AN: – I recently found out that you can no longer post review answers or thank reviews like I do at the beginning of every chapter, so I will from now on, reply to the questions in reviews by this new little PM thing. So don't think I don't appreciate all the reviews or anything. Thank you, and please don't send me hate replies after reading this chapter. And I would also like to say sorry about how long it's taken me to update, I will try and post the next chapter sooner then this one. Enjoy!


Beneath My Skin

Chapter Four – Reacquainting

It was burning again. Clucking her cheek, ripping at her skin she cried out in pain as she felt like a fire burned deep in her face. She knew she was alone in her room, she cast silencing charms on the room when she felt it rising. No one could hear her, which only caused her to scream louder, knowing she wouldn't be disturbing anyone.

This time was different; the pain was sharper, more sustained and hotter. She wondered if he knew that he was doing this to her, crying out again she slammed her hands down onto the ground, hissing as she felt her still bruised and cut hands came into contact and caused them to sting and ache more. Running into the bathroom that connected to her room, she grabbed a cloth and turned on the cold water tap forcefully. Shoving the cloth under it for a couple second until it was mostly wet, she brought it up to her cheek and pressed it lightly on to the mark. Hissing she pulled her hand back at the coldness on the burning spot but quickly regained and put it back onto her cheek, closing her eyes against the coldness and reminiscing in it.

It only helped briefly, she wasn't sure if that was because of the magic that lay within the scarring or because she heard a noise, well not a noise, it was a sound, the sound of someone coughing. She slowly took her wand out of her pocket, hoping whoever was behind her couldn't tell that's what she was doing. She knew it might be stupid, it was most likely Harry or Ginny checking to make sure she was still 'okay', but she needed to be sure and she was always taught constant vigilance, even if it was by that insane man at first.

Turning around, one hand to her cheek, holding the cloth and the other gripping her wand ready keeping it hidden as she turned behind her back, she breathed out when she saw it was Snape.

She let out a small laugh, "Oh, thank Merlin it's you, I thought-" but was soon cut off by Snape stepping over to her and taking hold of her arm which held the cloth to her still burning cheek, the pain briefly forgotten.

"Miss Granger, he is coming, just to see you. Do not fear him or fight. He is just here to talk. The war is now and he wants to talk to you." Snape's voice was nearly frantic, and his words weren't any sense to her as she panicked and searched in his eyes to see if this was serious or some kind of joke.

"Who, sir?" She had never felt more childish as she asked him. She felt like a slave talking to her master, obeying him or something. She always felt like that when talking to a teacher or calling someone sir or ma'am. It brought her back to the 18th century almost.

"Barty." She sucked in a breath of air, it was harshly hot and her cheek began to play up, causing her to shut her eyes tightly and press the nearly dry but still damp cloth harder to her cheek. "'Keep him talking, the longer he is here, the less time he is out there, do you understand?" Hermione heard his words and understood, but the burning was rising and she knew he was telling the truth, that Barty was close. Snape shook her roughly, pushing her against the sink behind her. "Do you understand Hermione?"

"Yes, sir." She answered weakly, eyes still held tightly shut.

Snape slowly released her, his voice became much lighter. "My name is Severus, after all this time I think you should call me by it."

Hermione opened her eyes, and loosened her grip on the cloth. "I understand Severus." It seemed to fit, it didn't make her feel childish or inferior, it sort of made them equals and Hermione knew that that's what he intended it to do. "Thank you." Looking into Severus' eyes, he smiled slightly and nodded lightly.

The moment was soon broken by the quite sound of apparition, she looked over to the door which lead to her room.

"Hermione?" she heard someone call out for her in the next room, her room. It was obviously Barty. She glanced over to Severus, he was looking intently at her, she swallowed and he mouthed the words 'good luck' to her before disappearing himself. So she was left alone with a madman, she summarized in her head. Tightening her grip on her wand, she remembered Severus' words to not fight, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

Stepping through the doorway she saw him. He was sitting on her bed, elbows resting on his knees, waiting for her. She gasped at how sane he looked, his hair not gelled back but let loose to fall lightly over his forehead yet there was still spikes that pointed up and outwards. Her eyes widened as she looked up and down his body, looking at his black jeans and black t-shirt. He was wearing muggle clothes, she guessed they were to fight in, after all she could hear the battle starting outside and she knew for a fact that robes where awful to fight in. A smile slowly appeared on his face, his eyes sparkled slightly, and Hermione was struck by how young he looked. He had always looked around mid thirties but now he only looked about late twenties.

Lifting her head, Hermione waited for him to start speaking.

"'Mione." He said happily, standing up to greet her as if they were friends. She took a small step back at his sudden movement. To which she saw a flash of sadness cross his eyes which Hermione was actually shocked about.

