A/N: Chibixlevi123 brought up a question of age in their review, and thank you for calling attention to it! I never clarified it. I'll actually go back and change Harry's age (narrowed age gap), which means I'll need to ensure the timeline and details make sense, as well. Update on that coming soon! For now, here are the ages in this AU world:

Hermione - 22

Harry - 27

Ginny - 25

Neville & Luna - 20

Coming Up…

She had heard of Dark Magic at school — it was the kind of magic wielded by those who wanted to cause harm, who wanted to even kill… So why did Harry have an entire section of his library dedicated to it?

Pearl Eye

Chapter 5

The Fifth Edition

Hermione was still in shock.

Two months had passed since Harry spat those drunken words at her, and she couldn't get them out of her mind.

Still want to see me, Hermione?

Still want me to show you the real me?

That's what I thought.

She was hurt by how abruptly he was able to let go, to move back into his polite persona. Whenever she managed to have a second alone with him, she'd say some variation of, "Harry, please talk to me." But he never did.

He remained cordial, and anyway, Ginny was always around. Like a hawk, she watched her, and if she was unavailable, her mother's penetrative gaze was ceaseless. The elder Weasley oversaw the house elves and Hermione in Ginny's absence. And when Mrs. Weasley made her appearance, she ran the house like a dictator. With a penchant for torturing Hermione, she made her scrub floors three to four times, critiquing her ability to properly clean. On days like that, Hermione often limped to her room by days' end, knees red and swollen for spending hours on them.

Desperately, Hermione wanted to shout, "Then you clean the damn floors if I'm not doing it properly!" But she already was standing on thin ice. After she witnessed her comforting Harry that day so long ago, she only had scowls and cruel instructions for Hermione. And her daughter wasn't far from her tyrannical behavior.

It seemed that Winky was keeping a sharper eye on her, too. Though they rarely worked together — now that Hermione had been in the home for months and knew the lay of the land — when they did, she felt Winky on her heels all the time.

Finally, she asked Winky, "Are you following me? Even when I use the bathroom, you're right there."

Winky wrung her hands. As she opened her mouth to respond, she slammed her head against a wall repeatedly! Hermione's eyes widened as she grabbed the elf and held her in place so she wouldn't hurt herself further.

"Winky! What's wrong?! Please stop hurting yourself!"

Winky finally stopped and, with tears in her eyes, she said, "Winky loves Hermione, but Winky cannot say. Winky do as she's told."

And Hermione immediately understood that she was acting on Ginny's orders.

Hermione was under surveillance, she concluded. And it was nerve-inducing. But she couldn't let it affect her. She refused to allow the Weasley women to see how frustrated and angry she was. How, when she unnecessarily scrubbed the floor hours on end, she wanted to turn and scratch their eyes out.

But she, fortunately, had something else to focus on, and that was her studies. Hermione was already at the top of her class and found respite at the school. At that moment, she was there. As potions wrapped and her professor observed the student's cauldrons, he stopped at hers and smiled.

"Brilliant, Ms. Granger! The perfect color, perfect consistency. We'll see next week when the potion matures if it works properly. Well done!" As he spooned the potion into a test tube, Neville Longbottom leaned toward her.

"Are you sure you came from the Muggle world? You're bloody brilliant at everything you do."

Hermione beamed at the compliment. "Thanks, Neville. You're doing amazing, as well."

"Potions has always been my weakness — it's a major reason why I'm here." He shyly looked her way as they strolled to the courtyard. "It'd be great if you could tutor me if you're willing."

Hermione hadn't tutored someone since her Muggle days in college. It was something she really enjoyed, and to know she was doing well enough to have a wizard raised in this world ask for her help? She was humbled and proud. "Wow, Neville. I'd love to. Are you sure you want me to tutor you?"

"There's no one better in our class. Of course, I want your help."

"Well, I'd be honored to tutor you."

They found a central spot to eat lunch before their next class at noon. "So," Neville began, "we've never really talked about your life. I know you came into your power late, but what was your life like? Where do you live now? How are you adapting?"

She shrugged. "Now that I'm here, I can't help but think my life was boring. I was on track to get my Ph.D. in political science, thought maybe I'd become a professor or political analyst. But being here, I feel like I'm meeting myself for the first time. Before coming into my power, I was an outcast. Now, I hope to make genuine connections."

"Not to rain on your parade, but I've struggled here, even as a pureblood wizard. I've always felt like an outcast, too."

