Hello again everyone! I know I know, it took me a lot longer than I said it would but...life happened. I hope you enjoy this chapter, trying to build Hermione's character but also everyone else, I doubt I did a terribly good job but this is the best I could come up with so, enjoy either way.

The Girl who Lived

Chapter 7

Her eyes wide, Hermione simply stood staring at Severus and Draco. Their smiles were getting wider by the second as they watched her. It was Severus who finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"Well well, Hermione Granger speechless, I never thought I'd see the day."

That proved to be the key to getting a response from Hermione. Her eyes narrowed and snapped to Severus as she placed her hands on her hips as she spoke.

"Well excuse me for being shocked, it's not like I was given a lot of hints about who it was I was meeting. It could've been anyone."

While taking a deep breath to continue berating the two Slytherins, Hermione stopped and noticed that they were both leaning against the wall, laughing harder than she had seen either of them laugh before. Unfortunately for them, it just made Hermione hit both of them with a Stinging Hex. She had been practicing using it on a stone wall in her dorm to wear her out and help her sleep, making her quite proficient at it – as Severus and Draco found out. They quickly stopped laughing and rubbed the marks on their chests, looking at each other in surprise. Smiling at the two Slytherins, Hermione spoke once again.

"Now that you're done doing your best hyena impressions, why don't we get back to why you asked me here tonight shall we?"

Draco stepped forward and sat at one of the desks in the classroom. Facing Hermione he nodded softly at her and gestured to the desk across from him. Hesitating slightly, Hermione walked over and sat on the edge of the chair.

"You're here Hermione, because we felt it was time to let you know that, although we may appear to hate you out in public, we don't. I'm sure you know that the professor is an ally from his treatment of you in your private potions lessons. I however am in a bit of a more complicated position. My father was one of Voldemort's inner circle of Death Eaters and expects me to follow in his footsteps. My mother however has been a better influence on me, teaching me that Muggleborns are not beneath those that are Pure blooded. Having her around more than my father was also a big benefit, she was able to override any teachings that my Father attempted to ingrain into me. She taught me how to keep my mask up around my father so I've had to be extremely rude to you and other Muggleborns I've come into contact with."

Hermione watched Draco as he spoke, not surprised that he wasn't able to meet her eye, instead choosing to look at the desk he was sitting behind. Heaving a sigh Draco closed his eyes and waited a few moments, seeming to gather his thoughts as he ran his hands through his slicked back hair before speaking again.

"I've been beaten more than once for my improper actions, according to my father, but it had the opposite effect he wanted. It just made me see just how irrational he is and how wrong his ideals are. Mother made sure that I was treated even though my Father forbade her from treating me herself. He sees our House Elves as beneath him so he always forgets them except when he needs something and is too busy to get it himself. From the time I was old enough to read, father started teaching me about the dark arts, saying that I'd need to learn them for when I am in the service of the dark lord, but I've never wanted to serve him, even Uncle Sev didn't want to serve him but Dumbledore was able to use him to get a spy in the dark lord's inner circle."

Looking over at Severus, Hermione saw the tightness in his face at the mention of his service to Voldemort. Looking Severus in the eye, Hermione saw apprehension in his eyes, unable to fully meet her gaze as Draco had just seconds before. Turning back to Draco, Hermione leaned back against her seat and spoke before Draco could continue.

"That's all well and good Draco, I'm glad to have your help but, just how are you and Professor Snape going to help me?"

Hermione watched Draco and Severus share a look before nodding at each other. Draco turned back to Hermione and spoke again.

"In order to fight the Dark Arts you need to know how they work. We can help you with that. Uncle Sev always had an affinity for the Dark Arts, though he was committed to using them for the betterment of others if he had to use them. I've been able to learn quite a bit from my father and Uncle Sev, we can teach you to use the Dark Arts, to give you an understanding of how you can defend against them more effectively."

Hermione's attention was brought to Severus as he finally spoke once more.

"I have already spoken with Albus and Minerva, and while Minerva didn't seem to trust me fully, Albus agrees that this is something that you in particular will need to know. They both insisted that you learn this as soon as you could."

Staring at the desk in front of her, Hermione let her hand run over the rough surface of the desk, feeling the cuts and indents in the surface as she let the situation wash over her. Her hand was tracing a swirl in the surface as she responded.

"I've known since Minerva told me what really happened to my mother that I would never have a normal life in either world, but do you really think that I'll spend the rest of my life fighting? I don't think I could live like that, always looking over my shoulder. I think…"

The rest of Hermione's sentence was cut off as she saw a spell coming toward her from the corner of her eye. She threw herself to the ground and then hurriedly stood, wand raised. Looking in the direction the spell came from, Hermione saw Severus and Draco standing side by side, their wands raised at her. Backing up and forcing down her shock at the turn the conversation had taken, Hermione kept her wand trained on the two of them as they started casting again. The spells were mostly unrecognizable to her and she dodged or quickly put up a shield to defend herself from them. As she dodged a Severing Charm, Hermione felt her anger quickly rise and, catching both Severus and Draco by surprise, cast a bludgeoning hex on instinct. The hex was powerful enough to catch both Severus and Draco and knock them back across the room, their wands clattering to the floor next to them. After a few seconds, Severus and Draco were able to stand, holstering their wands as they stood, both smiling at her – not the cruel and uncaring smiles that she was used to from Draco, but warm and friendly smiles that caught her off guard.

