Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter nor any of the characters besides Harmony Granger. I own the slight changes to the plot as well as the major changes yet to come. Thank you for reading.
At dinner that very same day I was congratulated by people that had never once stopped to see me before. I was given a position of honor, and as such was granted certain liberties; for example, my own bathing area, a room with which I was capable of staying alone, and Dumbledore's trust. It was Dumbleodre that called me to the teachers table by request of his Owl. I had missed the first lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts with the newest teacher, Professor Lupin. He was an attractive middle aged man with hair that seemed to stand wherever it wanted. His facial hair was light enough to seem as if he missed a shave, but constant enough to let it be known that it was a style. His dark brown eyes shone with warmth and charisma, something that I immediately picked up on.
"Ms. Granger, I apologize for singling you out, but you missed my first class today. I was made aware that you hold one of the highest grades for D.A.D.A, so I was worried that this absence would leave you behind." His logic was sound, but unnecessary, If I had passed it on my OWLS then I would no doubt know what he would teach. Still, for the sake of the plan and for Dumbledore I would act as I had if I had not been made aware of my position. "We have covered the basics of Grindylows and what their weaknesses and strengths are as underwater creatures. I am aware that you had pressing matters with Dumbledore today preventing you from attendance in class, but there will be a test on it and I do not want you to flunk it."
"Thank you, Professor Lupin." I said with a broad smile. His teachings may be a bit slow, but at least he cares enough about the students to inform them of what they have missed so that they do not and cannot have an excuse for not passing tests in his class. "I will make sure to study pertinently tonight." His eyes widened a bit at my vocabulary, but he nodded his ascent anyhow and gave me permission to leave the table. After dinner I was flanked by many, all whom clouded me with questions of ignorance and desire for knowledge. When they broke away and left me to my lonesome as I traveled back to my room I could not help but to enjoy such forthcomings. Then I noticed a black, shaggy, dirty dog whimpering in one of the secluded corridors to my home/room. Its paw seemed to have been caught in one of Filch's barrier traps, I could see it licking at it as if it were bleeding.
"If you can make the trek up some stairs, I will clean that for you and bandage it." I turned my back to him and requested a glass of milk and a few slices of bread to be sent to my bedroom. The Kitchen Elves gladly began making it, glad to have the last request of the evening done. I was promptly aware of the dog following behind me cautiously. His limping figure hesitant to trust me. I was a sucker for pets, even more so when it came to dogs. I didn't have one because Hogwarts did not allow dogs as a pet option, but if he could have gotten through the barriers, then he must be allowed as a pet, even if he were to have the wound. His slumped figure about halfway up the steps made me laugh a bit. "You can make it, we're halfway there, I asked for milk and bread to be sent so you'll have a meal while I heal you." His ears perked up at the sound of meal then all but rushed up the remaining stairs, the torches lighting as he passed by. He was waiting, huffing at my door when I arrived, his eyes accusatory as he nudged the door with his nose. I grinned and tapped the door three times with my wand and said my name, aware that he was staring at me intently.
"You know, your eyes are far too human to be an animals." It was a joke, but the dog jerked his head to me and yelped, as if he thought I was serious. My eyes narrowed at his human like behavior, then averted when I caught sight of his wounded paw. "Come towards the bathroom if you will. I'll have to bathe it, then heal it, and then you can eat." His ears went downward and he snarled at me, his teeth bared. Instead of being scared I glared at him, my bag slamming down on my chair at the desk. "Now you look here, if you think I'm going to hurt you more after letting a stray, injured dog into my room, then you can just get on out!" he slowly stopped snarling, then began whimpering in apology once our gazes continued to stay locked. "I don't expect you to trust me, but know that I'm a good person. Go on, it's through that door. To open it you just have to push with your head." I grabbed the plate and cup, then looped a bag of ingredients over my wrist, aware that my potion making ingredients would have to be stocked again. When I entered he was staring at the room with his tongue out of his mouth, his tail wagging excitedly. I laughed and set the food out of reach for him, then began to run the warm water.
