WHAT IF
Chapter 2 - An Adventurous Soul
Fighting and defeating a troll together certainly did wonders to improve a friendship, Hermione discovered. It didn't happen overnight but rather developed over the following weeks, but nonetheless, after Halloween she had some kind of understanding with Harry and Ron. The boys started to wait for her when they went to classes and naturally sat beside her. They took their meals together and did homework together. And the more time they spent with each other, the more they got to know about each other.
Hermione discovered that Ron had two more brothers and a younger sister and that he was a formidable chess player. With Harry, she could bond over showing him Quidditch Through the Ages and they mutual dislike of Professor Snape, even when Hermione tried hard to be respectful. Harry, she also learned, was indeed a troublemaker but not entirely on purpose. And unfortunately, this seemed to be conterminous.
Being friends with Ron and Harry taught Hermione that there really was an adventurous and brave side in her like the sorting hat had mentioned. It started with her setting Professor Snape on fire in order to save Harry. And Hermione had to admit that the mystery about the three-headed-dog and the limping of Professor Snape had caught her interest and she was eager to help Harry with the investigation. The information about Nicolas Flamel was therefore only another motivation and she loved how it gave her to the possibility to research and at the same time strengthen her friendship with the boys. So, her adventurous side was in full bloom.
Hermione was also able to let loose a bit since befriending Harry and Ron and even caught herself laughing about poor Professor Quirrell, who was chased by cursed snowballs. It was a hilarious sight as the snowballs hit his head and turban again and again, and Hermine had to try really hard not to show her amusement. She was standing at a window and watched the still moving snowballs, who were now chasing some Slytherin first years - one of them Draco Malfoy - when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Aww, look how hard she tries not to laugh." One of the twins stepped out of some corner, which puzzled Hermione immensely because there was no door or corridor that way. But the Weasley twins had a talent for showing up at unusual places.
"A shame, really." The second twin rounded the corner.
"Must be painful to keep a straight face." They both smirked down at Hermione, while she frowned at them. She still hadn't found out which one was Fred and which George was. Since she had befriended Ron, she had talked a few times with them at dinner or in the common room. She had asked them again about their names and since then the twins thought it was a hilarious prank to just not tell her. It went so far that they even denied being called by their right names when she was around. They always pretended to both be George or Fred. And unfortunately, they were good at that game.
"Where are you coming from?" Hermione suspiciously eyed the solid wall. Maybe there actually were some hidden shortcuts or something in the castle? In her fantasy novels, there were always hidden rooms and corridors in such old buildings.
"As curious as ever-"
"-the little Miss Granger." The twins laughed and strolled off to the general direction of Gryffindor tower. With an annoyed eye roll, Hermione set off in the opposite direction to the library.
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The Christmas holidays were wonderful and strange at the same time for Hermione. On one hand, she was happy to see her family again, and not only her parents but also her grandparents and her aunt. She hadn't seen them since months and it was good to be home. And it was quite nice to be able to tell them that she had friends now and wasn't so odd anymore. Of course, only her parents knew about magic and what kind of school Hogwarts was, the rest of the family thought she went to a school for gifted children, which wasn't exactly a lie.
On the other hand, that was the main problem. It was hard for Hermione to tell them stories about her school life and her friends since she wasn't allowed to mention magic. And even when it was just her and her parents it still was complicated. As intelligent and open her parents were, they still were muggles and most of Hermione's stories about her lessons were just not comprehensible for them. And when Hermione tried to explain Quidditch to them - or at least the part she had understood of the complicated game - they were absolutely lost and aghast that the school let children play such a dangerous game up on brooms. After that Hermione decided to not tell them about her little adventure with a gigantic troll.
So, when it was time to go back to Hogwarts it was a bittersweet goodbye and Hermione felt bad that she was actually happy to go. But the magical world and all her wonders were calling for her - loudly - and she was eager to start investigating and researching about Nicolas Flamel again.
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Hermione's troublemaking career certainly reached its peak when she helped Harry to smuggle Hagrid's pet dragon into the castle and onto the tallest tower. Never ever had she thought at the beginning of the year that she would do something like that. But the hat had been right. There was a part inside of her which wanted - needed - those kinds of adventure. Getting caught by Professor McGonagall, who was visibly disappointed with Hermione, and getting detention was still a big shock for her and her logical, swotty bookworm side was yelling for her to stop this madness. And after the experience of a detention in the forbidden forest she vowed to never get into this kind of trouble again.
