Semper Fi, Hermione

Semper Fi, Hermione
Sinbad
Harry Potter and the characters do not belong to me. J.K.R. owns all you recognize as well as her authorized agents. I only own the plot and original characters. I make no profit from this and I am not associated with the owners. I am not challanging the copyrite infringement is intended.

I would also like to take time for my lovely reviewers. Thanks for all of your encouragement. As my beta catches up I will be redoing chapters for a better read. Please be patient as I will try to make it worth your while and please send me a review as it makes my day and encourages me to write!

Finally, the first Hogsmeade weekend arrived. The trio had breakfast in the Great Hall; Hermione as well as the boys expected a full day of fun, and as Ron would put it,'A good meal makes a great day.' They ate their pancakes, eggs and sausage with gusto and returned to their rooms for their cloaks and money before meeting up in their common room.

While waiting for their chaperones Professors Flitwick and Snape, Mr Filch, the Caretaker, warned them about bringing banned items to the school and sneered at them. The professors arrived, and Professor Snape reminded them that their behavior reflected upon the school and in no way, shape or form were they to embarrass the school, or else. With that, the students and chaperones left the castle.

The morning was crisp and clear. The leaves showing red and gold, browns and yellows in all their glory. A bright and beautiful day to be sure. When they arrived in Hogsmeade, the trio split up. The boys wanted to go to the Quidditch Store and Honeydukes, and Hermione was going to the bookstore and would meet them later in the Three Broomsticks. They would then drink Butterbeer and hang out with their friends until it was time to go back to school.

Ron and Harry were having a great time with some of the guys, looking at the newest broom models. The new Firebolt in particular garnering much interest from them, especially Ron. The boys settled for purchasing polish and service kits for their brooms instead.

Next they went to Zonko's Joke Shop; it was nice but George and Fred's store, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, was quickly outstripping Zonko's. The twins were imaginative and all of their plots, jokes and schemes in school were in better use in their shop. Fred and George were so immersed in their work that their products were simply better than the other store's. Arthur Weasley's fascination with the Muggle world had inspired a whole new range of ideas for the boys to try out in their shop.

Harry and Ron often got to see new products before the general public, and Harry felt great being the one to get the twins started. They'd found their niche, and Harry truly believed people needed a laugh more often with You-Know-Who plotting. The boys spent a couple of hours laughing with Fred and George, and since the lunch hour was upon them and the shop would be shut down for it, Harry invited the twins to have lunch and Butterbeer with their old school chums.

Hermione perused several sections of books, totally losing track of time. There were so many books to look at and so many topics she was interested in. Hermione finally found two books that caught her eye for purchase. The first was The Trouble with Trolls and How to Defeat Them and the other was Potions Enhanced with Charms.

Hermione had been fascinated with Trolls ever since first year when she was almost killed by a mountain troll in the girls' bathroom. Although at the time she was scared out of her wits, it was what began the friendship with Harry and Ron, so the incident was never regretted. Hermione snapped out of her musings back to the present. Yes, these books definitely caught her eye. She hoped they would be as interesting as their titles suggested. She paid for her books and realized she was running late as she left the store. Hermione hurried, realizing she would be teased a bit by Ron especially for getting lost in a mountain of books. Ron aggravated her many times, teasing about the studious nature she possessed, but he was so good natured and fun loving it was hard to stay angry with him.

She cut into an alley, not realizing she was being followed by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. She walked quickly, eager to share her finds with the boys when suddenly she was grabbed from behind and slammed into a brick wall. Her wand fell to the ground from her robes. Hermione struggled violently, determined to gain her freedom, but she was not strong enough to fend off the three boys, especially without her wand. Trying to get help, she screamed and cried. Her pleas for help went either unheard or were ignored.

Draco slapped her face so hard that her mouth began to bleed. Goyle, Draco and Crabbe took turns holding her while she was kicked, punched and slapped. Her body hurt, head throbbing painfully, when she heard Draco say, "My dad wants to meet you, Mudblood, Portus!" A quill was thrust into her hand, and she disappeared, leaving her books and wand on the ground.

Harry and Ron were getting worried. Hermione was often a bit late after being in the bookstore, but never this late. Fred and George were also concerned. They decided to split up into two parties and look for her. Harry felt a bit guilty not keeping together in a group; he knew that Death Eaters were on the loose. How often were the students told to stay together? Hermione was all alone because they didn't want to look at books. He was beginning to regret splitting up.

Their first stop was the bookstore as she was usually there. They didn't see her inside, so Harry asked the cashier about Hermione. He was very disturbed to find she was there and left over an hour ago.

Fred and George decided to go west, Harry and Ron would go east. Fred suggested that the bookstore would be the best place to meet and regroup. They would meet every fifteen minutes and check with the other team. George suggested they check out other stores that Hermione might have stopped in, but had no success at any of the stores that might have caught her eye.

Harry and Ron searched the streets and paths. The main roads were checked first as there were other students window shopping and wandering about. Harry asked every student they ran into whether they had seen Hermione, but to no avail. Panic laced his insides.

Ron was a few feet away checking alleys. He let out a yell of shock that brought Harry running. The twins heard and followed as well as a few students. A small crowd had gathered around the small entrance to the alley. The twins helped move students out of the way so Harry could get through.

Harry had faced the Dark Lord with less fear than what greeted him. In the alley Ron looked dead white, and Harry felt sick when he caught up with his friend. Some blood splattered on the wall and ground, two new books laying in the dirt and, even more frightening, a wand off to the side. Hermione's wand.

"Ron, get the professors. For Merlin's sake, Hurry!"

Thank you to my beta, charmed 3. I could not do this without her.