This may have sounded like a terrible idea to some, however, Hermione only used up two extra hours that day on top of her normal schedule with the rest of Gryffindor. She had to admit, though, by the time she sat down to lunch with Harry and Ron, she was feeling rather hungry.
"Hermione?" Ron turned to her as she joined in alongside them after Arithmancy. "Were you just there?"
Harry looked at her, then Ron. "What?"
"Hermione, I just saw she was…" Harry pointed back toward Defence, then pointed to her with a very puzzled look.
"Honestly, you two, where do you get these ideas?" Hermione asked as she immediately began attacking the stew with mashed potatoes and bread. She only slowed down when both Harry and Ron were giving her incredulous looks. "Oh, don't be stupid." She waved them off, then drained a whole goblet of pumpkin juice.
"But anyway…" Ron said, trying to concentrate on his kidney beans and steak. "Divination sounds fun. I'll be able to tell you the next time you'll lose to me in Chess."
"Truly, the mind marvels." Harry gave him an odd look as he spoke through sausage and mashed potatoes.
"I've heard a lot of things about this class." Hermione said as she devoured another piece of bread with stew on it. When they prompted her, she sighed and gave them a look, "I'd rather be cooking…"
Finding the tower which held the Divination's classroom was a difficult task all on its own, let alone actually climbing it to get to the very top where the class actually was. No, Hermione thought, this class couldn't miss a chance to be difficult, now, could it? In the end, it was Albus Dumbledore himself who caught them in the hallways and made them come to a complete stop.
"Divinations? Why, yes, that's Professor Trelawney. Right this way." Dumbledore happily led them up a long stretch of corridors that led to a tower, which climbed up a very steep way.
Even at the moderate speed they were going, they were all rather dizzy by the time they reached the very top. As they did, they came to an empty corridor and a trapdoor up on the ceiling.
"Do we need a pole?" Harry asked, looking up at the trapdoor as he approached it. There was no warning before a silver ladder popped out from the door as it opened. The ladder hit the ground at Harry's feet and he looked back at them. "That could have gone worse."
Both of them nodded to him with cautious looks as they all climbed up to a room that was overly hot and smelled of burning flowers and very strong perfumes. Thankfully, they seemed to be the first ones there.
"Thanks, Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said and Ron repeated the sentiment as he followed them up into the room.
"Yes, of course. As you can see, it is five minutes until bell and I am not sure how many people know of this tower's location.
"Oh! Professor Dumbledore!" Lavender exclaimed as she climbed the ladder, and Parvati was close behind.
"Are you teaching this class too, Professor?" Seamus asked, hopefully and he chuckled.
Then there came a gasp and a exasperation. "Headmaster!" A very strange, flamboyantly dressed woman walked in. Even with the poofy purple dress she had on, it was clear that she was very skinny. She also had very large spectacles, which made her eyes look as though they gazed at microscopic organisms.
"Ah, there you are, Professor. I was simply a tiny bit worried that your students were unaware of your classroom's whereabouts. Would it really be so much trouble to broadcast its location a bit more?" Dumbledore asked and there were still children coming in. Neville followed Dean Thomas as they sat by Seamus.
"Maybe she expects us to divine the way." Ron whispered and both Harry and Hermione had to clamp their mouths shut. She gave him a playfully reproachful look but Harry had to hide his silent laughter behind Ron's shoulder.
"My apologies, Headmaster. I will be more observant of the student's needs rather than my own desire for reclusion." Professor Sybill Trelawney spoke in the most whimsical, mystical voice she could conjure. Unlike Luna, it was more forced and most certainly not as easy-going.
All of the students sat on small cushioned stools next to short tables. Each of the tables had incense burners, hence the smells, scented candles, burning sage and a crystal ball with decorative stand. Each of them eyed the crystal ball, though, all it seemed to do was glow a tiny bit with some tiny dots that could have been stars or willow wisps.
As the Headmaster left, it seemed Sybill needed a small moment to compose herself before she brought about her initial whimsy.
