Chapter 1
A/N: Hello again. And OH MY FREAKING GOD. 7 favourites? 21 follows? And those reviews? Thank you a million times over for checking out my humble story. Every single follow/ favourite/ review I got made me grin like a madman for the next hour. It honestly means the world to me.
VictoriousFirestorm: Thanks man. I couldn't have done it without you. Guys, CHECK OUT HIS WORK.
Guest: Thank you sooooo much!
Las Vegas (Guest): First of all, thank you for taking time out to write this review. I completely agree with you on the topic of spacing, and as for it being too generic, I hope this chapter will be more up your alley.
Some of you have been asking me who Harry is going to be paired with. Given that I do not have an extensive knowledge of the HP fandom, and popular opinion decrees it to be, it will be a Harry x Daphne story, although their relationship won't be showcased a LOT, but you will have your fluffy moments here and there. My viewers, your wish is my command (when Ifeel like it ;) I do not own pjo or hp. Please enjoy.
Hermione POV
The palace in front of her eyes was stunning. It was built on an island that was somehow floating high in the air among the clouds. The surface of the island itself was covered with delicate flowers in full bloom, and even though she was somehow looking down towards the place, their sweet scent drifted over to her on a warm wind that lightly kissed her skin.
She drifted towards the massive palace and she fully took in the wonder. Its pearly white marble walls were inlaid with lapis lazuri peacock feathers rimmed in pure gold, which gave it an elegant look. The citadel of the palace had a high dome made out of pure diamond that cast a dazzling light over the island.
The lush gardens around her only increased the ethereal beauty of the palace. This creation was so distant from the realm of human imagination and capabilities that the only way to describe it was as heavenly.
Before she could get the chance to marvel at the sight for longer, the scene shifted to her standing in the centre of a dimly lit room that, in contrast to the palace, was so lacking in characteristics that it would be more apt to call it a box. The walls, the floors, and the ceiling were made from the same white marble as before, but they didn't shine with the same intensity. There were no visible doors or windows, and the only piece of furniture was a simple wooden chair in front of her.
On this chair sat one of the weirdest creatures Hermione had ever seen. The "creature" had the upper body of a normal human, with tan skin and cropped black hair. But below its torso were a pair of definitely non-human feet, with hooves and covered in a lot of brown fur. The closest description to the thing in front of her was a half human and half goat. And he was looking absolutely terrified.
Suddenly she felt a hand place itself firmly on her shoulder. She wanted to turn around to see who it was, but she wasn't in control of her actions. Instead, her body just tensed in response and the vice-like grip tightened even further to the point where it hurt. It felt controlling. Possessive.
"Do it", a voice came from behind her. It was presumably the same person who was clutching her shoulder. The voice itself was distinctly feminine and would have felt soothing if not for the harshness with which it was delivered.
The half goat in front of her immediately started shaking but made no move to escape. If possible, he looked even more scared but he managed to whimper out "Please. Please don't. Not again," and then the sniffling ceased.
A few seconds later, his expression morphed into one of such incredible horror, pain and betrayal that Hermione wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug him. But of course she couldn't do that. Then she opened her mouth and spoke in a crisp voice devoid of any hint of emotion "I do not have a choice in the matter Grover. I am doing this for her." And then the room began to contract at frightening speeds...
Hermione woke up with a start, her head clouded over and the details of her dream rapidly receding to the corners of her subconsciousness that she couldn't reach. She shut her eyes tightly as if waiting for those white walls to close in on her, and stayed like that for a few minutes. It took Ron yelling "Bloody hell! That was the third time in a week that you've hexed my clothes. My skin is turning maroon!" and Fred and George replying in unison, "More importantly, that is the third time you fell for it!" to bring her back to her senses. She remembered now that she was in the Burrow.
After washing her face and tying up her brown hair in a messy ponytail to at least appear a bit more presentable, Hermione made her way down to the table where breakfast was already laid out. Surprisingly, Harry and Ron had already taken a bath and were chomping away at the feast in front of them.
