Who wants to be a Granger-onaire?
I do not own Harry Potter
I do not own who wants to be a millionaire
A/N: for those of who were are too young to remember or have simply never watched who wants to be a millionaire, a brief introduction with the show via YouTube is recommended to avoid confusion.
September 19th 1999
It was Hermione's twentieth birthday and everyone seemed to forget. Her co workers didn't say anything to her, and she has yet to receive a letter from Molly and Ron. Even Harry who worked side by side along with her at the ministry didn't say anything. They started dating since the end of the war and have moved in together after a while. So why was he neglecting her? Hermione sighed sadly as she went about her paperwork. That day she was the first to leave and used the floo network to get home. As soon as she stepped into the living room, she was greeted by a loud upbeat music she was quite familiar with. It was the intro theme song of the most popular trivia game show on prime time TV of the time. Smiling in amusement at the strange greeting, she searched for Harry only to find him, standing next to the stereo, with a broad smirk on his face and an envelope in his hand.
"Are you Hermione Granger?" he asked, clearly teasing her. She laughed.
"Are you really my boyfriend Harry Potter?" she asked, teasing him back.
"Come now Miss, you know I'm the one who asks the questions in this show."
She frowned with a chuckle.
"What show?"
"Why this one of course!" declared Harry and presented to her an envelope with a seal she's seen before. She couldn't believe her eyes. She ripped the envelope open and read it to herself.
"Dear Ms. Granger,
We are pleased to inform you that your request for participation in this season's who wants to be a millionaire has been granted. If you wish to participate, you are requested to attend an audition at our studios this Friday the 21st of September at 9:00 PM. If this hour does not work for you please contact us as soon as possible to try and arrange a new date.
Wish you the best of luck,
Respectfully yours,
Hellen Queens, auditions manager."
Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. Se slowly looked up at Harry with astonishment in her eyes. He smiled at her.
"Didn't think I actually forgot your birthday did you?"
She smiled happily and tackled him in a hug.
"This is wonderful Harry. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. I know how brilliant you are and how you love this show. I saw how inspired you were with how smart the contestants were. It's time everyone will see who's the smartest one of them all…"
She smiled sweetly at him.
"Thanks Harry." She said. He smiled back.
"You're welcome."
After a short silence she spoke.
"Do you really think I can win the million?"
"I don't care if you win or not. To me you were always brilliant and a winner since you fixed my glasses on our first trip to Hogwarts." He confessed and she rolled her eyes in bemusement.
"Sweet talker."
He chuckled.
"Well it's true. To me you are brilliant and a winner no matter how you do in the game show."
She kissed him sweetly.
"Take it easy there lover boy. Wouldn't want you your face to get red again. Otherwise I get to make fun of it." She teased. As if on cue he blushed.
"Hermione!"
She laughed and kissed him again briefly.
"Told you." She said and walked away to change into more comfortable clothes.
Needless to say, Hermione accepted the invitation and attended the audition. Being the smart girl that she is she passed with flying colors and didn't mind being surrounded by cameras. She was in. Her first game is gonna be next month and she couldn't wait.
She counted the days until the end of October. As expected they went by slowly. On the evening of October 21st, she ran into the shower as soon as she got home and Harry went in after her. After eating dinner, they got into their car and drove to the studio. This is one of those days that Hermione was glad she was muggle born and still had the privilege to be a witch. Unlike most of her peers she could use cars to get around and she could be able to be exposed to television as well as who wants to be a millionaire. After fifteen minutes of driving they arrived at the studio. They passed through security, Harry gave his girlfriend a good luck kiss and with that the show was about to begin. Hermione sat in the fast finger seat and she heard the all too familiar tune. Then it began. The host came onto the stage and began the show.
"Good evening, I'm Chris Tarrant and welcome to another show of who wants to be a millionaire. During each show we select one or a few contestants to see if they have what it takes to win a million pounds. So without further ado, let us introduce tonight's, contestants.
"Marty Williams."
"Kelly Wilson."
"Tommy Morrison."
"Hellen Klein."
"Hermione Granger."
"John Smith."
"Gwen Thompson."
"Hillary Johnson."
"Frank Jackson."
"And Tim Wilson."
"Those are our contestants for this evening, and our fast finger question is the following."
"Name the following US presidents in their consecutive order in office."
"Richard Nixon."
"John F Kennedy."
"Dwight Eisenhower."
"Lyndon B Johnson."
Several seconds later the time was up.
"And the time is up and the correct order is thus."
"Dwight Eisenhower."
"John F Kennedy."
"Lyndon B Johnson."
"Richard Nixon."
"And our fastest finger is…"
Surprise, surprise, Hermione's name came up as the fastest with just five minutes of record breaking time.
"Hermione Granger." he said and everyone applauded. She stood up and shook Chris's hand and walked up to center stage.
