Hermione Jean Granger had a small, but close knit family. She was the only child born to two older parents and the only other members of her little family was her grandmother on her mother's side who lived in Cannes, and her somewhat odd great uncle who resided in Wales.
Grandmere couldn't visit them due to being so fragile, but Uncle Hector made surprisingly frequent trips to see the Grangers, waving off any concerns that the constant travel would harm his health due to his age. He was somehow older than Hermione's grandmother, but was unnaturally spry.
With a shock of white wavy hair and brown eyes that crinkled constantly, he walked with a bounce and was in excellent health. Hermione didn't honestly know his age, but her mother often asked him what the secret to his boundless energy was.
Hermione quite simply adored the man. She was the apple of his eye and from him she'd inherited not only an unending thirst for knowledge, but also his warm brown eyes. Her father often said that Uncle Hector was more of a grandfather than an uncle. Hermione agreed quite enthusiastically with this assessment.
Due to being the only young member of a small family and sometimes struggling to make friends, Uncle Hector also was her closest confidant.
The old man's brown eyes would crinkle with warmth when little Hermione would tell him about things happening that she just couldn't explain. He'd pressed his lips together when she'd told him that she didn't know how she did it, but she knew it was her fault that Elizabeth Smithe's juice had exploded during lunch.
Hector had assured Hermione that he believed her, but that Elizabeth probably deserved it for ripping Hermione's book just before. Hermione tried to look shameful, but giggled in agreement when she remembered the girl's stunned face dripping with orange juice while Hermione tried to piece her beloved tome back together.
It was during one of her uncle's visits that the knock came. Hector and Hermione were sitting on the sette, discussing Narnia, when her mother answered the door to see a rather stern looking woman.
The lady had blinked several times at Uncle Hector, before a slight smile crossed her lips, "I see. Well this will make things much easier."
Then Hermione's entire world was turned upside down with her discovery that she was in fact, a witch and her beloved great uncle was a wizard. A rather well-known one at that.
Hector Dagworth-Granger was a leading scholar in the wizarding world, but had never had children of his own to pass on such a legacy. Therefore he was quite thrilled when his beloved little grand-niece started showing signs of magical affinity at the young age of four.
Hector's mother had been a wizard, his father a muggle, and Hector the only one of their two children to exhibit any magical prowess.
Hector's brother Benjamin had been effectively labeled a squib. He'd accepted it, but had left the wizarding world behind. Choosing to follow their father's path into the muggle world. Benjamin had a single son who had also shown no signs of being a wizard.
When his brother had asked Hector and their mother to keep magic out of his boy's life, Hector had accepted it without argument.
His mother had unfortunately not, causing an estrangement from her younger son that had lasted until both of their final days.
By the time Richard started dental school, he and Hector were the last in the Dagworth-Granger line.
Hector refused to wallow in the loneliness and lose his only remaining family, so he'd kept in close contact with his nephew.
He'd also kept his promise to his brother and remained silent about magic, enjoying being the oddball uncle once more when Richard married a lovely French girl by the name of Jean Laurent, resulting in little Hermione.
Hector was still highly respected among the educated circles of the wizarding world, despite his retirement. Therefore he still received endless invitations to galas, tea parties, and dinners from the most prestigious families of wizarding society, all wanting to rub elbows and schmooze with the founder of the Society.
So once his great-niece officially had her letter, he insisted to her parents that she must begin her introduction to the wizarding world sooner rather than later. Jean had pursed her lips, but ultimately agreed to allow Hector to take over this aspect of Hermione's care. Though she'd went on a rapid fire French tangent about Hector keeping such things a secret from family for so long.
Richard the easy-going man that he was, simply shrugged and said he always knew Hector was a little odd.
So Hector immediately took Hermione to Diagon Alley, collecting the items from her school list, having her fitted in robes for various occasions, and had the honor of accompanying her into Ollivander's.
A lovely wand of vine and dragon heartstring had chosen her, which Hector found quite fitting for his passionate little Hermione.
Once everything was settled and Hermione had begun absorbing every bit of the wizarding world with almost ferocious hunger, Hector then had her accompany him to an afternoon tea party, held by a somewhat slimy man known as Horace Slughorn.
Hector didn't much care for the other potioneer, but even he had to begrudgingly admit the man had a knack for connections. His soirées were the best opportunity to thrust Hermione into the heart of wizarding society.
Hector had no concerns about his niece's ability to act accordingly in such company, Jean Granger had raised a poised young girl with manners that outshined most adults.
So they entered into the tea room quite at ease, Hermione looking like a perfect little lady in her lavender robes, even as Hector could see the curiosity sparking in her eyes as she looked about. She eyed the floating tea trays with fascination evident on her little face.
"Ah! Hector! So good to see you!" Horace Slughorn greeted boisterously, "Who is this lovely young lady on your arm?"
"Horace, good to see you. This is my great-niece, Hermione." Hector smiled down at her fondly, noting that her wild curls were already attempting to escape the tight plait Jean had forced them into.
"Thank you for allowing me to attend, sir. I was so pleased when Uncle Hector asked me to accompany him." Hermione gave the man a brilliant smile, dimples she'd inherited from Jean flashing.
"You're very kind, my dear. Please let me introduce you to some friends nearer your own age. After all, you don't want to be trapped listening to old men talk potions all afternoon!" Horace insisted. Hermione's slight pout that she quickly wiped away made Hector chuckle.
Hermione Granger would most definitely listen happily to a bunch of old scholars discuss their field for hours if permitted. She'd already made him review her potions texts multiple times the past two weeks.
Hector allowed the man to parade them through the room, stopping to introduce them to different people here and there. Hermione needed every advantage in this world, so he'd let Horace work his magic.
Hector had his mother's name when he was eleven and he'd made his own name as an adult. Hermione only had Granger, his brother having dropped Dagworth without looking back.
She also had the handicap of spending eleven years not knowing magic existed and entering a society of those who would look down on her for it. Hector wouldn't allow anything else to stunt her growth.
"Lucius, Narcissa, how are you?" Horace called jovially, "I wanted to introduce you to a new acquaintance of mine. I'm sure you know Hector. This is his great-niece, Hermione. Hermione, this is Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy."
