Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy VIII no matter how much I wish they were my works. Any additional characters added are mine.

oOoOo

The halls of Hogwarts were eerily quiet; not even the ghosts were around which was odd for this time. This didn't prevent Harry, Ron, and Hermione from creeping through the halls as stealthily as they could in case they were just lucky for the moment. They made their way to the third-floor corridor which was still forbidden to students. Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak out and covered them with it with some difficulty while Hermione pulled out her wand. 'Alohomora,' she whispered, opening the door. They crept in, closing and locking it behind them.

Ron led the way in front of them under the cloak, keeping their eyes open for Filch or Mrs Norris. It would be just their luck that a repeat of first year would find them running from them again.

As they inched along the corridor, Hermione found herself reminiscing of when they came here in first year. She shuddered as she recalled Fluffy and the trapdoor it guarded. They were fortunate they had survived. Foolish 11-year-olds out on an adventure which could have cost them their lives. Now here they were 6 years later, on what Hermione could only define as another reckless undertaking. Why on earth was Ron here earlier anyway? she wondered, about to ask as much when Ron stopped, and they walked into him. 'Ron?' Hermione hissed in a whisper.

Ron tugged the cloak off himself, peering down into a corridor. 'This is it,' he said, signalling to his invisible friends.

Harry pulled the cloak off them, folding it back into the pocket of his robe. He was still astonished at how it could fit without any issue. 'After you, Ron,' he said, waving towards the corridor grandly.

The three friends walked into the hallway, lighting the tips of their wands so they could see. At the end was a bare wall, no sign of anything of interest. Ron frowned, moving to the wall, and running his palm along the stone. 'It was here,' he said in uncertainty, the stone cold and unyielding under his touch.

Harry crossed his arms as he took in the solid stone wall staring back at them. He didn't want to think Ron was mistaken, but perhaps they had the wrong corridor. This wall had nothing on it to imply that anything was here or had ever been here. 'Are you sure this is the right hall?' he asked softly, scanning the passage. 'This floor is like a maze, maybe it's somewhere else?' he said with a half-shrug.

Ron shook his head. 'No, it was here. I recognised the suits of armour standing either side of the corridor,' he replied, pushing on the stones forcefully in case there was a switch. 'Doorways don't just disappear,' he said, his tone becoming irritated as he ran a hand through his hair.

Hermione, who had been listening to the exchange silently, frowned at the wall. Hogwarts was a mystery; it was certainly possible that a door had been here earlier and had vanished. Moving walls were not rare. 'Did you do anything which may have triggered it being here?' she asked, trying to work out if there was a trick to it.

Ron shook his head, turning to look at her. 'I was uh… exploring,' he paused, his ears turning red which was a sure sign that that was not what he was doing at all. He coughed. 'And it was just here,' he added hastily, turning away from them to conceal his reddening face.

Harry and Hermione shared an amused glance. They knew fine well that Ron was undoubtedly in here with Lavendar engaging in clandestine activities not of a nature they wanted to voice. It was common knowledge that Ron and Lavendar were an item, they just hadn't told anyone yet… so naturally the entire school knew.

Hermione crossed her arms. 'Maybe if we come back at the same time you found it? It could be a timed doorway…' she trailed off, tilting her head.

'Timed?' Harry and Ron asked at the same time.

Hermione nodded. 'Could be,' she replied with a shrug. 'At the moment, there doesn't seem to be a way to reveal-' she cut herself off, taking out her wand, and directing it at the wall. 'Revelio,' she said, and it lit up with a blue light. A shimmer appeared on the wall; remnants of a magic Hermione wasn't familiar with at all. 'What on earth?' she whispered, taking a step towards the wall cautiously.

Both Harry and Ron also stared at the wall sceptically. 'Is that meant to happen?' Ron asked, his voice shaking slightly.

'No… it should just expose the outline of the door or a way to reveal it. Not this… whatever this is,' Hermione told them, shaking her head. What's going on? she wondered, watching as the flickering traces of magic leapt across the wall, becoming a pattern she had never seen before. It looked like an emblem; like Ying and Yang with four substantial lines at north, east, south, and west all joined in an intrinsic circular design. Behind the Ying and Yang section were more lines that looked like sun rays, only much thinner.

'Are you… seeing this as well?' Harry asked hesitantly, glancing from them back to the wall.

Hermione and Ron nodded slowly, unable to take their eyes off the image on the wall. 'What do you think it is?' Ron asked, peering from Harry to Hermione.

