CHAPTER ONE

Six years previously………

"Ronald Weasley! If you do not stop that behaviour this instant, I will be sending an owl to your mother the moment we arrive at Hogwarts!" said Hermoine Granger, crossly.

She was hunched up her seat on the Hogwart's Express, knees pulled up to her chest, in order to support an overly large book, which was hiding most of her face. At the moment, she was peeping over the top, eyes flashing.

"Honestly, I would have thought that you would have grown out of such nonsense by now! Especially when this is our final year! Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah," grinned Ron, "it means only one more year that I have to listen to you shout at me for not taking my work seriously".

He lowered his wand, and the water filled balloon that was hanging over a sleeping Neville's head, floated gently on to the chair beside him. He picked it up and winked at Harry, who was sitting opposite him.

"Keep this for later", he mouthed silently, as he delicately placed the balloon in his bag.

"Well Ron", Hermoine continued, "you may think that it's funny, but this could be the most important year of our lives! I can't believe how much we are going to have to know, and how much reading we are going to have to complete! I should never have gone on holiday with my mum and dad. They wouldn't let me take all my books – they didn't think I'd get on the plane with the weight of them! And now I'm behind with my study schedule…. And don't think I didn't see you hide that water balloon!"

"Relax Hermoine," said Ron, "I was only practicing my hovering charm. And I think I've finally got it sussed! It's just taken me six years. See – I was doing my revision too! Wingardium Leviosa and its practical applications."

Harry started to laugh, and looking over at him, Hermoine couldn't help but smile too. There was so little to smile about these days, and it had seemed a long time since she had heard Harry laugh. She sighed and closed her book, resting it on the seat beside her. She may as well try and enjoy the rest of their journey to Hogwarts – it was going to be their last after all.

She couldn't believe that the years had passed so quickly. It hardly seemed like any time since that initial journey on the Hogwarts Express, when she had first met Ron and Harry. They hadn't exactly hit it off straight away! As she recalled, she had been looking for Neville's toad, Trevor, and had later proceeded to tell them off for not being dressed in their school robes yet. She smiled at the memory – maybe she would always be telling them off for something! Not that she hadn't relaxed a little over the years – it hadn't taken long for the three of them to become firm friends and she knew that they had been good for her, helped her to loosen up a bit and stopped her from being quite so bossy.

She looked around their carriage and a strange sadness filled her heart. It really was going to be the end of an era. There was Neville sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of Ron's "revision" of the practical applications of Wingardium Leviosa. He was finally gaining confidence in his own abilities, and had been instrumental in the events at the end of last year. Perhaps some of his confidence was due to the fact that he had stopped studying Potions, and was no longer subjected to ritual humiliation by Professor Snape in every lesson. He was now focussing mainly on Herbology and Hermoine hadn't even been too upset when Neville had equalled her score in their Herbology preliminary NEWT. Ever since that first day when she helped him look for Trevor, Hermoine had felt a bit protective of Neville, and she was happy that he had finally come in to his own and had gained the respect of his classmates that he deserved. If Ron had dropped that water balloon, she knew that Neville would have been able to have given as good as he got, and she wouldn't have been placing bets as to who would have come out on top!

Also in their carriage was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, who was currently deep in conversation with Luna Lovegood. Both Luna and Ginny were going in to their sixth year at Hogwarts and had become good friends since the night in the Department of Mysteries. Hermoine counted Ginny as one of her best friends, but she had to admit that she had never quite been on the 'same level' as Luna. She was a nice enough girl, but Hermoine had felt that her doubts about Luna had increased somewhat last year, when she had told Hermoine that she'd once met a whole family of Oompa Loompas in northern Mongolia. Hermoine had smiled politely and said that of course, Oompa Loompas did not exist and were merely created by the imagination of a Muggle author. Luna and just shrugged her shoulders and said,

"Well, I'm sure you thought magic wands and broomsticks were created by the imagination of muggles, before you received your letter from Hogwarts."

Hermoine hadn't known what to say in reply to that, and had decided to just let the matter drop. After all, there was just no reasoning with some people.

