"Voila, Hermione Granger!"
A/N: This is my first fanfic in a long, long, very long time, and even now it's only a one-shot. I was inspired somewhat by my favorite French film, Amelie (HIGH recommended to anyone and everyone) for the stylistic narration, but other than that, this is purely Potterverse. I also have never done a character study of Hermione Granger before, so I decided to challenge myself and do just that. Enjoy, and PLEASE review this, as if I get enough praise, I might end up writing again!
September 19th, 1979.
In Liverpool, a man about to hang himself in his bedroom is interrupted by a phone call from an old high school acquaintance, asking him for a second chance at their failed friendship.
In Glasgow, a little girl is shaken off by her busy mother while trying to inform her that her cat, Sammy, has been hit by a milk truck.
In London, Ellen Marie Granger holds her breath and gives a strong final push while lying on her back in a hospital bed near the West End. The doctor receives the emerging infant in his waiting arms, and quickly notes that it is not crying on its own. He uses his final medical training to hold the child upside-down and to firmly pinch the baby's buttock. The baby wails. The lights in the room surge. The doctor is confused by the odd, unprovoked electric surge.
Hermione Jean Granger makes her very first impression on the world.
Hermione Granger's parents are two London dentists who have never seen life beyond ten kilometers outside of their home city.
Mr. Keith Granger is a simple-minded, yet affectionate and liberal man. He likes the sound of his saliva-sucking machine being turned on, taking the first bite of a ripe tangerine, and the smell of a fresh can of titanium-white paint. He does not like when people bite him while he examines their teeth, the color brown, and when gum gets stuck on the bottom of his shoe. Every year, four days before his birthday, he gratefully asks his wife if she will allow him to buy himself a motorcycle for his birthday. Every year she refuses. Every year he accepts her answer and continues to live life.
Mrs. Ellen Granger is a compulsive, intelligent, straight-laced woman. She likes the feel of wet sand between her toes, the smell of window cleaner, and the sound a bag of popcorn makes while popping in the microwave oven. She does not like mothers who tell their babies to 'shut up', asymmetrical displays of cans at the super market, and the dust that gathers in the corner of her living room. Ellen runs the dental practice she shares with her husband, being the more organized of the two of them.
Both parents promise every day when they awake to give their daughter the love she needs, without compromising the discipline she also needs.
July 31st, 1980.
Hermione is ten months old.
Exactly 72.6 kilometers away from where she sits, the child who would grow up to become one of her best friends on Earth is born.
Hermione and her father watch a television program while her mother is reading a magazine. Hermione sits on her father's lap contentedly.
Suddenly, a loud roar and the face of a terrifying lion appears on the screen without warning, causing Hermione to cry out and jump out of her seat, barely giving Keith enough time to catch her. He realizes the television station has changed. But the remote is sitting on the coffee table, untouched from before. He leans over to ask his wife if she changed the station. She denies it and goes back to her magazine.
Keith is confused, but decides it was just a malfunctioning set.
Hermione settles down. Her favorite show is coming on the air.
March 29th, 1983.
Hermione is three years old.
Her parents enroll Hermione in a private day care center. Hermione likes the play things better here than the play mates.
On the first day of day care, Hermione spots a beautiful red toy truck. She plays with it every day during free time at the day care. But today, the truck is gone when she goes to look for it.
Hermione finds her truck with a young boy with blonde hair. Hermione asks for her truck. The blonde boy says he will not share a truck with a girl, for a toy truck is a boy's toy.
Hermione grabs the truck and begins to retreat. The blonde boy tries to grab the truck back. Hermione screams loudly.
Suddenly the lights in the day care center turn off, and the blonde boy is thrown backward. When the lights come back on, Hermione has the toy truck in her hand. She smiles.
But the other children think Hermione's screams caused the lights to go out and for the blonde boy to be thrown backwards. They call her a banshee and tell the whole classroom to not go near her or she will scream again and cause more bad things to happen.
