Hermione was the first to awake in the girls dorm the next morning. She looked over at the window to see a grey but slowly brightening sky and stretched her arms out high above her head. She stayed in bed a few moments more, relishing in the feeling of her body slowly waking itself up, still in the comfort of her sheets. This was possibly her favourite time of the day. It was so early that the only sounds to be heard were the soft calls of birdsong from the trees far below the Gryffindor tower.
She shuffled into her slippers and headed for a shower. In it, she allowed herself a few extra minutes to indulge, letting the hot water cascade down her body as the comforting smell of vanilla body wash filled the room. She grabbed her towel and tried to quietly find her jeans and the comfiest t-shirt she could without waking the other girls.
Deciding it might be best to cover up a bit down at the pitch later, she grabbed a cosy lilac sweater and a scarf before she left the dorm, the birdsong now drowned out by the soft snores coming from Ginny's bunk.
As expected she was the first to arrive in the great hall for breakfast. The elves hadn't yet sent any food up but there were large silver jugs of orange, apple, grapefruit and pumpkin juice waiting on the tables and, to her great relief, tall steaming pots of coffee and tea.
It wasn't until she had almost finished her second cup that the first slow trickle of students started making their way into the hall.
She noticed quite a few third years and remembered this would be the first weekend at school they would be allowed to Hogsmeade, which explained why they were dressed up warmly and excitedly chatting away to each other.
After a while, Ginny came in and sat down across from her with Katie Bell in tow, they were already deep in discussion about the upcoming try outs later that morning.
'-just hope Harry will keep me on,' Katie finished saying, she smiled acknowledging Hermione.
'Of course he will, you've been one of the best chasers on the team since he joined it!' Ginny reassured her, grabbing the nearest juice jug and pouring herself a big helping of orange juice.
'I think Harry would prefer not having to decide at all,' said Hermione, Ginny nodded in agreement. More and more students were starting to fill the hall up now, most having enjoyed a blissful Saturday morning sleep in first.
The food appeared suddenly on the table before them, trays and trays of warm toast, eggs done every way imaginable as well as platters filled to the brim with circles of melon, pineapple, grapes, apple and pretty much every other fruit Hermione had ever seen. Ginny and Katie were both taking the first few bites of toast when Harry and Ron arrived. Hermione caught the encouraging smile plastered to Harry's face, while Ron's looked like he was about to throw up and guessed they had been in the middle of a quidditch related-pep talk.
'Morning Harry!' Katie chimed a little too enthusiastically
'Morning!' he replied back, pretending not to notice.
Ron sat down next to Hermione and, for the first time in her memory, didn't begin immediately piling his plate with eggs and sausages.
'It'll be fine Ron,' she whispered to him quietly whilst the others chatted. He didn't respond but took the plate of toast she had filled up for him without protest.
'I'll come watch,' she offered then added on seeing his dubious face, 'Actually watch... I finished my homework last night.'
The corners of Ron's mouth turned up slightly, 'Thanks,' he replied, adding another few slices to his plate.
Down at the pitch, Hermione took a seat with Neville, who had brought homework, and helped him annotate and list uses of the Fluxweed plant while they waited for the potential new team members to emerge from the tent.
The only other spectators were a few first and second years, for some of whom this would be their first chance to get a glimpse of the game, especially if they had come from Muggle families and Seamus and Lavender. Her housemates were both sat together on the other side of the pitch looking oddly cosy. Hermione was briefly wondering if something had started between the two of them when Harry emerged onto the pitch, the rest in tow.
Neville hadn't asked her anything to do with his homework for a while and seemed to be getting on fine on his own, so she shifted forward slightly in her seat to give the players her full attention. She caught Ron's eye, waved and gave him a little thumbs up sign. He smiled tightly back and looked around the rest of the stands, Hermione thought he would probably be grateful for the small turnout, it eased the pressure on him a little.
