Chapter Four: Making New Friends...and Enemies
Hermione rushed down the hallway, growing more frustrated by the minute. She couldn't remember where she had arrived! The gray stones of the corridor all looked the same, and the portraits on the wall were of no help. Feeling like she was walking in circles, she let out a scream of anxiety.
"What's wrong, Ranger?" growled a slimy, vindictive, and all-too-familiar voice. Hermione exhaled audibly at seeing, once again, Severus Snape.
"How do you know my name?" she demanded.
"Dumbledore announced it tonight at dinner," replied Snape, his voice monotone and emotionless, but his eyes boring holes into hers. "But the mystery remains—how did you know mine?"
Hermione smiled at the fact that this little tidbit was annoying him. She would get Snape back for all those snide comments would make in the future as Potions Master. "It doesn't concern you," she said flatly, walking away.
But before she could take more than three steps, a figure stepped into her path. Hermione had to raise her head to look eye-to-eye with the girl blocking her way down the hall. She was extremely tall, Hermione observed, and very slender in build. The eyes glaring down at her were eerie and dark and, along with the smooth black hair, they stood in stark contrast to her pale, almost translucent skin. "Severus asked you a question," she said firmly in a voice that emanated condescension, "now answer it."
Hermione, thoroughly frightened by this girl even though she hadn't even spoken ten words, turned around to escape, only to find Snape blocking the other way. "I'll ask you one more time. Who told you about me?" Hermione said nothing, so Snape's eyes narrowed as he sneered, "I bet it was Evans, that filthy mudblood."
Hermione suddenly found her voice as her temper flared and her face turned bright red. "Don't use that it be? Another mudblood?" Hermione heard the girl snicker from behind as Snape wickedly smiled at her.
Hermione could feel the anger boiling inside her, it was very much the same feeling she got when confronted by Draco Malfoy. But this time, she had the upper hand: no one knew of her family history. In fact, she had made up enough stories already; it wouldn't do any additional harm to make herself pureblood. "For your information," she said smugly, "my blood is 100 pure. Probably even better than yours." She turned on one heel to proceed down the hallway, only to groan at finding that she had forgotten about the third person in the conversation.
The Slytherin girl was closer than ever. "I highly doubt that you, or anyone else for that matter, has more pure or noble blood than I." She eyed Hermione with unmistakable distain. "But if you're not a mudblood, you sure get worked up over nothing. Do you really love those dirty muggles that much, you sorry fool of a blood traitor?" If Hermione had taken time to reflect on the situation, there was no way she would have possibly pulled her wand on the towering girl. But not one thought entered her head as her sight went red with fury and she whipped out her wand, pointing it up at the girl's face.
"I don't know who you are, but one more word out of you, and..."
"And what, Ranger?" Hermione winced as she felt Snape's wand push against the back of her robes. She chided herself for breaking the first rule of dueling: never turn your back on your opponent. But what was she supposed to do with two opponents?
The girl grinned. "I'll take this," she said, snatching Hermione's wand and grabbing her own out of her pocket, pointing them both at the lone Gryffindor girl. In the blink of an eye Hermione found herself backed against the stone cold wall, looking straight at the tips of three wands and the icy faces of Severus Snape and the menacing female student. Hermione once again silently scolded herself for going back in time. Now not only was there the potential to upset the future, but now her life wasn't too secure, either. Completely helpless, Hermione was left with nothing to do but stare at the menacing figures in front of her. Snape grinned sadistically, and the girl opened her mouth and began muttering a curse. Hermione shut her eyes tight; silently pleading for help, knowing it was all her fault, and bracing herself for the attack.
"Leave her alone!" Hermione quickly opened her eyes, seeing a boy with messy dark hair and glasses step into the corridor. He was closely followed by the three Gryffindor boys she had encountered earlier. But Hermione's glance was stuck on the first boy, the one who spoke. Harry? No, it wasn't Harry. It was his father! James Potter looked exactly like his son, save the hazel eyes. Hermione felt her heart drop to her stomach the way it did every time she saw Harry.
"Make me, Potter," the girl hissed, leaving Hermione to be guarded by Snape. She stepped right up to James, her eyes challenging.
"Back off, Bella," ordered Sirius, stepping in front of James and drawing his wand. Bella? That name rang some bell in Hermione's mind, but she couldn't seem to place it.
"You stay out of this you blood traitor," the girl now identified as Bella spat. Hermione had never heard so much hatred in a voice.
"You don't want to provoke me," Sirius growled. A shrill laugh interrupted the tension in the air.
"Ha! I don't want to provoke you?" The girl's tone changed from anger to mockery. "What are you going to do, ickle Siri? Run away? You seem rather good at that!"
Snape laughed at the girl's taunting. Hermione, sensing his moment of weakness, grabbed the wand out of his hand. Shoving him aside, she pointed it at Bella. "Expalliarmus!" she yelled, catching both the girl's wand and her own in her other hand. All six teenagers stared at her with surprised looks on their faces. "Go fetch," she grinned, and threw two Slytherins' wands as far as she could down the hallway, pocketing her own. Snape and Bella glared at her, but defenseless without their wands, they quickly ran in the direction Hermione had flung them.
"That was brilliant!" exclaimed James, slapping her on the back. Hermione jumped a little, not expecting the sudden contact. She looked at James, having a hard time suppressing the feelings welling up inside her. He's not Harry, she told herself, control yourself, woman!
"I'm sorry," said James, noticing the look on her face. He stuck out his hand. "I'm James Potter." Hermione reluctantly accepted his hand and shook it awkwardly.
"Hermio... I mean, Hera Ranger," she said with a nervous smile.
"This is Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. From what I heard, you've already met them...sort of," James cast her a lopsided grin that made her insides wrench yet again. Her daydreaming was rudely interrupted, however, as Sirius stepped forward and whacked her on the back.
"That was bloody amazing!" he exclaimed. "I've never seen anyone confront Bella like that and not spend at least a week in the hospital wing. And I could have sworn that she almost looked intimidated. Absolutely amazing!" Hermione had the sinking feeling that he was going to whap her again (Must be a guy thing, she mused) but she was lucky enough to be saved by a scream from down the hall.
"Sirius, step back this instant!" It was a very pretty girl with long red hair and intense green eyes. Harry's eyes. Hermione instantly identified the girl striding in her direction. The girl walked right past Hermione and punched Sirius in the arm. "Oh leave her alone you big bully!"
"But I..." Sirius stuttered.
"But nothing!" responded the girl angrily. "She hasn't even been here a day and you're already mauling her." The girl who was unmistakably Harry's mother turned to Hermione and extended her arm. "I heard about your encounter with Sirius before dinner, and I'm truly sorry you had to suffer that. I'm Lily Evans."
Hermione laughed as she shook the girl's hand. "Don't worry, I've handled my share of dogs in my time." The three boys cast each other strange looks, and then burst out laughing. "What did I say?" Hermione asked, trying to sound innocent even though she very well knew that she had just referred to Sirius's animagus form.
"Oh, leave her be," Lily said, linking her arm with Hermione's. "Let's go, Hera, I'll give you a tour of the castle. There's so much to show you...and tell you too!"