Happy Friday everyone and thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I hope I was able to respond to you all! Hope y'all like today's chapter.
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable or underlined like this belongs to J. , I just like to borrow her world for a bit. The underlined bits come directly from Sorcerer's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban.
Chapter Two: Slytherin Through Three Years
She was special, a miracle. That is one thing Hermione Jean Granger's parents have never let her forget. But she didn't see it. Sure, she's smart but that's just because she loves to learn and other children made fun of her for that fact so learning was the only thing she really had to hold on to. Her books were her best friends. If preferring her books to people and refusing to show others that their "teasing" comments hurt her made her unapproachable then she was fine with that. Or at least that's what she told others the few times she had been asked.
When Minerva McGonagall showed up on the Granger's doorstep, Dan and Jean were ecstatic because it proved once again that their baby girl was a miracle. Hermione was just happy for a fresh start not to mention all the new things she could learn about.
"Bugger!" Hermione huffs, glaring down at her trunk and wishing that muggles were able to come through the barrier so that her parents could have helped her lift her heavy trunk.
"Do you need some help?" A soft voice queries from behind her, making her jump and spin around as she silently curses herself because she's usually more aware than that.
Instead of tensing and snapping that she is perfectly capable of doing things on her own, she relaxes when her chocolate eyes meet the somehow familiar emerald eyes of a scrawny boy with broken glasses and messy black hair before smiling and saying, "I would really appreciate it, thank you."
The boy gives her a crooked smile before stepping forward and helping her lift her trunk into the cart, though the two of them together still struggle a bit under the weight.
"Would you like me to help with yours?" Hermione asks, already moving toward his own trunk and gently taking the owl cage from the top then setting it aside where the beautiful bird wouldn't get hurt when the two kids struggled with the trunk.
"That'd be great. Thank you." He smiles at her as he moves to the other side of the trunk.
"Of course! You did help me after all." She grins back and they lift the trunk, struggling to stow it away next to hers.
"Would you like to get a compartment together?" He asks as he lifts his bird cage from the ground and they begin making their way toward the nearest train door.
"I'd love to!" Hermione grins at the boy beside her before her eyes widen and she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "Oh! How rude of me, I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Hermione Granger." She holds her hand out to the boy, her back ramrod straight just like her parents had taught her to introduce herself.
He reaches out with his free hand, clasping hers softly in his and causing a shock to go through both children. "Harry. Harry Potter."
Harry's hand in hers is the only thing keeping her grounded as they file into the Great Hall. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History," she blurts out when she notices Harry's eyes fixating on the ceiling above them. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, her jaw clamps tightly shut and she silently beats herself up because saying those kinds of things are what got her made fun of in the muggle world and she really didn't want to lose her first friend because of her know-it-all nature.
But Harry just brings his gaze from the ceiling to her eyes and grins widely, "That's so cool."
The smile Hermione gives him in return is wider than any smile she can ever remember giving anyone except maybe her parents. However, she doesn't get a chance to respond because Professor McGonagall begins calling out the names of her fellow first years.
"GRANGER, HERMIONE!" The professor calls out and Hermione steps forward after squeezing Harry's hand one last time.
She quickly strides forward and takes a seat in the rickety stool. The tattered hat begins speaking in her mind almost as soon as it has been placed on her head. My, my, you have quite a lot going on in here. More than even you know, my dear. But where to put you. You're intelligent no doubt about that. More intelligent than anyone I've seen in a number of years. And brave, willing to stand up to anyone who is in the wrong. And you're kind, though you haven't had many reasons to show it have you? You're also incredibly ambitious, you want to learn as much as you possibly can and as quickly as you can. And the level of personal loyalty you hold could almost be considered a fault. Your intelligence also gives you a cunning edge that can only truly flourish in one house. That's it... Better be... "SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione forces herself not to focus on the hisses and boos coming from the other tables or the fact that the clapping coming from the Slytherin table was a more reluctant than it had been for the others sorted before her as she quickly makes her way to the table and takes the closest open seat. Her eyes then turn back to the messy haired boy with the emerald eyes, hoping that they'll be able to stay friends even if they aren't in the same house.
