The rat proved to be too much for Millicent's cat who went crazy about it even though Hermione tried to hide the rat as high up and far away from the cat as possible.
On a sleepy day she found Luna by the gardens of Hogwarts.
"Hello, do you want a pet?" Hermione asked her.
"Yes I would quite like that," said Luna.
"I have a pet rat that's having a hard time with the cat in my dormitory," said Hermione, "well it's Millicent's cat and it takes after her."
Millicent was a bullying girl who liked to intimidate those weaker than her. Her cat Tabitha seemed to take on the same behaviour.
"I see. I think all cats like to chase rats sometimes so I won't promise your rat won't get a workout in Ravenclaw's dormitory, but I don't think we have any crazy cats in our year," she said.
And with that Scabbers was in a new home.
Halloween bought with it the flutter of autumn leaves and a troll outbreak in the dungeon. Harry, Ron and Neville were trapped in a bathroom together but they managed to outsmart the troll. Although the problem was solved this was one of those odd things that happened at Hogwarts that was talked about for some time. Interesting rumours flew about the troll outbreak.
Hermione didn't find most of the rumours interesting to listen to in the Slytherin common room because the Slytherins were so steeped in their anti-muggleborn prejudice they managed to turn every rumour into one that made it out to be a muggle-born behind it all (such as one forgetting to close the door, or one somehow weakening the magic around Hogwarts by being near the entrance, and theorising on the logics of how that would all work), or some greater power that was come to destroy all the muggle-borns and muggles. Some of their ramblings about where the future went featured things so gross and disgusting to hear, Hermione really did not want to listen to anymore. Most of what they said was made up as well. Hermione guessed they had the least to worry about, being the most influential and powerful students, as well as the most familiar with everyday magical things, that they were not seriously discussing any real theories on the reason behind any happenings.
In fact, none of them seemed to consider the troll outbreak strange.
"I can't stand the Slytherins talking about how the troll was in the castle because it wanted to eat muggle-borns. Or that muggle-borns would repel magical creatures like the troll and it would only show itself to magical people so Professor Dumbledore should've ordered all muggle-borns to be locked up so they could hunt it out more. Which is it, I mean, really, all of their rumours are contradicting..." Hermione said angrily to Luna as they sat beneath a tree doing homework. They had used a simple insect repellant charm on themselves.
"It is a bit unusual," said Luna, "Hogwarts does have unexpected things happen. But they tend to be more magical, caused by a spell gone wrong, or magical ingredients not mixing well with potions. Human mistakes, that humans make when they attempt magic. A breach of the castle grounds security which wasn't caused by Hogwarts students at all is a bit peculiar."
"That's right. Hogwarts has many different wards all around it. But Hogwarts: A History, did mention there were secret passages and things like that in or out of Hogwarts, which may have weaker enchantments to break through to cross the barrier between Hogwarts and not Hogwarts. Unless it came into the castle through a secret passage of some sort, something must've inferred with the ward work," said Hermione, "or perhaps someone took a ward down. The only person with the authority to do so would be a teacher. It's probably all an accident of some sort, but it does feel chilling to think about the implications."
"Trolls are awful at sneaking through secret passages," said Luna, "they are simply not used to it. They prefer open mountainous areas you know. Or simple forests. They don't really like complicated places like jungles or rainforests or anything. The most comfortable way for a troll to come through Hogwarts would be through a weakened ward. It's not really a creature you can sneak in or not. That means a teacher is a traitor and wanted to let in the troll."
"It would have to be a teacher yes..." agreed Hermione, "I don't know the exact hierarchy of who has what control over Hogwarts. But it's highly likely only teachers have the authority to control some of the wards in and out of Hogwarts. I wonder if Professor Dumbledore or anyone in charge even thought that possibly a teacher could be a traitor and looked at all the teachers more deeply. I don't know why anyone would want to let in a troll but it's something sly and underhand so it should not be overlooked."
"I don't really think Hogwarts teachers care," admitted Luna plainly, "everyone's wrapped up in their own world sometimes. And there's a limit to how much adults are willing to help out the kids. I think the security is as good as it can get."
"Oh dear. I suppose Hogwarts was never all that secure all along. We just don't like to think of it otherwise because well, people are in denial about the truth," said Hermione. She frowned. She adjusted her worldview to include Hogwarts being a potentially dangerous place and her life being in danger and the teachers not involved in the ins and outs of the danger but...
