Chapter Two
10 years. Olivia Potter had been in Azkaban Prison for 10 years. When she got the news that her daughter was most likely dead she'd cried for months, the only person who was there to console her was none other than Sirius Black.
On the night she'd gotten that dreadful newspaper she realised that Sirius was in the cell next to her, they kept each other sane and did the best that they could to comfort one another.
However, today was going to be the worse. It was September 1st and today all Olivia could think about was her precious little Hermione.
"She was meant to start Hogwarts today Padfoot," Olivia cried, holding Sirius' hand through the window that connected their cells.
"I know Liv, I know and I'm so sorry," Sirius said, trying to soothe her the best he could.
"I'm sorry, It's been 10 years, I shouldn't be behaving like this, I thought I'd gotten over all the crying," Olivia sniffed, trying her best to wipe the tears from her face, but they just kept falling.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, you're her mother. You can't help but mourn for her, you love her more than anything, as your best friend, I say cry your heart out," Sirius said, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
"Sev used to do that to me," Olivia mumbled softly, remembering all the great times she'd had with Hermione and Severus before it was cruelly snatched away from her.
"Unfortunately, I'm all you've got because we're not getting out of this hell hole any time soon," Sirius chuckled darkly.
"We will, we'll get out eventually," Olivia whispered as she drifted off to sleep, thoughts of her family floating around her mind.
...
Severus sat in his quarters, staring at a photo in his hand with tears dripping down his face. He couldn't believe it had been 10 years since his baby girl had been taken from him.
"She was going to start Hogwarts this year," He cried, "SHE WAS GOING TO START HOGWARTS!" He screamed, picking up the glass full of fire whiskey next to him, hurling it at the wall.
"She was going to start Hogwarts," He muttered, crying himself to sleep on the floor. A picture of his two loves and a note clutched to his chest.
...
"Girl, hurry up or we're going to be late," Jean called up the stairs, irritation evident as the girl in question hurried down the stairs, her trunk in her hand and a massive smile plastered on her face.
"Ready! Let's get a move on, you're being so slow," she said excitedly.
"Don't run down the stairs young lady, show some respect and stop slouching," Richard grunted as he made his way into the hallway from the kitchen.
"Sorry Father," Hermione replied, lifting her body into a straight line," I apologise mother, I didn't mean to sound disrespectful, I'm just excited."
"Very well Hermione," Jean nodded, "Have you got all your stuff sorted?"
"Yes Mother," Hermione told her, lifting her trunk up as if to prove it.
"Let's make a move then," Richard said sternly, as Richard and Jean began to walk over to the door, Hermione hurried in front of them and opened the door before they reached it. She stood back as they exited. Richard didn't say anything, he just walked out and got himself in the car. Jean gave Hermione a little nod and proceeded to follow Richard over to the car.
"No need to say thank you," Hermione muttered under her breath, closing the door and locking it behind her. She didn't expect any less from her parents, if she could even call them that.
Hermione didn't like calling them her parents, she refused to call them anything other than mother and father, mum and dad just sounded too personal and she honestly didn't like them one bit. They constantly nagged Hermione about her behaviour and respect, she wasn't allowed to slouch, she wasn't to run or be cheeky, she had to hold her knife and fork just like they did, she had to do her part round the house, which was everything. She didn't have very many friends because they made her come home straight after school and clean the house.
The only real friend she'd ever had was Martha, their maid. Even though Martha was their maid she didn't do very much because Richard and Jean gave all the jobs to Hermione, but whenever they were out she'd help Hermione with her jobs and then make her treacle tart to eat before they returned, it was her favourite pudding.
All Hermione ever wanted was two loving parents who let her be herself, she wanted real parents. When she was 7 she'd found adoption papers in the attic while she was cleaning it out. She didn't let Richard and Jean know that she knew about her adoption and carried on as if they were her real parents. Along with the papers she'd found a locket, it has a golden heart with a snake and a lioness engraved onto the front, when she opened the locket it played a song. She remembered hearing it the first time she'd ever opened the locket, it had reduced her to tears. The song was so familiar, she remembered having it sung to her when she was younger, it was her real mothers voice, she was sure of it, and ever since then she'd never taken it off.
