Chapter 16
"Hermione's Obsession"
When Hermione entered her final year at Hogwarts, she was overwhelmed with many new feelings. Her dreams of that handsome boy continued. It was always the same dream, him, standing in a dark room with a mixed complexion upon his handsome face. Hermione had gone further into her dreams though, able to hear the boy talk, hear him saying things like "I will find you one day" in a soothing, calming voice. Hermione seemed to draw the boy's attention, having made an appearance in her dreams just recently. She could feel the boy's hand clasp hers as he reached out for her hand. She could feel him drawing her into his powerful embrace. She could feel the heat of his body against hers. She starred into his emerald green eyes, drawing in to kiss him, but just before their lips would meet, Hermione would wake up.
Hermione was busy preparing for her NEWTs, knowing just what she wanted to be, an auror. Though she did have that fling with S.P.E.W., she dropped it after realizing that house elves were happy, and became fascinated with the work of aurors. She read tons of books to help her prepare for her NEWTs that were required to become an auror, though she really didn't need to study. She had an intelligence that her parents say she was born with. She could perform complicated spells that were too far advanced for what many students her age or older could do.
Hermione had also taken up an unusual hobby, learning all she could about Lord Voldemort. She found it not only a hobby, but also an obsession. She blamed it on her quest to become an auror. She knew it was some part of her that craved for any knowledge over the Dark Lord. She stayed in the library constantly, finding any book she could, but with little success. Even the books in the restricted section lacked any great information she could find useful. She had however, kept her obsession very secret. She didn't want to alarm anybody, especially Ron and Harry, with her obsession.
"Hey Harry, do you want to go to the library with me and study a bit." she asked Harry each day after dinner.
"Hermione, I know you want to be prepared fro the NEWTs and all, but spend everyday in that miserable library? You need to get out and clear your head." Harry told her.
Hermione knew Harry was telling the truth. She had spent so much time studying and researching. She was Head Girl and needed to set a good example for her fellow students. Ron was Head Boy, but Harry also had a great influence over young students due to his quidditch performances.
"Alright, I'll come out in a bit. Just let me finish up some things." replied Hermione.
Hermione had grown quite a lot over the years. Her bushy hair was nearly tamed, straightening out and looking shinier than usual. Her body was starting to take shape, due to growing up and adding muscle from years of carrying around heavy books. Her face was also quite pretty with rosy pink cheeks and luscious lips. She strutted into the library as usual, taking in the smell of books and hearing a few students whisper amongst themselves in the aisles. Hermione knew every book in every aisle, even the previously added ones.
"Nothing unusual today." she thought to herself.
A small wooden cart caught her attention. Madame Pince, the librarian, was busy unloading several old, tattered black leather books from a small closet. The books were about an inch thick and heavily covered with dust. Hermione walked over to the cart.
"Madame Pince, what books are these?" she asked.
Madame Pince placed a few more books on the cart.
"Old school year books from long ago." replied Madame Pince.
Hermione looked at them. Gold letters dominated the front covers. One book stood out amongst them all.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Year 1944-1945"
Hermione's mind told her that something in that book was very valuable. Her heart leaped at the site of the year. When Madame Pince bustle backed into the closet, Hermione grabbed the book and hid it in her robes. She grabbed her bag and dashed up to her private room.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Year 1944-1945." she read aloud while tracing the golden letters with her slender finger.
Hermione opened the book. It was divided into sections by teachers and staff, houses, clubs, classes, and quidditch teams. Hermione flipped through the pages, eyeing every picture, black and white. Some move, some didn't. Hermione stopped at the Slytherin House section. Her heart gave a small flutter as she turned to the fourth page. There, in the fifth row, third picture form the left, was her mystery boy. He looked exactly like he did in her dreams. Though the pictures for houses did not move, Hermione could just imagine him looking back at her and smiling. Hermione looked to find his name.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle: Seventh Year"
The boy who Hermione had been dreaming about for so long had finally been revealed. It was Lord Voldemort. Hermione couldn't believe it. How could such a handsome young man become such a terrible person? She continued flipping the pages and stopped at that year's Head Boy and Head Girl.
Tom Riddle was there, dressed in black, and looking quite handsome. There, next to him was a very beautiful young lady named Katrina Anne Smith. Both were from Slytherin. Hermione took in Katrina's features, cinnamon colored eyes, a gorgeous smile, a petty face, and beautiful hair.
"My God!" Hermione said. "She looks just like me!"
So, Hermione's obsession was more than just that, but a quest to find more on this Katrina Anne Smith. Weeks later, not one scrap of information but what was in the yearbook was available. Hermione grew frustrated. She knew at least one person who could give her some information, Dumbledore.
Hermione descended up the stairs into his office. Fawkes was fast asleep on his perch. Dumbledore wasn't in there. Hermione walked around his office, eyeing the weird instruments and objects that littered the shelves. Hermione's eyes rested on a small, black book. It was stained with what appeared to be dried blood. She picked it up and looked in it. Nothing. She turned it over and saw a name etched in gold, "Tom Marvolo Riddle." This was the diary Harry had told her about in their second year. Hermione checked to see if anyone was looking, no one was, and placed it under her robes. Just then, Dumbledore came in. Hermione hopped into the nearest seat and tried her best to look calm and innocent.
