Pre-quell Of Hermione Granger from Harry Potter

Chapter 1: Recess Time

At age ten, Hermione Granger believed she was perfectly normal. She went to a regular school, did regular homework, and was a very good student.

One day at recess time, she was pretending she was reading a book as a few of her classmates talked about her in low voices. They didn't know she was listening to what they were saying, but she was paying very close attention.

"D'you reckon we should be friends with her?" Emily asked them hesitantly.

"No! Are you serious? She's a freak!" A girl named Lauren said.

"Do you remember the spray painting incident? And the dodge ball one? I still hate her for that!" Others made noises of agreement.

"Anyway, we're too cool for her!" Lauren continued, "We don't need friends who are such losers!"

"But she's really nice to me! She even let me borrow her pencil for a test and-"

"I don't care! We're not friends with her! She is a freak! End of story." The girls walked away then and as soon as they were out of sight, Hermione put her book down.

She was used to this behavior from her classmates. They disliked her because she had done odd things that were completely out of her control.

She remembered each event with clarity…

They were in gym, playing dodge ball, when Lauren had made her angry by spreading fake rumors about her and right when her temper flared, the ball she was holding shot right out of her hand and into Lauren's face. Hermione did have to sit out because they weren't allowed to hit above the waist, but she didn't mind much anyway because she hated dodge ball.

Another time, she was reading a book and a rude girl named Zoey had "accidentally" pushed Hermione face-first in the sand. She had swallowed it and had to be taken to the bathroom to clean herself up and everyone had laughed at her, including Zoey. But right before she had been taken away, an enormous tree branch above Zoey's head had fallen on her with a loud snap and she collapsed on the ground, crying.

The last time, no more than a month ago, she had been framed for spray painting a bad word on the school building. She knew she would get in a lot of trouble because there was the same red spray paint in her locker and Hermione didn't know how it had gotten there. So when Lauren pointed it out and people were about to tell the principle, Hermione lost it and the spray paint can zoomed into Lauren's bag.

Hermione lurched herself back to the present. All she knew was these odd things happened whenever she got angry or was feeling some strong emotion.

The bell rang then, signaling the end of recess. Hermione grabbed her book and took her place in line.

Chapter 2: Amber

As everyone headed to class, Hermione was happy to be in her favourite class with her favourite teacher, Ms Evans. She seated herself beside her friend, Amber.

She had a kind face and an interesting personality. Her favourite colour was orange, she loved to paint and she preferred to curl up with a book instead of going to a party.

"Hey Hermione! I didn't get a chance to talk to you much this week. How are you?" Amber asked casually with a kind smile on her face.

"Oh hey Amber, I'm fine thanks. How are you?" Hermione said, actually curious; she hadn't spoken to Amber in quite a while.

Amber looked at her with concern. "I'm actually a little worried; do you know that Lauren and her friends are spreading rumors about you? I don't blame you because you can do those strange things, it could happen by coincidence. Even if it isn't one, I think it's Karma taking it's course."

Hermione smiled at her. Yes, she was rather sick of Lauren but she would have to deal with her because she knew not everyone in the world can like you. "I can deal with Lauren. Sure, she can make me lose my temper sometimes or hit a nerve, but I know ignoring her is definitely working. Nobody believes those rumors, anyway."

Amber looked at her quickly and then dropped her eyes to her work. "Uh… a lot of people are under the impression that you are a witch with secret powers," she said, speaking to her pencil. Hermione knew that when Amber said "a lot of people" she included herself and was truly curious to see if it was real.

"Oh, let them spread ridiculous rumors. I can't believe they think witches and wizards even exist! It's completely barbaric," Hermione said coolly.

Amber breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, you're right," She said looking at Hermione. "It's pretty ridiculous."

Class started then, and the class had an interesting lesson learning about persuasive writing. Ms Evans showed them examples and how to persuade someone to do something in a letter.

For homework, they were to pretend they were pumpkin heads and the headless horse woman would come to pick which pumpkin head she wanted. They had to write her a letter in their Literacy notebook, persuading her to not pick them; it was due the next day.

Hermione took as many notes as possible, though Ms Evans did not ask her to. They also had 4 double-sided math work sheets to complete which they had two days to finish.

She had a great day, learning loads and having fun. The school day ended quickly and before she knew it, Ms Evans was signing her agenda and students filed past her on their way home.

Chapter 3: The Truth Note

"Psst! Here, pass it on!"

A note landed on Hermione's desk. She knew exactly what it was about.

Every week, there would be a list on a note written by the popular kids saying who's the dorkiest, the ugliest, the stupidest, the prettiest, the nicest, the cutest, the weirdest and the funniest. It was called: The Truth Note.

Whatever the truth note said was believed to be true by the kids at Hermione's school just because it was written by the popular kids: Lauren, Claire, Emily, Britney, and Quinn.

Lauren was rude, Claire was very concerned about popularity, Emily was nice but willing to do anything for her friends, and Britney and Quinn were total divas who thought of all the other kids beneath notice.

Hermione sighed. She had been on the note at least twice and she was never in the Cutest, Funniest, Prettiest or Nicest category.

She unfolded the note inside her desk and read:

Prettiest: Quinn H

That was natural. Quinn was the boss of the popular kids. She would obviously have put herself or someone else would have.

Nicest: Emily T

Funniest: Jake T

Emily and Jake Thomas were related; they were brother and sister. That made sense.

Cutest: Claire L

Claire was another popular girl so of course she was in the cutest category.

Stupidest: Daniel Y

Daniel sometimes needed extra help but that was just because he wasn't always paying attention in class.

That leaves three more, Hermione thought. Her eyes raked over the last sentences and her heart started beating very fast and her stomach felt uneasy.

Ugliest: Hermione G

Dorkiest: Hermione G

Weirdest: Hermione G (obviously!)

She looked up from the note to see that everyone was staring her. She hadn't noticed the Mr. Martin had been talking to her. He seemed to be expecting an answer.

"Sorry?" She blurted. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office? You look sick." He said.

She felt sick. The popular kids started snickering. Then Lauren whispered loudly, "She's just upset because she's on the truth note; again!"

Mr. Martin looked confused and the class started to laugh at her. Hermione felt angry and very sorry for herself. She glared at Lauren and was – for the first time - satisfied that her bottle of water exploded and splashed all over her.

"There she goes again, that little FREAK!" Quinn shouted. Hermione burst into tears, ran out of the classroom, down the hall and all the way home.