Chapter 3 - Year 1, Part 1

On September 1st, 1991 Hermione arrived through the barrier between platform 9 and 10. In front of her, stood William waiting with his trolley, while Grandma Rhea arrived right behind her as she moved out of the way. Seeing as muggles weren't allowed on the platform, Grandma had volunteered to see the siblings off, and so they had said their goodbyes to their parents at home before leaving for the station.

Well, volunteering was as much said… Her parents didn't even make it to the point where they had to find a way for the kids to go to Kings Cross Station, before Grandma had swooped into the room in all her grace, and acknowledged that 'Of course I'll be seeing them off - no it's no problem at all.'" She then winked at Hermione and William like she had planned the whole thing for months.

Though they were only a floo away from Eyam, she found it strange that they had to travel all the way to London to board a train that would most likely be going through Manchester or Sheffield on the way up. Why couldn't they just board the train there? The Wizarding World and their damn traditions. Sometimes they simply just didn't make sense.

Moving a bit further into the platform so as not to block the entrance wall, she noticed that it was bustling with activity. Further down she saw Harry and Daniel standing with Sirius and Em. Beside them, Neville was receiving an awkward looking hug from his grandmother.

Hermione and William both made notions as to push their trolleys down to their friends, but were each held to a stop by a hand on their shoulders. They turned around and found their grandma, opening out her arms for hugs. They both let go of their stuff and moved in for the embrace, each putting a head on the closest shoulder, and wrapping their arms around her as well as they could, when the other sibling was sort of in the way.

"I'm going to miss you two, so very much." Grandma said, hugging them close. She then let go a bit, giving them the choice as to hang on for a longer moment or step out of the embrace. William chose to step away, while Hermione clung on for a while longer. Rhea put her arm securely around her granddaughter and hugged her tightly.

"Now listen to me, and listen well." She said, eyeing William as she couldn't at the moment see Hermione from their locked position. "You two, take care of each other, okay? I'm not asking you to be best friends, but family looks out for family."

Hermione gave a small sniff as she let go of her grandma, and dried a single tear with the sleeve of her sweater. "Oh, none of that, my love. You'll be home again in a jiff! Now, remember to write home as often as you like and make sure to have fun. I can promise you, there is no place quite like Hogwarts." She smiled secretly and William returned it instantly, obviously knowing something Hermione didn't.

Right then, the whistle of the train blew and they gave their last hugs and kisses; "I love you very much," She said, as she kissed each of their foreheads, and then waved happily as they stepped onto the large train.

"Want me to help you find the guys?" William asked as they trudged down the carriage with their trunks.

"No, it's alright." She said and smiled back at him. "You can go find your friends. I'm sure I'll find them at some point." And then he was gone, walking briskly as he tried to find his friends from school.

She walked confidently with her trunk down past the compartments, looking in to see if her friends were in that particular one - but they weren't. About halfway through the train, a head of blond hair suddenly appeared beside a scrawny boy with sandy-blond hair. He walked out of the compartment that he had been in, but then stopped so suddenly that the other boy stepped in his heels and bumped into him.

"Ouch! Why'd you stop, mate?" He asked, rubbing at his nose.

Draco didn't say anything immediately, but looked to the sides and into the compartment beside theirs like he had seen or heard something. Hermione carefully walked closer, so as to pass them, when he started talking anyway. "I don't… I'm not sure…" He turned fully to his friend with a deep frown, but then their eyes met over his shoulder. For a fraction of a second, she thought she saw his eyes widen - before they were back to normal.

She quickly broke eye contact, and muttered a low "Excuse me." When she stepped around them, carefully placing a small piece of parchment into his half-closed hand. She felt his hand clench around it before she promptly retracted her hand.

"Sorry, Theo. Let's go back inside and wait for the trolley instead. It's too crowded out here." And then he was gone again. She was slightly put off by how good he was at pretending to not know her, yet relieved that he didn't make a big thing out of meeting her casually. She also found herself wondering if this was one of the friends that would have a problem with her. Or them? She wasn't sure about that either.

When she reached the last carriage, she had also lost hope of finding her friends. Maybe she should just pick one that wasn't filled to the brim, and hope that they would find her instead. Luck seemed to be on her side, though, as she reached the very last compartment at the end of the train. She opened the door, and found both Neville, Daniel, Harry and someone she didn't know. Some lanky kid with red hair and freckles.

"Hi guys, I thought I'd missed you when you boarded." She said as she stepped inside and pushed her trunk underneath the seats, before she looked up and saw that Harry and the new guy had their wands drawn. "Oh, are you doing magic?" She asked excitedly to the redhead.

Meanwhile Neville had moved a bit close to the new guy so as to make room for her beside him. She gladly took the seat.

"Ehh… and who are you?" The boy asked her with a slight scowl on his face. He looked like he had stepped on something unpleasant.

"Oh, how rude of me." She quickly said, stood and held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Hermione Granger. I'm best friends with Neville. Well, also Daniel and Harry really, but I grew up with them so they're more like brothers at this point." She shrugged casually like it was the most normal thing in the world, to have two extra brothers. Merlin, like she didn't already have enough chaos in her life with William.

Slowly he shifted his wand into the other hand and shook hers. It felt like touching a wet rag. Yuck. "Ron Weasley." He said, and she thought she saw the faintest of sneers on his lips when he said it. He shifted his wand back into his right hand, and his left one came down to pet something that looked like a rat sleeping in his lap.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ron." She said happily, before sitting down in her seat and crossing her legs, leaning back comfortably. A moment later, Ron had made an attempt at cleaning Harry's glasses, and had failed miserably by cracking one of the glasses instead. She rolled her eyes at the prospect of probably having to clean up after the boys' stupidity once they arrived at the castle.

It hadn't ended up as the most pleasant train ride like she had hoped. Ron had joined them for the entire trip - which wasn't an issue for her, at all. She had spent the majority of the ride wondering if she had said or done something to annoy him, since every time she directed a question or a comment his way, he looked like something smelled bad in his close proximity. It wasn't the most comfortable attitude to be nearby. She had happily found a book to read in on the ride, and when the time had come to change into school robes - she had gladly left the compartment to do so.

Arriving per boat to Hogwarts had been beyond marvelous. Hogsmeade station had been covered in a thick layer of fog when they arrived, but they had only sailed a few minutes when Hogwarts finally came into view, towering in the distance from a steep cliff. It might as well have been hanging in free air, as the fog hid the bottom of the cliff.

She couldn't believe that this enormous, beautiful fairytale-like building would be her home for the next seven years. All around her, the boats were filled with wide eyes and small gasps of astonishment. This was one hell of a way to introduce a couple of pre-teens to a school of all places.

Once they finally arrived, they were led by the large man who introduces himself as 'Hagrid' up a grand staircase to a large wooden, where a stern looking woman stood in emerald green robes, waiting for them. After she had introduced herself as 'Professor McGonagall', she quickly told them what would happen inside the hall, behind her.

William had told her all about how they had been tested and had run an obstacle course to figure out which house they would belong in - and now this woman told them that it would be decided… by a hat. Never in her entire existence had she heard of anything as anti-climatic.

She'd much rather run the obstacle course to be honest.

Professor McGonagall then left through the door, closing it tight behind her, with the message that she would be back shortly.

"Harry Potter." A voice beside her pulled her attention away from the door and to the black-haired boy beside her. The room erupted in whispers and gasps as people tried to find out if they had heard correctly. In front of Harry, stood a dark-skinned, black-haired boy, with his hand outstretched towards him. "Blaise Zabini, pleasure to meet you." Without waiting for Harry to return the pleasantries, he continued; "So what house do you reckon you'll be in?"

Harry carefully shook his hand, like he was waiting for something bad to happen. He then snickered like he realized something grand; "Probably Gryffindor like my parents if people are correct in what they say about me. But we'll let the hat decide about that, yeah?" Their eyes were locked in a battle of stares until Zabini finally let go of his hand - a bit harshly, it looked. "Be careful who you surround yourself with, Potter." He looked from Neville, to Ron and then Finally to Hermione, a sneer locked in place. "You'll soon come to realize there are some wizarding families who are better than others."

Harry looked from side to side, taking in the boy in front of him and the three goons behind him. She vaguely noticed Daniel moving closer to her and standing slightly in front. "I think I can sort the good from the bad, thank you very much." Harry said, raising an eyebrow in defiance of the boy.

"Right, students come along now. Two rows please, and in we go." Professor McGonagall said, followed by two claps to get everyone's attention. Zabini sent one final sneer at the group, before turning around and moving to the front of the row with his minions, where he stood like he was the king of the world.