And then there was Harry and Ron, her two best friends in the whole world. She'd never found that she'd had much in common with the other girls in her year, and although she loved Ginny, her experiences with Ron and Harry meant that their friendship was the most important thing to her. Ever since that first battle with the troll in first year, right through to the events a few months ago, they'd always been there for each other. Of course, they'd had their moments, as all friends do, but she really did find it difficult to imagine what life would be like once they had gone their separate ways after Hogwarts.

Although they'd never discussed it in any great detail, she knew that they all had different ideas about what their future held – Harry was almost guaranteed to become and Auror (exam results permitting), while Ron had given up on that slightly and instead had dreams of playing professional Quidditch, with hopes of eventually making the English squad. She herself, intended to go on to some wizarding University, in order to keep on learning, although she was unsure exactly what she wanted to study. She just found so many different subjects so interesting! She knew she would have to be making important decisions soon.

So here they were, entering their last year at Hogwarts. The fact that Hermoine had been made Head Girl was of no surprise to anyone, and most people had probably taken it as given, that Harry would be Head Boy – following in his father's footsteps. It therefore raised a few eyebrows when Draco Malfoy had been given that honour. Hermoine still had no time at all for her male counterpart, but could only assume that it was part of Professor Dumbledore's grand scheme for inter-house co-operation. She, herself, had her own doubts about how that was all going to turn out!

She had spoken to Harry about the matter not long after they had found out who was Head Boy, and had been pleased to learn that Harry had no regrets about not holding the position himself. He simply stated that he had other things to be getting on with, and that the last thing he needed was more responsibility – he only wished that the title had gone to Ron, or anyone else for that matter, before Malfoy. Ron, however, was content with being the Quidditch Captain for Gryffindor and had mentioned that he had no intention of being another Percy, anyway. And so – Malfoy it was. She shook her head slightly in contemplation of actually working with the arrogant and aggravating young man. Although slightly more subdued since the public shaming of his parents, there was little doubt that Malfoy still thought himself above most of the other students in the school – in particular those with the kind of background that Hermoine had. Well, he better not try anything underhand as Head Boy, she thought grimly to herself, or she would be on to it as quick as a snitch, that's for sure!

"Earth to Hermoine!" she heard Ron's voice calling.

"Sorry," she apologised as she came out of her reverie, "I wasn't listening."

"We can tell that," he replied. "You had that look of determination on your face – you know, the same one you wear when you're on a mission in the library, demolishing piles of books that have no business to be read in the first place."

She smiled at him.

"Actually, I was just thinking of what I could do to Malfoy if he decides to take advantage of his new-found power."

"Well, if you need any suggestions, just ask me. I'm always willing to contribute to a good cause!"

"I'm sure you are Ron," she laughed, "however I don't exactly want to get expelled either!"

"I'm hurt that you think I would let that happen to you," Ron replied with a wounded look. "I mean, how could I hope to pass any exams if you went and got yourself expelled!"

She just laughed in reply, "Well I suppose you'd just have to study the same as everyone else."

"Perish the thought," Ron shuddered. "Anyway, we were just wondering if you fancied a game of exploding snap? Neville has finally woken up and he's got this cool new deck of cards decorated with pictures of some nice, estimable young witches."

Neville looked a little sheepish at this, so Hermoine leaned forward and grabbed the pack of cards out of Ron's hands.

"Hmph, estimable young witches indeed!" she said, flicking through them. "They look more like scantily clad trollops to me"

"It's art, Hermoine," Ron replied, grabbing the cards back off her, "and I appreciate some good art, even if you don't!"

She rolled her eyes at him, but agreed to play the game nonetheless. She noticed that the women on her cards seemed to look very petulant and unattractive, whereas whenever one of the boys picked them up, they would start simpering and smiling in a manner that Hermoine supposed was intended to be seductive. Perhaps she could bewitch some clothes on to the exposed bodies at a later date…..

As the Hogwart's Express approached its destination, Hermoine began to gather together her belongings and stood up, preparing to head off down the carriages.

"Are you two coming?" she asked Ron and Ginny.

