Chapter 3 – Money is Love

"Well, you can start with how a clever witch like you, ended up in Hogwarts Boys."

Hermione stared at the teacher for a long time. Then her eyes focused on the area just above Remus's shoulder and she twisted her fingers nervously.

"I'm not sure I understand…" Hermione began but was cut off.

"I'm not going to expose you, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just wondering what you are doing here? Why aren't you on the Girls train? And who on earth helped you make that potion."

Hermione if possibly felt even more nervous. How did this man know so much?

Hermione began to back away and this time reached into her pocket and grabbed her wand.

Remus all the while was looking off into space while other inaudible questions where repeated on his lips.

"I think you've made a mistake. I'm a boy, complete red-blooded male…" Hermione trailed off when Remus raised an eye at her.

"Oh I doubt that very much. I have a talent for…shall we say sensing people's true identities. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are in fact a female, who either has been placed under an imperious curse or has gotten on the wrong train."

"I'm not under the imperious curse!" Hermione replied vehemently.

"Well yes, I'm sure that you'd say that whether you were or not. The point is I know, and you know I know so how 'bout we just stop dancing around the issue and you tell me how you got into Hogwarts boys?"

Hermione shuffled on the spot before eyeing Remus.

"So…you're a teacher at Hogwarts then?" Hermione asked warily.

"This year anyway," Remus replied shortly.

"Well…then if you're a teacher…I suppose it should be okay…although I should let Professor McGonagall explain…"

"Minerva is aware?" Remus questioned in surprise. He looked at Hermione carefully before asking in a quiet voice.

"Is your identity hidden for a crucial and 'specific' purpose?"

Hermione eyes widened when she heard the teacher ask her a question that had more than one layer to it. Hermione could see it in his eyes, there was concern and determination in them. Hermione thought for a moment before replying.

"Yes," she said just as quietly.

Keeping her identity hidden was key to her being able to study at Hogwarts Boys but Remus didn't know that and if he was under the impression that she was there to perform a 'special' purpose, who was she to stop him, after all in a round-about sort of way it was for a 'special' purpose.

"Well that changes everything," Remus said a hint of relief in his voice, "There's no need to explain further Miss Granger."

Remus spoke hastily before ushering Hermione out of the compartment, Hermione stepped out into the hall confusion etched on her face, which only increased when Remus whispered to her just before he closed the door.

"By the way, try not to talk to yourself too much at Hogwarts. The walls literally have ears and eyes as you may well be aware."

With that final warning Remus closed the compartment door and pulled the curtains on the room, so that no one could see the occupant within.

'That was weird,' Hermione thought to herself as she returned to her own compartment.

When she stepped inside the compartment where Harry, Ron and Neville sat, she felt if possible even more uncomfortable than she had with Remus. They had stopped talking the instant she opened the compartment door and she could practically feel the tension in the room.

Hermione attempted a smile before gingerly sitting down beside Neville. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Ron and Harry share a significant look before Harry cleared his throat.

"How are you feeling?" he questioned with what sounded like genuine concern.

"Fine," Hermione replied before grabbing for her bag and reaching for a lone notebook stuffed near the bottom.

She pulled it out and opened it up at the page she had bookmarked and began hastily writing with the quill she had stuck in between the pages. Hermione knew that if she did not at least appear to be busy the boys would begin questioning her about Remus and she needed a few more minutes to think up a reasonable excuse.

"Is your family alright?" Ron questioned in concern over the loud scratching noises of her quill.

"Huh?" Hermione said in confusion looking up from her book despite herself.

"That's what Remus wanted to talk about with you right? About your family in the South of England?" Ron continued.

"Are they alright?" Harry asked this time.

Hermione was quite taken aback by the line of questioning. She was aware of the stories that McGonagall deliberately spread to the students but what shocked her was their concern. She could not remember a time throughout her time at Hogwarts Girls that anyone noticed let alone expressed concern for her and family. Hermione felt her eyes sting slightly from threatening tears and turned away from the piercing eyes of the boys. She lifted the book up slightly to hide her face before attempting a reply.

"Fine…everything's fine."

The boys must have taken her strange behavior as a manly attempt not to show emotions, either way, after a few long seconds of pause the conversation started up again and Hermione tried not to roll her eyes when the topic chosen was Quidditch.

Surprisingly, the remainder of the trip to Hogwarts was relatively uneventful. It was only when they sat in the rocking carriages that were taking them to Hogwarts that Hermione remember what had bothered her earlier that evening.

"How is that you can do magic outside Hogwarts?" Hermione questioned.

