Disclaimer: I do not own anything the fabulous characters from J.k rowlings Harry Potter. My friend Christina has confirmed that she has already seen the copyright branded on harry potters ass when attempting to mark him as he personal property *cough*

Hehehehhehee I had hoped people liked my last chapter muhahahahaha

Attention readers!! Uh… if there are any out there… uh yea, anyway, I have posted a small fic called laurus concilio mortis. It's a 2 chapter fic about the night Sirius found the potters dead. I have yet to post the conclusion in chapter 2. So be a dear and after reading this chapter, go and read that fic.

Oooooo, it seems I have discovered the glorious world of italics and formatting muhahahahaha!

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Hermione Granger's body arched to the ceiling, her head thrown back into her pillow as her blood-curdled scream rang through Gryffindor Tower. Mouth flung open, her blanched lips cracked as the terror coated cry wavered like a bell clashing with one another. Brown eyes flew open, her pupils dilating wildly as a bleak blanket of shadow fell across her body. Lights bloomed on, and the prefect became aware that she was in her red, Gryffindor bedroom. She was in no inescapable wasteland. Loud, strangled chokes of air mixed with sobs issued hectically from her throat, sweat pouring in endless beads down her temple. Chills ran down and over Hermione's spine and made her heaving body continue to rack with violent shivers like a frail leaf in the howling wind. Where was he? Where was that monster with the silver eyes? Where was the green light? Looking down to make sure she had not exploded into a rainfall of flesh and ash, Hermione curled up. Why was she not a mound of death and decay? An endless harmony of drums seemed to be beating painfully from within her forehead. Her form felt like it was in a state of complete and utter paralysis.

"Hermione?! Hermione are you alright?" A frantic voice whispered next to her. Whipping her head around so fast that her curls stuck to her sweaty forehead, she turned to see Parvati and Lavender at her bedside, their eyes wide in fear. They were clutching each others hands tightly; as if afraid she would attack any moment. Unable to utter a response, she curled tighter to herself, sobs racking her body. There seemed to be no air to breathe in the claustrophobic curtains draped around her bed. Squeezing her eyes shut, an image of green light once more blinded her very being, washing over her in a frozen cold cloak. She had taught herself to be brave… but how was one to be brave after seeing such things? Opening her eyes wide, an expression of an animal being caged in an inescapable prison attached itself across her features. Whispers of parsel-tongue breathed like a murmuring ghost against her ear, causing a whimper to come from her throat. A moment later, the dormitory door banged open and two familiar figures ran in, wands drawn.

"Hermione?..." Harry whispered, his green eyes lit like lanterns in the dim light. Ron stood beside him, looking for the danger like an auror readying to face a herd of death eaters. Lavender and Parvati rushed out from the room in there dressing gowns over their pajamas, intent on getting McGonagall in a hurry. A small crowd of students had gathered around the door of the room, identical looks of fright and curiosity mingled on their features. They whispered to one another, wondering what was going on.

"Harry…Ron…" She whimpered, her hands pulling at her hair, unable to breathe.

The sound of desperate cries filled the two boy's ears and they were at their friend's side in an instant. Hermione flung herself at the closest boy which was Harry and latched her arms around his torso tightly. Ron sat on the edge of the bed, a hand clenched protectively around her trembling shoulders. The boy who lived looked lost as he gazed down at the bushy haired girl who was sobbing painfully into his chest. He was not an expert on girls, needless to say. Especially girls who were crying. Cho Chang was a perfect example. Meanwhile, Hermione's body constricted like a writhing animal, seemingly crying so hard that it hurt. Ron looked very scared, gulping while sandwiching the girl between him and Harry as to assure her that they were not going anywhere. The two boys rocked her as they would do with a small child, not knowing what else to do and what was going on with her. But it helped, as her sobs quieted down to dry, choked whimpers and sniffles. Harry looked over Hermione's head at the group of whispering housemates and with a point of his finger, told them to leave. The only person that remained standing silently at the door was Ginny. Her older brother waved her in. The red head had her arms hugged around herself.

"Hermione, what happened?" Ron asked, attempting to peel his friend off of Harry. She finally lifted her head, rubbing a shaking hand furiously over her red, puffy eyes. She gave another few sniffles, tightening her lips together for a moment. Hermione's cheeks were a bright red and her eyes were bloodshot. How was she to explain to them what she saw? How could she explain what it was like to be raped by shadows, held by a serpent, and having to watch in horror as your only hope was diminished like a dying flame? The Gryffindor could not possibly tell them that Draco Malfoy haunted her dreams and did the things he did to her in the nightmare. Shame slithered across her skin and burned softly. Idly, she touched the spot on Harry's shirt where a patch of the fabric was wet from her tears. Averting her eyes, she then mumbled softly.

