The Curse of the Lovelorn Locket

Chapter Three: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

The morning after the rather strange first encounter with Miranda, Hermione woke with a sigh, having enjoyed a stream of pleasant dreams. Her first thought was that the locket must have been just another nighttime illusion, until she spotted it on the nightstand, light glinting off the gold that enclosed it.

Grabbing it with only slight hesitation, she opened it and peered at the picture. In the photograph, the witch was fast asleep, but after a few seconds she opened her eyes and yawned. "Good morning, my dear," she said dreamily. "I haven't had a restful evening like that in several hundred years."

Hermione smiled. "Well it sounds as if you deserved it then!" She clasped the necklace around her neck, noticing that the front that clicked it closed could also slide around to the back of the locket, keeping it permanently open. "There," she said, "Now you can see what's going on."

"Wonderful!" Miranda said happily. "I'm just dying to know how Hogwarts has turned out..."

"You may want to, ah... keep quiet," Hermione added, "Unless you want to repeat that entire story from last night to everyone we meet."

"I'm perfectly content to pretend to be a picture," Miranda assured her. "At least for the time being."

Well, Hermione thought, that's good enough for now. She dressed quickly, pulling on her school robes and grabbing her wand. With all of the excitement she'd given little thought to the first day of classes and her new duties as head girl.

Bounding down the stairs to the common room, she was pleased to see Harry and Ron waiting there for her. Harry's eyes went immediately to her neck. "Brought your little friend, I see?" he said rather reproachfully.

"Bloody hell, you were right, Harry!" Ron said loudly, staring at the locket. "That picture just stuck her tongue out at you!"

Hermione put a hand protectively around the locket, wishing that it didn't fall so close to her chest if people were going to be staring at it all the time. "I take it you told him," she said to Harry. "And what's your problem with her anyway?"

Harry frowned. "Well, I remember a certain diary even if you don't..."

"Harry, she's not a diary. She's a picture. And she's harmless."

"I still don't like him," came a muffled voice from underneath her hand.

"I think it's brilliant!" Ron interjected. "Imagine a whole other house that no one knows about, and Hermione just happens to be her great great... er, great something or other."

Harry gave him a Look.

"Though of course the bit about Slytherin was kind of icky," Ron added quickly. "Hey, do you think Dumbledore knows about this?"

"Who's Dumbledore?" Miranda asked after Hermione reluctantly removed her hand.

"He's the headmaster," Harry said, "And he knows pretty much everything, so I'd bet that he does. Now there's an idea! We could ask him about you... he'd be able to tell us..."

Hermione shook her head. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore has much more important things to worry about than old jewelry."

Miranda nodded. "No need to make a fuss, dear, really."

Hermione started out the door of the common room. "I'd suggest you two come with me," she called behind her, "Potions is first today and I suspect that Snape would be quite put off if we're late."

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

As it was, they managed to slip in just under the mark, though of course Snape gave them a rather nasty look upon their entrance anyway.

"As you all know," he began, pacing in the front of the classroom, his black robes billowing ominously behind him (How does he do that? Hermione wondered). "This is your last year here at Hogwarts and therefore will be taking NEWTs upon its completion. Of course, only those of you who have already showed competency in potion making have been accepted into this class, however..." He paused, shooting a pointed look at the Gryffindor side of the room, "That does not mean that you will perform well on these examinations, as they will make your OWLs look like child's play. And I am quite sure that some of you will disappoint me on a regular basis, making up for your less accomplished classmates who are no longer in this course."

Draco Malfoy, sniggering from the other side of the classroom, whispered loudly to Pansy Parkinson, "In other words, who's going to be the next Neville Longbottom?"

Snape continued. "The first part of this course we will begin work on several draughts that I'm sure most of you will find extremely challenging. Others of you will not." He nodded approvingly in the general direction of Draco.

"They remind me of Salazar," Miranda said, "Though the older one has much greasier hair."

Hermione immediately clenched the locket in her hand, looking up at Snape in horror as he stared her down, his lip curling menacingly.

"Excuse me, Miss Granger? You wished to add something?"

"I didn't say anything," she said immediately. She could feel Harry squirming in the seat beside her.

"Oh, I see." Snape looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "In that case, your companions..." He nodded to Harry and Ron, "have developed lovely feminine voices over the vacation. Perhaps for some, puberty works itself in reverse."

Strains of laughter drifted over from the Slytherin side of the classroom. Hermione could feel herself growing red, and she was quite certain the Harry and Ron were as well. Before any of them could say anything, Snape turned his back and marched to the front of the chalkboard, saying loudly, "Ten points from Gryffindor. No, make it twenty for such a spiffing start of the year for our brand new Head Boy and Girl."

Harry turned to her and glared at the locket, which Hermione still had curled in her fist.

The rest of the class period managed to pass without incident, but Hermione had a feeling that she was going to be on the receiving end of a rather militant "I told you so" upon its completion. But before Harry could say anything, she found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"Nice start, Head Girl," he said, spitting out the last two words. "Why on earth Dumbledore appointed a mud..."

"Stop right there!" Ron interrupted angrily, shoving his wand into Draco's stomach. "I just dare you to finish that sentence."

Draco held up his hands in feigned fright. "Oh no, Weasley, did I insult your girlfriend? I thought you were going with whats-her-name, but truthfully I think this match is a bit more suited. The only girls in this school who aren't too good for you are the filthy mud..."

Harry's wand had now joined Ron's. "I don't have to curse you," he said, "I'll just shove this thing straight up your..."

"My, this is fascinating!" Miranda bubbled.

