Disclaimer: not mine, all Rowling's

A/N: Again, this is long overdue – writer's block. But since it today, 20th of May, is a year since I posted the prologue, I thought it would be a good idea to post a new chapter.

If you think my grammar is awful, please tell me, I want to get better and it's been quite a few months since I've had a proper English lesson (gap-year).

Chapter 4

The past few months, since the troll-incident, had been rather dull, if you asked Harry. Not that he enjoyed almost being crushed by a troll, but he sought a bit more excitement than the flying lessons gave him. It was a rush, for sure, when he left the ground and flew a few meters above it, but it was nothing compared to real danger.
After the shock had left him and he was back in his dorm, his thoughts had started running wild, thinking about all the spells he could have used and should have used. For a reason Harry couldn't explain he wanted to fight and feel the adrenalin rush again. The urge to seek out danger had let to many walks around the castle past curfew, Harry hadn't been caught, yet, but it was only a matter of time before someone would notice.
The halls were silent as he continued his walk around the castell, only sparse light shined through the windows. When Harry looked out the window he noticed that it had begun snowing, nothing strange about it, it was after all December. Shortly he wondered where he and Severus would have spent Christmas this year but most importantly, if it would be possible for him to visit Daphne and Hermione or for them to visit him.
He had been walking around in his thoughts and hadn't noticed where his legs had taken him – the library. It was rather dark, and he couldn't see much. I definitely won't be able to read anything in this lighting.

"Lumos," he whispered, and a white light shined from the tip of the wand. Much better.

As he walked towards the restricted section he heard whispering behind one of the tall shelves.

"Do you think he's here yet?"

"He should be, it's way past midnight."

Harry stopped and listened to the conversation, positive that it was about him.

"Nox," he mumbled as he stepped into the shadows, to gain more information on the two behind the shelf.

"Do we have to break rules every month? Can't we just be normal students?"

It didn't take long for Harry to understand that it was Hermione and Daphne who was talking on the other side of the shelf. What are they even doing here? Harry couldn't figure out why his friends had sneaked out of their dorms at this time of night.

"Are you completely sure he'll show?" It was clearly Hermione who was asking.

"He's been sneaking out every night since Halloween, trust me, he'll be here."

Harry sighed and stepped out from his hiding spot. The look on the girls' faces, when they saw him, radiated displeasure. Why do they always look so furiously at me? What did I even do wrong this time?
The girls' and Harry were lit up by Hermione's wand, a light almost as bright as Harry's.

"What are you two doing here," Harry asked a bit confused, "and why are you looking at me as if I had killed someone?"

Hermione shook her head and turned towards Daphne, who looked even more displeased than before.

"A couple of weeks ago Daphne had fallen asleep in your common room, you probably thought she was sleeping, but you woke her when you walked past her towards the exit." Hermione paused and looked at Daphne as if she was asking her to continue and so she did.

Daphne sighed, "I wanted to ask you where you were going but you seemed so determined so I followed you instead. At first, I thought it was a one-time sneak out, but since that night you've been sneaking out of the common room every night."

Harry didn't know what to say. At first, he was irritated that Daphne had been spying on him and that she and Hermione had been waiting to catch him, but the irritation suddenly disappeared when loud voices were heard coming from the entrance of the library. The three friends shared the same puzzled look as the voices came closer and the conversation got more heated.

"Nox," whispered Hermione as she led the way towards the farthest corner of the restricted section, well hidden from the two people, but close enough so they could hear what they were talking about.

"You can't hide behind that façade anymore, Quirrell." Said the man, his voice so familiar that Harry without hesitation could tell who the fifth person in the library was.

"Severus," he whispered.

"I know it was you who brought the troll here, Quirrell. I know you used it as a distraction, so you would have time to find the Philosopher stone." Severus's voice was stern and controlled.

The three friends looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes with the same questions on all their minds, how could that be true, why was Severus accusing professor Quirrell of such thing and what was the Philosopher stone?

"I-I-I don't k-kn-know what your tal-talking about, Severus." Stammered Quirrell as they stepped closer to the three friends. Severus' and Quirrell's faces was lit up by Severus's wand which was pointed directly at Quirrell's throat.

Hermione's grip around Harry and Daphne's' arms tightened. This could potentially go wrong very fast.

"Spare me the lies, I know it was you," Severus eyes were lightning with pure fury, so much that Quirrell crumbled before him, "I'll prove it, Quirrell, your time is almost up." Severus turned around and left Quirrell in the dark, wailing as if he was nothing but a child who had been reprimanded by a parent.
After what seemed as hours, Quirrell finally rose from the ground and left the library.

