Hermione Granger always knew she was different from other children. She had very thick, very bushy hair that took half an hour for her mother to braid in the morning. Her front teeth were rather large and she had earned herself the nickname, "Chipmunk," at school, because she also had quite chubby cheeks. She had always achieved top marks in school, and had even managed to skip two whole years because "she is far too intelligent for this class."
But there was something else about Hermione that confused even herself. On several occasions she would do things that didn't seem possible. One time at school, when an older boy had called her "Chipmunk," she had managed to tie his shoelaces together without even touching them. Another time, she had made a flower grow, bloom, and die within five minutes.
So it was no surprise to her when, on her way to the library, a grey striped tabby cat followed her all the way.
Now, any other person would have yelled at the cat or kicked it to get it to go away. Hermione didn't. She just ignored the creature and continued on her way.
While at the library, Hermione encountered some of the boys who liked to bully her at school. After a long-winded argument about how she was "surprised that any of them knew what a book was, much less a library," the librarian scolded the boys and sent them away to leave Hermione in peace. Hermione was quite fond of the librarian.
After checking out her books, Hermione was set to leave. However, she noticed her bike was gone. Huffing, she returned inside and asked the librarian if she could use the phone. She called her parents and asked them to pick her up, explaining what had happened.
She went outside and slumped on the front steps. She had hardly noticed the grey tabby cat from earlier until it crawled into her lap. "Oh, hello," Hermione said, "It seems you are the only one who has been nice to me today." She stroked the cat, and it purred softly. She noticed two things; one, that the cat had markings around its eyes that looked like square spectacles, and two, that it didn't have a collar.
After much begging, her parents finally agreed to let Hermione take the cat home. Upon taking the cat to her room, Hermione decided to name it Minerva, after one of her teachers. She fell asleep that night with Minerva the Cat sitting at the end of her bed. Hermione fell asleep with the thought that she had never seen a cat sit that stiffly before.
The next morning, the first thing Hermione noticed was that Minerva was gone. She missed the little cat.
She went downstairs to find not just her mother and father sitting at the table, but also another woman, who was dressed very, very strangely.
The woman was rather severe-looking, and she wore a deep emerald cloak around her. She had black hair that was tied tightly in a bun on top of her head. She wore square glasses and sat very, very tall at the table. It reminded Hermione of the cat. There was a letter on the table with Hermione's name and address on it.
"Hello, Hermione," the woman said, extending a hand. Confused, Hermione gingerly shook it.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I would hope you should know," the woman said with a laugh, "You're the one who brought me here in the first place!"
Hermione looked at her, shocked. "E-excuse me?" she said, even more confused. The woman stood up, and said, "I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, my dear. How appropriate that you named my animagus Minerva, I might add."
Suddenly, the woman seemed to shrink, and morphed into the same tabby cat Hermione had taken home the day before. Minerva the Cat morphed back into Minerva the Human, and sat back down.
"I have come to tell you that you, my dear, have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school that I teach at."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. Her, a witch? A million questions whizzed through her brain.
"Do you go to every student's house, Professor?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, of course not!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "You see, usually letters are sent by owl, but with Muggle-born students, I come and explain it to the parents."
"Muggle-born?" Hermione questioned. "What does Muggle-born mean?"
"Oh, it means that a witch or wizard is born to parents who aren't," the Professor explained.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, no, my dear, of course not!"
Hermione took the letter and opened it. Inside was a long list of things she would need, some of which she had never even heard of.
"Term starts on the first of September," Professor McGonagall said, "I will accompany you to get your supplies, and I can answer any questions you have." Hermione sat down at the table and began discussing with her parents and Professor McGonagall the year to come.
Hermione Granger always knew she was different from other children. She had very thick, very bushy hair that took half an hour for her mother to braid in the morning. Her front teeth were rather large and she had earned herself the nickname, "Chipmunk," at school, because she also had quite chubby cheeks. She had always achieved top marks in school, and had even managed to skip two whole years because "she is far too intelligent for this class."
But there was something else about Hermione that was different. You see, Hermione Granger is a witch.