All That You Are

After reading every textbook front to back, Hermione decided that she was more than prepared for school to start. There were so many questions that she had and although the book answered some, she was desperate to meet people like her. To finally have a place where she belonged. 

Snape insisted that she take the Hogwarts Express and that he would see her at school. He also was quick to remind her that nobody was to know of her living conditions. Dropped off at a terrifying train station, she glanced around with wide eyes and clutching the handle of her trunk that Snape had done something to, as it was extremely light. 

Her wand still hadn't left her hand. 

Scanning the area, she realized that there wasn't any station labeled 9 ¾s. There also didn't seem to be anybody to ask. Her hand trembled against the trunk and she lifted her chin, scanning the area for somebody to possibly be out of place as well. To her surprise, that turned into being somebody's.  What seemed like an army of red-haired kids were standing in front of a pillar between platform nine and ten. They all had massive luggage like she did and she scooted closer to listen. 

Squinting her eyes, she gasped in surprise when she realized that there was a dark haired boy standing amongst them that she knew. His hair was askew as it was any time that she had seen him, and the wirey glasses were slipping down the front of his nose. She wondered if they were broken again. He was tiny and Hermione knew that it was because of the lack of food he had been given. 

They had met one summer, both hiding out at the park near their homes, and ever since then she had brought him food whenever they would meet. Harry, she remembered, was terribly shy. He insisted that she eat whatever she had brought, and it happened to turn into her only eating lunch and saving whatever was for dinner for the spindly boy down the road. 

She watched as he stared at the brick wall before his eyebrows lifted into his hairline as the portly woman stepped through. Through the wall. Hermione's mouth dropped open. 

Of course. 

Platform 9 and ¾, she wanted to smack herself on the head for missing that detail and instead watched as the rest of the group disappeared into the brick. After a moment, she glanced around and stepped through. 

The other side was a lot bigger than she thought, families crowded together as they made their way through, dropping their children off. Hermione stared open-mouthed for a moment before bustling quickly through the crowd, dropping her luggage off with the others and making her way through the back of the train. 

It was empty, well mostly. There were a few students who gave her polite smiles as she passed and she made her way all the way to the rear train cart, clutching a book to her chest with her wand. It was quiet, and she nestled herself into the rear before opening the pages, twirling a curl around her fingertips. 

After a while, the door swung open and a few students piled in. She took inventory of them, from where she was sitting unnoticed. 

A girl, relatively tiny with raven black hair and blue eyes was dropping into a seat with another girl with long blonde hair. They were both gorgeous and for a moment Hermione wishes that she knew what to do with her wild curls. Next was a taller man, with beautiful smooth dark skin and brown eyes. His dark curly hair hung into his eyes. 

Next, was a reserved boy who was much younger than the rest she presumed because he was smaller. He had dark curly brown hair and startlingly beautiful blue eyes that looked haunted. As he slid into the booth away from everyone, he seemed to be the only one who noticed her, his blue eyes widening as he stared. Hermione cocked her head to the side. This boy looked familiar but before she could place why three more figures stepped into the cart. 

Two rather large boys were messing around behind a tall, lean one with white-blonde hair and blue-gray eyes. His nose was slightly pointy and he carried himself almost like Snape did in an aristocratic way. His eyes also fell onto her as he scanned the cart, narrowing slightly as he made his way over to her. 

“Who are you?” Hermione raised a brow at him, allowing his gaze to brush over her before tucking the book closed. 

“Who are you?” 

“I asked you first.” The boy narrowed his eyes more and she noticed that the rest of the people in the cart had turned to watch their exchange. 

“Hermione. Hermione Granger. And you?”

“Granger? As in the Potioneer?” 

“I'm sorry, were we merely asking names or insisting on sharing our family trees as well?” 

The boy smirked slightly, leaning against the booth across from her. “Well. I could tell you about quite a few of my ancestors.”

“Lucky you. How about you start with your name?” 

“Draco. Draco Malfoy.” He seemed to stand taller when he said it, as though he was counting on her recognizing it. She raised an eyebrow. 

“Well. Pleasure to meet you, Draco. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to finish my book.”

“Well, you're in our cart.” 

Her lips pressed together. “Am I? I could have sworn that I was the only person in here a minute ago. Maybe you're in my cart?”

The boy looked affronted. 

While he stammered she stood, slipping from the seat and brushing past him. “Very well, wouldn't want to insult you or your posh bloodline. I'll find another cart.” 

