They'd had to move their study group from the library. With the group size increased to five, the level of conversation was often too loud for Madam Pince's tastes. To Hermione's surprise, it was McGonagall who'd come to the rescue and offered them use of her classroom during lunch times and after class on the condition that they had an elf bring them a platter of sandwiches. The professor firmly believed that skipping meals to study was not healthy.

Usually, they had the room to themselves but occasionally Professor McGonagall would remain at her desk to mark essays and once she even joined in with a debate on the magical theory behind the "reparifarge" spell and how it was different from "finite".

Of the five of them, Ginny was the only one who celebrated Halloween - Theo, Neville and Hermione were believers in the ancient traditions of Samhain. Hermione had been delighted to learn that not all of the ancient traditions of Samhain had been abandoned by the old British families. The two boys had requested that the elves provide them with a more traditional feast and the little creatures had been delighted to comply. They had even decorated the transfiguration classroom with little iron animals and pushed all of the desks together to create a larger table. Candles and black sheets had been left for them and under the boy's instructions Harry, Hermione and Ginny helped to set the table. They wrote down place cards, including ones for their loved ones who had passed away and set the cards on plates. For those who were dead, they draped the seats in black cloth and Neville carefully set candles in their holders and put one on the plate of each loved one.

'You first, Theo.' Neville instructed. Theo nodded and pulled out his wand.

'Come to us tonight, guided by this light. Whilst the veil is thin, feast among the living.' Theo intoned, tapping his wand against the wick of the candle. It sparked to life, illuminating his mother's name on the card.

Neville then lit his own candle with the same incantation.

Hermione was pretty sure that this ritual wasn't actually summoning any of the dead, but she had been careful with her selection anyway. Nicholas and Perenell were too recently deceased and she didn't want to tear them away from their journey so soon,Lady Grindelwald was dead in this time but it felt wrong to call on her when Hermione knew her to still be living. So, she'd played it safe and written down the name of her muggle grandmother.

There was a small spark of magic when she lit the candle and the slightly unsettling feeling that she was being watched, but it was nothing like the massive ritual that she would take part in later.

Harry did the same for his father, then Ginny had kindly volunteered to do Harry's mother because she honestly didn't know anyone who'd died. Then, with a great scraping of chairs they all took their seats and the special food that the elves had prepared appeared on their plates.

Hermione tucked into her rosemary spiced pumpkin and roast beef eagerly. It wasn't as lavish as the meal that would be eaten downstairs, but it was by far one of the best meals she'd eaten at Hogwarts and she wondered if the elves had been particularly attentive to the small group of students that would be celebrating in an older way.

Theo told them that usually the meal was spent telling stories of their loved ones who had passed on, but none of them really remembered those whom they had invited to the table. Harry's parents had died when he was two and he only remembered a flash of light and a high, cold laugh. They moved on quickly after that, all unnerved. Theo's mother had died when he was very young, so he had a couple of memories of her but she was very sick in most of them and Neville's Grandfather had been infectious with dragon pox for years before he'd succumbed when Neville was four.

When the main course was done, a dessert of candied apples and hazelnut sauce appeared and they pushed the plates aside to work on their essays and homework.

'Why does Professor Tunninger hate you so much?' Neville asked, glancing over Hermione's essay. The crimson ink at the top screamed that she had received barely over half marks which was a far cry from every other subject where she would receive commendations for in depth research.

'He doesn't.' Hermione said with a slight smile.

'He does. This should have been full marks; its way better than mine and I got seventeen out of twenty.' Theo waved his own essay, which indeed bore a gleaming crimson seventeen at the top. 'And Daphne Greengrass got the same mark as me, and she barely wrote a page. He hates you, and he hates us by extension.'

'No. He doesn't hate us, he just expects more of us.' Hermione pointed to the two inch list of recommendations and reading material that had been added to the bottom of her essay. It was true that Berg was being particularly demanding with her friends, but he wanted to push them further and harder because he knew that they could all do better.

'Why? I'm rubbish at school.' Neville grumbled.It was true that Neville rarely scored particularly well in class but he was much better in the practical lessons and he had a gift with Herbology that was almost uncanny. She suspected that if Snape wasn't constantly terrifying the living daylights out of him, Neville would be a good potioneer as well.

'Don't tell anyone because it would be terrible for his reputation if anyone found out; Professor Tunninger is my brother.'

Dumbstruck silence reigned over their small group.

'Your brother?' Ginny asked after a moment.

'Ward-brother, technically. He's a Tunninger by blood.' She amended.

'So he's a Grindelwald too.' Theo breathed. 'Merlin, he's old enough that they would have been children together. You can see why he doesn't want anyone to know.'

'I was planning to tell you all later.' Hermione admitted sheepishly. 'I'm working on something over Yule, to introduce all my friends.'

'Yule?' Ginny breathed, 'you mean, not Christmas?'

