I do not own Harry Potter, only the OC

Hello guys, Badger here. Back with a new chapter. I had a lot of free time, so wrote a new chapter. To be honest, I kind of forgot where I was going with this story, so read the previous two chapters as well as some notes I had for this story. I did have to take a small break halfway through writing, because of burnout from writing, drawing, studying and lack of sleep but I managed to write a chapter I actually like and I hope you lot like it too.

That is all for now, read on, enjoy and I will see you at the end.

Chapter 3

An eleven year old Harry Potter sat, alone, on the front porch of Potter Manor. He had tears down his face and his Hogwarts letter was gripped tightly in his hands. Harry had been extremely excited when it arrived and went to tell his parents. They were in, one of the many, living rooms, fussing over Nathaniel. He had told them about his letter, but they didn't care. They merely snapped at him, telling him to stop bothering them. Harry was hurt, but wasn't all that surprised. Ever since Voldemort attacked, they barely paid any attention to him. They spent all their time, and money, on Nathaniel, whilst he was pushed to the side. They seemed to forget that he even existed most of the time. Harry looked up, when he heard cracking sounds, and lit up when he saw Sirius and Remus walking up to the Manor. Harry immediately ran and jumped into their arms.

"You okay there pup?" Sirius asked, ruffling his hair

"My Hogwarts letter arrived today, but mum and dad didn't care" Harry sniffed "They just told me to go away"

Sirius growled slightly, as he glared at the front door of the Manor. He hated seeing his godson this upset, and it didn't help that people he once considered family were the cause for it. He wished that Halloween night never happened. Remus placed a gentle hand on Sirius' shoulder, before crouching down, so he was eye level with Harry.

"I'm sure they didn't mean it Harry" He said calmly, though inside he, himself, was seething "How about Sirius and myself take you to Diagon Alley and help you get your supplies…and maybe some ice cream"

Harry's eyes immediately went wide and bright, a big smile spreading across his face, as he nodded excitedly. Remus couldn't help but chuckle, softly, as he stood up and placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder, where the three of them apparated away from the Manor, to Diagon Alley.

Harry woke up, and stretched as he sat up. Getting his Hogwarts letter will be a day he always remembered. That was the day he started to become more independent. It was also the day he met James and Aila. Things were a little bit rocky between them to begin with, but a bond between them grew and, if Harry was being honest, James has been more of a brother then Nathaniel ever was and he saw Aila as a sister of his own. Removing the last of the sleep from his eyes, Harry got dressed and prepared for the long day ahead.

Lily sighed as she read through Nathaniel's latest letter. Her son was complaining that no one was talking to him and hadn't asked for an autograph. She would give the letter to her husband, so he can handle it. Sometimes her youngest sons behaviour was too much for her. But at least Nathaniel was sending them letters. Harry has never sent them a letter. Not one. In fact, after getting his Hogwarts letter, Harry had rarely spoke to them. These days, he will only speak to them, if they speak to him first, as Harry would often spend most of his time in his room, ignoring their presence. She wasn't sure of the reason for this. This behaviour was going to have to change.

"I swear, Professor Binns is going to be the reason I die" Cedric groaned, as he, Harry, James, Arianna, Cho and Penelope left the History of Magic classroom "If I could, I would put my wand against my chest and utter the Killing Curse out of boredom"

"A bit extreme Cedric" Harry spoke up "I know that Binns drones on and on, but its not that bad"

"Harry, you are the only one who doesn't fall asleep in Binns' lessons" Arianna pointed out "How is that even possible?"

"I've theorised that he, either, uses a time-turner, or is a psychopath" James spoke up, wrapping an arm over Harry's and Arianna's shoulder, as they walked "I personally think it's the latter, what about you?"

"Ha, ha, very funny" Harry rolled his eyes "We've known each other for a while now, James, I think you would know by now, if I was a psychopath"

"Well Harry, you know what they say about the quiet ones" Penelope spoke up, shrugging slightly

"So, Cedric, how is William doing?" Harry asked, wanting to change the subject

"He's doing fine" Cedric replied, understanding that Harry wanted to move on, he didn't like being the center of attention, or conversation that much "However, I thought you should know, he informed me at lunch today, that Nathaniel and his friend Ron was making fun of a girl in there year, just because she was smart and trying to help others"

"Bastards" Cho muttered under her breath

"Oh yeah, Draco was talking about something similar with some friends at lunch too" Arianna spoke up "What was the girls name again?"

"Hermione Granger, I believe" Cedric replied "William has spoken to her a few times since the year began and he told me that she is a Muggleborn"

"Harry, I know you won't do it for one reason, or another" James said "But can I please knock out your brothers teeth?"

