A/N: First of all, I want to give an extra special thanks to my beta, Megan. (You're the best! I couldn't have done it without you!) I want all my reviewers to know I ADORE each and every one of you! At the end of this chappie, I'll give you all personal thanks.Next,for those of you who don't catch this while reading, the story takes place in seventh year so the events from Hermione's flashback occurred a little over a year ago…just so you know. May I also dedicate part of this chapter to Domidan for their lovely ideas regarding the Snape issue; you will all see how it plays a very important part in the plot once I post the second half of chapter two. It's separated because the update was taking too long!
Disclaimer: If I own this, than may grass turn pink, water turn yellow, your feet cease to stink, and Malfoy becomes mellow! Mwuahahahaha!
Chapter 2 (Part 1): Feuds and Fortunes
The next morning began peacefully, partly because it was a beautiful spring day and partly because Hermione had woken up two hours earlier than everyone else had. This was the time of day she liked best, when she wasn't bothered with unnecessary distractions or the annoying chitchat that resounded in the Great Hall during meals. However, she was surprised when she found the tables more occupied than she would have expected them to be. A group of Gryffindors gathered in the far end of the table conversing animatedly, while another group of Ravenclaws were crowded nearer to the entrance, eating solemnly in silence. Hermione guessed they were still sulking after the Quidditch match that recently took place. It had been an extremely exciting game as Harry could have easily caught the snitch closer to the beginning of the game, decided it was more amusing to tease Ravenclaw's seeker before later making his brilliant catch with a back flip in midair.
One particular student was sitting alone in the middle of the Gryffindor table and staring at his eggs as if deep in thought. The eggs were displayed around his plate in the form of an oddly shaped hippogriff.
Hermione took her place beside him, piled her plate with many different foods, and tried to make light conversation. "Why are you sitting alone, Neville? I would think you'd want to be sitting with the others discussing this week's victory. Wasn't Harry amazing?"
At being addressed, Neville promptly came out of his reverie. "Yes… yes, he was, of course, but I was just thinking…"
"Yes, people tend to do that sometimes," she said jokingly, smiling into her pumpkin juice.
"Seriously, Hermione. I mean, I hope things stay like this, the way they are right now! I hope Harry will always be there to save the day and make our victories. I hope everyone in the Order will always be there to protect us and Hogwarts will remain the safest place in the world. But what if Voldemort finally finds a way to break the boundaries?" Neville had become accustomed to speaking the Dark Lord's name soon after their fifth year.
He continued, "What if he gathers enough supporters to attack and finally defeat us? Don't you remember that last time, during the raid at Grimmauld place? If Dumbledore hadn't come back… If he hadn't…"
Hermione cut him off before he would break down on her as well.
"Neville, please! You're beginning to make scene! Now, don't get yourself worked up about things that most likely will not happen, because they won't. I know they won't. Dumbledore won't let them and neither will I nor will the rest of the Order!"
"But last time…"
"Yes, I know! If Dumbledore hadn't gotten Professor Lupin's message then... then…"
"So many people would have been killed," he finished for her, "I just wish he would have gotten there sooner. Then, Professor McGonagall might have had a chance."
Her eyes grew grave as she replied softly, "I wish he had too," The news of her favorite professor's death had come as a huge shock. Not many things surprised her anymore.
As it turned out, Kreacher truly did betray them. Although, even if Kreacher had a choice, Hermione was sure Voldemort would have gotten information out of him one way or another. There had been a meeting during the Christmas holiday of their sixth year. The Order, after being convinced by Harry that they were worthy of membership, now included the entire D.A. They had made plans at Grimmauld Place to collect a group of vampires, who had strayed to the good side outside of Hogsmeade later that night. The Death Eaters quickly found out where the meeting was taking place and recruited every Dark supporter to take part in the attack. As it was, Mundungus was the first to hear about the attack and was able to warn the Order by owl.
Unfortunately, Mundungus had not made it back to Grimmauld Place, himself, before the Death Eaters became aware of him and murdered him on the spot.
Luckily, the Order was not sure how long they had to prepare, and in the five minutes they did have, Lupin was able to send a letter to Dumbledore through the Order's most trusted owl, Hedwig, who had become a very important asset to them, even though Harry was reluctant to use her at first. Lupin's letter had reached Dumbledore, whom had been speaking with the Minister, and was able to arrive shortly before anything more drastic happened than what already did.
FLASHBACK
"Where's Harry? Professor, where's Harry!" Hermione screamed frantically as she dashed down the hallway, grabbing Lupin by the collar.
"Harry's fine, Hermione! He hasn't gone anywhere yet," he reassured her, pointing to Harry.
