Hermione's summer was unbearable. Marionette was constantly lauded over, her family asked her odd questions here and there, as if she was some alien they couldn't connect with. Hermione missed some of the magic of the wizarding world and the summer was also very busy as she studied what she would've learnt in that year otherwise at muggle school. Mostly spending quiet days in her room. Her friends asked her to hang out once but it mostly turned to them telling stories of their fabulous highschool lives of huge shopping trips, amusement park trips, bonfires by the beach, and even though Hermione told the few stories she had prepared of a muggle-fied Hogwarts, she couldn't compete at all. She returned home feeling like she was an even bigger loser than before.

The summer was uneventful, but over rather quickly. On the day of school shopping in Diagon Alley however, Hermione was in Flourish and Blotts, witnessing a fight between Mr Malfoy and Mr Weasley when something eventful happened. Towards the end of the fight Mr Malfoy slipped a small book into the littlest Weasley's cauldron before disappearing.

In an instant Hermione's hand shot out (she happened to be near), grabbed it and snuck it into her bag. She headed out of the store very quickly. Although she had no idea what it was she suspected it was some joke or prank book meant to sting the youngest Weasley a little as payback for the disagreements their parents had. A mean prank. She suspected it wasn't too bad, perhaps to squirted water out of it's pages or something at the user, or gave them warts, but it was probably something he figured the littlest Weasley girl could handle otherwise he wouldn't have done it. Something to humiliate or in a small way perhaps.

But it was also a rather exquisite and antique looking book, fashionable in a charming way. Since it came from Mr Malfoy it was no doubt very expensive. A part of Hermione felt jealous. She had little expensive items or fine magical items. She felt like she ought to given the fact that she was easily one of the best witches in her grade. An irrational side of her felt jealous that the littlest Weasley girl had the book, was given the chance to play around with it, and somehow she wasn't. She felt like she could've handled the practical joke better.

She didn't know why but she just grabbed it and well...

Later that night she wrote in the book for the first time.

I couldn't find a trick so I suppose you're alright. It's been a while since I've had a diary. I think I shall keep you. Hermione wrote.

Hello. I can write back and give advice. Who are you? The diary wrote back.

Are you an enchanted diary? I've heard all about enchanted objects. This is slick. Hermione wrote. I'm Hermione Granger, going into my second year of Hogwarts this year.

And how do you feel about that?

Not very happy to be honest. But I wanted this - to be in Slytherin. It's the easiest way to move up in the wizarding world.

Indeed. The maker of this enchantment was in Slytherin.

It's so interesting that you're enchanted like a person. Do you know who enchanted you and what they were like?

Partially. He was 16 when he enchanted me. I have some recollection of his life before then but not afterwards. He had many ambitions for the world but I do not know if he succeeded in them.

Well that's awfully depressing. I have to go to dinner now, goodbye diary.

Goodbye Hermione.

Hermione's second year of Hogwarts started of with coldness and scorn. The slytherin girls made sure she knew where she sat even though they were sweet to her outside of their dormitory. Nothing that Hermione had wanted to change had changed. She had her diary though, and that was a relief.

Blaise Zabini has started trying to get into my pants. He keeps following me around after class and trying to start conversation with me. It's clear he's uninterested in anything we're talking about except to get close enough to me to kiss me or something. It's like he thinks if we've spoken enough he can make a move. She wrote at night. Hermione had mastered the silencing charm and often wrote for a bit by wandlight before she slept. It was the best time of day for diary writing.

Hex him. The diary suggested.

Unfortunately he's quite good at hexes and jinxes. Nasty sort isn't he? All the Slytherins are very good with that sort of stuff. I couldn't win. Hermione wrote.

Hex the Slytherin girls then. You'll learn more from seeing what they throw at you. The diary said.

Not a bad idea. It would just be unpleasant for me. Hermione wrote.

More unpleasant than being seen as a weakling that can't defend herself?

You're right.

Weeks later Hermione regretted beginning to hex them. The Slytherin girls thought she was a hormonal bitch now, and hexed and jinxed her back. Putting her through hell but the diary was right, Hermione had become a lot better at Defence Against the Dark Arts now. Even though she still felt like she hadn't learnt every hex or jinx in the book yet.

Daphne was super mean to me today. She's even meaner than Pansy even though Pansy has the potential to be the most nasty. It's like Daphne's trying to keep us all down or something. She's the second in command to the posse.

Hermione wrote a few weeks later.

Hex her. The diary responded.

What? No. I can't do that. They're still more powerful than me and I don't want them to all turn on me.

You know enough hexes and jinxes by now to make them suffer if you wanted to. They know they are being unfair to you and will be afraid of somebody in power finding out about their treatment of you, or you making a big fuss. Start building up a reputation as the girl who hexes people for things she doesn't like. Not just them, all people. You can start with Blaise, you haven't really hexed him yet despite learning some from Pansy, Daphne, and Millicent.

I suppose you're right. Well, a few harmless hexes won't hurt. I mean, all the ones I know don't do any real permanent damage. They're mostly powerful because so little people know of them so they can't immediately block them...ancient pureblood hexes and jinxes the pureblood girls know...

Hermione was walking down to herbology.

"Hey, you look pretty. Did anyone ever tell you that?" Zabini tried again as they entered through the glass doors.

"You're foul, did anyone ever tell you that?" Hermione spoke her mind at him for the first time.

"Wow, you're fiesty. I like that," Zabini grinned at her.

He slipped in beside her as they put on their gloves for this week's lesson. "I'll get that," he said as he reached out to grab a shovel and hung his arm around her shoulder ever so lightly.

Hermione took out her wand and shot out the horn tongue hex. Zabini's tongue elongated into a horn the next second.

"Sick," he said, touching it a little.