"Hello," Not really sure what to say she just stuck with the proper greeting. "What do you want?" Another thing that made her feel stupid, Severus already told her that he wanted to talk to her.

"Nothing." He said, and she could tell he wasn't lying. He took a step towards her only this time Hermione didn't step back, she just watched him walk over to her and it was then that Hermione knew Severus was right. That night when he had said Barty wasn't insane, he was right, he was just under the influence or rebelling from someone, mainly his father. She gulped but just raised her head so she could look him in the eyes. "He gave me permission to save you, Snape stuck up for you to. Their out there to kill, but I'm here to save you."

Hermione raised her eyebrow and her brow crinkled up in confusion. "Save me?" Barty smiled widely, and flicked his tongue. Hermione suddenly jumped back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Leaning on it she closed her eyes and tried to even out her breathing. That tongue, it just reminded her of all the stuff he had done, all the people he had killed, who he really was and she couldn't understand why he would want to save her, it must be just to use her, use her knowledge of magic or the things she knew about the Order. He wasn't there to save her, he was there to kidnap her, take her to Voldemort. "Why me? What do you really want?" She yelled through the door at him, hitting her still injured fist against the wood.

"I just want to talk to you! Save you!" His voice was strong yet not over powering, just loud so she could hear it, holding no anger or rage. "It may not seem like saving to you right now, but it is. You'll be alive, and no one will hurt you! You just have to do what he says and you'll be alive."

Hermione took in a shakily breath, "I would rather die then follow Voldemort!" she yelled through the door.

"Yeah but it's not always about you! I want you to be alive! To be with me." He was almost begging but Hermione just ignored him.

"For what? To rape me? You're a Death Eater, how am I to believe you?" Before she could register what was going on she was thrown away from the door and against the bath, her grip was loosened and her wand slipped out of her hands. Getting up and struggling to find her feet supportive, she finally stood up and saw Barty standing right in front of her.

"You are not going to die. I will not let you."

"You truly are crazy." Hermione looked around for her dropped wand. She glared up and caught his eye, "You're a Death Eater, and your whole existence is to hate me, kill me!" She sneered and picked up her wand which was lying on the floor in between Barty and herself. "Yet here you are, wanting me for god knows what unless it's to just prolong my death until I am of no longer use to you. Is that it? Do you hate my kind so much that you will not even give me the decent honour or right to have a painless and quick death?" She took a step closer to him, raising her head and chin as she did, trying not to let him intimidate her even though deep down all she wanted to do was run and hide and shed tears for all the things around her. "But then again, you are a Death Eater," she spoke offhandedly, "Why wouldn't you be such a cruel, twisted and callous?"

Watching his eyes closely, she saw every emotion flicker past his eyes, it was intense to see and her heart beat got louder and faster as she witnessed what could only be called a break down.

Barty took many steps back, out of her bathroom and into her room, only stopping when he reached her bed and he couldn't move back any longer. He ran his hands through his hair, over and over again, tugging and twisting it in his fingers. She couldn't hear what he was saying but she could tell that he was speaking to himself by the way his mouth was moving and it made him look like he was arguing with or to himself. She tenderly took a couple steps so she was out of her bathroom, but not daring herself to step and closer to him out of fear he would hurt or direct his anger and frustration to her.

She took a deep breath in and started speaking, she didn't know why, she knew it would most likely only bring more danger to herself but she needed him to know what it felt like even if he was in the middle of a break down. She knew it was him now and it needed to be said. Lifting her wand up so it pointed directly at his head so began to let all of her built up feelings for him, old and new, pour out as if she was a glass of water that had been tipped over.

"Do you know what it is like to know you killed one of your best friends? Do you!" She yelled out the question to him, after getting no reply she took another breath in, finding that it was the only way to keep herself from shaking. "Ever since you showed me those three curses in lessons oh so many years ago, I have hated you. Ever inch of your being I despise more then the next, I guess you can just add me to your list of people you've tricked can't you?" stepping over to him, getting a bit more bolder as she vented out. "Harry, Dumbledore, everyone at Hogwarts, I guess I should be glad cause now I'm on it twice. Doesn't it make you feel, even a little bit, I don't care what it is, but don't you have any feelings at the fact that I killed the person I thought was you in a heart beat and that because I found out it wasn't you and actually my best friend it would make me kill you even faster then that?"

Barty coughed and kept running his hands through his hair, he had stopped muttering and was staring at Hermione like she was someone who had just told him he was Merlin himself.

