Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any related properties. They are owned by J.K. Rowling.

My thanks to my wonderful beta 10000 Fists who has done an amazing job as well as letting me borrow inspiration from his story: Fractured Fate

Many thanks also to LillianMarie2 who has allowed me to borrow certain elements from her story: A Sirens Song. Please not that our stories are by no means related in terms of plot and are not affiliated in any way.

Bold = the game speaking

Normal = normal

Italics = Hermione's thoughts

The battle was lost. Bodies lay scattered around the Hogwarts grounds. Nowhere in Hogwarts had been spared. All the fond memories that Hermione had made at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron were gone, replaced with nightmares of blood and death. The sound of her friend's laughter echoing in the hallways had also faded, now the high-pitched laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange rang in her ears.

She was wounded, and she knew enough about wounds to know that it was fatal. The severed artery in her leg was simple enough to fix, if only she had her wand and some blood-replenishing potions. But magically exhausted as she was - fighting for your life did tend to do that- she was left with barely enough strength to make it up the 7 flights of stairs to the room of requirement. If there was one thing Hermione knew, it was that her body would not be paraded on display like Harry and Ron's were. She would deny the Dark that one final victory.

As she approached the blank length of wall the sound of her pursuers reached her ears. They were maniacally laughing as they chased the last remaining member of the Golden Trio. One chance, that was all she had and the rest was up to fate. The idea of fate made her laugh; she had always been one not to believe in superstitious nonsense. And yet here she was pleading to a room to give her a place where none could enter but her.

The door appeared and she stumbled in gasping for breath. The trail of blood clearly marked her whereabouts, and besides the death-eaters knew about the room's presence anyway. Back in the room where Neville and the other students had marshalled their resistance, the pain grew sharper. Not just from the gash in her leg that was slowly draining her life, but also for the realisation that she would never see them again. The mood had been grim as they had prepared for the final battle, but deep down they had all hoped that they would triumph. They had been prepared to lay their lives down for the others of the Wizarding World. That was what hurt the most, having staked it all on one final confrontation, to see that it had made no difference in the end, well save for gathering them together for easier slaughter.

And now... it was over. No matter how she tried, she could only look forwards to her reunion with Harry and Ron, with her classmates and friends.

Death was only frightening because you were scared of having nothing, she mused to herself. But when the land of the living has nothing left for you then death can only be seen as appealing. At any rate when she was dead she would not hurt any more. With that thought Hermione's eyes slowly closed and she faded into the blackness.

The next thing she knew was a blinding light. Blinking slowly she turned around, fists at the ready, expecting that a lumos spell cast by the enemy had found her. What she saw shocked her. An 11 year old Hermione Granger stood slightly to one side in front of her. Next to her apparent doppelganger was a long list that stretched down across the light, trailing into the darkness beneath it.

Hesitantly she started to read the list. By the time she had read the first 3 lines her jaw would have hit the floor, had that not been physically impossible. As it was Hermione's jaw was quickly shut as she stared at what seemed to be a test paper, but instead of a Transfiguration or an Arithmancy exam, it appeared to be grading her life! Curiosity won over horror as she read on. At one point Mr Weasley's voice resounded in her head, telling Ginny never to trust anything if you cannot see where it keeps its brain! But her eyes were simultaneously tracking the lines of words down the screen.

