began to crumble, and --


She was falling. Not only physically, but mentally falling. Hermione was on a freefall towards what could be hell for all she knew, and she couldn't stop herself. She could faintly hear a voice echoing throughout the dark canyon she was soaring down at an unknown speed.


" ... HOW COULD YOU ... ! NOOOOOO!"


And she still heard the voice. The voice she knew could save her. But was it ... saying her name?


"Hermione. Hermione ... HER-MIO-NE!"


It was then that she hit the bottom of the canyon. Hermione opened her eyes slowly, almost afraid to at first, but with growing assurance as light flooded her sight. There were two figures hovering above her.


"Hermione, you okay?"


"You were only screaming bloody murder."


As consciousness arrived in fuzzy bits, she gradually realized she wasn't on the floor of a seemingly bottomless pit, but instead was in her bed at Hogwarts with Ron and Harry watching over her. What were they doing in the girls' dormitory, anyway? Two girls' voices piped up.



"Um, Hermione ... ? We thought you were sick, and that maybe the best thing to do would be to go run and get your two best friends ... "


"Yeah, she didn't mind barging into the guys' dorms when she knew she'd get a chance at seeing Harry Potter in the buff ... so, how long was his broomstick ... ?"


Hermione heard snickering and giggling.


"HEY, I DO NOT SLEEP NAKED."


"That's what you want everyone to think."


Suddenly, it dawned on her that everything she thought had just happened ... with the canyon ... and "Harry" ... was just a dream. Ignoring the action occuring before her, she sighed as a wave of relief washed over her psyche, cooling her fever caused by the screaming fit, but began to blush as she saw that the whole Gryffindor house was looking at her, including most of the boys of the house.


"Excuse me," Hermione announced, her voice slightly hoarse, but still firm. "I'd like to have my privacy."



As everyone started filing out, returning to their respective rooms with disappointment, Ron decided hed contribute with, "That's right; show's over, folks ... nothing to see here ... erm. Harry, you sleep in the buff?"


"SHUT THE HELL UP."


"I never exactly said you two could stay, either," said Hermione.


"But, erm ... I'm ... " protested Ron.


"School," The brunette started, "It starts in thirty minutes, you know." She rose from her bed, feeling no modesty at being in a nightgown around her two best friends who stared at her in utter disbelief. They were never able to really and truly understand her fickle behaviour.


"Waitasec ... " started Harry. "One minute, you're screaming your lungs out, and now you're just going to act like nothing happened?"


"You could at least tell us what your dream was about." said Ron.


"I have no obligation to tell you my dreams." Hermione said matter-of-factly.


She approached a mirror and picked up a brush from the table beneath it, pulling it through her chestnut colored hair. It was now slightly thinner, but shinier and definitely more attractive. The frizz had also reduced to small tendrils of curls, much to her delight.


"Well, good morning to you, too." the red head replied.


Harry said nothing; for him, it was pretty much implied that the dream hadn't been a pleasant one, much less something she'd want to share. The special connection the two realized they possessed after four years allowed them to pretty much understand each others' thoughts and motives. Instead of prying for answers, Harry scratched his head and said carefully, "Well. If there's anything you need, you know ... "


"Yeah," Hermione answered. "Thanks."


She looked at the two boys before her, and suddenly felt very proud and lucky. Harry had matured into an extremely good looking guy. He had certainly grown taller, his eyes more eloquent and his hair darker (remaining in wild tufts), but he still wore glasses and was fairly thin for his age.


Ron, on the other hand, held a more "light-hearted" appearance with his fiery red hair that had darkened slightly. His freckles had faded, but he still kept that ruddy boyish look, moreso in his eyes than anywhere else. The blue colour of them stood out and seemed extreme on a boy like him.


Hermione, on the other hand, had changed more than Ron and Harry combined. The rest of her teeth had finally decided to catch up with her two front ones, creating a straighter smile. Her hair, as mentioned, now consisted of soft layers of curls instead of thick frizz and deepened to a dark chestnut color. Hermione's brown eyes remained the same, however, and still contained the majority of her expression and feelings.


In the silence that fell upon the room in those few moments Hermione contemplated the change over the past four years, Ron had impatiently decided to leave with a stomp of his foot. ("Oi, classes start soon. Better get ready while we've got the time. Hermione'll change her mind later on ... ") This left the brunette alone with Harry.


She turned to him with a fixed expression, and was glad the boy showed no trace of his dream-self.


"Harry, I ... " Hermione started. She felt almost embarassed to explain. " ... dreamed I was the only one left. Everyone else in the whole world was gone, or dead, or something ... but then this huge canyon split open in the ground, and I was hanging off of it, and then you came, and then ... "


Noticing Harry's strange expression, Hermione stopped. "What?" she asked.