"What was that about? Why would you attack me, try to kill me?"

"Hermione, you know as well as we do that you could handle that situation, we were simply trying to prove a point. You may not know it but you have the instincts, the skill and the will to be a great fighter, and the simple fact is that the Dark Lord will rise again. Albus knows it, Minerva knows it, Draco and I know it and deep down, you know it as well. Until he is defeated for good you will never be able to live a life of peace."

With each word spoken, Hermione seemed to feel them at her very core, stepping back until she was resting against the wall, and sliding down it, leaving her sitting on the floor, her eyes wide as she realized that even as they spoke, Severus was right, Voldemort was still out there and she needed to be ready for when he made his next move. Gripping her wand tightly, Hermione allowed herself another moment to sit on the floor before standing once again and looking at Severus and Draco, a fire burning in her eyes that made both of them step back, their own eyes wide and fearful in the face of such determined, raw power.

"Where do we begin?"

It was well past Midnight when Hermione finally got back to Gryffindor Tower, feeling more than a little exhausted from the nights activities. Severus and Draco had her casting spells that should've been impossible for a First Year who had never heard of magic before the start of term. A shiver ran through her as Hermione went over some of the spells, vowing never to use them unless the need was dire, not wanting to hear or see the results of some of the spells. As she climbed into bed, Hermione couldn't help going over the memory of the Blood Boiling Curse. It was one of the more gruesome curses that she learned of that night and Severus was insistent in explaining it in great detail.

"The Blood Boiling Curse is a slow torturous death, it will make the blood boil in the veins until the internal organs shut down from the heat emanating from the veins. Often, the heart is the first to give out, sometimes exploding in the victims chest. It was one of the favourites of Voldemort's Inner Circle to use on Muggles."

Shuddering again, Hermione did her best to put it out of her mind before going to sleep. Closing her eyes she was asleep in seconds, her dreams mercifully free of the imagined screams of the victims of the Blood Boiling Curse.

With the added lessons with Severus and Draco, Hermione found herself almost wishing for the coming Christmas Holidays. As the days passed Hermione often lay in her bed for a few moments, thinking of her father, a small smile on her face as she grew more excited to see him again.

Walking through the halls two days before she would be leaving for the winter break, Hermione found herself almost knocked to the ground by her Defense Professor, Quirrell. Hermione frowned, she had thought there was something off about him from the moment he walked into his room for their first class but she could've sworn he was muttering to himself. Unable to resist the urge, Hermione followed him to an empty class room and stood outside, noting that he'd forgotten to close the door fully so she was able to catch portions of the conversation he was having with whoever was in the room with him.

"Very well guarded…..Flamel trusts him…won't be easy…Severus won't be able to help…I've already tried…Yes Master, I will go now."

Hermione walked away from the door as she heard the last part of the conversation and slipped into one of the many alcoves that covered the walls and started staring out the window, hearing footsteps approaching, she wasn't surprised to see Quirrell walking past, but what did surprise her was how much more nervous he looked than he usually did. He was always pale but his skin was whiter than snow and the look in his eyes showed terror beyond anything Hermione had seen before. Continuing the walk to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione let her mind wander, she was sure she'd heard the name Flamel before but wasn't able to place where she'd heard it. The information she needed was on the tip of her tongue and she knew it; so distracted was she by the need to find out who he was that after speaking the password and stepping into the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione didn't even hear her friends calling her over. She was in too much of a rush and too focused on her problem. She went straight up to her dorm room and pulled out a few books from her trunk that Minerva had lent her.

Flipping through a few of the books quickly, a frown of determination on her face as Parvati walked into the room and placed her hand on her shoulder, startling Hermione out of her search and making her look up into the worried face of her friend.

"Are you alright Hermione? You completely ignored us when you walked into the common room."

Blushing slightly, embarrassed that she ignored her friends in her quest for information, Hermione smiled at Parvati and gestured for her to join Hermione at the desk that she sat at.

"I'm fine Parvati, I'm sorry. I just overheard a strange conversation and something that one of the people said, a name, sounded familiar but I can't recall exactly where I heard or read that name before. I don't know why but I get the feeling that it's important."

Frowning, Hermione started to flip through the book once more, intent on finding the information that had begun to consume her thoughts, not having to worry about her homework she decided to spend her time searching. But Parvati had a different idea for Hermione's day.

