Harry Potter What's A Girl To Do

A/N: Everything you recognise is hers, everything you don't is mine.

Thank you Karen, beta extraordinaire

Please Review. It makes my Day, and my family proud.

The Beginning

Travelling on the Hogwarts express was always a magical experience for Hermione Granger. First year she had been excited to learn something new. Second year she had friends to go back to. Third year the Dementors had happened, but it was also when, the then, Professor Lupin taught her the magic of chocolate, which she still uses to this day. Especially during her monthlies. Fourth year was full of excitement over the Quidditch World Cup, well until the elf issue had come up. And so it had gone on. The trips were not always perfect but they always signalled the beginning of new magical learning or the return to missed family.

This however was not like her other years, even though outwardly everything was the same. Same seat in the compartment, same views as she stared out the window, it was not. Returning for an eight year, to finish her education without... Harry, Ron, or half the student population were dead or not returning, and those that were returning were subdued for the most obvious of reasons. Ginny hadn't spoken a word since leaving The Burrow.

She couldn't even look forward to going home to her parents. Both were still in Australia. She had found them. They were living separately from each other with other people, and starting new families. It was the later part had taken down the last wall of defences she hadn't known where keeping her from breaking apart. Things were different for her from then on.

Things were getting weird. Her magic and body were changing.

Her magic had started to act very oddly, everything was more powerful then she had intended. Two weeks ago she had had to replace her wand after a particularly bad argument with Ron, which ended in a disaster zone. Ron's bedroom was completely trashed; the window had been blown out, the mirror shattering and her wand splitting in two. This was baffling seeing as how she had not been holding her wand during their argument. Needless to say her relationship with Ron was short lived and they hadn't spoken since then.

When she had gone to Olivanders, first thing she noticed was how quick he had managed to get his business up and running again. When she asked, his eyes twinkled in a way that reminded her of Dumbledore, Merlin she hated that particular twinkling, taped his nose and told her it was a family secret.

Bloody infuriating old wizard.

The wand that had chosen her made her hand feel like it was at home, it was perfect. More so than her old wand. She remembered that she had stopped right outside the door of the shop and wondered why that was before she felt annoyance for the owner of the shop again. She swore if the magical world hadn't needed him for wands she would have put him into St Mungos for a month. See if that would stop the incessant twinkling.

The scars that St Mungos and Madam Pomfrey had said would never heal, had started to fade, to the point you could only now see them if you knew they were there. Even the scars from when she had broken her ankle as a child had gone.

The contacts she had always worn were no longer needed. She always preferred the brown eyes her contacts gave her; she was still adjusting to the wishy washy green colour she looked at all the time. Not that anyone noticed the color change in her eyes. She always told her mother she thought it was a neither here nor there color.

Her mother… she really didn't need to think about her right now. _Don't cry; don't cry_ was the mantra she was repeating over and over in her head.

As she kept the tears at bay, more thought of the year to come came into her head. She would have no one to hang around with. She couldn't deal with Ginny in her current state without shouting at her and Ginny didn't need that right now. Really what was the point of being here? No friends, no family, nothing left to tie her down to reality.

She couldn't see the point any longer. Oh, she wasn't going to stop herself. She wasn't that stupid. She would continue, she would find a purpose. But something deep down told her that her life was going to be nothing like it once was, and she sat wondering for the rest of the journey, who was she turning into? The know-it-all, bossy, book worm was long gone. She was Hermione Granger. Lioness of Gryffindor, and if it was the last thing she would do, the wizarding world would hear her ROAR.

As she thought of this, there was no one looking at her to notice the shine of amber flames in her eyes.

As the other students filed into the hall for the sorting, Hermione practically stormed up to the Gryffindor dorms and found her trunk at the end of her bed, next to Ginny's.

Great how was she going to get any sleep? She changed into her pajamas and pulled the curtains around the bed and fell asleep.

'_Hermione, you need to wake up child.'_

Hermione stored and opened her eyes. She was not in her dorm, she was sure she wasn't even in Hogwarts.

"Where am I and what the hell is going on." She shouted into the white nothingness around her.

'_You are still at Hogwarts child, we are simply inside your head.'_

"Will you forget the bloody semantics and tell me what the hell is going on. And stop calling me a child. I stopped being a child the moment Bellatrix got her filthy hands on me."

'_Compared to me you are a child. Eighteen years is nothing compared to mine. Though truly you probably aren't far from my age.'_

"Shut up and tell me what's going on." The flames were back in Hermione's eyes though she did not know.

'_I can't do both child. You must pick one or the other. How am I to tell you things if I am to shut up?'_

"YOU WILL TELL ME NOW." Without warning her hands burst into flames.

'_Now there you are'_

As soon as the voice had spoken the flames had gone out. "What is happening?"

'_I am sorry to annoy you child, but it was necessary. You see, not often does one of us come along who can break through enough of their own mental barriers to release their potential.'_

"What am I?"

'_You are a sphinx.'_

"I'm not a cat." Hermione answered in a hiss.

_'No you miss understand. A sphinx as you have been taught is not true. Those were created to hide our existence. We are an ever present people who are reborn somewhat like the Phoenix. When we die, our soul searches for a child who would die before or at birth and we bond with them. We have no conscience and we share our souls with the person we choose. They would not live without us so it's deemed a fair deal by the fates. There are only a handful of us so the fates do not complain that we're disturbing the overall balance. They let us be. Though to be honest, they are more than likely scared of us. We could destroy them if we wished to_.'

