Chapter 5
The first part of Hermione's second year.
Maintanence:
Thought
"Normal speaking"
"Spell"
Nonverbal Spell
"Parseltounge"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(During the summer)
"My Lord, here is the item you requested" the Death Eater kneeled before the pale figure and handed him a book.
"Excellent. You've done well, Dolohov. With this book, I will be able to take over Hogwarts. Now, leave me" after he spoke the room cleared immediately.
"Open," he hissed, and a silvery cloud emerged from the book, taking the form of a teenaged boy. The boy looked up at his red eyed self and asked, "What must be done?"
"I need you to get onto the Hogwarts Express and into the school without being noticed. From there, go to the Chamber and start the process. Begin with muggleborns and then move on to the blood traitors. There are two things, however" Voldemort said with care, looking his younger self over critically.
"What is that?" Tom asked.
"The boy called Harry Potter must not be harmed. I have infused part of my soul with his, so that any damage to him will only hurt us-"
"Why would you do that?" the younger boy asked.
"There are some things that you won't understand, but since it is vital, I will explain it. The boy's parents were the poster Aurors for the Order. Killing them had a purpose: to weaken the Order and send a message. Their child, though no threat to me, offered an opportunity. At that time, the procedure for creating a Horcrux was new to me and I wanted to test it. By using the boy as the container, I sent a different message to the Order- that no one is beyond my reach. And the bit of my soul in him will slowly corrupt him, causing him to eventually break from the precious Order. The fools have no idea what I've done. Until I make more Horcruxes, it is vital that the boy stay alive, since a portion of my soul would die with him if he were to be killed. "
Tom looked at his older self, impressed with the plan. "So when will we strike? And what's the second thing you needed to tell me?"
"There is a child that is marked with a phoenix on their arm in the school. That child could prove to be my downfall. If the child should make an appearance, kill him. And we will strike when the moment is right. I will alert you as to when that is. We need time to prepare. After all, it isn't everyday that I invade Hogwarts" the snake man gave a terrible smile before instructing his younger self that the train would leave tomorrow morning, and giving him a wand from a Death Eater that had been killed.
Tom left the room, thinking everything through, and planning how he would get into Hogwarts without being seen.
The next morning, he walked into the train station and got onto the train, securing a compartment in the back for himself, before locking it shut and drawing the blinds shut. Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on draining the life out of the rat he had in his pocket.
He knew it wouldn't last him that long, but there were plenty of beasts he could drain once he got to Hogwarts. The draining being complete, he incinerated the rat and made himself comfortable for the long ride.
Upon his arrival at Hogwarts, Tom made sure to stay with the crowd; he would be less noticeable that way. He hid his face and his disgust with the other students and broke away from them once they were in the castle. He ran to the bathroom and opened the Chamber quickly, to avoid anyone catching him, then proceeded to the heart of the Chamber, calling to the basilisk.
I wonder who will be the first to die, Tom thought with a mad look in his eyes as the basilisk slid towards him.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione walked to the Great Hall with Harry and Draco next to her. They took their usual place at the end of the table and watched as everyone else filed in. Katie Kirby gave Hermione a smile and a wave as she walked by and Hermione gave her a small smile in return. It's impossible to not like that girl Hermione thought as Katie walked to sit with some other Slytherin girls.
Harry meanwhile, was still talking to Draco about Quidditch and Hermione decided to join in this time.
"If you two can teach me to fly then I will try out for whatever position Draco was telling me about earlier" Hermione said, laughing at the looks that the boys gave her.
"We will definitely teach you, Hermione. But you have to try out then" Harry told her enthusiastically. "And you're not allowed to sabotage your try out. You have to really try" he told her when he caught the look in her eyes.
Draco smirked, "That is the point of calling them try-outs. Idiot" but there was no venom behind the insult and Harry merely laughed. The three of them turned towards the Head Table as Dumbledore called them to attention.
"Welcome back to our old students, and new students, welcome to Hogwarts. Just a couple of announcements before the feast: As some of you have heard, Professor Quirrell will not be returning this year, he decided to travel the world" Hermione snorted, as did Draco and Harry, since she had told them what had happened. Dumbledore continued, though. "As such, Professor Lockhart will be taking over the second, fourth, and seventh years" those in the mentioned grades all groaned; Lupin was a popular teacher and everyone knew that Lockhart was a prat.
Dumbledore continued as if he hadn't heard the groans, "Professor Castus will be joining us in light of Hagrid's departure and will also take up the position as the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. I just want to remind everyone to remain in the castle unless you are with a staff member. Due to the dangerous times, I will insist that any student caught out after curfew will be punished severely."
While the other houses all turned to look at the Slytherin table when the 'dangerous times' were mentioned, Draco leaned over to Hermione and Harry and said, "Well, he only said that students who were caught would be punished." Harry flashed a smile, as did Hermione, and then they turned the feast that popped up in front of them.
While they were eating, Hermione asked Harry and Draco about Lockhart. "Completely loony" Harry was telling her in between bites of chicken. "Sirius says he's a complete fraud. And he's so full of himself. Bit nauseating, really."
