Chapter 2: My Protector

Halloween slowly crept upon the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Halloween was always a great time of year at the castle, just as any other holiday, but they were especially drawn to this holiday. None knew why, maybe because of the thought of Halloween, or maybe because they knew something usually happened on that day and brought excitement to the dull lives of some of the students.

The feast began as usual, Dumbledore said a funny little speech (something about lemon drops and pumpkin pies) and the food magically appeared. The main hall was filled with chatter and laughing. Hermione laughed as Ron choked on a piece of ham, Harry slapping him in the back. Sarah Melindi, a first year Gryffindor, sat next to Hermione, her eyes traveling around the table.

"Hey, um... Hermione," said the first year quietly, still a little uneasy to talk to her tutor. Hermione looked at Sarah and smiled.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Have you seen Ashton? I haven't seen her since last period." said Sarah, rubbing her arm. Hermione shook her head, not seeing the first year since lunch that afternoon. "I'm gonna go see if she fell asleep in her room, she did that last week," Sarah said, getting up from the table and exiting the hall.

"God Ron! Not again!" cried Harry, laughing at the red head who, once again, choked on his dinner from laughing to much at one of his fellow quidditch players. Hermione shook her head.

"Maybe you should try laughing after you eat Ron," said Hermione, smiling.

No one knew when it happened, but all of a sudden the doors opened and a first year Gryffindor ran into the Great Hall and fell down next to the Gryffindor table, her hand on Hermione's robe. Hermione looked down, as well as many spectators watched as well.

"Sarah?" asked Hermione, her face confused.

"Ashton... Ashton!" she choked, her eyes bloodshot. A bony hand rested upon the first year's shoulder. Sarah looked up. "He...headmaster," she stuttered.

"Show me where Ashton is," said Dumbledore. The shaky girl got up and hurried out of the hall, Dumbledore and the rest of the school close behind.

They made their way up to the Gryffindor dormitories but stopped in the hall leading to it. There... there lay a muddle of black, white, red, gold, and light brown. Dumbledore walked over to the mess and knelt next to it.

"Is she... is she..." muttered Sarah, staring down at her best friend.

"No, she is alive though and must be taken to the doctor at once." Dumbledore said as a nearby teacher picked up Ashton and walked away quickly. Dumbledore turned to the students and gave a fake smile. "Do not worry my children, she had a fever she probably came down with a dizzy spell and passed out. Please, return to your rooms and have a good nights rest," addressed Dumbledore, turning from the students.

"Are you mad Albus?" asked McGonagall quietly, grabbing the robes of the headmaster. "You know this is work of unknown evil... You know it... I told you at the beginning..."

"Please Minerva, I am need of rest in my chamber, we shall continue this discussion later. Goodnight," Dumbledore knew McGonagall was right... she was almost always right. He didn't what he could do... should he travel his heart or his mind? He hoped that this would be the only one to fall to the hands of something unknown to him...

"Poor Ashton... sick..." said Ginny.

"Rubbish... Dumbledore was lying..." said Hermione, looking at the spot where Ashton had been moments earlier.

"What are you saying Hermione?" asked Ron.

"I told you all!" cried Draco, heads turning and people stopping in their tracks. "Ashton was a filthy little mudblood. This happened years ago and it is happening again! You better watch out."

"Shove off Malfoy," said Hermione, shoving past him to get to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Watch out Granger. This time, you might not make it out alive." Hermione stopped in her tracks. What was he talking about? Second year she had only been stunned... petrified... they all had been cursed. "This time, Potter won't be able to save you..." The words traveled like spikes down her spine. "Or any of you stupid muggle borns! The purification has begun!" Laughter rang in Hermione's ears before she entered the Gryffindor room. She slowly sank into a chair, her gaze toward the fire. Was Draco right? Was someone else out to get the muggle children? Was he in it? She wouldn't doubt that Draco's father had something to do with such a plan... but...

"Hermione... Hermione please wake up!" cried a voice. Eyelids fluttered before they opened. Everything was a blur as she slowly came to her senses. All of the Gryffindors were around her, their eyes focused on her.

"What?" she asked softly, her voice cracking. She felt a hand upon her knee and a hand grasping hers.

"Oh 'Mione! We all came in and we thought you were..." said Ron, squeezing Hermione's hand.

"That is true," said Harry, patting the knee of his friend. "We thought what Malfoy said might actually be true... so we panicked a bit." Hermione let out a little laugh.

"When did you start to listen to Malfoy?" she asked softly. She must have fallen asleep, lost in her thoughts once again. It was late, and the day had been long. "Thank you for worrying about me. I'm fine," she said, a small little smile upon her pink lips.

The next week went by awfully slow. Everyday, Sarah spent all her free time next to Ashton. The doctor said they thought she was getting better... no one believed her though.

Christmas flew by and before they knew it, February was upon them. There had been no disturbances but Ashton was no longer on the bed... oh no... she had died and no one could understand why. It was grim for a long time at the school, and Sarah was taking it extremely hard. And then one day... one day broke the camel's back.

