Herman and Jane Granger
Herman and Jane Granger were a happily married couple very much satisfied with their life. It was a quiet, simple life that some would find boring, but the couple thought suited them just fine; nothing exciting, but they preferred that to the dramatics some of their friends suffered from. The young couple had met at a Dentistry convention shortly after both graduating from different universities and had immediately bonded over their shared love for books and history. The courtship was classic and slow, and before long they were engaged and married shortly after in a quiet little ceremony. Marriage life was just as simple. They fell into a lovely little routine that they enjoyed very much, nothing wild or unexpected. They flourished in the predictable, you see and wouldn't have had it any other way. Both were only children and came from families that were equally filled with the day to day simplicities, and neither ever complained because there just wasn't anything to complain about.
Then Jane fell pregnant, and they were both pleased. It seemed just right – they were in a good place personally and financially to start a family, and everything went according to plan. It was a very easy pregnancy without anything out of the ordinary, so they had no reason to expect that Jane going into labor two weeks early was a sign of things to come. Their daughter came into the world perfect, with ten tiny finger, ten tiny toes, and big brown eyes that watched everything with a determined gaze. She was named Hermione Jane Granger because it felt right to both her parents – no arguments between the two when they named their child. The infant fussed and refused to sleep, but the couple loved her immediately and didn't even mind when they failed to get much sleep. Well, they minded a little, but they very well couldn't blame an infant now could they?
They knew immediately that their child was bright, though some thought they were silly. The new born seemed to absorbed every single word that they said, watching with wide brown eyes that seemed to see everything. When she was old enough to speak, she spoke with eloquence that surpassed all the other children her age, and her parents took great joy in talking with her once they got home from work at the office they owned and operated out of. Jane's Mother, who would watch the small child while her parents were at work, had mentioned then that the child had once recited a Shakespearean poem, in the old woman's hands before she had the chance to read it to her, and when the couple swore that they hadn't read it to her either, it had left the old woman considerably shaken. While the grandmother fretted over the incident, the parents didn't think much of it, mainly because the woman was known to extravagant.
It wasn't until Hermione started school that they began to notice oddities about their precious daughter. There were many small things between the poem and the letters, like books flipping open to her favorite page before she entered the room, or the light turning off automatically as she left, but they hadn't really put much thought to them at the time.
It was only really three that stood out.
The first one that caused them to become really, truly concerned about was the incident in the bathtub. It had started out very simple as most things do, Jane sitting beside the half-filled tub of water while her daughter babbled on about what the weather man had predicted and how excited she was about the sunshine. And when the child took notice that Jane wasn't really paying attention, instead reading the open book on her lap discussing the new developments of teeth whitening, Hermione had taken offense and shouted to catch her Mother's attention– suddenly, the book flew right out of her mother's lap and across the room. Herman had been standing by the sink shaving, and when it happened both had become very still. They waited, watching the book as Hermione fumed that she wasn't going to talk anymore if they weren't going to listen and that they wouldn't like it if she didn't listen when they talk, now would they? When nothing happened, the couple looked to each other and then went back to their separate tasks, a little stiffer than before as they hurried. Both had been tired after a long day at work and had first excused it as a sort of shared hallucination, but as they lay side by side together in bed they both thought of it continuously.
The second incident was a week after the first, while the family of three had been taking a walk in the park. It had been a beautiful, clear day when the temperature was just right, so a picnic in the park had been planned and all had been well until they had sat down on the checkered blanket at the center of the park. It was under a great tree in the shade when their daughter had looked up from her chicken salad sandwich and said very simple "I wish the tree was in bloom!" And lo and behold, the tree leaves burst into flowers, the white petals gently fluttering to the ground, surrounding the couple and their increasingly odd daughter. They threw hasty glances around and then gathered their things quickly before anyone else saw something that could cause havoc in their lovely, simple little life. When Hermione questioned why they were leaving, they both spouted out different excuses before settling on one together – "Because we had forgotten to lock the front door!" Herman had pronounced as he carried the bundled up blanket, his wife beside him as they speedily walked to their car. "Oh yes!" Jan said brightly as she carried her daughter, "We can't make it too easy for the burglars, now can we?"
