When Hope isn't Enough

by Sinkme

Discontinued. Being completely re-written.

3. Lessons and a Letter

Ch

Ch.2 Year One (part 1)

Big note: I'm making Snape OOC, so he'll be a bit nicer (in private mostly), and less obnoxiously rude. Fear not, though, I'm doing my best to maintain his sarcasm and wit. They're some of his more charming characteristics.

Thanks to my reviewers! You guys make me all warm and fuzzy inside. And a couple of you suggested that I take out the author's notes, and I agree that they were mostly unnecessary, so I edited chapter 2 and took them out.

Thanks to: Sylphides, Sofia7, Harry-Hermione Potter, Lysjknopp, Stashthesocks, and Padslet

I hope this chapter answers some questions- it's the first half of Hermione's first year.

Maintanence:

Thought

"Normal speaking"

"Spell"

Nonverbal Spell

Disclaimer: If I was JK I wouldn't bother writing this here, since it would probably be in the books, so I don't own HP.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Welcome back, for the first years who don't know me, I am Professor Snape, and I am your Head of House and the Potions Master. Everyone else, you know the drill, keep your noses clean and don't sink to the Gryffindor's level of rash actions. We are the cunning and intelligent ones" His black eyes looked over each student as he spoke. "Plan your revenge carefully and don't get caught, because then I would have to punish you, and you are targeted enough by the other teachers without me punishing you as well" Snape said all of this calmly, looking into almost everyone's faces to make sure his words had the effect he wanted. "Look out for each other, since the only friends you will find are in this House. The others will look down on you because you are in Slytherin-- stick together. Older students, keep an eye out for the younger ones. Dismissed. First years, stay."

"Now, this is your first year at Hogwarts, and things may seem overwhelming, if you need any help, any at all, come to my classroom and talk to me. You need to understand that this House is prejudiced against by the other three Houses, and at many times the other students will shun you simply because you are a Slytherin. Ignore them. They are idiots who can't look past old rivalries; this House is always loyal to its members. The older students will help guide you throughout your years here. Now, the rest of you are dismissed to your dorms, I daresay you need to get situated. I need to speak to Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy, separately, please." The three of them came forward slowly, each wondering why the intimidating man needed to talk to them.

"Follow me, then." He led them out of the common room, and through several hallways, until they arrived at a room that Hermione guessed was his classroom. She took the time to look her teacher over. He was tall, wearing entirely black robes that billowed behind him and covered almost every inch of him; only his hands and head were exposed. His neck was completely covered by his high collar. He had dark eyes, almost black, and black hair that hung loosely at his shoulders. He had pale skin and looked like he didn't eat or sleep enough. He startled her by turning sharply into a classroom and calling over his shoulder, "Come inside, and Mr. Malfoy, I'll talk to you first." He led them into his classroom and then led Draco through another door which led to his office. Hermione and Harry were left to look around the classroom, but they didn't move from where they stood, for fear of breaking something.

Draco came out after five minutes, and told Harry to go in next. After the door closed, Draco said to Hermione, "Is it true you're Muggleborn?" "Yea, why, does that matter?" She asked him back. "It doesn't to me, but to other people, like some of my family's friends, it will matter a lot. I need to tell you more about myself and some, um, issues that concern me, and by extension, you. I think it would be a good idea if I taught you some of the ways of the wizarding world, especially with You-Know-Who in power, and the prophecy,-" He broke off with a guilty look. "What prophecy?" Hermione asked quickly. But Harry chose that moment to emerge from Snape's office, and told Hermione it was her turn. Before she closed the door behind her, she turned and saw Draco and Harry whispering something and looking in her direction. I need to find out what's going on, she thought.

"Hello, Miss Granger" Snape said softly. "You're not in trouble; I just wanted to talk to you. The Headmaster told me that you are Muggleborn, and I just wanted to tell you that if anyone from any House gives you a hard time about being a Muggleborn in Slytherin, come to me and they will be punished. There has never been a Muggleborn student in Slytherin, but the Hat put you here for a reason."

