The Truth About Hermione Granger

Time flew quickly for everyone at Hogwarts and the next thing Hermione knew, she was heading down to the Great Hall to meet Draco for the Halloween Ball. She kept her hand on her popgun as she walked next to Ginny and Harry- as Ariel and Prince Eric- who were both blushing furiously at something Ron- as Sonny Bono- had just said about catching them snogging. Ron, it seems, had asked a Ravenclaw fourth-year to the dance with him and she would be meeting him in the hall. Hermione hadn't recognized the name- Carrie Landen- but Ron said he'd caught her staring at him, so he smiled at her and asked her to come with him at which point she'd blushed and stammered an acceptance. He said that Carrie would be going as Cher.

Finally, Hermione caught sight of her cowboy- thin though he was- and smiled and waved at him. He smiled and waved back, motioning for all of them to join him. He'd arranged for all of them to be seated at the same round table near the front of the Great Hall for the feast. Harry tried to appear as if he was having a good time, but Ron scowled over Carrie's head and Ginny frowned an awful lot. Finally, the last two were seated at their table: Gregory Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode, who were not in costume unless you count the fact that they were dressed up quite a bit.

"Hello, Milly," said Draco.

"Don't call me that!" she said. "You know I hate it!"

Hermione smirked, but not at Millicent. Draco, it seemed, antagonized everyone under the sun. She smiled sympathetically at Millicent who smiled graciously back. Though she had started out big for her age, Millicent had slimmed out and actually looked quite good now. She was well curved and her hair fell in soft ringlets around her face. Even Hermione had to admit that she looked pretty good now.

"Oh, Hermione!" said Millicent suddenly. "I've been meaning to tell you! I love your hair! It looks magnificent on you."

"Oh, thank you," she answered, smiling and trying to remember to act a bit uppity. "My father would do anything for me, you know. He's been spoiling me left and right and my hair was only the beginning!"

To her satisfaction, Millicent looked a bit jealous and Harry actually grinned- the only time he did so all through the feast.

Finally, though, Dumbledore stood to announce the beginning of the dance and to introduce the band that would be playing. "Our guests this evening have come all the way from America," he said after magically pushing all the tables against the wall. "Now, without further ado, please give a warm welcome to our guests!" He stepped down from the raised platform and the curtain- which had been closed before this- opened, revealing five teenaged kids dressed in an assortment of clothes.

"Is that who I think it is?" asked Draco, wide-eyed as the band struck the first chords of a song Hermione recognized. "It is! Oh, these guys rock!"

"Who is it?" asked Harry over the noise.

"They're called Alien Transport Vehicle, though nobody really knows why," said Draco, nearly jumping up and down. "I know their stage names. That's Lolita with the fiddle- she's about to sing and she's REALLY hot! Oh, nothing compared to you, Mione, don't worry! There's Oedipus on Drums, Persephone is on the Keyboards, Ophelia's the acoustic guitar and the lead guitar is Aristotle."

Hermione grinned at Draco's expression as he watched the band for a moment. Now Hermione recognized the song as 'Humanity: A Toast*,' one of her favorite songs by any wizard band. It went something like this:

"To you, who live

To you, who die

To you, who laugh

And to you, who cry!

To you, who love

To you, who hate

To you, who are whole

And to you, who ain't!

Humanity, you're wonderful.

Humanity, you are marvelous.

Everything you are, everything you do

To you!"

Soon, Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. She had a great time until her father breezed by and told Draco to keep his hands off of her. Then, she frowned, but Draco just grinned at her and told her not to worry about it, fathers were like that.

Finally, after about an hour and a half, the band announced that they were taking a break and a Ravenclaw seventh year jumped up to run some recordings. Draco led her off the dance floor and told her he was going to find something to drink and did she want anything? She told him to bring her back a butterbeer and almost as soon as he left, she was surprised to find none other than Lolita approach her.

"Hi!" said the girl in a tremendous American accent. She wore black pants, floor-length, formfitting, black robes that were left open and a dark blue shirt underneath. "I'm Amelia Lucas. I'm your cousin!"

"My cousin?" asked Hermione, confused.

"Yeah," said Amelia, dropping down into the chair next to Hermione. "My mum's Snape's older sister."

"Oh!" said Hermione, surprised. "I didn't know my father had an older sister."

"I didn't know my uncle had a daughter, so we're even," said Amelia, grinning.

Hermione could see that she had slightly elongated canines. "Are you...?" she trailed off, unsure of how to ask her cousin if she was the Vampiress.

"Oh, no," said Amelia, waving a hand at the suggestion. "I transfigure them! Hey, I'm going to apprentice under my uncle next year, so I'll be here!"

"Oh, you're in seventh year now?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah," answered Amelia. "It's surprisingly easy! All you do is review everything you learned in the previous six years. Which is really the only reason we were aloud to come all the way to England. We had to promise to get our homework done on the airplane."

