I expect a guardian

Chapter 1

The legend of the Chamber of Secrets is the most enigmatic of all tales concerning the establishing of Hogwarts. When the four greatest witches and wizards of their age, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, came together to establish a school for those with magical abilities, it was logical that they chose a location far away from the eyes of non-magical people due to the climate of persecution prevalent at that time. Records show that the Hogwarts founders worked together for several years, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. However, a rift grew between Slytherin and the others when he criticized the number of students being admitted who came from non-magical families. Slytherin believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families and that students not of this parentage were untrustworthy. Eventually, a serious argument arose between Slytherin and Gryffindor regarding the subject and such was the acrimony of the disagreement, Slytherin left the school for good. The legend of the Chamber of Secrets aris-

Hermione was so engrossed in her reading; she didn't hear her friend calling her name or heard her groan out loud. Until a small, but strong hand with freckles appeared in front of her eyes, shielding the portion of text she was reading. She was forced to look up and catch the eye roll of her friend.

"Really, Hermione? Again? You practically have it memorized at this point!" Ginny said, looking exasperated. She would look very intimidating, if she wasn't looking at the vanilla muffin she had in her hands, with giddiness.

"Honestly, I haven't read it that mu-"

"Oh no you don't, you have read it more than enough. We have more important things to discuss. Like, look at how delicious this muffin looks. You haven't eaten a lot; you shouldn't skip breakfast." She took a bite immediately, after she finished her sentence.

Hermione snorted at the speed Ginny devoured the pastry. Must be a Weasley thing.

"I'm not very hungry. I was enjoying my tea and my book, before I was rudely interrupted." She sniffed, while taking a sip from her now cold tea. She looked at it, with displeasure, as if it was its fault that it was cold.

It was Ginny's turn to snort loudly. As she looked at her friend, an anxiousness fell into her face.

"Hermione, are you okay?" She asked very softly, taking care of her tone, so no one would be able to listen.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I be, okay?" She quickly answered, too quickly. She internally chided herself for getting defensive, because now Ginny will know.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't try to lie. I should take points for this bad attempt, but I will not." She raised her eyebrow and tried to look sarcastic, but it fell flat. Her face took the same anxious and caring look she had, when she first asked the question. "What's wrong? Did anything happen?"

"I'm fine, really. Nothing's wron-"

"Are you on your period? Because I have some poti-" She was quickly silenced by Hermione's hand, on her mouth. A look of mischievousness came in her eyes and she licked her palm, causing Hermione to yelp and take her hand away. She giggled evilly, while her friend was wiping her hand on her skirt.

"Don't lick my palm, you witch!" She scolded her friend. She tried looking stern, but a smile was already forming on her lips. "And stop interrupting me, it's really rud-"

"No." Just as Hermione was about to open her mouth, she continued. "Don't think that I didn't notice how you tried changing the subject. Now tell me, what's going on." She finished with pursed lips, while looking at her friend's eyes.

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. "Today's DADA lesson will be on the Patronus charm." Her voice, even though it was already quiet, when she started explaining, ended up being quieter by the end of her explanation.

"Oh." Ginny didn't have to say something else. She knew. She was the only person Hermione told.

It happened during the Battle. Voldemort managed to bring Dementors. The Order thought that Dementors cannot form an alliance with anyone. Turns out, they can. Only, if they're promised to have a lot of souls to feed on. It was a big surprise.

At some point, she was fighting against a Death Eater, when a Dementor came towards them. The Death Eater, knowing that they couldn't do anything, started running away from them. Hermione had to choose between stunning the Death Eater, or casting the Patronus charm. She chose the second one.

Unfortunately for her, the Battle had taken its toll on her and she found it extremely hard to focus on a happy memory. She did casted once, but only a whispery smoke escaped her wand. The Dementor did back up for a bit, but it was like it knew that she couldn't do anything else, so it descended upon her.

Those few seconds felt like eternity. She couldn't run. She couldn't produce a happy memory. She was going to be Kissed. She couldn't save her parents. She won't be able to save her friends. She's worthless. Brightest witch of her age and she can't even produce a strong enough Patronus, to save herself. As the Dementor closed in on her, tears slipped from her eyes, washing away the dirt from her cheeks. Just as she felt the last shred of hope fading away, she was blinded by a bright light.

It was beautiful. Time slowed down. A majestic corporeal Patronus came running towards her. She could faintly see a caster, but her vision was already blurred by the tears and the light, she wasn't able to make out any details. As it was coming closer, she started making out its form. It was a big stormy gray Hippogriff. It stood on its back legs, fluttering its wings to the dark creature. The Dementor couldn't do anything else, but disappear.

The Hippogriff, once it realized that there's no danger anymore, turned towards her. It stood in front of her and in a very slow manner, bowed its head and disappeared in a silver smoke. Hermione slowly shook her head and stood up. She didn't even know when she fell down. By the time her senses came back, she tried finding out who might be the caster, but there was no one around.

She didn't have time for this. Not right now. Now she had friends to help. Friends to save. Later. Later she will sit down and analyze this. If they win. If she's alive, she grimly thought. She mentally shook her head, now it's not the time. With a new purpose, she strode towards the noise of the Battle.

She was brought back to present, by Ginny's voice. "Do you think the caster will be at the class?" She curiously asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so, at least. I've asked some people, but no one saw it." She huffed, clearly annoyed at the situation. "I mean, I asked most of the Order, no one has a Hippogriff as their Patronus. The rest of the students, in our class, are Slytherins and I doubt that they would want to save me. Or that they would have such a powerful and rare corporeal form."

"You never know, though. For all we know, it could be Malfoy." They both looked at each other, as she said this and they simultaneously burst into giggles. "Can you imagine though? Do you think he'd have 3rd year flashbacks?" She was clearly trying to hold her laughter. Hermione nodded, while trying to also suppress her laugh. After a few minutes, they sobered up, however some giggles did escape.

"I do want to find out who saved me, though. I owe them my life, Ginny. It was so close. I don't care who they are. They can be a Slytherin, or a Death Eater for all I care. They still saved my life."

"With your luck Hermione, they're probably both." They both snorted loudly at that. She does have a bad luck. As she was about to take a sip, from her cold tea, she cast a charm to see what time it was.

"Merlin! I'm late for class; I'll see you later!" She exclaimed, while she was gathering her things.

"See you lat-'' Ginny let her voice fade away, since Hermione was already exiting the Grand Hall. She shook her head, amused by her friend's antics. A soft smile was on her lips. She doesn't really care about the identity of the caster, but whoever it was, they saved her best friend and that was more than enough for her. That was enough mushiness for today, she doesn't want her thoughts to go to the Battle and what she has lost. Besides, they're more pastries, ready to be devoured.