"I know," the darker haired boy said. "I forced you to fall."


Hermione put on a face of complete shock, and didn't know if it was the fact it seemed he dreamed the same thing she did, or that he was being so nonchalant about the occurances.


"And ... you don't even think this is ... weird?!"


"Well, considering it was just a dream ... "


"W-we had the same dream."


"Yeah, but ... " Harry himself couldn't help but admit it was rather odd. "It is weird ... "


"So. So what?" Hermione said.


"What is there to do about it? It's nothing major," Harry shrugged. He found it slightly unnerving that Hermione would worry this much about a dream, especially on unlogical terms. It wasn't like her. "Besides, we always have had a strange kind of connection, like ... "


"Like we know what we're thinking, yeah." Hermione nodded slowly, flushing a bit at his comment, and sighed. "Okay, coincidence. There's more than likely an explanation for it, I guess. But it was so real. And I would ... you would never ... uh, wait. You don't think I believe in all that paranormal stuff, right? Because if you do, you know ... "


"No, of course not ... I think," he said. "But it's just a dream. You can't always take them seriously ... "


Hermione said nothing, but made a mental note that the subject definitely needed some researching. Two people having the same dreams (and weird ones, at that) wasn't exactly normal.


---

An extremely tall and handsome boy began unpacking his belongings in his dorm room, placed on the very end of the Slytherin house. Black hair that shone blue in the sun streaming in from the window contrasted maliciously with his light skin and vivid, pale blue eyes, scowling as he promptly approached the light source and drew its curtains closed. Obviously, he wasn't exactly "well-aquainted" with the day.


Being his first day at Hogwarts and having been sorted individually into the Slytherin house (also by partial recommendation), the boy did not have his school robes yet. Instead, he temporarily wore his normal black turtleneck, matching pants, and coordinating boots along with a leather jacket.


As he reached into his golden, exotic-looking traveling trunk, he pulled out a silver plated candle holder and approached the mirror in his room. He set the item on the dresser below it, and drew a wand out of his jacket that seemed to be wrapped with scales belonging to some sort of serpent. Pointing at the candle holder with the wand, he murmured the word "lumos" and, upon touching it to the candle wick, the room was flooded with burning candlelight.


He looked up, staring at something intangible deep within the looking glass. Whatever it was he saw in it, he was obviously intrigued, for the longer he stared into the mirror with penetrating ice blue eyes, the more drawn he was. Something - a shadow - began to swirl, deep within its glassy expanses, becoming more and more visible, thicker, and -


There was a sudden knock at the door. The boy jumped, quickly turning toward the source of the disturbance, running a hand over the looking glass in one graceful sweep of his arm. Immediately, the haze disappeared and left no traces or suggestions that something was omniously swirling in deep smoke curls within it. Clearing his throat, the boy assumed a perfectly calm composure.


"Yes?" he asked impatiently. Looking the interfering person up and down, he softened his tone. It was a girl, and despite some of his manners, he was taught to respect women. "What is it?"


The girl looked down at a clipboard in her hands on which was a piece of parchment with various names and other papers.


"Aaah, Ignacio Atwater?" she spoke in a lilting voice. "I have your schedule here. Classes are starting in a half an hour, so uh, you might want to get ready."


"Alright." The boy - Ignacio - turned back to his mirror as if hesitating in thought of whether or not he'd actually go. He glanced at the looking glass uneasily, then back at the girl, and repeated with growing confidence, "Alright."


Removing a satchel that seemed to be filled with the presence of nothing, Ignacio nodded. The two both left for their respective classes as soon as he received his schedule on the brown parchment.


---


Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat restlessly in Potions. Hermione being the only one who really ever listened out of the three, the two boys had been discreetly passing notes back and forth to kill time, since today wasn't a "hands on lesson" and a long, boring lecture instead.


Never thought Snape's hair could be any color but black - Harry


Yeah ... now it's more of a gray, heh - Ron


Guano gray ... wait, is that possible? - Harry


Don't wanna know how the hell you know what color bat shit is ... I know you've probably got some pretty weird fetishes, you being a Quidditch player ... with the broom and all, but that doesn't mean ... - Ron


This was enough to put Harry and Ron into unsurpressable fits of laughter. Hermione whirled around, prepared to release her "what do you think you're doing" stare as the two offenders froze, anticipating the wrath of Snape's iron hand.