Hector smiled politely at the Malfoys, shaking Lucius' hand firmly and brushing a kiss onto Narcissa's offered knuckles. He was very aware of their less than savory history, but people like the Malfoys were the reason behind his introducing Hermione today. Best to confront the most likely obstacles head on.
He'd even prepared his niece for such an encounter beforehand, mentioning the Malfoys specifically. He didn't go into grisly detail, but Hector wouldn't hide the darker parts of the wizarding world from Hermione. She needed every advantage and knowledge was power.
"Hector, it's wonderful to see you again." Narcissa smiled lightly, ever the society wife, taking point when Lucius nodded politely and began chatting to the side with Horace. "Hermione, delighted to meet you."
Hermione's dimples came out once more, "It's lovely to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy. Uncle Hector told me you were responsible for the beautiful flower arrangement he received last week. My mother and I insisted he let us display it in the sitting room."
Hector grinned inwardly when Narcissa's polite smile softened into a much more genuine expression, "Thank you, my dear. I have a fondness for all things that grow I must admit. I have a son your age I believe, eleven?"
"Yes ma'am. I'm attending Hogwarts this autumn." Hermione told her, some of her excitement leaking out when her eyes lit up at the chance to talk about the wizarding school.
"Ah yes, the first year is always the most exciting. Draco is quite impatient for September to arrive as well. Let me introduce you." Narcissa looked about the room, hardly raising her volume at all even as she called, "Draco darling."
A sharp-featured boy approached, with the signature Malfoy white-blonde hair and his father's gray eyes. He came to stand at his mother's side, smiling politely, but clearly not wanting to be here.
"Draco, this is Hector Dagworth-Granger, I'm sure you've noted his name in your studies." Draco extended his hand to shake Hector's before Narcissa continued, "This is his niece, Hermione."
The boy's features relaxed slightly, curiosity evident as he bowed his head slightly to Hermione and they exchanged greetings.
"Your mother told me you'll be attending Hogwarts as a first year as well?" Hermione asked, excitement overriding any bashfulness she might have had.
"Yes, my friends Theo and Pansy are as well. They're nearby, us younger guests tend to stick together." Draco told her, the offer evident in his voice.
Hector took things in hand then, "If Draco wouldn't mind of course. Hermione has had little interaction with wizarding society and probably doesn't want to hang onto an old man's arm all afternoon."
"I don't mind at all." Draco grinned, not catching the undercurrent of the conversation, extending his arm to Hermione who took it shyly, but she soon perked up as they chatted about school.
Narcissa watched the pair walk away, then raised a blonde brow slightly, "Limited contact with wizarding society?"
"Indeed." Hector smiled thinly, waiting to see how the she would react. He would adjust accordingly once he gauged her thoughts. "I was quite pleased when she got her letter, although I've known since she was a babe. My younger brother was a squib you see, he decided to create a life in the muggle world."
"It is unfortunate when it happens. Even more so when they choose to leave wizarding society all together." Narcissa replied sympathetically, "It does make it more difficult for their magical offspring to reintegrate into our world."
"I agree, but Hermione is a brilliant girl. She will do just fine." Hector said easily, "I must admit, I am hoping for a certain aptitude for potions, but my girl seems to have an interest in charms."
Narcissa laughed at this and Hector breathed a little easier, "I suspect you do hope for a star potioneer. Another Dagworth-Granger for the Society would be quite the legacy."
"Precisely." He smiled genuinely for the first time as the woman eyed the children once more with a speculative eye. Hector had no intentions on marrying Hermione off the way some of these pureblood families liked to do, but he wanted them to be aware of her potential.
A potions legacy was definite potential. Especially since Hermione was now the sole heir to Hector's estate, including his patented potions and unpublished works. Hector was quite pleased with himself for his machinations.
"I know I'll be in Slytherin. What are you expecting?" Draco asked as they walked across the room, looking for his friends.
Probably hiding from their own parents, he mused.
"I'm not sure. I expect Ravenclaw if I'm being honest." Hermione replied, her brown eyes intent on him while they spoke. Such singular focus made him feel quite important and he puffed his chest a little bit. "Why Slytherin?"
"My family has been in Slytherin for generations. I can't remember the last Malfoy that was in another house." He told her, "Why Ravenclaw?"
"I like to learn. I like to think I take after Uncle Hector. He was in Ravenclaw." She grinned. He noted that if her front teeth were smaller, her dimpled smile would be quite pretty.
"Definitely Slytherin or Ravenclaw for you. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are not exactly known for their brains." He laughed at his own joke, catching sight of Pansy by a window.
He led the girl over and found Theo hiding behind a nearby plant, most likely hoping his father wouldn't catch sight of him. Perhaps Draco should ask his mother to invite Theo over for the remainder of the summer.
"Hermione, this is Pansy and Theo." He gestured between the two and then back to her, "This is Hermione Dagworth-Granger."
"Just Granger." She corrected him gently before exchanging pleasantries with his friends.
Pansy looked her over a few times with skeptical eyes, but finally caved when Hermione complimented her robes. Pansy Parkinson was a sucker for flattery.
Theo didn't really talk much, remaining behind the plant until Hermione mentioned her parents weren't magical. Theo flicked a glance at Draco who had also stiffened.
Pansy shrugged her shoulders and carried on prattling away about Hermione's robes. The Parkinsons weren't as strict on blood lineage as other families, only drawing the line if one of them attempted to marry outside of the sacred twenty-eight.
"Hermione, what was it your uncle does again?" Draco interjected, knowing his mother wouldn't have introduced a muggleborn to him, let alone encourage association. She couldn't be one of those people with a famous uncle after all.
Pansy glared at him, irritated with his interruption of her fashion talk, but Draco ignored her and waited for Hermione to answer.
"Oh, he founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers. He's published quite extensively on love potions." She told him, smiling apologetically at Pansy for the disrupted conversation.
Theo relaxed slightly, but then looked puzzled, "How old is your uncle Hermione? The Society was founded over a hundred years ago."
Hermione blinked, looking somewhat confused, "Now that you've asked that, I'm honestly not sure."
Conversation flowed easily between them, Hermione fitting in quite well. She was a little chatty, but pleasant enough and clearly intelligent. She changed topics with ease, knowing random obscure facts about subjects even the three purebloods didn't know.
