WHAT IF
Chapter 4 - Partners In Crime
Hermione stared down at the orange cat at her feet. The Tomcat was purring loudly at her, rubbed his head at her legs and meowed in a sweet, heart-breaking voice. It was clear what the cat wanted. And Hermione was no way opposed.
The ginger cat had the softest and fluffiest fur Hermione had ever touched and when she leaned down to stroke it, the cat leaned into her hand with a content purr. His face was flat and made him look a bit grumpy but the way he moved and tried to cuddle with Hermione was endearing. She found the cat absolutely gorgeous.
"Crookshanks seems to like you," the shopkeeper whispered in absolute awe. "Do you maybe want to take him home? He has been here for a long time and never once did he like one of the costumers. And honestly, no one wanted him either. He's a half kneazel and has quite a… unique character."
"I would love to," Hermione picked up the cat and looked into his bright, yellow eyes. A warm feeling spread through her chest at the sight of the cat and the way it snuggled into her arms and she knew that this was the best decision she could ever make. She had always wanted a pet during her childhood but her parents had never allowed it because it was too much work for two working parents. But now that Hermione lived at a boarding school during most of the year and could take her pet with her, the situation was different.
With a beating heart and an odd feeling of absolute joy, she slammed the money on the counter and accepted a package of free cat treats and a shrunken basket for transportation happily. The shopkeeper did seem a bit too grateful to sell Hermione the cat, but she didn't mind. With Crookshanks on her arm, she stepped out of the shop. Never in her life had she felt more like a picture book witch as now with a cat in her arms. The tomcat purred into her chest as she approached Harry and Ron.
"You bought that monster?" Ron accused her and Hermione only rolled her eyes at him. They bickered on her way to the Leaky Cauldron about Ron's absolutely unfounded fear for Scabbers because of Crookshanks. Honestly, her cat would live with her at Hogwarts and Ron had Scabbers at his dorm room anyway the whole time.
When they finally reached the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione watched the twins making a big show of greeting Harry and annoying Percy at the same time. Hermione only rolled her eyes at them and walked off to carry her trunk to the room she shared with Ginny.
With a happy meow, Crookshanks hopped onto Hermione's bed in the room and started to make himself comfortable. With a grin, Hermione left him there and went back to the guest room downstairs.
The dinner was a rowdy and happy affair with everyone telling stories and laughing together. When Hermione went to bed later that night she felt perfectly happy and content. She had high hopes for the new school year. Hopefully, it would be better - and safer - than the last two. She couldn't wait to visit Hogsmeade finally and take her electives, even if she still was a bit anxious if she could actually take all of them. But Professor McGonagall had told her that she would take care of it personally, so Hermione put her trust in her favourite teacher.
"Hey," Ginny shyly entered the room and sat down on her bed. The redhead watched Crookshanks with a longing gaze but didn't move to an inch. For a while, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room as both girls dressed up for bed.
"You can come offer and pet him," Hermione offered finally to break the silence. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she had never been alone with Ginny before and they never had had an actual conversation. Harry or one of the Weasley brothers had always been there, probably because all of Ginny's brothers were absolutely protective of their little sister.
"I would love to," Ginny whispered, "I really like cats. Mum never allowed us one because of the chickens." Gently Ginny offered Crookshanks her hand to sniff on it. For a moment Crookshanks only eyed her, then he rubbed his head against Ginny's hand. The younger girl smiled widely and started to stroke the half-kneazel happily, which was rewarded with a loud purr.
"And Ron says he is a monster, honestly…" Hermione muttered more to herself as she watched them.
"You and Ron fight a lot, don't you?"
"I wouldn't say we fight… we argue. We are pretty different so we often have different opinions." Hermione thought about Ron's accusations against Crookshanks. Okay, maybe a cat wasn't the perfect option but really there wouldn't be a problem when Ron was watching over his rat close enough.
"My mum always says that quarrelling is a show of affection," Ginny stated and stared at Hermione expectantly. Hermione got the feeling that the young girl waited - or hoped - for a specific answer.
"Well, Ron and I are friends so maybe we show our friendship with that, but I think that's not the kind of affection your mum meant."
"Oh," Ginny seemed genuinely disappointed. "So, I guess its Harry, huh." A snort escaped Hermione as she finally realised what Ginny was trying to say the whole time.