"Hermione, here's-" said Draco, stopping suddenly as he saw who was sitting next to her. "Is that- I mean, are you-?"

"Lolita," answered Amelia, jumping up and holding a hand out to Draco. "Real name's Amelia Lucas. And you are?"

Draco stuttered for a moment, and then finally said, "Draco Malfoy. I'm Hermione's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you," said Amelia.

"Hey, Hermione," said Harry as he approached with a grinning Ginny, Ron and Carrie close behind. "Who's this?"

"My cousin," said Hermione, standing to introduce her. "Amelia, this is Ron Weasley, his friend Carrie, his sister Ginny and my other friend Harry Potter."

Amelia nodded politely at everyone until Hermione said Harry Potter, then she gaped a bit. "Harry Potter?" she asked. "Wow.... I'm sorry!" she added, noticing Harry's discomfort. "I shouldn't stare. You probably hate that. I know I don't like it!"

"Oh, because you're famous," said Hermione.

"No, because she's an Unbreakable!" said Draco. "She's had people staring at her much longer than she's been famous. Oops. Sorry, Amelia."

"That's all right," said Amelia, who had turned a bit pink. "I'm used to it by now."

"Me, too," said Harry grinning at her.

"Well, hey, I'll talk to you at Christmastime, okay, Hermione?" asked Amelia, starting to back away from them. "My folks and I are coming to visit. It's bad for P.R. if I stick around one group of kids for too long. See you around!"

"P.R.?" asked Ginny.

"Public Relations," said Hermione. "She means what normal, everyday, non-famous people think of her. She wants them to know she's friendly, that's all."

"Oh," said Ginny.

Not long after that, Snape reminded Hermione that she would have to sneak off soon to head out to the Dark Forest. They watched their watches closely after that and at precisely 11:00pm, they made their excuses to their friends and hurried to their dorms to change into their robes and retrieve their invisibility cloaks.

In her cloak heading across the grounds to the edge of the forest, Hermione passed several couples snogging in bushes or under trees. She was surprised to recognize one couple as Harry and Ginny. She nearly burst out laughing, but caught herself just in time to slap a hand over her mouth and hurry away.

At the edge of the forest, she stopped to peer in. She could see nobody there, yet, but soon, she heard voices. She wasn't far off from the rest of the group. She followed the voices and quickly found a group of kids she recognized from school, Draco among them. She stepped into the forest and removed her cloak as instructed.

"Miss Snape," mumbled Goyle, inclining his head in a slight bow.

The rest of them all followed suit and a few continued to stare at her until Draco stood protectively- and warningly- next to her. "You all heard what Snape said," he said.

"What did my father say?" asked Hermione.

"Never mind, Mione," answered Draco dismissively.

But, Nott, obviously the antagonistic type, had to open his mouth. "He lectured us about how we're not to touch you," he said.

"Shut up, Nott, before I break your head!" threatened Malfoy.

"You'll do no such thing," came a droll voice from behind them. They all turned to see Snape towering over them, looking quite mean. "Is everyone here?" he asked, surveying them all.

Immediately, someone said, "Abramson!" Which was immediately followed by, "Crabbe!"

"Edwards!"

"Fredricks!"

"Goyle!"

"Jacobson!"

"Lorenz!"

"Malfoy!"

"Nott!"

"Peterson, Aaron!"

"Peterson, Kevin!"

"Rabe!"

At this point there was a pause. Malfoy nudged her. Picking up on what was happening, she called out, "Snape!" and the final name, "Vanderbilt!" was called. Her father gave her a curt nod, but no smile this time, though it showed in his eyes. Finally, Snape led them all deep into the Dark Forest, where all sorts of odd noises threatened to scare Hermione out of her wits. Just when she was feeling the most anxious, Draco reached down, took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. He didn't let go until they had reached a clearing at which point he walked briskly across the field to his waiting father. Snape laid an arm across her shoulders and steered her to an empty place among the Death Eaters and their sons. At this point he instructed her, quietly, to genuflect, which she did quickly. She kept her head down, having been told that it was impolite for the un-initiated to look upon the Dark Lord until after you had kissed the hem of his robes. Soon enough, though, there was a popping noise and Hermione heard a familiar voice wafting through the air.

"Ah, my precious little Death Eaters," said Voldemort. "It has been too long since I've seen you. Some of you have grown. I am pleased. Abramson!" he barked.

"Peter Abramson, at your service, my Lord," said Abramson. There was a pause in which he had probably kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robes and stood.

It continued like that, with each of her schoolmates, most of them Slytherins and all of them boys, reciting the short pledge to the Dark Lord, until he came to Hermione. "Snape," he said, somewhat more quietly.

"Hermione Snape, at your service, my Lord," she said. She took hold of the hem of his robe and kissed it. She was then surprised to find his hands on her shoulders lifting her up.

"My beautiful child," he said. "My only daughter. A rose among thorns. A diamond in the rough." He then surprised everyone by taking her in his arms and hugging her. When he released her, he was smiling gently at her. "You are my special child," he said. Without another word, he went on to the last child.

