Wheelie91's ideas inspired both the beginning of this chapter with the bridge, and the end of this chapter with Fleur.
The Death Eaters have returned
The news was playing, and Jean was about to switch the news off, as Hermione got all her things together, tucked Tom's diary into her robes, got her wand and her carrier with Crookshanks in it, and started heading out, when an old news story started playing.
The man on the screen announced, "This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the murders of the couple found hanging under the Westminster Bridge," the man kept droning on, Hermione grimacing at the screen at the reminder of the horrid event that had happened all those years ago.
A couple of bodies tortured and found dangling below the bridge. A man and a woman. It was one of those stories that everyone grew up with around here. One of those things that were so horrible, that you just didn't want to talk about them.
Hermione didn't even know what the couple's names were.
Hermione's mother's attention went to the TV, seeing where her daughter was looking.
"Oh, that story," she said grimly, "Such a terrible thing."
Hermione nodded. It wasn't like that incident involving the bridge, was the only violent thing involving a murderer that had happened within London, that had nothing to do with witches or wizards.
You didn't need magic users to have a situation where people were murdered in absolutely inhumane manners.
Sometimes you just needed an average human being. After all, hadn't that been what Hermione and her friends had talked about that night a year ago, when they'd wondered who the bigger threat was, muggles or witches and wizards?
And odd as it was, Hermione, in that moment, wondered what the last name of the couple was.
It was one of those things that she didn't want to think about, but her curiosity, as always, got the better of her. And you know, maybe it was just because she was older now and accepting the horrors in life much more now, rather than crying about them or wanting to duck under her blankets, like she had wanted to whenever she was a kid and had nightmares about Cromwell's labs, but she felt herself ask the question to her mother.
She asked, "What was their last name again?"
Jean furrowed her eyebrows. "You know," she said, "I don't remember. I know that the husband's name was 'Frederick.' And I think the wife's name was 'Catherine.' That's the most I know."
Hermione nodded, something touching the back of her brain, a feeling like she knew something.
Like she had heard about these names before, but couldn't recall from where.
Then again, she probably had heard the names of these two victims before and just hadn't wanted to think about it again.
Hermione nodded to her mother.
"Well," she said, "I'd love to leave you on a better subject, mama, but-"
"It's alright, love," Jean said, smiling at her daughter, "Go. Have fun."
Hermione smiled and hugged her mother tightly. She stepped back and looked up at her mother and said, "Mama? I can…I could try to contact Andromeda and Ted Tonks, if you'd like? Sirius Black might be in contact with them again, now that his name's been cleared."
Hermione had told her mom everything about last year-well, not everything. Not about Tom Riddle and the diary. And not about the time turner. The time turner she was planning on telling her mother about. But not yet.
Jean regarded her daughter and shook her head. "No, Hermione," she said softly.
At that, Hermione stared at the woman, startled. "Why not?" she asked, honestly confused.
Jean took a breath. She said, "Think about it. What exactly did I used to do, before I rescued you and brought you here? What types of people did I help lock up and experiment on before this?"
Hermione's eyes widened. Oh, that was why.
"But it's different now," Hermione said, "You got me out. You're the reason a bunch of us got out, remember? You let all of the other kids out."
Jean tried not to flinch. (Oh, Hermione,) she thought to herself sadly, (You have no idea. You really have no idea. I only did all of that, to protect you. I only let all the other kids out, so that they would be a diversion. They were bait, so you could be free. I wonder how you would look at me, if you knew that part about me, my love.)
And it was the truth. Jean had only let the rest of the magic using children out of the prisons in the lab, so, as to use them as a distraction for the guards to shoot at, while Jean intended to get Hermione out and keep Hermione safe.
None of the other kids had mattered to her.
She hadn't wanted the other kids to suffer or be killed, but she hadn't cared about whether or not they had gotten out, not as much as she had about Hermione getting out.
"I know you think that, sweetie," Jean said, deciding not to voice the rest of what she was thinking, "But a lot of other witches and wizards might not be so forgiving. From what you've told me about the Black family? They don't sound like a forgiving bunch."
