Chapter Seven: Enter Hermione

Shockingly enough, Harriet and Harry seemed to have similar seating preferences.

The girl's brother had taken the only other empty car under the premise that the one she was sitting in was haunted. However, the girl didn't believe in ghosts, so she really had no issue sitting in the car that everyone was avoiding: after all, she could have been considered a ghost of sorts herself. Still, she hadn't even been sitting down for three minutes when the door to her brother's compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy walked in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full…"

"Go ahead," Harry kindly proffered, gesturing at the seat. "I don't mind."

Harriet tiredly watched them until they shut the door, then turned her head again and stared at the window with a dazed expression. The sleepiness had hit the girl not long after the train had started running, and now she simply felt drained. She heard people talking across the aisle but she took no notice of them: her mind was sort of drifting in its own little world. However, the girl turned her head again when another knock came from the door of her brother's compartment.

The round-faced boy she'd seen earlier was standing in front of the sliding door with an unhappy expression on his face.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" he asked, scratching his head. "I've really lost him this time! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry soothed, speaking in a gentle tone. "Don't worry too much."

"Yes," Neville miserably sighed. "Well, if you see him... please come find me."

Harriet followed his path with her eyes when he pattered down the corridor again. The girl glanced back out the window and closed her eyes, but just as she was dozing off, the sound of the compartment door sliding open again made her snap to awareness. Neville was back, but this time he had a girl with him: she was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad?" she asked. "Neville's lost one."

She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him," Ron sighed. "We haven't seen it,"

"Oh, are you doing magic?" the girl asked, sitting down and sliding the door shut; Neville instantly hurried back down the hall, abandoned as he'd been. Harriet took the brief moment of silence to ponder why she was feeling so tired… but when the answer hit her, she was actually kind of surprised by how simple it was.

"I feel sad," Harriet murmured simply, shaking her head in surprise. "That's why I'm tired… I always get tired when I'm feeling sad."

"Sing to the sea and let the sadness out, like the mermaids of old," one of her earrings whispered, making her blink in surprise; it was the first time she'd ever heard them say something aside from pure flattery. "Harriet is much too kind to stay sad…"

"Sing?" the girl asked, not even realizing that the girl with frizzy brown hair had just left her brother's compartment and was currently staring at her through the open door with furrowed brows. "More importantly, do mermaids really exist?"

"Yes, all across the oceans and the seas," her other earring giggled. "They whisper melodies of the heart and capture everyone with their voices. Harriet must have a pretty voice, too… so if the sadness is tiring, sing it out across the green and brown oceans of Land."

"That's so embarrassing, though," Harriet mumbled, covering her face as a blush spread across her cheeks. "I can't sing! I've never even done it before!"

"Pardon me," a haughty voice suddenly interrupted, making Harriet glance up; she quickly found herself staring straight into the eyes of a petite brunette with a very calculating look about her, "but who are you talking to? The cart is empty."

"Oh, u-um," Harriet stammered, blinking rapidly in surprise. "My earrings?"

"Your earrings," the girl scoffed, furrowing her brows in suspicion. "Do you really expect me to believe something so ridiculous? And what is with all of the broken glasses today? Here, let me help you with those: it's not too much trouble."

"Eh?" the black-haired girl asked, eyes widening when the brunette pulled out her wand and fluffed her hair back. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing your glasses," the girl curtly retorted, brown eyes sharpening; then she gave her wand a graceful little flick and chanted, "Oculus repairo!"

Harriet squeaked when her glasses jumped on her nose: the cellotape on the bridge flew off, the earpieces fixed themselves, and the scratched lenses became clearer than they'd been when Harry had first gotten them. However, when she pulled them off her face, the brunette blinked in total surprise and leaned forward.

"Whoa! You... you look exactly like Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, brown eyes widening in surprise. "Then that means, you must be Harriet Potter, the girl who totally ceased to exist! I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading! You're just as famous as your brother, you know!"

"I-I am?" Harriet whispered, blinking rapidly when the girl sat down. "So, does that mean there are lots of people who can see me? I mean, if you know all about me, surely you can at least give me a warning on what to expect at Hogwarts, right?"

