Disclaimer: I do not own anything of JKR and I do not own any of these characters; they belong to those who created them.

Note: Sorry it took so long. But yeah!!!! Here is chapter 1. And the title winner was If I Die Before I Wake…Yeah!!!! Ok that's enough. Here you go…

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Chapter 1~

Utterly Speechless

Hermione adjusted the Prefect's badge that was pinned loosely to her robes and smiled. She had been waiting for this since her very first year at Hogwarts. All of her studying and hard work had finally paid off, and she was proud of it. She brushed some hair away from her face and turned sideways in the mirror. The summer had definitely allowed her to blossom, and now, as she looked at herself, she wondered if the boys would even recognize her. Krum certainly had when she went to visit him a few weeks ago. In fact, he wouldn't leave her alone for a minute. She had gone there being quite fond of him but left feeling a bit irritated. Laughing to herself, she pulled out the light pink lip gloss she had just bought and applied it carefully. She never really wore much makeup but today she felt it would be nice to make a good impression, especially for the exchange students that would be arriving. A small pang of excitement formed in her stomach as she thought of this. In the letter she had received from Professor McGonagall, it stated that certain Prefects would be assigned an exchange student as a buddy, basically to help them get on their feet. To Hermione's surprise, she had been chosen. It would be nice to bring in some new faces and, hopefully, dull the pain that had surfaced after Cedric's death last school year. She winced a bit at the thought and the trauma that had occurred. She didn't understand how these terrible things kept coming, and she certainly didn't understand why poor Harry was always thrown in the middle. It just made life seem quite unfair, and now, with Voldemort back into power, it would be a difficult year to get through. She had prayed night after night that Harry find the strength within him to continue on a normal life, but that seemed impossible when the Dark Lord was always at his heels. She sighed and grabbed the handle of her trunk. The train ride would be a long, tiring journey, but she hoped only for the best.

Her house was quiet as she lugged the trunk down the stairs and into the sitting room. At first, she didn't notice the front door wide open, but when she did, a dark, looming shadow hovered in the doorway.

"You..." She backed up slowly and stumbled over something on the floor. She quickly looked down to see the bodies of her parents. A muffled noise sounded from her mouth, and she felt her heart beating faster.

"Where is the Potter boy?" quizzed a voice that was harsh and cold, and Hermione snapped back into reality when she heard it.

"I-I d-d-don't know..." her body convulsed now as pictures of her family and friends flashed vividly into her mind.

"Always protecting him. Silly mudblood, you're a fool..." he raised his arm slowly, and she quickly dove behind her trunk as she heard the words spill from his lips, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

******************************

The summer had been long and tedious for Harry. With the rise of Voldemort, he had not slept soundly since he had left Hogwarts. The Dursley's had given him a hard time about keeping his wand out, but once he had mentioned Sirius' name, they seemed to back off rather quickly. He had spent most of his time up in his room going over the events that had occurred. It just didn't seem real, and the more he thought about it, the more difficult it was to accept. Ron and Hermione had sent him posts over the summer but there were no visitations. They had simply decided that staying home would be the best way to cope with the current ordeals.

Harry sighed and leaned against his trunk. Platform 9 3/4 was unusually quiet. There were many students scattered about, but the mood was dim and depressed. He shook his head and looked around for Ron and Hermione. There were a few new faces boarding the train, but one face that stuck out sourly in the crowd was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Well, Potty, where's the Weasel and the Mudblood?" he glared at Harry with his cold, gray eyes and smirked the famous Malfoy smirk.

Oh, go jump in a lake, Malfoy." It was too early to begin the ridicule and mouth-offs.

"Eh Eh Eh, Potter. Behave yourself or I might be compelled to take some points away from your house," Draco flashed his Prefect's badge proudly. "Remember, you must respect all Prefects," he laughed his sinister laugh and looked around the platform. "Now if I could only find my transfer buddy," he said looking around and rubbing his hands together.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that student will be wishing they never transferred."

"On the contrary, Potter, I plan on corrupting this fellow and making him the best Slytherin comrade," Draco confessed, glancing at a piece of parchment. "Will Harris. Gods, can he sound any more American?"

"Excuse me…did you say Will Harris?" a tall girl with beautiful brown hair dropped her trunk next to Malfoy and glanced down at the parchment. "Oh, no! He did it again!" she laughed.

"Who did what? Who are you?" Malfoy sneered at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Will-OW Harris. My father calls me Will, and he always forgets to write my full name on submissions forms and such. I can see it happened again." Willow held out her hand for Draco to shake, but he stood there, silent. Harry was muffling a laugh that had formed, but Malfoy overheard and pushed him aside.