"I'm expecting a visitor later, he can't quite know you're here, so if you could hide yourself when he does come I would much appreciate it." Something in his relaxed stance told me that he didn't want to be discovered. With a chuckle I picked him up and put him in the tub, letting his body relax to the warm water while his injured paw stayed on the edge of the tub. The mud that came off of him and soon turned the water brown was saddening, thank god I hadn't put all that much in. The more I rubbed the potion into his fur the more he relaxed, the more he began to trust me. He acted a little ruthless when I began to message it into his underbelly and armpits, then his tail and face. Still, once he was rinsed off I could clearly see the wound, and the fact that he was a very handsome dog.
"You don't look too bad cleaned up." I grinned cheekily at him and laughed when he licked my cheek. "Alright, now stay put while I place this in, okay? This is Bezoar juice, it'll take out any infection or poisons put onto the trap." He placed his muzzle on the rim of the tub while I poured three drops onto the slash on his paw, an acrid green infection seeping out of his wound and into the drain of my bathtub. His whimpers stopped, but began anew when I prevented him from licking at it. "Not yet, I'm putting some Denalisli powder on it so that it will heal quicker and not leave a scar; it'll sting a bit." He pushed his head a bit closer to me and yipped once, telling me he was ready. Human qualities, I would need to look into this. I put the powder on the wound liberally, then wrapped a light gauze around it that he found felt funny, the way he looked at it after whining said as much. When he ate he ate slowly, but he ate it all, then drank the milk and laid down in the bathroom, apparently full and sated. I smiled and pet his dry head lightly, smiling broader when he leant his head into my hand.
"Now, you must stay in here until I say that it is clear, then you can come into the room and relax a bit. I'll take a bit of food from dinner that can be preserved and give it to you for dinner and breakfast, if I can make it I'll try to get you at lunch tomorrow as well." His ears lowered, but no yip came as I exited the bathroom and changed into a fresh pair of trousers and a blouse, the shirt placed securely over my head the moment Snape entered my room.
"Impressive," was all he said as he stared at my room, the sneer on his lips still tight as ever. My mood instantly sobered at his tone, then motioned for him to take the nearest seat to the fire, his skepticism clear. "Regretfully you must go into full detail of your day today, then I will question you as to what your thoughts were of certain events that I think will be questioned, and you will answer." I nodded and told him everything, everything except for the dog. "When you were congratulated for your position, what simpleminded thoughts were you feeling?" He meant it as an insult, of that much I was clear.
"Annoyance, if you must know, sir. Much like that of which I am feeling now." Without waiting for him to chide me on my insolence I began anew. "I do not like being the center of attention, nor do I care for the thoughts of others when they hold me to a standard of a simpleton or begin to notice me only when I gain a position of power. I am not my sisters idiot friends, nor am I some knowledge hungry Ravenclaw. I am very liberal in my thoughts, sir, and should you so ask you will get exactly what I think. Such is my worst asset, sir, my forwardness. I am blunt, and I do not need to be treated as if I am a lesser being of that with which I am." His lips pressed harder and harder together until I was finished. The icy glare he turned to me would have made anyone flinch, but I did not. I met his glare evenly with my annoyed one and waited for him to say something.
"Understood. That is all, expect me here again, tomorrow night, same time." He stood up, his figure looming over me, then headed for the closet, his back stiff.
"Professor Snape?" he stopped, dead in his tracks. I still needed more supplies. "I would like to buy more supplies from you as well, I seem to be out." He turned to glare at me over his shoulder, spat that he would get the list from me tomorrow and give me an approximate sum with which I owed him for the refill of said supplies. With that he opened the door and walked through it, slamming it in his leave. I shook my head at the door, and his anger, then made my way towards the bathroom. I may look like my sister, but I am nothing like her. The sooner the people that knew me realized that, the better. The dog apparently thought so too, because the moment I opened the door he was waiting beside it, his tail wagging and pride shining in his eyes. He had liked me telling Mr. Snape off, or so it seemed.
