Summary:
Strangers On a Train By: bonded4life
Hermione Granger is the first person to meet Harry on the Hogwarts Express, not Ron Weasley. How does this change their dynamic? How does this change their relationship with Ron, with everyone? Just how much better could Harry Potter's life have been if a certain bushy-haired witch had wandered into his compartment just a few minutes earlier?Rated: Fiction M - English - Romance/Adventure - [Harry P., Hermione G.] - Chapters: 76 - Words: 351,923 - Reviews: 2,532 - Favs: 4,883 - Follows: 5,647 - Updated: Jun 8, 2021 - Published: Apr 30, 2020 - id: 13569804
Chapter 1
Harry decided to make the most of his otherwise empty compartment as he felt the scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express lurch forward. The eleven-year old hauled his trunk down from the overhead rack and planned to skim the first book he pulled out. He managed to lug a tome he had blindly grabbed and admired the cover for a moment, absentmindedly wondering what kind of school had such a dense history it needed the largest book he'd ever seen to describe it. Lost in thought, he didn't even notice the door to his compartment slide open.
"That's my favorite book!" Harry heard a girl gasp and reflexively he whirled around and backed into the corner. He caught his breath and saw a perfectly pleasant looking girl standing in front of him, hands gripping the door frame as she leaned in.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked, her brows scrunching together and her eyes moved from the book to Harry's eyes.
"S-sorry," he managed, sliding away from the corner and towards the middle of the cushioned bench. "You just scared me a little…" he half-whispered, watching the girl's expression brighten almost immediately.
"Don't be sorry, I'm the one who scared you, I should be apologizing." She smiled, then uncertainly took a step inside. "Can I sit with you? Almost every other compartment is full by now." She asked, averting her eyes and ducking her head slightly.
Harry felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, whom he assumed was another new student. "Of course," he smiled, pointing to the bench across from his. She lifted her head back up and beamed at him, plopping down on the seat and immediately leaning forward towards him. For a moment Harry felt compelled to back away again – he didn't even know this girl's name and here she was leaning close across from him, elbows on her knees and hands cupping her chin – but he didn't move.
Something about her genuine smile lighting up her entire face…something about her brown eyes that seemed to reflect candid interest in how he felt…something about her in general made him feel less defensive, like he could relax, like he could…
'Oh my god, she's been talking this whole time!' Harry realized.
"…nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
Harry had to take a moment to sort through the conglomeration of sentences the girl had spit out rapid-fire.
"Did you say you know all our course books by heart?" he asked after a few moments of un-jumbling the pile of words she'd thrown at him.
Hermione nodded gleefully, "Like I said, nobody in my family is magical, so I was worried I would have a lot of catching up to do. To think I didn't even know what magic was until my eleventh birthday!" she laughed, and Harry couldn't help but smile, despite being in a similar predicament. He absent-mindedly ran a hand through his hair and saw her eyes go wide.
"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, her eyes locked onto his forehead.
"Er…yeah. I mean, yeah I guess…" he stammered, quickly trying to cover the lighting-shaped scar he knew she spotted.
"I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." Hermione spouted.
"Am I really that famous?" He muttered more to himself than to his new friend.
'A girl who hadn't even heard of magic until she turned eleven learned about me in a matter of months!' He thought to himself, until Hermione's rambling drew him out of his thoughts once again.
"So have you read Hogwarts: A History?" she asked, and she was off again, "It's by far my favorite book from the magical world, even though it wasn't on the list in our letters. Why do you have it? Not that it's a bad thing, of course, it really is a great book."
"Uh…" Harry, unsure of where to start, tried to answer each of Hermione's seemingly endless list of questions. "I haven't read it yet, no, but-"
She was like a blur, flying across the bench to sit on Harry's left. Before he could even react she had practically ripped it from his hands and flipped it open to her favorite pages. Harry was taken aback, but he couldn't help but admire the girl's enthusiasm. She dragged her finger across the lines of the book, reciting all kinds of factoids. Harry particularly admired that Hermione wasn't even looking at the book after a couple minutes to spew the information, instead she listed facts and figures straight from memory and kept her eyes on Harry's.
"Brilliant…" Harry heard himself whisper as Hermione took a rare breath. She stopped herself and beamed at him once again. Harry couldn't help but reciprocate the grin, unable to ignore the contagious joy she emitted when she smiled.
'Even though her two front teeth are a tad big. But they are really white!'He thought to himself distractedly.
"You have nice teeth…" he mumbled and immediately fought the urge to jump out of the train window. He settled for looking away for a few moments, certain his new friend would bust out laughing and leave the compartment to hang out with someone else, someone who didn't say weird things like that out of nowhere.
After a few painful seconds Harry glanced back at his new friend and saw that instead of laughing, she was blushing – and she was equally dedicated to not making eye contact.
"No one's complimented my…" she started but tapered off. She glanced back at Harry and somehow her cheeks got even redder. "Sorry, no one's really complimented me on anything before…" she whispered.
Harry felt his stomach plummet. In an instant, he wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to tell her about the cupboard under the stairs, the tormenting from Dudley and his friends, the years of abuse and mistreatment, he wanted to pour his heart out to her.
But he didn't want to upset her or scare her off or freak her out or make her any more uncomfortable. Instead…
"I know how you feel," was all he said. He heard a sharp intake of breath, and saw her fiddling with the pages of the book. She still hadn't met Harry's eyes, and after a few painful moments he suddenly found his worn out sneakers incredibly interesting.
WHOMP
Harry felt a wall of force crash into his left side and a pair of small arms wrap around him. The air was quite literally knocked out of his lungs by the sheer force of Hermione Granger's hug. Short of other options, he weakly patted her arms.
"It's okay," they whispered simultaneously. Hermione pulled back, shocked that he was the one trying to comfort her. Harry threw her a bewildered look, surprised she had tried to comfort him instead of the other way around. After a beat they both began laughing. Neither of the youngsters could really explain why they broke into such genuine laughter after such a startling exchange of emotion. It just felt right. Harry couldn't help but think he had found a real friend here in his compartment.
