Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. You may want to poke my eyeballs out, seeing as this chapter is not a very exciting one. Character development, yay!

Again, sorry. Excuse wise; I have cheerleading every night, homework, slight writer's block, and I'm just plain lazy. So, sorry for this dull chapter. The next one will be better, if I can get a few ideas. :-D

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. You guys are amazing. Completely and utterly amazing, it really helps me with my writing. And those of you who haven't reviewed; you're still fantastic!

Hope you like it. Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas! Thanks again.

...

Chapter Five

Hermione walked against the sharp wind, her covered head down and arms crossed. She could barely see five feet ahead of her, it was snowing so hard. Wind screamed in her ears and blew her hair and scarf in front of her face. Her socks would've been soaked had they not been frozen. The witch was certain that she was going to lose a r toe or maybe a part of her finger. Hermione debated turning around and heading straight back towards the castle. But she had made it that far, and the sorceress was too stubborn to turn back now.

This was the earliest that snow had come to Hogwarts, it was only the second week of November. The whole school had woken up with frost on their noses, and clouds appearing in little puffs in front of their mouths. The wonderful House-Elves had worked their hardest to make the castle nice and comfortable again, with fires roaring in every common room and extra blankets in each dormitory. But that didn't stop the outside from being absolutely terrible. Each morning, owls would appear, their feathers in all different directions, their beaks dripping with icicles. After every Herbology lesson, Madam Pomfrey was waiting for the class, blankets in hand and goblets full of hot drink on trays. All in all, Mother Nature was pretty furious.

Every student was rather surprised to find that there was still going to be a Hogsmeade trip. Hermione didn't even know why she was going. None of her friends wanted to go, it was freezing. They could barely leave their common room without frosting over, imagine how it'd be on the way to Zonko's. What good would come out of it anyway? If anything, they'd just get a Butterbeer and then leave. But when the witch examined it, she really just wanted a break from it all. Some nice alone time would be good for her. An hour or two away from staring eyes and whispering voices would do her good.

Sliding on ice, Hermione was hoping that the small town would appear soon. Her throat started to ache horribly, and her eyes were nearly frozen shut. Maybe that's why the teenager walked straight into a building, nearly falling into the snow. Taken aback slightly, she hugged the building, trying to ensure she wouldn't topple over. Needing to get out of the cold, she groped for a handle before throwing herself inside. Hermione's cheeks didn't have any feeling in them, and her already messy hair was windswept and crazy. She blinked snow out of her eyes, and gave a huge smile of relief. She was in The Three Broomsticks.

Hobbling towards a table, she gently sat down. She ordered a Fire Whiskey when asked, why the hell not? Hermione was of age, and besides, she could use the warmth. The witches sat with a notebook of hers, the fire slowly making her clothes damp from melting the snow and then dry again. It was nearly deserted; apparently not many students were as insane as her to go out in the storm. It didn't really bother Hermione, she liked being alone. And it's not like she really had a choice in the matter.

The teenager's toes were more or less defrosted, and she could feel her ears again. Drinking slowly, Hermione debated whether to try shopping with this blizzard. There was a good possibility that she'd get lost in the storm and be gone forever. She'd stumble over logs, the wind blowing her hair into her mouth. The witch smirked a little at that. If anything, she'd run into a tree and have to spend the rest of her day nursing a headache.

But it'd be wise to go shopping now than on the next Hogsmeade visit, when it was crazy busy. Hermione needed to get gifts for Christmas. She knew it was only November and not even considerably close to the holidays, but she had no idea what to get her family, along with Harry and Ron. She took a big gulp of her drink, loving the warmth it sent through her body. The witch bit her bottom lip, should she walk two miles an hour back to the school or wander through the stores looking for something to buy?

Sighing, Hermione closed her notebook that she bought at a Muggle store. She left a tip on the table, and wrapped her scarf tight around the lower half of her face, bracing herself for the outside world. Her mind was still sorting out her options, separating the cons and the pros. The landscape was nothing but a white blur, the wind screaming. The witch loved snow, she really, truly did. But this? This was a little too much.

Hermione grumbled, turning back towards the castle. She hated being defeated, even if was by a little snow. But she knew that this blizzard would get the best of her. Rather go home shivering than stay outside losing fingers. Moving unbelievably slow, the sorceress wished she could Apparate back to the common room. That'd make life a hundred times easier.

