It's Hermione's table. No one else dares sit there. Not that she encouraged this at all. She just sat there and worked. Apparently this fourth year Ravenclaw is scary. She never thought so. But, it's been her table ever since first year. It's perfect. It's right in the corner so one can sit there and be able to see anyone who approaches or looks towards them. No one could scare her by coming up behind her and no one can look at her and bitch about her without her seeing. She felt secure there.
Everyone else, however, decided she just claimed it and anyone else who wants to take it will be put on her bad side. Apparently, no one wants that. She's not proud of that, exactly, nor did she ever seek out that eventuality. But, she'd never say she was disappointed by it. No one messes with her. She's brilliant, in an awe-inspiring and terrifying way. Of course, she wouldnt put it that way but it's the truth. The one person, however, who does still like to mess with her is that awful git, Draco Malfoy.
It would appear that it all started with him. In the library, early in second year, Hermione was on her way to her table but when she arrived, people were already there. It took her a moment to come to terms with the fact that she couldn't keep to her desired routine but she knew there was no need to overreact. She then realised that she was still stood there facing her table with the fifth years that were occupying it just staring back at her, some even daring to smirk at her. She sat down, somewhat begrudgingly, at a table that is a little more accessible. It was in the middle of the walk space of the library and there were more tables and people at all sides so she was surrounded. It may have been a slight overreaction to the situation but she felt uneasy all the same.
However, she wasn't able to bring her focus to her work anyway because that was when that Malfoy creature came in and approached her, his pets, Crabbe and Goyle, in tow as usual.
"Well, look who it is." he whispered, fearing of the wrath of Madam Pince no matter how unafraid he claimed to be. "It's little miss know-it-all-teachers-pet out of her little corner. What a treat it is to see a meekly mudblood out of her natural habitat of loneliness. She almost looks like she wants to make friends with regular people." Surely no one actually expected her to put up with that? Surely?
Her instinctive response was to do the civilised thing and ignore him, but he just pressed all the right buttons. Or, in the case of his wellbeing, the wrong ones. She decided that he needed to be taught a lesson. So, she took out her wand, attempting to make herself seem as unbothered and relaxed as she could, and waved it in his direction whilst muttering carpe retractum. Suddenly, a rope of light emitted from her wand, wrapped itself around Malfoy's neck and pulled at it so his face hit the table. The rope disappeared and Malfoy hit the floor, bum first, with a broken nose. The commotion was significant, for the library, and the witnesses did not spare details when retelling it, including that she had used a spell that wasn't taught to first or second years.
All had heard exactly what Malfoy had said and decided that her table in the corner was not to be occupied again by anyone but her. That was also the first and only detention she had ever received, and ideally the last. Since that day in second year, no one had sat down at that table. But Malfoy seemed hellbent on revenge. Not that he ever quite managed it.
It is fourth year that we join her now and she is getting tired of being the brilliant but scary one. She of course appreciated being thought of as brilliant, but people being scared and wary of her was getting her down now. Not that she'd express that to anyone. Ever. It's a matter of pride as well, you know. But, she's tired of the whispers, tired of being kept at a distance and tired of being alone.
Her fellow Ravenclaws had also started to distance themselves from her. They were probably the least wary of her, given that they live with her, but they are still not completely comfortable around her. She had friends for a while in her first and second year, which was such a fabulous change. She had always been the bossy know-it-all at muggle schools so when she learned about magic and about Ravenclaw house, that prides itself with knowledge and wisdom above all else, she finally felt she'd find like minded people all around her. And she did, possibly less enthusiastic as her in places but still, Ravenclaws all loved to learn. First year was one of the happiest years of her life. But, that had changed as soon as people knew how skilled she was and how not-to-be-messed-with she was.
Now, she studied on her own. She didn't really have any close friends. She hung out in the common room with her year mates but was always felt like an outsider. There were inside jokes she hadn't been there for to understand, references to funny moments she wasn't there for and dynamics that she wasn't a part of. It often felt like she was just watching a reality show. She enjoyed it, sure. But she wanted to be more involved.
That's when Harry Potter walked into her life.
Well, they'd known each other since first year but they'd never been close. They had worked on things together in classes but never really hit it off. She was always hesitant to talk to new people since views on her had changed and always felt like he was hesitant to get to know her because, when he would ask her personal questions, he would drawl it out, like he wasn't comfortable with being this real with her; like he didn't want to ask but felt he should, to fill the silence.