Hermione's lips tightened. Well, that was true. Even the "better members of the Black family," like Sirius? Was unforgiving when it came to those he considered disloyal. While Hermione agreed that Pettigrew deserved to be punished for betraying his friends, she had to wonder what the circumstances were when Pettigrew had sold out the Potters. Had it just been out of spite and greed?
Or had he been tortured into it?
And then there was how Sirius had treated Snape.
Even the supposedly good members of that family, seemed to be at best, ornery and malicious.
That was troubling, admittedly.
But then, look at the family's track record. The parents, Cygnus and Druella. And Walburga and Orion. Then the children, Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. And Sirius and Regulus. Three of those five children were Death Eaters or had married a Death Eater, or in Bellatrix Lestrange's case, both.
And one of those five children, was a vindictive and even malicious self-righteous git that didn't seem to have empathy for others, even after all he'd gone through in Azkaban.
Then, there was of course, Draco Malfoy, who was a Malfoy, but who had Black family blood in his veins.
Was lack of empathy just a Black family trait?
She hoped not.
She hugged her mother again, quietly pleading with her mother to think about it and Jean nodded, kissing her daughter's forehead.
They parted and Hermione went to join her friends at the Leaky Cauldron.
The five friends hugged and laughed as they made small talk at the pub, ignoring the various witches and wizards who saw them and gossiped, talking about how they recognized the girls and that one of them knew the "boy who lived" and like the Boy Who Lived, could summon a patronus. And that Hermione had faced off with "you know who" in her first year and survived and what was more, triumphed against You Know Who.
Despite the stares Hermione was getting, she ignored them.
Eventually, Hermione asked Pansy how "Witherwinds," was doing.
Pansy, grinning said that he was doing well, and that her mother and father were actually very happy to have such a "beautiful and proud creature" on their property, to be looked after.
Hermione smiled, glad for Buckbeak.
Soon, Hermione, Pansy, Daphne, Astoria, Millicent took their things and their animals, and went off to the World Cup.
They found a portkey, which was a small, curved hook sticking out of the wall in an alleyway, which Pansy grabbed and everyone else grabbed-apparently, Millicent's family had learned of it and the portkey blasted them through in a whirlwind. The animals snarled and went crazy and Hermione gave the carrier a sympathetic smile as she spun around, trying not to get sick.
"Ready, Mione?" Pansy called to her.
Hermione laughed, "I have to be!" She had to be, otherwise, she'd wager she'd be spinning around for a while, and no one wanted that.
She released the hook, bracing her body, as did the others and they all went flying.
They were blasted out-all but vomited out of the sky, onto the grass below.
"Umpf," Hermione grunted as she landed. She heard Crookshanks snarling loudly.
The others landed harshly, but got up easily.
As they got up and made sure they were alright, they grabbed everything and started making their way to the outpost where the games were taking place.
As they approached the area, Hermione grinned, seeing all the huts and tents spanning across the landscape.
She saw where the games were going to be taking place to. A vast building, an arena, not far from all the tents and huts.
Hermione and her friends walked on, carrying their pets with them.
They went past several tents, and Hermione recognized a few people, but also didn't recognize that many people.
The World Cup, it clearly attracted people from all over.
Hermione smiled when she saw one person she recognized, following a family full of redheads.
Harry Potter.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled.
Harry looked at her, startled at first, then when he saw her, he grinned and waved to her and she waved back. She didn't see Sirius. She had figured that Sirius would want to spend as much time with his godson as possible. But she supposed Sirius had wanted to do the same for Harry that Hermione's mother had wanted to do for her, and give him some space. Remus probably had as well. Besides, they'd most likely had as much time to spend with him, since he now lived with Sirius and Sirius and Remus had reconciled. Not for the first time, Hermione wondered if Sirius and Remus were mates. As Harry waved to her, Ron caught sight of her and glared at her with disgust. Hermione ignored him.
She then noticed his glare turning elsewhere and saw his glare hardening.
Frowning, Hermione looked next to her, and she almost groaned, seeing Pansy smirking at Ron and mockingly blowing a kiss to him, almost crudely.