The teenager tried to focus on where her feet were, which was difficult when she could barely tell where the sky met the ground. Feeling more and more miserable, Hermione tried focusing on anything but the lack of feeling in her cheeks and thighs. Her school song popped into her head, and she started singing under her breath.

Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy-Warty Hogwarts.

Teach us something please.

Whether we be old and bald, or young with scabby-

With a gasp of surprise, the witch landed on her hands and knees, her toe aching from the rock she just tripped over. Great, Hermione thought resentfully, just what I wanted, scabby knees. Muttering some unladylike curses, she struggled to stand up in her bulky clothes, her breath coming out a little fast. Upright, she brushed snow from her hair, squinting in the blinding landscape. That's when she noticed a black figure, barely ten feet away, moving forward.

No, the teenager thought, her eyes widening, Not here, not now. Not when I can barely move. She stumbled away, fighting for her wand. Hermione felt panic bubble in her chest, the kind of fear that leaves its victims feeling helpless and powerless. The terror that fills you up then drains you out, leaving nothing but a hollow shell left in its tracks. This thing had killed a student. A student who was in a warm environment and could run normally. What chance did Hermione have?

The witch raised her wand as the figure moved closer. Memories flashed behind her eyelids. Both encounters with this thing was still clear as day. Anger rose above the fear, just long enough for a hot beam of red energy to shoot out of the wand Hermione held. The snow surrounding the spell evaporated, and steam rose into the sky. A scarlet starburst surrounded the silhouette. The figure jerked back slightly. Hermione's hand was warm, wonderfully, wonderfully warm, and the teenager wished her body felt the same way. Maybe then she'd have a better chance of surviving.

The figure didn't stop advancing, in fact, it sped up. Long, confident strides. Frozen by fear, and, mostly, frozen by ice, the witch didn't move. She knew that running wouldn't help her in the slightest. She'd fall and twist her ankle. It was the smarter option to stay put, but it wasn't a wise one. Hermione's wand was raised, and her heart was pounding. She took a deep breath, a curse on the tip of her tongue.

"Ah!" Hermione's mouth dropped open, disbelief clogging her brain, "Miss Grang-ah! Thank you for defrosting me, I needed that. Can't go losing my toes, I need those for things…like walking. Anyway."

The teenager gaped at her slightly steaming teacher. How…how could he possibly be here? It was below freezing, in the middle of November, halfway to Hogsmeade, and Smith had steam curling off of his hair, melting the snow above him. Hermione rubbed her forehead, not even really caring about the fact that her feet had no feeling whatsoever. She squinted at the man across from her. Even though he was directly in front of Hermione, she still had trouble seeing her teacher.

"What are you doing here?!" Hermione's voice was barely heard over the wind, even though she was just about shouting.

Smith made an awkward hand motion and grabbed the witch's arm, dragging her. Her protests were scattered into the wind, and the entrance to the Three Broomsticks fell into view. Falling into the warm place she just left, Hermione sighed, slightly frustrated. She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. The Doctor paid her no attention. He was shaking fluffy snow out of his wild hair, not giving any sort of sign that he was the slightest bit cold.

Flapping his coat a bit, he finally glanced over at his student. He raised an eyebrow at her expression. He looked around the nice, little pub he was in, and his hearts sank. So, it was him that was getting that dirty look. The Doctor pressed his lips together and looked at his friend, "Cold Hermione?"

"Why did you drag me in here?" Water was running down her cheeks, dripping onto the floor, joining the rest of its kind. A huge puddle was forming, and with an impatient wave of her wand; the witch's robes dried and the water and ice vanished.

Smith nodded, clearly impressed. Magic was amazing, even if was some fake magic that couldn't really exist. He still hadn't figured that out yet. Magic wasn't real, not really. But how did they pull it off so well. How did these people do it? Mutter or think a few magic words and poof! Dry clothes and clean floors. It was incredible, brilliant even.

The Doctor adverted his eyes from where he was staring, and he caught Hermione's impatient scowl. He realized he never answered her question, and his mouth fell open into a loose circle, "R-ight, sorry. You were saying something, and I couldn't hear you. Rather talk in a cozy pub-ish place than scream outside."

