First Day
"You have to let go, love," said Mrs Granger, prying her five year old daughter off her leg.
"You're going to see us very soon. They have all sorts of things to do, books and toys," added Mr Granger. "You'll make friends. There's no need to be shy."
Mrs Granger approached the daycare supervisor.
"And who is this?" asked the elderly matron - who was kind despite the severe look on her
face.
"Tell her your name, dear," prompted Mrs Granger.
The little girl blinked at the woman, clutching her book to her chest. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said, quietly but not shyly.
"I'm Miss Minerva. A boy your age just arrived a few moments ago," the woman said, checking something off on a clipboard. "How about you go say hello? We're going to start a group game on a few minutes."
The girl clutched a handful of bushy hair in her fist and casted a glance back at her mum, who smiled and nodded encouragingly.
That was all of the confidence she needed, as she marched across the room while her parents talked to Miss Minerva.
While she was making her way through the toys, a crying boy ran past her. What could make him cry so much? Was it because he missed his mum and dad?
"My... my toad," he blubbered to a supervisor.
"Your soft toy, Neville?" The supervisor asked.
The boy nodded.
Hermione stared at them, eyes wide. Finally, she remembered what she was supposed to do - say hello to the lonely boy with the bright red hair! She had never seen anything like it before, and she wondered if his whole family had red hair, like her family all had big hair.
He looked up at her, dropping the toy he was playing with.
"A boy named Neville's lost a toad. Is it here?" she asked, clearer than one would expect coming from a five year old. Her mother had recently explained to her what articulate meant.
"No," the boy said.
He didn't say his name, so Hermione decided to ask him for it. "And who are you?"
"Ron."
Before she could reply, however, Miss Minerva walked into the room, and ordered everyone into a circle.
Hermione noticed there was children younger than her and older kids. Two ones with bright hair like Ron's were whispering in the ear of the other, and an older boy with red hair - just how many were there? - looked unhappy. She knew what her mum would say to him - "Turn that frown upside down!"
Once everyone was silent (Hermione noticed the other children had a lot harder of a time following instructions) Miss Minerva began speaking.
"Today, we're going to play the name game," she said slowly. "When it is your turn, you will - Percy, can you please put the book away? - you will get this nice, black hat. You will put it on your head, and tell everyone your name. If you would like, you may tell everyone one thing you like. I'll go first."
Miss Minerva put the black pointed hat on her head. "My name is Miss Minerva, and I like all of my new friends that I met today. Charlie, why don't you start the group?"
Charlie looked to be the oldest of them all - old enough to be in school. It was summer, though.
"My name is Charlie, and I like big animals." He passed the hat on to a small blonde girl.
"My name is Hannah," said the girl quietly. Hermione thought the girl was going to cry - she sounded quite scared. Hannah shoved the hat in her lap.
"My name is Hermione, and I like books," she announced, lifting her head up. A boy giggled and whispered in to his friend's ear.
Miss Minerva noticed and lost her smile. "If we have something to say, Draco, we say it to the whole group."
"Sorry, Miss Minerva."
The name game went by quickly - Hermione was sure she'd be able to remember everyone's names. Lunch was very delicious - jam sandwiches, her favourite. It was the afternoon when the problems arose.
She was looking at a book - a hardcover one, with bright, glossy pages - when she heard the red-headed boy whispering to his friend, Harry, it was, on the other side of the bookshelf.
"She has no friends," he said, stumbling over his words. "I have lots and lots. And you do. But not her."
Did they know she was here? She popped her head up, over the bookshelf, and they backed away.
"I know you're saying mean things about me," Hermione accused. "I should tell Miss Minerva. You would get in trouble."
"No, no, no!" Ron shook his head frantically, "she tells mum and mum will be mad at me and mum's very scary when she's mad, y'know."
Hermione was not called smart by her parents for no apparent reason - she looked at the boys and spoke. "I won't tell her if you pinky promise to be my friend. And not say mean things about people, because you really shouldn't do that."
Ron nodded, relieved, while Howard - no, Harry - stood by his side.
"Yes. We'll all be friends. Pinky promise."
Of course, the three of them didn't know how this would change the rest of their lives - through primary and secondary school, through GSCEs and A-Levels to university, weddings (perhaps one of their own), and children - that was a whole other story.
A/n - written for the Hunger Games competition - if you couldn't tell, this was a Ron/Hermione Muggle Daycare!AU with a very, very vague hint of future Romione. Enjoy!