They didn't speak out loud about the other incidences until the third incident, which occurred on their daughter's very first day of school. When they went to pick their daughter up at the appointed time, they suspected immediately that their daughter had something to do with the gathering outside the school and quickly went to join other parents as they grouped around the class teacher. The teacher told a very fascinating tale about snack time, when all the carrots in the refrigerator had turned to peppermint sticks in the individually sealed plastic bags she had bought them in; she was insistent about it happening, but no one else believed her. The Granger's collected their daughter in hast and brought her home.
The couple discussed it together and made the joint decision that they couldn't ignore the oddities anymore. The next day, they approach the subject gently, as their daughter was very sensitive and they didn't want to make her feel alienated in any way. So after making her favorite meal and had a quiet family movie night, they sat down at the kitchen table and talked. Hermione told them about her the previous day, and they were glad to hear that she was completely unaware of the incident, and only expressed her wish that she could give the children what they wanted, candy, so they would let her play with them. Apparently the children sensed something strange about their daughter and avoided her. Jane told her that she should never do things just to make children like her, and Herman chipped in that she should just do what she thought was right. Both made it a point from then on to express what they considered to be right and wrong, as the young Hermione still seemed to hang on their every word.
It became all too apparent that their daughter didn't get along with the other children – they figured it was because she was just far too bright, and they thought that it intimidated the others. They told her she was wonderful as she was, but it was obvious that their daughter longed to be with the other children and often went out of her way to try and please them. She was never successful in her attempts though, and that made their daughter very lonely indeed, so it was then they decided to buy her a pet. As Herman was allergic to dogs, they had adopted a calico cat for her seventh birthday and she was delighted; it had already been an honorary member of the family by then, as it had been living in their backyard for the past three and a half year. About the time of the poem incident, actually. She named the creature Darcy, mainly because the brilliant five year old had just read Pride and Prejudice for the third time and the cat was a male. It followed her everywhere she went, and Hermione's spirit was considerable lifted with it around and the odd events lessened.
When their daughter turned ten, they finally admitted to themselves that their daughter was indeed odd. Denial could only get you so far, and after five years they had been worn down from ignoring so many incidents. There was nothing wrong with her per say, but they could no longer ignore the oddities that occurred around their precious, sensitive child. Now of course, there were many more things between then and now, Easter eggs changing colors that Hermione preferred when her back was turned and ripped sweaters mending while she slept, but the couple chose to ignore these. Those were few, those were simple.
The most dangerous of the incidents had happened on another average day. Herman and Jane had went to work at the usual time after dropping Hermione off at her school, and like usual, when they were all back home and had finished their dinner they went to the living to sit down in front of the fireplace and read. Both parts of the married couple loved to read, and their only daughter had inherited this, just as she had inherited her Mother's brown eyes and her father's brown-blonde hair. All was well until the fire had died. In fifteen minutes, the room became very cold and Herman tried to start another fire – however, the gas decided to be difficult again and refused to start. Hermione went and curled up next to her Mother while Herman continued his efforts, but when the room continued to grow colder the child huffed in clear irritation at the coldness – and the fire sprung to life with a suddenness that shocked all three, the flame only licking at Herman's face as he was quick enough to pull back before he was burnt.
Jane and Hermione rushed to Herman to see if he was alright, and after he assured them he was and their daughter expressed how frightening – yet exciting – that had been, the couple exchanged worried looks. Their daughter didn't ignore things like they preferred to. She was so painfully aware of her surroundings that she had to of been aware of the strange events that occurred around her, and that deeply concerned the couple. Even worse they knew that their daughter picked up on their worry, and seemed depressed at times unless they gave her adequate praise. Later that night, as Herman and Jane lay close in bed and stared at the ceiling, they finally admitted quietly that their daughter was indeed very odd. They loved her all the same though and it was then that they became determined to watch her more carefully. They were unsure as to how they would deal with the strange occurrences, especially as they became more and more frequent as Hermione grew older, but they were going to give it their best try and be proactive in their efforts to protect their only child.
