FANTASY. WRITTEN BY GIRL-WHO-LIKES-EVERYTHING.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Enjoy the story, and remember not to sue!

Chapter Five: A New Discovery.

"Albus?"

"Yes, Madam Pince?"

"May I have a word? Away from all the students, I mean."

"But of course."

Hermione watched as the two members of staff exited the Great Hall, Madam Pince whispering urgently as they went. She looked back down at her plate – scrambled eggs and bacon. Simple, but delicious – the house-elves definitely knew how to cook (although Hermione still thought that it was elf cruelty). She ate it silently; after all, no one was exactly desperate to talk to her.

"So, how was it yesterday?"

She turned to her right to see Harry and Ron smiling nervously at her. She gave them a quizzical look.

"What we mean is," Harry begun, "How was the detention with Malfoy?" He smiled nervously again, as did Ron. They both seemed to be petrified of her for some reason.

"How do you know about that?" She asked, frowning. She hadn't told anyone about it - not a single soul.

"Erm- well- we- erm," Ron looked around the room guiltily, trying to find some sort of excuse.

"We heard Malfoy say so." Harry answered quickly. Ron nodded in agreement. Hermione was unconvinced. They knew something that she didn't, and she wanted to know what that something was. She gave them both a suspicious stare.

"Oh -well -erm -look at the time!" Ron said, nodding at Harry.

"Erm -yeah, it's time for Transfiguration. We'd better go, see you later, Hermione."

Harry and Ron took their books and bags and left the Great Hall. Hermione sighed. She knew that it wouldn't be easy to find out what was going on. After all, it never was. She took her bag and decided to follow Ron and Harry towards the Transfiguration classroom. This year, they would have Transfiguration with the Slytherins, instead of with the Ravenclaws.

When Hermione arrived at Professor McGonagall's classroom, she sat in her usual seat, and took out her quill, a piece of parchment (for note taking) and her wand. Harry and Ron sat at the back of the room – where some Slytherins would normally sit. It didn't take long for the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors to arrive.

"Settle down, students, settle down!" Professor McGonagall shouted above the noise. The classroom chatter slowly died down. "Today, we are going to be practicing what we learnt last lesson – to transfigure people into plants. As I have explained before, this is a very difficult task, and you must be very careful with your wand movements. There have been times when the spells have gone horribly wrong, and people have been forced to live their lives as half a flower and half a human. Now, get yourself into pairs!"

Hermione looked around the room. She loathed pair work, for she always found it hard to find someone willing to work with her. She looked beside her at the two seats where Harry and Ron would usually sit. One of the seats was empty, but on the other . . . sat a boy that Hermione didn't recognise. He was a Slytherin, with blonde hair and glassy eyes.

She looked around. Everyone had already been sorted into pairs. The only people, it seemed, that didn't have a partner, was her and this strange boy. Hermione coughed in an attempt to get his attention.

He looked up, and blinked at her blankly.

"Erm- hi, my name's Hermione Granger," She held out her hand.

"Flewington, Callum. I believe you've met my brother."

Hermione nodded. Flewington. It rang a bell. She remembered that little first-year, Conner Flewington, had mentioned his 'nice' Slytherin brother.

"Miss Granger, Mr Flewington, I'm afraid you two are the only students that haven't found a partner. That means you'll have to work together." Professor McGonagall announced. Hermione nodded, as did Callum. "Now, I want you to turn to page fifteen in your textbooks, and read the section that explains what you must do before you begin. Once you are done, feel free to practice the spell on your partner. I shall be watching you all."

Hermione sat back down in her seat and turned to page fifteen. Callum did the same. Hermione glanced at him. He seemed rather quiet for a Slytherin. She wondered if he was a friend of Blaise Zabini.

"You're intelligent," Callum said, "You already know how to do this, right?"

She nodded. She had read the entire bookduring the summer holidays, "I haven't practiced the spell properly though."

Callum smiled at her, showing off his sparkling white teeth. Hermione tried not to look too shocked. She had never known a Slytherin to smile before a Gryffindor. She returned his smile and they set off to work together.