'So what has this got to do with me?' Hermione said staring into the nothingness

'_The fates it seems are not happy with the body you, your sphinx, chose. Your body would have died and your parents would have parted. They would have started their new lives like they are now but eighteen years earlier. Be at least grateful that your memory charm allowed them to realise this and move on. If not the fates would have intervened and you, the sphinx, would have to find a new body.'_

Hermione was in shock. "It still doesn't tell me what's going on now, why now?"

'_All your mental barriers have been broken due to the immense strain they were put under. You are aware of what you now are. I am here to tell you that you must proceed with caution. We attract danger.'_

"Well thanks, I could have done well with that information eight years ago."

The voice chuckled. _'You will need to be careful. The fire is part of you now. Great emotion will release it. We are not widely known about. They will see you as a risk. They will treat you like an animal. You must hide what you are until you control it and even then only a few can truly know what you are.'_

"Who am I allowed to tell?"

'_Your soul mate and any children you have. They will have to live with you after all.'_

'I don't believe in soul mates.'

'_Oh you have one dear, let's just not hope it's another sphinx. A child born to two sphinxes would be the first child, in over 2000 years. Even before my time. They are pureblood sphinx, highly difficult to control, and have all the ability without the mental blocks to hold them back. Danger awaits them assuredly as death awaits a human. So now child, remember what I've told you and above all else, keep calm.'_

"Is this real or is it all going on in my head?" The voice chuckled again. "What is so funny?"

'_Your bespectacled friend asked that question to a twinkly eyed wizard a short time ago. And as he replied, of course it is all going on in your head, my child, but why does that mean it's not real!'_

As Hermione woke up she shot up in bed, sweaty from the dream, she noticed singe marks on her quilt where her hands had been. 'So much for keeping calm' she thought.

Not far away someone woke up from a not so dissimilar dream.

The first few weeks of school were difficult. She had lost control of her emotions on several occasions and had to leave class or the great hall at quick speeds lest anyone saw her set on fire. However, it was no longer located just to her hands.

Her hair had caught fire on at least half a dozen occasions and she had woken several times to find the bottom of her blanket smouldering due to her feet. At least it wasn't burning her just the things she was touching. She had had to repairo her school robes more times then she could count.

It's not like she wasn't trying to control it. She had even begun to learn occlumency in order for her to control her mind. She was getting there but it was so slow she would lose her temper and set her hands or hair off. The feeling of being lost and incomplete continued, which only made the situation harder to control.

She had at one point thought she had let something slip when the headmistress (Hermione still couldn't call her Minerva no matter how many times she was told to) had asked her to accompany her somewhere.

If Hermione had been paying attention she would have noticed where they were going, but as she wasn't, she didn't notice until they had passed through the doors to the hospital wing. Minerva told her not to argue under threat of a leg locker curse; she had sat on a bed and waited for Madam Pomfrey to do diagnostics spells over her. They came back clear other than slight malnourishment and a slightly higher temperature than normal (obviously she thought to herself). It was only then that she paid any attention and noticed a sigh of relief come from the headmistress.

"I truly am sorry Hermione. For while there if I'm honest I thought you were pregnant." Hermione's jaw dropped. "Don't look at me like that. Picking at food, mind elsewhere, mood swings, running to the nearest bathroom at least once a day. You can't blame me for thinking. It's not like you would have been the first at Hogwarts. Actually, if I'm honest, it happens a lot more than I am comfortable with."

"I'm fine Professor. Just a lot on my mind. I'm trying honestly and my grades aren't dropping much."

'Well yes. At least promise to talk to me if you can't sort it out.'

"I promise." Thinking to herself to hide it better she excused herself from the hospital wing.

Since then she had got better at it only if due to necessity. There was only one flare up a week and by the time December had come around she hadn't had a flare up for over two weeks. Her grades had picked up and she had started to eat normally again. She had also started to smile back at the professor when she caught her eye.

The second week of December on a very cold snow driven evening, she found herself asleep in her dorm, having another dream.

'_Child are you awake?'_

"Yes I'm here."

'_I'm glad you've manage to control your head; I was worried there for a while.' _

"Yes we'll I've managed it at least. Not as fast as I usually work but at least it's done. Why am I back here?"

'_It seems I underestimated the fates' anger towards you.'_

"What are they going to do?"

'_It's already done child. Your soul mate is a sphinx and she is not dealing with it as well as you. She needs your help_'

"She? I've never mentioned that to anyone."

'_Fates don't need to be told. The fact that a lover's sex is of no importance to you has been known to them since you existed. I ask you to find and help her or it could be disastrous to us all.'_

"How do I find her?"

'_All I know is you must go to the Burrow for Christmas.'_

"I've already put my name down to stay."

'_Ah it seems your tabby cat has already changed that for you. It seems she does know what's best for you even before you do.'_

"Tabby cat? Minerva?"

'_Yes just pack and leave with everyone else. The family of red know you are coming.'_ Hermione started to chuckle to herself. _'What is so funny child?'_

"I just thought that a least being a she, you don't have to worry about a pureblood sphinx child"

'_If only you knew, child… if only you knew…'_

And with that Hermione woke up. Thankfully there was no smouldering coming from her sheets.

If only she knew what?


End file.
