Sweet Sixteen

~Chapter Ten~

Hermione walked out of the library in a daze. 'I cannot believe I did that!' was all that was going through her mind. She kept telling herself it was because he saved her life and that she was repaying him, or was it? She wasn't exactly sure what it was. She wasn't exactly sure of a lot of things anymore.

"Hey, Hermione." Hermione stopped at the sound of her best-friend's voice; and slowly turned to face him.

"Hi Harry," Hermione squeaked. 'Oh no, there's that smile,' she thought bitterly.

"Uhhh... are you going to Potions?" Hermione checked her watch, noticing the time, and mentally slapped herself. Harry took her silence as an answer. "Can I walk with you?"

Hermione nodded. "Can you believe Dumbledore is going to be teaching with Snape today?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"What? Dumbledore is teaching? I didn't know that! When did they decide this?" asked Hermione.

"You didn't hear? Snape announced it last week. No one knows why, though," said Harry. He looked off down the hall with a distant look on his face.

Hermione and Harry were almost to the cold, damp dungeons when Hermione suddenly stopped. She felt her head spinning, and she saw many different colors swirling around her vision, until it came to a stop. She saw a little girl, around the age of seven, sitting on a red wood mahogany floor. Hermione saw large tears threaten to spill from the little girl's eyes. The little girl saw something on the floor and picked it up....

"Hermione... Hermione are you ok?" Hermione looked up to see Harry's worried face. "What happened? One minute you were about to open the door, the next minute you were just standing there, looking like you've seen a ghost, which isn't very uncommon here, but you get my drift, right?"

"I dunno Harry, I just felt dizzy all of a sudden, come on lets go inside." Hermione opened the door to the Potions room and stepped inside to find almost every one was inside eagerly awaiting the lesson. Snape was behind his desk with his lips pursed in a fashion that clearly says: 'I hate you all'. Dumbledore was on the left side of Snape, clearly contradicting him, with his big smile, and his bright blue eyes, that were twinkling, merrily. Hermione sat in the front row, with Harry on her left and Ron following them in, sat on her right. After a few minutes of waiting rather impatiently, Snape stood up.

"As you all know" Snape said, in his low silky voice, "we have the pleasure of having Headmaster Dumbledore in the dungeons to teach today. I shouldn't have to remind you, but since there are some of you--" he took this time to glance at the dream team "--who like to break the rules, you will all be on your best behavior." He paused for a dramatic effect. "Alright Professor, its all yours."

"Thank you, Professor Snape. Today we will be learning a spell that some has uncommonly called a potion because of its form. Now I know your wondering why we are learning this here instead of DADA, but this spell does not require a wand because instead of saying the words, you put it in front of you. It's called Blockado, and it is used, in a way, as a shield. If someone says a curse you put the 'spell' in front of you, it will absorb the curse in the heart, or, the middle of the ball, you can then throw it at a person, they will get the full affects of the curse ten fold. The ball will fly back to you, and if you so wish, you may throw it at another. The spell is made out of a list of very hard ingredients, such as: bats wings, worms breath, eight inches of ground spiders legs, and Devils Snare. The combination of all the ingredients makes it smooth and transparent on the outside with blue swirls of color on the inside. When the spell gets trapped inside, it changes into a forest green. Once you get those items together, you roll it in a ball, and let it sit for two days before you can use. Unlike other potions, or spells, you must use it within two months of making it, if you try it after those two months, YOU will get the curse ten fold. Does everyone understand?" At this every one nodded. "Excellent! Well, it just so happens, Professor Snape made a Blockado a few weeks ago. We need two volunteers to try it out." Dumbledore looked up to find everyone's faces blank.

"Don't all get up at once." Once again he was met with blank stares. Dumbledore smiled to himself. "Alright, I'll pick. Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy, if you please."

Hermione stood up feeling for the first time in her life, that she wished she ditched. Not that she wasn't extremely enthralled, for this was one thing, not even she knew about, but she had to be partnered with Malfoy and on top of all that; she felt like she was going to hurl.

Malfoy had an unmistakable glint in his eyes, that only meant he was way too proud to be one of the first people to try it out. Hermione caught his eye and he gave a tiny smile, and she gave him one in return.

"Mr. Malfoy, you will be the one holding the Blockado, Miss Granger you will be the one saying the spell. Mr. Malfoy, if you would be hold it in front of you, and when you see the spell come at you, try to catch it in the ball. You will NOT be throwing it back, do you both understand?" asked Dumbledore. They both nodded their heads in approval. "Alright, Miss Granger, when you are ready"

Hermione raised her arm in the air, and was about to utter Stupefy when she got that sensation of spinning again, only this time she heard someone in her head, and it wasn't her voice, she wasn't sure what it was telling her, but somehow she felt herself obeying....

"Miss Granger... Miss Granger... Miss Granger, are you alright?" asked Dumbledore. Everyone was watching the Muggleborn girl in a questioning glaze. She was standing there with her wand ready to fight, but she looked sickly pale, and her eyes were void of any emotion. They were dull, and not at all close to the rich chocolate brown everyone was use to.

Hermione was feeling such intense pain, she could no longer fight it, and felt herself succumb to the wishes of whom-ever it was and fall in an easy sleep, but not before crashing to the floor, in a sickening thwack.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, as he saw her body fall limply to the floor. Professors Dumbledore and Snape rushed to her side along with Harry and Draco. Both boys stopped and glared at each other before they both realized why they were there in the first place.

"Get back you two," Snape hissed. "You heard me, back to your seats, now!!" Harry and Draco walked slowly back to their seats. Dumbledore cradled Hermione as though she were a baby and put her gently on the desk. He tried opening her eyes, but it was as though they were sown shut. Suddenly her eyes popped open, but they weren't brown.... They were red. Hermione sat up slowly, with a sadistic grin on her pale face. She looked around at everyone, until she laid her eyes on Dumbledore and Snape. If it was possible, her grin grew more lopsided and evil. Hermione slowly ascended in the air her legs lying painfully numb behind her.

She turned slowly to face the Professors and spoke with a hard chilling voice, very much unlike her own.

"I see you two haven't changed a bit, and you will find neither have I. You must learn you cant defeat me, I will always find a way. This time my rise will be because of someone else, not me, and when they join, my reign will be forever. Oh, and Snape, I have not finished with you yet."

Hermione Granger's flaming red eyes disappeared and her brown ones reappeared, her floating body suddenly gained back her weight, and it fell evenly on the hard table. It took a few moments for her to regain consciousness, but when she did everyone's eyes were staring at her in the oddest fashion. What the heck happened?

"Miss Granger, are you alright?" asked Dumbledore, while trying to regain his composure.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Mr. Potter, would you please escort Miss Granger to the hospital wing. Mr. Malfoy please watch the class for a moment, Professor Snape; come with me."

Everybody did as they were told. Snape followed Dumbledore to his office and sat down.

"Professor, was it my imagination, or did Voldemort just possess Miss Granger?"