Hp: Hermione and Darkness

After a while, the friends finally went to sleep. Hermione was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Unfortunately, her deep sleep was short-lived. She found herself wide awake around three in the morning after a particularly horrible nightmare. After lying there and trying to imagine shapes in the cobwebs (and only seeing gravestones from the cemetery), Hermione quietly got out of bed and snuck down the stairs to the kitchen. She thought maybe a nice glass of milk or water could help her calm down and go back to sleep.

As she turned the corner into the kitchen, Hermione jumped back in fear. There, under the table, was some sort of creature! Terror overcame her. She couldn't breathe. Out of pure habit and fear, Hermione reached for her wand but realised she had left it in her room. She cursed herself silently and knew she needed to get out of there. Hermione spun around and took off in the direction of the stairs. She only got two steps before hitting a giant, squishy wall.

"'Mione?" Ron said, grabbing her before she fell backwards. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Ron! Th-th-there's something—"

"Filthy mudblood," came a loud whisper from where she had seen the creature.

"Kreacher, you bloody git," Ron growled, looking over Hermione's shoulder at whatever was behind her.

"Mudblood in the noble house, bringing shame to the Black family. Disgraceful, it is."

"Kreacher, I'm warning you!"

"Yes, Master Weasley. Kreacher is sorry, Master Weasley," came the voice again but then dropped to a whisper once more. "Blood traitor in the house of Black, serving his Mudblood-loving friend. Kreacher doesn't approve."

"Damnit, Kreacher!" Ron said, letting go of Hermione and lunging towards the creature.

"Ron, stop!" Hermione said, trying to grab him as he passed her. She managed to catch his nightshirt and slow his advancement. The creature scampered across the room to a small cupboard or pantry and slammed the door shut behind him. "What was that?" Hermione asked.

"Kreacher," Ron said. "The Black's tosser of a house elf… and before you even start, he is anything BUT worth your worry about his rights or whatnot. He's a right git and deserves no sympathy."

"But Ron—"

"'Mione," he said, grabbing her by the shoulders again. This time, however, it was much gentler. She looked up into his eyes. "He's like the house elf version of Malfoy. He's awful."

"Wouldn't you if you were—"

"Can we save the spew talk for another day?" Ron asked. "Why are you up at three in the morning anyway?"

"Had a nightmare," Hermione said. "What are you doing up?"

"Same," Ron said. "Fancy a game of Wizard Chess?"

Hermione smiled. Wizard Chess sounded perfect.

The next few days were a whirlwind of cleaning and getting used to living at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. Hermione had never worked so hard at cleaning in her life, but she loved every moment. She learned all about the different kinds of vermin of the Wizarding World that infested the house. Dodging dark magical items and potions added an intense thrill to each day.

Hermione formally met Kreacher at breakfast one day. Ron was right—Kreacher was not a very lovely house elf. However, could anyone blame the poor elf? Hermione would be miserable, too, if she had a life in servitude with wizards who resented her.

She always made it a point to treat Kreacher kindly regardless of whatever he said about her (which was always a lot). Some of his insults hurt, but Hermione was adamant about treating him with as much kindness as she could muster. During one of his visits, Dumbledore reiterated the importance of the Order extending kindness to the old house-elf.

The Extendable Ears proved to be a very lucrative tool. During the Order of the Phoenix meetings, they would all take turns listening in and trying to discern what was going on.

Almost every night, Hermione would wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare, and nearly every night, she and Ron would meet up in the kitchen for a game of Wizard Chess. They didn't talk much—just played until one or both felt tired enough to go back to sleep.

Spending time with Tonks had proven to be incredibly fascinating. Unlike Animagi, Metamorphmagi could take a wide variety of forms, changing gender and age, potentially looking like anyone at all, or even just changing a part of their appearance, such as the colour of their hair or the shape of their noses. Animagi could also transform at will, but only into one animal form determined by their inner traits. There seemed to be no limit to Tonk's ability, and Hermione, Ginny, and Ron tested it every night when she would visit.

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