"I don't think so Hermione, you've spent enough time studying, it's almost the Christmas break and we won't see you for a while, you're going to spend time with your friends and don't even try to argue with me."

Laughing at her friend's antics, Hermione stood and let Parvati pull her down to the common room and over to where Neville and Harry were waiting for her. Hermione was soon blushing and playfully slapping Parvati as she told Harry and Neville that the reason she ignored her friends was she was on another research mission. Harry and Neville received a slap as well when they looked at each other with raised eyebrows before turning to Hermione and spoke at the same time.

"What, another one?"

The group dissolved into laughter after that, Parvati, Harry and Neville making sure that Hermione didn't set foot in the library or spend any intensive amount of time with books for the two days she had left at Hogwarts, determined to make sure that Hermione spent the rest of the time at school enjoying herself. Harry insisted that she join in planning some harmless pranks on the rest of the school. Hermione was insistent however that it would remain harmless and as soon as everyone had a laugh that they would reverse anything they did. The last two days of school passed quickly for Hermione, her friends even going as far as taking books from her and stopping her from going to get books when she wanted to reference something from one in a conversation, making Hermione frustrated every time it happened. Even as the group of friends walked toward Hogsmeade station to get back on the train to go home Hermione's friends refused to let her near any books, making her sigh in frustration as she looked at her friends smirking faces.

"Are you going to keep this up until we get back from the holidays?"

Raising her eyebrow, Hermione waited for an answer as Harry, Neville, Parvati and Susan stared at each other almost looking like they were holding a silent conversation between the four of them until they looked back at Hermione and spoke at the same time.

"Of course, you'll spend enough time with your books over the holidays anyway."

The look of complete shock on Hermione's face made the group dissolve into laughter, stalling any effort anyone made to start a conversation. As the laughter finally faded, everyone discussed their plans for the holiday, which included invites for visits to be made, which was strange for Hermione. Her surprise showed on her face as all her friends made sure they told her that she was going to spend some time away from her precious books visiting her friends. Without knowing why, Hermione felt tears slowly flowing down her cheeks, making her friends stop as they worried they had upset her. Susan moved from her place across from her to sit next to her, taking her left hand as Parvati, who had been sitting on her right, took her right hand. Reaching out Susan wiped the tears from Hermione's cheeks, startling Hermione and making her look over at Susan.

"What's wrong Hermione? Did we say something wrong or did we upset you?"

Hermione smiled softly as she shook her head, Hermione was silent for a few moments as she reflected on the fact that even now she hadn't shared any details of her life before Hogwarts to her friends. Nodding to herself and looking determined Hermione took one last look around the compartment, taking in the supportive faces of her friends as she took a deep breath and began her story. Telling her friends of the abuse she had suffered from the other children at the schools she attended, the comments about her mother being dead and that she had to spend all her time in the library because no one really liked her, not even the teachers or her father. By the time she had finished her story, Susan and Parvati had their arms around her, hugging her tightly, tears soaking their shirts as Harry and Neville looked on, their normally happy and smiling faces turned to masks of anger and fury that covered their normally jovial natures. The rest of the trip was spent trying to cheer each other up, Hermione, Susan and Parvati needing it the most; luckily for them Harry was able to come up with a few stories of the times his parents had at Hogwarts and a few of the pranks they pulled, effectively easing the tension in the compartment and making all the occupants of the compartment laugh as they pulled into King's Cross Station.

As Hermione and her friends stepped off the train, their bags on their shoulders, Hermione got her first look at her friends' parents as they all ran to greet their respective families. Despite hating herself for doing so, Hermione couldn't help feel slightly jealous as her friends greeted both of their parents, but was surprised when she saw Susan hugging a woman without a hint of her father in sight. Pulling her bag further up on her shoulder Hermione started walking to the arch but found herself pulled over to meet their parents. Hermione was expecting the raised eyebrows and their eyes to flick to her hairline where the tip of her scar was visible but found her friend's parents to be warm and welcoming, without the intrusive questions she had to deal with when she first arrived at Hogwarts. It surprised her to find that Harry's and Neville's parents didn't even look toward her hairline, simply pulling her in for a hug and telling her that they'd been looking forward to meeting her. Hermione looked over to Harry and Neville to find them covering their faces with their hands when their parents said they'd been mentioning her in their letters. Shrugging off her friends' embarrassment Hermione greeted her friend's parents warmly, smiling as she received another invite to visit.

"Please, we'd love to have you come over and visit during the holidays."

Blushing softly at all the invites to visit she'd received, Hermione promised she'd find some time to visit both her friend's homes. Excusing herself Hermione sighed as she walked to the barrier leading to the Muggle portion of the station, eager to see her father again. Passing through the barrier Hermione quickly found her father and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly and smiling, closing her eyes and sighing as her father ran her fingers through her hair.

"I missed you daddy."

"I missed you too Sweetie. Come on, let's go home."