"The big long speeches are boring me now a days. I like to get straight to the point now, so here it is." she walked up to him, kneeling down so she was eye level with him, leaning over to his ear she whispered, "I am going to make you feel everything you have done to me." She began to pull back but couldn't, she felt Barty's hands and arms wrap around her waist. She could feel his muscles and how strong his arms were just by them being placed around her. He wasn't trying to keep her still or hold her tightly, just making sure she couldn't move from his arms. Hermione pulled back slightly but knew it was pointless, her wand was trapped in between his body and hers, the tip pressing slightly into her stomach so any spell she cast would hit him in the process but damage her more. She breathed out a sigh and laughed lightly.

She moved her head back so she could look into his brown eyes, "I was told to keep you here. Make you stay for as long as possible," she tilted her head back and flicked her head so her hair wasn't in the way of her face.

Barty's frowned deeply, and Hermione only hardened her look, she was running out of ways to keep him here, in a duel she had very little control over him leaving, yelling and arguing was the same. Maybe she could bribe him in some way, but the only ways how were knowledge about the Order or her own self, which she was not going to do. She couldn't let him get bored, she had to keep him on his toes so he wouldn't leave, as long as they were here, they weren't outside and she knew Barty was an extremely better fighter then she, so it was good that he was here.

"An' whys that?" He asked, his voice intrigued yet she could tell he was just playing with her.

"I dunno, you tell me." She tried not to shake in his arms but she couldn't help but feel weak and at his mercy, then again, she was. She looked up and over his shoulder, she could see Snape standing by her other bedroom wall. Her eyes widened and she tried to lean back away from him and Barty but couldn't, Barty held her next to his own body. Bringing one of his hands up to her head, he placed it on the back and forced her to rest her head on his shoulder. Her eyes still on Snape, she was shocked to feel Barty's hand gently stroke her hair like she was a child or a lover. She moved her body closer to Barty, ignoring the fact that he was so firm against her, she tilted her head so she could mouth words to Snape.

"What should I do?" she mouthed over to him, she saw Snape chuckle silently, he leaned back on her wall and lifted one of his legs and rested it on the wall behind him. Crossing his arms too over dramatically Hermione thought, he shrugged. Hermione sighed and moved her arm from her side, unfortunately it wasn't the arm which held her wand, she brought it up behind Barty's back and pointed at him. "Stun him."

Snape shook his head and raised his eyebrows. Bringing one hand up in a sign of wait he began to mouth to her, "Patients, hug him." Hermione widened her eyes and sent him an angry look as he continued. "Just listen to what he has to say."

Moving her arm so it hang around Barty's shoulders, she brushed a stray hair from her face. "He's crazy!"

Snape looked down so his hair masking his face, Hermione wondered what he was thinking. Looking up suddenly, it made Hermione jump a little, but Barty only held her tighter. His began to whisper in her ear, shh-ing her and telling her it was okay. Snape nodded slowly, mouthing the words, "I fear you may be right." He shook his head and unfolded his arms. "As always." before he disapparated.

Hermione sighed and relaxed slightly in the arms of the madman. He was whispering to her again, she stopped all her thoughts for a second to listen to what he was saying, what he said surprised her in a way she didn't know existed.

"I have, since fourth year, you were different, so smart.. ..so thoughtful.. ..you were everything that a pure blood is." He paused as he felt Hermione stiffen again. "Only you weren't, you mudblood. Your stupid blood, the thing that pumped around your veins, keeping you alive, that stopped me taking you the second I killed that spider in front of you." She remembered that day, when she got back to her dorm after that lesson she took her defence book and shoved it in the fire, claiming she could never touch it again not after that spider had been killed on it. Harry had understood but Ron called her a silly girl and that it was only a spider. She felt a couple tears fall from her eyes and her vision blurred when it really hit her that she was hugging the man who had made her into a killer.

"I saw your potential, in education and looks. Thank fuck I was right in both, you see, that's why I marked you as mine. Only I needed you to kill first, I know you can never even think about surviving in a war if you haven't killed before." Hermione let out a gasp as more tears flooded down her cheeks. "And I sat there, and thought lets kill two birds with one stone, eh? Well kill one weasel and get you toughened up." He nudged her slightly, Hermione began to struggle in his arms again, she didn't care that it hurt her or that her cheek was beginning to burn again. Punching his back with her free arm and trying to push him away with her trapped hand, she let out a frustrated scream when her back hit what she thought was a wall until she saw Barty laying over her. She tried kicking but her legs were trapped under his and she still only had on free arm, which Barty had now taking in his own hand, bringing it up to his lips he kissed it while Hermione tried to snatch it out of his grasp. He slowly placed his tongue over her wrist and ran it across her palm and up to the tip of index finger, all the while Hermione felt more and more sick, and letting out a disgusted grunt.