"Sorry….. I had a nightmare….." She murmured; regret tinting on the edge of her soft voice. A flood of relief buzzed in the air over Harry and Ron's heads, the both of them glad that she was not harmed. Not harmed on the outside anyway. But question hovered like a cloud amongst their thoughts. What could the girl have dreamed of that caused her to awake their entire house? Could it have been that horrible? Her scream had been the very exponent of an Incubus and trepidation. It echoed with such a fear that it was forever branded into the minds and hearts of the ones who heard it. She could not possibly have them apprehend what she had just seen, well maybe Harry since he was not taking his Occulemency lessons. But then again, who would spend over an hour in professor Snapes Company while he barks orders at you.

"Want to talk about it?" Harry mumbled gently, his eyes troubled from behind his round spectacles. Hermione stared at the boy who lived for a moment in silence, and then looked over at Ron who was watching her quietly. Oh how she wanted to tell them. They told each other everything… But she couldn't, not this time. The words had locked themselves deep down in her throat. As she gazed back at Harry, who was still waiting for an explanation, she could see the years of life in his eyes. This startled her greatly. Though he was a young seventeen year old boy on the outside, if you took the time to really know him and look into his eyes, you could see all the years of hardship, loss and heavy burdens storming in his amazing green orbs. He was a young man aging too fast. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she inwardly shook her head. No, she could not tell them, especially not Harry. He had enough burdens weighing down on his shoulders. He needn't another thing to pull him down further. Besides, she was being rather foolish, wasn't she? What was a silly dream about some Slytherin wanker that she loathed so important anyway? Yes, she was being overrated about this.

"No, it's alright, Harry. I'll be fine…" She assured. Ron looked skeptical when she said this. He obviously didn't believe her for one minute. How could she fool a boy who had a sister that had suffered at the hands of Voldemort at only age eleven? How could he not know what it was like to wake up in the dead of the night and to hear your beloved sister screaming bloody murder in her dreams? Something had haunted his best friend's sleep that night and he would find out about it. Meanwhile, Harry seemed to contemplate her answer to talk about the nightmare. Sounded quite like him, didn't she? A person who was unwilling to share what was so obviously bothering them until it ate away at their insides like a worm would do to an apple.

At that precise moment, the door banged open again and professor McGonagall stalked in, her night cap hanging off the side of her tightly bound bun. She held a candle in her hand, her eyes hard on all three students. Standing timidly at the door was a frightened Parvati and Lavender. They were whispering fervently in each others ears'; probably exchanging different versions of what they thought was going on. Gossip would run like news on the daily prophet throughout school by morning. Harry and Ron climbed off her bed, their hands still comfortingly on her shoulders. Ginny remained silent near the other side of the room, not sure if she should get involved. The red head Gryffindor wrung her hands nervously.

"Ms. Granger, can you tell me what is going on? I shall like to know why two of my students awoke me in the middle of the night to tell me that you were screaming like "a frightened, squawking banshee being murdered" as Ms. Brown and Ms. Patil alleged." The transfiguration teacher said slowly, raising the candle to look carefully at each face in the room. Even though her lips were pursed and white tight, there was concern in her eyes. Hermione crawled off her bed as well, unconsciously straightening up and clearing her hoarse throat. Ugh, just like those two to make a fuss and go whine to a teacher about me being a ninny, Hermione thought to herself irritably. There was no way she wanted a teacher involved into something that needed no involvement.

"I'm sorry for the rather over exaggerated statement that Lavender and Parvati disturbed you with, professor McGonagall." Hermione ratified. Her two dorm mates glared infuriatingly at the back of her head, grumbling under their breaths. Hermione, however, ignored them and attempted to believe that she could not have possibly screamed in such a perturbing manner. After all, Parvati and Lavender were over dramatic at times. Her thoughts momentarily strayed to a time a few years back when Lavender nearly had a heart attack when she had found a strand of grey among her blond locks. The girl had fallen into a dead faint, Parvati sobbing on her friend's shoulder about the tragic discovery.

"Are you quite sure, Ms. Granger?... Perhaps prefect duties and the burdens of N.E.W.T's are troubling you,-!" The professor began.

"No! I mean, of course not, Professor. Everything is just fine… I think I may have just stayed up too long completing my homework and it unsettled my sleep. It's nothing, really…" Hermione reassured, waving her hands with emphasis. She did not mean to come out quite so hard, but she couldn't help it. Her mind felt fuzzy and weighed down with the occurrence of the nightmare. Draco Malfoy's smirking face still floated menacingly in her mind. McGonagall looked dubious over the prefects rushed answer, arching a high eyebrow. But still, she gave a nod of comprehending. With a curt nod in the boy's direction, she left the room rigidly. Letting out a held in breath when their transfiguration professor disappeared out of sight, Hermione raked her fingers through the bush that was her hair. She noted with annoyance that it would take over an hour to brush out all the tangles out in the morning. Lavender and Parvati had already gotten back into bed, whispering to each other still. Ron and Harry were still standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed, watching her carefully.