Harry had arrived yesterday night with Dumbledore, and both her and Ron wanted nothing more to hear how that happened. But Molly, being her usual abrasive self, discarded the idea immediately saying that Harry must be tired, and all of them needed rest because they would be heading to Diagon Alley to get the supplies for their sixth year at Hogwarts.
She took a seat beside Ron, whose skin still had some spots of maroon on them. Harry was talking to him in an exasperated tone " Puddlemere United will easily wreck the Chudley Cannons, The last time the Chudley cannons won a match was in 1942. They have no chance of beating Puddlemere, especially since Wood is keeping. Honestly Ron, sometimes I question why… Oh nice of you to join us Mione." He said the last part while flashing her a grin.
"Good Morning guys. What are you yammering about? Also Ron, can you please pass the ketchup ?"
"Well Ronald here is adamant in sticking to his baseless opinions about Quidditch and I am trying to show him the fault in his ways. So far it's not working very well."
"Say what you want. I just know that Chudley Cannons will wipe the floor with everyone this year. I know it in my bones," put in Ron, while he was eating. Disgusting.
"I am sure your bones will appreciate it if you focus on finishing your food first. Now Harry, I am sure you are aware that our OWL results have arrived the day before."
Harry groaned, cutting her off: "Look, I know that you were excited for this but do we have to talk about such heavy matters while enjoying a perfectly good piece of treacle tart?"
"Because they determine what classes you'll be eligible to take in your sixth year, which, may I remind you, starts in two days!"
"Of course, Mrs. Death-before-expulsion" grumbled Harry
Her plans to talk about anything constructive or important were ruined when the Weasley twins apparated with a loud crack and landed right on top of Harry's treacle tart, splattering it on all of their faces.
"Sorry 'bout that" was all that Fred (Or was it George?) managed to say in between fits of laughter and then apparated away just as abruptly as they came. "At least I won't have to shower twice," Hermione muttered to herself grumpily, by now the contents of her dream completely forgotten.
- Hermes delivers a line break -
Hermione leaned her head against Luna, and saw Ron doing the same with Harry. She had just returned from the prefect duty and felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. She had hoped that she could sleep for the rest of the journey, given that it felt like the world as she knew it was collapsing around her. The death of Amelia Bones, the mass murders of muggles and the growing disorder within the Ministry were not good signs. Bundle that with Harry's visions about Voldemort and his visit to Professor Slughorn, and Hermione knew that dark times were ahead.
But said hopes about taking a peaceful nap were dashed when Ronald (She and Harry called him that when they were annoyed with him) decided to open his big mouth "Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving. Guess what? The Ferret (Draco Malfoy) is not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed." Now that would have been a completely normal thing to say, if it hadn't been for their encounter with Draco in Diagon Alley.
Harry immediately sat up straight and growled "What did he say when he saw you?"
Neville must have sensed something in his tone or behaviour, because he asked "What's wrong Harry? You look really concerned."
Ron answered the question for him, "He has been that way ever since we ran into Malfoy at Madam Malkin's when we were getting our supplies from Diagon Alley."
"Did you see what happened to that place? It was awful. There are rumours going around that Florean Fortescue - that man who ran that ice cream shop - was dragged off by a couple Death Eaters in the middle of the day," Neville supplied before looking around fearfully, as if he thought the same thing could happen to him any minute. And she didn't blame him.
Flashback
Diagon Alley was unrecognisable to Hermione as she stood beside Harry and Ron. The place once busy and bustling with wizards and witches was hauntingly empty. The fortescue ice cream parlor was destroyed beyond recognition; the only thing remaining was the tatters of an ice cream banner. The bookshelves of Flourish and Blotts that once held centuries of knowledge were reduced to rubble. Hermione's eyes were stinging with unshed tears. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Fred and George's joke shop, was the only shop that carried on the memory of what Diagon Alley once was.
"Blimey Mate. Look at this place. What the hell happened?" Ron said, voicing their collective concerns.