Harry eyes widened before he and the other boys chuckled.

"Well of course we can do magic on the Hogwarts express," Neville explained, "It's only outside, in the muggle world, that we aren't allowed to do magic."

"Oh," Hermione replied to what she had to agree was quite a reasonable explanation, "It's just that when I was at Ho – ," Hermione stumbled over her words but recovered quickly, "At home I wasn't allowed to do any magic outside lessons so its all – a bit new to me I suppose."

Hermione laughed nervously before turning to look out the window while mentally berating herself.

'I need to get better at this 'disguise' thing before they discover who I am even before the night is over,' Hermione inwardly sighed.

"Oh," came Ron's voice slowly, "Well if you're with us it should be okay to do magic whenever you feel the need."

"Why is that?" Hermione wondered aloud looking at Ron directly.

Ron looked at Harry and Neville before shrugging.

"We just have more authority than the other students in an emergency that's all," Ron explained after a pause.

Hermione cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Why is that?" she questioned again.

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione in concern before suddenly pointing out the carriage window.

"Oh we've arrived at Hogwarts!" he said a bit too excitedly, "This will be your first time seeing Hogwarts wont it?"

Harry turned to look at Hermione, clearly trying to pull her attention away from Ron.

"What? Oh yes…well that is true," Hermione said in what she hoped was an equally excited voice before looking out the window.

Her eyes really did widen however when she looked up at the towering castle in front of her. She gaped and moved closer to the window and double checked that she was seeing the castle properly.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Harry laughed when he saw the expression on her face.

"Sure is," Hermione replied but for an entirely different reason.

She hadn't spotted the difference at first because she was distracted by the boy's behavior but now as she took in every detail she almost had to hide her laugh. Oh this was not the first time she had seen Hogwarts, but this was the first time she had seen the castle as it now stood. It looked like a mirror image of Hogwarts Girls. Every detail remained the same – only on the opposite side of the castle.

'How strange,' Hermione thought to herself as they reached the castle and followed the boys into the school.

She bumped into Ron when she walked in and instinctively turned right.

"This way," he said pulling her over to the large wooden doors.

She was used to the stairs, rooms and hallways changing with each year but the Great Hall had always remained in the same place, she was grateful that she had Ron to show her the way however. She followed the flow of students into the Great Hall and smiled when she saw at least the bewitched ceiling remained the same. It really did feel like she was being welcomed home when she looked up at the familiar ceiling.

Hermione was pushed into a seat beside Neville before her eyes wandered to the long table at the front of the hall where all the teachers sat. She saw Remus sitting beside McGonagall. She smiled at McGonagall who only looked at her with concern before her stern expression returned. It was odd though to see so many male teachers sitting at the table when usually the Head table would be filled with her female teachers. She felt relief though when her eyes returned to McGonagall, at least she knew that her Headmistress would always be around to help her this year.

"Who is that woman sitting next to Dumbledore?" Hermione asked the group sitting next to her.

"Oh that's McGonagall, she's the transfiguration teacher," Ron replied through mouthfuls of chicken.

"Transfiguration?" Hermione's eyebrows rose when she looked at Ron in disbelief.

Her Headmistress was just a teacher to these boys? But from the way that they spoke of her she at least could see that they respected the elderly and stern woman almost as much as she did.

Hermione picked at her food for a moment before Neville began asking her about her thoughts on a plant that she had never heard of, nor one she had ever heard Professor Sprout speak of. When she told Neville that she had indeed never heard of such a plant, he instantly began listing of its properties and medicinal uses.

She smiled and began to eat some chicken as she happily listened to Neville talk excitedly beside her.

'Maybe it won't be so bad after all,' she thought as her eyes moved between Neville, Harry and Ron, who she could see were now talking to Dean and Seamus opposite to them.

Her eyes remained on Ron's face for a moment longer than the others before her attention returned to Neville once more.

'No, not bad at all.'

"Where is it?!" Hermione cried in frustration throwing the pillows into the air and yanking the blankets off the bed as though hoping to have what she was looking appear before her eyes.

It was the first Sunday of her stay at Hogwarts boys, and though she was infinitely glad she had her own private room she hated that the place was so big that she lost her possessions daily. Either that or the house-elves possibly Dobby had taken her possessions to clean. Hermione had been surprised at first when the house-elf had appeared in her room her first night at Hogwarts. She had befriended the elf at the end of the last year and he was one of the few friends she had at Hogwarts Girls. They often planned how to organize protests and petitions to free House-elves and although most of it had so far been theoretical discussions it had been fun and interesting.