Ignoring the open mouthed stares from the rest of the group, her eyes lingered on the deep blue of the boy near the door. He seemed to be studying her, as though she was a book he had not yet checked from the library but had been debating for a while. She raised her eyebrow as she passed, slipping through the door without another word. 

It took her a moment to find another cart, but a figure caught her eye as she passed. 

Harry was sitting with his mouth open, laughing as a red-haired boy with freckles and blue eyes was tossing jellybeans across the cart to him. She knocked, sliding the door open slightly and poking her head inside. Harry stared at her, his eyebrows disappearing underneath his hair as he missed the next jellybean that smacked him in the face. “H-Hermione?”

“Well, pleasure seeing you too, Harry.” She smiled, stepping into the cart and noticing that the red haired boy was staring at her now as well. “Mind if I come in?”

“You-you’re a witch!” Hermione sat, tucking her legs up underneath her. 

“What a coincidence that we meet here too.” Harry gave her a soft smile, brushing his hair from his face. She noted that his glasses had broken from the last time that she fixed them and she smiled when she realized that she could fix them even easier this time. Swishing her wand in the way that she remembered from the books, she watched them repair and he pulled them from his nose with a flabbergasted expression. 

“This is incredible.” It was a soft whisper and Hermione felt her cheeks heat when she realized that he wasn’t talking about his glasses. The red head cleared his throat and Harry quickly put his glasses back on, messing his hair from his forehead. “Right, sorry, sorry. This is Ron Weasley.”

Hermione turned, giving him a soft smile as she took in his features. He was one of the boys from the group that Harry was with at the train station and a soft smile pulled at her lips. He had found somebody. When Snape had ushered her from the Orphanage she had laid awake quite a few nights since then wondering how Harry was going to fair not having her sneak him food anymore. The debate of writing Melinda swept from her mind as she stared at them both. 

“How do you two know each other, ‘Mione?” Hermione raised her eyebrows at the sudden nickname. She had just met him, and here he was giving her nicknames. A warmth that she didn’t recognize settled in her chest when she heard Harry stifle a laugh at her expression. 

“We used to live by each other. I didn’t realize that he would be here as well.” 

“It is quite strange isn’t it that we both wound up here?”

Hermione nodded. She had hidden the faint tremors of magic–well now she knew that it was magic–from everybody when they were showing. The small crackle she felt roll off of her when she was alone crying in her room. The humming in her veins when she closed her eyes and concentrated enough, or the time that she could have sworn she lit the candle from her bed. She didn’t know if any of that was normal, and certainly didn’t want to bring up her startling realizations. They all talked, tossing candy at one another and listening to Ron talk about his massive family. She realized that neither Harry or her talked much about anything revolving their childhood and Hermione turned to him, a sudden realization settling in her mind. 

“Harry. We know each other but I never did catch your last name.”

“Potter. My last name is Potter.”

Hermione tried not to let her mouth drop open. “You-”

“Yes, yes. The Chosen One and all that.”

She didn’t say anything else, noting Harry’s clear uncomfortability at Ron’s statement. Yet, the realization hit her like a train. She had just read the story about how Voldemort had killed Harry’s family. She had always wondered what the scar that hid underneath his unruly hair was; and now the realization was terrifying. This boy had somehow crossed her path before she even stepped foot in Hogwarts and here he was the; the same boy who survived Death and was written about in books. He was the same boy that she had snuck food to on an old playground. 

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Once they had stopped, they were all ushered next to a lake that had multiple boats waiting at the water's edge. The water was dark and rippling, reminding her of the Giant Squid that resided below that she had read about. The boats, although small fit about three to four of them comfortably. Except, as she watched them fill up she realized that she was one of the few people who weren’t sticking with the others as they loaded into the boat. Harry and Ron had hurried into a boat with Hagrid–the giant man that she was introduced to–and to her insistence that there wasn’t room for her, watched them settle into the tiny boat. 

Hermione was left alone with two of the girls that she had seen earlier–the Raven Haired and the blonde. Quietly, she sat perched near the front, eyes fixed to the water as words rippled across the surface of her memory as they floated across. As they approached her eyes widened. There was a massive castle, the golden hue of light shimmering in the night air as stars surrounded the night sky around it. 

She could faintly hear the girls behind her snickering and she ignored it, focusing on the massive building as it came into view. It was breathtaking, beautiful and everything that she could’ve imagined except more. Shuffling along with the rest of them, her eyes never stopped scanning her surroundings. Vaguely, she was aware of Harry grabbing her hand, leading her behind him but she couldn’t stop looking at everything. The heavy doors as they opened, walls full of pictures that moved, floating ghosts that passed in front of them. It didn’t seem real and she wondered if she had slipped into a coma and was dreaming. The feeling of Harry’s hand in hers grounded her and she heard Draco sneer something as she passed by. 

