A girl named Hermione Granger: Year One
Chapter four: Aftermath of a troll
Disclaimer: You already know.
It was now September nineteenth, and Hermione was finally eleven. She could have brought herself to be happy, even, if she hadn't had to attend another disastrous double potions lesson that day. She had stopped raising her hand to answer questions, knowing it would just be ignored, and was scolded by her father, who deducted ten points for her holding back in her work. She was, needless to say, too livid to attend either lunch or dinner. She didn't care if he did get her a birthday cake, she didn't want to see her father.
She attended every class however, and received a note from Draco, which was actually a home-made sort of birthday card, signed by all of her Slytherin friends, and Milicent Bullstrode and Blaise Zabini (neither of whom she had yet spoken to.)
She was getting ready for bed that evening when Archie showed up at her dorm window. She let him in immediately, and patted his head gently as he dropped a birthday card on her pillow, with a small box. "Thank you Archie. I'm glad you're not mad at me any more." She offered him an owl treat and opened the birthday card. It was from her muggle parents, and it contained a letter from Julie, whom was wishing her well, and offering to beat up her father for ignoring her (she had written Julie a few times after her disastrous days.) She smiled and placed the card on her night stand, and the letter in her pillow case. "Who is the box from Archie?"
She picked it up and began peeling away the brown paper wrapping. Written in the familiar scrawl of her hot and cold father on the lid of the box was 'This belonged to your mother.' She opened the box and gasped. It was a very pretty butterfly barrette. Underneath it was a small piece of parchment which stated that it was a protectively enchanted barrette. Suddenly she wasn't quite as angry with her father. Yet again he had proven himself thoughtful.
Halloween was fast approaching and Hermione never failed to attend a class, her bangs clipped back by her butterfly barrette. She had caught Snape smile at the sight of her wearing her present to breakfast the day after her birthday. After that he'd actually let her answer questions in his class, and even offered five points for stopping Neville Longbottom from turning a sleeping drought into a toxic mess. She hadn't managed to make any real friends in Gryffindor yet though, but her friends from Slytherin wrote her plenty (occassionally asking for homework help, but not nearly as often as Harry and Ron did.)
She was looking forward to the Halloween feast from the moment she got up that dreary Thursday, and had managed to be both cheerful and friendly all day, until Charms. They were learning how to levitate objects this week, and she noticed Ron was having trouble. "No no no, Ron, stop. Stop." She placed her hand over his wand and shook her head. "You're going to take some one's eye it out. Swish and flick. And it's Wingardium leviosa, not levio-sa." The red head threw her a dirty look and told her to do it, if she was so perfect, and she did. The bell soon rang and both Harry and Ron rushed out, leaving Hermione cursing to herself for alienating them even more.
She hurried out after them, managing to catch up with them in the courtyard. Just as she was about to call out, she over heard Ron mocking her. "...god it's no wonder she hasn't got any friends." His words cut through her, making her try to fight back the urge to tell him he was wrong. She had friends. She felt tears burning behind her eyes and hurried up her pace, shoving past the thoughtless red head and his stupid dark haired best friend. She spent the rest of the afternoon crying in the girls toilet. She brooded over the time she had been out late with the boys after they had been led into a trap by Malfoy (as she had to call him around Harry and Ron) and they had stumbled upon the giant three headed dog.
For a short while, they had almost even been friendly with her after that. But now she knew they just wanted her help on homework. She hated being used for homework.
She eventually heard the familiar high pitched voices of her room mates, but stayed hidden in the stall when they called out her name in uncertainty. She dutifully blocked out all sounds, and stayed in her stall until she heard a rush of feet, and assumed that the feast was now over. She never noticed the large figure that lumbered into the girls toilet as she stepped out of her stall. It wasn't until she looked up into the mirror and saw a great blue-ish gray beast behind her that she screamed and tried to duck for cover. "Oh god. I'm going to die!" She thought, more tears falling down her face as she continually tried to dodge the blows from the troll.
She was so relieved when the door swung open to reveal Harry and Ron, rushing the troll, that she instantly forgot her anger at them. They had come to save her. She watched in fascinated horror as Harry shoved his wand up the troll's nose, and Ron charmed its club to float. Before the troll knew what was happening, it had been knocked out, and she had latched herself onto both of the Gryffindor boys, sobbing for the joy of having lived. She was shocked when the door way was filled with teachers, her father included, and punishments began to be handed out left right and center. She bit her lip and began telling McGonagall about how it was all her fault, and Harry and Ron had saved her life. "Please, professor McGonagall, they were looking for me." She felt the bewildered stare of her father, "Miss Granger!" McGonagall cried out angrily.