"Follow me…" his voice sounded flat with emotion as he headed onto the train. Willow looked at Harry and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, don't worry. He gets better," Harry snickered as she shrugged her shoulders and followed Malfoy onto the train.

Harry leaned back against a wall and continued to look for his friends. It had been a long summer and he was getting anxious to see them. There was a clatter behind him. Harry turned around to see Ron running towards him rather quickly.

"Harry!…Watch…out!…I just saw Ryne and Anton. They said that Ryo has been waiting for…" Ron tried to continue, but there was another clang behind them. When they whipped around, Ryo was pouncing onto Harry. They rolled for a few moments, and then they both sprung to their feet in defense positions.

"Smooth, Potter. I can see you have been working on your defenses." Ryo took a step closer and extended his hand saying, "Well done."

Harry shook it firmly and smiled. The summer had been dull without Ryo dueling with him or practicing defense moves. Their rivalry was simple and unique, and the respect they had towards one another was deep. If Ryo wasn't so big, or Japanese looking, some might think they he and Harry were related. Ryo had the same messy black hair and bright green eyes, and they both loved excitement and adventure.

Harry turned to the two boys who were following Ryo and greeted, "Hello, Ryne, Anton." He nodded to the both of them. "How was your summer?" Harry smiled at the two and laughed to himself. He couldn't remember a time when Ryne or Anton were not together. It was like they were attached at the hip.

"Hiya, Harry!" Ryne playfully slapped Harry on his back. "Not so terrible. Anton and I practiced a lot of Quidditch; we are both trying for positions this year." Anton nodded in unison with Ryne. Ryo just rolled his eyes.

"You know if you two don't find some girlfriends soon, people will begin to suspect your gay," Ryo laughed at Ron's remark, who found this quite amusing.

"All right, all right. Enough of the gay jokes. It's bad enough we get them from the Slytherins…" Anton turned his head and screamed across the platform, "Eddy! Come here, will you?"

A very meek looking girl drug her trunk across the platform. She was so petite and fragile that Harry thought her arms were going to be torn away from her body each time she yanked her trunk. For a moment, Harry was mesmerized by her blue eyes but then realizing she was probably a first year. He snapped out of it.

"Harry, Ron, Ryo," Anton took the girl by her shoulder, "this is my sister, Edeline Reinhard. She's a first year." Edeline smiled politely. "Eddy, these are some of my friends."

"You mean, you have others besides Ryne?" she looked at him with a shocked expression, which caused the other boys to chuckle to themselves.

"Yes, sister dear," Anton hissed through his teeth. "This is Ron Weasley, Ryo Hazuki and Harry Potter." The small girl flung her hand over her mouth. Anton laughed, "Yes, THE Harry Potter. Now close your mouth and let's get on the train." He turned her around and escorted her and her trunk towards the train with Ryne not far behind.

"Well, Harry, I'll be seeing you," Ryo bowed to Harry (which was his sign of peace) and soon he too was stepping onto the train.

Harry turned to Ron and smacked him lightly saying, "Thanks for giving me a great warning."

"Owww! Sorry…" Ron rubbed his arm lightly and looked down the platform. "Have you seen 'Mione yet?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I've been looking but I haven't seen her."

The train gave a warning hoot and Ron grabbed Harry's arm, "I'm sure Hermione is fine, but I am not missing this train again!" Pulling Harry with all his might, Ron dragged him off the platform and onto the train.

**************************************

Knockturn Alley was quiet this morning. There were hardly any people in the shops, and the streets seemed to be completely deserted. There was a slight breeze in the air, which made the trees dance in funny directions. It was days like these that Aletta simply loved. She had already finished her morning shopping and was heading back to her Manor at the end of the Alley. A short elderly woman offered her some Manticore Pie, but she declined. She knew it really wasn't Manticore. Around these parts, she just didn't know who to trust. A few books jumbled in her arms as she took long strides up the path. A large gargoyle that resided at the front steps bowed his head at her arrival.

"Good morning to you as well, Edgar," Aletta smiled and picked up her mail, which was lying neatly by the door.

Pushing the door open, she inhaled the wonderful smell of ginger tea. She unclasped her robe and hung it on the rack next to the door. There was a squeak from the next room and soon her house elf, Emmit, came bustling out of the kitchen.

"Good morning, Missy," Emmit grabbed Aletta's books. "Emmy will take care of these, she will."

"Thank you, Emmy." Aletta walked towards her sitting room. "Emmy, could you bring me my ginger tea when you're done?"

"Oh, yes, Missy. Emmy will bring your tea right away," the house elf smiled and disappeared through one of the many doors.