When her uncle came by to collect her, Pansy held her hand, inquiring if she would be attending the Malfoy's fundraising gala next week.
The old man was quite ancient, Draco could easily see him being over one hundred, with a shock of snow white hair and a very wrinkled face. He stood straight, but he wasn't a tall man by any means, only standing over his niece because she was actually quite short.
He had a youthful quality to him despite the apparent age, and Draco assumed it came from having the same inquisitive, large brown eyes as his niece. Those eyes sparkled when Hermione gazed up at him imploringly.
"As long as young Malfoy's mother doesn't mind if I bring her along." He winked at Draco, before leading Hermione away, the girl already talking his ear off.
Pansy practically shoved Draco to the floor, demanding he go ask his mother if their new friend was able to attend, "I like her. She's nicer than the Greengrass girls and I want a girl friend. I'm outnumbered with all you boys."
Draco went to do her bidding. His mother gave him an odd smile, but told him of course Hermione was welcome to attend, Narcissa insisting she would even go so far as to send a personal invitation.
Draco was even more confused when his mother warmly welcomed his new friend, even bestowing a rare kiss on Hermione's cheek when the girl mentioned something about flowers.
He shrugged it off, knowing how his mother was about her gardening and whatnot.
Draco made his polite greetings before dragging Hermione off to where Theo waited on the balcony. Pansy was arriving shortly with her parents and the boys wanted to show her how to play exploding snap.
She watched the boys play first before smiling sweetly and taking her place. She beat Theo twice and Draco once before Pansy rescued them, stealing the girl away to gush about each other's dress robes.
Chapter 2: Troll In the Dungeon
Summary:
Train ride to Hogwarts and the first portion of the year up to Halloween
Notes:
I hope you all enjoy this new rewrite! I always mean to do a one shot or something short, then it just gets away from me. That's what happened with my last fic and now look.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hermione hugged her parents and uncle tightly one final time before boarding the train.
She'd been unable to find her new friends on the platform, but hoped she'd be able to stumble upon them on the train.
She had no such luck by the time the train started moving, so she sighed in defeat and asked a round-faced boy if she could sit with him. Soon a few others their age tramped in, twin girls of Indian descent and a boy with wavy gold hair.
The plump boy had been shy at first, but Neville Longbottom was really quite sweet once she coaxed him out of his shell. He had finally stopped stuttering out his words and she took it as a win.
The girls were nice as well, but the other boy was a bit pompous. She found Draco could be a bit of a prat too, but Draco was witty and could be nice, whereas this boy was just full of himself.
They all chatted for a while before Neville cried out about losing his toad. Hermione assured him she'd help him find it and they split up to cover more ground. She noted no one else volunteered to help, Cormac had even rolled his eyes.
A few compartments down she was startled when the door slid open to reveal none other than Draco Malfoy.
"Draco!" She beamed, standing on her toes to look over his shoulder, finding Pansy and Theo waving at her.
"Granger, we were about to send a search party!" Draco grinned, pulling her into their compartment and introducing three new boys.
"That's Greg Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, and the ugly one there is Blaise Zabini." He told her, pointing at the end to a boy who was definitely not ugly. He winked at her and she fought a blush.
"I'm Hermione Granger, it's lovely to meet you all." She told them sincerely, before looking to Pansy with a cheeky grin, "You really are outnumbered."
"Tell me about it!" The girl threw her hands up in the air, "You were supposed to save me!"
"I looked for you all on the platform, but it was so busy and the train was doing last call so I rushed." She apologized, then remembered why she'd come in the first place, "By the way, have you all seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one and is quite upset."
Draco tried hard to hold back his snicker at the idea of someone bringing a useless toad, "No, we haven't seen one."
"I'll keep looking. I'll come back once I've found it for him!" She told them, waving and exiting to move to the next door.
She felt a presence behind her and turned to find Draco grinning at her, insisting he was tagging along so he could make sure she returned with him.
She shook her head, but he did actually help her look and kept her company so she didn't really mind. A lot of students seemed to know who he was despite being a first year.
He insisted it was his imposing presence, but deflated a bit when she squinted at him for a moment, then told him it had to be his pretty hair.
Everything went well until she came to where only two boys sat, one ginger and one with round glasses held together with tape.
"Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his." She asked, trying not to frown when the ginger boy rolled his eyes and shook his head.
His wand was out and her curiosity got the better of her, asking if she could see his spell and taking a seat across from them.
Draco leaned against the doorframe with a rather haughty look on his pointed face. He frowned angrily when the ginger boy rolled his eyes at her again.
The spell didn't work, but since they were doing magic she wanted to join in. Except when she tried to be kind by repairing the dark-haired boy's glasses, they seemed displeased with her especially the one named Ron.
When Draco extended a hand to Harry, glaring at the redheaded Ron as he did so, the famous boy coldly declined.
She felt it was her fault when the tension increased in the small cabin. Draco was only glaring and posturing because Ron had been rude towards Hermione first.
Hermione was no stranger to people not wanting her around, so she tried to flee in a bit obvious way, her feelings a little miffed.
Draco had no such concerns about subtlety as he took her arm and pulled her into the corridor, making a snide comment about manners before he slammed the door shut.
"Come on Granger, I knew what he was the moment I saw the hair. The Weasley family has social skills to match a pack of rabid nifflers."
Hermione thought that probably wasn't very kind of him to say, but she was irritated with the ginger so she didn't correct Draco. He was defending her after all.
They had no luck with the toad and when she returned to tell Neville this, Draco informed them that he was stealing her now.
The twin girls giggled, but Hermione just rolled her eyes theatrically and let him lead her back to Pansy who made grabby hands at Hermione.
Hermione laughed when Theo, who'd been shoved unceremoniously out of his seat by the dark-haired girl, glared at Pansy before he settled on the other side of Draco.
Hermione settled in to chat with Pansy about anything and everything, the girl pulled out her wand to show Hermione a few beauty charms she insisted all girls should know.
Hermione watched intently purely for the sake of knowing more magic, rather than any interest in doing such charm work on herself.
The train ride went smoothly from there, and she sat once more with Pansy as they wobbly got into the boats, gasping in wonder at the castle waiting for them at the other side of the lake.
Draco and Pansy reassured Hermione repeatedly that everything would be fine before giving her a joint push towards the sorting hat.
