Magic? || Years 1-5

Valentines Day: Year 2

Hermione returned, back to her normal fur-free self, towards the beginning of February.

Just before her and Amisty went down to the common room to speak with Harry and Ron, Hermione stopped her.

"What happened at the Slytherin common room?" She asked, motioning for her to take a seat on her bed.

Amisty's movements were slow as she followed her directions, perched on the very edge as if ready to run.

"Why do you ask?" She replied, dancing around the said question skillfully and smoothly.

"Just answer me, Amisty. Don't be difficult," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes and giving her a knowing look with her brown eyes.

There was still the slightest glint of gold in them, but Amisty wasn't going to point that out.

"When Harry and Ron ran... I didn't get a chance to follow after them," She started slowly, trying to find the right words. "Malfoy grabbed hold of me before I could run and he asked me what I was doing."

Hermione looked panicked as she spoke, "You didn't tell him that -- "

"No, no I didn't tell him that Harry and Ron were with me. I just said that I was trying to figure out everything to do with the Chamber," She replied quickly. "He accused me of thinking he had something to do with it, and I said yes because that's the truth, and then he told me to stay out of it. Now I wasn't going to listen to that, since he was getting into it just as much as I was, and he said he was safe because he was a pure blood. And..."

"Go on," Hermione nodded encouragingly, wrapping her hand around her shoulder as she noticed Amisty's growing discomfort.

"He said that because I was a Wolf Born I could be in danger, and I got mad because that shouldn't change anything, I'm just as much of a witch as anyone else. And I would guess that made him mad because he called me a Mudblood," Her eyes narrowed at the memory.

"Oh, Amisty..." Hermione's voice trailed off and she gave the girl a wan smile.

"So I asked him if I could leave and I did. That's all," She finished, sighing and sitting back slightly.

Hermione just nodded, not pressing her even though she knew that wasn't everything. Amisty, tired of the suffocating silence that had fallen between them, got to her feet.

"Well, the boys are waiting for us downstairs. Let's go," She gave another smile and the two of them walked down to the common room.

Harry was waiting, Ron next to him, and retold the story of the diary.

"Oooh, it might have hidden powers," Hermione's eyes lit up as she got hold of the book.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well. Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry," Ron replied, not sounding very interested at all.

"I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it. I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either," Harry pointed out.

"Could've been anything. Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor..." His voice trailed off as Amisty's attention was veered to Hermione and Harry, who were staring intently at the diary. "What?"

"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it? That's what Malfoy said," Harry clarified.

That's when clicked in Amisty's brain. She sat up, gasping.

"Yeah..." Ron waved his hand, not yet realizing what the rest of them had understood.

"And this diary is fifty years old," Hermione tapped it, waiting for him to get what they were on about.