The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

It Begins

Harry, Ron, and Ginger all hissed and stopped farther down the secret passage; digging into their pockets for the fake galleons.

"Don't bother," Draco said, hurrying to catch up with them.

"Why?" Harry asked sharply.

"Voldemort is in the castle. We have to go. Now," He turned to run back up the tunnel, but Ron grabbed his arm.

"No, we're almost at the Shrieking Shack. It will be faster if we go on and fly back. C'mon!"

Ron took off running, Ginger a step behind him. Draco looked over at Harry who shrugged, drew his wand, and followed.

Bloody Gryffindors. Who knew what was waiting in that shack? What if the Dark Lord had left behind a guard?

Fuck.

He took off running after his foolhardy friends even as he wished he was with Hermione, rather than them.

XXX

Hermione tore through the halls of Hogwarts. Skidding around corners and practically tumbling down staircases. She had one close call as she jumped over one of the trick steps, almost breaking her skull open as her feet failed to land.

Luckily she wasn't nearly so clumsy when it came to spell casting and a quick cushioning charm saved her from injury.

"Damn, that was close."

She pushed herself to her feet and pushed her hair out of her face. It was still too short to tie back and she was beginning to wonder if she should just cut it super short again. Then it couldn't get in her way.

But now wasn't the time to think about haircuts.

She took off once more and didn't slow down until she hit the Entrance Hall. A quick glance around showed her that nothing was out of place. Just the normal sounds of the entire school eating their meal in the adjacent Great Hall.

She took a deep breath and smoothed down her robes. If she just went charging in there she would cause a panic.

And that would do nothing but help Voldemort. Why hadn't she gone straight to McGonagall when they saw the Whomping Willow wasn't moving? Then Neville and Luna wouldn't be hurt and maybe all of the younger students would be safely away from what might very well become a battlefield.

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. She could beat herself up later, right now she needed to try and fix it.

Hermione quickly crossed the Entrance Hall and didn't even pause at the entrance to the Great Hall. Her wand was still out as she walked quickly up to the Head Table. As she went the students slowly quieted, all of them staring at her in curiosity.

She came to a stop in front of Professor McGonagall. The other professors had put their utensils down and were looking at her with concern.

"May I help you, Miss Black?" Professor McGonagall asked, her lips were pursed in disapproval.

Hermione couldn't quite figure out why the Headmistress was determined to treat the New Marauder's like children, but it was getting bloody annoying.

"The Order was misinformed about the last horcrux. Voldemort is in the castle. Along with several of his Death Eaters."

You could have heard a pin drop. Hermione took that moment to raise her wand and cast a silencing spell over the Great Hall. So, when the screams of panic started a second later Voldemort wouldn't be alerted.