A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.
TEN
Aboard the Emma Charlotte, London Yacht Club
London, United Kingdom
August 29, 1995 ACE
Although she had already signaled her intention to tell everyone gathered at the table about her adventures in the supposed to be premier magical school of the United Kingdom, there was still a hint of hesitation in the eyes of Hermione.
Harry stared at her for a few moments and asked himself what the source of that hesitation was, but he had barely gone through the first level when he noticed Hermione glance toward her parents. A small smile came across the face of Harry – one unnoticed by anyone – as the young man realized the reason behind the hesitation on the eyes of this beautiful woman in front of her.
In hindsight, he realized that he should have seen it coming. It was at that moment that Harry realized that Hermione had kept some of the more dangerous anecdotes of her life from her parents. Harry turned her attention toward his uncle and saw the neutral expression on his face, a telltale sign that he was waiting and he is not going to say anything anymore. Harry knew that it was exactly those dangerous anecdotes of her life that his uncle was looking for when he asked Hermione.
For a few moments, the silence that had descended upon those gathered the table remained. It was broken only by the sound of a horn that Harry noted made Hermione almost jump from her seat. A smile came across the face of Harry, one that broadened when he noticed that Hermione turned to him and frown when she saw the smile.
"It's a signal that the boat is preparing to cast off," Harry said, answering the unasked question of Hermione.
Hermione gave a nod of understanding, but before she could say anything, her father reentered the conversation, "Hermione," Richard said, and the young girl turned her attention toward her father, the questioning look on her face unmistakable, "You haven't been exactly forthcoming when we ask you about your experiences in your school."
Hermione paused for a few moments, but after a few moments, she gave a nod. She turned her attention toward Harry and the two of them stared at each other, precluding both Harry and Hermione from noting that their actions resulted to knowing smiles from the two other women seated around the table, a neutral expression from Alex, and a look on the face of Richard that cannot be described as neutral despite the obvious mixture of happiness and worry at his face.
"Alright," Hermione repeated with a nod. She closed her eyes for a few moments, but before anyone can say anything, she opened her eyes once more and the next words that came out of her mouth was a story that not even her parents had been told before.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland, United Kingdom
October 31, 1991 ACE
Twelve year old Hermione Granger wiped the tears that had doubled out of her eyes with the sleeves of her robe as she prepared to step out of the stall where she had secreted herself right after the last class that she had attended.
She was inside the last stall in the second floor comfort room, a place that she had fled to after she had heard of the insults uttered by one Ronald Weasley. Hermione was used to being the recipient of insults, and it was not the insult of Ronald Weasley that had sent her to this relatively isolated spot, no, it was the fact that a boy that she had thought would be her friend – and a boy that, admittedly, she harbored an infatuation for – had not only seconded the insults uttered by the red-haired boy, he had added his own.
In hindsight, though, Hermione realized that she should have expected that, after all, Michael Potter and Ronald Weasley did grow up together. She had thought that she could make a friend of Michael Potter, but apparently, the ignorant young boy had no intention of being friends with her, and she knew that he was of the opinion that she was an 'opinionated, know-it-all bookworm'.
A sigh came out through the lips of Hermione. She might have harbored an infatuation for Michael Potter, but it was obvious that pursuing him any further would be just a waste of time.
'I don't even know what I see in him,' she told herself, 'he is arrogant, narcissistic, and obviously a glory-seeker, all the things that I do not like in a person,' but even as she told that to herself, the corner of her mind told her that the reason that she harbored an infatuation for him was obvious., Hermione saw – behind the arrogance and narcissism of the boy-who-lived – the calm confidence and the self-assurance that the boy was born with, and it attracted her to him, especially considering the fact that when they first met, Michael Potter was seated with his adopted brother – Ronald Weasley – whose lack of confidence and self-assurance only served to highlight those of Michael more.
She inhaled and consolidated her strength as her mind formed her next course of action, but just as she was about to push the door to the stall open, the sound of the door to the comfort room being forced open made her jump.
A putrid – almost rotten – smell assaulted her nose and it was only through a quickly-fired air freshening charm was she able to remain on her two feet. Slowly and hesitantly, she opened the door of her stall and her eyes flew wide open as she found herself in front of a twelve foot high mountain troll.
The troll stared at the little girl in front of him, but for Hermione, she had long ago removed her gaze from the creature in front of her and had instead turned her attention toward the only exit of this room. She knew that she could not outrun the troll if they were in a mountain, but they are inside a building and she might have a chance, in any case, she knew that the professors must be aware of what is happening and she could probably run to their protection.
