Puppy Ears
Hermione Jane Granger was sitting on a swing alone at the park. Her parents were both dentists, and both working. She was at the park with her baby-sitter, Mrs. Yeats. Mrs. Yeats was in her fifties, widowed, and childless. She didn't have much patience for children but she had a soft spot for Hermione. Hermione to put it frankly was not an ordinary child.
Where most children were annoying and loud, Hermione was quiet and intelligent. She rarely threw fits, she didn't whine for sweets or toys, and she never complained when Mrs. Yeats told her it was time to go somewhere.
Hermione preferred to stay indoors and read. She had just upgraded from children's books to small chapter books- like the Magic Tree House series. But she didn't mind the park all that much. Mrs. Yeats was knitting on a park bench a good distance away, far enough to stay out of the way but close enough that Hermione could get to her if she needed to.
Hermione kicked her feet back and forward restlessly. There were no other children in the park, she was the only child in her age group that lived near this park. The next closest park had more equipment so most children got their parents to take them there instead. The swing gradually picked up height as she kicked back and forth.
She was close to the top and she closed her eyes enjoying the wind in her face. Suddenly without any warning she was shoved hard from behind. She flew forward and up, still going in the arch of the swing then she slipped from the swing seat and started her decent. Her eyes popped open in shock and she nearly screamed but suddenly she wasn't falling full speed anymore. She was floating gently to the ground. She landed lightly and looked around to see if anyone had seen.
Odd things happened around Hermione. Her parents had begged her not to be seen doing the weird things but she couldn't really control them all that much. She found out being calm helped but when she was scared or angry the odd things happened more often. And she had definitely been scared as she careened towards the ground.
She turned to see who had pushed her and glared at the smug looking blonde boy who was looking quite proud of himself.
"Whatja do that for you big meanie?" Hermione demanded angrily "You coulda hurt me!"
"That's the point. Stupid muggle." The smug boy drawled.
Hermione wasn't quite sure what a muggle was but she was positive she had just been insulted.
"Ooh!" Hermione growled angrily, glaring at the smug blond and wishing something bad would happen to him.
Suddenly the boy gave a soft yelp and his ears migrated to the top of his head and turned brown, furry, and triangular.
Hermione stared at the sight before bursting into laughter. She laughed for quite awhile while the blond reached up to touch his ears cautiously.
"Oops." Hermione finally managed to get out past her giggles.
"What did you do?" he demanded angrily.
"I gave you puppy ears. It wasn't my fault though, odd things always happen around me." Hermione tried to defend herself.
"You stupid Mudblood. Wait until my father hears about this." The blond looked ready to cry, obviously angry beyond what his seven year old vocabulary was able to express.
"Hears about what?" A soft dangerous voice said from behind them.
"Father, the stupid Mudblood gave me dog ears." the boy whined.
"Baby." Hermione muttered under her breath, but it turned out it was loud enough for both blonds to hear.
The blond boy looked furious, a blush stealing over his pallid face. The man sneered at Hermione before turning to look back at his son.
The blond man took out a stick and waved it at the boy, and the ears reverted to normal.
Hermione watched curious. A wand? Like a magician? Was magic what she was doing?
The man stared at her, looking like he was debating something but then he stowed his wand away in his pocket before grabbing his son by the shoulder and spun on his heel. He disappeared with a crack.
Hermione stared at the spot they had been for several moments in confused disbelief. They were gone. Like they had never been there in the first place. This was definitely going in her diary.
She stared at the spot for several more minutes trying to remember the features of both blonds before Mrs. Yeats voice drew her attention.
"Hermione! It's time to go!" She called. Hermione tossed one last look at the spot before wheeling around and running to where her baby-sitter was waiting.
"How was your day?" Mrs. Yeats asked as they walked the short distance to Mrs. Yeats apartment for tea and biscuits.
Hermione hesitated. She wasn't supposed to lie, but she was told not to tell anyone about the odd things that happened around her. She compromised. "I swung on the swings."
Later that night she pulled out her diary and began to write. Her script was slightly blocky and changed font sizes due to her age but she meticulously wrote down the days' events.
~~~~~~~~ Six years later ~~~~~~~~
Hermione was digging through her old childhood stuff when she found a stack of old diaries. She smiled remembering how she had meticulously wrote in a diary everyday for three years before she lost interest. She opened the one with the number seven on it and read through several entries only to stop at one marked September 18th, 1986. She had been seven at the time. And she read the entry four times just to be sure before bursting into laughter and falling backwards onto the floor only to keep laughing.
Her parents rushed up the stairs and stared at her in confusion. She handed the open diary to her mother still laughing. Her mother read the journal before handing it to her husband with a small giggle. Mr. Granger read the entry too and gave a soft chuckle. "It seems you knew about the magic world before you got your letter." He told Hermione before handing the diary back.
"I have to write my friends." Hermione managed through her laughter. It was the summer before her third year at Hogwarts and she definitely needed to tell her friends that she had given Draco Malfoy dog ears when they were seven.
A/n: So... I thought this was a cute little one shot. I have no clue if the vocabulary is consistent with a seven year old, I haven't had contact with a seven year old in years... So review and tell me what you think.
P.S. As far as the fact Lucius left Hermione alone... I figure that the mind is a very fragile thing, especially for a child. So using a memory charm probably would've damaged a child's mind permanently. I figure even someone as "evil" as Lucius wouldn't permanently damage a child's mind. It would be stupid to believe anyone with children of their own could do something like that.
If you disagree leave me a PM and we can debate. =D