"Absolutely not!" She laughed. "Harry and Ron are both not really my… type, I think. They are my best friends and everything but not more. And I'm not interested in dating right now anyway." A relieved sigh escaped Ginny and the young girl blushed.
"That's good- good to know, I mean."
"I take it you still have a crush on Harry?" Hermione didn't want to tease Ginny, but it was too easy.
"Well, yeah…" Ginny blushed an even deeper red. "I mean, first it was because he is Harry Potter. I liked him because he was famous and I heard all those stories about him my whole life. And during the last year at school, it was also mainly for that reason. It was like a celebrity crush, you know?" Hermione nodded silently, the shame of having a crush on Gilderoy Lockhart was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't believe the man had been a swindler the whole time.
"But after Harry rescued me from the chamber I realised that he didn't like being Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, very much and that all this attention was annoying to him. I actually talked about it with Ron a lot over the holidays. He gave me good preaching about treating Harry like a normal human being rather than a hero." Ginny smiled sheepishly and Hermione only shook her head at the thought of Ron giving his sister advice about Harry.
She could imagine that Ron hadn't been soft on Ginny and gave her a piece of mind. After all, Ron was the number one person to make Harry feel like a normal boy, Hermione was very aware of that. She herself was mostly too worried about Harry to give him that feeling, at least not like Ron did.
"Well, I think that's a pretty good advice. Just be normal around Harry and he will be more comfortable around you as well." Both girls stayed up for a bit, stroking Crookshanks and commenting on his wonderful soft fur before they went to bed.
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The next morning started relaxed for Hermione and Ginny. They had both already packed their trunks and so they could enjoy an early breakfast with Mrs Weasley while the boys all packed last minute.
"You know, when I was your age love potions were really popular. All the girls used them. I tried it once myself." Mrs Weasley whispered with a secretive smile and Ginny giggled at that.
"But isn't it's kind of... immoral to use a love potion on someone? I mean, it takes a person's free will, doesn't it?" Hermione asked timidly.
"Oh no, dear, our love potions were different. Sure, there are potions like amortentia that are really strong and create false love, but the potion I brewed had a different effect. It urges the victim to... act on his feeling." Mrs Weasley blushed a bit. "For example, if someone is already in love he or she will show it thanks to the potion."
"Oh, that sounds fun. Who did you use it on, Mum?" Ginny asked with a giggle.
"Your father of course. I knew he was in love with me and I thought I should give him a shove in the right direction." The older woman winked at them and then proceeded to describe how Mr Weasley had confessed his feelings with a big show in the middle of the Great Hall and how they started to date after that. When Harry and the rest of the Weasleys finally made their way down Hermione, Ginny and Mrs Weasley were all giggling loudly.
The rest of the morning went by in a blur while everyone tried to shove their belongings into the ministry cars. Hermione struggled to calm Crookshanks down, who wasn't very happy in his wooden basket. The poor cat was obviously stressed about his captivity and Hermione vowed to release him as soon as possible.
When they finally reached the train station everyone was eager to board the train as soon as possible and the farewell was therefore quite chaotic. In between Mrs Weasley tried to hand out her homemade sandwiches to all of her children. While Hermione tried to sooth Crookshanks in his basket the older woman first called for Ron.
"Here you are, Ron… no, they're not corned beef… Fred? Where's Fred?" Hermione's head snapped up as she tried to watch which twin would answer.
"Here you are, dear…" Mrs Weasley smiled at one of the twins and handed him a sandwich.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Mum, but I'm George," the twin winked at Hermione.
"No way, I am George!" The other twin yelled with a smirk. Both grinned down at their mother, who just huffed and muttered 'Whatever' while she handed George - or maybe Fred - the next package of sandwiches. Frowning Hermione watched the laughing twins disappear. They actually had managed to keep their antics in the presence of their own mother.
"You know, I could help you." Ginny offered shyly while she scratched Crookshanks through the small opening of the basket. The cat hissed a bit first but then apparently decided that getting a scratch while being prisoned was better than nothing.
"No thank you, it would feel like cheating if you tell me," Hermione answered.