"Listen, we know that you didn't want to tell McGonagall about your nightmare, but we have the right to know." Ron piped up from the silence finally. Hermione momentarily closed her eyes, knowing that this would come. But, no, she would not tell them. She just couldn't. Not yet, anyway. Turning back to face them, her legs feeling uncannily like lead, she spoke quietly.

"It's nothing, Ron, it's nothing… I'm just going to go back to sleep. You two should as well." She admonished, making a move to sit on her bed. Harry nodded quietly, knowing that they shouldn't bother her if she did not want to talk about it. Often been in situations like that since turning fifteen two years back, he knew what it was like to be scared of telling one what they saw. Especially if it was horrible. However, Ron's feet remained firmly planted next to her bed. Ginny walked out from her cloak of darkness and came to stand next to Harry. They exchanged furtive glances for a moment. Her brother always was a bit on the thick side when it came to things like this.

"Hermione, I want to know what's going on with you. You can't just tell us to sod off after screaming like a bloody banshee and then bawling your eyes out," Ron said, his eyebrows drawn together with stubbornness. Hermione felt a flash of annoyance flare to life within her. She didn't need this right now. She had enough in one night already. While she appreciated that they cared to know what was bothering her, she didn't want to talk to them about it. Not Harry and Ron, perhaps Ginny, since she was about the only friend she had who was a girl. Running a hand frustratingly over her drooping eyes, she imagined what she could have said if telling them what she dreamed about. "Hey, I had a nightmare that Draco Malfoy turned into a slithery Dark Lord, chased me through darkness, held me possessively while I watch my defender, Gryffindor, fall to the Slytherin serpent, have Draco Malfoy whisper in my ear in parseltongue, have him grow snake fangs, plunge them into my bloody neck and then drink my blood while he injected deadly serpent venom into my blood stream! And finally to top the icing on the sodding cake, he performed Avada Kedavra on me to explode into nothing but burning flesh and fluttering ash!" Of course, she didn't say any of this as she continued to stare back at her friends. Ron appeared to still be waiting. If she told him, he would be like a lion on a ferret. Then again, Malfoy was already a ferret. The mental image of her best friend strangling Malfoy until his brains spilled out onto the floor was a rather satisfying image, but she would keep quiet.

"Ron, I don't want to talk about this right now. Please, I just want to go back to sleep." Hermione whispered, looking down at her toes. Harry shot a pointed look at Ron and he mouthed wordlessly like a fish. Finally running a defeated hand through his tousled red hair, he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back up at him, a silent plea in her blank eyes. He let out an exasperated breath and finally nodded, patting her awkwardly. Harry breathed in relief, said goodnight to Hermione, and steered a sympathetic Ginny out of the room. Ron was still staring down at her before he pulled her into a quick hug. His bushy haired friend smiled warmly at him, pulling the blankets around her shoulders. Before he could leave, she whispered.

"Sweet dreams, Ron." She murmured, unconsciously feeling betrayed by her own words. He froze at the doorway and turned around again, a small smile on his face whilst he nodded. He knew nothing of the fact that she would remain awake for the rest of the night, too scared that if she fell asleep, he would get her again.

"You too, Herm…"

*****

The next morning dawned a chilly December Friday, and students were already out of bed, getting ready for the last day of lessons before a comforting weekend in front of the fireplaces sipping hot butterbeers, or going outside for snowball fights. The morning came all too slowly for Hermione who was sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing her sore eyes. She had to perform a number of sobering charms on herself to keep awake during the night. She felt as if she had been drinking coffee all night. A feeling she was disgruntled with. Lavender and Parvati were in the lavatory, fussing around in front of the mirror while applying fresh makeup to their faces. She silently envied them of the peaceful hours of sleep they had no doubt gotten. Getting out of bed with dodgy legs, she threw her Hogwarts uniform on the bed and pulled off her nightgown. Maybe a good breakfast would give her the energy that she had lost over the course of the night. A good breakfast and no sighting of a certain prat by the name of Draco Malfoy would be a good stimulant. Pulling her jumper over her head and slipping on her shoes, she quickly jammed her books into her bag. Everything felt out of sorts to her that morning. At least Christmas holidays were soon and she would have some time to rally herself up again.

Fastening the buttons on her robes and securing her wand on the inside pocket, she began to pull a brush through her hair. Grimacing at the savage tangles that the bristles met, Hermione grit her teeth. Oh how she hated her hair… After an unsuccessful ten minutes of brushing went by, she decided it was time to meet the boys down for breakfast. There really was no way to tame the beast she called hair. That's when she halted at the door. She had potions today. Double potions. Double potions with the Slytherins. A cold snake of fear slithered up her spine, freezing her blood on its way up. She would have to face him… A brief flash of silver hair and venomous fangs came and went before her eyes. Merlin, this day was just going to get better and better. The Slytherin prince would no doubt be sore to her about the night before when she had forced him to the Infirmary. He had sworn to get her. And while she hadn't thought better of it, the dream she had last night gave her second thoughts. Who really knew what Draco Malfoy was capable of anyway? Who knew if he had already joined Voldemorts ranks beside his father or not?

