The Tale of Dark Hermione

Year 5 - Train Back Home

"Come on everyone ten minutes before the train leaves!" Molly shouted at the large group trailing behind the almost jogging woman. They were already on the platform putting their trunks and bags onto the train. Hermione looked at Harry who was just staring off into nothing on the platform. She put the last of her stuff before grabbing Harry on his shoulder.

"You okay there Potter?"

Harry startled look at her, "yeah I'm fine..." Hermione let go of him as another person walked up to the two.

Sirius walked up and grabbed Harry's shoulder, "Do you mind if I talk to Harry for a bit before you guys take off.

"Yeah...see you Harry. I promised my housemates I'll sit with them on the way back," Hermione turned and walked through the train looking for certain Slytherins. She got to the end compartment where she found Daphne talking to someone younger than her.

"Astoria please go find your friends to sit with. I don't really want you to bother Blaze no matter how 'hot' you find him and I personally DON'T want to see you through yourself all over my friends, so leave." Hermione overheard as she watched the younger girl huff and march out of the compartment in a furry walking straight past her. 

Hermione watched the younger girl disappear and walked into the compartment where Daphne was angrily mumbling. "Family problems?" 

Daphne turned to look at her, "Granger! I didn't know you heard that...not really a problem per se just my little sister trying to get with one of my friends. You should have seen her when Theo came and visit...it was horrible..."

"I could only imagine and Theo came to visit?"

"Yeah...Theo and I were talking and he wants to formally court me as a girlfriend. Dad says if our relationship last to our seventh year, he'll try to draw up a marriage contract."

"That still goes on these days?" Hermione questioned surprised.

"Only the really old families still do it and some have recently stopped, too. Look at the Malfoy's...Narcissa would kill Lucius if he tried to do that for their son. She wants him to be happy over contracts no matter how good of an offer it is. I was visiting their place during our third year and Lucius thought me and him would be a good match and tried to get a contract going between us in our third year. You should have seen her go at Lucius at that...he was terrified as she yelled." Daphne grinned at the memory.

"Did we hear about the time Lucius got completely destroyed by his wife," Blaze and Theo appeared at the doorway and walked in. Theo sat next to Daphne as she hugged him.

"I missed you..." Daphne whispered to Theo and Theo smiled lightly back.

"Missed you, too." It looked like they were about to have a make-out session right there when Blaze clapped his hands together and made swooning noises.

"AHHH! HOW SWEET!" 

Theo glared over at the mocking boy, "Shut up, Blaze."

"What did he say this time?" Malfoy walked into the compartment right after and sat between Blaze and Hermione.

"Just that he should be less jealous of my love life and find himself a girl to screw," Theo glared.

"HEY, I'm not jealous!" Blaze tried defending himself and Theo smirked.

"Oh...maybe you just don't swing that way. That does explain the longing looks at Draco in the dorms..." Theo cracked a smile.

"OH NO, YOU CAUGHT ME! HOWEVER, AM I TO GET THROUGH THE SCHOOL YEAR NOW THAT MY SCRETE HAS BEEN REVEALED!" Blaze dramatically cried as Draco punch his arm as everyone laughed.

"So did you hear about the ministry and their thoughts on 'who's not back,'" Daphne questioned the group.

"Yeah we heard calling Granger and Potter crazy," Blaze whispered and they looked at Hermione who was glaring at the group.

"If you believe for a second I'm lying I will curse you forward and backward!" Hermione threatened. 

"No..no Granger we believe you! It's just the ministry is hell-bent on ruining your and Potter's reputation. The strangest part is Rita would be all over this calling the two of you crazy, but she's not. We believe you because there's been a lot of movement close to us and people are just disappearing. It's like what happened in the first war...it started out with disappearances and deaths. But everyone can feel it coming another war...but fear refuses to let the ministry see that." Draco spoke and the group listened.

"Well I know why Rita isn't all over this...at the end of the year last year I kinda caught Rita in her beetle form in a jar...kinda threatened her. Pretty much told her that if she wrote anything about me I would find her and make her pay. I think I would tear off her limbs one by one." Hermione explained and the group gasped.

"What?!"

"Yeah, I did that...oh well." Hermione shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"You know Granger you are absolutely scary sometimes," Blaze said and the rest nodded.

"Anyway with the ministry refusing the believe the truth they believe Dumbledore is one of the major problems and they are sending someone in to watch and change Hogwarts to what they want," Malfoy finished.

"This is crazy! We don't know the ministries agenda...this could ruin Hogwarts. And my guess is, it's going to be someone who's not going to be my fan at all," Hermione spoke slightly worried.

The group looked down uncertain of the upcoming year. Daphne was the next to break the heavy silence.

"Back to lighter to topics...Blaze how was your summer?"

"Oh it was nice...my mother got married again."

Theo perked up, "Really! What number is she at now?"

"I don't know maybe...eight or nine..."

"If I didn't know what happened to everyone your mother marries I would try that."

"That's my mother!" Blaze glared and the two slowly started a small fight.

Hermione zoned them out and turned to Draco, "Malfoy...you said something about a lot of movement where you live?"

Draco turned to her and nodded, "Yeah. People keep coming and going in our mansion. My father is stressed about something and you were right about trying to stick close to my father. I don't like this...everything that is happening. There's been a lot of questions my father keeps asking me, too."

"What sort of questions?"

"Just about who you are and just random questions that I don't know."

Hermione thought a little at that, but didn't elaborate instead she changed the subject, "I think you were right...there's going to be a war. We have to start preparing ourselves, otherwise, we could end up dead. The winds are changing and we need to be prepared for when the storm comes."