More like a king of fools.

They swiftly walked into the great hall when the enormous doors opened in front of them. The spectacular room was filled by 4 long tables, brimming with students. Above them, candles were floating under a starry sky, giving the room a nice, homey feeling. She instantly felt at home. At the end of the room, was a long table with who, she guessed to be their teachers, and in front of them, was a single stool with a worn out, pointy hat.

Once they arrived in front of the stool, the sorting ceremony started instantaneously.

"When I call your name, please step forward, and sit on the stool." Professor, McGonagall, called out to the room. She was now holding a large scroll of parchment. "Abbott, Hannah!" A small blond girl was sorted into Hufflepuff. When she followed the girl to her table with her eyes, she quickly found her brother a couple of seats down from her. He smiled brightly at her, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Black, Daniel!" Daniel ran up the stairs like only someone with his confidence could. The hat only just touched his black curls before it yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" and he ran totally carefree to the Gryffindor table which was cheering him on, like the absolute jock that he was.

The names flowed quickly after that, the hat taking short notice of sorting all of the children.

"Granger, Hermione!" She could have sworn that her heart stopped beating momentarily, as her name was called out. She felt Neville give her the smallest of pushes, and then she was walking up the stool. It felt like the whole world was coming to end as she came closer step by step. People were probably talking around her. children gossiping with whoever sat beside them - but to her, the silence was deafening.

What if she wasn't good enough?

What if her magic wasn't strong enough?

Would she go home to her parents and become a dentist like them?

After what seemed like a thousand years and a million of passing thoughts, she ran the last couple of steps and sat down on the stool. She felt something soft dump down on her head, and then an unknown voice was speaking to her.

"Questioning your abilities already?"

She sat completely dumbstruck, not knowing what or how to answer. Did she speak out loud? Did it read minds? Couldn't it just get it over with so that she could get out of the damn spotlight.

"Aah a nutcracker, huh? And a feisty one. Likes to have all the answers from the start? Perhaps Ravenclaw will be fitting for you. They would be getting a gem."

She grunted in a way so unladylike that had she been at home, she would probably have been scolded by either Grandma or Mum. Or both. "Do you really think they'd appreciate being outsmarted by a first year?" She thought to herself - or well, to the hat.

"Not holding back, are we? Maybe Slytherin would be better for your ambitions - they could help you climb to the top."

"Or push me to the ground once they realize that I'm muggleborn? I'm not that stupid. I'd poison the snakepit before giving them the chance." She pointed out mentally. Was this really happening? She wouldn't be mad about being in the same house as where Draco would probably be, but she also wasn't kidding about the poison part.

"Draco Malfoy, huh? You two have some mountains to climb and rivers to swim before you will succeed. Perhaps it will be worth it."

"It doesn't matter. He's my friend - and I can swim." She countered viciously.

"So be it - GRYFFINDOR!" It bellowed in her ear and to the rest of the Great Hall, and she winced slightly before she took it off with a sigh of relief. She quickly made her way to the Gryffindor table and sat down, several people patting her back and congratulating her. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Hermione sat in silence and watched as the next couple of students were sorted. Neville happily joined her shortly after, and gave her a one arm hug before sitting down beside her.

"Malfoy, Draco." Professor McGonagall called out after the next couple of kids, and her eyes and attention quickly zoomed in on the blond boy, as it was her friend's turn to be sorted. In his letters he had told her that his entire family had been sorted into Slytherin, and that he was scared of disappointing them. She doubted that he would ever be able to disappoint his parents, but she would never hold it against him.

The hat barely touched his head, before it yelled "SLYTHERIN!" and she saw him sag in relief, before walking to the Slytherin table to his fellow, cheering classmates.

"Nott, Theodore", she realized, was the boy from the train that had bumped into Draco. Theo? Wasn't that his name? He looked kind - not to mention nervous. "SLYTHERIN!". Luckily Draco had at least one friend joining him.

Some more students were sorted until finally; "Potter, Harry." As she had anticipated, the room erupted in "HARRY POTTER?!"s, and "The Harry Potter?", and finally, "He's alive?" Someone behind her whispered. Weren't Ravenclaw supposed to be smart? She thought with an eye roll. People could be so stupid sometimes.

A few short moments later, the hat yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" And the table erupted in cheers, whistles and yelling to friends from other tables. Harry sat down before her with a wide grin on his face and a "I told you I would do it." look in his eyes.

Yes, Harry. Yes, you did.

They were joined by a 'Dean Thomas' and to her dismay, Ron Weasley, before Zabini was sorted into Slytherin. What a surprise.

After that, they feasted as food appeared out of thin air in front of them. It was grand - and everything looked too delicious to be eaten. Her stomach grumbled in anger at the mere thought of not getting any dinner. Who was she kidding anyway, when she went to sleep that night, she would most likely be rolling up the stairs - gravity be damned.

And she had, right after Headmaster Dumbledore had held his welcome speech while giving some last-minute notices. It seemed that a corridor on the third floor was completely off-limits. Also, the forbidden forest was just that - forbidden. Why on earth wouldn't a forbidden forest be forbidden?

After the speech, they walked in a pile of students up the stairs after a redhead that went by the name of 'Percy' as far as she had heard. Was he Ron's brother? They were told the password for that year, and then everyone was pushing at each other to get inside. She was only too happy to step aside to let everyone else in first. When there was room for her, she crawled through the open portraithole and stood in the middle of a room cozier than anything she had seen before.

The room had a couple of groups with chairs and tables - obviously made for studying. But there were also armchairs littered across the room, not to forget the large sofa positioned in front of the roaring fireplace. The room was nice and warm, and she felt so at home she might as well be napping on the couch. In fact, she could already see that very thing happening multiple times throughout her schooling.

"Isn't this great?!" Harry said cheerfully as he walked over to her, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "I wonder how we'll be sleeping. Where, we'll be sleeping."

"I doubt we'll be sharing rooms if that's what you're scared of. Don't worry, I won't bother your snoring." She said, stepping out of his reach before he could get any ideas about pranking her.

"Well, I for one am going to find out, by going to bed." She gave him a quick hug, before heading up the stairs in the direction that she had been told were the girls' Dormitories. "Sweet Dreams. See you tomorrow." She called back with a wave.

She quickly found her dormitory by the sign "1st year." hanging on the door.

Inside were three four poster beds, four combined wardrobes and bookcases, four dressers, and a single door into what Hermione assumed would be a bathroom. In the room were also two giggling girls, sitting on a bed.

"Hello." Hermione said in greeting, and waved at the two as she went to the bed where her trunk was placed.

"It's so nice to meet you!" One of the girls said. What was she called again? Something like a flower name. "I'm Lavender - and this is Parvati." The girl said with a wide smile, her single braid bouncing up and down as she jumped excitedly.

Hermione couldn't help but feel excited as well, soon the other girl - Parvati - joined in, and they stood in their own little circle, laughing and jumping up and down.

The next morning, Hermione stepped into the Great Hall with her school bag over her shoulder, and walked to the right and down between the two long tables, looking for her friends. She quickly spotted William sitting by his house with whom she guessed to be Ellinor and Max, two of his friends. Ellinor nodded in her direction with a friendly smile, which made William turn around to see who it was. They shared a quick hug and a promise to catch up soon, before Hermione ran to the end of the hall to where Harry was sitting with Neville and Daniel.

"Morning, Hermione. How was William?" Harry greeted her as she sat down.

"He's good. He has Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall this morning, and he's really excited." She made herself some oatmeal, picked out fruits and finally made herself a cup of tea before starting to eat. After a couple of minutes of eating in comfortable silence, Professor McGonagall delivered their timetables for the year and they excitedly started discussing their classes.

"So, we're starting out with Herbology in the Greenhouses," Harry started, looking at Neville who was grinning back at him. "Then, Transfiguration and finally History of magic. Ready to get your books out, Hermione?" He asked, with the kind of look that meant, that he knew her all too well at this point.

"Oh, I was born ready." She said, hoisting her bag off from the floor and onto the table beside them. I brought all my books down." She laughed.

"You brought all of them? You've gone mad." Ron said just then, and sat down next to Harry.

"Yes, well I for one didn't want to trudge all the way up to Gryffindor tower to collect my books, once we knew what classes we had today." She said sweetly to him.

"So, you just decided to bring them all? That's stupid." He said, looking at her like it was common knowledge.

"Well, maybe to you. But Hermione tends to be right." Daniel said before she could even open her mouth to answer. "But, when she fails, she falls hard and miserably." He chuckled, looking at her with a bright smile.

