Forbidden For a Reason

Hermione looked up from her book as Ron shouted from his broomstick. Another amazing save. Thank Merlin for books or she'd be bored to tears during Quidditch practice. The witch had nearly redirected her attention back to her text when movement at the edge of the Forbidden Forest caught her eye.

A man was standing there. A man dressed like a Muggle in black fatigues and boots with a dark wife beater shirt straining over his chest and revealing broad muscular shoulders and arms. He was clean shaven, either naturally bald or he shaved his head and strangest of all he wore goggles over his eyes.

His head tilted as if he was taking in the activity on the Quidditch pitch before he deliberately seemed to look away. And like smoke he drifted back into the forest.

Hermione stared at the spot where the man had been and frowned. Hogwarts had anti-Muggle wards all around the castle and grounds, so the man couldn't be a Muggle. Now that the war was over the wards were stronger than ever and Headmistress McGonagall would never let a stranger onto the grounds. She took the welfare and safety of her students very seriously.

So the man had to be someone known to the staff. An eccentric wizard visitor? But why would he be in the Forbidden Forest? Why hadn't she seen him in the castle at all? Or at least heard rumors of a mysterious visitor? She might keep irregular hours what with her classes and studying for NEWTs but the rumor mill ran just as swiftly and madly as ever. She would have heard something about this man.

Quickly she ran through her mental catalogue of all the gossip she'd heard. Nothing about a wizard eccentric enough to dress Muggle. Nothing about a Muggle resident. Nothing. The only gossip she'd heard was about Hagrid's new animals. Some type of rare and dangerous cat.

Hermione was suddenly glad that Crookshanks was in her room. The half kneazle was insatiably curious and wouldn't have hesitated to investigate. She smiled ruefully. Curiosity was a trait she shared with her familiar.

Two weeks later and she still hadn't heard anything about the mysterious wizard. But at least she had some time free to visit Hagrid. He always knew what was going on in the Forbidden Forest. But this time he just smiled and shook his head. "Best ta leave it alone Hermione," he'd told her in his kindly way. "It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason."

Her boulder by the lake was pleasantly warmed by the sun and the Muggleborn witch stared over the water with a frown of concentration. It simply wasn't possible for someone to get past the wards. You couldn't even portkey into Hogwarts much less apparate. In order to get past the gates you had to be on the list. And that list was very carefully approved by McGonagall and Flitwick.

Hermione rolled her eyes at herself. She was becoming a bit obsessed with finding out who the mysterious man was. And she had to ask herself why she cared. If the man was someone who would be a danger to the students or the returned 'heroes' of the war finalizing their education the professors would be out in force. Or the aurors would be there scouring the forest. Professor McGonagall would have made an announcement about a strange man to be avoided at all costs. None of those things had happened.

She was interested because nothing else was interesting at the moment, the witch admitted to herself. Magic was still amazing, classes could occupy her mind and she had her choice of careers but nothing called to her heart. Least of all Ron Weasley. She'd finally figured out that her attraction to Ron had more to do with the constant peril they found themselves in than any love of his personality.

The young woman wrinkled her nose. No table manners, thick as a board and absentmindedly insulting were not the magical trio to make her swoon. Not to mention the emotional depth of a teaspoon. She had nothing in common with Ron Weasley besides magic, Harry Potter and school.

Maybe it was her Muggle upbringing, but wizards all seemed a bit scrawny to her. Her dad wasn't a body builder but he played rugby in college and was still a pretty big guy. And it wasn't as if she expected a wizard to be built like a movie star but it didn't seem like too much to ask that they be able to do some manual labor.

Hermione giggled to herself as she got up and began to walk near the forests edge. She needed some fresh lilithseed for a potion and would likely find it near the trees. Another chuckle escaped her as she knelt and began harvesting some of the plants. The idea of Ronald Weasley or any of the boys in her class having any idea what to do with hammer, nail or shovel was ludicrous.

Her summers had been spent doing housework the Muggle way, exercising and trying to work her body into something that wouldn't look bad in a bikini with at least some success. Harry was the same way; the Dursleys worked him hard when he was home. They'd compared horror stories about weeds, gardening and dirt with Harry adding mowing and digging to the tales. They'd once spent half an hour comparing notes on floor scrubbing techniques. Ron had just stared at them in horror. Apparently getting rid of garden gnomes was the height of his physical exertion and what he considered hard labor.

It was another thing she and Harry had in common. Even she couldn't spend all her time buried in books. And physical exercise was a nice way to relax her brain. So at Hogwarts she'd done her best to do something without her wand besides running around the lake in the mornings. Helping Hagrid with his garden was one thing that she and Harry did. The half giant had loved that they'd spend a Saturday or Sunday morning with him, chatting and weeding and in general doing things the way he did, without magic.

She actually should see if Hagrid needed any help with his pumpkin harvesting this year. Rolling the huge things along would be a good workout for her arms and legs. Another few stops for potions ingredients and she'd nearly be at his hut anyway.

A conjured bag would contaminate the seeds she carried and she hadn't thought to bring one of her baskets. Hermione shrugged and took her long sleeved shirt off. The sleeveless teeshirt underneath it was tight but no one but Hagrid would see her anyway.

Potions ingredients safely bundled into her shirt she headed for Hagrid's little house, unaware of the eyes watching her from within the forest.

Author's Note: So my first attempt at this particular crossover. Story isn't finished but I'm over fifty pages in and I've got an idea of where I'm going. Chapter lengths will vary wildly so don't be surprised. Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy.