Disclaimer - Since I have exactly $10.42 to my name I obviously do not own
Harry Potter. JKR has that privilege.
-=-=-=-
The next day, Hermione and her two companions boarded the train and sat in their usual compartment near the back. Harry and Ron chatted casually about the Quidditch World Cup they had gone to see over the summer. England had lost, but only by twenty points. Ireland pulled off the narrow victory.
Hermione sat with her back against the wall pondering all that had happened the previous week. Her mind hadn't stopped spinning since that telltale day in the attic. Sooner or later, she knew she would move on, but for the time being she was stuck on the subject of her newfound history.
It wasn't until Malfoy and his cronies made their annual visit to their compartment that she was snapped out of her daze. She looked up from her hands to see him leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and the signature smirk on his face.
"Well if it isn't Pothead, Weasel, and the Mudblood. Together again." He stood up straight and stared at them, daring any one of them too challenge him.
"Take off Malfoy before we make you." Ron sneered at him and rolled up his sleeves. He stood up so that he was looking eye to eye with the pale blonde boy. Draco didn't even flinch. His gray eyes burned holes in Ron's brown* ones. The redhead was taken aback for a moment but recovered soon enough.
"Oh, a threat from a Weasley. I'm shuddering in my boots." Harry jumped up, and lucky for all of them, the witch who ran the snack trolley came at that very moment and interrupted their encounter.
Malfoy looked rather disappointed as he turned on his heel and left. Crabbe and Goyle stayed a moment longer giving them the most menacing looks they could manage but then followed their leader back to their own compartment.
"I don't know what that guy's problem is." Harry said, after he had taken his seat again. His cheeks were still flushed from anger, and it made his bright green eyes stand out even more. Slowly, he returned to normal and put his head in his hands.
"He has lots of problems." Hermione stated simply and went back to looking at her palms. "Pick one."
"Amen to that." Ron went and took his seat next to Harry again. It didn't take them long to begin their Quidditch World Cup discussion all over again. It amazed Hermione how they could have the exact same conversation over and over again. They even said the same things. It was astounding.
Crookshanks was purring in a very large ginger fluff ball at her feet. She stroked him as softly as she could manage with her shoes on. He slowly drifted off into his dreamless cat sleep, and she decided to read a book. She rooted through her bag until she came across, "Advanced Charms," and began to read the yellowed pages again.
She had read it twice over the summer for lack of things to do. She hadn't been able to try the charms out yet, of course, since she wasn't allowed to do magic over the summer holidays, but she learned by reading.
The train lurched to a halt and the threesome was thrown forward in their compartment. They went about their business with gathering their belongings and stepped off the train. They left their trunks in the pile with everyone else's and climbed into one of the carriages waiting to lead them to the castle.
Once inside the school, they made their way to the Great Hall for the yearly Beginning of Term feast and talked amongst themselves while awaiting the First Year Sorting Ceremony.
The new students filed into the large room with looks of fear and excitement on their faces. There were fewer students than usual, this year. Normally, at least seventy-five students came to the school; this year they numbered only fifty-four. As usual they were split up fairly equally into the four houses.
Professor Dumbledore stood to say his short speech. "Welcome, new students. We are pleased to have you with us this year and hope you enjoy your stay. I would like to point out to all students that the Forbidden Forrest is still forbidden. Some of you seem to forget this." His eyes flashed to Harry and gave him a wink before he continued. "I would also like to say that this year we will be having another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please join me in welcoming Professor Joyeux Rire."
Everyone clapped and a thin witch sitting next to Professor McGonagall stood up. She smiled broadly at the students and waved slightly. She took her seat again and the feast began.
"So what do you think of the new Professor?" Harry asked after everyone had eaten a bit.
"She has to be better than the one last year." Ron was referring to Professor Beacon who was like a combination of Binns and Snape. All he did was read to them but if you spoke out of line he would take loads of point off. "Plus, we've never had a female Defense teacher so that should be interesting. What do you think Hermione?"
"What? Oh. I think she'll do a good job. She looks like she knows what she's doing. I saw her hold her ground against Snape a minute ago, so at least she's not scared of him like Quirrel was." She hadn't really been listening to the conversation, but hearing her name caught her attention. She had been staring into space thinking, once again, about her parents.
"You okay, Hermione? You're a little bit distant lately." Harry asked while he reached across the table for another chicken leg.
"Fine. Just, you know, thinking." She pushed the food around on her plate with her fork.
"Well, that's understandable. You have a lot to think about. You want to go on back to the Commonroom and talk about it?" Ron looked up from his meal and waited for her reply.