"I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own. You know, because I've read all about them." She nearly withered under the mortified glare her father was now giving her. McGonagall flustered out her disapproval, and dismissed Hermione, taking five points from Gryffindor. Hermione sent a guilty look at her father and bolted out of the bathroom, crying again as she headed for Gryffindor tower. She came across Draco half way there, and he stopped her once he noticed her ashen appearance. She told him everything, figuring he'd hear all about it anyway. He seemed angry towards Harry and Ron at first, but by the end of her tale he was as pale as she was. "Well...at least they can protect you. Good choice in friends, 'mione. But I'll never like Weasel." He let her leave then, and she smiled dully at him. "You're a good friend Draco." She mumbled with a blush, before resuming her trek to the common room again.
When Harry and Ron got there she gave them both an awkward "Thanks." and rushed off to get a plate of food, which was being served in the towers, due to the troll, and she was thankful for that.
Breakfast the next day was a strange affair for Hermione, as she received her owl post half an hour before most students, and had received a howler. She hadn't known what to do with the smoking envelope until it exploded, and an angry voice told her he "was VERY disappointed in her," and that she was "Grounded till Christmas." Her face burned in shame as she felt her father's withering glare again. Great. Grounded by the father she barely knew, because she'd been crying in a toilet and nearly killed by a troll. But, as Harry and Ron comforted her (neither asking how exactly her muggle father had sent a howler) she felt that it might just be worth it. Until they got into double potions and she accidentally spilled some armadillo bile. Snape had gone to town, deducting ten points and giving a weeks detention of cleaning the dungeons. She was sure that this had more to do with the previous night than her clumsiness however.
When Hermione reported for her first detention, her suspicion was confirmed. Snape was apoplectic about the troll incident, but though she was unwilling to rat out her friends, it turned out to her dismay, that Draco already had.
"How could you cover for those two like that! You could have been expelled!" He was pacing around furiously as she sat at her desk, shaking like a leaf. Her father was scary. "I don't want you ever to do anything like that again! I won't lose you so soon after finding you Hermione!" Yes, he was very scary. At the end of his rant he sent her to her room, telling her she would clean tomorrow. He was done with her for today.
By mid November her mood was brightening up a bit, soon her grounding would be over, and she had been given permission to attend Harry's first quidditch game as the Gryffindor seeker. At times, she and Ron both resented the special treatment that was showered upon Harry like he was a prince. It didn't seem fair to her, because her father was a teacher, she was punished more severely than anyone else.
Today was bitterly cold, but Hermione had lured the boys outside to show off a new spell she had learned, which made pretty bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jar. She was so carried away in her excitement that she didn't even think to warn Harry that library books were not allowed outside of the school, as he was reading quidditch through the ages. The wind got colder and she was about to suggest they go back inside for hot chocolate when they saw Snape limping out the front doors of the castle. Hermione quickly pocketed her fire, and prayed he wouldn't spot her, as she was still grounded, and he would surely flip.
To her dismay he spotted them and limped over with a scowl. She knew she wasn't going to get yelled at just yet, but his eyes clearly told her he was disappointed. "What's that you've got there, Potter?" He instead directed his anger onto Harry, who held the book up for Snape to see. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school." He said, sticking out his hand, "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor." Hermione bit her lip as her father limped away, and Harry and Ron muttered scathing remarks about how much pain they wished he was in. She had been too terrified during her detentions to ask about his limp. She wondered if it was even her place to ask.
After dinner the three friends retired to the Gryffindor common room, where Hermione (to shut him up for five minutes) looked over Ron's charms homework. She vaguely heard Harry declare he was going to try and get his book back from Snape, to which both she and Ron offered a "Better you than me." Although for different reasons. She was reluctant to go and be grounded for longer, where as Ron just didn't like Snape.
Ten minutes later Harry re-entered the common room gasping for breath and proceeded to tell them what he had seen.
Hermione was outraged as they accused her father, but was unable to say anything in his defense. However, her self control snapped when Harry proceeded to accuse Snape of letting in the troll. "No! He wouldn't," She said quickly, trying to hide her irritation, "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try to steal something Dumbledore was trying to keep safe." She was alluding, of course, to the parcel that Harry had seen Hagrid withdraw from Gringotts. She managed not to say that she knew for a fact he was too close to Dumbledore to do such a thing. She stormed off to her dormitory as they continued their slander on her family name (not that they knew it of course.)
The morning was chilly as the Gryffindor quidditch team sat in the great hall, trying to convince Harry to eat before his first game. Hermione however ducked out of the room as she was given a parchment slip from Archie (the only owl who delivered something every single weekend,) that told her she was to report to the dungeon's immediately. She reached the potions classroom in record time and let herself in. She seated herself at her usual desk, waiting for her aggravated father to show up and scold her.
By the time Snape had gotten there (having the limp had slowed him down ever so slightly) Hermione was drumming her fingers on the table out of irritation. She wished that just once her father would seek her company to offer praise for something. She did more good than bad.