Lived to 18 years: 180 points

Made friends with Harry Potter: 250 points

Made friends with Ronald Weasley: 250 points

Gained Familiar- Crookshanks: 100 points

Brightest Witch of her Age: 500 points

Did not break under crucio: 100 points

Solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets: 300 points

Solved Snape's logic problem: 60 points

Figured out Flamel: 75 points

Survived Troll: 25 points

Devils Snare defeated: 40 points

Reported Firebolt to McGonagall: 30 points

Helped Harry learn summoning charm: 50 points

Dated Krum: 125 points

Saw through Umbridge: 25 points

Co-founder of Dumbledore's Army: 200 points

Tricked Umbridge successfully: 175 points

Rode a Thestral: 75 points

Student of the Year 6 times: 600 points

Quick thinking at the Ministry of Magic: 100 points

Was right about the Half-Blood Prince: 200 points

Slug club member: 75 points

Dated McLaggen: 10 points

Fought against death-eaters 72 times: 720 points

Broke out of Malfoy Manor: 300 Points

Explored Diagon Alley: 90 points

Broke into Gringotts successfully: 300 points

Escaped from Gringotts successfully: 300 points

Read 1180 magical books: 1180 points

Learnt 323 spells: 3230 points

Total +9665 points

Lost to Dolohov: -200 points

Memory charmed adoptive parents: - 300 points

Never discovered true origins: - 500 points

Got hurt by Botuber Pus: -20 points

Tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange: -150 points

Rescued from troll: -100 points

Petrified by Basilisk: -125 points

Let Ron cause upset at the Yule ball: -50 points

Cedric died: -250 points

Used time turner over 100 times: -1000 points

Captured by Inquisitorial Squad: -100 points

Powers never awakened: -750 points

Confounded McLaggen: -50 points

A novice in Knockturn Alley: -80 points

Always socially inept: -600 points

Never met/befriended – too many to list: -2000 points

Lost battle of Hogwarts: - 2500

Total -8775 points

Overall Total 890 points

To conclude while Hermione Granger led an exemplary intellectual life her weaknesses in socialising, and unfortunate luck means that she finishes the game with a total of 890 points. While not as bad as a negative number, it is nevertheless poor. Although the score being in the positive is amazing considering her loss of the battle of Hogwarts and her powers remaining locked!

HINT: As a guideline aim to score at least 1000 points per school year in order to unlock hidden bonuses! As you have completed the game for the first time you have gained +1 Hint token

Hermione stared at the screen, and then stared some more. Surely this was some form of a cruel joke! To say that SHE had lost the battle of Hogwarts was definitely untrue. She had done her best to help; here a tear ran down her face as she muttered that "Maybe my best was just not good enough." The quiet whisper faded into the background as the screen finished its scrolling downwards. "And... just what did it mean that my powers were locked? Tell me this sooner you stupid good for nothing video game thing! If I had the power to help, to make a difference why do you choose to inform me now? Why now, everything that I love is gone forever and I am... alone..."

Thoughts ran wildly through her brain. It was no longer organized and neat, with facts and figures where they should be but instead was chaos. Sick, that was how she felt. Sinking to her knees she began to retch violently. Hands went up to her mouth only to be jerked down, her mouth opened to call for her friends only to be snapped shut.

How could I even speak their names with the same mouth which had screamed deadly curses? How could I reach out for them with my hands stained with blood? Most of all how could I expect help from people whom I had failed. I was supposed to be the brains of the Golden Trio, I had even helped plan the final confrontation. I had but one task to complete, one role to fill, and I had failed. I had failed myself, failed my friends and failed all of the innocents who no-one else would protect under Voldemort's reign.

There she was, body on the floor jerking with the strength of the sobs that were convulsing through her body. Time must have passed, surely, she thought as she sat up. Standing facing the screen on trembling legs her emotions burst out.

"Yes I failed, yes I lost but it is over, done, dusted! I am dead and so is everyone I have ever loved. All the principles I stood for are going to be destroyed and the Earth will become a living hell for all who are not pureblood!" She spat bitterly.

That was if they were even allowed to live. Nothing was a right under Voldemort's rule after all.

Despite the pain in her throat she kept on. Barely intelligible her voice was hoarse and rough from her frantic sobbing.

She did not even sound like Hermione Granger anymore. Well, then again Hermione Granger did not exist anymore either so that was fine.

Crying out loud in frustration she forced the words out, each and every one was an agony.

"Why tell me, why show me, why torment me like this? I lost, I was defeated and you have won. Whatever you are you have won! If I could change the past I would. Believe me I would. I f there was a time turner that could erase the years I would take it. At any price I would take it! Do you not get it? I would give everything I ever had for the chance to start anew…

CONTINUE SELECTED

INITIATING START SCREEN

The pure shock of the message was enough to silence Hermione.

What was happening? By Merlin what was going on? Initiating? Was this some sort of spaceship going into countdown? Maybe it was a bomb of some sort. That would be good. No pain and no memory, just sweet, sweet oblivion.

The screen chose that point to flash up another message. At first the words seemed blurry through the tears, but gradually focus returned, although it took some more time after that for her to calm down enough to look at it properly. The screen now showed an image which looked much the same as a start up scene for a... video game? Hermione's eyes skimmed across the words, hardly able to believe what she saw: and after having been scored on her short and unfortunate life, it would take a lot to inspire that level of shock.

The words said in clear black text

Should Hermione Granger wish to continue then please select an option to begin?

What was this meant to be? She wondered out loud. Her thoughts continued to process this new information at superhuman speed, probably due to her heightened state of emotion.

I am somewhere. I was thinking. I have command of my body. All these facts pointed to me being alive. But I was dead. I was in an unknown location that was not my place of death. Logically then I could not be a ghost, as ghosts could move and were not limited to one area. But I was dead and yet all the signs pointed to me being alive.

Having already ruled out being a ghost she could only conclude that she was in some state of limbo, between life and death? The thought sickened her, breaking the control that she was desperately trying to retain.

Just like that time in third year when she had punched Malfoy, her rage had soared to the same level.

Why was I separated from Harry and Ron? I should be embarking on the next great adventure with them not stuck in some in-between! Was I lacking in some way that meant that I was found unworthy? Oh Merlin, Harry, Ron will I ever reach you again!

In her temporary delirium she lashed out at the only other object in the strange dimension. Her fist smacked into the screen with all the force that she could muster. A bell sounded and a voice announced…

LOADING COMPLETE

Now her attention was drawn to the screen. Below the words from earlier were 3 buttons. Looking at them she could see that they read

NEW GAME

NEW GAME +
LOAD GAME

Okay, Hermione thought. From what I know about video games new game is a complete restart of the story, new game + is when you start over with bonuses from the previous game and load game is when you die… and want to retry something!

Her fingers fumbled as she reached out to the button with the label LOAD GAME. A dull buzzer sounded.

Sorry you have no saved games to load

Although this did make sense to Hermione, after all she was certain that she would remember something like this happening, she was also devastated.

My chance to change things has gone. She thought a creature of quiet desperation and crushed hope. My chance to save Harry and Ron and to stop all the killing is gone. Now there is nothing left of my old life I cannot make a new start… unless I start again completely. That's it! There were 3 buttons, if one way does not work; you try again and again until you get it right! Nothing is too high a price to pay to save Harry and Ron!

So with no hesitation Hermione reached forwards and tapped the NEW GAME+ option. A dialogue box came up and flashed. Looking at the words she let out her first real smile. It was the best news that she had heard in over a year. It read...

NEW GAME + is for the player who has completed the game and wishes to start anew while retaining memories from their previous game. Are you sure you want to select NEW GAME +

YES

NO

Yes was tapped quickly and without thought of the consequences. All Hermione was thinking at this point was that this time, things would be different; this time there would be no deaths, no war.

After all I could stop everything from occurring now that I knew what would happen! I could prevent Voldemort being resurrected and stop Professor Dumbledore's death from occurring. But there was the downside as well, she thought glumly. I only know the future following this one sequence of events. Should I prevent Voldemort from being resurrected he could come back and conquer some other time, and then I would have no Idea what to do! No, it would be best to follow the timeline as much as possible. I cannot afford to change the future too much. Instead I will have to try and help from the sidelines. If I warned people then they would put me in St Mungos for insanity! But if I seemed to be there on every essential occasion then people would get suspicious. Goodness, Legilimency, I would have to keep an incredibly low profile. Imagine the consequences should Snape find out the future. He was a legilimens and he had killed Professor Dumbledore! No I would have to be extremely careful!

