Hermione's father gets a promotion and the entire family is forced to relocate to Japan. Hermione is transferred to Higashikou no Mahou (Eastern School of Magic) in Tokyo. There, she faces the issues of the language barrier, finds true friendship, and deals with heartache. Just when it seems like she's had enough, an unexpected helping hand is her savior.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, only my plot.
Note: For those who had read this story before, I changed the plot drastically so I hope you enjoy!
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Prisoner of Love:
Chapter 1
Streaks of sunlight poured through pastel curtains, illuminating the entire bedroom and settled on the face of Hermione Granger. She groaned loudly and rolled over, trying to shield herself from the horrid light. She reached for her quilt only to find it no where with in reach. She cracked one brown eye opened in search of the cloth only to find that she had tossed it onto the floor at some time during the night. Letting out a loud and irritable sigh, she slowly slid out of her bed and stalked towards her closet. There, she grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and stumbled into the bathroom.
Hermione sat her clothes onto the counter and began to brush her teeth. Once she had rinsed her face off, she finally glanced at herself in the mirror. The girl staring back at her was a much more mature girl than she had been in her first year of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Once where there was bucked teeth and bushy brown hair, there was straight teeth (thanks to Madam Pomfrey) and tamed, curly hair. Her eyes were still their same brown that gleamed with intelligence and wit. Hermione stuck her tongue out at her reflection and then turned her attention to the shower.
Bouncing down the stairs and into the kitchen, Hermione found her mother making breakfast and her father sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.
" 'Morning, Daddy,"she said and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
Mr. Granger sat down his newspaper and gave his daughter a smile.
"Good morning, princess. How did you sleep?" He reached for the steaming mug of coffee on the table and took a sip.
"Fine, Daddy."
Mrs. Granger placed plates heaped with waffles, eggs, and bacon in front of them. She soon joined them and brought along a jug of orange juice.
"Thanks , mom. I'm starving!" Hermione grabbed her fork and began to dig into the food.
Her parents exchanged glances before her father cleared his throat.
"Hermione, dear, your mother and I have some very important news to tell you," he began.
"What is it?" She had stopped eating now.
"Your father just got promoted and he's now the CEO at Aiiku Hospital in Japan---"
"Japan?"Hermione shot out of her seat and her chair fell back. "What?!"
"What your mother is trying to say is that I am being relocated," Mr. Granger explained.
Hermione searched her parent's faces for any hint that this was just a joke, but they both looked gravely serious.
"We're really sorry to do this to you but, this is a great opportunity for your father and you won't have to give up your schooling. Professor Dumbledore has referred us to a very good school of magic," said her mother, handing her a pamphlet. "He said that it was one of the best schools in the world."
Hermione took the pamphlet in shaking hands and glared at her parents in disbelief before turning away and heading back up to her room. Mrs. Granger turned to her husband with a sad smile.
"That went better than I expected."
Once in her room, Hermione flopped down on her bed and let out a frustrated growl. How could they do this to her? She finally had a good life at a great school with great friends who liked her for her personality and not her brains. How was she going to break the news to Ginny, Ron, and Harry? Her parents had really put her in a tight predicament.
Hermione looked down at the pamphlet in her hand. Higashikou no Mahou was written in maroon letters bellow Japanese symbols that she could not read. Under the school's name stood a picture of a school building. It was three stories high with windows that were beautifully trimmed in white. The school itself was made out of bricks the color of sand and had a double door entrance. The doors were the same color as the trimming around the many windows and the roof was maroon and slanted in a perfect diagonal.
There were plenty of trees surrounding the building and the grass on the property was very lush and looked well taken care of. There was a path made of dark concrete leading up to the school's entrance. Hermione found herself smiling at the pictures of the many students as they went about their lessons and social activities. According to the pamphlet, there were three other similar schools; the sister schools to Higashikou no Mahou : Kitakou no Mahou (Northern School of Magic), Minamikou no Mahou (Southern School of Magic), and Nishikou no Mahou (Western School of Magic).