He was lying of course, he heard her perfectly fine. The Doctor just wanted to sit down and talk to the girl. No danger, no opposing threats, no grief stricken events clogging the air around them. All the Time Lord wanted was to get to actually know this girl. Find out her hobbies, learn how to make her laugh, and see out clever that mind really was. This was Hermione Granger, for goodness sake; the Doctor needed to know what she was really like. It wasn't often that you got to meet one of your favorite book characters.

The witch was raising an eyebrow still, "Okay. I was actually just heading back up to the castle, so I'll…be going now." She wasn't in the mood for human contact of any sorts. Just this little mini conversation was giving her a headache. Hermione just wanted to curl up with one of her favorite books and fall asleep reading it.

She backed towards the door, but she didn't even move five inches before Smith was next to her, "Wait, wouldn't you like to share a Butterbeer with me? Nice day for it."

Hermione's eyes flickered behind her teacher; Rosmerta wasn't even behind the counter. No one was in the Three Broomsticks besides those two. She was positive that the innkeeper wanted nothing more than for those two to leave, so she could get some peace and quiet. And the witch was right there with her. Hermione's brown eyes narrowed, and she gently pulled away from her strange friend. "It's also a nice day to lay in bed and do nothing."

"Yeah, but its Saturday, the best things happen on Saturdays. Leave the dull stuff for Sundays. Sundays are boring." His arms were out slightly, and a little smile was showing. He seemed to be pleading almost. "And this...this is such a great thing to do on a Saturday instead of on a boring Sunday."

She really didn't want to walk back in the snow. Hermione was just beginning to feel warm again, and it was nice; the empty room. No commotion, no noise, no threat that a dungbomb would appear out of nowhere and explode; it's really what Hermione needed. She groaned inwardly. If was making excuses to spend a little time with this man, she was in big, big trouble.

Hermione made a face, thinking. Smith wiggled his eyebrows, and her slight scowl turned into a smile. She sighed dramatically, and the witch sat down at one of the tables. The Doctor grinned fully and joined his student. The witch hung her jacket and scarf on the chair behind her. Smith removed his coat too, and his classic blue suit was one underneath it. His red Converse rested on an empty chair, and one of them was twitching with energy. Hermione could feel regret boiling in her chest. This really could not end well.

Rosmerta eventually appeared and set a Fire Whiskey down, along with a small glass of Butterbeer. The witch smiled warmly at Hermione and then eyed the Doctor slowly. Smirking slightly, the teenager closed her hands around her mug, enjoying the look that was on her teacher's face.

He smiled at his student, thinking her grin was for him. His beaming face stalled for a second when he turned to glance at his waitress. His eyebrows knit, and then realization crossed his face. The teenager snorted into her glass, and Smith opened his mouth to say something, anything. Rosmerta sashayed away, and Hermione chuckled into his mug., louder this time. Shocked and maybe a tad flustered, Smith turned back to his student. Seeing her expression, he silently told her to keep her mouth shut.

The witch was enjoying herself immensely, finally seeing that this man was, in fact, human after all. He swiped a hand through his hair, his eyes glued on the table. His eyes lit up slightly when they landed on the golden drink. An air of two year old excitement surrounded the Doctor, and he gladly gripped his drink. He took a sip from his own mug, making a slightly weird face.

"Takes like cream soda." He stated, disappointment clear in his words. The Doctor's face fell, even his hair seemed to slouch forward with sadness, "I thought it was supposed to taste sort of like caramel and warm you up from the inside out?"

Hermione slowly lowered her glass. This conversation was becoming very weird already. First the Doctor is treated like eye candy, then he starts babbling about a Muggle drink. She wiped her mouth, "Where did you get that from?"

The Doctor blinked slowly, his brain scrambling for something apart from the truth. He couldn't very well say that he got the idea from a series partially written about her life. "Well…uh, a student described it to me once." He took another sip of his not too satisfying drink.

Hermione raised her eyebrows for a brief second, "Well, it sounded like it came out of a book or something. Must have been a heck of a description."

The Doctor forced a chuckle, his stomach twisting. "Aren't you a tad young to be drinking that?" He said in a desperate attempt to change the subject. His hand was gestured towards Hermione's nearly full mug, a cocky grin on his face.

She scoffed, smiling slightly, "I am of age, Professor Smith. I think it's perfectly okay."

"Dunno." He laid back in his chair, his hands going behind his head, "I might have to give you a detention for that."

With a roll of her eyes, the witch retorted, "Oh really? Will we have another tea party or play Wizard's Chess?"

