Disclaimer: All characters belong to the talented JK Rowling, I don't own a bit of it!
Through Hermione's eyes
By PotterNutter
Chapter 1 - Philosopher's Stone: Hogwarts
September 1st, 1991
Hermione Granger entered King's Cross Station with her parents, with her trunks on a cart, and her heart thumping with excitement.
"Alright, it's platform nine and three quarters, and that's all the way down at the other side of the station. Come on, we're gonna be late!"
"Hermione, dear, the train leaves at 11, it's only 10:15. We won't be late." Her mum chuckled softly.
Hermione scoffed lightly and continued pushing her cart, throwing her small body on the handle in an attempt to make it move faster. She just doesn't want to accidentally miss the train, that's all, it would be so embarrassing if she had to call the school to ask them for an alternative way to arrive. And how would she call them anyways – they don't have a telephone, and she didn't own an owl.
The three of them stopped in between platforms nine and ten. Mr. Granger pulled out the ticket and peered at the piece of paper. "Alright, here we are, what did the professor say again, about how to get to the special platform?"
Hermione remembered the strict looking Professor McGonagall showing up at her home in London with her acceptance letter in hand. After the initial shock, Hermione was delighted to realize that all the strange things happening around her since she was a child had an explanation. She already admired Professor McGonagall, she seemed like the kind of person who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to get it. Hermione had all but questioned her about the magical world until the professor gave her a recommended list of books to read. Of course, she promptly purchased Hogwarts, A History, Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, along with the rest of her schoolbooks. In the month preceding her departure, she read all twelve books twice.
"To get to platform nine and three quarters, you will have to jog straight into the barrier between platforms nine and ten!" Hermione recited the professor's words exactly.
"Are you sure we're not just going to hit the wall?" Mrs. Granger muttered nervously.
"Professor McGonagall said muggles won't be able to get through without help, so you both have to be touching my shoulders in order for it to work."
Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked gingerly at each other, "I suppose we'll have to try it." They both put a hand on their bushy-haired daughter, and gripped the cart together.
"Ready?" Hermione squealed with excitement. With a nod, the family of three trotted slowly towards the barrier. Just before reaching the brick wall, Hermione was gripped by blinding anxiety. It seemed ridiculous, after all, to run at a brick wall. What if it didn't work? What if all this was an elaborate prank played by mean Rosie Hutchins and her scary brother Michael? Maybe they just wanted to see Hermione cry again. Hermione's feet slowed slightly, but her hesitation was compensated by her parents' sure footsteps, and they were propelled into another world.
This side of the platform was much more spacious than the muggle side. Hermione let go of the breath she hadn't known she was holding and felt her face break into a wide smile. It's true! Magic does exist! It was silly of her to doubt it, even for a second. Hadn't her family shopped in Diagon Alley? If that wasn't proof, this certainly would be. A scarlet steam engine train sat in the tracks in front of them, and many people dressed in bright colours milled about around them. Behind them, the barrier they had come through was now a wrought-iron archway with a sign that said Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
Hermione's parents' eyes were wide with wonder. They took in all the sights and beamed at Hermione. Mr. Granger helped Hermione move her things onto the train into the first empty cart they found. There were children standing in the hallways, chatting animatedly, and many of them smiled at Hermione as they passed. Hermione's heart swelled with hope. She's going to learn so much at Hogwarts, and make many friends! Now that she's at a place where everyone is magic like her, she'll fit right in! She could barely contain her happiness.
When they returned to the platform from the train, Mr. and Mrs. Granger knelt down and gave their daughter a teary hug. Hermione's spirits took a sudden plunge. She'll have to leave her parents for a whole year. She felt guilty and scared.
"We're so proud of you, Hermione." Mrs. Granger whispered, "We always knew you'd do great things, and here you are, going off to magic school! You're special, and don't you forget it."
"Mum… I'm gonna miss you so much." Hermione threw her arms around the tall brunette, and felt tears slide down her cheeks, "I'll do well in school and write to you every week! I'm going to be the best they've ever seen."
"That's the spirit, pumpkin." Mr. Granger patted her frazzled head, "Make sure to tell us all about the fun you'll have."
