Chapter 1
It would be their seventh year in Hogwarts in the coming September, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was rising in power. Oh, the presses weren¡¦t saying anything about it, but ask any high rank wizard or witch and they¡¦ll tell you¡Xthe Dark Times are coming.
Today was the twentieth of August, and Harry was waiting at the entrance of Gringott¡¦s for his friends. The Weasley family is coming, as well as Hermione and her parents.
¡§Harry! Harry! There he is, Mum!¡¨
Harry grinned. There¡¦s no mistaking the Weasley family. Every Weasley had red hair and a lot of freckles, and Ron was the tallest of them all, despite being the youngest son.
Harry was nearly drowned when he was engulfed by the whole Weasley family, as all of them tried to hug him at the same time.
¡§Hey, watch it, you flipper foot!¡¨ Ginny yelled as he stumbled and stepped on her foot accidentally. Harry greeted the Weasleys and mocked a little bow at Arthur Weasley, who was now Minister of Magic.
¡§Is Hermie here yet?¡¨ Ron asked.
¡§Nah can¡¦t see her yet. She owled me from Japan to say that they¡¦re coming back today. So she and her parents are able to come today.¡¨ Harry squinted at the crowd.
¡§Don¡¦t worry.¡¨ Fred assured him. She cannot miss eight redheads with freckles standing together with that black patch of grass.¡¨
Hermione saw them before they did and when they spotted her; she was already running towards them, with her hair flying out behind her.
Harry and the Weasleys stared. Running towards them wasn¡¦t Hermione, or was she? The girl was very attractive with long, wavy, black-brown hair. She was wearing a tight T-shirt, tight jeans and sneakers.
Hermione ran closer and saw them staring at her with their jaws nearly falling onto the ground. She smiled. They must have noticed my hair. little as she knew, the boys were thinking much, much more than her hair. She practically flew to Harry and Ron and tried to wrap them in a hug, but she was too tiny compared to her friends. The only thing she could do is to slam into them and planted a peck on each of the boys¡¦ faces.
¡§Hermione?¡¨ Harry blinked as if he was coming out of a trance. ¡§Is that you?¡¨
¡§Hermie?¡¨ Ron peered into her eyes. ¡§It¡¦s really you, isn¡¦t it?¡¨
¡§Of course it¡¦s me, you morons!¡¨ Almost at once, Hermione was squeezed out of her breath when Harry and Ron both wrapped her in a bear hug. Then the Weasley family descended upon them and the ten figures fell onto the ground in a series of ¡§Ouch!¡¨, ¡§Hey!¡¨, and ¡§Shove off, you git!¡¨
Mr. and Mrs. Granger arrived just in time to pull them up and laugh their heads off.
They all went into Gringott¡¦s, still laughing and greeting each other. They were not aware of a certain tall, pale-haired man staring at them while leaning on a door frame. He pulled back his sleeve, exposing a green and silver bracelet. Holding the bracelet to his lips, he muttered,
¡§Nott, Malfoy here. Targets had just gone into Gringott¡¦s. Start moving now.¡¨
Then he turned and strode towards Kockturn Alley purposely.
¡§Ay, c¡¦mon.¡¨ said Ron as he dragged the whole procession of the Weasleys, Grangers and Harry in the direction of the Quidditch Supplies. They¡¦d all finished their school shopping and were poking around in the shops, buying other things they need.
¡§Hey! This is the Lightningbolt!¡¨ cried Charlie.
¡§Yeah! I heard that this was the newest broom in the market, the best one too!¡¨ George exclaimed.
¡§It¡¦s amazing¡K¡¨ Bill said with a dreamy look plastered on his face.
Hermione squeezed herself between the Weasley twins and pressed herself on the glass. The Lightningbolt was sleek and shiny with a completely black body. It was clashing around, desperately trying to free itself from the iron clasps that were holding onto it. Wow.Hermione was lost in thought. If only she could fly on it.
The owner of the shop noticed the crowd of people outside his shop and came out to advertise.
