Ron, Harry and Hermione walked down the silent corridors of Hogwarts, to the Ravenclaw tower where the 7th year Prefect of the Ravenclaw house was waiting for them. "Hi!" She greeted them happily, "I'm Rosa Fredricka, I'm the Prefect for Ravenclaw and I am in 7th year. It's lovely to meet you all!"
The trio returned her enthusiasm, introducing themselves by their fake names as 6th years.
"Shall we go inside?" Rosa said as she knocked on the bronze, eagle-shaped knocker.
"Feed me and I live, but give me water and I die. What am I?" The knocker asked.
Harry and Ron looked at each other with no clue, where as Hermione and Rosa looked deep in thought.
"Fire!" Hermione answered.
The door swung open. "As you noticed, to enter our common room you must answer a question to enter." Rosa explained.
"And what if we don't know the answer?" Ron asked.
Rosa chuckled, "You wait for someone who does." The boys looked at each other with a face that said 'we're screwed.'
"Would you like a quick tour of the tower?" She asked.
"No thanks, I'm pretty tired – I might just go to bed." Hermione answered, "But I'd really appreciate a tour tomorrow." She smiled. The boys went to their dorm and round their beds, whilst the girls went to theirs.
Hermione squinted in the darkness, looking around at the sleeping girls – there was no one she recognized, thank Merlin!
Hermione jumped into her comfortable bed and soon drifted to sleep. Her dream was chaotic – her parents were there, then she was in a maze looking for the exit, then she was in her home – but sleeping in her mother and father's room, then she was running around the maze again until she met someone, she couldn't see who but who ever they were had long curly hair. She smiled at this person, the mystery person and they got talking. Eventually Hermione stopped running through the maze and just sat down and talked to this person. They were just about to show their face when Hermione woke up. She tried to remember her dream and the person she met, tried to dig deep and recall the persons voice, but she couldn't. Hermione shook her head, and sat up – she needed to pee. Great, she though, just great. I get woken up from a dream because I need to pee and I don't even know where the Ravenclaw bathrooms are. I should have taken up that offer of a tour.
She searched the tower for a short while, before giving up and deciding to use the closest bathroom she knew, only about a 3 minute walk from the Ravenclaw tower.
She slipped on her shoes and robes and headed for the bathroom. The fifth floor bathroom was hardly ever busy, only Ravenclaw's would use it really, because it was so far from any thing other than the Ravenclaw tower.
As excepted the bathroom was empty. Hermione scurried into the closest stall. As she exited the stall, she heard footsteps getting closer and closer, she shrugged – probably just a professor. She ran the water over her hands and then splashed her face – it was still hard for her to believe what had happened.
She settled herself down against a cold wall; she knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight.
Hermione's head whipped up as she heard someone enter the bathroom. The first thing she noticed was the long curly hair, her thoughts went straight to the person in her dream.
The person removed their hood of their Slytherin robes – it was Bellatrix. Hermione was taken aback by the beauty of her; the dark eyes, full lips, flawless skin and dark, curly locks. Hermione took a closer look at the girl standing before her – she noticed tears on her cheeks. Bellatrix wiped them away hastily.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"Hermione Shore - I'm a 6th year."
"No you're not!" She scoffed, "I'm a 6th year and I know all of the other people in my year… I am a Prefect after all."
"I'm an exchange student from Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts, I got here tonight."
Bellatrix eyed Hermione suspiciously. "What are you doing in the bathroom, then?" She demanded.
"I'm in here having a tea party," Hermione scoffed, "What do you think? I needed to pee."
The two girls studied each others eyes intensely for a long 15 seconds, before Hermione broke eye contact.
"What's your name, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Bellatrix, Bellatrix Black."
"Well then, what are you doing in the bathroom, Bellatrix?" Hermione asked suspiciously; why would she travel from the Slytherin dungeons to the fifth floor just to use the bathroom?
"Having a tea party." She spat sarcastically, "Now get out." She instructed roughly.
"Why should I?" Hermione ventured cautiously.
"Because I said so."
Hermione was about to get up and leave, but decided against it – she wasn't going to be known as a push over… especially to Bellatrix.
"I think I'll stay thanks." She shrugged.
The curly haired girl glared at her, "Leave." She hissed.
Hermione felt her heart race, she was no good at confrontations, "Or what?"
Normally Bellatrix would have given anyone who stood up to her a mouth full or even jinxed - but this girl was different, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about her that made Bellatrix walk away. Perhaps it was the fact that she was one of the only people that would have the guts to stand up to her and she admired that, or perhaps it was because of the girl's beauty. What ever it was, it infuriated Bellatrix – she had allowed herself to be beaten at her own game.