The summer before Hermione's 3rd year at Hogwarts Round Two was interesting for a number of reasons. She decided that she needed to keep her wand arm in shape, and home was the easiest way to do that. Perhaps the other her would have refused to do magic simply because she wasn't at Hogwarts, but war changed a girl's perspective. She had to have a place to practice. Somewhere that James and Sirius could not find her. That part was fairly easy because both twelve year old boys wanted nothing to do with her. They would rather swim in the lake, or go riding, or do "nothing" far, far away from her.
She walked into the woods, and wandered aimlessly until she came to a great oak that was hundreds of years old. She circled it slowly, and determined that it did not house any magical creatures that might be disturbed by her. She pulled out her wand and looked around making sure that James and Sirius were nowhere nearby. She smiled to herself, whispered the incantation she'd found in the Potter family library, and tapped the trunk of the tree. A small door opened, just large enough for her to squeeze into. She went up a winding set of stairs and came into a set of rooms. Her very own tree house would be a secret place for her, but it must be carefully protected. She knew all of the spells, had learned them when she was on the run with Harry.
"Patronum Totalum. Salvio Hexia," she began murmuring the incantations which would guard her secret place.
When she was done, her special treehouse was warded better than the Potter Estate. She had made it unplottable, protected, guarded. No one would know it was there. After that, she was up earlier than the boys usually were, she would disappear for hours at a time, and when she returned she would have a funny, secret smile. Her mother watched her and wondered what she was up to, but if it made Hermione happy it was fine by her.
The pureblood tea parties continued, as did Hermione's friendship with Andromeda Black, and perhaps slightly odder…her friendship with Augusta Longbottom. The older woman's acerbic wit, and sharp rhetoric made Hermione's bell-like laugh filter out over the tea parties more than once. Mrs. Longbottom watched the young teenager with veiled eyes, and invited her over with her friend Andromeda and her mother for private luncheons.
HP/HG/HP
"Hermione!"
"Lily!" Both girls shrieked and ran to one another. They hugged and jumped up and down on platform 9 ¾.
"Sirius!"
"James!" Both boys shrieked and ran to one another, and copied the girls. Both girls glared at them.
"Just you wait, James Potter. You think you're so funny, well pranking runs in the Potter family and I have the genes just as well as you do." Hermione told her brother coldly, her hazel eyes narrowed in displeasure. Well, that and Fred and George had definitely taught her a thing or two. Both boys paled slightly. It was best to not aggravate Hermione once she took that particular tone. They had discovered the horror of the Bat-Bogey Hex that summer, and they respected her in a whole new way now.
"Come on, Hermione," Lily said in a voice just a chillingly cold. "Let's go find Severus."
The girls stalked by, James looking after them with a strange expression. He'd liked Lily since the first year, but as an eleven year-old boy he hadn't really known what to do with those emotions. At thirteen, he was starting to think he might know, but Lily couldn't stand him. He sighed heavily. Sirius snorted next to him.
"Don't worry about it, James. Plenty of girls at Hogwarts to hang out with, and eventually Lily will come around," Sirius said. James shrugged and both boys went to go find their friends.
HP/HG/HP
"Hermione! Hermione Potter! Are you paying attention, child?" demanded Professor McGonagall. Hermione shook herself out of her reverie.
"Of course, Professor," Hermione said with a weak smile. Professor McGonagall frowned darkly at her.
Then you'll be happy to transfigure your book into a mouse," She said with a gimlet stare.
"Of course, Professor," Hermione said sweetly. She pronounced the incantation perfectly and instantly there was a small white mouse on her desk. Professor McGonagall's lips got even thinner, but she moved away.
Hermione went back to day-dreaming. She was only thirteen. What could she do to aid the war effort? How could she change things? She'd started small. She had become a friend to Severus Snape, spoken with Regulus Black, and she had even considered cultivating Malfoy as an asset. However, for the most part she could not stand Malfoy, and that older Hermione started screeching at her when she even considered it.
"Hermione?" Severus poked her in the side.
"What?"
"Meet me at the tree at lunch," he whispered to her. She nodded.
"Want me to bring Lils?" she asked. He nodded.
Severus was sitting under the tree, waiting for them. He had Regulus with him, and Hermione gave him her sweetest smile. He blinked at her, and then smiled shyly back at her. The four of them sat under the tree and talked. Hermione sat with her legs crossed, waving her wand lazily and making magic daisy chains. She made one for each of them, and the boys had shy smiles when she put them around their necks. Their laughter pealed out at regular intervals.
"What do you suppose is so funny?" James asked sullenly, staring longingly at Lily Evans who was giggling with Hermione. He had decided that she was the prettiest girl at Hogwarts, and the smartest. It was a shame she couldn't stand him.
"Probably how idiotic Snivellus and Regu-Brat look with dumb daisy chains around their necks," Sirius said idly while his gaze crept more than once to Hermione's laughing face.
"They're probably laughing about how Hermione put one over on McGonagall in Transfiguration. I thought for sure she was going to get into huge trouble," Remus observed from behind a book. Peter nodded his agreement.
The two girls jumped up shrieking with laughter and the two boys chased them. When Severus managed to tackle Hermione and she landed on the ground laughing up at him, Sirius felt a surge of irrational anger that he couldn't explain. James was already scowling.
"Come on, let's go work on the map some more," he muttered before stalking off. The rest of the boys shrugged and followed him.
HP/HG/HP
Hermione was walking through the hallways idly, reading as she walked, twisting a thick curl around her finger as she thought about her master plan for the destruction of Voldemort. So far, her knowledge was somewhat limited because there were things that she was not privy to. She was forced to admit that Harry had kept his own counsel perhaps a little too much. She'd guessed quite a bit, but guesses did not comfort her when she contemplated the enormous task ahead of her. Even Harry Potter, the Chosen One, had had help. She wondered if perhaps she might not need to get help of her own. It might behoove her to take a leaf from Dumbledore's book and try to recruit amongst the future Death Eaters. She knew that many of them came to regret their actions, and the choices that they had made. Perhaps she might do the same. Then someone shoved her and sent her sprawling into the wall where she hit her head.
"Watch where you're walking, blood traitor," hissed a nasty voice, and Hermione found herself looking up into the face of Bellatrix LeStrange…no, Black. Bellatrix Black, Sirius' cousin. Old Hermione was terrified of this creature, but Hermione Potter was furious. She jumped up.
"You should watch yourself, Black," she hissed angrily, her wand clenched in her hand. Bellatrix's eyes went wild, and Hermione realized that the madness had been there far earlier than the female Death Eater's stint in Azkaban. Bellatrix pointed her wand at Hermione and screeched in a rage. Out of nowhere, Hermione was pushed again, only this time it was to dodge Bellatrix's hex.