Chapter 10

The walk from Wulver's Burrow to the fifth floor girl's bathroom was a bit longer than Hermione realized. Washing her hands, she scolded herself for not paying attention to that detail sooner. At least there was a bathroom on this floor, she reminded herself. Gazing into the mirror, she smoothed out the top of her hair, not that it helped the frizz much. Spinning around, she strode out and headed back to Wulver's Burrow.

"Granger!" Natalie called. She sounded excited to see her. Hermione kept walking, ignoring the other girl.

"Hey, Granger! Wait up!"

Shoes scuffed against the stone as Natalie jogged to catch up. Hermione picked up her pace. Suddenly a hand jerked her back.

"Didn't you hear me? I said wait up." Natalie huffed, holding Hermione firmly. "We're all worried about you. Why are you hiding up here?"

Hermione remained silent, her eyes fixed on the hallway in front of her.

"Granger? Is everything all right? Hermione? Ron and Harry are really worried about you."

Biting the inside of her lip, Hermione listened, but all she could think of was running away. Nobody was worried about her; Natalie was just making it up. She was the school's darling star student, why should she care about anyone else? Especially the former star, her rival?

Twisting, Hermione slapped Natalie's hand away.

"Why should you care?" She spat, pulling away. "Why should the star student give a flying dragon's wing about me?"

Shocked, Natalie stared at her in confusion.

"You've already stolen my friends, don't pretend to care about me!" Hermione hissed, venom oozing from her words. She turned and fled before Natalie could react.

Racing towards Wulver's Burrow, she prayed to make it there before the other girl saw her. Unfortunately, she could hear Natalie's footsteps behind her. She didn't have much of a chance to lose her in the straightaway of the hall. Suddenly dodging right, Hermione headed for a small staircase leading up.

Taking the steps two at a time, she reached the landing before Natalie appeared at the bottom. Quickly digging into the pocket of her coat, she pulled out Greenland's Journal and opened it. Running as she read, Hermione found what she was looking for. Sliding to a halt beside an old tapestry with owls flying through a forest, she pulled out her wand.

"Pumpkin butter!" She exclaimed. The tapestry pulled aside and the wall swung inward. Ducking inside, Hermione chanted Lumos, lighting the room with a small light from her wand. Smiling to herself, she could finally breathe easy. She'd escaped.

"AND JUST WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?" Natalie roared.

Spinning so fast, she nearly fell over, Hermione gasped as she stared at Natalie, red-faced from running, glaring at her.

"Star student? Granger, I am NOT a star student. Yes, I may be getting good marks, but that hardly qualifies for star student status. I don't know where you got that idea and I'm not stealing your friends!"

"Yes you are! First Ron, then Neville and Harry! You've probably got the twins already wrapped around your finger, don't you?" Hermione yelled feeling all the hurt and jealousy bubbling to the surface. "You waltz in here after all this time and take over! You get better marks on your Potions homework and quizzes and suddenly everyone wants you to help them! Where does that leave me? It leaves me alone, that's where!"

Natalie took a step forward, but Hermione retreated further into the passageway.

"Just go away!" Hermione cried.

"Granger, I'm not trying to make anyone like me." Natalie took another couple steps, forcing Hermione to back up more. "Please, I'm not trying to hurt you purposely."

"LIAR!"

Beneath them, the floor began to quiver. Suddenly it rolled, throwing both witches to the ground. The journal and wand flew out of Hermione's hands as she collided with the undulating stone. They screamed as the floor pulled back, dropping them both into the darkness below.

For a moment the only light came from the Lumos spell, which barely punctured the shadows enveloping them. Pulling herself onto her knees, Hermione reached for her wand just as Natalie cast as second Lumos.

"Are you hurt?" Natalie inquired, standing up. Raising her wand towards the ceiling she frowned. "I don't think we can get out the way we came down."

Saying nothing, Hermione grabbed Greenland's Journal and began flipping through the pages hurriedly. This passage must be here,she thought anxiously. She opened map after map as Natalie made a slow circuit around the room looking for an exit.

"It's not here." Hermione whispered, her voice full of fear.

"What's not here?" Walking over, Natalie squatted down and peered at the journal.

"There's no map of this passage!" Hermione snapped, trying not to cry. "I'm stuck, with you, in this place until someone finds us. IF someone finds us!" Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling out. Natalie rubbed her back, trying to comfort her.

"Look, I'm not sure why you think I'm stealing your friends away." She began softly as Hermione wept. "I didn't mean to make you think that. All I want is to try and live again. I've spent thirty years as Nothing. I had no memory of who I was or why I kept coming back to Hogwarts. Every September I'd be back here watching a new set of first years march in. I'd sit through classes with them until I grew bored, and then would wander off for a while before returning. The reason I do so well in my classes now is that I've been taking them for thirty years. That does give me a slight advantage over everyone else." Natalie pointed out, dropping her hand to her side.