Telling herself that she was just being a bit barmy that morning, she quickened her pace down the dormitory stairs and found Harry and Ron playing a fast game of exploding snap, waiting for her to come down. They looked up from the burning cards, smiles gracing their features before coming to join her.

"You should be careful with that in here, you know. Dean and Seamus set fire to the curtains last week when they weren't watching their game properly." She scolded, the old, familiar ways of Hermione Granger coming back in a rush. They breathed out an obvious sigh of relief that she was her old self, grabbed their books, and then headed out of the portrait hole. Dismissing their questions if she was indeed alright, Hermione was careful to hide her uneasiness as they leisurely made their way to the great hall. Harry and Ron spoke about Quidditch, she remaining quiet throughout their conversation. Not really a fan of Quidditch, or any other sports for that matter, she let her thoughts engulf her. Would he be in the great hall eating breakfast? Was he good at sensing fear in others? Perhaps, his victims? Was her nightmare last night a premonition of what has not yet come to pass? Maybe if she was lucky, he would still be in the hospital wing under the care of Madam Pomfrey. A bludger to the torso was serious after all…

The trio entered the great hall, owls already swooping in while delivering the morning mail. The teachers sat at their respected tables at the head of the great hall eating their breakfast. Hermione kept sure that her eyes remained away from the Slytherin table as they headed over to their fellow Gryffindors. Ginny was already their, looking troubled. Momentarily distracted, Hermione sat down beside her. Loading things onto her plate, she looked over Ginny's shoulder to see her reading a copy of the Daily prophet. Harry and Ron sat across from them, already at work shoveling food down their throats. Snorting with disgust, she turned away and asked.

"Morning, Ginny. What's wrong?" She asked, quietly sipping pumpkin juice. Ginny looked up, being quite surprised. She must have not noticed that they sat down beside her. Heaving a sad sigh, she pointed to the headlines on the newspaper.

"Death hungering servants of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named strike a hard blow to Fermanagh Country, Northern Ireland!" the headliner seemed to scream. Harry's spoon froze in midway to his mouth, his orbs fixating on the headliner flashing at him. Hermione watched in dread as his green eyes hardened, his cheeks blanching. Ron was looking at the paper as well, chewing thoughtfully. Well she was wrong; this day had certainly just gotten worse. Whatever Voldemort had done now, he was making his appearance to the entire wizarding world. The dark lord left his calling card floating ominously in the sky wherever he strike, marking yet another victory of his. Ginny sighed again; inwardly shaking her head, but then began to read the article aloud softly so that only they could hear.

"Fear has arisen in the hearts of wizard and witch alike as You-Know-Who was sighted in Fermanagh Country only two nights ago. Witnesses reported that he and a rather large herd of death eaters had been making their way to Grisinlow, Ireland, a small wizarding community in upper Lough Erne. Killings of both Wizard and Muggle occurred, and ministry officials quote that erasing all non magic folk's memory went quite mad! "There was complete chaos everywhere, and as soon as we pulled our wands to erase their memories, they cracked! They thought we were going to kill them like You-know-who was doing!" Said George Fern, a member of the magical law enforcement. Officials confirm that the dark lord swept through the town, leaving the dark mark and utter carnage on the way. Homes and small villages were destroyed in the process, leaving devastation in all who populate this once sleepy, peaceful town. Current Reports arrived only this morning at Ministry headquarters. The reports confirm that there was a massive break-in at Burt's Books for the Magical. The shop was completely demolished and this has raised a question as to why the darkest wizard of the age broke into the store. Aurors at the scene are at work attempting to unravel the mystery" Ginny finished before throwing down the paper.

All four of them sat their in silence. Harry's eyes had become glazed as he unconsciously rubbed his scar from under his locks of untidy, jet-black hair. Ron was spooning food absentmindedly into his open mouth, not really tasting it or noticing that he was spilling half the spoonfuls down the front of his robes. Ginny stared down at the moving photo of the wizarding village Grisinlow in Northern Island. The picture consisted mainly of fire and debris. Lastly, Hermione was biting down so furiously on her bottom lip that she could taste copper. After a few moments silence, Ron snorted.

"What was You-know-who doing in Grisinlow? I don't exactly think that breaking into a bookstore all the way in Northern Ireland was necessary. He could have sent any of scum death eaters to the library in Diagon Alley in disguise if he wanted too. It's like he wants to get caught by the ministry or something," Said Ron. Harry didn't even blink as his best mate said this, only continued to gaze blankly down at his buttered toast and eggs. Ginny was looking at him worriedly. Hermione, however, grunted after Ron said that. Putting her hands on her hips in a very bossy manner, she raised her eyebrows. That was an expression that was courtesy of Hermione Granger. It was as much her trademark as the scar and glasses was Harry's.