"Don't worry, if I fall, you're going down with me." She laughed and bumped her shoulder into his, before removing her bag from the table as other students were trying to find seatings at the table.

"What are we having tomorrow?" She asked, as she picked up her own timetable, "Double potions first thing in the morning, then… Charms, right after, and then Astronomy at midnight. Merlin, I'll be getting a nap tomorrow, that's for sure."

"Astronomy is going to be grand, though." Daniel said then, "Maybe I can find dad's star."

"Dad? You dad has his own star?" Ron asked, looking a bit gobsmacked and starstruck all at once.

"Yeah. Sirius - the dog star." Daniel answered matter of factly like he had done a thousand times before. Even though Sirius very verbally hated the old pureblood ways, It had come quite naturally to teach his son about the traditions and names in his family, where they originated from and how to find them. Naturally, Daniel had ended up loving astronomy and all things that dealt with stars and planets, and he was really looking forward to taking the course, even though it was in the middle of the night.

On multiple occasions, she had found him up at crazy hours of the night, just staring at the stars and memorizing where they were.

"What - Sirius - like the mass murderer?" Ron asked, suddenly looking at Daniel like the black-haired boy might throw himself over Harry to get to him.

Neville, Harry, Daniel and Hermione, all looked uncomfortably to one another. To them, all of this was old news, but apparently not to everyone else. "Umm…" Harry started, not knowing exactly where to start. "So, Sirius hasn't killed anyone. Ever. He was framed. But he did spend some time in Azkaban. Like… 4-5 months?" He looked to Daniel for confirmation, which he gave with a nod. "Once Remus and aunt Em had his name cleared, he came home and then they adopted me. They never caught the killer, though. But someone plotted to get Sirius out of the way, and almost succeeded. It's barbaric." Harry sneered.

"It's okay Harry." Daniel said with a hand on Harry's shoulder. "He's free now. They won't be taking dad again."

"No, I know. But it's not fair. He was in prisoned for something someone else did, and they can't even catch the maniac…"

They sat in silence for some time, nibbling on their breakfast - except for Ron, who was munching on toast like he had never eaten a single thing. After some time, the guys left to quickly get their bags while Hermione slowly made her way down to the greenhouses.

The next morning, the squad stood waiting outside of the potion lab with the Slytherins, waiting for Professor Snape. Apparently, the man had wanted the position as Defense Against the Dark Arts post for years, but had never gotten it. Instead, he was teaching potions. She found herself wondering if he would be any good at potions, or if he was only there to make ends meet and just having a job.

When the door opened, the children quickly moved into the room, picked out their seats and placed their books and cauldrons on the table. In front of them, leaning against the teachers table, was a tall man with shoulder length black hair, in black robes.

Once everyone had taken their seats, he took the roll call and made sure to look at every student, possibly trying to memorize what they looked like. The other student had all paused at Harry's name, yet this one didn't make a fuss. Once he had gotten a good look on everyone, he started talking; "My name is Professor Snape, I am the head of the Slytherin house, and also you potions Professor. I will be teaching you subtle science and exact art of potion making for the next four years. For those who chose to advance and have the abilities to do so, I will remain your teacher throughout your NEWT's as well. Any questions?"

The room was in utter silence.

"As there is little wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect that all of you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, baring the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stop death - if only you choose to open your minds and thrive for perfection."

Again, the room was silent as every pair of eyes was glued to their professor and his charismatic character.

"Now, let's do a quick test. I'll choose a random person, and they will try to answer the given question." Groans were heard throughout the room.

"Mr. Malfoy, where would you look for a bezoar?"

Malfoy looked deep in confusion as he stared at their professor… "A… goat. sir."

"Correct! 10 points to Slytherin. A Bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most potions." scratches of Quills of parchment were heard throughout the classroom.

"Mr. Potter," He then called calmly, his eyes steadfast on Harry, as all eyes on the room turned to her friend. "What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

"Well, they... are the same? Sir?" Harry said, slowly. Clearly having doubts in what seemed to be the first trick question of the day.

"Are you asking or are you telling me?" Snape said as he stepped away from the table and took a few steps closer to Harry's direction.

"Telling? Sir?" Snape was now in front of him, his arm crossed over his chest, an eyebrow quirked and just the tiniest of smirks on his lips. He looked like he was having fun.

"Monkshood, Wolfsbane or Aconite are all the same thing, sir. I believe it is the ingredients in the Wolfsbane potion." Harry said confidently, looking straight up at his professor. Hermione found herself mentally clapping Harry on the back, for having read his books before coming to school. She knew he was great at the academic aspects, but it seemed that it had already come to good use.

"Correct. 10 points to Gryffindor - and an extra 5 points for extra knowledge. Well done, Mr. Potter."

After quizzing a few more students, some getting the questions right, some getting them wrong, he turned back to the entire class; "What do I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?

Hands including her own flew into the air, though his eyes were momentarily locked on Harry. Harry looked down for a minute, but then his head slowly raised, and she could see the realization in his eyes. Was Snape saying what she thought he was saying? Harry gave the professor a sad look and a small nod, which Snape seemed to return. A silent conversation moving between them in seconds. If he was saying what she thought he was saying, it was both incredibly dark yet so very bittersweet.

She had the fleeting thought that both her Potions- and philosophy tutors would have been so proud of her - should she be correct.

"Ms. Granger?" Professor Snape said, and she quickly answered him that it was the draught of living death, which earned her house another ten points.

"And that is what we will be trying to make today." He flicked his wand and the blackboard turned, revealing the steps to make the points. The instructions are here and in your book on pages 5 to 7. You have an hour and a half."

And then they were brewing their very first potion.

The first week had been great. Hard, but great. They had met all of their teachers and had their classes, safe for one.

She and her friends were walking down the lawn in front of the castle, each carrying their brooms. She was so excited to be flying again! She had been lucky enough to borrow William's broom as long as he would get it back that same day, as he had a quidditch tryout that he needed to practice for.

She really hoped that he got the spot.

Madam Hooch was walking back and forth between the two rows of students, telling them about the basics of flying, how to have the best hold, the ground rules of Quidditch and so on. She found herself listening intently, though she already knew how to fly a broom and about quidditch. But maybe she could learn something new? There was nothing wrong with trying to get better. She sent a small smile to Draco who was standing right in front of her. They had written a lot about riding brooms and quidditch. She was so excited to show him how good she had gotten.

"Think the muggle can fly a broom?" Zabini sneered in a low voice to Bulstrode beside him, though Hermione heard him just fine. Apparently, others had as well, as Malfoy answered, also in a low voice, even though Madam Hooch was at the other end of the row; "I guess we'll have to see."

"Now!" Madam Hooch called, coming back to the center of the two rows and bringing the full focus back to her, "Mount your brooms as you have been instructed, and stay low on the ground. You will be divided into groups of 3 and will be playing 3 against 3 with another group, in a couple of quick games of quidditch. Every ten minutes you will play against a new group. You are allowed to make your own groups, but I want them fair, otherwise I'll be redoing them halfway through." She sent hard looks to a couple of students whom she must have known something about beforehand.

Soon after, most students had mounted their brooms or were trying to. She had helped Neville onto his, knowing that he didn't do well with flying. She had made groups with him and Lavender, and in their first 'fight' they were against Malfoy, Nott and Parkinson. It was a fun game, she thought. and fair, not to say the least. Malfoys team had won 5 to 3, but they had all had a few good saves, hits, scores and all in all good fun.

After that, they flew in different directions to play new groups, and Hermione ended up against Zabini, Bulstrode and Crabbe, who apparently just had been beaten hard by Harry, Daniel and Ron.

Normally, she would feel sorry for anyone getting beaten in Quidditch by Harry, but not these three.

By the blow of the whistle the 6 players were in the air, both showing different levels of confidence and knowhow. Hermione and Zabini were by far the best players, and most fights centered around them, and more often than not, quite high up in the air. It was in one of such fights that she found herself with the quaffle in half, and flew at break-neck speed out of Zabini's reach and against the hoops further down by the ground - when she was suddenly hit in the side by something large and hard.

And it was then that she realized how far up they were, because she was falling. She was falling hard.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Neville diving for her and yelling after her - though she couldn't make out what he was yelling because of the blood rushing in her air, and the wind whirling around her falling body. She thought she felt something, but then the ground came too fast - and then nothing.

A few days later Hermione sat up in her hospital bed, and listened carefully as Professor McGonagall told her what had happened. Apparently, Crabbe had tackled her mid-air, and thrown her off the broom. It was only by sheer dumb luck, that Harry had been close enough to grab a hold of her robes, and while he had tumbled off his own broom in the motion, he had taken enough off of her fall that she ultimately wasn't as hard off as she could have been.