"Pansy," Hermione grumbled, lowering her arm, "Why are you provoking Weasley?"
"Oh, please," Pansy said, "The Weasleys are so easy to provoke. They'd be provoked just by having a Slytherin in the same vicinity."
Hermione sighed, glancing to Harry and the Weasley family as the group went into their tent. Well, that was probably true.
The Weasleys were famous for being biased against the Slytherin house.
They believed the common myth, that all Slytherins were bad. Any witch or wizard that entered Slytherin would end up dark.
Hermione and her friends went to a spot that had no tent or hut there and Daphne and Astoria set up the tent, telling Hermione that it was fine, in this particular are at this time, underage witches and wizards could use magic, as long as it was just setting up camp.
As the tent was fully up, everyone went inside.
Hermione smiled at the massive tent, which was so much bigger on the inside than on the outside.
Daphne and Astoria's parents arrived soon afterwards, entering the tent, greeting everyone. They were to be the chaperones for their trip.
They helped the animals get settled in, until it would be time for the witches to get their animals and bring them to Hogwarts.
That night, they went off to the arena, going up along the rows, seeing dozens and dozens of people sitting already. Cannons were being fired off and fireworks were being shot out, making shapes that moved around, as all magical things did.
Many names were being thrown around; Quidditch champions who were the best and respected by many, many fans.
One Bulgarian wizard's name got yelled a lot. Viktor Krum.
As Hermione and her friends went up along one row, finding seats, a very familiar, obnoxious voice sneered up from below, "Ah, Granger! I see if even you were invited here, then clearly the standards of who can attend this tournament has lowered."
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Malfoy.
She looked down, staring coldly at where Draco and his father stood a row down.
"Hello, Malfoy," Hermione said dryly, "Malfoy Senior."
"Ms. Granger," Lucius greeted arrogantly, "I see you are doing well."
Was it just Hermione's imagination, or had Lucius sounded surprised to see her alive and alright?
Not for the first time, Hermione's mind went to the diary that she had, that Lucius had given to her in the first place, most likely hoping that it would end with Hermione being killed in some way.
Hermione forced a smile at him as she said, "Thank you for noticing, Malfoy Senior. I suppose I should say the same about you, but I'm afraid all I've seen of you, has been snooty and acting self-obsessed, so, I can't say I know the difference between you being 'well' and how you normally act."
The vicious glare Hermione got from Lucius, actually made Hermione smirk.
Pansy glared at the two Malfoys and she led the rest of them away.
Hermione glanced down at the Malfoys, glad that she and her friends were moving away.
As they got settled into some seats, the games started. More and more fireworks were shot out above the arena.
Quidditch players of dozens and dozens of nationalities soared high above the arena on their brooms.
Amongst them, Hermione recognized the name, "Krum," who was being shouted by many a fan.
Hermione chuckled, watching the figure in red on his broom, parading around and proudly being praised.
Viktor Krum. The Bulgarian champion.
He went to the school Durmstrang.
Hermione heard crowds all over the arena going absolutely wild.
Cheering and screaming was all over the place.
Pansy, Millicent, Daphne, Astoria and Hermione all decided to give their own cheers, enjoying the merriment.
Hours later, when Hermione and her friends returned to the tent, laughing and chuckling, happy to have gone to see the games, and hearing other equally as jocular groups of people around the camp area.
Astoria joked with Millicent, when she said that she loved watching some of the beaters fly, "I'm sure you do, Millicent. Which of them do you fancy the most, eh?"
"Oh, come off it," Millicent snorted, grabbing some of the butterbeer that Daphne and Astoria's parents had brought, bringing some of it to her lips and drinking, "What about all of you," she raised her eyebrows, "Any of you fancy some of the champions?"
There was more giggling, when a loud explosion, caused all of them to gasp, whirling.
"What the bloody hell?" Pansy asked.
Hermione peered through the opening of the tent door, seeing fire being blasted out several yards away.
She gasped, stepping back, as she heard Daphne say that it was probably some celebration.
"It's not a celebration," Hermione said, shaking her head, "Someone's starting fires. We have to get out of here."
