Hermione comes into possession of a certain diary.

Shortest chapter, setting up what’s to come!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

The summer flew by and soon it was time to go to Diagon Alley to get her school supplies.

Her parents had decided to take her early, and they headed to Flourish and Blotts, where some Wizard Hermione wasn’t familiar with was having a book signing, and the line was out the door.

The Granger family went into the store together, and Hermione browsed through the books, so eager to get started on her reading that she didn’t notice the Weasley family come in with Harry Potter. It wasn’t until the smiling man behind the counter grabbed Harry and some reporter started taking their picture?

That Hermione realized what was going on.

She stood back quietly and watched as a tall man with long blonde hair started arguing with a man that looked to be Ron Weasley’s father.

Hermione grabbed her Father’s hand and started heading towards the door, when she was outed by Draco Malfoy.

“Look who it is, Father?” Draco sneered condescendingly, “It’s the girl I told you about this summer.”

Squeezing her Father’s hand, she watched warily as the regal man with the long blonde hair looked down at her in the most condescending way.

“Ah yes, Miss Granger, isn’t it?” The older wizard glanced down at his son for confirmation, and Draco just nodded and sneered in her general direction. His father then turned to address her again, giving her parents a distasteful passing glance in the process as he drawled arrogantly, “And these are your parents?” He asked with feigned politeness. “Muggles aren’t they?”

His voice dropped off at the end literally dripping with disdain.

Hermione stared up at the wizard, not breaking eye contact but he just rose a single eyebrow at her boldness, his face not giving anything away.

“I’ve always found it rather fascinating when people ask rhetorical questions, don’t you? It makes answering superfluous, don’t you think?” Hermione responded evenly, raising an eyebrow mockingly at Draco’s father, and she could have sworn she saw his eyes darken for a moment, but just as quickly his countenance cleared and he turned his attention back to Mr. Weasley.

“And you, Arthur? The Ministry sending you out on unnecessary raids. It’s a disgrace, all those extra raids and you can’t even afford to buy your children proper books.”

At that comment, he grabbed the youngest Weasley girl’s books out of her cauldron, looking at them in contempt and dropped them back in.

Hermione watched the exchange and noticed instantly that there was one additional book in the cauldron that hadn’t been there before the exchange. She missed the rest of the conversation between the two men, and before she knew it?

Mr. Weasley had attacked Mr. Malfoy and her parents ushered her out of the bookstore, her father mumbling something about Neanderthals.

She also didn’t miss the look of anger and hate coming from Draco Malfoy either, and she knew she’d pay for insulting his father at some point during this upcoming year; however, she was more concerned about the book that Lucius Malfoy had placed in the young girl’s cauldron.

She could feel the Dark magic radiating off of it.

Stopping her father and explaining that she’d forgotten something in the bookstore, Hermione went back quickly inside, noticing that Malfoy and his father were long gone and the youngest Weasley girl was standing by herself waiting for her mother—who was getting some books signed by the smiling man behind the counter.

Hermione quietly went over to where the young girl had set her cauldron down and looked around quickly, before she switched the book she’d seen Mr. Malfoy place in the cauldron with another that looked just like it.

She palmed the small black book that appeared to be some kind of diary, and placed it discreetly into her robes, quickly moving out of the store to find her parents.

Hermione had no idea what the book was, but she planned on finding out.

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