Perilous Omens

Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione clambered off the train, dragging their luggage. Harry still clutched a half-eaten bag of Bertie Bott's, which he'd decided to save for a midnight snack.

The weather was the antithesis of what it had been the year before. The sun had just set behind them, and stars were winking into life over the dark lake.

Hermione smiled fondly at the nervous first years huddled together, remembering when she had done the same five years ago. How she had changed in five years!

With a start, she realized that Hagrid wasn't in sight. Instead, the bird-like Madame Hooch was calling the first years to her, with Fang at her side. Where was Hagrid?

She tried to hide her worried expression as she climbed into the carriage and hoped the others hadn't noticed Hagrid's absence. They would automatically assume the worst. Hermione managed to convince herself that a good reason would be explained in due time.

If any of them had noticed, none said anything. Harry and Ginny were too busy laughing over a joke Ron had just told to remark. Hermione tried to smile, but the sense of foreboding lingered.

Hogwarts quickly drew near. Perhaps her mind was just preoccupied, but to Hermione, the carriage ride was shorter than usual.

The foursome climbed down. Hermione looked over the waters of the dark lake. It was clearly Madame Hooch standing erect in the leading boat, not the bulky Hagrid. Hermione sighed and tried to push the thought from her head.

"What do you think, Mione?"

She looked up at Ron and the other two, waiting for her by the doors of the castle. "Sorry. What was that again?"

"I said, Harry would look far better if he charmed his hair to a Weasley red." Ginny giggled as Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Well... I dunno. I kinda think it'd clash with his eyes," she smirked as they entered and followed the familiar path to the Great Hall.

"Yep, that's right," said George, slapping Harry on the back. Everyone jumped at his voice; no one had heard the twins sneak up on them. "We'll have our own walking Christmas decoration."

Everyone laughed. Harry muttered something about keeping his hair the way it was and tried once more, unsuccessfully, to flatten his unruly hair.

An hour later, thoughts of the absent Hagrid were dispelled from Hermione's mind as she enjoyed the feast. The house elves had really outdone themselves this year. And for once, Hermione wasn't even concerned about S.P.E.W. or anything but the here and now. She sighed and leaned back contentedly.

Dumbledore stood and clanked his glass for silence.

"Another year has begun. First off, I'd like to welcome all our new students." Everyone applauded again, smiling at the nervous first years at the end of the table.

"Secondly, I'm sure many of you have noticed the absence of our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid." At this, Hermione glanced at Ron and Harry. Ron was wide-eyed and slack jawed; he was shocked that he hadn't even realized the absence of the friendly giant. Harry looked at her and nodded grimly; he had noticed but he hadn't said anything to turn Ron's joviality to worry.

"I thank you for your concern, but I assure you that he will be returning to Hogwarts shortly."

A groan arose from the Slytherin table. Harry turned, his face livid, ready to knock some courtesy into the arrogant pigs. Many Gryffindors looked ready to go to similar measures. Ron held Harry back while Hermione tried to rationalize with him. Unfortunately, now would not be a good time to teach the Slytherins a lesson.

"Thirdly," said Dumbledore clearly, as the room quickly quieted. "I'd like to remind you that while Hogwarts is an exciting place to be, basic rules enforced since your first day here are still valid, especially now. For the first years and the numerous older students who have conveniently"forgotten", you are never to leave your common room after curfew." The restricted section of the library is restricted to only those with a teacher's note. And the Forbidden Forest remains utterly and completely off limits. Do so, and you will enjoy another happy year at Hogwarts. Disobey, and I fear the results. Punishments will be extremely strict this year, but there are some things far worse than any punishments we could give you."

He paused and turned his gaze directly at the 5th year section of the Gryffindor table. "And not being seen does not guarantee protection." He locked gazes with a certain dark-haired Seeker, and then promptly sat down, leaving the school mystified at his words.