The other girls giggled. They didn't all love Zabini's constant hitting on them and delighted in this, even if they were too afraid to hex him themselves.

Professor Sprout sent him to the office wing, believing it was a mistake, Zabini was eager to play along with it, and soon Hermione's name spread like wildfire in the Slytherin common room and the rest of the grade a little.

"So I heard you hexed Zabini in herbology today?" Pansy said to her in the common room after class.

"I can hex you too. Want to see," Hermione took out her wand confidently.

"No, I don't want a duel. I want to keep my hands clean," Pansy picked at her nails. The Slytherin girls despite knowing hexes and jinxes never quite liked a full out duel. It was too ugly, too messy, and they didn't want their reputations to be involved with something like that. "Cool thing with Zabini though. He was getting on all of our nerves."

The other girls giggled.

"Thanks," Hermione grinned.

"Whatever loser," Pansy turned and lead the girls out of the common room.

I hexed Zabini and Pansy is glad I did so. I can't believe that happened today. Hermione wrote in the diary later that night.

Good. The diary said.

Afterwards the girls did lay of Hermione a little, or at least she felt as if they knew her hidden power behind all their taunts, or at least, Hermione knew of her hidden power behind all their taunts, and she felt far happier throughout the year.

Nothing crazy was happening either, which was different to the first year's events. It was a nice change for once.

"Hermione, can I talk to you?" Luna asked her when she caught Hermione going to the Great Hall for a spot of afternoon tea before dinner. Hermione obliged; they grabbed some sandwiches and headed out to the grassy grounds, where Luna lead Hermione through a winding torrent of roots before tucking themselves in between the roots of large gnarly trees. It felt like a very secretive spot and Hermione wondered what Luna had to say that couldn't be heard through the thick canopy of shrub leaves that now surrounded them.

"Do you think Lord Voldemort is still alive and will try to kill Harry Potter one day? That things aren't over?" Luna asked.

"Yes, but I don't believe Harry Potter may have a large role to play in the destiny if he doesn't choose it himself or want to. Someone else will change the current wizarding century and the state of the wizarding world, someone who wants to play a part in it," said Hermione, "but I do believe Lord Voldemort will try to kill Harry Potter first. Even if the role he plays is minor."

"Because they're sort of destined to right? I mean, he's already linked to Harry Potter through one attempt at murdering him. I imagine he'll be preoccupied with killing him when he reaches power again, sort of, wanting to finish the job," said Luna.

"That sounds like something a dark wizard like him will do," said Hermione, "he probably feels terrible Harry Potter is still alive. Wonders what's so special about him he survived whereas the other people he tried to kill didn't. Even if Harry Potter was just an ordinary boy, that sort of thing would grow on Lord Voldemort."

"What was so special about Harry Potter?" asked Luna, "all we know is that Lord Voldemort tried to kill him when he was a baby and after that he disappeared whilst Harry Potter lived. We don't actually know anything special about him."

"If he has any magical powers it's not obvious. He acts and talks like a normal boy," said Hermione.

Luna nodded.

"But Lord Voldemort chose to kill Harry Potter when he was just a baby. What reason would he have to mark a baby out to kill?" said Luna.

Hermione thought about it, "from all that I've read, Lord Voldemort's prime targets have been muggles with his deatheaters, in order to rouse them and show he's on the side of blood supremacy. But they're typically old enough to squirm, scream, or show enough of a reaction to being tortured or killed. It's not usually babies. It doesn't really come to mind as the type of person to kill...perhaps he thought Harry Potter was dangerous. Perhaps he knew Harry Potter's parents and thought they would make for an unusually strong witch or wizard. Perhaps his parents or people surrounding him were planning on raising a wizard who could bring down Lord Voldemort from birth and he heard about it..."

"His parents were ordinary," said Luna, "I used to read about it when I was little because it's one of the biggest mysteries of the wizarding world today. His mother was a muggle-born witch, as seen from the records of Hogwarts, and his father was an ordinary wizard. They weren't very accomplished, nor did they work for anything like aurors or the ministry or anything. Plenty of children of accomplished aurors or ministers were spared."

"I don't know," said Hermione, "something must've seemed different about the boy. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone to them. Perhaps he's a bit insane-"

Luna nodded her agreement.

"I mean, he committed some foul deeds. A person like that must be in a very horrible frame of mind indeed. And any little thing tipped him over the edge. Perhaps it was just time before he got paranoid over another infant possibly being able to overthrow him one day and tried to kill them when they were little," murmured Hermione.

The lake's water rippled in the distance; leaves drooped down and touched the waves, almost dripping on their heads as they swayed in the breeze around them. The Hogwarts lake was seen from most angles of trees all around it and very beautiful to watch through all seasons. They enjoyed the screenery for a little while.

"Whatever reason it was. I suspect he will still use it to come and finish Harry Potter of. In fact, I think he most likely will come back and try to kill Harry. At some point," she said.

"I think you're right," said Hermione, "poor boy. It's like he can't get a break. He really should be under 24 hour protection."

"I don't think he would like that," said Luna, "he probably just wants to live normally. But it's not his fault Lord Voldemort has some obsession with finishing him of. Do you think...if someone else finished of Lord Voldemort...Harry Potter could live free?"

"Yes. In fact, I don't know why the Ministry doesn't actually have a department or team spent tracking down Lord Voldemort and doing anything about it," said Hermione, "or a team to protect his old victims that have survived. Or his old survivors of notoriety."

"Do you think...we could do it?" said Luna, peering at Hermione.

"Yes," said Hermione.

"Great, let's get on it then. It shall be our project," said Luna.

Hermione nodded but she couldn't help feel like she had entered in something very serious.

Author's Note: Please review, I love reading them! :)