“Never seen a castle before, Granger?”

Her reply was breathy and low, awe not escaping her words. “No.”

Draco didn’t say anything else, but she felt his eyes on her as she took everything in. An older woman, with gray hair piled neatly onto her head appeared before them, instructing them to line up when called by name. Hermione floated, tucking herself into line while her eyes scanned every inch of the castle that she could. They all filed into the room, and she blinked at the eyes staring back at her. Four tables were in the middle of the room, with large banners hanging above them. Thousands of candles hovered in the air, flickering in the soft breeze that moved through the room. Other children, older children were sitting scattered throughout the room watching them intently and Hermione felt her cheeks flush under their gaze. 

Her eyes settled onto the hat that was sitting on top of the stool in front of a table that had what she gathered were Professors when her eyes landed on Snape. He gave her the faintest nod, keeping his face unreadable as he surveyed the room. Dumbledore–the Headmaster, had stood in the front, smiling at them behind a set of rimmed glasses. She noted that his eyes seemed to twinkle and her eye twitched in response. If there was anything that she had learned through years at an Orphanage is that sometimes the most approachable seem to be the ones that used you the worst. 

The line moved rather quickly and she watched all of the kids before she got sorted. When she was the one in the front, she gulped. Not taking her eyes off of the hat. Her mind started to stir, thoughts flying rampart. She could go to Ravenclaw, they seemed to make the most sense considering how much she valued knowledge–but, she realized that they didn’t really seem intent on sharing the knowledge and the idea of that irked her. Knowledge was meant to be shared. She walked forwards as they called her name.

She could also go to Hufflepuff, although she wasn’t positive about the loyalty part–she had never had anybody that she could be loyal to. Memoirs of her working throughout the night on her homework had her considering the house and she tucked her robes underneath her as she sat. 

As the hat sat on her head, she wondered just where she would go. She was torn in her own mind between all four of the houses, seeing values that resided within her in all of them. But, she was struggling between Gryffindor and Slytherin the most. Closing her eyes, she took a steadying breath and told the hat to decide where she belonged. It was quiet, and she realized that none of the other students had taken this long to be sorted. Gripping the edges of the stool she listened to see if she had just missed the bloody hat speaking.

“I have never encountered somebody like you.”

“What? What is that supposed to mean?”

It was silent for a moment longer before it yelled, and she nearly jumped from the seat. 

“Unsorted!!”

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Her eyes widened as she stared out at the sea of children staring back at her. That couldn’t be right? Could it? She had scanned over Hogwarts a History from front to back about eight times over the summer and there was never a mention about a student being unsorted. Never. The hat was supposed to tell her where she belonged, it was supposed to give her a place. A house. 

Her hand came up to settle on her chest, and she closed her eyes, jumping at the light touch on her shoulders as she nearly fell off of the stool. Soft eyes were staring at her and for a moment she forgot the older witch's name who was guiding her to the table next to her, rubbing her arm soothingly. She felt every eye follow her. She sat in the seat that she was motioned to and listened to the Professors around her whisper to one another. The only one not moving was one with a turban wrapped around his head, instead he was eyeing her curiously. 

She raised an eyebrow at him and he looked away, back down to the table. 

“This has never happened before, Albus!”

“I am aware, Minerva, we must continue with the ceremony and we can address this privately afterwards. Maybe we can have the hat attempt to sort her whenever everything is calmed down. There is a meaning to everything.” 

The rest of the ceremony flew by, and she stared at her dinner as it appeared on the table in front of them. She was sitting at the table with the Professors and attempting to keep her chin up as the rest of the people had gotten sorted. Had gotten meaning and a place. Yet again, Hermione was left out without a place that she belonged. 

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she flicked them over to Harry who gave her a soft smile. For some reason, her eyes scanned over the tables and rested on a blonde head of hair. The boy was already glancing at her, and she met his eyes. Something flickered across his expression before he tore his eyes away from her and continued talking to everybody around him.

She caught his curious glances throughout dinner that were disguised as sneers.

After all of the students had been ushered from the tables, only then was Hermione brought back to the Headmasters office. She was nervous and barely noticed Snape had come up beside her, standing next to the chair she was perched on the edge of. 

After a moment of bickering, McGonagall placed the hat on top of her head where It didn't hesitate to again–state her as unsorted. Dumbledore was smiling softly at her. “I'm sorry, Headmaster, what exactly is that supposed to mean? Do I..do I not belong at Hogwarts?”  

