Chapter Text
You were making your way through diagon alley glancing around a bit as you let out a small breath. ‘I can’t believe I came here looking like this’ you thought to yourself as you stopped by a window and looked at your disheveled reflection. Your clothes were ripped and dirtied from your latest near-death experience from your latest adventure. ‘but it was completely worth it to get it’ you patted your pocket where you were keeping your new wand. It had been made specially for you after having had to entertain certain ‘gods and goddesses’ from Greece.
You didn’t think they were gods, you figured they were old wizards and witches that became so powerful over time that they liked to think themselves as gods. It was nearly certain they were able to keep their young appearance and were able to live forever because of the ambrosia they consumed. Of course, you weren’t about to tell them that, they gave you magical items that had powers beyond anyone’s wildest dreams for doing their ridiculous requests that often lead to you learning something new, indulging them a bit by calling them gods seemed to be a good deal.
You went into a bookstore and glanced around a bit, there weren’t a lot of people around only a few which was to be expected. Most people waited till last minute to buy their school things. Usually, it was only the Ravenclaws and a small handful of Slytherins that liked to buy their things right after getting their letter.
The shopkeeper looked over and frowned a bit as his gaze landed on you as he figured you wouldn’t be able to afford anything there and would most likely try to steal it
When you met his gaze you hold back a sigh and a roll of your eyes, you had enough money on your bag to buy the whole store if you wanted to and that was just your loose change. “Is there a problem here?” You ask walking over toward the man, every stride taken seemed to make the man want to flinch. Your voice was a bit raspier than usual as you were quite dehydrated and you were dying for a drink of water. The priorities you had set however, had placed quenching your thirst as a secondary matter.
“…where are your parents?” He asked after he found his voice. There was something about you that he couldn’t quite understand but that made him feel small in comparison.
“One is dead and the other one is in prison” You answered holding his gaze as the man nearly flinched at that.
“I’m sorry but this bookstore…it’s not a charity” He said a bit quietly his voice making it sound almost like a question rather than a statement. There was a slight quiver to his voice that he was trying to hide.
“You don’t say…you mean the sign outside that says, ‘bookstore’ doesn’t read as charity?” You ask narrowing your eyes as he shrunk onto himself a bit at your tone.
“I mean…I can’t give you the books for free”
“Did I ask you to give me the books for free?”
“N-no…but I…your…clothes…”
You watch him for a few moments until he finally looks down and you smirk a bit at yourself. “Let me make something clear, sir” You said drawing out a bit the word sir with a hint of sarcasm on it. “I don’t need charity from anyone, and the next time you dare to insinuate that I would need charity from the likes of you, you’ll be needing to worry about more than just a few missing books” you said as the man staid standing on his spot not believing a child had stared him down and had just threaten him so plainly and shamelessly. The worst part was, that his blood was running cold from just that small threat.
You continued your way and turned to go see what was needed for the school year. You glanced at a few books and hummed a bit to yourself as you were on your own world at the moment, too focused on your task to notice anything else.
You looked over when you ended up feeling a soft and warm touch against your skin after you reached for a book. A huff threatens to escape your lips out of exasperation from the mixture of your long adventure, and the conversation earlier with the shopkeeper. But you knew better than to act like a spoiled brat in public.
You hated to be ‘accidentally’ touched. Most purebloods would look for any opportunity to touch you to build ‘rapport’ with you that they had probably read about in a stupid self-help book. You couldn’t understand how they got it through their thick skulls that they could think they were worthy of standing by you, much less touch you. Turning to see who the culprit of the touch was so you could give them a proper tongue lashing, you close your mouth as soon as you open it.
The girl in front of you certainly wasn’t the daughter of someone you knew. ‘They would have shoved her down my throat during the social events if she was one of their daughters…’ you thought to yourself remembering how most purebloods within your social circle tried to have their children befriend you in the past.
It was had been a very tiring and annoying events but Narcissa had taught you how to handle it ever since you were little; as you got older, you had learned to do things with a little twist and flair in order to enjoy yourself.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think we would be trying to reach for the same book” You hear the girl say, when you look over at a girl the first thing you notice is her large bushy brown hair and her large buck teeth.