After the unexpected injection of lightheartedness into their compartment, Hermione continued with her crash course in Hogwarts: A History in between conversations about Diagon Alley, receiving their letters, and the best flavor at Florean Fortescue's parlor (after Hermione gushed about the strawberry-and-peanut-butter, Harry made an internal promise to buy her one in the future).
As their pleasant conversation continued, the compartment door slid open. The two whipped their heads around to see a young boy with red hair standing nervously in the doorway.
"Um…hi," mumbled the boy, who appeared to be another first year. Harry and Hermione offered warm smiles.
"I'm Ron. Ron Weasley," the boy managed. "Anyone sitting here?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "I've been sitting with my brothers but I think they're about to do something ridiculous and – " was as far as he got before a loud BANG was heard somewhere down the train followed closely by a few shrieks and uproarious laughter.
The three first years jumped in shock at the noise before Harry and Hermione welcomed him into the compartment. The redhead quickly introduced himself and described his family, including his twin brothers who were notorious pranksters and were most likely responsible for the loud noise. All three managed a laugh before the trio continued conversing.
When Harry introduced himself, even pulling back his bangs to prove the scar was real, Ron was in awe, but that awe was multiplied when a smiling woman with a trolley full of candies wheeled to their compartment door and asked if they were hungry. Harry didn't hesitate to purchase some of everything, amazed by the multitude of candies he'd never even heard of.
As the boys dug in to Cauldron Cakes and more, they noticed Hermione eying the candy uneasily.
"My parents are dentists, so I'm not exactly big on candy," she explained, a hint of repugnance in her eye as she glanced at Ron, who had just stuffed his fifth, '…or sixth?' Harry wondered, Cauldron Cake into his mouth. Rather than be offended, the two boys smirked mischievously at each other before Harry grabbed a pack of Every Flavor Beans and the two began goading her into trying one.
The bushy-haired girl refused at first, but the two were persistent, with Harry mockingly saying "Here comes the airplane!" before she relented, eliciting pleasant laughs from all three. Unfortunately, Hermione's laughter quickly died down as she fought the urge to gag on her Earthworm flavored bean. The two boys fought the urge to subdue their laughter but the look on their new friend's face was too much and they roared with laughter while she glowered, despite a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
"What's going on in here?" sneered a nasally voice, prompting the trio to turn their heads. They locked eyes with a pale, blonde-haired boy flanked by two much larger boys.
"I heard Harry Potter was in here. Is it true? Are you him?" prodded the boy, turning his eyes to Harry.
He nodded, but instinctively slid backwards in his seat, away from the door.
"Can't imagine why you're holed up in a compartment here with these two. I'm guessing you're a Weasley," he sneered at Ron, who turned pink at the venom in the pale boy's voice, "and some girl I've never seen before. What's your name?" he asked, leering into the compartment slightly.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She responded defiantly. "You are?"
"Granger? Never heard that one before. Are you muggle-born?" the boy laughed, and Hermione nodded, but the confidence she had voiced earlier seemed to drain from her as she slumped in her seat a bit.
"Harry Potter hanging around with a charity case like a Weasley and a muggle-born. Can you believe that?" the blond laughed with his friends. "For your information, I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. My friends here are Crabbe and Goyle. Want to come over to our compartment? You don't want to be associating yourself with the wrong sorts of people, Potter," he sneered, glancing at Harry's new friends.
Harry was taken aback by Malfoy's words. He thought to himself for a moment, eying the sneering boy and his apparent bodyguards before speaking.
"You're right, I don't want to hang with the wrong sorts," Harry replied, glancing at Ron and Hermione. He stood up and walked to the doorway, much to Malfoy's delight. The pale boy turned to exit into the hallway with Harry, only to hear the door slam shut behind him. "So I'll be here with my friends." Harry winked through the window before drawing the curtains closed.
The boy wizard turned around and couldn't help but grin at his friends' relief. The three resumed talking, and Ron explained the Malfoy family and what they had done in the past, including siding with You-Know-Who. Hermione bristled as Ron explained how the Malfoys – a pure wizarding family – viewed non pure-bloods.
Soon enough Hermione glanced out the window and gasped at the magnificent castle that had come into view, and soon every student on board was changing into their robes – with Ron and Harry granting Hermione privacy while they sampled some more sweets in the hallway. After changing and embarking onto the platform, the trio followed Hagrid to the lake, where they hopped into a boat occupied by a boy named Neville Longbottom. The four of them made quick work of introducing themselves to one another and made their way towards their next great adventure: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Chapter 2
The first few days at Hogwarts had been an absolute whirlwind. After Harry joined his friends Hermione, Neville, and Ron at the Gryffindor table the first night he had been introduced to the other first-years in the house of bravery: Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil. They all made quick work of introducing themselves to one another and spent a lot of time getting to know each other. By the end of the feast, Harry felt like he was going to end the night with seven more friends than when he had woken up.
Following the first night, classes began. Harry's fascination with the magical world did not diminish in the slightest as he began to immerse himself in the world of Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the rest of his classes. Despite his fascination, he could not help but feel like he was at a bit of a disadvantage. Most of the students seemed to have known about magic much longer than him, like Ron, or if they had been raised by Muggles by him, they had at least had much more time to prepare, like Dean, a Muggle-Born whose birthday was in January as opposed to Harry's in July. Not to mention Hermione, who, despite being a Muggle-Born, seemed to know more answers than everyone else in the class combined.
"She's still reading," Ron muttered as he and Harry descended from the first-year boys' dormitory the second morning of the year. He pointed to an armchair off to the side in the common room, and sure enough, Hermione Granger was curled up with a book that must have been at least five-hundred pages. "She was reading when I went upstairs to bed last night, too. I don't know how she does it all the time."
"Me neither," Harry whispered, but his tone was not the resentful one of his redheaded friend. It was one of wonder. "I mean, I like reading too, but she's really quite something. She's brilliant."
"Well, why don't you join her?" Ron said hotly. "You two can be teachers' pets together."
"Teachers' pets?" Harry stopped walking and gave his friend a quizzical look. "What does that mean?"
"It means..." Ron trailed off, looking irritated. "Whatever. Hungry?"
