Chapter five

Hermione, her back aching badly, trudged up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. She massaged the small of her back and absent- mindly fingered her golden locket. The mystery of who had given it to her was becoming a burden. Who would give her a heart shaped locket with her initials inscribed on it? A thought crossed her mind. Snape? No, of course he wouldn't. If anyone was against student-teacher relationships it was him. Hermione tried to undo it, but it wouldn't open. Sighing, she left it hidden under her robes.

"Gillyweed." Hermione said when she got to the portrait door. It swung open and she stepped inside. Ron was sitting at a table doing some Divination homework, so Hermione sat with him.

"Where's Harry?" She asked.

"Quidditch practise." Ron muttered.

Hermione didn't reply; instead going up to her dormitory to collect her Potions work. She dumped it on the table and sat down again. Because she'd smashed the last bottle of Veritaserum she was going to have to brew her own memory potion and study that. Add to the fact she had to partner Draco Malfoy she now dreaded Potions classes.

Half an hour later, Harry walked across the common, broom over his shoulder. Hermione looked up.

"Are you okay Harry?" She asked anxiously. His face was flushed and he seemed to be out of breath more than he normally was after Quidditch practise. He sat at the table.

"I'm fine thanks." He said breathlessly.

"Right." Hermione said, not quite sure what to think.

The next morning Hermione sat next to Draco Malfoy in Potions. Snape told them to begin work.

"I have drawn up a plan of how to brew this memory Potion." Hermione pulled the notes out of her folder and spread them on the table. Draco looked at them without interest.

"Right, so what do we have to do?" He asked, his eyes wandering across the room.

"We have to brew this Potion." Hermione said through gritted teeth.

Snape walked up to them and viewed Hermione's ingredient list for the Memory Potion.

"Very good, Miss Granger. I think you'll do well on this assignment." Then he strode off to criticise Neville and Millicent's work. Hermione smiled. Why in Merlin's name was Snape being nice to her? She turned to Malfoy who sneered.

"What?" She asked shocked.

"Nothing." He turned away and started to copy out her notes.

Snape looked at Hermione out the corner of his eye. He didn't know why he had said what he had, but he was worried about her if he was honest. That locket he'd seen around her neck at her detention had aroused his suspicions. She'd obviously got as a Christmas present. He was always wary about presents. You could never be too careful about who was giving it to you or what the gifts ulterior motive was. He supposed he was just being paranoid as usual. Maybe he'd question Granger on it in her detention that night. After all he was only interested to know how she had acquired it.

* * *

Hermione entered the Potions classroom that night for her second detention of the month.

"Ah...Miss Granger. I need to speak to with you about something." Snape said to her.

Hermione felt her heat sink. Was it to do with her grades and that bottle of veritaserum fiasco?

"Yes what is it Professor?" Hermione asked nervously.

"That locket around your neck. Where did you get it from?"

Hermione fingered the locket and looked up at Snape.

"I got it for Christmas."

"I see. You gave it to you?"

Hermione considered her answer. Should she tell him she didn't know who had given it to her? Or be truthful? It wouldn't hurt if she told him would it?

She shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

"Well Miss Granger?" Snape asked impatiently.

"I don't know who gave it to me." Hermione answered quietly.

"Right. Give me the locket." Snape said. He would have to have it tested for hexes. He couldn't let her walk around with something around her neck that might possibly be dangerous.

Hermione went to protest but then thought better of it. Snape brushed her hair off her neck and tried to undo the clasp. Hermione shivered as she felt Snape's elegant hands lightly caress her skin. Stop it! Snape would surely detect something if she didn't get a grip on herself soon.

"It won't come off." Snape informed Hermione.

"I had similar trouble with it earlier Professor." Hermione turned to face him.

Snape frowned. "This is serious Miss Granger."

Hermione stayed silent. What kind of serious did he mean?

"I will have to inform Dumbledore on this matter. Your detention has been cancelled. Goodnight Miss Granger."

Snape walked out of the classroom, leaving a baffled Hermione standing stock-still, not daring to move. Why was it serious? What would Dumbledore do? So many questions screamed at her. Right, she would stay calm and go back to Gryffindor tower.