As he watched her head disappear inside the hat, Draco mused that it almost didn't fit. He knew why they'd missed her on the platform, her hair had transformed her into an entirely different girl.
Gone was the plaits and twisted knots from the events they'd all attended over the summer. Now Hermione had a mass of brown curls that stood out in every direction, making her look like she'd been struck by lightning.
He didn't say it outloud, but the girl was carrying what was basically an overgrown hedge on her head. He had been able to practically hear Pansy's thoughts on the train when she'd eyed the bushel, probably already plotting how to manage it. Hermione had been oblivious to the the motive behind showing off beauty charms.
"Gryffindor!"
Draco felt his heart sink and Pansy visibly deflated beside him as Hermione got off the stool and glanced at them, biting her lip as she waved before walking to the lion's table.
"Well. So much for having a new girl friend." Pansy whispered. Theo nudged her, smiling sympathetically. "You know I'm right. They'll tell her we are horrible and soon enough she will believe it."
"It'll be alright Pans. We will find you a friend." Draco assured the girl, trying not to reveal how put out he was. He'd liked Granger.
When his name was called, he heard a familiar voice cheering him from an otherwise silent table.
Hermione was ignoring the looks from her fellow housemates, loudly cheering for Draco as he walked to the Slytherin table.
She kept that same enthusiasm for all of her train friends, screeching especially loud for Pansy who waved in confusion at the brown haired girl before sitting beside Draco.
"Does she not care that they're glaring at her?" She whispered, eyeing the Gryffindor table, clearly puzzled by such a lack of shame. Draco noted that Potter and several Weasleys were surrounding her and all of them were glaring.
"Maybe she just doesn't care." Draco shrugged, hoping the wankers wouldn't give the girl too hard of a time for cheering for the Slytherins. They weren't exactly friendly to her on the Hogwarts Express.
"Well. You know it won't last." Theo murmured, always the realist.
"Yeah." Pansy mumbled before trying to perk up and start a lively chatter with their new housemates.
"Pansy! Draco! Theo!" A voice called. Draco and company turned to see Hermione rushing away from her housemates to catch up to them.
They all looked at her confused, but kept up with her pace even as the puzzlement remained. She didn't seem to pick up on it.
"I'm so excited for potions! I know Uncle Hector is awaiting my owl about this class in particular." She chattered away, asking them how their first night went.
Draco glanced at Pansy who was tentatively talking more and more, then glanced back to see several Gryffindors glaring at their group. Weasley had an especially ugly leer.
He didn't say anything, or at least he didn't plan to, until Hermione took a seat between him and Pansy. She began setting up her station and cooing over Pansy's exotic purple quill.
"Uh…Granger?"
She turned to look at him questioningly when their professor entered and all conversation was silenced.
Draco was familiar with Severus Snape. The man was not only a friend to his parents, he was also Draco's godfather.
He ran a strict lesson, and Harry Potter had already managed to get on his bad side. Draco knew he had a low tolerance for that specific house and what he called their more "moronically robust"behavior.
Despite this, Snape seemed almost amused by the single red and gold tie amongst a sea of Slytherin green. His black eyes flickered between Pansy, Hermione, and Draco repeatedly.
Snape raised a brow when Hermione repeatedly raised her hand to answer his questions, but refused to call on her. Once he dismissed the class, he called for Draco to see him for a moment. Hermione asked if he wanted them to wait on them to go to Charms. He shook his head and nudged her out.
"Mr. Malfoy, your mother insisted I check in with you on your first day of classes. She seems to think I have the time, despite receiving a copy of my schedule that clearly shows I do not."
"Everything is going well sir." He told his godfather quietly, not daring to talk too loud in an echoing dungeon.
"Odd to see a little lion amongst so many snakes." The man mused, raising one dark brow in question despite not asking one.
"Oh. That's Hermione. We met her at an event over the summer and made friends." Draco told him before grumbling, "I'm sure it'll change soon enough."
"Why is that Mr. Malfoy?" Snape inquired in his usual soft voice. The man never yelled, but he certainly commanded attention even when speaking so low.
"You said yourself. She's a lion now." Draco scoffed, trying to hide how upset it made him.
The pale man examined him for a long moment before speaking, "That only matters if you let it matter. Run along, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco left quickly and was surprised to find all of his friends waiting on him to go to Charms, including Hermione Granger.
He grinned at her, stepping between her and Theo to begin the trek to charms, attempting to find their way through the absurd maze of castle.
They had to stop once so Draco and Blaise could help Hermione pull her foot out of a trick step she'd sunk into with a yelp.
Another time they had to pause when a different stone turned into a slide, causing Vincent and Pansy to scream as they both went tumbling down several steps, Hermione rushing down to check on her friend while the boys attempted to hold in their laughter.
They made it to charms with barely a moment to spare, still laughing while Pansy whined to Hermione about the injustice.
Hermione arrived back onto the pitch from bringing Neville's bag inside, intending to grab it on the way to herbology when she noted Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter taunting each other in the air.
Draco threw something with a snap of his arm and came down to hover near her, tugging a curl playfully.
"Draco, get off that broom before you get into trouble." She hissed, grabbing the broom handle to shove it down. "What did you throw anyway?"
"Longbottom's remembrall." He told her easily making her jerk the broom handle harder.
"Draco, Neville is the only one who is nice to me. Please, feel free to go after anyone else, but not Neville." She begged, making the pale boy frown.
He finally sighed when she continued pouting, getting off his broom and throwing an arm around her.
"Deal. I'll settle for tormenting Weasel and Potter."
"You can do Cormac too. He's a git." She whispered, making him laugh and go to do just that when Professor McGonagall ran onto the field, insisting she speak with Harry.
Hermione offered to help Ron and Harry practice their levitation charms, attempting an olive branch that was quickly rebuffed.
Hermione bit her lip and tried to hold back her frustration. She'd been bullied relentlessly for the past two months by her housemates, specifically Ron Weasley. Even his chaotic older brothers weren't targeting her as badly as Ron had been. She mentally included Harry Potter in her brain tirade, even though he was mainly a bystander.
"She's a nightmare honestly. No wonder she hasn't got any friends! Even the snakes are probably exhausted with her panting after them like a dog."