"Of course," the girl sniffed, proudly tossing her hair. "My name is Hermione Granger: it's a pleasure to finally meet you! I've been wondering all this time if I'd be able to see you, but I guess that in itself is a conundrum since I apparently wasn't affected by the widespread curse that swept throughout the world."

"The curse that swept throughout the world?" the smaller girl asked, blinking in baffled confusion. "What do you mean? Didn't it only affect me?"

"You don't know?" Hermione asked, looking rather surprised; then her eyebrows furrowed and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Well, that's not surprising since not many people can see you, right? Okay, look... it's believed that the curse that was placed on you somehow altered reality as we know it, but all of the witches and wizards who were left unaffected by the curse can still see what was written about you in the history books. All of the info is still there, and so are you... it's just that most people cannot or will not be able to see it. Your personal existence simply is not a consistent thing, you know?"

"Really?" Harriet asked, giving her a baffled stare. "I'm... in history books?"

"Goodness, didn't you know?" the brunette asked, eyes widening in surprise. "I'd have found out everything if it was me! Anyway, I'm one of those rare witches who can still see you and remember you: my parents didn't react at all when I talked about you, and nobody even seemed to know who you were even though you're in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. All of those are famous books, too!"

"Wow," Harriet whispered, green eyes widening in surprise. "Um, Hermione, can I ask you something? Is it possible to break the curse on me?"

"That much I don't exactly know," the girl pensively explained. "I'm only eleven years old, after all: if Dumbledore himself couldn't break it, I doubt I'd be able to even if I tried a thousand times. On another note… do you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor since it sounds the best by far. I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... I already told this to your brother and his friend, Ron."

"I don't know much about it, honestly," Harriet shyly mumbled, shaking her head with a somber expression in her eyes. "Still, I'm happy since at least I know one person will be able to see me. I feel a lot better about it now that I know you and Neville are aware of my existence…"

"So," Hermione tentatively began, looking a bit uncomfortable, "who exactly were you talking to before I stepped in? You said something about mermaids."

"My earrings," Harriet murmured, pulling one of the dolphins off her ear and holding it out for the brunette to take; when she cautiously picked it up and pressed it against her own ear, her eyes widened and she blinked a few times. "They were a birthday gift from someone who made me really, really happy."

"Curious," Hermione muttered, pulling the earring away with an amazed expression. "I wonder what kind of charm he used to make them come to life?"

"I'm guessing you must know loads of magic already," the black-haired girl gushed, leaning forward with suddenly-gleaming green eyes. "You did fix my glasses, after all! It was brilliant, honestly: I've never seen something so amazing before!"

"Oh, it was nothing, really," the girl sniffed. "I've memorized all of my school books by heart since I'm really, really nervous about attending Hogwarts: after all, my parents are Muggles, so it kind of came as a shock when I got my letter… actually, I heard you went to live with Muggles, too. What were they like?"

"Horrible!" Harriet instantly exclaimed, then shivered and sighed a little. "Well… not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though… in fact, until recently, I've never had anything of my own! Nothing, not a skirt, a dress, or even… er, girl's undies. After all, since nobody could see me, it was really… difficult."

Since the brunette seemed stunned and thoroughly intrigued by her statements, Harriet told her all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes, adopting Harry's things, and never getting proper birthday presents, meals, or even proper hygiene products.

The last part seemed to shock the brunette quite a bit.

"They sound totally spoiled and barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed, eyes widening when Harriet explained how Dudley would break things and then throw a tantrum if he didn't get a replacement. "How on earth did you live that long without help? I'm rather amazed that you were able to do everything on your own!"

"Well, what choice did I have?" the green-eyed girl asked, blinking in surprise when the brunette stared. "I couldn't complain since nobody could see me... I did what I had to in order to survive. Until Hagrid told us about it, Harry and I didn't know anything about magic, or even about our parents and You-know-who."

"Really?" Hermione asked, eyes widening in shock. "You really didn't know?"