"Come on, you don't think I'm going to rape you do you?" There was a twinkle in his eyes that made Hermione's widen as she felt a wave of fear wash over her like cold water. She froze for a second, taking in what he had just said, before struggling and wiggling to try and get out from under him.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she tried to kick and push him off of her. She kept struggling for a couple more seconds before she heard him moan, again she froze. Her eyes enlarged as she realised what she was doing had probably done to him while her mind screamed out, swearing at herself.

"See, that's why I like you, you are so modest. You never know what you do to me." His voice was husky and his breathing was heavy. Hermione began to trash under him again, not caring about what it was doing to him, just trying to get away from him before he did anything. He grabbed her other arm, from between them, and lifted both of them up before violently thrusting them to the ground, stopping all her actions and movements as she felt a crack run from her wrist down to her elbow. She didn't say a word or move an inch, she just turned her head to look at the tingling arm, he marked cheek now turned upwards at Barty. "Sweet, sensible Hermione." He laughed to himself, leaning down he ran his tongue over his mark, it began to burn as he did and Hermione tuned her head rapidly over to look him dead in the eye, his brown eyes seemed to swallow her as the burning began to ebb and build up each time. She swallowed herself as he spoke to her again, "Sweet, sensible Hermione, don't you see? I love you."

Her eyes widened again and she tired to move her hand to point her wand at him but found it had fallen out when he trashed it against the wooden floor. "Oh my God. Merlin, you really are insane." His coffee eyes sparked as Hermione felt herself sinking in the darkness that loomed in his eyes.

Again she woke up cursing the dreamless sleep potion. She knew it would never work but she still took it, the mark on her cheek would never let her block out the memories making the potion useless and futile. She sometimes felt pity on herself, saying how she knew what it must have been like for Harry, but soon stopped herself, claiming that her mark was nothing like his scar and that she got it easy. Harry spoke differently of course, she remembered many nights they had spent sitting around and arguing over who had the most sucky life, but they always stuck up for the other and not themselves.

Brushing her hair from her face she frowned at how damp it was from her sweating. She tried to sit up but found it was too much effort so she just fell backwards onto her bed again. She let out a frustrated growl and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, she could see out of the window that it was still dark. She tried to sit up again, pushing herself up with her arms and scooting back to the head of the bed so the wall would support her. Blinking a couple times so her eyes would get used to the dark, everything was in its place, Hermione had really moved into this room over the past couple weeks and she was sad that now she would have to move into a smaller shared room tonight, she knew it was selfish but the last time she had a room to herself ended on the night she had just dreamt about, no one let her go anywhere on her own for weeks after that, though there were not many people left to accompany her. Hermione had moved into Ginny's room and from that day they were never split, until she came here. Hermione had sometimes wondered what would happen to Ginny and Harry, they were after all the only remaining members of the Order. Dumbledore had told her about the parallel and paradox universe that had now been created but that still didn't stop her from thinking about them and if they had died even if it wouldn't technically be for another nineteen years.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and picked up a match box from her side table. Walking around the room she picked up odd thing and chucked them onto her bed as she lit all the candles around the room. It was going to be a long day, first she had to pack, which she never liked doing, despite how organised she is with work and books, she was a complete mess when it came to her personal life, tidying and cleaning, packing being one of the worse. She always said it was the yang to her ying, or the other way round depending what mood she was in. Secondly, all the students were coming back today, which meant so was Barty. She had a lot to do today, and she still hadn't come up with a fake story about who she was. And she needed to figure out what classes she was going to take, Dumbledore had suggested that she take all but one of the same NEWTS as Barty and she had nodded and agreed then but she didn't know if that was what she would be doing or if it may be different. She still needed to pack, which is what she was going to put last on her list along with ask Snape to tell her about every student she would be having classes with and which of them were threats. She didn't really want to spend too much time with him after reliving that day tonight.

Sighing she looked around her room once more and grabbed the side of her head as she felt the wave of tiredness sweep over her. Glancing out the window and at the small cosmological clock next to it she now knew it was four in the morning. She stood looking out her window for a couple minutes, frozen and blank, she felt dirty. Blinking and forcing herself to move her head, she walked past her dresser, picking up a bag and walking out of her bedroom she headed towards the prefects bathroom.

Walking past a couple of pictures, she stopped and noted things about them, like how one of them had a slight fault, one of its corners was singed and charred so there was a black curled up bit of canvas showing rather then the painting. Moving on she walked down the hall for a bit longer, enjoying how oddly quite it was and how her footprints made little padding sounds as she walked on the stone barefoot.

She finally reached the portrait, it was different then the one she had used in her last years at Hogwarts, but she had been shown it the other week and was now getting used to it. Whispering the password, she knew Amy's rooms were only a couple doors down and she didn't want to wake her even though speaking was doubtfully going to do that anyway. The portrait swung open and she stepped up and into the bathroom carefully, she placed her hands on the walls of the entrance whist still holding her small bag in her right hand.