Hermione didn't remember much about her real parents, she had vague memories of a woman with hair just like hers, and big blue eyes. She remembered the lullaby she'd sing every night, it was the same one as in the locket. She also had memories of a little boy who she saw almost everyday, she could picture his bright green eyes, but everything else was a blur.
Then there was her father, she knew nothing of her father and didn't remember anything about him. She'd come up with a number of possibilities for what could've happened. Perhaps he had left before she was born, maybe her mother never told him she was pregnant, or maybe, and Hermione certainly hope this wasn't true, he was dead. Hermione didn't like to think about the last one, even though she couldn't remember him she felt an odd sort of connection with him. She knew from the memories of her mother that she must have her fathers' eyes and if she could take a guess she would've said that the Lioness and snake on the front of her locket represented her parents, the lioness her mother and the snake her father.
"Girl!" Richard shouted, jolting Hermione out of her thoughts, "Get in the car."
"Sorry Father," Hermione replied, getting into the back seat and buckling herself in.
"What time are we meant to be there Richard?" Jean asked.
"The train leaves at 11 o'clock, so we'll be there just on time," Richard informed her.
"Do you have the ticket?" Jean asked again.
"It's in your purse Jean," Richard said as if she was stupid.
"Silly me, I forgot I put it in there," Jean giggled, while Hermione had to restrain herself from vomiting.
Jean Granger was your typical rich snob, in public she portrayed an intelligent, polite woman who was into politics and talking about the latest fashion trends. Whereas, in private she was a ditsy, loud mouthed individual who knew nought about politics and fashion, she leaves her personal shopper to buy clothes that match her dark skin and soft brown curls and when asked about politics she simply nods along and copies what everyone else says.
Richard Granger, however, was the perfect gentleman in the eyes of the public. He was tall, handsome and extremely well spoken, he had his own dentist practice and a PhD, he was married to an equally beautiful wife and had a massive mansion to live in. In reality, he was an arrogant man, who drank way too much for it to be considered healthy, had bad anger management and he'd had plastic surgery countless times to keep himself looking 'young'.
"Richard?" Jean asked in a panic, "It says the train is on Platform 9 3/4."
"9 3/4? Don't be silly Jean, there is no such thing," Richard said sternly.
"Honestly Richard, the ticket says Platform 9 3/4," Jean insisted, waving the tickets in front of his face.
"Get those tickets out of my face woman! I'm driving," Richard hollered at her. Jean quickly retracted her hand from in front of Richards face and began muttering about how she wasn't lying and that he needed to control himself.
While the two adults began bickering again Hermione got out her copy of Hogwarts: A History and began reading it for perhaps the twelfth time in just the last 2 weeks.
She was particularly fascinated by the description of the four houses and the rivalry that they had between them. She thought it awfully silly that all the houses were in some sort of war to prove who was the best house.
However, two houses caught her attention in particular, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Gryffindors were known to exhibit traits such as Courage, Chivalry and Determination, while Slytherins were resourceful, cunning and ambitious.
Another thing that grabbed her attention was the animals that represented each of these houses. Gryffindors was a lion and Slytherins was a snake. This lead her to believe that her real parents must have been a witch and a wizard. After thinking more on it she realised that her mother must've been in Gryffindor, hence the lioness on the locket and her father a Slytherin, which explains the snake.
"Girl we're here, get your head out of that book and get a move on," Richard shouted at her, it seemed that Jean and Richard had carried on arguing and now both of them were angry at the other.
"Coming Father," Hermione replied dutifully, stuffing the book in her bag and tumbling ungracefully out of the car.
"Stand up and behave like a young lady should," Jean snapped at her.
"Yes Mother," Hermione replied dejectedly. Reluctantly Hermione followed her 'parents' and they stopped in between the platforms 9 and 10.
"Now what do we do?" Jean asked, frustrated that they didn't know what to do.
"We run through the wall," Hermione told them, pointing to the wall between platforms 9 and 10.
