Third Year,1993-1994
Her third year at Hogwarts left Hermione feeling rather unsettled with regard to Lucius Malfoy. She learned over the summer that he'd been sacked from his position on the Hogwarts Board of Governors for trying to get Professor Dumbledore fired over the whole basilisk-in-the-castle thing.
She liked Professor Dumbledore. He'd been nothing but kind to her since she arrived in the magical world. However, she couldn't exactly disagree with Mr. Malfoy's arguments to the rest of the board and to the Ministry: a dangerous magical beast roamed the halls of Hogwarts, petrifying students, and it was a miracle no one was killed.
If she, a second year student, could figure out that Slytherin's beast was a basilisk, why couldn't Professor Dumbledore? Why couldn't any professor figure it out and put a stop to it? Why did saving Ginny and the school have to fall on Harry's small shoulders? A small traitorous part of her couldn't help but think Lord Malfoy was in the right to want to get rid of their headmaster, but she dared not mention this to anyone.
The next time she saw the handsome blond wizard was the result of his son's arrogance and stupidity. The school year had barely begun when Draco insulted Hagrid's hippogriff, Buckbeak, and the creature's sharp talons ripped open Malfoy's arm. She felt badly for Hagrid that his first class ended so poorly, especially since he'd given everyone proper instructions. It wasn't really his fault that Malfoy didn't listen.
On the day she was reunited with Lord Malfoy, she spun her time turner to slip from divination to ancient runes and moved quickly and quietly down the castle halls to get to her next class. She just so happened to be in the right place at the right time to see Mr. Malfoy emerge from Professor Dumbledore's office looking rather angry.
He stopped short in the hall when he saw her.
"Miss Granger, isn't it?"
She stopped as well and clutched her books to her chest to hide the time turner she'd not yet tucked back into her robes. She'd wished the last time she saw him that she'd been able to speak, but now that she could, she was unsure what to say to him. He knew she was intelligent, but how to make him see that despite her muggle birth, she was worthy of the title 'witch?'
"Yes. Hello Lord Malfoy," she said formally.
His eyebrows rose at her use of his ancestral title. It would be expected from a pureblood child, but not a muggleborn, and she could tell she'd surprised him.
"My, but you are an enigma, Miss Granger."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"How is it that a child of muggles wields magic so easily that she can best pureblood children from the most ancient and noble magical families? Or is it more of Dumbledore's favoritism? He always has twisted the odds in favor of his lions," he mused, a sneer on his face.
"I devote a lot of time to my studies. I work very hard," she said earnestly. Surely Professor Dumbledore saw that. She had earned all of her marks! She was both thrilled and uncomfortable with his attention and the hard stare he fixed on her.
"And yet here you are, walking the halls of Hogwarts. Should you not be in class Miss Granger?" he drawled, glancing up and down the empty hallway..
She swallowed hard. Professor McGonagall had been very specific that she not tell anyone about her time turner use.
"I have...special permission from Professor McGonagall, sir," she said, hoping her voice didn't shake. He was so handsome and yet so intimidating.
"Is that so?"
"Yes sir. And you? Why are you here, Lord Malfoy? Parents generally are not allowed on school grounds in the middle of the week," she asked, raising her chin defiantly at him.
The slight flare of his nostrils was the only outward sign that she may have angered him.
"When an unqualified professor fails to contain a dangerous beast, nearly killing my son, I will be here, regardless of the day," he spat.
Oh. 'My father will hear about this' was a frequent refrain from the younger Malfoy, and apparently a truthful statement. Draco really had complained to his father then about his injury the first day of class.
"I was there, in Care of Magical Creatures. Malfoy, your son that is, he didn't listen to Professor Hagrid. He insulted Buckbeak!" she insisted.
"A creature that prone to violence should never be around children. I will see to it that that beast is put down," he said, and she had no doubt that he meant it.
Her immediate thought was for Hagrid, dear sweet Hagrid, who'd never intended for anyone to be hurt.
"No! Sir, you can't! Professor Hagrid, he told everyone how to approach the animals. We all bowed to them and petted them, and everything was fine. He's not a vicious creature! He let another student ride him and everything!" she pleaded.