"Well, I don't have to ask you what you thought, do I?" I grinned and held the door opened. "Go on, hop up on the bed." He did so, but only after looking around in the dim room to see if Professor Snape was gone. When I crawled under my cover the fire dimmed to a soft glow and the dog curled into my side above the sheet. His black fur was shiny and sleek, yet soft and thick to the touch. "Seeing as how I don't know your name, if you have one, it seems only fitting that I name you. Paws, no Pads. Since your paw was wounded, and the bottom of your paw is called a pad. What do you think, Pads?" he nudged my hand with his nose and licked my wrist, so I grinned and took that for a positive. With a laugh I pet his head and laid down, sleeping for the first time with a dog in my bed.
"Ms. Granger!" Professor Lupin called with a small sense of glee. "Very good, 100%!" I smiled at him and nodded my head in thanks when he passed my test back. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I hadn't studied a bit last night, nor that I had taken this test as a prep during my first year because I had wanted one as a pet. He was a kind Professor and a kind man, despite the cruel things the Slytherins said about him. Surprisingly, Draco Malfoy approached me with a slight sneer. At his struggling silence I rose my brow and silently ushered him into saying what he was going to say, whether it were a name, curse, or actual information.
"My father has written to me and told me that I am to treat you with respect now, despite you being a mudblood-" he cleared his throat, forced a smile, and extended his hand. "Let's just start over, shall we? I'm Draco Malfoy. Pureblood. We won't be friends, but I won't be after you all the bloody time." I stared at him for a while, then took his hand in mine, a grin forming on my lips.
"Harmony Granger, Muggleborn. 14, Smartest in my year. Ravenclaw." I smirked and released his hand, our gazes meeting once more. His showed slight surprise, no doubt due to the fact that his hand didn't melt off when I touched it. "Poor, favorite class is D.A.D.A, and you and I are more alike than you think." He sneered, then stopped and looked away in annoyance. I laughed, albeit at his expense, but I still laughed. Few looked our way, even Professor Lupin glanced over, but all soon stared when they noticed I was laughing, not yelling. "I'm not expecting a complete change, Malfoy. You don't have to quit hating me, but if you were to actually try, you would see that I'm not like that idiot Potter or his idiot side kick freckle brain." He snorted at my names, then glanced at me in a new found comradery. As if me speaking my thoughts of Harry and Ronald had forgiven the fact that I was Muggleborn.
"You hate Potter and Weasel too, huh?" I shrugged and told him that I didn't necessarily hate them, just strongly dislike. "Why don't you like them, your sister is one of the 'golden trio'." I snorted and asked if that was really what they were calling themselves. He chuckled and told me that it was.
"My sister and I are very different. She's an optimist, I'm a realist. She likes that idiot Ronald, and I despise the both of them because of their tendency to do idiotic things without thinking about the consequences." He chuckled and agreed with me, then class ended and we departed for our next classes. Mine, of course, was Advanced Double Potions. My student credits allowed for me to pay for the refill of my supplies, though it dwindled my Potions credits down to five for this semester. During the class period a few Slytherins kept whispering and looking at me from the corner of their eyes, few even greeted me with tight lipped smiles and apologized for calling me a mudblood. I all but ignored them until Professor Snape made his way over to the students, then called me over with a flick of his wrist. "Sir?"
"Are you aware, Ms. Granger, that rumors are flittering about of you being my consort?" the children that were whispering were children of Death Eaters, of that much I knew. They would, of course, have heard the news of me being Snape's consort from their families. If I were to deny the rumors then I would be setting child against parent, but would save face at Hogwarts. Then again, to agree to them would be to leave a fear in each child and parents heart towards myself and Snape. With a platonic gaze I turned to the students, already knowing the affects of just what I would say.