Hermione bit back a sob as Ron Weasley walked by her, not noticing the flustered glance from Harry Potter as she took off hurrying towards the nearest bathroom before anyone could see her falling apart.
She collapsed onto the floor in the stall, crying harshly.
She hoped her friends didn't think of her that way. She knew that it was apparently taboo to be friends with the Slytherins if you were a Gryffindor, but she didn't want them to think she was trailing after them like a pathetic little stray.
Who even made up such a silly rule anyway? They should be promoting the houses to blend together, not encourage such a hateful level of animosity.
"Where's Hermione?" Pansy asked aloud. She moved her eyes over the Gryffindor table again, searching for the familiar head of mismanaged curls.
"I haven't seen her since we separated after charms. I wouldn't think she'd skip the Halloween feast. It's practically mandatory for first years to attend." Theo replied, turning to look behind him at the red and gold table as well.
"Well where is she? It's not like Hermione to miss both lunch and dinner." Pansy snapped at no one in particular. She'd stopped waiting for Hermione to start hating her. The girl was powering through a lot of anger from her housemates to remain friends with the Slytherin group.
Pansy respected such stubbornness, even as it baffled her Slytherin mind to do something your entire peer group was against.
Red and gold aside, Hermione was Pansy's person now which meant she was Pansy's to watch out for. Slytherins were possessive and looked after their people. Besides, Pansy just knew something was wrong.
"Um, sorry, I overheard you say Hermione's name." One of the Patil twins interjected from her spot at the nearby Ravenclaw table, "My sister told me that Ron Weasley said some rather nasty stuff to her. She's been in the girl's lavatory near the charms room all afternoon, crying."
"What?!" Pansy didn't even grab her bag, getting up from the table and hurrying to the large oak doors.
She paused only to sneer at the Gryffindor table, noting that Potter caught her eye before he squirmed and looked away.
Pathetic.
Pansy began to plan out how she would handle this as she stomped forth to end Hermione's bathroom exile.
Step one, find Hermione Granger.
Step two, figure out what exactly was said. Adjust accordingly.
Step three, make Hermione pull herself together because clearly she's too soft.
Step four, have the boys hold down Potter and Weasley for Pansy to use as target practice.
She shoved inside the girl's restroom, just as Hermione was coming out of a stall, her eyes puffy from tears.
The girl froze upon seeing Pansy, her lip trembling as she dissolved into tears once more.
Pansy sighed, then hugged the girl shushing her until she calmed down. Her family weren't much of the hugging type, but Hermione was, so Pansy put up with it and occasionally hugged the Gryffindor back.
When Hermione finally looked up at her, Pansy put her hands on the other girl's shoulders, "I need to know what they said so I know exactly how many warts to give them when I turn them into a toad. At the moment, I'm thinking seventeen each."
Hermione have a wobbly laugh and then her brown eyes widened in horror when she looked past Pansy as the bathroom door squeaked.
Pansy didn't even manage to ask what was wrong or turn around when Hermione grabbed her around the waist, yanking her back towards the wall. Pansy was gasping trying to figure out what the hell was going on when Hermione shoved her down to the floor as something whooshed over their heads.
Pansy shoved her hair out of her face, hearing Hermione breathing raggedly and when she finally turned to see what the bloody fuck was happening, she got full view of a massive troll lurching towards them with a club raised to swing.
She screamed in pure terror, Hermione echoing the sound as they leapt to the side, crawling under the stalls hoping it would provide some form of cover. The stalls that the troll proceeded to swing the giant club through, raining wooden debris upon their heads and arms.
Pansy heard the thing grunt and the pair of girls peeped their heads up to see none other than Potter and Weasley rushing in with their wands raised.
Great. Their saviors were the Weasel and Potty. Pansy was definitely going to die on this disgusting bathroom floor.
Hermione grabbed her hand and pulled them out of the wood pile. They pressed against the wall, trying to be as small as possible when Potter's wand went up the bloody thing's nose.
Oh yes. They were definitely dead.
Hermione caught Ron's eye and did a hand motion, calling out, "Swish and flick!"
Pansy watched as the club fell on top of the ugly brute's head, thoroughly knocking it out and of course the disgusting thing landed right beside their feet.
Hermione stood slowly and shakily, pulling Pansy up with her as they'd apparently been clutching each other's hands this entire time. Pansy couldn't feel her fingers anymore and expected Hermione's weren't much better.
She felt arms wrap around her waist as the Gryffindor girl sobbed into her ear, "You came for me!"
"Oi! What are we? Invisible?" Weasley snarled as Harry pulled his wand out of the beast's nose, making Pansy gag at the sight of troll bogeys.
She wrapped her own shaking arms around Hermione before managing to snarl at the two dunderheads, "She was only here because of you!"
"Well…uh…" The Weasel had the grace to look ashamed while Harry stared miserably at his feet.
A moment later, several professors rushed in, taking in the scene with wide eyes before McGonagall was almost knocked over by two Slytherin boys stumbling in behind them.
Draco's gray eyes looked wild, while Theo was blatantly gaping between the girls and the unconscious troll. They ignored their head of house when he asked what exactly they were doing. Pansy assumed the girls must look rough for Snape to get no reaction out of them.
She caught her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. She was covered in dust and slivers of wood, her face bleeding from several places where she'd been knicked by the shattered stalls.
Hermione looked even worse, her shoulder was bleeding and several entire shards of wood were sticking out of her grime-covered curls.
"What in Merlin's name has happened here? Explain! Now!" McGonagall demanded, gesturing for the girls to approach.
"It was my fault Professor." Hermione announced, making every student, Gryffindor or Slytherin whip around to stare at her.
"Miss Granger?" McGonagall whispered, as if they idea of her prize student doing anything naughty was impossible.
Which was true because Hermione hadn't done anything wrong. She'd been crying. Not a crime and definitely not Hermione's fault.
"I'd read about trolls and thought I could handle it. Pansy and…everyone else came to help me. If they hadn't, I'd probably be dead." The girl told her professor firmly, leaving no room for question.
Pansy was about to protest when Hermione squeezed her hand. Clearly telling her to hush. The pureblood girl knew when to be quiet, even if she wanted to protest.
McGonagall removed points from Hermione and gave her a detention, but gave everyone else five points each, even Draco and Theo who were silently fuming.