When he turned to where Seamus and Lavender were chatting happily she thought she saw him linger looking at them for a moment, but then Harry signalled for everyone to gather around and Ron went to stand beside him. Hermione couldn't see his face, his back now to her, but the hand not clutching his broom handle seemed to be clenched into a fist.
The try outs took some time due to the sheer number of people that had applied that year. Hermione suspected Harry's promotion to the role of team captain probably had something to do with that.
Katie and Ginny both easily out-performed the rest of the potential chasers, both securing over fifteen goals, so their positions were pretty guaranteed. The trails lasted the best part of two and a half hours, involving a few collisions that forced some of the more inexperienced flyers to retire early.
Cormac McLaggen who, after what could only be described as a temper tantrum, had managed to convince Harry to let him try out for both chaser and keeper, was announced their third and final chaser. In Hermione's opinion he had slightly out performed Ron as keeper, but the standard of the other potential chasers seemed to be quite poor and Hermione guessed Harry's decision to give Cormac the third spot with Ginny and Katie was probably more strategic than based purely on performance alone. Hermione supposed it made sense for Harry to have a brilliant set of chasers and a pretty good keeper, than one sup-par chaser and possibly a fall out with his best friend.
Gryffindor had the pitch booked until noon that day but before eleven try outs were all wrapped up.
So, after conciliatory handshakes with those who didn't make the cut, Harry and the team took to the sky again for some training drills for the rest of the morning. Hermione watched for only a few more minutes and found herself fill with pride at how he had taken so well to the new role.
After their fifth year, she knew this would be just what Harry would need, a return to a bit of normality and doing what he loved to do. She had complete faith in him as captain given how much a competent teacher he had shown himself to be in the DA last year. Whether he saw it as a longer term plan for himself or not was a conversation for a later time, but still, Harry must have realised that teaching came incredibly natural to him.
Neville said he was happy to stay in the stands and finish his notes when Hermione asked him if he wanted to head back with her. He was almost done writing his list for the uses of Fluxweed.
'Don't forget Polyjuice potion.' Hermione pointed out as she shuffled past him. 'Though only if you pick it at the full moon,' she added. Neville shouted his thanks as he furiously scribbled it down.
Hermione had given a fair bit of thought as to where she should go today. She needed somewhere secure, somewhere she would not be disturbed. Since it was the weekend however, students were able to come and go freely around the whole castle which severely limited her options. There were hundreds of free classrooms, but all came with a risk that a teacher could walk in at any time.
McGonagall's would have been perfect, however the professor was supervising the trip to Hogsmeade for the third years all day so there was no answer to Hermione's knock at her door. When she tried the handle to find the door locked, she found even a quiet, 'Alohomora!' didn't make it budge, so didn't linger any longer. Regardless, even if it had worked, she had forgotten to even ask her professor if she would mind, and whilst she was almost certain McGonagall would be perfectly happy for her to use the room, given the circumstances, Hermione had her manners and barging into a teacher's locked classroom admittedly felt rude.
The weather had brightened a bit by then and she could see from the windows a few groups of people down by the lake. There didn't seem to be a point that would be secluded enough for her to be completely sure she wouldn't be seen, so she ruled that out.
After some debating and wandering through the halls, Hermione realised she already knew the perfect place and was surprised at herself for not thinking of it sooner.
She made her way up the stairs to the seventh floor to find the room of requirement. Facing the blank wall opposite the large tapestry of Barnabus, Hermione started to pace and kept a watchful eye on both ends to the corridor in case anyone were to wander past. There were now far too many people who knew about the room to ensure she wouldn't be the only one who might seek it out again. For one thing there was every member of the former DA who were still attending school this year, that made the number at least thirty. More worryingly, Hermione wasn't sure whether the remaining members of the inquisitorial squad would know enough about this room to bother coming back to find it for their own use.
Her consolation was in the fact that the room only appeared to someone in great need of it and frankly she couldn't think of a reason that anyone in the school would need it more than her right then. As she paced the three times required, her thoughts pleaded with the castle as she begged, 'I need somewhere safe, somewhere quiet. I need a place to practice where nobody can find me. I need the room to be usable by me and me alone.'