"Don't be ridiculous," Richard growled at her.
"I read it in Hogwarts: A History," Hermione told him. "You don't have to come with me, I'll just say bye here and be on my way."
"You don't tell us what to do girl!" Richard said, his voice getting louder.
"Richard, stop. People are staring," Jean hissed at him. Richard quickly calmed himself and made himself look presentable before continuing in a low voice which Hermione thought sounded more dangerous than when he'd shouted.
"Me and your mother are going to discuss what's going to happen, turn around," He told her. Hermione did as she was told and turned around, she thought making her do this was ridiculous but she let them have their fun, besides she wasn't going to see them for months and she didn't want to come back to angry parents because she disobeyed them.
"Me and your father have decided that we'll say goodbye here and you can go on your own," Jean told her, grabbing her shoulders and twisting her back around to face them.
"Very well Mother," Hermione replied, gritting her teeth.
"Goodbye Hermione," Jean said, patting her daughter on the back.
"Bye Mother," Hermione said, curtsying when her father sent her an evil glare.
"Goodbye Hermione," Richard deadpanned.
"Goodbye Father," Hermione replied, bowing her head politely at him. She then ran straight at the wall in front of her and disappeared into it. Hermione only wished that she could've seen their expressions as she melted into the seemingly solid walls.
As Hermione came out onto the other side she felt an unfamiliar warmth wash over her, in front of her was the most amazing train she'd ever seen. Excitedly she ran over and jumped into one of the doors, grateful that Richard and Jean weren't there to berate her on her 'unladylike' behaviour.
Hermione made her way along the corridors until she found an empty compartment to sit in, she placed her trunk on the holders above her and pulled out her notebook, it was all the information she'd ever gathered on her parents. There were countless theories as to what could've happened to them and loads of drawings of what her mother would've looked like. The only information she had on her father was his potential house and drawings of his eyes. Hermione vowed that this year she was going to find out who her parents were, she just had to, she didn't want to live with Richard and Jean Granger forever.
...
Hermione had been doing another drawing of her mother when two boys entered her compartment.
"Can we sit here?" One of them asked, Hermione gestured to the seats opposite her, never taking her eyes off the picture she was still drawing. Both boys sat down and started chatting while Hermione finished her drawing, this one had to be her favourite so far. She'd given her mother hair the same colour as hers but made it less frizzy, she imagined her mother would have been able to tame her curls a bit better than Hermione could. She'd given her dark skin but it was still light enough to notice the freckles scattering the bridge of her nose, just like Hermione. She obviously had bright blue eyes, just like how she remembered in her dreams. She had lips that were plump and petite, her cupids bow was what one could describe as perfect, it wasn't too defined but it was defined enough that you could still tell she had one.
"What you doing?" One of the boys asked, Hermione looked up and really took in the appearance of the two boys. One was ginger and by the looks of it was quite tall for his age. Everywhere you looked freckles covered his pale skin and his eyes were a deep baby blue.
"Drawing," Hermione replied. She turned her attention to the boy opposite her, he was about to ask something when all of a sudden he stopped. Hermione looked at him and gasped, those eyes. They were the ones she'd seen so many times in her dreams, they were exactly the same.
"Your eyes," They both said at the same time, chuckling nervously at each other.
"You seem familiar," Hermione told him, gazing at him intently.
"So do you," The boy replied, staring right back at her.
"Okay, this is getting weird," the other boy exclaimed, Harry and Hermione both shook their heads as if it was just their imagination and snapped back into reality.
"Sorry," Hermione apologised, "I'm Hermione, It's nice to meet you."
"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley," The ginger one said, reaching out to shake her hand, Hermione took it gladly, smiling at the boy.
"I'm Harry Potter," The other one said, smiling shyly at her.
"Harry Potter? I've heard about you, you're the boy who lived, aren't you!" Hermione exclaimed in excitement.
"Yeah, that's me," Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"I'm so sorry," She said, "You don't like being called that do you?" Hermione asked him, sensing his unease.
Harry simply shook his head and tried to flatten his hair over his forehead where Hermione could see his scar was peeking through.