He paused and looked her over appraisingly. "Why do you have a glamour on?" He asked her. She hid her shock with a mask of confusion. "What's a glamour?" She asked, schooling her face into a mixture of confusion and innocence. "It's a charm that people use to hide something about their appearance. Finite Incantatum." Snape said, pulling his wand out of his robes and pointing it at her.

It didn't take a genius to tell that the spell he used would end the charm Ben had taught Hermione to cover her bruises. Hermione was worried, "I can't let him see my bruises, they haven't healed yet!" She looked down at herself, expecting to see the vibrant colors of the half healed bruises, but she saw nothing. She looked up at Snape and asked cautiously, "Is it good or bad that nothing happened?"

Snape looked at her, picking up her choice of words. So she is hiding something. It has to be something other than her mark, since that can't be concealed or duplicated. I wonder what happened. He thought, then said to her, "It is neither good nor bad. Just remember that I am here for you, anytime you need to talk, and it doesn't matter what you need to talk about" He gave her a pointed look that clearly showed he was worried about what she was hiding. "Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind." With that, she turned and left the room. He followed her, and then led the three first years back to the common room. "The password is serpens intus" with that, the door opened and Snape turned and walked the same way he came.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

On his way back to his rooms, he wondered what could have happened that she would need a glamour, and more importantly, why it wasn't cancelled with his spell. From what Dumbledore told me, Ben reported that she is extremely powerful but is quiet and withdrawn. I will need to keep an eye on her. No doubt that there are certain people, students even, that would wish to kill her if her identity should become known.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We need to talk" The three of them said simultaneously. They blinked, and then started to laugh. Luckily, since it was late, the common room was empty. They each sat in an armchair and looked at each other.

Draco was the first to speak, "I'll start by explaining about my family." He cast a cautious look around before continuing. Harry and Hermione leaned closer as his voice dropped to a whisper. "It all started about twenty years ago. Rumors were spreading about a powerful Dark wizard by the name of- V-Voldemort. But don't say his name!" He looked at Hermione, making sure she understood. She nodded, but in reality she was nonplussed, honestly, who was afraid to say a name; she wasn't, although she hadn't seen what Voldemort wrought first hand.

"Ok, well, he attracted a lot of followers, my parents included. He didn't care who they were, as long as they were pureblood, that means that both their parents were magical. He even accepted half-bloods, but they didn't advertise their blood status. Anyway, as the years went on, he recruited more and more followers, but he became more fanatical, as did his followers. They became more violent and he demanded more from his followers. My parents realized that they made a mistake after I was born and he demanded that I be raised according to his ideals. My parents went to the Order of the Phoenix, which Harry can explain better, and they became spies for them against You-Know-Who. So I need to pretend to support him, while I am really spying on the kids of other Death Eaters here. Harry, why don't you explain more about the Order and the prophecy" Draco said, leaning back in his chair.

"Sure, Draco. Well, first, I just want to let you know that you can't tell anyone about what we're telling you. Professor Snape told us to tell you, and he must have his reasons. The Order of the Phoenix is an organization of witches and wizards that are working to bring down You-Know-Who and his followers. Dumbledore heads it, and several of the teachers, including Lupin, are members." Hermione nodded, she had guessed as much. "About eleven years ago, one of our members heard a prophecy that could mean the end of the war. I don't know what it said, but it mentioned a child being born in December with the mark of the Order on their arm. Only that child could hope to banish the evil that is spreading now. That's all Sirius told me. He figured that the kid would be in this year, since they'd be turning eleven."

Hermione, however, wasn't listening. At that moment, she realized two things. The first was that she was the child of the prophecy. The second was that something terrible had happened to Ben, since she saw his owl flying outside the window with a letter in its beak.

"I need to tell you guys something, but first there's a letter I need to get." She walked over to the window and opened it for Lara, Ben's owl. She took the letter tightly in her hand, and gave Lara a pat on the head. Lara looked up at her sadly, then flew back out the window. She didn't read it yet, though, since she knew she wasn't ready to tell Harry and Draco about her life before Hogwarts. She sat back down in her chair and turned to the guys. They didn't question her about the letter, she would either tell them or she wouldn't. In the very brief time that they had known Hermione, they had come to understand that she had an inner calm that she could retreat into, where she was unreachable.