"No" Harry replied "You'd get detention for it…possibly even expelled for hurting mum and dads 'golden boy'"

"Hey, it will be worth it" James shrugged "I can't stand the little shit"

"Try living with him" Harry replied, as they walked into the Great Hall

The group all sat down at the Ravenclaw table. No one tried to stop them, as they usually sat with one another. Aila and the Twins joined them soon after and they enjoyed some pleasant conversation, before dinner appeared in front of them. Shortly afterwards, Cedric's brother appeared, looking a little annoyed and upset as he sat down.

"You okay William?" Cedric asked

"No, it's Hermione" William replied "She's still in the girls bathroom, crying…I tried talking to her and get her to come out but she won't"

"Just give her some time kid" James spoke up "She'll come out when she's feeling better, so all you can do, is give her some space…especially if she's upset"

William nodded slightly, as he put some food on his plate, ignoring Nathaniel and Ron pigging out in the corner of his eye. Things were quiet for a while, until Quirrell burst into the Great Hall, a panicked look on his face.

"Troll, in the Dungeon!" He yelled "Troll in the dungeon….I just thought you should know…"

The man immediatley fainted where, as soon as he hit the ground, students started screaming and trampling over one another to get out of the Great Hall. One student had a high pitch scream that stood out amongst the rest, which Harry found was his brother. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but smile.

'Legendary hero indeed' He smirked

"Silence!" Dumbledore yelled out, causing the screams to stop "Prefects, can you please lead students to their common rooms, Slytherins its best if you stay here, whilst me and the other professors make our way to the dungeons"

One by one, students began to make their way out of and as they did so, Harry thought of something. Hermione wasn't here. She didn't know about the troll. Whilst she may be safe where she is, Hermione will be helpless should she run into the troll. Looking around, to see if anyone would notice him, Harry quickly slipped away from the group, as they turned a corner and quickly turned and ran in the opposite direction, heading towards the girls bathroom. As he ran, he felt the floor rumble, along with a soft thudding sound. Harry stopped for a moment and felt the ground rumble and shake more and more, the thudding sound getting louder, as if something was approaching. Hiding behind a pillar, Harry watched as a twelve foot troll appeared, dragging its club along the floor, heading towards the girls bathroom. Harry cursed, as he quickly ran after it, hoping to get Hermione out of there.

Hermione wiped her eyes, getting rid of the last of her tears, as she left the toilet cubicle. As she did so, a foul stench hit her nostrils. She looked up, to see a troll staring back at her. Hermione was slightly frozen in fear, as the troll tilted its head, looking confused for a moment, before it snarled, letting out a loud growl, as it raised its club. Hermione screamed, as she avoided the club, when it came crashing down, destroying the cubicle she had just vacated mere moments before. The force of the impact shook the ground, causing her to fall. Hermione looked at the troll in fear, cornered and unable to move, as it raised its club. However, as it swung at her, the troll noticed that most of the club wasn't there. Only the handle was left, seemingly shattered.

"Oi, dumbass!" A voice yelled

The troll turned and Hermione looked to see an older boy with black hair and Ravenclaw robes. The boy smiled when the troll noticed him, growling.

"Gotcha" Harry said, raising his wand "Bombarda Maxima!"

Harry knew the troll was resistant to spells and, whilst the spell wouldn't do any lethal damage, it will at least knock it out. The spell impacted the troll in the chest, the impact causing it to fall backwards, on the shattered wood of the toilet cubicle. Blood began to form, as the wood pierced through its skin. Harry wasn't sure if the troll was dead, so kept his wand in hand, as he made his way to Hermione, who was shaking, as she looked at the trolls body. Harry placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, which caused her to snap back into reality. She looked at him for a second, before hugging him tightly, sniffling slightly. Harry was startled for a moment, before awkwardly wrapping his arms around her, returning the hug. Harry rarely hugged anyone, the only exception was his sister Evelyn and Sirius and Remus on occasion. So for Harry, it felt awkward being hugged by others.

"Oh, my goodness!" A voice said behind them, causing them to turn

Behind them, stood Dumbledore, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Severus. Each one of them looked at the troll in surprise, before looking to Harry and Hermione.

"Mr Potter, please explain what happened here and why you two aren't with your classmates" Dumbledore said with a stern, 'you will tell me now', tone in his voice

"Well professor, Hermione wasn't in the Great Hall, when Professor Quirrell informed everyone about the troll" Harry explained "She was in here crying, because my dear brother and his friend was being mean to her, just because she tried helping others"

"There's no need to make accusations Mr Potter" Dumbledore replied

Harry rolled his eyes, a harsh voice in the back of his head mentally cursing Dumbledore. Nathaniel was the Headmasters golden boy, as far as the old man was concerned, the little shit could do no wrong. However, as Harry was about to respond, Hermione spoke up.