As the train left the platform, Hermione waved out the window from her compartment and watched her parents become small dots and disappear. With a sigh, she sat down on her seat to find that she had company in the compartment. A plump looking boy with rosy cheeks sat on the opposite seat, gripping tightly onto a toad.
"I hope you don't mind that I moved in here, all the other compartments had people in it, and this one only had your stuff in it, and Gran told me it was okay." He squeaked, putting his toad into a cage.
"Oh that's fine, I don't mind at all." Hermione beamed, here's her first friend! Though he seemed a bit unsure of himself, he looked kind. Maybe his anxiety was caused by a lack of knowledge about the magical world too?
"Do you come from a family of muggles as well? No one in my family is magical so I'm pretty shocked about all this, but it sounds really exciting! I hope I don't fall behind in work because I don't know everything, but I've already read all the schoolbooks to make up for it, so I hope that's enough!"
The boy's eyes became wider as she spoke, and her smile faltered slightly, worried that she might've come off too strong.
"Er… no my family is magic. But I don't know that much either, Gran never really taught me anything, they were all just hoping I'm magical. I'm pretty boring, you see."
"My name is Hermione Granger, what's yours?"
"Neville Longbottom."
As they talked about their families, Hermione told Neville about all the books she's read and her favourites. She was surprised to learn that Neville didn't particularly enjoy reading books, but was glad nevertheless to find someone who seemed as nervous about Hogwarts as she did.
After lunch, Hermione excused herself to the bathroom to change into her new Hogwarts robes, deciding that she could no longer wait to start being a witch. In the bathroom, she tried to smooth down her bushy brown hair, but eventually gave up. When she returned to the compartment, Neville was playing with his toad.
"Does it have any magical powers?" Hermione asked excitedly, "I read that many pets in the wizarding world does, I wanted a pet too, but my parents said I shouldn't get one in first year yet."
"Trevor doesn't have any magic, I think, he just sort of eats and jumps around. Sometimes I feed him chocolate frogs because it's pretty funny for a toad to eat a frog." Neville smiled slightly.
At that moment, the compartment door opened, and a friendly looking woman with a trolley of sweets asked them, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
"No thanks," said Hermione curtly, "My parents wouldn't want me to rot my teeth."
Before Neville could reply, Trevor jumped off his hands and out into the hall behind the woman with the cart. Neville yelled for the toad to come back. It took several moments for them to get out of the compartment, since the sweet cart was blocking their door. By the time they were in the hall, Trevor was nowhere to be found.
Neville burst into tears, startling Hermione. "Why does he always do that? I already lost him once this morning. Even my toad doesn't like me! Gran is going to be so angry when I tell her I lost Trevor again!"
Hermione patted Neville on the back, surprised that a boy would be so easily upset, "I'll help you find him, Neville, cheer up."
They spent the next hour walking up and down the train, asking compartment after compartment if they've seen Trevor. Most of the older students they happened upon brushed them off, muttering "ickle first years losing their pets already". A few of the girls they ran into seemed concerned, but hadn't seen Trevor.
Hermione and Neville knocked on a compartment, and opened it to find two red headed boys who looked identical to each other sitting with another boy with dread locks. They were cackling away while sticking their wands into a box. A flash of yellow light brightened the box for a second, and an insect screech was heard. Neville shrieked at the noise and ran down the hall to another compartment. Hermione surveyed the older boys and the box, "What's in there?"
"A tarantula whose venom will turn anything it bites into pure gold!" One of the red headed twins exclaimed, "We're gonna be rich."
"That sounds doubtful." Hermione said, "Though I did read about a tarantula whose venom turns things it bites yellow whilst poisoning them slowly. It's called the Calthurantula, from Argentina. It has distinctive black furry legs and yellow dots on its body. Just like this one."
The three boys looked dumbfounded.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville's lost his."
The twins grinned at each other, "No," one of them said, "But if Lee's tarantula finds it first –"
"– We'll find out exactly what its venom does." The second twin finished.
"You better not. Trevor means a lot to Neville. Don't be cruel." Hermione retorted and shut their compartment door with a bit more force than necessary. Behind the door, she hears the three boys burst out into laughter, and figures she's been teased.
Neville was already coming out of another compartment, looking defeated and teary. "The girls in here didn't see him either."