"Voldemort. Voldemort happened. And it will get worse unless he is stopped. And it is not looking too good." Harry said in a dejected tone. He looked like he was going to say more, but Molly beat him to it:
"Until he is stopped, my boy. We have the entire wizarding community working together to face You Know Who. Think of the Ministry, the Order, you and all the students and staff of Hogwarts. We have Dumbledore on our side, the greatest wizard of this age! I will not have any of you doubt our chances of victory in this war for a second." She finished by giving each of them a pointed glare, but while her expression told them to be brave and have faith in their abilities, her eyes were pools of concern and warmth. Suffice to say the "speech" did little to placate Hermione's worries.
Flashback ends
"Must have been the plimplebluffers." Unsurprisingly, Luna, who was reading the Quibbler while holding it upside down. No one paid any thought to the comment and continued as if she had never said anything.
"We did. But that's not even the worst part. After Malfoy provided us with usual sneers and insults and whatnot, we went to Fred and George's joke shop. We later spotted Malfoy lurking around shadily after somehow getting his ice cold mother off his tail. So we followed him all the way to this creepy store called Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. We couldn't make out much but it was definitely a casual visit. I still think that Draco has become a Death Eater."
Hermione felt like she should step in before this grew out of hand "Harry, we have talked about this before. Draco may be a massive jerk, but a Death Eater? Someone who can kill people? I don't think so."
"But it would male sense since his father is a Death Eater and he constantly talking down to 'mudbloods'." Neville whispered.
"Well that's true but…"
"See! Neville agrees with me." Harry said excitedly and then gasped, "That's why he reacted so violently to Madam Malkin reaching for his left arm back at her shop! He's been branded with the Death Mark."
Fortunately the train began to slow down before he could continue, signalling that they were about to arrive at Hogwarts. Hermione forced herself to stand, and so did everyone else in their compartment except Harry who looked lost in thought. A few minutes later the train smoothly halted and students started rushing out.
"You guys can go ahead. I have something I want to check out," Harry announced before rummaging his bag and pulling out his invisibility cloak. There was a glint in his eyes that after five years, she could make out that it spelled trouble. She wanted to say as much, but the look Harry gave her simply made her sigh. She wished he wouldn't seek out too much trouble.
The first thing she noticed after getting off the train were the dozens of dementors that were flying around the castle, waiting patiently. This surprised Hermione greatly, because she had heard of the news of dementors that were guarding Azkaban had switched sides over to the Dark Lord. It seems that some of them were still loyal to our cause.
Hermione followed Ron to the carriages and they were joined by Ginny, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott and Anthony Goldstein. The carriages start moving on their own, or if Harry and Luna are to be believed, they are being pulled by invisible horses called thestrals. Hannah breaks the silence by asking "Who do you think our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be?"
"You can bet Snape is in for another year of disappointment," Anthony remarked "but whoever it is, I just hope they will be better than the pink toad we had last year." The others nodded their heads in agreement.
"Where's Harry?" spoke Susan.
She glanced at Ron and then back at the others. Hermione could also see Ginny visibly perk up at the mention of Harry's name and resolved to ask her about it later. "Somewhere he shouldn't be." she replied in a slightly irritated tone.
"What's that supposed to mean?" But that was all they got from her the entire ride. They stepped down from the carriages at the school gate. Three stern looking Aurors were standing there, as the students made their way through the gates in two lines. It was another grim reminder that Hogwarts was no longer the welcoming place she had grown to call home.
- Iris broadcasts another line break -
Hermione glanced worriedly at the closing doors of the great hall, Harry still wasn't there. Just then a dainty hand pushed open the doors and the aristocratic features of the blond Ice Queen Daphne Greengrass made herself known. She walked with poise all the way to the Slytherin table and sat down, while ignoring the leers some boys were giving her.