To her relief the large oak doors of the room began to appear and she quickly slipped inside.
Where last year the room had been full of their DA supplies, practice equipment, books and dark detectors, now it took the form of a beautiful, canopy covered indoor garden.
She looked up to find the ceiling had mimicked the great hall in reflecting the outside weather. Instead of the tall ceiling and beams, there were soft greyish clouds with only the smallest glimpses of light shining through them. The floor was no longer hard stone but was covered with a luscious green grass that reminded her of her parent's garden back home, and in the far corner there lay a deep pond freckled with lily pads and protruding reeds. She spotted a small hammock in another corner with a garden chair next to it for her to lay down her wand and clothes, should she need to. Where the room ended a glade of trees stretched for as far as she could see, she was half tempted to venture in to see how far exactly the room could push its enchantments but decided against it, unsure of just how easy it would be to get lost in there and also keen to make a start.
Luckily on her first attempt Thursday night, she had unintentionally kept her clothes and shoes when she transformed, avoiding any embarrassment at having to hide from her professor upon changing back, however McGonagall had warned her that being able to make that a conscious decision would take time and practice.
Practice she was more than happy to do but it was time she didn't have a lot of. They had agreed that from the following week Hermione would no longer be required to carry out her prefect rounds. Instead she would be stationed down in the dungeons on those evenings to keep a watch over Malfoy, reporting anything suspicious back to McGonagall.
However, before she attempted that she wanted to make sure she had at least the most basic of control over her transformation. Hermione shuddered at the thought of being stuck down in the dungeons, naked, if she transformed back too early and without her wand close by. Those kinds of thoughts did not lead anywhere she wanted to follow so she shook them from her head and decided even if it took the whole weekend to practice she was going to at least master what control over it she could. Besides, she was a fast learner and had faith in that if nothing else.
She spent the next few hours transforming from her Animagus to herself and back again, each time the initial transformation happened faster and faster. She no longer felt any discomfort or sense of confusion, but she did face an unexpected battle between both forms each wanting their turn as her body. As she transformed back into herself she could feel the anticipation building in her again, wanting to go back to walking on all fours like it was the most natural thing in the world, then vice versa she would be down on the floor and would suddenly feel so small and desperately want to be back on her own two legs, instantly picturing herself and turning back. The battle went on like that for a while but slowly she began to have better control over her thoughts when she transformed and then, instead of acting on pure instinct, she was able to hang on to her conscious enough to stay in her animal form longer and longer. Minutes as an otter slowly became an hour, then two. Time in the room quickly flew by and she was sure it would now be getting into late afternoon. She was startled by what sounded like noises coming from outside, it had sounded like two voices arguing but upon transforming back to herself she found she couldn't hear a thing even with her ear pressed to the wall. She put it down to her animal hearing being a little too fine tuned for its own good.
Her watch lay on top of the pile of clothes she had neatly folded on the chair, on checking the time she almost dropped it to the floor when she saw it was already after seven.
She shoved her clothes back on over her head, smoothed out her hair, grabbed her wand and left the room, mentally thanking it for letting her use as she headed down for dinner.
Hermione made her excuses to Harry and Ron, blaming the library for what she realised was the second time in as many days. She would need to start getting a little more creative. They were both in good spirits and from the sound of it their first training session had gone better than either had hoped. They had ended up being able to stay on the pitch all afternoon as well, the Slytherin team had it booked after them for the rest of the day but, Harry had told her excitedly, hardly any of them turned up so they packed away after only half an hour.
She was only half paying attention to what her friends were saying as she absent-mindedly played around with the food on her plate, surprisingly finding she would much rather be eating raw fish. She caught herself bringing her Animagus to the front of her mind and tried hard to push it away, she was far too inexperienced to transform wandlessly but thought it best not to take any chances. Ron's words pulled her quickly back to their table as conversation veered toward a mutual interest.
'Why would Malfoy sack quidditch off though?' he asked Harry who shrugged as if to say he really couldn't care less.