Draco nodded and said, "He's a disgrace. Father says that he's been taking credit for things that other wizards and witches have done and claims them for his own. I stopped reading the summer assignment after three pages."
Hermione looked at him, "I wanted to stop reading but I had nothing else to do so I finished it. There were a lot holes in his stories. I don't like him."
They continued their conversation until they reached the common room and then sat on the edge of the stairs, waiting for Snape to give them his cheery welcome back speech.
Draco smiled at that thought, Snape cheery. Ha. He's been my godfather since I was born and I don't think I've ever seen him be cheery once. Although he is entitled to be sour, given the life he chose.
Draco turned to listen to his godfather's soft voice, "…Older students, look after the younger ones. With the recent events of the summer the other Houses will look for revenge and you will be their targets. Do not take any action against them. Do not retaliate. You were sorted into this House because of your sense of self preservation and wit, use them. Gryffindors act rashly, we are the clever ones," he looked around to each face and repeated what he said. "We are the clever ones. Again, if you have any problems come to my classroom to find me."
His robes swept behind him as he walked through the portrait hole. After a moment, Hermione dashed through the crowd and followed him.
"Professor" she called, and slowed to a walk when she saw him stop and turn around. "I wanted to thank you again for helping me this summer. I was wondering if anyone bought the house yet."
"It was no trouble, Miss Granger. There have been several bids, but I left it to Gringott's to take care of the details. They will transfer the gold to your vault."
"My vault?" Hermione asked.
He glanced at her calmly, "Yes, Ben's vault and the gold that was in it was given to you in his will. By the look on your face I will assume that you didn't know that" she shook her head no. "I will also assume that you don't know the vault number or have the key" again she shook her head no. "I will take care of that then. Good night Miss Granger" he said as he continued walking towards his classroom.
"Good night, sir. And thank you again" Hermione said, although she wasn't sure he heard her. She climbed back through the portrait hole and saw that Harry and Draco had waited for her. They walked over to her and Harry gave Draco a significant look.
"Alright, alright, don't give me that look" Draco said. "Hermione, Harry and I know that you're hiding something from us-" Harry cleared his throat. "Alright, several somethings. We want you to know that we won't abandon you and we won't question you. We're here whenever you want to tell us."
He walked over and gave her a quick hug, then turned and walked up the stairs to his dorm. Harry did the same, but before he went up the stairs, he turned to her and said, "You're not alone, Hermione. Draco and I are here, and Sirius and Lupin are here for you as well. The whole Order, in fact, is behind you. So please don't feel like you're alone."
Hermione stayed there for a moment, wondering what they guessed about her, then walked the stairs to her own dorm. It's going to be a long year.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I don't know why I bother; I won't be able to eat a full meal for a couple of weeks.
She sat in between Harry and Draco, ignoring the looks they were giving her after she only nibbled on a piece of toast. "So, are we going to start training tonight?" She asked to change the topic.
Draco raised an eyebrow at her to let her know that he wasn't fooled, but said, "Yea, I think that would be a good idea. Let's check our schedules and see if we have any free periods."
They all had the same schedule: on one day they had Transfiguration, Herbology, a free period, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the other day they had Charms, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic.
Today they had "A" day, as the trio dubbed it, so they walked to McGonagall's classroom after breakfast.
"We will continue to work on your ability to transfigure one inanimate object with another. Hopefully by the end of the year we will start with changing animate objects with inanimate ones. I want you all to try transfiguring the match you have in front of you with a needle. This will help to gauge your concentration. Begin."
The rest of the class was spent trying to change the match into a needle. Hermione mastered the lesson on her third time, and moved on to changing it back.
After Transfiguration the three of them ran outside to Herbology. "What a waste of time" Harry complained. "Harry," Hermione reproached. "Without Herbology, there wouldn't be that many ingredients for potions. Speaking of which, did you see Madam Pomfrey about your eyes?"
"Yes I did, O wise one" Harry said. "She agreed to see what she could do this weekend. I need to talk to Lupin first since he's my guardian."
They had reached the green house and walked in as Professor Sprout was handing out earmuffs. The boys looked to Hermione for an explanation as they took their earmuffs. "We're probably doing something with Mandrakes today," was all she said as they walked to their place in the greenhouse.
"Miss Granger is correct; we will be starting Mandrakes today. Now, can anyone tell me what a Mandrake is and what it is used for?"
A Gryffindor raised his hand, "Yes, Mr. Longbottom?"
"Mandrakes are used to return people who have been Transfigured or cursed to their original state. It has powerful restorative properties and their cry is fatal to humans" he said.
"Excellent, Mr. Longbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, everyone make sure your earmuffs are on securely and get a good grip on your Mandrake. We will be repotting them today."
They worked quietly, there was no chance to do anything except concentrate on the Mandrake. They walked back up to the castle for lunch, everyone was heading to their dorms to change until they noticed that Hermione was dirt free.
"Hermione, how'd you get clean?" Harry asked, looking down at his hands and robe, which were more dirt than fabric.