"Not really," Harry shook his head, returning his gaze to Hermione and the empty armchair beside her. Ron's suggestion of reading with Hermione seemed rather appealing, considering Harry was not particularly famished. "I think I am going to read with Hermione, actually. Do you want to join us?"
"Join you?" The redhead snorted. "I'm starving, no thank you."
"Alright," Harry nodded. "I'll see you around."
"You're serious?" Ron tilted his head. "You want to just sit around and read?"
"Well, yes," Harry shrugged. "I've always liked reading, and Hermione's my friend," He spoke the last part with a smile. The concept of having one friend, let alone multiple, was beyond exciting.
"You don't think she's a little...bossy?" Ron spoke the last word in a whisper. Harry pursed his lips in thought. Hermione certainly had a few moments since he had met her two days prior where she was rather imposing, but compared to the bossiness of his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, it was not something he minded. The Dursleys were downright nasty with how they ordered him around back at Privet Drive, while Hermione Granger was simply overeager from time to time. On the Hogwarts Express, one might say it had been bossy of her to rip Hogwarts: A History out of his hands and start reading her favorite pages, but Harry was just as intrigued by the material as she was, so he welcomed her passion.
"I don't think that's a good word," Harry said after a few seconds. "She really wants to learn -"
"What's she got to learn? You were in class with her yesterday, she's already a know-it-all."
Harry felt his eyebrows instinctively shoot up in surprise at that remark. "She memorized the course books, Ron. She didn't know anything about magic until she got her letter, so she read all the books we had to get in Diagon Alley, and then some." He paused, frowning. "I did the same thing as her. But I didn't have enough time to memorize them since I only learned I was a wizard a month ago. If I had had more time to learn about magic, I would probably know just as many answers as Hermione. Would you call me bossy? Or a know-it-all?"
"Well...no, I guess not," Ron sighed, his eyes darting towards the scar on Harry's forehead.
"So you shouldn't blame her," Harry said, running a hand through his hair to cover his forehead with his fringe. "I'll see you, Ron."
Harry, feeling better and better about his decision to read with his first friend by the second, turned and ran back up the stairs to grab one of his many schoolbooks. He settled on Transfiguration and returned to the common room. Ron had left, clearly, and he quickly walked over to the empty chair next to where Hermione was still reading.
"Can I join you?" He asked, suddenly feeling rather nervous. What if she preferred reading alone?
Hermione glanced up from her book, visibly surprised. "W-what?" She asked, sitting up straight. Her eyes widened as she gazed up at Harry, who fidgeted a bit.
"Do you mind if I read here?" He held up his Transfiguration book and gestured to the empty chair.
"Not at all!" She shook her head. "Is Transfiguration your favorite subject thus far?" She motioned to the book as Harry sat down.
"Er..." He glanced at the book in his hands and shrugged. "I'm not really sure if I have a favorite yet. But Professor McGonagall did mention that we're going to have an exam next week and...well...I thought I should brush up. That's all."
"That's really smart, Harry," Hermione nodded along, and Harry felt his face grow warm. He could count on one hand the number of people who had complimented him on anything related to academics. "What do you think of Transfiguration? Do you like it?"
"I like it so far," Harry answered before averting his eyes. "But it's all so new and different from anything I learned in primary school. And it seems like everyone knows more about magic than I do..."
"Well, you only found out you were magical a month ago, right?" Hermione pointed out. "At least, that's what you told me on the train. I don't think anyone can really blame you for that."
"You're right," Harry shrugged. "But still, it's all really quite different. I almost don't know where to start." He didn't mention that he was afraid of falling behind from his peers, even though that was something that had been gnawing away at him ever since the first class.
Hermione frowned at him for a moment, and he guiltily looked down at his textbook and began reading. After he had flipped through a few pages, she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Do you..." She began sheepishly before stopping. "Er, would you like to study with me in the library? For the Transfiguration exam? I've read up on the material quite a bit, and I think I could help you figure out where to start."
"Really?" Harry couldn't help but smile. Hermione nodded, returning the smile. A wave of relief washed over him as he realized he was going to learn from arguably the smartest in his year. "That would be amazing. When were you thinking?"
"Well, we have a free period after Charms," She reached into her bag and pulled out her timetable. Harry was impressed that she had memorized the schedule already, but after recalling how she had memorized a myriad of books, he realized it was not entirely surprising. "Does that work for you?"
"That'd be great!" Harry grinned.
"Hey, Harry! Fancy a game of Wizard's Chess?" Ron asked him as the bell rang and Professor Flitwick dismissed the first-years from class. "It's this great game wizards play. My brothers taught me years ago, but now I'm better than all of them!"
"Er," Harry awkwardly zipped up his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, "sorry, Ron. I'm going to the library. Maybe we can play tonight, after dinner."
"The library?" Ron blinked. "Do you even know where that is?"
"No," Harry admitted. "But Hermione does," He turned and glanced at the girl in question, who was standing expectantly at the door. She beamed at him, and he smiled back.
"You're going to ask her where it is, then?"
"I'm going with Hermione, Ron," Harry pushed in his chair. "We're studying for the Transfiguration exam next week. You can come if you want, I won't mind."
"To the library?" Ron shook his head. "No way. And why are you studying now? The test is next week."
"I..." Harry suddenly felt a bit hesitant. With Hermione, he had virtually no problem admitting that the magical world was something entirely new. Now, with Ron, he felt reluctant to reveal those apprehensions. He supposed it was because Hermione had been through what he had been through, learning about magic later than most of their peers and such. Ron, who had grown up in the magical world, simply could not relate. "I just felt like it," He finally answered. "But, hey, do you think you could teach me to play that Wizard's Chess game later?" Ron brightened immediately and nodded.
"Will do," The redhead grinned. "It's loads of fun."
"Can't wait," Harry grinned back. "I'll see you later, then."
With that, he exited the classroom and met up with Hermione. "Hi," He greeted her.
"Hello," She smiled. "Ready?" He nodded. "Follow me," She motioned to the left, and soon enough they were walking through the various corridors of the castle. Hermione pointed out every statue or painting that she had recognized from Hogwarts: A History as they walked, rattling off factoid after factoid about one-eyed witches or inventors of magical objects he had never heard of, like Sneakoscopes. Eventually, they reached the library and Hermione guided him to a quiet table in the back corner.