Hermione looked around and saw all the boys standing there, looking at her with something akin to envy or even jealousy on their faces. All except Malfoy; He looked proud!

When Voldemort stepped to the middle of the circle again, he called Abramson forward. The boy hurried to stand in front of the Dark Lord and bowed quickly. "I pledge my undying and unending support to you, my Lord," he said, kissing the hem of his robes again. He then stood and rolled up his left sleeve.

Without a word, Voldemort carefully touched the tip of his wand to the boy's forearm. The instant the wand made contact, Abramson let out a small yelp of pain, but quickly sucked it in and gritted his teeth. After only a few seconds, Voldemort released Abramson and bent to kiss the boy's arm. Quickly, Abramson hurried back to his father.

"Crabbe!" called Voldemort. And so the ceremony continued, each boy taking his turn and each letting out a small cry. All except Draco; he only gasped inaudibly, closed his eyes and tensed. Hermione was a bit proud of him.

"Snape!" Voldemort finally called.

Following suit, Hermione hurried forward and dropped to one knee. "I pledge my undying and unending support to you, my Lord," she said, kissing the hem of his robe and rising. She quickly rolled up her left sleeve and held out her arm, keeping her hand in a fist. Voldemort, looking almost apologetic, took out his wand and touched the tip of it to her arm.

The pain was like nothing Hermione had ever experienced before. It was like someone had just put a searing hot iron on her arm. She nearly cried out, but only took in a sharp breath and clenched her jaw. In a few seconds, it was over and Voldermot bent to kiss her arm. When he backed away, she saw the dark mark where his wand had touched.

He had branded her!

Just as she was about to turn and head back to her father, Voldemort seized her up into his arms again and squeezed her tightly. He then held her at arm's length, pulled her forward and kissed her forehead, then released her. She hurried back to her father, who was beaming at her.

The whole ceremony was very frightening to Hermione. She didn't like being around the Dark Lord, but here she was, bearing his mark! She wanted to reach out and strangle him! She wanted to pulverize his head! She wanted to-

She wanted to hug him and call him 'Granddad,' is what she wanted to do!

Finally, though, Vanderbilt had received the mark- letting out a small cry of pain like the others except her and Malfoy- and Voldemort stood in the middle of them all again. "Malfoy!" he called. Draco hurried out to meet him. "Snape!" he called again and Hermione hurried forward. "I trust your fathers have spoken with you?" he asked them.

"Yes, my Lord," they answered together.

"Do either of you have any objections?" he asked.

"No, my Lord," they answered again.

"Good," he said, turning his attention to the other boys in the circle. "I am now declaring Miss Hermione Snape to be Untouchable to all except Mr. Draco Malfoy. Anyone who touches her in either lust or anger, with the exception of Mr. Malfoy, will suffer an untimely death. And, I will not miss you, for you will have touched my child!" With that, he motioned to Draco.

"Sorry, Mione," Draco whispered to her. "I've got to." With that, he took out his wand.

Hermione, not understanding what was going on, took a step back.

"Relax," said Draco quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you, just protect you." He placed his wand at her left temple. "Sonos angelicus!" he murmered.

There was a quick sort of shock that ran across Hermione's forehead and down to her shoulders, through her body and all the way down to her toes, causing her to jump and shake her head. "You said it wouldn't hurt!" she hissed at Draco.

"I'm sorry," he said, smiling apologetically. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Voldemort cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at the two of them. They quickly turned and hurried back to their respective fathers.

"Goyle!" ordered Voldemort. Goyle hurried forward and stood before him. "As you know, Miss Snape has not had much training, so I am counting on you to train her in hand to hand combat. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Lord," answered Goyle.

"And, if, during your sparring, you happen to accidentally strike her, do not worry," he said. "The spell knows the spirit in which it happened. Accidents do not count against you."

Goyle nodded understanding and hurried back to his father.

"Malfoy!" ordered Voldemort. Draco hurried forward and stood before him. "I want you to help Miss Snape with curses. I understand she is a quick study, so you may not have much to do, but see to it that she can do them all properly by our next meeting."

"Yes, my Lord," said Draco.

Voldemort nodded to him and he hurried back to his father. "You have your orders," he said. "Now, my Death Eaters, DISPERSE!"

With that, the adults- except for Snape, of course- disaparated and the students all followed Snape back through the forest and onto the Hogwarts grounds. He instructed them to wait outside while he checked if the castle was clear. By the time he opened the door again for them, they all had their invisibility cloaks on and hurried through the door and to their dorms.

By the time Hermione reached her room, everyone else was in bed and there was a note tacked to the door. *Hermione,* it read. *Didn't know where you'd gone off to. Probably to snog with Draco or something. Anyway, no classes tomorrow. Sleep in! Parvati*

Well, that was something, anyway. At least now she'd have a whole day to ponder what had happened.