Aletta yawned and dropped into the closest chair. She opened a drawer in the table to her left and pulled out a muggle novel. It was one of Aletta's dirty pleasures. She remembered the day her mother had caught her reading one, and she had never been hit so hard in her entire life. Now, she didn't have to worry. She lived alone in the Averill Manor. She could read as many muggle novels as she wanted. The swinging door on the opposite side of the room opened with a bang, and in walked Emmy with a cup of ginger tea and a post.

" Here is your tea Missy, and this, " she handed Aletta the letter, "Juno brought over early this morning right after you left." Emmy took a step away from Aletta, who was staring at the letter with a puzzled expression. "Everything alright, Missy?"

"Emmy…I haven't seen a letter like this in years," Aletta gawked at the letter even more before she tore it open. She read it several times before jumping to her feet. "Emmy, I need to take a short trip. Please take charge of the house while I'm gone."

"Yes, Missy." Emmy followed Aletta asking, "When can Emmy expect your return?" Aletta turned and crouched down to Emmy's level.

"I'll be back soon, Emmy." She hugged the house elf tightly, softly saying, "Now you mind everything here, and if you need me, use Juno. She will know where to find me."

Aletta fastened her cloak around her neck again and headed back towards Knockturn Alley. She needed a few things before she actually made her way to her destination. She sighed and shook her head. Never in a million years did she expect to return to Hogwarts.

**********************************

Harry and Ron found an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Throwing his duffle bag aside, Harry dropped into the seat and looked out the window. He was worried about Hermione. It was very unlike her to be late…Something wasn't right. Ron dropped into his seat as well and pulled out a few boxes of chocolate frogs.

"You're worried about Hermione, aren't you?" Ron began, biting off the head of a frog.

"I don't know, Ron…It's just very un-Hermione-ish." Harry leaned his head against the pane of glass. The door to the compartment suddenly slid open and Seamus smiled at the two.

"Hello, you two! Ready for another exciting year?" Harry looked up at Seamus and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't be such spoilers," Seamus commented sitting down next to Harry. He then waved at the door. A short girl, whom neither Harry nor Ron had ever seen at school before, walked in. She had long, black hair and bright blue eyes. She smiled shyly at them and then sat down across from Seamus.

"Well, Harry, since you didn't take Prefect, guess who they appointed?" Seamus fingered the badge that was pinned on his robe.

"Was Dumbledore drunk?" Ron joked biting into another frog.

"Hilarious…both of you." He put his arm around the girl then smiled. "I would like you to meet Bianca Celeste, my buddy. She just transferred here from Salem Institute for Witches."

"You went to an all-girls' school?" Ron questioned, wide-eyed. Bianca nodded eagerly.

"In America?" Harry raised his eyebrow.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Americans are strange sometimes." Harry laughed extending his hand to her, "I'm Harry Potter." Bianca shook it with great strength.

"Oh, I knew who you were as soon as I entered the car," she smiled shyly and Seamus stood.

"I told her she would make a great Gryffindor, but we will just have to wait." Seamus opened the door. "If you see Dean tell him I'm two cars down." Bianca waved goodbye and followed Seamus out of the car.

Harry looked at Ron, who watched her leave with a drooling expression plastered to his face. Harry kicked him hard in the shin and Ron screamed in result.

"Oww…" Ron rubbed his shin. "Why do you keep trying injuring me today?"

"Why are all these transfers coming in?" Harry questioned, ignoring Ron and peering through the glass pane over the door. There were many faces he didn't recognize, and he was positive most were not first years.

"I'm not sure. Maybe something happened to their schools." Harry shrugged his shoulders as the car door slid open again. Ron groaned loudly when he saw who it was.

"Hello, Harry!" She sneered at Ron, "Weasley."

"Hello, Mac," Harry felt a chuckle rise in his throat, and he quickly tucked it away. He didn't want to start an argument if he didn't have to.

"I want you to meet a new friend of mine." They looked behind her. Harry had to blink twice when he looked at her. Was that an earring near her eye?

"This is Americus Graham. She's in 6th year and just transferred from the Salem Institute for Witches." There was a long silence until, finally, Ron broke into laughter.

"Oh, Gods…These names keep getting better and better. First yours," Ron pointed to Mac, "Macaroni, and now Americus?" Ron grabbed his stomach in laughter.

"I happen to like my name," Americus snapped back at Ron, placing her arms firmly across her chest. "Besides, most people just call me Meri."

Mac cleared her throat to stop the argument from furthering, and then asked, "Have you seen Hermione? There is a girl outside looking for her. I think it's her buddy."