"I found this table yesterday," She whispered as she set her bag down and began rifling through it. "I think it's perfect for studying, don't you?"
Harry, who had done most of his studying in a cupboard, simply nodded. Hermione quickly pulled out her Transfiguration textbook, and he did the same. "So, where should we start?" He asked quietly.
"Well, I thought we could make you a study guide," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Professor McGonagall told us that the exam is going to be on three main topics: the Transfiguration alphabet, the Transfiguration formula, and the Match to Needle Spell." Harry winced at that last one. It had been the first spell they had attempted in class the previous day, and only Hermione had done it successfully. "Don't worry, Harry, plenty of people had trouble with it the first time around. We'll study up on it in the meantime so that when you try it again in class you'll be better off," Hermione gave him a sincere smile, and he sighed in relief.
"Thanks," He whispered. "So, what does a study guide look like?" Hermione responded by pulling a piece of parchment out of her bag and sliding it towards Harry. At first glance, it was crammed with all sorts of numbers, words, and variables, but as Harry read through it he could clearly see that it was divided into three sections, one for each part of the exam. "Did you find all of this in the textbook?" He whispered in awe as he dragged his finger along one of the many lines.
"I did," Hermione nodded. "Now, this study guide doesn't contain every single detail from the textbook, because if I were to simply copy everything -"
"You wouldn't learn as much," Harry caught on quickly. He glanced up to see Hermione smile proudly at him. "How can you tell what's important enough to write down?"
"I'll show you," Hermione said, still smiling.
By the time Harry and Hermione had wrapped up their study session, the former was feeling so confident about the upcoming exam he found himself wishing it was to take place the next day, rather than the next week. Even if they had spent quite a bit of time in the library and his brain was more than a bit frazzled, he was glad he had accepted his friend's offer to go.
"Thanks for this, Hermione," He said once they exited the library and began to walk towards Gryffindor Tower. "I feel a lot better now than I did yesterday."
"I'm glad," She said earnestly. "You were quick to understand a lot of the concepts, though. I don't know if you really needed my help that much."
"No," Harry quickly shook his head. "You're a really good teacher. I doubt I could have learned all of that without you." Much to his surprise, Hermione's cheeks tinged pink and she smiled down at her shoes.
"That's nice of you to say," She whispered shyly. "I hope I wasn't too harsh on you."
"Oh, I'm definitely knackered," Harry exaggerated a yawn, earning a quiet laugh from the girl next to him. "Is that how you study for everything?"
"Pretty much," Hermione admitted.
"Wow..." Harry raised his eyebrows. "That's amazing."
"Oh, it's really not," Hermione blushed again. "I just really like learning, that's all."
"Well, I like learning too, but until today I never studied for hours on end," Harry pointed out as they ascended a staircase.
"Well..." Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together before lifting her head and flashing Harry another smile, albeit a nervous one. "Maybe...if you enjoyed doing it today, we could do it again tomorrow."
Harry paused his strides for a moment before resuming his walking. "I'd like that," He said after a beat, a gigantic smile threatening to split his face open. "As long as you're alright with hanging around me -"
"I'd love to," Hermione cut him off, and Harry could see that she really meant it in her eyes. "After all, what are friends for?"
"Right," Harry grinned as they reached the portrait hole. "Caput Draconis," He said proudly to the Fat Lady, who swung open immediately. They entered the common room and Harry was a bit disappointed to see that two older students had taken the armchairs he and Hermione had used to read that morning. Hermione noticed his expression, and after following his gaze she quickly nudged him with her elbow.
"Look, that couch is open," She pointed to an unoccupied sofa in front of one of the room's many fireplaces. Shrugging, Harry followed her over and promptly collapsed onto the couch, letting out a fake snore that was eerily similar to the ones of Ron Weasley. His actions caused Hermione to burst into a fit of giggles, and he opened his eyes and smiled at the sight of her laughing away.
"Harry, it wasn't that bad," She huffed once she regained her composure. Harry simply raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes, resuming his feigned sleep. "Alright, it was a bit grueling. I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," He smirked as he opened his eyes and sat up straight. "I really did enjoy being in the library with you, Hermione."
"Thanks," She gave him a small smile. "Tomorrow I'll try and stop a little earlier so that you don't pass out once we're done," She added in a teasing tone.
"You think I can't handle another study session with you?" He fired back in an equally playful voice. Hermione simply shrugged, her lips twitching into a sly smile. "Yeah, I think you're right," Harry grinned, letting out another fake yawn and slumping in his seat once again, his eyes drifting closed in mock sleep.
Hermione let out a sarcastic huff, but Harry kept his eyes closed as he relaxed into the couch cushions. Truthfully, he thought he was fully capable of handling another study session with Hermione, but the couch was surprisingly comfortable. He had no trouble at all making himself comfortable, and the crackling fire in front of him was a nice touch. He could easily see himself dozing off on this sofa - it was infinitely more comfortable than the armchair he had used that morning.
Just as he was about to open his eyes to see if Hermione had left, he felt a weight settle down next to him. He smiled as he heard Hermione rifle through her bag before pulling out whatever she was looking for. "Well, you may be tired of studying for the day, but I certainly am not. So, I hope you don't mind," She sighed. Before Harry could ask what she was talking about, she cleared her throat and began reciting from what must have been A History of Magic. "The story of founder Helga Hufflepuff is one that has been retold for centuries – " She began before he cut her off by audibly groaning.
"Now I'm actually going to fall asleep," He grumbled sarcastically, earning an elbow to the arm from Hermione. He let out a small laugh as he heard Hermione turn the page a few moments later, informing him that she had decided to continue her reading in silence. Harry simply shifted to make himself more comfortable, his head tilting backwards involuntarily as he slowly drifted towards sleep.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness altogether, he felt Hermione leave the couch. He almost snapped his eyes open, but he settled for rolling his head to the side and tentatively opening one eye. Hermione had not left altogether, he saw. She had moved to a chest next to the fireplace, which held a plethora of blankets and pillows for anyone to use. He watched her fish a scarlet and gold quilt out of the chest before turning back to the couch. Harry quickly closed his eyes and returned his head to its original position. A few seconds later he felt the weight of a blanket settle over him, and a few seconds after that he felt the edge of the blanket lift as Hermione returned to the couch, curling up and resuming her silent reading by his side.
