A/N: Hello fellow Harry Potter fans! Not sure how many Harmony/Harmione fans there is here, but this is just a little something I've come up with gradually. So I do hope you will enjoy it. :) Now, because I love the Harry Potter games that were released on the PS2 years back; Some of the places and areas from the game will show up in this story. Example: Hagrid's Garden, for anyone familiar with the games, you may remember entering a whole different area, which was a massive garden, not too far from Hagrid's Hut. So expect to see some places that were not present in the books or movies! Also I am aware that if Harry had an Animagus form it would be a stag, but for story reasons it will be something else! :D
Let us begin shall we!
It was a late summer's night, the moment Harry heard the old bells chime to the hour of 1am, his emerald green eyes flew open.
With the light sounds of snores moving around him, Harry sat himself up on his four poster bed.
Feeling for his round glasses; the young teen with the messy, jet-black hair slipped them on and stood up.
Trying not to make too much noise, he changed into some casual clothing, slipping a light blue on and light blue jeans to match.
Knowing this was really the only time he would have to himself, so he could practice his magic skills, he would take every moment possible to perfect his newly found skill.
After putting his black runners on; Harry reached for his wand and slipped it into his back pocket.
Without a sound, the fifteen year old headed across the dormitory floor, and over to the stairs that led down into the Gryffindor Common Room.
As he ascended, Harry noticed the dim light from the candles streaming up the stairs; Why were the candles still burning?
The only thing Harry could think of is that maybe someone was still up, possibly studying into the early hours of the morning.
'Who would study at this hour? unless..' Harry's thoughts trailed off and he had a feeling he knew exactly who.
Once he was down the stairs, Harry's emerald eyes scanned the Common room; As soon as his eyes trailed over to the tables set up for study, that is when he spotted someone familiar.
Even though she had her back to him, Harry could tell by the shiny, brown waves in her that it was Hermione.
'No surprise, assignments are due in a few hours for Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes..if you can even call an assignment from toad face worthy of ones time'. Harry stayed where he was for a moment longer, watching his friend hard at work.
Frowning a little; something just occurred to him 'Odd...she would usually have all her school work done way before now'.
Hermione was usually excellent with time management and would have just about every single assignment done, or close to be done before anyone else. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was over loading herself with too many assignments at once.
It was only now, did it occur to Harry that his plans to go wandering outside at 1am in the morning would be dashed.
No way could he get out of this Common room without Hermione spotting him, and he knew for sure she would question him.
Lately, Harry had noticed Hermione's increase when it came to worrying about him; How could he blame her though? the events of his 4th year had changed everything, made most things that little bit more darker.
Something good had at least come out of the horrifying events of the year before, thanks to them, Harry felt he and Hermione had grown closer and maybe something within their friendship had shifted.
Finally deciding he may as well just go and talk to her, Harry took a breath and quietly made his way over to where Hermione was sitting, she certainly looked to be hard at work.
"Hey Hermione, what are you still doing up? studying?" Harry tried to make himself sound as casual as what he could.
Having been so engrossed in her studying, Hermione didn't notice Harry come over to her. Hearing him suddenly speak caused her to jump slightly, she then gasped "Harry!"
Rubbing at one of her eyes, she continued "Don't startle me like that, when I am concentrating...and yes, I'm studying...I needed to focus and complete all the necessary assignments for our O. and then, I stupidly let that get in the way of work that is due tomorrow morning..well in the next several hours"
Remembering what time it was, Hermione then held a tired but puzzled expression across her features "Umm, Harry...why are YOU up so late? shouldn't you be a sleep right now?" There was a hint of suspicion popping up in her tone.
He should of known that Hermione was going to question him; no matter which way he approached it, there was no escaping the issue in the least.
Trying to avoid the question altogether, he went another route "Wow Hermione, its not like you to forget about any of your assignments..you're not studying too hard are you?"
A little frown crossed Harry's face, he looked concerned for his best friend.
"You know studying is great and all...but don't overdo it Hermione".
"Studying too hard? some people might think so but...well I didn't forget about them, I just got a little busy with studying for our more important assessments..that's all". Once Harry told her not to overdo her studying, Hermione simply looked down at all the work spread out in front of her and spoke "Well it needs to be done, I can't just leave it, but.."
