Disclaimer: Since my brain is currently on hiatus, I can't seem to think of an amusing way to announce my disclaimer. So, I'm just going to blurt it out: I own absolutely nothing of Harry Potter.
A/N: Okay, first off let me just say that no, I wasn't trying to scare you guys into thinking I'd forgotten to post (but it sure did lead to a lot more reviews than normal…maybe I should "forget" to post more often…hmm). Actually, I was busy all day yesterday and just didn't have a chance. We went to the beach early in the morning and stayed until after three p.m. (as a result, I am now a lovely shade of red—a very painful red). Then I came home, showered, and left for a friends birthday party. I didn't get home until after eleven and by then I was ready to pass out.
Also, some people have pointed out to me that there is no reason for Ron to like Hermione all of a sudden (or Harry) because aren't they both know-it-alls now? The answer is yes, they are both know-it-alls now, but that's not why Ron didn't like Hermione in the books. Ron didn't mind that Hermione knew everything, he minded that she announced to everyone that she knew everything. Always answering the teachers questions, and butting into other conversations to correct someone…that's what pissed Ron off. In my story, she's much more mellow (as is Harry). Neither of them announce anything. They simply do their work and only answer a question if called upon. So, there's no reason for Ron to get his knickers in a twist right?
Now that that's settled…to make up for my lack of a post yesterday, I have an extra long one for you today. I hope you enjoy it and thanks to all the people who told me that Filius Flitwick is the head of Ravenclaw (believe me, there were a lot of you grins). As for The Boondock Saints, I've never even heard of it. So, now that I've covered all that, read on and enjoy the story…and don't forget to review, or I might just forget to—(well, you know how it goes). Have fun.
Chapter 14: Learning All Over Again
The first day of classes was identical to how he remembered it…except for one minor detail. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a trio from the very beginning. He had to admit that it was very interesting to see how Hermione reacted to learning all about magic. Ron, on the other hand was just as he remembered.
It was rather easy for Harry to get back into the swing of things. In fact it was so easy it was boring. Hermione was also bored, something he had never before witnessed in her in his life. Both of them had spent so much time studying magic that they were well beyond the first year level.
Harry made the quidditch team as easily as he had the first time. Of course, he'd had to repeat the whole Remembrall incident, but it was well worth it to see the look on Malfoy's face. Surprisingly enough, Hermione had been ready to go after Malfoy herself. Harry had just barely managed to snag the broom out of her hands.
As for their school work, all the professors, except for Lupin of course, quickly became irritated with Harry and Hermione's lack of attention, but none more so than Snape, and oddly enough, McGonagall. The potions master was always deducting points and McGonagall never stopped frowning at them.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all remembered the first potions lesson rather fondly. Snape had tried so hard to make them look like utter imbeciles and had failed miserably. Harry closed his eyes and grinned as he replayed that day in his head.
Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.
"Ah, yes," Snape said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new—celebrity."
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Harry rolled his eyes and proceeded to ignore them and the oversized greasy bat who was supposed to be teaching the lesson. But he had to admit that even though Snape's teaching sucked, he was a master of intimidation.
"Potter!" said Snape suddenly, and Harry sat up, knowing what was coming next. He couldn't keep the grin from his face. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Clearly, Snape didn't expect Harry to know the answer. So his stunned disbelief was even more humorous to watch when Harry said, "Adding powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood produces a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death."
Snape gaped at Harry while the other students, except for Hermione who had known the answer as well, looked on in awe.
Harry watched the potions master gather himself together. "Fine, let's try something else. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Harry's reply was immediate, "In the stomach of a goat. It can save a person from most poisons."
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't laughing now. In fact they were staring at Harry with the same murderous look Snape was currently wearing.
"Think you're so smart do you boy? Well, just see if you can answer this: What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Hermione didn't bother raising her hand. It was obvious to her that Snape was trying desperately to embarrass Harry. She smirked, knowing he wouldn't succeed.
Seamus caught Harry's eye and winked. Dean threw him a thumbs up. Ron was grinning madly from his right and Hermione was tapping her foot impatiently on his left.
"Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant which also goes by the name of aconite. Is there anything else you wish to know Professor?"
Snape was glaring at Harry, his face actually turning pink. Harry grinned wider. Hermione gave a small, quickly suppressed giggle.
"No." Snape said, and it was obvious he was in a bad mood. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your smart mouthing."
"But sir," Harry said, the picture of wounded innocence. "I thought the idea was to answer correctly?"
Snape had absolutely nothing to say to this and so he completely ignored Harry and turned around to begin his lesson.
Harry snapped back to reality when Hermione asked, "What are you smiling about?"
"Potions," Harry said succinctly, which promptly caused all three of them to burst out laughing.
Despite the fact that Harry and Hermione were brilliant, they still couldn't seem to avoid making their teachers furious with their lack of attention and boredom.
