Disclaimer. As usual I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters, things, or animals, that are mentioned in the Harry Potter books, I do how ever own the plot in this little venture into the Potter verse.

The life of Harry Potter, and Hermione's part in it.

Part two

Hermione leapt from the car as soon as it shuddered to a stop in the drive, rushing into the house she did not even pause to hang up her coat in her haste to reach her bedroom. Five minutes later Hermione was sitting down on her bed her legs crossed, the book was open on her lap. She opened the pages to the first chapter and began to read.

Harry James Potter. Chapter one. My formative years.

Before we begin the story of my life let me just say that it took me a very long time to decide to include this part of my story, it is a part of my life I have never divulged before, not to you or anyone else. My final decision to add it was so that in future years you will have an insight as to why I become so moody at times. The truth is I didn't know at the time just how my formative years had affected me. The story of my first eleven years is not a pleasant one so you can if you wish pass over this chapter and go on to the next one. The years at Hogwarts were not much better except for the fact I had you to look after me for most of the time I wasn't a prisoner at Privet Drive.

I was born to my parents James and Lily Potter in the village of Godrics Hollow on July 31 1980. On the eve of Halloween just after my first birthday both my parents were murdered by an egotistical maniac (you will learn more about him as we go on). On that same night Voldemort, (that's his name), also tried to kill me, but I can now say thankfully he failed.

I was discovered slightly injured at one a.m the same night by a giant of a man by the name of Rubeus Hagrid; better known to everyone as Hagrid.
Hagrid delivered me to the headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry, he in turn left me on the door step of number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging. It was the door step of my aunt and uncle, (the place of my imprisonment). I was wrapped in a blanket along with a letter telling them what had happened and asking them as my last living relatives to take care of me.

My Aunt and Uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley, took me in; I think it was through fear of Dumbledore (the headmaster) though, because they hated the very sight of me…

Hermione read on, reading about all the beatings and starvation, the slave like treatment Harry Potter had suffered through all his young years with his aunt and uncle and their nasty spoilt son Dudley.

An hour and an half later Helen Granger found her daughter sitting in her room crying, the sobs that came from the young girl tore at Helens heart. Holding Hermione in a hug she asked what it was that had upset her so much. All that Hermione was able to do was to haltingly ask her mother to give her a little time, and she promised to tell her mum all about it at supper.

Not really happy with things Helen left her daughter as asked, only to go down stairs and to worry about Hermione. It was fifteen minutes later before Hermione could bring her self to finish the first chapter.

The last few lines she read made Hermione's mind up and brought out in her all the amazing amount of courage she had.

'I don't have a really good memory of the September in 1989 that you had your tenth birthday. That was the month when Vernon cracked my ribs and broke my arm. I remember I was locked in my cupboard under the stairs from around the beginning of the second week, because the pain I was in was making me cry and it was getting on his nerves. The end of that month was the only time in my life I ever got to see a doctor, and he had been struck off or what ever they call it. Apparently an infection had set in and in my starved condition I was unable to fight it. I once again came very close to dying that year,' the last Paragraphs told about his Hogwarts letter and all that had happened until he boarded the train to start his first term as a student at the school.

Hermione flipped through the book her eyes rapidly scanning the pages; she was hoping she could find a spell that would do what she had in mind.
She was half way through the book when she finally found what she was looking for, she practised the wand movement shown a few times, then remembering the incantation she turned back to the first chapter, and carefully she reproduced each individual page of the chapter. She then hid the book under her underwear in the bottom draw once again.

She had just closed the drawer of her dresser when her mother tapped on the door and called that supper was ready. Hermione rushed to open the door before her mother retreated down the stair, what she was about to do she would have to do here in her bedroom.

"Mum can you call dad up; I need to show you something," she said tears were still running down her cheeks, she was hurting for the little boy who was locked in a dark cupboard under the stairs, his ribs cracked and his arm broken.

