Persephone Rising

"Oh Miss Granger, Miss Granger!"

Professor Flitwick was hurrying towards her along the Transfiguration corridor as fast as his short legs could carry him.

"I was hoping you'd give a copy of this to Mr Thomas and keep one for yourself. It contains brief details of the upcoming assignment. You are advised to do some advance reading."

"Than.." Hermione began to say and then stopped, Flitwick had rushed off again after some Ravenclaw he'd spotted. She scanned the list idly, the books were routine enough and the topic 'Creation Magics' was one she had more than a passing interest in. It would be a lot of fun to challenge herself for a few weeks; challenge in her schoolwork had been notoriously absent recently.

In the four weeks since term had begun she had yet to be fully interested in any class she had participated in. They all seemed hollow and lacking now that she was studying to her potential. It was partly a good thing though. She had decided it would be a good opportunity to relax a little and deepen her cover with a few light-hearted pranks. Anyone who had the guts to charm McGonagall's board to repel chalk couldn't really be a dark witch could they?

The evening of her planned Malfoy stalk Hermione was visibly on edge. There was nothing she could do to mask the nerves of performing her first independent dark magic, what if something went wrong? What if she was caught? It didn't bear thinking about.

Harry and Ron persisted in bothering her with questions until finally she snapped at them to leave her alone. After a hasty apology she made the excuse she had a headache and retired to the dormitory to perform the enchantment.. A few hours later the clock struck midnight, time to act.

"Obliviat, Oblivium, Oblivia" she chanted as she faced the Evening Star, still visible low in the western sky.

The enchantment should hold for a good six hours, more than enough to find out what Malfoy was up too. She heaped the covers up around her bed carefully so that at a glance nothing would look out of the ordinary. Then, taking one last look around she slipped out through the open door and eased open the portrait hole where the fat lady lay snoring. She could leave it open in safety for a few hours allowing her easy access on her return.

She kept well to the centre of the corridors padding silently along carpeted halls and then creeping out across the courtyard into the silent cavernous great hall and down the steps into the Slytherin dungeons. She had subtly quizzed her two friends at odd opportunities and managed to find out roughly where they had been. Feeling her way along the dimly lit, moss covered walls she set off into Hogwart's deepest recesses.

She hadn't got all that far when she heard footsteps behind her. She froze still as a statue and watched as the light in the distance drew closer. As soon as it got within fifteen feet she was certain it was Draco Malfoy. His face looked drawn and pale and he walked with the quick skipping gait of one who has to arrive on time. He passed her by without comment. The spell had worked, her curiosity now firmly piqued she followed.

After ten minutes of following blindly through the darkness she emerged behind Malfoy into a low roofed cave. She stopped just short of a small circle of blue powder which she remembered from the pages of a book Tom had leant her on revealing rings and banishing charms. It wouldn't do to step too close into one of those things. She was forced to wait on the perimeter of the circle almost four feet away from Malfoy. The young wizard seemed tense, he was holding himself rigidly straight and seemed itching to turn around.

The reason for his nervousness soon became apparent when the familiar click, thump, click, thump of Mad-Eye Moody's wooden leg could be heard moving up the corridor. Hermione's stomach jolted horribly, Moody's eye...would it see her. There was no escape now; she'd just have to hope. She had never been so nervous in her life than when Moody appeared out of the yawning depths. She was sure he'd hear her heart even if he didn't see her. To her immense relief he too walked blindly past the spot where she was standing.

" So then boy shall we begin?" he sneered, his voice full of malice.

At this point Hermione began to wish her heart wasn't pounding so loudly as she failed to catch Malfoy's whispered words, fortunately Moody didn't seem to have heard either.

"What did you say, Boy?" he barked in the same tone as before.

"I said I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS ANY MORE."

Both Hermione and Moody started in surprise at the sudden increase in volume, but that was where their reactions differed. She couldn't see his face but she could tell by the sound of his voice that Malfoy was not angry but terrified. As quietly as she could Hermione sidled round to get a better view. She could see Malfoy now, his face was flushed and he had the look of one who could barely believe what he'd just done.

Moody paused in disbelief for a few seconds and then quick as lightening darted forward and seized the younger wizard by the front of his robes, then with a startling display of strength he hoisted Malfoy off his feet, which was no mean feat even for an able bodied man as the boy was at least six feet tall.