"A cleaning charm, duh" Hermione said. Draco nodded, embarrassed that he had forgotten, and performed the charm on himself and Harry. Harry looked embarrassed as well, and the three of them walked to lunch.
Hermione made sure to eat a little bit more than she had at breakfast to appease Harry and Draco. They watched as their classmates filed in, noticeably cleaner. Hermione did a double take when she saw two red heads join the red headed twins at the Gryffindor table.
"Harry, who's the little red head?" Harry looked over to the Gryffindor table.
"That's Ginny, the youngest Weasley. She's the only girl to have been born in the Weasley family a while. And the twins are Fred and George." Harry said after he had swallowed.
Hermione nodded, memorizing the names and placing them with the faces. Harry mentioned that they're in the Order, so it would be a good idea to be familiar with them.
After lunch they had a free period, so they went to the Room of Requirement to train. It was harder for Hermione, since she hadn't been able to do most of the exercises over the summer, and needless to say she wasn't able to do magic like Harry and Draco were over the holiday.
Hermione had brought the books Ben left her to the Room and stored them there so they would be safe and accessible when they were practicing.
They left the Room with half an hour before their next class, so they could shower and change. Hermione left the boys and climbed the stairs to her dorm, agreeing to meet them in Defense.
As soon as they entered the classroom, their loathing of Lockhart increased. Pictures of his smiling face were plastered all over the room and Hermione's wand hand twitched, wanting to hex the pictures off the wall. The man himself was dressed in brightly colored robes, complete with a random assortment of meaningless but important looking magical items.
"Hello, hello. Come in and find your seats please," Hermione blinked as their teacher smiled. He has to be using a charm. There's no way that teeth can shine like that naturally. I'm going to be blind by the end of the year.
Harry hid a smirk behind a cough as they went to find seats near the back. It seemed that the other students had the same idea, since all of the tables in the front of the room were empty.
"Now, for those of you who don't know me, although you should, I am Gilderoy Lockhart. I won't go into detail about my accomplishments, by now you should have read my autobiography, Magical Me-" he summoned a copy over to him, but missed it and had to summon another one. To make up for that he took out a ridiculous looking peacock feather, signed the book, and tossed it to Katie Kirby, who handed it to the girl next to her with a look of deep loathing.
Harry did laugh at that one, as did several other boys. "Well, anyway," Lockhart continued as if nothing had happened, "I've decided to start the class with a little quiz about your summer reading to see what you remember and understand." Everyone groaned as they passed the quiz back.
Hermione looked at the quiz and raised her hand immediately.
"Yes, Miss…" Lockhart said.
"Hermione Granger, sir. May I ask what the point of this quiz is?" Harry stared at her like she had grown two heads. Besides the fact that Lockhart had already told them why they were having a quiz, he had never heard Hermione talk back to, let alone question, a teacher before. He was about to say something to her but stopped when Draco nudged him. "Look at the questions" he muttered, then turned his eyes back to Hermione, amusement evident in them.
Harry looked down at the quiz:
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?
What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?
What is this rubbish. There's three pages of questions about this moron. Harry flipped through the quiz, looking for anything related to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but there was nothing.
Hermione was still waiting patiently for an answer.
"Miss Granger, I believe I already told you that the quiz was to test what you understood."
"Yes sir, you did say that. I should have been more specific. I was wondering why there weren't any questions relating to the subject. They're all about you" By this time the whole class was staring at her. The Gryffindors were looking at her with admiration, while the Slytherins were surprised that Hermione was questioning a teacher.
"Well, um, you see…" Lockhart stumbled through an answer until he decided that it would be better to ignore it and move on.
"Now, I've decided to set up a little test to see how you react when confronted with danger" he said, while pulling the cover off of a cage filled with pixies.
Several of the Gryffindors scoffed at the 'danger' a pixie presented, but Hermione drew her wand. Don't underestimate them, they tricky little buggers.
"Pixies" a Gryffindor with more freckles than skin on his face laughed, "Pixies aren't dangerous. At most, their voices are shrill, but they can't be dangerous."
"Don't be so sure Mr. Finnigan. And now, I leave you to them" with a dramatic flourish, he opened the cage.
The pixies took off in several directions, throwing books and generally making a mess. Hermione watched everything develop, and after a minute, decided that it was time to end it.
"Immobulus" she cried, pointing her wand in the air. At once, all of the pixies were frozen where they were, unable to move.
"O," Lockhart said, disappointed that they had overcome the pixies so quickly. "I mean, well done Miss Granger. Ten points to Slytherin. Well, that was all I had planned today. No homework tonight."
They all raced out of the room and headed to the common room. Hermione, however, continued down to the dungeons.
"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry called after her.
"I need to ask Professor Snape something. I'll meet you back in the common room."
Draco shrugged and pulled Harry back with him as Hermione rounded the corner. She walked to the door and paused, listening for any sounds that indicated that he had a class now. Hearing nothing, she knocked on the door.
"Enter," sounded from within, and Hermione opened the door and walked in.
