So those looking for the old version of Hermione Rose, or at least wondering why I have re-released chapter 1, I have deleted the original as I have not been happy with how it came out, I like the idea of what I was going for and those who were with me from the start know that it has been sporadic in its updates. All I can say is that I'll try harder to get better content out and with a better time frame in mind.
As always and forever I don't own Harry Potter, or any songs that may appear in this story, and this is just a fan based work.
Chapter One.
Rose.
"I guess that's why they call it the bluuueees." The morning radio called out through the house, as Mrs. Granger cooked breakfast. Mr. Granger was already up reading the paper. He would leave for work as soon as he was done eating. Their house wasn't the most extravagant, but it was home for the three Grangers until Hermione was old enough to enter school at the beginning of the year and both parents could get back to work at their surgery. Their daughter was gifted, already able to read and speak without problems and both parents couldn't be happier with their life. And so it was that when they heard a thunk, thunk, thunk coming down the stairs, both parents smiled to each other.
"Good morning!" Hermione called out, while she seated herself at the table. "Good morning sweetie." Mr. Granger responded, putting aside the paper. "I thought we said no books at the table."
Hermione looked down at the book she had brought with her. "Sorry daddy." She said meekly, as she moved to put it in the lounge.
Every day was much like this, full of happy moments with the family. Life was great for the Grangers.
At least that's how the dreams always started, and then suddenly they would change in a mix of blinding light and screaming, and Hermione would wake like she did most nights, with a jolt and realisation that she had been crying again. 'Every time it's the same.' She thought bitterly as she readied herself for the day, While the mop of busy hair and keen eye for detail were the same the reality of Hermione's life couldn't be more different that those fleeting memories of her childhood. She remembered that her parents did love her for a while, but that changed in a heartbeat when they realised what she was. A witch. Although she didn't remember the incident clearly, she was told that her parents couldn't look after her anymore and that it was too dangerous for her to remain in the muggle world. She was packed up and sent away when she was just 5 years old.
That was 6 years ago, six long years of near solitude in a near empty orphanage where the closest people to her age were nearly of age themselves and were about to leave her behind.
'Not that they ever really payed me much mind anyway.' The thought came to her before she even realised it. She had never really been bitter and resentful to start with, but after so long being locked away like she was a criminal it wore down on her like shackles on a drowning person. She wasn't allowed to leave the grounds around the building very often, and no one came to visit her so she rarely had others to talk to, and even if she did, she wouldn't want to anyway. The other children, as few as they were, thought Hermione was too different for them and often teased or ignored her for her bookish personality.
Every day was much the same growing up. The few children around would play and run and make noise, while Hermione was left to her books. Books were her friends, because they didn't need her story to share, they didn't want to 'fix' her problems like the adults did. Occasionally there would be a radio playing, the Wizarding Wireless bringing in music from both muggle born musicians and wizards alike. And when it played the house 'mother', an elderly witch who had never had children of her own, liked to clean and dance. A few times she had tried to get Hermione to join in, but after a couple of minutes she would give up again.
Hermione brushed aside her hair and wiped her face of the dried tears. She felt dry. Dry and exhausted, even if she had just woken up. She made her way down to the dining room where she saw that the managers of the orphanage, the 'mother' and 'father' were giving a tour to some inspectors from the ministry. There were three, but one didn't look official at all, he had long blonde hair and wore long black robes that clung to his thin, athletic body. He seemed like one of the elves from the fantasy stories that Hermione had read dozens of times over. Being a witch, Hermione knew that elves didn't look like handsome blonde men, but sometimes fantasy was better than reality.
The men listened to the 'father', whose real name was Marcus Tiddle but he asked the children to call him father while in his care, for a while before they seemed to notice Hermione, who was watching them over a piece of toast. "Is this the one?" One of the official looking men asked. He was short and portly and wore a suit of deep blue. Hermione knew that that those robes had something to do with inspection officers, but didn't know what department it was exactly. "Yes, that's our Hermione." The 'mother', Elaine, said as she moved to stand beside Hermione. "Hermione, these men are here to give you something special." She said to the young girl.
"On behalf of the ministry of magic. And our friend in the board of governors" The other suited man started and gestured to the blonde man, while Hermione just blankly stared. He was tall, but old, likely having seen many years with the ministry and done this spiel many times before. "We would like to present you with your Hogwarts acceptance letter." He finished, while the portly one pulled out an envelope out of his briefcase. As it was handed to her, Hermione managed a soft 'thank you' while she opened the letter. Normally the letters would come via owls, but for children like Hermione the managed to send inspectors to make sure that the children are well enough to go to the schools they were accepted into. Hermione had noticed that her letter didn't include a last name, and simply read Hermione on the front. Obviously Elaine had noticed too as she started. "So what are we going to put as her last name? Will it be Tiddle?" She asked the suited men. "Well, it can be, that would be easy enough to fill out the necessary forms." The short one said in a boring drawl. But Hermione had another idea. "Could I chose my own name?" She asked tentatively. "If you really want. It's really no issue." The other official man said, at an attempt to be friendly. "What would you like?"