As soon as both her parents entered the room Hermione nervoulsy asked them to sit, knowing that their little girl was hurting for some reason and was probably going to tell them about it, Helen and Richard Granger sat down on the bed.

Hermione took a really deep breath then looked her parents in their eyes.
"Mummy, daddy, I am a witch. A real live magical witch, now before you say anything or think that I am talking about a childhood fantasy. I want to show you some thing," taking another deep breath and shaking a little Hermione opened her wardrobe door once again, then pointing her wand at her self she once again uttered the incantation to reduce her teeth, this time she watched them shrink until they were perfectly straight and level before she said "finite."

Turning to her worried looking parents she gave them a teary but large though obviously forced smile, showing them a perfect set of teeth. As both her mother and father gasped, she walked the few steps to her desk and picked up the cloak from the back of the chair, with a quick twist she vanished under the cloak; two louder gasps escaped her parents.

"I'm ok," she said as she walked to stand right in front of them before removing the cloak, making them both jump back a little when she did remove it.

"Your teeth you did magic?" her dad said as he reached out and felt the material of the cloak.

"Yes dad, that's why I am different from all the other girls at school, that's why all those odd things happen around me," she replied pulling her failing courage back together, there was one more thing to do.

With another really deep breath Hermione looked at her dad, "Daddy I want you to kidnap a little boy for me," she held up her hand as her dad was about to have a heart attack or something, "I need you both to read this," she said handing her mother the reproduced parchment pages.

"This can't be true," her dad said as he finished reading.

"Who could do that to a child?" Helen said tears dripping slowly down her face "where did you get this? Who gave it to you?"

"It was the same person who taught me the spell, the one who showed me I'm magic, the one who gave me the cloak. Even if you don't believe it you have to take me there to make sure, how could we live with it, if it is true?" Hermione said having stopped crying.

"Hermione sweet heart you are more like an adult than most of the adults I know," Helen said as she hugged her daughter, "you are right of course; we should go and check it out."

"We can't go about kidnapping a little boy, even if we do find him. I mean there has to be other ways. Kidnapping honestly Hermione I don't know what you were thinking," her dad said more to himself than to them.

Hermione had already thought it all out "We already know where he is, in the cupboard under the stairs, if mum goes in her work clothes she can distract the aunt and uncle while you sneak in under the cloak and get him."

Richard smiled, his daughter was going to be a real hand full for the man she eventually married he thought as he looked at his watch. "Hermione love let me take a look at that stick," Richard said as a plan formulated in his mind, one he thought a little better than sneaking into a house and trying to sneak back out with a kidnapped sick little boy.

Noticing Hermione's rather worried look he smiled at her gently. "Don't worry sweet heart, I'm not going to confiscate it, I have an idea and I just need to check something first, just to make sure I'm safe with it," he said as he held out his hand.

Hermione handed her dad the wand, he then stood and started to wave the wand around, pointing at things and saying "Adab ara kadab ara."

Hermione could not hold back the little chuckle as she realised what her dad was trying to do, and he didn't even have those children's party words right. Picking up a pen from her desk and placing it on the bed she asked her dad for her wand back, with a quick wave she reproduced the pen. She then spent a few minutes teaching her dad the same spell, but as expected when he tried it absolutely nothing happened.

"Good, now we know I'll need to borrow this," he said as he walked from the room. Just a few seconds later he popped his head back into the doorway, he had two clean blankets in his hand "well are you two coming? Oh and Hermione bring that cloak, you never know."

Their dinner still sitting on the table, the Granger family drove out of the drive and headed for Little Whinging. Knowing the area well it was not long before they had arrived in the middle class area, two boys gave them directions to Privet Drive.

At eight forty five, Richard Granger rang the door bell of number four. The door was answered by a hugely obese young boy. "Is your father home?" Richard asked as politely as he could manage. He could not help but think that at least the description of the cousin written on the parchment was accurate.