"Let me down!" Malfoy choked out, trying to draw a breath. Now she knew she was safe Hermione watched in calm detachment as the tips of his boots kicked vainly out for a foothold. Moody kept him there for at least half a minute before responding further to his outburst.

"You will continue in this boy."

"I can't," he said bitterly tugging at his collar, "they are beginning to suspect."

Moody lowered him to the floor and stood impatiently waiting for Malfoy to stop coughing.

"You know the price for refusing to assist me. A few words to the Minister and your Father..."

"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY EVIDENCE! YOU'RE BLACKMAILING ME!" That outburst sounded more certain. Just what situation had she stumbled on?

"That's right I am," Moody hissed, his voice soft and dangerous, "and believe me I do have evidence boy, so if you want to keep your precious Father and even more precious inheritance you will do as I say."

Malfoy seemed to be thinking of another way to get out of whatever he was doing for Moody.

"But how can I help you if they don't trust me?"

"You can't."

"Then..then why are you even bothering, sooner or later they won't tell me anything and I'll be of no more use to you, then what?"

" I WILL NOT BE QUESTIONED BY A DEATH EATER'S BRAT," Moody almost screamed punching Malfoy hard in the stomach. "and I will not be caught off guard again, if there is ANY hint of dark magic you WILL tell me or you and your family will get worse than this, and when you are no more use I will turn your father in anyway. What happens to you and your money is up to how well you serve my purpose. If you have been of use to me then I may allow you to keep your land and titles, if not then it's out on the streets or Azkaban. Remember that boy."

"Same time next week then." He remarked casually and stalked out the door leaving Malfoy on his knees in the dust cradling his stomach.

Hermione didn't feel a shred of pity for the boy before her who, unaware of her presence was hunched forward on the cave floor sobbing quietly. He'd been parading his Father's connections since the first year and now it had finally caught up with him. If Moody had tried to pull that one on her she would use it as a chance to pick of her enemies or those in her way. The minutes were ticking by she stared impatiently at Malfoy who was still snivelling into the dust. To think she'd actually been afraid of him.

She would wait until he was ready to leave and then follow him out. Then she would know the route and be there for the next midnight rendezvous. It was rather a pity that she wouldn't get to lord it over him as the favoured pupil but it was even more interesting that Moody was clearly manipulating him. She had learned enough to satisfy her curiosity for now, but she would return next week and in the meantime keep her ears open for any information that might be useful.

She awoke the next morning feeling unusually chirpy. It was charms first thing and her worst enemy wasn't the threat she thought he was. Whistling merrily she bounced down the stairs and was half way through a chapter on the processes involved in forming new spells and charms by the time Ron descended into the common room.

"Morning," he said sleepily staring at her through half lidded eyes "s'time?"

"Only half past seven, is Harry awake yet?"

Harry himself answered that, announcing his presence with a gigantic yawn, which made them all giggle.

"Oh look at you both, Ron I know you haven't even bothered to do an ironing charm on those robes-they're all creased and Harry you've forgotten to do up your tie, here let me."

"Blokes don't do ironing," Ron grumbled, "and Dean says Lavender does all of his stuff for him."

"Well I'm not Lavender, and you are not Dean and if I was Lavender then I.."

"You're certainly very awake Herm, what with it being this early." Harry butted in quickly before his two best friends had an early morning tiff.

"I had a very good night's rest. It always does me good."

Her good mood had evaporated by the time she reached Charms, Snape had collared her on the way past the dungeons and demanded that she tell Ron to hand in a late essay that she knew full well he'd just dreamed up out of spite. "Bloody Slytherins!" she muttered under her breath as she slammed her book bag down. Adding to her displeasure Dean seemed to have abandoned house pride and was seated next to Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff girl with whom Hermione did not get on very well.

"Excuse me, Hermione Granger?"

She turned round to face the speaker her brow creased in annoyance. It was one of the Slytherins, Zanzini or something. He'd been part of the small Charms class for months now and they had not yet exchanged two words, in fact she couldn't actually recall ever speaking to him, until now when he decided to hover by the desk looking expectant.

"What?" She snapped, her tolerance for Slytherins being almost extinguished by Snape's earlier antics.