"You don't use your head, do you? Voldemort- Oh get over it Ron, you have to start using his name to show people that you are not scared of him. Anyway-!" She started again in frustration.

"But I am scared of him!" Ron replied, a light blush turning his ears red. Hermione sighed, fighting down the headache forming in her head. They had agreed to start using Voldemorts name. Well, Harry had already been using it since his first year, but now Ron, Hermione and Ginny had decided to stop being frightened of saying his name. Ron still found that he feared saying it though.

"As I was saying…" She pressed, throwing an indignant look at Ron who simply grunted into his oatmeal. "Voldemort didn't just go to Grisinlow in Fermanagh to kill and destroy buildings. He was looking for something…" She concluded. Harry finally came back to reality when she said this, and light of apprehension came into Ginny's dark eyes. The boy who lived gave his friend an encouraging expression meaning for her to go on. "Well, the prophet says that he and the death eaters broke into a bookstore right? Burt's books for the magical happens to be one of the biggest wizarding book stores in Britain. What could wizards find in bookstores?" Hermione asked them, wanting her companions to catch on with the point she was attempting to get across. It was not a rhetorical question, and perhaps even Ron could understand it. Harry's eyes turned stony once more, obviously knowing what she was getting at. Ginny was holding her fork so hard that she might have been able to bend it.


"Spells… Dad once told me that Burt's books for the magical has every type of magic book, and he means every type of book. Probably even spells in the dark arts…" Concluded Ginny, her eyebrows drawn together with fury.

"Exactly. Voldemort could have been looking for a new sort of dark magic. He's probably bored himself to death with the unforgivables…" Hermione said meekly, a bitterness edging on her voice. Harry continued to remain disturbingly silent, though he glared harshly at the table. Ron was thinking over the revelation with interest. What could Voldemort want from a book? What dark magic did the dark lord not already know about? Most importantly, if he had found something useful, what would happen? What was He-who-must-not-be-named planning for the wizarding world and Harry Potter? What ever it was, they need to find out what it was. It seemed that the adventure of the year was already planned out for them. What would Dumbledore do? The old headmaster of Hogwarts could not protect all of them forever… There was only so much time that a person like Harry could hide from someone like Voldemort. Hermione felt like she needed to be in the library but she was stumped. She could not possibly try searching about something she had no knowledge about. Ignorance did not settle well in her stomach. With a tightly closed fist, she banged on the table, causing several of the Gryffindors to look at her in bewilderment.

"Ugh! I wish we knew what was going on! Maybe we should go to Dumbledore, Harry. Goodness! Merlin only knows that's the smart thing to do!" She exclaimed, her hair in a wild cloud around her face. Ginny was biting down a grin at Hermione's exasperation on the situation, knowing her ways all too well. The bushy-haired prefect was always the one to first suggest going to Dumbledore about a problem. Everyone knew that the headmaster was a bit of a mad bat, but also a true genius with a heart of gold. A man that seemed to know just about everything there was to know about everything, and how to mediate a conflict. An idol, that wizard was. But as quick as the two girls got excited, Ron threw water on their plans.

"What do you think Dumbledore is going to do about it? Lead us on a crusade out to Ireland to ask ol' Burt if he found any of his books on the dark arts missing from the destruction of his store? Yeah, a fat lot of good that is," Ron drawled with a sneer, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he munched nosily on an apple. Harry who had been silent throughout the whole exchange could not help but snort at his friend's sarcasm. Trust sarcasm to be the only thing that Harry reacts to, Hermione thought to herself dazedly. Lips forming a thin, white line, she turned her gaze to the red head across from her.

"Don't be stupid, Dumbledore wouldn't do something like that. Not that I wouldn't join him if he decided to…" She countered, her sentence floating off into the air. Ginny and her smirked victoriously at each other, silently agreeing that they were indeed part of Dumbledore's army. Ron was about to reply when the students began to leave the hall in groups toward their classes. The four Gryffindors quickly wolfed down the remains of their breakfast before rushing from the hall to start their daily afternoon of classes. But thoughts of the front page of the Daily Prophet did not linger far from their minds.

*****

Hermione Granger pushed down the quiet feeling of trepidation in the pit of her stomach as she made her way down to the dungeons for unfortunate double potions. Friday was the one day that she only had to face the Slytherins for one class, and usually she savored this. But never before had she dreaded going to class like how she felt that moment as she stood fearfully in front of the massive door to the cold classroom. Harry and Ron were already in there, the Divination tower being closer in distance to the Potions chamber then her Arithmancy class was. Class was starting in only two minutes and she could not possibly be late because she was afraid of a certain smug bastard in whom Ron referred to as 'the amazing bouncing ferret'. She had been avoiding the reminder in mind that potions would come fast enough and that she would have to see the rotten tosser that invaded her body and soul only last night in her nightmares.