***************************************************

Hermione hung back with Ron and Harry as the rest of the Gryffindors hurried towards the Tower. Naturally, she had been selected as a prefect, but she was in no mood to lead the first years. She let Jen, the more experienced Gryffindor prefect and Head Girl, lead the way. She brought up the rear, watching for any stragglers.

Dumbledore's words had disturbed the trio. Sure, they were basic rules, but why was Dumbledore so frighteningly serious, instead cheerfully wise? Voldemort was back, but Hogwarts was safe... right? Harry knew it wasn't true. He had learned the hard way the previous year.

Ron was worried. He had yet to come face to face with You-Know-Who, and this unknown left fear. What danger could be lurking so near to Hogwarts? Was You-Know-Who planning something? Was someone going to be killed, like last year?

Hermione was more contemplative and pensive. Sure, the possibilities of Dumbledore's words scared her, but something else was tugging at her subconscious. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Better hurry along, or it will be past curfew," sneered someone, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts. "And we wouldn't want that."

It was Filch, with Mrs. Norris at his heads. He grinned maliciously. "Wouldn't want detentions on your first night back, would ye?"

"We're just going to the Tower," snapped Ron suddenly. "You can't punish us for that."

"I know you're type," he sneered. "You were probably sneaking off to the Astronomy Tower for an early snog."

Hermione turned bright red. Ron almost fell over in shock.

"We were just walking," said a very ticked off Harry Potter. "It's not illegal to walk now, is it?" Without waiting for an answer, he strutted by. Ron and Hermione followed.

"We'll get you, Potter. One day, we'll pay you back for all your little schemes," promised Filch.

***************************************************

"Commander Bun-Buns," said Hermione quickly to the Fat Lady. She hadn't questioned Jen when she had been told the password, but suddenly it did seem very strange. Nonetheless, the portrait swung open, and they climbed inside.

The fire burned brightly and everyone was laughing merrily. Yes, it was good to be back.

The Weasley twins were playing a violent game of Exploding Snap, while Lee Jordan dueled Colin Creevy in Wizard's Chess. Colin was losing horribly.

A group of Second Years had dared the First Years to play some odd game involving wizard candy. The students from wizarding families quickly declined, knowing what would be in store for them. The Muggles agreed, not realizing the consequences. Currently, one was choking on a cockroach cluster while another kept sneezing and a third was a canary (courtesy of the Canary Creams donated by George for the cause).

Almost immediately, Ron pulled out some Gobstones and challenged Harry. Hermione watched them for awhile, but she couldn't stop yawning. Although it was only 8 PM, Hermione had only returned to London the day before from a visit to Bulgaria. (To visit Viktor, of course. But it was merely a visit. Contrary to popular belief, she was not his girlfriend. She had declined his offer to go steady. After all, she couldn't say she shared the feelings he had for her.)

Her body wasn't back on English time yet. She yawned again and decided it wouldn't hurt to get some extra sleep.

**************DREAM*************************************

She was wandering the halls of the familiar castle, looking for something, but she didn't know what. Her hair fell down her back and her feet were bare against the cold stone as she ran through the halls looking... looking.

Suddenly she was in an old unused classroom. Moonlight glinted off something tall near the chalk board. Hermione's feet disturbed a thick layer of dust on the floor as she approached.

She had never seen it before, but she knew it at once: The Mirror of Erised.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi," she said, reading the inscription.

Harry and Ron had told her so much about it, but she had never looked in it herself. What would she see? She deliberately stepped in front of the mirror and gazed into its eerie depths.

At first there was nothing, not even a reflection. But gradually the reflection appeared as if from a gray mist. But the reflection that stared back at her was not at all what Hermione had expected to see.

A beautiful golden-haired girl stared back at the top student of Hogwarts. Her face had a youthful sheen and curly golden locks cascaded down her back. The girl's clothing was simple yet beautiful. It was a light-weight sleeveless gown of some kind, with the gleaming white cloth gathered up at her shoulders. A golden chord was wrapped around her waist. And almost royal air hung about her.

Who was this girl? Was she really Hermione's reflection? She waved her arms around wildly and made odd faces. The girl in the mirror followed every move.