"Miss Granger, what can I help you with?"
"Well, sir, I wanted to ask you if it would be possible to opt out of a class" Hermione said.
Snape hid a smirk, "Let me guess, you would like to drop Defense Against the Dark Arts."
She looked up at him in surprise. "Yes, sir. How did you know?" I wonder if he can read minds. Wait, isn't that what he did last year, when Hagrid was killed? I need to look into ways to keep my mind closed.
"Because, Miss Granger, that is what I would be doing if I were in your place."
Hermione smiled, since she could picture her teacher doing just that.
"May I ask why you've decided this after only one class with him?"
"Well, sir, the first thing he did was give us a quiz about our summer reading to test our comprehension, sir. The questions, though, were all about him."
Snape did smile at that, "Care to give me an example, Miss Granger" he asked, purely for his own amusement as he hated Lockhart with as much intensity as some students hated him.
Hermione looked at him, he was clearly enjoying this. "Of course, sir. The first question was 'what is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?' Sir, is there some other course I could take. He's incompetent in every sense of the word. Couldn't we start a dueling club or something so I actually learn something?"
Hermione was rambling at this point, but Snape thought that a dueling club would be a good idea and told her so.
"I will talk to the Headmaster about the possibility of a dueling club, but I would like for you to continue with the class for now. I think that you could learn something if you took the time to ask him a lot of questions" Snape said. Hermione flashed him a grin to let him know that she go his meaning and walked towards the door when Snape called her back.
"Here is the key to your vault. The number is inscribed on the side" as he handed it to her, his hand grazed hers and his Dark Mark flared into life, summoning him to the Dark Lord.
Shit, I forgot that any direct contact with the child of the prophecy will alert the Dark Lord. That's how they discovered Ben was a spy. Damnit, how could I have forgotten? Now I need to go and try to explain this without giving her away.
Hermione was looking at Snape, concerned. What just happened? "Sir, are you alright?"
"Yes, Miss Granger. I have a favor to ask you. Would you go to Professor McGonagall and tell her that I have to visit my friend for a moment?"
Hermione looked confused but nodded, "Of course, sir" She turned to go, thinking about her enigmatic professor. He hasn't questioned me about my father, so I won't ask him about this.
Hermione walked to McGonagall's room and knocked on the door. By now classes had ended, so Hermione walked into the classroom and looked for her professor.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall walked over from the animal cages that the older students were using to transfigure.
"Professor Snape asked me to tell you that he went to visit his friend for a bit," Hermione said while watching her teacher's face for any reaction.
McGonagall's face went pale for a moment before she hid her reaction.
So this is bad, just like I thought. Hermione carefully watched the woman for anything else that would give Hermione an idea where Snape went, but she didn't betray anything else.
"Thank you, Miss Granger. You may go to dinner now" McGonagall gave her a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. She watched as the girl walked out and then thought, Severus, be careful.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As soon as she was out of the door, Snape used a secret passage to get outside, where he went to the edge of the school and apparated away.
"Severus, where is the child?" if it were anyone else, Snape would say they were eager, even excited, but the Dark Lord didn't get excited.
"My Lord, at the time I was walking through the halls, I wasn't able to determine who exactly it was, but I was able to tell that they were in their first or second year" Snape said as he reinforced his Occlumency shields, projecting the false memory he had just described to the Dark Lord.
Voldemort was less than pleased that Snape didn't know who the child was, but as he examined his memories, he couldn't even tell who bumped Snape, thus triggering the Mark.
As Voldemort withdrew from Snape's mind, the spy shuddered from the intensity of the probe. "Very well, Severus. But I expect you to discover the identity of this child. I have a plan that will bring the Order to its knees, but I will need the child eventually."
Severus was alarmed to hear of a plan, since he hadn't been told about any plan to strike the Order, but his face remained impassive.
"I will find the child, My Lord" with that he apparated back and headed to Dumbledore's office. We need to tell Hermione soon. And I need to be more careful around her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione spent most of her free time in the library, researching Occlumency and Legilimency and reading more about Voldemort and his rise to power. There was nothing that mentioned the prophecy in greater detail than to record the fact that one was made, and Hermione was getting frustrated.
If there isn't anything here about it, then I will need to ask someone about it soon. Hermione thought furiously. I could probably ask Snape or Lupin about it, but they might not tell me. I need more information on the Order and the Death Eaters. That means I need to talk to Harry and Draco.
Hermione continued to do well in all of her classes, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. During that class Hermione would switch between questioning Lockhart on everything he did or said to reading textbooks from other classes. Lockhart became so scared of the young witch that he never reprimanded her for not paying attention and went so far as to ignore her when she was reading.
One memorable class in November even made Lockhart cancel the lesson after ten minutes.
"How many of you have read my book, Wandering with Werewolves?" he paused to see that three hands were raised, and audibly gulped when he noticed that one of them was Hermione.
"Professor, how did you manage to force the werewolf back to his human form during the full moon?" Hermione asked pleasantly, seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable he was. Her classmates, both Slytherin and Gryffindor, began to laugh; they had begun to look forward to the part of class where Hermione would cut Lockhart down.