"Alright, this probably won't be easy to understand, but I think I understand why Professor Snape wanted you to tell me all of this." She pulled the sleeve of her robe and tshirt back, revealing her mark. "I think I'm the child of the prophecy" She looked at them, trying to gauge their reactions. Draco was silent and Harry looked awestruck. "That makes sense," Draco said. Harry nodded at that. "I think we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, so I'll start with the formal introductions. I'm Draco Malfoy." They all smiled, and Harry went next, "Harry Potter." Harry inclined his head to Hermione for her to introduce herself, "Hermione Granger." They all smiled and shook each other's hands. Then they went up to bed, they could tell it would be a long, but fun, year.

Hermione went up to bed, but didn't go to sleep. She went over to the window and sat so the moon shone on her; she didn't want to light a lamp and risk waking the other girls. She opened Ben's letter and read it carefully.

Dear Hermione,

Know first that there was nothing you could have done to prevent this. You are incredibly bright and I am assuming that you have figured out what has happened to me and why, but your guess is only partly wrong. I wasn't killed only because I helped you. I was killed because I was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, which I hope you know about by now. I spied on Voldemort and they finally discovered that I was a traitor. My death will cement the loyalty of our other spies. Enough of this, I need to tell you some very important pieces of information that you need to keep to yourself. You are the child that the prophecy refers to, your mark and magical prowess prove it, and again, I hope that you know what I'm referring to. Don't tell any more people than necessary. Remus Lupin, the man that took you to the train, is in the Order and was a good friend of mine, you can trust him and his godson, Harry. Also, Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape, (yes, your Potions teacher) are spies for the Order as well. If you need help or find yourself in trouble, you can trust Lucius' son, Draco, or Severus. I would advise you to learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can. Voldemort is on the move and I don't know how safe Hogwarts will keep you- you need to be prepared. I have enclosed several pages of spells and techniques, both magical and Muggle, which will help you in the future. After you have mastered, and this is important, only after you have mastered all of them, I want you to go to Severus and only Severus and have him test you and continue training you. Never be afraid of your powers, and don't call Voldemort by anything other than his name, which is Tom Riddle. Never belittle yourself by calling him You-Know-Who. I want to tell you that I am proud of you, and that I had came to regard you as a little sister. I left everything I own to you, and Dumbledore has my will. There are several useful items and books that you can recover from the house during the summer. I also would like it if you told someone about your father, I know it will be hard, but what he's doing is wrong. Remember to do the exercises I attached and practice the spells every night. There's a special room on the seventh floor that will appear when you need it to; just think of what you need it to become and it will appear. Good luck, Hermione.

Always,

Ben

Hermione wept silently for the loss of the only adult that had showed her love and vowed to practice every night. She remembered the map that Harry had and wrote a note to remind herself to ask him tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They got their time tables at breakfast and saw that they had Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts that day.

Hermione asked Harry if he had heard of a room that appeared when someone needed it. "You know, I think Ron Weasley's brother mentioned it to me. You have to walk past it, thinking of what you need it to become and it will appear. I think it's on the seventh floor. Why?" Harry asked her. "I'll tell you later," Hermione said.

It would be a busy day, so they ate breakfast hurriedly, they were so excited for their first class that neither of the boys noticed that Hermione barely ate anything, but a certain teacher at the Head Table did and scowled slightly. They raced to the dungeons, trying not to get lost, and made it to the Potions room. They found a table for the three of them and set up their supplies. Slowly, the rest of the class filed through, the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived and sat down. Harry waved to a red headed boy who was sitting in front of them. "That's Ron Weasley. Most of his family is in the Order" He told Hermione.

Suddenly the door burst open and Snape walked in. "In this class there will be no foolish wand waving, or silly incantations. The art of Potions is subtle, and as such, especially since you are first years, I don't expect many of you to excel in this subject. Now, to test the waters. Can anyone tell me the difference between aconite and monkshood?"