Hermione's eyes widened (so did those of the Mirror-girl). Then she chuckled sarcastically.

"I see now. The Mirror has a rye sense of humor. It thinks I'm ugly and I need a makeover. Well you know what, Mirror," she said defiantly, shaking a fist at the glass. "I disagree. I am perfectly content with my looks. Barbie in there might be pretty, but I bet she has the brain of a squirrel. This is *not* my heart's desire!"

As if in response, the mirror changed again. The girl remained in the foreground, but behind her the gray mist reappeared. Two male shadows emerged on either side of the girl.

One was tall, dark, and handsome. He was the typical male hero Hermione had always dreamed of. His face showed love and compassion as well as courage and nobility. He even wore some ancient form of armor.

The other was the antithesis. His hair was lighter, and his face was shrewd and cunning. Unlike the dark-haired man, he wore a simple tunic. But his eyes were clear, like windows to his soul. They reflected sorrow and pain and... love? Yes, love. Love that could rival that of the dark-haired man.

Hermione shook her head in frustration. "But what does this mean?" she yelled to no one in particular.

A voice and image sliced through her thoughts. She saw the face of a woman, a young olive-skinned woman with eternal sadness etched into her face.

"The Choice must be made ere the Eve of Darkness!" came the haunting reply.

Then everything went black.

******************************************************************************

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Hermione groaned as someone shook her awake. "Go 'way," she said groggily.

"Hermione," said someone urgently. "You've got to get up. You have class in five minutes- with the Slytherins!!"

Hermione's eyes shot open. She would *not* show up to a class with her worst enemies, looking as though she had just rolled out of bed.

Ginny helped her gather her supplies as Hermione ran a brush through her hair while pulling on a sock. She tried to make herself look decent in the little time she had.

With not even a minute to spare, she was running top speed through the long corridors of Hogwarts. Ginny said that Harry and Ron had waited, but they had already left so that all three of them wouldn't be late.

She knew that there was no way she could make it to Hagrid's in time. She glanced at her watch as she skidded to slow down around a corner: 9:08. Yep, she knew she shouldn't have tried to eat that piece of toast! They'd already be halfway through class by the time she got there! Oh, why hadn't her alarm waken her up this morning?! She straightened herself out and kept running; only one floor to go!

She almost flew down the great marble stairs in the Entrance Hall. It seemed she had gained too much momentum because as she hit the slippery floor, she couldn't slow down and tumbled right into the person she last wanted to see that morning.

"Well lookie who decided to drop in," came the all too familiar sneer. "A little late, aren't we, Mudblood?"

'What could make this morning worse?' thought Hermione. She glared at the blond haired boy and the crowd of Slytherins. "You should talk."

"Maybe you're finally seeing it in the right light," said Malfoy with a malicious grin. "It is only that idiot Hagrid's class, after all."

Hermione felt her rage boiling inside of her. She was about to slap him for the second time in her life when a very angry voice at the top of the stairs stopped her.

"WHAT is going on here!?!"

Hermione's hand stopped inches from Malfoy's face. She slowly turned to face the wrathful Professor McGonagall. 'Well, this is definitely worse,' said her annoying conscious.

"You do REALIZE that you are nearly TEN MINUTES LATE for class?" Her voice was dangerously quiet.

Hermione gulped. "Yes'm," said Malfoy and the Slytherins with a sneer.

"You do REALIZE that you are not SUPPOSED to be LATE FOR CLASS!?" Her voice was rising an octave as she descended down the stairs.

"Yes'm," they said again.

"You do REALIZE that you will be PUNISHED for this!!" She was nearly screaming.

They all gulped. "Yes'm."

"Ten points from each house per person for being tardy!! That mean," she counted, "a total of 70 points from Slytherin. And Miss Granger, another 20 points from Gryffindor for the attempted attack on another student. I expected better from you."

Hermione hung her head shamefully. "And..."

