A girl named Hermione Granger: Year Three

Chapter One: Little Girls Need Their Fathers, Even When They Aren't Little

Disclaimer: I don't own the plot from Prisoner of Azkaban, however you'll find my twists laid within this story well.

Severus Snape sat in his study, a glass of firewhiskey in one hand, a letter in the other. Light flickered from the fireplace behind him, and he set his glass down with a soft thud. He stood from his chair abruptly and paced the length of the room, the letter still clasped in his hand. The old grandfather clock in the corner of his study chimed, telling him that it was now midnight. He continued pacing, undaunted by the late hour, occasionally stopping to re-read the letter. When he had first received it, he'd thought it to merely be a joke.

Surely Dumbledore was kidding, saying that Hermione had been approved. No one person could attend all those classes; it was physically impossible. He had flooed the Headmasters' office immediately, and since then, he'd been pacing. Four hours he'd been pacing. Was his daughter responsible enough? Twelve classes in a single year; could she handle it?

He made his way to his currently cluttered desk and set down the letter. It was late; he'd deal with it in the morning. He quickly drained his glass of firewhiskey and left his study. From the bottom of the stair well, he could hear the giggling voices of Hermione, Julie, and to the former's displeasure, Sarah. He made his way past the closed door of his daughter's bedroom which had, once upon a time, been his own. As the last year had ended, and he'd spent days watching over Hermione's petrified body, he had decided to find a way to make up for the disastrous turn the school year had taken on. He'd recruited Julie and Narcissa, and given the latter the charm that would be needed to open the dusty old room.

He slipped into his bedroom quietly and flicked on his light. He recalled the look of surprise on Hermione's face when she had laid eyes on the overly pink room. He remembered thinking that it had perhaps been a mistake to allow Narcissa to help, but he'd been unable to refuse his old friend. The Malfoy Matriarch had always longed for a daughter, and was very near smothering his own. He shrugged off his robes and lay on his large bed.

Hermione sat on her bed, hugging a fluffy body pillow to her chest, "So...how've you been, Sarah?" She asked indifferently, her eyes following her now sixteen year old sister about her room. When Julie had suggested a sleep over, she had jumped at the chance to catch up, only to be forced into inviting Sarah as well. She had never gotten along with her blonde sister, because the girl never seemed interested in anything other than boys and make up. "Oh just fine, I settled into my new school, and I've already dated half the football team." The blonde girl plucked a book off the large bookshelf beside her younger sister's dresser. "Voyages with vampires?" She read the title aloud.

Julie was situated in a rather comfy bean bag chair beside Hermione's bed, Magical drafts and potions propped open on her crossed legs. "It's rubbish." She stated plainly, flipping the page in her book. "It makes good fiction though." She added as an afterthought, allowing her eyes to flicker up to the bored blonde. "I don't see what makes you so special that you get a fancy room, a rich bilogicle father, and a flying broom." Sarah snapped suddenly, tossing the book in her hands to the floor, and casting a suspicious glare at the sleek broom, in the corner behind the door.

Hermione scoffed, "Sarah, the word is 'biological', and sod off. It's not like I was chosen at random. And he's not rich. My biological mother was." The young brunette had, quite possibly, never been happier to know that she was not, in fact, related to the ditzy blonde teenager. "Stop fighting you two or I'll put on the song." Julie accentuated her threat by reaching for the small stereo beside her. She learned several years ago, that if she wanted to have the other two in the same room without fighting, she needed to be prepared with the one thing that neither girl could stand.

Hermione and Sarah immediately stopped glaring at each other, and gave the stereo a horrified glance. "Ok, you win Julie." Sarah said finally, throwing her hands up in defeat. The eldest of the three smirked and folded over the corner of the page she was reading before closing the book with a snap. "So, Hermione, dearest little sister..." Her voice crackled with mischief and the twelve-year-old shifted away slightly, "My darling, wonderful, innocent little sister." Julie continued on, placing the book on the floor, "Was it my imagination, yesterday afternoon, or were you blushing your little face off when we left the train station?" She knew very well that it had not been her imagination, as she had teased the younger girl relentlessly, but she hadn't managed to pry the reason out of the young witch.