"Salutations, my prospective seers! I am Professor Sybill Trelawney and I am here to guide you through the universe and the multiverse of possibilities! Ever infinite are they far reaching and we can only grasp but a fraction of a fraction of its mysteries and even fewer times can we truly find answers!" She spoke to the class as animatedly as she could as she stepped up and studied each of them. Then she came to Harry Potter and her eyes narrowed. "Today, we will begin your journey into the mystical arts by gazing into the unknown through tea leaves and our inner eye."
To Hermione's horror, they had begun with the soggy tea leaves. She'd never preferred loose-leaf tea in her life. Why anyone wanted pulpy things swirling through their drink was beyond her. She never liked pulp in orange juice either. Ron turned to Parvati Patil to read from her tea cup while Harry and her followed the instructions.
"Alright, so we swirl the tea around three times, drink until the contents at the bottom are perfectly visible and unmoving." Harry read and Hermione did her best with the tea they were given as Professor Trelawney poured it. She covered their teacups with the balls of tea being released within.
Hermione cringed, never making tea like this in her life, nor did she want to a second time. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the darkness to travel through the water and the flavour to come out as she added sugar and a bit of honey to his. Whether this interfered with the reading or not, she didn't care. It was all nonsense either way.
After burning her tongue twice, she finally got the tea down to a readable level at the bottom and then put the cup upside down onto the table. "And switch." She said, both of them trading cups.
"Alright, so, Hermione…" Harry said as he viewed her cup, then looked at the symbols in the book. "I see an arrow? I think? So, a sideways arrow means smooth travel. So your travelling will be smooth and then I see a cup, so there will be celebrating. So, travelling and celebrating, that doesn't sound so bad."
"I see lines… it looks like you'll also have travels, but it says a whole journey." Hermione said as she blinked and rubbed her eye. The last thing she needed right now was to find out she needed glasses. "Ah, and I see… I think it's a lion. That means you'll have strong friends along the way. That makes sense, doesn't it?"
"My dear, let me see that." Hermione heard Professor Trelawney say as she took the cup from her and peered into it. Her heart sank as Trelawney gasped and nearly dropped the cup. All of them in the class jumped and looked over at her with wide eyes. "My child! My poor, poor child! It is horrible! Horrible!"
Hermione sat there, nonplussed by the theatrics and hoping this little incident wasn't a precursor to what they could expect from this class. "May I have his cup back?" She asked in a small, flat tone.
"My dear! This is The Grim! The black dog that haunts the graveyards! He is the contradiction of life itself! My dear, it is the omen of death!" Trelawney said and Hermione's brow furrowed more.
"I interpreted it as a lion. Is there a wrong answer?" Hermione asked in another small, flat tone.
Harry didn't seem to know how to take any of this and Ron was looking at him like he needed to cherish the time they had left. All of the others in the classroom seemed to range from thinking Harry was going to croak at literally any moment to thinking Professor Trelawney was putting in a little too much effort to their very first class with her.
"My dear, please, put your affairs in order and make sure none of your worldly possessions are unaccounted for." The professor handed Harry the cup and he looked at it for a moment. He looked at Hermione, then back to the cup.
"Looks more like a cow." He said as he handed it back to her.
She rolled her eyes and put it away. They were literally fifteen minutes into a double class.
After a class that was either giving her weird, flavourless tea or making her peer into an uninteresting, swirling vortex inside a crystal ball, Hermione's head was throbbing. Even without an appetite, she was eating her way through three bowls of stew at dinner and downing four goblets of daisy juice.
"Hermione, this was only your first day." Harry told her as she finally was down to a pleasant cup of lemon tea with two spoons of honey.
"Yes, and?" Hermione asked as she took another large, cleansing sip.
"You looked like you were limping through Divinations." Harry pressed and she finally turned to him with an unamused expression.
"Yes, Harry, this is going to take some adjustment. It simply means I need to up my calibrations and focus on different elements of the day. I am perfectly capable of–"
"We have potions tomorrow, along with Care of Magical Creatures, both with Slytherin. That's on top of whatever else you have on that death schedule of yours." Harry said and her dread did hype up for two seconds before she tamped it down with another, very sharp drink of her tea.
"I will…" She suddenly realised that she had another Muggle Studies, then Ancient Runes after that. A very boring class on top of a class she had never even looked at before reading the textbook. "...be alright." She said to him, though the force of that comment was quite strained.