"Well, Miss Granger, it's, well, it's a professional secret" Lockhart stumbled.
Man is that excuse getting old Hermione thought, "But sir, there are probably dozens of people who are werewolves that would benefit from your work. Why don't you share your secret?"
Harry looked up at that and Hermione noticed it out of the corner of her eye. Why is he suddenly interested? It couldn't be! Is that why he misses classes? Hermione stored the thought for later and turned back to Lockhart.
Lockhart had begun to sweat by now, "I-I have already begun to discuss that option with the Ministry, Miss Granger. Now, if you would all open your books, we will begin."
"Professor, that's wonderful. How soon do you think the Ministry will approve of your technique? After all, this would be helping so many people. You might even get an Order of Merlin. Please, would you tell us what you did? It would be so educational." Hermione continued to ramble on in a fake enthusiastic voice until Lockhart broke in.
"Class dismissed, everyone," they all laughed as he bolted out of the room to avoid being peppered by any more questions. The class clapped for Hermione, who walked out of the room with her cheeks burning.
That night they decided to have mock duels for their training session. Harry squared off against Hermione first. They traded Disarming and Stunning spells, but Hermione seemed distant and unfocused. Harry managed to hit her with a Petrificus Totalus, and Hermione fell to the floor.
Draco walked over and said, "Finite Incantantem" and helped Hermione up. As she stood up, however, Draco noticed that she had several bruises on her arms and face that weren't there before.
Both boys looked at Hermione, horror on their faces as they saw the extent of the colorful bruises. "What, why are you looking at me like that?" Hermione asked.
She looked down and saw the bruises on her arm, crap! I must have been too tired to keep my glamour on. I need to explain this to them. They deserve the truth.
"Hermione, you need to tell us what's going on, but first we're taking you to the Hospital Wing" Draco said as he led her out of the room.
Hermione kept her head down and drew her robes closer over her arms and neck. She didn't want anyone to see her, especially any teachers that were roaming the halls.
Thankfully, they didn't encounter any teachers, but Madam Pomfrey clucked over Hermione the entire time. Draco and Harry were waiting in the hallway, and Hermione was grateful to the matron for making them leave. Hermione didn't open her mouth the entire time and wouldn't tell Madam Pomfrey where she got the bruises or what had happened.
"Alright, dear. You're done. There will be some scars from the cuts since they went unattended so long, but other than that you will be fine" she said sadly, looking at Hermione.
I remember when Severus used to come back from the holiday break looking like this. I only wish she would tell someone. We can arrange to have her stay with another family, but I can't inform the headmaster until she tells me that she's being abused.
Hermione thanked the Medi-witch and walked out to the hall to find Harry and Draco standing there. "I will tell you everything, but not here. Let's go back to the Room."
They nodded and walked silently to the Room of Requirement, checking each hall to make sure no one saw them. They entered the room to see several oversized armchairs and a small array of snack foods waiting for them. They each took a chair and the boys looked at Hermione.
"Alright, this will be easier if neither of you interrupt me" Harry and Draco both nodded and she took a deep breath before beginning, "Both of my parents are Muggles. My mum was an elementary school teacher and my dad was a construction worker. I had a normal childhood until I was six. That summer, my mum was hit by a drunk driver and she died at the hospital. Looking back now, the stress of losing my mum was what must have caused me to accidentally use magic. Anyway, it spooked my dad and he began to blame me for mum's death. He-he began to drink and was fired from his job soon after. We mostly lived off of the life insurance money from my mom" Hermione paused and calmed herself down before continuing, "He began to hit me when I was seven. After a little while, he made me live in the basement and I rarely left it. That's why I was so pale and weak for the first couple of days of school" Hermione looked down, not wanting to see their faces.
"Hermione, we're not going to abandon you" Draco said as he grasped her hand. "We're your friends."
"Yea" Harry said. "You know what, you need to tell Dumbledore about this. I bet you can come stay with one of us for the holidays!"
Hermione looked up at Harry, who was walking animatedly around the room. "No, Harry. I'm not telling anyone else. This is my problem and I will deal with it. I don't want anyone's pity."
Draco just sighed, "Hermione, it's alright to ask for help. But for now, Harry and I will keep our mouths shut" seeing Harry open his mouth to object, Draco glared at him, "won't we, Harry?"
Harry nodded, knowing that if it got worse they would tell someone, but for now, Hermione needed their support.
"Thanks, guys" Hermione said before switching into researcher mode. "Ok, I have some questions for both of you, and since we're all here, I might as well ask them" she turned to the blond boy first. "Draco, I need to understand more about the Death Eaters."
"I don't know very much since I'm kept out of the meetings, but I have managed to hear some stuff. First off, you know that all Death Eaters are branded with the Dark Mark, right?"
Hermione shook her head. "I know what the Dark Mark is, but I didn't know that they were branded with it. Where is it?"
