A/N & Disclaimer: I had posted an HP fic several years ago (Young Forever, which can no longer be found online) but took it down because of several inconsistencies and gaping plot holes. This is my second attempt at an HP fic and yes, I've inserted an OC. Somewhat canon compliant up until Deathly Hallows, and I've used bits and pieces from both the books and movies (have yet to see Deathly Hallows so...). Eventual pairings, which will likely consist of Ron/Luna, Draco/Hermione, Harry/OC. Possible rating change later in the fic. I don't own anything but Ivy and the parts that are obviously not from the Harry Potter books or movies.
Prologue
It had always been the four of them. Mostly. Their first year had gotten off to a rocky start though by the end of term, they had become fast, firm friends.
Hermione Granger. Ronald Weasley. Ivy Rennes. Harry Potter.
Harry and Ron had gotten off splendidly right from the off, bonding on the Hogwarts Express over unwanted corned beef sandwiches and chocolate frogs. Hermione had been quite bossy and a know-it-all who too often nosed into affairs that did not pertain to her.
The boys had disliked her intensely, and she was disdainful of them. That had all changed Halloween night of their first year when Harry and Ron accidentally locked her in the girl's bathroom, along with a troll. They had rescued her afterwards and the twosome turned into a trio.
Ivy Rennes was a Pure-Blood whose family had money and the common ideals of the majority of other Pure-Bloods. Muggleborns weren't worth spit. To Ivy's horror, she had been placed in Gryffindor, cut off from her childhood –indeed best- friend who had gone into Slytherin.
At first she had been stuck-up. Unlike Hermione, it wasn't a 'know-it-all' type of snobbery, but an 'I'm better than the lot of you' attitude. She resented being in Gryffindor and hadn't bothered hiding it, ensuring that her first year started off poorly. An ugly encounter with Slytherins had resulted in Ivy and Hermione forming a tentative friendship that had eventually brought her into the group.
The four of them balanced each other out. Naturally, Hermione and Ivy had a separate friendship as Ron and Harry did, there was an unspoken understanding that some things were 'boys only' and others simply for the 'girls'.
Harry was the natural leader, though he never thought of himself that way. He just instinctively took over situations when others hesitated. He was somewhat impulsive, and tended to think with his heart when he should have used his head. Hermione was the counter to that impulsive tendency, using her intellect to think things through rationally -usually, and often was the voice of reason in the group. She and Ron did, however, exasperate each other quite a bit.
Ron was unknowingly cruel sometimes, though at others his obliviousness to the obvious around him proved to be a blessing and a source of amusement. He had been cast in the role of the overshadowed best friend, but most of the time he took it with good grace. Ivy had her own offbeat sense of humor and was usually the binding agent that held them together through tiffs.
They were each an essential pillar that made their little group strong.