McGonagall wasn't done yet. She must've been under a lot of other stress; Hermione knew she was strict, but she had never seen her like this before. "You will all be serving detention. You will receive the information tomorrow at breakfast. Now, if you stay here any longer I will make it a week of detentions! Get yourselves to class!!"

They all hurried out of the building.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"So now you're stuck in detention with the *Slytherins*?" Harry asked incredulously.

Hermione sighed. "Yep." She poked another salted peanut at her nul. The chubby worm-like creature rolled over.

"I swear, these things are flobberworms in disguise!" said Ron in frustration, throwing down his bag. The peanuts scattered.

"For once, I'm inclined to agree with the Weasel," said a sneer to his right.

"Not now," muttered Hermione.

Malfoy couldn't just settle for being late; he also had to ruin Hagrid's lesson. He had barely attempted to feed his nul. It lay on his tray, untouched, a sickly greenish color and twisting oddly. Most of the Slytherins, who had decided to follow Malfoy's boycott, had nuls that looked similar.

"That oaf brings us all the way out here to try to tempt half-dead furry bugs with peanuts. What does he think we are? This is Care for Magical Creatures, not Care for Hagrid's Worms. And what happened to the 'Magic' aspect? That oaf has mutilated this course ever since he began teaching!"

"Sod off, Malfoy," said Harry dangerously. "If it's such a useless task then I'm sure you'll get full points. Besides, Hagrid said something special would happen if we cared for the nuls properly. But, pardon me, you wouldn't know that because you were too busy taking your bloody time to get your lazy arse out here!"

If looks could kill, Harry would be dead. Then again, so would Malfoy.

"Don't forget," spat Malfoy, "that your Mudblood friend was also 'too busy taking her bloody time to get her lazy arse out here'." He spat at Harry's feet, turned, and was gone.

Hermione's nul rolled over.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Harry and Ron scrambled up the countless stairs to the North Tower. The trio had stayed a few minutes after class to help Hagrid put the nuls away. After this delay, *naturally* Divination was the next class! Harry panted for breath as he jogged up the steps, wondering again why he had even selected this class.

They came to the silver rope ladder just in time to see Neville's foot disappearing into the room above. Harry and Ron quickly scrambled up after him.

"Hagrid would understand if you said you had to get to class instead of helping him next time."

Harry's head shot up as he climbed up from the trap door. The voice had seemed so . . . un-Trelawney-like. Yet there was Professor Trelawney, looking the same as always, staring out the open window.

Harry blinked. Yes, it was open. There was some incense in the fire, but that was the only perfume in the now airy room. Trelawney's insect-like glasses and numerous beads and bangles were still there, but she seemed somehow. . . different. No other word could explain it.

Trelawney pulled her shawl a little tighter around her small body and turned her head. She looked at Harry. Her eyes were almost piercing. Silently, they stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, as if she were staring into his soul. Finally, she pulled her stare away, flicked her eyes over Ron, and turned to the class.

"It's a new method of teaching this complex art," she explained to their shocked looks. "The air around you holds the Spirit of Nature. Perhaps, if you can get in touch with this Spirit, it will clear the fog that clouds your Inner Eye."

Harry and Ron slowly sat down. Had something happened this past summer changed her? Why hadn't she scolded them by lamenting at Harry's coming death? Had she finally realized that all those false predictions only further marred her tattered reputation?

The class continued. Trelawney passed out information about the current locations of the planets and how this could be interpreted for their horoscopes.

For once, Harry almost enjoyed the class. He'd given up on trying to figure out what had changed her or even trying to describe how she'd changed. He simply decided that he liked this new style for Trelawney. Not once had she said anything about a Grim or sudden death. It was as if she'd forgotten.

The only warning she gave she'd said as an afterthought as the class filed out of the room.

"Oh and Harry," she said. "Be sure to get to bed early tonight. You'll need the extra sleep."

Harry tried to ask what she'd meant, but Trelawney had disappeared behind the curtain leading to her living quarters. It didn't look like he'd be getting to bed early though, since the Quidditch team was holding tryouts for a new Keeper and he was required to be there.