Then the world blurred around her and she found herself standing in a room with blank white walls. Another screen appeared, with very little text on it. It looked like an online shopping website. Different categories were labelled at the top, and at the bottom there was a number. 890 points, which, she suddenly realised was the number of points she had been left with after the scoring of her life.

Thinking about the failure of her past life made her shudder so Hermione quickly focused on the options in front of her. Denial was definitely unhealthy, but her steadily growing hope was all she had to cling to in this place. Even if it was more of an ideal to save everyone, it was just too painful to think of the other possibilities.

The screen really was like an online store. Looking through there were various benefits that she could buy, if only she had enough points... An automatic animagus form cost 3000 points for a non-magical animal and 4500 for a magical animagus. Passing that section quickly, Hermione quickly focused on the hints. A small flashing number indicated that she could "purchase" 1 hint to help her in the game.

So was that what the Hint tokens were, she mused to herself. Many of the hints were blacked out and were unavailable. A dull buzzer sounded when she tried to select one of them, and the next one. Through trial and error Hermione settled on an available Hint – An Original Clue. What was revealed sharply stopped her excitement.

Hint: An Original Clue

Hermione's parents are from a very well respected pureblood family

Suddenly it all came rushing back and she could not believe that she had not noticed it before.

Of course, if I obliviated my adoptive parents then I must have had other birth parents, but how, and why, and when? How come I was never told that I was adopted? Why would my parents lie to me? No, calm down Hermione, remember you are a witch. Magic exists and it is entirely possible that they have been given false memories of me. I hope that that is the case. What is my life going to be like if I cannot have faith in the parents that I have trusted and loved my whole life?

She was about to go into uncontrollable hysterics. Surely someone was punishing her. It simply could not be true. She was adopted? How and why did her mum and dad never tell her! No, this was some illusion, a psychological torment thought up by the Dark Lord to completely destroy her.

No, take a deep breath, a deep breath and slowly count to 3 then release. Okay, good, panic attack avoided. Logical thought Hermione, logical thought. After all, I cannot trust anyone with the fact that I have knowledge of the future. It should not make any difference to include my parents. But it hurts so much! Is it really worth it to go through all of this pain for something that might not even work? No, snap out of it NOW. If Harry and Ron were in the same situation would they hesitate if there was even the slightest chance of saving me? They would not. I know that they would risk their lives for me; we all would have for each other.

"So yes, I shall continue game, I will not let today's tragedy occur again!"

Then the game beeped again. A message popped up.

You must finish spending all your points before you may proceed to the next step.

Now, Hermione had always been brought up to be polite, but having lost a war, died, and somehow been entered into a video game... well she was in no position to mind her manners. After loudly uttering some choice expletives from both the Muggle and the Wizarding World she found that the screen had shifted to the stats and skills page. Still shaky from the memories of the battle and the trauma caused by discovering her adoption on the same day that she had lost everything she had valued most she quickly bought 1 stat point (whatever that was) for 500 points and 7 skill points for 50 points each. The remaining points were converted into galleons.

Hermione Granger starts NEW GAME + with the following bonuses from her points

1 Stat point

7 skill points

40 galleons

Hermione Granger starts NEW GAME + with the following benefits carried over

Normal teeth

YES

NO

The latter part was actually quite insulting, to her anyway! Well at least she would not suffer the all too familiar taunt of 'Beaver' this time. As to the former part, she had no idea what anything was except for the galleons, nevertheless Hermione clicked the finish button. At this moment in time she was torn between an impossible hope and a terrible dread. Hope that maybe this was real, despite what her logic told her. Dread that she was under some spell or hallucinating. The world shifted again and Hermione found herself on her back, looking up at the word S.P.E.C.I.A.L

Hello and welcome to your S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat selection screen.