She ran to Harry and wrapped her arms around him, "God, you scared me! Please don't go after them. They're already on their way here. There is no point in risking your life for something like this when we are capable of fighting just as well as you!" She paused and looked to Ron for support, "Tell him Ron!"
"She's right, mate…you can't handle them alone," said Ron.
Harry rolled his eyes. "All I said was that it might be easier to stop them by being sneakier then the Death Eaters themselves. I wasn't going to try it by myself!"
"Shh! All of you! Whatever happens, stay together. If everyone watches each other's backs, then there is little chance of someone sneaking up on you," Lupin whispered, "I just sent a letter to the Headmaster. He should be here any minute, though we're not sure when th-" but he was cut off by a great explosion from the kitchen. Lupin ran past the trio, whipping out his wand before cautiously approaching the door. The trio did the same, each of their adrenalines pumping, their breathing fast.
There was a moment of silence and the four of them listened intently, until, finally: "STUPFEY!" A voice that sounded remarkably like Tonks cried. They all rushed in to her assistance.
As they reached the door way, they witnessed one Death Eater freeze and fall, while about thirty more entered. Tonks shouted another spell at the next death eater she saw, but he immediately countered her spell.
"Protego!"
It was then that Moody came out and finished the job, stunning the Death Eater that Tonks was fighting with. All around them, the Order was beginning to emerge, first Snape, then Kingsley, Shacklebolt, McGonagall, Doge, and Diggle. Everyone began firing spells at the Death Eaters.
Hermione jumped behind a nearby chair, using it as a shield, and shot at the feet of Death Eaters as they went passed. "Impedimenta! Stupfey! Diffin… ahh!" She was lifted into the air by a cold, pale hand that began to choke her. She dropped her wand and pried at the fingers gripping her neck.
"Your fun is about to end, Mudblood," came the low, icy voice of Lucius Malfoy as he prodded his wand deep into her back.
Just then, Hermione heard someone shout: "Petrificus Totalus!"
Malfoy was flung into the wall, leaving a remarkable dent.
Neville walked over to Hermione and dragged her out of view of the fight. "Are you alright?" he asked, "The rest of the D.A. is here too. Sorry, we're late."
"I'm fine," she said, rubbing the marks on her neck and peaking over the counter to see her fellow D.A. members fighting, three to each Death Eater. Clearly, they had formed a plan before arriving. "How'd you all get here?" she questioned, "I thought everyone was spending the break with their family."
"Well, you know the spell you cast on us during the summer, the one like the Death Eater's mark except it tells us when one's in trouble? Apparently, everyone's mark began glowing at the same time. We all met each other on the Knight Bus; it was the fastest way we could find. I think my grandmother was very angry and confused though," Neville replied.
Before Hermione could say anything else, they heard loud laughter and they both glanced over to see the source of the laughter. Hermione found that Kingsley, Doge, and Tonks were knocked out on the floor while Seamus, Ron, and Luna were trying to revive Dean and Parvati. Lavender was cowering in the corner, holding her badly injured arm, while Fred and George were busy with Crabbe and Dolohov. Behind the couch, Mrs. Weasley was clinging to Ginny, who was desperately trying to calm her as Mrs. Weasley had not intended on letting her daughter fight. Hermione was not exactly sure which side was at an advantage. Many death eaters were lying on the floor, some injured and some unconscious.
The laughter, however, was coming from a group of Death Eaters that had gotten a hold of McGonagall and were tossing her from side to side. From the looks of it, they had snuck up on her, snapped her wand, and were now playing with the elderly woman as if she was a doll. This small scene had gone unnoticed to the others who were still active in duels of their own.
"Professor!" Hermione gasped under her breath, trying her hardest not to bring attention to herself. Then, without much more thought, she took a position to pounce at them, but Neville grabbed her arm.
"Don't! You'll get the same treatment if you're caught!"
"I have to help my professor, Neville," she said, yanking her arm away angrily.
However, she was too late in coming to McGonagall's rescue. The Death Eaters had become bored with teasing her and fired three spells all at once. This was too much for McGonagall's old, withered body to take, and she collapsed before their eyes. Hermione couldn't bear to look into the face of a teacher she had come to love and respect. She sunk to her knees in dread, covering her mouth and taking in small, shaky breaths. 'I can't believe it. Dumbledore was supposed to be here,' she thought, 'He was supposed to get here just in time to save her.' She silently burst into sobs, and for one moment in her life, she felt that Albus Dumbledore had let her down.
END FLASHBACK
Hermione sat pondering this memory and absentmindedly playing with her food. Suddenly, she lost her appetite and bid farewell to Neville. After all, a little fresh air would do her good. And so, she walked out to the lake, thinking of something to take her mind off the attack and her professor.