Both the Weasleys were now prefects, and it was their responsibility to ensure that all the first years were dressed and prepared for their arrival. They both stood up to join her, although Hermoine thought that Ron looked less than pleased with leaving the others in the compartment. She never could fully understand why Ron had been made a prefect! It was true that he was liked and admired by many younger students, but Hermoine felt that this was more due to his prowess on the Quidditch field, rather than any sense of responsibility. On the other hand, she couldn't deny that he interacted well with the students and she knew that many of them felt able to approach him with anything that was bothering them – probably more than they could with her, if she was honest with herself. Since Fred and George had left a couple of years ago, Ron had stepped into their shoes as it were – not in the extreme practical-joking sense, but in the outgoing-friendly-everyone-liked-him sense. Which was good, Hermoine thought to herself, as she got the impression that he no longer felt that he was in Harry's shadow all the time.

The three of them set off down the corridor and began to gather together all the first years. Hermoine was glad that, so far, they had managed to avoid Draco Malfoy. It was quite strange actually, now that she thought about it, as Malfoy would usually wander down to their compartment at some point in the journey, to stir things up with Harry and the rest of them. Well, it suited her fine if he was going to keep a low profile this year.

The train slowly pulled to halt at the station, and the doors to the carriages opened up, dozens of laughing and chattering students spilling on to the platform. Hermoine climbed down the steps and looked through the crowds, spotting Hagrid immediately. He was towering over everybody around him and was calling out in his loud, booming voice,

"Firs' years, this way!"

Hermoine saw that he had spotted her coming through the crowds, shepherding a group of nervous first years in front of her. He gave her a big welcoming grin,

"Alrigh' there Hermoine?" he asked.

"Great thanks, Hagrid", she replied.

She drew closer to him, and he patted her on the shoulder – she was sure that he meant it to be a gentle, friendly 'tap' but Hagrid always seemed to underestimate his own strength.

"Glad to hear it!" he continued. His expression suddenly became more sombre as he noticed her wincing slightly under his touch, and he added in a serious tone,

"You watch out for yersel' Hermoine, and watch out for those friends of yours. You all went through a lot las' year and I doubt things will be any easier this time round. You know where I am, if you need help with anythin'."

Hermoine was grateful for his offer, and smiled gently at him. However, although she appreciated the sentiment, she wasn't sure whether she exactly wanted reminding of what lay before them. The scars were literally still healing from the recent past. With each year that had passed since their first year, Voldemort had been steadily growing in power and it now only seemed like a matter of time before he was ready to wreak his vengeance upon the world. Four months ago they had been given a brief taster of what lay ahead, and it had been a harsh and bitter pill to swallow.

Just then, interrupting her thoughts, she noticed a small, green animal hopping past her feet.

"Trevor!"

She heard Neville's call, right on cue, and laughed as she watched him dodging through the crowds following the surprisingly fast toad, politely apologising to everyone he bumped into on the way. Some things would never change.

Having made sure that all the first years were now under Hagrid's watchful eye, she looked through the hustle and bustle towards the carriages that were to take the remaining students to Hogwart's Castle. People were already beginning to climb inside some carriages and she looked around for her friends to see if she could jump in with any of them. However, as she drew nearer, she felt a sudden jolt, as if a cold hand had grasped her heart. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked towards the carriages, not noticing the other students as they milled around her.

What she was now looking upon were the winged creatures that pulled the Hogwart's carriages. Thestrals. They were black in colour and looked much more reptilian and malnourished than she had imagined. Harry had described them to her in the past but she'd never been able to see them for herself – only Neville and Luna had been able to see them along with Harry. She had once expressed regret to Harry about not being able to see them, but immediately had wished she could take back the thoughtless words – the Thestrals were only visible to those who had witnessed death.

However, this time, there was now no denying that the Thestrals were there in front of her, as clear as any creature she had ever seen. There was no escaping the fact that last year she not only witnessed death first hand, but she had come close to death herself. She shivered at the memory and pulled her cloak tighter around her. She couldn't take her eyes off what she was seeing in front of her – and she remembered how she had actually flown on the back of one of these winged animals, not even knowing what was beneath her.