As it was, she was somewhat happy to have been unconscious for two days, as she had regrown her arm and now, only suffering a headache as the reminder of her concussion. Harry had been able to walk unscathed away from the incident with 20 points and a spot on the Gryffindor team while Crabbe had gotten two week's worth of detention with McGonagall.

In the end, in some odd way it seemed like it had been worth it.

"Harry!" Hermione called down the hall, as she saw Harry and Neville walking in the opposite direction. They were looking at some kind of paper, but stopped and looked up by the calling of his name. She waved enthusiastically at them to get their attention and they both smiled when they saw who it was.

"Hermione!" They both called back in unison, then Harry continued once she made it down to them; "I'm so happy you're alright. You are alright, right?" He asked her, looking her over and taking care not to touch the previously broken arm which was now in a sling.

"Yeah, I'm alright. My head still hurts a bit and I have to keep my arm in a sling for the next two days, but it's more as a precaution than anything else. Madam Pomfrey says that it is all healed at this moment." She moved the top of the sling a bit for it to rest more comfortably on her shoulder, and then let not-injured hand hang by her side. Just as Harry was telling her about what had happened, she felt something slip into her hand which she tightened reflexively, and then a head of blond hair swiftly moved past her. She quickly diverted her eyes back to Harry's as she put the letter into her pocket.

"-But you were falling so fast! And-and Neville tried to get to you, but he couldn't reach you! But I think Madam Hooch threw some kind of spell as well." He said with a deep frown.

"Harry, I don't think she did. McGonagall told me that it was sheer luck and you, who made the difference of how hard I hit the ground. I don't think Hooch had anything to do with it." She said, deep in thought. She only remembered tiny bits about what had happened from the beginning of their match. Then a sudden thought hit her, and she felt all nauseous and miserable again.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Neville asked as he put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Do you need to lie down?"

"What happened to the broom?" She gasped.

"What?" They both asked, clearly confused.

"I mean, what happened to William's broom?" She was dead serious at that moment; she was told that she could borrow it if he got it back. If she had broken it on her first day, she would never hear the end of it.

"Oh, it was completely destroyed. Snapped in half when it hit the ground." She gasped, and they must have seen the horror in her face as she tried to cover her face with her hands. "But don't worry. Don't worry, Professor McGonagall made sure that Crabbe got William a new broom since the tackle was so out of line. He probably used the first eight or nine fouls in that tackle alone." Harry smiled sincerely to her.

"But-but William needs a broom for Saturday! He has try-outs! Oh Merlin, he's going to hate me!" She cried out, small tears springing from her eyes and making their way down her red cheeks. Neville and Harry looked at each other, unsure about the situation. It was Harry who ended up breaking the tension: "Umm, Hermione? I don't think he hates you. He spent the first night with you in the hospital wing - he was furious when they tried to make him leave."

"Oh, Wills. I'll have to go look for him." she sighed, and dried her eyes with her healthy hand. "What were you guys reading?" She asked them then, seeing the newspaper dangling from Harry's hand.

"Oh, ehh, there was some kind of break in at Gringotts - but the funny thing is, it's the exact same day as I was there with Sirius."

"Huh. On your birthday?" She asked, brows furrowed in thought.

"Yeah. We went to Gringotts first, then grabbed my present in Quality Quidditch Supplies and then picked up my cake before going home. I wonder if I saw who stole it? A lot of people were in the bank that day." He said, now looking at the newspaper again.

They discussed back and forth what Harry may or may not have seen, as they made her way towards the library, where she was hoping to find William.

When they made it inside and she saw that he was in fact sitting by a table with Max, she waved them off and they walked their own ways for her to chat with her brother.

She silently walked up to him so as not to make any unnecessary noises. That librarian really could be a menace.

"Wills?" She asked with a low voice, right before her hand carefully touched his shoulder. His head whipped up in response to the call and touch, and he quickly stood up and embraced her; "Nene. Nene, I'm so happy you're alright." He carefully held her out at arms reach and looked her over, before hugging her close once again. "I was so scared." He whispered, and she could almost hear the heartache and pain in his voice. It was moments like these that made her doubt how on earth they had lived without each other for an entire year.

"I know Wills, Harry just told me that you stayed with me." She whispered into his hair.

"I couldn't leave you." He whispered.

"I know. I know. But Wills, your broom… I'm so sorry." She hiccupped slightly against him. He tore himself away from her and used his sleeve to dry her cheeks.

"Don't be. That twat just paid for my new broom, without realizing it. I had been talking to mum and dad about getting a new one for my birthday, so now he's basically giving me a birthday present." He smiled gloatingly. "At least he's good for something." He said, winking at her.

"But what about you try-out? Your birthday isn't until next month!" She said slowly, looking at him with big, red eyes.

"Max says I can borrow his. We'll just have to share. Luckily the first match isn't until November, in case we both make the team." He grinned at her and she chuckled at his lightheartedness. When Madam Pince came around the corner and told them to be quiet with some very angry eyes, she decided to leave. She waved goodbye to the two boys and left quietly in search of an alcove or windowsill where she could sit in peace and read her letter.

"H,

Look at the Slytherin table at 7 tonight, hopefully, you'll find it both joyful and colorful.

Also, I'm so happy you still want to be my friend, I'm just sorry it has to be this way.

D"

She smiled to herself and put the letter back in her pocket, before she quietly made it back to Gryffindor tower, where she would spend the next couple of hours until dinner, looking over her homework and lost classes. Hopefully Harry had some notes she could read over.

When she had crawled through the portrait, she saw Ron as the first person there. "Hi Ron, have you seen Harry?"

Ron looked at her, like he couldn't be more bored. "No." He simply answered, before turning around to the game of chess he was playing with Dean. "I'm sorry Hermione, I haven't seen him either." He said, giving her a soft smile, unlike other people in the room.

"Thanks. It's not something important anyways." She said softly before making her way up the stairs. She thought she heard Ron mumbling something about "princess" just when Dean stood to go fetch something from the table beside them.

"Did you say something, Ron?" She asked sweetly, in her best 'I know what you just said voice'.

He looked at her again, this time obviously annoyed. "No." He said again, clearly not wanting anything to do with her. She rolled her eyes as she went on her way.

Some hours later, she casually walked back down the stairs to the Great Hall, towards dinner. She had looked over all of the classes that she had missed and written her own notes with the help of Parvati and was now completely up to date.

As she walked between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, she caught her brother's eyes by chance. Without drawing attention to herself, she tapped her finger to the top of her wrist and showed her full hand, mouthing and signaling "five minutes", to him, before nodding her head towards the other end of the hall. He raised his eyebrow in question but then grinned, and turned back around just as she passed him to go sit down herself.

She poured herself some soup, just to easier eat one-handed, and then moved her focus to the green and silver table.

Harry and Daniel quickly joined her and looked like they wanted to talk to her. She softly put a finger to her lips and nodded her head in the general direction of the Slytherins before she started eating again.

The minutes ticked by, until a sudden yell of horror (or was it pain?) emitted from that very same table. Almost instantly after that, a person - most likely Crabbe - stood up quite panicked, with his entire face and hair bright crimson and gold. When he held his hands out in front of him, she could see that the same went for him hands and arms. After realizing what he looked like, that was when he started scratching at it, trying to get it off. But the more he rubbed and picked, the brighter it got. She almost felt bad for the kid.

Almost.

She took a celebratory sip of her pumpkin juice, as Harry started congratulating her on her successful prank.

"Oh, I haven't done anything. I was just told that something was to happen." She said, grinning in mischief.

"Who?" Daniel asked, mischief written all over his face.

"I girl never reveals her sources." She said, winking at him.

"Is it your friend? The one you visited this summer?" Harry asked, having already tried his absolute best in getting her to reveal who it was.

"Maaaaybe." She said, making a popping sound at the 'be'. "So, what did you guys want to talk about?"

"Oh! Right! I went to visit Hagrid and we ended up talking about the break in at Gringotts. He said something about 'that's between Dumbledore and Nicolas Flames', and I wondered if maybe you knew who it was. It was quite obvious that he wasn't supposed to leak the name, so he wouldn't tell us anything else." He finished and she could see the excitement in his eyes at having been told something 'forbidden', but also at the prospect of learning something important. Sometimes she wondered how he had not ended up in Ravenclaw, but then she watched how he handled his books… and her doubts were gone.

