Harry was sitting alone in his compartment on the train.
He couldn't get his heavy trunk into the rack above. His skinny body combined with his short stature, even for his age, saw to that quickly. He could do nothing but sit and read some of his school books from his trunk he ha placed under the padded benches.
There were very few people on board the train other than a few upper-years that he had followed through the barrier and the train staff.
He knew that he was early but couldn't think of anything else that he could do. His relatives had abandoned him with only his Hogwarts supplies and his money bag full of wizarding gold outside the station.
His ragged hand-me-downs that the Dursleys had given him from his overweight cousin Dudley had quickly drawn attention, especially since Hedwig, his white snowy owl, didn't like the cage she was in and was being reasonably loud.
With it being Nine o'clock in the morning at Kings Cross, it had been a fair amount of attention. It had been a good thing he had noticed a couple of tall teens push similar trollies between the signs for rail Nine and Ten and disappear. Harry had used all his skill of not drawing attention that he had learned from living with the Dursleys to follow in their wake.
His stomach rumbled, and due to lack of non magical money, it prevented him from buying anything that he could have eaten at one of the food stands that he had passed after entering.
The Dursleys refused to feed the freak that had made a mess. A mess that Dudley had been all too happy to blame on his cousin.
Suddenly someone knocked on the door to his compartment. Harry glanced at his watch to find out that an hour had passed from when he had started reading Hogwarts a History. It was still an hour before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave.
Harry cleared his throat before speaking with a hoarse voice. "Come in."
With a gentle swoosh, the door slid open. Standing there in the doorway was a latino girl almost a half head taller than him. Her chocolate brown eyes scanned the room before settling on the lone occupant. Her focus was sharp as it focused on him.
"Do you mind if I sit here with you? You are the only one I have met around my age group on the train."
Harry just shook his head no before pressing himself further into the corner he was in. The book on his lap was forgotten in favor of watching the new girl warily.
The girl had bushy brown hair that laid down her back. Her Hogwarts school uniform looked impeccable compared to his ratty old cast-offs. It made him feel even more self-conscious of his appearance. His clothes were faded grey and were littered with holes. The long sleeves were worn out, and even though he had fought with his ink-black hair, it refused to stay flat.
"Hi, my name is Hermione Granger. What is yours?" Her brown eyes bore into his own. She felt the spark between them. The spark that her mother had explained when she found her Rock.
(Flashback)
She had been eight at the time when her mother, Emma Granger, had sat her down shortly after her father passed away. Her tone was gentle but her eyes scanned every contour of her face. "Hermione, my love, you are becoming a big girl now. You have just had your first period so I need to explain what runs in the Granger family females.
I am sure that you have noticed that you are more detached and knowledgeable compared to other kids your age. That you don't feel sympathy for anyone else but family, right?"
Hermione was still silent but nodded. Her focus was zoned in on her mother. Her mother brushed her curly brown locks behind her ear before she continued.
We females of the granger family naturally do not have what others call a moral compass. Someone could die right in front of us and we wouldn't flinch. In exchange we always have someone out there who will complete us. They are our Rock. You will know when you meet your Rock, your mate, by feeling a spark of overwhelming affection and concern for this person. You will feel as if you will be willing to do anything for them to keep them safe and happy. They will instinctively feel protected by you due to this bond that connects you."
Emma smiled down at her daughter. "Your father was my Rock. Now you are. When you find your Rock. Stay with him or her because if they die then life will have no meaning."
The older Granger brought her daughter into a hug. "Our family is old, Hermione. We are a branch of the Dowager-Granger family line. Because of this age our magic is strong. It will instinctively reach out and comfort our rock. We will always protect our perfect match and could never harm them. Even though I haven't been a part of the magical world since I was a child. Trust in our Bond, Hermione. It will always guide you to your perfect match.
(Flashback ends)
She was scanning his face. Memorizing every plane and contour. He looked thin. Too thin for someone his age. He was also smaller than he should be. She could feel the overwhelming concern that her mother mentioned. His glasses were broken. That was something that she could fix here and now. Before he could answer, she had pulled her wand and pointed toward his broken glasses. Harry flinched, and she took notice. One of her eyebrows went up before she finished the task she was going to do. "Reparo."
Seems like someone has hurt him before. She could feel the overwhelming rage that brought on but she tampered it down. It wasn't his fault after all.
With a snap, the cracked lenses sealed themselves and the tape that held the two pieces together was sucked into her wand and disappeared.
Harry's eyes were wide with shock and wonder as he took off his broken glasses. They looked pristine. The cracked lenses from when Dudley broke them after a round of Harry hunting were gone. They looked to be replaced with something he could get brand new.
"My name is Harry, Harry Potter." Unlike the witches and wizards from diagon alley her eyes stayed locked on his own. Hermione moved so that she was sitting next to him. She felt drawn to him. He was hers, she decided, just like her dad was her mom's before he died. She could see the fear he held plainly in his eyes. Her Harry has had a rough life so far, she could tell. He was afraid of anyone touching him. He jumped at the slightest loud sound and watched everything with the air of a cornered animal.
She did the only thing she could think of. She wrapped him in a hug. She could feel her magic instinctively reach out to sooth his own.
Harry stiffened immediately on contact, expecting pain that never came. As the minutes passed he slowly relaxed in her embrace. She wasn't hurting him. It actually felt nice being in her arms. He felt only comfort from her.
She could feel the sudden jerk of the train pulling out of the station but ignored it for now. Her Harry was hurting.
Harry stiffened again from the sudden movement of the train.
Hermione had an idea of something that could calm her Harry.
She started singing a song that her mother sang to her every time she was upset or sick. Even though he relaxed some she could still feel that he was tense in her arms. Just not as much as he once was. He no longer had the air of a cornered animal anymore and was now staring at her in wonder.
"Better?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded, not moving to break the hug she started.
"The place you lived isn't home, is it?" Hermione asked into his ear. Harry's answering voice was low and if he wasn't in her embrace, she wasn't sure she would be able to hear his answer.
"No, that place was never my home."
Neither knew that somewhere in the highlands of Scotland something happened in the exact moment those words crossed Harry's lips. Many silver trinkets that sat under the portraits of prior Hogwarts Headmasters suddenly exploded into many pieces, destroying most of the office. The phoenix flamed out of the room when that happened and the people in the portraits fled to their other portraits. The headmaster would not find out about the destruction of his office for many hours to come.
Harry slowly relaxed further into Hermione's embrace as the buildings of London slowly bled into rolling fields. This was the first time that someones touch didn't bring him pain.
He felt… safe in this girl's arms. It almost felt like nothing could hurt him when he was in her embrace.
Harry could smell the scent of vanilla and parchment from the bushy brown hair that his face was nuzzling. Everything about this girl was calming to the young boy.
Suddenly the door to the compartment slammed open with a slam. Harry jumped at the sound before he detached himself from Hermione's embrace to scuttle back into the corner that Hermione first saw him.
Hermione scowled internally at the interruption of her cuddle time. She couldn't have her Harry thinking that she was scowling at him.
She moved so she was sitting next her Harry.
Harry watched the new person warilly. The person who entered was a head taller than harry with bright red hair that looked like it has not been combed. His freckled nose was smudged with dirt and his clearly second hand robes were stained with what looked to be strawberry jam.
"I can't find any other compartments that aren't crowded and I don't want to sit with my brothers. May I sit here?"
A sudden low boom sounded from farther up the train along with loud howls of laughter. Ron glanced in that direction with just a little bit of fear.
"N-" Harry started to speak when the loud redhead chirped out a hearty "Thanks" and plopped down across from Harry and Hermione.
Hermione scowled at the oblivious red-head. With practiced ease she calmed her flaring anger. He cut off her Harry before he sat closier then he is clearly comfortable with. It wouldn't do for a child to be thrown out the train window without a reliable reason. Cutting of her mate was not a reason that would hold water. The red head was pushing her last nerve though.
"My name is Ron." The lanky kid said before he saw what the other male's disorderly black hair was hiding.
He gasped herfore shouting.
"Your Harry Potter! Do you remember that night?" Harry's eyes were wide with fear and he pushed himself further into the corner away from the rapidly approaching redhead.
Harry's breathing became rapid. His vision started to have spots before a field of bushy brown clouded his vision and the sweet smell of vanilla flooded his nose.
Hermione had placed herself between himself and the encroaching male.
"Leave!" Hermione growled out. Her Harry was panicking because of this person didn't understand that he was not wanted here.
"But I only wanted to know if he remembers the night he defeated You- Know -Who."
"I said LEAVE!" With that last word her hair began to crackle and stand up with suppressed power. She threw her hand out and a wave of power slammed the door open, picked up the red
headed idiot, and bodily threw him into the opposite wall. As her magic calmed she got up, went to the door and yelled "What if he doesn't want to remember!" and slammed the door closed.
Turning around she slowly approached the dark haired boy. Her whole body was racked with nervousness now that the cause of her Harry's stress has been dealt with. 'What if he doesn't like me after I did something like that to someone else.'
Her thoughts continued in that vein until a warm body slammed into her side, buried itself in her hair and started sobbing.
Instinctively Hermione's arms wrapped around the smaller dark haired male. With gentle movements she guided her mate onto her lap after she sat down.
Harry had started softly crying into Hermione's blouse. No one had ever stood up for him before.
Hermione started to gently rock the smaller male in her arms just like her mom did when she was upset.
Minutes passed with the only sounds inside the carriage was the click and clack of the wheels on the track, Harry's sobs, and Hermione's gentle shushing.
Suddenly a knock sounded from the door. Hermione couldn't help the growl that she let out. Why can't people leave them alone? They were interrupting her Harry time.
After the knocking sounded again Hermione sighed. They were not going to leave them alone if they ignored the door, were they? Making a decision she called out to whoever was on the other side to come in.
Two redheads stepped in after being invited inside. Hermione noted that the two were alike in every way. Hermione could tell that one was more outgoing just from their body language.
"Hi I am Fred," said the one on the right. "I'm George," stated the other.
Hermione noted that both their right eyebrows twitched. A tell perhaps?
Harry had gone quiet when these two entered. He pressed himself further into her embrace without even realizing it while staring at the two older boys fearfully.
"Let me get this straight. Your George." She pointed at the one on the right and named the other one Fred much to their astonishment.
"How did you…" George trailed off.
"Very simple. I read your body language. Now is there something you need gentlemen? As you can see I am comforting My Harry after a smaller redhead named Ron wanted to know if Harry remembered the day He-Who-Shall-Remain-Noseless murdered his parents and then invaded his personal space."
Fred shared a look with his brother. "That isn't what Ron told us at all, my dear brother."
George nodded. "Not at all. All he said was some bushy haired girl bodily threw him out."
Hermone's demeanor didn't change one bit. She had nothing to be guilty about. "I admit I did do that after he refused to leave after setting my Harry into a panic attack. He has a phobia that gets set off when other people he doesn't know well get too close. My magic flared due to my emotions and bodily threw him away."
Fred nodded at that. It did sound more like something Ron would have done, after all. They both shared a predatory smirk when they shared a glance.
"Miss we can only apologize-" Fred started.
"About our dear brother's actions. We will endeavour-'' George picked up his brother's thought before Fred continued it.
"To show him the error of his ways and keep him away from the two of you for the rest of the trip."
Hermione just raised an eyebrow at the twin pong speech while Harry watched them warily from her embrace.
Hermione nodded her agreement before she kindly asked the two of them to leave.
When the door shut she focused her attention back on her Harry. He had buried himself back in her bushy brown hair.
While rocking her black haired mate Hermione began to search for something to distract him from his emotions though her rocking did a good job calming him.
Suddenly she had a thought as she watched the sun slowly slip towards the horizon.
"Hey, Harry?" When he glanced up from her embrace she continued.
"What Hogwarts House do you want to be in?"
Harry's eyebrows scrunched together as he thought about the question. Minutes passed before Harry spoke.
"I think I would best fit in Hufflepuff. I don't think I am smart enough for Ravenclaw, not cunning enough for Slytherin, nor brave enough for gryffindor. I am terrified of being alone."
Hermione tightened her arms around her Harry. One arm held him close while the other rubbed his back soothingly. "You won't ever be alone, Harry. Where you go I will follow. I am sure the sorting will take your opinion into consideration. If you want to go into Hufflepuff then I will try my best to get into Hufflepuff and save you a seat. You are mine, Harry. Just like I am yours." Hermione presed her forehead onto Harry's and looked into his eyes. Her hands continued to gently rub his back.
"I will follow you into the ends of the Earth, Harry. You are my Rock. The one who keeps me sane. If you wish to rule the world as a Dark Lord then I will be your Dark lady."
Slowly Hermione leaned back and just held Harry close, his head was laying on her breasts but she didn't care. Harry could touch her wherever he wanted. She was his.
Slowly the sun rose high into the sky when there was a knock on the door. Without moving Harry from where he was she called out for the person to come in.
The door opened smoothly and on the other side stood an older lady that pushed a snack cart.
"Anything I could get you, dear?" Her lned face had a happy and kind look to her.
Hermione glanced down at her Rock who was basically sitting in her lap.
Harry looked up at her when she made her decision.
"Yes. Do you only serve snacks or can you have lunch items?"
She needed to try and get Harry to eat. He was too thin and small. She could feel that he barely had any muscle on him from lack of food.
She forced down her rage at the people who did that to him. It wouldn't help her right now. She could deal with the situation later by sending her mom a note with any information she is able to get from Harry later.
"I sell both, my dears." The old woman said before handing her a menu. Hermione glanced down at the young boy sitting in her arms before coming to a decision.
"Can I have two plates of Mac and cheese with a side of applesauce please."
Harry was probably not used to eating heavy foods. It wouldn't do for her Rock to get sick. The sugars, grains, and cheese from the dishes would do much to get Harry's blood sugar up.
With a clack of dishes the old lady got out the dishes and removed the stasis charms that kept them fresh before setting them on the compartment's small wall mounted folding table.
"Do u want anything to drink?"
Hermione glanced down at Harry as he avoided looking at the food. "Do you have lemonade?" The lady didn't answer. Instead she grabbed two glasses and filled them from one of the pitchers before placing them next to the dishes.
After handing the drinks to the young children she smiled and left after being paid.
Hermione grabbed one of the forks and placed it on Harry's plate before grabbing one for herself and started eating.
When Hermione realized that Harry wasn't eating and was just looked at the food in front of them. Hermione realized what was the problem.
"Harry, that food is your food. I got it for you to eat. I wont let anyone take away your food."
Harry glanced at the Mac and Cheese before he started to eat. Hermione couldn't help but smile at him before continuing to eat.
'How dare those worthless sacks of flesh do that to My Harry. Never again will I allow you to suffer if I could help it.'
Hi everyone. Sorry for the long wait. Life has been shit so far. Grandma is walking now but im struggling with motivation. i wrote as much as i could before i couldnt write anymore and decided to post what i have. I am going to try my hand at a Gamer fic in the Percy Jackson universe and see if it is just the fandom that has me stuck right now.