AN: Okay, this is my first time doing anything outside of X-Men: The Movie. Thing is, this scenario just kinda wormed its way into my head, so I decided to try my hand at writing a Harry Potter fic. Please keep in mind that these characters do not belong to me, except for the currently unnamed girl. With that out of the way, I hope that you all enjoy!
Chapter 1
"Ron! For the last time, be careful!" Hermione hissed as she motioned toward the sleeping Professor Lupin.
"Sorry." Ron muttered as he slumped back into his seat. Hermione sighed as she watched the sleeping professor merely shift before settling back into what must have been a wonderful sleep.
Their third year at Hogwarts hadn't even begun yet, and already the golden trio had something to worry about. The escape of the ruthless Sirius Black was bad enough, now it was certain that he was after Harry. The perfect start to what was sure to be an interesting year.
Honestly, are we ever going to have a normal year at this crazy school?! Hermione asked herself. She then realized that no friends of Harry Potter would ever have a normal year.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy being friends with Harry and Ron. On the contrary, she couldn't possibly wish for better friends. Sure, Ron was a bit immature. Sure, Harry could sometimes be a bit too emo. But Ron was the most loyal friend anyone could ever want, and Harry's true wisdom always shined when she needed someone to talk to.
Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by the sudden stop of the Hogwarts Express. She fell forward, but was caught by Ron's arms.
"Thanks Ron." She said as she steadied herself and brushed imaginary dust off of her robes.
"N-No problem." Ron muttered, his face quickly turning red.
"Are we there already?" Harry asked as he looked around in confusion. Hermione checked her watch.
"We shouldn't be. So why did the train stop?" She asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. Ron moved to the window and tried to look through it.
"Hey guys, something's moving around out there! I think some people are coming onto the train!" Ron said, his voice rising with his growing panic.
"Ron calm down, it can't be that serious." Hermione assured, though she really didn't believe her own reasoning. She heard the compartment door open, then a hiss.
"Ow! Stupid cat!" Ginny growled as Crookshanks jumped at her. Hermione turned around just in time to see her cat disappear out the compartment door.
"Crookshanks! Come back here!" Hermione called after her beloved cat.
"I don't see why you ever wanted that dumb cat in the first place." Ron sneered.
"Shut up Ron!" Hermione said as she ignored her better judgment and ran after Crookshanks.
She began her search in the luggage compartment, wrapping her robe a bit more tightly around herself to shield her body from the sudden burst of cold air.
Why's it so cold all of a sudden? Hermione asked herself. Normally, she would have returned to the safety of her friends, but her stubborn self reminded her that she needed to find Crookshanks. Finally, she spotted him sitting on a trunk.
"There you are!" Hermione sighed with relief as the cat jumped into her outstretched arms. He curled closer to her warm body and purred contently as she gently stroked his fur.
"Come on then, let's get back to the others." Hermione whispered, not wanting to be alone for longer than absolutely necessary.
Crookshanks' attention then became focused on the back of the train. He hissed and jumped out of Hermione's arms.
"Come back here!" She shouted as the cat ran back toward the front of the train. She was just about to take off after him, but the sound of the rear compartment door sliding open caught her attention.
She looked back toward the open door and saw a tall, cloaked figure glide slowly into the compartment. Her heart leaped into her throat as the figure slowly advanced on her.
Oh my God! That's a dementor! Hermione realized as her shaky hand reached for her wand.
Despite her vast knowledge about the guards of Azkaban, Hermione found herself too terrified to remember what the best spell to use against a dementor was. A thin, decaying hand slipped out from beneath the dementor's black cloaks and grabbed her trembling arm.
In that moment, every sad thought that Hermione had ever experienced came back to her. She gasped as the sensation enveloped her entire being. Tears came to her eyes, and she felt as though she would never be happy again.
The dementor then slung her into the wall. The wand fell out of her grip and she slid down the wall into a heap. The back of her head hurt, but that pain was nothing compared to the burning pain that she felt in the arm the dementor had grabbed. She looked at her arm and tried to wiggle her fingers, but she was only rewarded with another wave of unbearable pain.