Daphne was the first to break the silence, "Let's go back to our common rooms, it's been a long enough night," whispered she and walked towards the entrance on the library, Harry, and Hermione closely behind her.

xXxXx

None of the three friends had been able to get much sleep after they got back to their dorms. Therefore, it was no wonder that they looked as something the cat had dragged in, when they went down to eat breakfast the following morning.
Hermione had joined Harry and Daphne at the Slytherin-table that morning aware of the glances everyone in the Great Hall was giving them. The trio ignored the glances and soon everybody stopped staring at them, until Draco sat down at the other end of the Slytherin-table.

"Granger, you look more awful than usual," yelled Draco as he poured himself some pumpkin juice.

Hermione shook her head, "Just ignore him, he's a waste of time."

Daphne and Harry on the contrary was ready to grab their wands and cast every jinx they knew, but since Hermione kept calm so did they.

The Great Hall was buzzing with noise, it was Saturday and the majority of pupils had already set their minds on a relaxing day with a possible snowball-fight later in the afternoon. The trio on the other hand were hoping to get the library to themselves.

Harry leaned in over the table to gather Hermione and Daphne's attention, "We need to talk about what happened yesterday."

Both the girls nodded as their eyes wandered towards the head table. Only a few professors were present which wasn't unlikely, neither did it shock them that professor Quirrell wasn't present.

"Should we ask professor Snape why he accused professor Quirrell of bringing the troll to Hogwarts?" whispered Daphne, as Harry and Hermione turned their attention towards the food in front of them.

Hermione shook her head, while Harry and Daphne just looked at her with confusion in their eyes and a burning question written on their foreheads – But why not?

"I know that he's your guardian Harry but are you sure you want him to find out that you've been sneaking around the castell this entire month if not more?

The look on Harrys' face told Hermione that her assumption was right. Of course, Harry wouldn't want Severus to know that he had been sneaking around the castell for the past month with the goal of finding trouble.

"Hermione's right. Besides, I think we need to gather more information on the Philosopher stone before we do anything else."

The girls nodded and continued to eat their breakfast. Hermione had just taken the first bite of her apple when Draco sat down beside her and Pansy on the other side of her.

"I can't believe they let muggles attend Hogwarts, Draco." Pansy sounded sweet and innocent but the words she spoke felt as if they were venom.

Draco nodded and poked Hermione on the shoulder, "She doesn't even feel like a real witch."

The trio tried to ignore Pansy and Draco, but the words were harmful, and fury had already filled Harry. He tried to look Hermione in her eyes, searching for a sign or something that would tell him it was right of him to harm Draco and Pansy, but Hermione had her eyes fixated on the apple in her hand.

I looked as if Draco had grown tired of not getting a response. He rose from the bench and looked down at Hermione.
The pupils around them had gotten silent, all of them were trying to hear the conversation. Draco enjoyed it far too much, he had their attention and destruction was written on his face.

"This isn't the place for a mudblood like you," he emphasized on the word mudblood as he leaned closer to Hermione, "go home while you still can mudblood." He said the word a bit loud the second time, just to be sure that those around him had heard it.

The pupils around them looked baffled, some even embarrassed. The only one besides Draco who didn't was Pansy, she was standing tall by his side. "Come, Draco, she's a waste of time anyway."

They had only walked a few meters away when Hermione rose from the bench. Ferocity radiated of her and the cutlery on the table had started to move. She threw the apple she had in her hand and hit Draco in the back of his head with such power that he stumbled forward and fell to his knees.

"Draco!" wailed Pansy and rushed to aid him.

Hermione stepped closer to Draco, her knuckles had turned white, "How dare you, calling me a mudblood," she hissed at him.

The Great Hall was silent, no one was talking, the only thing you could hear was the cutlery on the Slytherin-table moving.

"Please don't hurt me," wept Draco as he hid behind Pansy, who looked just as terrified as Draco.

With those words Hermione snapped out of what seemed to be a trance, she came to her senses and looked around the Great Hall. Every pupil and professor were staring at her with disbelief and confusion in their eyes. Harry and Daphne on the other hand beamed with astonishment, but before any of them could say anything to her, she stormed out of the hall.

xXxXx

"Have you ever experienced anything like that around Miss Granger?" asked professor Flitwick as he turned towards the large window behind him, looking at the Quidditch players practicing.

Harry and Daphne both sighed. It was safe to say that none of them had ever experienced anything remotely like that before. Hermione was silent around everyone else but the two of them and even then, she was quiet. The only time she wasn't quiet was during lessons, that was where she was shining and proving everybody that she deserved to be there.
Amazed as Harry had been, the rage Draco had left in him, never really vanished. How could he say that? How could he call her a mudblood? I wish I had said something or stopped him. Harry's thoughts kept going until he forgot what professor Flitwick had asked them, fortunately Daphne hadn't.