Hermione is left alone. As a result of having no friends to play with, Hermione decides that she wants to do what her mother does when she is alone, and read. She begins to teach herself how to read by watching children's television programming and sounding out words from her mother's magazine collections. By age 5, she can read books written for third and fourth-grade children. Her social interests decrease. Her intelligence and bookish interests skyrocket.
June 15th, 1987.
Hermione is seven years old.
She has only had one friend, a dumpy, overweight young girl named Diane. Diane is set to move from London to Wales today along with her newly-divorced mother. Ellen takes her daughter over to say goodbye to her only friend. Hermione gives Diane her favorite book as a going-away present.
Hermione is especially saddened because it is Diane's birthday tomorrow, and she wanted to celebrate with her friend.
Hermione watches as Diane's car pulls out of the driveway and drives down the street. Hermione is more angry now than sad. She thinks that adults are mean and selfish. Hermione and Diane have no friends but each other. Why must adults take their only friend away? Hermione squints and eyes the can with newfound fury for Diane's mother.
Suddenly, Diane's mother screams as she pulls the jerking car to the side of the road. She steps out and stumbles into Ellen's arms and says the brake line failed and she cannot drive the car to Wales with a broken brake line.
Ellen mentions that the local garage is closed until the following Monday. Four days away.
Diane runs and hugs Hermione. They can have a birthday party together after all.
December 4th, 1988
Hermione is nine years old.
Today she realizes she has her first crush. It is on Danny Moore, the best football player in Mr. Rotham's Fourth Grade . He is a tall, lean boy with perfect teeth and pure blue eyes.
Hermione is not sure if she should ask Danny to sit with her at lunch recess. As the class lines up for lunch, she sees Bethany Miller giggling as Danny tells her a joke. She blushes red Hermione experiences jealousy for the first time in her life. Bethany Miller is a pretty blonde girl, but she also leads the group of girls that tease Hermione for her bushy hair and 'beaver-teeth.'
Hermione decides that Bethany Miller doesn't deserve the attention of Danny Moore.
Bethany suddenly falls backward, as if she was pushed, but no one is seen to have touched her. Her pink, frilly dress flies over her head, exposing her panties to the class. The class roars with laughter, as does Danny. Hermione smiles coyly but does not laugh.
Danny looks at her and winks.
November 20th, 1989.
Hermione is ten years old.
It is time to pick roles for the fifth-class play. There are no formal auditions, and the class votes on whole gets the lead roles after the children read a scene for the rest of the class. Hermione is determined to play the Pretty Princess, and she is sure Danny Moore will get to play the Handsome Prince. She studies the lines of the Princess and memorizes the entire show the week before the big vote. She knows she will blow them away with her courage and talent.
The big day comes. Danny Moore is voted to be the Handsome Prince.
Hermione volunteers to read for the Princess. But then, Bethany Miller volunteers too. It comes down to a read-off. Hermione says her lines with dignity and conviction, imagining already that Danny Moore is her Prince on stage in front of everyone. Bethany Miller giggles and stumbles over her lines.
The vote is a landslide. Only four students vote for Hermione, and Bethany is cast as the Princess.
Hermione is given the part of a potato in the Magic Vegetable Patch overseen by the Queen of the Gnomes.
At the end of class, Bethany and Danny make a date to study lines together in front of Hermione. Bethany then turns towards Hermione and laughs, calling her 'born to play the part of a lumpy potato.'
The fire alarm sprinkler system suddenly goes off, and the room becomes soaking wet. Danny and Bethany especially get soaked. All of the students gets soaking wet.
Except Hermione, who is bone-dry.
June 18th, 1991.
Hermione is eleven years old.
Hermione's parents have enlisted her help this weekend in their dental practice helping to answer phones while the lazy secretary is at her typical four-hour lunch. Hermione knows what to do. Take down appointment requests, confirm teeth cleanings, and write down and inform her parents of emergency cancellations.