"Okay, so even if the teachers don't care about much of what goes on. There is still a teacher who willingly let down a ward and let in a troll for whatever reason. Not a good one. Even if teachers don't care about it, this is rather concerning to me," she said, "why would the teacher let in a troll? Which teacher would it be?"
"Could be anyone," said Luna, "we don't know the majority of the teachers because we're only first-year and we haven't had them all for our subjects."
She frowned, "a single troll isn't hard for older Hogwarts students to take care of. It's not because a troll is particularly dangerous. Perhaps as a distraction?"
"Yes, that makes sense," said Hermione, "to distract the teachers and the students, as they try to find the troll or avoid it. Stop everyone from panicking. So a teacher can slip of and do something they wanted to around Hogwarts. That makes sense. What do you think that something is?"
"I don't know," said Luna. "This is such an extreme thing to do. It must relate to other extreme things. Say, there was a break-in at Gringotts earlier on this year. That almost never happens. It takes powerful and dark magic to break-in and slip away unnoticed. Suppose someone's trying to get something and that something was taken to Hogwarts?"
"That makes sense," said Hermione, "or it's what makes the most sense at the moment. What do you think the item at Gringotts was?"
"It's impossible to say. Lots of different things are stored in Gringotts. Likely something with magical properties however. If it's taken to Hogwarts I suppose whoever owned the vault the thief was trying to get to was also a staff of Hogwarts, or they don't work here but was someone able to sneak it into Hogwarts. Hogwarts isn't a bad hiding place for magical objects. There are some powerful witches and wizards among the teachers who would also be safeguarding the school to prevent anyone unwanted from getting in. The only risk is the students accidentally finding it," said Luna.
"It's likely that person is actually physically present at Hogwarts. But looks like there's another teacher trying to get it. Suppose the thief masqueraded as a new teacher?" said Hermione, "the only new one that comes to mind is Professor Quirrell and he actually fits that description with startling accuracy. He looks nervous and guilty all the time."
"He does doesn't he? The break-in and the troll attempt seems a bit rushed. It seems like he's trying to get to the stolen item as fast as possible," said Luna, "so it can't be a very relaxed item can it?"
"Probably not," said Hermione, "remember how Professor Dumbledore told us to stay away from the third floor corridor? Do you think the item was hidden there?"
"I think so," said Luna, "but he made it quite clear to avoid the third floor corridor at the beginning of the term. He can't have wanted to keep it that hidden otherwise he wouldn't have said anything at all. Sometimes things are better hidden in plain sight, but there would be some Hogwarts students who would want to investigate the third floor corridor themselves upon hearing that. It's not really hiding it. You know, I think Professor Dumbledore wanted the right student to find it."
"Say Harry Potter?" said Hermione, "maybe to test him. For when Professor Dumbledore thinks he'll bring down Lord Voldemort. Or to give him skills. To help him solve mysteries."
"I think so too," said Luna, "that's the simplest explanation."
Luna, as Hermione found out, did not flinch upon mentioning of Lord Voldemort's name. Something she found rather pleasant. Neither did the Slytherins but that was because they were probably closet Lord Voldemort supporters. Although Hermione had read people theorised there was some sacrifice required before one could become a deatheater and she wasn't sure if any of the Slytherins would be willing to go through it. Certainly not all, even if they worshipped the ideas a little.
"Shall we do something about it?" asked Hermione.
"Do you want to?" Luna asked her open-endedly back.
Hermione frowned. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Perhaps you should mind your own business. Keep your head down. Let Harry Potter handle it all.
"Can you keep a secret?" she asked Luna all of a sudden.
"Yes and I don't for everybody. I will for you," said Luna softly.
"I don't like Harry Potter. He didn't deserve any of this. He doesn't even want to be involved in this mess. I wish the whole thing would just blow over already," said Hermione, "only those who willingly chose their paths should have the ability to change the world. He was born into this. He can't even remember whatever happened on that night."
"If you're ambitious and chose something for yourself you'll always resent the ones thrust into it," said Luna, "Harry Potter isn't the most likable person from all angles. Not really. Lots of personalities would find him an uncool person."
Hermione was glad that Luna always spoke the truth. Said what other people wouldn't.