"Rose." Hermione said as a small flush crept up her face. She'd never had to decide something like this before, it was embarrassing. "I'd like to be Hermione Rose." The adults had a small chuckle and for a moment Hermione was worried that they would say it's a stupid childish name. But Elaine was the first to speak up." I think it's a good name. A very pretty name, for a very pretty young lady." She said brushing aside Hermiones hair.
"Well, that concludes everything I guess." The tall man said gruffly, while the other two moved towards the door with Marcus. "Isn't this great Hermione?" Elaine asked. "Sure, this is wonderful." Hermione stated. In truth she was looking forward to Hogwarts, more for the opportunity to practice magic than anything. She knew that there were second hand books and robes that she would be using, but like every new magical child she still needed to get a wand. After questioning Elaine about it she replied, "We can go get your wand tomorrow, how about that?"
The shopping district was as packed as it could ever be, mostly with parents and students clamouring around the stores to see their new wares. Hermione heard some boys by the quidditch supply store sharing exclamations about the new nimbus model. The bright colours and people more than Hermione would normally tolerate, but Elaine had a hold of her hand and together they made their way through the rabble and found Ollivanders. Hermione had never been in a room so dusty or messy, and it came as a shock to her when the famed wand maker stepped out of the shadows, where Hermione had thought were just boxes. The walls and counters were covered with wands. More wands than there could have been wizards. "So you're a new Hogwarts student eh?" Ollivander asked the young girl. "Yes sir." She replied in a small voice. Even though she was nearly at a height with the man, his eyes stared right through her, or maybe they weren't looking at anything in the room itself. They were still strange eyes that Hermione was wary of. They started with some simple measurements. Luckily for everyone involved the measuring tape was magically floating in the air so Hermione was ok with it touching her. No one had really been able to get too close with Hermione for years. It was even a stretch for Elaine and Marcus to so much as give her the smallest touch.
After the measuring Ollivander laid a box in front of Hermione. "This is 8 and a quarter inch Holly with a unicorn hair." He said, as Hermione gingerly picked it up. It felt small in her hands, and did nothing. Taking it back from her the wandmaker replaced it with another muttering "Don't worry, we'll find you one." And so it went on, for the next half an hour. The longest 30 minutes Hermione had ever faced. Until finally:
10 and ¾ vine wood with a dragon heart string. Norwegian Ridgeback if I'm not mistaken." The elderly man said while Hermione just stared. "Does it matter what dragon?" She asked, curious of what it would do. "Of course it does." Ollivander said with a smile. "Every dragon, like people, is different. Different dragons will have different temperaments and will have different specialities to offer to the wielder. Each ingredient was chosen specifically." He stopped for a second to catch his breath. "Now go ahead and try it." Hermione waved the wand and it lit up the store with a show of sparks. Hermione had found her wand.
As they were leaving the store Hermione wasn't watching were she was going and ran head first into a wall. A wall covered with fur. A talking wall covered with fur. "Sorry 'bout tha'." The wall said to the young girl. Hermione looked up and saw the wall had a face and it was attached to the biggest man Hermione had ever seen. "N-no. I'm sorry." Hermione said hurriedly as she shot off away from him. Had she just met a giant? Was he angry, would he cook her up like they did in books? Her mind was racing as fast as her feet, until she found herself staring at a brick wall at the end of the alley. It was late afternoon and Elaine wasn't anywhere near her. In fact, she couldn't see Elaine or even the giant anywhere near her. No one was near her.
Her heart started racing, fear taking over her mind as she tried to figure out where she was. Until she saw a figure seem to melt out of the shadow of a doorway. A hag of a woman slunk her way over to the young girl and Hermione knew that this woman was trouble. "What do we have here?" The witch asked no one in particular. "A young girly, lost her way." Hermione tried to move away from the woman but hit the wall. "Please leave me alone." She tried to sound confident, but it came out as more of a high pitched squeak. The hag laughed. "What's the matter deary?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice, or the closest she could attempt. She tried to put her arm around the young girl but Hermione just screamed a simple 'NO!' and before either woman knew what happened the hag was thrown across the alley and slumped on the ground.
Hermione stared in horror. It happened again. She heard a call from up the alley but her gaze was locked solely on the crumpled shape in front of her.
Before she knew what was what Elaine had taken her hand and was attempting to lead her away. Hermione wasn't paying her any mind. The only thoughts that were circling her head were the fear for what would happen next. Would there be a trial? Would she still get to be a witch? How was she going to get out of this mess?
The coming days were trying for Hermione. She had obviously been called out by Marcus for running away, and had spent the next week in her room as a punishment. Hermione never did learn what happened with the witch, but had been assured it had been dealt with. And so she spent the rest of her time before school desperately trying to avoid everyone else. She was afraid. Afraid of herself and what she could do to others. And so she felt that if she locked herself away it shouldn't be a problem. Until it came time for her to go to Hogwarts. She was filled with both hope and dread. Hope that she could grow as a witch, and dread that she would be surrounded by people at nearly all times.
