Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, not me. All characters and plot that are in her books are hers.

AN: This is a Hermione is in Slytherin story. Please read and review!

CHAPTER ONE

THE SHADES OF GREY

Hmm… A voice said in her head, Interesting.

Hermione stopped herself from flinching, not wanting the whole school to know that she was scared of a hat.

A hat! The voice said, sounding incredulous, A hat, you say? I'll tell you this, little witch, I'm much more than a hat!

Hermione gulped.

Sorry, Mr. Hat. She thought back as hard as she could.

Ooh, manners! The hat replied, though it sounded like he was talking to more of himself than Hermione, You could be a Hufflepuff. Hardworking, a sense of justice… but you don't like to work as a team, do you?

No. Hermione thought definitely. Teamwork was… messy. Uncoordinated. Full of slackers. Annoying.

Alright, then. You seem to have figured out how to communicate with me non-verbally. You're a quick learner. Most of the others just replied aloud.

Thanks. Hermione thought, her chest puffing out a little with pride.

Ravenclaw would suit you. The hat commented, You have a thirst for knowledge… you feel like you need people to know you're right...

Hermione frowned. She wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw, but Albus Dumbledore came from Gryffindor!

Why Gryffindor? The hat asked, You do have pride, and a spark… desire for glory...

I want to be the best, just like Headmaster Dumbledore! Hermione thought back.

The hat was silent. Hermione fidgeted, wondering if it was something she'd said. Being the best wasn't bad, was it? No, it had to be good. Hermione remembered when a boy in her class had topped her in a test. She'd gone out of her way to study as hard as she could for the next one, but he beat her again. So Hermione did something she wasn't necessarily proud of, in hindsight, but it had to be done - she stole his notes from class and replaced them with a set with all the wrong information. It wasn't her fault the boy had been dumb enough to fall for it… it just showed how much better she was! The next test, she'd beaten the boy. He wasn't much of a problem after that - getting a zero had dropped his moral a ton. But that wasn't bad! Hermione had just proven that she was better. No, the truth was good. What she'd done was good.

Oh my. The hat finally said, How did I miss that?

What? Hermione asked.

You are cunning, ambitious, and have a massive desire to be the best. The hat started off, And you will do anything to be it.

No… Hermione denied, but the hat's seemingly disbelieving silence caused her to continue, Well, a lot… I wouldn't do anything bad, though.

Bad is a relative term. The hat commented, sounding a bit... mischievous?, There is no black and white, only shades of grey. Think about it. Is killing someone bad?

Of course! Hermione thought back as hard as she could.

But what if it's a mercy killing? The hat asked, What if they were in such pain because they were bleeding to death? Would it be bad to kill them to end their suffering?

Well, no. Hermione thought. Now that the hat had got her thinking, bad did seem like a relative term. At least in that case.

And what about if you put someone in jail? The hat asked.

It would only be bad if they were innocent. Hermione replied firmly, her understanding of the world widening.

But what if someone put an innocent person in jail to save 100 lives? The hat asked. Hermione thought for a moment. Putting an innocent in jail was bad. But doing it to save so many more people…

That wouldn't be that bad. Hermione replied.

The hat was silent, before -

You would make a very successful Slytherin.

But Slytherins are evil wizards! Hermione exclaimed. The hat sighed.

A common stereotype. It replied, Slytherins are great wizards. Some evil, yes, but some good. Do you really think a fourth of the population could be evil?

Hermione shook her head.

But… She trailed off.

Merlin was a Slytherin.

Hermione nearly gaped, but stopped herself in time.

Merlin! She exclaimed, The greatest wizard of all? A Slytherin?

Yes. The hat replied, a knowing tone to his voice, Merlin. He was great. And so could you, if you choose Slytherin.

Hermione bit her lip.

Really?

Yes.

Hermione was silent for a long moment.

What do you want? The hat asked, breaking the silence.

And that was precisely the moment when it all changed. When Hermione Granger decided to forgo black and white and settle on shades of grey.

I want to be the best.

"SLYTHERIN!"

An applause filled the air, but it was dimmer than usual. Hermione noticed that only the table with students dressed in green were clapping - some of the Hufflepuffs were as well, but they did it half-heartedly. Some of the Gryffindors had the audacity to boo. Hermione returned the hat to Professor McGonagall, who looked astonished and a bit sad. As she walked past the other first-years waiting, she saw that Harry Potter was half-clapping for her, while Ron Weasley was glaring daggers. Most of the others looked wary of her, but a few, such as Draco Malfoy, grinned as she passed. Hermione wondered what was wrong with everyone, but pushed her worries to the side for the moment, holding her head high as she walked over to the Slytherin table. Even if they did get to her, she wasn't going to show it. She was strong. She was going to be the best.

Hermione took her spot next to a blond first-year girl at the end of the Slytherin table, where the first years sat.

"Hi." The girl whispered, "I'm Tracy."

Hermione smiled back, wondering if she'd make some friends here and finding that her hopes were high.

"Hi." Hermione replied, "I'm Hermione."

Tracy smiled.

Hermione took note as to who the other Slytherin first years were. Already, there were Millencent Bullstrode, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Daphne Greengrass, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, and Baise Zabini came next, Baise being the last sorted.