"Everyone I knew is gone. Friends I had are married and their children are attending Hogwarts. My parents are dead. I've lost my life." The other girl said, her voice filling with regret. For a few moments the only sound that could be heard were Hermione's sobs. When Natalie spoke again, the sadness was gone. "Perhaps I've been trying too hard to make people like me, but I honestly didn't mean to. I can understand where you are coming from, I would be upset with me if I was in your shoes and you were used to certain things. Although Granger, you haven't made it easy for the boys lately. The silent treatment can only ostracize people; it doesn't help anything. Next time something is bothering you, try talking to them. They're not as dumb as they act. Give them a chance to know how you feel."

Wiping her eyes, Hermione sniffed twice. She hadn't thought about what Natalie had done while she was Nothing. From the way Ron had described it, they seemed to simply flit about doing whatever they wanted and it'd been a fluke that he'd met Natalie when he had.

"Can I ask you something?" Natalie asked straightening.

"What?" Hermione hiccupped.

"Do you have a crush on Ron?"

Silent for a moment, Hermione wondered if she could trust the girl.

"This would stay between us, I promise." Flipping her braid off her shoulder, Natalie crossed her heart. "I swear."

"I-I'm not sure. I think I do, I mean he's been my best friend and..."

"I understand." Natalie cut in. "I've watched you and Ron for years, I suspected there might be more, but you were too young to act on it. Now you aren't, but, well, Ron's my boyfriend. It doesn't mean he doesn't still like you as a friend, it's just that..."

"You're here." Hermione finished, gathering up the journal.

Natalie sighed.

"Exactly." She paused for a moment then spoke again. "I'm sorry, but I love Ron and I know there's someone special out there for you. Although, as a word to the wise, don't go after Harry."

"I wasn't even thinking about that." Hermione replied standing.

"Good. Sometimes it's not good to date the enemy of an evil wizard."

Nodding, the Griffyndor managed a weak smile. Feeling a tad better, Hermione looked around. There didn't appear to be any visible exits; Natalie would've said if there were. Since the floor had fallen out from under them after she'd screamed "liar", perhaps she needed to find an antonym for it to get out.

"Out of curiosity, Granger, where'd you find that book?" Natalie asked as Hermione flipped through the pages again.

"I found it in the library."

"The library?"

Hermione nodded. They were silent for a few minutes until Hermione sighed and closed the journal.

"Nothing, there's nothing in here that'll help us. It doesn't show anything that I can correlate with this room," she said turning to Natalie. The other girl wore a strangely contemplative look on her face.

Chewing her bottom lip, Natalie trained her gaze on the journal. Suddenly she spun around, strode over to one wall, and put her wand up against it.

"Little light, little light, help us find our way out of this night." She said, her voice rising and falling like she was almost singing the words. A tiny pale green light appeared. It ran along the wall, growing steadily brighter as it went until it was a yellow-green. Just as it turned, the light split in two and outlined the frame of a door. Smiling, satisfied with the result, Natalie walked over to where the light indicated.

"This should be the way out." Tapping her wand on the stone, she turned to Hermione and smiled.

"How did you do that?" Hermione exclaimed, hurrying over.

"It's something I picked up years ago. Unfortunately it only locates secret passages, it doesn't tell you the password to get through them."

"IF they have a password," Hermione pointed out. "There are several around Hogwarts that don't, I've discovered."

Praying that this was one of them, she raised her wand and said Alohomora. There was a click and Natalie quickly threw her shoulder against the door. It swung open, sending the brunette stumbling into the adjoining passageway. Regaining her feet, Natalie raised her wand and looked about.

"It looks like it goes on down that direction," she said.

"Then I guess we should go that way." Hermione slipped beside her and indicated the direction with her wand. Nodding, Natalie began walking with the other witch only a step behind.

The corridor went on for a ways, looping left, then right as if it were avoiding rooms. Hermione eventually came up abreast with Natalie and the two continued walking side by side. Keeping their wands held up, they hoped to catch sight of an exit back into the regular part of the school. Several times they thought they spotted something that might be an exit, but when Natalie performed the "little light" spell, nothing happened.

"This is ridiculous," Hermione snarled in frustration. "I feel like we've been going around in circles!

"I don't think we have," Natalie replied spotting an alcove up ahead. "Let's try over there."

Nodding, Hermione lead the way. Standing in front of the alcove, she stared at the small statue of a griffon resting one paw on a shield. Although it was covered in layers of dust, the girls could still see that the shield had been painted. A gray portcullis with its gate down stood on a top a background of blue cut through by a diagonal maroon band.

Dusting it off, Natalie stared at it.

"I think I've seen this before," she mumbled more to herself than Hermione.

"Same here." Immediately Hermione began flipping through the journal. She scanned each page and flipped over to the next hurriedly.

"AH HA! Found it!" She exclaimed. "There is another statue like this one in Valkyrie's Road. Which is," she continued reading, "on the fourth floor."

"I wonder if they're connected?" Natalie mused, glancing down at the book.

"Possibly."