Finally, a few days before Halloween, their Head of House snapped. McGonagall had been instructing the class on how to change beetles into buttons while Harry and Hermione, who had been partnered together by sheer luck of the draw, carried on a discussion in the back.
Ron had been paired with Neville Longbottom and was having a rather difficult time of it. Everyone knew about Neville's lack of skill in everything that didn't involve Herbology and both Harry and Hermione commiserated with their red headed friend.
As for McGonagall, she was making a beeline for the two students who were ignoring her lesson and disrupting her class. Her ire diminished slightly, believing that the two were talking about the lesson, but as she drew closer, she could hear snippets of their conversation.
"…isn't at all to the point Harry…"
"…shouldn't have teased me…"
"…no reason…embarrass me to death…"
McGonagall's lips were seamed so tightly in fury that they were nearly nonexistent. She couldn't believe the nerve of these two students. They actually had the gall to ignore the terribly important lesson she was giving.
"Potter! Granger! Since you two believe you already know everything, why don't you demonstrate your abilities for the rest of the class."
On the other side of the room, Malfoy sniggered. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly. Ron looked up at Harry and Hermione and gave them a sad half smile that showed how truly sorry he was that they had gotten caught.
Hermione, so embarrassed that she was red from the collar of her robes to her hairline, cleared her throat uneasily.
"Well?" McGonagall said sternly.
"Of course professor," Hermione nearly squeaked. She leveled her wand at a small black beetle on the table. Exactly one second later there was a perfectly shiny black button where the beetle had been.
McGonagall, despite her intentions, was impressed. She had been completely set on chewing the two children out for their disrespect, but now she would have to rethink her opinions. She allowed herself to grudgingly nod in approval.
"Well Mr. Potter?"
Harry merely gave her a grin that was on the verge of being insolent. He pointed his wand, concentrated for a brief moment, and then presented Professor Minerva McGonagall with a very shiny, perfectly round, black button.
For the first time in her life, the transfiguration professor found herself nearly speechless. She stood there for several minutes, trying to figure out how they had managed it. Finally, she settled on meeting with them later.
She glared at them sternly and said "I want to see you two in my office after class. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, looking as if she wished she could sink straight through the floor. Harry merely nodded.
And so it was that an hour later, Harry and Hermione found themselves standing anxiously in front of McGonagall's desk while Ron waited for them out in the hallway. She glared at them both for a moment before waving a hand at the chairs behind them and ordering them to sit. They did.
"Now," McGonagall began. "I have had numerous complaints about you two from all of your teachers except Professor Lupin. Perhaps you can tell me why that is?"
Harry cleared his throat. "Why the teachers are complaining, or why Professor Lupin isn't?" he asked. McGonagall's nostrils flared.
"Both," she said tightly, clearly trying to control her anger.
"The teachers are complaining because we don't pay any attention to their lessons," Harry said bluntly.
"And why aren't you two paying attention?"
"Because we already know it all," Hermione said shrugging. Harry swore he saw a flash of red in McGonagall's eyes. He had only seen her do that once before with Umbridge. This would prove rather interesting.
"I see. So, you two believe you know everything there is to know about magic?" Harry was aware that he and Hermione were treading on very treacherous ground.
"Oh no!" Hermione said looking horrified. "Not nearly everything! It's just that we were making our way through seventh year materials just before we came."
McGonagall's eyebrows rose incredulously.
"It's true," Harry said, coming to Hermione's rescue. "We've been studying magic since we were five years old."
Harry didn't blame McGonagall for not believing them. And it was obvious she didn't.
"You can even ask Professor Lupin," Hermione said.
"And why would I do that?"
"Look," Harry said, running a hand through his hair in irritation. Hermione caught sight of him in that instant and she realized that for the first time, she was really seeing him. Her breath caught in her throat.
His untidy hair was standing even more on end, giving him a decidedly windblown appearance. His robes were wrinkled and she knew he hadn't taken the time to press them properly last night. She watched as his impossibly green eyes narrowed. He looked frustrated, impatient, angry, and all together wonderful.
That last realization struck Hermione straight between the eyes and she shook her head trying to rid herself of the ridiculous notion. He was her best friend, had been for longer than she could remember. They'd always done everything together and he had always been Harry; plain, normal, everyday, average Harry, the best friend a girl could ever ask for.
Now, he was something else. And whatever that was, it didn't change the fact that she was suddenly realizing how very handsome he was. She had never seen him in this light before and it was both fascinating and terrifying.
His jaw tightened, a very stubborn jaw she noted, and was alarmed at the rush of warm feelings in the pit of her stomach. This new burst of emotion scared Hermione to her toes. She forced herself back into reality only to realize that no time at all had passed.
