Author's note:

So this is my very first fanfic (or at least the first that I am uploading). Be warned: I am not a native speaker! (Even though you could have figured that one out by yourselves, I know how exhausting it can be to read something that is badly written, that's why I am telling you this now. I'm doing my best, though.)

Reviews would be nice. Even ones that are very critical. I want to learn after all.

And if a native speaker should want to be my beta reader, I wouldn't say no to that! :D

Enjoy.

Seven Deadly Sins

It was in her second year at Hogwarts that Hermione discovered a book about the seven deadly sins: Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. She wondered then which might be the deadliest of them all.

Gluttony? This could be deadly, yes. Becoming so obese that your body is not able to function properly anymore is indeed deadly. Yet, it was nothing that Hermione had to worry about.

Greed? Hm… This one was more difficult. Greed could make you very unpopular amongst others, but was it deadly? No, she did not think so.

Sloth? Again, no, not deadly. 'Unless, of course, you kill yourself out of boredom' Hermione joked.

Lust? No, she could not find anything deadly in lust either. As long as you have safe sex and don't get infected with some disease, it should be all right. She was too innocent for such a feeling anyway.

Wrath? Wrath… There is at least the possibility of having a violent fit and seriously injuring oneself in the process. But here again, nothing that Hermione would have to be concerned about.

Envy? Not the nicest character trait, but nothing dangerous either.

Pride? Yes, pride! This seemed quite deadly to Hermione. Pride can rob you of your sense of danger. And the possibility of dying can occur much faster than with gluttony.

She decided therefore that it was pride that was the deadliest of the seven sins. What she did not know, however, was that every person is slave to their own sin, and deadly they can be all.

So over the years Hermione could see each of those deadly sins unfold around her. Pride, the one she thought most deadly, being a character trait that one of her best friends sported. It was no other than Harry Potter, whose pride almost got him killed on most occasions. And Hermione was able to witness it more often than she would have preferred. It was really a wonder that he survived all those incidents – at least till now.

It was a sound that woke Hermione in the middle of the night, but as she looked around she could not see anything. The room was too dark, the silvery light of the moon was only able to illuminate the space in front of the window, but the corners of the room remained dark and all the objects in the room were casting frightening shadows. Hermione was unmoved by that, however. She stood up, feeling wide awake, and moved silently to the window. It was a beautiful summer night. The sky was clear of any clouds, filled with all of its beautifully shining stars, and today's full moon. She opened the window and a soft refreshing breeze blew into her face. It smelled good, fresh, full of the joys of summer, yet colder, more comfortable. She could hear the crickets and the soft rustling of the trees in the wind. She could see the Forbidden Forest. It was dark; she even had the feeling that it was darker than usual - black. A small smile played at her lips, but vanished quickly again. The forest looked strangely inviting.

Gluttony was Ron's weak spot. It had always been something Hermione had witnessed with disgust, when eating with him, but as he was growing, it at least did not show in his physical appearance. Now, Ron was not fat, but he also was not the lean boy he had once been. He had already developed a small belly and judging by the way he ate; it would not stay that way for much longer. Although just now he lay in the hospital wing. Last evening, as he once more, gobbled down his food, fish, he did not care about the fish bones and some of them, small and piercing as they are, stuck themselves in his throat.

Hermione stood for another five minutes at the window, then turned searching for her watch. She had put it on her desk, like she does every night. But she could not see it in this darkness and therefore felt around with her had on the desk, knocking over her ink in the process… Ah well, she would clean it up in the morning. She could not be bothered by it now, annoying as it may be. She found her watch and walked back to the window, trying to see with the help of the moonlight. It was quarter to three. She shuddered. Perfect.

It was Percy who had demonstrated that Hermione had underestimated Greed. He was the first of the Weasleys with an excellent job. But he did not know how to handle it. He had a lot of money and spent it on a lot of things, but he wanted more and more. He started gambling – and lost everything. Still he could not be satisfied. His desire for possession, for luxury could just not be fulfilled. He started associating with the wrong people and became indebted to them. He was in such a bad situation that even the 'great Percy'; the 'model student' had become a common criminal. It was only through his father that he was able to get away from his 'friends' and Azkaban.

Hermione started to dress. She changed her pyjamas for jeans and a short sleeved shirt that hung loosely, yet still shapely around her form; fittingly for this summer night. She grabbed her wand and put it in a special holder at her pocket. She opened the door to her room, but stopped, thinking of whether she should close the window before leaving. No, it was unnecessary, so she closed the door behind her and left.