"You are grounded for another week." He growled, passing by her desk, to sit at his own. "You may still attend the match however." He was fairly surprised, though he hid it well, when he received a glare from his daughter. "What gives you the right to ground me?" She muttered, just loud enough for him to hear her. "I am your father!" He shouted, earning a dirty look from her. "Only when there's punishment to be handed out. And you're a hypocrite!" She stood up abruptly and made to leave the class. "You will be going home for the holidays." His voice was cold as ever, and she got even angrier. She had wanted to stay at Hogwarts. She didn't like spending Christmas with Danny hovering around her like a prat, or Sarah trilling on about mistletoe and boys. "Why!" She spun around, tears already streaming down her face. "You're the worst!" She brought her hands up to try and brush away her angry tears. She was caught off guard when she was wrapped up in a stiff hug, her father obviously uncomfortable with the gesture.
"You don't mean that." His voice was calm now, and it soothed her as she hiccuped and buried her face further into his chest. She had never had the opportunity to hug her father, and now she was determined to memorize it, because she was certain it wouldn't happen again. "You will be safer at home, with the muggles. Something isn't quite right here." He let her go abruptly and gave an uncomfortable cough. "Now - now, go off to the match. But don't forget you must return directly to your dorm after dinner." She walked out of the potions class room more confused than she had ever felt.
She watched the match with little interest, her eyes constantly drifting to her father as he watched the game with a scowl. Gryffindor was winning. After a while she and Ron were joined in the stands by Hagrid, whom was toting a pair of binoculars. But not ten minutes later the game began to get strange. Harry's broom became violet towards its rider, and tried to throw Harry a hundred feet to his death. Ron had snatched the binoculars from Hagrid and directed them at Snape. He bullied Hermione into looking, and she quickly left her seat. She didn't believe for a second that her father was casting the curse on the broom, but she figured she could use his clear distraction to cause a diversion to throw off whomever was actually casting the curse. She pulled out her jar of flames and set them on the hem of her father's robes.
It didn't take long for the whole row to be up heaved, and she scooped the flames back into the jar, disappearing from sight as Quirrell (the ever so stuttery and obnoxiously inept defense against the dark arts teacher, whom she didn't particularly like) was knocked off his seat.
By the time she got back to her seat Harry had gone into a nose dive after the snitch. He leveled out his broom a foot from the ground and stood himself on the handle (she rolled her eyes at how much of a show off he was without ever realizing it) and lunged forward. There was a deafening silence as Harry rolled across the grass, and stood back up. Suddenly he lurched forward and spat out the snitch. Gryffindor had just beaten Slytherin.
Shortly after the game was done, and Harry changed out of his uniform, Hermione found herself sitting in the cozy hut that belonged to the groundskeeper, Hagrid, with Ron and the star-seeker himself. "It was Snape," Ron started saying loudly, as Harry brought up the strange behavior of his broom, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes of you." Hermione was about to interject, again feeling insulted by their dislike of her father (not that she liked him much better sometimes,) when Hagrid beat her to it. "Rubbish." The giant man sent Hermione a knowing look, and she figured he probably knew the secret, "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"
The three Gryfindor's exchanged a look, and Hermione decided to let the boy's handle the situation. She certainly couldn't prove her father's innocence, and she didn't want to lose her new friends for favouring their least favourite teacher. So Harry, ever eager to be the first to speak, told Hagrid about how he knew Snape had tried to get past the giant three-headed dog. The reaction they got was, she had to admit, pretty amusing. "How do you know about Fluffy?"
The next several minutes was spent in explaining on Hagrid's part, about 'Fluffy', and on Harry and Ron's part, complaining that they had to know what was being guarded because Snape was trying to steal it. Hermione, seeing an inevitable outcome of being sent back to the dormitories (she was sure if her father knew she was here right now, she'd be grounded til year end,) decided to cut in, making a big performance about how Snape had been muttering a curse. She, of course, didn't believe it at all, but the boys seemed happy and Hagrid was chuckling to himself as they were dismissed to go back up for dinner. Of course, they didn't leave without learning a new piece of information. A man named Nicholas Flamel was somehow involved.
And here's chapter four. You are bound to notice that I skip over a fair few minor details in favour of more perspective, among other things, and it's just because I don't want to simply re-write the book, with a few things added here and there, I want it to feel almost like a new experience. But without destroying the original quality.
And, to answer one of my reviewer's, yes, there will be a little more bonding time between Snape and Hermione, although it will be rather strained, as their relationship isn't completely ideal. I did a count and my storry is five chapters shorter than the Sorcerer's stone (though that may well be because I didn't start out with the intent of seperating my chapters (I prefer to deal with that afterwards.) but it took me (no joke) four hours to proof read, before it was even finished. And then, I ran each chapter through spell check, so there's much love gone into my writing.
Also, I'm working on Year Two as we speak, so the sequel can be done hopefully shortly after I finish posting Year One