The voice this time sounded chirpy, a major difference from the bored voice from earlier.

This is where you will decide your main stats, in other words, what makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L! You may alter your starting stats to suit your ideal style of game play. You have unlocked 1 preset character stats. Please continue with your selected option.

That choice was easy for Hermione to make. With only one option to choose from she had no choice but to select it! She tapped the relevant button.

You have selected Hermione Granger: The Original. Is this your final choice?

YES

NO

Yes was chosen, even with her limited experience with video games Hermione knew logically that if there was only one path to go down, then you would have to take that path in order to move on. This time rather than her surroundings changing the screen simply changed to show an S and a number. It was actually quite annoying as, if it did not have to blur everything to change the scene, then why on earth would they do it in the first place? But still, the curiosity was overpowering her annoyance and the screen was the centre of attention once again.

S is for Strength

Strength is a measure of your physical power and health. It will affect your health points as well as your base attack value in non magical combat. It influences the skills of Physical Combat, Healing and Athletics

Your current Strength value is: 3

Okay, so maybe Hermione had not been in the best of shape in the past, well in her past life to accurate. But even so surely carrying all those books up stairs counted for something, despite the year on the run! Then the reason hit her and she sincerely hoped that the game was not affecting her mind!

Of course – if I was restarting then my "stats" would be at my 11 year old level. Frankly that is rather disappointing but still, I can work with that. Voldemort does not make a return until the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. That is 4 years I have got to improve, it is not like I have to meet him on the first day. Wait… Merlin's pants I do! Professor Quirrel was possessed by Voldemort! No calm down, another deep breath Hermione. He is in a weakened form; he should not be able to use Legilimency on me. He will also have no reason to want to use Legilimency on me should I act like an ordinary student. Although I hope I will not have to get normal grades… But still, how can I go to a class taught by a teacher that I know is under the control of a man who not only wants me dead because of my ancestry, but also will kill all of my friends!

Hermione's attention was then drawn to a number in the topmost corner of the screen which had started flashing. Repeating focus to herself repeatedly she was able to repress the painful memories for the time being and pay attention to the screen once more.

You have 11 (+1) stat points for a total of 12

Clicking the + button next to the three she watched as her strength went up to 4. After some experimenting she found that she could add and subtract points from her strength score. However she could not go higher than 10 or lower than 1. As she voiced this question out loud another screen was created in front of the current one.

TUTORIAL: S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats have maximums and minimums. Everyone has some degree of each value, otherwise they would not be alive and have magic – essentially they would not be a witch or wizard. Hence the minimum value for a stat is 1.

The maximum for a stat is your age divided by 2 and +5 up to a maximum of 14 and rounded downwards in the case of partial points. For example, at the age of 11 your maximum is 10, due to the fact that your actual maximum score of 10.5 is rounded downwards.

Alright, so I am currently not able to have a higher score than 10, she thought, and the minimum is 1. That explains it somewhat. I guess that I am getting, if not comfortable with, then definitely more familiar with this system. At any rate I have now discovered that I can alter a lot of things about myself, 7 different things if there is one stat for each letter of S.P.E.C.I.A.L like I suspect.

Although thinking about it she really did not want to change her personality, "I should watch out for that," she murmured to herself. No way was she going to become an insipid moron like Lavender Brown or a gossip like some of the other Gryffindor girls. Pushing the minus button to return her strength to 3 she clicked on the next button, she would see what other options were available to her before deciding.

P is for Perception

Perception is essentially your attention to detail. It will affect your observation skills, meaning that you can notice enemies sooner and discover secrets that you otherwise would not find. It will also open up a lot of dialogue options, many of which will lead to quests. As a bonus, should you ever meet a sphinx, then with high perception you will be able to answer the riddle with ease. Perception is relevant to the skills of Mind Arts, Magical Theory, Alteration and Evocation.