They all resided in their respective places in Magical Tokyo and frequently had quidditch matches between the schools and other organized activities.
"Maybe this won't be so bad . . . "she whispered to herself, looking over the pamphlet once more.
She groaned again when a thought struck her. How was she going to say good-bye to her friends? She sat, thinking for a while before she had finally gotten an idea. Reaching through her Hogwart's trunk, she pulled up the Christmas gifts that she was going to give her friends that year. Hermione believed in shopping early for holidays.
She wrote a farewell letter to each of her friends along with their gifts and sent her owl to deliver them. Just as she was closing her window, a knock came at her door.
"Come in!"
The door slowly opened and her father entered her room, his eyes shifting uncertainly.
"The hospital wants me in Japan by August third—"
"That doesn't give you much time, does it?" she cut in.
"Listen, just let me—"
"It's okay, Daddy,"Hermione reassured, flashing him a shaky smile. "I'm sorry. I was being really selfish earlier. This is your dream and I won't stand in the way. I'm truly happy for you."
Her father pulled her into a tight hug.
"It will be okay,"he promised. "If you need anything, anything at all, you know that I'll be there to help you."
"I know, Daddy."
Mr. Granger let go of his daughter and left the room. He had to make phone calls and get everyone's passports, plane tickets, and visas together. There was so much to do and so little time to do it.
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Mr. Granger slammed shut the trunk of the car as Mrs. Granger and Hermione started out of the house. The house that Hermione had grown up in. The house that held so many wonderful memories. As their car pulled out of the driveway, Hermione gazed sadly at the large Victorian structure until her tears clouded her vision. It was very unlikely that she would ever see that house again and it was just as slim a chance that she would see Hogwarts again.
By the time that the Grangers had gotten through customs and onto the plane, Hermione's eyes were dry but still red and puffy. In the cabin, there were mostly Japanese families and businessman. The flight attendants told everyone to put up their trays and to buckle their belts before take off. Hermione tuned out the voice of the flight attendant as she described all of the safety precautions and the in-flight movies that the passengers could watch. She just continued to stare out of the small window as the plane took off down the runway and up into the sky.
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The rocking of the airplane jolted Hermione awake. She sat up a little and realized that her movement was a bit restricted. She looked down and realized that her mother must have fastened her seatbelt for her.
"Are we almost there?" Hermione asked.
"We're landing now, sweetie."
"Oh." She settled back into her seat, waiting for the rough landing to be over. She really had to use the loo.
Ten minutes later, the passengers exited gate 23 and burst into Narita Airport. Mr. Granger asked one of the flight attendants the way to the baggage lift and she pointed the way. They quickly grabbed their luggage and headed towards the exit. It was evening in Japan; 6:45 pm to be exact. Her father hailed down a taxi and for about fifteen minutes, tried to communicate with the driver who spoke a very small amount of English.
After a thirty minute car ride which Hermione slept through, they ended up in Jingumae, Shibuya where her father had rented a place at the Oakwood Residence Aoyama. Hermione gasped at the large apartment building. It looked very upscale, as if only the high class could live there. At least two doormen and two bellhops stood at the extravagant entrance. The bellhops rushed forward to help with their luggage. The lobby was spacious and smartly decorated. All of the furniture, rugs, lamps, and even the paintings were well coordinated with each other.
Mr. Granger led his family to the front desk where a small, balding Japanese man wearing an elegant suite was talking rapidly to someone on the phone. Once he had hung up, he looked at Mr. Granger with a toothy smile and shook his hand.
"You must be Mr. Granger,"he assumed. "I am Nobu Toshikazu, Head of Staff."
Hermione noted that his accent carried just a hint of a British tone.
"Very nice to meet you, Mr. Toshikazu," Mr. Granger replied. "This is my wife, Jane, and my daughter, Hermione."