"Nicolas Flames?" She questioned and furrowed her brows while she thought hard. It seemed to ring a bell, but she couldn't place it. Had she read of or heard about him? She had probably read about him, she countered. If someone had talked about him, then others might have remembered him and both Daniel and Harry looked like they didn't have the faintest idea. "I'm not sure. I mean, it kind of rings a bell, but I'll have to do some research…" she trailed off.

They agreed that they would each be researching when they had the time for it, and with a silent nod, she quickly finished her soup to get back to her homework. And to write a thank you note, to her favorite Slytherin.

31st October, 1991

"Do you know why Halloween is my favorite Holiday?" She asked her brother, looking over his shoulder at the Hufflepuff table.

He slowly patted her head, "It's not, but I appreciate the effort." He said, grinning as he looked back at her.

"Oh well, I tried." She shrugged carelessly, "Well Happy birthday, anyway!" She grinned and hugged him tighter. She then placed a wrapped present in front of him.

"You definitely didn't wrap this, Nene. I'm so disappointed." He said, faking his deep dissatisfaction. They both knew that she was shit at wrapping gifts, and this was way too pretty.

He quickly ripped off the beautiful golden wrapping paper, and inside laid a pair of brand-new leather quidditch gloves and a pair of new goggles.

"These are beautif-" He gasped loudly when he opened the gloves and saw the brand. "You didn't. Nene. These are-"

"Drags gloves and goggles from the 7th series, black leather special edition. Engraved." She showed him the 'William Sebastian Granger' engravement along the pinkie and underside of the gloves. "I know. I picked them. Grandma helped, but It's mostly me. Got to look good on your first quidditch game, after all. Can't all be skills, you know." She said happily, but almost didn't finish the sentence as she was tackled anew (a good tackle this time) by her brother.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." He hugged her tighter as if it was somehow possible, "I can't wait to wear them. Thank you so much!"

He stepped back just as the owl post arrived, and she saw multiple packages of different shapes and sizes coming his way - especially one shaped like a broom. "Happy birthday, Wills." She said, giving him one last hug before leaving him to his gifts that the Hufflepuff table was already swooning over.

After lunch that same day, they had Charms with Professor Flitwick. Today was individual work; their objective was to make a large feather float in the air, with something called the "Wingardium Leviosa" spell. Next time, they would then work on making each other levitate.

She was seated between Ron and Parvati this lesson and so while she sat quietly and focused on doing the right movements, Ron kept spitting all over their table as he pronounced the second word wrong again and again.

"Ron, do you -" she started, but stopped as soon as he turned towards her with a sneer on his lips. "Nevermind." She said, and turned away from him.

She really didn't understand what she had done to him… Was it something she had said? He had been that way to her since they first met. She decided that she would ask Harry later, seeing as he spent a lot more time with Ron than she did.

"Hermione?" Parvati asked beside her, and continued when Hermione turned to her. "Do you know what he means with the flick of the wrist? I can't get my feather to move even the slightest." She said, looking a mixture of annoyed and dejected.

"Well…" Hermione said as she thought hard. She wasn't really sure. To her it just came naturally. "I hold my hand a bit higher and then turn the wrist down, so that I'm pointing down on the feather. Like this: Wingardium Leviosa." She said clearly to the feather, and it slowly but surely, levitated into the air in front of them.

"Well done, Ms. Granger!" Professor Flitwick clapped in his small hands from the middle of the room. "5 points to Gryffindor!"

Hermione smiled at the professor and then to Parvati, as she made her own feather levitate which earned Gryffindor another 5 points.

After class she was walking out of the room on her own as Parvati had run off with her sister Padma. As the first years made their way through the hallway she ended up behind Lavender and Ron who were talking too loud for anyone not to hear them.

"UGH! She's such a teacher's pet! It's always 'well done Hermione', and 'good job Hermione' he said with a sneer. And did you see what she gave to that Hufflepuff? She had money so far up her arse it's disgusting. And who is he? Is it her boyfriend?" Ron asked exasperated and disgusted. He sounded like it was something that had bothered her for a long time. Was she really that bad?

She felt tears stinging in her eyes, but she couldn't find it in herself to say anything. What could she say? He seemed so intent on hating her already.

"I don't know, she hasn't talked about anyone. The only time she's in the dorm is when she sleeps, writes letters or does homework. But really, have you seen her hair? It's hideous. I'm fighting myself every morning to not go chop it all off. I'd be doing her a favor." Lavender said like it was the most normal thing in the world to want to cut someone's hair against their will.

"Just get it over with. You'd be doing the rest of us a favor as well." He laughed loudly.

They had neared the Great Hall now, and Hermione had ultimately lost the battle against the tears. She had thought Lavender to be a sweet and kind girl, she even thought that they were beginning to develop some kind of friendship.

Had it all just been for show?

Hermione turned off and into the bathroom where she cried, and cried and cried and cried.

How could she trust her again? And what about Parvati? Was she in on it?

And Ron she really wasn't surprised about, but she still didn't understand what had brought it on. She hadn't… had she said something wrong to him, that time on the train? She had only asked about them doing magic - had that been wrong? She thought hard back to her grandma's lessons of etiquette. Was that a big no-no? She didn't think so. But it didn't make it hurt any less, that her two most prominent futures, being her hair and her intellect, apparently was that big of an issue to other people.

Her hair was a menace, even to herself… but being kind and bright, that was something that had always been encouraged to her and William.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there in the corner of the bathroom stall, behind the locked door. But she decided that she would dry her tears and go to the library. She had to find some way to keep others out of her bed so that she could at least sleep in peace knowing that her hair wouldn't be trimmed while she slept.

She unlocked the door and stepped out to wash her face, when she came face to face with something incredibly large and ugly.

She quickly realized that it was a troll, and she screamed as loud as she could.

The troll swung its club at her, and she threw herself to the ground as it demolished all of the stalls to her left. Tree Splinters, porcelain and water were flying everywhere.

"Hermione!" Someone called, and she looked up to see Harry, Daniel and William standing in the doorway. "I'm getting help! You try to distract it!" William yelled and then he was running out of the room.

Just then, the troll lifted its club again having been momentarily distracted by the newcomers, and swung it directly towards the floor where Hermione was laying.

She threw herself to the side and only just averted the spot where the club had now destroyed the floor.

"Do something!" She screamed at no one in particular as the troll made to destroy the sink she was hiding under. She hid her face in her hands in the hopes that this would somehow make her invisible.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry then called loud and clear. She had prepared herself for the inevitable moment where the sink above her would be coming crashing down, but it didn't.

She peeked between her fingers to find the club hovering just above the troll's head, while it looked around confused, possibly trying to figure out what had happened to its weapon.

"Oh, Merlin!" Professor McGonagall gasped when she entered the bathroom with Professor Snape hot on her heels, William right behind them. The gasp seemed to bring Harry out of his focus though, as he dropped his wand which ultimately meant that the club fell from where it had been hovering - right down onto the head of the troll.

The troll started swaying haphazardly from side to side, until it finally fell down, face first, into the ground. Hermione yelped and sprinted across the room into the arms of William who had made his way past Snape.

"Professor Snape, why don't you go get Professor Dumbledore while I deal with the children?" She asked him. He nodded without a word and disappeared.

"That was foolish of you! Going against a troll! What on earth were you thinking?!" McGonagall said, her voice hard with cold fury. She looked at each of them in turn.

"But we weren't…" Hermione said slowly. McGonagall looked skeptical to say the least, and raised an eyebrow as she waited for her student to continue. "Well, I was in here already, and then the troll was suddenly there - attacking me! And then the guys showed up and, well, saved me. None of this was planned, professor, I swear!" She begged loudly. She couldn't be expelled! She had only just arrived!

McGonagall was silent as she looked her over, she then turned to the boys; "What do you three have to say for yourselves?" she asked them the fury more or less gone though she was still full on interrogating them.

"We realized that she hadn't come to dinner and asked William, he hadn't seen her so we went looking since she didn't know about the troll. We didn't make it very far before we heard her… her screams. Professor." Daniel stuttered, white as a sheet as he looked at Hermione.

Their professor nodded solemnly to herself. "Very well. 15 points to each of you three." She pointed to the boys before she continued; "Now, all of you go to the hospital wing and get a small dose of calming draught, and then it's off to bed. Hopefully this will be the last we see of any mountain trolls." She finished with a grimace in the direction of the beast, before she moved out of the way so that the students could get out.

"Oh, by the way, professor." McGonagall turned around at the sound of Harry's voice. "This was given to me earlier today by Zabini - just thought you ought to know."