"Really?"

Neville nodded. "I'm a bit awkward if you haven't noticed. It was ten times worse when I was a kid. I even had a hard time at Hogwarts."

"I'm sorry, Neville. Kids can be so cruel, no matter in what world you live. Do you feel like you've met some genuine mates after secondary school?"

He smiled. "Luna's always been there for me. She's weird, too. She likes to call herself that, wears it as a badge of honor."

Hermione smirked. "Hmmm. Is there something more than friendship brewing between you?"

Redness spread across his face as if someone performed a charm. "W-what do you mean?"

"I see how you look at her. Why don't you ask her out?"

He shook his head, quickly changing the subject. "Enough of that. More about you! Since you just arrived this year, are you staying in an inn, a flat?"

"No, I'm working to pay my way through school — my job provides housing. I got lucky. If I hadn't gotten the job, I wouldn't have been able to afford school."

"Wow, lucky indeed."

Hermione forced a smile. It was not luck at all. Her late initiation into magic seemed to make her vulnerable, requiring extra protection. She didn't know why — or why it was Harry who had to protect her.

"So, where do you work?"

"The Potter Manor. I'm a maid there."

Neville's mouth dropped in surprise. "You work for the Harry Potter?"

Hermione suddenly became excited. Finally, she was going to get the skinny on Harry Potter! "Yes, why is that such a big deal? Why is he such a big deal?"

"I can't believe you haven't heard! He's a historical figure, a living legend! He's The Boy Who Lived and the man who took down the Dark Lord! He's a real hero, not just in Britain's wizarding world, but globally! One of the best wizards of our time, he is."

She was shocked — she understood he was brilliant, but not to this extent. But Hermione still didn't understand. "Who's the Dark Lord?"

A look crossed his face. It looked like fear, but he quickly recovered as the yard's Clock Tower struck noon. Eyes averted, Neville gathered his things, but she sensed class had nothing to do with his scurrying. Her question about the Dark Lord was enough to send him into a panic. Who was this figure who could incite fear through the simple utterance of his name?

She was unrelenting in her need for answers.

After their noon class ended, Hermione tracked down Neville as he attempted to escape.

"Neville! You can't mention the Dark Lord and not tell me who he is?!" Hermione yelled to his retreating back. Other students froze and stared at Hermione as if a stream of the filthiest words had exited her mouth.

Seeing the scene she caused, Neville rushed to her side. "I don't know why I mentioned him. No one talks about him unless we're talking about his defeat. But—"

Neville looked around to make sure no one was listening before he continued,

"—if you want to know who he is and his connection to Harry, look in the fifth edition of History of Magick. You can't find it many places — it was published once, and the new editions don't include that history for whatever reason. But if you can get your hands on the fifth edition, you'll learn everything you need to know about Harry Potter and the Dark Lord."

And with that, he disapparated.

Her curiosity was officially piqued. An evil wizard that Harry vanquished. She found it difficult to imagine him slaying the proverbial dragon. While she hadn't known him long at all, his kind nature felt antonymous to the figure lauded by all.

Remember, Hermione thought, it's all a facade. It's a mask he's wearing.

She knew she'd get no answers from Harry, and she only had two friends in Neville and Luna. And since the other girl wasn't at school today, she decided to take Neville's advice and find the fifth edition of History of Magick.

Hermione looked at her charmed watch — it was 2:00. Fortunately, in trying to avoid the Weasley women and their wrath, she had asked Harry to move her shift back a few hours so she could study. Following through on his word to be flexible with her school schedule, he agreed with no other words. Now, Hermione was about to do some history homework. It just wasn't the history work she was assigned.

She first scoured the community college's library and came up empty-handed after an hour of search. But there were bookstores elsewhere. So by Floo, Hermione made her way to Hogsmeade to no avail then to Diagon Alley. But again, all the bookstores she entered didn't carry the fifth edition. Sure, she found Harry's role in the final Battle of Hogwarts in each book she browsed, but unnaturally each was missing details around why the war happened at all.

She bit her lip after leaving the last store, wondering why the hell they'd remove what seemed like such a vital history from these books! It felt intentional. What were they hiding? It had to be the same thing Harry was hiding.

She couldn't be sure. But there had to be somewhere else she could look.

Then she saw a dark alley. Compared to the bustling energy of Diagon, this side street felt sinister. But Hermione was desperate — she'd venture into the darkness if it meant finding the fifth edition and unlocking the secret to Hary Potter.