Finally, Dumbledore said some odd words, and the feast began. Introductions were made throughout the first years.

"I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said when it was her turn. Draco stared at her.

"Do you have family from France, Granger?" He asked. Hermione frowned a bit at the odd question, but thought about it. She had an aunt from France, if that counted…

"Yes." She replied, "I believe I do."

Draco nodded.

"Well, I'm Draco Malfoy." He said, "But you already know that."

Hermione was about to reply that she didn't, but the girl with dark hair, Pansy, cut her off.

"Ugh, aren't you so glad to get away from all of those dirty people?" She asked, blinking at Draco to get his attention, "I was a few people in front of Weasley in the line, and I could smell his stench from all the way up there!"

Draco nodded in agreement, as did the rest. Hermione felt a little left out, so she put in her two cents about Ron Weasley.

"I saw him on the train." She said, and the attention turned to her. She tried not to blush - she'd never been in the spotlight before, other than in class! "He was trying a spell - a quite simple one, in my opinion. Colavara. But he couldn't even do it properly. And he had dirt on his nose."

Hermione felt a little bad about bad mouthing Weasley. Her parents told her to never say something about someone that she wouldn't say to their face, but it was the truth! Anyways, Weasley had been nothing but rude to her. He was bad, and Hermione was good for telling others about his badness.

"Of course not." Malfoy said with a snicker, "He probably lives in a barn, with how poor his family is."

The first years all laughed. Hermione thought that was going a little far, but forced some laughter out to fit in with the rest.

"And," Pansy went on, "A mudblood touched me on the train! Can you believe it?"

That's when Hermione's fantasy came to a screeching halt. Mudblood. She's read the term in one of the extra books she'd gotten. It was a derogatory term for someone like her - a magical who had two muggle parents. Apparently, most "pure bloods" thought of themselves as better than the rest, and looked down upon muggleborns like Hermione. When she'd first read of it, Hermione dismissed the notion as old - after all, who would believe such a thing in the modern day and age? - but now, she was experiencing it in real life.

"You better wash up well, Pansy." Draco said, bringing Hermione out of her spiraling thoughts with a smirk, "Lest you carry the stench around."

That was when Hermione had the thought that would change her life in Slytherin.

What if she wasn't a mudblood? What if her parents were really foster parents, but they'd never told her of her true heritage? But, before she left, Hermione heard them whisper a name... Hermione thought back to her book

The Influential Families Of Modern Times (which was written about a decade previous). Lestrange, Potter, Black…

Black. There it was. The glittering jewel. With the only living Blacks outside of Azkaban, the wizarding prison that was apparently impossible to escape from long married off, no one would know if the man in prison… what was his name? Oh, yes - Sirius Black - has a child beforehand. With her near perfect memory, Hermione recalled that he had been put in prison only about a year after she was born. It fit her story perfectly. She would be from an influential pureblood family, yet wouldn't get a bad reputation because of her "father" - after all, she hadn't seen him in eleven years.

But… wasn't it bad to pretend you were someone you weren't? That was like… fraud. But Hermione recalled what the Hat said. Bad is a relative term. There is no black and white, only shades of grey. If Hermione used the story to stop the others from dismissing her as lesser… used it to help her be known as the best… then that really wasn't that bad.

"So, Davis." Pansy said bitingly, bringing Hermione back to the conversation, "I haven't heard of you before. Is your family just… not well off, or is your blood… tainted?" She drew the words out mockingly. Hermione was suddenly very glad she had come to the decision she did, "Halfblood."

It was a whisper, yet all of the first-years at the table heard it.

Tracy Davis said nothing, staring determinedly at her plate.

"Well?" Blaise Zabini asked, his tone a bit dangerous, "What is it, Davis?"

"None of your business, that's what." Daphne Greengrass snapped, coming to Tracy's defense. She gave all of them a death glare, as if to say don't mess with my friend, or else.

Pansy waffled, not knowing what to do.

"Well…" She said, "I mean…" Pansy's faze caught Hermione's.

"Granger." Pansy said, having found new prey, "That name doesn't sound normal."

Hermione lifted her head like she'd seen Daphne do just moments before, glaring at Pansy.

"Please." Hermione said, putting all of her loathing in the word so it sounded rather venomous, "You're making a fool of yourself, insulting us Slytherins. Did you expect a-" Hermione hesitated for a half a second, unsure of herself before plowing forward anyways, "a mudblood to be amongst us? It's almost as if you have something to hide, Parkinson."

All eyes switched to Pansy.

"Answer the question, Granger." Pansy bit out.

"Don't call me that." Hermione snapped, making a few of the others looked shocked, "That's a muggle name."

Gasps emerged from her captive audience of classmates.

"Ha!" Pansy started, "I knew i-"

"Shut your mouth before you cross a line, Parkinson." Hermione replied, channeling her inner fire and fury into something cold and dangerous, "Yes, I was raised by muggles, but they're not my real parents. I'm adopted. They never told me who my parents were, but I always knew I was special." Hermione's voice dropped as if she was telling a story, and all who could hear leaned in, "I heard them talking, the night before I came. They were talking about my father. I heard one name. Just the one. And I knew he was a wizard."

Her voice now a mere whisper, Hermione uttered the two words that would change her life.

"Sirius Black."