Harry could not remember ever feeling so comfortable.
Chapter 3
With their routine study sessions, it didn't take long for Harry to become not only friends, but best friends with Hermione. They partnered together at every available opportunity in classes, they sat next to one another at meals, and they spent much of their free time either reading or studying together. Harry even invited her to come to Hagrid's after the Gamekeeper had invited him on Friday afternoon, which she had happily accepted. Hagrid had instantly taken a liking to her as she asked him all sorts of questions about what it was like to work at Hogwarts, while Harry surreptitiously read an article in the Daily Prophet about a failed break-in at Gringotts on the same day he and Hagrid had gone there.
Despite the occasional drawback – many of the Slytherins did not like Harry at all, and that included the Head of House and Potions professor Severus Snape – Harry was very much enjoying his time at Hogwarts. Not only did he have a best friend in Hermione, but he also had come to truly befriend the rest of the Gryffindors in his year, albeit not to the same extent as Hermione. He was doing quite well in his classes, even earning an Outstanding on the Transfiguration exam, and he was excited to learn how to fly on a broomstick, whenever that would happen.
Unfortunately, that excitement would be put to the test – the first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins were to have their first Flying lessons together on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Harry was apprehensive about making a fool out of himself in front of Draco Malfoy, who had taken up the habit of insulting Harry every chance he got, while Hermione was terrified of not grasping the concept of flying at all.
"It's just not something I can learn out of a book," She lamented as they left the Great Hall on Thursday.
"Oh, what a shame," Ron huffed from behind them. "Harry, are you excited?" His tone turned considerably lighter.
"Sure," Harry grunted absent-mindedly, too busy trying to remember what Hermione had told him she learned about flying in Quidditch Through the Ages to actually be listening to the redhead.
They reached the smooth, flat lawn where their lessons were to be held. The Slytherins had already arrived and were leering at the Gryffindors menacingly. Harry had no doubts that every single one of the Slytherins was at least familiar with a broom, although he doubted all of them had come close to crashing into helicopters like Malfoy claimed he had. Madam Hooch quickly directed the students to stand by a broom. Hermione quickly moved to Harry's right while Ron slipped to his left.
At Madam Hooch's instruction, everyone held their right hand over their broom and yelled "UP!"
Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, much to his surprise. He felt his eyes bulge out of his head in surprise as he looked around and realized that most of the others had been largely unsuccessful. Hermione's had simply rolled over, Ron's had hovered a few inches off the ground before dropping, and Neville's broom never budged.
"How did you do that?" Hermione whispered, her expression a mixture of shock and awe. He simply shrugged, turning to look at the broom in his hand. After a few minutes, Madam Hooch showed everyone how to properly mount a broom without falling. Just as the class was ready to try and kick off – Harry could feel the blood coursing through his veins in anticipation – tragedy struck, and Neville inadvertently took off, only to fall and break his wrist.
"Neville!" Harry and Hermione cried out, immediately dropping their brooms to run over, but Madam Hooch ordered them back in line. The Flying instructor ordered the class to stay put while she took Neville to the Hospital Wing.
"Did you see his face?" Malfoy roared with laughter the moment Madam Hooch was out of earshot. It didn't take long for the other Slytherins to burst out laughing as well.
"Shut up, Malfoy," Parvati Patil snapped, her eyes narrowing.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl Harry had grown to dislike almost as much as Malfoy, snickered. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."
"How about we break your wrist Parkinson, and see how you take it?" Seamus Finnegan snarled.
"How dare you?" Pansy shrieked, but she took a couple of steps back.
"Don't be scared, Pansy," Malfoy sneered. "They're all just as pitiful as Longbottom."
"You talk quite a bit for someone who's too scared to walk around without two gorillas by his side," Lavender Brown piped up.
"Can they even read?" Ron added, motioning to Crabbe and Goyle, who cracked their knuckles menacingly. "Or did daddy's money get them in so that you could have your precious bodyguards?"
"Who do you think you are to talk about money, Weasley?" Malfoy hissed. "What are you all, some sort of pathetic Gryffindor gang? Trying to defend that clumsy oaf Longbottom?" Before anyone cold offer a retort, he darted forward and snatched something out of the grass. "Look at this! It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
It was the Remembrall that Neville had received in the mail that morning.
Harry stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Give it here, Malfoy." Instantly, everyone stopped talking to watch. Harry could feel the eyes of his peers boring into him, but he didn't flinch.
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up in a tree?" Malfoy smiled nastily. With that, he kicked off the ground, and Harry realized that the blonde could fly quite well. He hovered up to the topmost branches of an oak tree and beckoned for Harry to come and follow him.
Harry immediately grabbed his broom, but a hand tugged at the sleeve of his robes. He turned and saw Hermione staring at him, white-faced with terror. "Harry, you can't! Madam Hooch said not to move, you'll get us all into trouble."
Harry hesitated, his eyes flickering between Hermione's worried expression and Malfoy's distant sneer. "Not everyone," He shook his head. "Just me."
"You could be expelled!" She hissed, her voice frantic. "Harry, please –"
"I don't like bullies," Harry said calmly. Hermione's voice seemed to die in her throat, and Harry took the opportunity to kick off the ground and rocket towards Malfoy with an elegance and grace that surprised everyone present, himself most of all.
"I don't believe it," Hermione said flatly when Harry sat next to her at dinner and recounted to the rest of the first-year Gryffindors what had happened after he had caught Neville's Remembrall.
"I still can barely believe it," Harry admitted with a sheepish smile.
"So, you're the new Seeker?" Ron, who was sitting across from Harry, asked incredulously. "Wicked. My brother was a Seeker, too."
"Charlie, right?" Harry asked, and Ron grinned. "Yeah, Professor McGonagall mentioned him. Do you know a lot about Quidditch?"