As she walked down the alley, she saw many sketchy characters. The area immediately made the hairs on the back of her arms stand at attention. With her hand on her wand holster — not the one that went under her maid uniform, the one in her long-sleeved shirt — she made her way to a store called Borgin and Burkes. Upon walking in, a chill ran down her spine. The antique items within all seemed to exude negativity as if hate was a fundamental ingredient in their creation.

"Uh, excuse me, sir," Hermione began as the shopkeeper stared at her with suspicion in his eye, "Do you carry any books here?"

"For what?"

Hermione was a bit taken aback. "Uh, because I'd like to look at books." She didn't dare share her true purpose. She felt telling anyone what she sought might be a mistake. After all, whatever was inside this book held information that someone didn't want out in the world.

"Unless you can tell me what you're looking for, I can't help you."

Hermione furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to speak, but someone's voice sounded behind her:

"Borgin, don't be so rude. You have to learn how to treat your patrons."

Hermione turned to see a handsome man, standing with a smirk on his face. He wore all black that nicely contrasted with his platinum blond hair. His silvery eyes were particularly striking, and Hermione had to force herself not to stare.

Borgin grunted and pointed Hermione to the back of the store. The handsome man followed.

"I haven't seen you around here. Are you from another wizarding community? Though the accent tells me you must be from London."

She smiled politely. "You can say I'm new."

The man pursed his lips, then held out his hand. "Well, welcome. I'm Draco Malfoy."

Hermione shook his hand tentatively. "Thanks. Hermione Granger."

Draco tapped his chin. "Hm, were we at Hogwarts at the same time? I don't recognize that name."

"No, I didn't attend Hogwarts," she mumbled, turning to observe the books. Again, instinct told her sharing too much about herself would be a mistake.

The man took a step back. "You seem pretty focused. My apologies for disturbing you. A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Granger."

She was grateful. No matter how attractive, Hermione was on a mission far more vital. "Nice to meet you, as well."

He began to turn away but then faced her again. "I usually don't do this, but would you like to grab coffee? I'd be interested to learn more about you — and, since you're new, I'd love to show you around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Maybe even take you to Hogwarts since you didn't attend. If you're interested in books, then you have to visit Hogwarts' library. People around the globe travel here to tour the school."

Hermione was interested in the offer. She wanted to better integrate into wizarding society and learn more about the community. Hogwarts was high on her list, the spectacular school everyone described as the best.

But she was hesitant. While seemingly pleasant, something registered as off. It didn't help that she was meeting the man in this creepy store. "I'll need to check my schedule first."

"Understood, understood. Well, if you want to take me up on my offer, just ask for me at the Ministry of Magic. I'm not hard to find."

And with a dazzling smile that Hermione couldn't help but notice, he smoothly made his way out of the store. Hermione hated that she stared after him.

Kicking herself for getting distracted by a man when she was on a mission to learn more about Harry's past, Hermione turned back to the books. After an hour of intense browsing, she came up short. Again.

Slightly defeated, Hermione begrudgingly thanking the shop owner then headed back to the manor. It would be so much easier if Harry would answer all of her questions, but she knew he wouldn't give the answers she wanted so badly.

It was almost 11pm when Hermione finally finished the dishes. She'd gotten quicker! The Potters and Mrs. Weasley resigned to their rooms, Hermione herself was ready to sink into her bed. But as she checked to make sure all was in place on the ground floor, Hermione stopped in her tracks, an idea forming.

The library.

Maybe this mysterious book was in Harry's library.

It was a room that no one was allowed to enter. When Hermione had asked Winky why that was, she simply responded, "It's for Master Potter, and Master Potter alone."

No other stores carried this elusive book. Where else could it be but here? And in this secured room, there had to be something that would give her answers.

She pulled out her wand and thought back to everything she'd learned in school. She didn't know much yet. But she did know one spell that opened locked doors.

Knowing the simple charm was more than unlikely to work if the room was guarding such valuable information, she tried anyway:

"Alohomora."

And, to her astonishment, the lock clicked.

Hermione's eyes widened. Disbelieving, she looked in both directions. "It can't be this easy," she said under her breath. There had to be a consequence. Maybe something would jump out at her or a hex thrown her way if she walked through the door.

But Hermione couldn't resist.

Slowly, she turned the knob and opened the door, peeking inside first. It was dark, but nothing seemed to be a threat… yet.