Harry eyed her and then leaned a tiny bit closer. "I think it is safe to say that if I need to, I will commandeer your study habits, Hermione."
She was quick to eye him back, furrowing her brow. "I think, under circumstances–"
"No, Hermione, if those circumstances mean you lose hair or start shrieking in your sleep, and I will ask, then I will step in." Harry said, making sure there were no minced words or misinterpretation.
After that was silence as it seemed both of them understood what that meant. Then there was the common room incident soon after.
Sitting in their favourite stuffy chairs, Hermione with her Ancient Runes book, Harry with Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts, the fire crackled in the grate. The long haired cat with his bottle brush tail slowly squirming as he purred in Hermione's lap.
"So… no one's claimed him?" Harry asked, and Hermione grunted a "no", shaking her head. "And you're keeping him?" She shrugged, grunting that she didn't know. "Okay." Knowing that cats were said to lower blood pressure, he didn't press.
"Oi, are you two studying alr–" One single look at Crookshanks, one jerk still of the rat on his shoulder, and Ron cursed, "oh, bloody hell!"
The red tabby cat's bright grey eyes locked on target as he went completely rigid upon Hermione's legs. "Crook–" was all she could say before he leapt higher than any cat any of them had ever seen! He was inches away as Ron narrowly dodged the flying fat cat.
"Oi! Who the hell let a cat in here!" ron said as he grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and held it up as a ward against the feline fiend that hissed and growled toward him as all of the fur on him puffed out even more!
"Crookshanks! No! Stop!" Hermione shouted as she stood up, dropping her rune book to the floor.
"What?! Is he yours?" Ron looked dumbfounded at Hermione, who nodded.
"Yes, he is and he is a sweet little cat." She said as he let out another little hiss and continued his closer approach toward the rat on Ron's shoulder.
"My freckled ass!" He shouted and she slapped his arm.
"Ron! Don't be gross!" Hermione said to him before going to Crookshanks. "Kitty, down! Come here!" She said and he did seem to calm down a bit at the sight of her. Though, as he saw Ron begin to approach the portrait hole, he began to prepare to lunge once again!
"Oi! Back off, cat! I swear I have fought a vampire and I'm not afraid of a damn pussy!" He threatened the cat with his wand in hand and Hermione snarled at him.
"Ron! You're being terrible! Stop it! I'll handle the cat! Just get the rat back in your dorm!" Hermione shouted at him and he frowned at her, appalled that she had the nerve to give him orders.
"It's your bright idea to get a cat? When did that come off as a stroke of bloody brilliance?!" Ron asked and Harry looked between the two of them, honestly at a loss for what to say or do.
"Don't test me, Ronald Bilius Weasley!" She growled at him before he turned it back on her with a frown.
"Don't go bringing middle names into this, Hermione Jean Granger! You're not my mum!" Ron pointed a finger at her as he kept strafing toward the dorm stairwell. They finally got separated and she silently chastised Crookshanks as she continuously petted his head to calm him. Still, those bright grey eyes glared toward the dorm stairs and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit unsettled by it.
After a long while, the common room was calm once again and Hermione finally closed the book for the day, giving Harry a kiss and bringing Crookshanks to bed.
The idea that this class schedule needed an adjustment period was starting to weigh in. Hermione was ever so glad that the semester began on a Thursday, because without the impending weekend, she was not sure what she would do. Potions was an abysmal mess of a class.
Even with a clamp on her nose and tissue in both nostrils, her vision was still going blurry with the drowsing potion. She found herself having to back off from it more than once. Hermione was forced to put up with comments from Malfoy, of course, but her small sense of satisfaction came when Snape told him to be quiet, as he was blinking more and hiding yawns from onlookers.
Hermione rolled her eyes, very relieved when the class was done, but also somewhat dreading using the Time-Turners once again. Muggle Studies proved to be so utterly dreadful. She hardly even glanced at the textbook anymore. The humour behind wizards' strange views of the postal service and mobile musical devices began to wear off after the teacher's fiftieth self-indulgent muggle joke of the class. Sadly, once they got to muggle bands and performers, a subject she was actually interested in, the class ended with an essay on musical instruments and how wizards and muggles are similar and different.
