Hey everyone! Finally got Chapter two written. It was surprisingly hard. Anyways hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

If Hermione wasn't a Gryffindor she probably would have admitted that she wasn't just scared about what she was going to attempt, she was terrified. However, she did belong to the noble house of people who do rash, if not stupid, things and call it bravery, so she didn't admit it, even to herself. Hermione was scared for one simple reason: she was breaking every common sense law ever thought of.

Going to a Creep was one thing; going to a Creep thrown by hardened runaways while trying to subtly get information about one of their own was quite another. It didn't help that they were probably in the worst part of London.

At least the rest of the group was no longer with her. In fact they'd split up. McGonagall had left for Hogwarts to fill the Headmaster in on the day's events; Lupin had split as tomorrow was the full moon; the Weasley parents had just up and left. The two red-headed teens had been left behind after some convincing that they were still needed. This only left Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Black, and Snape. It was awkward to say the least.

Hermione snapped herself out of the trance she'd fallen into and crossed the street to the abandoned warehouse housing the Creep. She paid her twenty quid at the door and entered. It was everything it was supposed to be with the impossibly loud techno song, the dark smoke filled room lit only by several party lights, and the gyrating teenagers on the dance floor.

Hermione paused not really knowing what to do or where to start. Snape had warned her to be very careful and be as discreet as possible. She could do discreet but with these kids it was impossible to know the outcome beforehand. They were just plain unpredictable. She had somewhat of a workable plan but she doubted it would go over all that well.

Hermione looked around feeling distinctly uneasy. This was exactly what her parole officer had warned her about. Going to illegal functions with shady people she didn't know and putting her in the unnecessary danger of getting shot. She couldn't help it though; Hermione loved the thrill, the danger of being at a Creep. That was why they were so popular. They put a fun twist on the darker side of life.

Suddenly Hermione saw a flash of green hair, very familiar green hair, and followed it. She'd been wondering if she'd run into her friends here and had just spotted Tommy. Hermione had known Tommy since the summer before her second year. He was nice, fun to hand around, and knew about as many people as Glitter did. The only difference was that Tommy didn't know how to manipulate a connection.

"Tommy!" Hermione shouted above the incessant bass and the boy whirled around. His glare instantly faded on seeing her.

"Where have you been?" Tommy asked her after breaking away from their quick hug.

"Sorry, I saw some people I knew and had to help them take care of something," she replied.

"The people with the funny clothes?" he asked and she nodded with a laugh. "What did they need?" Hermione hesitated in answering him not entirely sure how much she should say. This was a delicate situation at best. Snape had filled her in on what had happened when Potter had been told about the Wizarding World. She didn't need him to tell her that if word got to the boy they were still looking and possibly closing in on him he would disappear again, this time possibly for good. However, Tommy knew people and he knew the runaways having been one himself a few years ago before being picked up by the cops and thrown back into the system. Also, he wouldn't charge her like Glitter did.

"Tommy," she said an obvious amount of discomfort in her voice. Tommy caught on and listened closely. "Do you know if Jack and Jill are here?" She watched as Tommy's eyes hardened and his face went blank.

"Why?" he eventually ground out.

"I need to speak to them," she said not quite able to meet his eyes.

"Are you insane?" he replied leaning closer to her. "You can't just talk to Jack and Jill! Hermione, are you trying to die?"

"I know what I'm doing," she said defiantly.

"No, you don't," he said then took her arm to drag her over to a corner for some privacy. "Those two are dangerous."

"I'll be fine," Hermione said not even being able to convince herself of those words. Tommy stared at her like she'd grown two heads but didn't comment.

"What could you possibly have to say to them?" he asked.

"I need help finding someone," she said. At his confused look she continued. "He's a runaway." Tommy's eyes practically popped out of his head.

"You want to ask them about one of their own?!"

"Tommy, it's extremely important that I find him," she tried to explain.

"Why?"

"I can't tell you," she said quietly. She couldn't look him in the eye but she could feel his probing gaze.

