The Muggle Who Lived ☆ h.p au

eight

Gryffindor Common Room. December 7th, 1995

Hermione had trouble trying to get the Marauders Map from Harry. He always had it on him and Hermione noticed that he checked it every once in a while. She didn't know why, but it was something that prevented her from getting the map.

"Did you get it this time?" Evanora asked Hermione, eager to find her best friend Zoë. Hermione shock her head, telling her that Harry seemed to be glued to the map this time around. Evanora sighed. 

"Try taking the map from his dorm at night. You know girls are able to physically be up in the boys dorms right?" Hermione, wide eyed, facepalmed. She had completely forgotten about that. She just assumed that both dorms turned into slides if the opposite genders stepped on them.

And so with that in mind, at 1 am, Hermione snuck into the boys dorm and managed to find Harry's chest without him noticing. Right on top of it was the Marauders Map. Hermione smiled, so close to getting the map when...

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Hermione looked up to find the source of the voice and saw the one and only Harry Potter sitting up on his bed, wand light in hand. 

In a hurry Hermione snatched the map and began to run, not caring if she woke up the whole dorm. Hermione felt Harry running behind her as soon as he realized what he had done. Hermione kept running but she felt him getting closer. Hermione dug inside her pockets for her wand to cast a spell at Harry but she want left it on her bed. 

As Hermione turned the corner she saw Severus Snape walking around the halls, patrolling.

Gosh Hermione had never been more than happy to see that cruel teacher.

Professor Dumbledore had told all the teachers that knew of Zoë's existence that she went missing and that Hermione and Evanora were trying to get the map from Harry to find her.

So when Snape turned around and saw the running Hermione and Harry, he opened his mouth to scold them both but was stopped when Hermione lifted up the map in her hand, showing the man that she had retrieved the map. 

Severus quickly turned a blind eye from Hermione and focused on Harry, who hadn't noticed Snape and was screaming for Hermione.

"STOP RIGHT THERE MISTER POTTER." Harry stopped in his tracks to face his teacher. 

"You think I wouldn't notice you in the halls Potter? You think you're so special from being the boy who lived that you think that you rule the school? Pathetic."

Harry stood still. He didn't have anymore energy left to talk back to Snape, who he realized clearly ignore the running Hermione. As Snape kept talking Harry thought about a plan to go to see Hermione and where she went.

Although he had an idea to where she was. 

When Snape sent Harry back to his dorm, Harry lifted up the top of his chest, trying to find his invisablity cloak. However, it was nowhere to be seen. Worry reached Harry as he basically flipped his chest over, making a mess of his stuff everywhere. Wand in hand with the Lumos spell casted Harry searched everywhere for it and came back empty handed. 

Worry turned into anger when he began to place the pieces together. That first DA meeting he couldn't see that Zoë girl in the room yet she was there when Harry was near the door ready to leave. So that must mean she was there with them. And since this Zoë girl couldn't hide anywhere since it was almost all open...

She must have had something that made her invisible.

Everything made sense, why she was there and no one noticed and how Hermione and Evanora knew about her. One of them must have taken his cloak and given it to that Zoë girl. 

Angrily placing his items back in the chest, Harry walked down to the common room and sat on one of the sofas. Angry flowed through his body and his tired state vanished, only leaving a wide awake boy waiting for his best friend to come back. 

::::::::::

Hermione reached the Headmaster's office. Hoping that he was still awake she entered Dumbledore's office to see him at his desk, face in hands. 

Dumbledore didn't hear Hermione. This was unusually for the always aware Headmaster. Hermione walked closer but Dumbledore still didn't lift his head to face her. As she moved closer she heard Dumbledore mumbled something.

"Zoë. Come back to me please. I miss you so much." Hermione heard professor Dumbledore say. Hermione slowly backed away until she reached the door exiting the office. She quietly got out of the office, only to knock on the door this time. It took a while, but when Hermione heard a come in, she entered, trying to forget what she just heard.

"Professor Dumbledore. I managed to get the map from Harry." Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly and a glow she hadn't seen in a while appeared again. 

Dumbledore took the map from her hands. Wand in hand he told Hermione that he had placed a spell over Zoë the day she came to Hogwarts so that she isn't found even through maps like the one he had in his hands. Dumbledore lifted his wand and starting muttering something with eyes closed. With a strong exhale he opened his eyes. The spell had been lifted.

Hermione went to the map, placed her wand on it, and said:

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She had heard Harry say this multiple times in the past so she knew how to get it open. When the map opened, Both Hermione and Dumbledore scanned the map, but Zoë's name was nowhere to be seen. Hermione looked at Dumbldore, who seemed to get paler at every name he saw that wasn't Zoë's. 

"This doesn't make sense. She should be somewhere on the map. Unless..." Hermione didn't even want to finished that thought. She knew that in the state that Dumbledore was in, news about Zoë potentially not being in Hogwarts would crush him. 

Dumbledore finally placed the map down and looked up at Hermione. 

"I'll examine the map some more. It is best that you go back to your common room." Hermione, even thought she wanted to stay and find Zoë, nodded and bid her good night to Dumbledore, leaving the wise man to stare at the map.

Hermione dragged her feet through the halls, tears following down her cheeks. She knew she had to tell Evanora what she didn't tell to Dumbledore.

That Zoë could no longer be in Hogwarts.

When she reached the fat lady portrait and entered the common room to go to her dorm she, much to her shock, found Harry Potter wide awake on the sofa, waiting for her.

"We need to talk Hermione."

A/N: Hey guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took foreverrr to update. I started school again and it's really been killing me. Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading. Sorry in advance for any spelling mistakes. Bye!

And I have a question. I know this book has been a slow burn and I realize some people may not like that. Should I keep it this way or should I pick up the pace a bit?