"POTTER, HARRY!" Professor McGonagall shouts, making her jump slightly because she'd been too focused on her nervous friend to realize how many others had been called (some of which had been sorted into her own house and now sat around her).
Hermione bites the inside of her cheeks as she waits for the hat's decision but it's taking a lot longer for it to decide on him than it has anyone else. Until it finally shouts, "SLYTHERIN!" And Hermione claps louder than she has for anyone else, not caring that she's being indiscreet as she grins widely at her friend and moves over so that there's room for him to sit beside her.
"Can I borrow Hedwig?" Hermione asks as she walks along the lake, her arm linked with his. They'd both made other friends among their housemates, Slytherin did protect its own after all (even if one of their own was muggleborn and the other was the representation of the downfall of what many of their parents believe in), but they were still closest to each other. They did almost everything together, something their other friends and housemates loved to tease them about though their teasing was never in the harsh, mean way both children were used to from growing up in the muggle world.
"You really don't have to ask, Mione. I don't have anyone to write to and Hedwig loves you almost as much as she loves me," Harry laughs, grinning at her.
"It's still nice to check instead of just assuming," Hermione replied, smiling back as she nudges his side with her elbow.
"Oi, love birds!" Both kids jump and whirl around to face a familiar blonde who slings his arms over both their shoulders, breaking their linked arms as he grins mischievously and inserts himself in between them. "You're late for our study group," Draco states in response to their questioning looks.
Both Harry and Hermione laugh at this statement. They weren't late, he'd probably just gotten bored with only his body guards for company since Daphne was still trying to sleep off a cold and Blaise was hanging out somewhere with Theo.
"Like we've ever been late a day in our lives," Hermione scoffs, rolling her eyes. "You should just admit we're your favorites and you wouldn't know what to do without us, Draco."
"Sh." Draco places a finger to his lips and takes an exaggerated look around. "We can't let the others know, showing favoritism would get me nowhere."
Harry and Hermione roll their eyes as the three kids laugh and make their way toward the castle.
"That was incredibly stupid. You three could have been killed going after something that had no place being in a castle full of children to begin with especially when you consider just exactly how powerful the Dark Lord is. I don't care that you three are leagues ahead of the rest of your year, going after the Philosopher's Stone was reckless. I have half a mind to have you dunderheads resorted into Gryffindor for this foolishness," Snape growls at the three Slytherins sitting on the hospital bed in front of him, none of which were meeting his dark gaze.
"We apologize, sir," Harry, Hermione, and Draco mumble in unison.
"I don't want your apologies. You all are going to make it up to me. I will be speaking to both of your parents, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. And you will have plenty of time to make it up to me this summer, Mr. Potter." With that statement, Professor Snape whirls around and storms out of the room with his robes flaring behind him.
Draco looks toward Harry who is sitting in between he and Hermione, staring after their professor with wide eyes.
"Wait... Does that mean?" Harry stutters.
"Harry, you don't have to go back to the Durselys!" Hermione squeals, wrapping her arms tightly around her two best friends.
"Slytherins protect their own, when are the two of you actually going to start believing that?" Draco smiles at the two of them, happy for his friend.
"Harry!" Hermione shouts, sprinting towards her best friend and nearly tackling him in a hug.
"Hermione!" He grins into her unruly curls as he hugs her back.
"What am I? A street rat?" Draco scoff petulantly from Hermione's right.
"Draco!" She grins at her other best friend, hugging him just as fiercely as she had Harry.
"Much better," Draco states, hugging her back, and Hermione smacks the back of his head before pulling away.
"It's so good to see you two. I've missed you."
"We've missed you too," they reply in unison as she links arms with the two boys and the trio begins making their way to the first shop where three impatient adults await them.