Their professor slowly took the note from her student and looked it over immediately, "Thank you potter, I will take care of it. Now, off you go." She showed them out and turned back to the troll just as Snape and Dumbledore came into view.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked, tugged securely into William's side as he kept his arm around her shivering form.

"Zabini threw a note at me in Charms, challenging me to a duel tonight at midnight - and I just thought," Harry said, making room for the appropriate tension in the story as his eyes glistened with mischief. "That maybe, just maybe, the professors should know that they have students sneaking around after curfew." He said with a smirk.

"Merlin, Harry. You are truly evil. Are you sure you aren't in the wrong house?" William laughed by her side and she found it all too easy to join in.

"Well, the hat did try to send me off to Slytherin… But I didn't let it."

Hermione chuckled deeper at that. "No, why would you? But yeah, it tried with me as well."

"You?" Daniel looked at her in obvious confusion. "Why on earth would it throw you that way? And why don't you look the least bit surprised?" He directed the last bit to William, who most likely looked all too smug.

"All I'm saying is that I've known her, her entire life. So no, I'm not surprised. But he's right Nene, what was the hat's explanation?"

"Something about ambitions, helping me climb to the top and not holding back about being smarter than a Ravenclaw." She shrugged casually, but looked at her friends in complete silence. "You know I'm right, don't pretend otherwise." She finished like that was the last of it. She took it as confirmation when they didn't counter her statement.

But when she was finally in bed an hour later, this time with a small healing potion and a sip of calming draught in her system, she was still fairly happy that she didn't let that stupid hat get its way.

It was the first Sunday of November. Yesterday Hermione had watched as her brother had played his first game as beater for the Hufflepuff team, when they won against Slytherin. In about an hour, it was Harry's turn to go up against Ravenclaw with the rest of the Gryffindor team, and he looked like complete and utter, shit. There was really no better word for it.

From the beginning of this term, Professor Dumbledore had chosen to remove the rule which previously said that one could only try out for their quidditch team, if one was in their second year or above. That meant that Harry had been able to try out, and had gotten the position as seeker. Knowing how good he was, she really wasn't surprised that that was the position he had landed.

"Why are you looking like that?" She asked him carefully, "Didn't you sleep last night?" She pushed a piece of toast with chocolate spread towards him, in the hopes that it would give him a bit of energy.

"No, not really. I couldn't fall asleep, so I went for a walk, and I… Well, I fell upon a room with a mirror. But the thing is, that... In that mirror, my mum and dad were with me, and I just... I really enjoyed finally spending time with them." He sniffed and she placed a calming hand on his shoulder, before leaning in to rest her head against it while she cradled his arm. "I don't know how long I sat there, but at some point, Dumbledore arrived. He told me that it was something called 'the mirror of erised' and that it shows one's deepest and truest desire. That's why I can see mum and dad."

"Oh, Harry." She sighed sadly, feeling and hearing the hurt and sorrow in her friend.

"He also said that it's going to be removed, and that I shouldn't go looking for it again…" He sighed deeply, taking a small bite from the toast Hermione had given him.

"Maybe he's right, Harry. Grandma always says that it isn't good to dwell on dreams and forget to live." she said, giving him a small hug before she turned back to her own breakfast. "I do understand why you would want to see them again, though." She said after taking a couple of bites from her food.

They sat in silence for some time while he took small bites of the piece of toast, she had offered him. "What do you think you would see in the mirror, Hermione?" He asked with a small voice.

She furrowed her brows and sat in silent concentration, staring at her food as she pushed it around her plate. "I'm not sure, actually… A prefect badge maybe? I don't know. When you think of it that way, it really seems like I have everything I could ever need." She said slowly before cursing herself inwardly, "Merlin, that sounds so harsh. I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean it like that." She whispered at the thought of maybe making him sadder than he already was.

"No, it's alright." He said, as he took another piece of toast (this one with ham and some slices of cucumber) that she off-handedly pushed his way. Having known him for so long, she knew that he had a tendency to lose all kinds of appetite when he was nervous. Sometimes he needed a helping hand.

"HARRY!" someone yelled, and it would seem that the entirety of the great hall had heard it as well. How could they not? Ron came running down to where they were seated and Hermione groaned involuntarily as he pushed himself in between her and Harry, instead of sitting on the other side of the table where there were lots of empty seats. "Are you ready? this match is going to be bloody fantastic!" He exclaimed excitedly to Harry. Completely ignoring the person, he had just shoved away.

She sat completely gobsmacked and shocked, looking at the back of his head as the front of his was turned to her friend. With her mouth hanging open in disbelief, she turned her head and caught the eyes of Daniel who was sitting in front of her. He looked to be just as shocked as her.

"Oh, none of that Harry. Fred and George say that they always eat lots of eggs before a match. Who eats cucumbers anyway?" Ron said, taking the half-eaten piece of toast from his hand and pushing the bowl of scrambled eggs in front of him instead. "Something about proteins and what-not."

"Excuse you?" She exclaimed, offended, trying to get the attention of the intruder.

"Not now, Hermione, we're just in the middle of something here." Ron said off-handedly, still pushing different kinds of greasy food towards her best friend. On the other side of Ron, she saw Harry shovel a couple of mouthfuls into his mouth, only to pick up a piece of bacon.

"But Harry you never eat-" She started, but was pushed further back when Ron turned towards her.

"What didn't you understand?" Ron asked her, and he might as well have slapped her. Without another word, she stood from the table and picked up her backpack, abandoning her half-eaten breakfast behind on the table. "Good luck with your match." She murmured as she passed her best friend, leaving the great hall in silence after her muttered words.

She closed the large wooden doors behind her as she finally arrived outside, and slowly made her way through the courtyard. She could feel all kinds of emotions pressing on, and she didn't know how to feel about any of them or how she should handle them.

Hurt. Anger. Disgust. Disbelief.

Why hadn't Harry said anything?

She made it to the edge of the courtyard, the stone railing stopping her from walking into thin air, while also giving her one hell of a view of the mountains. A view she couldn't care less about at the moment.

"Are you okay?" A voice some way behind her, asked. Shocked from an emotional intrusion she hadn't expected, she turned around and found Draco standing alone in the courtyard looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Umm, yeah. Why?" She asked, trying to put up all the emotional walls she knew off.

"Don't do that." He said with an annoyed look, as he walked over to her and leaned against the railing.

"Do what?" She retaliated too quickly.

"That thing where you try to hide what you're feeling because you think people don't care." He answered matter of factly.

"But I don't-" She started, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. He might as well have said 'try again'. "I-" She tried, but stopped again. She turned around and leaned back on the stone railing, looking into the Horizon. "I just… Okay, so the thing is; I've known Harry for as long as I remember, right? But now it seems that I'm not good enough for that. Suddenly Ron is right about everything. So, when will Ron start talking behind my back to Harry, and when will Harry begin to agree with him?" She rambled on and she damn well knew it.

"Are they talking behind your back?" Draco asked after a moment's thinking.

"Yes." She answered instantly and looked at her. He looked at her like she was lying to him or something like that. "I'm not kidding. There's been multiple times where I've been walking behind him and he is just shit-talking me so hard, without knowing I'm walking right behind him."

"No!" He gasped in disbelief.

"Yes! That day with the troll? Ron and Lavender had been so mean! And- well, the troll found me when I realized that I had missed dinner." She shrugged, removing a stray tear at the horrible memory.

"Merlin's beard - why didn't you say something?" He asked her, and she thought he sounded a bit sad, though she didn't dare look at him to confirm that thought.

"I didn't really think it was relevant… It doesn't matter." I don't matter.

"What do you mean? You're my friend, of course it matters to me!" He said, and pulled her roughly from where she had been leaning her underarms of the railing, only to be pulled into a hug.

After some time, she awkwardly clapped him on the back signaling for him to release her. "I like that you're my friend, too." She smiled at him and he easily returned it, though she could still see the concern written all over his face. "By the way, I was wondering if you might want to meet in the library after dinner tomorrow? I'm having some trouble with Flitwick's essay and I could use some help." She said.

"On one condition?" He asked, as they slowly made their way towards the quidditch pitch. She looked at him, urging him to just get on with it. "Will you help me with Snape's?"

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him with a mouth hanging open in shock. Again. "You're kidding." She stated.

"Nope." He said, making a POP!-sound at the end of the word.

"You must be kidding." She said and started walking again. "You, having trouble with potions? You've got to be joking."

"No, I'm serious. The old man is going to have my head if he finds out." He laughed lightly at the irony.

"Who? Your dad? He doesn't exactly strike me as a person willing to commit murder over first year's potions essays, about Flobberworms of all things."