Of course, all that was possible only if she could cross to the only exit, but the problem was that there is a troll between where she stood and the exit.
At that moment, Hermione imagined two boys crash into the comfort room with determined faces ready to assist her. Michael Potter and Ronald Weasley coming to her rescue and despite the fact that Hermione knew that it was not going to happen, a smile came across her face.
All the power of imagination, however, would have been for naught at this conjecture. The movement of the troll – it raised its club high above its head and it was clear that it had intended to use the club on Hermione – tore her out of her reverie and she was forcefully reminded of the fact that she was alone in this comfort room when even the imagined specters of Michael Potter and Ronald Weasley disappeared.
Her gaze turned toward the tip of the club – she absently noted that the tip of the blunt-shaped object appeared to have dried blood in it – before her flight-or-fight response went off the chart. Her mind was urging her to run, and in fact, in her mind, she was already running, but no matter what commands her brain would send to her legs, it was obvious that it was not being carried out.
Hermione Granger found herself stuck in position, stunned by the fact that in her mind, she was about to get crushed by a creature that was not even supposed to be inside this school in a room where she had fled after hearing one insult too many from people who are supposed to stand with her and protect each other.
It was at that moment that she had an epiphany. She had entered Hogwarts School with the intention of being the best and making friends, but it was obvious in her mind that that is not the way that things work in this world. Her little fists clenched involuntarily as she made her mind that from this moment on, she would depend on no one but herself.
The troll suddenly stopped its movements and stared at the girl in front of her, but Hermione filed it away at the back of her mind because even though the creature had stopped, nothing would change what she had already decided. The troll suddenly brought the club down as fast as it could possible do, but before it could hit Hermione, the light of her eyes faded as her eyelids suddenly became too heavy for her to keep open.
The last sight that Hermione saw before her eyes closed – and at that moment, she had thought that it would be the last time that she would ever close her eyes – was that of the troll as it screamed in unmistakable pain quickly followed by the sight of the creature decaying before her eyes.
Aboard the Emma Charlotte, London Yacht Club
London, United Kingdom
August 29, 1995 ACE
"When I came to, I was in the hospital wing of the school," Hermione continued. She was so into narrating her story, she failed to see the look of anger on the face of Richard when she narrated the reason behind the fact that she hid in the second floor girl's comfort room.
She was also so into narrating that she also failed to see the deceptively calm look on the face of Harry. If she had, she would have remarked to herself that the calm look on the face of Harry was scarier than the look of anger coming from her father. She would also remember the reason why she found herself attracted to the young man from the United States to the United Kingdom.
It was the same calm confidence and self-assurance that Michael had, but it was more than what Michael could muster. Hermione turned her attention toward Harry and he smiled at her. She smiled back, yet despite that, she got the hint of outrage on his face, outrage at what she had been forced to go through at the age of eleven in a school that advertised itself as the safest place in all of the United Kingdom – Gringotts being sovereign territory and all.
That outrage was also directed at those people who were supposed to be in the same House as her. Although they do things differently in Columbia, Harry was aware of the House System of Hogwarts and how it works. He knew that the members of Gryffindor House – the House that Hermione belonged to – should have noticed that she was not in the table during the feat.
His first clenched involuntarily under the cover of the table – he knew that if his uncle saw his action, he would frown, though Harry was sure that his aunt would smile if it was her who saw the action – as Harry swore that when he gets to Hogwarts, he would make the lives of all those who treated his Hermione like that – 'wait, my Hermione,' he asked himself before he glanced toward Hermione and gave himself a mental nod, 'Yes, my Hermione' – a living hell.
For all the outrage that Harry felt toward the boy-who-lived and Ronald Weasley, however, he did not fail to file away a part of the story that he found weird – almost impossible.
Harry was about to ask a question, but at the moment that he opened his mouth to pronounce the first syllable of his question, his uncle asked, "What happened to the troll?"
Harry stared at his uncle, but Alex kept his gaze at Hermione. A small smile graced the face of Harry as he told himself that he should have known that his uncle would want to ask the same question as him.
Harry returned his attention at Hermione and watched her as she answered the question, "A few days after I was released from the hospital wing – suffering from magical exhaustion according to the Matron – my dorm mates told me that there was no troll and that Professor Quirell was imagining things," she paused for a few moments before she turned her attention toward Harry.