It was on the week of her eleventh birthday, September 19th, that they were able to take a long sigh of relief. They received a letter in the mail, inviting their daughter to attend the next school year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – well, they received several, actually. The first had been tossed into the trash immediately, as they had thought it to be another rather cruel joke. Their daughter had reached the age when the children stopped just avoiding her and would sometimes do cruel pranks on her simply because she didn't fit in with them; they had once left her out in the rain after making her promise to guard their bikes while they went inside the theater to buy treats, instead staying to watch an entire movie before laughing at her for her blind trust. Their daughter, with all her intelligence and wonder, was still a child and longed for the companionship and acceptance of her peers. So at the sight of the letter, the Grangers tossed the letter and the four after it into the trash to protect their odd, but still very precious daughter from the cruelty of the neighborhood children. It wasn't until one Mary Cattermole appeared at their doorstep to insure the Grangers that their daughter was very much a witch, and needed to attend a school to learn how to control her magical abilities.
Mrs. Cattermole appeared at their back door with a fine suit, a nervous smile and a wand. A wand. They hadn't intended to let her past the threshold before she demonstrated with the use of her wand a simple spell, effectively turning a blossoming flower on a bush into a happily chirping bird. When the initial shock wore off they ushered her in and the woman continued to demonstrate simple spells to the amazement of the family. The magical world was explained to them in great detail by Mrs. Cattermole, who explained that she herself had a 'muggle' – or non-magical – background and was more than willing to answer any questions they had. Or, at least, she tried to. Hermione was a very curious child, and at one point in the discussion got so ahead of herself that she had to flee the room to find a notepad and pencil to write down all her questions. Sometimes her brain worked too fast for her mouth to keep up, which was only exacerbated with her inability to communicate what she was trying to say. Her parents had been working on it with her since she was first able to talk, teaching her to speak as clearly as possible. However, sometimes when she spoke her intelligence came off as being slightly snobbish, and that seemed to be the problem they were working with her more so that the poor communication. Mrs. Cattermole unfortunately didn't have to long with them, as she had other families to visit, but was able to direct them to a pub in London where she could buy her school supplies. A list was provided to them, and after the Grangers confirmed that, yes, they would take into serious consideration her offer, Mrs. Cattermole smiled and informed them that they had two weeks to decide. She congratulated Hermione before she left the couple the address to write their confirmation to, and then with a suddenness that left all three gasping, she disappeared into thin air with a loud 'pop'.
The Granger family stared at where she had been before Hermione beamed gleefully and they all embraced, and even though the couple were alternating between being excited and frightened, they were incredibly relieved. Perhaps now their daughter could find friends, accepting peers. She was very close to her parents, her mother especially, but it wasn't healthy for a child not to have children her own age to socialize with. While she was perfect in their eyes, she clearly wanted to be a part of a group – to be surrounded by others like herself. They discussed Hogwarts as a family, but it only took little over three hours for the couple to become confident that this was right for their daughter. They told the excited child as firmly as they could that, if after a year the school didn't seem right for her, that they would pull her out. Later that evening, the letter was put in the mailbox, and ten minutes after that when Herman went to double check that he had put the correct address on, the letter was gone. The couple had originally planned to go to the pub in London later in the week, but at their excited daughter's persistence they went the next day in the hopes that their only child would settle down, the girl unable to sit still without bursting out into laughter.
The Leaky Cauldron was a pub filled with individuals that made Hermione looked quiet tame in comparison – a man conversing with an iguana as if it was a person, a woman complaining that she need a new broom for her son because " he just refused to fly on one from last year ". The Grangers huddled together in the corner looking out of place until a balding man came up to them, demanding what they were there for, only when Jane hastily pulled her daughter's school list out of her purse and showed it to the hard looking man did the tone of the conversation changed dramatically. "I see, I see." The man said with a little smile, who only introduced himself as 'Tom' before ushering them into a very cold, very cramped courtyard. After tapping several bricks on a beaten looking wall, an entrance to an alley packet full of shops and bustling people was revealed and they gasped collectively, the Tom man smiling and saying that first generation families never got tiring to watch.