"Don't worry Neville," Hermione told him, "We'll find Trevor, and I won't let that tarantula eat him."
Ignoring Neville's wide eyed look of terror, Hermione pushed the door of the adjacent compartment open. A black haired boy with glasses was sitting with another red headed boy, younger than the twins in the neighbouring compartment. She figured he must be their brother. The red head had his wand raised and pointed at a fat, gray rat in his lap.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," Hermione commanded into the room, towing Neville along. The two boys inside the compartment looked surprised, the red headed boy shook his head slightly, a hint of annoyance crossing his features.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," he said. He had a speck of dirt on his nose, Hermione noticed.
Realizing the position of his wand, Hermione grinned, eager to see someone perform a spell, "Oh, are you doing magic?" She sat down next to the black haired boy and looked pointedly at the red head, "Let's see it, then."
He looked abashed and unsure, perhaps he wasn't very good at the spell and didn't want people to see it. She hoped he hadn't embarrassed him.
"Er – all right."
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
Nothing happened, the gray rat looked as if it was asleep.
Hermione felt bad for him, she could probably teach him some other better spells to help him out. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she started, eager to help, "Well, it's not very good is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice, and it's all worked for me."
Maybe the boy will want to learn from her and become her friend, "Nobody in my family is magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard –I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
The two boys looked wide-eyed, while Neville smiled awkwardly beside her. Oh, she's done it again, talked too much and given the wrong impression. Nevertheless, she held out her hand to shake theirs.
"Ron Weasley." Said the red head.
"Harry Potter." Said the black haired boy with glasses. Neville and Hermione both gasped slightly. So this was Harry Potter. When Hermione had read about him, she had done the math and figured out he might be in the same year as her, but she never thought about the chance of him coming to Hogwarts, same as her. She was fascinated by his story, how he had survived such a dark curse at a young age. He must be either incredibly powerful or incredibly lucky; there were plenty of theories in the books. She wondered what he's like as a person.
"Are you really?" Hermione finally said, "I know all about you, of course." As if she's in school, she felt compelled to show off her knowledge of this boy sitting in front of her, "I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century"
"Am I?" said Harry.
Hermione was shocked that he hadn't read these books, it's almost as if he just learned of his role in modern history. Perhaps he's really naïve, she thought.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," She said, slightly confused, "Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And with that, she left with Neville to continue to hunt for Trevor. To save time, they decided to split up and look in the bathrooms and cupboards aboard the train.
But after 20 minutes, they still couldn't find the toad. Neville was close to bursting into tears once more, and Hermione had run out of solutions.
Suddenly there was a scuffle coming from a compartment, someone yelled, there were a few screams of "Goyle – get a hold of yourself!", and a thud. Hermione and Neville turned towards the compartment as three boys emerged from Harry and Ron's compartment. One of them was extremely pale and blond, looking embarrassed and angry, and the other two boys were much bigger than any 11 year olds she's ever seen. One of the boys were clutching his finger and wailing. The three boys glared at Hermione and Neville as they ran passed them.
Hermione peeked into Harry and Ron's compartment, "What has been going on?" There were sweets all over the ground, and Ron was caressing his rat carefully. "I think he's been knocked out," Ron said absent mindedly, "No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep!" Ron and Harry laughed incredulously.
Hermione couldn't believe it, they've just been involved in a fight, before they've even arrived on school grounds, and there they are, laughing about it. How reckless can they be? Perhaps Hermione was wrong about Harry Potter, it seems like he might be just another immature boy.
"You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" She exclaimed, adding to herself that she hoped they wouldn't be in the same house as her, they'll probably bring trouble.
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron sneered at her, clearly annoyed, "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
The nerve of him. He's the one fighting and he dares give her attitude? Hermione decided not to argue though, "All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," she said indignantly, "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Hermione left and found Neville back in their compartment. He was still upset about Trevor, but they will be at Hogwarts anytime now, Hermione didn't have time nor the energy to worry about a toad. All she could think about is how nervous she was. What if she couldn't get sorted, what if they decided that it's all been a mistake and she's just as muggle as her parents were. Would she have to be sent home?