She stepped down from the entrance and walked over to the edge of the massive bath, which she always compared to a swimming pool any day rather then a bathtub. She slowly took off her clothes carefully and opened her bag and pulled out a towel which she placed on the ground neatly next to her fallen clothes. She looked out at the water and tapped her foot over the surface lightly, it was warm, she knew it would be but she just liked to be sure, she walked over to the wall by the entrance and ran over to the bathtub, jumping at the last possibly second and diving into the water. She loved the feel of how it washed over her and what it was like to be so free, gliding under the water. She swam a bit lower until she felt the bottom of the bath, then spun round and kicked off the floor, feeling her head rise from the water she took in a deep breath of air and wiped the water out of her eyes. She blinked as couple times and wiped her hair out of her eyes and down the back of her head and back. She spun around and spotted her bag, taking another breath she began to swim over to the edge of the tub and towards her bag. Reaching over she took out a small potion bottle, opening it and pouring it into her hands she ran it through her hair, like a shampoo only Amy had giving it to her, claiming it was a miracle for any woman with long, untameable hair. Hermione let out a chuckle at how much she had reminded her of a television advert then.

Pulling out a small cloth from her bag she began to wash her arms, the dirty feeling had still lingered around her and while she could bear it for a while, she needed to feel clean right now. As she washed herself, Hermione couldn't help but feel self conscience, she looked around but found no one there watching her. She looked down at the cloth and wetted it again, rinsing it and beginning to clean her legs she remembered something, or someone. Her shoulders fell but she never stopped washing her legs, she spoke out soon was meet with someone she had long forgotten about.

"Myrtle, if you're going to watch me and wonder who I am, you may as well just come out and speak to me."

She heard the childish voice behind her and also a slight breeze which meant she wasn't that far away.

"I haven't seen you around here before."

Hermione smiled to herself, "Nope, I'm Hermione. A new student, I was home schooled, but my father died a couple weeks ago so now I'm coming here to study." Well, now she had a story, one thing to cross off her list. She didn't know why that lie came out so easily but guessed it was a good thing if she was going to be using it for the rest of the year.

There was a slight pause, most likely Myrtle thinking about her story and questioning it. Then slowly she began to talk again.

"But if your new.. ..how do you know my name?" Hermione could swear she was almost singing it as if it was a nursery rhyme. Narrowing her eyes she began to answer.

"Dumbledore told me, to be careful when I use the bathroom's because there's a ghost. And that her name is Myrtle, so I figured that was you." Her voice was light, and calm, Hermione only hoped that all those years lying to teachers and people were paying off, she really didn't want to be discovered by a silly school girl ghost.

"Was Myrtle." Hermione heard her mumble to herself, hated conversations with Myrtle, she had only really ever had about four of them, but each time it always came back to how she was dead and in love with Harry and seeing as Harry was only born a just over month ago she doubted that would pop up in the chat.

Sighing, Hermione decided to act like she hadn't heard what she said by ignoring it. "So Myrtle, I've been here a couple weeks now, how come I haven't seen you before?"

"Oh, I just wonder." Hermione laughed at how much she was reminding her of Luna, just the way she dazedly answered her question. "Not much to do, there's a paw trapped in the u-bend in the girls bathroom on second floor," Hermione smirked and thought how much she would hate to be like Myrtle living such a dull life, or rather after life as she continued with her story. "I've been spending most of my time watching that dirty care taker try and get it out."

Hermione shook her head at her, feeling great pity for the ghost, she knew about her past and how she died and she knew it was sad it all was, but it still didn't help the fact Myrtle was one of the most annoying, wining people she had ever met. "Er, would you mind?" Hermione said over her shoulder, hoping the other girl knew what she was implying.

"No, no, its fine really, no one wants me around."

"It's not that, I just want to get out now." Moving over to the edge of the bath she reached over to the towel which still lay neatly next to her clothes. She took a quick look around and saw that Myrtle wasn't there anymore, she placed her hands on the stone floor and pushed her self up and out of the water. She wrapped herself up instantly in the towel, just for warmth and comfort. She walked over to sinks and looked at her self in the mirror, she frowned deeply and started to finger at her hair to sort it out so it was a least a bit neat and parted right.