"Ms. Granger, do you plan to spend the rest of the lesson standing there at my door?" Came a cold voice. Jumping in surprise, Hermione turned to find that Professor Severus Snape was standing a few feet from inside the room, looking at her with a glare. Mentally strangling herself, Hermione bent her head and entered the potions chamber, her cheeks red in embarrassment. The Slytherins were snickering loudly, jeering at her as she passed. Determined to not look at who occupied the first seat in the front of the room, she sat down at her desk. Harry and Ron threw her sympathetic glances as she pulled out her parchment and quill.

"Five points will be taken away from Gryffindor house for your tardiness, Ms. Granger…" Snape sneered, his lip curling maliciously. The lesson had started only seconds ago, but he did not waste time from taking points away from Slytherin's rival house. Ron coughed something that sounded remarkably like "Slimy git!" as he wrote down his notes. Hermione frowned deeply as she looked at the notes they were taking. Anything to take her attention away from the feel of the very hard, and very vicious eyes that were trained pointedly on her. She knew who's grey eyes they belonged to.  Draco Malfoy remained twurned around in his seat, glaring so openly and so threateningly at Hermione Granger that she could feel the daggers of his unabashed eyes like blades to her chest. Fighting down the shuddering breath from deep within her, she continued scribbling away with her quill. Waiting for him to finally lower his eyes, a swell of panic came to rise in her stomach after ten impossibly long minutes in which he did not stop his loathe created glaring. Hints of agitation swelled in her mind after another five more minutes. Unable to stop herself, she looked up and gave him in which she hoped was the dirtiest look she could sculpt into her face. Unfazed by her expression, his smirking lips curled up into what had to be one of the most frightening, twisted grins that she had ever seen. Its grins like that, that could make a pack of death eaters run for the hills, Hermione thought to herself uncomfortably. Not have seeing the dark lord in person; she could not compare who looked more evil at the moment. She supposed that if Draco grinned like that more often, he could make a pack of children cry just by looking at them.

Tearing her gaze away from Draco's "muhahaha! Look at me, I'm evil" grin, all eyes turned to the door of the classroom as it opened. A small Hufflepuff third year stood there, fear written all over her face.

"Um, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you, Professor Snape…." She said hurriedly, obviously not wanting to be under the potions masters accusing, cold scrutiny any longer then she needed too. Snape scowled at the girl before turning to his curious students.

"I shall return in a short while, class. If I catch any of you out of your seats, you'll find yourself loosing a hundred points from your house all too soon…"  He threatened, fixating his words mainly on the trio and Gryffindor House. Without another look back, he swept from the dungeons, his black robes swirling. A sigh of relief fell over the students in the potions chamber, silent wars passing between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Hermione placed her quill down, having a sinking feeling that Draco was still staring mercilessly at her. What was one to do when you had a pointy faced bastard staring at you? Meanwhile Harry and Ron were grumpily brooding about Professor Snape.

"Not five bloody minutes into class and he's already taking away points! Honestly! Greasy, that one is… His hair is oily enough to grease a ruddy frying pan with." He quipped, crossing his arms. Hermione choked on laughter at his comment, momentarily distracted from the Slytherin prince watching her. Deciding to ignore him, she fixed her attention on the chatter passing around the room. Seamus Finnigan was currently standing up on his stool, sporting his new enchanted quidditch badge. It was a coat of arms with the lion of Gryffindor roaring ferociously. A winking snitch crowned the emblem and after a moment the badge formed words. It said 'Slytherins are dirty, rotten tarts' Reminded briefly of the badges the Slytherins had made in their fourth year for the triwizard tournament; she could not help but frown. She was a prefect, and she should be breaking this up before Snape came back to take away enough points to land them last for the house cup.

"Certainly has a lot of house pride, doesn't he?" Harry questioned, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Before she could stand up, a flash of green light flew across the room and hit Seamus's badge. Nearly flying off his stool, Dean Thomas held him steady. All eyes turned to see Draco out of his desk, his wand still pointed. Looking down at the quidditch badge, it was now turned green with the serpent of Slytherin writhing around. Seamus stared at it in terror.

"Yuck! Slytherin pride! It burns!!" Seamus screamed in mock falsetto. The Gryffindors laughed jovially, while the opposite house hissed like the brooding snakes they were. Malfoy's smirk only grew wider if that was possible. The laughter stopped short though when the serpent from the badge reared its scaly head, sinking its miniscule fangs into Seamus's robes. He gave a yelp, his fingers immediately coming up to pry it off. The Slytherins were howling with laughter and doubled over as the snake on the badge began to bite at Seamus's chest furiously. Lavender was shrieking, trying without success to rip it off her boyfriend's robes, while attempting not to get bitten.