But that was all beside the point now. It had been a full week since she had arrived at Hogwarts and the leather-luggage bag that McGonagall had given her was now missing. The potions that were carefully contained within that luggage bag were intended to be drunk once or twice a day depending on how much energy she exerted. It was a strange potion that seemed to revive her when she felt tired during physical activities like during weekly Quidditch practice despite that only a few students were actually on the team. When she had wondered about this aloud to Ron he had looked at her incredulously before Harry laughed and explained that physical activities like Quidditch were designed to keep all the boys at Hogwarts fit. Hermione had tried to look pleased that the school was eager to keep their students fit rather than trying to force them into diabetic coma's like at Hogwarts Girls.

She had noted with relief when she looked at her timetable for the first time that there was not a single 'Home-economics' class. Economics? Hermione often scoffed when teachers at Hogwarts Girls lectured on about the importance of being able to prepare food. Not that she disagreed with that, every should be able to cook or boil water at least, but the fact that it was also not so subtlety hinted at the reason why girls should be 'domesticated' – to make lovely trophy wives for their brilliant husbands. It had angered Hermione and she had happily noted several other girls as well at the school but never enough that they would join in any petition or protest against the subject. And although she at least found comfort in Professor McGonagall and a few other teachers displeasure at the school curriculum, there seemed little else anyone could do to change the system.

That was why as the week had ended Hermione felt even more determination to do her best at Hogwarts Boys. She was going to change everything abhorrent about the Wizarding School system – in fact, her thoughts returned to Dobby and a smile spread across her lips, she was going to change everything about the Wizarding society that was unjust to those who were deemed of lesser social standing.

That in fact had been the reason she had gone in search of another dosage of the potion that McGonagall had given her. Ron and Harry had invited her to help them patrol that night. The prospect in its ordinary light would not have interested her in the slightest, especially since she had intended to do some revision before the school week began. When she looked at their faces however her opinion changed, she had seen a gleam in their eyes and knew that it was definitely not just a simple patrol of the school that they were inviting her to. Ordinarily that still would not have swayed her either but how could she resist when for almost her entire schooling experience, even in muggle society, she had never had anyone she could call a friend. She yearned for that experience, she had been so lonely the past few years, so how could she reject such an invitation by 'friends'?

And yet, Hermione realized as she rummaged through her suitcase for the hundredth time she could not find that irritating vial case. Hermione glanced in the mirror at the far side of the room and was relieved to find that her 'male' reflection looked back at her. But she knew that if she didn't take that potion in a few hours the disguise would disappear and she definitely did not want that to happen on a midnight venture with her new friends.

A soft knock was heard from the door. Hermione started and quickly waved her wand around her disorderly room and all her possessions instantly returned to the safety of their cupboards and suitcases – away from curious male eyes.

She slowly made her way to the door, took a deep breath and opened it.

Ron looked down at her with a large smile plastered on his face.

"Ready?" he questioned in a low whisper, "We have to meet Harry in a few minutes."

"Oh well – " Hermione bit her lip and turned back into the room, "Just let me get my jumper. How long will we be gone do you think?"

Hermione hurriedly grabbed her school jumper and put it on.

"Not more than an hour I don't think, Harry and I have things to do afterwards," Ron's voice came but much closer to her than she had expected.

When she turned around she saw him bending over her desk examining some photo's.

"I forgot that you're muggle-born," Ron stated lifting a frame from the desk, "Strange how the photo's don't move."

Hermione practically dove for the picture but Ron easily avoided her hands laughing at her as she fell spectacularly to the floor and continued to look at the picture in his hands carefully.

"Yeah, they don't move. Pretty boring compared to the wizard variety," Hermione said as nonchalantly as she could before she grabbed the picture frame back from Ron but not before his smile slipped from his face and he stared at her intently.

Hermione's eyes widened and her eyes instantly looked at the mirror next to her. She saw the same brown haired boy she had seen a few minutes earlier. Why then was Ron looking at her like she had grown an extra head – although Neville had proven in transfiguration that it was not impossible to do so, to the amusement of the entire class.

Ron turned around and reached for another picture frame but Hermione was quicker this time and stood in front of her desk stopping him.

"We'd better go – don't want to make Harry wait."

Ron gazed at her and a determined look took over his face.

"Do you – do you know her?" he asked a note of desperation in his voice

"Her?"

A look of frustration crossed Ron's face now and he grabbed Hermione's shoulder and shoke her.