"If I worked on taking down Lord Voldemort, then Harry Potter won't have to be thrust into all of this when he didn't want to. I...think there are more important things to do in the wizarding world besides Lord Voldemort, but I wouldn't mind having a part in solving that mystery," said Hermione, "what's your opinion on if he's alive or not? Currently I don't think there's enough evidence I know to say either way."
"I would join you," said Luna, "if you'd have me. It sounds interesting and I like interesting things. I also chose this."
Luna paused a little, "Like you, I don't think there's enough signs that he's dead or alive. So we should take actions that won't hurt us too much either way. That makes the most sense to me."
"We really need to find out more about Professor Quirrell and the third floor corridor," said Hermione, "it's probably easier for us to try and investigate there. Cause we're actually at Hogwarts. Any idea how? I don't want to visit the third floor corridor myself, it seems dangerous. Nor do I really want to interrogate Professor Quirrell to be honest."
"He's an uncomfortable person to be around," agreed Luna, "I think the third floor corridor is the best. We don't want to venture near it. Just try to find out more information about it. You're better versed with Hogwarts: A History than I am. Do you remember there being anything in there about the third floor corridor?"
"No," said Hermione, "there's actually no cohesive map of the school. At least not any published version. Perhaps we can ask a ghost? They can float through the walls and see what happens in the third floor corridor."
"You can't ask ghosts for favours," said Luna, "there's an unknown magic around ghosts. Unknown because most witches and wizards don't really bother to study them much. But that magic prevents ghosts from getting too involved in the affairs of the living. They aren't really meant to be our tools or anything. So if you tried to involve them in something important, one way or another, they won't really be of much use. And if you keep trying bad luck tends to follow you around. The only real way to deal with ghosts is to do them a favour to gain one in return. But the thing is, most ghosts don't want anything from the living. Only the living that were alive when they were alive. Nothing we have would coincide with what they want..."
"Suppose we slide a mirror underneath the door," said Hermione, "and see if there's a way for us to see what's on the side of the mirror?"
"We can do that," said Luna, "I think if we lean just underneath the door crack will see a little more than what we could otherwise. That's not a bad idea."
"We're not allowed on the entire corridor, let alone the door at the end of it. I sometimes see it when I pass the corridor. But anyone can have a very clear view of the third floor corridor from the main corridors it branches of from. Oh, there's many corridors on the third floor, I don't know why it's called just that. We can't really stand outside of it and slide a mirror underneath and peer at it without being seen," said Hermione.
"Perhaps we could levitate items into the room from underneath the door crack. If we levitate the item around and it hits something we can tell roughly how big the room is or what's in it," suggested Luna.
"That's genius!" said Hermione, "only. I've never done levitation outside of my field of vision. If we don't want anyone to be suspicious of why we're near the place we would have to be far away from it enough we would be levitating items outside of our field of vision."
"Well, let's try a bit now. I'm going to try and levitate this leaf behind me," said Luna. She picked up her wand, muttered the enchantment and Hermione watched as the leaf flew up and then drifted behind her. It flew to her other side and then back again where it swirled around and then danced in a figure 8 pattern.
"I can do it, if I can imagine the space behind me," said Luna.
Hermione picked up her wand and gave it a try. "It works, when do you want to try it?"
"How about tomorrow afternoon?" suggested Luna.
Tomorrow afternoon came. It was decided that Luna would be the one to levitate a series of objects underneath the door crack to explore, stationed in an alcove near the third floor corridor. She would sit there with a book and some sweets so that if anyone asked she would lie and say she was waiting for Hermione. Meanwhile, Hermione would be walking around the flight of stairs leading to the third floor with a lost enough expression on her face so that if anyone asked, she would say she was waiting for Luna to meet her, making it seem as if the two had a reason for being there, but also missed each other due to an accident. This worked because traffic near the third floor was rather low as well. It was almost as if the professors did not want to directly put students in the path of the third floor corridor.
For Hermione, it was a whole lot of wandering about alone. The castle was eerie and she felt a little frightened. She wasn't secure enough in her magic to trust it would protect her from everything and that she could defend herself from everything. Nonetheless, she kept up her facade and kept her hand on her wand. The troll incident burst into mind. What if something like that had happened again?
Meanwhile...Luna picked up her wand and levitated some clay towards the third floor corridor. Since Luna was more familiar with magic than Hermione (who was still quite new to it), it was decided she would be the one to do it.
The clay returned in the shape of a corner because Luna had tried to levitate it as far into a corner as possible. Proving that the room was indeed rectangular.