“No. No my dear you belong here alright. Why don't we ask the hat to explain further, shall we?” 

She turned expectantly and the hat stared back at him before speaking. “This mind…it does not fit solely in one house. There are too many prominent traits of each house within it. I cannot possibly sort her into one. She is evenly divided between all four.” 

It was silent for a moment and Hermione swallowed. 

“Well. Where shall we place her then? Surely there has to be somewhere that she can be. We cannot have a student house less, Albus.” 

The older man nodded before rounding his desk, staring at her. “Set her up in the eight year Prefect tower. There is always an extra room there.” 

McGonagall scoffed. “We cannot place her there! Everybody is over age in that tower! She would be by herself!” 

She opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by Snape's drawl. “If I may, Professor. While staying in my care I have noticed Ms. Granger to be extremely independent. I believe that she could benefit from student interaction, although if she were placed in Prefect dorms she would be able to handle herself accordingly.” 

Hermione glared at him. She could benefit from student interaction. What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean? 

“It’s settled then, bring the girl to the Prefect dorms. Give her a schedule. I will adjust it myself to properly accommodate her situation.” 

They led her up into a tower that was blocked by a portrait whose password wound up being Pumpernickel. A bit anticlimactic if any of them had bothered to ask her, but she was tired, and just wanted to cry in the hidden area of whatever dormitory she wound up having. It wasn’t lost on her that she had just gotten to a school where she expected to finally have a place to belong only to have the rug ripped from under her and deposited in a room by herself exactly how she had been to begin with. Merlin. 

The Common Room was tidy, multiple colors strewn across various objects inside. There were dark green blankets and yellow throw pillows that resided on dark blue rugs. There was something representing each house here and she gulped. It was supposed to be a room of unity for the different houses that resided there, but it just reminded her that she somehow fit into all of them and none of them at the same time. She was ushered towards one of the doors, and made her way inside a spacious room. There was a four poster bed, in the center of the room, and her trunk was already at the end. A desk made her gasp, the deep oak a proper height for her to slip her knees under and be comfortable. A dark oak bookcase was against the far wall, empty and waiting to be filled with books. 

A small smile tugged at her lips, she couldn’t help but adore it. It was hers. Regardless of the fact that she didn’t seem to belong anywhere. 

They introduced her to a few people, before leaving her alone and depositing a schedule into her lap. Quietly, she stared at it, memorizing the blocks and classes before pulling her books out and shuffling through them, organizing accordingly. A small thrill went through her at the idea of attending classes. It would be the first time that she would actually be in class without being taught one on one by Melinda, or with other kids who were learning the material that she had already covered. Information was something that she was always thirsty for. Knowledge. It was one of the few things that she could control and keep to herself without worrying about it being taken away. 

She slumped into the pillows and closed her eyes, placing her wand on the nightstand next to her bed. 

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Classes for the first week were something she looked forward to. She had multiple classes with Harry and Ron, and when she settled herself into the chair for Snape’s first class she jumped at the doors flying open. 

Snape billowed in, black robes swirling around him. “There will be no wand-waving foolishness of any kind, nor will there be any silly incantations. That being so, I don’t see many of you being able to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that goes into potion-making. Although..” His eyes flicked over Hermione and she sat up straighter. “Some of you might have the ability to possess the skills necessary.”

Snape stalked forward until he was standing in front of their table. “I can teach you many things–like bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. I can tell and show you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even..” He stopped staring directly at Harry. “Put a stopper in death. But, what I won’t do, is teach a bunch of blubbering imbeciles. In this class you are to pay attention at all times, are we clear?”

He enunciated the last words, glaring at Harry and Ron who were now whispering to one another. Snape came forward, slapping his hand onto the table between them causing Harry to jump. “Shall we see how bright our newest celebrity is?”

There was snickering around her and Hermione narrowed her eyes at Snape. He was bullying a child. For what reason? 

“Tell me, Potter. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Snape raised his eyebrows and Hermione threw her hand into the air. She knew the answer to this. He didn’t even glance her way, instead stayed staring at Harry. Pulling back, his hands rested in front of his stomach before turning away. Hermione rolled her eyes, answering anyway. 

“You would create the Draught of the Living Death, Professor.” 

Snape didn’t even turn around. “Thank you, Mr. Potter.” The class snickered and Hermione ignored them, instead glaring daggers into the back of Snape’s back. The class continued with obvious remarks and snips at Harry throughout. Hermione made a perfect batch of Boil-Cure Potion, which resulted in Snape awarding her no points, and scrutinizing Harry’s cauldron instead. Hermione also noted that her cauldron was one of the nicest in class, the same kind that she noticed most of the Slytherin table had. That had earned her a few curious glances when she had first pulled it out. 

