There is a hallway, and Hermione whips out her wand and blasts away two markings on the door, leaving the names Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Opening the door, they quickly glance around to see no one following them.
They walk through the door and Hermione is suddenly exhausted. Her legs shake and she leans against the wall, breath hissing through her teeth.
Ron lunges to her side, fingers twitching before settling on the mark on her face. A bead of sweat rolls off her forehead, bright and glimmering.
Harry stays back even as Ron helps Hermione to her feet, even as Hermione cackles and cries with satisfaction, even as Ron eyes the door with sudden mistrust. His gaze is locked over the room.
It's rather large and rectangular, with four beds that are draped with yards of billowing silver fabric. A window gleams with the water under the lake. There is a dresser by every table with an ornate mirror studded with snakes by the door.
Ron quite calmly reminds them that they can't keep this room, and points out the four trunks already settled by the foot of the beds.
Harry grins with the same knowing smirk as a secret pulls at his lips. "Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem."
He runs to his trunk, a rather fancy on that has curving, crescent-shaped marks carved into its surface. A second later, there is a book in his hand and he is narrowing his eyes as he flips past pages. Then he grins.
They stand back as he turns to the door, eyes closed and body straight. Then he talks. In strange, low hisses that ring sharp in the air.
"Keep the door closed."
There is a wind from nowhere, magic prickling over the edge of their skin. The door seems to flicker in the light, and a spark flies from the door handle.
And then he turns to the trunks, eyeing them slowly. His and Ron's are left there but two others - Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott - have theirs shoved out right before Hermione straightens her shoulders, fixes a blank look on her face and marches out of the room. There is no sound until she reappears, dragging her large trunk. The door snicks shut behind her and another spark of magic crackles against the air.
Hermione and Ron corner Harry until he starts to talk. He's a Parselmouth - has been ever since he was a child. But he didn't realize it was magic until he received the letter. The room has protection charms set in place by Salazar Slytherin himself; only activated by students in mortal peril or Parseltongue. It was in some obscure book he found that he didn't let Hagrid see.
Ron is still a bit wary, the last touches of his family bleeding through. But Hermione grins knowingly and asks if he can wait for Care of Magical Creatures. Harry laughs and laughs and says no, he cannot.
But then he looks at her, looks past the dagger-thin smile and remembers the book she was reading. The book that isn't quite available for regular students.
"What are you really reading?" Ron snaps to attention, head tilted to the side. His eyes dart to his trunk and then back up and he knows Hermione and Harry have both noticed, although he actually doesn't have much of anything. He does show them though - a filched book from his brother Bill about dangerous runes in tombs. Harry grins with excitement as he greedily scans the cover and back, and Ron guesses the book will be gone by midnight if he doesn't let Harry borrow it, so he does.
In that time, however, it's let Hermione dig out three whole books. They all have dreadfully boring covers - two about magical theory and another called Hogwarts, A History. At least until she grits her teeth, flicks out her wand, says a word, and jabs the edge of her wand down. "Revealio."
The history books become potion textbooks for the years above and Hogwarts, A History becomes something with a profoundly old look to it called Poisons. Hermione flicks her wand and they go back to being boring, but now she's breathing hard and her wand hand is shaking.
At some point, there is a pounding knock on the door and some voice bleeds through, but the magic pops once and after a while, the people leave.
Ron hangs up the fancy robe on the edge of his bed and lays down, though he doesn't close his eyes. Harry and Hermione do the same before finally Ron snaps. There is a rule made that says they cannot do anything to the others while sleeping. They shake and fall asleep easily.
It's Hermione that wakes them up, touching their shoulders. They dress in robes, hemming another one of Harry's longer for Ron until they can sneak out and buy him better ones.
As one, they march out of their room. Sometime during the night, the three labels on the door have been replaced with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She whispers sideways that it is only the fourth time there has been a mixed gender room, and there's a passing of whip-thin smiles as they walk together
There aren't many people up yet, a few with prefect badges glittering on their chest. Ron straightens and his wand falls to the edge of his fingers. Rage touches the tip of his eyes, and Hermione and Harry steer him toward one of the couches. It is hardly a second later that Professor Snape sweeps over to them, and Hermione turns with the same sweet, sweet, sweet smile that she gave Draco.
He doesn't flinch, but it's close.
She will be having detention with him later that night organizing potion ingredients. As she nods and turns away, Harry and Ron see the brilliant and triumphant look in her eyes and a little too much teeth in her grin and wonder whether Snape is even looking. Whether he even sees.
Draco does not come into the common room, and there are whispers of the Hospital Wing. No first years bother Hermione, chatting quietly on the opposite side of the room. But the older years look almost furious, and hisses of mudblood snake around the room.