Looking back up at Harry, the bright young Witch decided to play along with his avoiding of her previous question..for now.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen you studying much for the OWLs Harry...I understand you have other things, but..well, you know, it would be better to be prepared".
Harry was now wondering what was worse, being found out about what he was doing by Hermione and receiving a lecture; or being found out that he had hardly studied, which would result him getting a lecture with that as well.
Studying was the least of the fifteen year old's worries. He needed to prepare himself for the unavoidable path that was laying out before him, not knowing if he would come out of it alive at the end.
Even though it had been well over a month now; Harry was still trying to wrap his head around all the drama that went down with Cho Chang.
She couldn't of been more different from him, he had found out that he had nothing in common with the pretty Ravenclaw student. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became on WHY he had liked her in the first place.
Before he knew it, they drifted back to subject on why he was awake at this time of night, Hermione questioned him once more "So, why are you out of bed? at one in the morning..?" she narrowed her brown eyes slightly in the candlelight.
Resting his hand down on the study table, Harry shrugged "Oh no reason, just having trouble sleeping that's all..so I decided to come down here".
Harry avoided speaking of the REAL reason he was down in the Common room, and where he planned on going.
"You know Hermione it is getting pretty late, you look really tired, maybe you should head to bed". Harry tried not to sound like he was up to something, but most likely Hermione was not going to fall for it.
Hearing Harry answer her question, even though she was quite tired from studying until so late, she could still tell that he was hiding something. Of course, Hermione could usually always tell when someone was hiding something from her, especially when that someone was either Harry and Ron.
'Just having trouble sleeping? right...' Hermione thought to herself, before hearing Harry speak again. His words and the way he was speaking, only made him sound more suspicious.
"Harry...you know that 'trouble sleeping' is one of the oldest excuses in the book, right?" Hermione pointed out in a matter of fact tone.
Right away Harry could tell by the look on Hermione's face and the tone in her voice, that she didn't believe him in the least.
With a slight roll of his eyes, the fifteen year old leaned against the table.
Stubborn like always, Harry replied "Even the oldest excuses can be super effective Hermione".
He refused to outright admit that he was off on some miss adventure, and was hoping to sneak off unnoticed.
"With that Umbridge woman around, it's impossible to practice our magic skills" he muttered out loud.
Emerald eyes coming to rest on the Common room window, watching the inky night sky, a slight smirk had come across Harry's lips.
"But for the past week or so, I've found a way around old toad face's hawk eyes.."
There he had said it, he was indeed up to something. No point in even trying to keep it from Miss Granger here.
"I was actually planning on presenting a new skill to the rest of the D.A, when we have out next meet up".
Harry had a feeling he was the only one out of the D.A that had even managed to succeed in Animagus transformation.
It was no big deal really, well it was as it took an exceedingly advanced magical skill to transform.
Harry being Harry; was always quite modest, he never bragged about his skills. But he felt showing the rest of his friends would be an important thing to do, it may help them in the dark days that were to come.
"I guess, maybe I do have a little miss-adventure in mind...I won't deny it Hermione".
Turning his head to look at the brightest witch of her age, Harry still held that slight mischievous smirk on his lips.
Finally when she heard the answer she was looking; Hermione had a slight smirk appear across her features. She knew it! she knew that something else was up with him, other than his apparently "trouble sleeping".
"A new skill?.." she mumbled to herself curiosity peaked, turning her attention back to her books, she got up and started to stack them neatly on top of each other "I'm going to put these away, I'm finished now anyway..but, I'm coming back here and going with you".
Not even giving Harry a chance to answer, Hermione headed off, out of the Common room, and quietly headed up to the girl's dormitory to put her books back where they belonged.
Shaking his head, Harry didn't even bother arguing with Hermione, she would be going with him, whether he liked it or not.
Watching her leave for the girls dormitory, he now held that famous half smile of his upon his face.
As he waited for her to return; Harry found himself wondering what she would think of him, gaining the skill to be able to transform into an animal.
Hermione had certainly eased up a bit when it came to going against the rules.
Obviously Harry himself and Ron had, had some sort of influence on her over the past four years they had known each other.
The past week or so, Harry had managed to sneak through the halls of the castle without being detected.
Having Hermione with him shouldn't complicate that. Nearly knowing this castle, well parts of it, like the back of his hand.
With Umbridge having her sidekicks prowling the halls, he and Hermione would have to be on their guard.