"Do not presume to tell me what I can and cannot do, little girl," he sneered. "I neither know nor care what pathetic standards exist for professors in the muggle world, but standards at Hogwarts used to preclude hiring a professor who failed to graduate and cannot wield a wand of his own. One would think a student such as yourself, who so highly values education, would want professors who are actually qualified to teach."
She opened her mouth to respond but found that she couldn't, for he was correct in his assessment. As much as she adored Hagrid and valued his friendship, he had not completed his own education. His knowledge of magical creatures was vast, but he tended to make rash decisions regarding animals. Like hatching a dragon egg and keeping a baby dragon in his hut. Norbert - or Norberta, as Charlie Weasley said the dragon was a girl - could have burned down Hagrid's hut or gotten loose and attacked a student or other animals on the school grounds.
"Lord Malfoy, Hagrid is a kind and gentle person. He would never deliberately harm anyone, nor would he want anyone to be injured. He's wonderful with animals," she said carefully.
"However well-intentioned he may be, that hippogriff is a danger to others, and that half-breed giant has no business teaching anyone," he said sharply.
He looked her up and down then. "Draco's told me all about the way you and your friends - Misters Potter and Weasley - flaunt the rules at this school, yet never seem to be punished for it."
The way the word 'punished' slid from his mouth sent a frisson of fear down her spine. She clutched her books more tightly to her chest and wished that her wand was not tucked safely away in her bag.
"Go to class, Miss Granger, before I-"
He stopped mid-sentence and paused for a moment, his lips pressed together in a firm line. He glared at her and then stalked away, black robes billowing in a way that reminded her very much of Professor Snape.
What had he intended to say to her just then? It felt almost like a threat. She was nothing to him, lower than dirt. A filthy mudblood, as his son liked to say. Why rein himself in like that? It was perplexing for sure.
She watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared from view. She found him absurdly attractive for sure, but in that moment, she was a little bit envious of Draco Malfoy. What must it be like to have a father so concerned about you? It was easy for someone of Mr. Malfoy's apparent wealth to buy the entire Slytherin quidditch team new racing brooms, but it was another to take time from whatever it was he did all day to come to Hogwarts and argue with Professor Dumbledore about Hagrid and Buckbeak.
Her own parents were rather clueless as to what Hogwarts was really like - and just how dangerous it could be - but in that moment, she thought it might be rather lovely to be raised by someone that adoring and protective. She disagreed with him as to what should be done about the entire situation with Buckbeak, and she had every intention of helping Hagrid craft an argument to the Ministry to spare the hippogriff, but she couldn't help but agree with some of Mr. Malfoy's points.
That unexpected meeting in the hall was the only time he spoke to her during her third year. She considered telling Harry about it, particularly given how Mr. Malfoy went on to argue for Buckbeak's execution before the Committee on the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, but just as before, she kept the entire conversation to herself.
She didn't think she could talk about Mr. Malfoy without blushing, and while Ron might be rather clueless when it came to girls, she thought Harry observant enough to notice that something was not quite right. He would never approve of her attraction to Malfoy's father, and Hermione couldn't bear if Harry became angry with her and withdrew his friendship. It was bad enough this year when he didn't speak to her for days because she had his new broom confiscated by Professor McGonagall to be tested for hexes and curses. To not have Harry in her life at all was simple unthinkable.
So despite her conflicted emotions surrounding the wizard that year, Hermione kept her thoughts to herself, unaware at the time that she had taken a few more steps down what would become a dark path.
~oOo~
As third year progressed, she continued to see Mr. Malfoy at every match Slytherin played against Gryffindor, always seated with Professor Snape. She'd never been quite sure if he sat there because Snape was his son's head of house, or if there was some sort of amity between them. Watching them was an exercise in contrasts. Mr. Malfoy was light, his name even meant 'light,' with his long pale blonde hair, fair skin, and cool grey eyes, while Professor Snape was dark. Mr. Malfoy was handsome. Professor Snape was… not. Had they been classmates at one point?
She didn't get any further insight into their relationship until the end of the school year, after she and Harry had used her time turner to rescue both Buckbeak and his godfather Sirius Black from certain death. Harry was still recovering from their ordeal in the hospital wing, but she'd been released, shooed out really, by Madam Pomfrey. After a long, hot shower and a change into a fresh school uniform and set of robes, she'd trudged down the stairs toward the Great Hall. She was early for dinner, and the halls were mostly deserted.