"It's okay, you can be just Harry to me," Hermione told him, "I don't care if you're famous or not."
"Really?" Harry asked timidly, a bright smile gracing his face.
"Really," Hermione replied, smiling right back at him.
"So what were you drawing?" Ron asked, taking the notebook from Hermione and staring down at the page. Harry looked over Rons shoulder and his eyes bugged out of his head.
"Wow, she's beautiful," Harry said in awe. Hermione quickly snatched back the notebook and snapped it shut.
"What's she like?" Ron asked, unfazed by the notebook being taken so violently.
"I wouldn't know," Hermione replied sadly.
"Why not?" Ron asked, Harry mentally slapped him for his insensitivity, it was obviously a sore subject.
"She gave me away when I was two," Hermione replied, reaching up to clutch the locket around her neck.
"What about your father?" Ron asked sadly, wishing she had someone. He couldn't imagine growing up without a family, it must've been awful.
"I don't know anything about him, the only thing I think I know about him is that his eyes look like this," Hermione replied, re-opening her notebook and scanning over the pages until she found one where she'd drawn her fathers eyes. Ron and Harry looked at the drawing and then back up at her.
"They're just like yours," Harry said, glancing back down at the picture.
"Yeah," Hermione sighed, "My mums eyes were blue, I still have a couple of memories of her but none of my dad so I guess they're like mine."
"I'm sorry Hermione," Ron apologised, "I should never have brought it up."
"It's okay Ron, I enjoy talking about them it's just sad. You must know what it's like Harry," Hermione said.
"Yeah, I do," Harry said, smiling at her sadly.
"This year my goal is to find out who my parents are," Hermione told them.
"Really? So do you think they're wizards then?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I have this locket," Hermione said, reaching into her robes to take her locket out, "There's a lioness and a snake on the front so I think my mum was a Gryffindor and my dad was a Slytherin."
"A Slytherin?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, why?" Hermione replied.
"Well, Slytherin is the evil house. There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin," Ron told her.
"That sounds ridiculous Ron," Hermione argued.
"It's not, honest. My brothers told me and you-know-who was Slytherin," Ron insisted.
"That's only one wizard though Ron, they can't all be that bad," Harry said.
"Yeah, I suppose," Ron sighed, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't want to be in Slytherin though."
"What house do you think you'll be in then?" Harry asked.
"I want to be a Gryffindor," Ron said excitedly, "my whole family have been in Gryffindor so far."
"Gryffindor does sound fun," Harry agreed.
"I wouldn't mind any house," Hermione told them, "I'm leaning more towards Gryffindor, though I wouldn't mind Slytherin. Honestly, I just want to be in one of the houses that my parents would have been in," She said truthfully.
"Same for me, my mum and dad were both Gryffindor," Harry reminded them.
"So what do you think Hogwarts is going to be like?" Ron asked excitedly. Hermione grinned at Ron before bombarding him and Harry with millions of questions about what they thought Hogwarts was going to be like. They weren't due to arrive at Hogwarts for another two hours so they talked the whole way, until finally they pulled into Hogsmeade station.
...
"Wow," Hermione said in awe, admiring Hogwarts from the boats as they made there way across the black lake.
Hermione, Harry and Ron had talked until they arrived at Hogsmeade station and then were escorted to the boats that would take them to Hogwarts by Hagrid. Hermione was surprised to find that Harry already knew Hagrid, he seemed nice enough, even though Hermione had nearly stopped breathing when he crushed her and Ron into a bear hug, telling them that any friend of Harrys was a friend of his.
"It really is beautiful, isn't it," Harry said, staring up at the castle in adoration.
"Sure is," Ron agreed, his eyes twinkling at the sight of Hogwarts.
"Are you guys ready?" Hermione asked as they hit the shore and made their way out of the boats.
"I hope we're in the same house," Harry told them.
"Same here," Ron said, smiling at the two of them. They'd forged a bond of sorts after all the stories they shared on the Hogwarts express and Ron could tell that they would be the best of friends. He'd never had a best friend before, sure he had a couple of friends and knew some other witches and wizards but apart from his family he never saw any one enough for them to be considered his best friend.