"No, I didn't," Harriet sighed, giving her a little shrug; then she decided to voice something that had been worrying her. "I've got loads to learn... and compared to you, I feel like I don't know anything at all. I'll bet… I'll bet I'll be the dumbest in class."

"You won't be!" the brunette snapped, tilting her nose up and folding her arms with a haughty expression. "There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough. Take me for example: if I can do it, you definitely can, so cheer up and don't think about it too much! Rule number one of studying!"

While the two girls had been talking, the train had carried them out of London: now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep.

Harriet and Hermione were quiet for a time, both of them watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked, making Harriet's heart leap. "Anything at all?"

She can see me, too, she silently cheered. That makes three, no, four people so far!

The girl instantly leapt to her feet and went out into the corridor. She'd never had any money for sweets with the Dursleys, so now that she had pockets rattling with gold and silver, the girl was ready to buy as many candy bars as she could carry. However, the woman didn't have normal candy: what she did have were Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harriet had never seen in her entire life. Not wanting to miss anything, she got some of everything.

Then she paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow when the tiny girl happily brought it all back into the compartment and tipped it on to an empty seat.

She was flushed with giddy delight.

"Hungry, are you?" the brunette sniffed, looking a bit disgruntled. "That's a lot of sweets."

"I'm starving!" Harriet exclaimed, taking a bite out of a pumpkin pasty; her eyes instantly bugged out of her head and she squeaked in delight. "Eep! It's yummy!"

"And fattening," Hermione dryly pointed out. "It's nothing but sugar."

"But it's so yummy that it has to be worth it somewhere," Harriet happily crooned, taking another bite and closing her eyes as she savored it. "Brilliant! I've never had sweets before now, so this is wicked! Oh, you can have a pasty if you want, too!"

"I can?" the girl asked, looking mildly surprised. "You mean some of this is for me?"

"Of course!" Harriet exclaimed, giving her an eager nod. "That is, if you want!"

"Well, if you insist," Hermione murmured, giving a little shrug. "Thank you."

Harriet was a girl who'd never had anything to share before, or even anyone to share things with since nobody had ever been able to see her. It was a wonderful feeling, sitting there with Hermione and eating through all her pasties and cakes together.

It was even better knowing the brunette could see her AND seemed to like her.

"Huh? What are these?" Harriet asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs and eyeing it with a fair amount of suspicion. "They're not really frogs, are they?"

"'No, of course not," Hermione snorted, rolling her eyes. "They're made of chocolate, but they've been enchanted so they move and act like real frogs. Although, the spell wears off after about three minutes, and once that happens they stop moving completely."

"Wow," Harriet whispered, turning the package over. "Eh? Look, there's a face on it!"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know," Hermione exclaimed, looking rather excited to be explaining her knowledge to someone who enjoyed listening to it. "Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them! They're collectables, and supposedly there are lots of Famous Witches and Wizards to get a hold of."

Harriet silently unwrapped her Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face: he wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore?" the black-haired girl asked, holding it up. "I pictured him as looking a bit different."

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" Hermione exclaimed, mouth falling open in shock. "He's the most famous wizard of the modern age!"

So saying, the brunette grabbed her card and gently pulled it free of Harriet's hands; then she turned it around and put it back in her small fingers.

The smaller girl narrowed her eyes and began to read what was on the back of it out loud.

"'Albus Dumbledore,'" she murmured, blinking a bit behind her glasses, "'currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.'"

"There you have it," the brunette sighed, flapping a dismissive hand. "See?"

When Harriet turned the card back over, she saw, to her astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared from its spot.

"Eh?!" she gasped, eyes widening in alarm. "H-H-Hermione, look! He's gone!"

"He'll be back," the girl murmured, flipping open one of her books with a dismissive air. "He probably went to chat with another nearby picture. They often do that."

"Really?" Harriet asked, blinking rapidly in confusion. "Wow..."

True to her word, Dumbledore soon sidled back into the picture on her card and gave her a small smile.

Hermione was more interested in reading her schoolbooks than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harriet couldn't keep her eyes off them and eagerly started opening the cartons. Soon she had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcraft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. The girl finally tore her eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.

