Yay! Second Chapter! But for the record, don't be expecting updates this speedy-quick all the time.

This one was half written before I even finished the first chapter! So yeah. There might be some delays, I promise I'll try to keep up though!

Oh! And be sure to check out the prologue I added. It's short, but it's important! Probably!

Chapter 2: Different Kinds of Masks

"Come along Harry, we'll be late to class if we don't leave now," she urged, tugging his sleeve as she stood. "Alright Mione, let me get my things," he obeyed, smiling sweetly and grabbing his pack.

"Aw, come on mate! You've got a good five minutes before that bloody Potions class," Ron whined, not bothering to seperate himself from his chicken leg when talking.

Hermione scowled.

"Ronald, not everyone has time to waste drowning themselves in gravy. In fact, you're supposed to be in Astronomy right now, and you have even farther to walk than we do," she reminded him, before grabbing Harry's had and dragging hi towards the dungeons

The dungeons were cold and depressing as ever, and seeing Snape standing like some sort of dark sentinel at the door to the Potions lab seemed to make the temperature fall even further.

"Move along Potter, Granger, I haven't all day to wait for you," he drawled, shutting the door behind them.

They were actually a few minutes early, but as this was N.E.W.T Potions, the remainder of the class was exclusively Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and both houses preferred to show up outrageously early."

"Now that our Gryffindors have deigned to grace us with their presence, we may begin," he said, earning cruel but quiet chuckles from the other students.

"Today we will begin brewing Amortentia. I will warn you only once. If you attempt to use this on yourself or anyone else, you will be expelled without question. Turn to page 306 and read the section on Amortentia. When you have finished, turn to 312 and begin.

She had already read these pages, but for safety's sake, Hermione read them again, her eyes scanning the page rapidly."

Amortentia...most potent love potion...approximately three months to brew...potential permanent affects...illegal to use in all but research purposes.

She knew all of this, but the recap was necessary. She stood and went to gather the ingredients, and was surprised to find Draco Malfoy already reaching for his Ashwinder eggs.

She didn't miss Snape's "casual" glance, as if he was already predicting a chance to take points. From her of course.

Scowling slightly she ignored him, gathering her own eggs, as well as rose thorns, and powdered moonstone, and left before he could come up with a way to taunt her. Harry leaned over and whispered.

"Did Malfoy say something? You look irritated."

She smiled wanly and shook her head.

Malfoy was the least of her problems, although she didn't exactly appreciate all the people asking her why he'd taken to staring at her in confusion, instead of bullying her like he ought to.

Instead she focused on her potion, measuring the ingredients meticulously and placing them into the cauldron.

"I'm serious Mione, you looked kind of riled up. Are you sure Malfoy didn't say something to you?"

"I swear Harry, he didn't, he's just a nuisance, okay? Don't worry about it."

The class couldn't have ended soon enough.

Hermione smiled secretly as she practically skipped between the stacks, her steps nearly as light as her mood as her hand slid over the bookshelves familiarly, but also searchingly, as if she were studying every nick and scratch in the wood memorizing the texture. And then, she felt what she was looking for, a small, invisible seam, cut into the shelf, as if it had been sliced through to the other side, but only around the width of one single book. She looked up, and examined the first edition copy of Hogwarts a History, which was steadily gathering dust, obviously not touched in years. And why would it be? There were more recent, accurate, and comprehensive editions. Why would anyone touch the beyond ancient book. Even she, the so-called Queen of the Library would've passed it over for the most recent edition available.

But here it was, the very tome she'd been looking for, though for once, not because she intended to read it.

She pulled it out from its shelf and flipped to the exact middle of the book, where a picture of an ancient oak door appeared.

She grinned when she saw it, lifting her want to tap the image right on the word "Open" engraved into it, and cast "Alohamora."

Then she snapped the book shut abruptly she placed it back on the shelf, and waited.

Not long after, a small, squeaking sound filled the air, and the bookcase slid open, revealing a dark, spiraling staircase, both descending and rising into darkness in both directions.

Shouldering her bag* she stepped onto the platform, and began the harrowing trip upwards, into what she knew to be Rowena Ravenclaw's private library.

The bookcase slid shut behind her.

Hermione only stayed in Rowena's sanctuary for a few minutes, retrieving some of the things she'd left the night before, and adding a few of the more interesting titles to her expansion-charmed bag, before heading back up the stairs.

The Founders' private areas was laid out simply enough, with Rowena's massive library encompassing the whole western halfof the upper levels, with the highest being her rooms, while the other half being split between Godric and Helga, who only needed rooms, except for a private greenhouse Hermione had not managed to get into yet, which made up the roof of the Western tower. The lower levels, were of course, Salazar's laboratory, and another, smaller library as well as his rooms, which by her calculations, were directly above the Chamber of Secrets. It was also where she intended to go now.

The suite was very, very green, and no matter how many times she came here, her amusement with the great Slytherin's apparent obsession with green never stopped. Green marble, green silk, green glass, green brick, /silver/ wall hangings, green ceiling. Even the paintings seemed to be done exclusively in shades of green. It was a bit more green than any person should experience in one lifetime.

But it also had a fireplace, green marble streaked with silver and black, that was left unwarded from students. Hermione doubted Dumbledore had ever been here, let alone one of her classmates, so this was the best place of any to communicate to the outside; specifically, her Father.

The fireplace roared to life, and a dark haired man with green eyes appeared in the flames.

He sighed a longsuffering sigh.

"Where is he?"

"Probably detained by the bat. Apparently he's been acting oddly," she said snidely.

"Wouldn't have guessed myself, he's always been a right idiot when it came to bullying the little muggleborn girl. They probably think he's developed a crush, what with the way he's been staring after me the last few weeks.

Do you really think he can handle this?"

Her father smirked.

"Are you doubting me, girl?"

It was her turn to sigh this time.

"No Father. I just hope you'll give me the privilege the punish him if he ruins this for me.

The man called Voldemort smiled in his way.

"You'll have an eternity for that. We have business to attend to," he said, and right on cue, Draco's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

Draco had to do a double take when he saw the person Hermia was talking to. He'd never get used to the idea of /Voldemort/ with a head of black hair. Or a nose for that matter.

A glamour mask, Hermia called it. It was a plain costume mask not unlike the ones regular Death Eaters used, except it was imbued with powerful enchantments that caused the wearer to appear as something else entirely, and couldn't be seen through with magic eyes or faery sight.

Personally, Draco didn't understand why he didn't just go out as a normal man. He wasn't even half ugly. But still terrifying all the same, somehow.

"Glad to see you could join us, Mr. Malfoy. Please, sit. We have much to talk about."