DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
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Chapter 13: Chocolate Frog Card
"Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents," said Dumbledore. "His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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1991-1992
(Cedric and Hermione's past)
"Hey, what's your class again this afternoon?"
Cedric slid into her side at the Hufflepuff table for their lunch.
"Potions and Charms with Gryffindors, why?" she asked as she was filling her plate with food, and Cedric, as usual, filled her goblet with pumpkin juice.
"Just heard Neville and Hannah talking. They aren't looking forward to this afternoon."
"Oh," she whispered and glanced at where Neville was seated. "Neville blew up his potion the last time. The Gryffindors, except for Potter, laughed at him. But Professor Snape took points from Gryffindor for laughing and yet not perfecting their potions."
Cedric frowned. "That's weird. Professor Snape never did that to us."
"Perhaps because you were with Ravenclaws?" she asked.
Cedric sighed. "Yeah, and I preferred that. Now I have to deal with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan."
"Why, what's wrong with them? I thought the twins are funny?"
"Yeah, but too noisy. We're not used to noisy and rowdy people, you know..."
Hermione patted Cedric's arm that was on the table. "Sorry to hear that."
Cedric met her eyes and smiled a bit. "It's fine. Well, I was thinking, how about you pair up with Neville so that he wouldn't blow up his cauldron again? Just don't whisper answers right to his ear. Professor Snape hates that."
Hermione nodded. "Sure. No problem. I'll approach him and Hannah later."
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"Hagrid is hiding a dragon in his hut."
Hermione frowned at Ian's statement. "You said it yourself. He lives in a hut. A dragon can blow up his hut."
They were in the courtyard again, but it was a Saturday. Hermione and Susan brought some of their homework in Transfiguration; Cedric volunteered to help them.
"Last month, a troll, and now, a dragon?" Susan said exasperatedly. "What else do they have here?"
"A three-headed dog, apparently," she quipped. Four pairs of eyes turned to her. "I just heard Potter and Weasley in the library," she explained to them.
Cedric, who was sitting beside her on the ground, laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" she asked, amused, and bumped his shoulder.
"Potter and Weasley, in the library?" Cedric quirked up an eyebrow.
"Yeah," she replied. "If my memory serves me right, they started after Halloween."
"Well, maybe they decided to study after you corrected Weasley in Charms," Susan sniggered then put on a serious face. "It's LeviOsa, not LevioSA," she imitated her.
The three boys laughed in amusement and Hermione slapped her friend playfully. "Oh, shut it."
"Really, Hermione, Hogwarts should start a language fluency class. You're a 'walking stress,'" added Susan.
She rolled her eyes at her friend playfully and turned to Ian. "So you were saying? About the dragon? How did you know?"
"Well, Malfoy heard about it and told the other Slytherins when I passed by the Charms corridor. They're planning to tell Filch and Professor McGonagall. Honestly, the Boy Who Lived is trouble."
"Dad was a couple of years ahead of Potter's parents," Terrence began. "James Potter was notorious for his pranks, and he always got away with it." Hermione noticed there was disapproval in his tone.
"Well, in this case, I think Malfoy's doing the right thing. And why is a Hogwarts staff keeping a dragon in a hut?" asked Susan.
"Hang on, what about this three-headed dog?" Cedric asked her.
"Oh, I heard Potter and Weasley arguing at the library. Malfoy challenged them to a duel at the trophy room but he didn't show up. Potter and Weasley were nearly caught by Mr. Filch, so they ran and ended up in that forbidden corridor on the third floor."
"So why is it forbidden? 'Cause there's a three-headed dog?" asked Terrence.
She shrugged. "Yeah. And then, they saw Professor Snape limping and with what looked like a dog bite, so Potter reckons there's something the dog was guarding and that was Professor Snape wants."
Cedric snorted. "A three-headed dog, huh? I bet it was Hagrid's. Who else will the headmaster turn to when it comes to strange animals? Does Professor Kettleburn even know about the dragon and the dog?" It was a rhetorical question.
Hermione remembered Professor Kettleburn was the Care of Magical Creatures professor, and he was a Hufflepuff.
Hermione perked up. "That's it! Tell Professor Kettleburn!"
"About the dog? Maybe Dumbledore was on it," said Cedric.
"No. About the dragon!"
"No. I think we'll let Malfoy tell Filch and Professor McGonagall," said Ian.
"But he hates Hagrid," she told him. "You see him prancing around as if he owns the school, always gloating about his father... Hagrid might be sacked for involving two students."
"Then Dumbledore will always be there to save the day," commented Cedric. "Hagrid was expelled, but was allowed to stay in Hogwarts because of Dumbledore - and take note, he wasn't a headmaster yet at that time."
"I still say, let's tell Professor Kettleburn. He will handle things fairly, I'm sure."
"Hermione's right," said Susan.
The three third-year students exchanged looks, and Hermione knew they would agree.
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"Ten points to each of you for reporting the incident," Professor Sprout told Hermione, Susan, Cedric, Ian, and Terrence proudly.
"That's fifty!" mused Ian.
"Hagrid was very pleased when Professor Kettleburn told him that Norbert will be sent to a dragon sanctuary in Romania.
"Norbert?" they asked altogether.
Professor Sprout smiled. "The dragon. Hagrid's named him. Well, children, stay out of trouble and tell me again or any professor if something like this occurs. Have a great day!"
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Hermione watched the two Gryffindor boys with a shake of her head. They clearly weren't studying. They had been in the library for only half an hour but Hermione reckoned Ronald Weasley thought he'd been there forever.
Those two boys just don't know when to stop being nosy, she thought.
The night Professor Kettleburn spoke to Hagrid about the dragon, Potter and Weasley went down the hut after curfew and were caught by Mr. Filch and Professor McGonagall, even after Hermione and her friends prevented that from happening.
As a result, Professor McGonagall took a hundred points off Gryffindor. Gryffindors were now mad at Potter and Weasley.
Hermione sighed when the two Gryffindor boys argued again near a bookshelf. She was sure they weren't there for some homework. There was no way she could've missed Nicholas Flamel in their lessons. And besides, the two boys just wanted to know what was Nicholas Flamel's contribution. She had read a book about prominent witches and wizards, so she exactly knew what the philosopher did.
But instead of giving them the book she had read (because they might just abuse it like what they were doing to the other books), she decided to give them a card.
She rose from her seat beside Cedric who was busy with his Charms essay and approached the two boys.
"Excuse me," she called gently.
The two Gryffindors turned to her with surprised looks. Weasley recovered first and scowled. "Now, who's eavesdropping?"
She raised an eyebrow, and Potter placed a hand on Weasley's shoulder to stop him. He turned to her with flushed cheeks. "Is there something you need?" he asked politely.
Hermione reached for the card (one of her collections) inside her robe pocket and gave it to Potter. "I heard you're searching about Nicholas Flamel."
The two boys' eyes widened.
"I could hear you from our table, you know. So here."
"That's a Chocolate Frog card!" exclaimed Weasley.
She rolled her eyes. "I know. That's why you have to read."
Potter reached for the card. "Thanks."
Hermione stepped away to go back to Cedric's side.
"Hey, Hermione, why does Potter always blush when you talk to him?" whispered Susan across from her.
She glared at her.
"So what do you think the dog was guarding?" Susan asked.
She leaned forward to whisper. "Something from Nicholas Flamel."
Susan's eyes widened. "The Philosopher's Stone?"
"I'm sure he has other inventions, right?" she asked.
"But the Stone is the most treasured one. That can make a person nearly immortal."
"Why does Potter think Snape wants it?" She frowned and turned to Cedric to ask but her older friend was busy glaring daggers at Potter and Weasley.
And Potter was staring at her. His cheeks flushed again when their eyes met.
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Just a day before the end-of-term, Hermione heard what Potter and Weasley did and Professor Quirrell was gone.
"So it was him who wanted the Philosopher's Stone, not Professor Snape," Neville was saying in their History of Magic class. Professor Binns was babbling, but none of the Hufflepuffs were paying attention.