As she stood staring, she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder.

"It's a shock the first time, isn't it?"

She turned around and saw Harry standing beside her, also staring at the Thestrals. His face wore the serious and preoccupied expression that Hermoine was beginning to recognise as an all too familiar countenance for Harry. She gave him a sad smile in agreement, but said nothing. She was grateful for his presence and his touch on her shoulder – by just being there, he offered some reassurance to her that she was not alone and that he understood her feelings and emotions.

It was almost as if the Thestrals embodied everything that had happened over the past six years. They were the ugly face of reality of what they had all experienced – that their innocence had been stolen from them as schoolchildren and that these animals stood witness to the blood they had all seen spilled. Instead of magical, horseless carriages, they now had skeletal beasts, reminding them all at every glance of the harsh reality that they had endured – and were to continue enduring. It was almost like rubbing salt in the wound, Hermoine thought to herself – as if someone was giving a further twist of the knife.

"Ugly buggers aren't they!"

Harry and Hermoine both turned to see Ron, gambolling along the platform towards them, sticking out his tongue in apparent disgust. Hermoine smiled at Ron's poetic description of the Thestrals, although she had to agree with his conclusion.

"Well, they're not the prettiest animals I've ever seen", she admitted. "But you know they're very magical creatures. Remember what Hagrid told us about them."

She was grateful for Ron's interruption of her rather depressing thoughts. He brought a sense of liveliness to the situation, and she was now actually able to remember all that she had learned about the Thestrals, rather than dwelling on what it actually meant to be able to see them. She was determined not to allow herself to become maudlin, not on the very first day back at Hogwarts – as much for the sake of those around her, as it was for herself. She smiled at Ron and Harry,

"Lets go, then".

The three of them made their way into the nearest carriage, and were soon joined by Neville, who was running at a pace, firmly grasping Trevor in his hands

"I'm sure he does it on purpose", he gasped as he flopped on to his seat. "Not one year has gone by, when he hasn't gone for a wander the moment we pull in to Hogsmeade"

He pushed the toad into his pocket and clamped his hand firmly over the top, just as the carriages slowly began moving towards Hogwarts, pulled along by their mysterious steeds.

They were some of the last through the large, oak doors in to the main entrance of Hogwart's Castle. Ginny came running up to join them, having left Luna with some of her Ravenclaw friends. There was a throng of students in front of them, slowly making their way across the floor, heading right, in the direction of the Great Hall, where a feast awaited them. Hermoine stood with Harry, Neville, Ron and Ginny, as they hovered at this first entrance, waiting for the crowds to filter through the next door. She spotted a few people she hadn't noticed on the Hogwart's Express, and waved cheerily at them. She always loved this first evening, when everyone caught up with one and other, and shared details of what they had been up to in the three months since they'd last seen each other.

Somewhere along from her, she noticed that Ron began fumbling in his bag. She couldn't quite see what he was doing, as Ginny, Harry and Neville were standing in between, but she was not unduly concerned. However, he suddenly turned around and said,

"Hey, Harry, fancy getting in some early Quidditch practice?"

He tossed something over to Harry, who caught it deftly in his hands. Ginny squealed slightly beside him as she moved out of the way. Hermoine couldn't make out what Ron had thrown. Whatever it was, Harry lifted it in one hand and threw it back in Ron's direction,

"Not just now, Keeper!" he smiled. "Lets at least get some dinner first!"

Ron caught the projectile easily, and it was only then that Hermoine recognised what they were pitching at each other – it was the water balloon that Ron had been levitating over Neville's head on the Hogwart's Express earlier. She was amazed that he still had it and that it hadn't burst in his bag.

"What do you still have that for?" she hissed. "How on earth have you managed to keep it all the way here?"

"It's something Fred and George have been working on," he grinned. "It wont actually burst unless it actually comes into contact with something with force. See!"

In demonstration he began squeezing at the balloon, and it began to distort into an odd shape, two bulbous ends growing at either side, while he tightened his grip around the middle. Harry and Ginny began to laugh.