"Loads," Ron answered in between mouthfuls of pie.
"Good, because I barely know a thing," Harry confessed. "You reckon you could give me a few pointers?" Ron Weasley looked ready to die of happiness as he nodded. "Great," Harry smiled and turned to Hermione. "Do you still not believe me?"
"I mostly can't believe that you didn't get expelled," She frowned.
"Me neither," Harry shrugged. "But…I think there are some things worth breaking rules for." Hermione gave him a skeptical look. "Defending friends, for example. Wouldn't you at least bend a rule or two to help a friend of yours?"
Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, but before she could answer a snide voice made itself heard behind Harry.
"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" Harry didn't even have to turn around to know that Malfoy was sneering.
"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry said coolly as he glanced over his shoulder to see that Crabbe and Goyle were flanking Malfoy once again.
"I'd take you on anytime on my own," The blonde retorted irritably. "How about –"
"You did take him on," Hermione cut him off, to the surprise of everyone within earshot. "You took him on today, during Flying lessons, and you lost. Do you want to lose again, is that it?"
Malfoy looked like he'd been slapped across the face, and Crabbe and Goyle looked even more dumbstruck than usual. Harry was equally floored that Hermione had engaged with the Slytherins; every time one of them tried to antagonize Harry or Gryffindor as a whole she always made a point of staying out of it.
"If that will be all," Hermione said tersely, grabbing her bag and getting to her feet. "I'm off to the library. Harry?" She glanced down at her still stunned best friend, who blinked before quickly getting to his feet. He grabbed his bag and followed her out of the Great Hall, past a spluttering Malfoy and an awestruck Gryffindor table.
"That was brilliant!" Harry grinned once they were out of the banquet hall. "I've never seen Malfoy look like that!"
"Yes, well," Hermione shrugged, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "I suppose that was rather gratifying."
"And you never get into it with the Slytherins!" Harry continued, still sporting a smile that could span an ocean. "Why the sudden change?"
"Well, it's not quite the same as breaking rules," Hermione said slowly, "but you did sort of inspire me to defend my friends." She paused, glancing over to Harry and giving him a shy smile. Harry returned it before darting his eyes down to his shoes as his cheeks grew warm. He wracked his brain desperately to try and recall someone who had ever felt compelled to defend him and came up empty. His lips curved into another smile as he glanced back at Hermione, who was now staring straight ahead once again. He decided he quite liked having friends.
Between Quidditch practices three times a week, the growing amounts of homework in every class, and Harry's tendency to spend his free time studying away with Hermione, time began to fly at Hogwarts, and it was the thirty-first of October before any of them knew it. The smell of baked pumpkin wafted through the corridors, providing the ideal start to the day. The Gryffindors had Charms, and everyone was excited to learn the Levitation Charm.
Unfortunately, Flitwick assigned random partners when it came to practicing the spell. Harry had no qualms about being with Seamus – the Irish wizard was quite chipper and the two of them had always been nice to one another – but he felt a twinge of disappointment at seeing that Hermione had been paired with Ron instead of him. However, he was quickly able to lose himself in practicing the Charm. Hermione had rubbed off on him enough that he had read ahead in the Charms textbook, and after several tries, he got his feather to float a few inches off the ground. Seamus, inspired by his partner's success, took it upon himself to attempt the spell. Unfortunately, Seamus prodded the feather after several unsuccessful attempts and set it on fire.
"Sorry about that," Seamus muttered as Harry put the flames out. "I've got a bit of a nasty habit of setting things on fire."
"At least it keeps you on your toes," Harry shrugged, and the pair shared a chuckle at that. Harry tried the spell again and was pleased to see that he got it even higher than the last time, earning himself ten points for Gryffindor as Flitwick noticed.
Harry turned instinctively to see if Hermione had noticed, only to frown as he saw that she was too busy admonishing Ron to notice much of anything.
"You're going to take someone's eye out!" She snapped, grabbing the redhead's wand arm. "Besides, you're saying it wrong."
She tried to coach Ron through the proper pronunciation, but he seemed too miffed by Hermione's remarks to actually try and learn it. His displeasure was only amplified when she successfully cast the spell even better than Harry had, sending her feather floating four feet above their heads. It wasn't long after that when Flitwick dismissed the class and left to decorate the Great Hall, moving as fast as his half-goblin legs would carry him.
Harry and Hermione had agreed earlier that morning to go to the library and prepare for their upcoming Astronomy exam after class, so Harry was eager to pack up his belongings and meet her at the door. Just as he had slung his bag over his shoulder and was ready to walk to the exit, a familiar face stepped up to block him.
"I don't know how you do it," Ron grunted, still clearly in a bad mood. Seamus awkwardly bade the two of them goodbye and left, and soon the only people left in the room were Harry and Ron, with Hermione hovering in the doorway expectantly.
"The Levitation Charm?" Harry asked. "It is pretty difficult; I'll give you that. It took me a lot of tries, but it was mostly in the wand movement, I –"
"I'm not talking about the stupid spell," Ron scowled. "I'm talking about how you could possibly be friends with her."
"What do you mean?" Harry tilted his head. "Are you talking about Hermione?"
"Of course I'm talking about Hermione!" Ron snapped, his ears burning bright red. "She's a nightmare, honestly! I don't think anyone can stand her! Are you only pretending to be friends with her so you can get good grades?"
Before Harry could muster a response, a sobbing sound from the door caught his attention. A mane of bushy brown hair whipped around the corner and out of sight, and he didn't even have to see Hermione's face to know that his best friend was in tears. He turned back to Ron, his jaw clenching so tightly he expected his molars to crack at any second.
"Hermione's my friend. My best friend," He said firmly. "She's really, truly my friend. If you want to be my friend, you're going to have to stop treating her like this," He gestured vaguely with his hand, but the message was crystal clear. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help my friend." He stepped around Ron but stopped turning to face him one more time. "I don't like bullies, Ron. I didn't think you were, but..."
He sighed and adjusted the strap of his bag before striding out of the classroom, leaving Ron to mull his words over. He knew she had turned right after exiting and decided to follow her path as best as he could.