As for Harry and Hermione, they'd never had a proper friend, let alone a best friend, this was a whole new experience for them and there was no way they were letting it go to waste.
"It doesn't matter if we're not," Hermione reassured them, "We can still hang out if we're in different houses."
"Of course we can," Ron said excitedly, taking a hold of their hands and pulling them up the steps that lead to the entrance hall. When they entered the massive door leading into the hall they were overwhelmed with the noise coming from other excited first years as they waited to be taken into the great hall for the sorting.
The noise suddenly stopped when a blonde boy, followed by five others, approached Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"Hi, I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy," He introduced, holding his hand out towards Harry, who took it gladly and smiled at Draco.
"I'm Harry," He replied, "This is Ron and Hermione." He said, gesturing towards them.
"Malfoy," Ron grunted in response, not bothering to offer his hand.
"Weasley," Draco nodded in acknowledgement, not bothering to offer his hand either.
"Hi," Hermione said timidly, giving each of them a wave.
"This is Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, Pansy and Theo," Draco said, ignoring Hermione and motioning towards the people standing behind him. Hermione's gaze swept over each one of them until it landed on Theo, unlike the others he gave her a sweet smile before returning to the emotionless mask he had on before.
"Nice to meet you but we're going to go stand over there where people appreciate my friends and aren't so rude," Harry told them, nodding at Theo politely before giving the rest of them a sickeningly sweet smile.
A little pissed that Draco had just dismissed Hermione so rudely Ron shoved Draco as they walked past.
"Watch it Weasel, I don't want my robes dirtied with the likes of you and your little mudblood," Draco sneered at him, walking to the other side of the entrance hall before Ron could leap on him in a rage.
"How dare he," Ron spat, glaring at Draco with anger in his eyes.
"Ron, just ignore him," Hermione said, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Did you not hear what he said about you though Hermione?" Ron asked her.
"Yes Ron I did," Hermione informed him, flicking a fake speck of dirt from her robes.
"Do you know what that means?" He asked, obviously confused at the way she reacted.
"Of course I do, I read it in a book I got from Diagon Alley. It means dirty blood, but I don't care what he thinks of me, I don't need his approval. Plus, as far as we know I could be a half-blood or even a pureblood," Hermione told him. Ron visibly sagged but the fire in his eyes was still prominent.
"You really don't mind?" Ron asked, stunned at her response and maturity.
"Why should I? The only people whose opinions I care about are both of yours," Hermione reminded them, looping her arms into theirs.
"You may not like it but if I hear him call you that word again then it won't be pretty," Ron said in a serious tone.
"Same here," Harry told her, reaching up to squeeze her hand reassuringly.
"Thanks guys but it'll be alright, you don't need to stick up for me," Hermione told them, not wanting them to think she was weak and couldn't look after herself, because she could.
"Whatever you want Hermione," Harry said, giving Ron a pointed look that Hermione didn't miss.
"You boys are ridiculous," She sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. Before any more could be said the doors to the great hall swung open and a tall woman, with greying hair tied into a tight bun at the top of her head and dressed in deep green robes stepped in front of the first years, looking at each of them as she began to talk.
"Good Evening Students, I'm Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor and -" McGonagall froze, her eyes landing on Hermione. All heads turned to where McGonagall was now staring and kept looking between the Professor and Hermione.
McGonagall didn't know what to do, her mind had gone into a state of panic. This girl was a spitting image of Olivia Potter, memories flooded McGonagall's vision. The last time she'd seen Olivia embedded in her thoughts, it couldn't be possible.
Surely if she'd had a daughter I would've known, she wouldn't keep that a secret would she? Perhaps her father was someone she thought we wouldn't approve of, she must've told James and Lily though. There is no doubt that this is Olivias daughter, but who's the father and why didn't she tell me?
"Professor, are you okay?" Hermione asked, worried for McGonagall, who'd now turned pale and was staring at her with blank eyes.
At the sound of Hermiones voice McGonagall snapped out of her daydream and shook her head violently.