Richard ran through his plan one more time, pretending to be a wizard he would get this uncle to reveal the boys where about's, then if the boy did look ill treated he would cover him with the blankets to keep him warm, and then he would call the local police on the uncles phone, the boy would get the treatment he needed and the uncle and aunt would be arrested, it was simple and without risk.

The fat boy waddled off down the hallway to fetch his father. While he waited at the front door Richard noticed the cupboard under the stairs, or more precisely, he noticed the locks on it. Locks that in a normal house hold would not be found on a storage cupboard.

Vernon Dursley walked from the living room complaining loudly about being disturbed. When he saw Richard, who was, in Vernon's mind, an equal to him self judging by the clothes he was wearing. He stopped complaining and smiled, his piggy eyes becoming rather like two slits.

Richard did not hesitate; he pulled out Hermione's wand and pointed it at the fat man. "Where is he, where's the boy?"

Richard immediately knew Vernon had seen a wand before because he turned deathly pale just as his thin horsey faced wife Petunia walked out of the living room. She too turned deathly pale as she looked at the wand. Richard prodded the huge stomach of the man standing cowering in front of him.

"Well?" he hissed threateningly.

Vernon pointed a shaky finger at the cupboard and nodded his head.

Richard pointed the wand at Petunia "You! get the boy, and you best be gentle with him." He stepped back a little as he gave her room to open the door.

Even as she reached for the last lock and opened the door Richard was still having trouble believing that the boy was actually in the cupboard. Petunia backed slowly out of the cupboard with the body of a very emaciated and sick little boy with jet black hair.

Richard took one look at Harry and all thoughts of calling the police to let them deal with things left his head. All he could think was that he had to get the boy away and keep him away from the vile piece of humanity in front of him.

The condition of the small boy was far beyond anything that Richard had been able to imagine. The smell from the boy made him gag and he felt his stomach turning over, taking out the cloak he placed it on the floor, then he placed a blanket on top of it.

"You evil bastards," he seethed at the Dursleys "lay the boy down."

Petunia lay Harry down at Richard's feet, "You will tell no one about this if you want to stay out of prison, you pair of…" Richard said adding a few choice words, really swearing for the first time in many, many years. "Right now both of you get in that cupboard."

Vernon looked as though Richard was crazy until he waved the wand under the fat mans nose with a threatening gesture "I could always turn you into a pig; you're fat enough and ugly enough to make a good pig."

Vernon pushed Petunia in to the cupboard and then squeezed himself into the remaining space. Richard forced the door closed against the fat backside that was left sticking out, he turned the lock and then picking up a rather heavy door stop he smashed the knob off the last of three locks.

With Harry wrapped in the cloak, Richard walked down the road to where he had parked the car. Two rather anxious heads were stuck out of the windows as he approached. Harry was so light that neither Helen nor Hermione could tell that Richard had the boy effortlessly held in one arm his head resting on Richard's shoulder.

"Open the door Hermione love," he said as he reached them, gently he placed Harry on the seat next to his daughter, and then wrapped the blankets tighter around him. Despite him smelling awful Hermione cradled Harry's head in her lap all the way as they drove home.

"Daddy you actually got him," Hermione said as she cradled the boys head in her lap.

"Well I was just going to check on him, make sure he was ok. I couldn't believe that he was locked in a cupboard, but that's exactly where he was. I took one look at him and I knew I couldn't in good conscience just leave him there," Richard said realising the enormity of what he had just done.

Richard, who had spent two years as a medical student before changing to the shorter dentistry course to be with Helen, checked Harry over as Helen wept while she very gently washed the boy down with warm water. He smelt of sweat, urine, and vomit, but his temperature was too high to place him in a bath. Taking his clothes she tossed them into the waste bin out in the back garden.