Hermione tried to keep the interest in her voice to an acceptable level as she probed, 'He didn't make seeker?'
'You generally have to at least turn up to try outs to make the team,' Harry muttered, not looking up from his plate.
Ron nodded over at the Slytherin table. 'Looks like he doesn't fancy turning up to dinner either..'
Turning to inconspicuously look over her shoulder and found Ron was right, Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.
She did however make a second's eye contact with Pansy, long enough to spot the scornful look she shot her way. Instead of the usual haughty look she would chuck right back at her Hermione simply turned away again to face Harry and Ron.
Being honest with herself, she half pitied Pansy at that point.
Whatever had gone on between her and Draco had clearly affected her whereas Draco was still strutting around the place with the usual gaggle of cronies at his beck and call. Pansy on the other hand seemed to have been cast out by everyone in her house. Hermione found she couldn't remember seeing her actually sat with anyone else in the hall or their classes all week. It definitely wasn't worry for Pansy that she felt, she would have to like the girl first to worry about her.
No, it was simply that Hermione had a heart and did not enjoy seeing anyone suffer, even those she hated.
Her thoughts reluctantly drifted once again to Malfoy during dinner, she realised that she also had to start being honest with herself about how she felt doing what she had been asked to do. Malfoy had threatened her twice now and though she had gotten used to him throwing empty threats around blindly in the past, these felt different. Her head told her she should be getting as far from him as possible. He hated muggleborns with a passion and his family now had direct links to a wizard who would very much want to remove her and anyone like her from this world altogether.
Her heart, however, was brave and it would not let her shirk back from a job that needed doing if it meant she could play a role in helping their side fight whatever it was Draco could be helping Voldemort with. It was a small thing to ask of her, but if she found even the smallest bit of information McGonagall could pass to Dumbledore and the Order it could make all the difference.
Given his behaviour already, the fact he had now missed his prefect duties and quidditch, two of the things he had milked for all they were worth in the past, Hermione was getting the distinct impression, only a week into term, that Draco Malfoy was really not interested in his life at Hogwarts any more.
If she added to that his fighting with Pansy, who everyone in their year had expected to be clinging onto his arm as his girlfriend for the next two years, it looked like Draco really was severing ties across this part of his life. Combined, they raised enough red flags for her to think there was more than a little merit to McGonagall and Dumbledore's concerns about him. Distancing himself from his previous life was a sign that Draco Malfoy either already had, or at least had plans to, make a new sort of life for himself.
Whether that was due to the fallout of what had happened with his father or whether because he was looking more to the future now than the past, Hermione wasn't yet certain. It was only a week they had been back, and she didn't want to draw conclusions too soon. Besides, if McGonagall was right and Draco was up to something to help the dark side, Hermione hardly suspected he would have gone to the effort of coming back to school if he was getting ready to leave and join the death eaters straight away. No, she thought, if he was planning anything, Draco would take his time. Slytherin's were clever and cunning above all else. He was not going to be careless, that much she was sure of.
After dinner, Hermione decided she was going to head back up to the room for a few more hours before bed time. Harry and Ron had already planned a round robin chess match with Seamus and Dean which she knew would go on for hours, it also meant they probably wouldn't notice what time she got back, so she seized the opportunity to vanish for another few precious hours to practice.
This time however, as she approached the corridor leading to the room she found it would not let her enter. She thought as hard as could of how much she still had a need of it, of how perfect it had been and that she really could do with having use of it again that night. Try as hard as she might to feel the desperation that would summon the room into being for her, it still did not appear.
With a frustrated sigh, she headed back the way she had come, back down the stairs and out into the courtyard towards the lake. The moon was just starting to rise up in the sky but it was still early autumn, and the daylight clung to the world for a an hour or two longer. The shore of lake was sufficiently abandoned now and with the shadows of the early evening beginning to creep in, Hermione felt she was safe enough down there now to find a secluded spot and resume her practice.
