Disclaimer: I own nothing but a pack of gum, some pocket lint, and two shelves of beat up, coverless books. Don't sue me.

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Barriers

Chapter 1

The Rose Petal

Hermione Granger flopped down on her bed at about 6:00 in the evening. 'Who knew 7th year would be this stressful', she thought. Out of boredom, she started examining the antique wooden headboard in her head girl's room, which she had tastefully decorated in black and white. Black was her favorite color and white, the opposite, duh, contrasted dramatically. Hermione loved dramatics. She was a very theatrical person, though not many knew it.

Anyway, back to the headboard. On it there was a large snake intertwined with a rose. Rumor had it that it had been the bed in Salazar Slytherin's second set of rooms. Hermione adored it. When Dumbledore had offered her a teaching position for next year, last month, in September, he had also said the bed could go to her new room.

Her eyes rested on one of the petals of the rose. It seemed to be made of a slightly lighter wood than the rest of the bed. Almost like oak against the darker cherry wood of the rest of the bed. 'That's odd', she thought. She softly stroked the wooden petal with her index finger and was shocked when it slowly started melting away.

After the whole petal had melted, Hermione was left staring at a little hollow compartment, with folded piece of paper placed inside.

Hands trembling, heart racing, Hermione reached in to take the paper. It was aged, and yellowing, but remarkably, it hadn't started to crumble yet. She muttered a quick spell to repair the bed, then rushed off to inform Headmaster Dumbledore.

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This is my first attempt at an HG/SS story. It is my favorite ship. Criticism of the story is welcome.

thnx for reading, plz review

lots of love

Alex