"Well, let's try." With that, Natalie chanted the "little light" rhyme once again and the green light burned yellow-green as it outlined the shape of an entrance next to the alcove.

"YES!" Both girls hugged each other, elated at their discovery. They might get out of this passageway yet! Although they still had to figure out the password, if it had a password. After trying for several minutes Hermione was getting tired.

"I wish there was a general password for everything," she muttered, leaning up against the wall.

"We always used to try using the names of the founders. They almost always worked, unless someone had changed the password recently." Natalie said eyeing the stone.

"We?"

"My friend Emilia Peabody and I used to go sneaking all over Hogwarts when we were here. She was a third year when I started, but she let me tag along on her queries. She was in Ravenclaw, but we had similar backgrounds so we hit it off. That journal you've been carrying around is hers."

Shocked, Hermione glanced down at Greenland's Journal.

"You mean, the Lady of the Greenland was your friend Emilia Peabody?"

Natalie nodded.

"That would mean," Hermione paused for a second, "are you the Queen of the North?"

"Yes, I was." Falling silent, Natalie looked away and stared off into the dark of the corridor. "It was a long time ago. I didn't think I'd ever see that journal again, I could've sworn Emilia had taken it with her."

Hermione shook her head.

"I found a note in an old clubs book in the reference section. It was to you and it gave directions on how to find the journal. It's back at Gryffindor in my bureau, I'll give it to you."

"Thank you," Natalie choked. "I, I think if Emilia had still been here my fifth year, I wouldn't have become Nothing. She was my best friend."

"I could tell." Hermione said softly, gazing down at the journal. "I found the other journal in Wulver's Burrow."

Natalie made a sound that might have been "I see", but Hermione couldn't tell. She kept looking down the hallway, away from Hermione for several moments. When she turned back, she was red in the cheeks and her eyes glistened.

Feeling like she'd intruded on Natalie's private life, Hermione wanted to thrust the journal into her hands and take off. Running had gotten her into this mess though; it wouldn't get her out. Tucking the journal under her arm, she looked at the wall.

"Well, if it's worked before, then let's try the founders' names. Godric Gryffindor."

"Helga Hufflepuff." Natalie joined in.

"Salazar Slytherin."

"Rowena Ravenclaw."

Nothing happened. The girls looked at each other, slightly panicked.

"What now?" Hermione inquired, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Well, we could always try what they did in old films."

"Which was?"

"This." Taking two steps, Natalie put both hands on the griffon statue and shoved. There was a grinding, crackling sound as it slowly slid back. A loud "clunk" sounded as dust erupted from the edges around the door. Coughing, Hermione took a step back. The door swung lazily open revealing a short corridor on the other side.

"Let's hurry!" Natalie called letting go. The griffon, no longer feeling any resistance began moving back to its original position.

They bolted through and found themselves in another corridor. Looking to their left they saw another griffon statue identical to the first. Smiling, Hermione suddenly laughed. They were in Valkyrie's Road, from here they could get out! Natalie appeared to recognize the passageway too.

"Yes!" She cried.

"This way!" Hermione exclaimed. "I know the way out." Grabbing Natalie's arm, the two girls ran down the corridor to the exit. It took a moment to get it open and they were free.

"We'll have to document that passage," Natalie said as they slipped out into the regular corridor. Hermione nodded. "I think you should be Scholar of the Tower. Yes, I think that's a great name. We'll put it in the journal."

"What?" Hermione gave her a perplexed look.

"Well, you did find Emilia's journal and you have been checking out all the maps, haven't you? Then it's only fitting that you get to have a nickname and have your name in the journal. Unless you don't want to continue exploring?" Natalie rocked back and forth on her feet, her braid swishing against her back. She looked so excited that Hermione couldn't turn it down. It sounded like fun!

"Scholar of the Tower, I like it."

"Just remember, this is just between us girls." Natalie winked and grinned mischievously. "Who knows what problems the knights will cause? They might bring the Lord of the Minatour's House down upon us."

"The Lord is Dumbledore, right?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I'll teach you all the code words. Now we better go before Ron and Harry come looking. We were afraid you might've become Nothing, which was why I was searching up here." Natalie admitted as they began walking.

"Really?"

"We were all worried."

Hermione sighed.

"I should apologize, I've been acting like an idiot."

The other girl shrugged.

"I'm sorry Natalie."

"It's okay." Reaching over, she gave Hermione a quick hug.

Feeling better, Hermione smiled. Harry and Ron still cared for her and she'd found out who the Queen of the North and the Lady of the Greenland were. She'd learned a few things about Natalie and maybe they could become friends.

"Natalie, do you want to study for Potions with me later?" Hermione asked as they reached the second floor

"Only if Ron, Harry and Neville can join us." She remarked.

"They'd be lost without us, wouldn't they?" Hermione chuckled.

"They'd fail if it weren't for us!" Natalie laughed, tucking her wand away.

Walking side by side they headed for the winter wonderland outside and two anxious fifth year wizards.