'I know I don't usually visit my mysterious little getaway during the day, but it would surely be something to put me in a better mood for Ginny's party. It would also give me the chance to do some investigating,' she thought, 'Besides, it doesn't look like anyone is out here to catch me this early, anyway.'
But how very wrong she was, for none other than Severus Snape, himself, was taking watch of her actions. Malfoy had finally decided, being the prick he was, to give the slimy potions teacher all the information he knew. Snape, of course, took advantage of this and began to keep a close eye on the witch.
He smirked as she headed towards the Forbidden Forest, wondering whether it would be wiser to follow her or catch her right away. He came to the conclusion that he would get more pleasure out of surprising her once she was at the edge of the forest.
Hermione walked up to the first two trees and pushed some branches aside before entering and searching the premises. She found it was much less intimidating during the day.
It was only once she reached the first marking that she made that Hermione heard a small ruffle of bushes followed by slow, steady breathing and knew she was caught.
'Bloody hell,' she thought, 'I've been caught. I just knew I would. After all, I've been so lucky these past few times.'
"Hello Miss Granger. Out for a morning stroll, I suppose," came a voice from behind her that she knew all too well."
Hermione stood still, her back facing him. "If you'd like to call it that, professor," she said haughtily and slowly turned around.
"That's it? No poor, pathetic excuse that you were wandering around meeting giants, saving unicorns, or rescuing a captured creature?" asked a surprised Snape, but Hermione just gazed at him icily, "My, my, the ever so 'intelligent' witch is out of ideas." He paused, gave her his most loathing stare that he usually reserved for Harry, and continued in a low, sarcastic voice, "I expected better of you, Miss Granger."
Hermione finally broke her gaze and smiled, not a smirk, but a real smile and said, "Did you really? I thought I was nothing but an annoying little know-it-all!" She then walked over to him cheerfully, looked him right in the face, and said slightly less cheerfully, "And you were nothing but a lonely, selfish, incredibly disturbed, old professor who takes pleasure in torturing the innocent."
Hermione searched his face for any sign of extreme anger, but found only incredulous shock. He opened his mouth, but found no words, until finally his eyes narrowed. Now, there was not just anger on his red, though usually pale face, but a slight hint of insanity in his eyes.
"YOU ARE AN EXTREMELY BOLD, INSUFFERABLE, ATROCIOUS LITTLE GIRL WHO WILL BE PUNISHED SEVERELY FOR YOUR DISRESPECTFUL, VULGAR MANNER," Snape yelled as his hands shook with fury, "You will pay for this, Granger, I promise you!"
At this point, he had taken her by the neck and was practically spitting in her face, "There is no doubt…none at all…that YOU WILL BE HOLDING THE POSITION OF HEAD GIRL ANY LONGER WHEN I SPEAK TO THE HEADMASTER ABOUT THIS!"
However, Snape's hysterical outburst had no effect on Hermione's demeanor. In fact, she found she was more likely to laugh than flinch in fear.
It was when Snape had composed himself and finally placed Hermione back on the ground that he continued, "You will report to the dungeons this afternoon for the beginning of your punishment…only the beginning. Now, get out of here at once!"
Hermione dashed out of the forest and headed for the Gryffindor tower. Though Snape did not scare her with his intimidation, and although she knew Dumbledore would side with her as much as possible, she also knew that Snape would do everything in his power to make her life absolute hell. He would milk it for all it was worth, elaborating all the dirty details, excluding his own eruption of rage. It may have been foolish to say what she had, but it felt good to give him a piece of her mind. At that moment, she felt the same exultant sensation that she experienced when she had slapped
Malfoy in her third year.
A/N: Hoped you liked it. More to come very soon! I've just been busy lately. You know how life can get. ; ) Now…on to my personal thank yous!
The TRUE Angel of Music: I love you too, Dem Dem! Young writers rock! Hehehe I know you've been buggin' me about this for a while so here's your update! Lots o lovin'. Mwuaaa!
Domidan: Aww…thanx Dooby…you lovely little snot. Glad you liked Malfoy. He's an awfully adorable prick, isn't he? There I go with my little oxymorons all over the place. LOL. I hope you like my addition of your Snapeypoo. He's as evil as ever…just how you like him!
Moony's-MateThank you so much. I really hope you enjoy this! By the way…love your name. LOL.
Dracula5555: Thanx for reviewing! Here's your update: )
Lady Cheese: Bologna, my friend! I'm glad you didn't have to beat me with a limp noodle! Hehe I'm also glad you don't find this one so disturbing. Thank you for reviewing…GO cheese!
MidnightRequiemDear Sherilyn…thank you so much for your positively exquisite review. haha And read your story…I shall! By the way, no story of yours could possibly be bad. ; )