"Its true Professor" She said "They were struggling in charms and I tried helping them but they started acting rude and after class I heard them call me a bossy, know-it-all, with no friends"

Harry growled slightly at her words, closing his eyes, as his fists clenched tightly. Something Hermione noticed.

"Is that so?" McGonagall asked, disgusted that two of her lions would insult one of their own "I will punish them accordingly"

"Let's not be hasty Minerva" Dumbledore said "I think Mr Potter here should receive some form of punishment, for disobeying instructions given to him by a member of staff"

"Excuse me, may I just give my two cents?" Harry spoke up "I may have disobeyed orders, but my actions saved Hermione's life…by the time you lot got here, she would've been seriously hurt…or worse…"

"Harry is right Albus" Flitwick said, understanding Harry's reasoning "I feel like he deserves to be rewarded for saving another's life, though I have to ask, how did you stop the troll Harry?"

"I used a cutting charm on its club, before it could take a swing at Hermione" Harry explained "I then used a Bombarda Maxima to try and knock it out, the impact caused it to fall onto the shattered cubicles"

A small smile made its way on Flitwick's face. It was obvious he was impressed with the son of two of his favourite students. Behind him, Snape even had an impressed look on his face, a small sign of mutual respect, before he put on his usual emotionless mask he often wore in public.

"You'll have to show me what else you know Harry" Flitwick said "In the meantime, 100 points to Ravenclaw for saving the life of another student"

"Thank you Professor" Harry said, a rare smile on his face

"Well, if that is all, I suggest that Mr Potter and Miss Granger head back to their Common Rooms" McGonagall spoke up "Curfew will be starting soon and we need to clean up this mess"

"Thank you professor, I'll escort Hermione back to the Gryffindor Common Room" Harry said, before leading Hermione out, a gentle hand on her shoulder

Dumbledore watched the two students leave, a small frown on his face. He didn't like it when his authority was challenged or overruled and both of them happened this evening. He also didn't like that Nathaniel was bullying others. Dumbledore was going to have to talk to him, the first chance he got.

"Thank you" Hermione said, softly, as she walked by Harry

"You don't need to thank me, I didn't expect the troll to be there, I merely planned to warn you and lead you back to your Common Room" Harry replied, before looking at her, seriously "Did my brother and his friend really say what you said back there"

"They said other things too" Hermione nodded "But part of its true…I don't have any friends and I didn't have any before coming to Hogwarts"

Harry closed his eyes, feeling sorry for the girl beside him. He saw a part of himself in her. He grew up friendless as a child. A baby sister, godfather, and uncle doesn't really count as friends. Because of this, Harry often had his nose in a book, usually to escape the cold reality that was his life. That's why he was so close with James, the rebel teen was his first proper friend.

"I'm sorry to hear that" He said after a moment "Listen, if you ever want to talk, or just hang out, come find me"

"Really?" Hermione asked "But, you're older then me"

"You don't have to, but if you just need someone to talk to, I'll be there" Harry said, before they came up to the Gryffindor Common Room "Well, this where we part ways, I'll see you around Hermione"

"Oh, okay" Hermione said, as Harry turned and made his way toward the Ravenclaw Common Room

She stood in front of the Common Room entrance, watching the older boy walk away, disappearing from view, as he turned a corner. A small blush spread across her cheeks, as she quickly turned, uttering the password to the portrait, that guarded the Common Room, the door closing behind her.

And that is the new chapter. What did you guys think.

I hope you liked the memory at the start of the chapter. I don't know if I mentioned this in previous chapters, but there will be a few memories sprinkled in this story, showing Harry's life after Voldemort's attack, as a way for his hate towards his family to be justified. I have a few ideas for Harry's character arc, but nothing solid yet, so I won't say anything, just in case it doesn't happen.

Now, when it came to writing the scene where Harry saves Hermione. As of now, I have no real plans as to what direction her character arc will go in. I may have them have a brother/sister kind of relationship, with Harry being a protective older brother figure. There may also be a moment where Hermione goes through a 'crushing on a friend cliche', but they won't be in a romantic relationship because, you know, Harry is 14 whilst she is 11. That reminds me, one of you gave me an idea of a pairing for Harry, but the pairing was with Pansy Parkinson, who is the same age as Hermione in this story. Remember, if you have a pairing idea, remember that Harry is 14.

Now, before we end this, I had a thought. I haven't done a m/m pairing yet and thought about writing one in here. If there was a m/m pairing, who would it be and why? Also, I remember some fans of 'A different Hogwarts experience' routing for a Harry x James Badger m/m pairing. I don't know if that is something you still want to see, so I will set up a poll and you can vote on there. That is all for now, I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time.

Badger Out