Navigating through Diagon Alley seemed an overwhelming task at first, so the group tackled it as logically as they could; they first explored the Alley thoroughly, making note of the shops that the school list mentioned as carrying an necessary item. Though they might not be witches like the people that went up and down the paths as usual as they would in their usual shopping areas, they knew to avoid the more shady parts when they passed them. They both held one of their daughter's hands out of worry -Hermione was far more adventurous than her parents, running ahead of them to eagerly gaze into the shop windows in amazement if they allowed her, the items on display magical and strange and so necessary of her to see. When the entered Flourish and Blotts, an incredibly cramped and heavily stocked bookstore, they were kindly told by an elder witch that they had to exchange their muggle money for the currency the magical community used, which could be done at the Grindotts Wizard Bank. Though Hermione had begged to be left in the bookstore, where she had already collected all her school books and had begun reading one called "A History of Magic", her parents were wary of doing so. After the couple exchanged quick words, Jane ended up staying with Hermione in the bookstore, the pair settling down in a quiet corner to begin reading through her book with Hermione in her Mother's lap because she was still very much a child when it came to Jane though she probably ten times as mature as others her age. Herman ventured off to the bank alone, and was startled when meeting a goblin for the first time; when he returned to his wife and daughter made sure to tell them in full detail the wonder and oddity of seeing a magical creature.
The school shopping was a great success, and everything on the list was found and purchased on their first day there. They bought several more book than required, though, as they hoped to get a better understanding of what their daughter was and would be learning upon arriving at this new school of hers. Of course, getting it all home provided to be more difficult than they had first planned, especially with the constant staring of passing muggles at Hermione's new owl, but once the day had finished and the three were getting ready for bed they were able to have a good laugh about it.
And then reality hit the married couple. Jane had been in their closet, picking out clothing for bed when she caught a glimpse of the plastic bag on the top shelf. Inside was the new uniform she had bought her daughter just a week earlier for her new year at school, a very prestigious one that had cost far too much in tuition, one Jane herself had attended as a girl. Suddenly, the thought of Hermione attending all the events she had, the college she had gone to and following in Jane's footsteps to become a Dentist felt as if they were slipping through her fingers like water. Herman found her in the closet when she hadn't come to bed, and when she expressed her worry at their daughter never doing anything 'normal' again he grew worried as well. They had shared so many hopes and dreams for their daughter.
They wouldn't let her go to Hogwarts, they decided. It wasn't mandatory or anything like that – perhaps they had a summer program she could go to. Let this witch thing be a little hobby, like an after school club. Yes, that sounded reasonable. Everything had just happened so fast that they had been caught up in the moment, and that wasn't like them. Not Herman and Jane Granger, the couple that enjoyed the mundane. They decided to tell Hermione tomorrow, she would surely understand as she was so eager to do as her parents told. When the pair went to their daughter's room across the hall from theirs to say good night, their new plan felt very wrong. Upon opening the door they saw their only child sitting in the middle of her floor, surrounded by open books and waving her new wand, the tip of which suddenly began to glow when she uttered a quiet 'Lumos'. She covered her mouth with her free hand to quiet her laughter as she waved her wand around, flipping through the pages of her books in excitement, unaware of her parents quietly watching from the doorway.
The couple, having not heard their daughter laugh like that unless provoked by one of them, decided that their plans needed to be reversed. They would have her attended summer lessons in London or make some themselves, and allow her to attend this Hogwarts.
The rest of the summer flew by far too quickly for the couple to like, and when Hermione was gone after a very odd farewell at the train station, the pair felt incredibly sad.
Each time she would go away to school the couple would think back to when Hermione was little and everything was perfect, but they agreed that they wouldn't change anything. Well, of course they would have wished their daughter put herself in harm's way a little less, but she had turned into such a wonderful young woman and they was all that really mattered. She was still their Hermione, and would always be.
Even if she was a little odd.