When Hermione had gotten her first letter from Hogwarts, she'd been so excited at the idea of being normal, of fitting in somewhere, that she hadn't bothered to think about what she would be leaving behind in the Muggle world. The knowledge she'd gained before her eleventh year took a backseat as she busied herself with learning all she could about her new reality.

Ten years later, as a recent Hogwarts graduate and newly minted Ministry employee, she hadn't expected to find herself immersed in the past.

Her parents had decided to move into a smaller house for, they asserted, a variety of very prudent reasons. The decision had shaken Hermione. Aside from their brief stint in Australia, her parents had lived in the same house since before she was born. Though Hermione had spent far more time at Hogwarts over the past decade and had even elected to spend many of her school breaks at the castle or with the Weasleys, she had always, first and foremost, considered this place home.

It was where most of her non-magical firsts had occurred, and even some of the magical ones, like her first accidental magic when a book on the top shelf had flung itself off when Hermione thought about how much she wanted to look at it. Her mom had been shaken by the event, going so far as to buy a new bookshelf to replace the one she believed to be faulty.

Hermione smiled at the memory, though she'd lived in fear of her magic for years before Professor McGonagall had shown up on her family's doorstep. As an adult, she couldn't remember the many incidents with anything but fondness.

Her parents had found a new place faster than they had expected, and Hermione had taken a day off work to pack up her childhood memories.

She'd been given several boxes marked with 'keep', 'store', and 'donate'. It was her task to decide which of the three categories her childhood belongings fell into, which was harder than she would have imagined. Her parents had been the ones to insist that she take the day off, and Hermione was surprised to realize that they'd been right.

She had expected to come in, get it done in an hour or so, and then go home without having to dwell on the fact that it was one of the last times she'd see the place. After all, many of these items had been sitting, hardly touched, for the past decade. She'd gone without them so far, yet they were shockingly hard to part with.

She was thankful her parents were at their office that day. Having them hovering around would have made the many emotions she felt worse, and she was thankful she could shed her tears in private.

There was more stuff than she'd expected, from old school reports and essays to scrapbooks she and her parents had made to document special occasions. She'd even uncovered baby clothes that she hadn't been aware were shoved in a box in the back of her closet. She wasn't sure her parents realized they'd hung onto them either.

Her heart stuttered when she realized what one of the other items that had been dropped into the box was: her old Beauty and the Beast VHS.

She gave a short laugh. For the past ten years, she'd been removed from the Muggle world, but even she knew that VHS players were quickly becoming a thing of the past. Her father had invited her over as soon as he and her mother had bought their DVD player. His excitement over the new machine had been contagious, and he'd relished the opportunity to explain how it worked to a bemused Ron.

They still had the VHS player, though, and Hermione was tempted to pop in the tape and watch it again.

She'd been enthralled with the world of Beauty and the Beast as a child. The magical elements had certainly had their draw, as Hermione struggled to make sense of what was happening around her, and she wouldn't deny being enamored with the romance.

But, even more so, Hermione had been drawn to Belle, a decidedly unmagical character who, nevertheless, had been someone whom Hermione could relate to far more than most she had encountered.

With a large smile threatening to break free, Hermione withdrew from her room, carrying the tape with her downstairs.

She was embarrassed to admit that it took her few minutes to remember how to work the VHS player, but once she had, she settled herself in, confident that she could finish the movie and get back to work before her parents arrived home to see her.

If she was still able to sing along to all the songs—well, no one would have to know.