"Don't like the color green, Finnigan?" He said odiously.

Anger flared like a torch inside Hermione as she watched with open mouthed horror. Draco was laughing haughtily along with his house mates, but his eyes were set on her. Oh, I'll teach you, Malfoy… Without thinking about the consequences, the Gryffindor prefect had her wand out and set a flash of light at the silver haired dragon. Complete and utter silence followed this action as everyone in the classroom glued their eyes on the sight before them.

Draco Malfoy stood frozen, a shaking hand coming up to touch his now red hair. The color of Gryffindor… His lips were parted in terror, his fingers grabbing onto a few locks with panic. It took only a moment for his face to harden into ice though.

Ron, who perhaps hated Malfoy the most, was the first to start snorting uncontrollably. Harry was not long after, before all of Gryffindor was hooting and laughing themselves to tears. Neville had knocked his cauldron clumsily off the desk in a fit of mirth, which only caused the laughter to heighten. Looking ready to kill, Draco pointed his wand straight at a rather smug Hermione. Fear stabbed through her. He wouldn't use an unforgivable would he? Before she could think twice, a flash of green light went into her eyes. She screamed loudly, being reminded of the familiar green light from her nightmare. The scream alone caused the entire room's laughter to immediately cease. The silence, however, did not last long because the Slytherins were now completely beyond themselves, howling in glee. Hermione growled as she looked down at her now green robes. No one, especially not Malfoy could make a fool out of her and get the last spell! Diminshing all thoughts of admonition and consequence, she directed her wand back at Draco. Within a moment, his robes turned bright red with the words "I heart Gryffindor!" flashing like lights across his chest. Such a horror filled his stony, grey eyes that Ron found himself in pain from laughter while sprawled across his desk. Malfoy shuddered at the words on his robes while twisting his nose in utter disgust.

"You'll pay for that, Mudblood!" He screamed, throwing a ray of green light at her. Uttering a cry of frustration as the words "Slytherin lover" shimmered across her breast, she quickly sent another spell at Malfoy. However, he chose that moment to jump out of the way. The spell hit Crabbe and sent him sailing across the floor like a blimp crashing from the sky. His robes had turned bright red. Covering her surprised mouth with a hand, Hermione had only a moment to duck to the cold, stone floor before the flash of light conjured by Draco's wand flew above her head. It took only a second to know who had been hit because Lavender jumped up from her seat with a scream before running from the dungeons, her arms flailing like a bird attempting to fly. Her usually luscious, blond locks had been turned bright green. Seamus ran out after her before his girlfriend could turn suicidal.

"You thickheaded prat!" Hermione exclaimed, her fists clenched. Harry and Ron were at her side in instant, wands drawn. It only took a few seconds for each student in the room to have their wands out. Gryffindor pointing wands at Slytherin. Slytherin pointing wands at Gryffindor. This was war. War of the houses. This was a color war. It happened in a flash, jets of light exploded at the end of each wand, and the colors red and green were splashed across everything. Each student was covered in patches of green and red, yet still they hexed one another. Vials and potion bottles exploded off of Professor Snape's desk as the red and green spells flew. Screaming echoed off the walls. Malfoy was running through the chamber, using his two goons as human shields as spells flew after him. Pansy Parkinson was waving her wand savagely through angry tears, her face red. Parvati was cowering behind Dean Thomas, who had just hexed Millicent Bullstrodes hair into a red afro.

Hermione pulled Harry and Ron behind a desk for cover, pointing their wands at any chance they got. The blood flooded out of her cheeks as she became aware of the situation. Some prefect she was… The potions classroom was in a chaos and everything and everyone had been turned the colors of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Ron's hair was a mixture of red and green, some stray locks still his trademark Weasley red. Harry's robes were green with the words "I love to hug snakes" flashing across them. Uttering a gasp as Neville crashed into a desk beside them, his robes a mess of colors, she could only watch helplessly as the war raged. Like soldiers in battle, the students dove between rows of desks taking cover as if in a trench. Using their wands like rifles or muskets, they continued to fire spell after spell. Between the sounds of angry and anguished screams and the shattering of glass being hit by missed spells, not a soul noticed the door to the Potions chamber open.

"ENOUGH!!!" Screamed a voice. Gasps blocked out the screaming and the jets of light flickered out. The War was over. The war was over by Professor Snape. As each pair of guilty eyes settled on the potions master, snorts of suppressed laughter arose. Snape indeed stood there, but he was not quite so frightening anymore. With robes of red and polka dotted green, the image was complete with locks of oily, red and green. He looked like a clown who had just stepped out of the circus. But each student sobered again at the dead glint in their professor's eyes. The devil had awoken from hell…

"I want to know who is responsible for this… Right now…" He whispered with a dangerously calm voice. In the blink of an eye, all fingers pointed at two solitary figures. All Slytherins pointed at Hermione. All Gryffndor's pointed at Draco. Lip curling, Snape slithered across the room, towering over them. Hermione felt panic constrict painfully in her chest. There was no way she could get herself out of a situation like this. It was over, she was done for. She might as well leave right then and there to pack her bags and catch the next train ride home. Oh how could she have been so thick!? How could she have blown away her future as an auror because of stupid Draco Malfoy!? What would she tell her parents?! How could she ever look at Dumbledore again!? Would she ever see Harry and Ron, her best friends, ever again? Feeling as though she would faint there on the floor, she grabbed a desk to support herself.