Running her fingers down her wet face, she traced the mark on her cheek, it was slightly purple from the heat of the bathroom and Hermione smiled lightly, during her whole time being in this time it had not burnt once, not even a slight pull or sting. She kind of enjoyed having the bathroom and Hogwarts basically to herself, it gave her a lot of time to think and try to get over the shock. She still found it strange to walk on a floor from a different time then her own but each day she was beginning to get used to it, she knew that all of her time getting used to it would be shattered the second she saw herself, Harry or Ron from this time. Seeing herself was going to be unlikely, but by the sounds of it Lily and James along with Molly and Arthur visit Hogwarts a lot to see Dumbledore, who will surely have to inform the Order about her and her mission. It was only a matter of time before she saw them. Sighing again, she walked back over to her bag of things she bought with her, taking out her clothes she moved over to a bench, laying her clothes down she began to dry herself.

It wasn't long before she was emerging from the prefects bathroom, she began to walk down the hall, looking at the painting which's corner was damaged. She wondered what might have happened to it, but that didn't stop her as she walked to the Room of Requirement. Whispering the password to her room, she chucked her bag which now held her damp towel, night wear and cleaning products, onto the floor just by the entrance, then she shut the portrait and began to walk past the blank wall three times, each time thinking of what she wanted most, which she had no idea what it could be. Just walking up and down three times thinking of the words in her head.

Suddenly the door appeared, like she knew it would. She hesitantly walked over to it and opened it slowly, taking the side of the door into her hands and peering around into the room. She didn't see much this way, so opening the door more fully, she stepped in side and froze. It was a phone, which was oddly ringing. Raising her eyebrow and her brow all scrunched up, she walked over to it.

"How can you be ringing?" She knew for a fact no electrical products could work insides Hogwarts ground, she had read it many times in A Hogwarts History, and even tested it by bringing in the iPod that her parents had brought her and surely enough, it didn't even turn on. Picking up the phone, she raised it to her ear gradually. Pressing it against her ear and holding the handle part tightly, she began to answer.

"Hello?" She didn't really except anyone to answer, and if she did, she had no idea who it might be. There were so many people she wanted to talk to right now, she couldn't name them all.

"Hello?" The voice was a mixture of shock, surprise and a very confused question.

Loosing her grip on the phone, she knew that voice. It made her loosen up all over, her knees weakening and her mouth gaping open. She froze all at once after the first shock, gripping the phone tight she held it closer to her face, cupping the speaker in her other hand, whist the other pushed the phone against her face so hard it began to hurt, but she had to know if she heard that voice correctly.

"Remus?" Her voice came out a lot quieter then she had hoped, almost like a child.

"I'm sorry, who is this? Is James there?" He sounded so much more younger, yet still Remus, still deep and empowering, yet kind and nice. Hermione could hardly breathe, she slowly sank to the floor, clutching the phone like it was her life.

"No," she shook her head sadly, even though she knew he would never see her, "James isn't here. Er," she didn't know what to say, "This is Hogwarts. And I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." A slight hope built in her, like he would know her, comfort her and give advise.

"Oh, how is this phone working? You're in Hogwarts right?" Her vision blurred and it became harder to blink. She knew that she was about to cry, of course he wouldn't know her, she was silly to think that there was any chance that he did. Not for at least another thirteen years, and that was true, in thirteen years, she would be on the train, sitting next to him as he slept. Her tears started to fall and she didn't try to wipe them away.

"Er, I don't actually know." She laughed nervously, "It just sort of.. .. appeared, in the Room of Requirement." She knew Remus knew about the room so there was no problem telling him where she was.

There was a slight pause and Hermione began to worry, but her fears of him hanging up or hunting her down soon disappeared when he began to talk again. "Oh, well, I wondered why I had the sudden urge to call James at half five in the morning. Anyway, why do you require talking to me?"

"I.. .. I don't know." She smiled through her tears, it was so comforting to hear him speak, even if he didn't know who she was. Just his voice, the voice which had calmed and supported her for so long, and here it was. She couldn't see him, but she could hear him and it was almost like being back home. Now she knew why the room had given her the phone call.

"Okay, lets see.. .." she could almost picture him rubbing him chin as he was thinking, "Do I know you? I don't think I do Hermione right?"

"No, no I've never met you. I'm.. .." she needed to say something that would help him think of a reason for him being the one the room picked, her mind raced and suddenly she thought of something, trying not to sound to cheery or forced, she came out with, "I'm a new student here. This is my first time coming to Hogwarts, I'm in my last year."

She almost hear his thoughts snap into place, just like she had wished them to. "Oh, well that's why then. I used to go to Hogwarts, I guess you just wanted to hear what it was like from someone who has experience."

Smiling to herself she felt kind of silly, this was the first time she had really smiled since she got here. "I guess so. Yeah.. .."