Harry frowned. 'Wait… this wasn't here when you saw the door?' he asked, gesturing to the symbol.

Ron shook his head. 'No, it was just a door…' he answered, thinking back to the door he saw earlier as he eyed the symbol. The detail of the circle surrounding the Ying and Yang image were familiar. 'Hang on, the door… these markings…' he pointed to the section he remembered, 'they were bordering the door,' he told them, taking a step towards it to get a better look.

Hermione reached out and clutched his arm. 'Don't,' she said quickly, making Ron look at her in confusion. 'It could be dangerous,' she reasoned, and he nodded, taking a step back again.

'Oh, this is perfect!' came a voice from behind them and they whirled around to see Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall. He twirled his wand casually in one hand, a smirk appearing on his face.

Hermione bit her lip; Malfoy's presence here complicated things. She was concerned about them getting into trouble for being in the third-floor passageway. Malfoy tended to show up when they were sneaking about, and Hermione had to wonder if he followed them around on purpose.

Ron growled, clenching his hands into fists. 'Why are you here, Ferret?' he asked, trying to keep his irritation in check as Hermione shot him a warning glare.

Draco pushed off the wall. 'I should be the one asking that, Weasel,' he answered, tapping a badge on his robe. In the dim light of their wands, they could just make out the words "Head Boy" inscribed in green on the badge.

Ron sighed, shaking his head. 'Whoever thought to give you that honour is barmy,' he muttered, crossing his arms.

Draco's smirk widened. 'Yes, well…' he trailed off, looking at Hermione, 'it is a wonder who was barmy enough to make Granger Head Girl considering all the rules she breaks, but I guess that's a mystery for another day,' he said, and Hermione lowered her head as she thought about how much trouble she was going to be in come morning. She couldn't even explain it away as patrol as she wasn't meant to be tonight and with Harry and Ron with her it was obviously not an innocent outing. It never was with them.

Hermione found her voice. 'Go away, Malfoy, I have this handled and no one wants you here,' she told him steadily, crossing her arms, and glaring at him.

Malfoy's smirk dropped and he scowled at her. 'No one wants you at all, Mudblood,' he snarled, his smirk reappearing as her cheeks flushed red in anger.

Hermione was about to counter him when Harry jumped in. 'Don't call her that!' he said, glaring at the blonde Slytherin.

Hermione turned to Harry, intending on stopping him from getting himself into more trouble by fighting with Draco when the shimmering magic on the wall caused her to stop. Their voices faded into the background as the magic danced across the wall again, changing its appearance and reforming into a portrayal of a lion. As if in a trance, Hermione found herself drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

As if her body ceased responding to her, she reached out and touched the wall. The magic danced around her arm, enfolding her in its glow. It was warm and gentle, like a tender caress. Hermione… a voice whispered in her mind, and her breath caught in her throat.

The wall shifted and altered again, scraping loudly as the stones shuffled to different areas. It reminded her of the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron in London. The stones were constructing a gleaming archway. The designs around the archway resembled the emblem from before and after a moment a door took form, becoming tangible.

Silence met her ears, and she realised Harry, Ron, and Draco had stopped arguing and were staring at the door with a mixture of confusion, fear, and curiosity. 'How did it…' Ron trailed off, staring at the doorway.

'Is this it?' Harry asked in a whisper, pointing to the archway. Ron nodded, his voice failing him as he moved to the door slowly.

Hermione frowned, still staring at the door reflecting on what just happened and who's voice she heard when the doorway revealed itself. Was she going crazy? It was like it responded to her touch. She back away as the door opened on rusty hinges, and steeling herself she peered into the darkness but couldn't see anything.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Harry muttered, taking out his wand. The other three did the same as they cautiously made their way to the door.

Hermione placed a hand on Harry's arm. 'I'm… not sure this is a good idea,' she whispered, her throat dry.

'Where's your Gryffindor courage?' Draco teased, smirking at them as he shoved past them through the door.

Rolling their eyes, the trio followed the Slytherin through the door. The lights from their wand exposed what looked like murals on the wall. They were alarmed when torches on the walls suddenly sprung to life, the firelight flickering as if there was wind in the passageway.

They could clearly see the walls now, and they were completely covered in hand-drawn murals illustrating creatures they had never seen before. Hermione searched her mind, trying to recall if she had ever seen anything like this, but for once her mind was totally blank. She moved over to one of the paintings to study it, noticing that underneath each one there was etched writing in a language she had never seen before.