She surfaced, her tail propelling her back towards the shore while her feet paddled in a harmonious rhythm with each other. She was further out than she had realised, the castle now a looming shadow far in the distance, though growing larger by the second as she swam with an effortless haste.
Soon enough she was closing in on the shore. While still swimming, she changed back, her limbs transformed almost the instant the image of herself appeared in her mind and she smiled a little to herself. She was getting the hang of this now, just a little more time is all she would need.
Before rising out of the water, she lingered for a while to enjoy the feeling that spread through her as she relaxed her whole body and gently floated. Her hair pooled out around her, a dark halo with the faintest hint of warmer, golden strands where it had lightened over the summer. Her hands moved out to caress the water that rippled all around her as she disturbed it, feet gently relaxed though her toes were beginning to feel the cold again.
Something about the whole scene made her want to laugh. Here she was, the golden prefect of her house, 'brightest witch of her age' and stickler for rules, Hermione Granger - naked and swimming past midnight in the black lake.
The euphoric feeling it gave her being out there, alone and completed at one with herself in every way imaginable, made her never want to leave.
But, as she caught the chime of the clock tower moving its hand past one, she decided she had played this dangerous game enough for one night. Truth be told she had enjoyed the risk of it all. Each transformation brought out an animalistic and raw side of her that craved this feeling of freedom, of heeding no call except that of her own body and wants. Whilst it had been that shift in control, or lack thereof, that had initially terrified her that first night, she found she was growing to look forward to it.
For someone as highly strung, sensible and overly cautious as Hermione was, letting go of control felt like morphine for her soul.
She gave a fleeting glance around her secluded little area to ensure there was no chance anyone else was nearby. Between two large boulders that nestled against a rock face a small circular clearing came into view, where she had safely stored her wand and clothes. She had cast protection charms around the area earlier as an extra measure but given the lateness of the hour by that point, and the fact everyone was likely in bed already anyway, she didn't truly think the wards had been necessary.
There was a small patch of shore she had to quickly run up to make it back to her clothes so as she emerged full out of the water she covered herself with each arm, one across her thigh and the other crossed over her shoulder, more out of instinct rather than because she actually thought there was a possibility someone might see her.
She stiffened as the cold started to creep into her bones again and threw her layers back on as quickly as she could. It was too late for a shower now so she would just have to make sure she was up before Ginny the following day. The first time Ginny had smelled the lake on her she managed to shake off any interrogation as to the cause. She didn't think she would be that lucky a second time and frankly didn't have the imagination right then to think up a plausible excuse.
As she made her way back towards the school she mumbled a hasty disillusionment charm over herself. In the unlikely event Filch was patrolling the castle, it would not be a good idea to run into him at this hour.
She was almost back to the tower when she heard the footsteps.
They were coming from the stairs above her on their way down and so, reacting quickly, she stopped in her tracks, just off the sixth floor landing and moved back to stand against the wall, hoping her charm would still be in full effect if the shadows alone didn't disguise her.
The stairs moved above her again, carrying whoever else was wandering the castle at this hour away and out of her line of sight. The footsteps continued and when they started to grow distant she hesitantly ventured out to the edge or the landing, chancing a glance below to see if she could make whoever it was out but they were too far down now, past the ground floor below which was only the dungeons.
Her heart stilled then. She had a fairly strong suspicion who she had almost crossed paths with and there was also a gut feeling in the back of her mind telling her that if her timing been just a little better, she could have finally been able to get to work on figuring out what he was up to.
There were only really two reasons anyone might come this far up in the castle: the Gryffindor tower and, to those who knew about it, the room of requirement.
Remembering earlier that evening how she had pleaded with the room and how her desperation had been overlooked she couldn't help but wonder what exactly Malfoy was desperate enough for, for the room to grant him access.
She made her way back up to bed with a determined stride then. She had somewhere to start now at least. Rather than going blindly into watching over Malfoy's movements, not knowing what to look out for, she could make it her first mission to find out exactly what he was up to in the room of requirement and why it involved him sneaking around the castle late at night.