"Well, Ms. Granger, because of your childish and most unsuitable actions for someone of your Intelligence level, I dare say that this will be the last night you spend in this castle…" He leered, looking down at her over his hooked nose. Harry and Ron took a protective step closer to their female friend, each one pocketing their wands. Snape simply looked malicious as this.

"Oh, there is nothing you two troublesome Gryffindor's can do now to aid Ms. Granger's case. Unless of course, you shall like to join her on the train back to your families? Go on, Potter, I insist…"  Harry and Ron remained silent, only stayed close to Hermione who was furiously fighting down the tears welling in her eyes. She would never see Hogwarts again…

"Oh my goodness!! I demand to know what is going on here at once!" Screamed a tight, disgruntled voice. All whipped around to see Professor McGonagall standing in the doorway, a hand over her heart. She looked positively dangerous at the moment. Hermione felt a surge of hope flare to life inside of her. Their transfiguration teacher would not let her astray in her moment of desperation, would she? While Snape was the kind of person who would no doubt laugh if he saw one of his students fall down a flight of stairs, Minerva McGonagall actually believed in Sympathy.  Feeling someone squeeze her shoulders with comfort, she glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Harry and Ron giving her small smiles. Perhaps she would be able to graduate Hogwarts after all…

"Minerva, Ms. Granger has performed a violation of school rules! You see all this?" He asked, motioning around the classroom and the students. McGongall simply narrowed her dark eyes as she surveyed the mess. "All of it was caused by her! Ms. Granger is at fault!" He cried, pointing a shaking finger at her. Before Snape could direct further accusations, Harry stepped forward. At her rescue always.

"Professor McGonagall, it was Malfoy who started it. We swear it." Harry whispered. Ron nodded his head as a chorus of agreement came from the Gryffindor side of the room. The Slytherins hissed in resentment. Draco Malfoy clenched his fists tightly, pasting his most innocent mask of surprise on his face. Cunning indeed… But then who could not recognize that look of mock angelic features? After a few moments of silence, Minerva turned back to Snape.

"I believe that a detention for both Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy is in order. No one will be expelling Ms. Granger, least of all you, Severus…" She said dryly, ignoring the silent look of utter dismay that passed over Draco's face, and the expression of agitation on Snape's greasy features. He was obviously disappointed that one of the golden trio could not be forced to leave the school. Hermione swallowed the lump that had been growing in her throat, closing her eyes in thanks. All she had was a detention. She was saved. McGonagall was her heroine! Risking a glance at Malfoy, she was not at all surprised to see him fixing her with the hardest glare he could summon. Gathering her courage, she gave him her most sweet smile, victory glimmering in her brown eyes. So maybe no one had won the color war, but this was one hell of a victory in Hermione Grangers book.

"This class is dismissed. Go straight to your common rooms and get yourselves cleaned up," Said McGonagall. Snape opened in mouth in protest, but mouthed silent words like a fish. Turning away, he swept into his office, cursing as he went. Before he could shut his office door, a voice stopped him.

"Oh and Severus?... Red and green really are not your colors…" Professor McGongally replied, wrinkling her nose at his attire and hair. Sniffling disdainfully and with a ruffle of his robes, Snape slammed his door shut. Harry and Ron bit back their grins, making their way to the door. Mischief was something that rarely came out of their transfiguration teacher, if not ever. They were lucky for the occurrence of the emotion. It saved them from further salting their wounds. Hermione stayed there, her feet rooted firmly to the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Professor… But, Malfoy, he-!" she began, her voice quivering.

"Calm yourself, Ms. Granger. I know you did not start this. However, as a prefect, you should have acted more responsibly. That is why it is only fair that you and Mr. Malfoy receive detention." She interrupted with a soft tone that clearly stated that this was the end of the conversation. Still with dazed eyes and a fuzzy mind, Hermione stayed where she was. Though she was happy at the prospect of not being expelled, shame bubbled inside. Before McGonagall could leave the dungeons, she leaned her head back in with a smug smile. A smile that made the old Professor look twenty years younger. It was amazing what a simple smile could do for someone's features.

"Oh and Ms.Granger? I must say that I like what you have done with Severus's classroom. It was much too dull for my liking…"

*****

A/N: Well, that's it! I hope u liked this chapter!!! Im not sure when my next one will be, but please leave me a nice, pretty review.