"I live with my Godfather, Sirius Black; have since I was four. Remus Lupin is my Godfather's best friend. He even lived with us until Sirius got married and then he took over Grimmauld place for Sirius. Uncle Remus doesn't complain because he knows how hard we studied to learn all this. He is well aware of our capabilities."
McGonagall seemed fixated on only one part of Harry's speech. "Uncle Remus?"
Harry sighed. To everyone else's surprise, Hermione let out a giggle.
"I'm sorry," she said instantly, looking contrite. "He's not really our uncle, but he is Uncle Sirius's best friend and he has always treated us very kindly. I think he was very pleased when we asked him if he would like to be our uncle," she said, trailing off. The rush of unknown feelings toward Harry had faded and she was feeling a little giddy from relief.
"Pleased?" Harry said, smirking at her. Her stomach did a little flip at that smile of his and she wondered how she had never noticed how devastating it really was. She swallowed hard and tried to get herself back under control as Harry continued.
"I don't think pleased begins to cover it," he said. "As I recall, he threw you into the air and then proceeded to waltz us both around the room laughing the whole time."
Hermione gave another little giggle (partly because the image was funny and partly to hide her growing uneasiness with her feelings toward Harry) and McGonagall found herself grinning at the image created in her mind before she could control herself. She cleared her throat to hide the smile and bring the conversation back on track.
"Very well," she said starchily. "I will speak to professor Lupin. Once he has given me his assessment, I will meet with Headmaster Dumbledore and the other teachers to discuss possibilities. I expect you two to be better behaved during my next lesson. You are dismissed."
Both children nodded and made their way quickly out to the hall where Ron was still waiting. Luckily it was lunchtime now, so they wouldn't be late to any classes. Although if you asked Ron, being late to lunch was considerably worse than being late to class.
Several weeks later, Draco Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel. Of course, Harry agreed instantly (he had to do this if they were to "discover" Fluffy and the trapdoor), but it wasn't Ron who offered to be his second. It was Hermione.
All five boys, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle included, starred at her, stunned. Then Harry grinned at her.
"Tonight at midnight then," Malfoy said, smirking.
"We'll be there," Ron said.
So, naturally, the three of them were there at precisely midnight. Of course Malfoy was not. They stood around, waiting nervously. Except for Harry, he was reviewing the route to the second floor corridor. The minute they heard Filch puttering around outside, they bolted.
After several minutes of racing down corridors, they finally came to a stop at a locked door in a deserted corridor. They could hear Filch just steps behind them. Ron was yanking futilely on the door.
"Hermione!" Harry called out impatiently.
"Oh move over!" she said, shoving Ron aside. "Alohomora!" she said, pointing at the lock. It clicked and the three of them piled through.
Ron locked the door behind them and pressed his ear against the wood listening for sounds. "I think he's finally gone," Ron said.
Harry and Hermione were tugging at Ron's sleeves, facing away from the door that Ron was plastered against.
"What?" he said, turning around. Then, "Oh."
The three of them were facing the largest dog they had ever seen. And not only was it extremely large, it had three heads.
"Oh dear," said Hermione.
"I think now would be a good time to leave," Harry said and he didn't have to force the quaver in his voice.
The three of them whirled back around and scrambled out the door. After a mad flight down numerous corridors, the three found themselves back at the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Well," Ron said, bent over, with his hands on his knees, "That was certainly a heart bursting experience. Who knew there was such a thing as three headed dogs?"
"I did," Harry and Hermione said instantly. They were standing straight, hardly winded at all.
"Well then why didn't you guys tell me? That thing had three heads!"
"Well, yeah," said Harry.
"Forget the heads for a moment!" Hermione said. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"No," said Ron thoughtfully. "I was a bit preoccupied with its heads…all three of them!"
"It was standing on a trap door!" Hermione said, clearly irritated.
"Why on earth would it be standing on a trap door?" Ron asked. It was obvious he was confused.
"Because it's guarding something," Harry said.
"Oh," Ron said, looking thoughtful. Hermione was nodding. She had already reached that same conclusion.
"What could it be guarding?" Hermione mused.
"Well," Harry said, trying to be careful about how much information he gave away. "I read in the paper that Gringotts got broken into. Vault 713. But someone had already emptied out that vault earlier in the day. Hagrid let slip to me that he was to one who had picked up a package for Dumbledore. It was in vault 713. So maybe whatever he took out of that vault is being guarded by that big three headed dog."
Hermione was nodding again. "Yes," she said, "that makes sense. But what is it?"
"I don't know," Harry said.
"Well, whatever it is, it's safe with that dog guarding it," Ron said vehemently. And with that, the three went up to bed.
A/N: Okay, so what did you guys think? I made sure to put in Hermione's awareness of Harry as something other than her best friend just for you Harry/Hermione shippers. I know it's a bit early, but she's going to struggle with her feelings toward Harry for a while before she acts on them. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed and please. Please review. I want to know what you guys think.