A/n:
Finally, we're at Year 3. This is where a lot more non-canon events are going to take place. The first chapter still serves as a brief intro to Year 3 but the next one will be completely non-canon.
I have a blast writing them and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do.
It was in mid-August when Hermione received a rare letter from Hedwig.
She had been writing to her friends the whole summer through an owl post, but never once did she write to Harry. Ron had somehow discovered the Dursleys' house telephone number and called to speak with Harry. Apparently, it didn't end well and Ron strongly advised Hermione not to contact Harry by any means. It was rather disappointing since Harry was her only close friend who knew what it was like to live a muggle lifestyle. She would've asked him to come over to her place, or perhaps invited him hiking or to a picnic.
So when she finally received a letter from Harry, she was over the moon. Turns out Harry had an accident with magic and he decided to leave the Dursleys' place as quickly as possible. Luckily, accidental uses of magic weren't considered violations against the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and, considering Harry's condition, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had arranged a nice accommodation for Harry at the Leaky Cauldron, a pub in Diagon Alley. Hermione wanted to invite Harry to stay over instead and her parents were also delighted to have another child in their house, but he didn't want to let the Minister of Magic's goodwill and money go to waste so he kindly rejected the offer. He did, however, gladly accept the invitation to picnics and movie night at the Grangers' place.
Unfortunately, word somehow reached the Minister and he visited Harry the very next morning. He demanded Harry not leave Diagon Alley until school started and had the innkeeper keep a close eye on him. Harry was not pleased to hear such news and requested to know the reason behind it, but the Minister only answered vaguely. Harry had no choice but to pass the unfortunate message to Hermione. To his surprise, Hermione showed up in the Leaky Cauldron with a basket full of delicious snacks and drinks, along with a heart-warming note from Mr and Mrs Granger. It was the best picnic he ever had.
The day before school started, Ron and his family returned from their Egypt trip. They decided to stay over at the Leaky Cauldron until the kids went to school as an extended holiday. Of course, they invited Hermione to stay over and she happily accepted.
They spent the afternoon shopping for school supplies, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Arthur Weasley seemed to be more thrilled than Hermione to have her parents around.
"You didn't say it was your birthday!" Ron exclaimed, after hearing bits of their parents' conversation.
"My birthday is in September, you idiot!" She rolled her eyes furiously at Ron. She walked towards Magical Menagerie, a magical creature shop and explained, "I'm just spending my birthday money and getting myself an early present. It's not like I can leave school to see my parents during my birthday."
There were a lot of cages of pets on display. Most of them were owls, toads and some smaller creatures, targeting students right before the start of term. It wasn't the most enjoyable shop. It was smelly and noisy with loud squeaking and cages rumbling. While Hermione looked around the shop, Ron took Scabbers, his family rat, to the counter for a quick check-up.
As soon as Scabbers' feet landed on the counter, a giant, orange fluff leapt towards the scared rat and chased it out of the shop. Ron screamed in horror while he ran out to capture his pet. Hermione and Harry were a bit baffled by the situation until the giant fluff returned to the counter and rubbed its head against Hermione's arm while purring like a motor.
"Crookshanks really likes you," the cashier said. Hermione was a bit sceptical if the cashier was just trying to persuade her to purchase the cat. "No, I mean it. He REALLY likes you. That's the first time I saw him purr, and I had him for years."
It only took Crookshanks a few more rubs and purrs to convince Hermione to take him home. Ron was not at all happy when he came back with Scabbers in his hands. A cat and a mouse, what could go wrong?
Hermione and Harry didn't have a good night's sleep.
They shared the same room at night, and while they were having a sibling-like chat, arguments from the other room caught their attention. As they snuck out to search for the noise, they instead overheard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley discussing the wanted fugitive Sirius Black. They immediately returned to their room when they heard the words "He wants Harry dead".
It became clear why the Minister demanded Harry stay in the Leaky Cauldron, but they couldn't understand why a killer had set his eyes on Harry.
"Why does he want to kill you? More importantly, why do Mum and Dad think you'll be looking for Sirius Black?" Ron asked anxiously when they got onto the train.
"Well, judging from the last two years, trouble seems to always find its way to us. Or more precisely, you," Hermione gave Harry a quick peek with a raised brow while pulling her heavy trunk.
"Why do you have so much in your trunk anyway?" asked Ron.
"I'm taking more new subjects than you," she explained.
"More subjects?" Harry questioned. "How do you have time for more subjects? Do you even plan to eat or sleep?"
"I have… my own solutions. Besides, I think we have more serious problems here than worrying about what subjects I take."
They reached the end of the train and found the only compartment that was not full. A man was sleeping right next to the window. "Who do you think that is?" Ron whispered.