This did not go well with her twelve inches of parchment on sleeping draughts and how they are better than slowing and ensnaring charms. Care of Magical Creatures was next and Ronald pointedly did not greet her when he noticed her. The fact that Harry immediately took her hand as she reappeared beside him gave her something to marvel at.
"I bet Hagrid's nervous." Harry said and both of them separately agreed. It was probably the most people they had ever seen around Hagrid's hut at one time.
The very large, hair covered man came around from the side of the hut, towering over all of them by well over a foot and trying to keep his hands from shaking. "Welcome, welcome! We'll be doing class a tad closer to the forest. Right this way, you lot."
They came to a grove near the large trees. There was a lot of tall grass and the land was quite flat. Nuzzling around the ground, looking for worms and were strange, bird-like beasts with wings, beaks, talons and feline backsides. Their feathers and fur were different colours independent of one another, but that did not take away from their beauty.
There were five of them and all of them earned gasps and sounds of wonderment from many in the class. Hagrid warned them to keep their distance, but none of them seemed riled by the visitors.
"These cute little things are Griffons. Who can tell me what they know?" Hagrid chuckled as he pointed to Hermione.
"They're similar to hippogriffs, who are part eagle and part equestrian." She watched one prowl about, sniffing the ground near her. Hermione tried not to look scared. "They're originally native to Greece and Italy. They're even more gorgeous than I could have thought."
"Ah, very true! Ten points to Gryffindor, thank you, Miss Granger." Hagrid said, seeming far more into it as he started his explanation. "Griffons are very territorial. Don't stand behind them when they lift their tails." Hagrid warned and the students complied immediately, steering clear. "Let them sniff you, and if they like you, they'll allow you to pet them. If they don't like you, just back away and make sure you don't make any sudden moves."
These last ominous words seemed to disconcert some of them from touching the Griffons. Though, Harry was quick to approach the pitch black lion Griffon with the white feathered eagle head, wings and upper torso. Its long, fluffy tipped tail whipped from side to side as he noticed Harry. He held his hand to the Griffon and allowed him to sniff his hand.
"That's good, Harry. Ghosty seems to like you." He said and Harry raised an eyebrow at the strange name. "That's it, give Ghost a good scratch by the neck. Very good."
Hermione was soon to follow, letting him sniff her hand and he seemed to take to her even faster. Ron, he seemed more tentative, but he did allow him pets soon enough.
"Alright, looks like you've all got the hang of it. Griffons are very strong, mind you, so do not do anything that could hurt them. Especially don't pet their fur or feathers the wrong way. They're slow to attack but they're quick to temper, don't you doubt." Hagrid said as he picked up a sack that had several stains of blood on it. He was standing in front of it, though the Griffons obviously took interest in it.
As Hagrid walked around, he started tossing dead rats to the griffons. They ate them with a snap, startling some of the students and grossing out a few.
"Get off me!" Malfoy shouted as he shoved Ghost away from him. He apparently nuzzled him a little too heavily.
"Malfoy! Stop!" Hermione shouted, but it was far too late. The Griffon gave a very loud squawk toward him as his black fur bristled at his back and he went rigid. He reared with a scowl toward Malfoy, who began to cower away. Crabbe and Goyle stood like stupid looking statues as Ghost lunged toward him, swiping both his black talons at Malfoy. One of them tore through his robe sleeve and cut straight into his arm.
Draco gave a shriek of pain as he fell back. Hagrid got in front of Ghost and began to shield him away. "Back, Ghosty! Back!"
He was bleeding rather badly from the gashes in his arms left by the claws. They were clean cuts and he was screaming that he'd been murdered.
"You're fine, you're fine! It's just a little cut, it'll heal up fine." Hagrid said as he picked up Malfoy as if he were a newborn baby then began to scurry off. "All of you write me an essay on how cute and loveable the Griffons are. That'll be the class!"
Hermione watched as he ran toward the castle to take Draco to the hospital wing. Then the looked over toward Ghost, who was gnawing on a bone he had found. Then she looked over toward Ron and Harry, who had similar looks of worry.
Lunch was quiet. The distant murmurs of students were even more silent compared to her thoughts. She decided to take lunch before the Time-Turner, she simply needed to steer clear of the Great Hall afterward. Not that she wanted to make the long terms of the Turner more pronounced. Doing so wastes copious amounts of energy, was simply more hungry than usual. Draco was still in the hospital, and that was the last she'd heard of him all day.