Snape was escorting them back when Draco hissed, "Why didn't she tell the truth?"
"She didn't want us in trouble. None of us were supposed to leave the feast. I might have gotten by with it because I didn't know about a troll, but definitely not you two. The Weasel and Potty got saved by proximity." Pansy whispered back, figuring out exactly what had been going through Hermione's mind when she took the blame.
"The little martyr." Theo shook his head, "Habits like that are why she got stuck in the lion's den."
Pansy couldn't argue with that, "Hopefully being friends with a bunch of snakes breaks those habits."
Draco was still fuming as they entered their common room, "She should have told. I'd of rather taken the detention than let those two off free."
Pansy didn't say anything else, noting that though they'd been whispering, their Head of House had most certainly !been listening.
Pansy thought it was rather telling when Hermione confided the next morning that McGonagall had let her out of the detention at the behest of the Slytherin Professor.
She frowned when Hermione quietly added that she and the two boys from her house had called a temporary ceasefire.
Notes:
I hated how all the houses interacted except for Slytherin.
You can't tell me a whole house is bad, and you can't tell me none of them became chums on the train or beforehand then split up.
There were purebloods in other houses so even that's not a good reason.
It just never made sense to me. So here's this.
I'm a Fremione girl, but occasionally I tip toe over to Dramione and this is the result.
Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Detention and Devil's Snare
Summary:
Yule holidays and the end of first year
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Uncle! Look what Pansy sent me!" Hermione called, rushing over to show them the assorted magical Christmas crackers from her friend.
She offered one end to her Uncle who looked quite amused, pulling on it hard only to cough raggedly when they were enveloped in a cloud of blue smoke.
"What?" Hermione sputtered as the puff of blue disappeared, revealing a red pointed hat, a glowing orb, and a joke, similar to a regular Christmas cracker.
She examined the orb first, discovering it was squishy and was similar to a balloon as it bobbed upwards when she tossed it towards the ceiling.
The joke was one about a bear and a fairy fighting over a Christmas sausage that Hector snorted at but Hermione's eleven year old mind didn't really understand, while the hat looked to be completely ordinary.
She stuck it on Hector's head, laughing gleefully when his nose elongated to Pinocchio proportions.
"This is brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed, holding up another cracker with a mischievous glance to her father who had watched the entire thing, bemused.
"Did you get anything else, dear? Did they get your packages?" Hector asked her, causing her to rush to her room to gather her other presents to show her uncle. Especially wanting him to see the books.
Pansy had sent an exquisite jumper in a deep plum along with the Christmas crackers.
Hermione had puzzled over what to get the Slytherin girl who had everything, eventually recruiting her mother's help. She'd confided that Pansy had been her lifeline several times throughout the year, and wanted to let the girl know she was important to Hermione.
Jean had helped her select two delicate bracelets, one gold and one silver. She'd then encouraged Hermione to pick out two little charms that matched and sent her off to find her great uncle to work some literal magic.
Hermione had pondered on it before recruiting Hector to help her make the two charms sparkle ever so softly when they were near each other.
Theo had sent her assorted candies, much to the displeasure of her dentist parents. Though Hermione's father was admittedly delighted with disgusting Bertie Botts beans, trying outright to find the grossest ones.
Blaise had sent her a charms book she'd been nagging him about, begging him to return it to the library for weeks. She beamed when she noted he'd scrawled a missive that told her to leave him alone now.
She tried not to be put out that she had nothing from Harry or Ron, hoping that they'd thought of her as their friend by now. She'd sent them both gifts this year, so it hurt a little that she wasn't considered. Not even a note. She chose not to dwell on it.
She had two gifts from the Malfoys, the first one being an exquisite everlasting bouquet of winter roses from Narcissa. Hermione read the note stating that the stasis charm should last indefinitely, softly stroking one delicate white petal.
Draco had sent her a number of sweets, impossibly soft mittens in a rich burgundy color which made her laugh as she always forgot hers, and several books she'd mentioned over the school year.
Narcissa and Draco had even enclosed Christmas wishes and greetings to not only her Uncle, but her parents as well. Hector had chuckled at this, but wouldn't clarify when Hermione pressed.
Hermione and Draco gave each matching grins when she arrived back to the train platform wearing her new mittens while Draco's neck was wrapped in a green scarf, so dark a shade that it was almost black.
Hermione was pleased to see the color she'd chosen fit his pale features quite well, but before she could say hello she was tackled into a painfully tight hug by Pansy Parkinson who scowled at Hermione playfully when she had to dab at her eyes.
The two girls lifted their wrists to look at the little sparkling charms, Hermione's a silver moon to represent Pansy, while Pansy's had a golden sun.
Pansy felt her lip curl involuntarily when Potter and Weasley plopped their school bags onto the library table.
She saw when they looked expectantly around to the Slytherins, as if one of them would leave and offer their chair to the Gryffindor pair.
Fat chance. The Slytherins were here first. Both at the library and in regards to Hermione.
Finders keepers, losers kindly piss off. She snapped in her mind, thinking the piss off part at the boys hard, as if they could hear her.
The Slytherins might have agreed to tolerate the two idiot boys for Hermione's sake, but they still didn't like each other. Draco was outright rude, whereas Pansy and Theo settled for barely polite jabs and insults like the true snakes they were. When Blaise was around he just sneered and remained silent.
Hermione was quite oblivious or at least pretended to be, muttering a simple greeting at the newcomers as she poured over a thick tome, a frown between her eyebrows.
Theo and Draco ignored the arrival of the other boys entirely, discussing their potions essay back and forth. Pansy sighed at her own parchment, still mostly blank. Potions was unfortunately not her strong suit, but she wouldn't ask for any help with Potter and Weasley lurking around.
Hermione huffed and closed the book, biting her lip as she drummed her fingers against the table, clearly lost in thought.
"What's the matter, Granger?"
"I'm trying to remember where I've heard this name before. It's there at the edge of my brain, I just can't grab it." She grumbled, as if angry with her own brain.
Pansy thought the organ did quite a lot of exemplary work and shouldn't be blamed for forgetting a single wizard's name. Especially since the poor thing had already been forced by Hermione to memorize every name from the eighteenth century goblin wars just that morning during History of Magic.
"What's the name? Maybe we can help?" Draco asked without looking up at the girl as he continued scratching away with his quill.