"Oh, um… you want to be careful with those," Hermione warned, flicking her eyes up with an expression of distaste. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor… you can get the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. I stopped eating them after I got a bean that tasted oddly like vomit. It was thoroughly disgusting, and I vowed never to try them again after that."

"Ew," Harriet muttered, shuddering in disgust before she eyed the beans. "Really?"

"Yep," the brunette confirmed, cautiously picking up a green bean and biting into a corner; her nose instantly wrinkled and she coughed, shaking her head in thorough disgust. "Ugh, yuck… see what I mean? That one was flavored like onion sprouts."

The two girls had a good time eating the Every-Flavour Beans. Harriet got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, roast beef, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Hermione wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside flying past the window was becoming wilder.

The neat fields had gone, and now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

"So, what were you talking about with your earrings?" Hermione finally asked, glancing up at her with undeniable curiosity. "I heard something about mermaids, but then you said something about being sad and embarrassed."

"Oh, that?" Harriet sighed, eyes saddening in an instant. "I made the mistake of muttering that I was feeling sad, so my earrings told me to sing my heart to the ocean in order to let the sadness out. It's not like I could really do it, right? I've never really sang anything before, aside from humming every now and then."

"Well, why not?" Hermione asked, cocking her head. "If it were me, I would be singing all the time since most people wouldn't even notice the mistakes I'd always be making, you know? Then again… why are you sad? After all, we're going to Hogwarts! That should be enough to make anybody happy!"

"I'm anxious, nervous, and worried on top of being sad," the smaller girl muttered, glancing out the window with a sigh. "Not many people can see me, after all, and that includes my own brother… so, in reality, I'm more scared that only two or three people will really be aware that I exist. Not being seen... it's very lonely."

"I can name eleven who will be able to see you," the brunette offered, closing her book with a hopeful expression. "Albus Dumbledore for one, as well as Professor McGonagall and several of the other teachers… perhaps even some of the students, too! That set aside, why don't you try singing? I'm rather curious, you know."

"Eh?" Harriet squeaked, eyes widening in horror. "I don't know any songs, though!"

"Well, then make something up!" the taller girl sighed, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, it can't be much worse than the spell your brother's friend came up with: he tried to turn his pet rat yellow, but nothing happened."

"How should I make one up?" Harriet asked, completely at a loss. "I don't understand."

"Just sing whatever pops into your head, even if it doesn't make sense!" Hermione explained, then proceeded to demonstrate by letting out a tone-deaf note. "'Magical heart strings! Unicorn Hair! All my studying's been so fair! Quick little wand waves! Potions so rare! I hope my tests don't give me a scare!' See? It's easy!"

Harriet blinked and giggled a little in amusement, then decided to humor the girl and sank deep into thought. She closed her eyes and started thinking about how Harry had forgotten her, how she'd been helpless to do anything, how her presence had faded into nothing but a shadow of its former self…

And just like that, a melancholy tune popped into her head.

"Dreams of Grey..." Harriet lightly trilled, making Hermione grin; however, the smile faded when the girl's green eyes opened, since they were misty. "Dreams of Grey... light and shadow... faaaaaaaade. Darkness comes when the Sunlight disappears… opposition rends our Earth in two. Evil and Good must together make decisions… so why are my days ruled by everlasting grey?"

"This is what popped into your head?" Hermione asked, frowning with a jealous expression. "Are you certain you've never sang before? You're quite good at it."

Harriet merely shook her head and continued the song that was forming inside her.

"I'll dream… I'll dream… I'll dream, I'll fly far away…" the girl softly sang, staring off into space and feeling self-conscious. "I'll leave this shadowed place, where the world is grey… where skies are cold and dark; where the clouds all cry. So go... now go… just go, I'm used to being alone. The darkness frightens me; in the light my mask fades. My tears are veiled, caught in between: my tears are grey."

Hermione was staring at her by this point.

"I dream… I dream… and in my dreams, I see your face." Harriet trilled, closing her eyes. "You lift your hands to me and wait with open arms. You smile and you tell me, 'Don't be sad.' You walk… you walk… you walk, and I've faded away. All these tears inside me fall out of my dreams... onto my pillow... and into the sky so grey."