"Ah, Miss Granger. How may I assist you?" Dumbledore asked.
He sat behind his desk and entwined his fingers, twiddling his thumbs.
"Um, could you tell me about someone?" she asked.
Dumbledore starred at her with those twinkling blue eyes.
"Who?" he asked.
"Katrina Anne Smith." replied Hermione.
Dumbledore shifted in his chair. He knew this day would come, the day that the very girl in front of him would start her quest to unveil her true identity.
"Well, she was the Head Girl during the year of 1944 and 1945. She was very smart, beautiful, composed, and trustworthy, quite unlike her fellow Slytherins." said Dumbledore.
"Did she know Tom Riddle?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, they were quite close." said Dumbledore. "I am afraid that is all the information I can give you."
Hermione nodded her head.
"Thank you sir." said Hermione.
Hermione calmly left Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore got up and walked up to a particular shelf. The diary was gone. He knew she took it. He knew she was beginning to suspect her very existence. He had hoped that that day would never come when he would have to tell her the truth, that she was Katrina Anne Smith.
Hermione graduated that year with many new feelings and thousands of questions. What did those new feelings mean? What did the dreams mean as well? Hermione shrugged off all of this and grasped reality. She was finished with school. She was about to enter into the wonderful world of true adult hood. She ran up to Harry and Ron, both tall and handsome, and hugged them to death, sobbing hysterically onto their shoulders.
"We've done it! We've graduated!" she cried.
Harry and Ron hugged her tightly was well. All three of them had gotten their dream jobs. The trio, including several other DA members (Dumbledore's Army), were going to be aurors. They had trained hard to do so. Hermione couldn't believe they came this far.
"Miss Granger." said Dumbledore.
Hermione spun around. Dumbledore looked at her with solemn eyes.
"You have done quite well. I am very proud of you." he said, drawing her into a hug. "If you ever have any questions, if you ever need any help, or if you ever need a friend, you are quite welcomed to confide in me."
Hermione looked up into his blue eyes and smiled.
"Thank you professor." she said.
Dumbledore watched as Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express. He had only hoped that his trust, his patience, even his love for her had helped her. He knew that her very heart contained deep, dark secrets, but if any way that one little spark of love helped, that the future before her, before the whole world, would be much brighter.
"Only time will tell." said Dumbledore.
"Hermione's Obsession"
When Hermione entered her final year at Hogwarts, she was overwhelmed with many new feelings. Her dreams of that handsome boy continued. It was always the same dream, him, standing in a dark room with a mixed complexion upon his handsome face. Hermione had gone further into her dreams though, able to hear the boy talk, hear him saying things like "I will find you one day" in a soothing, calming voice. Hermione seemed to draw the boy's attention, having made an appearance in her dreams just recently. She could feel the boy's hand clasp hers as he reached out for her hand. She could feel him drawing her into his powerful embrace. She could feel the heat of his body against hers. She starred into his emerald green eyes, drawing in to kiss him, but just before their lips would meet, Hermione would wake up.
Hermione was busy preparing for her NEWTs, knowing just what she wanted to be, an auror. Though she did have that fling with S.P.E.W., she dropped it after realizing that house elves were happy, and became fascinated with the work of aurors. She read tons of books to help her prepare for her NEWTs that were required to become an auror, though she really didn't need to study. She had an intelligence that her parents say she was born with. She could perform complicated spells that were too far advanced for what many students her age or older could do.
Hermione had also taken up an unusual hobby, learning all she could about Lord Voldemort. She found it not only a hobby, but also an obsession. She blamed it on her quest to become an auror. She knew it was some part of her that craved for any knowledge over the Dark Lord. She stayed in the library constantly, finding any book she could, but with little success. Even the books in the restricted section lacked any great information she could find useful. She had however, kept her obsession very secret. She didn't want to alarm anybody, especially Ron and Harry, with her obsession.
"Hey Harry, do you want to go to the library with me and study a bit." she asked Harry each day after dinner.
"Hermione, I know you want to be prepared fro the NEWTs and all, but spend everyday in that miserable library? You need to get out and clear your head." Harry told her.
Hermione knew Harry was telling the truth. She had spent so much time studying and researching. She was Head Girl and needed to set a good example for her fellow students. Ron was Head Boy, but Harry also had a great influence over young students due to his quidditch performances.
"Alright, I'll come out in a bit. Just let me finish up some things." replied Hermione.
Hermione had grown quite a lot over the years. Her bushy hair was nearly tamed, straightening out and looking shinier than usual. Her body was starting to take shape, due to growing up and adding muscle from years of carrying around heavy books. Her face was also quite pretty with rosy pink cheeks and luscious lips. She strutted into the library as usual, taking in the smell of books and hearing a few students whisper amongst themselves in the aisles. Hermione knew every book in every aisle, even the previously added ones.
"Nothing unusual today." she thought to herself.