"Funny thing," my voice was calm, but I made sure that I had a slight undertone of haughtiness that would leave room for suspicion. "rumors." I grinned inwardly when I saw them glance between the two of us, their eyes trying to calculate if we were, or if we weren't. "Based on truth, but almost completely fabricated." Now they were fighting with their logic on what they had heard from their parents and with what they saw. When the confusion shone brightly in their furrowed brows I smiled lightly and turned back to Snape. "If that is all, sir, may I return to my potion?" he nodded his head, though the wry upturn of his lips told me he knew what I had done and that he found it very amusing.
"So, they're true. You are friends with Malfoy, and Slytherin House." My sister murmured sadly as I passed her and Harry's station, Ronald sneering at me from the other side of her. She was confused too, but otherwise ignorant of the truth. I loved my sister, but if I were to put her in danger because of my new position I would not be able to forgive myself. To protect her I shrugged my shoulders and faced her, aware that a few of the other Gryffindors were listening intently.
"Draco and I think alike. You are allowed your choice of friends, aren't I granted the same privilege?" she nodded, but her friends did not seem so pleased. Harry placed his hands on the table and leant forward, his cheeks reddened in anger but his hair sagged in front of his eyes.
"His father is a cruel Deatheater and he hates any who isn't purebloods." I smirked and met his gaze evenly, aware that he seemed to like to glare at me. So many things I could say to him, many of which would end up with him angered and losing his head. Instead I went with the one thing I knew wouldn't be seen as a threat to anyone but him.
"Really, Potter? Because he let me, a Muggleborn, talk to his son, he's even allowing me to stay at his home over vacation." He hadn't, but I had no doubt that he would. "Having fame is one thing, but being smart is another." I narrowed my eyes, aware that my sister was looking at me in shock and horror. "We all know you only have an abundance of fame." The hurt that swam in his eyes almost made me regret my words. Almost. I left them there, like that, and headed towards the library, making a mental list of genre's that I would need search to find the information that I needed on Pads. He was no ordinary dog, that much I knew, but what was it that made him out of the ordinary?
"Need any help, dear?" the librarian witch asked, her eyes gray and warm. I said I was writing a paper and needed a book on intelligent animals with human like qualities. "What you want are the books of animungus's and the Magical Muggle Creatures." She pointed me in the direction of each section of books and told me I was granted permission to check out as many books as needed. By the time my Study Hall was over I had read through four books, three on Magical Muggle Creatures and one on Animnugus's. My best bet was that he was an animngus, but that also meant he was originally human. If I was right – and I was sure that I was – that meant he was really human and taking advantage of my helping gesture.
Still, I thought as I headed towards Headmaster Dumbledore's office, if he was staying in his Animungus form for a long as he had been then he must be running. The earlier showing of distrust meant he had been abused somehow, and the way he looked as if he wanted to swallow the food in one bite but paced himself suggested he'd been starved. I couldn't condemn him for such an action, besides, he looked relatively middle aged.
"Ah, Ms. Granger, right on time for your lesson." Dumbledore said with a chuckle, as if he had actually thought I would be late. "Today we will just focus on proper decorum when in the presence of the Minister and his council." With his permission I sat in the chair across from him, his nod pleasant at the sight of my posture. "Now, as you well know, the Ministry has a very high place in the Wizarding Society, and as such requires a certain air about one's person. Some topics that are brought up may be the exact opposite of what you think, even so you must be able to maintain an air of superiority and keep a calm mind when faced with these moments." I nodded my head, already knowing that I may not be particularly good at this part, considering I was a very blunt person. When I remarked so he chuckled and sat in the chair, his posture relaxing almost immediately. "Exactly, my dear, it is one of the reasons I had suggested for you to take such a position. It is because of your honest opinions and tactical thought process that I want you to ignore what I have just stated. I would like for you to share your opinions, convince others of such, but do so in a way that reflects morale and intellect." I was starting to like my position already.