Magic? || Years 1-5

Hermione Too?: Year 2

"I'll find a way to handle it all," Hermione shrugged nonchalantly as if her schedule wouldn't be the length of a novel.

Amisty just nodded, not believing it for a second but not wanting to point it out.

-=+=-

A few more weeks passed, Gryffindor's Quidditch against Hufflepuff only a day away.

It had seemed like a normal, calm day, and Amisty and Hermione were sitting in a comfortable silence in the common room, each deeply immersed in her own book.

When Harry and Ron raced down to them, her head shot up. Apparently, the boys' dormitory had been ransacked, and Riddle's diary was gone.

"But -- only a Gryffindor could have stolen -- nobody else knows our password -- " Hermione stumbled over her words, jaw practically on the floor.

"I can't believe anyone would do that..." Amisty continued, just as shocked and appalled as Hermione.

"Exactly," Harry replied darkly.

The next morning was far from how the quartet felt.

With sunshine pouring into the castle and a slight breeze in the air. Amisty was sitting with Ron and Hermione at breakfast, Harry down the other end of the table with the rest of the Gryffindor team.

She couldn't help but overhear Oliver Wood, as anyone who had normal hearing could hear his ecstatic voice.

"Perfect Quidditch conditions! Harry, buck up there, you need a decent breakfast." He was grinning like a madman.

If there was one thing Oliver was always ready for, it was Quidditch.

Harry's green gaze was scouring down the table, most likely in search of the thief.

Amisty ate her breakfast slowly, chatting occasionally with Hermione and Ron when it popped up.

She even got into a heated debate about how chocolate beat caramel any day.

By the end of it, Ron and she were both shooting each other joking glares.

They were walking back up to the Gryffindor common room so Harry could get his Quidditch supplies when he suddenly yelled out.

Amisty leaped away, crashing into Hermione as she went.

"The voice! I just heard it again -- didn't you?" His eyes were wide and he looked around wildly.

Amisty strained her ears, once again only picking up the muffled scratching noise. Ron shook his head, and after listening closely once more, she dropped her concentration and shook her head as well.

Hermione, on the other hand, stiffened, her eyes brightening.

"Harry -- I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" She raced away up the stairs before any of them could follow after her.

"What does she understand?" Harry asked, but it didn't sound like he was paying much attention.

"Loads more than I do," Ron sighed, shaking his head after taking one last look at where Hermione had disappeared.

Harry looked over at Amisty.

"I have no idea," She replied with a shrug, bewildered and torn between staying with the boys and running after her.

"But why's she got to go to the library?" Harry fired another question, another question they didn't have the answer to.

"Because that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library," Ron shrugged, earning a nod from Amisty.

Harry didn't move from where he was standing, his two friends waiting patiently beside him.

That is until the crowd from the Great Hall flooded into the hallway. The excitement for the upcoming Quidditch evident in their loud chatter.

"You'd better get moving. It's nearly eleven -- the match -- " Ron started, and Harry ran up to Gryffindor Tower.

After trading glances with the redhead, the two of them made their way down to the Quidditch pitch.

They took their normal seats on the bleachers, waiting impatiently for the teams to walk onto the field.

Hermione had yet to rejoin them.

The teams walked on and both sides roared with cheers, the two opposing Houses cheering as loud as they could.

Just as Harry started to mount his broom, Professor McGonagall marched across the field, a violet megaphone tight in her grip.

"This match has been canceled," She spoke through it, speaking to everyone in the stadium Her words were met with boos and protests, and Oliver rushed to the ground.

"But Professor! We've got to play -- the Cup -- Gryffindor -- " He protested, looking devastated.

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Head of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!" She continued without a pause, dropping the megaphone and turning toward Harry.

"Let's see what's going on," Ron urged, forcing his way through the crowd with Amisty on his tail.

"Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too, Weasley, River..." Her voice trailed off as she led them back to the school.

Instead of to an office as the three had been expecting, they were headed to the hospital wing.

Amisty felt a sudden weight in her stomach.

"This will be a bit of a shock. There has been another attack... another double attack," Professor McGonagall explained, her voice gentle.

The raven haired girl's eyebrows creased together, terrified for what was to come. The Professor pushed open the door, revealing Madame Pomfrey leaning over a sixth-year girl.

The same girl who the boys had run into when they were spying on Malfoy. That wasn't the sight that heightened the sense of dread in Amisty, though, it was Hermione's stiff body lying in the bed beside the girl.

She felt her hand fly to her mouth, a choked noise leaving her mouth.

"Hermione!" Ron's expression was similar to the one on Amisty's, as was Harry's.

The girl who was usually so full of life now lay still, eyes wide and staring.

"They were found near the library. I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them..." Professor McGonagall held up a tiny circle mirror, it reflecting the lights in the room.

Amisty only glanced at it for a second and shook her head, feeling her gaze be drawn right back to Hermione.

There was a stinging sensation in the back of her eyes and she swallowed.

Hard.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower. I need to address the students in any case,"

The words carried weight with each syllable, piercing Amisty's heart as she struggled to keep calm.

Why did it have to be Hermione?