"Yeah." She said slowly after a moments thought. "Yeah, I'd like that."
The threesome stood up together and made their way to the portrait of the fat lady. Hermione spoke the new password (Maerd) and they sat by the fireplace.
"What's on your mind, Hermione?" Harry started off the conversation that night. None of them knew where it would lead or what it would end up meaning. That night they were just three friends helping one another through a problem.
"Guys, I think I want to find my parents." Hermione knew they would support her in whatever she decided, but they would give her their flat out opinion of her decision first. So she sat and waited for it.
"You what?" Ron sat there looking flummoxed. Neither of them had expected this at all. Hermione was the responsible one. She never started their adventures; she was the one who found a way to fix them. Yet here she was, ready to go off into the unknown to look for people she had never met and had no idea where they were.
"I want to find my real parents." She had expected opinions, not stupidity. But then again, normally whatever you want from guys you don't get.
"Are you sure about this 'Mione? You could get really disappointed here." Harry looked at her skeptically like she had lost her mind.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to go ask Dumbledore if he can help me locate them sometime this week. I don't really care if you guys are in on me with this one. It's kind of my own battle." She stood and sat between them on the couch. She enveloped them both in a group hug and sighed against their shoulders. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I do, Hermione. If I had a chance to see my parents I'd take it in a heartbeat." Harry said thoughtfully as he and Ron held their friend.
"Okay, thanks, Harry. I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you two bright and early." She hugged them each separately and walked up the stairs.
Harry and Ron stayed behind to talk a bit more.
"I'm worried about her Harry." Ron said and watched her retreat. "She's been acting really weird the past few days."
"She's allowed to be weird right now Ron. You'd be weird too if you found out you were adopted this late in your life." Harry stared into the fire and watched the flames lick at the gray stone surrounding it.
"There's no way I'm adopted. I have the hair." Ron too turned to the fire for council. Soon their talk turned to Quidditch once again.
-=-=-=-
*The color of Ron's eyes is debatable. They vary in different stories but I decided to make them brown here for no significant reason.
I had a whole other part to this chapter I wanted to include but decided that it would make the chapter too long so it's going to be the next one. Once I write it. I spent a while debating whether to write it yet or not and decided against it.
Anyway - I hope you enjoyed it and I promise the background information is going to be finished by the next chapter and the interesting parts will start. This will probably end up being my longest story yet. Just to warn you.
Review please!
-=-=-=-
The next day, Hermione and her two companions boarded the train and sat in their usual compartment near the back. Harry and Ron chatted casually about the Quidditch World Cup they had gone to see over the summer. England had lost, but only by twenty points. Ireland pulled off the narrow victory.
Hermione sat with her back against the wall pondering all that had happened the previous week. Her mind hadn't stopped spinning since that telltale day in the attic. Sooner or later, she knew she would move on, but for the time being she was stuck on the subject of her newfound history.
It wasn't until Malfoy and his cronies made their annual visit to their compartment that she was snapped out of her daze. She looked up from her hands to see him leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and the signature smirk on his face.
"Well if it isn't Pothead, Weasel, and the Mudblood. Together again." He stood up straight and stared at them, daring any one of them too challenge him.
"Take off Malfoy before we make you." Ron sneered at him and rolled up his sleeves. He stood up so that he was looking eye to eye with the pale blonde boy. Draco didn't even flinch. His gray eyes burned holes in Ron's brown* ones. The redhead was taken aback for a moment but recovered soon enough.
"Oh, a threat from a Weasley. I'm shuddering in my boots." Harry jumped up, and lucky for all of them, the witch who ran the snack trolley came at that very moment and interrupted their encounter.
Malfoy looked rather disappointed as he turned on his heel and left. Crabbe and Goyle stayed a moment longer giving them the most menacing looks they could manage but then followed their leader back to their own compartment.
"I don't know what that guy's problem is." Harry said, after he had taken his seat again. His cheeks were still flushed from anger, and it made his bright green eyes stand out even more. Slowly, he returned to normal and put his head in his hands.
"He has lots of problems." Hermione stated simply and went back to looking at her palms. "Pick one."
"Amen to that." Ron went and took his seat next to Harry again. It didn't take them long to begin their Quidditch World Cup discussion all over again. It amazed Hermione how they could have the exact same conversation over and over again. They even said the same things. It was astounding.
Crookshanks was purring in a very large ginger fluff ball at her feet. She stroked him as softly as she could manage with her shoes on. He slowly drifted off into his dreamless cat sleep, and she decided to read a book. She rooted through her bag until she came across, "Advanced Charms," and began to read the yellowed pages again.