It was this abnormal quiet in the halls that allowed her to hear it: a banging sound, perhaps like the slamming of a door, and muffled but raised voices. She withdrew her wand and crept forward, intent on investigating. One would think that after her time turning experience rescuing Sirius and evading Professor Lupin in werewolf form, not to mention a swarm of dementors, that she'd be inclined to walk away. It wasn't in her nature to do so, however, and she supposed that was ultimately why the Sorting Hat had placed her in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw.
She followed the noise and peered around the corner but saw no one. A flash of movement caught her eye, and she stepped forward to peer out the window into the courtyard just in time to see Professor Snape and Lucius Malfoy. She watched as Mr. Malfoy angrily waved an arm and gestured toward the castle. Professor Snape looked equally unhappy. What on earth were they discussing?
She knew she should have gone ahead to the Great Hall, but she couldn't resist slipping into the courtyard to catch a glimpse of the handsome blond wizard who'd so fully captured her attention. She paused behind a stone pillar and debated her options. She couldn't hear them well enough from where she was, but the layout of the courtyard made it difficult to move closer without being spotted. She ducked low and crept forward on her hands and knees, careful to stay below the low stone wall that ringed that side of the courtyard until she could more easily eavesdrop on the two wizards.
"A WEREWOLF? A bloody WEREWOLF? He's gone senile! It's an OUTRAGE, Severus!" Mr. Malfoy's voice was loud enough now for her to easily hear. "Someone could have been killed!"
"Someone nearly was killed. Despite his general affection for the Potter brat, Lupin neglected to take the wolfsbane potion to chase after Potter and his obnoxious sidekicks, and he attacked us all." Professor Snape's voice was sharp enough to cut glass, and Hermione could tell that he was furious, but holding in his anger.
"He nearly KILLED Potter, and Dumbledore wants to let him stay? What is wrong with that man? My SON is in that castle! Draco-"
"Draco was not in harm's way. Potter, Weasley, and Granger were the only ones out of the castle, as usual."
"I don't care. A werewolf has no business being around children, and this, this incident is exactly why!"
"Dumbledore cannot be reasoned with. I have tried. For a bloody year now, I have tried. The old man has his agenda."
She wished she could peek over the wall to see Mr. Malfoy, but she didn't dare incur Professor Snape's wrath. The risk of getting caught was too great.
"You were right to tell your Slytherins."
"If he will not listen to me, even after this incident, then perhaps he'll listen to the combined voices of parents complaining to the Board of Governors."
Hermione tried to stifle a gasp as she put the pieces together. Snape was trying to get Professor Lupin fired! Professor Lupin had easily been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor they'd had thus far, and he was a friend of Harry's parents. She hated the idea of seeing him go. And yet, she could also understand why Mr. Malfoy was so upset. Professor Lupin truly had been dangerous that night.
"I will not stand for this. Trouble yourself no more with this Severus. I shall gather the old families and speak to the board and to the Ministry at once."
"You are a good friend, Lucius."
She could not hear what Mr. Malfoy said next, as the two seemed to be walking further away from her. She stayed hidden until she heard a single set of footsteps storm back across the courtyard, followed by the sound of a door slamming. When she finally stood, her knees ached, and she had to brush dust from her robes. She supposed it didn't surprise her too much to learn that the two wizards were friends, not after seeing them seated together at quidditch matches, but she still thought it an unlikely friendship.
It galled her to know that Professor Snape had been unable to convince the headmaster to fire Professor Lupin, and so he'd resorted to telling the Slytherins their professor was a werewolf, knowing the pureblood Slytherins would all owl their parents with the news. She had to grudgingly admit that it was a good strategy. Sirius may have escaped capture, but she wasn't sure that Professor Lupin would be able to escape the wrath of Mr. Malfoy. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she headed off to find Professor Lupin and warn him.
~oOo~
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and feedback. A few people have expressed apprehension about the age difference between the characters and Hermione's young age. Their age difference will not change, but you can rest assured that nothing sexual will happen between Lucius and Hermione until she is legally able to consent to it. Thank you again for reading. As always, constructive feedback is welcome on anything I write.
-Elle