This is my first fanfiction in over a year. I really hope I haven't lost my touch, and please do forgive me if I have. At this very moment I am considering putting this whole story down in one page so that it is not split up into chapters. No, that's not a very good idea is it? Well, you have been warned. Today is 03-17-04, 10:25PM. I really hope I don't fuck this up... here it goes...

Just Another Year at Hogwarts

Chapter 1:

It was again fall and the wind was crip and cool as it blew through the trees down to the ground, carrying with it several newly fallen leaves. The sun shone abovehead, and all the grounds were bustling with activity. It was the weekend and everyone was restless, bursting to get out for the day. After all, beautiful days like today would, not long from now, only come with a great load of snow and the bitter cold.

Yes, it was a wonderful day. Wonderful to all but one, Hermione Granger, who was practically tearing her hair out at this very moment. She had tons of homework, and she had barely gotten started on it, all with the sneaking around she Ron and Harry had been doing that previous night.

Ron and Harry of course, had decided they had all weekend to get their work done and therefore decided to go off outdoors with most everyone else since the trip to hogsmead had been canceled. Of course they weren't left out alone, there were teachers and other staff stationed all around for their protection. Most people thought it was pointless but Dumbledore had insisted upon it.

Hermione pushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes as she flipped through her books. She chewed her lip as she stared down at the paper.

"Dammit all. I can't do this now." she pronounced as she slammed her books shut, and moved her hand off of her parchment, it immediately rolled back up on it's own. For once, she realized, she was the one who found the odd happenings at their school a cause for the inability to do much else but ponder on it.

She stood and paced the room as she thought back to that dusk merely two days ago.

~*~

She, Harry and Ron had been out on the Quidditch field after the first match of the new school year. Almost everyone had headed back inside, or elsewhere for the time being. The game had been between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Strangely enough Hufflepuff had won the game, and everyone seemed in pretty good spirits all that day.

They were just wandering off of the stands. Harry and Ron still totally immersed in their discussion of the game. Hermione was doing her best to ignore them, in the past 5 years she had learned she hadn't much of a liking for the most popular sport in the wizarding world.

Just as Ron was beginning to get red in the face while explaining to Harry for the twentieth time, "But Harry, didn't you see what he did? It was completely unfair! Anyone could ha-"

That's when it had happened. A round of loud and collective gasps was heard not twenty feet from where the stood. Being the curious creatures they were, they decided to rush over and inspect the scene.

When they came, nothing that seemed too far out of the ordinary seemed to have happened.

Ron pushed past a couple of people to get a better look at what they were all crowding around. "Blimey! It looks like she hit the ground pretty hard."

"What do you supposed happened?" asked Hermione.

"She looks pretty beat up, it could have been anything." came Neville who just happened to be among the crowd. "I bet she was attacked by a dark wizard!"

"Maybe she had a run-in with some werewolf in the Forbidden Forrest!" came another voice whom they couldn't put a face to.

A Hufflepuff girl spoke up then, "She just fell out of the sky. There was a bright flash of light in the air for a moment before she came plummeting down."

"The question would be who she is and how she got here." Harry piped in.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, "Are you all dense? Can't you see she's hurt, whoever she is she needs help. Someone go get Madame Pomfrey. We can worry about who she is and how she got here later." Two students ran off towards the hospital wing together.

Meanwhile she rolled up the sleeves of her robes and leaned over the fallen girl. The nameless girl on the ground really had been attacked by something. She was covered in cuts and scratches, and her skin was sickly pale. As Hermione carefully lifted a limp arm to see the part of her torso that was bleeding she noticed some kind of bite mark right on the spot between her neck and shoulder.

Just as she was getting a closer look, Snape had crept up on the crowd of students, "What's going on here?" He had addressed them in his usual tone.

Hermione and most everyone else jumped at the sudden, unexpected intrusion, and as most of the students began backing away she attempted to explain herself. "Well you see, we were jus-"

Once Snape had seen the girl lying on the ground, the smirk playing at his lips from catching the trio at something disappeared and was replaced by a scowl and he all but pushed Hermione out of the way, interrupting her in the process.

She looked back at Harry and Ron who looked just as confused at her and shrugged. She decided to speak up again, "She seems to have just fallen from the air professor, no one..." Hermione's voice trailed of as they watched him bend over the fallen girl. This was rather odd, he seemed overly concerned compared to his usual self.

After a very tense moment or so, they had heard him swear under his breath before sweeping the young woman up from the ground. He turned directly at the three friends, Neville and the others had long since fled, "You will go up to Gryffindor tower now and stay there unless you would all fancy a weeks worth of detention."

Ron opened his mouth to say something but both Harry and Hermione dragged him away before he could get anything out. They had managed to escape detention once, they didn't want Snape getting on them again.

They glanced back long enough just to see Madame Pomfrey come in on the scene and stare in shock at the girl in Snapes arms.

~*~

Hermione sighed as she flopped back down into a chair in the library. It had been two days now and they hadn't seen or heard of the girl that they knew now lay in the hospital wing. It was all very strange, no one seemed to know anything about her sudden appearance and the students had all been put on a lockdown of sorts. No one could wander outside of the castle without a teacher accompanying them. Professor Snape seemed a hell of a lot more moody as of late, and Hermione couldn't name the creature that had caused the painful looking bitemark. Oh if only I had had more time to look at it just a little more closely... Harry and Ron are going to hear it when they get back, they should be here helping me figure this out.

She got up and paced the area a little more before turning angrily and slamming her hands down on the table, "Bloody Hell!" she cursed rather loudly.

Pinche promptly glared at her, but Hermione paid her no mind as she gathered her things and headed out. There was a book she took out in her dormitory that she needed to look through. It might tell her exactly what bit that girl. Anyway there was nothing else she could really do besides that but sit idle and wait for those two lumber heads to get back.

^*^*^*^

Was it an OK start? Did you like it? I know it was short but it's about 1am now and I have classes tomorrow. Please let me know, your opinions mean the world to me! I know this is just slightly AU-ish. Well, like I said, let me know what you think.

Love,

AngelicEmpress