Only Harry and Ron see the tightening of her shoulders, the snarl lifting her lips. She sees the way Ron holds his wand harder and a word dances on the tip of his tongue. A hand appears on his and she hums "Later." He understands.
Harry stares at the wallpaper, sees the snake curled over every inch. There's a hiss quiet in his words as he presses the tips of his fingers to the wall, and no one notices how the snakes shudder once, turning their heads to look at him. But he does, and there's something flickering in how he walks for the rest of the day.
But then Professor Snape walks to the front of the room, robes snapping behind him. He nods and talks quietly about house unity again. They will, for at least the beginning, leave for breakfast together. They are never allowed to be alone.
Words pass as shuffles and the darting of eyes between them, and a promise sparks to life. They will not be alone.
The march up out of the dungeons and into regular corridors is fast and boring. In no time the door is thrown open and they walk in, silent except for the click of heels. Snape goes to the professors' table.
There is still a gap around them, but this time, there are glaring older years sitting across from them. Their back is to the rest of the school and so they can sneer and hiss quiet, filthy words. Hermione's hand brushes against Hogwarts, a History, and Harry grabs it before she can do anything.
But it's Ron that murmurs "Livorus." There is a gentle flash of red light under the table and then the student across from them gets a rather fixed sneer.
Stinging Hex. As they walk to their first class, Hermione tightly holds Ron's left hand and Harry holds the other.
They walk into the classroom of Charms together at least ten minutes before class starts. There are only two students in there, baring the soft blue of Ravenclaw. At once, they turn and stare and stare and stare.
"See him?"
"The scar?"
"Why is he in Slytherin?"
Hermione quickly finds a table and pulls out her Charms book, but Ron also pulls out his Defense against the Dark Arts book as well. It's dogeared, though it's obviously been looked after. Corners are folded down as bookmarks and he flips to one of them, showing off a beginner's jinx. It's focused on the counter-curse, but there is still the incantation of the hex on there.
"Help me," he murmurs to the two of them. There isn't a hesitation in their nod.
The rest of the students file in and there is Draco, sitting with a cloth wrapped around his hand. He doesn't look at them, but another boy does. It's Theodore Nott, and he snarls with fury and rage in his eyes.
Hermione doesn't give him the satisfaction of looking over.
Professor Flitwick shows up and squeaks out attendance. He falls over at Harry's name before heading onto the lesson - teaching the most basic of spells. The Levitation Charm.
"Wingardium Leviosa." And Hermione's feather floats into the air. Professor Flitwick cackles happily and gives five points.
She whispers words into their ears and in a few moments, two more feathers pick themselves up and hover. They're a bit shaky but they're doing it.
Hermione flicks her wand more, tracing a design in the air. The feather slowly bobs in a figure eight. Five more points. Theodore Nott scowls over his rising feather.
The class is over and most everyone has gotten it. There are only a few that could get one end of the feather to float but not the other, and Professor Flitwick tells them to give him a six-inch paper on what he calls intent.
And they are walking out the door, heading to lunch, when Theodore hisses under his breath and waits in front of them. There is no one else in the corridor and even the sounds of the other students are fading past.
Hermione is closest to him, and she is trying to inch back. Ron places a hand on her shoulder and takes a step forward.
"Blood-traitor, aren't you?" His voice is thin and quiet, but there's no subtly. No hidden thoughts, just plain hate and disgust. It almost makes things easier.
"Thought you were a Weasley - going to great old Gryffindor. Thanks for coming here. It makes us have to walk a lot less to curse you."
His wand is in his hands but Ron's are behind his back. He's got a button with the pin exposed and his finger out. He pricks it slowly, and a bead of blood rolls over his pale skin. There are more light circular scars over his fingers.
He pulls back his hand and touches the blood to the tip of his wand, and something hums in the air next to him. "Livorus."
The flash of red light is infinitely brighter and then there is a welt on Theodore's arm, and his eyes are wide and his wand is nearly falling out of his hand. Ron's eyes are wide and there is something dark in his grin, the way it pulls haltingly at his lips and forces him to take one smooth step forward.
Theodore turns with a huff and walks away.
He reattaches the button to his collar with practiced ease and just grins at them, no answers coming to his throat. They don't ask for them, and they walk to the lunch a little more confident.
Hello! The second chapter on the second day!
So Harry's a Parselmouth, Ron's using blood magic, and Hermione has mastered magic and is rather curious about potions. Her detention should be interesting, shouldn't it?
Also, after this one, the whole story should start to move a bit faster. You know, having some scenes in Snape's perspective and fast forwarding to let them know a bit more magic.
And get into more situations. I wonder how Quirrel with go?
But yeah. I feel so incredible after writing these, like I could rob a bank. Probably not good for me.
Also, can you guys send me some ideas for Dark spells and rituals and potions? I think it'd be fun to incorporate you guys into the story!
Anyway! Please read and review!
Frost OUT!