She heard Remus thinking out loud, occasionally letting out an 'um' or an 'ah', "Well, watch out for the big tree out by the cliff edge." Hermione smiled at the memory of Ron and Harry after they had just faced the tree in that old nearly broken down car. And in her third year, when she yelled out at Remus and about his secret, and when all the truth came out about how James and Lily died. "And, hang on, I think Professor Binns' is still teaching, yeah, history of magic, well bring a good book to read to all his lessons or he'll bore you to death."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, it gets so much better then that, hang on, I will send you something. Hermione Granger right? Well, I'll have to remake it first, but you'll get it tomorrow, it's kind of a.. .. map." Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She knew what map he was talking about. "Go out, make loads of friends, and never forget this map, its perfect for sneaking out."

Hermione laughed out loud at that sly comment, "And who says I'm the type of person to be sneaking out?"

"I dunno, but you're the one who's at Hogwarts the morning before it open to students, in the Room of Requirement, which took me and my mates over four years to find." This felt right, Remus' joking tone, it felt like they were friends again. Both laughed and Hermione began to wipe away her tears.

"Okay, the basics," Remus continued after they both stopped laughing, "Slytherins, bad. The evil, cunning kind of bad. Hufflepuffs, very loyal and hardworking, but they can be a little wimpy. Ravenclaw, very smart, but everyone knows how to be in an advantage I found, that could be a good or a bad thing. And last, Gryffindor, brave, fun and everyone sticks by each other. If you were going to be put into a house, I would say Gryffindor woud be the best."

"Were you in Gryffindor?" Hermione asked, trying to not sound stupid, or too uninterested because she already know the answer.

"Yep, although I sometimes thought I was meant to be in Ravenclaw. Do you know what house you're going to be in?" Remus asked, he seemed really interested, even though it was half five in the morning.

"Dumbledore said I would be better suited in Ravenclaw." Hermione was still kind of sad that she wouldn't be in Gryffindor, but she also knew it was too risky for the future. She looked down at her nails on her left hand, they were clean and growing long again.

"That's cool." She could hear the sadness in his voice despite his words. She heard a noise in the background, it was a small tapping but it grew louder and Hermione didn't need much thought to know that it was obviously an owl at a window. "Well, I got to go, I hope I helped in some way. I'll send you that map, and maybe see you sometime, I visit Hogwarts a lot."

Hermione nodded into the phone, "Okay, thank you Remus."

She knew he had frozen up a bit, which he usually did when people called him by his first name, especially young women, she remembered all the times she had seen it around Tonks just before they started dating.

"Er, that's fine, it was nice speaking to you."

"Likewise, Goodbye." Her smiled turned sad at the fact she knew that this conversation was ending, but she took what she could get.

"Goodbye Hermione."

And with that she quickly hung up the phone before she heard him hang up first, she didn't know why, but she didn't really want to hear the buzzing sound which meant he wasn't there anymore, that no one was there.

Sitting there for a couple more minutes, she looked up at the table which had the phone on it. After awhile it slowly began to fade and she was left in an empty room, with nothing in it, not even a window. Slowly she got up, stretching as she did, she walked over to the entrance and looked back on more time before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her. Turning quickly after she shut it, she didn't even see it disappear, it was already gone. Sighing, and tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, she began to walk to the library, there was a book she wanted to read. It had been awhile since she had read a bit of fiction and now seemed like a good time to start again. Thinking of some books that she would like to read, she reached the big oak door that opened into the library and decided she wanted to read a bit of muggle classics. Opening the door slowly, so not to make them creak, she slipped into the crack in between the doors and headed straight to the muggle section of the massive room.

Never noticing the man following her from the Room of Requirement all the way to the room she was in now. The stormy eyes watching her intently each time she moved. Analysing her and wondering as she carefully slide out the book Pride and Prejudice from its set place on one of the middle shelves.

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Her thoughts were interrupted by the library door opening with a loud bang against one of the walls. She jumped at the sudden noise and shut her book, keeping her thumb in the pages to maintain the page she was reading. She stood up and began to walk around the shelves to the entrance of the library, soon she saw it was just the librarian and let out the breath she had been holding. Slowly she walked out from behind the last shelves and started over to Madam Pince, "Hello, good morning." She said cheerfully, she was very clam now, she found reading always helped her.

"Oh!" Pince jumped slightly, surprised at the girls appearance already in the library, "I didn't know you were in here."

Hermione just smiled sleepily at the remark. "Yeah, I woke up early, and decided to come and read for a bit." Holding up the book she was still had in her hand, as proof.

Madam Pince smiled kindly, "That's fine, but don't you think you should be getting breakfast? It's nearly ten." Hermione was quite shocked, she didn't know she had been reading for that long.

"Okay, thank you. Would it be okay if I took this book out, please?" Madam Pince nodded and reached her hand out to take the book from Hermione. Quickly turning the corner of the page she was marking, she handed it over as the elder woman ran her wand over the book and handed it back to her. "Thanks." Hermione said before walking briskly out of the room and into the hall. Heading straight to the stairs she began to rush down them. She didn't know why she was hurrying to go to the great hall, she wasn't hungry, she guessed it was just because she wanted to see everyone, she always felt more comfortable around people she knew, even if they didn't know her as well as she would have liked them too.