A small wooden cart caught her attention. Madame Pince, the librarian, was busy unloading several old, tattered black leather books from a small closet. The books were about an inch thick and heavily covered with dust. Hermione walked over to the cart.
"Madame Pince, what books are these?" she asked.
Madame Pince placed a few more books on the cart.
"Old school year books from long ago." replied Madame Pince.
Hermione looked at them. Gold letters dominated the front covers. One book stood out amongst them all.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Year 1944-1945"
Hermione's mind told her that something in that book was very valuable. Her heart leaped at the site of the year. When Madame Pince bustle backed into the closet, Hermione grabbed the book and hid it in her robes. She grabbed her bag and dashed up to her private room.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Year 1944-1945." she read aloud while tracing the golden letters with her slender finger.
Hermione opened the book. It was divided into sections by teachers and staff, houses, clubs, classes, and quidditch teams. Hermione flipped through the pages, eyeing every picture, black and white. Some move, some didn't. Hermione stopped at the Slytherin House section. Her heart gave a small flutter as she turned to the fourth page. There, in the fifth row, third picture form the left, was her mystery boy. He looked exactly like he did in her dreams. Though the pictures for houses did not move, Hermione could just imagine him looking back at her and smiling. Hermione looked to find his name.
"Tom Marvolo Riddle: Seventh Year"
The boy who Hermione had been dreaming about for so long had finally been revealed. It was Lord Voldemort. Hermione couldn't believe it. How could such a handsome young man become such a terrible person? She continued flipping the pages and stopped at that year's Head Boy and Head Girl.
Tom Riddle was there, dressed in black, and looking quite handsome. There, next to him was a very beautiful young lady named Katrina Anne Smith. Both were from Slytherin. Hermione took in Katrina's features, cinnamon colored eyes, a gorgeous smile, a petty face, and beautiful hair.
"My God!" Hermione said. "She looks just like me!"
So, Hermione's obsession was more than just that, but a quest to find more on this Katrina Anne Smith. Weeks later, not one scrap of information but what was in the yearbook was available. Hermione grew frustrated. She knew at least one person who could give her some information, Dumbledore.
Hermione descended up the stairs into his office. Fawkes was fast asleep on his perch. Dumbledore wasn't in there. Hermione walked around his office, eyeing the weird instruments and objects that littered the shelves. Hermione's eyes rested on a small, black book. It was stained with what appeared to be dried blood. She picked it up and looked in it. Nothing. She turned it over and saw a name etched in gold, "Tom Marvolo Riddle." This was the diary Harry had told her about in their second year. Hermione checked to see if anyone was looking, no one was, and placed it under her robes. Just then, Dumbledore came in. Hermione hopped into the nearest seat and tried her best to look calm and innocent.
"Ah, Miss Granger. How may I assist you?" Dumbledore asked.
He sat behind his desk and entwined his fingers, twiddling his thumbs.
"Um, could you tell me about someone?" she asked.
Dumbledore starred at her with those twinkling blue eyes.
"Who?" he asked.
"Katrina Anne Smith." replied Hermione.
Dumbledore shifted in his chair. He knew this day would come, the day that the very girl in front of him would start her quest to unveil her true identity.
"Well, she was the Head Girl during the year of 1944 and 1945. She was very smart, beautiful, composed, and trustworthy, quite unlike her fellow Slytherins." said Dumbledore.
"Did she know Tom Riddle?" asked Hermione.
"Yes, they were quite close." said Dumbledore. "I am afraid that is all the information I can give you."
Hermione nodded her head.
"Thank you sir." said Hermione.
Hermione calmly left Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore got up and walked up to a particular shelf. The diary was gone. He knew she took it. He knew she was beginning to suspect her very existence. He had hoped that that day would never come when he would have to tell her the truth, that she was Katrina Anne Smith.
Hermione graduated that year with many new feelings and thousands of questions. What did those new feelings mean? What did the dreams mean as well? Hermione shrugged off all of this and grasped reality. She was finished with school. She was about to enter into the wonderful world of true adult hood. She ran up to Harry and Ron, both tall and handsome, and hugged them to death, sobbing hysterically onto their shoulders.
"We've done it! We've graduated!" she cried.
Harry and Ron hugged her tightly was well. All three of them had gotten their dream jobs. The trio, including several other DA members (Dumbledore's Army), were going to be aurors. They had trained hard to do so. Hermione couldn't believe they came this far.
"Miss Granger." said Dumbledore.
Hermione spun around. Dumbledore looked at her with solemn eyes.
"You have done quite well. I am very proud of you." he said, drawing her into a hug. "If you ever have any questions, if you ever need any help, or if you ever need a friend, you are quite welcomed to confide in me."
Hermione looked up into his blue eyes and smiled.
"Thank you professor." she said.
Dumbledore watched as Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express. He had only hoped that his trust, his patience, even his love for her had helped her. He knew that her very heart contained deep, dark secrets, but if any way that one little spark of love helped, that the future before her, before the whole world, would be much brighter.
"Only time will tell." said Dumbledore.