"AHHHHHH!" screamed a first year Slytherin, her back against the wall, her hazel eyes wide with fright. A group of people raced toward her, everyone and anyone who were walking around in the corridors before dinner.

"What is it?" asked Ginny, pushing her way through the crowd. She stopped. "Cierra... Cierra what happened?" asked Ginny. The Slytherin girl shook violently as she looked at her two friends laying on the ground, not moving, as was Ashton four months before...

Dumbledore stood in front of the whole school, his eyes usually full of jolliness was filled with determination. The Great Hall was silent.

"With the current attacks on muggle born children, the staff and I have created a buddy system that will hopefully try to stop these attacks... We have paired each muggle born with a full blooded wizard or a half blood due to the lack of full blooded wizards. You each will get a special key and in the past couple of weeks we have made special rooms for the muggle borns. You will attend classes but you will always travel in packs. After dinner, you must report to your room with your partner and stay in that room. You will be able to send letters to your friends through a special mailing system we have designed for you... You will basically become best friends with your partner until we can stop this evil. If we cannot stop this evil... we will shut down the school until we find it safe for our students to learn and study." explained Dumbledore. Harsh whispers spread through the hall. Who were they going to be paired up with? Was it going to be someone they knew? Someone they hated? Someone they had a crush on? The thoughts stopped as Dumbledore clapped his hands.

"Once you return to your rooms you will have a special key that only you will be able to make out. No one else in your room will be able to see it. There will be instructions on how to use it and you shall venture into your new little room. I warn you, they don't have much room, just a bed, small table and a chair. Your things will already be in your new room. You will also meet your protector I guess you'd call it. Become friends with them for they are the ones who are suppose to protect you from danger. With that said, lets eat," said Dumbledore, the sparkle in his eye back now that the bad news was done with. Yet, the room wasn't as cheery as Dumbledore would like...

"Who do you think your partner will be?" asked Ron, eating his meal slowly, his eyes watching his friends.

"I don't know, I hope it is someone I can get along with," said Harry, pushing his glasses up as he talked. Hermione just picked at her food. She didn't want to be protected, she could protect herself. This arrangement made her feel awfully uncomfortable. This new threat... little rooms... a protector... It was starting to turn into a fairytale if she had ever seen one.

"'Mione!" Hermione looked up, her two friends looking at her. "'Mione, are you alright?" asked Ron, his eyes looking worriedly at her.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Your eyes are bloodshot... are you sure you aren't letting this deal get to your head? You heard Dumbledore, the people who look after you are suppose to check up on you at night and be in your pack. They aren't living with you or anything, which is a good thing." explained Harry, a little smile on his face. Hermione nodded. He was right... they were just there to make sure she was fine and not in the line of danger.

The room was bare looking for two of the five that slept in the room were muggle born children. Hermione walked to her bed, a white envelope laying there waiting to be opened. She sat upon her bed and opened it. Inside was a piece of paper that read...

Hello Ms Granger, so glad you could open this. As you know you are in danger, as is the rest of the Muggle born children. Your key is your teddy bear that is always under your pillow. If you touch that, you and the teddy will disappear and you shall be in your room with your protector, if that is what you want to call them. You shall be checked up regularly by your buddy on a regular basis. Sometime the buddy will decide when they see you, or the key will and bring them forth. They should check up on your three times before bed and should see you to your first class and then back to your house dormitory after dinner or your secret passage way to get to your room. Your secret entrance is down the hall from your dormitory. There, you will see a picture of a beautiful lady in white. Say Goddess and you shall be allowed in. Only use this passage if you have to get to your room as quickly as possible and if no one is around. Anyone will be able to get into your room if you let your password slip, so keep it in your mind and not on paper. I wish you luck and safety to you and your protector.

Signed,

Dumbledore

Hermione set the letter down and looked around her room. No one had bother to come up yet, they were still in the common area of the house to talk and play games before bed. Hermione saw her teddy bear and touched it. Ginny opened the door, a smile upon her face.

"Hey Hermione! Ron is trying to shove beans up his nose, you need to tell him to stop," giggled Ginny. She blinked. "Hermione? 'Mione?!" Hermione wasn't there.

The room was a blur and it took several seconds for her eyes to adjust. Hermione looked around, seeing where she was at. It was a small room decorated in gold and silver colors. It was a small room, as Dumbledore said, and was quite cozy. She sat upon her bed and gave a sigh. She felt alone and unwanted, being locked up in a room that only her protector could get into. She let out a small sigh and grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. Why... why must she be alone? Small tears slid down her cheeks as she sighed a small sigh.

"Granger?" came a voice. Hermione froze. She slowly looked up to see a platinum blonde haired boy standing in front of her. That was him... her protector.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed these two chapters of my story. I know, Harry Potter and a Fruits Basket lover, what is the world coming too... lol I hope to get the next chapter written for this and Cherry Blossoms. That is it for now, tootles!