After leaving Professor Mcagonagall's office I went up to the girls' dormitories, and unpacked. I couldn't help wondering what our project was, and wondering about Malfoy's loyalty could he be trusted? I asked myself I wanted to know what he'd done to prove he was on our side but I knew I probably would never know. It was getting late so I went to sleep.
The next morning I woke dressed and got my things for my first day back.
In the great hall was a sign posted telling about a small back to school dance. That was odd. We'd never had one before it was scheduled fore the 9th of September I didn't think much about it at breakfast. I was busy eating toast and bacon and reading Transfiguration volume 6 memorizing every word.
"Hermione." I looked up from my book. The Gryffindor table was nearly empty even though the first bell hadn't rung yet. "Yeah?" Harry looked nervous, about what I couldn't imagine. "Would you go to the back to school dance with me?" I thought for a second and then not having any reason to say no, agreed. I guess I had always liked Harry but kept it to myself. I guess kissing him at the end of our fourth year hadn't given him a clue or maybe it had. I got up, picking up my books and we went to our first herbology class for the new term.
The first week back past in a blur of homework, quidditch practices not for me but I went to watch when I wasn't busy with my extra classes.
A week later professor Mcagonagall wanted to see the four of us again in her office.
We entered and sat she quickly put a silencing charm on the room and sat behind her desk looking very serious. "The plans for your project for the order are still in progress, but I can tell you what it will be, the four of you will be going to America to do something very important for the order.
"There is a wizarding world there and they do not know about you-know-who, but Voldemort knows about them and our spies have found out he is planning to send Death Eaters their way. We have to get to them, warn them and try to get them on our side. Two older wiser order members will accompany you there.
"We hate to pull you all out of school but we can't send six regular order members at this time. Your identities will be covered up we will say that your all on an exchange student program. We can afford to take you out of school because you four are the top students of the year. (A/N Ok we all know the only top student out of the four is Hermione but it's fiction people)
"Any questions?" She asked.
"How are we getting there?" Malfoy asked.
"It would take days, months to fly and none of you can apparate so you will be travelling by the muggle way. Aeroplanes I think they are called."
I didn't really have any questions but the one that I thought about asking was answered a second later.
"You will be leaving October fifth."
No one asked anything else really but a few questions like, who else from the order was going and minor stuff like that. We got up and left for different directions I went to the Gryffindor common room to start on some homework. Harry headed for the quidditch pitch, and Ron followed me to the common room. We wanted to talk about the trip/project but had sworn not to talk about it in unsafe places where others might over here.
"So Ron who are you taking to the back to school dance?" I asked as I finished a potions essay.
"I asked Lavender." He said his ears went pink like they always did when he was embarrassed about something.
Around 10:30 I got up to go up to bed, Harry still wasn't back.
"Some practice they must be having." I through back to Ron over my shoulder as I headed for the stairs. He didn't answer because he and Dean Thomas were trading chocolate frog cards or something.
In the girl's dorm I found Lavender and Ginny talking about what they were wearing to the dance. I ignored them because I was still slightly angry at Ginny. I wasn't in the mood for girl talk about what shade of pink to wear. I slipped out of my robes and school uniform and in to a nightgown. But before I could tie the little ribbon around the neck the sleep slipt off my left shoulder and Ginny happened to look in my direction at that split second and she gasped.
"Hermione! You got a..."
"Yes Ginny it's a tattoo it's not so odd lots of people get them!" I said angrily back to her.
She stood with her mouth open. "But yours is so ... horrible." She finely said.
My tattoo was just a small black heart with a drop of blood in the middle. I had gotten it after a night out at a night club I had had a lot to drink and wasn't thinking clearly if I had been I probably would have still gotten a tattoo but maybe not that one.
I just finished dressing and got in to my four poster pulling the heavy red velvet curtains around me. Ginny kept whispering to Lavender and I heard my name a few times.
Then Lavender said. "You really want to go to that dance with Harry?"
Ginny's voice sounded excited when she answered. "Yes! Do you have a plan?"
Lavender paused then said "Yes, tell him about the tattoo and about... Before she could finished I tore back the hangings and leapt from the bed, I really wanted to slap the evil look off Ginny's face but didn't.
"You keep your damn mouth shut Ginny Weasly!" I shouted at her.
She looked shocked. "Hermione I know all that going out to clubs and parties messed you up but get some help or something."
I took a step closer to her. "I'm not messed up, I made some mistakes but maybe they weren't mistakes maybe it would have been good if I'd over dosed this summer or drank to much, I wouldn't had to come back here and deal with people like you!"
I had completely lost my composure and I ran out of the dorm and down the stairs, not looking where I was going tears threatening to fall but I held them back.
Now the common room was unoccupied and I threw myself into an armchair. I was shaking I was so upset and angry how could that little bitch want to ruin my relationship with my best friends and the fact that Harry had asked me to the dance.
Since I was already upset and thinking morbid angry thoughts the memories of what my parents had done came back and other memories from the past summer came back.
I cried myself to sleep and curled up in the chair it was comfortible but it was better then going back upstairs. Maybe I was just feeling sorry for myself but I sure felt friendless right then. Who could I talk to if I told Ron or Harry the truth about what I'd been doing all summer and about the tattoo? How did I know they wouldn't stop being my best friends, and if we were really best friends then why didn't I feel I could talk to them? That, plus the other million thoughts ran through my head as I fell in to a restless sleep.