‘…has she ever even gone to a hairstylist? What are her parents thinking?’ You think to yourself before closing your eyes for a moment. ‘scratch that…I seen pictures of my mother…and I’m pretty sure she had similar hair… But it wasn’t this much of a mess…. are her parents that poor that they can’t afford proper hair potions?’ You think to yourself trying to decide what to make of the girl in front of you. ‘and they probably aren’t skilled enough to fix her teeth either…so just the lowest of the low…poor and useless in magic’
You open your eyes and turn to her deciding to not write her off just because her parents were clearly poor and incompetent, you had learnt to at the very least let the person speak for themselves instead of just going off of their parent’s background and reputation. During your adventures you had met people that came from humble backgrounds that were brilliant, while you had also met those that had every resource to their disposal and they were completely useless.
“It’s alright, there’s no need to apologize, it was just an accident after all” You grabbed the book and held it out to her. “this is the book you were reaching for, right?”
“that’s right, thank you” she said smiling as she hugged the book close to her chest. You chuckled a bit at that having never seen anyone so excited to get a book about the history of Hogwarts. “What’s funny?” She asked tilting her head slightly to the side her hands grasping the book a bit more.
“You are. I never seen anyone be so happy holding a book, much less about Hogwart’s history” You said with an amused look on your eyes as Hermione went red in embarrassment wondering if she was about to be mocked. She couldn’t help but look down at the ground under your gaze.
“It’s rather...” Pausing for a moment trying to think of the right word, you let out a small hum as one of her fingers go to your chin trying to think of the right word.
Hermione started to think of all the words that were about to be uttered by the girl in front of her, a few words coming to her mind right away: pathetic, nerdy, perhaps even stupid.
“Cute” Hermione blinked a couple of times at that and looked over at the girl in front of her, her lips parting a bit in surprise as she was trying to make sense of what you had just said. Out of all of the words that had come to mind that was not one of the words she had thought she would hear from you.
“Cute?” Hermione repeated confused looking at the girl’s eyes searching for the look her old schoolmates gave her when they were bullying her. It was a look that let her know right away she was being mocked, she really hated that look as it made her feel ostracized from her peers.
“Yeah, you had a slight gleam on your eye when you touched the book like as if it were the most precious gem in the world.”
“Well…it’s just…studying is very important…and getting knowledge is like finding precious gems in a way... if we’re going by your analogy…. Knowledge has an unquantifiable value after all.” She said quickly as her voice dropped every so often the last part being nothing more than a murmur as she was afraid that she was going to be made fun of for liking to study so much. She couldn’t get herself to look at you afraid she would find that mocking gleam that she often saw.
“If the value that knowledge gives you is unquantifiable, you’re using it wrong” You said with a soft laugh. “Although, like you said, it is like finding precious gems.” You turn to look at your hand for a moment before clenching it as if you had just reached out to grab a gem as the action got Hermione’s attention making her look away from the ground to you.
“When you find those gems, you have to grab them and get as much benefit as you can from them. Power is knowledge after all.” You say with a small smirk as Hermione looks at you surprised. While you two didn’t seem to have the same reason for studying, she was just glad that there seemed to be someone that also liked to study.
Your eyebrow raises at Hermione while you let a teasing smirk settle. “Is something on my face?” you asked with a teasing tone as Hermione went red again realizing she had been staring at the girl in front of her a little too long. When Hermione opened her mouth to answer, you hold up your hand. “Don’t answer that, I know I’m a mess right now” You laugh as Hermione shook her head a bit with a smile relaxing a bit.
“It’s not that, really…it’s just…” she couldn’t believe she was having a conversation with someone her age about why reading books was so important. “You just seem to like studying, just like I do.” Hermione noticed the flicker of something on your eyes that disappeared as soon as it had appeared.
“I don’t like studying, studying for me is not an option, it’s a need. The moment I stop studying is the moment I’ll lose my grasp on the control I have obtained…and it’s also probably when I’ll get killed.” Hermione’s eyes widen at that looking at you in alarm.
A laugh betrays you at the look in her eyes. “I travel to a lot of magical places that probably should have killed me a long time ago, and the skills and knowledge I obtain through studying is what has helped me survive for so long.” You say to answer one of the hundreds of unspoken questions on her eyes. You were really enjoying the reactions you were getting from the girl as they were so honest and innocent.