Well, her determination, unfortunately, went flying through the window when Harry needed help to stop Professor Snape from stealing the philosopher's stone. By the time they discovered that Hagrid had spilt the beans about Fluffy - still, such a ridiculous name - Hermione too had been convinced that the stone was in danger of being stolen and that Snape probably was the thief. And even if she hadn't, letting Harry go alone was out of the question. So, the odd one once again became a troublemaker. All in all, Hermione was quite proud of herself after this night. They had saved the stone - even if it hadn't been Snape.
But one thing she regretted immensely was that she hexed Neville. The poor boy had only tried to help their house and keep them out of trouble and in some way had been more courageous than ever before in his life. So, Hermione was quite pleased when not only Harry, Ron and she were awarded house points, but also Neville. Nonetheless, she apologised to him countless times till the nervous boy finally snapped and told her to quit it because he had never been angry, not really.
The highlight of the year was, of course, the celebration party at Gryffindor tower for winning the house cup. The Weasley twins had outdone themselves with smuggling sweets, food from the kitchens and firework into the common room. A few of the older students were even drinking something that looked suspiciously like beer to Hermione, but she kept quiet and enjoyed the night.
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With a sinking feeling in her stomach Hermione opened every compartment in the train, politely asked the students inside if someone had seen Harry Potter - normally everyone always knew where Harry was - and then went on with her search. Really, why was it that she spent every train ride with searching something - toads, best friends, who knew what it would be next time? But the fact that she couldn't find Harry and Ron was disturbing.
"Hermione," someone called after her. She turned and saw Neville running towards her with a big smile.
"Do you already have a compartment? You can sit with Dean, Seamus and me. I think Lavender and Parvati will join us later too, they're still with Parvati's twin sister." Neville offered and with a defeated sigh Hermione nodded. Wherever Harry and Ron were, they obviously didn't want to be found by her. With a nagging feeling of being excluded and rejected by her two best friends, she followed Neville. She felt insecure and vulnerable, similar to the time back in first year when Ron had said those awful things about her. Well, at least the other Gryffindors were happy to see her and spent time with her.
During the summer holidays, she had met the Weasleys and Harry at Diagon Alley and everything had been fine. Well, besides the fact that Ron, Fred and George had freed Harry from his home with a flying car - something Hermione still wanted to scold them for - and that Harry had been lost in the floo system. But their friendship had been fine.
As they passed one of the compartments Hermione heard a loud bang followed by a few shrieks and maniac laughter that sounded awfully familiar. Curiously she opened the door. The compartment was brimming full with Fred, George and their classmates. The twins sat together on one side with Angelina Johnson between them. Opposite of the twins was Lee Jordan - his big tarantula casually on the shoulder despite Professor McGonagall's lecture last year about allowed pets. Next to him were Alicia Spinnet and a fourth year Ravenclaw girl. The girls all frowned at the boys, who were playing with some small firecrackers. The twins threw the burning fireworks between them like a ball and counted how many tosses they managed before the cracker exploded. Another bang sounded through the compartment when it went off right in front of Angelina Johnson's face.
"You gits!" Angelina hissed and from one second to the other all three boys straightened themselves. Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise at that. Never ever had she seen the twins react that way. Lee Jordan she understood since it was widely known that he was in love with Angelina. But the twins? Very strange.
"Excuse me," Hermione politely knocked at the open door. All heads turned in surprise.
"Fred, George, have you seen Ron and Harry? I can't find them." She observed the twins closely as she spoke their names in hope that they would twitch or blink or react in some way. Hermione was still determined to look through their little game of confusing her.
"Not since we crossed the barrier at the station. We were pretty late today-"One twin started and the other took over.
"-Maybe they are still searching for a compartment?" Hermione let out another frustrated sigh and then joined Neville and the other Gryffindor boys in their compartment.
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Hermione was freaking out. The sorting was half-way through and Harry and Ron still hadn't shown up. Now she was convinced that this was not about them avoiding her anymore but about something else. Where were they? Had something happened? Were they lost or injured or… Hermione forced herself not to finish that thought and searched the Gryffindor table again. The outcome was the same. The two were missing.
A bit sad Hermione watched how Ginny Weasley was the last of her year to be sorted and of course, the redhead made it into Gryffindor. A few seats away from Hermione the twins broke out into loud applause and wolf whistles as their little sister sat down and even Percy grinned wider and cheered louder than ever.
The revelation came when Hermione entered the common room and saw Harry and Ron sitting there, enjoying sandwiches and pumpkin juice, laughing about something. Her heart clenched painfully as she saw them, happy and in good health, and she felt incredibly uncomfortable. Should she just go ahead to bed or greet them?
"Hermione!" Harry and Ron both jumped up and ran towards her.
"You have no idea what happened." Harry grinned madly.
