Hermione's fingers traced the words of the letter she received from Gringotts' just this morning. She had read it repeatedly, but for the first time in her life, the meaning of the words seemed to escape her mind. It was her body that reacted instead. The flutter of her stomach reminded her of the time she had first glanced at her letter of acceptance, but the cold sweat that now covered her forehead told a different tale.
She took a deep breath, as to ground herself and tore her eyes from the paper. She was alone, in her favourite corner of the library, her homework on the table before her, displayed in neat, colour-coded piles. Organized, just like everything else in her life.
Predictable.
She opened the letter again, gathering all of her wit just to make sense of the first line. "Dear Miss Dorothea Nott". Good, that wasn't that hard. It was a name. But not her name.
"Also known to some as Miss Hermione Jean Granger." That was the hard part. What did they mean by 'also' and 'to some'? She was only known as Hermione Granger. She shook herself before her thoughts ran amok again. First, she had to get through this letter, then she could decide what to do about it. Yes, that would be for the best.
"You are hereby informed that your presence is required for the annual holdings conference as a representative of House Nott, held at Nott Manor on the fifth of November, 17:00." Why would she ever have to represent the house of Nott? Why did they only inform her a week before the meeting? Who even wrote this letter?
"Any questions regarding the event should be directed to the current Patriarch of the family, Mr Theodore Nott." She twisted her nose at the name. It seemed so familiar. Then, from the back of her mind, surfaced the image of a lanky Slytherin. She blanched, but read the signature at the end.
"Napthak, Gringotts Finances."
Just as before, she put the letter down, neatly folding it back along the seams.
This had to be a mistake. No other way around it. But they cited her by name, even if only for the second time.
Hermione's brain raced, then it got to a conclusion. A logical one, but it made her sick to the stomach. She looked back at the time spent with her parents. Her family. Desperately looking for something, anything, out of place. Over the long years she had spent with them, there was only one instance that gave her pause. She had forced herself to remember the day she had to Obliviate them. Even back then, she thought it was too easy. Like their minds' natural barriers had been loosened before. Broken.
She finally decided that this train of thought would not get her anywhere. If she wanted answers, she would have to look for the person the letter recommended. Theodore Nott. She had a free period now, and no matter how she twisted her brain around, she couldn't remember which classes he took. The Slytherin was never really noticeable, and the sentiment redoubled now that the other students deemed all Slytherins pariahs of the wizarding world.
She would have to wait until dinner. She worried her bottom lip and hid the letter between chapters six and seven of Hogwarts: A History. Not the newest edition, mind you, that detailed all of Harry's accomplishments, but an older, well-worn one she always carried with her. A deep sigh escaped her lips, a farewell to her only non-interesting year at Hogwarts.
Now, she just had to come up with a plan, carry it out, and hopefully not hex anyone in the process.
A/N: So, this was the intro. Short, but necessary to get things going.
I have the story fully plotted out in 21 chapters, but things may change. (Yeah, things have changed. 70 chapters, maybe?) Constructive criticism is welcome. Hearing that you enjoyed it even more so.
Do not expect a groundbreaking epic, just some slightly fluffy Dramione.
Updates every couple of days.
Love you all,
LydieBerry