"Ronald Weasley was gloating," sneered Ernie Macmillan. "He said something about making the three-headed dog sleep, getting past the Devil's Snare, and flying keys - I bet Potter flew to catch the right key - and a giant chess set."
"Weasley's good at playing wizard's chess," commented Justin. "I saw him one time at the Great Hall, playing with Poter."
"What's the challenge after the giant chess set?" asked Hannah.
"Potions and riddles," said Neville.
Justin laughed. "I bet none of them got past that."
"Well, Weasley said Professor Quirrell saw him and forced him to the room where the Stone was hidden. And then, guess what was behind Quirrell's head?" asked Neville
"What?" They all asked together.
"You-Know-Who!"
"That's barmy!" commented Ernie.
"He was possessed by You-Know-Who! When Potter touched his head, he was burned and turned into ashes!" exclaimed Neville.
"Potter is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse," said Susan. "So it must be true, his touch affects You-Know-Who."
"And he's not truly gone," she whispered, still in shock at the news of You-Know-Who behind their former professor's head.
"Gran says he's not truly gone because that's what Dumbledore said. Gran believes him," replied Neville.
"My Auntie believes him, too," said Susan.
"I think I'll go back to the Muggle world," said Justin with a shake of his head.
"Oh, don't be like that!" said Ernie. "Hogwarts is the safest place."
Hermione, Susan, and Justin exchanged looks, shaking their heads.
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All of the Hufflepuffs were excited about the end-of-term feast. For the first time in history, they had the highest number of house points - four hundred and eighty! For the first time in history, the House Cup will be in a basement common room!
"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points," announced the headmaster.
"Thanks to Potter and Weasley, they lost a hundred points in one night," Ian laughed and whispered.
Terrence grinned, but Cedric shook his head in disapproval.
"In third," the headmaster continued, "Ravenclaw, with three hundred and fifty-two; Slytherin has four hundred and twenty-six and Hufflepuff, four hundred and seventy-two."
There was loud cheering from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. For the first time in many years, someone beat Slytherin.
"Well, done, Hufflepuffs, well done." Professor Dumbledore turned to Professor Sprout at the staff table who was grinning broadly. Everyone seemed to be congratulating her, even Professor Snape who nodded curtly.
"I would like to make last-minute awards..."
"Oh, fuck," cursed Ian.
Hermione frowned as she watched the headmaster.
"First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."
"Fifty points to one student?" frowned Terrence and whispered. "I want to see that chess set."
Hermione could say that her friends were all trying to control their temper, just like the rest of her housemates at the table.
The Gryffindor table, of course, cheered and Percy Weasley was telling everyone about his little brother.
"To Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."
All of them sighed in relief.
"We still get the House Cup," some students said.
"Gryffindor's third place."
The Gryffindors' claps died down. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs still looked happy. Nothing could make Professor Sprout get mad, especially when Professor Dumbledore awarded her the House Cup. Their head of the house went to the Hufflepuff table and raised the cup.
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July 2020
(the present)
"I got Aunt Mione!" exclaimed Albus.
Ced looked up to the boy on the sofa in his office. It was the first time he spoke again after two hours of silence. The boy was holding a pack of Chocolate Frog and in his other hand was a complementary card.
"Hermione Diggory nee Granger is a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries," he began to read.
"She is the first and only witch who discovered the cure for the severe effects of... the Cruciatus Curse that healed former Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom..."
Albus stopped and turned to him. "Really?"
He just smiled at the boy. "I guess in your universe, she was also featured in complementary cards. What did the card say?" He already had an idea but he still wanted to hear.
"She translated 'Tales of Beadle the Bard' and was known for fighting Voldemort with Harry Potter during the Second Wizarding War, former head of DMLE, Minister for Magic, and she made new regulations for the protection of house-elves," replied Al.
"So, Neville's parents were still at St. Mungo's?" he asked quietly.
Albus nodded. "She's a genius," he whispered.
His smile widened. "She is."
"Hang on, there's more," added Albus when he read the card again and looked up to him, frozen in shock. "She... she worked with him?"