I do not own the Harry Potter books and/or movies, or anything to it, except for this story and others I have written and will most definitely write in the future. (Like the one I'm going to write about Salazar Slytherin!)

Hope you enjoy!

SILVERISTHEPENDANT

Hermione took in a deep breath and stared once again into the murky waters of the Hogwarts Lake, not really listening to what Hagrid had to say. The fear she had felt the previous day while standing there was nothing compared to what she felt at that moment. After all, she might not come out alive.

What had been a simply a fact two years before when Harry went in, was now something much more complex. It no longer applied to someone else, but herself.

But she was going to try to keep thinking about the comforting little reminder in the back of her head: She was a witch.

Besides, the class had been assured that the Headmaster was watching them through an enchanted mirror every moment they were down there. Professor Dumbledore was one of the few people that she would trust with her life. Nothing at all could go wrong with him watching. No one could touch a hair on her head…

Trying to ignore the small voice in her head that was currently protesting, Hermione wrapped her soft curls up into a bun with a flick of her wand.

"All righ'." Hagrid continued, not hiding the fact that he was extremely excited about hearing all about the mermaids when they got back, "I've told ye' as much as I could tell ye'. The on'y other thin' I have ter tell say is…well, be careful. I don' wan' any of ye' gettin' any injuries down there."

Hermione forced a smile up at him and tried to ignore the feeling that was telling her to run. She was a witch, and witches could do magic…they could shoo things away, and if those things didn't listen, then…

They could hurt them…

Oh, Merlin! Not now! There was no worse time that Hermione could have thought of to ponder over the act of the Dark Lord. If she was going to do this, she needed all of the courage she had. Lord Voldemort wasn't going to be hiding in a dirty old lake, now was he?

"Dip in when yer ready." Came the Hagrid's voice again.

Hermione straightened her robes (light and waterproof, given to all the students in the sixth and seventh Care of Magical Creatures classes), and forced herself into the water. She wasn't going to think twice about this, and there was no turning back.

She inhaled the gillyweed quickly, waiting until she was fully transformed to concentrate on what she was doing. Hermione was a witch, and she could hur – she could use magic.

The water was surprisingly cold for the second day of September, and her surroundings were darker than she thought they would be. If it weren't for the sun radiating a dim light through the surface of the lake, or the lights of the mermaids' dwellings far below, the witch was sure that she wouldn't have been able to see any further than two inches in front of her.

If the lights were even from the mermaids.

But they probably were, she knew, and so began to swim towards them, not quite ignoring the fear swelling in the pit of her stomach. There were more than just mermaids in the lake, and she wasn't about to forget.

The seaweed and kelp twisted around the witch's arms and legs, bending as far as they could, and holding on until the last minute. She didn't find this comforting in the least. In fact, she found it frightening. But she was getting nearer to the lights, and soon she'd be watching the mermaids in their daily lifestyles.

And Dumbledore was watching. Thank Merlin, he was watching.

Hermione swam as fast as she could towards her destination, and, parting a bit of seaweed, she came face to face with the city at the bottom of the lake. For a moment she was blinded with the swirling of sudden colours, but when the fog in her brain cleared, she met a beautiful sight.

Everywhere, mermaids and mermen were carrying on in their day-to-day business. Only the children spared the students a glance as they went from one place to another, and only the most mischievous had stopped to stare. Or touch, Hermione noted as she saw a child hanging off of one of the other's leg.

Looking back towards the city, she realized quite suddenly that it wasn't fire that lit the waters (she didn't know how she had even suspected this when she had pondered it in the morning), but everything except the merpeople themselves. Blue light glowed on and off from every single thing, regardless of their colour. The giant pink seashells that seemed to be the buildings even sparkled when they weren't too bright, only adding to the affect.

After about ten minutes of ogling at the place, Hermione suddenly remembered why she had gone to the bottom of the lake in the first place. She was there to study the lifestyle of these underwater creatures as precisely as she could. She wasn't completely new from the girl she had been last year. No, she wanted the highest marks she could possibly get.

She figured the best way to do this would be to follow a different merperson around each day. Today she was going to start with a mermaid.