She turned to the others and they nodded. Daphne and Astoria's parents grabbed their things, Hermione and the others, grabbed their animals and started running out, running for it.
And they weren't the only ones with that idea, apparently.
During all the din breaking out, hundreds of people were running all over the place, yelling and screaming.
Hermione looked between the crowds, trying to figure out what the source of the calamity was coming from.
When her eyes adjusted both to the dark and to the figures between the many groups of fleeing people, her heart turned to ice.
Figures dressed in dark robes, with hoods, those figures wore masks.
Hermione felt her throat tighten.
She knew who these people were. She didn't need to get closer to get a look at them.
She knew exactly who these people were.
These were people who would rape and murder her, as soon as they knew what her blood status was.
Death Eaters.
Hermione gasped out as she turned on her heel. "Run," she yelled at her friends, "We have to run, now!"
Her friends, who trusted her completely, didn't need to be told twice. They turned and tried running through the jumbled crowd. Daphne and Astoria's parents made sure that their daughters were ahead of the group, but Hermione got clustered around by the different groups, congesting the space she was in, making it impossible for her to move quickly.
Realizing she was going to be cut off from her friends, Hermione shoved the carrier with Crookshanks inside, to Millicent.
Millicent looked at her, startled, the carrier which held Millicent's own cat, Amelia, in her other hand.
Hermione could feel herself being pulled back from her friends with the wave of the crowd and yelled at Millicent, "Get Crookshanks and get out of here! I'll try to rejoin you later!"
"Hermione!" Millicent yelled as she was being dragged backwards from her friend by the crowd.
Hermione was pushed backwards by the mass of moving people, running panicking and screaming.
Hermione, desperate, looked over her shoulder at where she had last seen the Death Eaters, her terrified heart pounding.
If the Death Eaters caught her…
Hermione reached into her pocket, when she had room enough to do so, and grabbed her wand, pulling it out.
If they were planning on doing anything to her? She wouldn't go down without a fight.
Hermione heard several more blasts and heard several more screams and hundreds of people shot by her, finally relinquishing her from their hold, and she stumbled backwards in an open space, the people running and fires dying down, the landscape before her appearing dark and desolate.
Hermione gasped, looking about. Her eyebrows narrowed, when she saw a figure about her size, up ahead, stumbling around.
Hermione cautiously walked over, keeping her wand at the ready. When she got close enough to see the other figure, her eyes widened.
"Harry?" Hermione asked, startled.
The dark-haired, bespectacled boy, whirled around and looked at her, a shocked look on his face.
"Hermione," he said, frantic breaths coming out slower now, in what Hermione presumed was relief, "You saw what those figures before?"
"Yeah, I did," Hermione said, "Death Eaters."
Harry's eyes widened even more.
"Really?" He asked, shock and fear in his voice.
"Really," Hermione said, "We should get the hell out of here, if any of them are still here. We don't want to be caught by him. Neither a muggle-born like me, nor a half-blood like you, much less the 'Boy who lived,' will want to be caught by them."
Harry nodded.
"Let's go," Hermione said, as they both began running through the dark landscape, trying to find their friends.
They didn't make it far, though, when they stopped across the camp ground, seeing another dark figure up ahead. A dark figure that looked bigger than a teenager like them.
The figure was tall and lanky, and looked to be wearing a large coat of some sort. And was aiming their wand up at the sky.
Both Hermione and Harry heard a yell in a gruff voice and bright, eerie green light shot out of the wand, right at the sky.
That green light hit the sky and a shape began to form in the sky, becoming huge across the sky.
Hermione and Harry watched the shape change and Hermione felt her heart fall, recognizing that mark.
It was the Dark Mark.
The mark of a snake entwined with a skull.
Hermione tried not to feel sick.
That was HIS mark.
Voldemort's mark.
Hermione and Harry looked at each other. They then looked at where the figure was lowering their wand…and beginning to walk toward them.
"Shit," Hermione whispered.
"We run, right?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Hermione said, as they began to move. They both started running from where the figure was beginning to get closer.
Just as they were about to bolt to where it was away from the camp, some new figures emerged.