"Well, I said nothing about telling you. I said I would help." Ginny smirked and at this moment she looked oddly similar to the twins. "You know, your best chance is to catch them off-guard. I could be your partner-in-crime."
"When you say it like that," Hermione felt herself smile a little evil smirk, "I think it's a brilliant idea." Both girls made their way to the train while whispered and giggled about a possible idea for pranking the twins.
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Hermione spent the train ride with Ron and Harry - and the sleeping Professor Remus Lupin - talking about the conversation of Mr and Mrs Weasley and the threat of Sirius Black. A weight settled in Hermione's chest when she heard that her best friend was the target of the escaped Death Eater Black. In the last two school years, there had always been a threat and Harry had always been in dangerous situations, but this time it was different. This time he specifically targeted. This time it wasn't his hero complex that got him into trouble, but solely his existence.
But all these thoughts vanished from Hermione's mind the moment the train stopped and the dementor opened the door. She froze instantly. It felt like she was petrified all over again and couldn't move a single finger. Her whole body was stiff, but this time she was conscious and it felt like she would never be able to move again. Like she would have to spend her whole life frozen like this. With wide eyes, Hermione watched how Harry fell to the floor and started to shake. But still, she couldn't move.
And then the sleeping Professor jumped up and a bright silver light filled the compartment. It washed away the frozen feeling in Hermione's body and instantly she kneeled beside Harry, trying to secure his head. Ron was quickly by her side.
"Harry," both Hermione and Ron sighed in relief when their friend finally opened his eyes. Cold angst was still present in every bone and nerve in Hermione's body. If these were the guards of Azkaban than she wasn't keen on ever meeting Sirius Black. Someone, who not only survived the constant presence of these monsters but also escaped them, certainly had to be a monster himself.
"Here, I think you need it too." Hermione handed Ginny a big chunk of chocolate later when the train was moving again. The small girl was still shivering and Hermione noticed that Ginny had reacted almost as badly to the dementors as Harry. She hadn't fallen unconscious, but her fear was visible.
"Thank you." With small bites, Ginny started to eat the chocolate but didn't say a word about the effect the prison guard had had on her.
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When Hermione was in her dorm room bed, curtains drawn and Crookshanks beside her, she finally had the time to inspect the time turner. It was beautiful. The tiny, sparkling hourglass inside the golden rings and the fine engravings of magical runes were stunning and the fine, golden necklace almost seemed too delicate. The sight alone made Hermione's heart skip a beat. And the thought of being entrusted something so powerful, so important and wonderful, to have the opportunity to use such extraordinary magic, that was enough to make her blush. When Professor McGonagall had given the time turner to Hermione it had felt like accolade.
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The first two weeks of school went by in a blur. Hermione had some trouble to get used to the time turner. It was more difficult than she had thought to use it without anyone realising it. Especially Ron was surprisingly fast with acknowledging that something was going on. He caught up almost every time in the first few days that Hermione vanished and reappeared. And it was slowly worrying her.
But all in all, she enjoyed her classes and the new school year immensely. She loved Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and was always excited to get to these classes and work on the assignments. Care for Magical Creatures and Divination instead were slowly turning into her most hated subjects. Hermione couldn't believe it herself, but she discovered that even at a magical school there were subjects she didn't like. At her muggle school, she had always detested classes like art and sport, where there wasn't anything to read or study, but at Hogwarts Divination was her most hated class. Not only did she thought of Professor Trelawney as a horrible person for forcing Harry into the spotlight constantly, but the subject itself also did nothing for Hermione. Instead, she had to suppress the urge to openly fight with a teacher.
Care for Magical Creatures had started promising with the Hippogriffs, but after Draco Malfoy's 'accident' Hagrid, unfortunately, decided to play it safe and the class became the most boring one. Harry and Ron were constantly complaining about the flobberworms and even Hermione had to admit that she learned nothing in that class. There were even moments when she thought about giving up on Divination and Care of Magical Creatures but then she remembered how much trust Professor McGonagall had in her with entrusting her the Time Turner. Hermione felt like it would be a waste of this wonderful opportunity if she would give up just because of her personal dislike against Professor Trelawney and flobberworms.