They were almost all the way to the stands. "Oh, he won't, and he isn't. It's Snape who's going to kill me if I don't get an O on this one. He's been drilling me in different potions ingredients since I knew what a cauldron was. Possibly earlier than that."

"Are you actually telling me that you grew up around Snape?" She asked in disbelief. To her, teachers were someone who didn't leave school and were just always there somehow. That one time she had seen her math teacher at the supermarket had been a shock like none other.

"Mmh." He acknowledged. "He's my godfather - but he'll probably deny it if you ever ask him about it. He's done a lot of things to not show it if he knows someone beforehand."

"Woow." She breathed out. She would have never known if he hadn't told her. "Well he's good at hiding it."

They kept talking for a few minutes until people started making their ways down to the stand for the quidditch match. Draco went off to get some seats for him and his friends at the Ravenclaw stands, while Hermione found herself a seat in the back where she wouldn't be in the way from anyone.

It seemed she had found the right seats, seeing as she was joined by no one she knew of. But if one thought about it, It was next to impossible to know where someone was seated if they hadn't told you beforehand, what with so many stands.

"I still can't believe he caught it with his mouth." Draco whispered in disbelief when they had met the next night to do their essays together. At the beginning he had asked if he could just read her answers to see if he was missing something vital, but she had ended up quizzing him on it instead, so that he knew the answers instead of just copying it off.

"I knoow. It was unbelievable - and disgusting if I have to say so myself."

"You have a serious issue with mouths and things that get put into it. I'm just saying." He stated, looking at her with a raised eyebrow that had somehow become his signature look.

"No, I don't." She pressed, "I just think people ought to take better care of their teeth." She shrugged.

"But… Why?" He asked, confused. "It's just teeth… If something's wrong Madam Pomfrey'll fix them."

It was then that she realized Draco had probably never seen or known that Dentists existed.

"Not in the muggleworld, Draco. There; they're called 'Dentists', and they fix people's teeth." He looked at her like she was talking in tongues.

"Okay, I'm cutting it into little baby pieces for you." she said and looked at him closely, while he looked like someone ready to take notes. "In your world, you have healers. I'm my world, You specialize in a certain field. Like; there's dentists, who fix people's teeth. There are ordinary doctors whom you go to if you have a stomachache, need shots, need to get a prescription for medications and so on. Then there are surgeons who make operations if you for example need a kidney transplant or have your gallbladder removed. Then there are therapists and psychologists if you have issues with your mental state, and so on. The list goes on and on, really. If you have an issue, there is most likely some person who has a full education within the subject, to help you." Halfway through her list, she could tell that she had completely lost him, yet she had finished for a while - just for emphasis.

"I have so many questions…" He muttered, confused.

"I knew you would have, but I don't have all the answers. Mum and dad might, though. Why don't you write me a list, and then we can go over it on another day, when we aren't fifteen minutes away from being out past curfew?" She asked, as she stood and collected her books to leave the library. He quickly did the same, and the two of them walked calmly through Hogwarts until they had to go their separate ways once again.

On Sunday, December 1st, Hermione made her way down the stairs towards the Great Hall. Hermione had slept in for once and was looking forward to enjoying a late breakfast with her brother, as they had talked about the day before. In fact, she could already see him waiting for her in front of the Great Hall.

This past month had been rough, to say the least. Classes were really picking up which led to more time spent on homework and studying, and less time on friends and fun.

How she missed fun. Playing. Proper friends time. Flying.

Flying. That was probably what she missed the most right now. Just swaying back and forth and letting the hair toss her hair about. Since Crabbe had tackled her off her broom, she hadn't been able to get back up on one. She had tried and tried, of course. She had even tried tandem riding with both Harry and Wills… But she simply couldn't. When she had gotten a serious panic attack in flying class a couple of weeks after the 'accident' she had finally been exempt from going.

She had spent the rest of the day crying her eyes out in the astronomy tower. The one place where she knew no one would find her.

Her friendship with Harry was also not really working out at this time. She just missed her best friend. The friend who answered when she addressed him and sought her out for her company. He had spent more and more time with the quidditch team which she had totally expected. But he had also spent more and more time around Ron, who apparently hated her guts like none other. There was always an excuse to sneer at her or shit-talk her whenever she had opened her mouth. Nevermind that he could never answer the professor's question, but who in Merlin's name did she think she was for answering them correctly, when asked?

Neville and Daniel had struggled as well, and the three of them had started leaning more fully on each other. Both of them had issues with being away from home, though Neville seemed to have been hit the hardest. After arriving at Hogwarts, his magic had become quite unstable and he was having some serious issues with even the simplest of potions, charms or transfiguration. The once confident and well-read boy, had started to go extremely introverted - no thanks to Zabini and his endless bullying.

On more than one occasion had he received a Howler from his grandmother, berating him about 'not living up to certain standards and expectations'. That woman was horrible on so many levels Hermione was having trouble seeing all of them.

Daniel was doing really well in his classes and rather enjoyed a lot of them, but he missed his parents and his cat, Snuffles. He was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that he would be away for the next seven years and only return for the holidays. It might as well have been a hundred years.

"Deep in thought, Nene?" William asked when she came down the stairs. She gave him a one arm hug before they made their way into the Great Hall.

"Yeah… There's a lot going on right now." She sighed.

At 9 on a Sunday, there weren't a lot of people eating breakfast. Most of them had eaten earlier, or would probably forgo it completely and do an early lunch instead. They sat down at the Hufflepuff table and laid their plates with eggs, sausages, fruit and bacon.

"So, what's going on? Are the classes rough on you?" He asked before he started eating.

"No, the classes are fine, I think. I try not to go all know-it-all even though I know most of the answers just from reading the books." She shrugged.

"Then what is it? You're doing that thing where you do nothing outside of reading and studying, which means that something's wrong." He said and looked at her with that look, that told her he had eyes in his skull and already knew everything she could possibly say to get around the question. She scowled at him. Bastard.

Just then Harry, Ron and Dean walked behind them and towards seats at the Gryffindor table. She looked up and instantly recognized the sneer on his lips. Oh, if looks could kill. Then she looked at Harry who completely averted his eyes.

"Hiya, Harry!" Wills said beside her and held his hand up in the air in a waiting high-five, but no high-five came.

"So that's your issue, then." He muttered to her once the trio had passed them completely.

"Mhm." She acknowledged, and then she told him everything. There was no use in hiding it from him now.

The siblings sat in complete silence for some time afterwards, finishing their breakfast along the way and watching as their plates disappeared into thin air.

"I don't get it. His two brothers seem like really great guys, but he's a complete arse. There's just no excuse for being so mean when you've done nothing for him to behave that way."

"See that's what I thought as well. I've just figured that I must have done or said something on the train that I can't remember, that obviously offended him. I've tried apologizing as well, but he won't talk to me, and neither will Harry for whatever reason." She finished sadly.

"Do you know what you need?" He asked after a moment's silence, a smile slowly spreading over his lips.

"Why don't you tell me, brother dear. You seem to have the answer." She said dejectedly.

"You need to let go for a bit… and guess who." Out of his satchel, he pulled a board game. How had she not noticed that his bag was basically cracking at the seams? She smiled largely at the wordplay, and took her part of the game from his hands, choosing a person for her brother to guess.

"You're going down." She said, showing equal parts seriousness and amusement. "Does your person look like someone who would skive off twice in one day?" She began, and then the game was one.

It wasn't long until they were joined by Neville and Daniel. All of them took turns and it was so much fun that she completely forgot about all of the trouble she had dealing with Ron and Harry.

"HA!" Neville exclaimed, "You've got Anton!"

"Noooo, I really thought I could guess yours correctly first." William groaned at having lost again. He then looked down the table where someone was waving, trying to get his attention. "Right, it's time for quidditch practice. See you later, kiddos." He said, packing the board back in its box and leaving with a silent salute.

"So… I was wondering if you guys would like to go on an adventure?" Daniel suddenly asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

"What kind of adventure?" She asked, already hooked.

"I was just wondering... what do you think is on the right side of the third floor?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis.

Hermione sat in stunned silence and regarded her friend and his idiotic idea. "You're not seriously… Daniel-, didn't you hear a word of what Professor Dumbledore said when we arrived? Or did you miss the part with 'a very painful death'? Are you kidding me right now?" She said, her voice growing steadily higher. She looked to her left where Neville seemed to look a mixture of ill and excited.

"So, are you coming?" Daniel asked again, looking her square in the eye.