"Well umm, it says here that you and I are partners for the assignment."

"What do you mean? There aren't any partners." Her voice trailed off as she scanned the entire letter given to her by Flitwick. The boy was right, it did indeed list who was partnered with whom. With her worry over Malfoy she'd forgotten to read the entire thing.

"Fine," she sighed, "pull up a pew."

He shrugged in seeming acceptance and heaped his pile of notes and textbooks onto the desk space next to her neatly ordered folders. In an effort to avoid further conversation she began to rummage in her bag for a quill. She couldn't find one, yet another fantastic edition to her fast diminishing enjoyment of the day.

"Do you want to borrow one of mine?"

He was looking at her with wide innocent eyes and holding out in one hand a snappy Peacock Quill. She knew that innocent look and wasn't buying it. She looked once more from the quill to him and frowned. He seemed to read her mind.

"What's the trouble, it's not like I've jinxed it or anything."

She wasn't in the mood for any teasing especially from someone in Slytherin house, his comment only made her scowl even more.

"It's me isn't it," He sighed putting on a mock wounded tone, "it's because I'm gasp a Slytherin!" He grinned lopsidedly at her serious expression daring her to crack.

"Oh a Slytherin! Run it's an evil Slytherin!" He pretended to cower behind his hands in terror.

Finally a ray of light, he wasn't a poser and he didn't hate her. With tongue firmly in cheek she responded back.

"Well I suppose as a brave Gryffindor I should gallop up on my noble steed and slay the evil Slytherin snake."

He gave a short laugh, "thanks Granger but I'd prefer not to be slain today, let's put off battles between good and evil until we get our assignment in."

From then on things went rather well. Hermione left Charms with her faith that there were decent Slytherins somewhat restored. Blaise Zabini could almost have been a Gryffindor if it wasn't for the undercurrent of ruthless cunning she detected about him. He also had the uncanny talent of lying fluidly and with a perfectly straight face. A few months ago she wouldn't have trusted someone like that but now, well he was worth getting to know.

Thinking of Slytherins brought up Malfoy's sneering face in her mind's eye. She cursed silently about being so close-minded as to never consider he wasn't a dark arts practioner. Who? Who? What other student besides Malfoy could possibly be practising dark magic? How could she have been so stupid as to disregard everyone except him?

That was her Gryffindor self again, seeing the world in black and white when she should really be seeing it in grey, settling herself in a corner of the common room that evening on the pretext of homework, she wrote a letter to Tom telling him what she had seen the night before and asking for his advice.

The next day at breakfast a large black owl swept through the open skylight easily visible even amongst the throng of tawnys and barn owls. It flew low along the Gryffindor table finally dropping a small letter into her cornflakes. She hesitated before opening it, she hadn't been expecting a reply so soon and she definitely hadn't counted on him delivering it in broad daylight.

The letter felt heavy, as if there was something inside it maybe some useful trinket from Tom. Fortunately Ron was deeply immersed in his own letter from an Irish cousin and Harry was arguing loudly with a Ravenclaw at the next table about which Quidditch team would win the division match later that day. Sometimes she could be thankful for the short attention spans of her friends instead of being resentful of them.

Her next lesson was Arithmancy theirs was Potions. They parted company in the cold stone of the courtyard with Harry and Ron descending into the depths of Hogwarts and Hermione climbing to its heights. Along the way she slipped into a bathroom and opened the letter.

A silver chain with a curiously twisted pendant fell into her outstretched hand. Intrigued she peered into the envelope, there was nothing else in it, no letter of explanation, but then he was probably thinking about her being found out. She put on the necklace which despite it's appearance seemed feather light and continued on to Arithmancy.

Draco Malfoy was already there along with the ever-present contingent of Slytherin lackeys. He threw her the usual look of contempt that used to make her feel like dirt. Though today for the first time, it had no effect whatsoever, she threw one right back at him and smiling to herself at the look on his face she took her seat.

The lesson continued in silence, she could feel the eyes of the Slytherins trying to channel poison through their stares but that, like the dirty looks, was standard for Arithmancy. The quiet was only broken by the scratching of quills, the rustling of parchment and the occasional question. That was until a sudden and chilling scream pierced the air. Everyone spun round to see where the noise was coming from just in time to see Draco Malfoy keel over in a dead faint.