But the best class of all was undeniably Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin maybe seemed a bit ragged with his old clothes and scars, but there was a certain air of confidence about him that made every class a delight. Hermione admired how easy he explained everything, how he motivated every student - even Neville - and was overall friendly and nice to his students. He was truly a born teacher and Hermione enjoyed his classes and assignments immensely. Sometimes she remembered quite angry how dumb she had been because of Lockhart last year and vowed to never get blinded by good looks and fame like that.
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Hermione's fourteenth birthday was the best birthday she had had so far. It was the first birthday she spent surrounded by friends - since last year both Harry and Ron hadn't known when her birthday was.
Hermione got up in the morning and was greeted by the grumpy face of Crookshanks, who cuddled into her side and purred sweetly as if he knew what day it was. Delighted she spent the time till she had to go down to breakfast with the cat in bed.
The first who congratulated her was Ginny. The younger girl sneaked into Hermione's room shortly before breakfast, slipped through the curtains and settled on the other side of Crookshanks. With a bright smile, she hugged Hermione and handed her a small bag of self-made cookies as a gift.
"It isn't much, but I made them myself during the summer and Mum put a preserving spell on it. They should still taste good." The redhead shrugged sheepish with a blush, but Hermione liked the gift nonetheless. She knew the Weasleys hadn't much money, but she didn't expect big gifts from her friends anyway.
The next congratulations came of course from Harry and Ron. Both boys waited for her at the common room and hugged her tightly when she came down. They handed her a big book about the history of Hogsmeade as a gift from both of them as well as a bag of cat treats. Ron just shrugged at her surprised face and murmured something about that maybe her bloody cat wouldn't chase Scabbers if he was well fed.
At breakfast Hermione was surprised to see not one owl, but two landed in front of her with packages. From her parents, she got three books from her wish list and a Polaroid camera, so that Hermione could make some photos from Hogwarts and her new pet - her parents were pretty curious about Crookshanks - and send them back home.
The second owl came from Mr and Mrs Weasley with a chocolate tart and a card whishing Hermione well for her birthday. When the twins saw how Errol made his way over the table, more jumping and crashing than actually flying, there were quick to congratulate Hermione as well.
"Now, Miss Granger, how does it fell to be so old?" Twin One sneaked an arm around her waist. "So, our gift to you is a personalised prank. Anyone you want to punish? Maybe Malfoy, the little git? We could make him lose his voice for a week."
"-or a month!" Twin Two interrupted.
"Or should we dye Snape's hair pink?" Twin One grinned down to her but Hermione only frowned.
"How about you two introduce yourself to me properly. You know, like normal people do when they first meet each other." She scolded, but a little smile betrayed her sternness and the twins only laughed at her.
"Well, since we're not normal-"
"-we can skip that. Pretty sure you will figure it out anyway."
"As for the birthday prank, I think we will just surprise you." Both twins stood up with a light chuckle and then walked off, whispering and obviously plotting something.
In the late afternoon Hermione, Harry and Ron had the pleasure to witness the birthday prank, when Draco Malfoy ran over the courtyard chased by a Hippogriff plush animal.
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"Ron is still angry at me," Hermione sighed as Ginny made herself comfortable on her bed. The girls had decided that the common room wasn't the ideal place for plotting a prank against the twins and so went to Hermione's dorm room.
Lavender and Parvati were again at the Divination classroom, listening to Professor Trelawney's ridiculous prophecies. Since the start of the Divination classes and Hermione's constant criticism against the subject and teacher, her relationship with her dorm mates had become a bit tense. So, she was more than glad that she had a new girlfriend in Ginny.
"He will get over it. All cats are chasing rats and mice. It isn't like Crookshanks is targeting Scabbers specifically." Ginny lured the cat on her lap. Since Ron was angry at Hermione because of Crookshanks she tried to keep him in her dorm room as often as possible.
"But that exactly what Ron thinks." Hermione huffed while she pulled out her notebook from the last year and opened the page with her information on the twins. Curiously Ginny read everything and then looked at Hermione with wide eyes.
"You already figured it all out by yourself."
"Yeah, I think I can tell them apart quite well," Hermione smirked, "but I want them to betray their little game. I want to win." She winked at Ginny. "At that's where I need your help. I'm not good with pranking and scheming."
"Don't worry, I will help you. The twins won't know what hit them." With a confident smile, Ginny grabbed a quill and started to scribble down notes and ideas.