"Hermione, this is insane," he said. When she didn't reply or look up he heaved a sigh. "I won't stop you but I'm not going to help you kill yourself. If you want to talk to them, find your own way." She looked up to see him walking away back to the dance floor. He disappeared into the crowd and Hermione suddenly felt exposed.

He was right; Jack and Jill were extremely dangerous. Hermione had never met them, had never even seen them, and if it wasn't for Potter she wouldn't even be considering it now. Not for the first time Hermione wondered why she was doing this. Why was she so willing to lay down her life for a boy she had never even met?

Three hours later Hermione had made very little progress. She'd partied a little trying to appear normal. She'd managed to speak to several people about Potter, some who were runaways and some who weren't. She used the same story every time; they were old friends and were supposed to meet up here, had anyone seen him? No one had and no one knew the name Harry Potter. But she hadn't really expected them to; every runaway took a nickname and eventually it became the only one you had.

Hermione was on her fifteenth person, a runaway named Gopher she'd bought some acid from to get the conversation rolling. "We were supposed to meet here, do you know him?" she asked and he shook his head.

"No, a lot of kids come through here. If they only party I don't get to know them," he told her. She was about to say thanks for the drugs when the music was abruptly cut off pitching the warehouse into a sudden stillness until the groans and protests started. "Cops! Everyone take off!" came a shout from one of the lookouts. There was an instant stampede for the few doors in the place and Hermione was swept up in the crowd.

When she managed to get out she heard the distinct sound of the wailing sirens of at least twenty cop cars bearing down on them. She paused in her running wondering exactly where she should go and trying to determine which direction the cops were coming from.

That was when her instincts blared a warning. Hermione had always had good instincts that had only been sharpened by her many dangerous exploits. She turned looking for the source of the sudden danger she felt and saw a group of runaways standing not to far from her. One of them caught sight of her and narrowed his eyes before turning to speak to a blond haired kid. Hermione didn't stick around to see what the other kid did.

She was already running across the street towards an alleyway she knew wasn't a dead end, only blocked by a chain link fence in the middle. She ran as fast as she could and was halfway up the fence when she felt someone grab the back of her jeans and yank her back down. Hermione ended up on the ground and only had time to register the fact that she was surrounded when they started kicking and punching her.

Hermione had never been in this position before and for the first time in a long time she feared for her life. She did her best to protect herself with her hands but it did little good. At one point she managed to a land a kick on someone's shin but at that point it was weak and only earned her a dark laugh.

The beating continued for several minutes, though it felt like hours to Hermione, when finally someone interfered. "Hey! What the fuck are you doing?" the runaways stopped almost instantly and backed away. Hermione lifted her head just enough to see Glitter coming towards them eyes ablaze. "What the hell Jack?" he said angrily to the blond boy Hermione had seen before taking off. "What are you doing?"

"Friend of yours Glitter?" he asked his tone relaxed.

"Yes, she is," Glitter replied. If Hermione had been able to she would have groaned but she was in far too much pain to even consider it. What was Glitter doing? She had obviously pissed off the runaways and now he was purposefully telling them that they were friends.

"You should pick better friends," the other boy, Jack, said mockingly.

"Why? What'd she do?"

"Asking around," was the simple reply. Glitter didn't respond. "When she's coherent tell her that she better stop poking her nose in our business. If I ever catch her doing it again they'll be searching for her at the bottom of the river." With that Hermione heard them leave and Glitter crouched next to her.

"What did you do?' he asked.

"Just asked around," she mumbled starting to shake.

"Shit, c'mon, I gotta get you outa here," he said praying the girl didn't go into shock.

When Hermione woke up the next morning she felt like she'd been run over by a semi. She vaguely remembered Glitter taking her back to his flat and steering her away from shock, patching her up the best he could and calming her down. She had eventually passed out and he had put her in his bed.

Not wanting to really be there and knowing she had to get back to the group of Wizards before Snape got too pissed, she rolled off the mattress holding in a grunt of pain. Hermione was pleased to note that she could stand, albeit shakily. The brunt of the beating had aimed at her torso with a few bruises on her arms where she'd tried to protect herself. She felt a few bruises on her face.

