Hey there! Sorry it took so long to update! Hopefully I will be updating more frequently this week!

Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend! Enjoy!

-smiles-

boots!

The wind bellowed like a wounded child and whistled down the long open air corridors where the ancient stones of the castle lent their warmth to muffle the cries. Even Nearly Headless Nick was startled by such wails the wind made in the early winter mornings. In her luxuriously oversized bed Minerva McGonagall dreamed of her first flying lesson, clenching her teeth from time to time and mumbling something about cat food. Albus Dumbledore, like a corpse in his bed, dreamed of fizzing whizbees, licorice wands, sherbet lemons, peppermint toads and pumpkin pasties falling from the clouds. In Gryffindor Tower, Harry Potter tossed and turned, his last battle with Lord Voldemort gripping his sleeping mind. One bed over, Ronald Weasley was haunted by similar scenes; being chased through the Forbidden Forest by a dementor riding a giant spider riding a basilisk!

On the other side of the room, tucked snugly in his sheets, Neville Longbottom dreamed of… "Professor Snape!" he yelled, his eyes popping open in horror.

"Bloody hell Neville!" Ron moaned from under his blankets.

"Go back to sleep Neville!"

"Oy! It's not even six yet!"

Neville settled himself back into his bed and in a matter of minutes was dreaming of his grandmother's garden and jellybean flowers.

Outside, the wind continued to pound the school from all angles; throwing its angry fists of air around the towers. But while most of Hogwarts was still fast asleep in their warm beds, the violent wind was keeping someone very much awake this dreary Sunday morning; Hermione Granger.

She sat in a chair by the window studying her mother's necklace as it rested firmly against her palm. She traced the twin snakes with her index finger. The carved scales were flawlessly even and the point where the heads met made for a heart shape at the top. "Slytherin" she spoke aloud. Crookshanks raised his fat little head from the bed for a moment and then rolled over again in deep sleep. Hermione was almost certain that if her mother had in fact been educated at Hogwarts, she must have been a Slytherin; as hard as that was for her imagine. What else could those snakes symbolize? And what of the enchanted jeweled snake that guarded the box? She thought about McGonagall's odd reaction when she had questioned her nonchalantly about what house her mother had been in. That old witch knew something; that was for sure.

As Hermione crossed the room to put the necklace safely back in the box, which she was keeping in the top drawer of her bureau, she thought about her muggle parents. Did they know? How on Earth would she tell them if they didn't? Was it possible that her father was her real father? Was it possible that she was half-blood after all? She was growing rather intolerant at the number of questions she had amassed in the past few days and resignedly eyed the postcard book lying in the box. The cover was quite worn and the gold inscription was dreadfully faded. Travel stickers and a few stamps bearing the likenesses of Sacharissa Tugwood, Beaumont Marjoribanks, Salazar Slytherin and Hesper Starkey covered the back of the little book. Hermione wondered; a beauty icon, a herbology expert, the founder of Slytherin and a lunar potions mistress…could these have been her mother's idols at one time? She examined every characteristic of the tattered book before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as she opened it.

By now Hogwarts was waking up. Smells of coffee, cocoa, eggs and bacon wafted through the halls and the shriek of the wind had ceased to a pleasant whisper against the windows.

Harry stretched and scratched his head. "Sleep well?" he asked a very drowsy Ron.

"Oh sure…until Longbottom woke us up at the crack of dawn!" he threw a pillow at Neville who was still snoring.

"I wonder how Hermione's detention went last night…She said she'd be done by nine but I didn't see her in the common room"

"Maybe Snape gave her extra work to do…not that she'd mind!" Ron chuckled.

"Yeah…maybe" Harry was once again thinking about his friend with great concern and resolved that today he would confront her. He felt a great sense of responsibility when it came to Hermione. After all, she had saved his grades and his life on more than one occasion and he had certainly put her in harm's way a great many more times than that.

"Hey Ron!" Seamus shouted up from the common room "Your sister's quite the poet! Can't wait for her romance novel to get published!" he snickered.

"What now?" Ron furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged at Harry who was still lost in contemplation.