"Professor R. J. Lupin," Hermione replied. Ron looked at her with confusion written all over his face. She pointed at the luggage above, "It's on his case."
Believing Professor Lupin was fast asleep, the trio continued their discussion as the train headed to its destination.
"He broke out of Azkaban!" said Ron. A sudden twitch from the sleeping wizard startled them. They waited a moment to make sure the professor was not awake. "It was supposed to be impossible to break out from there. If Sirius Black can break out from Azkaban, it's just going to be a matter of time before he breaks into Hogwarts," Ron exclaimed while stuffing his mouth with snacks.
"Well, there's Dumbledore. He's the most powerful wizard so I'm sure he will keep us safe," Hermione said under her breath, but as soon as the words hit the air, the train came to a stop.
All of a sudden, a dreadful freeze and complete darkness surrounded them.
An intense white light emitted from the compartment, driving away the cloaked creatures. The temperature slowly returned to normal and with the lights turned back on, the train restarted and continued its journey, like nothing had happened.
"Harry! Harry! Are you alright?" Ron and Hermione dashed to Harry's side when they realised he was lying on the ground, unconscious. Ron held onto Harry's shoulder and shook him aggressively until Professor Lupin reached between them, "Calm down. Give him some space to breathe."
Harry slowly opened his eyes and saw the worried faces around him. Ron and Hermione helped him sit up and leaned against the train seat.
"Is everyone okay? We heard screaming."
Neville and Ginny rushed towards the compartment and were distressed to find Harry sitting on the floor. They watched nervously as Professor Lupin gave Harry a few inspections.
A few more hasty footsteps came towards their compartment and three boys arrived in the doorway. Ron's face immediately darkened and so Hermione turned around to see who had arrived.
There stood Draco Malfoy and his two chubby tag-alongs.
Their eyes met, for the first time since her deliberate avoidance.
For a split second, she could see the uneasiness in his silvery grey eyes. She swore he was looking at her, but in a blink of an eye, he turned his attention to Harry and without skipping a beat, he mocked with a smirk on his face, "Oh look, Potter has fainted."
Hermione immediately wished to hide away and slapped herself for having such naive thoughts.
She had spent days in the Hospital Wing going through the things she wanted to ask him if they were to meet again before the end of last year. But that imagination never came true, and two months' worth of happiness with her family and friends was enough for her to push the memory of him aside. She didn't prepare to meet him again, at least not so soon, and she couldn't believe with herself that the first thing that came to her mind when she saw him was something pleasant. But here he was standing in front of her, being an absolute jerk.
She hid away her own embarrassment and shot him a nasty look, "Go away, Malfoy. You're not welcome here."
Draco caught her defensive attitude and his jaw tightened.
It had been over nine months since they talked, and he didn't mean to argue.
By the end of March, he was almost certain about his father's involvement in the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.
He saw his father one day marching fiercely to Professor Dumbledore's office. He stayed at the far end of the corridor and hid behind a pillar. He had no idea of his father's purpose, but after a few minutes, his father stormed out with fury in his eyes with Harry Potter right behind him. Potter was bruised, with cuts on his face and his robes were torn badly.
Draco quietly left when his father and Potter had a dispute. It was enough for him to know that Potter had gone to the Chamber of Secrets, and since he was very much alive, he had defeated the monster. Judging by how frustrated his father was and combined with his previous observations, Draco knew his father was the mastermind behind the incident.
He didn't know what to make of it, but being his son made him feel that he held a certain degree of responsibility. Being an arsehole, he was brilliant at it. Pranking the stupid Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, he loved it. Throwing slurs at muggle-borns, he might have done it too much. But killing? He couldn't even dare to imagine.
Luckily, there were no more victims ever since his father's visit. His stress was temporarily lifted when he confirmed that no one got killed.
As mentioned by Professor Sprout at the beginning of the term, the Mandrakes they tended to could be used to create Mandrake Restorative Draught, which could cure petrification. So when Draco got the word that the Mandrakes were ready to be harvested, he volunteered to help Professor Snape with making the potion. He had never been so devoted to brewing a potion in hopes of making up for his father's doing, which eased a part of his guilt.
As for Hermione, he didn't dare visit her. The vivid memory of holding her lifeless body was still haunting him. It wasn't until the cure was completed that he found the courage to see her, knowing that she would wake up sooner or later.
The last time he saw her was in late April, just before she was cured of petrification. He helped deliver the potions to the Hospital Wing and watched Madam Pomfrey carefully administer the potion. Before he left the Hospital Wing, he slipped a well-organised notebook onto her overbed table, underneath all those colourful gifts, hoping she would find it useful when she woke.