Hermione smiled at the younger witch whose eyes were wide, and confirmed that she was indeed talking about Yule, and that was indeed the ancient solstice celebration. This had been a subject she had intended to broach a little more carefully with the younger witch; she liked Ginny Weasley but she knew that the young witch was from a staunchly progressionist family. Hermione had expected that persuading her to reconsider her parent's views on the old ways would be difficult and slow. To her surprise, Ginny virtually leapt on the opportunity.

'I've always wanted to celebrate Yule.' The young witch breathed, 'it just seems so much more magical than Christmas.'

'That's because it is.' Neville pointed out bluntly. 'Christmas is a muggle religious holiday. Yule is a magical holiday that was picked up by muggles.'

'Where?' Theo asked curiously. So far, Hermione seemed to have been using his manor as the base for their activities but he had heard nothing of this plan for a Yule celebration.

'I thought we could visit my family property in Orkney.' She bit her lip. 'But there's not much there; its seventeen hundred years old and we'll have to spend the night in tents but the guardians that live there should make up the numbers for a Yule ritual.'

'That sounds amazing.' Harry breathed, 'a real ritual. I've wanted to do one since you first told us about them.'

Hermione glanced around her small group, noting the excited grins that were being shared between everyone. A warm contentment mingled with the sparking excitement in her belly - this would be the first Yule ritual performed on British soil in centuries, and they would be the ones to do it. It would be done in secret, hidden away and nobody outside their circle would know about i but it was a start - the old ways would be returning.

'You can come to my house for the Yule holidays again, Harry. Then Dumbledore can't stop you going.' Theo offered. 'You too, Hermione.'

'My parents won't be happy. Dad really doesn't like you Hermione, or you, Theo.' Ginny admitted, her lips curving down.

'You can come with me then, Ginny. Gran would love to join in and she's on better terms with your parents.' Neville offered, earning himself a blinding smile from the younger girl.

They discussed the ritual for a little longer as Hermione told them all what they would need and gave an overview of what would happen. She was pleasantly surprised when her friends began offering to help with certain parts - Neville offered to ask his Gran for help with getting food for the night and Theo thought he probably had some spare broomsticks at home.

Ginny kept track of things in her diary - who was organising what and what each person needed to bring. The diary absorbed all of the information - literally, soaking the ink into its pages - then spat it back out again, neatly organised and categorised.

Harry commented briefly that he thought it was a brilliantly useful book and Ginny blushed furiously, tucking the diary away and making her excuses to leave. She fled before either Gryffindor boy had the chance to offer to accompany her. The four second years shared mystified looks, then shrugged and collectively decided to head down to the library and check on some of the references that Professor Tunninger had suggested at the bottom of their essays.

The library was silent and deserted; everyone else was at the Halloween feast which contained considerably more courses and several performances by the ghosts. They had it to themselves and between them they managed to find several of the texts and took it in turns to teach each other the concepts in each book. It was an enjoyable evening and they decided to head back when the candles they'd lit at dinner finally began to burn out.

Hermione and Theo agreed to come back upstairs to help tidy away their meal in the transfiguration classroom; McGonagall may have allowed them to use the room but they all doubted that extended to holding traditional celebrations instead of school feasts.

That was when Harry heard the noise and went tearing off up the staircase, shouting that it was going to kill someone. Hermione, Neville and Theo shared a moment of bewildered fear, then hurried after him.

They followed the sound of his heavy footsteps which echoed through the deserted corridors, scrambling around corners and interrupting clandestine Samhain celebrations that were being held by the portraits.

Hermione crashed into Harry's back, sending them both flying. Harry managed to grab the wall, but Hermione found herself up to her wrists in water.

The only sound was Theo's sharp intake of breath and the distant rushing of taps.

Right in front of her, wavering and quivering, reflected in the water were towering words written in red on the stone wall. Slowly, she looked up.

'The chamber of secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.' Harry read out.

'Look.' Neville whimpered, raising a trembling hand. Just below the words was a small, stiff, furry body. Filch's nasty cat had been hung by it's tail from the bracket.

'We need to leave.' Theo insisted. His face was ghostly pale and his eyes were blown wide with fear.

'No!' Harry surged forwards through the water. 'We might be able to help.'

It was too late. At that moment the sound of many voices roared up the stairwell, accompanied by the thunder of footsteps. Hermione clambered up, soaked to the skin and dripping just as students crashed around the corner.

There was a moment, then silence fell. It swept outwards from them until once more Hermione could hear the distant sound of rushing water. Then, as if attracted by the sudden silence, Filch shoved his way through the crowd.

'What's going on here?' He demanded, he saw the water first and Hermione saw him open his mouth to howl at Peeves, then he caught sight of Mrs. Norris on the wall and his jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

'My cat! My cat!' His bulging eyes fell on Hermione, still soaked with water and with her hair flying around her wildly from the run.

'Grindelwald!' He wheezed. 'You... You've murdered my cat.'

Filch flew at them, howling an oath to kill her. Theo and Neville shouldered in front of her and Filch's clawing hands swiped at Theo. His cloak ripped and the boy cried out as he was tugged sideways. Neville threw himself at Filch, well build body slamming him sideways into the water with a splash. It was testament to the shock of the students that nobody made a noise as they scrambled away.