Sarah gasped dramatically and threw herself on the bed, trapping the twelve year old between the head board and the wall, "Oh! Blushing were you? Who'd you kiss?" She squealed, making Hermione flinch, and Julie smirk. This was exactly why the blonde had been invited. "N-no one! We didn't kiss!" Hermione stuttered, blushing as she tried to sink back into the wall. Julie stood from her bean bag chair and crawled onto the bed herself, "Well then, who did you almost kiss?" She demanded.

Hermione licked her lips and ducked behind her pillow, "We didn't kiss! We were goofing around and fell over, but nothing happened!" She said quickly, her words muffled by her pillow. Julie slung her arm around the girls shoulder at the same time as Sarah, and the young witch found herself pinned between her sisters, "So you won't tell us who?" Julie asked, feigning a sigh as Hermione shook her head rapidly.

Sarah grinned at her older sister and held up a finger as an idea struck her. "How many boys were around you when you were at the station?" Hermione stiffened in their arms, and sincerely hoped that Julie hadn't noticed Draco behind her. Julie bit her lip in thought, "Well, the only one I know of that was clearly from Hogwarts, was that Slytherin boy, you remember the blonde boy Severus brought by for Christmas?" Hermione groaned and tried to dive out of the clutches of her sisters, but was restrained as Sarah began rambling on about how adorable it was that Hermione had finally realized boys were fun, in more ways than one.

"I've never, and will never, kiss Draco!" Hermione hissed, finally succeeding in escaping their clutches, so she was standing in the middle of her room, chest heaving, and her face almost blending in with the pink walls of her room. "Of course dear, of course." Julie said slyly, slipping back into her bean bag chair.

Hermione sat in the living room of her sister's apartment, flipping through the channels in boredom. Her sister had taken her for the weekend, after her father had been called to attend a party being held at Malfoy Manor. She wished she could have gone, to see Draco, but she hadn't even bothered to ask, knowing the answer would be no. It was just as well, she thought dejectedly, that Lucius Malfoy didn't know her relation to Snape, as she doubted she'd have been able to face the blonde boy without going bright red and remembering the confusing feelings from their last conversation in the great hall.

She turned the tv off and picked up her sisters phone, and dialed quickly. She pressed the receiver to her ear and waited for someone to answer on the other end. "Hello, Dursley residence." The high, grating voice of Harry's aunt made her pull the phone away from her ear, "Hello, I'm calling for Harry in regards to a dental appointment he's made." She had received word from Ron, that the Dursley's had caught on to the fact Harry had given their phone number to them, so she had come up with a reasonable lie before calling.

Petunia's voice shrieked in her ear that she was not going to pay for his dental work, and Hermione sighed under her breath. "It's just for a free checkup. Our office has been promoting itself on the streets, and he signed up for a free checkup. Is he there?" She was met with the dial tone, signaling that the irritating woman had hung up. She placed the phone back on the hook and rolled off the couch. "Julie!" She called out, making her way into the kitchen, where her sister had set up a miniature potions lab. As it turned out, muggles could brew potions too.

"Yeah?" Julie replied without looking away from her cauldron, stirring carefully as she added some dead lacewing flies. "Can I go out?" Hermione asked, leaning up against the counter beside her sister, watching with interest. "Is that a sleeping draught?" She asked, taking in the light blue tint of the potion. "Yeah, it is. Dad hasn't been sleeping well, so I thought I'd try my hand at brewing a solution. Severus promised to double check it when he comes to pick you up." She withdrew her wooden spoon and set it on the counter, "There. Now it has to sit for an hour." She turned to face the younger brunette and grinned.

"You're going to be thirteen this year, right?" The question was rhetorical, Hermione knew, but it made her uneasy as she nodded and was then dragged down the hall to the washroom by her sister.