Your current Perception value is: 5

Well 5 was not so bad she mused, although so far, even though she had only seen two stats, she was subpar in both of them, which was not a comforting thought! Musing on the potential usefulness of Perception she thought that…

If perception could help me uncover secrets, then maybe I could solve the mystery of my birth parents... If they were pureblood then they would most likely have attended Hogwarts, so there must have been some record of their attendance. Then maybe I would know if I could trust my Mum and Dad, my adoptive ones. It is just, this feels so lonely. First everyone is taken from me in that slaughter, and then if I choose to save them I cannot trust them. Harry, Ron and I always shared everything. How can I be friends with them again when I am unable to trust them with this? It cannot be shared, both of them have no talent for Occulmency and would be liable to act based on their knowledge.

But… how… how can I act the innocent child skipping through the corridors with her friends? How can I taint Harry and Ron with lies? No, I must not think of that, I am doing this for them, and as much as I hate to say it, for the greater good….

Jolting back to reality and forcing the thoughts of Grindewald to the depths of her mind Hermione told herself not to get too far ahead. With no knowledge of what would happen next, she would deal with this one step at a time. Just because she was acting for the good of many did not mean that she would ignore individual's feelings. No matter what, she would not be another Grindewald, no matter how well intentioned she started out. She tapped the plus button and brought her perception up to 6, reasoning that at least this way she would gain improvement in a number of skills, even though she had no idea of what they were at this point. With a click she was shown the next section.

E is for Endurance

Endurance is how much magic you have at your disposal, a higher Endurance score will mean that you can cast more spells and it will also grant you some resistance to magic-based damage. This does not apply to the unforgivables though. Endurance helps define the skills of Enchant and Alteration.

Your current Endurance value is: 5

Much like she had for strength, Hermione chose to leave this stat alone until she knew more, the number seemed quite reasonable anyway. Having already checked that she could return to the previous stat pages she flicked her finger to bring up the following stat.

C is for Charisma

Charisma will define all of your social relationships in one way or another. Without the ability to speak eloquently you will have a hard time, not only at establishing relationships, but also at being believed? Charisma will also be the main factor in the skills of Barter and Persuasion.

Your current Charisma value is: 1

Hermione had to take a few minutes to stop stuttering in anger and confusion. How could she have a stat of 1, the lowest of the low? This was her Boggart in third year come to life. How could she get the lowest grade possible for anything? It was not fair. It was a travesty of justice. After all she had plenty of friends who liked her for who she was. There was Harry and Ron and Crookshanks... Okay, maybe she did not have many close friends, but it was the quality of friendship that counted not the quantity, right? Then the memories came flooding back.

Ron saying that it was no wonder she had no friends.

A memory of Harry and Ron when they had turned against her because she had reported the Firebolt to the Professors

Ron when he asked her to the ball, thinking that no-one else would have done so

Ron ruining her enjoyment on the night of the ball itself

Harry persisting in his belief in the Half-Blood Prince over her worries for him

And that time on the run in 7th year when they had argued all the time. Although logically she was able to reassure herself that it was mostly due to the Horcrux they were carrying there was still substantial tension between them.

Fifth year was really the only year that we had been united. That was when we were truly the Golden Trio, standing strong against the tyranny of the Ministry. Even then that was against our common enemy of Umbridge though. Really, I care for Harry and Ron, and they for me, but our relationship definitely had more dysfunctional parts than I had cared to admit before.

This however is my second chance and just because Ron had the emotional range of a teaspoon did not mean that I had to have the same this time round. This time I will still speak my mind, but I will be more tactful about it. I will not nag Harry and Ron endlessly about homework, neither will I get annoyed at them and rewrite it completely when they ask for help. No, this time it will be a new leaf for everyone!