It was man in a suit, with a bowler hat who looked tired and disgruntled.
There were Aurors and Arthur Weasley with them.
"What the-?" Harry asked.
They all gasped as they almost hit each other, and the man in the bowler hat demanded, aiming his wand at Hermione and Harry, "What is all this?!"
"That's my son's friend, Harry!" Arthur Weasley explained, "What are you thinking, Crouch?!"
Hermione blinked, startled at the man with the bowler hat. Crouch? Barty Crouch? This was him?
The influential figure in the Ministry of Magic?
He had sent many Death Eaters off to Azkaban.
Including his own son, Barty Crouch Junior.
Barty Crouch Junior, had been one of the Death Eaters involved in the attack on the Longbottoms. And had either helped or had stood back and did nothing while Alice and Frank Longbottom had been tortured to insanity.
"There was someone following us," Harry said, turning to look behind him and Hermione.
Hermione looked at where Harry was looking at.
The man that had followed them? He wasn't there anymore.
That caused Hermione to feel even more alarmed. Where was that guy?
"Who did that?" Barty Crouch Senior demanded, looking at the Dark Mark in the sky, "Did one of you do it?" He glared at Hermione and Harry as he asked this.
"No, we didn't," Hermione snapped, glaring right back at him, "Try to actually hear what we're saying. We were being chased by the person that did use the Dark Mark."
"Who?" Arthur Weasley asked, and the Aurors looked past Hermione and Harry, their wands pulled out.
"It's his mark, isn't it?" Hermione said, looking back at the Dark Mark, and of course, already knowing the answer.
"We should get the children out of here," one of the Aurors said, "We can search for whoever did the mark with them taken somewhere safe."
Hermione and Harry were herded away from the area and brought to where the rest of the families were, Hermione's friends racing over and crying out their friend's name and Ron spotted Harry and yelled to him, running over, giving Hermione a dirty look as he passed her.
Hermione hugged all of her friends. Overwhelmed, Hermione told them what had happened, as best as she could. About the man that she and Harry had seen make the Dark Mark, and about the man following them, then disappearing.
Pansy asked if Hermione or Harry had any idea who the person was. Hermione shook her head and told them no, she had no idea who that person was and she doubted that Harry knew either.
But the important thing, there were Death Eaters out and about who felt confident enough to show their hatred of muggles and half-bloods, in public, and someone who was willing to use the Dark Mark in public.
Hermione shivered. Most likely guessing the direction of Hermione's thought process, Daphne said, "Are you alright, Mione?"
Hermione smiled sadly as she gratefully took Crookshanks from Millicent. She wasn't sure she was.
Death Eaters. The Dark Mark.
Hermione's experiences, dreaming about her soulmates, had become the least of what she was panicked about now.
Oh, and there was a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
She still would need to figure out what to do about that.
As Hermione and her friends began walking, Hermione checked her robes and was relieved to find that the diary was still there. It hadn't slipped out or anything. The diary was safe.
Tom was safe. Or as safe as whatever he was, could be.
Finally, they were brought to the train to Hogwarts.
Daphne and Astoria's parents were hesitant to leave their daughters after what had happened. Their reaction made Hermione hopeful that they weren't planning on joining the Death Eaters or anything like that.
Hermione and the others loaded up onto the train, with their animals.
Hermione's friends refused to not keep Hermione within their sights.
Hermione sighed, smiling sadly at them. They were so protective. She appreciated it. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was coming.
And she didn't think they could protect her or she could protect them from what was coming.
Halfway through the journey to Hogwarts, there was a knock on the door to Hermione and her friends' compartment, making them turn their heads to the knocking sound.
Harry was on the other side of the compartment door.
Daphne frowned, opening up the door.
Harry smiled and asked politely, "I'm sorry to bother you, but may I speak with Hermione for a few moments?"
Hermione got up, confused and she looked to her very cautious friends and mouthed to them wordlessly, "It's alright."
She went over to Harry and closed the compartment door, as she faced Harry. "What is it?" She asked, feeling her friends watching the two of them.
