*Revised*

Chapter 2

Hogwarts was preserved in years of history. From the paintings that cluttered the walls, to the ghosts of past students still holding onto the lives they had lost, Hogwarts was home to so many people and had always been a sanctuary to everyone who had stepped inside the welcoming walls. The great hall had never changed; hundreds of years and thousands of students passed through this hall, all gazing in wonder at the ever changing sky that seemed to have swallowed up the celling, cast into light by brilliantly lit candles. For any new student entering the school it would all seem very daunting, as everyone's focus would be on them, waiting for their fate to be determined by nothing more than a hat.

Hermione sat observing the new students, waiting anxiously to be sorted. She remembered being called up in front of everyone, having to tell herself to stay calm and just breathe as she took her seat and the old hat was placed on her head. Listening to it ramble on only increasing her anxiety as she waited to be judged and then labelled based on her character in front of everyone. The hat had seemed to be rather baffled by her because although she had the brains of a true Ravenclaw she had the heart of a Gryffindor. This, however, was not the case as the hat seemed to know exactly where to place the swarm of first years, screaming out the ancient houses names after drawing out suspense and then enjoying the eruption of applause that followed from the respective houses.

Ron had taken to nudging Harry every time he noticed an attractive girl being called up; he still had no emotional depth or taste for that matter when it came to girls. Therefore, the brunette tried to pay him as little attention as possible and instead did what she did best lately and phase out of reality and wander in the recesses of her own quiet mind.

"Woah Harry, look at her!" the red head had all but shouted turning a few heads in the trio's direction, snapping the young witch out of her trance.

"Ron, cut it out," Harry said while glaring at his best friend along with half the students at the table. It wasn't until the old hat cried "Gryffindor" that all heads snapped back towards the front of the hall joining in on the cheering for their newest member. The three friends' eye contact, however, didn't break as they exchanged various looks having a silent conversation: Harry and Hermione reprimanding Ron, as he gave them both a sheepish smile. Their plan for the year was to lay low and not draw attention to themselves. Ron's little outburst had already gathered the disapproval of numerous professors and the 2/3 of the Golden trio were unhappy.

Meanwhile, the girl in question was making her way towards the Gryffindor table. She was sporting a smirk that told everyone who bothered to look that she knew exactly what had transpired at the furthest end of the table. The newest Gryffindor angled her way past students and headed straight towards the brunette herself. It wasn't until a soft, almost sultry voice interrupted the trio's private conversation that Hermione even realized that there was someone standing next to her.

"Sorry is this seat taken? All the ones up front seem to be."

The brunette looked up to find curious, all but black eyes looking back at her. Hermione had to hand it to Ron - this girl was attractive. Her messy black hair may have been a common trait and yet on her it seemed to stand out and make a statement.

"Oh, um…er…yes. No, wait what?"

"May I sit?" the girl asked again, still smirking

"Oh yes, sorry, please have a seat." The brunette said nervously, as she fidgeted with her hands avoiding eye contact. Why was she so nervous around this girl?

Ok Hermione, pull yourself together. You don't want to frighten off the new girl with your awkward staring, even if she is gorgeous.

The brunette had to mentally shake herself before she could look back at the raven haired beauty that was seated in front of her. The girl seemed far too confident to be a first year, even though she was rather short, she seemed almost the same age as the brunette - at the very least she would be the same age as Ginny. Snapping back to reality, Hermione plastered the friendliest smile she could muster on her face before tapping the girl lightly on her shoulder to get her attention once more.

"Hi, I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger and you are?" The brunette mentally prepared herself for the inventible gushing that she had come accustomed to after the battle at the ministry and the Daily Profit running rampant with stories of their bravery (only after spending the previous years blatantly slandering them) but to her surprise the girl didn't falter or hesitate in the slightest as she reached out to shake the brunettes hand.

"My name's Alex, just Alex." As the girl spoke Hermione's eyes drifted down towards the girls' lips, before realising that the girl was now watching her as intently, as her soon to be customary, smirk played across her lips once more.

"It's nice to meet you Hermione. I hear you are in your sixth year? So am I - I'm a transfer from The American Academy for Witch Craft. It's a lot smaller than Hogwarts though, all I've seen is the entrance Hallway and the main hall and I'm already scared I'm going to get lost."

Hermione nodded her head in excitement as she listened to all the girl had to say. "Well just Alex, I would love to show you around if you're interested?" She didn't know what it was about this girl that got her so interested in making new friends, but for the rest of the evening all she could do was smile, as she happily exchanged stories with her new companion and for just a moment she was able to forget about the chaos in her life.