"It's on their left forearm and it serves to connect them to You-Know-Who at all times. He can summon them to him through it and he knows where they are at all times. That's why no one who has turned traitor has survived for more than two days."
"Ok, so YKW keeps tabs on his Death Eaters, what else? You know what, this is ridiculous. Let's just call him Tom, ok. It's easier and that way, no one will know who we're talking about."
Draco snorted but continued, "Tom has two circles of Death Eaters: the Outer and the Inner. Only his most trusted followers are in his Inner circle. They are branded with a special mark that distinguishes themselves from the others and allows them to apparate directly to Tom when he calls them. I don't know everyone who's in it, but I know that my father and Severus are both in it, as well as my aunt."
"She's a nutter," Harry said to Draco. "Who?" Hermione asked, wanting to stay in the conversation.
"My aunt Bellatrix. She's one of the craziest and most fanatical of all of Tom's followers."
Hermione nodded, storing away everything Draco told her before she turned to Harry. "Ok Harry, same deal. What's going on in the Order?"
"Well, to start, Dumbledore is the leader and McGonagall and Snape are his second-in-command. Snape is the spy, but he has his own spy network that no one knows about. He has contacts all over the country to help him. He's also in charge of the safe houses for the Order. But Tom doesn't know that. Since he gained control over Azkaban, the wizarding prison, we've had to keep any prisoners we captured in safe houses so Tom can't find them. The Order also has an Outer and Inner circle, but the qualifications are different. The Outer circle is mostly filled with people who are against Tom, but don't want to come out and say it because they're scared for their families. They help keep tabs on Death Eater activity where they work and pass the information along. They are all trained and are proficient at fighting, and most will fight if they are called. The Inner circle is composed of people who are taking an active role against Tom. There are a lot of Aurors, dark wizard catchers, who are in the Order and they help to train new recruits and such. There are separate meetings for Outer and Inner members to keep anyone from leaking information."
Hermione nodded then said, "Harry, I need to ask you something, but it's quite personal. You don't have to answer" seeing Harry nod his head, Hermione continued, "What happened to your parents?"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them, they were full of determination.
"My parents were personally murdered by Tom," he said with a slight quiver in his voice. "They had been doing a lot for the Order, since they were Aurors, and Tom got decided to send the Order a message. He came to the house and killed them both. No one knows why he spared me, but after that night I've had the Dark Mark on my back." He slipped his arm out of his sleeve to show her the mark engraved on his back.
"O, Harry, I'm sorry" Hermione said as she looked at the angry black skull on his back. "Does the Order know anything about it?"
"No, all they know is that it isn't the same Dark Mark that the Death Eaters have. No one knows what it is" Harry said as he pulled his shirt back on and sat down.
This is good. I'm starting to understand things regarding the war. Hopefully I will learn more about the prophecy soon Hermione thought as the warning bell for curfew rang. As they walked back to the common room, Harry suddenly stopped and looked around in bewilderment.
"Do you guys hear that?" he asked as he walked over to the walls and looked around nervously.
"Hear what, Harry?" Draco asked, wondering why his friend was suddenly going crazy.
"I can hear a voice in the walls. It's saying kill mudbloods" Harry said quietly. Draco took Harry arm and led him around the corner, closer to the Great Hall and then stopped with a gasp.
Hermione hurried to catch up and saw a student lying in the middle of the hall. She was on her back and her eyes were glassy. Her face was frozen in shock and fear.
"Merlin," Draco said as he walked over to the girl. "What happened?" he asked, although he knew that none of them had an answer.
Harry had already run to get a teacher, and soon Professor Flitwick was standing next to the body of the student, looking down at her and muttering a spell. A sliver raven came out of his wand and Flitwick told it to summon the Headmaster and the other teachers.
He turned to the three Slytherins, "I know you had nothing to do with this, so I would suggest that you return to your common room now and say nothing to your classmates."
They nodded, still overcome with shock, and walked down the stairs that led to the common room. They walked to their dorm without turning around to bid each other good night.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They walked down to breakfast the next morning hesitantly, waiting to see how everyone would react. News of the attack had spread, but no one knew yet whether the girl was dead or alive.
"Students, settle down, please" almost immediately the entire student body was silent, waiting to hear what Dumbledore would say. "Last night, a student was attacked, and it is with the utmost remorse that I must inform you that Miss Halifax died last night."
As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a deafening uproar. The Gryffindor table was the loudest, since Maybelle Halifax was a fifth year Gryffindor. Hermione looked up at Dumbledore, who suddenly appeared older and frailer than she had ever seen him. She looked over at Harry, wondering if the voice he heard was connected to the student's death.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Dumbledore, what are we going to do? We have a student dead and we don't know how she died" McGonagall said during the teacher's conference.
"I think I might understand what's going on" Snape said slowly from the shadows of the room. Everyone turned to look to him as he unraveled the puzzle.
He looked over to Dumbledore, "When I was summoned to the Dark Lord the other day he mentioned a plan to strike the Order. When I told you about it, neither of us knew what it could be. But I think this might be it. He has, somehow, opened the Chamber again and is attacking students."
His answer caused the teachers to all start talking at once. The older ones were trying to tell the newer teachers what the Chamber was while Dumbledore tried to get everyone to be quiet.
"That is a possibility, Severus. But we can't let it be the only option. Madam Pomfrey, your diagnostic spell didn't show a cause of death?"
"No, Headmaster, it didn't. Which, I'm sorry to say, has only happened in one other case" the veteran teachers knew where this was going, "the only other time I couldn't identify a cause of death was when Myrtle Jarling was killed. That would mean-"
"That the Chamber is open," Snape cut in. "Dumbledore, we need get certain protection-," he looked at Fawkes, "for the students."
Several teachers looked at him like he was crazy, but the teachers who were in the Order, namely McGonagall, Lupin, and Flitwick, nodded in understanding.
"It certainly won't hurt anything. It will assure the parents that we are doing something and it will let You-Know-Who know that we're not going to roll over for him" Flitwick spoke, and several other teachers nodded at that explanation.
Dumbledore looked at the other teachers and nodded, "If you will excuse me, I have several owls to send. Please patrol the corridors for the night. We will have another meeting tomorrow to discuss the patrol schedule and the extra help."
The teachers walked to their classes, which were full of panicked students and were almost impossible to control. Hermione noticed that Flitwick wasn't even trying to get their class to quiet down; I guess he thinks that if he tries to get us to quiet down we'll start asking him questions that he won't want to answer. But that's fine with me; I have something to check.
Hermione pulled out a book and began reading about werewolves while Harry and Draco talked to Ronald Weasley about Quidditch.
They walked down to Potions after Charms but Hermione fell behind the three boys when she heard Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Sprout.
"-at's what I said. Severus thinks that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. Merlin, I hope that he's wrong, it could be the end of Hogwarts it he's right." McGonagall was saying in a whisper to Sprout.
Hermione turned around and walked back to the Potions classroom, deciding she couldn't stay to listen any longer.
She walked into the room with a minute to spare and set up her cauldron next to Draco. "I'll tell you later. I have to check something with Professor Binns." If Draco was surprised he didn't show it, but he secretly wondered what she needed to check.
"We will be working on a Swelling Solution today; you will be turning your potion in at the end of class. Begin" as Snape said this, he had already begun to walk around the room, inspecting the students and watching them start their potion.
Hermione was busy looking over the ingredients and steps for the potion. She didn't see any way to make the potion more effective, and since she already read about it she knew there were no negative side effects. Her analysis complete, she set up her ingredients and prepared the fire under her cauldron.
Snape had been watching her the whole time and was impressed at how much thought she was putting in to a simple Swelling Solution.
The rest of the class passed without a hitch; no one was foolish enough to ask Snape about Halifax's death and what caused it.
Professor Castus was the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, so no one bothered to ask him what was going on in the castle. They learned about Knarls, which were currently destroying the gardens, and Harry talked Hermione into using their free period tomorrow to start flying so they would be ready for tryouts.
Hermione had never felt so happy before. It was pure bliss being in the sky. Nothing could bother her, and she enjoyed feeling the wind hit her face; until she would fall, that is. Harry and Draco were patient instructors, and Hermione was able to take a slow and shaky lap around the pitch on her own before they headed in for their next period.
History of Magic was as useless as ever, but as Draco nodded off to sleep, he noticed that Hermione had her textbook cracked open and was searching for something. He shrugged and fell asleep; She'll tell me when she's ready.
After class Hermione stayed to ask Professor Binns something but waved Harry and Draco on. They both continued on to dinner, wondering what she was doing and what Dumbledore would say at dinner.
They sat down quietly, noticing that dinner was a hushed affair, but what stood out even more were several extra adults who were standing in the corners of the room. Harry brightened as he noticed Sirius and surreptitiously waved at his godfather. Sirius winked at him and inclined his head towards the Headmaster, who had begun to speak.
"Students, in light of recent events, I have decided to post several Aurors around the school for your protection. Further more, you are not to leave the grounds for any reason. The Quidditch season has been cancelled-" he paused to allow the groans to end, "but pending further problems, trips to Hogsmeade will be allowed. I will repeat what I said earlier, any student caught after curfew will be severely punished. I will introduce each of the Aurors now, and I expect you to treat them with the utmost respect."
He pointed to Sirius, "That is Sirius Black, the witch next to him is Nymphadora Tonks," he ignored the face she gave him and pointed to the tall wizard in the other corner of the room. "Kingsley Shacklebolt," and he moved to the last corner, "And Alastor Moody." They will be here for the rest of the year, so I suggest you all start off on the right foot."
Dinner was a subdued affair and Hermione didn't make an appearance at all. They walked back to the common room and found her waiting.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hermione waved the boys on to dinner and turned to her ghost professor.
"Sir, I was wondering if you could tell me about the Chamber of Secrets. I was reading Hogwarts: A History and it was mentioned, but I couldn't find anything else about it."
"Let me see…the Chamber of Secrets…you know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago- the precise date is uncertain- by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."