Turning her head this way and that, Hermione tried to spot out a good candidate…preferably one on the less vicious side. She wasn't going to risk any more of her life than she had to. Maybe one that looked like her would be good. Brown hair, chocolate eyes…preferably weak-looking. If the mermaid caught on to her plan, then Hermione wanted to win the fight.

Something out of the corner of her eye suddenly drew her attention. It was a mermaid, and she was looking straight at the witch. The mermaid had purple hair, and from Hermione's view her eyes looked crystal blue. She had a cream coloured seashell in her hair, and her skin seemed to almost be glowing.

Hermione tried to draw her attention away. That mermaid didn't seem right to follow. She looked weak, yes, but had a mischievous aura around her. For some unknown reason, though, the witch found herself swimming towards her.

The mermaid caught sight of the stranger headed her way, and began to swim slowly away, looking back ever so often. Hermione continued to follow, knowing that there would be no harm in following her so long as she didn't stray too far from the city. Dumbledore was watching after all, and she was a witch…

Without a warning, the mermaid suddenly stopped, glancing over to her left. There wasn't much to see, though, the witch noted. Oh! There was a pink ring of corral, but it didn't seem to stand out much. The mermaid seemed to think it was significant, though, as she quickly swam straight towards it when it had entered her line of vision. In fact, she went right through the centre, signalling for Hermione to do the same.

Hermione followed, but did not go through the corral. She didn't want to fall into some kind of trap, after all, and she didn't want to look like she'd do anything.

But the mermaid wouldn't let up. She swam in and out of the ring, looping in circles and glancing over at the stubborn witch. Hermione thought it ridiculous, and turned to leave, but the mermaid seemed to be very anxious to get her through.

Finally, she relented. After all, what harm could become of her? Dumbledore was watching, and she was a witch.

Flicking her feet cautiously, the witch made her way through the ring. Nothing touched her, and not one suspicious thing happened. When her entire body was through, the mermaid had turned to look at her. It looked giddy and sly, which made an uneasy feeling settle into Hermione's stomach.

What was she going to do? Or had she already done something?

But the mermaid simply giggled, and swam as fast as it seemed she could, away.

Hermione felt confused. She though maybe there was a delayed hex in the corral, and she should go back through to counter it, if there had been. Turning around, she saw that ring was gone. For a moment she panicked, but then went to take a closer look.

There, where the peculiar monument had formerly stood…was a small pink stub. It didn't look like someone had broken it, but as though it was in its earlier stage. But…that didn't make sense.

Hermione felt something about her change, and she looked down at her hands, which looked as though they were shrinking. Oh! She was turning back! The gillyweed's effects were wearing off!

The witch silently cursed herself. She had been following that one mermaid for two long, and hadn't gotten anything at all done.

Realizing she was going to be in trouble if she waited any longer, Hermione set off at a pace that she didn't think she could have managed, had she not been afraid of drowning. The seaweed groped at her like before, one of the long strips even managing to grab the hair tie from her hair.

She didn't bother to go back, though, as she felt her supply of oxygen becoming simply water to her again. The sun's light came into view quickly, and finally she was gasping for air, returning to the world where everything was much easier to comprehend…

She looked to her left and right.

…Or not.

FROMWHICHTHEMAGICSTOOD

Tom Riddle jerked his focus to the lake quickly, seeing something the size of a mermaid emerging onto the shore. After a moment of initial shock, he realized that it was a girl…a student, to be exact, and she had no tail.

The girl didn't seem to notice him, but instead flicked her hair back from her face without using her hands. She seemed to be confused, and didn't look like she could stand.

Tom searched her uniform and found that she had no Hogwarts crest on it. Could she be new…?

But she was here on the second day! And why the hell had she come out of the lake?

ANDWHITETHESNOWWITHEVILGLOWWHENSATANKNEWHECOULD

I hope you liked this chapter! I kinda stopped short, but I have my excuses…as unconvincing as they may be. I might as well not voice them! And thank you SO much for the reviews! You are all so generous!

Not my best chapter, but soon (I think soon, maybe not) the romance will begin!