Author's Note: I don't own the story or the characters of Harry Potter, this work is entirely fan-made. The rights to everything Harry Potter belong to J.K Rowling.
To the user by the name of 'Legilemens master' thanks for the review and the criticism: 'My only question thus far is how can it be possible for Harry and Zoe to be born a month apart?'. For those unaware, I made a mistake in saying that Harry and Zoe were not twins, but were in fact born just a few days apart from one another. This was a fact that I completely overlooked, so thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will probably not change this in the story itself, just know that it was not intentional.
Thanks for all of your continuous support on this story
The incident with the troll had to be known about by the parents, so in the morning following the Hallowe'en disaster, an owl carrying a letter was sent out to each of the parents of the children and naturally, lots had been asking about the situation. Several hundred owls had been sent to Professor Dumbledore and he had not been seen outside his office in weeks. Many students had gone home until Dumbledore could ensure that the castle was safe again. The last time an incident involving student safety had happened was in 1943 when Myrtle Warren had died from a rumoured acromantula bite. This is when the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from the school and blamed for the keeping the aforementioned acromantula.
The lessons for first years especially were less full and most muggle-born or half-blood students had left until a change was made. Hermione Granger stayed because she had great friends at Hogwarts. Harry and Zoe had both stayed because their parents had sent them back due to the fact that they completely trusted Dumbledore. Their time at home was interesting even if brief. Harry and Zoe had asked the 3 Marauders how they made the map and how exactly they had shown the girls bathrooms on it. This was when a bombshell was dropped, Lily had helped them create the map, but didn't want her name or any reference to her on the map for fear of getting into trouble. She wasn't an official Marauder but she was still considered one after Hogwarts. James and Sirius insisted that Lily have her name on the map instead of Peter's after his betrayal but she still didn't want it.
The break from school was just the thing Hermione needed to sort out her problems. She was sent home to her parents but begged to go back after two days without her friends. Daniel and Emma Granger were apprehensive at first but decided that after what Hermione had described her friends doing to the troll, she would be fine with friends as loyal and strong as they were. Another factor of Hermione's return to school arrived on the 2nd of November. A letter from Harry. He was surprisingly worried about Hermione possibly not being let back into Hogwarts by her parents. Hermione was slightly embarrassed at how Harry had portrayed her, especially after a few lines: 'Hermione is a wonderful and amazing person. Forget magic in the equation, she is one of the smartest people I know. I would be extremely disappointed if Hermione did not return to Hogwarts as my sister Zoe and I would miss her immensely.' When Dan was out of earshot of them to check on the food, Mrs Granger asked Hermione "So, he's the lucky guy then?" The look on Hermione's face was hilarious, a mixture of embarrassment and shock. Little did either know that she was spot on.
When the Hogwarts Express came to Kings Cross Station on the 23rd of November, Harry waited anxiously for the smartest witch of their generation on Platform 9 and 3/4. Zoe shook him out of his daze from watching the barrier and said "Don't worry Harry, I'm sure she will come back. Don't forget, I miss her too." The next people through the barrier weren't Hermione, but the Weasleys. Fred and George waved hello to Harry and Zoe, Ron sneered, Percy and Arthur greeted them with handshakes and Ginny simply hid behind her mother with a clear red blush on her cheeks after seeing Harry. They had come over to apologise for Ron's behaviour and had heard that Fred and George got along with their group of friends.
When the apology and formalities were over and done with, Mrs Weasley introduced Ginny to them and said that she would be going to Hogwarts next year. Then the unexpected happened, Ginny rushed up to Harry and gave him a crushing hug. Everyone, but Mrs Weasley and Ginny were in shock. Molly's excuse was simply "Oh it's alright dear, she's just being friendly and she really likes you anyway." This was the moment that Hermione chose to run through the barrier with her parents and look for Harry. He immediately pulled away from the Weasley hug and ran over to Hermione who did the same thing Ginny had just done. Molly and Ginny Weasley looked flabbergasted and slightly angry. The Weasley matriarch called for the boys to get on the train. Molly, Arthur and Ginny were leaving, but not without Mr Weasley saying a rushed "Sorry" for their actions.
Zoe quickly joined in the fray of hugs and the Grangers were ecstatic that Hermione did have real friends at Hogwarts. Mr Granger pulled them apart and addressed Harry properly "You were Harry, right?" The boy nodded "Thank you for that letter you wrote, it was lovely but in the future, couldn't you just use the postman instead of an owl?" Mr Granger joked but was half-serious as well. Emma sighed in relief. She thought that Dan was going to give him the scary, girl-friends dad cliché even though Hermione wasn't Harry's yet, but was relieved that he didn't. The Hogwarts Express called the final whistle and the students had to board. Once again, the clock struck 11 and the train was passing country lanes.
In their compartment, Hermione and Zoe discussed something that Harry couldn't hear but he went off to find Neville. He was wandering down the wrong year compartment when Harry found him. He led Neville back to the compartment and started discussing the happenings at Kings Cross with Ginny, as Neville had seen it from afar when talking to Susan Bones. They laughed at the idea before Neville asked him a serious question. "Harry, you like Hermione more than a 'friend' would, don't you?" Harry sat there and asked what brought the question up. "It's just that you seem like you care for her, like more than anyone, apart from maybe her parents." Harry was left with this question for the rest of the trip. His answer was only for Hermione's ears.
Author's Note: I hope no one thinks that I am rushing Harmony too fast because I really want it solidified by second year, at least, before the end of year 2.