Harry shrugged, "We haven't seen her yet, but, if you want, you can send her to us. We would be happy to sit with her." Harry smiled at Mac. Although she was a Slytherin, she had always treated him with respect.

"Great! I'll see you later, Harry." Mac gave Ron the death eye, "Weasley." She turned quickly as her dirty blonde hair blew behind her.

"It was nice meeting you," Meri turned and followed Mac, all the while talking excitedly and using big hand motions. Ron waited until the door had closed completely before he began laughing again. Harry just stared at him for a minute until he too was rolling in hysterics. He wasn't even sure why he was laughing, but he continued until the car door slammed open.

"So, where is she?" Ron and Harry exchanged glances as the girl crossed her arms.

"Have you seen Hermione Granger?" They remained silent. For some reason, this girl, who couldn't be more then 5'3", was actually very intimidating.

"Are you both mute? No one ignores me. Answer when I speak to you!" Her face became red with anger.

"No, we haven't seen Hermione," Harry breathed out quickly. "May I ask who you are?"

"Zella Zellosa. Transferred 6th year. Hermione is supposed to be my Prefect buddy, but the stupid girl is no where to be found."

"Actually, Hermione is far from stupid. She's the smartest girl in the school, which is very hard for a muggle decent to achieve," Ron spat back at her.

"Muggle? She's a Mudblood? Oh, great." Zella flung her arms in the air. "Listen, when you see her, tell her that I don't need no Mudblood as a buddy. I'll be fine on my own."

"You don't have to be so rude you know. You're judging a girl you haven't even met yet because she's Muggle-born? You can't always have everything your way," Harry began, his nerves finally on the last string.

"Oh, we will see, Harry Potter. Zella Zelosa always gets what she wants." Harry's mouth gapped open.

"Oh, don't think I didn't know who you are!" she slammed the door back open again and it closed with a loud thud.

"That was the most frightening experience of my entire life!" Ron whispered, sitting back further into his seat.

"You? I feel bad for Hermione! She hasn't even met her yet." They both nodded in unison and sat in silence for quite some time.

***********************************

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and a bright light made her wince. She wasn't sure what had happened. In fact, she was really sure if she was dead or alive. She sat up carefully and rubbed her eyes. If she was dead, then, by the way things looked, the after life looked a lot like the infirmary at Hogwarts. A woman wearing white swept by her bedside carrying bandages. And if she was dead, did this mean Madam Pomfrey was too? She shook her head and looked around the room. Why was she sleeping here? Then it all sunk back into her head. Her parents had been killed by the hand of Lucius Malfoy. A muffled cry escaped her mouth and she threw her hands to her face.

"Hermione?" She lifted her head from her hands as Dumbledore sat on the edge of the bed. Professor McGonagall was also there, along with Snape and another person whom she had never seen before.

"Hermione, we are sorry about the loss of your parents." She nodded and held back more tears that had formed.

"Now, my dear, I'm sure you have many questions. Please feel free to ask us anything," Dumbledore said softly. Hermione looked at each adult before dropping her head.

"How did I survive? I heard him yell the curse…Shouldn't I be dead?" her lips quivered.

"Well, that is an easy one to answer," Dumbledore said standing up and moving in between Snape and the other man. "You see, Hermione, Professor Snape had gone to spy on Voldemort for the side of the light. During this ordeal, he had stumbled upon the plans to attack certain families. Yours was one of them." He pointed to another bed where the curtains had been closed.

"That was another. Now, when we heard this, we sent for one of the very best Dark fighters," explained Dumbledore, placing a hand on the stranger's shoulder. "Hermione, this is Rex Chase, the man who saved your life." Rex took a step forward.

"I'm glad you're all right Hermione."

"But how?…The curse, I heard it…"

"Actually, what you heard was myself performing the curse. I had been behind Lucius. It was me you heard yell, Hermione. The green light you avoided was the one that had been aimed towards Lucius." He clenched his fists together and said through clenched teeth, "The git got away."

Hermione felt her heart go sore for the man. It seemed as though he had been through a lot; she could see it within dark brown eyes. There was so much experience, so much pain, and it was all very visible from his eyes.

"Mr. Chase will be filling in for the Defense Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore began, smiling at Rex.

"Now, Miss Granger, we are going to leave you to get some rest. I am asking you not to tell anyone about anything we discussed here today." Hermione nodded.

"You will be given your transfer buddy at the sorting, but, until then, please rest. I will send someone to retrieve you when it is time," Professor McGonagall said, a very serious expression on her face.

"I understand." Hermione honestly did.

