Mr and Mrs Granger, of number nine, Stockford-on-Kent, were proud to say that they were very intelligent, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything silly or absurd, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.
Mr Granger was a thin and unimposing man, the kind of man any other man would feel better about himself just having seen him. His demanding job as a bank's most popular Accountant left little time for things like exercise or regular eating.
Mrs Granger, on the other hand, conjured far different feelings in any who saw her. Few would expect the tall woman with iron muscles to be a theoretical physicist, an amateur female MMA fighter, or a proud mother of one. She was one men, boys, and many women could appreciate, but from far away, for fear of upsetting someone all assumed simply had to be some form of violent, even though she was as kind as a kitten outside the hexagon.
The Grangers had a small daughter called Hermione, and in their opinion there was no finer student anywhere. She read so much, Matilda would be jealous, were she and her nonsense psychic powers real. Though some would suggest the reason why the small child kept her head in books was so she wouldn't have to look upon a body that could make mountains weep. That was an absurd thing to think, of course, and Hermione was often assured by her mother that when she 'Blossomed', she'd look even better.
Which is why it came as such a shock when that same daughter, on her tenth birthday of all days, let out a terrified scream that pierced the pleasantly silent calm the house had fallen into for so many years.
The two ginger-haired parents rushed upstairs, mother overtaking the father to find what they would not have recognized as her daughter, were it not for her frazzled ginger hair, which hadn't changed at all, even as the rest of her continued to change before her eyes.
There was another, higher scream, like a little girl in incredible pain, which confused Hermione and her mother as they both turned to her father, who had covered his eyes, and was now peeking through his fingers at his daughter.
The rest of her... Well, let's start with what has happened to the girl's face. While Mrs Granger had reassured her just a week ago that the short hair forming on her face was merely 'Peach Fuzz', something many considered cute, there could be no denying the length the hair on her face had grown to now, reminding one more of a short-haired dog's fur. Cherry-red fur had overtaken her face, but a stripe of dark-grey hair crossed her face and coated her eyes, like a black mask. Her skull's structure had changed to make canine a suitable way to describe it, pointed muzzle and bright emerald eyes. But not just any bright emerald eyes, like one might see on a person. Bright bright emerald eyes, ones that seemed to be glowing just a little, like tiny LED lights.
One growing thing was starting to poke at the inside of her shirt, something singular, and her father looked away while her mother pulled her shirt off and saw a growing red ruby piercing her chest's skin like a tooth emerging from gum, as fur quickly grew to protect her modesty. Light blue fur, with a purple stripe around her widening hips, like a belt. Another ruby spike bloodlessly grew out of the backs of both her palms, sharp-tipped and and six inches in length, and yet, that wasn't what disturbed the woman the most.
What disturbed Mrs Granger most was that the girl had stopped being terrified, she suddenly noticed, and an expression of wonder had formed on her daughter's face.
Her arms grew yellow fur. Her hands grew black fur, and their ruby spikes began to glow with a shimmering red light. Her thighs grew long red fur as the red light spread to her whole body, burning her clothes away. His father looked away, but he needn't have bothered, for her upper leg-fur was now shaped like a pair of shorts for the girl's black-furred lower legs. Loud cracks and pops could be heard as her leg bones shifted and reshaped themselves to become more canine, and yet Hermione herself merely sighed a little, as one might after stretching.
"What's happening to our daughter?" Mr Granger asked fearfully. "What's happening to our Hermione?"
"What makes you think I'd know?" Mrs Granger snarked.
"Well, who did you... do the deed with... before me?" Mr Granger asked, a bit disgusted at the images this put into his head.
She laughed, despite the situation, and needed a moment before she could speak again. "Nobody who looked like this, I can assure you!"
"Aha!" Mr Granger declared. "So you admit, you've been with-"
"Nobody, before you, as I've told you before." She said, rolling her eyes. She turned her attention to her other child, instead. "Hermione?" Mrs Granger asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Mum." Hermione said, smiling shyly. "Sorry about all that noise, I just... When I saw myself in the mirror, I-"
"I can see why. What happened to you?" Mrs Granger asked.
"I don't know. I just saw myself begin to change in the mirror, and..." She trailed off.
"Did becoming this... hurt?" Mrs Granger asked.
"Not even a little. I think that might be the strangest thing of all, since I'm sure these gems broke my skin, but-" Hermione said, and then her head whipped around like someone had whistled. "Oh!" She exclaimed in pleasant surprise.
"Oh?" Mr Granger asked nervously.
Four round growths emerged from the back of her canine head, extended to the length of sausages, and began to shake a little before floating back down. "N-nevermind, it's nothing important." She said, looking down. She noticed she was naked now, and covered herself, even though her fur did a fine job of that already.
"Should I call an ambulance?" Mr Granger asked.
"And tell them what?" Mrs Granger asked incredulously. "That our daughter has turned into some brightly-coloured cartoon animal? No, let's keep this to ourselves until we find out exactly what-"
There was a knock at the door, and the sound of something being pushed through the letterbox. "It's here!" Hermione said joyfully, leaping above their heads and off the bathroom wall to land behind them, running down the stairs at speeds neither of them could match, tripping over her own feet and falling down the rest of the way.
"Hermione!" Her parents shouted in shock, chasing her, but she got up, like nothing had happened, and grabbed the letter. She reflexively sniffed it, and then passed it to her parents when they caught up with her. "What's all that on it?" She asked.
"All that what?" Her mother asked, turning the letter over in her hands. It was a plain white letter addressed to Hermione's Bedroom, "The large room facing the rising sun".
Her father opened the door, and saw an empty street with an Owl flying away from them.
"All that... blue." Hermione said, eyes fixed on the letter. A red aura flared around her, as she peered closer at it. And in her sight, she saw faint blue embers around the letter, burning brightest where the Owl had held it.
"I don't see any blue." Her parents said.
"Oh. What if my new body has 12 color receptors, or more, like a Mantis Shrimp?" Hermione asked hopefully.
Something must have been infectious about the small girl's honest excitement, because Mr and Mrs Granger found themself finding this less unusual with each second. They found that unusual at first, but they got over it unusually quickly and became proud of their daughter once again. Getting worked up about whatever nonsense was happening to them just didn't seem to make any sense any more.
Mrs Granger opened the letter, reading aloud.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, England's Champion,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Ms. Granger
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Pokemon and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed Ms. Granger's Trainer ID list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September, and a three-day remedial class will be available for all beginners in the field of Pokemon Battle. Students will be graded on their performance in each battle, and how well they do against each Gym Leader during the term. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress and Fire-Type Gym Leader
"Oh." Mrs Granger said. "I think I'm ready, now."
"To do what?" Mr Granger asked.
"To wake up from this dream." She said, and passed out.