Luna then tried to levitate the clay back to get more imprints of things in the room...a chair leg perhaps, a table, a treasure chest?
There was a curious feeling, almost like a slash, and then Luna was suddenly aware of the sense that the clay was in lots of little pieces. Her magic connection died and she felt like she would have to command many pieces of it all back at once to have the clay.
Luna frowned. So there was either something in there that dissolved clay or more likely, something living, breathing, moving...that must've seen the levitating clay move further towards the centre of the room this time and slashed at it?
A guard dog?
A magical one more likely, knowing Hogwarts.
And with that Luna got up and walked away before a teacher could find her there. Hermione and her had arranged to meet up the next afternoon.
"How was it?" Hermione asked Luna as they hung out beneath a tree in the Hogwarts grounds. They either met there because Luna liked the grounds, or in an empty classroom somewhere where they sometimes studied together. They found a lot of good spots in Hogwarts that became their meeting places. A lot of students had meeting spots with their friends and when one grade graduated the newcomers sort of took their spots.
"The first time I levitated the clay back it was in the shape of a corner so it's definitely a rectangular room. The second time I felt the magical connection break and after that I didn't have enough magic to bring it back. I left before a teacher could find me. I think there's a magical guard dog there, something that's living and breathing and will slash at levitating clay," she said.
"So if we want to investigate more we'll have to find a way to get around the dog. I bet it has to sleep at some point," said Hermione.
"Yes, but what shall we do with the item if we find it?" asked Luna.
"We'll decide if we can find out what the item is," said Hermione.
"It would be good if we could find a way to sneak about at night, but that's a bit hard," said Luna.
It seemed as if anyone in any authority over Hogwarts had known lots of students may want to sneak about at night, perhaps to visit someone, perhaps to use some facilities of Hogwarts that were too crowded during the day, perhaps to play pranks, perhaps to be rebellious against authorities, and Hogwarts had very stringent ways to prevent anyone from sneaking out. A lot of Professors had at least one day of when they just caught up on marking or were allowed to leave the school and do what they wished. Often they would have a night-shift before their day of until the early hours of the morning.
It was easier to keep track of the school at night than it was day because it was quite silent in side the castle and few people were about. The Professors also knew lots of human revealing charms and would use them if anything seemed amiss. Some of the prefects had duties late into the night as well. And Hermione had always suspected there were other ways the staff would keep track of students.
For such a large school there were so few stories of students being able to sneak about. Even Malfoy didn't talk about sneaking about after dark. Hermione didn't quite trust that it was so easy.
"I think we need to see if there's someone who has snuck around and ask them how easy it is," said Hermione.
"The Weasley twins might know something," said Luna. The Weasley Twins were famous throughout the school.
"Would they tell you their secrets?" asked Hermione.
"Good point. They must have lots of people asking but they've still managed to keep it..." said Luna.
"What about we ask them to investigate the third floor corridor at night?" said Hermione, "as some sort of favour to us? We could pretend one of us left something in the room. Maybe we didn't realise where we were going, a wind blew a sheet of paper underneath it..."
"I don't think they would quite believe it," said Luna quietly, "I believe most people would figure out we wanted to investigate the corridor if we asked them to..."
Hermione frowned, "I'll look in Hogwarts: A History again. There must be something!"
The two decided to let it go for now. Luna meanwhile, enjoyed having a pet at Hogwarts. Scabbers seemed to enjoy the Ravenclaw dormitory more than Slytherin's too.
Author's Note: This story will be an AU but some events from canon might be accelerated before it really goes AU. I feel like some of the past few chapters were quite boring but I do have some more exciting things in store. Thanks for the follows, favourites and reviews :) Also, I've written up to chapter 7 (am currently working on chapter 8) but I'll probably take a very long hiatus soon (possibly months) so just a heads up that the fast updates are going to stop. But I won't be deleting this story, it'll be up permanently for all to enjoy! Please review, I love reading them.
Edit: I just want to address something that was mentioned in a review - Hermione doesn't like how Harry's born into an influential role in the wizarding world rather than having ambition like she does, but yet she tries to move up according to the Slytherin Sacred 28 power structure which is also one people are born into by birth. Hermione doesn't really like the Slytherin Sacred 28s either, but she recognises they do have power, it's the way the world works, so she's going along with it for now. But there will be some changes to the Slytherin Sacred 28 power structures at the end in this story.