Draco's eyes lit onto the locket. He swiped at it, his hand grabbing the pennant while the chain was still attached to Hermione's neck, giving her a slight choking sensation. "What's this?" he asked, peering at the picture.

"Let that go!" Hermione cried, slapping his hand.

He dropped it and took a step back, and the boys reluctantly dropped their wands. "Whatever, Granger," he said. "So nice that you have your own little cult of bodyguards. It's not as if they could get any other girls in the school..." His gaze lingered on Ron and he smirked. "Though you know that I can."

Ron lunged at him and Harry grabbed him by the back of his robes. Draco just laughed and disappeared down the corridor.

"That slimy git..." Ron was muttering, "My sister... I'll throttle him..."

"It's not worth it," Harry said, letting him go and brushing off the back of his robes. "Not outside of Snape's classroom. You'd have detention for a month and Malfoy would walk away clean."

"Besides," Hermione added, "We all know that Ginny dumped him."

"Well, that's not what he tells everyone," Ron mumbled, shoving his wand back into his pocket.

Once Ron had calmed down a bit, the attention was focused back onto Miranda. "You're going to get us into trouble!" Harry hissed at her.

"Your potions professor has ears like a bat," she said, her tone defensive. "I was not speaking to him."

"In Snape's class, you're always speaking to him," Ron said sourly, adding under his breath, "Greasy git."

"MR. WEASLEY!" a thundering voice echoed from the dungeon door. Snape glided through it, his unblinking gaze fixing on Ron. "I trust you three have a good reason for loitering outside my classroom?"

"Erm... we... ah, I mean, that is..." Ron stumbled, looking as if a deer caught in headlights.

"I thought as much," Snape said, looking disgusted. "Well, go on!" He looked at Harry and Hermione. "I'm sure that important people such as yourselves have other places to be." With that, he turned on his heels and headed down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"He's head of Slytherin," Harry said to Miranda. "Still think they're all romantic now?"

She pursed her lips. "At least he appears to have a head on his shoulders, which is more than I could say for Godric most of the time."

Harry's mouth opened, an angry glint in his eyes, but Hermione cut him off. "Good grief, you two!" She turned to Harry. "Do you realize that you are fighting with a photograph? Give it a rest!" Looking down at Miranda, she added, "Do try to get along, will you? And if you aren't quiet in my classes and around other people I'll have to leave you in my room."

The witch in the picture looked annoyed, but kept her mouth shut for the rest of the morning.

*****

When Care of Magical Creatures rolled around, Hermione thought it best to distance herself from Ron and Harry for a while, and found herself partnered with Justin Finch-Fletchley as they had a look at salamanders.

"Go ahead," Hagrid was saying, "Give 'em a shot with an incendio spell. They love it, they do. And depending on what color they turn - kind of red or a kind of blue, it'll let yeh know how hot the flames are. I imagine Professor Flitwick would fancy this practice I'm forcing on you all - the redder they turn, the better yer spell castin'."

Justin made a face at the squirming white lizard in front of them. "He's rather... slimy, isn't he?"

"I suppose, but they're rather pretty too," Hermione said, looking at it fondly. She felt strange setting it afire, but she knew that they fed off the flames, so really it was just like giving it a snack...

"Incendio!" she said, flicking her wand. The end shot out a lovely orange flame, bathing the salamander. She was leaning a bit far forward though, and she heard a little yelp from Miranda as the locket strayed a bit close to the flame.

She snuffed out the flames and unclasped the locket around her neck. "Would you mind holding this for a second?" she asked Justin. She had a feeling that he didn't want to get any closer to the lizard than he had to.

But he was turned in the other direction, staring at Dean Thomas, who was partnered with Seamus just behind them.

"Justin? Justin!"

He spun back around. "Oh, sorry, Hermione." Grinning, he added, "You Gryffindors get all the best lot. The boys in Hufflepuff are absolute goobers."

Hermione laughed. "Well, I rather think we have our share of goobers ourselves, but I suppose some of them are reasonably good looking."

He glanced back at Dean. "Mmm hmmm."

She shook her head, amused. "Hold this, will you? Unless you'd rather take care of the salamander."

He held out his hand and she dropped the locket into it. "It's pretty," he said, as she cast another incendio spell on the salamander, who ran around gleefully on the log in front of them.

She nodded, hoping Miranda would continue to be quiet.

When the class was over, she took the locket back from Justin and slipped it back around her neck. When the other students were out of earshot, Miranda said, "What a nice young man. He's a Hufflepuff, is he?"

"Yes, he is," Hermione said absently.

"A nice young man," Miranda repeated.

****

During lunch, Hermione managed to excuse herself for a bit of peace and quiet. She was walking past the library when she heard a familiar voice around the corner of the hallway. Instinctively, she slowed her step and listened.

"It's been tingling all day," Draco was saying to someone, "Ever since I grabbed that stupid locket from Granger. She must have had some sort of curse on it."

Another step forward and she suddenly found herself face to face with him. He was rubbing his right hand with the other, and walking beside Crabbe.

"What do you want, Granger?" he sneered, immediately dropping his hands. "No one to protect you at the moment, is there?"

She glared at him. "I could curse circles around you and you know it."

He laughed. "Right. If you knew half the ones I did, maybe." Pushing Crabbe's arm, they walked off in the other direction.

Every encounter with Draco left Hermione with a bad taste in her mouth. But this time... for some reason...

No. It couldn't be. She shook her head back and forth, convinced that something must have just pried itself loose in her brain.

She suddenly found Draco Malfoy extremely attractive.