AN
Story title: Swish and Flick
School: Durmstrang
Theme: Grindelwald Wins AU
Prompts: 3. Teacup(object/main prompt) & 1. Ron Weasley (character)
Year: Six(6)
Word Count: 2834
Hermione Granger held her breath as she watched her teacup slowly levitate from its saucer.
"Mum!" she called. "Mum, I'm doing it again!"
Hermione's mother rushed into the kitchen right away. "Your teacup?" Jean Granger asked anxiously. She spotted the floating cup and stopped in her tracks. "Oh! Yes, you are!"
"This is the second time this week I've used magic," Hermione told her.
"Dear…we-we can't be certain it's magic yet," Jean said gently.
The teacup suddenly fell back down to the table, spilling its contents across the table
"But it has to be," Hermione insisted as she walked across the kitchen to pick up a sponge from the sink. "How else could I have done that?"
"I don't know," Jean admitted. "But…oh love, I know you think you're a witch. And-And I'll admit, there is definitely something…different going on here. But you know that the Ministry of Magic hardly ever accepts someone with non-magical parents as one of their own."
"But they do sometimes," Hermione pointed out. "I know I'm a witch, mum. Please, take me to the Ministry of Magic. I can prove to them that I've got magic in me!"
Jean gave her daughter a sympathetic look as she reached down and stroked her bushy hair.
"I just don't want you to get your hopes up," Jean said softly.
Hermione didn't reply as she stared down at the teacup, still laying on its side on the table.
"Why don't you go off and get some fresh air?" Jean suggested. "It's a lovely day."
"Alright," Hermione agreed. She knew her mother was looking for any way to change the subject from magic. She picked up her bag and then, after her mother had turned in the other direction, slipped the teacup inside before heading to the door and stepping outside.
It was that time of the year when the heat from the summer hadn't completely faded away, but the Autumn breeze was just beginning to blow through. Hermione wasn't the only person taking advantage of the weather. The sidewalks were filled with people out and about, and as she looked up in the sky, Hermione saw groups of witches and wizards flying around, laughing, on their broomsticks.
"Oi! Watch me!" one of the wizards, a blurry teenager with light hair, jeered as he lowered himself on his broomstick, so he was flying just slightly above the heads of the many muggles walking beneath him. He pulled a wand out of his back pocket and gave it a swish. At once, clouds formed above the muggles heads, and rain began to fall, soaking everybody underneath them.
"Why don't you cast a Drying spell on yourselves?" a second wizard called to the muggles, flying down to join his friend. "Get yourselves out of those wet clothes?"
"They can't!" the first wizard grinned. "They're muggles; they can't take care of themselves like that! That's why they depend on us!"
The two wizards continued to laugh as the flew back up into the air, leaving the rain clouds to continue to drench the muggles. Hermione could see that the muggles looked unamused by the wizards' antics, but nobody said a word as they simply reached into their bags and pulled out umbrellas.
There wasn't much a muggle could say to a witch or wizard. Unless the muggle wanted to be cursed or transfigured into a common garden slug, any comeback was useless. Muggles were under the complete control of the magical population, after all. Their special abilities made them far superior to the common muggles; that much had been drilled into everybody's heads from an early age.
Hermione continued to glare at the scene as the laughter of the wizards still rang in her ears.
It wasn't right, yet she knew no matter how bad things got for the muggles, the magical community would continue to be placed on a pedestal.
Since her first days in primary school, she had been taught the long history of the relations between muggles and witches and wizards. Magical beings had claimed supremacy over the muggles in order to create a better world for all. It was, as she had been taught, for the greater good. Her and her muggle classmates were told how brave warlocks stopped terrible disasters from wiping out large parts of the population; how wise alchemists created potions that cured some of the world's most horrid diseases; how spells and charms were used to improve nearly every aspect of life as the muggles knew it.
And of course, it all sounded wonderful when it was put that way. But as Hermione grew older, she began to see just how twisted the concept of magical superiority could be. True, magic had undoubtedly bettered many aspects of life for all, but at what cost? Yes, alchemists could stir up potions for nearly any ailment, but the price of such a potion for a muggle was nearly ten times what a witch or wizard would pay. Many muggles were forced to forego these cures purely due to the fact that they could not afford them. Witches and wizards could cast simple spells that could keep any home warm in the harsh winter months, but often times these spells would fade after only one night, and nobody would come by to recast them for weeks, sometimes months. And yes, on several occasions, witches and wizards had stepped in and fended off hurricanes, fires, or landslides from annihilating muggle towns, but this only furthered the debt that the muggles owed to magical beings.
