Hermione Granger excitedly ran into her room once her family had gotten home from Diagon Alley. Thankfully, her parents were dentists, so they'd been able to afford a few books for Hermione to read for fun. She couldn't wait to spend her summer immersed in the world of magic.
Her father brought in her new trunk and set it on the floor as Hermione helped her mother carry in the bags.
"Hermione, dear, wouldn't you like some dinner first?" her mother asked.
"Later, mum! I've got to look through these books!" she told her.
The Grangers shared a look, beaming at their daughter's enthusiasm.
"Have fun, honey," said Mr. Granger. "You can tell us all about what you've learned when we eat." He turned and left the room, followed by his wife.
Hermione had never been more surprised in her life when Headmaster Dumbledore of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry had popped into the Grangers' living room, bearing a letter of acceptance. The family cared not one bit about the invasion of privacy once they learned about Hermione's gift of magic.
Taking out the letter from her bag, Hermione anxiously checked it one more time to ensure she'd gotten everything she needed. Popping open her new trunk, she read through the list as she placed each item inside.
"Three sets of plain black work robes, one plain black pointed hat for day wear, of course, one pair of protective gloves, and one black winter cloak with silver fastenings. I wonder how cold it gets wherever Hogwarts is." The list then told her that all her clothes required name tags. She had prepared those the very day she got the letter and now set about putting them on all the clothes before packing them away into her trunk.
After a moment's hesitation, she pulled a robe and her hat out of the trunk and put them on, just to see. She looked in the mirror hanging on her door and giggled.
"Now, if only I had my wand," she said to herself, rummaging through the bags for the wooden box from Ollivander's. She flipped open the top and carefully took out her new wand. It was a perfect ten and three-quarters inches long, made of vine wood with a dragon heartstring core.
The wandmaker had said, "Vine are among the less common types, and their owners are nearly always those or who seek a greater purpose, who have a vision beyond the ordinary and who frequently astound those who think they know them best." He'd then added, "Dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power and tend to learn more quickly than other types."
Pointing her wand in the mirror, she said, "Abra Cadabra!" Nothing happened, of course, but she loved feeling like a witch. Well, she was a witch!
After spinning around in front of the mirror for a bit, she removed her hat and robe, putting them back in the trunk. She placed the wand back in the box on her bedside table, not wanting to pack it away just yet.
She turned back to the list and continued reading. "Pewter cauldron, standard size 2, set of crystal phials, telescope, and brass scales." As she packed everything away, she wondered whether she should have gotten a pet. Her parents told her to see how the first year went and then she could get a pet if she determined that there would be enough time to care for it.
Finally, Hermione got to her favorite part—the books. The Standard Book of Spells looked like it was a dictionary, which further excited her. She couldn't wait to learn all those spells. A History of Magic seemed a little tedious but it would be splendid to know how it all started. Magical Theory was probably really important, so she'd have to read it at least twice before school started. The textbook about Transfiguration seemed especially cool—Hermione had never imagined being able to turn objects into other objects! There was also a book about magic plants, which Hermione thought could be important but it wasn't something she was that interested in compared to everything else. Another book was on drafts and potions, which could really come in handy. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them seemed very promising, but she hoped she wouldn't have to deal with any of the frightening creatures. And finally, there was a book called Dark Forces, which seemed a bit scary but she was eager to learn how to protect herself.
Additionally, she had purchased Hogwarts, a History so she could learn about the fascinating castle she'd be spending most of the next seven years of her life in. She also had two books about great wizards and great wizarding events of their century.
But nothing got her more animated than her last book, Quidditch Through the Ages. It was about the amazing wizard sport where people flew on brooms to throw balls through tall hoops in the air. Hermione couldn't wait to fly on a broom like in the Wizard of Oz. The sport seemed so thrilling and intense. Her book on Hogwarts said there was a Quidditch team for each of the four houses, so Hermione hoped she could get onto one of those teams.
As she flipped through her Quidditch book, she learned that to play on the English team, you needed the absolute best grades in school to prove you could handle yourself in the air and to have plenty of career options after retiring, since players were usually done at the age of 35. She would have to try her absolute best in school, and since first-years weren't allowed to try-out, she could see if there was enough time for her to be on the team.
Then she realized there would be nothing more important than learning all the magic she could since she was a muggleborn, as the headmaster called it. She came from a family without a magical background, and no doubt the kids from the wizard families would be judging her all the time. She had to prove to them that she could be just as good, maybe even better.
Little did she know that all her hard work would soon pay off, allowing her to help bring down one of the worst dark wizards of all time.
A/N: Here's my new book! Hopefully you guys are just as excited as I am. This prologue might have been a little boring as she went through all her supplies, but I just wanted to show how excited she was about everything and how the excitement that Quidditch brought her was higher than everything else.