He looked around, almost everyone looked stumped. "I thought as much,

now-" He paused when he saw Hermione's hand go up. "Yes, Miss Granger?" "They're the same plant Professor. There is no difference." She said quietly. "Very good Miss Granger, 5 points to Slytherin. I wonder though, can you tell me what three of the ingredients in the Draught of Living Death are?" He expected her to look confused, she was a Muggleborn, after all, but he was surprised when she nodded, and said, "Asphodel in an infusion of wormwood, valerian roots, and sopophorous bean, Professor."

"Excellent, Miss Granger, another five points. Now, we will start with your first potion-" He broke off when he heard muttering in the back of the room. "Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Thomas, for being intelligent enough to speak another language" he said straight faced. Dean Thomas looked confused, "Sir, I wasn't speaking another language." "My mistake. So that will be twenty points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn and interrupting a teacher. The instructions are on the board, begin." Snape snapped.He sat down at his desk, his eyes scanning the room until they rested on Hermione.

A Muggle-born first year who knows the ingredients to a potion that sixth years brew. Interesting. I'll have to see how she does in this brewing He thought to himself.

After ten minutes, he took to wandering between the cauldrons, causing more than a few first years to look up at him fearfully. When he got to Hermione's cauldron, however, it seemed that she didn't even notice that he was there. She was so immersed in brewing that she didn't notice when he tapped her on the shoulder. "Miss Granger." Snape said. "What are you doing?" "Huh?" Hermione said. "I'm following the instructions on the board sir," Hermione said without meeting Snape's gaze. "Then why is your potion a different color than everyone else's?" He asked. He knew what she had done, but he wanted to see if she knew or if it was an accident.

"Well, sir, on the board, it said to stir counter clockwise forty times, but from what I've read, I thought that adding in a clockwise stir every ten rotations would balance the negative side effects that the snake fangs had in the potion." Again, she said this quietly and without looking at him. He raised a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but she flinched. Not noticeably, but he caught it. "Well done, Miss Granger" He said kindly. "You just brewed a more advanced version of this potion on your first attempt and without instructions. 15 points to Slytherin." He said, and slid past them to sit back at his desk.

He was thrilled that he finally had a student that understood Potions like he did, but worried that she had flinched. If she was being abused at home it would explain the glamour; she would be hiding her bruises. It would certainly explain why she flinched just a moment ago. And if she is the child of the prophecy, it would explain why I couldn't dispel it, since she is going to be the most powerful witch the world has ever seen. He thought pensively. He watched her sadly, and wondered why she had been cursed to never know the love of a family, just like him.

When the class was over, everyone bottled their potion and handed it in to Snape to be graded. Then they hurried to Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. They made it just in time, since the dungeons were a long way from the Transfiguration room.

"Hello, students, I am Professor McGonagall, and I'm the Transfiguration teacher. Now, to be successful at Transfiguration, you must have a good sense of concentration and will power. Getting distracted will cause your spell to fail. Now, for our first lesson, we will attempt the Switching Spell, which, as the name implies, allows the caster to switch two things. Now, wands away for the moment, and repeat after me, modifio inres" the class dutifully repeated the spell. "Good. Now, concentrate on switching the quill in front of you with the erasers I set in the front of the class. When you're ready, try it."

Soon the class was filled with the noise of everyone trying the spell. Hermione looked around, wrinkling her nose at the level of noise that her classmates were making. She took a moment to concentrate, and then attempted the spell. On her second try she was able to switch the quill with the eraser, and then switch them back. "Very good, Miss Granger. 5 points to Slytherin." By the end of the class, Draco and Harry had managed the spell as well, and were busy switching each other's textbooks back and forth. Hermione had even managed to help a boy in Gryffindor named Neville Longbottom switch his quill for the eraser.

Lunch was next, and everyone was so excited that they didn't notice that, once again, Hermione barely ate anything. She pulled out her Potions book and started reading instead.

After lunch was Charms with Professor Flitwick. They were taught a spell which allowed an object to float up in the air. Once again, Hermione got the spell quicker than anyone, and eventually moved on to lifting heavier things. She helped Harry when he couldn't pronounce the spell right, and he almost had it by the end of the class.