"We missed the train and drove here in my dad's car." Ron jumped up and down excited. Eager like little children on Christmas Eve both boys pulled Hermione to the sofa and started to tell their story while they munched on their sandwiches. Sometime during the tale, the twins and Ginny sat down with them. Fred and George sat down on top of the backrest, which forced Hermione, and Ginny beside her, to lean against their legs, while Harry was on the armchair and Ron on the floor. In between the twins whistled or nodded in approval while Ginny was quiet as a mouse and stared at Harry in wonder.
"Mum will kill you, Ronnikins." One twin chuckled behind Hermione.
"Yeah, in one night you made more trouble than we have in the last four years." The other twin shook his head like he couldn't believe that their little brother was able to pull off something like flying a car to Hogwarts and crashing it into the Whoomphing Willow.
"Well, I haven't thought about it that way," Ron muttered gloomily. The bickering between the brothers went on for quite a while but Hermione and Harry both decided to ignore it. Instead, they talked about their holidays. Harry was gushing about the Burrow and Mrs Weasley's cooking while Hermione told him about her summer in France. Later they realised that Ginny had left the group without saying anything. When the twins went up to bed, claiming that they needed sleep in order to plan mischief and trouble that would equal Ron's and Harry's, Hermione took her chance.
"Fred!" She called as the two tall redheads were almost on the stairs. But to her disappointment both twins turned at the exact same moment, giving her no chance to recognise which one was the real Fred.
"Nice try, little Miss Granger," they both chirped and left roaring with laughter.
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Hermione had to admit that Mrs Weasley's howler had been quite a satisfaction. Especially since Ron had been so nosy at breakfast and had discovered her course plan. So, she admired Professor Lockhart, what was the big deal with that? He was brilliant. A legend. His books, his tales, his great adventures. He was the perfect mixture of brave and intelligent and Hermione strived to be like him. He was a role model! And of course, it had nothing to do with his really nice and deep blue eyes… Naturally, Hermione was looking forward to his classes the most.
The rest of the week went by in a blur for her. The first class of Defence Against the Dark Arts had been… different from her expectations but still, Lockhart was a genius. His books proofed it. All other classes were the same as ever and Hermione was instantly back in her normal study mode, working hard and ahead of course.
In short, it was a normal week and Hermione couldn't have been happier. This school year started so much better than the last. But then Draco Malfoy decided to ruin her day.
"No one asked your opinion, you filthy mudblood." The boy yelled at her with an angry grimace, mad about her remark about his lacking talent. Hermione was especially proud of that but confused by the obvious insult. And then many things happened at once.
All Gryffindors - expect for Harry, who looked equally confused - started to yell at Malfoy, Alicia Spinnet being the loudest one. The twins tried to jump at Malfoy but were stopped by Flint. With wide eyes, Hermione watched how the normally friendly and joking twins went violent in seconds. She didn't know which one it was, but one of them almost made it around Flint, but then Ron tried to hex the smirking, blond git Malfoy, only to be hit by his own spell.
The following afternoon was a mess, literally and emotionally. Literally, because Ron spent hours vomiting slugs. Emotionally because Hermione heard for the first time that there were people who thought she wasn't good enough for the magical world. That was a whole new concept for her. Till now, despite all her struggle at the beginning of the first year, she had been firm in her belief that she belonged to this world. She was born with magic! For Merlin's sake, she was on top of her year! Even Draco Malfoy, the arrogant git, with his pureblood family wasn't better than her in classes.
Hagrid and Ron, and later Harry, all tried to reassure her that Malfoy was a terrible person and that most people were no longer thinking like that. But still, it hurt her in some way. And the following weeks she spent an awful lot of time observing her classmates. Was one of them looking down on her, sneering at her, and she hadn't noticed till now? Maybe their dislike had nothing to do with her straightforwardness and good grades like she had believed last year. She tried not to show it in front of Harry and Ron but knowing about the prejudice against muggle-born made her more insecure that she liked to admit.
And then came Halloween. After the last year, Hermione had hoped to enjoy the feast properly, but the death party of a ghost did sound interesting. As a curious person, she was of course on board and willing to accompany Harry. Her curiosity was quickly blown away by the morbid and cold atmosphere at the party. That wasn't what she had expected and it certainly didn't help to lighten her mood. So, she was glad when they finally could leave.
She was glad for about five minutes, then Harry started to hear voices and they discovered the petrified body of Mrs Norris.
"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy yelled and it sounded through Hermione's head four hours and hours afterwards.
Once again I'm stopping at Halloween, but it's actually a coincidence. I decided to go through The Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets quickly, and not so detailed, and I will slow down a bit with Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm also trying to stay as close as possible to the books - ignoring the films for the most part! - so keep that in mind.
I hope you like it so far and stay engaged. We have a whole, slow journey ahead of us and I think this will become my longest story so far.