The next words that came out of her was practically a plea from her to Harry to believe her, "There was a troll," she said, "I did not imagine that"
Harry nodded, "Yes, you did not," he quickly agreed. He turned toward his uncle but instead of the look that told Alex that Harry was begging him to agree, the look on the face of Harry was one that practically dared Alex to say otherwise.
"You told us that your last vision was that of the troll screaming in pain before it decayed before your eyes," Alex said a few moments later, he paused, ostensibly to gather his breath, but Harry noted that his uncle glanced at his aunt, though it was for a short time, before he added, "Sometimes, accidental magic – even coming from a small girl like you when you were in that age – could be powerful enough to protect the caster, perhaps that is what happened."
"But..,' Hermione began. She wanted to point out that the professors never told her that, but before she could continue, she countered that by reminding herself that she promised that she would never look at professors as omniscient anymore.
"What is important is that you did not suffer any damage – permanent or otherwise – from that incident," Emma said a few moments later, much to the surprise of Harry who had thought that his aunt would fall back to the usual routine that she and his uncle play when they are in public – specifically, that it would be his uncle who would do the talking and his aunt would not say anything unless asked a direct question – but Harry quickly realized that his aunt and uncle considered this gathering a private gathering despite the fact that they had only met the Granger's a few hours ago.
Hermione paused for a few moments, but then she nodded as she acknowledged the last statement that Emma uttered. She looked pensive for a few moments before she added, "There was not much to tell about my first year, though near the end of the term, Michael Potter got me with a body-bind curse while he and his adopted brother sneaked out in the middle of the night."
"What?" Harry asked. He would have stood as well, but his aunt – who had realized what Harry was liable to do – had placed her hand on his lap at the same moment that Harry said that. Harry turned his attention at his aunt and saw the smile on her face, but it was the look on the face of his uncle – promising retribution in the most painful way possible of Harry were to attack his aunt – that made Harry stop.
Emma inclined her head slightly toward the direction of Richard and Rose Granger and Harry turned his attention toward them. The look of anger on the face of Hermione's parents shamed Harry and he lowered his head for a few moments as he attempted to consolidate himself.
Silence descended once more, but this time, it did not take that long as another horn – this time, longer and in a higher pitch – was sounded by the boat. "Ready to get underway," Harry said under his breath and toward Hermione who was seated beside her.
She gave a nod before she resumed her narration, "Then it was summer, we do not need to go over my grades and all that, don't we?" she asked.
Alex started to laugh, but after a few moments, he stopped and shook his head, "No, we don't," he agreed. He paused for a few moments before he focused his attention on Hermione – and she involuntarily flinched, an action that caused Harry to place his own hand above her thigh to calm her down. She looked at him in surprise at the action, but did not do anything, not even remove his hand from her thigh.
"There are rumors of a number of events that happened in Hogwarts during the Academic year of 1992-1993," Alex said before lifted his wine glass and sipped at the wine, he replaced the glass on the surface in front of him before he turned his attention back to Hermione and asked, "What can you tell us about them?"
Hermione paused for a few moments, and she had to admit to herself that this felt like an interrogation. She also had to admit that she had expected that this would happen – an interrogation about her experiences at the school – but she had honestly thought that it would be Harry – and not his uncle – who would be doing the questioning.
"You mean the attacks that left students petrified?" Hermione asked, a bit ruder than she had intended, but Alex ignored the rudeness and just gave her a nod, prompting her to continue, "The only ones that were attacked were muggle-born students, but because I was muggle-born myself, Professor McGonagall, my Head of House, warned me against being out on my own," she said. A smile came across her face as she added, "I met Luna Lovegood in my Second Year and we hanged out mostly with Neville Longbottom who is a pureblood so whoever it was that were attacking the students never thought to go after us."
Harry could not explain the comfort that that knowledge gave him. Harry had received the intelligence from the attack – including the fact that the attacker was a basilisk and that the attacker came from the most unexpected of sources – and it was obvious that he actually knew more about the situation than Hermione did.
A mental sigh escaped from Harry as he told himself that better that than Hermione actually knowing more than him but because she came to that knowledge because she was attacked herself.
"And Michael Potter?" Alex asked. It was obvious that despite the fact that Hermione is not a good source of intelligence when it comes to this year, Alex was not going to allow her to scout through this year without questions.
Harry shot his uncle a look of irritation, but either Alex failed to see the look or he just did not care. Harry was prepared to bet that it was the former, because if it was the latter, although his uncle would still not care, the man would have given him a smug smile.