Besides, she didn't want to discuss what happened anyway. The teachers gave one more smile of reassurance to Hermione and then left. She could have sworn that even Snape smirked at her. She flung her legs over the side of the bed and glanced around the room. Quickly, she tip toed over to the bed opposite of her and peeked inside the curtains. A boy, probably the same age as Hermione, lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling. His face was twisted with emotions, and his hair lay flat against his face. His glasses seemed to be a bit crooked, but they accented his light brown eyes perfectly. From the looks of it, he was tall and large. He was very much in shape. Hermione caught herself staring at his body.

"Can I help you.?" he asked in a flat tone.

"No…well, I mean, I…" she shook her head to get her thoughts back together. "Dumbledore told me about your family. I'm very sorry. It happened to me as well." He tilted his head slightly and looked at her.

"You're Hermione Granger, aren't you?" he asked.

She shot him a quizzical expression. No one ever knew who she was, especially new people. "Yes, um…how did you know?"

"You were in one of my text books back at my old school. You and Harry Potter." She smiled and extended her hand.

"And you are?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he inched up on the bed and took her hand. "I'm Strider Lunas from America. Transfer from Jackson School of Magic." He shook her hand firmly and she felt herself blush until he pulled away.

"I'm sorry about your family too, Hermione," he went back to sing the flat tone.

"So am I…" she fell silent.

They sat together for awhile in complete silence until Pomfrey shooed Hermione away and back to her bed. It didn't matter though; they had already formed a tight bond.

***************************

Lucius Malfoy stood impatiently in the center of his sitting room. The fireplace was crackling madly and he himself felt like going mad. He was tired and irritable, but he figured it would be worth it in the end. There was a soft plop near the fireplace when Peter Pettigrew, otherwise know as Wormtail, sat down.

"So, it was taken care of Lucius?" Peter hissed from the fireplace. Even from a distance, Lucius could smell the cocky attitude of his fellow Death Eater.

"Yes, Peter, it is finished. Each family whose name was on the list has been killed," he sighed and rubbed his temples.

"What about the Grangers? They were an important key." The fire snapped loudly and Lucius almost wished Peter was in the fire, burning.

"Well, there was only one difficulty there," Lucius confessed.

"Which was?"

"That git, Chase, showed up again and this time he saved the girl…the Mudblood…" he snapped his fingers, "What is her name?"

"Hermione," Wormtail said, cringing as the name rolled from his lips.

"Yes, well, he stopped me from getting her, but it doesn't matter. She will be too distraught to be a problem now."

"That's not the point, Lucius!" Wormtail yelled from the fireplace. "You were supposed to kill the entire family! I assume this didn't happen with anyone else?" Peter spat.

"Only one other, Chase was there as well…The Lunas family, their son survived."

"Wonderful job, Lucius! I'm sure the Dark Lord will be very pleased." Wormtail shook his head.

"Don't you see, you idiot? How could they have known we would be planning this? There must be some kind of leak…A traitor."

"Who would be so stupid as to cross the side of the dark?" Wormtail questioned.

"I can think of one in particular…" Lucius felt his blood run cold. He knew who the traitor was, and now it was only a matter of time before he plotted his revenge.

**************************************

Aletta ran quickly through the corridors hoping that the office would still be in the same place. She smiled at the familiar paintings, and most of them even smiled back. It was nice to be back, but, under these circumstances, she wasn't sure that it would remain nice. The halls were empty and she figured that the students had not arrived yet. She turned a corner into another corridor and smacked into another individual.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry," Aletta apologized, taking a step back away from the man. She looked into his face and squinted. It just couldn't be possible, but there he was. The same face structure, the same dark, shoulder length, black hair. The deep mysterious eyes and the body that she had tried so hard to forget.

" Severus?" she questioned.

"Do I know you?" he returned, still with the same dry sense of character. She had forgotten how much she had changed. She was still the same height, about 5'11", and her hair and eye color were still auburn and gray, but she had lost a lot of weight, which had made her bone structure become most prominent. She had also stopped smiling. She did occasionally smile but not often. Now, here she was, standing with him. Standing with the man that had caused her problems upon problems, and he couldn't even recognize her! She wasn't sure how to react, so, instead, she smiled sinfully.

"Severus, it's me," she paused, "Aletta Averill."

Snape stood there a moment, dumbfounded. He didn't even notice that she was shaking his hand. He never thought he would see her again after all that had happened, after everything they had gone through, and now, here she was, still as sharp and poised as ever.

"Well, are you going to ask me anything? Don't you want to know why I'm here?" Aletta let go of his hand and waited. For the first time in his life, Severus Snape was utterly speechless.