Harry was really excited to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, since Lupin would be teaching. He and Professor Quirrel split the teaching, with Lupin teaching the first, third, fifth, and sixth years, and Quirrel teaching the second, fourth, and seventh years. There were certain times that Lupin couldn't teach during the year, though, in which case Quirrel would teach all the classes.

"Alright, everyone, settle down." Lupin said. "Now, Defense Against the Dark Arts is not an easy class, especially in light of recent activities" Everyone knew he was referring to several Death Eater attacks on Muggle towns. "As such, this will be a very hands-on class, with little in the way of written homework" There were several cheers at this. "It will be more important to be able to use the spells you will learn than to write papers on the theory behind them." Again, many in the class gave quiet cheers.

"Alright, we're going to split up into two groups and see how many spells everyone knows. Here are chalkboards and chalk; whichever group has the most defensive and offensive spells wins. And before anyone asks, I have several bars of Honeydukes chocolate to split between the winners." Lupin didn't even have to say 'go' and the two teams were already writing. Hermione had the advantage of being on a team where almost all of the others had magical parents, so they knew a number of spells.

Hermione's group won, but as they were dividing the chocolate, Hermione said, "I don't want any; I'm still full from lunch." Everyone looked at her as if she had two heads. "Are you sure, I mean, it's Honeydukes" Said Katie Kirby, a fellow Slytherin first year. "Yea, I'm sure, someone else can have mine." No one argued with her after that, who were they to deny extra chocolate?

As they walked to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione said to the guys, "Hey, I'm gonna go check something in the library, k? I'm not that hungry." Draco and Harry looked at her. "Um, sure. See you in the common room later?" The two boys walked to the Great Hall, talking about the upcoming Quidditch tryouts.

Hermione went straight to the seventh floor and began walking around and concentrating on a room big enough for her to practice in, with soundproof walls. Less than ten minutes later, a door appeared as if by magic. Well duh, she thought with a smile, I am a witch, after all. She began on the first page with a series of physical exercises that, as Ben explained, would condition her reflexes and boost her endurance and strength. She was exhausted after half an hour, but she continued until all her repetitions were done. Then she laboriously moved on to the defensive spells Ben had recommended. She practiced until the warning bell for curfew rang, and then hurried down to the Slytherin common room. I need to check that map of Harry's for shortcuts She thought on her way down.

When she awoke the next morning, she was stiff and sore; only years of practice allowed her to hide her discomfort enough so that everyone, or so she thought, was fooled. Her second day passed very similarly to her first, except that today she had Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, History of Magic, and a free period. Seems that I have all the 'hard' subjects on one day and the 'easy' subjects on another, Hermione thought. She used her free period to train in the Room of Requirement, as she had read it was called.

Hermione had little difficulty adapting to life at Hogwarts, indeed, within the week, she was getting around with the ease of a seventh-year; of course, the secret passages she had found with the Marauder's Map helped too. Harry and Draco, having been raised in the wizarding world, adapted likewise, but they didn't seem to be able to avoid the crowds that stormed through the halls. Hermione had a knack for disappearing and reappearing silently.

By the time the first weekend of the year rolled around, the whole school knew that Hermione was the first Muggleborn in the history of Hogwarts to be sorted into Slytherin, and that she was incredibly good at everything she tried, especially Potions.

Hermione spent the weekend outside, with Harry and Draco, reading and writing notes to herself in a notebook she kept with her at all times. Harry and Draco had tried to read it once, just to see what she was writing, and the book had shrieked so loudly that they were deaf for the next five minutes. Surprisingly, no one near them heard anything; it was as if the spell only affected them. After that Hermione got up with an amused look on her face and walked away, saying something about going to the library.

"Hey Harry, d'you ever wonder where Hermione goes when she's not in the common room? Because she doesn't always go to the library like she says she does" Draco asked Harry on Saturday, after Hermione had left them, once again. "Where else could she go? Wait a second-" Harry got a gleam in his eye and leaned in towards Draco. "We could follow her, Remus and Sirius gave me my dad's old invisibility cloak before I came here" Draco gasped, cloaks like that were rare, only the old Pureblood families had one, and Lucius hadn't given theirs to Draco yet. "Let's do it! Keep it in your bag, and we'll follow her the next time she leaves."