There was a hidden passage near by that Harry knew about, he had been using it for the past week or so to travel to and from the castle and its grounds.
Once she had put everything away, Hermione quietly tiptoed back down the staircase and returned to the Common room.
A part of Hermione had this feeling that. despite what she said to him, Harry wouldn't have waited and had already left while she was out of the room.
Seeing that he was still there waiting for her, Hermione smiled. She was glad that he did in fact wait for her. That was when she felt her slight heat rise to her cheeks; She realized that it was just going to be her and Harry and no one else. She found herself liking the idea, but ignored the stirring within her chest.
Reaching his side, Hermione then spoke "Well, are we heading off then Harry? wait..how exactly do you get out of here, without being noticed anyway?" She had never asked this earlier, and found herself curious.
The moment Hermione was back at his side and questioning him, that dazzling, mischievous smirk returned.
Randomly; Harry raised a hand, gently he brushed a piece of Hermione's brown hair away from her cheek, this earned a light blush to appear on her cheeks, the clever witch tried to ignore the fact her heart skipped a single beat.
"Hermione, you've got nothing to worry about, trust me it's easy".
Casually he reached for her hand and took it in his; Leaning closer he said near her ear, his voice quiet "Follow me".
Looking around, making sure there was no one else around, he then stepped forwards, pulling the brunette along with him.
Heading straight for the Fat Lady portrait, it automatically swung open for them. Revealing the long, deserted hall that separated the Gryffindor tower entrance, from the moving stair cases.
Straining his ears, Harry listened; he could hear the quiet whispers of some Prefects further up the hall. Luckily the line of suits of armor blocked them from view.
With a squeeze of Hermione's hand, Harry turned towards a pair of bookshelves lined along the wall.
"This way" he whispered to her.
The bookshelves just looked like normal, dusty old shelves to Hermione, causing her to frown slightly. But Harry knew otherwise.
Swiftly he reached for his wand, retrieving it from the back of his pocket; and pointed it at the shelves.
"Lumos". Harry whispered, the greenish glow shone of the bookshelves, it then revealed the lining of a gap around one of the bookshelves; Reaching out, Harry then lightly pushed on it with his hand.
At once there was a sound of wood lightly scraping against the old brick work of the castle.
Stepping back, Harry watched as the bookshelf moved inwards, before sliding sideways; revealing a hidden passageway, which was dimly lit by a few candles on the walls.
A light gasp of surprise fell from Hermione's lips, she had no idea a passage way had been hidden here all this time; She turned her brown eyes to Harry, looking somewhat impressed.
Smiling, Harry looked at her whispering "This way, it's a hidden passage that can take us to the grounds of the school".
Once they stepped into the passageway, the bookshelf slid back into place, hiding the gap in the wall once more.
"H-Harry..." Hermione muttered, following after him "How did you find this?.." she asked him curiously, hearing the entrance to the passageway close behind her.
Simply shrugging; The young wizard replied "Just got lucky I guess, I stumbled across it not that long ago actually".
It was very quiet in the passageway, the only sound being their steps that echoed slightly, bouncing off the candlelit walls around them as they walked.
"I wonder if anyone else is aware of this hidden passageway?" Hermione said thoughtfully, her brown eyes coming to rest on Harry.
"Dunno, as far as I know, I'm the only one that knows about it and uses it, it sure comes in handy if you're trying to avoid that Umbridge" Harry said darkly, he hated her; couldn't stand her in the least, after all she called him a liar, refusing to acknowledge what happened a year ago.
Heart pounding lightly within his chest, Harry watched as the corridor started to round off as they approached a corner.
"We're almost there, best watch out for Prefects that may be patrolling the grounds..but I do know a way to slip around them" Harry made sure to point out quickly, when he noticed the somewhat concerned look on Hermione's face.
As they came to a stop near the exit, Harry raised his wand and muttered the Lumos spell; lighting up the now somewhat narrowed space with a dazzling greenish light.
Stepping slightly to the side, Harry revealed a moving portrait, occupying it was a grumpy looking wizard, his white beard curled upwards in all directions.
Muttering away, he narrowed his beady eyes; squinting in the bright light of Harry's wand.
"What in the bloody name of Merlin is this!? it's after 1 in the morning!" he grumbled.
It took a moment for him to realize it was Harry, his crabby mood quickly fading.