"Very nice to meet you all. I'm delighted that you've chosen to stay in my apartments. Now if I may show you to your rooms . . . "
"Oh yes—please."
He led him to one of the three elevators and pushed button number three. The elevator doors slid closed silently and they started to drift upward until they reached the third floor with a 'ding!'. The hall that they stepped into was very long and was just as smartly decorated as the lobby a few floors below. He led them past five doors before they reached room number 306. Mr. Toshikazu took out a key and unlocked the door. He stepped inside first and held the door open for the Grangers to enter their new apartment.
The living room was modernly decorated in neutral colors like beige white, and black. The furniture was situated so that it faced the large entertainment center and behind the furniture was a large window that faced out over Shibuya which was twinkling with lights. The kitchen was fully stocked with the latest appliances. The entire apartment was carpeted except for the kitchen. Mr. Toshikazu took off his shoes and motioned for the Grangers to do the same.
"I'll give you a small tour."
He lead them past the living room and into a small hall. The first door was the entrance to the bathroom. Hermione found everything to be pretty normal there, except for how small the bathtub was. It appeared that there was a door for you so as to walk into the tub and you had to sit up right. 'Well, I guess I can't lounge around in there' Hermione thought and followed Mr. Toshikazu down the hall to the third door—the second had been a linen closet—which turned out to be a bedroom. Behind the fourth door was also a bedroom, slightly larger than the first.
Once the tour was over, Mr. Toshikazu left three sets of keys for the Grangers. They thanked him as he headed out the door. Once the door had slammed shut, Hermione grabbed her luggage and headed towards the smaller bedroom. The bed was already made up with brand new sheets and a fluffy comforter folded neatly at the foot of the bed. She unzipped her bags and began to put things away in the closet and drawers.
"Hermione,"her mother called from the other side of the door, "We're ordering pizza. Do want any?"
"Yeah, thanks!"she yelled before turning back to her task.
When she finished packing, Hermione flopped down on her new bed to rest. A flood of questions and thoughts invaded her brain all at once. This was too weird! She, Hermione Granger, was in Japan. She had never seen herself anywhere else but Europe or America and soon, she would start at a new school in September. Merlin's Beard! She was going to miss Harry and Ron so much! Her thoughts were interrupted by her father calling her. The pizza had arrived. Her stomach gave a loud growl.
"Right on time." She dashed out of her room to dive into the large pepperoni pizza that awaited her.
Hermione called goodnight over her shoulder as she walked back into her room and closed her door. She changed int her pajamas an was just about to get into bed when she noticed that there was a letter addressed to her in neat maroon scrawl. The seal was in the shape of a phoenix, the Higashikou no Mahou's coat of arms. Tentatively, she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter to read it.
Ms. Hermione J. Granger,
Congratulations! You have been accepted to Higashikou no Mahou. We look forward to having you with us and having you carry on our prestigious academic traditions. Along with this acceptance letter is a list of books and supplies as well as the school rules. Many best wishes.
Sincerely,
Abukara, Sadoko
Headmaster of Higashikou no Mahou
Hermione tossed aside the rule book for later and looked over the list of supplies that she would need. It was no different from the list that Hogwarts sent every year except now she needed clothes for her Physical Education class. They didn't have that at Hogwarts. The list didn't include robes as apart of the uniform that was to be worn and there was a different variation of pets that you could bring with you to school. There was, surprisingly another letter, this one was written by hand this time.
Dear Ms. Granger,
I assume that you do not know anything about the Japanese language and I have decided to help you. Tomorrow at noon, I will be sending your class president to your apartment for a two hour lesson on the Japanese language. You will be continuing these studies with the class president throughout the rest of your vacation and during school as well. This should make your transition easier to deal with.
Sincerely,
Abukara, Sadoko
Headmaster of Higashikou no Mahou
Hermione threw the papers to the side and slid under the covers. Her? Hermione Granger struggling her way through the Japanese language? Tomorrow would be very interesting.
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