Alright, yes, I'm supposed to be working on my other stories right now, but THIS story, THIS story is my baby so to speak. I actually have a plot with this one!!!!!

Oh, and Cordelia Riddle – Seemingly Perfect, Mary Sue, BUT she may be pretty, she's also bitchy and an airhead. And the only reason boys want her is cause she's half veela, and she has that enchantment, and pretty much only dumb girls want to be her friend cause she's pretty...

Yeah...

So just sit back, relax, read and review.

Riddles in the Dark

Chapter 1: Sweet 16
'Happy Birthday 'Mione!' Ellie Granger exclaimed, causing her daughter to blush.

'Thanks mum... Dad...' Hermione rubbed her eyes and continued down the stairs.

'Hurry! Open your presents!' Lee Granger pulled his waking daughter down the stairs, and into the lounge room.

Hermione sat heavily on the leather lounge, and pulled the nearest gift toward her.

As she opened the wrapping, a pure black owl flew in the window, and dropped a gift on her lap, wrapped in emerald green paper.

Ellie and Lee turned to each other, with a look of knowing in their eyes.

'You keep opening your gifts, 'Mione, we'll be back in a second...' Lee and Ellie retreated to the kitchen, and Hermione shrugged.

'Whatever...' Hermione put the silver paper aside, and opened the box.

'Oh... a hair care kit... with a hair straightener... Wow... Thanks mum!' Hermione tried to sound convincingly happy.

She put the kit aside, and picked up the emerald green package.

Gingerly tearing off the paper, Hermione found a dark green leather jewellery box.

Carefully opening the box, inside, Hermione found a silver necklace with a ring pendant, and in that ring, was a silver snake with emerald eyes, charmed to slither around inside its ring.

Hermione gasped.

'It's beautiful!' she rumbled through the paper, searching for a card. Finding nothing, she sat, staring at it.

Ellie and Lee returned, noticing Hermione staring at her hand.

'What is it Mione?' Lee looked over his daughter's shoulder, and gasped.

'Ellie... '

'Hermione... excuse us again...' Lee and Ellie retracted back to the kitchen, and Hermione looked at them.

'Oooh Kay...' Hermione shrugged and continued opening the gifts.

The last one there was from her father, and inside the paper, Hermione found a bag of 100,000 galleons. She squealed happily, and ran upstairs, taking her gifts with her.
Hermione walked up to her wardrobe, and got out her 'nice' clothes. She put on her white pleated skirt and coloured jumper. She quickly ran a brush through her bushy hair, and grabbed the leather bag.

Hermione ran downstairs to find her parents sitting on the lounge, with grave looks on their faces.

'Mione... Sit down, there's something we need to tell you...' Lee Granger stated, indicating the armchair. Hermione gingerly sat down in the chair, and looked at her parents.

'Hermione... we don't know quite how to tell you this... but...' Ellie started.

'Sweetie... You're... You're not... ours...'

'What?!'

'Hermione... you... you were adopted...'

'WHAT?!' Hermione jumped to her feet.

'Why didn't you tell me?! Why did you lie to me for so long!' Hermione turned on heel and ran up to her room. She couldn't stay here... she couldn't... not with... them.

Hermione packed her trunk with anything she thought she'd need, and she grabbed her galleons and the necklace.

'Mione... wait!' Lee Granger exclaimed, watching his daughter haul her trunk downstairs.

'Don't call me that!' Hermione spat, glaring at the two with pure loathing.

'Thank you for taking care of me for these past 16 years... Goodbye...' and with that, Hermione left the Granger's lives forever.

'She's gone...' Ellie Granger fell into her husband's arms, tears falling from her brown eyes.
'I can stay at the leaky cauldron till school goes back...' Hermione dragged her trunk down the street, and hailed a cab.

'London...' Hermione looked out the window, for what she hoped was the last time she'd ever set eye on the house of Granger.

Hermione lugged her trunk into the bar, and walked up to Tom.

'I'd like a room until the 30th...'

On Hermione's first day, she woke up to sunlight streaming through the window, and her curtains billowing in the cool wind.

Hermione kicked off the covers, and sat up slowly, so as she looked out the window to the invisible street below.

'Beautiful...'
Time passed quickly that last fortnight, and soon it was September 29th, the day before Hermione had to return to Hogwarts.

Hermione was down at Florean Fortescues, buying herself a sundae, when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two shoppers, one with messy black hair, and the other with the unmistakeable features of a Weasly.

'Mione!' Ron ran up to the bushy haired girl, engulfing her in a hug.

'Hi Ron! Harry!' the trio sat at a table, and the boys ordered Sundaes.

'How've your holidays been?' Hermione asked the patiently waiting Ron.

'Great! Harry and I have been at my house, planning pranks to play on the Slytherins! It's FANTASTIC!'

'Oh...'

'You Mione?'

'Crap... Terrible... Shitty as all hell!'

'Why?'

'Cause... I'm adopted!'

Hermione spat the last words, with a tone of pure loathing.