"Good evening Hermione it's nice too have you on the show." Said Chris.
She smiled with a slight coy blush on her face.
"Thanks, it's a privilege to be on the show."
"It's a privilege to have you on the show as well Miss Granger. Are you ready to play some trivia?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"An optimistic start, that's the spirit. So I'm gonna tell you the guidelines. There are fifteen questions and each question has four possible answers. The fist few ones are pretty easy. You have three lifelines, a phone a friend, which allows to call someone to help you and you have thirty seconds to get an answer, you have fifty, fifty which cuts two wrong answers from the question, and you have ask the audience which gives you a statistical result for each answer. If you get a question wrong before the fifth question you lose everything. If you lose a question between the fifth and tenth question you are left with one thousand pounds. If you pass the tenth question successfully you are guaranteed a 32,000 pound jackpot. From then on you are on your own till the million pound question."
"Got it." Said Hermione.
"Let us begin then." Said Chris. There was a brief dramatic tone and the lightning in the studio changed.
"Who was Christopher Columbus?"
"A: The man who discovered America."
"B: a warrior."
"C: A scientist."
"Or D: a poet."
This was easy for Hermione.
"A, final answer."
"She says A, and she is correct."
"The second question for two hundred pounds is…"
"Bugs Bunny's signature food is…"
"A: A cucumber."
"B: A tomato"
"C: A carrot."
"Or D: Lettuce."
"C, Carrot."
"Correct."
"What was the Enigma?"
"A submarine."
"An ancient riddle."
"A gun."
"The machine the Germans used to advance in World War II."
"D, final answer."
"Correct."
"Where is the resting place of the Titanic?"
"The bottom of the North Atlantic."
"New York."
"Southampton."
"Belfast."
"The answer is A. Final answer."
"Very good. Now for the 1,000 pound question. You win this question, and you secured the said amount."
"At what year did Israel declare its independence?"
"1947."
"1948."
"1939."
"1976."
"The answer is B 1948."
"Correct. You have just secured one thousand pounds."
Hermione felt a little bit relived. But it was rather easy for her she shouldn't.
"Now onto the tougher questions."
"Who was the first man to fly in space?"
"Yuri Gagarin."
"Alexei Leonov."
"Alan Shepard."
"John Glenn."
Now it was getting tough for Hermione.
"Well my father was and still is a space race enthusiast. I always thought the Americans were the first in space, because they were the first to land on the moon but he told me otherwise. Therefore the answer is A Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet not an American."
"Is that your final answer?"
"Final answer."
A brief moment of tension followed and sure enough, she was right.
"Who was the president of the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis?"
"Dwight Eisenhower."
"'Ronald Reagan."
"Jimmy Carter."
"John F Kennedy."
The answer has been marked on the screen but a confirmation has yet to come.
"Hermione, you selected D, JFK. You will soon know if your answer was correct. But first we will go for a short break. Stay tuned folks, who wants to be a millionaire will return in just moment."
Five minutes later…
"And we're back ladies and gentleman. Our contestant Hermione Granger has been asked who was president during the Cuban Missile Crisis. She selected JFK. Is her answer correct?"
It blinked in confirmation.
"Indeed it is."
"Now for the four thousand pound question. The question is thus."
"What is the chemical compound of water?"
"O"
"H"
"S2O"
"H2O"
"D, H20." Said Hermione.
"Correct again." Said Chris and she earned a warm round of applause.
"Our next question is this."
"When was the last time the Chicago Cubs won the world series?"
"1908"
"1995."
"1955."
"1986."
This time Hermione was stumped. She was weak when it came to American baseball. But she knew who could help.
"I'd like to use a phone a friend life line."
"And who are we calling?"
"My father Richard."
"Okay, our tech people will patch you through."
Soon a ringing tone was heard and a man's voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Richard?"
"Yes?"
"Hi this is Chris Tarrant from who wants to be a millionaire, how are you?"
"I'm fine thank you."
"Good. Your daughter is here with us, she needs your help with one of her questions. Are you ready to help?"
"Bring it on."
"Okay. You have thirty seconds, starting now." He said and a ticking sound filled the studio.
"Hey Dad, when did the Chicago Cubs last win the World Series? 1908, 1995, 1955 or 1986?"
"1908." He said confidently.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm positive."
"Okay, thanks Dad."
And with that the call was over.
"So what's it gonna be Hermione?" asked Chris.
"I'm gonna go for A. Final answer."
Chris smirked.
"You just won yourself 16,000 pounds."
She sighed with relief.
"But you are not out of the woods yet you still have a way to go. If you win the next question you secure 32,000 pounds. Are you ready to continue?'
"Yes."
"Alright then, let's play."
"In astronomy, the gray spots on the moon are leftovers of volcanic eruptions. What is their astronomical name?"