The two new friends grinned at each other over their drinks, tension slowly melting away. It was still awkward between them, no question about that. Smith's higher rank at Hogwarts, and Hermione's reputation made it difficult for the three, Donna included, to really become close friends. Each time the witch left Smith's office, more and more people would whisper about it. It didn't seem right to the students. But what about Hagrid? The Golden Trio's best friend was a teacher, and no one found it really weird then.

Hermione figured it was just because Smith and Donna were new, and she was the muggle-born who helped Harry Potter. Those three kept attracting the monster that was hiding in the woods also. Between the trio, it wasn't really surprising that they were attracting attention. But why did it matter if the spotlight was on them? Hermione found herself so much happier when she was with this skinny man and the loud redhead. They made her laugh, and the witch needed some smiles in her life. Those two saw her in her weakest moment and some of her strongest. She couldn't very well say they weren't friends. They had been through too much.

Sipping her drink, the witch made a decision: Those two teachers made her lonely school life so much more bearable, so dammit, the witch could be friends with them if she wanted. Hermione looked over at Smith again, and she promised that she'd stop calling him Smith. Except for in class and with sarcastic comments, maybe that'd show the Doctor that she really trusted and liked him. After all, he did save her life, how much more trust could he earn?

They talked for a very, very long time, discussing almost everything and anything. But it was never about the Doctor. The topics were either focused on the young witch or random, off-the-wall subjects. Whenever Hermione asked a simple question about the man sitting across from her, he answered stiffly and moved on. The Doctor had some emotional baggage, that much was clear, but it became more obvious when they chatted. They only thing that she really found out about the Doctor was that he knew a lot of people, and his heart held a lot of love and lost. That was just from observation though. Hermione could never really know what'd was going on inside that crazy head of his unless he let her inside.

The snow was lightly falling, and the sky was dark. Neither person really wanted to leave the warm room and trudge through the cold though. The thought of a nice warm bed and sleep made it very tempting to stumble through the wind and snow. Hermione could feel her eyelids drooping, the energy draining from her body. It had been a long day. Even though she didn't really do anything, she was still exhausted. When the Doctor paused to drink out of his newly filled cup, she glanced at her watch.

The witch stood up, stretching, "We better go Doctor. The sun set over a half hour ago."

Her friend looked surprised, "Time does fly." He smirked then, a tiny, almost invisible smirk that held so much more that it appeared. Hermione tilted her head, questioning, but the joke was gone from his lips and a normal grin replaced it. The Doctor launched to his feet, swinging his coat around his shoulders.

Making a slight face, the witch threw on her coat, and made her way towards the door. The Doctor opened the door for his young companion and followed her up to the castle. Neither of them said a word. Nothing needed to be said. They just listened to the sound of crunching snow and beating hearts. Hermione pulled out her wand, and a jet of warm magic melted the snow in front of the couple. They walked easily, the cold not as bothersome now. Small smiles on their faces, they glanced at one another, so happy that they found another person who they could call a friend.

...

"So, how did you even meet him?" Hermione was sitting on a desk with Donna. Both woman's legs were crossed, a pink tea cup in their hands. They each had a free period early in the morning, and it had become ritual to have tea in the Defense Against the Dark Art teacher's classroom. There was no skinny, wild man with them. So it was just idle chit-chat. Neither woman felt quite comfortable with the other yet.

The red-head smiled as the memory resurfaced. Images of running in a white dress, jumping from a taxi cab, and little scooter type things flashed behind her eyes. Donna sighed slightly and grinned at Hermione, glad she finally had a bit of alone time with her young friend.

"It was on my wedding day." She said, sort of vague. She saw Hermione glance at her left hand. Donna chuckled, "Yeaah, the Doctor… he talked me out of it. My ex-fiancé, he was jerk." She brushed her hair back, sadness filling her eyes, "Can't believe I fell for it."

Hermione smiled sadly, understanding completely. "At least you had the Doctor with you. He seems like a good friend." She took a sip out of her teacup. Her eyes were fixed on Donna, and she watched as memories washed over the redhead. Love, and sadness shone brightly through her eyes. She snapped herself out of her reminiscences, and set her cup down.