"The girl I've been looking for! You know her!" Ron cried with happiness.

Hermione heart instantly began banging against her chest. She wasn't prepared for this, not yet.

"Uh…well you see…" but she cut off when Ron released her and began pulling her down the stairs.

"Come on, I've gotta tell Harry!"

Hermione bit back the laughter as she saw the happiness on his face.

They only got as far as the foot of the dormitory stairs before Ron was surrounded by a group of students of varying ages.

"Here's you're money Ron, and my mom said she'd send some biscuits too," one fourth year commented patting Ron on the back before walking away.

"Can't you decrease the fee a bit? I'm a second year can't I get a discount or something?" another boy questioned hopefully.

"How much is it again? One galleon per year, right?"

"Is there any chance of having group sessions?"

Ron waved each of these questions off easily while taking pouches of what Hermione could only assume was money and shoving them hastily in his pocket.

"No discount, it's the same for everyone and actually increases if you're older than a third year. It's only fair considering how old I am. A galleon per week you little squirrel and yeah sure I guess group sessions could work – but it'd have to be every second week. I do have a life you know."

Hermione stood off to the side and stared in bewilderment. When the group disappeared a few students walked off grumbling that they would have had better luck negotiating with a mountain troll, Ron turned towards her just as happily as he was moments earlier and nodded towards the portrait hole.

"What was that about?" Hermione questioned as they walked down the staircases and headed towards the first floor.

"Oh," Ron said dismissively, "They were just asking about my tutoring sessions. So what's her name? Oh I bet it something really beautiful like --"

Ron laughed as he tried to contemplate a suitable name for his mystery girl.

Hermione ignored the latter question and instead took a moment to digest the former statement Ron had made. Her thoughts returned to a few first years who begged Ron to charge them at a lesser fee and he had ignored them completely.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes.

Ron noticed that he was walking alone and turned around to stare at her.

"You all right?" He questioned oblivious to the anger that she felt.

"You – charge – them?!"

"Shhh!" Ron said quickly walking over to her, "Keep your voice down would you. And yeah of course I charge them. How am I supposed to make any money after al –"

Hermione abruptly cut him off.

"Money?" She seethed in said in a low but threatening voice, "Is money all you care about? What about those first years you turned away? How will they – "

"It's not for you to judge me," Ron said in a low voice with a steely edge and his eyes narrowed as he stepped towards Hermione,"Just because I consider you a friend now, does not mean you are privy to all my personal affairs."

The two students glared at each other, a silent battle of the wills.

"What are you two idiots doing!" A whispered voice said near them.

The couple turned to see Harry walking towards them. No, Hermione corrected herself, he wasn't walking rather his head was floating towards them.

She suppressed a horrified scream and began to back away but bumped into someone.

"Everything alright?" Neville questioned from behind her.

"Fine," Ron said quickly before heading towards Harry.

Hermione walked beside Neville as they followed Ron and Harry.

"Can you believe that he ch – " Hermione began to say when there was a considerable distance between her and Ron.

"John," Neville stopped her, "Like Ron said, it's not your place to judge him."

"Do you think – "

"Drop it," Neville said with a defeated smile, "A lot of people have asked him why he charges students especially at such a high fee. But he never answers, I mean, he doesn't even tell me, and I've known him since first year, he's hardly going to tell you, now is he?"

Hermione nodded slowly and began to hurry along the corridor with Neville until they had caught up with Ron and Harry.

One thing Hermione realized that she was grateful for, for having boys as her friends was the way that they seemed to shake off or pretend that they had not just had a fight. And as they walked down the corridor in silence she glanced at Ron and saw him smile slightly at her – an indication that he was no longer angry. Hermione returned the smile as relief flooded her.

'Yes, boy's can be stupid. But at least they aren't as melodramatic as girls.'

Hermione stopped in her tracks when they reached a large tapestry. Harry seemed to disappear under his clock for an instant and the next thing she knew she was being pulled forward.

Hermione practically fell into the room and Harry re-appeared from under his cloak. Hermione looked around at the large room and the flurry of motions around her. It was the first time she had actually been in the school kitchen's and she felt concerned when she noticed how much work the elves did even after all the students had finished eating.

Hermione's mind switched gears instantly and her stomach dropped when she spotted the creature running towards her.

'Oh no!' Hermione screamed inwardly.

"Missy 'Mione!" Dobby cried in happiness before hugging her on the leg.

Hermione looked up to see all three boys staring at her and Dobby with raised eyebrows.

A/N: Thanks to my readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. More mystery to follow :)