"Creators."
"Ridges."
"Valleys."
"Mares (Latin for Seas.)."
"The answer is D."
"Final answer?"
"Final answer."
"You are correct. You have won 32,000 pounds!"
After the cheering died down Chris said.
"So now you are playing for series money. You have secured 32,000 pounds. If you fail in any of the other question you fall down to that but you still have two lifelines left. Are you ready to keep playing?"
"Let's do it."
"The women knows no fear!" joked Chris and some of the people in the audience laughed.
"Here we go."
"Who was the captain of the Titanic?"
"Bruce Ismay."
"Thomas Andrews."
"Edward Smith."
"Lewis Edwards."
"C Edward Smith."
"Correct again." Said Chris.
"In Greek Mythology what is the story of Ikaros?"
"A Greek God who was banished from mount Olympus."
"A warrior who killed the Hydra.
"A boy who was turned into his bear like his mother."
"A man who tried to build wax wings in order to fly and fell to his death when the wax melted."
Hermione thought for a moment.
"That's a tough one because all these stories ring a bell and I think are based off real ones in Greek Mythology but I can't pinpoint which is applies for Ikaros. So I'll have the fifty, fifty life line take out two of the answers."
"Okay, computer, take down two incarcerate answers."
Now they were left with two.
"B: A warrior who killed the Hydra."
"D: A man who tried to build wax wings in order to fly and fell to his death when the wax melted."
Hermione frowned for a moment.
"I'm not sure. I know there's a story with a hydra but I can't remember if it was Ikaros who battled it… I think not… I think I'll go with D."
"Is that your final answer?"
"Final answer."
Chris looked at her for a moment. Then he said.
"Hermione, you just won yourself 125,000 pounds. You have three questions left and one life line left. So without further ado let's move onto the 250,000 pound question."
"In the Judaism, what is the holiest holiday of the year?"
"Yom Kippur."
"Jewish New Year's"
"Passover."
"Hanukkah."
Hermione sighed.
"Well I don't know much about Judaism so I'll use my last lifeline."
"Very well. Audience, place your votes and the computer will display the results."
Then the results appeared.
"A: 55%"
"B: 15%
"C: 20%"
"D: 10%"
Hermione sighed.
"Well I suppose that answers my question. Yom Kippur it is. A final answer."
Chris sighed.
"Hermione you just used your last lifeline. You had 125,000 pounds… now you have 250,000 pounds."
She sighed with relief and the whole audience cheered.
"This might be history in the making folks. Hermione is two questions away from her million pounds. And the question goes as such."
"What was the Sykes Picot agreement?"
"A bill passed by congress to abolish alcohol."
"An agreement signed between the Allies during World War II."
"A no-fire treaty Hitler Signed with Stalin before World War II."
"An agreement splitting control and authority via mandate over Palestine and the Middle East after the First World War."
Hermione struggled to come up with an answer.
"I knew this… I remember learning about it in history class…" she mumbled as she scratched her head nervously. Suddenly her eyes lit up.
"I got it. The answer is D."
"Final answer?"
"Final answer."
Chris just stared into his screen and spoke.
"My good lady you just won yourself 500,000 pounds. You are about to go for the 1,000,000 pound question. Are you ready for this?"
"Let's do it."
"Then here we go."
"What was the fate of Joseph Kennedy Jr.?"
"Death by illness."
"Death by plane Crash."
"Assassination."
"Prison sentence."
Hermione took a deep breathe. She knew this one. She had it in the bag.
"B death by plane crash." Said Hermione and the studio fell silent.
Chris got up and exclaimed
"We have a winner!" he said as they were showered with confetti and fireworks. Harry and the rest rushed down to the center to greet her and embraced her in a loving hug. After the shock died down, they left the studio and soon afterwards headed home.
"So, how does it feel to be a millionaire Hermione?"
"I'm still in shock. I can't believe I made it."
"Nothing less from you Hermione." He said and she smiled sweetly at him.
"Thanks Harry."
He smiled back at her.
"You're welcome."
Shortly afterwards he asked.
"So what are you gonna do with the money?"
"I'm gonna donate some of it to charity and to my house elf organization. The rest I'll keep as investment for us. Might come in handy when our kids want to go to college."
Harry blinked.
"Our kids?"
"'Yeah. You are planning on marrying me aren't you?" she asked as he parked. He smiled sweetly and kissed her softly on the lips.
"You bet Hermione, you bet."
The end…
So there's an interesting change of pace. I can't believe I went through all the questions. In case you were wondering all the questions and answers here are from my personal general knowledge and only had to double check a few things a few times. Mostly spelling and the level scale of the original show.
Anyway I hope you guys liked this little bit of fiction and trivia and I hope to see you next time…
Peace out…