The runaways hadn't broken any bones but Hermione had the feeling they hadn't been trying to inflict any real damage anyway. She felt they were just trying to give her a very painful warning. She considered her self officially warned.

Stumbling out of the bedroom she made her way down the corridor of the small flat following the sounds of a television. She collapsed on the couch next to Glitter who didn't even look away from the screen.

"How do afford this place?" she asked.

"Information sells really well," he replied. Glitter had several fake ids so he could own the place but the last time Hermione had seen him he'd been living under a bridge in a box. Apparently information was only selling well recently. Glitter suddenly turned off the TV and Hermione felt a lecture coming on. "Moine," he started.

"Don't even start," she interrupted.

"Fine, but you should know that you're now on Jack and Jill's shit list. They aren't just going to let this go.

"All I did was ask about some kid."

"No, you were asking about one of their own. Obviously you asked about the wrong person."

"So they don't do this all the time?" Hermione asked referring to the beating they'd given her.

"They're runaways. They get the occasional parent or sibling looking for someone."

"So they don't want this kid to be found?" Hermione ventured.

"Clearly," was Glitter's short reply. They remained silent for several minutes not looking at each other. Glitter was the one to break the silence. "Who were you asking about?" Hermione shook her head not wanting to tell him, not wanting to even think the name.

"No one important," she finally said. "I don't even know him."

"Then go through all that shit?" Glitter asked. He didn't sound mad, just curious.

"I honestly have no idea," she replied.

"Was it those people you were with yesterday?" he asked.

"No, I can't stand any of them," she said. They fell silent again only this time Glitter turned the TV back on. Hermione just sat there thinking.

She'd finally figured out why she was here, why she was risking her life to find a boy she'd never even met. Magicdom had always meant very little to her as a whole. She'd always felt like Magicdom was her one true home. She'd been putting up with Muggleborn prejudice for years from both the Slytherins and the Weasleys.

The Snakes and Death Eaters felt like people like her were beneath them, second class citizens as it were. The Weasley clan, Arthur in particular, acted like the Muggles were the most defenseless things on the planet. Something to be protected and coddled.

Hermione knew for a fact that there were a great many Muggles who needed very little, if any, protection form Dumbledore and his people. Hell, one of them was sitting right next to her. Another had ordered his runaways to beat her up. Either of them could certainly hold their own in a fight with a Death Eater. Voldemort himself was far to powerful and would take a little more than a pissed off teen with a gun to be put down. But in the time it took for one of his minions to get halfway through a curse Glitter could put three bullets in their skull.

No, the Muggles she knew needed no protecting. So why go through this? It was for the Muggleborns. Her people who were judged in Magicdom and ostracized in Muggledom. Hermione remembered the first time she'd been called Mudblood by Draco Malfoy. No one had said anything, no one had defended her, not even her fellow Lions. The Slytherin had just walked away, a smirk on his face.

Hermione's heart had hardened that day. She no longer had any patience for the people of Hogwarts. Other Muggleborns had become her friends finding themselves in the same position as she had. Dean, Lavender, Colin, Dennis. Parvati who was a half blood had joined their group as well.

Hermione also remembered the day she'd received her Hogwarts letter. She remembered the looks on her parents' faces and how long it had taken them to stop looking at her as if she was suddenly no longer their daughter but a complete stranger. They still didn't treat her like they had before the damn letter had shown up. It didn't matter how hard she worked to prove herself worthy, neither world wanted her. So eventually Hermione had turned to the streets, to Glitter, and to Creeps.

That was why she was doing this. Potter would be coming from the same place she was; the same place all Muggleborns came from. Maybe he could be the hero everyone had always said he was even without knowing who he was and what he'd become. Maybe he could finally do what no one, not even the great Albus Dumbledore, could do. Maybe, just maybe, he could help.

Well there it is! Hope you liked! Please review!

Next Chapter: The group visits the Dusley's.