It was almost a full month later that they finally got the opportunity to follow Hermione. They had noticed slight changes in her. She seemed to be tired more and more often, and while her schoolwork never suffered even the tiniest bit, she seemed distant and unfocused in some classes. The teachers had noticed it seemed, since Harry and Draco, when they were walking around under the invisibility cloak trying to follow Hermione, who had disappeared, overheard McGonagall and Snape talking about her.

"Absolutely brilliant student, isn't she Severus? O, she reminds me of you when you were a student. I only wish she would warm up a little. Hermione seems like an old woman stuck in an adolescent's body" McGonagall said. "Yes, she is rather withdrawn. I think that hanging around with Messers Potter and Malfoy will do her a world of good." Snape confided in her. McGonagall nodded her head in agreement and asked Snape about the next staff meeting as they walked away.

Harry and Draco quickly walked away from the teachers and made towards the Common Room. An hour and a half later, Hermione came in, panting slightly with red cheeks. "Hey guys, I need to tell you something" She said, sensing that they had discovered a secret and that it would be better than hiding it. She gave them a quick overview of Ben, the exercises he sent her, and what she was doing. Draco noticed that she left out her home life and decided not to question her about it. I know she's hiding something, alright, several somethings, but she'll tell us in her own time. Pressuring her now isn't going to help. She needs to be able to trust us. We'll have to show her that we trust her first, though.

From then on, the three of them would travel to the Room of Requirement together every night and train. They were glad that Harry had his cloak, since they had returned after curfew several times. Slowly, they all began to show the results of the training Hermione walked them through. They eventually began to practice their spellwork on each other, holding mock duels now and then.

Halloween came with much anticipation and Draco explained some of the traditions of the holiday to Hermione during the Feast. He could tell that she enjoyed learning about it, so he lent her a book about wizarding traditions the next day. Soon it was November, and Hermione was surprised at how fast the days were going. Classes and homework were no problem to her; her fellow Slytherins, however, were a bigger problem. They bullied and harassed her, but she never once told Snape, although she suspected that he knew about it.

The coming holiday season filled Hermione with dread until she learned that she could stay at Hogwarts. She became much happier and started to plan for gifts for her friends. For Harry, she got a Quidditch book, since he said he wanted to try out for the team next year. For Draco, she got a quill in the shape of a snake that would correct his atrocious spelling on homework assignments. She sent Snape an anonymous Christmas card, although he figured out who sent it. Hermione didn't think he would appreciate it if she embarrassed him by personally delivering the card to her Head of House. Harry got her a copy of Hogwarts a History, and Draco got her an advanced spellbook on defensive magic.

During the holiday, both Harry and Draco went home, they invited Hermione, but she felt that she would be intruding and didn't want anyone to ask her why she wasn't going back to her own home. Her stay at Hogwarts was peaceful. There were no classes, no annoying people who distracted her from working. She got all of her work done in the first two days of break, and continued to train in the Room of Requirement. Snape, seeing that she was bored, offered a solution; he needed to restock the potions for the Hospital Wing, and asked if she wouldn't mind helping him. Hermione readily agreed, and the rest of her break flew by.

One night in January they were returning from the Room of Requirement after curfew when Harry tripped and the cloak fell off. Of course, Filch chose that moment to turn the corner, and after spotting them, called for a teacher, who happened to be McGonagall. "I am shocked that the three of you would wander around after hours, what do you think you're doing?" She asked them. "Well, Professor, we were-" but Harry was cut off by Hermione who said "We were just exploring, Professor, we heard about Peeves and wanted to see if we could find him."

She looked up at her Professor, eyes innocent and wide, and McGonagall knew that would be the only story she got out of the three of them. "Very well, the three of you shall get a detention this Friday night at 9:00 with Mr. Filch, and lose 25 points each. I will also be letting Professor Snape know about this. I will escort you all to your common room, let's go."

The three followed McGonagall like cows to the slaughterhouse; they knew their housemates wouldn't be thrilled about the loss of 75 points, although Hermione had made more points than anyone else in Slytherin this year. They entered the common room quickly and tried to hurry to bed but stopped in their tracks when they heard McGonagall say, "Miss Granger, could I talk to you for a moment?" She nodded to the boys, and they continued up to their dormitory.