"Of course, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me," McGonagall apologised, "anyway, as I was saying before. My names Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the great hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The four houses are known as Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the hall. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you're waiting, I'll be back to collect you when we're ready," McGonagall finished, turning around to leave the students to chatter, but not before stealing one quick glance at Hermione.
Nobody said a word as they waited for the ceremony to begin, Harry and Hermione were trying relentlessly to flatten their hair, while Ron was tucking his shirt in and poor Neville over in the corner was attempting to get his tie to look right.
"Here, let me help you," Hermione offered, reaching over to take a hold of Neville's tie and making sure it was done properly.
"Thank you," Neville stammered nervously, his face bright red.
"No worries," Hermione assured him, "I'm Hermione."
"I'm Neville," He replied, giving her a shy smile before practically jumping out of his skin when the doors to the great hall flew open.
"Follow me," McGonagall ordered them, walking into the hall without waiting for any of them to follow them. The first years lined up in a haste and began following McGonagall down the centre of the great hall.
All of them were staring at the hall in astonishment, eyes popping and mouths agape at the candles floating everywhere, one thing in particular that took Hermiones breath away was the enchanted ceiling above them.
Once they had reached the end of the hall, they gathered into a group and watched McGonagall as she made her way over to a stool.
"Why on earth is there a ratty old hat?" Hermione asked, confused as to what it was doing just sat there on a three-legged stool.
"Maybe it's going to spit something out for us to fight," Ron spluttered, he was so hung up on the stories that Fred and George had told him about the sorting that when the hat moved and a mouth appeared Ron jumped back in fright, and turned red in embarrassment when everyone turned to look at him.
"Sorry," He muttered, bright red and turning around to glare daggers at the twins who were sniggering over at the Gryffindor table.
The hat suddenly burst out into song and every one listened to it intently, the song went on for at least 2 minutes and by the time it had finished the first years were staring at it in bewilderment while the rest of the hall erupted into a round of applause.
"When I call out your name you will come and sit on the stool and place the sorting hat on your head, it will call out what house you belong to and you'll go and sit on your house table," McGonagall informed them.
"Abbott, Hannah!" McGonagall said.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown Lavender!"
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, McGonagall allowed herself a smile as the first of her new cubs was sorted.
"Bulstrode, Millicent!"
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted, Severus Snape however didn't smile for his first new student like McGonagall did hers. Instead, he was paying too much attention to the glass of butterbeer sat in front of him. He was trying his best to drown out the sounds of the sorting, he couldn't cope with the knowledge that it should be his daughter up there getting sorted, not a bunch of snotty little brats.
"Granger, Hermione," McGonagall called.
Severus heard the name loud and clear and his eyes shot over to the girl in question.
"It can't be," He whispered to himself as Hermione made her way up to the sorting hat, twiddling her thumbs nervously. He couldn't believe his eyes, it was her. It was his Hermione. His little girl. He was struggling to hold back the urge to go and sweep her into his arms, she was the spitting image of Olivia, except for her eyes, her eyes were all him.
As Hermione sat herself on the stool Severus couldn't help but smile, he never thought he'd see the day that his little girl would get sorted at Hogwarts. He just wished that Olivia could be here to share the moment with him.
Hermione could feel herself shaking as the hat was placed on her head, she didn't know what to expect but it definitely wasn't what she was expecting.
"Hmm, Hermione Sn - Granger," The hat said pensively in her ear, "You're a very determined individual I see, you're searching for your parents?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, thinking it wonderful that she was having a conversation with a hat of all things.
"You must be finding this unusual Miss Granger," The hat said in what Hermione could only presume was humour, "You're just like your mother but there is definitely some of your father in you, I can feel your ambition and resourcefulness, but the courage and determination you have vastly out ways those traits. You have the capability to do the impossible, your mind is nearly as advanced as most witches and wizards already. You'd do well in Slytherin Miss Granger, but you'd thrive in Gryffindor. I have made my decision," The hat finished.
"Thank you," Hermione muttered. She could've sworn she felt the hat blanch at her gratitude.