Harry looked nervous and after a deep breath, he said, "Hermione, I'm sorry to ask this, but is there something going on?"
Hermione narrowed her eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
Harry gave a small laugh as he said, "There's no not awkward way for me to say this. But I've been having dreams about you."
Hermione loosened up her tightness and snorted, having an idea of where this was going. Harry was a teenager, it was natural.
Harry seemed to realize what conclusion Hermione had drawn and he quickly corrected, "Oh, no, sorry, it's not like that. I mean…it's hard to explain. But I've been seeing you. In my dreams."
Hermione chuckled, "Harry, we're not soulmates. I haven't seen you in my dreams."
Harry said quickly, blood rushing to his cheeks, "Again, it's not like that. How do I explain it? It's like when I'm talking to you in my dreams? It's not me. It's like I'm seeing you through someone else's eyes."
Hermione frowned. Okay, that was odd.
"Who do you think you're seeing through the eyes of?" She asked.
"I don't know," Harry admitted, "But whenever I dream of you, and see through this other person's eyes? It's while you're sitting down in the Slytherin common room, I'm guessing, and sometimes it's with your friends. I've had this dream both when you're in the common room and when I think you're at your home."
Hermione paused, unsettled. What?
"Can you give me other details?" She asked him.
"I think at least one," Harry said, "The sound is strange in the dreams. But I remember you calling the person who I saw through the eyes of, a name. 'Tom.'"
Hermione stayed glued to the spot, her stomach dropping. Why would Harry dream of her speaking with Tom? Why would Harry see through Tom's eyes, whenever she'd open up the diary and let Tom out?
"You can't tell me anything else?" Hermione asked, her voice coming out weakly.
Harry shook his head. "No, sorry," he said, "Do you have any idea what it means?"
Hermione tried to think of an explanation and turned up empty.
"I don't know," she said, "I'm sorry. But if I find anything out, I will let you know."
Harry nodded. "Sorry to trouble you," he said.
"It's no trouble," Hermione assured him as they parted and Hermione went back into her and her friends' compartment, unsure how to deal with what she had just learned.
She sat down next to Daphne.
"Mione?" Astoria asked, "What did he want?"
Hermione said, trying to ignore the shiver at how Tom seemed to be involved now, "Nothing. He just wanted to make sure I was okay after the Dark Mark incident."
Hermione could tell from the way her friends were staring at her, that they didn't believe her, but they accepted her answer, so that they didn't make her feel pressured to tell them anything.
Hermione was so grateful to them for that.
Hermione and her friends got to the school, the thestral dragged the carriage that they were going to ride to Hogwarts, being pulled up to them.
Hermione looked at the thestral sadly, as she and the others got up in the carriage.
Seeing Hermione's sad expression, Pansy asked softly, "You can see a thestral, right?"
"Yeah," Hermione said, nodding, as they got in the carriage, the thestral moving as soon as they were all inside, again, Hermione trying to ignore the uneasiness, trying to figure out how Harry could have seen through Tom's eyes in his dreams.
They reached Hogwarts, got out, and as they were about to approach the school, they heard commotion from the other kids in the courtyard.
Hermione and her friends, joined those kids and watched, startled, as two shapes emerged, one from the water and one from the sky.
A huge ship emerged up out of the water, going across the surface of the water and getting closer to Hogwarts.
There was also, rows of flying horses, soaring through the sky, descending down, a covered carriage right behind them, zooming closer and closer to Hogwarts.
"What's going on here?" Daphne asked, surprised.
Hermione shook her head. She didn't know and from the looks on her friends' faces, they didn't know, either.
With many questions on their minds, they followed the rest of the kids through the yard, to the school and entered the school.
After giving the animals to the staff to be brought to the Slytherin dorms and Hermione and her friends headed to the Great Hall.
They filed to their table, Hermione caught sight of Luna Lovegood, at the Ravenclaw table.
As soon as they sat down, Luna happily got up from the Ravenclaw table and went over to the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Hermione and Pansy.
At the startled looks from some other Slytherins, Hermione and Daphne sent a few glares those Slytherins' way and those Slytherins quickly looked the other way.