~Page break~

The black lake was one of Hermione's favourite places to go, she often sat by the water's edge hidden under a mass of trees. It was a sanctuary of sorts, a place where no one disturbed her, not even Harry and Ron knew about it and it was that very place that Hermione found herself venturing with Alex, after showing the American the dormitory's, the common room and where most of her classes would be. To the delight of both girls, it seemed that they would share many of their classes.

"It's so beautiful here, I feel like I could hide out here forever without a care in the world." The dark haired girl had shocked the silence with her voice and yet all it did was calm Hermione even more.

The brunette had never thought she would ever find someone quite like herself. Alex was the top of her year (every year) she spent as much time as, if not more than, Hermione in the library and although she seemed more opinionated and confident than Hermione, she seemed like a perfect fit in the young witch's complicated life.

As these thoughts travelled and unravelled through Hermione's tired mind her body absentmindedly sort out the comforts of Alex's hand, skilfully intertwining their fingers.

It wasn't until the girl sat upright and stared into the brunettes eyes with her eyebrow raised in a challenging look, that she realized what she had done.

How could you be so stupid? The smartest witch of her age mentally kicked herself for not being able to control her reactions towards the raven haired girl, whose body seemed awfully close to her own at that point in time.

Hermione started fumbling over her words, saying that she was tired and wanted to head back to the dormitory, as she tried to get up as elegantly as she could with her shaky knees doing little to support her.

They walked back in silence. Hermione was happy that Alex was walking two steps behind her so that she wouldn't have to meet her eye; the brunette was not ready to face her friend just yet as she was scared of the rejection that would surely come.

As they rounded the corner and made their way through the painting of a rather grumpy fat lady, who was none too pleased with the pair staying up past curfew, as they had woken her from her MUCH needed beauty sleep.

Alex had spun around swiftly on her heels as Hermione opened her mouth to mumble out her excuse for her rash decision to return to the tower.

"I'm sorry if I seemed abrupt earlier, it's just been a long day." As she spoke the brunettes eyes drifted down towards the floor. She heard the raven haired girl move. Here comes the rejection she thought but instead the girl had reached down searching for the brunettes shaking hands, grasping them firmly in her own.

"Don't worry I'm also exhausted. I'll see you at breakfast ok? Night Mione." And just like that the brunette was left standing alone in the door way. Maybe all hope wasn't lost, she thought as a smile spread across her face.

~Page Break~

Narcissa continued to pace up and down the library, her patience wearing thin as she muttered to herself. She wasn't one to be kept waiting, especially when it came to situations like these.

"Where are you Bella, why must you always be late?" The worry was evident in her voice as she mumbled to herself over and over again. Ever since Bella's return all she could do was worry. Her sister's mind was fragile and on the brink of snapping any day now after all she'd been through. She still cursed the Order for what they had done to her Bella, as much as she cursed herself for not being there.

"Aww that's sweet Cissy, you missed me." A disembodied voice came from the shadows, followed by an excited cackle as the older witch wrapped her arms around her sister, surprising her.

"Bella, where have you been, you're late." There was no emotion left in the blonde's voice, although she pulled Bella closer to her leaning her head against her sisters' shoulder. She had no idea how she had put up with her demented sister for all these years but Narcissa had always found something about Bella to love.

Narcissa could feel her sisters breath on her neck as she leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry my love, escaping undetected was problematic." Bellatrix's mission had started out the same as all the others; it was to be an infiltration and destruction mission. However, there was something exceptionally unique about this mission which made the dark witch wonder if she could even complete it.

"Cut it out Bella, I'm not in the mood for your affections." Liar, the blonde thought to herself and she knew Bella knew it to. However, she was still furious with her sister for accepting such a mission regardless of the fact that she had no other choice than to do as her Lord commanded. They were all each other had and the blonde witch would be dammed if she didn't do all that was in her power to help her Bella stay alive.

"So, would you like to see if all your hard work has paid off Cissy?" the dark witch purred into her sisters ear before spinning her around to see the dark witch's appearance in all its glory.

"Oh my God... Bella?" The blonde's voice betrayed her, as the shock was prominent as she turned to take in her sister's appearance. She knew Bellatrix had had to change for the mission; she herself had a hand in the outcome, but she never thought that it would turn out like this. "I've forgotten how beautiful you used to be. So is this it then, your plan to infiltrate Hogwarts has been put in motion?"

Bellatrix laugh was often thought to be crazed, however, she was most certainly not. The blonde always admired her sisters bravery, loyalty and above all, her intelligence.

As the raven haired Death Eater's laugh died out her, voice took on a patronising tone.

"Yes my dear sister, it has begun," she said, as she gestured down the length of her body.