He was glad to see her so well and alive, but still, he didn't understand her sudden resentment. Was it because he always teased and made fun of her friends? Did he say something that offended her? But he was never mean to her ever since they started seeing each other in the library. All the unsolved questions once again occupied his mind.
"He's fine. Help him up," said Professor Lupin as he put away his wand. Ron tried to help Harry up, but perhaps still being a bit lightheaded, he stumbled when standing up and Hermione immediately reached for his arm to catch him. They settled him on the train seat as Hermione put Harry's cold hand in her palm. Her attention was fixated on Harry, eyes brimming with worry and care, all happening under Draco's watch.
He clenched his fist tightly as he watched her take care of her friend. He swore he almost punched the glass door, but the pain from his nails put some sense into himself. He huffed, and left without another word.
"They were holding hands and such," Crabbe said while putting a sandwich into his mouth. "Guess they're a thing now."
It was announced at the sorting ceremony last night that the creatures on the trains were Dementors, and they were assigned by the Ministry of Magic. Professor Dumbledore didn't elaborate on the Dementors' business, but everyone knew it was because of the escape of Sirius Black, filling the school with an uncertain atmosphere. But since the Dementors weren't able to step foot into Hogwarts castle, students soon forgot the possible danger and went on with their daily lives.
"Do you mean Potter and Granger?" Blaise asked curiously. He could see Draco's jaw ever so slightly tensed up in the corner of his eyes.
"I reckon it's no surprise. Potter has been living as a muggle before Hogwarts, so I guess it's only natural for him to be inclined to Mudbloods. And there she is, so close to him. How convenient," Pansy joked, and the two boys laughed along.
Draco flinched at the word Mudblood.
Hypocrite. The word screamed at him.
He adjusted his posture uncomfortably and found Theo staring at him with a raised brow. He looked back narrowly and ignored Theo and Blaise.
They knew about Hermione. It wasn't difficult to find out who Draco was referring to last year. They originally planned to sneak out to the Hospital Wing to see who was the damsel in distress, but word travelled faster and they soon heard the news of Hermione being one of the new victims during breakfast the next morning. At first, they still had their doubts and wondered if the girl he mentioned was the Ravenclaw prefect instead. But when they recalled how grumpy and impatient Draco had become in the past few weeks before the incident, and how he always glanced over to Gryffindor's table, they knew the girl was Hermione.
They were more than shocked to know about Draco's secret, to say the least. Draco avoided them for the first few weeks but eventually gave in to their persistence. They spent one evening away from the crowd and Draco gradually spilled out his secret.
The first time they met on the Hogwarts Express. Their first interaction in Charms Lessons. The troll incident. Her incredible demonstration of spells and magic. Their secret meet-ups in the library. And the sudden fallout which he still couldn't get his head around.
They listened quietly without too much comment, mostly because there was too much information to be consumed all at once, but they never once judged. They knew it all too well, as the three of them all once hid their true selves behind the riches and glory of their families. But unlike them, Draco didn't have the privilege to escape from the mask he was wearing.
It was a secret well kept, but with their mischievous personalities, they always found opportunities to tease Draco and rub the brutal truth on his face.
"Oh shit, I've forgotten my textbooks," Pansy exclaimed and, to no one's surprise, Crabbe and Goyle forgot their copies as well. They quickly finished their breakfast and returned to their dormitory, leaving Draco, Blaise and Theo behind.
As soon as they left, Draco got kicked under the table. "What the hell's wrong with you?" He glared at the smiling Blaise.
"Mate, you know you almost killed them with just your looks. Lucky they didn't pay attention," Theo chuckled.
"So is it true? They were a thing?" Blaise leaned in and asked.
Draco instantly shot him a deadly look, "Piss off!"
"See," Theo laughed at his reaction. "Told you looks could kill."
"Could you two just give me a fucking break?" Draco started to regret his decision of sharing his secrets. Although he did enjoy having someone whom he could share his feelings with, those two were more annoying than he anticipated.
"Dude, you're jealous, aren't you?"
"What? I'm not jealous-"
"It's written all over your bloody face," Theo said with a smirk while Blaise nodded in agreement. Draco eyed them doubtfully and tried to ignore his two friends.
Jealous? Of Potter? For what? Granger? That's just ridiculous…
"Look mate, you can deny it all you want," Theo cut back on the mocking. "But if you don't do something about it, they will become a thing. And to be honest, besides that pretty face of yours, you don't have much advantage over him."
Draco stopped for a second to think about Theo's warning. He imagined Hermione and Harry walking around the school as a couple. The thought made him sneer and huff. He looked down and toyed with his food, "What can I possibly do when I don't even know why she is avoiding me."