And so it was with a heavy heart that Hermione awoke on the appointed day. The day that she would have to face the world again and go to Hogwarts. Elaine was trying to be positive, and get the young girl to talk but Hermione wasn't feeling very talkative and so the pair fell into silence as they made the trip to the platform. Marcus wasn't with them; he was busy on his other work. As he always seemed to be. But Elaine was there to wish Hermione well as she got loaded onto the train. It was a short affair, but finally the train was underway and Hermione had managed to find a compartment for herself.
The train ride was about half way through when the door to the compartment suddenly burst open and a mess of black hair rushed in. The boy was frantically searching for something and his luggage seemed to be sitting in the hallway. "Umm..." Was all Hermione got out before the boy jumped back, having apparently not noticed the girl sitting there. Now that Hermione had gotten a good look at him it was plain to see that he was rather the pudgy sort, with a red face and a button nose. His clothes were in disarray, but it seemed like he had already changed into his robes. He was trying to stammer an apology before a faint croaking was heard from his trunk.
"TREVOR!" The boy exclaimed while diving head first into his belongings and emerging clutching a toad. "Sorry about all that." The boy said, turning towards Hermione. "I thought I had lost Trevor here and I've been looking everywhere for him. I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom." He finished, putting forward his toad free hand. Hermione hesitated for a moment before her manners took over and shook the boys hand. "Hermione Rose." She replied quietly. Suddenly Neville looked nervous, looking at the empty seat across from Hermione. He stammered his question. "I.. I- um don't have anywhere else I can sit. The other compartments I've been in are all full... Could I please sit here?" He asked his shoes, more than Hermione.
Hermione looked at him for a second. The boy seemed so pathetic, and helpless that Hermione likened him to a baby deer. She took pity on the boy and gave her consent. She wasn't heartless. And when he beamed at her she felt a little smile flit across her face as well.
Neville launched into a tirade about his journey so far, talking about everything and anything he could. Even if he didn't look at Hermione much, he still tried to fill the silence that the girl offered. Hermione hadn't been in a situation like this in a long time, someone her own age wanting to talk to her. But she didn't know what to say to the boy, offering polite 'Yes's and 'Really?'s when prompted to. He told her about his Gran not thinking he was magical, and how he hoped to not make a fool of himself at Hogwarts. It was the longest conversation Hermione had had in a long time, and the most interesting one to say the least. She didn't know what it was like growing up in the old Wizarding families and Neville seemed happy enough to share with a total stranger. After Hermione had changed the conversation took a turn for the worse. Neville asked about her.
"So what's your family like Hermione?" He asked earnestly. Hermione was silent for a few moments, trying to think of how to best answer that. "I.." She started before trailing off. She took a breath and tried again. "I don't remember them." She said slowly. She didn't know Neville, even with their conversation so far, and didn't know how he's react to find she was from an orphanage. The boy seemed honest enough, but before she could respond Neville filled the silence for her. "That's alright. I know what it's like. I don't remember much of my parents, it's been Gran and I for as long as I can remember..." He trailed off, looking out the window. "I'm thankful for her, but it's just not the same." He finished with a sigh. Hermione found that all she could do was agree with the boy, as sad as it was. She was thankful for Marcus and Elaine, but it was never going to be the same. Even if life sometimes felt like a prison for her, it wasn't that she wasn't cared for. But nothing could replace her parents.
The train slowed as it reached the platform and the students all departed in as big a bustle as young people seemed to have a knack for. Hermione was exiting the train with Neville when she heard a booming voice like a cannon in the night. "First years wit' me!" A familiar looking giant called out. Hermione froze. The giant man looked at her and made his way over, Hermione tried and failed to hide behind a bemused Neville when the man spoke to her. In reality he was smaller than Hermione had made him out to be, he had small eyes, but the seemed friendly in his lanterns light. "I remember you." He said to her. "'M sorry, about what happened in the alley. I should have seen you commin' out of the store. Names Hagrid. Rubeus." He said simply, putting out his hand. Hermione stared in shock while the Hagrid waited. "Don' worry. I don' bite." He said, trying to ease her worries. It worked enough for Hermione to say a small introduction and shake the giant hand. It was warm and seemed to be hands that had known hard labour. After their awkward introduction was over with the other first years, along with Hagrid, Hermione and Neville, Walked towards a set of boats on the edge of a lake. The lake was so still it reflect everything like an inky black mirror, dotted with a thousand stars and the candlelight coming from a castle on the horizon. The castle, Hermione knew was Hogwarts, but the scene was so breathtaking that Hermione was as wide eyed and in awe as the other students.
Hermione and Neville seemed to end up with Hagrid, who ended up putting half their boat into the air as the small fleet made its way through the night. The night air was nice, even if they were on a lake, and their journey seemed to go by quickly. They had hit a landing underneath the castle,
"Is everyone ready?" He asked the assembly, who all nodded in the affirmative. After everything else Hermione didn't know what to expect when Hagrid knocked on the door.
A/N: That was by far the longest thing I've written in a long time. Hope you enjoyed it!