With that, she stopped singing since nothing else came to mind.

"If that was your first time singing, you should join the Hogwarts choir," Hermione stated seriously. "Not many witches and wizards have enough talent with their voice to attend the music courses, but I think you could it... trust me: you really might just be able to make it."

"You think so?" Harriet asked, opening her eyes again. "Did I do okay?"

"You could say that," Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes yet again. "Honestly, I wish I could sing that well, but I guess we all have our faults."

Around that moment, an outcry erupted just across the hall and both girls froze when they heard a scream of pain.

Thudding footsteps ensued not long after, which made Hermione get to her feet and run across the corridor to her brother's car.

"What's going on?" Harriet asked, getting up as well and poking her head into her brother's cart; she blinked at the sweets that were lying all over the floor, then glanced at Ron, who was picking up his rat by its tail. "Did something happen?"

"What has been going on?" Hermione asked, furrowing her brows.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron muttered, looking closer at his rat. "No way… I don't believe it! He's gone back to sleep!"

"Really?" Harry asked, looking mildly surprised. "He's asleep already?"

"Yeah," Ron confirmed, then looked up suspiciously. "Anyway, you've met Malfoy before?"

"We met in Diagon Alley," Harry explained, making Harriet blink in surprise. "He was getting his robes fitted."

"I've heard of his family," Ron said darkly, shaking his head in dismay. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"I think I remember the boy they're talking about," Harriet whispered, catching Hermione's attention. "He was really pale and had extremely light blonde hair."

"Excuse me?" Ron suddenly asked, looking at the brunette. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," Hermione deadpanned, making Harriet giggle a little. "From what I've seen of the landmarks, we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron retorted, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right… I only came in here because people outside were behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," Hermione said in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know? Just there…"

Ron glared at her when she tapped her own nose and left, pulling Harriet with her. Once the two girls were in their own car, Hermione flipped her book open and Harriet shrugged on one of her new robes over her school uniform. After that, she sat down and peered out of the window: it was getting dark, but she could still see mountains and forests under a deep-purple sky. The train did in fact seem to be slowing down, and not long after a voice echoed through the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time," the conductor called. "Please leave your luggage on the train: it will be taken to the school separately."

Harriet's stomach lurched with anxiety and Hermione, she saw, looked rather pale despite her confident demeanor.

Both girls crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor; Harriet, against her better judgment and without even realizing what she was doing, slid her hand into Hermione's out of force of habit since she felt nervous. The girl instantly stared at her, but shrugged it off after taking note of her expression: the black-haired child looked as though she were going to be sick.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped.

People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform; Harriet shivered in the cold night air, but then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and she heard a familiar booming voice echoing out of the darkness.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" he called, then glanced at the Potter twins, who really weren't that far away from each other. "All right there, Potters?"

"Just peachy!" Harriet croaked, waving at him with a smile. "I made a new friend!"

"Good fer yeh!" he exclaimed, taking note of Hermione's pleasantly startled expression. "C'mon, follow me—any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Harriet personally thought there must be thick trees all around. Nobody spoke much, but Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

"I'm nervous," Hermione whispered, making Harriet nod in agreement. However, gasps erupted all around when they went around the bend and Harriet felt her breath being ripped out of her lungs in shock: the narrow path had opened onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, with its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

It was a gorgeous sight.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville, Harriet, and Hermione… since nobody could see her, anyway. "Everyone in? Right then—FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Wow," Harriet whispered, mouth hanging open in awe. "It's so big!"

"Heads down!" Hagrid shouted just as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles. Hagrid suddenly looked at Neville. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

"Trevor!" the boy blissfully cried, running forward and holding out his hands. "Thank you!"

Harriet looked around as they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid: they'd finally come out onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked, looking around. "You there, still got yer toad?'

"We're finally here," Harriet whispered, clutching Hermione's hand with shaking fingers and watching with bated breath as Hagrid raised a gigantic fist. Her heart thumped wildly when the giant knocked three times on the castle door.

She had finally arrived at Hogwarts.