She gazed back at the mural; it depicted a huge black dragon, its wings spanning the length of the square of wall dedicated to it. The title of the mural she presumed was "Bahamut" as that was written above a smaller section of writing. She wondered if the rest of the text was information on what they were viewing. She wished they were transcribed in English so she could take it in and understand what it was she was looking at.

'So, what are we looking at exactly?' Ron asked, moving to stand next to Harry.

'No idea,' Harry answered, eyeing a painting portraying a large green and gold bird with its wings stretched out. Electricity enveloped it, and a thunderstorm seethed in the clouds behind it. The title of the mural was "Quezacotl", but the rest of the writing was a mystery to him.

Draco paused next to one which looked like a cactus. He tilted his head, blinking as he noted it had arms, legs, and a face. A smile tugged at his lips when he noticed the curly moustache which had been added to the plant. He imagined the artist must have had a good sense of humour. The one next to it was somewhat more disturbing; it looked like a demon train with wickedly jagged shark-like teeth. He eyed the writing etched underneath it: "Doomtrain" it was called. 'Fitting,' Draco muttered, moving on to the one on the other side of the one Hermione was scrutinising.

Draco shivered as he beheld it, not quite sure what he was viewing exactly. The top of it looked like a mechanical structure accompanied by angelic features like feathers and wings. The bottom of the creature looked similar in shape to a female humanoid figure with feminine busts decorating it. Inside the violet oval at the base of the humanoid spike, Draco could make out the silhouette of a woman encapsulated. Was she a prisoner? Or the one controlling the creature? He glanced at the title of the mural: "Eden". Where there had been text beneath the titles on the other pictures, this one had nothing. Draco guessed the artist also had no idea what it was.

Suddenly, the door back to the third-floor corridor slammed shut and a powerful wind almost threw the four students off their feet. 'What's happening!?' Ron shouted over the din of the wind. The torches along the wall went out casting them in darkness. The wind died and the only sounds were from their ragged breathing.

'Lumos,' Harry whispered, but nothing happened. 'Why isn't it working?' he said in frustration, feeling along his wand for any defects or breaks, but it was still smooth and unblemished.

A glow appeared on the wall which was a dead end before. The same archway materialised, a door becoming tangible. It opened of its own accord, and they peered into the new room with dread. A low rumble could be heard within the room, and they froze. 'What was that?' Ron asked, his voice shaking.

Hermione felt the sudden compulsion to run and never step foot in this place again. However, her body seemed to have other ideas and like before she felt herself being drawn into the room. As she passed through the door, the magic traces danced around her, surrounding her in warmth. She noted with interest that Harry, Ron, and Draco never underwent the same treatment as they passed through the door.

The door slammed shut behind them with a resounding boom. Harry, Ron, and Draco turned back to the door, yanking at the handles, but it was no use. They tried magic, but nothing seemed to work. It was like their magic had been taken from them. They were sealed in this room. Torches sprang to life then, lighting up the room brightly.

A growl echoed throughout the room, louder now that they were inside it. 'Who disturbs this ancient chamber!' it said, deep and enraged. The trio and Draco jumped at the voice, cowering next to the door. Hermione wanted to stand with them, but it was like her body didn't want to respond to her.

A bright flash lit the room, and they shielded their eyes from it. When it receded, they lowered their arms, staring in awe. The room was now completely lit up brighter than before. It was a vast spherical chamber with a high domed ceiling made of stained-glass windows displaying several pictures as if it were telling a story.

Hermione vaguely heard the guys moving around searching for another exit, but her eyes were glued to the windows. She had no idea what she was looking at or what the story it told meant, but she could already tell that it had been tragic. She wondered who the people in it were… who was represented here and why were they significant? The sizable circular window in the middle of them all illustrated a huge castle floating on an island secured in place by colossal chains.

Her eyes shifted to the rest of the room, the walls here were also covered in murals of the same creatures that they saw in the passage. They were larger here and shown differently to demonstrate them using unbelievable power. It shook Hermione to her core, and a shiver ran down her spine.

'Why have you come to this place?' came the voice again, startling them.

Hermione peered around for the source of the voice, but there was nothing in this room. It was empty save for a solitary golden pedestal in the middle of the room with a deep green cushion atop it. Again, her body stopped responding to her, and she moved towards it, drawn to whatever might be on the cushion. She didn't want to provoke whatever resided in this chamber, but she couldn't fight off this control over her. It was like the Imperious Curse, but her mind and thoughts were still her own.

