Unusual Forms of Symmetry

Pre-Hogwarts

December 1989

A little girl with bushy brown hair fidgeted impatiently in her car seat as she watched the snowflakes fall onto her window. She had grown bored with watching them melt and slide down the glass.
"How many more minutes mum?" she called to the woman driving the car.
"Only thirty four darling," the woman, who was her mother, replied patiently over the squeak of the windshield wipers.
"Stop kicking the back of my seat Etta," the man in the front passenger's seat added good-naturedly to his fidgety five year old
"But Mum, you can't know exactly how long it will take." the girl beside Etta, who had the same brown eyes and bushy brown hair, contested.
"It could be longer?!" Etta exclaimed because thirty four minutes already sound much too long for her.
"Why don't we put on a tape?" their father suggested.
"Oh but Dad!" protested the older girl, who was reading a large science textbook, "I wanted to finish the chapter on pulleys and gears first! There is a test two weeks after the winter break!"
"My busy little worker bee," her father chuckled affectionately. "You can take a break can't you dear?"
"Sing with us Hermione!" Etta pleaded.
When her sister hesitated she began chanting, "Sing with us, Sing with us!"
Their parents soon joined in, "Sing with us! Sing with us!"
"Alright, if you all insist!" Hermione laughed, stuffing her text book into her backpack.
Etta let out a cheer as their father popped the tape into the player. They all began to sing along to the familiar tunes that flowed into the car and Etta and Hermione danced in their seats.
Halfway through the second song their father began to make up lyrics.
"Poor old Eddie had far too much earwax!" he sang
"So he stuck some of it in his bum!" Etta added.
"Etta really!" Hermione half scolded, half giggled.
The four of them took turns making up lyrics after that and by the time they had finished the tape Hermione and Etta were laughing so hard they could barely sing their parts.

December 1967

It was a cold, clear evening in Cokeworth England. Petunia Evans skated back towards her sister who had fallen once more onto the ice.
"That was a good try Lily." she said encouragingly, stopping next to her.
"You just have to say that because you're my sister." Lily pouted, "It really wasn't. I'm won't ever be able to skate."
"Oh really?" Petunia asked, pulling Lily to her feet. "Being your sister means I have to lie? Well then silly Lily you certainly do have very nice purple hair and I absolutely love how much taller than me you are!"
Lily, who had vivid orange hair and was a head shorter than Petunia, giggled, "You forgot about my bat-wing shaped ears!" she added.
"How could I have missed them!" Petunia exclaimed, tugging at the air around her sisters head "They're so big and furry! Maybe you can use them to help you balance."
Lily pretended to look at her bat-shaped ears. "I can try." she agreed.
She held onto Petunia's hand and they skated together across the rink.
"I'm going to let go now ok?" Petunia said after about a minute.
Lily gripped more tightly on her sister's hand but her face set into a look of determination.
"Ok." she said.
Petunia released her hand and Lily slid forward. She found herself loosing balance almost instantly.
"Tuney I'm gonna fall!" she shouted.
"Use your ears!" her sister shouted back and a woman skating on the other side of the rink with her son looked over at them, puzzled.
Lily pretended she really did have big bat wings on the side of her head and tried to use them to balance herself like a tightrope walker's pole. To her great surprise she found her centre and was able to glide forward without crashing back down onto the ice and she suddenly found she was skating. It was like flying, or at least how she pictured flying and she felt exhilarated with the speed of it.
"I'm doing it!" she shouted excitedly, "Tuney look!"
"Excellent!" Petunia exclaimed, skating up beside her.
But Petunia skating up to her had surprised her and Lily lost her balance. She fell back onto the ice with a loud thud.
"Oh no! Are you alright?" asked Petunia, stopping beside her.
"I'm fine," Lily answered as her sister helped her up again. "Can we try again?"
"Ten more minutes," said Petunia, checking her wrist-watch.
But they stayed for almost twenty; until Lily could skate all around the rink without falling. On the last lap they raced and Petunia let Lily win, though she denied it all the way home.

Fun background about the story: I got the idea for giving Hermione a younger sister from reading that J.K. Rowling was originally going to write her one but did not end up having enough time to.

I took the name Etta from a character in a television show called Fringe named Henrietta (Etta) Bishop. [Fringe spoilers ahead]
Henrietta Bishop is named after her half brother, Henry Dunham, who ceased to exist when their father, Peter Bishop, was erased from existence. Peter was eventually brought back by the memories of the people who loved him (and later had a daughter, Henrietta) but his son Henry was not.
I thought it was fitting to name my version of Hermione's sister who had been, in a way, 'erased from existence' after her.

Henry Dunham was actually named after the Taxi driver, Henry Higgins who helped deliver him in a store. So Etta Granger is named after a character, who is named after her brother, who is named after the man who helped deliver him.