Hermione walked to the library silently. She had finished her lunch and had some spare time before her next lesson would begin. She decided to head to the library, to research transfiguring humans – after all, she didn't want any accidents while she was practicing on a fellow classmate i.e. Callum. In the short hour that they had talked in the lesson, Hermione had found that Callum was indeed, a 'nice' guy, just as his brother had said.

She entered the library to find it nearly empty. Almost immediately, she spotted a person she knew at the far end of the room.

"May I sit here?" She asked politely.

"No, of course not." Callum Flewington replied sarcastically. He smiled at her again as she sat down. And he continued to smile as she opened her textbook and began to read. Hermione read for a while before glancing over her book, to find that Callum was still smiling at her. She closed her book and put it back down on the table.

"You know, there is something that's been bugging me." Hermione began. "Why?"

Callum continued to smile, but raised an eyebrow. "Why what?"

"Why did you want to be partners with me?" She said, analysing Callum's face in an attempt to see into his mind.

"What do you mean?" He asked innocently. "I had to be partners with you. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter sat in my space."

"I thought that at first." Hermione said. "But then I thought, you could have easily moved when we were choosing our partners. You deliberately stayed where you were, knowing well that I was going to be the only student left who didn't have a partner."

Callum laughed. "You're right." He continued to smile. "I could have moved, but I chose not to. I don't always enjoy working with Slytherins you know. They're awfully immature and are, most likely, plotting against you."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. He was either telling the truth, or was an excellent liar. It was strange what he was saying about Slytherins. She had heard people say it before, but never from the actual mouth of a real Slytherin. She nodded and opened her book again.

"Do you mind me asking you something now, Hermione?" Callum asked casually. She nodded again.

"Have you heard of any . . . legends, lately?"

Hermione frowned. A legend? She had only heard of one. The one thatDraco and her had researched the other day – the one about Slytherin and his bride. She was just about to reply, when Callum interrupted.

"Oh look at the time, we should get to our lessons before we're late."

Nodding, Hermione quickly packed her things. Callum said a quick goodbye before heading out of the library. Hermione soon followed him.

"Albus, there's something that's been worrying me all day." McGonagall stated, looking anxious in the light of the moon.

"Would you like to tell me about it, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked her, his voice calm and gentle.

"I happened to be in the library today," began McGonagall, "Talking to Irma. We were having a quiet chat, when I noticed Hermione Granger coming into the library. Of course, she does enjoy going there, but I found it awfully strange when I saw her join a Slytherin boy – Callum Flewington. He's never usually in the library, and he never usually socialises with Gryffindors either."

A look of surprise crossed Dumbledore's face, but quickly faded.

"Mr Flewington and Miss Granger are also working together in my Transfiguration class." McGonagall continued. "Do you think he's getting in the way of your plan, Albus?"

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "We have to watch out for a spy, Minerva."

"A spy? Do you know who it is?"

"I have a good idea, but we shall have to wait and see for ourselves."

McGonagall nodded, knowing that she had to trust Dumbledore completely. Dumbledore turned to her and spoke.

"If we don't take this chance, Minerva, we will be more than likely to lose, and we can't afford to lose. I know you're worried, but we have no other choice. Trying to complete this plan is all that we can do to help Mr Potter."

"My Lord."

"Yes, Wormtail?"

"I have just received a letter from your spy at Hogwarts, My Lord."

"Let me see it, Wormtail."

Lord Voldemort's bony hands snatched the parchment from Wormtail's grasp. He read it quickly and smiled in satisfaction at what he read. Dumbledore would not want him to know what the letter contained. He would not want him to know about his little plan.

'Well', Voldemort thought, 'I will most definitely have to find out about it then, won't I?'

He laughed hysterically, with Wormtail still bowing down before him.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Harry woke, screaming in pain. Neville, Ron, Seamus and Dean were looking at him worriedly. Harry's scar had started to burn more than it had done ever before.

Edited Version: 29th July 2005