Draco Malfoy had always been envious of Harry. Try as he might, he could never be as good a wizard as Harry was. He was all talk, yet he tried. He could not just leave him be, get all the credit while he, Draco Malfoy, got nothing! And so it came that at a Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slitherin, Harry made a quite impressive move to catch the snitch. Even weeks afterwards Hermione heard people talking about how close he was to hitting the post, while chasing the snitch standing on his broom, only able to escape in the last minute with a great unexpected spin. He did not succeed in catching the snitch that time, but the crowed was awed by his flying skills anyway and cheered as loudly as they could. Draco of course could not accept that Harry was praised that much and tried a move of his own. He had such a bad crash that even with magic it took him a whole month to recover from all of his injuries.

The whole castle was silent and Hermione's steps echoed off the walls. Otherwise only the occasional snoring out of the many portraits could be heard. She silently made her way down the stairs. She did not need any light, she knew how to exit the castle even without it; and since she did not have Harry's invisibility cloak, she tried not to attract too much attention to herself, in case Filch should be around. The moonlight shining in through the windows was bright enough that she had at least a faint outline of the corridors. She was just before a corner when she could hear faint voices. They seemed distant so she continued. After rounding the corner she could see light coming out of one of the rooms several feet away. She had to pass it, or she could take another route, but that would take far too much time. She tried to be as silent as possible. She was now only two feet away from the opened door, the voices a lot louder now. Who was it? Professor Flitwick and McGonnagal? It sounded as if they were talking about something serious. It had to do with the safety of the castle. Hermione's interest was picked, but not enough to abandon her journey. At least the two of them seemed too engrossed in their conversation to notice anyone. She chanced a quick look inside. They were standing with their backs to her, looking at something lying on the front table. A letter, maybe, or a map?

While Draco's problem was envy, his father had had a problem with wrath. He had been lashing out at everyone in the last few months. He also clashed with the authorities more than once. He even started fights with other purebloods that shared his views, or in Hermione's terms: his anger did not even stop before fights with other Death Eaters, or as a fact, before his own wife. The reasons for his outbreaks were a mystery. Perhaps it was anger at himself, for being such a failure, or maybe he just could not stand the mocking of his fellow Death Eaters. Two weeks ago he was found with a broken neck in his own mansion at the bottom of the stairs. Narcissa Malfoy said that in his anger he "accidentally slipped" and fell down. She, of course, had tried "everything possible to save him" but it had already been too late.

Cautiously Hermione passed the open door. Luckily, it went unnoticed by the professors talking in the room. The exit was not far anymore, and she did not even have to pass Filch this time. Hermione smiled to herself; sneaking out just got easier each and every time. Finally she reached the gates of the castle and stepped out into the clear night air. It was slightly chilly and goose bumps formed on her arms. She liked it, though. It was a contrast to the almost unbearable heat of day time.

Sloth was something that Hermione had never considered as dangerous, although she did not find it creditable. Yet, there were even two people who proved her wrong – Crabbe and Goyle! Those two were not only stupid, but also the laziest people Hermione had ever encountered. It was one day in Potions that everyone was supposed to brew a potion together with a partner. The problem was that this particular potion had a high potential of exploding in the beginning stages of its brewing, if not stirred constantly. Now Crabbe and Goyle, who were working together – Hermione still does not understand who would have such a stupid idea – were far too lazy to stir the potion constantly, instead they just threw the ingredients in and after 30 seconds of stirring started arguing who would have to continue doing that job. After another 50 seconds the whole room was in flames. On the plus side, Snape's face that day was truly hilarious.

Hermione made her way to the Forbidden Forrest. She enjoyed the walk, and she enjoyed the sounds of the night. She seemed relaxed and yet all her senses were on alert. Fear and excitement slowly made their way through her body, while she continued her seemingly calm stroll through the dark. She was now on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, her steps grew slower but she continued, nevertheless. Blackness consumed her when she passed the first trees. Her eyes had to get used to this darkness. The moon now could only shimmer through the trees. She still kept walking, though. A smile played on her lips. She had to think about the Seven Deadly Sins; thought back at the time when she believed she could find one that is deadlier than all the others.

A twig snaps to her left, but she notices it too late. A cruel, strong hand grabs her left forearm, nails digging into the scars left by a knife. She is being hurled away, her back hitting the bark of a tree painfully. But she has no time to recover, the attacker is already on her again, pinning her against the tree. A mouth is at her ear, she can hear breathing, then a voice repeating the word carved into her forearm: "Mudblood"

Hermione's breach hitches. She is trapped -at the mercy of the most dangerous Death Eater – again. Teeth bite into her neck. A small cry escapes her lips.

"You are late" the voice whispers calmly, dangerously; a tongue now sliding over her ear. "I almost thought you would not come."

A hand grips her hair and pulls Hermione's head back. She can barely stifle another cry. Her heart is beating frantically in her chest and the hair on her neck is rising, while she can practically feel the grin spreading on the others face.

"Maybe today I will kill you"

A hand is roughly shoved into her jeans, her underwear, her sex. Hermione releases a moan. "Bellatrix"

Everyone has their own deadly sin and Hermione figured out that hers is Lust.