"He and his adopted brother asked my help to make them Polyjuice Potion," Hermione admitted under her breath, "Professor Snape asked me to make one as a special project before the end of the first semester."
Harry smiled at that, as did Emma and Alex. The smile on the faces of those who knew what that meant confused the hell out of the two who were seated around the table who does not know, and this prompted Alex to turn toward Richard and Rose, "High level potion, at least NEWT standard in Britain if I am not mistaken?" he inclined toward Hermione who nodded, before he continued, "That she could make one during her second year," he smiled toward Hermione, "I understand now why even Christian says that you are the brightest witch of your age"
Hermione actually blushed at the compliment, but because she had no intention of being in the center of the conversation, she continued her story, "I refused to help them, so they decided to just steal some from the cupboards of Professor Snape," she said, "Unfortunately, they do not know what the potion looked like so they got veritaserum instead"
"Truth potion, most powerful of its kind," Emma commented under her breath before either Richard or Rose can say anything. She turned her attention toward Hermione and smiled when she noted that Hermione once more blushed and with a mischievous expression on her face, she asked, "Which one of them admitted that they like you?"
Alex smiled at that, and his smile grew broader when he noted that his adopted nephew looked outrage at what his aunt had just said. Hermione failed to notice the look on the face of Harry and she answered the question, "Both of them," Hermione answered, she quickly added, "I told both of them that I am not interested in either of them."
"I should think not," Harry suddenly interjected. The fact that he said that surprised everyone at the table who turned toward him. This time, it was his turn to blush, "I apologize," he said sheepishly a few moments later.
Hermione – in an attempt to stir the conversation back to what they were supposed to be truly talking about – continued her story, "There was also nothing that happened during our Third Year, unless you count on Sirius Black attempting to sneak into Gryffindor Tower during the Halloween, personally, I kind of hope he succeeded, either during the Halloween or the second time that he tried and actually got in."
"Wasn't Sirius Black some sort of escaped murderer?" Richard asked. He had heard of the name before but it was not until five minutes ago after his daughter had brought up the name that it had returned to him. The patriarch of the Granger family turned his attention toward his daughter and asked, "What does he have to do with the magical world?"
"He is magical, daddy," Hermione replied. She turned toward Alex and said, "Rumor had it that he wanted to kill Michael, but when he got into the Tower, he tried to attack Ronald Weasley, personally, I think he should have attacked them both."
"Hermione!" Rose exclaimed, shocked that her daughter openly wished that two of her classmates gets butchered, and in their dormitory no less.
"You'd want them dead too if both of them asked you out for the first Hogsmeade outing at the same time," Hermione replied, "And as if you had no choice but to go out with them."
The noise of a glass shattering made both Richard and Rose cringe, but Alex just stared at his nephew who looked sheepish a few moments later, "I apologize," he said. He failed to note the look of concern on the faces of Richard and Rose as they stared at each other, but Harry did not fail to see the look of disappointment on the face of his uncle. He mentally cringed as he realized that he is going to go to bed late today because there was no doubt in his mind that his uncle is going to want to speak with him about what had just happened. Harry turned his attention toward his aunt and sighed. He just wished that his aunt would be present as well, she was probably the only one who can calm him down.
Harry felt the hand of Hermione on his own thigh and he let out a sigh to calm himself. He turned his attention toward her at the same time that she did and in short order, the two of them were staring straight at the eye of the other.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland, United Kingdom
August 29, 1995 ACE
Severus Snape fought the urge to sigh as he gathered his cloak around his body. In front of him, the mostly empty castle that houses the premier magical school of the United Kingdom seemed a foreboding image, but whatever doubts and anxieties that the Potions Master felt was quickly turned to one side as the former Death Eater turned spy reminded himself that he has a mission that he needs to do.
He cursed the fact that one cannot use any instantaneous form of transportation to move from outside the wards of the castle into the wards of the castle, but the moment that he had crossed the threshold – and aside from the fact that he knew where the threshold was, he felt the wards as he crossed them, he was that powerful that even the most subtle wards of Hogwarts, he can feel and manipulate – the Potions Master knew that he could disapparate, but not to a destination outside the wards.
It took him less than a minute to appear in the office of the Headmaster, and as he had expected, the old man was already waiting for him. Seated behind the impressive mahogany desk that was first used by the first Headmaster of Hogwarts – Godric Gryffindor – Albus Dumbledore stared at his deepest spy within the ranks of the dark side, and a thin smile came across his face.