Pansy noted Potter and Weasley looking alarmed and shaking their heads vigorously at Hermione, who frowned at them. Pansy and Theo both narrowed their eyes at the pair, the Slytherin boy also having caught the silent exchange.
Luckily Draco hadn't seen or it would have certainly changed the topic of conversation into a more violent one.
"Its Nicholas Flamel." Hermione told them, but it didn't ring any major bells for Pansy nor the boys apparently. Potter looked irritated while Weasley was outright glaring at Hermione.
"It does sound familiar, but to be fair we've learned the names of about fifty famous witches and wizards this semester." Theo hummed, "You should ask your Uncle. He'd probably know."
Hermione blinked and then she smiled brightly at Theo, who glanced up to wink at her. Always a flirt, Pansy thought affectionately.
"Theo, you're marvelous. I didn't even think to ask Uncle Hector." She proceeded to pull out a piece of parchment and her own quill, writing quickly.
"Your uncle?" Ron asked dumbly. "I thought you were muggleborn?"
"I am, but I do have a great uncle who is a wizard." Hermione responded absently, already half a page written to her Uncle. Ron tried to tell her that meant she wasn't muggleborn, but Hermione was already moving along to finish her letter.
"Tell Hector we said hello, Granger. Mother told me she'd had him over for another charity event recently." Draco told the girl, a sly grin on his face.
Pansy thought it was purely to make Weasley squirm and it seemed to be a great success when Hermione passed over the parchment to let all three Slytherins sign their greetings at the bottom.
"Why are they writing your uncle?" The ginger boy asked, clearly unable to hold it in for a moment.
"My family is quite fond of Mr. Dagworth-Granger. He allowed Hermione to attend several events with us at the close of summer." Draco sneered, his eyes sparking with joy when the ginger's ears turned red.
Hermione packed everything away, sealing her letter before asking if Pansy wanted to come with her to the owlery instead of commenting on the pissing contest that was occurring not one foot away.
"We will come too," Draco told the girls, "You can use my owl to send it off."
The boys started towards the door while Hermione waited for Pansy by the end of the table as Pansy gathered her things. She was admitting defeat on potions until Draco or Theo took pity on her.
Pansy smirked when Ron grumbled that Hermione could have sent it later after helping them with their potions homework.
That was precisely why the Slytherins took up all the spaces as often as they could at Hermione's preferred library table. The two Gryffindor wankers used Hermione as their personal study tool and Pansy found it despicable.
Sure Slytherins used people quite frequently for their own gains, but not someone as sickeningly soft and willing to help others as Hermione was.
It was like taking advantage of a baby. No fun and made for bad sport.
Pansy hurried to catch up to her friends, catching Draco's cheeky grin and Theo's sly look back towards the abandoned Gryffindor boys who were looking rather lost now.
Hermione bit her lip and turned towards the boy who sat in the grass with her. She poked Draco Malfoy in the shoulder. Once. Twice.
"A dragon." He repeated. It was the only thing he'd said since she'd hurried after him from Hagrid's hut. It was dark and chilly, so she huddled closer to Draco who didn't say anything when she pushed herself into his side.
"We have a plan." She told him, finally making gray eyes shift to look at her.
"Oh well then everything is just fine! Granger has a plan after all!" He snapped sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "Do you know what could happen? Dragons are not pets! The man lives in a hut made of wood in case you somehow hadn't realized!"
"Draco. It will be fine, I have everything under control." She promised. The boy scoffed, but grabbed her hand and dragged her up.
"Come on, I'm sure Weasel and Potter think I've killed you or something by now. They better at least get you to the common room in one piece."
"They aren't that terrible Draco. Sometimes I think you all might get along if you actually tried." She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at his offended face. It was the same look Harry and Ron made whenever she told them anything similar.
"Everything under control my arse!" Draco hissed, yanking Hermione down the hallway and away from where he'd spotted Flitwick patrolling.
"Draco! We have to wait for Harry and Neville!" The girl protested, looking back as if to find the boys, but Draco kept running.
"Potter, can bloody well handle himself. We have to get back to-" He screeched a halt. Professor McGonagall was glaring down at them, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom standing behind her meekly.
"I don't know why I'm even surprised that you two are out of bed as well." The Professor deadpanned. She gestured for them to follow her and Draco gulped, trying to comfort Hermione who was squeezing his hand to the point of pain.
She led them to her office where she took fifty points from each of them. Draco couldn't even muster a flicker of joy over the huge loss for Gryffindor when he saw that Hermione's eyes were bright with tears.
"The four of you will also be serving detention. Tomorrow night with Hagrid. I shall lead you back to your dormitories and you will go to bed. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Professor McGonagall." The four of them spoke in unison. She deposited Draco first. He glanced back at Hermione in concern, but switched to shooting daggers at Potter for getting them caught up in this mess in the first place.
He wished the dragon had burnt the hovel down.
The next evening, after spending the day trying to cheer Hermione up, Draco stomped down the beaten path to the blasted fire hazard the oaf had kept a bloody dragon in.
Hermione was already there and came to stand beside him, much to his pleasure and, Draco was sure, to Potter's annoyance.
He only half listened until the giant man actually said he was taking them into the forest.
"Into the forest? One of two places students are explicitly forbidden from entering? In the middle of the night?" He clarified in his poshest voice. Draco wanted to make sure he was entirely clear on this absolute lunacy, so he ignored Hermione begging him to be quiet.
"What's the matter Malfoy? Scared?" Potter taunted. Hermione looked at the boy sharply, but Draco didn't really care.
He decided in that moment that Harry Potter was indeed a stupid boy who must share custody of a single brain with Ron Weasley.
Clearly the ginger git was in possession of it tonight since rivalry was more important to Potter than being eaten by rabid beasts in a gloomy dark forest.
"Are you aware of what's in there Potter? Because it's not just the unicorns he's telling us we are searching for." Draco sneered, then gestured to Hermione, "I don't care if you're stupid enough to go barging in there Potter, but take a moment to think of someone else for a change."
Harry deflated a bit, looking guilty towards Hermione. She didn't back Draco up, instead she lifted her chin and strode forward to pick up a small lantern.
"I don't like being used as leverage for getting back at each other." She snapped, gesturing for Neville to come along as Hagrid started towards the treeline.