Hermione hesitantly takes a step forward as if to touch you trying to show a bit of comfort. Even though you seemed to radiate confidence, she was sure that deep inside you were scared. She looked at you for a moment blinking a bit when she felt something fuzzy and soft under her fingers instead of the crusty feeling she had prepared herself for as your clothes had seen better days. When she looked over she saw what seemed to be a small kitten hanging from your shoulder as it was watching her quietly.
You looked at her curiously having been expecting to feel her touch and you were wondering if she had decided against it. It wasn’t until you realized why she hadn’t touched you that you let out a small laugh. “Kronus, what are you doing here? I told you to wait outside” You scold gently as Kronus let out something like a low hiss, it was odd to Hermione as it wasn’t a type of hiss she would hear from a cat, but something she would expect from a snake.
Hermione stared at the creature in front of her, if she didn’t know any better, she would swear it was a small leopard. However, the markings were too different to be those of a leopard, they seemed to be more of the shape of scales which was puzzling to her. She nearly let out a small gasp when she saw a snake head popped from behind your shoulder. It seemed to be of a silver color, and instead of scales she was certain that if she touched it, it would have a velvety texture to it.
The snake seemed to have its eyes closed as it laid its head on your shoulder, its tongue darting in and out every so often while you spoke softly to the kitten. “T-there’s a snake by you!” She gasped quickly after she found her voice. You look over at her concerned for a moment before turning over to where Hermione was looking.
“Of course, there is” You utter as you pick up Kronus by the scruff of his neck and it pawed a bit at the air a bit making small and soft meowing sounds his tail swinging a bit.
“….it’s a cat…with a snake tail?” Hermione said her mouth dropping a bit.
“Technically, it’s a chimera, he’s one of the few ones that are legal in the whole country”
“They’re illegal?” She gasped wondering if the girl in front of her was lying to her, she didn’t know her after all and she could very easily lie to her.
“They are, because most of them are dangerous and quite deathly.”
“So…this one is harmless?” she said relaxing a bit hoping that’s what it was.
“Not at all, Kronus can kill a person in less than a second” You smile proudly petting him softly as Hermione tensed again and went pale at that her knees turning a bit weak as Kronus turned toward her.
“P-please tell me you’re joking…”
“I’m not. But don’t worry, he won’t hurt anyone unless I ask him to. He’s very smart and intelligent after all” Kronus’s chest puffs out a bit at the praise as he stops swinging and lets his wings out happily. Hermione watched with a mix of amazement and horror as they seemed to be like those that were often drawn on dragons, but instead of having scales, it seemed to have feathers that looked like they were on fire. She was trying to decide if it was horrifying to think that it the creature in front of her could be deathlier than she initially thought.
“…and it has wings?”
“of course, he does. Why wouldn’t he have wings?"
Hermione wanted to ask her so many things at the same time, but after a while she settled on just one. “…Is this a normal pet in the wizarding world?” she asked her voice a bit weaker as she was trying to make sense of this animal in front of her that was essentially illegal and could kill a man in a second.
Kronus quickly turned to her when he heard the word pet offended as you chuckled. His tail let out a hiss toward her as part of his skin from his chest and his neck seem to loosen before quickly puffing out making him look larger. After a few moments he seemed to be growing larger starting to scare Hermione even more. You reach stroking Kronus’ head in order to call him down.
“It’s alright buddy, she didn’t mean it” You grab him and start placing him back on your shoulder gently as he starts to become smaller again so you can hold him easier. Turning toward Hermione you smile trying to not let a grin escape so she wouldn’t think you were teasing her as she seemed legitimately scared.
“He’s not a pet, he’s more like my protector. He makes sure that I’m safe though” You explain as Hermione nodded a bit after a few moments having not realized she was now standing against the bookshelf behind her.
“Right…I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend him.”
“No need to apologize, you didn’t know.” Kronus flew off toward the door as you breath out a bit knowing his ego was hurt.
“Anyways, I should go. He’s hungry and irritable, and the last time he was hungry and irritable, he ended up destroying my room…. I don’t want to imagine the kind of tantrum he’ll throw in public” You laugh as you turn to leave after him, you throw a small pouch of coins toward the counter while you leave. The shopkeeper catches it as he looked after you surprised that you had left in such a hurry.
It takes Hermione a few moments after the door closes for her to regain her senses realizing she was alone now. ‘she…never told me her name’ she thought to herself.