Of all of the spies that Dumbledore maintained within the Death Eaters, this man is his most efficient and his deepest. Snape had developed this reputation with the help of the fact that the Dark Lord was aware that Snape is a spy, though the Dark Lord believed that Snape is spying for him.
"Severus," the Headmaster greeted his Potions Master with a nod before he inclined his head toward the man, "Your missive indicated that what you had to report was important and cannot wait till the morning"
Snape nodded and without bothering to wait for permission from the Headmaster, the spy took a seat in front of the desk. A brief moment of silence descended between the two men as they mentally adjusted themselves, but after a few moments, Snape broke that silence, "Headmaster," he said, "As you are aware I had just returned from a meeting with the Dark Lord,"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes," he replied, he looked pensive for a few moments before he asked, "Does he plan on revealing himself to the world?"
"Not yet," Snape replied, he sneered as he added, "The rotten luck of Michael Potter had set him behind several months, a year at the most, but he will reveal himself to the world," he paused before he quickly added, "He had recently shifted his focus from obtaining the Item to staging a break-out from Azkaban."
"Rookwood," Dumbledore muttered under his breath. The permanent resident of Azkaban prison was a former member of the Department of Mysteries where the Item was hidden. There was no doubt that the man would be able to provide Tom with the information needed to remove the Item.
"Perhaps it would be time to arrange for a little accident for Rookwood," Snape commented a few moments later, and he mentally shook his head when he saw the look of shock on the face of the Headmaster.
Snape is a spy, so he knows how important information is, especially in wartime. He also understands how important denying the enemy the information that he needs, and for the Dark Lord, the information that Rookwood would give him would be very important. The man also served no purpose and there was no need to keep him alive. A practical solution would be to remove him from the play, but Snape knew that there was no way that the Headmaster would allow that.
"There is still a chance that he may yet learn his lessons," Dumbledore said a few moments later, and quite frankly, Snape was not surprised when the Headmaster said that. He had expected it.
"Security would be tight in the Department," Snape said a few moments later, "Especially after Podmore got tagged."
"Indeed," Dumbledore replied. He fought the urge to sigh in disappointment. Sturgis Podmore was a member of the Order who had been assigned to guard the Department as part of the regular rotating shifts, but the last time that he was sent to guard the Item, he actually tried to break into the Department.
Dumbledore suspected imperious but because he was denied access to the man – with the political situation and all – he cannot confirm. In fact, he had only been made aware of the arrest after Sturgis Podmore had been sent to the no-star resort hotel in the middle of the North Sea.
"It was imperious, Headmaster," Snape added a few moments later, finally allowing himself to report something that he had known even before Podmore got tagged. If he had reported it earlier, Podmore would have been replaced by a member who had not been cursed, "Lucius got him during the Potter trial,"
Dumbledore nodded, "I had wondered what Lucius was doing down in that dungeon," he replied, he sighed before he added, "I take it that he was punished because of the failure?"
Snape nodded, "Of course," he replied. He paused for a few moments as he thought about the propriety of reporting the fact that the meeting of the Dark Lord got gate-crushed, but after a few moments, he realized that the Headmaster should know so the man could better protect him. Snape was not going to take chances that those two are not going to eat the Death Eaters when all is said and done, and they do not even know why they are in the Isles in the first place.
"Headmaster," Snape added a few moments later, "The last meeting of the Death Eaters, two people jumped it"
Dumbledore blinked, twice, but Snape need not resort to that to realize that the Headmaster was surprised by the news that he had just delivered. Before the old man can say anything, however, Snape quickly added, "They use powerful illusion to get in and out"
"Are they for or against Tom?" Dumbledore suddenly asked.
Snape fought the urge to groan at that. The Headmaster was getting old and he had turned to dividing all the camps in the world into just the light or the dark. Snape wanted to remind the Headmaster that the world is all shades of gray – after all, it was the Headmaster who taught that lesson to Snape – but the Potions Master knew that the Headmaster would just ignore him.
"We don't know," Snape replied a few moments later, and then he suddenly blinked before he added, "The Dark Lord, he wants to meet with the Potter that is coming to Hogwarts this fall"
"Michael?" Dumbledore asked. In hindsight, that was not surprising, the Dark Lord had always wanted to meet Michael so they could finish their duel that started when Michael was only a year old.
"The other one," Snape replied as he shook his head. He stared at the Headmaster and said, "The Dark Lord knows that there is another Potter coming to this school this fall."