"It just wont explode like that," he continued, "although you have to be careful as you catch it."

He was now twisting the balloon around the middle, until it looked like two smaller balloons stuck together. Despite what he had said, Hermoine seriously doubted whether it could take much more strain and fully expected it to burst all over him.

"Stop it!" she warned, "You're going to end up soaking!"

"Hermoine, you need to live a little!" Ron called merrily as he untwisted it. "Here – catch!"

He held up the balloon in two hands and volleyed it across the heads of Harry, Neville and Ginny towards her. Panic stricken, she reached out and somehow managed to catch the missile in her shaking fingers, preventing it from exploding around her. It felt cold and slippery and she thanked her lucky stars that it hadn't burst in her hands. She looked at Ron, furious.

"What are you playing at?" she yelled. "I've a good mind to take 50 points from you, before term has even officially begun!"

"Aw, come on 'Mione", Ron said with a smile, which Hermoine was sure he thought was endearing. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"I bloody well would!" she retorted in reply.

She still held the balloon in both her hands, but she carefully took its full weight in one and searched in her cloak for her wand with the other. Ron obviously guessed what she was intending to do, and he muttered,

"Spoil sport."

Ignoring him, Hermoine found her wand and took it out, preparing to cast the Evanesco spell.

At that moment, a commotion of some sort behind her caused her to hesitate. She glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on and saw a young boy, who she recognised as a second-year Gryffindor, staggering to his feet – he appeared to be having some sort of scuffle with some other second years from Slytherin. Exasperated, she lowered her wand and began to turn around in order to tell them to behave. Honestly, could no one wait patiently for a few minutes, without feeling the need to act up in some way? And she wasn't convinced such behaviour stopped with second years either, thinking of Ron and the water balloon.

Unfortunately, before she had a chance to fully turn around, she felt herself being propelled forward, as someone hurtled in to the back of her. She later found out that the second-year Slytherins had pushed the young Gryffindor, sending him stumbling towards her. He hadn't been able to stop himself crashing in to Hermoine. She fought to keep her balance, but because she had been taken completely unaware she felt herself falling forwards towards the stone floor of the Entrance Hall!

As if in slow motion, she saw the balloon leave her hand and sail through the air. She wasn't sure if she cried out or not, blood pounding in her ears, as she realised that no one was going to catch it. Worse – she saw someone coming through the main door, completely unaware of what was heading their way. In her shock, something registered somewhere in her brain as to who she was seeing emerge into her vision. Had she not been falling towards the floor, she would have made a last ditch attempt to cast the vanishing spell she had been about to perform on the flying balloon – instead she crashed on to her hands and knees and briefly felt the pain, before the images she had seen began to clear in her head.

If only she was mistaken!

She looked up at Harry, Ron, Neville and Ginny and saw the absolute horror on their faces. Harry looked as if a ghost has just walked through him, while Ron looked as if he actually was a ghost. Ginny had a hand on either side of her face, fingers covering her mouth, which was hanging open in shock. Her eyes were like saucers. Neville looked like he was about to faint on the spot. For the second time that day, Hermoine felt a cold grip on her heart – but this was far worse than seeing the Thestrals for the first time. She immediately lowered her head again and closed her eyes, unable to deal with the full picture just yet.

"Oh dear God, don't let it be, please don't let it be", she prayed feverishly to herself.

She found that her current position on her hands and knees was an appropriate one for praying. Yet she knew she could put it off no longer. Even if she screwed her eyes shut and prayed to every God that she had ever read about, she knew that the dreadfulness she pictured would still be there when she opened them. She opened one eye first and then the other, but was still staring at her hands in front of her. Looking up slowly, she felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach as her worst fears were confirmed.

First his black boots. Then his black trousers. A little higher. His black cloak. Further up. Arms folded against his chest. She noted he was holding his wand. Oh dear. Right up. Long black hair. More than a little damp. He now had her full attention.

Standing before her, drenched to the skin – and looking positively murderous – stood the most hated and feared teacher at Hogwarts.

Professor Snape.