"I didn't see him for a long time after that. I just…ran into him one day. Then it all went downhill from there." Donna laughed slightly. "I travel with him now. We go on crazy adventures, run a lot, and we've almost lost our lives. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Hermione smiled, thinking of her own friends. What if she never became friends with Harry and Ron. Oh, how horribly ordinary her life would've been. No adventures, no risks, no saving the day. Just a normal Hogwarts experience. But who wants that? Never going down Fluffly's trapdoor, never riding Buckbeak, never destroying Horcruxes. Those experiences, however dangerous, made the witch who she was today. Hermione found herself agreeing with her teacher. Even though she could've died, it was worth it. Maybe that made her insane. The sorceress realized that she was okay with that though.

"Enough about that man." The red head declared, startling Hermione out of her train of thought. "So, what do you guys actually do for fun around here?"

The witch blinked, her eyebrows furrowing, "Oh, well…there's Quidditch, and Wizard's Chess and all sorts of clubs." Hermione bit her lip slightly, "There isn't really much to do, really. We all just sit around, playing pranks, making jokes, being around each other. Like a family."

It didn't sound like a bad life, Donna mused. After all, being in a magical school had to have excitement all on its own without activities. Although, the redhead needed a break from the renaissance feeling of the place to go watch a movie or something. She barely survived a month in the TARDIS not being able to watch her favorite telly program. The only reason she wasn't insane yet was because of the circumstances that Hermione and the Doctor kept bringing to the table.

"So there's no TV, no technology. Nothin'?" Hermione looked at her a little weird then, and Donna bit her tongue. She cursed inside her head, she should've known not to ask questions.

"No, magic interferes with electricity…Surely you knew that, being a witch and all."

Donna stared at her student for a brief moment, "Right." She breathed, grinning, "'Course I knew that. Just…tired is all."

Hermione smiled slightly, one eyebrow cocked. There was a moment of silence before the red-head muttered, "Shame though. Can't watch movies or the telly."

"Right?" The witch's eyes were wide, "I really do hate that. When I go back home, I have to catch up on all of the shows I missed."

"It takes forever to find out where you left off, and you never have the time to watch 'em." Donna made little gestures with her hands, her eyes bright.

"Oh yeah. Takes forever to catch up."

"It's such a hassle."

"The worst."

The women grinned at each other, their friendship strengthening. For the rest of their free period, they discussed Muggle life, Muggle problems, and just anything that could be found in an ordinary life. They shared the stressful and wonderful details about being in a different world that was so close to their own. Harry and the Doctor were talked about, along with the adventures that came with them. Although, Donna didn't give too many details when she shared her tales, much to Hermione's disappointment. From what was told, Professor Noble had amazing adventures with the Doctor, far more exciting that the witch's.

Hermione was so disappointed to see that Transfiguration was coming closer. She wanted nothing more than to sit on the desk, drinking tea and chatting. But she knew that'd she be late if she stayed any longer. The witch sighed and pushed herself away from the desk, the last hour echoing through her mind. Grabbing her bag, she made her way towards the door.

"See you tomorrow for tea Hermione?"

The witch gave her teacher a bright smile, her eyes shining. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

Her bushy head joined the hordes of students, and soon she was lost in a sea of black-robed individuals. Donna leaned against the cold stone wall, her arms crossed. The bustle of witches and wizards was habitual, and it even started to feel normal. The spells, the incantations, moving pictures and staircases didn't even make the red-head do a double take anymore.

This unusual life had become a normal one. And Donna couldn't say it was any different from traveling around with the Doctor. Maybe a tad less danger and running, but not much. She had grown fond of this place that shouldn't exist. She was starting to love the grounds and cold corridors, the lessons and the people. It felt as homey as anywhere else.

Hogwarts had snuck up behind the redhead and clamped itself onto her, making Donna fall in love with the atmosphere. She couldn't imagine teaching anywhere else, nor did she want to, But then again, she never wanted to be a teacher in the first place. What better place could there be to practice a career that she didn't want to pursue? Somewhere, probably, but Donna was perfectly fine where she was.

Her heart sank when she realized that she and the Doctor wouldn't be staying. Donna sighed and looked down at the bottom of her robes. After that thing was caught, she'd hop back into the TARDIS with her beloved Spaceman. They'd say goodbye to this amazing castle, and its properties. Then with the roar of engines, this beautiful place would fade away and become just a memory.

As she walked back to her classroom, Donna found herself hoping that this shadow would stay hidden, if just for a little while longer.