As he walked purposefully through the labyrinth of corridors and staircases, bits and pieces of conversations with Ron floated back to him. Ron's incredulousness when Harry told him that he wanted to read with Hermione. His refusal to even consider going to the library with him and Hermione. The cold tone he always addressed her with compared to the lighter, warmer one he used with nearly everyone that wasn't a Slytherin. Harry couldn't believe he hadn't spotted it before. Ron could not stand Hermione.
As Harry took a guess at a junction of corridors and turned left, he found himself wondering how he had been so blind. Ron, despite not liking Hermione one bit, had been a good friend to Harry. He had told him a few useful things about the magical world on the Hogwarts Express, and ever since Harry had made the Quidditch team a month prior he had shown him all sorts of beneficial tips and tricks about the sport.
Harry didn't think Ron was cruel, like Malfoy or his Slytherin cronies, but he was certainly unkind at times. As he turned at another intersection of corridors, he found himself hoping that the good traits Ron showed towards him were the real Ron, and that the negative traits he showed towards Hermione were the products of bad moods or something similar.
As Harry walked past a series of doors, he swore he heard a sniffling sound from behind one of them. His heart shrunk in on itself as he imagined his best friend crying behind a closed door like he had been forced to do so many times. Torn between wanting to respect her privacy and doing whatever he could to comfort his best friend, he eventually decided to knock on the door.
"Hermione?" He called hesitantly. No response. Trying the handle, he realized it was locked. Fortunately, one of his most recent study sessions with Hermione included memorizing the Unlocking Charm. Drawing his wand from the pocket of his robes, he pressed it against the lock and muttered "Alohomora."
The lock clicked out of place and Harry quickly turned the handle and slipped inside. Just as he closed the door behind him, he realized that he had not actually entered a room, and that Hermione was not in here. He was in a corridor, and the sniffling sound he had heard from outside hailed from the enormous three-headed dog that was staring down at him. He was fairly certain that the only reason he had not been the monster's early lunch by now was that his unexpected entrance had taken the dog by surprise.
Fighting the urge to let out a yell of panic, he fumbled behind him for the door handle. He vaguely recalled being chased into a tree when he was younger by his uncle's sister's bulldog, and that she had claimed it was Harry's fault because he had made the mistake of looking the dog in the eye. Immediately, Harry dropped his eyes down to the floor in hopes of not angering the beast in front of him any further. As he did so, he just barely caught sight of a trapdoor beneath the dog's gigantic paws before he managed to open the door behind him and he tumbled out.
Slamming the door shut and muttering Colloportus, the Locking Spell, he released a breath that he didn't notice he'd been holding and placed his hands on his knees. He glanced around and realized that he was on the third floor; he had just been inside the forbidden third-floor corridor, and he now knew better than almost everyone in the castle why it was forbidden.
Giving himself a little shake and thanking his lucky stars he had not frozen up out of fear, he walked briskly out of the corridor and back in the direction that he had come from, desperately hoping that he would not run into any teachers until he had put enough distance between himself and the forbidden corridor. Thankfully, he was able to descend back to the first floor before he ran into a teacher, and Professor Flitwick was too busy running back and forth with Halloween decorations to give Harry the time of day.
Harry continued to scour the corridors for Hermione, ignoring the throngs of students that were making their way towards the Great Hall for lunch as the morning turned into the afternoon. He poked his head into the Great Hall once he was certain everyone had arrived for lunch, but there was no sign of Hermione. Sighing, he turned and resumed his search.
His efforts were in vain, as lunch concluded and soon enough it was time for History of Magic. Harry waited until the last possible second to enter the corridor where the classroom was held, but was disappointed to see that there was no sign of Hermione in the crowd of students waiting outside the door. Harry quickly deduced that if Professor Binns lacked the observational skills to notice that half of his students fell asleep every class, the ghost would not notice if Harry was absent and would therefore not take points away from Gryffindor.
With that, he turned on his heel and continued looking for Hermione. Needing to duck into one of Hogwarts's many hidden alcoves or behind a suit of armor anytime he heard footsteps, his search was less efficient than before, but he would not be deterred. He had been brought to tears by unkind words before, and he knew that on any one of those occasions he would have given anything to have had just one person come check on him and show that they cared that he was hurting.
He was not successful for another hour. After the bell had rung and signaled the end of class, he wandered past a door on the first floor and heard sniffling sounds once again. Thankfully, he was fairly confident that these sounds were those of a human, considering that he was standing just outside a girls' restroom. Once again, he felt torn between knocking and staying silent, but he quickly decided that he had not spent the entire afternoon wandering the corridors and dodging teachers just to do nothing when he finally found Hermione. Tentatively, he knocked on the door.
"Hermione?" He called. He heard the sniffling on the other side cease almost immediately. There were a few seconds of tense silence, but Harry never pulled his ear away from the closed door.
"Harry?" She finally called back. "Is that you?"
"It's me," He said awkwardly. Another uncomfortable silence ensued, before the door was suddenly wrenched open and he felt himself being yanked inside.
"What are you doing here?" She asked curtly. Harry didn't answer at first; he was too busy processing the sight before him. Hermione's usually warm brown eyes were now red-rimmed and empty, with a few glistening tears still hanging on her lashes. Her shoulders were slumped in what could only be described as defeat, and she was fiddling with the sleeves of her robes in a vain attempt to keep him from noticing that her hands were trembling.
"I've been looking for you," He answered quietly.
"Why?"
Harry hated the sound of her voice cracking. He hated how upset she looked. He hated everything about how she looked nothing like the passionate, tenacious Hermione he had met and befriended two months prior.
"Because you're my friend," Harry said. "My best friend, actually." He paused, but Hermione said nothing. She was barely even meeting his eyes. "What Ron said, what he implied, was rubbish. You really are my best friend, Hermione. Why else would I skive off lunch and History of Magic to look for you?"
"You…you skipped lunch?" Hermione frowned at him, her eyes still shining with tears. "You shouldn't have done that, Harry."
"I don't mind," He shrugged. "Not really used to eating loads of food, anyway. Plus, you're more important."