Upon entering the Gryffindor common room Ron came up to her.

"Have you seen Harry?" He asked anxiously.

"Um...no." Hermione said vaguely and sat down in a chair by the fire feeling dazed.

"Are you okay Hermione?" Ro asked, sitting beside her.

Perhaps it would do her good to tell Ron. He might flip though. He was good at doing that. She didn't really have much choice on the matter though.

"This locket..." Hermione pulled it out from under her robes, " I got it for Christmas."

Ron looked at it blankly. "What's so odd about that?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know who gave it to me and it's got my initials inscribed on it."

Ron looked at the gleaming initials that were on the back of the locket.

"Hmmm...It's in the shape of a heart." Ron looked Hermione in the eye, vaguely disgusted.

"I didn't ask for it to be a heart!" Hermione said, losing her temper.

"Sorry." Ron mumbled.

"It's okay...it's just I can't get it off." Hermione told him.

Ron frowned. "What do you mean you can't get it off?"

"The clasp is jammed somehow." Hermione said irritably.

"Oh. Let me try and get it off for you." Ron offered, blushing.

"Snape's already tried. He can't either." Hermione said.

"Snape?" Ron asked incredulously. "That greasy git?"

"Yes Ron. 'That greasy git.' He seems to think something is up. He went to Dumbledore about it. That's why I'm back from detention early."

"Something's up?" Ron echoed, as soon as Harry walked nonchalantly through the portrait hole.

"Hey." He said to them, sitting in a chair opposite. Hermione and Ron looked blankly at him for a split second.

"Hello Stranger." Ron said, coming back to reality. "Where have you been?"

Harry blushed. "Here and there."

"Oh right." Ron stared at him. "Have you got it together with Cho?"

Harry looked vacant. "Cho? No...I haven't."

"Oh, it's just you're never around anymore...I just thought..." Ron trailed off.

"Yes...well...there's an easy explanation to all that..." Harry cleared his throat.

"Are you feeling okay Harry?" Hermione sat forward, temporarily forgetting her problem as concern for her friend took over. "Your voice sounds awful."

"Does it?" Harry blushed. "Well...better be off. I have some Potions work to complete."

"Okay." Hermione blinked and watched as he went in the direction off his dormitory.

"Strange." Ron shook his head and turned back to Hermione. "I better be off too. I have heaps of homework to catch up on."

"But I haven't fin..." Hermione gave up as Ron trudged up the same stairs as Harry had.

She slumped back in the sofa. Dumbledore would surely summon her if he had made any progress with the mystery of the locket. Hermione decided to go and work on her Potions assignment.

Sitting on her bed, chewing her quill, Hermione looked around in thought. Suddenly a bright white light appeared from no where. She dropped her quill and shielded her eyes from it with her arm. Then as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished.

Hermione pursed her lips. Should she alert someone about this? Maybe it was something to do with the locket. No...it could be. Forgetting it had happened, Hermione continued with her Potions project and fell asleep mid sentence.

* * *

Hermione awoke during the night to be nearly blinded by the white light surrounding her. She cried out as it stung her eyes and tried to close them against the blinding light. She covered her eyes with her arms once more and then heard a voice.

"Don't move, Miss Granger!"

"W...What?" Hermione didn't hear and he tried to get off the bed, only to be catapulted headfirst through the portal of light.

She landed with a dull thump on some barren wasteland.

Then she heard the icy voice. It struck right in the very centre of her heart and she gasped, feeling as if she'd been stripped of breath.

"I've been expecting you, Miss Granger."

Hermione looked up, but couldn't see a thing. She was surrounded by darkness and when she went to stand up, a hot pain seared through her body.

"Don't try and move. It will only worsen the pain."

Hermione once again gasped at the icy chill the voice gave her.

"Wh...o...o..." Hermione stumbled. A great pain shot down her throat. She tried to speak again, but it only made it worse, making her grab her neck in pain.

"Don't worry, Miss Granger. I will take great care of you."

Hermione lay on the floor panting for breath. Somehow she seriously doubted that.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Tell me what you think. I'm away for the next fortnight, so expect a long, long chapter when I return!