She gets a mysterious phone call at around one-thirty. It sounds like an old man on the other end. He asks specifically for Hermione.
"May I have the pleasure to speak with Hermione Granger, please?"
Hermione is startled. No one would be calling for her, especially not at work. Especially not an old man.
"Yes," is all she can say. "I'm here."
"Hermione, would you be so kind as to invite your parents to supper at the China Café this evening? You are invited as well to come along. This meeting concerns to too."
Oh no. This must have been the headmaster of her grade school! Did she fail something? Impossible! All Hermione did was study!
"Yes," is all she says nervously.
"Thank you. Have a good day."
The old man on the other end of the line hangs up.
But there is no dial tone following.
Just the same, Hermione convinces her parents to take her to the China Café for supper after the dental office is closed at 5PM. When they come in, a strange old man in odd attire awaits them. He seats them down and orders drinks.
Hermione looks at her parents. They don't know who this man is either. The man introduces himself as Albus Dumbledore.
He then proceeds to tell Hermione that she can use magic, unlike her parents, or Danny Moore and Bethany Miller. She is different in yet another way. But this year, she does not have to return to primary school. Albus Dumbledore invites her to attend a private school where other children with the strange ability to do magic go to learn how to control her magic so that she doesn't have any more accidents like so many times before. She would need to buy a wand. Albus Dumbledore makes a date to escort her and her parents to where she can buy a magic wand and school robes.
Hermione is surprised and excited. She believes this man, especially when he makes the coffee mug in front of him hover in the air to prove himself. Keith also believes Albus. Ellen needs a little more time to come to terms that magic exists and her daughter can perform it. But they are not skeptical or angry. Keith even says he is proud that his daughter is special.
Dumbledore promises to pick Hermione up at her home the evening after primary school lets out for the summer. This talk has been long, but every moment of it has made Hermione feel better and better about herself. She promises to study hard and become the best witch of all time.
June 22nd, 1991.
Hermione is still eleven years old.
It is the last day of primary school for Hermione, and all of the students mingle and wait on the front lawn for the bus. Keith has promised to pick up Hermione and take her home so she can meet her new Headmaster, Dumbledore.
Hermione has wanted to tell everyone about her powers. But Dumbledore made her swear to keep it private. And so she has.
Hermione leans up against a hazelnut tree, waiting for her father to pull up in his Cadillac. Nearby, at the bike racks, she sees Danny Moore and Bethany Miller laughing and sharing jokes. Jealousy sets in once more but Hermione restrains herself this time. Magic, as she now knows it as, is a serious thing and must not be misused. This was an important rule. And Hermione knew to follow every rule and to not disobey. She was not about to let this opportunity be taken away from her like television privileges.
Danny and Bethany look over at Hermione and begin laughing as Bethany once again calls out to her, yelling, "Have a good summer, Potato Girl!"
Hermione rolled her eyes and knew she had to get this one last thing out of her system…
Bethany suddenly was flung backwards over the bike rack, her panties exposed to the entire school one more time. Danny Moore and his male friend begin cracking up hysterically.
Hermione sighs to herself. Her magic must never be used for revenge again as long as she had it. She makes this vow to herself silently as she sees Keith pull up…on a motor cycle. He hands Hermione a helmet and tells her to hop on. Hermione grins and obeys, bracing herself against her father's waist.
The last thing she sees as she pulls out of the school parking lot is the awed and impressed faces of her classmates.
June 22nd, 1991.
In Manchester, a boy who was ridiculed by his older brothers for wanting to study ballet receives a letter informing him that he has been granted a full scholarship to the most prestigious dance school in England.
In Blackpool, a homeless woman finds a dime on the street from 1937.
In Stratford, two schoolchildren find a buried box of treasures hidden by a child over 115 years ago underneath the sandbox on the playground.
In Diagon Alley, a vine wand with dragon heartstring core chooses Hermione Granger to be its witch. Hermione holds her wand in her hand and realizes exactly how much her life was about to change.
And how much better it was about to get.