And They Return Chapter 1

Hermione was in the library (where else would she be?) in the darkened restricted section (Under Harry's invisibility cloak) trying to find a book that would temporary change Harry into an animal, hopefully for an hour. It was late, and she was tired, having searched most of the night only to be lead to dead ends and false hopes. She knew she should of done this ages ago, but they had had not had the knowledge of the nature of the challenge and that it was to be held underwater.

She rubbed her eyes and put the book she just finished reading back, there was nothing useful for her propose, but she was not one to give up. She pushed back her red hair with her hands and sighed. She had to keep looking or Harry was doomed for sure, no man can hold his breath for an hour, not even the great Harry Potter himself.

She chewed her lip as she looked through the rest of the sections, she had already scoured the entire ten shelves that contained a most twenty thousand books, though she would look at key words and deduce that she didn't need a certain book like Polaris Gunnlett's Advanced Love Potions for Men. Or even Sasha Wilder's Guide to Wild Magical Creatures and What to do When Faced with One.

She ran a finger along the torn and worn spines of the old and ancient books, some older than her grandparents. Some spines were so faded you could hardly see the once golden cursive that pronounced the title so elegantly when it was first produced, now all that was left was the book was now a faded gray and the smell of decay emitting from the yellowed pages that were once so pure and white. Still, she had no such luck.

Hermione searched for a few more hours, unknowing that a certain cat was watching intently as she set about her work. Mrs. Norris, Mr. Filch's beloved pet and prized possession of the squib who worked in the halls of Hogwarts. The general population of students hated her for she always got them in trouble with Mr. Filch. Mrs. Norris could see Hermione quiet well, even though she was under the invisibility cloak. Mrs. Norris stood up stealthy and walked out of the restricted section of the library and out into the long deserted corridors of Hogwarts, intent to find her master and alert him of the pupil who should be in bed as the clock struck closer and closer to midnight.

Hermione was growing weary; she didn't know how long she could keep his up for, who knew searching for a simple book on animal transformation would be so hard? She rubbed her eyes once more and began to search.

That was when she stumbled across a book, she only caught a glimpse of it when she heard the sound of Filch's footsteps when he was trying to be sneaky. The supposedly shuffling of his boots that just alerted the student he was coming. Cursing under her breath, she quickly grabbed the book, so far, it was her best bet and she had no other lead, she quietly made her way around the bookshelves as she heard Filch's voice grow louder.

"Tell me, Mrs. Norris, where is this student?" he spoke softly to the cat, who then would run to where Hermione was and meow, but Hermione would already move, she had to get to the rope where it separated the restricted section from the rest of the library. She held the book closer to her chest as she heard the shuffling of Filch's footsteps getting closer to where she was. She looked around and cursed. She had trapped herself in the corner of the Restricted Section, there was nowhere else she could turn, if she did, she'd collide with him and she would get in trouble, and trouble was the last thing she wanted. She saw Filch in the middle of the two bookcases; Hermione pressed herself closer against the wall, her heart beating faster as Filch walked closer and closer to where she was standing.

Filch sighed audibly and turned around. "Come on Mrs. Norris, whoever was here has gone now, come on we may still catch them in the corridor's come on." He said and Hermione watched as they walked away. She let out a breath she did not know she was holding. She was shaking. She waited about half an hour before she deemed it ready to head back to the common room.

She stepped over the rope and carefully walked trying, and succeeding, without making much noise. When she came to the stairs she looked around and started to ascend the stairs, stopping at every level to make sure Filch was not be around, she finally reached the seventh floor landing and made her way towards Gryffindor Common Room.

"Horntail." she whispered to the Fat Lady.

"Who's there!" she protested but swung the portrait open anyways.

She walked into the red and gold decorated Gryffindor Common room and took off the cloak.

"What did you find Hermione?" asked Ron. Harry and Ron were sitting on the couch. Hermione had gone to the restricted section because she was more book shrewdness then they were, Ron was too tall and his feet would show, and Harry really did not feel like opening up a screaming book again like he did in his first year.

"I don't know, Filch came and I grabbed this book that looked promising..." she said placing a newer looking book on the mahogany table.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't scream or it'll wake up all of Gryffindor Tower." said Harry with a smile.

"Though I'm sure the Fred and George will get a kick out of it." said Ron.

Hermione looked at the title and read it aloud. "The Pro's of Being an Anamgus. Includes the facts of a person who dies and is an Anamagus."

"My parents were anamgi," said Harry looking down at the book.