Hermione let out a soft sigh as she turned and headed into the small park at the end of the street. If she could gain a place in the magical world, she knew she could change things. She would work relentlessly to end the backwards relationships between the two communities. She'd get to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which, even muggles knew, was the best wizarding school in the world. She'd earn top marks and get a job at the Ministry of Magic, where she could set her plans into action.
She found a spot in the park underneath a large tree and settled down onto the grass. She reached into her bag and pulled out the teacup again. If she wanted anybody to believe that she was in fact a witch, she needed to practice her magic as much as she could. Twice a year, the Ministry of Magic allowed any eleven-year-old muggles who thought that he or she may possess magical abilities to come in and demonstrate their skills to a panel of judges. If the judges deemed their skills to be truly magical, they were given a wand and that lucky individual was given a spot at Hogwarts. Hermione knew that very few muggles actually passed this review. She imagined that the Ministry of Magic made it purposefully difficult, as to keep as much muggle blood out of the magic world as possible.
"Come on…" Hermione whispered, staring hard at the teacup. "Float…go on, now."
But unfortunately, the cup stayed still. Hermione wasn't surprised; the few times she had shown magic, she hadn't been able to control it at all.
Hermione rested her chin on her hand as she stared off further into the park. Two boys who could hardly be older than her were pointing their wands at a swing, causing the seat to shrink to such a small size that not even a toddler could fit on it. The boys laughed as a group of muggle children stood nearby, watching the scene sadly.
"You'll have to find something else to do, muggles!" one of the boys laughed cruelly as him and his friend ran off, wands still drawn.
Hermione clenched her fists as she felt anger boil within her. How could this be allowed to happen? It wasn't fair; it just wasn't-
The teacup, which had been sitting ground, suddenly shot up high into the air, landing with a sickening crack almost ten meters away.
"I suppose that's something," Hermione mumbled, getting to her feet to go retrieve the teacup.
The teacup had landed near another group of large trees, but unluckily for her, Hermione did not see where exactly the cup had gone. She began to look around, hoping to spot it quickly so she could continue practicing.
"Er, sorry, is this yours?"
Hermione spun around and saw a tall, gangly boy with a long-nose, freckles, and red hair standing behind her. He was holding up her teacup, which, miraculously, was only slightly chipped.
"Yes," Hermione nodded gratefully. "Thank you."
"What'd you throw it over here for?" the boy asked.
"I didn't throw it," Hermione said. "I used magic…sort of."
"Sort of?" the boy frowned, confused.
"I-I did it by accident," Hermione said. "I was only trying to make it float."
"Oh," the boy nodded. "Well, you got some wicked height on this thing, you know. Impressive, really. My brothers make things shoot up like that all the time, usually things the nick from me, but they don't get them to go that high, and they're already in Hogwarts."
Hermione's eyes quickly darted to the boy's pocket. Sure enough, a wand was sticking out.
"Have you started Hogwarts yet?" the boy continued. "I start in September."
"I don't know if I'll start," Hermione said softly. "I hope so. I'd be going in September too."
"Haven't gotten your letter yet?" the boy asked. "That's alright; sometimes the owls come late."
"I haven't been given a wand yet," Hermione explained. "I'm a muggle."
"You are?" the boy exclaimed. "But you-That teacup!"
"I think I might be a witch," Hermione said. "Sometimes a person has magic within her, even if she doesn't have any magical family. I've been trying to practice as much as I can so I can go to the Ministry of Magic soon."
"You're definitely a witch," the boy said at once. "There's no other way you could have done what you just did if you weren't."
"Really?" Hermione said, hope filling her body. "I knew it! Oh, I'll have to go and try to convince my parents to make an appointment at the Ministry. They didn't want me to go and get rejected, but if I tell them that a real wizard told me I was doing real magic, maybe they'll be more willing to let me go."
The boy looked down at the ground silently.
"What?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing," the boy said heavily. "Only…well, my dad works at the Ministry of Magic. He deals with muggle relations and, er, he's told us that they normally make those tests that they give you guys nearly impossible."
Hermione's face fell. "I thought they might."
"It's not fair," the boy said quickly. "Young witches and wizards can't control their magic! That's my we've got to go the Hogwarts or some other wizarding school. I probably couldn't pass those tests."
"Yes, well, I suppose it would look bad for the superiority of witches and wizards if they made it easy for muggles to join their world," Hermione snapped.