"Miss Granger, I want to know what you three were doing sneaking around at night. Even Hogwarts isn't safe, and a student such as yourself shouldn't take any chances." McGonagall said with a worried look. Despite the fact that Hermione was in Slytherin, McGonagall had developed a soft spot for the girl. She was mature and intelligent, but didn't flaunt her knowledge, and she also had a quiet self-assurance that was projected to everyone around her.

"Professor McGonagall, when you say a student like me, what do you mean?" Hermione asked, as much to see what the older woman would say as to change the subject.

"Well, what I mean is that you are a first year student, a female, and a Muggleborn. Not all the students in Hogwarts are as innocent as some teachers would like to believe. I would like to see you take better care of yourself. Professor Snape has told me that he hasn't seen you eating enough lately. You need to keep yourself well-nourished or your magic will suffer. And I know that I am not your Head of House, but please, if you need someone to talk to, my door is always open."

Hermione nodded her understanding and went upstairs before McGonagall could remember to ask her what she had been doing after curfew. As much as Hermione like Professor McGonagall, most of the Professors, in fact, she couldn't let herself trust them yet. After all, the three people who she had trusted the most had left her; her mom died, her dad was abusive, and Ben had allowed himself to be killed. She knew logically that her mother and Ben weren't to blame for leaving her, but it hurt nonetheless.

Classes continued into the bitter cold of January; Professor Snape had given the Trio the same talk that McGonagall had given them and told them to report to Hargrid's house to serve their detention on Friday night. They watched the Quidditch game on Thursday; Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff, and laughed at the effort the Hufflepuff's gave. Compared to them, the Slytherin team looked like professionals. In all fairness, Hermione reflected, Hufflepuff lost their captain of three years and their two star players last year when they graduated, and the team hadn't been the same.

On Friday at nine o'clock the three of them walked to Hagrid's house for their detention, wondering what they had to do and hoping they wouldn't have to help with any of the animals Hagrid kept as "pets".

Hagrid met them outside and told them that they were going to be helping him clear out the quarters that housed several of the magical creatures they were studying. They groaned, but consented, after all, the creatures they were learning about weren't any more harmful than flobberworms, although they left a bit of a mess.

After two hours, Hagrid led them back to his house at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and was about to lead them on the way back to Hogwarts when three figures came out of the shadows. Only Hermione noticed them and pulled her wand out immediately, causing the others to look at her.

"Avada Kedavra" rang out in the silence of the night, and with a flash of green Hagrid fell to the ground and didn't move. Just as swiftly, a second figure disarmed and stunned the three Slytherins, even though Hermione fought with all her might to hold on to her wand.

"I didn't count on the oaf having company this late," the figure on the left said, and from his voice they could tell he was male.

"It's no matter, but we need to Obliviate them and put in some false memories so no one at the school finds out about this" As the figure said this, he removed his hood, and Draco recognized him as Rabastian Lestrange, which meant, he guessed, that Rodolphus and Bellatrix were the other two robed figures.

"We can't kill Potter for obvious reasons, since the Dark Lord has marked him, and Draco is faithful to us. It would look suspicious if we killed the girl, so we have to keep them all alive, but with no memory of this" He explained his logic to the other two, mostly for Bellatrix's benefit, since he didn't want her to have a fit. "Do you have the Polyjuice Potion?" As Rodolphus walked over to Hagrid's body, Rabastian pulled out a vial and handed it to his brother.

Bellatrix walked over to the still forms of the Slytherins and began performing the necessary Obliviate, she also formed the memory that would take its place in their minds. Each, in turn, was given this fake memory and a quick Imperio had them back at the castle before they could do anything.

Everything was proceeding according to plan…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Alright, there's chapter 2.

Please let me know if you think I'm moving through the characters too fast. I feel like I have taken a lot of their traits and quirks for granted and I can explain more if you let me know!

Also, I don't have this story written in stone yet, if you have any ideas to add I would love to incorporate some of them.

I am open to criticism, but keep it nice please.

As always,

Sinkme