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When the season slowly changed and October came around Hermione found herself more and more enjoying the friendship of the youngest Weasley sibling. Since Ron was constantly sulking because of Crookshanks and Scabbers - Hermione did have a guilty conscience, but honestly, it was ridiculous to think that Crooks was targeting Scabbers personally - and Harry was off to Quidditch training three evenings in the week, Hermione found herself alone quite often. Lavender and Parvati were also more distant than ever since Hermione had apparently not shown enough empathy when Lavender's rabbit died.
Ginny meanwhile was not only glad to spend time with Hermione, but she was also good company. The two girls had a lot to talk about and found themselves opening up to each other more and more.
Ginny told Hermione about her year under the control of Tom Riddle. How she still had nightmares and how the dementors had reminded her off all those bad memories. She told Hermione about her guilty feelings towards all the Muggle-borns in Hogwarts, who had been petrified and terrified because of her. Hermione opened up to Ginny equally when she told her all about her terrible start of the first year.
And of course, Harry was a big part of their conversations. Ginny still had a big crush on him and had a constant urge to talk about him. The girl was pretty insecure about how to behave around him, what to say and what to do, and if Harry actually recognized her as more than just Ron's little sister. These conversations were sometimes tiring and annoying for Hermione but for the sake of both Harry and Ginny she endured it and tried to give Ginny the best advice she could think of.
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"And remember our shopping list," Ginny whispered at breakfast. "And be careful so that Ron doesn't know what you buy. He can't keep his mouth shut."
"Of course." Hermione nodded back and mirrored Ginny's small grin and then both continued with their breakfast.
It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year and Hermione was excited to finally see the village. She also felt a bit bad for Harry, since he wasn't allowed to join them, but was also glad. Secretly she was worried about him leaving the castle with Sirius Black on the run.
Her worries were blown away when Hermione and Ron entered Hogsmeade together with the other Gryffindor students from their year. The village was everything Hermione had ever dreamed of. A place full of magic were witches and wizards could live without worrying of being discovered by muggles. It was like Diagon Alley, but larger and better. There were shops as well as normal houses, cafés and pubs and a lot of different people.
Shortly after their arrival Lavender and Parvati excused themselves to visit some café they already heard of, where one could apparently read the tea leaves especially well. Neville, Seamus and Dean headed for Zonkos' first and eagerly Hermione and Ron accompanied them. Hermione was very glad about that because it gave her the opportunity to sneak off and buy a few things from the shopping list without Ron noticing since he was busy laughing with Dean about some prank or another.
The rest of the afternoon Hermione and Ron spent together with just the two of them, visiting everything. They went to Honeydukes and bought the best sweets for Harry, they visited to post office where Ron complained about not having an own owl, and they had a break at the Three Broomsticks, where Hermione tasted her very first butterbeer. When it was time to go back to the castle they both were a bit sad but also eager to tell Harry everything about their day.
Humming Hermione sat down beside Ginny later at the Halloween feast.
"You got everything?" Ginny whispered. Nodding Hermione tried to keep a straight face and handed Ginny the paper bag with all the necessary items for their prank. They wanted to do it tonight since tomorrow was Sunday and they had the whole day off. That was the perfect occasion for pranking that was supposed to last for twelve hours.
Excited Hermione and Ginny followed behind Harry and Ron to the Gryffindor Tower when suddenly there was a little tumult in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. It took Hermione a few minutes to understand what was happening but when she saw the ripped canvas of the portrait and that the Fat Lady was missing, she grabbed Harry's arm. Every instinct screamed at her to keep her best friend close since this was obviously a dangerous situation. Only minutes later her fears were deemed the truth when Peeves happily announced that Sirius Black had been the one who tried to enter the tower. The tower where Harry lived and slept.
New chapter! I know you are all curious about the when, why and how of Hermione falling in love but since this is a slow burn and since I love PoA - one of my favourite books from Harry Potter - I will take my time with this one. I believe firmly that real love is a build-up that happens over time and can't be rushed, so this is also the way how Hermione will fall in love: slowly and over time.
BY THE WAY: It still take ideas/ suggestions/ inspirations for the prank that Hermione and Ginny will play. I have an idea but I'm open for suggestions.