"Mya, these are my parents Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Mother, Father, this is Hermione Granger," Draco introduces her to the three blondes of the group.
Hermione's back straightens, her arms slipping from the boys' as she bows her head and curtsies. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy," she states in a smooth, neutral voice she'd never once used in her life before her eyes widen and she shakes the stiffness from her body. "It's great to finally meet you, Draco has told me so much about the two of you. Thank you for allowing me join your outing today, my parents have been busy with their practice this summer so I haven't gotten out much," Hermione shares in her usual voice, her arms once again threading through those of the boys as she smiles sweetly at the two blonde adults, one of which was staring at Hermione like she'd seen a ghost, before turning toward the foreboding figure on the right side of the couple who she'd seen quite a bit of this summer considering how close he, and Harry since the boy was currently staying with him, lived not all that far away from her parents' house. "It's lovely to see you again, Professor. How has your summer been so far?" Not being able to visit each other even though they lived within walking distance of one another had been part of their punishments for being so reckless at the end of the year. It had put a bit of a damper on actually having friends for the first summer ever but at least they'd all been allowed to write.
"Very well though I'm sure you know that from all the letters that you and Harry have written this summer, Miss Granger. Thank you for asking." He nods, giving her a half smile as her cheeks heat up which is about as warm as he gets with anyone.
"I'm scared," Harry whispers as he, Draco, and Hermione hide away from the rest of their house behind the curtains of Harry's four post bed where they've been curled up since the disastrous duel between Draco and Ronald Weasley earlier that day which ended with Harry speaking parseltongue to the snake Draco had conjured when said snake tried to go after a Hufflepuff.
"Me too," Hermione and Draco murmur in unison.
"I didn't do it, I didn't open the Chamber of Secrets."
Draco and Hermione make eye contact when their best friend refuses to look at them.
"We know," Draco states like it's the simplest thing in the world to answer which it is.
"You would never want to hurt anyone. All the people that really matter will realize that," Hermione tells him, smiling softly at her best friend when he finally looks at the two people who had become his best friends in the past year.
"I don't want you going anywhere alone, Mione. Whoever's doing this might not care that you're in Slytherin and I don't want you getting hurt just because your parents don't have magic," Harry states, determination sparking brightly in his emerald eyes.
"I agree, Mya. We don't know who is doing this or how far they are going to go. No one's been killed so far but I don't want to risk you going out on your own and being the first to end up dead," Draco adds on before she can argue. Not that she is going to, she's just as afraid as they are.
"I won't, I promise."
"I'm so sorry, Mione," Harry whispers, gripping her paralyzed hand tightly in his as the invisibility cloak that had belonged to his father and that he had received as a gift last year for Christmas brushes against her cold fingers. She's always cold now, like she'd been frozen in an ice burg instead of paralyzed by a basilisk and placed in a warm infirmary. Guilt floods through her system when she thinks of the small blonde in one of the beds nearby her who probably feels exactly the same way. Luna Lovegood had had a shit year until Daphne and Hermione had taken her under their wing, providing all of Slytherin's protection by default. The bullying had just started to stop and now she's paralyzed. Which doesn't make sense because she's not like everyone else who has been paralyzed, she's a pureblood.
"I know you'd be smacking me and telling me that it's not my fault, that I have nothing to be sorry for, if you were here right now but it should have been me with you in that library. If I hadn't have decided to go watch the Slytherin Quidditch practice with Draco, it would have been me in the bed beside you instead of Luna. I knew you were in danger but I was still selfish and I am so sorry for that. I would do anything to switch places with you, Mione."
"You're brilliant, Mya," Draco's voice comes from her right side, his hands threading through her hair and twirling it mindlessly through his fingers.