Richard gently spoon fed the very sick Harry a food supplement drink with a strong antibiotic mixed in it. From what he could tell the boy had been in this condition for at least a week, probably longer. Scratching his head Richard wondered how they were going to get the boy treatment for his broken bones, if they took him to a hospital Harry would no doubt end up back with his aunt and uncle, and he and his wife would find them selves in a whole heap of trouble for kidnapping.

Both Richard and Helen spent the night sitting in the guest room keeping a watch on Harry, while unknown to her parents Hermione searched through her magic book to see if she could find something to help Harry.

It was five the next morning when Hermione walked into the room. She looked tired and a little pale as she walked up to the bed, tears began to fall again as she looked down at the sick and very weak boy they had rescued.
Taking out her wand she pointed it at Harry's arm and said a few words, she watched as the large swollen bruise glowed blue then began to shrink and fade, then taking a steadying breath she pointed the wand at his bruised and cracked ribs and repeated the same charm.

It had taken her all night to find and to learn the healing charm, but she had been determined to help Harry James Potter, he was after all the one who had helped her.

A smiling and proud Helen Granger watched as her daughter repaired Harry's broken bones, then with a small smile she placed her arm around Hermione's shoulder, "Come on sweet heart, you will need some sleep if you are going to look after the boy while we nip into the office," she said as she led Hermione back to her own room and into her bed.

Hermione was woken by her mother at midday, "Hermione could you keep an eye on Harry, I have to go into the office to collect a prescription for more antibiotics from your father," she said as Hermione looked up at her with sleepy eyes.

Hermione quickly dressed and was about to go to Harry's room with the book when she changed her mind, if she was reading the book when her mother got back the book might be discovered, even though her parents had only the night before broken the law to help a little boy, she still did not want them to know about the book yet.

So instead of the book she collected up her birthday cards that were still sitting unopened on the desk, they were still where she had put them when she came home the night before.

Hermione sat in the chair that had been placed next to the bed where Harry lay totally unaware of what was happening. As soon as she heard the front door close Hermione became a little nervous, she had never been left at home alone before, and to be left with the responsibility of looking after someone who was ill was quite a daunting thing even for someone as clever and mature as she was, she was after all still only ten years old.

Pushing these thought aside she sorted through the birthday cards, the first one she chose to open was the one that had been with the box, having pulled it from the envelope she was amazed to see two odd looking little creatures that actually spoke and wished her a happy birthday every time she looked at them, opening the card she read the message inside…

'Happy tenth birthday Hermione, may all your wishes come true' flashed away changing colour every few seconds, having watched the changing greeting for a few seconds she turned her attention to a hastily hand written note at the bottom of the card.

'Dear Hermione, no doubt it is to late to wish you a happy birthday, I imagine it may well be Saturday or even Sunday before you read this note, I can almost picture you sitting in your room, sorting through all the cards you didn't get around to opening once you had seen the book I gave you'

"Humph it's only Friday," she huffed before going back to the note.

'Don't worry about nine year old me, I will recover and we will meet in person in just under two years time. Obviously I will not know you, nor will I know anything about the world of magic so you will have an advantage over myself and the other Muggle born students, but most of all you will also have an advantage over certain other students. You will also have an advantage over fate, an advantage I have worked so tirelessly on for so many years. I only pray that when you read the chapters concerned you will not forget the warning it all carries. I trust in your brilliance to know what to change, my only regret is that the person I am now will not be around to see it all when you change the course of history, and ensure that we both have a long and happy life together.
I suppose you have wondered why I did not give the book to my younger self, the answer is quite simple. I had to deliver the book in person by hand to either you or myself. As meeting with myself would have been a little difficult and might well have been calamitous I chose you.

Love.

Harry.'

Hermione looked at the boy she didn't really know, she had not even heard his voice or seen his eyes, all she knew for now was that some how he was very special. A sudden thought entered her mind as she watched him sleep.

"Well Harry James Potter, it seems I have already changed the future," she said brushing his fringe from his eyes and smiling.