Professor Mcgonagall led the first years through the door, their faces plastered with looks of amazement that were so very similar to her own when she first saw the castle. The sorting took place, with each house cheering whenever the Sorting Hat called out their name. As the sorting hat called out the final name, a Gordon Bobofit, Slytherin House, Dumbledore clapped his hands twice and a feast appeared on the tables. But she wasn't focusing on the food. The way that Dumbledore was gazing across the Hall impassively made her uncomfortable, an itch she couldn't scratch. When halfway through the mealtime, Harry walked in with blood on his robes, that sense of unease grew tenfold.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked" Where the hell were you?" By now a lot of eyes were looking at the pair, so she managed to control herself a bit and incanted "Tergeo" to wipe off the dried blood. She told Harry that nothing important had happened yet, and glared at him long enough for him to get the message that he had a lot of explaining to do.
Dumbledore stood, and calmly walked to the podium, took out his wand and pointed it to his throat "Sonorus". The tip of the wand glowed with energy as his voice resonated throughout the Great Hall "Attention!" The chatting died down at that.
"Welcome all to Hogwarts. [section from book begins] Firstly, we are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn,' Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his big waistcoated belly casting the table below into shadow, 'is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master.'
"Potions?" "Potions?"
The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had
heard right. 'Potions?' said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare at Harry. 'But you said –'
'Professor Snape, meanwhile,' said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it
carried over all the muttering, 'will be taking over the position of Defence
Against the Dark Arts teacher.' [section from book ends]
Most of the Slytherin Table had knowing smirks on their faces, and some even whistled. The only two people who weren't participating in the celebrations were Daphne Greengrass, and shockingly Draco Malfoy. "No, no, no, no, no…. This is just a nightmare. That's it. This madness will soon pass" she could hear Harry muttering under his breath, but from the looks some of the Hufflepuff students gave him she wasn't the only one who heard that.
Dumbledore simply continued as if nothing were amiss, though his voice did drop a few octaves, "Now that the introductions are over, we should move on to the main topic of this address. I realise that what I am about to say is scarcely the thing that one wants to hear within the first hour of being in school. But for our own safety, it is necessary.
"There was once a student very much like you who roamed these halls. His name was Tom Riddle. You may know him as Lord Voldemort. He was fundamentally no different to you. He needed food and water, he liked being with friends and he had his own set of insecurities. So what creates this gap between you and him, what makes you better? The ability to respect others choices and the willingness to reach out and understand. As well as the ability to love. It is this what gives you a strength far greater than him.
"Of course, that alone will not win us this war, and I assure you we are in the middle of a war. You need the skills to defend yourselves and your loved ones. As such, I would implore you to take your Defense Against the Dark Arts class seriously…."
He never got the chance to complete his statement, because at that moment, for the first time since Hermione had joined Hogwarts, the ceiling that usually portrayed a clear night sky was covered with ominous clouds and the loud crackling of thunder caused everyone to jump in their seats. No one made the slightest of moves, except for Dumbledore whose eyes darted towards the source of the noise and stepped back from the podium. No sooner had Dumbledore taken out his wand that a gigantic lightning bolt flashed down from the heavens heading straight towards him. In a fraction of a second Dumbledore flicked his wrist and the white blast of energy stopped a few feet away from him. The next moment the spot where the lightning had stopped a brilliant white light flashed , causing everyone present to shield their eyes as the sound of another crash filled their ears. It seemed like an eternity before the light died and Hermione blinked furiously only to see a mixture of mist surrounding the place where the podium had once stood. The Headmasters and all the other teachers had their wands trained stiffly towards the place the mist seemed to be coming from. With another flick of his wrist, he quickly dispersed the haze and exposed what was behind it for all to see.
The entire school watched on while holding their breaths as the veil shifted to reveal a lone man beginning to stand up unsteadily to his feet, facing the students sideways. Hermione could make out his uncombed messy black hair, sharp features befitting royalty and brilliant sea green that reminded her of the eye of a hurricane. Unstoppable yet at peace with itself.
"Who are you? What is your name? Answer now!" barked Dumbledore in a tone with authority and power. He looked like a completely different person.
The man, still looking dazed, replied as if he was unsure of the answer himself, in a crisp voice that sounded vaguely familiar: " My name is Percy. Percy Jackson."