"So, what's next?" Harry asked, and Hermione shook her head.
"If I knew that, I'd not be so worried." Hermione admitted and he chuckled a little.
"No, I mean, in your classes. Aren't you…"
"Yes." She said sharply, giving him a glare. He waved his hands in surrender. After that, it had to be the most uncomfortable moment between them since their first meeting in the train cart two years ago. After that, she looked over at him and her heart sunk as he did not look back at her. He kept his eyes down toward his shepherd's pie and boiled carrots. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean that."
"It's alright." Harry said through a sigh. "This isn't an easy year so far for any of us. I can't imagine yours is going any better."
She intended to show him a great amount of affection for that. This would obviously be away from prying eyes.
The next hour was her Ancient Runes and their Potions class. Neither of these went especially well. The more she looked at the runes without blinking, the more they looked like burned out matchsticks piled in random orders. That's when she discovered that her eyes had gone bleary without her noticing.
Potions was strangely not all that bad without Malfoy's presence. Without him, of course, they knew he was being a baby and whining at Madam Pomfrey for more pain relief. The thought was annoying but the Rat Repellant potion was actually going quite well. Even with Snape sniffing around Harry's potion, he did not have a comment. This, Harry thought, was a sign of great approval. Even if he was fairly certain he had overestimated his rat hearts and overcut the turtle shell.
Hermione, however, had put in six drops of monkey blood instead of three. She yawned as she applied them and cursed silently to herself. There was no way Snape would miss this, and it was as she predicted. Although he still said nothing, he gave her a sidelong glance with a tiny frown. Then, he walked away. Hermione was devastated.
Roast chicken and Yorkshire pudding barely saw her teeth that night. As much as she was eating, she most certainly was not gaining weight. If anything, if Harry looked at a certain angle, he could have sworn there was a very subtle, very shallow pit developing on either cheek. All of this, while she had a copy of the Rune Dictionary and was turning through its pages.
She had already finished that dastardly Snape's essay in a fit of anger. More than once, her quill had punctured the parchment, but that gave her the nerve to come down for a late dinner. The only one at the dinner table was Neville. He had just gotten out of the bath after a disaster in the greenhouse involving some strange cacti that fired off jets of stinksap.
"She says we got enough, but I think I still smell it in my skin." Neville said between bites of roast beef.
"You did say that Mimbulus Mimbletonia was quite rare, didn't you? How did Professor Sprout manage that?"
"Oi! He's been spotted!" Someone shouted from across the Great Hall, drawing their attention. It was Seamus, and he held up his radio. The magical antennae had to be adjusted before he turned it up for all of them.
"Sirius Black was seen near Honeydukes on the East side of Hogsmeade. Sources say that he was scavenging for food when a young lady spotted him walking her dog." The newscast stated and there were many murmurs throughout the hall. Then there was that sudden twitch in Hermione's brow.
As if her schedule, the constant visage of black shadows flying around the castle, that blaggard Malfoy scheming what to do with Hagrid and Quidditch tryouts coming in two weeks wasn't enough worry as it was. She had to pass that from her mind for now. The two problems could possibly cancel each other out, if she was lucky, which she felt like she could make her own luck. Baiting the Dementors onto Sirius Black's trail was always a longshot plan but the plan had its merits.
Hermione slapped herself twice! She needed to focus! Ancient Runes on beasts at ten inches of parchment and she was scott free for the night!
To her surprise, Neville followed her to the Gryffindor common room where she gave the password "marmalade". Then, to an even greater surprise, there was Harry and Ron standing in the middle of the common room with Fred and George sitting in two off the arm chairs. There were a few other Gryffindors in the back, reading, but all four of them seemed to be there for a purpose.
"Alright, Neville, looks like you're ready." Harry said, then greeted Hermione by taking her hand and squeezing it. She squeezed back and looked at him, puzzled.
"I can't thank you enough, Ron, Harry." Neville said as he walked up to them and took out his wand.
"Well, first, you need to even out your legs. If you're already off balance, you're not going to be good to anyone." Ron said as he made Neville spread his feet to an even stance and then had him squat very slightly.