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The next week, in Flying Class Hermione nearly had a heart attack when Harry and Draco had chased each other on their brooms. Neville had fallen off of his broom when Draco had decidedly picked on him, stealing some sort of ball from him. Afterwards, she stood on the ground, watching Harry chase Draco around the school on brooms that were soaring through the air far too high for her liking. She noticed that the boy–who she found out at the Sorting Ceremony–was named Theo had moved closer to her while she stared after them. He was quiet, and studying her again and she didn’t have the energy to focus on anything other than the boys chasing one another around the grounds of the castle. 

Madam Hooch had emerged just as Harry was touching down, and she watched Draco smile smugly after him as he was dragged back to the castle for Detention. 

“Honestly, behave your age, why don’t you?”

Draco turned towards her. “Pardon?”

“I said. Behave your age why don’t you. A bit childish to be egging one another on over a marble is it not?”

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, before turning towards his friends that had gathered behind him. She noted that Theo was still standing somewhat behind her, a fact that Draco noticed as well as his eyes flitted over him then quickly back to her. 

“I didn’t realize that a marble bothered you so much, is it because you couldn’t afford one of your own?”

She raised her chin. “Could you not have? I assumed that a posh boy who could name numerous ancestors would be able to buy one himself, but here you are stealing from another boy.” She stepped closer to him, and he stilled, freezing in place. “Hmm….maybe you might only be able to name four ancestors after all.” She stalked past him, leaving the crowd behind her in silence. 

Later that night as she was strolling through the castle–something she found out she had gotten rather good at without being caught–she heard hushed whispers. Ducking behind a tapestry, she listened, hearing Ron and Harry argue about whether or not Draco was going to show up. Something about a duel caught her attention but before she could peek her head in and say anything, she saw the faint glow of a lantern from down the hallway. Cursing, she slipped into the room where Harry and Ron stared at her with wide eyes. 

“Come on then, Filch is coming. Don’t tell me that you’re both daft enough to believe that Draco was going to meet you here. He’s had it out for you since the first day that you came here Harry.” She rolled her eyes, reached out and yanked Harry along behind her, slipping through a tapestry just as she heard the footsteps outside the door. 

“Did you hear that Mrs. Norris. Sounds like we’ve got someone out past curfew.” The door creaked open just as Hermione slipped behind the tapestry and pulled the boys into the adjoining room. Quickly, they ran through the room and slipped into the hallway, taking twists and turns until they stumbled upon a locked door. There were faint footsteps in the hallway behind them and she turned her wand towards the handle. 

“Alohomora.” Hermione opened the door and shoved the boys inside before shutting it just as she heard Filch turn the corner. Staring at the handle, she watched it wiggle before turning her head towards the boys. They were staring at the door, eyes wide and she stared past them. Every muscle in her body locked and she felt her eyes widen. Harry went to turn and she shook her head quickly, he stopped, grabbing Ron when he went to turn as well. 

“Wh-we need to move.” Hermione watched as the large dog lifted its head, well, heads up towards them. Slipping a hand behind her back she twisted the handle and pulled the boys with her just as the dog lunged forward, its foot hovering over a trap door. They fell into the hallway, Harry and Ron landing on top of her and she kicked the door shut. The boys scrambled off of her, Ron’s ears red and Harry not looking at her and she stood, brushing herself off. 

“Well. That was eventful. Hopefully you both learned your lesson about trusting Draco Malfoy of all people. Now, off to bed. Both of you. Before we’re caught here and expelled.” The boys exchanged a look and scurried down the hallway. 

She watched them disappear before turning down the opposite hall and bumping face-first into Snape. He stared at her, eyebrow raised as she huffed. “Would you believe me if I told you that I couldn’t sleep and was traipsing the castle in order to?”

“Not in the slightest.” He flicked a glance over her shoulder at the door she now knew held a three headed dog and then his eyes traveled back to her. “You just so happened to be wandering the halls on the exact floor that you were told not to?”

Hermione looked around. “Oh, is this the third floor that we were warned of? I didn’t notice.”

“For such a bright girl you play dumb rather well, Ms. Granger.”

“Well, there are many facades in which one can take. Making them believable is the part that is the most difficult.” 

Snape didn’t say anything to that, instead motioned his arm back down the hallway as he accompanied her to her tower. He watched her slip through the portrait and she made her way back to bed, mind swirling with images of a three headed dog.