A pained whimper became a terrified shriek when Hermione realized that the dementor was coming closer. She considered reaching for her wand with her left hand, but quickly dismissed the idea. Number one, she couldn't cast spells with her left hand. Number two, she still wasn't quite sure what spell to use against the dementor. And number three, even if numbers one and two weren't a problem, she was in far too much pain to even think about moving.
She sobbed as the intimidating figure advanced on her trembling form. She tried to yell for help, but the fear she felt gripped her throat so tightly that she could barely breathe, let alone scream. She was so focused on the menacing figure before her that she didn't notice when the door to the rest of the train slid open.
She did, however, notice the blinding light that seemed to ram into the dementor. She did, however, notice the female voice that ordered the dementor out of the compartment. She did, however, notice the smell of strawberries and the figure that was now kneeling next to her.
"Hey, you okay? Can you hear me? C'mon, please say something." The female voice said, now noticeably gentler than it was before. Hermione forced her head to her side to get a look at her rescuer, but her blurred vision prevented her from seeing little more than the woman's blurry outline.
"M-My arm…" Hermione whimpered through clenched teeth.
"Okay, try to relax." The voice soothed and a hand gently felt Hermione's injured shoulder. Hermione shrieked in pain, but a firm hand on her good shoulder kept her from moving around too much.
"Easy, you're okay." The gentle voice assured. Hermione then felt herself being lifted and cradled by two strong arms. With her working hand, she clung to the mystery woman's robe with all of her strength. She felt the temperature change significantly as she was carried out of the cold luggage compartment and into the warm corridors of the seating car.
"Hermione! Are you alright?!" Ginny asked as Hermione was carried into the compartment. Harry and Ron stood in alarm, but the woman carrying Hermione quickly brushed all of them out of her way.
"Please move out of the way. I need to look at her injured arm." She said as she carefully laid Hermione down on the seat. Hermione moaned in pain as she fought the urge to cradle her injured arm, knowing that it would only make her arm worse.
"Still slowing down in your old age I see, Lupin." The woman said with a smirk, her comment directed at the now awake Professor Lupin.
"Still saving damsels in distress I see." Lupin replied with a hearty laugh. The woman merely shrugged her shoulders.
"What can I say? The job never really gets old." She replied with a warm smile, before her attention returned to Hermione.
"Your name's Hermione, right?" She asked. Hermione nodded before whimpering in pain once again. A tender hand brushed Hermione's unruly hair away from her face.
"It's okay, just try to relax. You're safe now, I won't hurt you." The woman tenderly comforted. Hermione found herself relaxing under the attentive care of this mysterious woman. She allowed herself to get a better look at her savior.
The woman was actually a child. She looked to be no older that fifteen. Her dirty-blonde hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail to keep it out of her face. She actually appeared to be quite short. She didn't even seem to reach 5 feet 2 inches. Hermione's gaze traveled along the girl's slightly rounded face and settled on her deep hazel eyes. She looked as though she could be a real laugh riot, but right now she was all business.
The girl looked at Harry, Ron, and Ginny. She stood from her crouching position and motioned the trio to come closer.
"C'mere you three, I need ya'll to help me out." She ordered, revealing to Hermione a bit of a southern accent. She spoke very quietly to the trio, who then slowly surrounded a quickly panicking Hermione.
"Um, guys, what are you doing?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"Hermione, you're arm was pulled out of its socket." Ginny explained as she sat at Hermione's head and placed the older girl's head in her lap.
"She said that she can pull it back into place, but it's going to hurt." Harry said as he sat on Hermione's legs, anchoring them in place. The ironic part of Hermione's mind almost laughed at this scenario.
"So you guys, being the caring friends that you are, plan to hold me down while she resets my arm?" Hermione asked dryly as Ron placed a firm hand on her good shoulder.
"Well, yeah, pretty much." Ron answered with a weak smile. Hermione sighed.