But, Harry Potter was a popular kid, so that was to be expected. He was a Gryffindor in her year and he was, surprisingly, one of the other top students. He seemed to have a natural power and skill with magic. He usually got the practical spells and charms a lot quicker than other people. That's why he was in the top three or four for Transfiguration, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and the flying lessons. In first year, he was the first to have his broom fly to his hand in their first lesson. He also got onto the Quidditch team in first year, making him the youngest seeker in a century. That happened because he had retrieved Neville Longbottom's remembrall in mid air after Malfoy had stolen and chucked it.
Throughout the past three and a bit years, Hermione couldn't go two days without overhearing something about how cool or impressive Harry Potter was. Even in the Great Hall, he was in the middle of everything. People seemed to gravitate towards him and wanted to be his friend or just wanted his attention. He was friends with basically everyone. Except Malfoy's gang. That never included all of the Slytherins. Just the boys from Malfoy's year, one or two of them simply out of fear, Hermione felt, and a couple from the surrounding years.
And of course, Harry Potter was also not friends with Hermione. Because no one was. But she was alright with that. He seemed the pompous type. Of course everyone got his attention. He likely just wanted to be wanted. He cherished his popularity and it surely just fed his damned ego. It doesn't help, of course, that he is, actually, quite impressive. Hermione couldn't ever deny that. But, he wasn't without flaws. As mentioned, he has a kind of natural magical power and skill, but his mind isn't quite on par with Hermione's. Hence, he struggles more with potions and astronomy. There's less raw magic needed for those; they're more about intellect. No need to even mention Arithmancy. You can tell he and his friends struggle with that because they don't speak during those lessons.
That's not to say he's a brainless jock. Of course not. Those subjects that focus more on the magic side still require patience, intelligence and focus as well as the natural skill. She would never fault him there.
But, when all was said and done, he was one of the popular kids, and didn't go anywhere near Hermione Granger, the Ravenclaw no one wanted to mess with. Or, so she thought.
It was on this day, in January of her fourth year, that Harry Potter changed her perception of him. He strolled into the library, which itself was a rarity, and spent about a minute or so looking for a table. When Hermione first noticed him, she was surprised that he didn't just sit down at any of them. All had at least one or two empty seats and no one would be against Harry Potter sitting with them. But he kept searching, until he came upon Hermione, alone at a table.
He saw her and the 5 empty chairs around her and, almost imperceptibly, nodded to himself and marched over to the table. He approached, put his bag on the floor then looked Hermione in the eyes, raising his eyebrows, and pointed to the chair he was stood behind, clearly asking for permission. Hermione, however, was confused. Why was this happening? No one ever voluntarily sat with her. They actively avoided it. She briefly looked around the room, as much of it as she could see, and saw a few people staring, wide eyed.
After a moment, she realised he was still standing there and had started grimacing in anticipation of being sent away. But, this was a pleasant surprise to Hermione, a mightily shocking one nonetheless, so she shook herself out of her mild daze and waved her hand towards the chair his hand was resting on in a gesture of permission.
She looked immediately back down to her current Transfiguration work to avoid any kind of awkward glances with him but heard him briefly sigh with relief as he plopped himself on the chair opposite her.
Before she was able to continue with her work, she waited briefly as she was anticipating the Potter boy to try and distract her or irritate her somehow. If there were anyone he wouldn't attempt that with, it would be her but he was, also, a renowned jokester in the school so she decided to play it safe. She had been on the receiving end of a couple of bad jokes and pranks at the hands of the Weasley twins, with Harry's help once or twice, and she found it all quite infuriating. It's a school, not a fraternity.
Thankfully, nothing came in the two minutes she waited as he took out a couple of textbooks, a notebook and his quill and ink. Therefore, she settled down to get on with her work.
This particular piece of work was one of the most difficult so far. Professor McGonogall asked them to solve a particular problem using only transfiguration but the vital aspect that she was starting to get stuck on is that she wasn't entirely sure how to compensate for the difference in the weight of a pebble, which was provided in the problem, and a hammer, which she needed to get through transfiguring the pebble to get the required outcome.
After a few minutes of going over notes from previous lessons, she was getting very frustrated because she couldn't see any possible way that she could achieve it because the difference in weight was too large. She released that frustration by slamming her textbook shut after rereading the appropriate page.
She had been so consumed in her work that she had forgotten that she was no longer alone at her table. She noticed a finger slide into her eye line and looked up to see a concerned Harry Potter looking directly at her.
"Are you alright?" he whispered with his brows furrowed in concern.
"I'm fine, just stuck on something."
"Is it the Transfig work?" he asked which she was not expecting. She inspected his books and notebook briefly to realise that he was working on the same thing. She nodded to him in response.
"Yeah, I don't blame you. I'm working through slower than usual. Where are you at?" Hermione considered him for a moment. This was highly unusual. He was actually offering her help. They hadn't had a conversation lasting more than two minutes in the three and a bit years they had known of each other's existence and now he was talking to her with ease when the rest of the school preferred to avoid her. She became suddenly intrigued in the young man and decided to see how this might play out.
"Umm, I can't see any possible way to transfigure a pebble into a blasted hammer for the life of me. The weight difference is too high so it can't be morphed without engorging it which is a charms spell so can't be used in this instance."
"Oh right, yeah. That took me ages to get to grips with too but there's a quote by P. H. Arnold, I think it was, that basically says that you can take multiple objects and transfigure them to make a single object or something. It was on the page with the Expansion thesis from last year I think." Hermione momentarily gaped at him, but caught herself before it became embarrassing, or insulting to him. She had not expected Harry Potter to be providing her with theory that she hadn't retained. She was impressed.
She looked up this quote and found it exactly where he had suggested. 'If you have more than one example of a material and can't transfigure a single one into something more significant, you could alter your wand movement subtly and utilise several examples of said material to transfigure them into the larger, single object you desire.' P. H. Arnold.
He had been spot on. She analysed exactly what the theory had implemented and was able to successfully use that in her written solution.
"Thanks." she said as she looked up again at Harry. He was still looking in her direction when she did and gave her a small smile in response.
"That's alright, it's actually the very next bit that I'm stuck on." and at that, they worked quietly together for the next half an hour and managed to complete the entire assignment before the beginning of their final class of the day. One that they shared, incidentally.
They rose from their seats at the same time and, slightly awkwardly, left the library side by side. They turned to the staircase to descend to the dungeons.
"Hey, thanks for helping out." Harry drawled out. "It was really nice of you."
"Hey, you helped me first. I think we both got that done quicker than we would've without each other so no need to thank me. I should be thanking you for being willing to help me."
"Well, it's just that, I always got the feeling you didn't particularly like me so, after we had been working for a little bit I realised that maybe I overstepped so..." he trailed off a little at the end and Hermione couldn't help but be a little befuddled at this confession. She stammered for a moment before responding.
"Well, I've... I've never not liked you. We've never been close so I wouldn't say that we were friends or anything but I never had anything against you. I guess I assumed that you wouldn't want to be around me." She turned to face him and noticed a look of utter confusion.
"Why on earth would you think that?" was all he had to say.
"Umm, well... I mean, that's what it's like with everyone, really. No one's all that up for hanging out with the insufferable, know-it-all, right?"
"I don't think you're insufferable. Enthusiastic, sure. Eager, of course. But I don't see anything insufferable about you. I mean, you're brilliant. Whenever I hear you're name, I remember one of those early charms classes in first year when you corrected Ron's pronunciation of Wingardium Leviosa and then showed him how it's done. His face was a picture! I've always admired you're enthusiasm."
She was in shock. No one had ever said anything like that to her. Everyone had been avoiding her for nearly two years now. But, suddenly, here comes this guy, one of the most popular kids in the school no less, and says such nice things about her. And he even had the gall to say he thought she didn't like him. Her perspective of Mr Harry Potter was changing rapidly.
"Has no one ever said that to you?" His incredulous tone brought her out of her brief daze.
"Well, I guess... I mean... No, not really. Except maybe my parents but that's different, right?"
"Yeah. Well, I'm sorry I haven't said it till now. I mean, if you ever want a study partner, come find me. Or maybe I'll just come find you from now on, eh? And, if you ever wanna come hang out with me and my friends, you're always welcome."