However, it was sheer luck (which Harry already had plenty of) that at the identical moment they'd caused the disturbance, the dark haired, pale eyed Slytherin entered the classroom with an uneasy and self-conscious air. The class immediately commenced whispers and rumors about the new Hogwards student.


Harry and Ron, both completely confused, did nothing but blink at each other as they were surrounded by voices gossiping and telling stories they'd heard.


"... juvenille delinquent ... "


"... I heard he came from the very depths of hell ... "


"... part demon, part human ... "


"... major, MAJOR player ... "


At this, Ron turned to Hermione.


"Did you know anything about a new kid?" he asked.


The brunette nodded her head slowly. "Yeah, actually. Really nothing but improbable rumours, but ... "


Ron and Harry both gave her a surprised look, which made Hermione throw her hands up in exhasperation.


"Hey, I've gotta keep tabs on students somehow, even if it means resorting to rumors!"


She noticed them turning to look at Lavendar Brown and Parvati Patil, who were leaning over a desk and whispering rather loudly, thinking at the same time they were being oh-so-secretive.


After surveying their loud-mouthed behavior, Harry pointed at them, glanced back at Hermione, and raised an eyebrow, starting to open his mouth to comment. He was quickly silenced when Hermione raised a finger at him.


"Ah," she began. "Don't even start to think they're somehow wearing off on me."


Ron and Harry looked at each other and grinned, shrugging.


Before the three could continue their own conversation, Snape's voice rose above the turmoil of the class.


"Excuse me," he said sardonically, and with a sour look on his face. "I would be much honoured to have the silence of my own class."


Harry felt put off when he found Snape's unnerving glare directed straight at him, but showed no reaction. He was fairly used to the Potions teacher's malice that was always particularly focused on him.


"We have a new student today," Snape continued. "I'm proud to introduce to you the newest addition to Slytherin, Ignacio Atwater."


As if he was unsure of what exactly to do next, Ignacio, who stood at the front of the classroom, hesitated, and bowed.


Ron immediately went into snorts of laughter at this strange action, but quickly changed it to a hacking cough when he realized no one else was doing so.


Harry thought the rest of the class would probably be joining Ron in his mocking behaviour if they didn't have the feeling the new student would show his gratitude to a warm welcome by bombing the school. He smiled to himself, slightly amused.


Everyone jumped at Snape's sharp voice again. He had obviously seen the look on both the boys' faces.


"POTTER, WEASLEY," he shouted vehemently. "THAT'S FIFTY POINTS POINTS APIECE FROM GRYFFINDOR. DISPLAYED MOCKING OF ANOTHER STUDENT."


Ron and Harry began to stutter with protests, eyes wide in an incredulous manner. What about all the times Malfoy had teased them?


Ignacio slung his seemingly empty book satchel over his shoulder nonchalantly and took an empty seat next to Hermione. Turning to sneak a look at the boy (who she couldn't help but admit was alluringly handsome, in a scary sort of way), she started when she noticed him gazing at her, unflinching, head propped up on a pale fist.


"Please take out Potions for Dummies," said Snape irritably.


The whole class did so, including Ignacio, who pulled the book out of his satchel. Hermione wondered what charm he had placed on his bag to make it lighter and appear as if it were filled with nothing from the outside.


He still did not budge his stare, however.


Hermione mentally squirmed under this odd attention.


As soon as Ron caught on to the action before him, he immediately took interest. Leaning forward in his chair, he thumped Hermione on the shoulder lightly and whispered in her left ear,


"Way to go; turning on all those Azakaban Juvie Delinquent hotties. Sexy. Say ... I've always wondered how long they could go ... "



The redhead was promptly silenced by Hermione's fist, which hit Ron hard enough to stop his remarks and send him falling backwards in his chair. He moaned in pain from the spot he sat -- on the hard, cold floor, sitting on his bum.


The inevitable was ... well, inevitable. Harry and Ron both winced in anticipation before Snape could say, "50 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR A PIECE, WEASLEY AND GRANGER!"


Hermione couldn't help but stifle a small giggle at this; Snape much reminded her of the Queen of Hearts from the Muggle story, Alice in Wonderland. She tried to imagine the professor in a huge dress made of cards, his black, greasy hair done up in pincurls. As she smiled, Ron and Harry both gave her a strange look.


After this thought, she still couldn't ignore the new boy next to her.


... what exactly does he want with me ... ?


She almost liked the attention; Harry had never looked at her like that before ...


Hermione shook her thoughts away, rather ashamed, and uneasily kept her face buried in her hands with her elbows on her book. Occasionally glancing at Ignacio, she impatiently waited the dismissal from her class which would free her from the Slytherin's piercing stare.


---