By the time she's five (she has an astounding and unnatural gift for understanding much about her surroundings automatically) Hermione has already begun to develop her curious powers at a steady rate. It seemed like no matter what power of hers she practiced she continued to learn and excel. She was an older, wiser soul in the body of a forest girl.
Even if a creature didn't speak she could understand what their intentions were, even sense its alignment. She could create winds, warmth and fire, control earth, natural things and energy, manipulate plant growth or movement as well as her surroundings to some extent. She was finely in tune with the forest and her power, she could sense things happening in the forest. Once the notion that she should cover herself came she magicked a short slip style dress from vines, leaves and ferns around her. The tree hollow she'd appeared in became too small for her to dwell in at age three so she had created a shelter hidden amongst the trees and larger ferns. At night she slept on her simple bed warmed by a magical fire.
It wasn't until she was nine that she met anyone who looked even remotely similar to her (not including the centaurs). He was quite a bit bigger than her with black matted hair and beard, a large black dog drooling by his side. She bluntly asked "Who are you?" and in her native tongue, although rather rough and with poor grammar (she rather liked grammar) he answered,
"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts." He stuttered, a little surprised at seeing this wild young girl appear out of nowhere. She wonders if it was her stepping out in front of him from behind a tree when he had been wandering obliviously along the path while whistling some tune. Interaction with others was still a relatively new thing for thing for her, did they usually stare wide-eyed like that?
After a brief question filled conversation Hermione found herself following a half-giant man named Hagrid she had just met out of her forest home for the first time in her albeit relatively short life. Normally a courageous girl she admits if only to herself that there was a small amount of fear amongst her curiosity, ever eager to learn new things. She hesitated slightly before following Hagrid and Fang out of the comfort zone that was the last of the forests tree cover and into the new addition to her personal world. She'd never bothered to leave before, content with the wonders her forest contained to satisfy her curious mind. What she saw was a vast lake (was that a tentacle she spotted breaking the surface) with inviting blue water to her left, lush green grass covered the hills all around and her bare feet eagerly sank into it. On the edge of the forest was a round wooden cabin that blended into the forests trees and an elegant roofed wooden bridge also had a natural look to it that fit in with the landscape scenery.
All these were background pieces of information Hermione barely registered because her attention was being held by the majestic stone castle that still fit into the landscape naturally as if always there though obviously a human construction. It's the castle Hagrid leads her to, beckoning her through big grand wooden doors with his large hands into a warmly (and clearly magical if the levitating candles in the hall adjacent, filled with multiple long wooden tables unlike this one) lit entrance hall.
"This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Hagrid said proudly, even puffing out his chest slightly. "Not start o' the school year yet mind, only the professors here but they only 'rrived about a week ago. That's why you won't see no one yer age wanderin' bout. Albus Dumbledore's the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had he is, heading to his office now." Hagrid was like an overzealous tour guide and she nearly missed half of his words as she eagerly took in the beautiful old stone walls and the enchanting moving staircases. Initially intimidating, now seeming soft hearted and gentle if not a little clumsily careless, she found her desire to know more was back full steam. Her basic level of natural understanding was nowhere near satisfying her yearning to learn about these people. A small smile appeared on her previously well controlled look of mild interest (she wary around new people when it came to revealing things about herself) when she only slightly stumbled when the staircase they were currently traversing moved.
They finally came to a stop (that many stairs was definitely going to cause some stuff and sore muscles to deal with tomorrow) in front of an elegantly carved stone eagle statue, Hagrid uttered a funny sounding word (the centaurs and some of the more friendly forest dwellers being her main source of vocabulary) she didn't catch enough of to fully comprehend, towards the statue obviously a password of some kind. It burst into movement turning to reveal yet another bloody staircase (really, she was getting tired, couldn't these people with all their brains and magic cone up with a less exertive method of getting to higher places) that she begrudgingly followed up. She was beginning to regret following this man with such a resounding lack of information and preparation as well as hoping that a seat would be available but even the floor would do at this point. Having reached the top she foolishly continues walking forward and bumps straight into the backside of Hagrid but it seems that considering her small size and his heavily padded cost he didn't notice it while busy retelling today's events to someone.
She shakes her head, a wild brown curl gets left over her face but a quick push to the air in her mind rights the curl on her head. A graceful side-step reveals an elderly (yet she sensed full of life) man with tremendously long grey hair and beard, logic says wizard robes (logic was very important in Hermiones opinion) and half-moons spectacles covering wise blue eyes with a twinkle of something in them. Once again logic said this was the Headmaster, Hagrid next words confirm this fact.
"Dumbledore sir, this is the girl I was just mentioning to yer, Hermione Granger sir." Dumbledore changes his attention from Hagrid to Hermione presenting her with a warm and calming smile. Sensing no harm from these men feeling them to be intrinsically good, though still wary she relaxes her body as much as she can considering the unfamiliar environment and the start of a dull ache in her thighs. She's more than a little relieved Dumbledore indicates she's welcome to sit and quickly does so.
"So you have resided in the forest on our grounds since birth as far as you know just appearing there, how strange." a hint of a smile plays at Dumbledores lips like he knows something or maybe he just thinks she's a loon run away child. "Yes and no sir, that is the essentials of it but I've come to be aware of much more than it may seem." The slightest hint of a threat behind her words (her mind jumping to thoughts of being forced away from her forest) but it's merely a precautionary warning than hostility. "I'm not something normal by any standards I've found but as you can see I'm rather advanced mentally compared to my biological age and that also seems true of the array of powers I have found myself to possess, though I have little to compare my development with. The closest description of what I am that I can give you is a rare occurrence of some kind of protection spirit, I don't serve anyone or anything although I will protect my forest when I deem it necessary. Satisfied?"
Dumbledore looks to Hagrid (now seated on a magically enlarged chair) then back at her with another mischievous smile on his face,
"I suppose we should discuss the terms to some amicable co-existing amongst other things then hmmm. Sherbet Lemon?" He is offering her a type of sweet which she politely declines yet she recognizes it as his entry password and a genuine smile appears on her face as they begin what leads to a long night of conversation and growing fondness for these two kind men she was only just beginning to know.
The first giggle comes when Dumbledore tells them of his plan to rename her forest to the "Dark Forest" to further persuade students to stick to the rule about not going into the forest as well as increasing the ominous level in his start of year warnings to students. Apparently the reason students were banned was because they had an unfortunate habit of getting lost in the forest over the years and died from eating poisonous fungi to avoid starvation before they find their way out.
That was the first of many nights spent in the company of these people over the next few years often in Hagrids hut out of ease and although her thirst to learn never wanted that quickly became a secondary reason for spending time with them. Hermione found herself being perfectly content with her life during this time, her forest was left alone, she had her people for company and her powers continued to blossom as did she. As always though peace never does truly last and it was a few days before a new school year was due to start that she felt the presence of something foul making its way into her forests blissful bubble of comfort. Quickly shaking out of her unnatural shiver she starts towards the castle and the Headmasters office.