Perhaps nobody has ever thanked him before, Hermione thought to herself, believing it to be a terribly sad thing if she was the first to show him any kind of gratitude for his services.
"GRYFFINDOR," The hat shouted amongst the crowd. Hermione smiled and jumped off the stool in delight before skipping over to the Gryffindor table where she was greeted by her fellow housemates.
Severus watched as he made her way over to the Gryffindor table, trying to hide the smile that had erupted on his face. He noticed a locket hanging out of her robes and in that instant he was 100% certain that this was his Hermione.
He'd given her that necklace for her 1st birthday, inside was the song Olivia used to sing to her every night to get her to sleep.
"Just like her mother," He whispered to himself, tears welling up in his eyes before he quickly composed himself and shook his head violently to stop the tears becoming noticeable. He watched her as she was greeted by all the students and then his head turned to the next student approaching the hat.
"Potter, Harry," McGonagall called, giving Harry a reassuring smile as whispers erupted in the hall at his name. Severus couldn't help but think about how much he looked liked James, he remembered the night Olivia had tried to rescue him from the Dursleys, only for them to lose him again the very next day.
Harry made his way to the stool, the last thing he saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was Hermione giving him a thumbs up over at the Gryffindor table.
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting ... so where shall I put you?"
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, 'Please put me with my friends,'
"Miss Granger and Mr Weasley, eh?" said the hat, "Very well, GRYFFINDOR." The hat shouted, the hall burst into a round of applause.
"We got Potter, we got Potter," Fred and George chanted, sending Harry a wink as he walked over to the Gryffindor table.
"Harry!" Hermione squealed, as he sat down next to her.
"Hey 'Mione," Harry replied ecstatically, glad he'd be with his friends.
"'Mione?" She asked.
"Yeah, it just sort of slipped, you don't mind though, do you?" Harry asked hopefully, he secretly thought Hermione was a bit of a mouthful and was relieved he'd be allowed to call her by that nickname.
"No, I like it," She replied, ignoring the little niggling in the back of her head that told her she'd been called that before.
"Come on Ronniekins," Fred suddenly shouted, clapping his hands as Ron made his way up to the sorting hat.
"Poor Ron, he's as pale as a ghost," Hermione said to Harry, who simply nodded and prayed that Ron would get sorted with them.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted, Harry sagged in relief.
"Way to go Ronniekins," George and Fred hollered at him as he made his way over to the Gryffindor table.
"Stop calling me that!" Ron shouted at them as he sat down, his face as bright as a tomato.
"Why would we do that little brother?" Fred asked innocently.
"It's the highlight of our day!" George admitted, slapping Ron on the back before turning around to talk to Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell.
"Bloody prats," Ron muttered under his breath, causing Harry and Hermione to giggle.
"We're all together!" Hermione said excitedly, gathering them in a hug. When she let them go Ron immediately brightened up. One, his new best friends were in the same house as him and two, the food had just appeared.
Harry looked over at the staff table, he noticed a man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin talking to Professor Quirrell.
All of a sudden they both looked at him and a hot pain shot across the scar on Harrys head.
"Who's that talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked, clutching his scar.
"That's Professor Snape." Fred told him.
"You have to watch out for him," George said.
"He's a slimy old git that one," said Fred.
"Gave me and Fred at least a hundred detentions last year," George admitted as if it was the most unbelievable thing in the world.
"He teaches potions, but he doesn't want to," Fred told them matter of factly.
"Everyone knows he's after Quirrells job." George said.
"Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts for a teacher," Fred said.
"What are you three on about?" Hermione asked, turning her attention away from Ron, who was stuffing his face next to her.
"Professor Snape," Harry told her, motioning over to him at the staff table.
Hermione looked over to see what they were on about when her eyes connected with Professor Snapes.
She froze as she looked into his eyes. No, her eyes. She watched as he muttered something under his breath.
All of a sudden, Hermione felt extremely dizzy and before she knew it she was falling off the bench and into darkness.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A review would be appreciated, but obviously not necessary. Just let me know what you thought of the chapter, what you hope will happen in the future and if I could improve on anything :)
edited 29/08/2019