The great hall's door were open so she didn't need to open them, which she was thankful for, she hated having to do that, it made everyone look around and she felt like she was making a massive entrance when she really didn't want to be noticed so much. She quickly walked in and down the gap between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, looking down at her feet as she headed towards the table. She knew this would be the last time she sat at the table because no one came down for lunch, they all ate it at their own accord, and tonight she would be sitting at the Ravenclaw table. Stepping up at the side of the stage, she walked over to her spot, only to find it taken, raising her eyebrow at the black haired man she realised there was an empty seat next to him so she sat down in that one instead.

Looking next to her she saw Hagrid and smiled at him, wishing him a good morning, then turning to the other person, who was in her seat, she realised something. Her breath caught in her throat and her mouth fell open, trying to speak things but nothing was coming out. Luckily or not for her, he turned around and smiled widely at her and held out his hand.

"Hello, Sirius Black, nice to meet you." Looking between his face and his hand, Hermione took it slowly and shook it, still not able to find any words. Sirius' grin wavered and he began to speak again. "So.. ..are you a guest or a new teacher?"

Hermione shut her mouth again and blinked a couple times, regaining the ability to talk and comprehend things. "Hermione.. ..Sorry, I'm Hermione Granger. And I'm a student."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, Hermione couldn't help be notice how young and handsome he looked, she guessed all those stories weren't lies about him being gorgeous and a charmer.

"Student? You're here early, and sitting at the head table, my my, the teachers must love you." He said slightly dryly, yet it made Hermione laugh. Taking a bread roll from in front of her, she took a pinch of it and began to rolled it around between her index and thumb so it formed a little ball, she then placed it on her plate and took another bit of bread and repeated the action.

"I'm.. ..not from around here." She explained, she knew better then to lie to him, he would soon find out about her really reason for being here, he was in the Order after all.

"Oh, how old are you?" He asked, taking a sip of what Hemione guessed was tea. She then heard Hagrid chough loudly from next her, she turned to see if he was okay, but found him glaring at Sirius. "What?" Sirius called over to Hagrid innocently, "I was just asking her a question!" Hermione laughed and shook her head lightly, turning back the Sirius, she smiled lightly.

"I'm.. .." she stopped herself, she couldn't say she was nineteen could she? But she didn't want to lie. She bit down on her lip lightly, before turning her head upwards to face him once again, smiling sweetly she continued, "I'm too young for you Mr Black."

"Ah," He said, knowingly, taking another sip of his tea then he ran a hand though his quite long black hair, "So, you're in your last year?"

"Yes."

"Let me guess, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?" His brow was all crinkled up and Hermione looked down at the small bread spheres on her plate.

"I thought you said you were going to guess?" Hermione spoke simply.

"I am, and that answered my question, Ravenclaw." Hermione laughed out slightly at his trick.

"My my," She repeated his words dryly like before, "Aren't we the cunning little Gryffindor."

Sirius pointed at her, "Now, how did you know I was a Gryffindor?"

Hermione was caught out, but it didn't take her long to recover, brushing her hair over her shoulder she began to explain, "Well, if you're cunning, but if you were in Slytherin you would be over there," she pointed and glanced over at Severus. "Talking to him. You seem too cheeky to be a Hufflepuff, and you don't seem to be that smart, so that rules out Ravenclaw." She smiled jokingly and winked at him with the last comment.

Sirius pouted, "Now that's not very nice."

Hermione shrugged and stood up, she walked out of the hall quickly and down the hall until she reached Dumbledore's office, she wondered why he hadn't been at breakfast, speaking the password out the to gargoyle, she waited for it to move open for her, after a couple seconds it did and she stepped into the staircase. Walking up them as they moved so she would reach his office sooner, she got to his door and knocked lightly and waited for an answer.

"Come in."

Opening the door she stepped in and closed it behind her, turning to face the room she saw two people she hadn't seen in so long, it instantly made her stare wide eyed at them. She smiled kindly, wanting to get up and hug them, but knowing she couldn't because they didn't know who she was, which made it all the harder to see them. They both slowly turned to look at her and Hermione took a deep breath in, running her hands over her shirt, she tried to look her best for these people who were, to them, meeting her for the first time.

She waved slightly and spoke very softly to them, greeting them after so long, yet to them, they had never seen her before in their life, but to her they were the ones who had made her want to keep living.

"Hello."

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I'm so sorry it's been ages since I updated this, schools new and hectic and hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

Your Loyal Fictioneer

xXxUntouchablegothxXx