5 points were put into Charisma, bringing it up to a respectable level of 6 and the next button was quickly pressed. Hermione remaining firm in her opinion that better communication was an essential skill!

The Intelligence stat screen did make her happy though. Finally there was an area in which she excelled.

I is for Intelligence

Intelligence is a key area, affecting not only how quickly and easily you learn new information, but also affecting how quickly you can respond to new situations. In short Intelligence is vital in both the long term and the short term. Short term, you will be able to form ideas to solve problems/events significantly faster. In the Long term it will affect your test scores and how many spells you have in your repertoire, not to mention giving you more skill points each level. The skills Intelligence influences are Research, Enchant, Evocation and Knowledge.

Your current Intelligence value is: 9

At least in this mixed up world she still had her mind. That thought was a small comfort which while not easing Hermione's anxiety completely, did provide something to hold on too. By this time she could tell that she had 6 S.P.E.C.I.A.L stat points left to spend. As she was on the letter I she could deduce that there were 2 areas left to view. So she moved on to the next stat.

A is for Agility

Agility is a versatile stat, insofar as it applies to both magical and non magical areas, Affecting quickness, Agility controls both the speed and dexterity with which you move: for example dodging curses or sneaking into the restricted section. As well as that the number of spells that you can cast in a given time is increased or decreased depending on Agility. Therefore it is relevant to Stealth and Athletics.

Your current Agility value is: 5

Having a low Agility was quickly discarded as an idea. Hermione knew that there would be fighting and running for her life in the future. Therefore stealth and rate of casting spells would be essential in a battle. Having lost the first time she was going to take every advantage that she could get.

This could turn the tide at the battle at the Ministry or when I fought against Dolohov, it could have helped me numerous times when fighting for my life on the run. Most crucially, had I been better at dueling then maybe Harry and Ron would still be alive. Maybe, though is in the past. This is the future, well for me at least, and this time I will succeed. I must…

Wiping a tear away as she tapped the button, she watched as her Agility went up to 8, leaving her with 3 points left to spend on the last category which turned out to be Luck.

L is for Luck

Rather than affecting any skill Luck is a completely random stat. It might save your life, or it might not do anything. What it will do is provide more positive random encounters at an easier level. It will also give you a random number of extra skill points each level, up to its current number. So if you had a luck value of 7, you could get 1-7 extra skill points per level!

Your current Luck value is: 5

Hermione was fine with that. She had always preferred to use her own power to succeed and not entrust the outcome to fate. 5 was a decent number, and as it was right in the middle, it would in all likelihood not give her bad luck. She could not afford bad luck in light of the past events. Seeing as how she now had 3 points left over she put 1 in Charisma, 1 in Perception and 1 in Strength.

As she pressed the newly appeared finish button a summary appeared.

So these are your starting stats:

Strength: 4

Perception: 7

Endurance: 6

Charisma: 7

Intelligence: 9

Agility: 8

Luck: 5

Is this final

YES

NO

After pushing the YES button another rush of colour surrounded her. Thankfully she seemed to have adjusted slightly. Thankful for the lack of nausea this time she looked around for the writing. There was none. Instead a table stood in front of her, 5 cards were placed face down on it and on each of their backs there was identical writing.

PICK ME

Laughing at the Alice in Wonderland reference she stepped forwards, before hesitating. In Alice in Wonderland had Alice not suffered some terrible side effects from the bottle labelled Drink Me?

But after waiting a while and examining the cards Hermione had to conclude that she was going to have to pick one to succeed. She was already taking a huge risk by returning in the first place, this was nothing in comparison! Besides, it was for her friends. They had sacrificed themselves so that she could survive long enough to gain this chance, she would not let their sacrifice be in vain. Upon turning over the card she saw that it was the 4 of Hearts. A message flashed up.

Congratulations you have gained 4 extra skill points to be used in the next stage!

End of Chapter 1