She had read it twice over the summer for lack of things to do. She hadn't been able to try the charms out yet, of course, since she wasn't allowed to do magic over the summer holidays, but she learned by reading.
The train lurched to a halt and the threesome was thrown forward in their compartment. They went about their business with gathering their belongings and stepped off the train. They left their trunks in the pile with everyone else's and climbed into one of the carriages waiting to lead them to the castle.
Once inside the school, they made their way to the Great Hall for the yearly Beginning of Term feast and talked amongst themselves while awaiting the First Year Sorting Ceremony.
The new students filed into the large room with looks of fear and excitement on their faces. There were fewer students than usual, this year. Normally, at least seventy-five students came to the school; this year they numbered only fifty-four. As usual they were split up fairly equally into the four houses.
Professor Dumbledore stood to say his short speech. "Welcome, new students. We are pleased to have you with us this year and hope you enjoy your stay. I would like to point out to all students that the Forbidden Forrest is still forbidden. Some of you seem to forget this." His eyes flashed to Harry and gave him a wink before he continued. "I would also like to say that this year we will be having another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please join me in welcoming Professor Joyeux Rire."
Everyone clapped and a thin witch sitting next to Professor McGonagall stood up. She smiled broadly at the students and waved slightly. She took her seat again and the feast began.
"So what do you think of the new Professor?" Harry asked after everyone had eaten a bit.
"She has to be better than the one last year." Ron was referring to Professor Beacon who was like a combination of Binns and Snape. All he did was read to them but if you spoke out of line he would take loads of point off. "Plus, we've never had a female Defense teacher so that should be interesting. What do you think Hermione?"
"What? Oh. I think she'll do a good job. She looks like she knows what she's doing. I saw her hold her ground against Snape a minute ago, so at least she's not scared of him like Quirrel was." She hadn't really been listening to the conversation, but hearing her name caught her attention. She had been staring into space thinking, once again, about her parents.
"You okay, Hermione? You're a little bit distant lately." Harry asked while he reached across the table for another chicken leg.
"Fine. Just, you know, thinking." She pushed the food around on her plate with her fork.
"Well, that's understandable. You have a lot to think about. You want to go on back to the Commonroom and talk about it?" Ron looked up from his meal and waited for her reply.
"Yeah." She said slowly after a moments thought. "Yeah, I'd like that."
The threesome stood up together and made their way to the portrait of the fat lady. Hermione spoke the new password (Maerd) and they sat by the fireplace.
"What's on your mind, Hermione?" Harry started off the conversation that night. None of them knew where it would lead or what it would end up meaning. That night they were just three friends helping one another through a problem.
"Guys, I think I want to find my parents." Hermione knew they would support her in whatever she decided, but they would give her their flat out opinion of her decision first. So she sat and waited for it.
"You what?" Ron sat there looking flummoxed. Neither of them had expected this at all. Hermione was the responsible one. She never started their adventures; she was the one who found a way to fix them. Yet here she was, ready to go off into the unknown to look for people she had never met and had no idea where they were.
"I want to find my real parents." She had expected opinions, not stupidity. But then again, normally whatever you want from guys you don't get.
"Are you sure about this 'Mione? You could get really disappointed here." Harry looked at her skeptically like she had lost her mind.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to go ask Dumbledore if he can help me locate them sometime this week. I don't really care if you guys are in on me with this one. It's kind of my own battle." She stood and sat between them on the couch. She enveloped them both in a group hug and sighed against their shoulders. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"I do, Hermione. If I had a chance to see my parents I'd take it in a heartbeat." Harry said thoughtfully as he and Ron held their friend.
"Okay, thanks, Harry. I'm going to go to bed now. I'll see you two bright and early." She hugged them each separately and walked up the stairs.
Harry and Ron stayed behind to talk a bit more.
"I'm worried about her Harry." Ron said and watched her retreat. "She's been acting really weird the past few days."
"She's allowed to be weird right now Ron. You'd be weird too if you found out you were adopted this late in your life." Harry stared into the fire and watched the flames lick at the gray stone surrounding it.
"There's no way I'm adopted. I have the hair." Ron too turned to the fire for council. Soon their talk turned to Quidditch once again.
-=-=-=-
*The color of Ron's eyes is debatable. They vary in different stories but I decided to make them brown here for no significant reason.
I had a whole other part to this chapter I wanted to include but decided that it would make the chapter too long so it's going to be the next one. Once I write it. I spent a while debating whether to write it yet or not and decided against it.
Anyway - I hope you enjoyed it and I promise the background information is going to be finished by the next chapter and the interesting parts will start. This will probably end up being my longest story yet. Just to warn you.
Review please!