¡§Hello there! Welcome to Quidditch Supplies! I notice that you are looking at the newest broom on the market, dear sirs and ladies! This is the Lightningbolt! Last and only broom created by the late Doctor Caitlin. As I said, this is the only Lightningbolt in the world, it¡¦s extremely powerful! The fact is that it¡¦s like a wand.¡¨
¡§What do you mean?¡¨ Ron asked.
¡§It chooses its own master and would do anything for him. Do you want to try?¡¨ So the whole group strutted into the shop one by one, and they took turns to stand in front of the broom. Harry and all the Weasleys tried, but the conclusion was that they were not the Master of the Broom after all. Harry gazed at the squirming broom with a glazed expression.
Hermione was feeling very sorry for her best friend. Well, Harry was one of the BEST flyers in the world after all.
¡§Oh, don¡¦t be so disappointed, Harry. It does not mean that you are not a good flyer. Maybe the Firebolt suits you better. You never know¡K¡¨
At these words, the Lightningbolt suddenly became still, then it dodged the shopkeeper¡¦s hands and zoomed towards Hermione. Everybody gasped. The black broom stopped right in front of Hermione and stood there. It was a very funny sight indeed. The black handsome broom was standing (or you can say that it stood its twigs on the floor) in front of the horror-struck girl. Suddenly, with a shuffling sound and an exited squeal, the Lightningbolt jumped right into Hermione as if it was hugging her.
¡§Oh my God! My God! It had chosen you to be its mistress, mi¡¦lady!¡¨ The shopkeeper was much exited.
As soon as he said that, the top section of the broom bent a few times, as if it¡¦s nodding. Everybody was too stunned to react.
¡§Hermie?¡¨ Harry broke the silence and raked his hair with his hand.
¡§Ummm¡KI¡K¡¨ Hermione was speechless. The shopkeeper snatched the broom back and forced it into a narrow black box that seemed to be made out of shiny black ebony.
¡§May I ask what your name is?¡¨ the shopkeeper asked.
¡§It¡¦s Hermione Laetitia Granger.¡¨ Hermione said. An instant later, silver lettering appeared on the box bearing her name. The shopkeeper handed the quivering box to Hermione. As soon as she touched it, everybody heard the squeak again and the box stopped shaking.
¡§How much should I pay you?¡¨ Hermione licked her lips nervously. ¡§I may not be able to afford it¡Xit¡¦s the only Lightningbolt on Earth after all.¡¨
¡§Don¡¦t worry, Miss Granger. The late Doctor Caitlin had instructed that it is to be, by all means, given to the rightful heiress.¡¨
¡§Okay, if you say so.¡¨ She muttered a few chosen words and turned the long, narrow box to a thumbnail-sized one. She placed it in her bag carefully with the other thumbnailed school things. Then they went out of the shop.
¡§Hey!¡¨ Charlie cried. ¡§Why don¡¦t we split up? We boys will go to Zonko¡¦s while you girls go to buy you new clothes.¡¨
¡§What a great idea!¡¨ Mrs. Weasley said. ¡§Arthur, why don¡¦t we bring Mr. and Mrs. Granger for a drink?¡¨
¡§Alright, then we can meet up at the Leaky Cauldron in an hour.¡¨ Mr. Weasley said.
So they departed. The boys strode down the street to the direction of Zonko¡¦s and the girls headed to the direction of Gladrags.
¡§You know what?¡¨ Ginny quipped up, smiling at her best friend. ¡§It¡¦s so good to have Dad being Minister of Magic now. We don¡¦t need to worry about how much we spend.¡¨
¡§Yeah,¡¨ said Hermione. ¡§I bet that the whole magical community is thankful for that too. But it¡¦s a real surprise that Fudge is a Death Eater.¡¨
¡§Right.¡¨ Ginny¡¦s voice was muffled as she was plunging into a dress rack. ¡§Ah, how about this?¡¨ She pulled a dress from the rack and held it upon her body. It was a deep purple gown decorated with golden stars at the sleeves.
¡§Wow, it¡¦s beautiful, Gin, you look great in it.¡¨
¡§Thanks, I suppose that I¡¦ll buy this one then. Hey, why don¡¦t you look around? Maybe you¡¦ll find something nice.¡¨
¡§Alright.¡¨ Hermione flipped around the dresses on the racks. Hmmm¡K why don¡¦t I try something new?suddenly, she caught sight of some strange material. She pulled out the dress and gasped.