In the Slytherin dungeons, Draco Malfoy took his usual half hour long shower which was followed by another thirty minutes of primping. Combing back his platinum hair, he coyly smiled at his pristine reflection. Sunday at Hogwarts was often a busy day for students. Whether it was Quidditch practice or papers to prepare for Monday morning, everyone seemed to be bustling about. For Draco, Sunday meant one glorious thing; dinner with his family. And today was no exception, in fact, today was extra glorious as Draco had been asked by his father to bring along a friend. While Crabbe and Goyle were his goons, he didn't feel that they would truly appreciate such an honor. As he applied pomade to his impeccably perfect locks, he considered his options carefully. There was Theodore Nott; his father was a known death eater, but he wasn't very good company – always cowering in the corner with a book somewhere. Naturally, he could bring Pansy Parkinson; but his father might be bored of her, having seen a great deal of her the previous summer. There were a dozen other names on his mind; Daphne Greengrass, Piper Yarngoth, Uppinder Hornetbogg, Blaise Zabini…none of them seemed appropriate. Draco frowned a little and sat down on the edge of his bed to pull his shoes on.

"Draco!" Vincent Crabbe burst into his room; his face a twisted mess of laughter and sweat. "You've got to come see this! It's hilarious!"

Draco did not seem amused at his fat little friend's sudden intrusion, still – he was curious.

Hermione smiled widely at the picture before her. It was Hogwarts. The first postcard that her mother had put in the book was a perfect print of the Great Hall. She pulled the card out to examine the back for writing. The penmanship seemed rather juvenile and all it said was "this is my new home…I like it very much. This is where I was first sorted and where I first met my friend Gretchen." Hermione mouthed the name, taking mental notes. She was determined to collect as much information as she could from the postcards. She had to look at everything as a clue.

The second page hosted a rather mundane postcard as well from Hogsmeade. The picture was a broomview look at the quaint little village and read "Greetings from Hogsmeade: Stay a Spell!" How utterly unoriginal, she thought to herself. She flipped it over and discovered similar scriblings. It read: "this is Hogsmeade. Father says it's a filthy place but I like it very much. There is a candy store called Honeydukes. They even have muggle candies!" Was it possible that she was half muggle as well? Why would anyone think of Hogsmeade as filthy?

The next page took her breath away. There was a beautiful black skinned woman with long red hair sitting next to a baby elephant. The sun was setting in the background and the woman smiled gently against the darkened sky. This postcard was the first to have a post mark. And to Hermione's surprise, it was from Africa. It read;

Dearest Katrina,

We miss you very much. Your father is out hunting with Mr. Cyril Raspin. Incidentally, Mr. Raspin's son, Warrick is also attending Hogwarts this year and it would be good of you to make friends with him. Keep your impetuous brother out of trouble. Oh yes, and do try to have some fun!

Love, Mum

An uncle. Hermione now began to realize that she wasn't only gaining a mother…she was gaining a whole family. Her eyes watered as she read the card a second time. This was her true grandmother's handwriting. This seemingly commonplace little memento was now everything to the young witch. From just three postcards, she now had a wealth of information with which to begin her search. Clearly this book would hold some key to unlock Hermione's very own little chamber of secrets.

She began to turn the page when there came a series of frantic knocks on her door. She quickly slid the postcard book under a pillow.

"Yes?"

"Hermione? Are you awake? It's me, Ginny".

"Oh…um, yes…of course Ginny- Please come in"

Ginny Weasley's freckled face was streaked with tears.

"Ginny- what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She chewed on her bottom lip for a minute or two and then her face exploded in tears. Hermione ran over to her friend and hugged her securely. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see Ginny cry but something about the look on her face alerted Hermione that this may be more than an exceptionally emotional girl's plea for notice.

"Ginny?" Hermione lifted her friend's chin and looked into her reddened face.

"He's awful!"

"Who?"

"Draco Malfoy! Who else?"

Somehow Hermione wasn't surprised and yet, oddly relieved that it wasn't something more serious. Draco was in the habit of picking on Gryffindors, particularly of the Weasley variety. "What did he do now?"

"He stole my diary and now every painting in the whole school has a page from it! And they won't stop laughing and reading my poems about Harry out loud!" she cried in mild desperation.

"Why didn't you do anything to stop him?" Hermione tried very hard not to laugh at the distraught and lovestruck poet.

"Well…I didn't see him take it"

"So how do you know it was Malfoy?"

"Who else would do this to me?"

"True. But Ginny, you can't go accusing someone of something without proper proof". Hermione was a bit astounded by her own response; had she just defended Draco Malfoy, slime ball extraordinaire? "Tell you what, I'll see what I can do about getting the pages back and I'll let McGonagall know as soon as I see her"

"Thanks Hermione".

After a few more sobs, Ginny seemed to have calmed down considerably and was now gossiping away while Hermione showered and got ready. She crossed over to Hermione's bed to pet Crookshanks and noticed something sticking out from under one of the pillows. She studied the outside of the book and flipped through it casually.

"Did you know that Wayne Hopkins from Hufflepuff fancies Millicent Bulstrode?" Ginny yelled.

"Really? Then I imagine he fancies bullfrogs too!" Hermione laughed through the soap suds.

Ginny's eyes fell on one postcard in particular. It was a beautiful black and white photograph of a single lily. She eased it out of the book and turned it over to read the back.

Meet me in the library this evening at 5. I need to speak with you on a matter of the heart which is most exclusively imperative. I will be near the restricted section. Come alone.

It was signed with an "S". Nothing more. Ginny's eyes danced with wonder. She had only been joking when she said Hermione might have a secret boyfriend; but she now realized she had been right all along! She carefully slid the postcard into her pocket and pushed the book back beneath the pillow.

"Shall we?" Hermione appeared dressed at the doorway.

"Yes…yes we shall" Ginny smiled; her whole face a flustered shade of pink that matched her sweater.

The two witches made their way to the Great Hall and took their seats. Ginny had gotten so many looks and laughs that by now her face was quite a rosy red.

"How humiliating" she sulked, dropping her head in her hands.

"Aww- don't be takin' it too hard there Ginny" a gruff voice came from behind her. "I'm sure once we get all these paintings sorted out, people'll forget all about it!" Hagrid smiled warmly.

Ginny looked up at the giant with big worried eyes. Even Hagrid had seen her diary! She stood promptly and ran out of the Great Hall, leaving a trail of tears behind her. Hermione gave Hagrid a look to chill blood and narrowed her gaze to Draco Malfoy. He had been watching the whole scene play out and was now in hysterics with the rest of the Slytherin table. She could stand it no more. It was enough that he had exploited the secret passions and dreams of an overly sensitive girl, but to be carrying on like this was quite infuriating to Hermione and before she knew what she was doing, she was face to face with Pansy Parkinson.

"What business do you have over here Granger?" Her voice was like venom.

"Really Pansy- this doesn't concern you- just that cowardly maggot you call a boyfriend!"

Pansy went pale for a moment, completely taken off guard by the suddenly vicious Gryffindor.

Professor Snape, who had been carrying on a conversation about unorthodox uses of mandrake with Professor Sprout, suddenly turned his attention to the impending fight at his house table.

"What is it you want mudblood?" Draco leered.

"I want to know what your problem with Ginny Weasley is! What did she ever do to you!"

The Great Hall fell deathly silent. Harry was now rising from his seat but felt a strong hand hold him back. He looked up at Hagrid who was attentively watching the bold witch at work.

"Who's to say I had anything to do with your scrawny little friend and her silly little diary! "

"Right – so, if you didn't do it then who did!" It was less of a question and more of a demand. Professor Snape, like Harry, was now readying himself to intervene. Draco looked at her with a brazen smile and seized a piece of toast from his plate. Hermione reached for her wand with fire in her eyes and pointed it spitefully at Draco's throat, knocking the toast out of his hand. Draco now looked more than a little nervous and as he looked around the room for some help, he caught eyes with Thomas Crow. Thomas looked nervous too, but gave him a reassuring nod.

"It wasn't me Granger!" He shouted at her.

"That will be quite enough" Professor Snape swiftly snatched the wand from her hand. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for threatening a student".

"Yes, and forty points from Slytherin for the mischief concerning Miss Weasley's private journal!" McGonagall piped in from behind Snape. "Hermione dear, return to your table please" the older witch insisted.

As Hermione complied she heard Draco whisper under his breath, "It wasn't me but I sure would like to shake the hand of whoever it was!" His eyes scanned the dining hall for Thomas Crow, but he was already gone.