Hermione's lips twitched into a brief smile, and Harry fought the urge to whoop with triumph. "You shouldn't have skipped class, either," She finally said, her voice wavering less now.
"There are some things worth breaking rules for," He gave a small smile that Hermione returned.
"Thank you for coming for me, Harry, but I'm fine," She sighed, wiping her eyes. "I just, I can't help but feel like…" She trailed off, fresh tears running down her cheeks. "I just feel…"
"I know how you feel," Harry said softly, averting his eyes after his admission. Hermione hitched her breath and promptly flung her arms around him and wrapped him into a tight hug. He froze up instinctively, having not expected such a reaction, before he tentatively wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. She sobbed into his shoulder, her fingers clutching tightly at the back of his robes, and Harry simply stood there and let her.
"I don't suppose this does much to dissuade the notion that I'm a nightmare, does it?" Hermione murmured into his shoulder in between sniffles.
"You're not a nightmare," Harry said genuinely. "If anything…well, I've never really had friends before. But I always wanted one, so if anything, you're a dream come true for me."
Hermione tightened her arms around him and let out several shaky breaths. Eventually she pulled away, her eyes still red and puffy and her lashes still glistening. But when she met Harry's eye, she flashed him a smile that was positively radiant, and he happily returned it. "Feel any better?" He asked hesitantly.
"Much better," She whispered, still smiling. Her eyes darted down to his shoulder and blushed. "Sorry I soaked your robes," She mumbled.
"It's alright," Harry shrugged. "As long as you feel better."
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said in a soft voice. They simply stared at one another for a moment, their eyes never leaving each other's as they exchanged small smiles. Then, they both froze. Harry immediately put a finger to his lips, but it was unnecessary, as Hermione had clapped both hands over her mouth in fright. What sounded like gigantic footsteps were growing louder and louder, and along with it a foul stench that made Harry gag. There was something in the corridor outside; all Harry knew about it was that it was enormous, it smelled awful, and he had no desire to interact with it.
Naturally…
CRASH
Harry whipped his head towards the wall of the bathroom that bordered the corridor. A twelve-foot-tall hole had been gouged out, revealing an ugly gray mountain troll carrying a gargantuan wooden club. Its beady black eyes zeroed in on the two students in front of it and it began lumbering into the bathroom. Hermione let out a scream of terror and Harry instinctively grabbed her arm, dragging her to the far wall and pressing himself flat against it. The troll moved towards them and lifted its club straight above its head.
Forcing himself not to freeze up in terror, Harry shoved Hermione as hard as he could to the right before leaping to his left. The club collided with the tiled floor right where the two of them had been standing a moment earlier. Hermione seemed to snap out of her shock and quickly clambered away from the troll, but it saw her and raised its club again, turning to face her. Hermione screamed again and began backpedaling, only to reach one of the bathroom's corners, leaving her with no escape. The troll stomped towards her, lifting its weapon higher and higher.
Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid. He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. Incidentally, his wand – which he had pulled out the moment the troll came crashing in – ended up shoved far into the troll's nose. The monster howled with pain and flailed its arms and club, but Harry refused to let go even as he was flung about like a ragdoll.
"Is that Harry?"
"Oh my god, it's Harry!"
"And there's Hermione!"
"Professor, do something!"
Harry tried to turn his head towards the multitude of voices, but he could barely see straight thanks to the thrashing movements of the troll. Suddenly, without warning, the troll froze, then promptly collapsed. Harry just managed to avoid being crushed by leaping away and landing in a heap on the floor several meters away. He glanced over to see that the troll was now fast asleep, his wand vibrating with the force of the monster's exhales. He turned towards the door and scrambled to his feet immediately, shocked by the sight in front of him.
Professor McGonagall was staring at him, her lips pressed impossibly tight together as she glowered. Her wand was still in her hand and Harry quickly realized that she had clearly charmed the troll into some sort of slumber. Behind her, either trembling with fear or staring in awe, were the rest of the first-year Gryffindors.
"Mister Potter," McGonagall said icily. "Just what are you doing in here?"
Before Harry could answer, Hermione walked slowly from her corner, her eyes locked onto her shoes. "He came for me, Professor McGonagall. It's my fault."
"I doubt that the fault is entirely yours, Miss Granger," McGonagall huffed. "It has become clear to me that the two of you were not present at tonight's Halloween Feast, am I correct?" She continued, her eyes flashing. Harry and Hermione nodded meekly, the latter moving forward so that she was standing next to the former. "Well, due to your absence, you missed the announcement that a troll was let loose in the castle this evening."
For a split second, Harry felt tempted to say something along the lines of 'What? No way!' but his Head of House already looked angry enough.
"All students were instructed to return to their dormitories," McGonagall pressed on. "However, your friends realized that you two would not be aware of this announcement and came to me. When I asked how they knew where you were, Miss Patil and Miss Brown informed me that they had heard Miss Granger crying in this very lavatory." She paused, turning to Ron, who gulped. "When I asked why on Earth Miss Granger would be crying in a lavatory, Mister Weasley spoke up."
Harry thought his jaw was going to put a hole in the floor.
"Mister Weasley will be deducted twenty-five points for his behavior, as well as serve detention," McGonagall continued. "Miss Granger, Mister Potter, you will both be deducted five points for your absence in your afternoon classes. Mister Potter," she turned to Harry and gave him a pensive stare, "you will be awarded forty points for selflessly putting the needs of another student in front of your own.
"That will be all," She concluded. "To your common room, now please."
The Gryffindors did not need to be told twice. The moment they were out of earshot, Harry went to ask Ron why he had come clean to McGonagall, but he was cut off by a bone-crushing hug from Hermione.
"You saved me," She whispered. "You jumped on that troll's back. You saved my life."
"Er…I guess," Harry blushed as the rest of the Gryffindors stopped and watched the embrace. Lavender raised her eyebrows, and Harry made a point of looking up at the ceiling with great interest.
"You saved my life," Hermione repeated, pulling back from the hug and beaming at him. He smiled back, hoping his face didn't look as red as it felt. With that, the Gryffindors resumed their march to Gryffindor Tower.