Severus Snape was standing in front of a row of books in the library at Malfoy Manor after dismissing himself from the parlor. It seemed Lucius had spread word among the many pureblood families that his and Kathrine's daughter had died, and he had grown tired of snide slurs against his own blood impurity. Several of the women invited to the gathering that evening had declared that the death of his daughter was payment for his own mother's sins. He plucked a particularly old book off of a higher up shelf and settled himself by the fire place, counting down in his head until he would be able to leave the blasted place all together.

His head snapped up as he heard the door open, and was relieved to find that it was Draco who had found him, not one of the blithering twits. "Good evening Draco." He greeted his godson, turning his gaze back to the book in his hands. "Good evening uncle." The boy echoed, taking another empty seat by the fire place. "What is it you wish to ask?" Severus asked calmly, feeling the curiosity radiating from his godson. "Why do they all think He-" "Not here, Draco." He cut the boy off quickly, dismissing the topic. It was certainly not a good place to mention Hermione's name. "Can I come visit for a week?" Draco asked, catching onto the change in his godfather's demeanor.

Severus set the book down with a sigh and looked over his godson. The boy was now thirteen, and he could tell that despite any efforts to hide the change, his voice was beginning to change. He weighed the pros and cons of the situation, allowing a young boy entering puberty to stay over for a week, when his daughter would be there. Granted, he would not leave them in the house alone. "No funny business." He declared, leaning back, smirking at the pink that spread across the boy's face.

Hermione had her headphones in, and was humming aloud to her music as she lay on her sister's couch, her head hanging off the end so that everything seemed to be upside down. She watched her sister walk over to the door, and pulled out an ear bud as the door opened to reveal a very enthusiastic Jane Granger. "I have wonderful news!" She swept into the room, her long blonde hair twirling around her and she dropped several large bags on the couch where Hermione was sitting. "We're going to France! In three days! I brought by some clothes for Hermione, I figured she would be needing them!"

The twelve year old opened the bag cautiously and went bright red as she pulled out a training bra, this was almost as embarrassing as the lecture she'd gotten from Julie earlier. "Mom!" She tossed the pretty pink bra back into the bag and shoved the offending item off the couch, where it spilled its entire contents onto the living room floor. Julie turned and strode back into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder to the young girl, "Don't forget, your dad's coming by in a bit to pick you up."

Jane giggled as the young witch dove off the couch and frantically tried to stuff the various training bras back into the bag. Hermione just barely managed to put everything back into the bag when another knock sounded at the door. She jumped so violently at the intruding sound that she knocked over one of the other bags of clothing her mother had brought. Jane was still laughing as she opened the door and came face to face with a black robed figure.

Severus did not expect, when he brought Draco to his home, to drop off the boy's bag before picking up his daughter, to find Julie's car parked outside of his front door. He rushed to the car, which looked as though it had been smashed around, and saw Hermione huddled in the back seat with Julie and Jane, all three with minor injuries. He wrenched open the car door and was tackled by his daughter. "What in Merlin's name happened?" He demanded, taking in the extent of the wounds on the twelve-year-old.

Julie slid cautiously out of the car next and helped her mother out, "I don't think we should stay out here." She said grimly, wrapping her mother's arm around her shoulder so she could support the shaking woman. Severus led them into the house quickly, and gently pushed his shaking daughter to the couch where Draco was sitting. She immediately latched onto the boys arm. "Now tell me, what happened?"

"A man showed up at my apartment," Julie said quietly, setting Jane into a chair across from the couch, "Mom answered the door, thinking it was you, coming to get Hermione, and I saw this cloaked man advance on her." She sat herself on the arm rest of the chair, "He said something funny and she's been out of it ever since. I acted quickly and threw the cauldron full of the sleeping draught I was making at him." Hermione closed her eyes tightly, and shuddered. This was the second time they had been attacked in what should have been a safe location.

