Chapter One

It was an extremely cold day and the temperature seemed to drop every hour. Snow fell down heavy and hard forming icicles on the windows. The warm fire within the house was barely keeping them warm. Hermione brought down several blankets and handed them out. She curled up next to the window and pulled out a book she had previously been reading from where she left it under a pillow. It was on her favorite topic, time travel. The time slipped past her and before she knew it, it was around 10:00, everyone had already gone to sleep not wanting to bother the beloved bookworm. Hermione glanced at the clock a couple of times not wanting to stay up any later than she already has but still wanting to read just a bit more of her book.

She flipped the age of the book to show that the rest of it had been cut out from in the middle and in that part of the book was a small jewelry box. She took the box out and tossed aside the now ruined book. She examined the box, rotating it in her hands. The engravings were similar to ancient runes but none that she recognized. She opened the small box and the little hourglass shaped ring inside it glistened even though the house was nearly pitch black except for the lamp that was left on for her. She twirled the ring around her fingers, to find that the hourglass twisted. She put it on her ring finger and shut the box leaving it where she had previously been. Hermione climbed the stair skipping the creaky ones and made her way to Ginny's room in which she slept. She made the short way toward the bed and climbed in under the covers falling into a well awaited sleep.

Hermione awoke at around midday, due to the constant shouting of the four younger Weasley children.

"Bloody Hell, 'Mione, you sure are a heavy sleeper" Ron, the second youngest Weasley commented.

Hermione simply grunted and sat up. She rubbed her eyes and stared at the five people around her. They smiled at her sheepishly, all except George who stared at the ring on her finger. He found it quite interesting but didn't get a chance to study it further, since they were being shoved out by Hermione so she could change. Hermione showered quickly and changed into something comfortable. She walked out of the room twisting the hourglass absentmindedly. She walked into the kitchen offering her help to Mrs. Weasley who declined the offer. With nothing to do Hermione went into the living room and sat by the window watching everyone else play outside in the cold snow which was plentiful after last night's blizzard. She picked up the box and examined it again since the light was better. The runes still didn't look unrecognizable and she gave up after a while.

After lunch Hermione stopped Bill to have him look at the runes on the box. He studied them but didn't seem to recognize them either.

"Mind if I keep this for the night, so I can study it closer?" he said. Hermione nodded and handed him the ring as well.

"It came with the box, well anyway thank you Bill and take your time" she said getting up and walking away shrugging her coat on. She opened the door to a cool breeze and walked out to do some last-minute shopping. She dragged Harry and Ron along as well knowing well that they hadn't gotten everything either. They separated as soon as they entered Diagon Ally and promised to meet back up in a couple of hours. As soon as they had left, Hermione felt something off. She shrugged the feeling of and got to shopping.

That night Hermione didn't return to the burrow. Harry and Ron got back ready to scold the witch but found she wasn't there.

"Mum, didn't Hermione come home?" Ron asked setting down the gifts he still needed to wrap.

"No, dear. I thought she left with the two of you" Molly Weasley replied starting to worry.

Harry was just about to say something but didn't get the chance because Bill had barged in and interrupted.

"I figured it out Herm- Where's Hermione" Bill asked setting down the box.

The ring within the box glowed a bright blue and the hourglass spun. No one noticed the soft blue light the box was giving off from within except George who was standing at the stairs staring curiously at the box. The rest of the night they spent looking for the witch but soon they gave up hoping that'd she was okay where ever she was and that'd she'd return soon. Bill went to bed forgetting about the box, but someone who didn't forget was George. He snuck down and took the box with him to his rooms where he informed his brother on what he had seen. Fred studied the box and opened it to reveal the ring.

"Hermione was wearing this ring" George said studying it closely.

"What could have happened to Hermione?" Fred asked setting the box on the bedside table.

George shrugged and set the ring next to the box. They both crawled into their beds and went to sleep and unlike everyone else, the twins and Bill weren't going to forget that night's events. Their dreams were all the same. A brown-haired girl walking through a long tunnel, one side of the wall lined with pictures, familiar pictures. The other wall was lined with blank picture paper. None of the three understood it, it was a message that they knew, but what it meant wasn't clear. How much trouble a small little box and ring had caused, a very important little box and ring. Something that had been hidden from the world for a very good reason. Hidden within a book that relates to it, very clever indeed. Hidden only to reveal itself to someone who had needed a second opportunity. Interesting indeed.

A/N: Chapter One is up. Yay! Okay, since school takes a lot, I will be be updating as much as I can on weekends. This week is a 4 day weekend so expect a couple more chapters. Please let me know what you think and I hope it isn't very predictable. Well I hope you enjoyed and stick around for the next update.

Tainted Originality