It was an antique. The dress was in a deep red colour, and had a close-fitting silhouette. The long sleeves, the front and edges were a black spider-web design. Hermione held it upon her body and looked into a nearby mirror. Now this is something that I call a real dress. She walked to the cashier and paid for it. To her surprise, it only cost a couple of galleons.
¡§This dress had been staying in the store for many years now, so I¡¦m selling it to you cheap.¡¨ The saleswoman explained. ¡§So there you go.¡¨
¡§Thanks!¡¨ said Hermione.
¡§Hey, Hermie!¡¨ It was Harry, coming to find her. ¡§It¡¦s almost time now, and the others are all waiting for you.¡¨
¡§What about Gin?¡¨ Hermione asked as Harry took her bags.
¡§She¡¦s with the others. They¡¦re going for ice-cream.¡¨
¡§Okay.¡¨ They strode down the street, walking closely together. Suddenly, something caught her eye. It was a dusty little shop, with neither shop signs nor display windows. But one peek told her that there are many books inside.
¡§Ummm, Harry?¡¨
¡§Yes?¡¨
¡§Would you mind going to the others first? I¡¦ve forgotten that I had to buy something pretty important.¡¨
¡§Okay, be quick though.¡¨ Harry shifted Hermione¡¦s bag onto his shoulders and turned, walking to the direction of the ice-cream parlor that was beside the Leaky Cauldron.
Hermione approached the shop and stepped in cautiously.
The shop was small, with old wooden bookcases lining the walls and a glass display counter in the middle. Hermione walked over to the bookcases and poked around. Suddenly, a small blue hard-cover caught her attention. She pulled it out.
It was roughly to the size of her palm and with the silver letters ¡§The Diary of Rowena Ravenclaw¡¨ initiated upon the cover. Hermione flipped open the book and turned to the first page. As soon as she did so, words appeared as if an invisible hand was writing on it.
Greetings, Hermione Laetitia Granger.
Hermione gasped. Could the book be talking to me? What the hell is happening?
¡§Ah, so the Heiress is here.¡¨ A male voice made Hermione started and turned.
There was a pale young man standing in a dark corner of the shop. With one stride, he stepped up beside Hermione and peered into the page. Some more writing appeared.
Lestat, long time no see, pal. But we don¡¦t have time to talk now. Give Hermione the things and get her out of here NOW! Something is not right. I can feel it.
Hermione stared at Lestat and backed away.
¡§Who are you? I mean, what are you?¡¨ She had a prickling feeling that whoever, or whatever standing next to her was anything but human.
¡§No time for that now.¡¨ Lestat growled. ¡§Take this!¡¨ He reached into the glass case and retreated a small black jewellery box from it. He handed it to her.
¡§Bring this with you,¡¨ he instructed. ¡§And don¡¦t open this until I tell you to do so. I¡¦ll come and answer your questions later.¡¨
Hermione stood there, box and book in hand. He stared at him as if he was nuts.
¡§GET OUT OF HERE NOW!¡¨ he roared. Hermione squealed and backed out of the shop, and then she sprinted towards the Leaky Cauldron. Gasping, she looked back, and the blank wall told her that the mysterious shop had disappeared.
She ran down the street and saw the Weasleys, her parents, and Harry were all holding ice-cream cones, and laughing their heads off when Percy turned into a large canary.
¡§Hey, Hermie!¡¨ Harry laughed and handed a cone to the still gasping Hermione. ¡§Gin had already flooed back to the Burrow with our things¡K¡¨
Before Harry could finish his sentence, there were screams from down the street. Hermione looked up in alarm and let out a strangle sort of scream.
Death Eaters.
A herd of Death Eaters were swooping towards them on Firebolts, with wands raised. Within seconds, the Weasleys were Stunned, except for Hermione, her parents, Harry, and Mr. Weasley. Harry grabbed his wand and aimed a ¡§STUPEFY!¡¨ at the group of the black-cloaked figures. But they scattered and dodged it with ease, and Harry joined the ones on the ground in no time.
Screaming and shouting, people rushed into Gringott¡¦s to take shelter, therefore only Mr. Weasley, Hermione and her parents were left standing against the Death Eaters.
Mr. Weasley stunned two Death Eaters, but he too was down onto the ground when Death Eaters Aparrated round them. Hermione¡¦s parents were terrified. Two Death Eaters grabbed them and tied them onto two Firebolts with conjured ropes. Turning, Hermione saw that her parents were captured.
¡§Mum! Dad!¡¨ she screamed. A Death Eater pinned her onto the ground and tried to tie her up also, but Hermione¡¦s anger was deadly. Catching snatches of memories of gymnastics she had learned all her life, she slammed her knee into the opponent¡¦s face, making his nose broken.
Seeing that her parents were Stunned already, she snarled and twisted like a wild cat, meanwhile turning a summersault to avoid a hex. She punched, kicked and even threw cures back to the men in black. Within moments, quite a few Death Eaters were on the ground, either Stunned, Stupefied, hurt, or unconscious. Clearly the Death Eaters underestimated her, and they were very surprised as she attacked.
Six Death Eaters mounted their brooms and kicked off, bringing Hermione¡¦s parents with them.
A second later, Aurorers appeared on the scene and simply stared at Hermione, who was breaking a Death Eater apart with a series of deadly kicking between his legs.
Mad-eye Moody was there also, gazing admiringly at the furious girl.
¡§Moody!¡¨ Hermione shouted. ¡§Tie them up! And don¡¦t let them escape!¡¨ Then looking up at the remaining six Death Eaters who was fleeing towards Knockturn Alley, she snarled, ¡§Oh no you DON¡¦T!¡¨ She slipped the Lightningbolt out, enlarged it to its original size, and jumped onto it. Hermione didn¡¦t need to say twice, and the black broom had already zoomed like a bullet towards the Death Eaters. Aiming her wand at them, she shouted ¡§AVADA KEDAVRA!!!¡¨ a few times until only three of them were left.
They must have noticed that the Firebolts were no match for the Lightningbolt, because one of them pulled out a bracelet and mentioned for the other two to touch it
Oh no! It¡¦s a Portkey! Hermione panicked. ¡§MUM! DAD!¡¨ But they were gone.
The Lightningbolt seemed to sense her feelings and lowered immediately. Sobbing, Hermione slipped off the whimpering broomstick and stumbled onto the ground, beating it with her fists until blood seeped out.
¡§Hermione! What happened!?¡¨ It was Harry. He ran to Hermione and wrapped her in a hug.
¡§Mum¡K Dad¡K Portkey¡K three of them¡K¡¨was all she could manage between her sobs.
¡§Harry, what is it?¡¨ Moody ran towards them.
¡§The three remaining Death Eaters kidnapped Hermione¡¦s parents, and then disappeared with a Portkey.¡¨ Nodding, Moody strode over to the three bodies and started to tie them up. Hermione saw that and stopped him,
¡§You don¡¦t need to do that, Mad-eye. I killed them.¡¨
¡§You killed them?¡¨
¡§Yeah, with the killing curse.¡¨
Mad-eye Moody stared at her, with his magic eyeball dancing crazily in his socket. Then he levitated the bodies, and mentioned Harry to lead Hermione back to the Leaky Cauldron, where the Weasleys had been woken up and was being questioned by Aurors. Tom, the landlord of Leaky Cauldron, was waving his arms around frantically, while explaining how Hermione the Hogwarts student fought off the Death Eaters by her own.
¡§¡K then she swung her fist up to that git¡¦s face and he was down, spluttering blood and half-dead¡K¡¨
On the other side of the area, Aurors were lining up the unconscious Death Eaters.
¡§You are all going back to the Ministry,¡¨ Moody instructed. ¡§Arthur needs to owl Dumbledore right away¡K¡¨
Hermione sank down on the sidewalk with the squeaking Lightningbolt making soothing gestures to calm her. Clutching the extinquisive jewellery box and the diary that Lestat gave her, she started crying her heart out.
~End chapter~