Severus cleared his throat, feeling his mouth go dry. "It knocked him out long enough for us to get to the car, but then he was up, shouting a number of different things at my car, we bumped into a lot of traffic getting here, but for the most part I think we're okay." Severus pulled out his wand, "Did either of you hear the spell he used on Jane?" "Confundus." Hermione responded, and her father nodded. He flicked his wand and Jane began looking around in confusion. "I don't suppose you saw the face of the attacker?" "No," Julie said after a moment, recalling the skeletal mask.

Severus stood in the hall, facing the door to his daughter's room. Julie stood at his shoulder, gripping the sleeve of his worn out pajama t-shirt. "Do you think she'll be awake yet?" He asked softly, turning his head enough to see Julie nod. "Yeah. She's not usually one to sleep in, you know?" He nodded in response, and carefully knocked on the door, just enough to be heard, but to not wake up Draco in the next room over.

Hermione's voice floated through the door, granting him entrance, and he opened the door gently. "Maybe you should talk to her alone. I'll go make breakfast and wake up Jane." Julie left before he could protest, and he stepped into his daughter's far-too-bright room alone. Hermione was sitting cross legged on her bed, running a brush through her hair absent mindedly. He, with no small amount of awkwardness, took a seat beside her on her bed.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, taking in her disheveled and sleepless appearance. "I'm fine, dad." She replied, staring at the wall blankly. In truth, she was feeling just dreadful. She was the brightest witch in her year, but when it came down to a dangerous situation, she buckled under the pressure. She reminded herself she was only twelve, and therefore allowed to be afraid, but her mind repeatedly reminded her that Harry had faced, fought, and defeated Voldemort twice since entering school. Even Ron had rushed head-long into the danger without a doubt. She sighed heavily and let her head fall onto her father's shoulder.

"I know better than to believe that, Hermione. Lily always used to say that, when things were at their worst." He said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder comfortingly, "Lily?" She asked, looking up to see her father's face. "An old friend, she passed away many years ago. Don't change the subject; tell me what's bothering you." His eyes flickered with an old pain, and she turned her gaze back to the wall opposite her bed.

"I feel like I failed." She said after a moment of silence, shifting her head into a more comfortable position. "That's twice now. A dark wizard coming after me, and I do nothing to help. I'm a coward." She fought the frustrated tears that wanted to fall, and Severus reached over to comb his free hand through her hair. "You are not a coward. You are twelve, and far braver than most." He reassured her, placing a kiss on the top of her head before continuing. "And you did help, in the park. You distracted Lucius by throwing the rock. And if you hadn't been there to hear the spell used on Jane, I'd have had to take her to St. Mungo's. It could have taken weeks to figure it out otherwise."

She sighed again and turned to bury her face into his shirt, breathing in the slight smell of cinnamon and smoke. "But I'm rubbish for re-" "You are not rubbish for anything." He cut her off, turning slightly so he could wrap his other arm around her as well. She tentatively clutched his shirt, "I need to be better. I'm a Gryffindor. I should be able to protect everyone." Her words were muffled, but they made her father chuckle. "You are also Slytherin, at heart. You are cunning and you think things through before acting. Gryffindor's tend to be foolish and rush without tactics or plans. As you get older you'll find a way to blend the two perfectly to your needs." He pulled back and set his hands upon her shoulders so she was facing him. "You have time, lots more time then I had at your age."

She offered him a weak smile, "Thanks dad." "And you're a know-it-all. My know-it-all." A playful smirk danced on his face and she laughed, feeling less melancholy then she had before. "It's time for breakfast now." He stood and offered her his hand, "Okay, I'll be down in a minute." She let him pull her to her feet, but as soon as he left her room, closing the door behind him, she fell back on her bed and frowned. She had never seen her father so open. The smell of cinnamon and smoke lingered in her room as she dressed for breakfast, and she thought it rather suited her father. It was dark and light and spicy, but almost subtle. Just like him.

End chapter one!

I know I said this would be out days ago, but I wanted to wait until I was at least writing the very last part of Year Three before posting it. Also you'll notice improved grammar in this story, because I've got Word on my computer now and it is very bossy about comma's and semi-colons.