"Umm, wow, thanks. I appreciate it." and she really did. This was the first time for a while anyone had been this friendly with her. He didn't even seem to be treading on eggshells around her, like everyone else. He seemed genuine. The relief of the whole situation was enough to make her cry. But she wouldn't. That would make her seem pathetic. She blinked back the tears and searched for something humorous to say. "Well, Weasley might not be all that welcoming. I still see him give me the stink eye because of that Charms lesson." That was a bit of a pathetic attempt.
"Does he? For crying out loud. He can be a bit of a git. And by Merlin he can hold a grudge. If he does it again, tell me and I'll give him a pig's tail." Now that was funny. She couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh at that.
"I appreciate the offer" she responded between giggles "but I think I can handle Weasley myself."
"Fair enough."
"Actually, can I ask you something?" Harry hummed his affirmation in response. "When you came in, there was loads of spaces at other tables and any of those people would have been happy with you sitting with them. Why come all the way to the back corner and sit with me?" She had been burning to know this from the off.
"Well, anyone I've ever sat with to study just seems to want to talk. Whether it's to me or to their friends or my friends, people never seem to shut up. Sometimes, when I feel like I really need to put my head down and work, I just wanna find somewhere or someone, to just be quiet and work. And maybe, if we do talk, it's about the work. It takes twice as long to get anything done around my friends. So, when I saw you at a table alone I thought, great! A table with only one person on it, so less chance of being talked at and it just so happens that that person is Hermione Granger. A Ravenclaw who is always enthusiastic about getting the work done. It seemed like the ideal place to work." Harry Potter continued to surprise her and she found it so refreshing to talk to someone who genuinely valued doing the work, and he's not even a Ravenclaw.
"Oh right, well you're welcome to work with me anytime." He smiled at her in reply.
At this point, they arrived in the dungeons. There was already a line outside Professor Snape's class. He was her least favourite teacher of all time. He never stopped sneering at her and affirming her insecurities about being an insufferable know-it-all. She never quite figured out why he was a teacher when he clearly didn't like children. At all. Except the Slytherins, perhaps. Speaking of which.
"Whoa, everyone. Granger's actually the last one here! Slacking off are you? Or just tryna suck up to ol' Potter?"
She was about to retort when Harry chimed in. "Seriously Malfoy? You're still tryna embarrass us when you've only ever ended up embarrassing yourself? Why not just leave us alone? I'd have thought getting a broken nose from Hermione would've been enough of a warning, surely!" Malfoy snarled at him in return.
"Ooh, is Potter sticking up for his new mud blood girlfriend?" Hermione still flinches everytime someone uses that name. But, what she didn't expect was Harry's immediate reaction to the word.
He advanced violently at Malfoy, pushing him against the wall with his forearm pressing against Malfoy's neck.
"I don't like that word Malfoy. Use it again and I might forget to restrain myself. Clear?" Before the snake had the opportunity to retort, Snape came out of his classroom to usher the students in. He noticed Harry and Malfoy immediately.
"Potter! Detention. Saturday morning. Everyone else, in. Now." Harry reluctantly removed his arm from Malfoy's neck. He and his goons rushed into the classroom as Harry turned back to Hermione.
"Are you alright? He's an evil git, don't listen to him."
"Im OK, really. I'm used to people like him. You didn't need to attack him though. I've got thick skin."
"I really don't like that word. It always pisses me off. It's not OK, but of course, I get the detention. No use telling Snape why cause he'd just accuse me of slander, or something. Just, don't forget. When people say that, it's says more about them than it does you. You're brilliant. Never let it get to you." At that, he simply made his way into the Potions classroom, Hermione soon after.
Perhaps Hermione had judged him too quickly. Harry Potter seemed to be a different breed to all of the other teens in this school, or any kids at any school she had attended. She knew that, now, she should keep an eye out for Harry Potter. Perhaps, this is someone she wanted to get to know more.
She entered her least favourite class with a smile, feeling hopeful.
A/N- This is an au I've thought about for a while so I gave it a go. It's the longest fic I've done so far so I hope it goes well! I'm planning on doing fifth, sixth and seventh years in this world as well but that won't be for a while. I'm back at Uni now so not gonna have a great deal of time to write as much anymore.This is going to be 8 chapters. At the time of posting this 1st chapter, I've nearly finished chapter 6. Hopefully, I can get the last couple of chapters done quickly so I can get all 8 chapters out in as many days.Obviously I don't own Harry Potter.I hope you guys enjoy.