'Oh Mione...'

'By the way, Thank you for the necklace...' she forced a grin.

'Necklace? What necklace?' Harry asked, leaning in.

'You mean... someone ELSE gave me this?' Hermione withdrew the box, opening it to show the boys.

'WOW! Hermione! That's gorgeous!'

'Yeah...' her smile faltered.

'Sorry Hermione! We totally forgot your birthday...' Harry mumbled.

'Oh... excuse me...' Hermione got up, tears stinging her eyes. Hermione turned, and ran up to her room, where she fell on her bed, the dams of bitter tears breaking, and the waterfalls of sorrow running freely, cascading down her face.
When Hermione awoke, it was early afternoon, and immediately, she sprang up.

Hastily dragging a brush through her hair, Hermione ran downstairs and out into diagon alley.

Hermione quickly walked to the owl emporium and withdrew the leather pouch.

She walked into the store, browsing at the owls, eventually stopping at the cage of an ebony black owl, and picking up the cage.

'I'd like this one please...'

'Good choice! This owl is a loyal one, and once you befriend it, it's better than any phoenix! It's a mixture, phoenix/snowy owl...I can give it to you for... say... 10 galleons...'

'Alright!' Hermione handed over the money, and took the cage up to her room.

'Welcome home... hmm... I'll call you... Phobos... yes... Phobos...'

The black owl let a quiet, agreeing hoot out at this, and Hermione smiled.

'Welcome home Phobos...'
That night, Hermione sat, looking at Phobos.

She had been so lonely since Crookshanks ran away at the end of 5th year... she could never forgive Harry for that...

'Crookshanks would NEVER attack Hedwig!' Hermione exclaimed.

'Oh yeah?! Then why is Hedwig so jumpy whenever she sees the cat? Or why does Crookshanks always give Hedwig the 'evil eye' ?!' Harry screeched

'Hedwig is an OWL, a cat would be a predator for her, but...'

'So you're admitting that Crookshanks would eat Hedwig if he got the chance?'

'He never would! Crookshanks is TOO BLOODY FAT! Hedwig is a fast bird!'

Harry stormed out, kicking Crookshanks as he left.

'Asshole...' Hermione scooped the ginger cat into her arms, and hugged him tightly.

After Hermione went to sleep that night, Harry snuck into her room, and took Crookshanks, stuffing him in a bag. The cat screeched, but Harry just whacked it over the head, and knocked the ginger tabby out.

Creeping slowly up to moaning myrtle's bathroom, he opened the chamber of secrets and dropped the sack down there.

Crookshanks was gone.

(A/N If I'm physically incorrect… Please notice the cup of care = (I'm sorry... due to the emptiness of the cup of care, it has disappeared...) :P)

'It's in the past...' Hermione shook the memory from her mind. She curled up in bed, and quickly fell asleep, with the calming hoots released from her owl.
The next morning, Hermione quickly got up, and got dressed. Hermione put on some warm, casual clothes, her usual back to school gear.

After adorning her Jeans and denim jacket, Hermione hauled her packed trunk, owl cage and bag of galleons downstairs, loading them into the car Tom arranged to take her to the station.

'Thank you Tom!' Hermione waved and hopped into the ministry car, only to find Ginny and Mrs. Weasly already inside.

'Hi Hermione! Here!' Ginny handed Hermione a wrapped package, which Hermione gratefully received.

'Sorry I didn't owl it to you, but Ron wouldn't let me use Pig, and Errol is useless...' Ginny smiled, 'Open it!'

'Thanks Gin...' Hermione tore off the paper, finding an emerald green leather bound diary, with silver gilding on the sides. (A/N subtle, subtle me!!!)

'Thanks Ginny! Wow! It's beautiful!' Hermione hugged the girl, who smiled, and blushed.

'That's ok...'
Eventually arriving at school from the long train ride, Hermione dismounted the train to find Parvarti and Lavender part of a crowd in front of one of the last carriages.

'What's everyone looking at?' Hermione tapped Lavender on the shoulder.

'The Riddle sisters! They've come to Hogwarts!' Parvarti explained in an excited whisper.

'The Riddle sisters?'

'Yeah! The eldest one, Cordelia is rumoured to be the prettiest witch in the WHOLE UNIVERSE!'

'That's gotta be an exaggeration...'

'No! Really... Here she comes now!'

Hermione peered over the crowd and a tall, blonde girl exited the train. Pushing her sunglasses up (Cordelia pushed her sunglasses up), Hermione saw that Cordelia had grey eyes, and she was as pretty as everyone said.

Hermione couldn't put her finger on when, but she'd seen this girl before... the pink streaks at the front of her hair gave it away...
That night, Hermione lay awake in bed, trying to remember where she had seen Cordelia and Louisa Riddle before... Not in a magazine, or the daily prophet... somewhere else... she'd seen the newly sorted Slytherin's... closer... more... personal...

But Where...
Ok… Tell me what you guys think!

The review button's just below here…

!c3