The boy looked taken aback by her tone, but he took a step closer to her. "Look…it-it's rubbish, you know."
Hermione looked at him. "What is?"
"The way that muggles are treated," the boy said, the look on his face filled with sincerity. "I know that it's supposed to be this way for "the greater good", but it doesn't look like muggles are getting too much out of that arrangement. That's what my dad always says. He's been trying for years to get laws passed that would make things more equal between us and the muggles, but, er, he-he's not too high up in the Ministry of Magic. He doesn't have much say. And the ones who do have a say…they're not going to change anything any time soon."
"Why not?" Hermione scoffed. "Would it really be so bad for them if muggles were treated decently?"
"They think so," the boy answered. "My dad told me that there have been times when the Ministry has been close to passing laws that would have made things better, but they never amount to anything because they always get shot down."
"What sort of laws?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Um, well, I know my dad mentioned one that would have made it illegal for a wizard to draw his wand in an area that was populated mainly by muggles unless it was a true emergency," the boy said. "But then all these wizards threw a fit, saying that that would only start pushing wizards down the ranks again. Then there were some that thought that kids shouldn't be allowed to have wands until they start school, since I told you, we really can't control our magic too much, but the same people destroyed that law as well."
"That's completely ridiculous," Hermione said firmly. "Someone needs to push back at the Ministry. If I manage to get into Hogwarts, I'm going to get myself in there one day and make those changes."
The boy smiled. "Hope you make it then."
Hermione gave him a strange look. "You don't think magical people are superior to muggles?"
"Why would they be?" he asked. "Not their fault they were born without magic, is it?"
"It's just…I've never met a witch or wizard who thinks that," Hermione said.
The boy cleared his through. "Well…there are a lot of us who do. Problem is, most of them are afraid to do anything about it because if they do, they'd get in trouble with the Ministry. My dad's been on probation a few times because of the way he feels about muggles."
Hermione didn't say anything.
"But that's why you should definitely get to come to Hogwarts and train up to become part of the Ministry," the boy continued. He pulled out his wand. "Hey, if you'd like, you can practice with a real wand. Maybe that will help you when you go into the Ministry for them to test you for magic."
"You'd let me use your wand?" Hermione asked, shocked.
"Go ahead," the boy shrugged. "I'm not good with it yet anyway. But I do know one spell…managed to convince my brothers to teach it to me last year when they came home for summer holiday. It may make your teacup float a little better. It's a levitating spell. Here, I'll show you."
He pointed his wand at the teacup and gave it a swish and flick. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The teacup, though, remained motionless.
"See what I mean? I'm not great with magic," the boy sighed. "I've never managed to get that charm to work."
Hermione grinned. "I've read about that spell."
"You have?" the boy said, surprised.
"Somebody left a spell book in the library one day while I was doing my homework," Hermione explained. "It was called The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. I didn't get through much of it before some wizard came by and snatched it from me, but I did get to that spell. I think I know what your problem is too. You're saying the spell all wrong. It's pronounced Levi-O-Sa, not Levi-Osa. Try it again."
The boy gave her a doubtful look before turning back to the teacup. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
This time, the teacup rose gracefully from the ground and hovered perfectly.
"Bloody hell!" the boy exclaimed. "You were right!"
Hermione beamed proudly.
"Well, you have a go then," the boy said, handing her his wand. "Since you're so clever."
Hermione took his wand, taking a moment to appreciate just how wonderful it felt to have within her grasp. She pointed the wand at the teacup and gave a precise swish and flick motion. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The teacup began to levitate at once, raising in a straight path right up to her chest.
"See? There's no way you're not a witch," the boy told her as she handed him his wand back. He looked at his watch, which Hermione saw was worn and cracked.
"Uh-oh, I've got to get going. My mum went into the muggle villages to buy some meats, and she'll be done by now."
Oh," Hermione said, slightly disappointed. "Alright then. Thank you for letting me practice with your wand. It was really kind of you."
"Hopefully the practice helps," the boy replied. He held out a hand. "By the way, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."
"Hermione," Hermione said, shaking his hand. "Hermione Granger."
"I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express in September then, Hermione," Ron said.
"If the Ministry of Magic decides I'm a witch," Hermione reminded him.
"By the looks of it, you'll be able to pass their tests," Ron said. "You're bloody brilliant."
Hermione felt her cheeks flush crimson, almost matching the shade of Ron's hair.
"Bye then," Ron said, tucking his wand back into his pocket and turning to run off in the other direction.
"Bye," Hermione whispered softly as she watched Ron run off.