"How have you been, Luna?" Hermione asked, smiling at her.
Luna smiled at answered that she'd been well, and that her shoes hadn't been disappearing all that much.
Hermione chuckled, "Well, that's nice to hear."
Hermione saw a good deal of the Gryffindors going to their table and Hermione caught sight of Harry.
She hoped he was okay after what happened.
The teachers all were seated, then Dumbledore walked over to the podium and gave his announcements and speeches.
Then he announced something startling. Their school was going to be host to the Triwizard tournament.
Hermione's eyes widened. The Triwizard tournament? That barbaric tournament?
She would have thought that Dumbledore might not have something like that at his school.
Then again, this might have been the one time when she wasn't condemning Dumbledore.
After all, he needed to maintain "political relationships," didn't he?
Then again, that certainly would explain the large ship and the carriage pulled by those horses, right?
Dumbledore explained how becoming a champion in the Triwizard tournament was not to be taken lightly and all that.
Yes, Hermione knew that. That was exactly why she would never put her damn name in.
Those must have been the other schools that were going to participate in the Triwizard tournament.
Hermione noticed Barty Crouch Senior and his Aurors crowding around the table where the teachers and Dumbledore were.
Hermione noticed that the chair where the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would usually sit, was empty.
She wondered who would be their teacher this term, if anyone.
Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers tended not to last long.
Hermione caught sight of Severus Snape, glowering at her every now and then.
She scowled right back at him.
He clearly must have still be soured over what had happened last year. Because Merlin forbid that he didn't keep indulging in a boyhood grudge and taking it out on everyone else.
Dumbledore then began the introductions. He told everyone to welcome the students of Beauxbatons.
The doors to the Great Hall opened up and Hermione and the rest turned to see several tall, shapely girls or young women, enter the hall.
Hermione noted that there were at least two boys or young men with them.
Trailing behind the many students in their blue Beauxbaton attire, was the biggest woman Hermione had ever seen.
"Merlin's balls," Pansy mumbled, staring at the large woman.
Hermione would have given Pansy a side eye at that comment, were it not for the strange feeling she experienced, only a few seconds after the doors had opened up.
It was that feeling that she'd recognized from before. In her dreams.
She froze as she felt it.
A tug. A pull. A yearning.
She shook her head. No. Here?
But then she remembered-Beauxbatons, of course, was a school for witches and some wizards.
And it was French.
And she knew that one of her mates, Fleur Delacour, was undoubtedly French.
Hermione tried to ignore the chills she felt with the strength of her soulmate pull, getting its hooks into her.
Her eyes searched the group of girls or young women that had entered the hall.
She knew what Fleur looked like.
Where-?
Just as Hermione looked at the head of the line, she froze exactly where she was, not moving at all where she sat, her eyes glued to the girl or young woman at the head of the line.
A woman who courteously turned in her direction, smiled coyly at her, and bowed in Hermione's direction.
Hermione felt herself still unable to move.
She could feel herself being pulled, painfully pulled in the direction of that girl.
"Mione?" She heard Daphne asked softly.
It was Daphne's voice alone, that broke Hermione out of her frozen state.
She gasped, looking at Daphne and speaking quickly, "I'm fine, it's okay."
Her voice betrayed that she definitely was not okay.
She said quickly again, "I…I just need a moment."
Daphne frowned, but nodded.
Hermione, sweating now, looked back at the group of Beauxbatons students, at…at Fleur.
She noticed there was a young looking girl with Fleur and Hermione recognized the girl too. Gabrielle, Fleur's younger sister.
Fleur moved her and her sister and the rest of the students to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down, Fleur never at any point, not watching Hermione, with that same smirk on her face.
Hermione again, was broken out of her shock, when the next school was announced. The Durmstrang students.
Several muscled boys, possibly some who had just become men, entering the hall, bearing wooden staffs and slamming them against the floor of the hall rhythmically, and several of them moving about in agile fashion.
Hermione noticed that there were some muscled girls or women with them, also using staffs.
Hermione recalled that not just boys went to Durmstrang. There were girls who went to, but not many.