"As soon as he looked at your notes on the page, he stormed out of the room and when the headmaster tried to send that fraud Lockhart down, Professor Snape rallied up some of the other professors, had Harry open the secret passage, and went into the Chamber of Secrets himself. They killed the basilisk and saved the Weasley girl," Daphne's voice comes from the same direction as Draco's though Hermione can feel Daphne's hand gripping hers.
"It was bloody terrifying, Mione, maybe Professor Snape will let me use his pensive so I can show you this summer. He said you could come stay for a couple weeks at Spinner's End if your parents were alright with it since we came to him with the information this year instead of risking our necks in a dangerous situation like a bunch of dunderheads. Snape's words not mine if you can't tell," Harry rambles from her left, his fingers threading through hers as he traces random designs on her hand with his thumb.
The doors to the Great Hall open and Harry immediately rises to his feet as Hermione sprints toward him, catching her and spinning her around in a tight hug the moment she flings herself into his arms.
"I'm so glad you're ok," he murmurs into her curls, holding her more tightly to him than he ever had before.
"I missed you too, Harry." Hermione whispers into his neck, hugging him back just as tightly.
"You're not to go anywhere alone, Harry," Hermione states, the Daily Prophet wrinkling in her hands as she clenches her fists tightly while reading about the escaped mass murderer who had apparently played a part in the deaths of her best friend's parents.
"Bit of a role reversal this year, love?" Harry gives Hermione the crooked grin that always makes her heart beat a little faster and forces her to focus on keeping the blush from her cheeks instead of whatever she had been worrying about at the time.
"I agree with Miss Granger, Harry. If Black can escape Azkaban, he can easily get into Hogwarts. You're safe here because he doesn't know that you are here with me but once you're at Hogwarts, there's no telling what will happen especially considering the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was once one of his best friends," Professor Snape states, swooping into the room just as dramatically as he would with his wizarding robes even though he is currently decked out in muggle attire.
"Why would he come after me?"
"He's your godfather, Harry."
"Miss Granger, would you mind staying behind for a few moments?" Professor Snape calls out as the rest of the class begins filling out of his classroom.
"You wanted to speak with me, professor?" Hermione adjusts the strap of her satchel nervously on her shoulder as she approaches her Head of House's desk, wondering what she could have possibly done this early in the year to earn a talking to.
"I know you are disappointed in not being able to take all the classes you wished to this year and I wanted to assure that it is not because I do not think you are capable of handling the work load, it is because I was hoping that you would like to begin an apprenticeship with me this year. I have noticed your passion and talent for potions the past two years and should you accept this offer, we can begin expanding your knowledge of potions so that you can have your Master's in Potioneering by the time you graduate Hogwarts."
Hermione's eyes widen, a large grin stretching across her lips. "I would love to do an apprenticeship with you, sir! Thank you so much!"
Professor Snape's lips twitch, his dark eyes gleaming with a hidden smile. "We will meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday directly after dinner. I look forward to our lessons this year, Miss Granger."
"Thank you, sir!" Hermione continues to grin as she exits the classroom, nearly running into her two best friends.
Hermione's mind drifts, searching for a happy memory she hadn't tried yet. Her parents hugging her tightly the first time she'd come home from Hogwarts hadn't done anything. Neither had meeting Harry for the first time or any number of happy memories she'd had with him and their fellow Slytherins since then. She's on the brink of giving up when a thought slips into her mind, it's cloudy and distant. More of a dream than an actual memory. It's something she hasn't thought of in a long time because the recurring dream had stopped when she came to Hogwarts and no one ever asked about it because she'd never told anyone about the dream, something inside her had always kept her from telling her parents about the odd dream that didn't make a lick of sense but left her feeling like there was hope for an even happier future than the present she currently lived in.
"I love you more than anything in this world, my little Lyre. You are going to change everything, I just know it," a soft, musical voice floats into her ears from a woman who Hermione can't see but whose arms she can feel wrapped securely around her. Hermione is warm and safe and loved…more than anything in this world.