She released a deep grunt and eyed him. He knew her too damn well. the moment he said the word 'adventure', she had been lost to the idea. "Of course, I'm coming. Let's go!" She said and all three of them jumped to their feet, running excitedly from the hall. They had almost made it to the second floor when she had to stop, clutching the side of her stomach. "Merlin- I need- to- to find other ways of- exercise- now that flying- is out of the question." She gasped between hard breaths.

"I just take the steps two at a time." Neville shrugged and started trudging and indeed taking the steps two at a time. Hermione grunted in defeat.

"I can't take the stairs two at a time Neville, I've got little legs!" She said with a shrill voice, quoting a muggle tv-show they had watched in the summer.

"Well jump on, Munchkin, I'll give you a piggyback ride." Daniel said with a grin, leaning down so that she could jump onto his back. She clamped her legs down by his sides, his hands coming down to grab them so she wouldn't fall off, while one of her hands wrapped around his shoulder and chest, the other pointing out. "Onwards, Mighty Steed!" She exclaimed and felt him walking with small steps up the stairs.

Beside them, Neville was laughing hard and clutching his side as they slowly made it to the ledge of the third floor as the stairs. "Call him a Mighty steed one more time and I might just fall down the stairs." he stammered out between breaths.

"Don't worry, My Lady, I'll keep you safe from this beast!" Daniel laughed out and let go of one of her legs to grab his wand, which he instead pointed at Neville, both of them sporting large grins. The only issue was that she had been unprepared for him letting go of one of her legs. That resulted in her half-falling half-sliding down until she was practically hanging upside-down, clutching to one of his legs while he hung on to her one leg so as not to drop her completely.

"Fart now Daniel, and I'll find a new place for you to place your wand!" She laughed. and ultimately lost her hold of his legs, tumbling to the ground behind him while laughing out loud.

She sat up and clutched her stomach as she continued laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks. "You sure are my knight in shining armor, aren't you? Bloody useless knight."

"What on earth is going on here?" Called the quipped voice of Professor McGonagall as she was making her voice up the stairs towards them. As she came closer, she eyed each of them in quick succession.

"Don't worry, Professor. Daniel is just defending my honor against the evil and foul Neville." She grinned as she got up and dusted off her robes. Looking up at her professor, she saw the woman trying hard to hide her smile.

"Do it outside, will you please? I don't want to see those wands in the hallways, even if it's just for fun." She said, eyeing them skeptically before she walked along, further up the moving staircases. She sent them one more look before she rounded the corner above them.

"Now!" Daniel shout-whispered, and ran towards the right-side corridor. They only just made it around the corner, out of sight from the staircases, before they slumped against the wall.

"That was so close!" Neville gasped. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" He eyed Daniel and Hermione nervously.

"Well, we're already here, aren't we? Might as well go on." She shrugged and turned away from his disbelieving looks. If someone were to back out of a stupid idea, it was more often than not, her or himself. Sure, she was always ready for adventure, but she wasn't stupid.

Ignoring him to the fullest, she slowly made her way through the corridor, glancing from side to side as she did so. Her wand was in her hand, held high and at the ready for any kind of attack. After all, they didn't exactly know what was hidden here, just that it was supposedly… pretty dangerous. She hid a small shudder as a sudden rush of coldness made its way under her thick cloak. The boys had quickly followed her, and even though she had made fun of being a damsel in distress merely minutes prior, she was suddenly grateful for their presence.

When they made it to the end of the hallway without having encountered as much as madam Norris, they each released a sigh of relief.

"It has to be behind this door, then." She whispered, her hand slowly making its way to the door handle.

"Don't." Daniel suddenly whispered, startling her a bit. "I'll do it." He put a hand on her shoulder, and moved her back a bit so that he could stand between her and the door. When she looked beyond him, she saw him flexing his fingers as he too reached forward for the handle.

He grabbed it, and pulled.

Nothing happened.

"It must be locked." She whispered, and pushed him back again. She pointed her wand to the lock and whispered; "Alohomora!"

The door clicked in front of them and she looked from left to right, catching the eyes of both of the boys. Daniel sent her a bright smile and a proud look, and grabbed the handle, pulling the door open.

The three children stood as petrified when the door opened in front of them, creaking loudly as it moved.

"What the hell…" Neville said incredulously, eyeing the... thing? Animal? creature? beast? In front of them.

"It's a dog…" Hermione gasped, eyeing what was in fact a dog, only this one had three heads, and it was currently waking up from its slumber in front of their very eyes. The dog slowly looked at its surroundings, probably trying to guess what had interrupted it. IT was clear to see, the moment it had figured it out.

Instantly, all three pairs of eyes rounded in on each of them, and it started growling low and dangerously at them. "Out. Out! OUT!" Daniel yelled, as he stepped backwards with his hands flaring out to his eyes, pushing them back with him as the dog stepped closer to them - still growling ferociously.

The trio only just made it out of the room before the dog attacked - all three heads plunging towards them with mouths open and teeth, large and exposed. Daniel, Hermione and Neville dashed for the door, trying to close it and lock the dog back inside its room. As they pushed and pushed with all their might, they could feel the dog pushing against the dog on the other side, making it hard for them to close it properly. Hermione, who was the one standing closest to the door opening, removed her left hand from the door, grabbed her wand, and whipped it to the side shouting out 'FLIPENDO!' in one fluid motion.

Even though the animal was so much larger than what they had normally been practicing on, she really hoped that it would at least surprise it enough to give them the upper hand, and therefore be able to shut the door.

Thankfully, it worked.

The door clicked shut and Neville grabbed his wand to lock the door. He tried multiple times, but when the door didn't lock like it was supposed to, Daniel locked it instead, receiving a dejected and embarrassed look from Neville as he did so.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Hermione said, turning around swiftly, and walking briskly down the hall towards the staircases not bothering in the slightest to make sure that the guys were following behind her.

When they made it to the end of the hallway, she stopped quickly, looking around the corners to make sure that no one was there to catch them in breaking such an important school rule. This would cost them a minimum of 50 points. Each! She thought to herself as she slowly made her way out moving to the other hallway just beside the one, they had come from. She quickly dashed down it and threw herself into the first room she remembered as being empty, and leaned against a table, her forehead resting against the tabletop. Behind her, she heard the door clicking shut.

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Asked Neville behind her, anxiety evident in his voice.

"That was a three-headed dog." Hermione gasped as she turned around and eyed her two friends. She felt her fingers shaking as they grasped the table behind her. "In Greek mythology, there is a three-headed dog that goes by the name 'Cerberus' that supposedly guards the gates to the underworld. But I didn't know that they actually existed!" She said excitedly, momentarily forgetting that they had just come face to face with one.

"Where the hell do you keep information like that, Hermione? Do you just keep things that don't matter, hidden somewhere until the perfect moment to use it? Fuck, you're like dad and his goddamned dad jokes!" Daniel exclaimed and grabbed his long, black curls in frustration. Hermione couldn't help it. The tension was simply too much for her.

She started laughing.

Silence was all around her as she laughed, and laughed, and laughed. After some times when she finally felt done, she slowly stopped, all while removing tears from her cheeks.

"Are you quite done?" Neville asked her incredulously, eyeing her with a nervous look. To his right, Daniel was standing casually with a hand covering his own mouth, probably trying very hard to stifle his own laughs.

"Yep!" She said, making a popping sound at the 'p'. "I am. Thanks for asking." She said, smiling happily at him. He looked at her with his mouth hanging open.

"Merlin, Neville, try to breathe. Nothing happened." She said with her brows furrowed. She understood somewhat why he was reacting like he was, but it seemed a little over the top.

"Nothing-," He scoffed, looking at her in complete disbelief. "Nothing happened?! We found a bloody three-headed dog, Hermione! and it ATTACKED US! What do you mean nothing happened?!"

Hermione eyed him with her arm crossed in front of her chest. "What I mean is that we didn't get hurt. But now we know what was in there, and we know what it was hiding."

"Hid-," He started, but stopped and looked confused at her.

"What do you mean by 'hiding'? I didn't see anything." Daniel asked, finishing Neville's sentence.

"You guys need to open your eyes more. It was standing on a trap door.

"You're insane - and I'm leaving, before you guys end up getting me killed. Or expelled." He then turned around while he was shaking his head, opening the door and walking through it without another word.

"We better follow him, you know." Daniel said once the door shut behind Neville.

"Yeah, I know. He really is the smartest one of all of us…" She sighed with a shrug, and made for the door. She knew him well enough to know that he had made it above and beyond his comfort limit of an adventure, but also knowing that he was not mad at them. He just needed his space right now, and then he would come around.