Draco sighed, deciding he very well couldn't leave the witch in there with only Potter, Longbottom, and a man who hadn't a wand to protect her.
He grabbed his own lantern and followed behind, hearing Potter do the same.
"I'm surprised you didn't use your father to get out of this Malfoy." Harry chortled from behind him. Draco had half a mind to hex the bespectacled boy, but Hermione would be even more upset with him.
"If Granger wasn't involved, I would have you specky git." He hissed back, hurrying forward to stay close to the group.
He almost did draw his wand on the gamekeeper when he told them to split up, sending Draco with Potter of all people.
He tried to look the opposite of how he felt in an attempt to comfort a pale Hermione. He realized it had failed spectacularly when Hermione pressed her lips together in a frown.
He heard Potter plonking ahead, making more noise than an erumpet during mating season. Of course, Draco thought, let's be as loud as possible to draw the attention of everything in the forest.
He moved with far more silence and grace, walking beside the giant hound Hagrid called a pet.
Deeper and deeper into the forest.
Hermione was terrified when Draco screamed, lurching around to yell at Hagrid to hurry, shocking herself.
Hermione never raised her voice to an adult. The closest she'd ever come to directly confronting a person of authority was when she'd set Snape and Quirrell's robes on fire during Harry's quidditch match.
Which didn't much count since she hadn't been caught.
She ran forward with her lantern raised, calling for Draco and Harry. She breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to grab ahold of the pale boy when he stumbled from the trees several minutes later, his lantern bobbing about as he looked around terrified.
"Granger!" He sounded scared out of his mind, hugging her with a shaky arm as he began babbling about a shadowed figure feasting on a unicorn and Harry being an absolute imbecile by not running away instantly.
For once Hermione agreed on the usage of the word imbecile when applied to Harry.
Hagrid stepped towards trees, presumably to go find Harry, when a centaur of all things approached with the dark haired boy on his back.
She grabbed the scarred boy into a hug once he dismounted and checked him over, still gripping Draco's robes in her hand which forced him to step close to the two Gryffindors.
Harry and Draco were both pale, which was saying something for her Slytherin friend who always looked on the borderline of sickly.
Hermione sometimes wished she'd stuck with just Pansy and not decided that recklessly stupid boys made for good friends.
Between Draco, Harry, Ron, Theo, Neville, and Blaise she was going to have a head full of gray curls by the end of this year. Pansy's only adventure had been accidental and mostly Hermione's fault, so she wouldn't hold that against the Slytherin girl.
She didn't feel like she truly calmed down until she was back in the castle, snuggled up in her bed.
Hermione was determined that the next time any of the boys asked her to go galavanting around the castle, she would tell them absolutely not.
She would later recognize the irony of such a thought as she sank beneath the tendrils of devil's snare while Ron and Harry screamed.
"Hermione, if you keep up this ridiculous Gryffindor behavior, we are going to stage an intervention." Pansy Parkinson told Hermione at breakfast the following morning. Draco wholeheartedly agreed.
They'd gathered up a feast of scones and tea, going out to the lawn to enjoy the decent morning and hear the full story of what had happened with Potter, Weasley, and Hermione.
She'd just finished explaining everything and they were all glaring at her. Even Blaise looked disappointed in her.
"I'm sorry I worried you all, but I very well couldn't let Harry go alone. He'd never have made it past the door."
"Yes which was the purpose of the locked door." Pansy snapped, "He'd not get into half as much trouble if he didn't have your brain helping him figure out how to get into it."
Hermione looked momentarily disgruntled at that, but insisted it was the right thing to do anyway.
For a witch who was quite literally the brightest in their year, Draco thought she was a bit daft sometimes.
"The right thing doesn't mean shite if you end up dead." Draco told her, hoping she would see reason.
A hope that was thoroughly dashed when she sniffed and agreed to disagree.
"Bloody Gryffindors." Draco groaned.
He was saying it once more later as he watched the decor transform from familiar green and silver to bright scarlet and gold.
Hermione was staring at them with apologies clearly written all her face while the others in her house cheered at a thunderous volume.
Bloody Gryffindors.
Narcissa waited with her husband at the platform, catching sight of Hector Dagworth-Granger as he happily embraced a girl with a cloud of brown ringlets.
Her hair certainly had been something to write home about. Draco having mentioned the wild curls at least once every other letter. Far from the neat plaits and updos Narcissa had become acquainted with over the summer.
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling at the memory of her boy yammering on about Hermione Granger at Christmas and Easter. Her hair. Her brain. Her being a ridiculous Gryffindor with all the worst qualities. How funny she was.
She'd saved two letters to show him when he was an adult where he'd mentioned her smile.
Draco had been adorable trying to decide which gift to purchase for her over the holidays and had ended up purchasing everything, not caring that he'd spent most of his pocket money.
Narcissa had of course quietly replaced it that evening, finding her son's crush to be precious.
Lucius rolled his eyes at her antics. Narcissa threatened to remove his entrails and feed them to her carnivorous plants if he attempted to interfere with Draco's little romance. Her husband had simply smiled fondly at her threats.
It was clear to Narcissa that Draco had a crush. While it might not turn into anything, them being all of eleven, Narcissa liked to think ahead as most pureblood families did.Decision made she strode over to the group.
As she took Hermione's hands in her own, cooing over her and asking about the roses, Narcissa tried not to let her thoughts wander to how striking Draco's eyes and hair would be when paired with the girl's olive complexion.
Instead she smiled, introducing herself to Hermione's muggle parents politely and greeting the girl's uncle fondly. She insisted that Hermione visit their home this summer, fully chaperoned of course she assured the girl's mother.
Jean Granger had a slight French accent and Narcissa added that to her mental checklist.
Hermione was ecstatic to receive such an invite, asking her parents to please consider while also mentioning that Pansy had invited her over as well.
Two connections with prominent families along with her potioneer Uncle was making Narcissa quite covetous of the girl.
Narcissa caught her husband and son both looking at her, Draco cocking his head to the side slightly out of curiosity. Lucius just shook his head at her affectionately, before gesturing Draco ahead to join his mother with the Grangers.
Narcissa was pleased that her husband wasn't interfering and had instead chose to go along with her schemes. As a proper husband should.