Hermione was trying to be patient with her more-than-ancient professor, but she needed something important, something she hadn't already read about. The ghost had continued talking and she tuned in to what she was saying.
"…few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school. The story goes that Slytherin built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."
Hermione's mind was working a mile a minute. So the Heir of Slytherin has returned to school and he is the only one who can open the Chamber and unleash the horror within. The next question is what is the horror and how does he control it?
"Sir, what is the horror within the Chamber?"
"It was believed that a monster that only the Heir can control resided within the Chamber, but the Chamber doesn't exist."
Hermione ignored the last part of what he said and asked, "Is there a selective trait in wizards that will give them control over an animal?"
Professor Binns looked annoyed at her question, but answered nonetheless, "Each animal has its own language, Miss Gardner-" Hermione ignored the fact that he called her by the wrong name and hid the dismay that welled up inside of her at the thought of having to narrow down the animal from the hundreds that she knew of. "But there have only been a selective few who were able to understand or talk to selective animals. Most of the legendary animals, like phoenixes, and basilisks, and to a lesser degree acromantulas, leprechauns, veelas, and others, have the ability to select wizards or witches to understand them, and thus, the ability manifested in the designated host and was passed on to their descendents."
Hermione, however, had stopped listening after he mentioned basilisks. It suddenly made sense, but she needed to check something.
"Thank you, Professor Binns," she called as she ran out of his room.
She spent the rest of dinner in the library, researching basilisks and how they killed. She knew that the teachers already knew about the Chamber, but she didn't know if they knew that the creature was a basilisk. She decided to tell Harry and Draco about it first.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Hermione you missed dinner-" Harry started, but Hermione interrupted him. "I found out what's going on and why that girl died." Harry and Draco turned to look at her, "Really? Dumbledore hasn't told us anything, but he has posted several Aurors around the school for protection."
Hermione nodded, although she now knew that Aurors wouldn't help that much.
"Well, on the way to Potions I overheard Professors McGonagall and Sprout saying that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened again. I stayed after to ask Professor Binns and he told me about the Chamber. He told me that Salazar Slytherin created a secret Chamber and that the other Founders didn't know about it. According to the legend, a monster that only the Heir of Slytherin could control. Seeing that Slytherin is represented by a snake, I'm under the assumption that the monster is a snake. The only snake that kills instantly without leaving any trace is the basilisk. The only thing I haven't figured out is how a humongous snake is getting around without being seen."
Before the boys could respond to what she told them, Katie Kirby came through the portrait hole, screaming, "Another student is dead. I just saw him!" Professor Snape had obviously heard the screaming, as did Sirius, who both came running.
"Severus, do you have a Cal-" he stopped talking as Snape pulled a Calming Draught out of his pocket and handed it to Katie.
"Miss Granger, would you be so kind as to accompany Miss Kirby to the Hospital Wing while Mr. Black looks for the student?" Snape said.
"Of course, sir" She walked over and put her hand on Katie's shoulder and led her to the Hospital Wing, with Sirius behind them. Snape walked with them for a little before turning towards his classroom.
"It was good to see you again, Severus" Sirius said when he turned away.
"You as well, mutt" they both smirked at the joke and Hermione wondered what she was missing, but continued walking towards the Hospital Wing.
As they entered the corridor that the Hospital Wing was in, Sirius called out to Hermione, "Hermione, stay here." She looked around to see what caused him to tell her this. She watched as Sirius carefully stepped over some broken glass to a bench and leaned down, and then pulled a student out from under the bench.
"Are they- are they alive?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Yes, he is" Sirius said as he picked up the frozen boy and ran to the Hospital Wing. Hermione led Katie there as well and saw with a start that it was the red headed boy that Harry knew. Ron, that's what his name is.
Sirius watched as Madam Pomfrey fussed over the boy, trying in vain to wake him up until Hermione spoke up, "It's no use, Madam Pomfrey, he's been Petrified."
Sirius turned to her, "How do you know that?"
"I heard something and followed up on it. One clue led to another and there's only one real explanation."
"And what is that?" Sirius asked as he watched Hermione carefully. It might have taken the Headmaster longer to discover that the Chamber was opened if Severus hadn't said anything. Is it possible that she found out about it?
Hermione surveyed him calmly and said, "That Hogwarts is under attack."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Alright, there's chapter 5.
Just to clear some stuff up: the next chapter will pick up right before Christmas break. I wanted to cover that in this chapter, but I really liked how this one ended.
Draco was able to cancel Hermione's glamour because she was extremely tired and unfocused, as such; she wasn't concentrating or putting enough energy into keeping her glamour in place.
Any direct contact- that means skin to skin- between Hermione, aka the child of the prophecy, and a marked Death Eater, will alert Voldemort. I changed the part earlier in my story that has Snape checking Hermione's pulse so that this will make sense. The other time Snape touches her is on her shoulder, in other words, not skin to skin, since she has robes on (and I know that whole sentence sounded really wrong). So I will make an effort to correct this in my future chapters.
Always,
Sinkme