"Of course." She muttered. The girl, who was still standing beside of Hermione, couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"I wish that everyone who's bones I've had to reset were as calm about it as you are." She commented before gently taking Hermione's injured right arm. Ginny moved to cover Hermione's eyes with her hand.
"Oh, honestly Ginny! I'm not a little kid!" Hermione growled in protest.
"Hermione, I've seen bones get reset before. Trust me, you're better off not seeing this." Ginny assured as she covered Hermione's eyes. The mystery girl couldn't help but miss Hermione's piercing gaze, but she quickly shook off this thought and focused herself on the task at hand.
"Now Hermione, this is going to hurt, just hold still…" She said. Hermione screamed as her arm was pulled back into place with a sickening pop.
As soon as it was over, Harry and Ron got off of Hermione's whimpering form. As Hermione cradled her aching arm, Ginny ran her fingers through her hair and whispered soothing words to her. Finally, Hermione calmed down enough to feel sleep overtaking her. She could hear Lupin and the girl talking, but she couldn't make out the words. Eventually, she just gave up and fell into a fitful sleep.
"Out of my way! Move it!" Hermione heard as she slowly woke from her sleep. She opened her eyes to see Madame Pomfrey hovering over her. She blinked rapidly against the blinding light of the compartment.
"Everyone! Please exit the train in an orderly fashion!" She heard Professor McGonagall order the students.
Oh wonderful! Hermione thought bitterly. Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall!? This can't be good! This day just keeps getting better and better!
"How do you feel Ms Granger?" Madame Pomfrey asked.
"Just fine! No problems whatsoever!" Hermione lied, but she had always been a terrible liar. Truth be told, the pounding in her head was almost unbearable.
"Of course, now tell me where it hurts." Madame Pomfrey replied curtly. Hermione struggled to sit up.
"Honestly! I'm perfectly-owwwwwww!" Hermione groaned in pain as her headache forced her to fall back to the seat.
"Hermione, please, just tell us where it hurts." Professor McGonagall gently yet firmly ordered. Hermione looked at her favorite teacher's trademark glare, and knew that she didn't have a chance.
"My head hurts and my arm was dislocated." She sighed in defeat. Lupin picked that moment to jump in.
"But it's been reset, she just needs to have it checked and then she should be able to use it tomorrow." He explained. "She does appear to have a slight concussion though, it would be best to keep her in the Hospital Wing for the night."
"What?! Professor Lupin, with all due respect, I do not need to be kept overnight!" Hermione protested.
"Please stop making such a fuss Ms Granger! You are staying in the Hospital Wing tonight and that is the end of the matter!" Madame Pomfrey scolded, firmly laying down the law. Hermione sighed in defeat and lay still, allowing the nurse to check her head and arm.
Madame Pomfrey inspected Hermione's wounds until she was finally satisfied. She then conjured up a floating stretcher. Hermione moved to sit up, but Professor McGonagall's firm hand on her shoulder stopped all movement.
"Ms Granger, you are in no condition to sit up, let alone walk." The transfigurations teacher scolded.
"Then how do you plan to get me on to the stretcher?" Hermione couldn't help but ask. The sly smirk on her professor's face frightened her far more than even Voldemort ever could.
"With a spell that I'm sure you remember from your first year, Wingardiem Leviosa!" Hermione shrieked as she was lifted off of the seat and plopped on to the stretcher. She couldn't fight the blush that rose to her cheeks when she thought back to her first year.
She had gotten into trouble for "chasing after a mountain troll" in her first year. But in reality, the troll had found her and Harry and Ron had saved her, using a spell that Hermione had previously teased Ron for not understanding. At the end of the year, Hermione told Professor McGonagall the truth, and was then scolded for allowing everyone to think that she had endangered herself when really it was all Ron's fault. The sounds of Madame Pomfrey scolding Professor McGonagall brought Hermione out of her memories.
"Honestly Minerva! How can you treat a patient that way?! Let alone one with a head injury!" Hermione sighed and eagerly allowed sleep to take over.
AN: Well, how was it? If you decide to leave a review, please keep in mind that this is my first Harry Potter fic. Please don't flame me! I'll happily take some constructive criticism though!