"She did it! Guys look at Hermione!" Harry's voice makes Hermione's eyes snap open, her gaze immediately going to the white vapor seeping out of the tip of her wand.
"What memory did you use?" Draco asks, his eyes just as wide as the other Slytherins in the room (most of which were from their year but some students from the other years had come to learn from Harry as well).
"It's not a memory exactly…" Hermione replies slowly, not wanting to give an in-depth explanation in front of everyone. If it had been just her and Harry and Draco, she would have explained in a heartbeat. She would have even told Daphne and Luna. "It's hard to explain… It's this feeling I used to dream about when I was younger. Feeling safe and loved, hopeful for the future."
Hermione and Harry rush after Professor Lupin, desperately trying to catch up with him in order to give him the last dose of the Wolf's Bane Potion which Hermione held tightly in her hand (more than a little bit proud that she'd managed to brew this batch on her own). She knew it was reckless and that Professor Snape would have both of their heads when he found out (which she had no doubt he would, there was a reason he was such a good spy in the first war) but she couldn't help herself. She realized that Professor Lupin was a werewolf months ago and when she saw the vial of her potion unopened on his desk after stopping in with a quick question on an assignment that night, she knew she had to bring it to him. It was the right thing to do. Harry had just tagged along because he didn't want her out on her own at night.
Walking through a dark, hidden tunnel under a violent tree though has Hermione seriously doubting her logic. Something inside her won't let her stop, like her feet have a mind of their own and they know that the answers to unasked question lay at the end of this tunnel.
"Where is he, Sirius?" Professor Lupin's voice makes both teens freeze and press up against the wall as a hole comes into sight.
"The cat is finding him now," a gruff, unfamiliar voice states.
Cat? Harry mouths, confusion clearly clouding his emerald eyes.
Hermione shrugs, waiting for Professor Lupin to respond while gripping Harry's arm just in case he decides to have a Gryffindor moment.
"But then... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless- unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?" Professor Lupin's reaches the teens, confusing them even more. They didn't have enough information to fully understand what was going on.
There was a long silence then Professor Lupin states, "It's good to have you back, old friend."
This is the last straw for Harry and he's bursting forward into the room, wand drawn before Hermione can stop him.
"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering, out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"
"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now - Let me explain..."
"NO!" Hermione screamed as she busted into the room and placed herself slightly in front of her best friend, her wand at the ready though only Harry would know that fact considering he was holding his wand the same way. They both had Professor Snape to thank for that. That is if they survived this meeting. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too - he's a werewolf!" She hadn't been planning on telling Harry that last bit and he'd respected that she couldn't tell him why it was so important that Professor Lupin have the potion they were delivering tonight because he knew it wasn't her secret to tell. But all bets were off now, this arsehole was helping someone who wanted to kill her best friend. Knowledge was power and she needed all the power she could right now.
There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.
"Not at all up to your usual standard, [Miss Granger]," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead. An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf…How long have you known?"
"Ages," Hermione whispered. "I've been studying the Wolf's Bane Potion since the beginning of the year so I knew someone in the school was a werewolf but I didn't know it was you until I saw your boggart that day in class. I didn't tell anybody because I respected you and it wasn't my secret to tell. I've been helping you all year and you didn't even know it. Hell, I made your bloody potion without any help from Professor Snape this month!" She slams the nearly forgotten vial onto the rickety table on her left. "But this is where my help ends. If you want to hurt Harry, you'll have to go through me first." Her eyes stay trained on Professor Lupin, fury boiling in her chocolate colored eyes as she waits for one of them to make a move.
"Hermione?" The rough query makes her stance tense and her gaze snap toward the grimy prisoner who is staring at her with soft eyes, the same kind of eyes her parents watch her with any time they see her.
"How the hell do you know her name?!" Harry snaps, his magic palpably flaring as he pulls Hermione behind him and glares at the man who supposedly wanted him dead. Something Hermione was seriously doubting considering the fact that they were still alive.