The train stopped, and Hermione joined Neville as they rushed towards a very large man yelling for first year students. He was huge, easily 8 feet tall, and quite wide as well. But he had a kind face and bright eyes. Hermione immediately liked him. Neville, however, looked afraid, along with most of the young students around them.
They got into small boats, sharing with Harry and Ron. As they rowed forward onto the lake, the view unraveled before Hermione. The castle was gorgeous and massive, looking magnificent under the dark night sky. Hermione felt a rush of relief and wonder, this is where she'll be for the next seven years (if they'll have her, that is), and it was fantastic.
As they reached the castle, Hagrid, the big man leading them, found Trevor in one of the boats, and Neville clutched onto his toad happily.
The first years shuffled into an empty chamber next to the hallway, and Hermione's heart lurched as Professor McGonagall entered the room to announce the sorting ceremony is about to begin. Hermione's anxiety suddenly quadrupled. Sorting? That sounds… challenging. Is it a test of some sort? If so, she's probably prepared, after all, she did memorize all the books. But what if it still wasn't good enough? What if they can see through her and recognize that she was nothing but a girl with no friends and no magic?
Hermione's dread didn't lift as the first years were being led into the Great Hall. There were hundreds of students! So many of them, looking back at the first years, most of the faces were excited and curious. At the front of the Great Hall, she saw the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore at the centre of the long table. He looked extremely old and wise.
There was a hat on a stool at the front of the room. After learning that all they had to do was put on a hat, there was a collective sigh of relief from the first years. However, this made Hermione more nervous. If it was a test, then she could regurgitate knowledge, no problem. But the hat was going to look inside their hearts… she's terrified that the hat will deem her not good enough for any of the houses. Her dad would probably want her to be in Ravenclaw, where the wise would belong. But she longed to be in Gryffindor like Professor Dumbledore. After all, she knew she was smart – she didn't need a hat to tell her that. No, she wanted to be brave, she wanted to be worth something, to make a difference, and prove to all the kids at her primary school that she was good and special.
"Granger, Hermione!" The hat called, pulling her out of her reverie. Hermione's heart was beating so loud, she was surprised the blond girl next to her hadn't noticed. She pushed her way to the front and jogged up to the stool. With one quick motion, she shoved her head inside the large hat.
There was a voice in her ear, talking to her. "Well, smart, I can see that, and thirsty for knowledge. Perhaps I should put you in Ravenclaw. There you'll find people just like you, who are also brilliant. Ambitious as well, and you have a desire to be something more."
Yes, she thought to herself, I don't want to just be the know-it-all, like Rosie Hutchins always said. I want to stand up for myself.
"And you will, you have a courage, alright. Courage to stick to your principles despite being different. Okay, then you can go in… GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and removed the hat from her head. A loud cheer had erupted from the Gryffindor table and she walked up to high five one of the Weasley twins and sat down between yet another red headed boy who wore a prefect badge proudly on his chest.
After everyone was sorted happily, Hermione settled in and ate a great feast with the rest of her house mates. She felt incredible. The prefect she sat next to her, Percy Weasley, had the most interesting things to tell her about lessons. She was so eager to start learning, and couldn't wait to make friends.
After dinner, the first years were led up to the Gryffindor tower, and Hermione found herself becoming sleepy all of a sudden. At the end of the spiral staircase, the first year girls found themselves in a large room with four-poster beds, with their trunks already sent up. Hermione jumped onto the fluffy bed with her trunks next to it, and felt waves of contentment wash over her. As she got ready for bed with Lavender Brown (a talkative blond girl who was a little bit taller than her) and Parvarti Patil (an elegant Indian girl who told Hermione she had a twin sister sorted into Ravenclaw), Hermione felt sure that she had come to the right place. When she settled into bed, she didn't even have the energy to do the usual bedtime reading, she felt asleep right away and dreamt sweet dreams.
A/N: This was my first fanfiction! Please R/R for me so I can know what you guys like/dislike. I've always found Hermione to be one of the most insightful characters in HP, JKR loves to leave out "unnecessary" details and tease the reader with just a mention of something. But since it's told in Harry's oblivious eyes, lots of things are glanced over. I found those details fascinating so here's my attempt to put them down on paper!