Beauxbatons mostly had girls at their school, but some boys, as well.
And Durmstrang mostly had boys at their school, but some girls, as well.
The boys and few girls went up to the steps to Dumbledore, one of them blowing fire into the Great Hall, in the shape of a phoenix that flew overhead in front of Dumbledore.
Hermione saw one large boy or young man walking through the hall, and she recognized him. Viktor Krum.
Behind him, was someone else she recognized.
Someone who under normal circumstances, would have made her blood boil.
A former Death Eater.
Igor Karkaroff.
A supposed former Death Eater, like Snape.
Hermione couldn't ignore the hate she felt when she saw him, even with her mind and heart busy, knowing Fleur was here. She watched Karkaroff walking forward, with a proud smile on his face, as if he deserved to be the headmaster that taught anything to children.
Who the hell knew what he was teaching to the students of Durmstrang?
Snape might have been a teacher, but at least he wasn't the headmaster. But Karkaroff?
He was the headmaster of Durmstrang.
That made Hermione very nervous.
Any fascist teaching anyone anything, made her very uncomfortable.
And Hermione tried to ignore the way her skin crawled when Karkaroff approached Dumbledore and the two men embraced.
Hermione knew that Karkaroff couldn't do anything here, so, she just kept glancing at the Ravenclaw table, at Fleur.
Fleur who kept up with that infuriating smirk.
Hermione vaguely made out the droning on of Barty Crouch Senior, who announced that because of the dangers of the Triwizard tournament, no underage students were allowed to participate in the tournament.
That got outrage from several students. Unsurprisingly, most of it coming from the Gryffindor table.
Dumbledore roared out, "Silence!" and the feast proceeded.
Eventually, a figure emerged from the side door of the head of the Great Hall.
It was a large, bulky man, with a most unpleasant face and brown-gray, scraggly hair.
Hermione was startled by the man's appearance. He had a large, thick stick that was a cane. He had a metal leg, and what must have been a fake eye on his face. In place of where his real right eye at one time had been.
There was a patch, with a wildly moving eye in it on his right eye socket.
Hermione saw the man looking over at the Gryffindor table. What he was looking at, she didn't know, but then the man turned his head, and his eye fixed right on her.
Hermione tensed up as the man moved his eye away from her and he went over to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore happily greeted him.
Dumbledore then announced that the man who had appeared, was named Moody. An Auror, Alastor Moody. And he was to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Hermione heard Millicent mumble, "Are they just getting desperate now? Bringing in Moody? There's a reason he's called 'mad,' and that was even before he lost an eye and had it replaced."
Hermione's eyes widened. Yes, she had heard of Alastor Moody. A great boon against the Death Eaters. But dangerous. Vicious.
Hermione would have turned to her friends and discussed this, but she kept turning her attention to the Ravenclaw table.
She was about to look at where Fleur was again, or rather, she would have, had Fleur been in the spot where she previously was sitting.
Hermione gasped, seeing Fleur no longer in her seat. Her sister and the others were at the Ravenclaw table, but Fleur wasn't.
Hermione's heart pounded.
Where was-?
Suddenly there was movement next to Hermione and she gasped, as Fleur appeared, doing the most absolute and audacious thing at the moment that the Veela could probably consider doing, and dropped down right between Hermione and Daphne, sitting down, smiling at Hermione widely, causing Hermione's heart to hammer insanely in her chest.
There were several gasps and grumbles from Hermione's friends and from the rest of the table as Fleur said, her voice heavy with a French accent, "Bonjour, mademoiselle Hermione. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"You two know each other?" Pansy asked, as Hermione shivered at Fleur's intense gaze.
"In a way," Hermione said numbly, "Daphne, Astoria, Pansy, Millicent, Luna, meet my mate. Fleur Delacour."
Well, one of her mates, but she'd get to that other issue, later.
"Your mate?" Pansy asked, stunned.
"Oh, Hermione, congratulations!" Astoria said happily.
Hermione, however, couldn't help the unease she felt at this development. She could already feel it. Had been feeling it since she met the gaze of this girl in her dreams. Her life no longer was her own.