'Argus!' A voice cut through the fear. Professor Dumbledore had arrived, the crowd parting for him. Hagrid, who was close behind him bent down, picking up both Filch and Neville by their scruffs and setting them upright away from one another. Filch still looked crazed, made even worse because his hair had fallen out of it's ribbon and Neville, like Hermione was soaked and bore a blooming black eye. Theo was dragged to his feet by Harry and he stood, massaging his arm as Dumbledore unhooked Mrs. Norris from the bracket.

'Come with me, Argus.' Dumbledore said calmly, then he fixed icy eyes on Hermione. 'You too, Miss Granger, Mr. Nott, Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Potter.'

Whispers swept the hall as the four students hurried after Dumbledore and the other professors.

They went to Professor Berg's classroom, as it was the closest. The pixie cage, which Berg had kept as a reminder to not over estimate yourself, rattled loudly. There was a larger box at the back of the classroom which was apparently for the fourth years and it emitted a deep growl as they passed.

Dumbledore made his way to the large desk at the front and the four students hovered nervously near the wall. Hagrid left, shutting the door behind him with a loud clunk. Berg lit the candles with a wave of his hand and moved several piles of essays off the desk so that Professor Dumbledore could lay the cat down. Then, Professor Tunninger pulled out a magnifying glass and began inspecting the body closely.

'Petrified?' Dumbledore asked after a moment. Berg straightened with a heavy sigh.

'It would seem so, but by what I cannot tell.'

Several sets of eyes slid to the four students by the wall. Hermione was used to facing up to Lady Grindelwald, but this was more unnerving. She knew that she was in deep, deep trouble. Perhaps, if Dumbledore hadn't already believed she was a dark witch there might have been some hope, but even then the evidence pointed pretty strongly towards one of them being the culprit.

'Ask her.' Filch trembled, aiming his finger at her. McGonagall snatched the back of his robes warningly. 'She did it, I know it'

'I very much doubt it.' McGonagall said briskly, 'despite her obvious ability, no second year could perform such advanced dark magic.'

'She did! She's a Grindelwald. He must have taught her, he must have! She knows that I'm a... that I'm a squib!' Filch howled and Hermione took an alarmed step backwards as the caretaker clawed at her once more.

I didn't know that you were a squib.' Hermione squeaked, evading his clawing hands again.

'Liar!' Filch tore free of McGonagall's grip, heaving like a boar and crimson in the face. 'Potter told her, he saw my Kwikspell letter!'

'Contain yourself, Argus.' Dumbledore ordered. Filch stepped back, still furiously glaring at Hermione. Theo shifted to put himself between them, looking defiantly at McGonagall. There was a thin trickle of blood running down the side of his lip and it gleamed dangerously in the candlelight.

'It does beg the question though; why were you four not at the feast?' Dumbledore almost purred.

'It's Halloween sir.' Neville stuttered and every eye darted over to him. His eye had swelled closed by now and turned a nasty shade of puce, promising that it would be vividly coloured by tomorrow.

'Yes, Mr Longbottom?' Snape drawled. Neville swallowed nervously and went several shades paler, making his eye look even worse.

'Well, its er... the anniversary you see... of the Potter's death, and my parents were... well... that's tomorrow. We did an er...' Neville swallowed, seeming to have lost his voice suddenly.

'A memorial.' Theo finished for him. 'We lit candles for them, and well... we were going to tell stories, but none of us knew any.'

'Yeah.' Harry agreed quickly. 'We didn't have any photo's either, so we wrote their names on pieces of card.'

McGonagall melted, Hermione could practically see it. Dumbledore however continued to look suspicious.

'So why were you on the second floor?' He questioned.

'We went to the library to look up some books afterwards.' Harry said quickly and truthfully. 'Professor Tunninger recommended some at the bottom of my last essay and we wanted to see if they said.'

Professor Dumbledore turned to Professor Tunninger with a raised brow and Hermione's brother tucked his hands into his sleeves.

'So I did. Mr Potter has an excellent grasp of the spell work involved in detecting corrupted enchantments on objects, but I thought he would benefit from a better understanding of the varieties of objects that may be enchanted. Indeed, I believe that it is beyond any of these four, including the Lady Gorlois, to petrify a being in such a way, even a cat.'

'Oh?' Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

'There is no magical signature attached to the state. Performing an untraceable spell is difficult enough... but one of such magnitude? Dare I say that even Gellert Grindelwald could not have performed such a feat even at the height of his power.'

'There, you see, Albus, Argus. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.' McGonagall said quickly. 'I believe Professor Sprout has a crop of mandrakes and as soon as they reach their full size, we will be able to revive your cat.'

'Very well. You may go.' Dumbledore allowed and Hermione turned quickly to leave.

'Ah, just a minute, Headmaster.' Professor Tunninger said quickly, drawing his wand. He tapped it first against Neville's cheek, then against Theo's lip and their injuries magically sealed. 'Now they may go. And straight back to the dormitories with you all!'

Hermione and her friends fled.