'No, stop!' the voice roared, and their bodies froze in place. An energy gripped them, a weight compelling them to their knees.

Hermione winced as her knees hit the stone floor painfully. 'What is this magic!?' she cried out, trying to fight against it for a moment. As quickly as it came the energy lifted, and she found she could move again. She stayed on the ground, for fear of the same thing happening again. They needed to find a way out of there. Whatever was in here clearly didn't view them as welcome visitors.

'What happened?' Harry asked, checking on Ron before scrambling over to Hermione to see if she was okay. Draco was nearest to her and was already walking over to her as well. Harry supposed he felt safer being close to them all for the moment which was logical given the circumstances they found themselves in.

They all gasped when the torches in the room died, and darkness enshrouded them. Hermione breathed heavily, her throat restricting. 'Harry? Ron? Malfoy?' she called out and her heart sped up when she received no response. 'What's going on?' she whispered, her voice shaking.

There was a shuffling sound and she looked in the direction of where it came from. 'They were not worthy,' came the voice, no longer sounding like a disembodied echo throughout the room, but from a real physical presence.

Hermione suddenly realised it was the same voice that had spoken into her mind earlier. What did it mean? How did he know my name? she wondered, squinting into the darkness to try and see the person the voice belonged to.

The shuffling ceased. 'I banished them from this sacred chamber,' he continued.

Hermione swallowed harshly. 'Banished?' she asked worriedly, her heart racing at the implications of that.

Hermione heard the snap of fingers and the torches flared to life. In the flickering light, she could now see a looming monster standing in front of the golden pedestal. It was like a giant red lion, with great white wings spanning the chamber. Hermione screamed, backing away towards the only exit in the room. She hammered on the door even though she knew the action was pointless.

The magic remnants from before enveloped her, tender, warm, and reassuring. Hermione trembled as she felt the same energy from before raising her from the ground, though it was much gentler this time. She floated towards the creature, becoming level with his face and she whimpered in fear, writhing against the force holding her in place.

'Please let me go,' Hermione said, her voice shaking. She peered at the creature and stopped resisting upon detecting the deep-rooted sorrow within his eyes. They were so beautiful, like two sapphires, and she was stunned by how human they were.

Swallowing thickly, Hermione decided to at least see why this creature didn't banish her with Harry, Ron, and Draco. 'Why am I here? What do you want?' she asked him, her voice trembling. The magic swirled around her, almost closing her in an embrace and she felt calm wash over her. Is he doing this? Is this something he does to his prey before he kills them? Gives them a sense of safety before… she trailed off in her thoughts. This creature had done nothing to give her any reason to think she wouldn't survive this encounter with him so unless he did there was no sense in panicking herself further.

The creature was quiet for a moment, searching Hermione's face and eyes for something. 'I am called Griever,' he told her, retracting his wings behind him to help ease the fear he could still sense from her. 'For years I slumbered in my Ring… waiting for you,' he explained, his eyes intense as he gazed into her own.

Hermione frowned, unsure what to make of that. 'Waiting for me? Why? What do you mean?' she asked, unable to stop the flow of questions. She also couldn't help but wonder what happened to Harry, Ron, and Draco. She hoped they hadn't been harmed by the creature in any way.

Griever held up a clawed hand, halting her tirade of questions before she really got going. 'You will learn all in due time,' he answered, and Hermione almost pouted at the thought that she wouldn't get any answers immediately. She noted something akin to mild amusement in Griever's eyes at her expression. 'You are the key to the future… and breaking my curse,' he divulged, his eyes softening, and Hermione frowned. The poor creature sounded so defeated, like a terrible burden lay on his shoulders.

Griever's words echoed in her mind for a moment, and Hermione's frown deepened. 'The key? Your curse?' she asked, wondering if he would at least tell her that much. Without knowing more, she would struggle to help him.

Griever tilted his head, gazing at Hermione as if he was considering telling her and, at her hopeful expression, he shook his head. 'No, it is not yet time,' he told her, watching her shoulders slump a bit. 'Sleep now,' Griever whispered, snapping his fingers and Hermione tried to fight off the abrupt drowsiness that overcame her. Incapable of stopping herself, she drifted into a peaceful slumber.

Griever closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before gazing back at her, taking in her serene form. 'Forgive me, my love,' he whispered, a single tear escaping from his eye.

oOoOo

A/N: The symbol that appeared on the door is meant to be the Balamb Garden logo, but my description probably didn't do it justice so apologies for that.