"Ahh, it's Mr Potter! should have known you'd be the only one who would be using my passageway..sneaking out again I see, more training?"
Harry gave a nod, making sure his voice wasn't too loud "Yeah, same as it has been the last week Sir Grove..would you mind terribly, if I used your passageway again?"
With a wave of his hand, Sir Grove replied "Oh not at all, not at all! Oh.."
His eyes finally landed on Hermione "Well, well who is this pretty little thing you've got with you? Girlfriend? Ohoho!" Chuckled the portrait.
Hearing the question from the old wizard, Hermione felt her chocolate, brown eyes go slightly wide, she found herself looking to the side and answered rather quickly "Um, n-no of course not..!" she stammered lightly.
Harry could feel his cheeks heating up, he was glad it wouldn't be noticeable in the weakening light of the Lumos spell.
"Erm, sorry Sir Grove, but we really need to get going.." Harry hinted, hoping the nosy wizard would pick up on it.
"Ah yes! Of course, please go on through, oh no need for the password, I'll make an exception for you!"
With that the portrait swung open, and a cool breeze swept through from the dark grounds of the school.
The creatures that came out of a night could be heard, hooting, screeching and Harry was sure he could hear the distant howl, of the ghostly Gytrash hounds that often stalked the grounds of a night.
"Oh, be sure to watch out for those vicious Gytrashs, they're always lurking the grounds, especially this time of night!" Warned Sir Grove.
"Don't worry, we'll be fine, come on Hermione" Harry stepped out into the slightly chilly air and scanned the long, stretching grounds.
Feeling Hermione at his side, he then unexpectedly felt her hand slip into his, after she reached into her jacket, bringing out her own wand from a pocket she had in the side of it.
Nervously, she searched the grounds with her eyes; brow knitting into a slight frown and she whispered "I've read all about the Gytrash hounds, but I've never seen one for myself, their ghostly appearance can really send chills through you...Harry we should be careful, they're pretty dangerous, the only way we can repel them is with-she was cut off by Harry finishing her sentence "Is by using the Lumos spell on them, don't worry I know, they hate the light".
Slightly surprised that he knew; Hermione then shook her head, a smile forming in the dim light of Harry's lit wand "Well, now with that settled...Harry where EXACTLY are we going?" she questioned in a whisper, as they started off along the slightly damp grass, making sure to stick to the shadows as much as possible.
"To Hagrid's garden, there is a gate that leads into the massive, hidden area...I think it all belongs to Hagrid, you should see the size of the plants there, and some of the creatures that inhabit it, well it has Hagrid written all over it". A smile was tugging at Harry's lips.
Hermione wasn't sure what to think; she had not been aware of the place Harry spoke of "Just how long have you known about this place? and are you sure it will be safe enough for us to go there? you know what Hagrid is like with...'keeping things' he has such a soft spot for all manner of magical creatures, I don't really wish to run into anything too dangerous.."
As much as she loved Hagrid; Hermione knew all too well, what he was like when it came to keeping magical creatures, not all were allowed on Hogwarts' grounds, by wizarding law anyway.
"Honestly Hermione, we'll be fine, I've been going there for a while now, so I half know what to expect at least".
This didn't help Hermione at all; in fact she looked horrified that Harry had been sneaking off to such a place on his own "Harry! that could of been dangerous on your own.." the brunette bit her bottom lip slightly.
"It's fine, I'm fine" Harry said quickly, slightly bemused by Hermione's response "Trust me, when we get there, you'll see it isn't all about danger, it's actually a beautiful place" he tried to reassure her.
Letting out a slight exasperated sigh Hermione replied "Alright, if you say so Harry, besides I am curious about the skill you spoke of, you haven't told me what it is yet" she was very curious, and it could be seen within the light smile she gave.
"Well, I could tell you right now, but I think it would be easier to just show you" Harry smiled, he then proceeded to climb down a somewhat steep bank that led onto a more flat part of the grounds.
Stopping just a foot or so away, he turned back to Hermione and reached out his hand, gently taking her arm and helping her down the bank.
"Be on guard, usually it's around this area the Gytrash hounds appear" Harry warned; obviously he had encountered these ghostly creatures himself, he was prepared to fight them off if need be.
A/N: Well that is chapter one complete! I really do hope you enjoy it, I'll try and update again as soon as I am able :)Thank you to those who take the time to read my story, I do hope you will find it enjoyable.