She stepped fully inside and gently shut the door behind her. She uttered the counter-charm to lock it then lit a nearby lamp. She was shocked by her surroundings. The library was bountiful, with books that lined every inch of wall. An expansion charm lengthened the space. Down the middle of the room, a single desk sat against the opposite wall.

Hermione, fascinated by the collection of books, ran her fingers across the spine of a few, surprised to see so much dust lining them. No one had been in here in a long time.

Ignoring the chattering voice in her head that kept saying, "Getting in here shouldn't be so easy! RUN!" Hermione immediately got to work, looking for the fifth edition of History of Magick.

Demanding herself not to be sidetracked by the fascinating collection of books, she read each labeled shelf, stopping at one marked "The Dark Arts."

She had heard of Dark Magic at school — it was the kind of magic wielded by those who wanted to cause harm, who wanted to kill. She was warned never to perform Dark Magic and told that the Ministry and other academic institutions did everything they could to bury the spells from the public.

So why does Harry have an entire section of his library dedicated to it?

Hermione gulped, again unsure of who Harry Potter really was. But she had no time to hypothesize the answer because she was about to discover the truth, she hoped. If only she could—

Then she found it. Tucked far behind a dark arts book, cleverly hidden in what looked like a hole, Hermione reached the book and grabbed it. As soon as she pulled it out, the hole closed, almost snagging her hand.

Even as that voice crept into her head again, asking why the hell it was so easy to find the book, Hermione squealed with excitement. She sat on the floor and opened to the Table of Contents. Many chapters were the same as her current History of Magick book… except one of the last chapters, titled "Harry Potter and the Fall of Voldemort."

She instantly thumbed to the chapter and voraciously began reading each section:

From Tom Marvolo Riddle to Lord Voldemort

Allegiance and Death Eaters

The Order of the Phoenix

The Prophecy

Lily and James Potter

The Killing Curse and The Boy Who Lived

Harry Potter: Early Abuse by Muggles

Threats at Hogwarts

- Theft of the Philosopher's Stone

- The Chamber of Secrets: A Basilisk and a Diary

- Attack at the Great Lake

- The Triwizard Tournament and the Return of Voldemort

Albus Dumbledore: Friend or Foe?

The Second Wizarding War

- Battle of the Department of Mysteries

- Fall of the Ministry of Magic

- Attack at Godric's Hollow

- The Malfoy Manor Massacre

Horcruxes and The Living Horcrux

The Final Battle of Hogwarts

The Fall of Voldemort and A Symbol of Hope

Hermione thought she'd feel triumphant after finally learning everything she wanted about Harry Potter.

Instead, she felt depleted and guilty.

Without permission, she'd peered into some the most private parts of Harry's life. Learned the origin of his lightning scar, the death of his parents, and the vile abuse he faced at the hands of his aunt and uncle. While most of it seemed public knowledge, to see it written so cavalier, so matter-of-fact, as if he wasn't an actual person, was disturbing to Hermione.

Harry was real, not just some symbol.

A sadness washed over her body as tears pricked her eyes. The guardedness was no longer surprising. From birth, there had been a target on his back! From birth, people gawked at him for a connection he couldn't control. He never asked for a piece of Voldemort's soul to live within. He was a victim, and no one seemed to be acknowledging it.

Closing the book, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that she had invaded his privacy. Not only had she broken into his private library, but she'd stolen a book to learn everything she could about him.

Like a psycho.

Like so many others likely did. Like them, she had no boundaries. Infatuation led to a violation of his wishes. Who was she to go through so many hoops to learn this about him? Who was anyone to know such personal information about Harry Potter?

But, of course, people were fascinated by his story. He was, after all, the one who killed Voldemort, a villain who'd terrorized many of the people she passed daily in the name of pureblood supremacy. Many of them likely still held fear in their hearts. But, as Neville called him, Harry was a walking historical figure, a living legend, and a symbol of hope.

It made her see Harry in a new light. Why he was how he was.

Yes, if he wanted space, he deserved it, and Hermione would oblige. Always someone in the public eye with no privacy to his name, Hermione wouldn't be like those people. Not anymore. She at least wanted to give that to him.

"So you found it."

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin. She turned her tear-stained face to see The Boy Who Lived, a title she finally understood.

"Harry!"

Shite.

A/N: All reviews and feedback are appreciated over here :)

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Simple Charms and Cryptic Enemies