"Alright, Neville, you remember the Ministry of the Duel. Well, consider this part two." Harry explained as Hermione watched off to the side and suddenly remembered their promise to Neville. It wasn't long before Ginny walked down from the girl's dormitory and sat between her twin brothers, who scooted aside for her.
"I don't know about this. I still have a few bruises that haven't completely faded." Neville admitted, making Harry and Ron glance at each other.
"We're going to start from square one, Neville. Just the basics." Ron said as he got his wand out and began teaching him drawing his wand and firing off with purpose.
Hermione noticed something as she watched Harry and Ron instruct Neville. Harry definitely knew the jinxes and curses to use and when to use them. Ron seemed to know them very well also, but Harry had a way of explaining things and using vivid demonstrations.
"Incendio!" Harry said as he drew on the firewood in the grate and caused the flame to sprout anew. "Never use that spell in an enclosed area, if you can help it. If you're too close to something or the walls are too close to you, it can burn you as well." Then he motioned off to the fireplace. "It's good to have a fireplace nearby to practise that on occasion. Just remember to stand back." He flipped his wand into its holder.
After that, Ron got him in on a duel as a steadier crowd began to form in the common room. Thankfully, Hermione had ceased her favourite chair and was writing her essay while Ron drew on Neville once again and stunned him.
"Did you see that?" Harry asked Ron and he immediately began nodding. Once Neville had come around once again, he was a bit downcast.
"No, Neville! You were so much faster." Harry said and pointed at him with a straight finger. "I want you to start drawing that wand and performing some charms on the cushions. The faster you get, the more confidence you build, and soon, you'll be defeating vampires."
"Whoa," Neville said with a face of absolute terror, but also an edge of fascination. "That sounds real dangerous. When can we do that?" Neville asked, and this drew a laugh from them both and a few in the crowd.
"Well done, Longbutt!" Fred said as he clapped the shorter, stockier young man on the back. "Don't worry, there's only been one vampire so far. Hags, on the other hand…" He looked at George.
Neville gave them both a blank expression.
"Alright, I think that's a good place to stop for now." Harry said, but to Neville's surprise, he grabbed Longbottom by both shoulders. "Listen, I am not kidding about those cushions. I want as many cushions as you can work into fifteen minutes a night. Thirty minutes if you can manage it. Think you can manage that?"
Neville nodded vigorously. "Y-yeah! I can do that, Harry. My Gran told me to be there for you if you ever need a fighter!" Neville said, drawing his wand on him once again. "Expelliarmus!"
Harry's wand popped right out of his hand and Neville caught it from the air without missing a beat. Every single one of them in the room froze, faces slack and Hermione even dropped her quill.
"YEAH!" Fred shouted, causing all of them to get up from their chairs and go to Neville.
"Neville, you bastard!" Harry burst out laughing. "That was brilliant!"
It became clear, in an instant, that Neville had a severe lack of confidence holding him back. The fact that his Gran had not seen that, troubled Hermione. However, there was Harry and Ron patting him on the back and shaking him with whatever he had been lacking.
Hermione caught Harry before he could go anywhere. She pointedly held him back from everyone and got him out into the back of the common room. There, she attacked him on one of the loveseats. Hermione clung to him on his lap and kissed him as if they were going to be separate for years after this.
"Hermione," he whispered, "what…" she hushed him with her finger. Her smile was with half-open eyes. She took the liberty of removing his glasses and putting them on as she showed her cute buck teeth. She rubbed hands across his face, feeling his scar, feeling his messy hair before kissing him, rubbing her lips against his.
That was when their tongues began to rub softly against one another. His hands traced along her back and her hands gripped the back of his neck. As their kiss settled and her arms wrapped around his shoulders, she sat on his lap. Very slowly, they broke the kiss and stayed there for a moment.
"Oh, Harry," she leaned her head on his shoulder, tears beginning to stream down her face, "I need this, just stay like this."
He hummed his agreement as they locked against each other's necks, warm and in love. They shared a very comfortable silence and as if it were real magic, not a single soul disturbed them. Life was too hard, too complex sometimes and taking a moment to create a happy memory must never be neglected. This was especially true with their beautiful connection.
There was no helping it. They slept in his bed that night.