"No, professor," answered Daphne and continued, "she's the quiet one, even when it's just the three of us."

Harry nodded in agreement and glanced at Severus, who looked concerned and delighted at the same time, something Harry didn't understand. He understood the concern because he felt that too, but the delight Severus was showing was a mystery to Harry. Maybe Sev thinks Draco got what he deserved?
Both Severus and Harry knew how much trouble Hermione was in and that the Malfoy family probably had something in store for her. Harry could only hope that he would be able to protect her.

"Have you found her?" Harry's eyes locked with Flitwick's as the question rolled over his lips.

"She's in the library, professor McGonagall is with her," nodded professor Flitwick in response, "your friend is okay Miss Greengrass and Mr. Potter. But I must say, I fear for Miss Granger's future, she made a powerful enemy today."

A heavy feeling filled Harry as his fear for Hermione became a reality.

"In case you were wondering, I can assure you that fifty points already have been taken from Slytherin, for use of crude language and ten from Ravenclaw for throwing an apple."

Harry and Daphne couldn't help but snicker at the last part, it seemed so stupid and ridiculous.

"I think we should let Mr. Potter and Miss Greengrass reunite with Miss Granger, don't you agree Flitwick?"

Flitwick nodded and gestured towards the door. Daphne and Harry turned around and walked out the door, on their way to the library.

"Do you think he'll do something to her?" asked Daphne as they walked around the corner.

Harry lifted his head even higher than before as they reached the entrance to the library, "I won't let him."

I didn't take them long to find professor McGonagall and Hermione, they were in the farthest corner of the library. Professor McGonagall too had a concerned look in her eyes when she looked at Hermione, but as soon as Daphne and Harry reached them, her façade closed her face and her usual stern demeanor was back.
Professor McGonagall rose from her chair and greeted Harry and Daphne, "I'll let the three of you talk." She squeezed Hermione's shoulder before she left them alone.

Daphne sat down next to Hermione and took the book out of her hand. Even though the book was upside down Harry was able to read the title, 'Hogwarts – a history'.

"Are you okay?" Daphne's voice was sweet and soothing as she pushed some bushy brown curls away from Hermione's face.

Harry sat down on the other side of Hermione. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he let them hang by his side, but it felt wrong. He put them in front of him on the table, but that felt wrong too. He looked at Daphne who sent him stares that could kill, he then decided to lay a hand on Hermione's back and began stroking her. He could only hope that he was a soothing as Daphne, but he doubted it.

"If it wasn't my teeth, then my hair, if it wasn't my appearance then my abilities in school."

Harry and Daphne hold their breath as Hermione continued, she filled the silence around them with the saddest tale any of them had ever heard.

"If not my abilities and willingness to learn, then my lack of abilities when it came to finding and keeping friends," Hermine sniveled, "I have had friends before, but they all ignored me when there was no use for me."

Anger was once more filling Harry as Hermione continued. She's so precious and innocent, why has she been treated as if she was garbage? Harry couldn't wrap his head around it, he simply couldn't fathom why anybody would hurt someone as caring and funny as Hermione.

"I've experienced what happened earlier today once before. A year before I got my letter and a couple of weeks before our departure to Hogwarts." Hermione's knuckles turned white once again. "I-I-I ma-made a girl fell down t-th-th-the stairs and a boy, who hit me crash on his bike." The white left her knuckles as her snivels became loud sobs.

"Shhhh, Mione, those were accidents, you didn't mean it." Harry tried to sooth her, but her sobs became louder and louder as she almost screamed her answer.

"But I did, Harry, I did mean it," she looked at him with disgust in her eyes, "I'm a terrible person."

"No, you're not, you're an amazing person." Daphne laid her head on Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione shrugged and dried her eyes before grabbing 'Hogwarts – a history'. Harry who hadn't had the chance to comfort Hermione properly tried to take the book out of her hands again, but she moved it away from him.

"I don't need your pity. I'm grateful for the two of you, but right now I need to focus on something else."

Harry sighed and tried to lay his head on Hermione's other shoulder, but she shook both Harry and Daphne of.

"Hermione," exclaimed Daphne shocked.

"I want to concentrate, and I can't do that when your hanging on to my shoulders," said Hermione and began reading the first chapter.

"But don't you need, or don't you want to talk more about it, you know we'll listen." Harry scratched his neck and looked at Daphne for reassurance.

Hermione looked up from the book, "We've talked about my," she hesitated for a second before continuing, "problems, but the moment has passed. I'm fine now, I promise." Without giving her friends a second glance, she returned to the page and completely missed the baffled expressions they were making.

"If you say so," said Daphne and grabbed a book from the nearest shelf.

"I do," responded Hermione as she turned the page.

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