A/N: Thanks to Azzie for beta'ing :)
The Five Mysteries of Hermione Granger:
Hermione Granger sat on her bed, staring at the last few pages of a diary she had started at age five. She'd left off just before she left for Hogwarts in her first year, and now, the summer before her third year, she had gone back through her old things and found this.
After reading it, she realized something. I've always been too intelligent, it's always separated me from everyone else. When everyone else starts dating, where will I be? Who will I be when they have families and children, and I have books? Is that what I want?
She picked up a quill and dipped it in her inkwell, pausing just long enough to get her thoughts in some sensible order before writing.
Most people would look at a bright, intelligent witch and say "She's intelligent, good for her." and leave it at that.
But what lies behind the bookworm?
Hermione set down her quill and stared blankly at the page. What did lie behind her studiousness? And if she didn't know, who did?
Right then and there, she made her decision.
I'm going to learn who I really am!
"And I'll use this diary to record the whole journey!" she exclaimed out loud.
"What's that, dear?" her mother called.
"Nothing!" Hermione yelled back hurriedly.
"She's finally reached that age!" her father squealed excitedly. Hermione rolled her eyes. Fathers never change.
For the first time, she considered a family of her own. Who would her children's father be? Who would she like him to be? This was something she hadn't considered before.
She sat back down with her quill and diary before pondering this question. She decided to just write whatever came to her mind, instead of her usual note-taking ways. When she finished, she looked it back over and was surprised at what she saw. Maybe she did have a normal teenage girl hidden inside her somewhere.
Things I would like my husband to be:
Intelligent.
Studious.
Handsome.
Kind.
Caring.
Understanding.
Loving.
Mysterious.
Strong.
Have a sense of humor.
Well, so what if some were practically the same thing? It wasn't like anyone else would see her diary...
As she thought about the implications of this, and the fact that her parents were going out of town for three days as of tomorrow morning, a sly smirk slowly lit up her face.
The next morning, as her parents left, her mother hugged her and whispered "Have fun" in her ear. Hermione waited until they were gone before wondering what her mother had meant.
Don't most parents say something like 'be good'? Am I such a good girl that they don't do that anymore? Have they ever done that? This startled her. What had other girls her age been doing that she had missed out on?
She wandered around the house before going and turning on the TV. She flipped aimlessly through the commercials before snorting and turning it off. Who was she kidding that she could be a normal girl?
Hermione sighed heavily before she had an idea. She went to where her mother kept all her school things from when she was young and attended Muggle schools, up to age ten. She looked up the number for one of the most popular girls of the grade and dialed before she could change her mind.
"Hello? This is the Johnsons'. Who is this?" a female voice answered.
"Hi, this is Hermione Granger. Is Lottie there?"
"One moment." Footsteps sounded through the phone. Then girls laughing. Perfect!
Quiet murmurs. Then a younger girl's voice. "Hey."
"Hi...Lottie?"
"Yes...who are you?" Laughter.
"Hermione Granger, from school. Remember me? I left right after your eleventh birthday."
"Oh yeah, for that private school. What's up? Why didn't you call my cell?"
"I was wondering if you were free to go out with some friends. I lost your number." Hermione lied.
"Oh, sure! Come on over! You remember where I live?"
"Of course!" Hermione said quickly.
"Okay, see you soon!"
"Bye!" The phone clicked.
Hermione put it up with a sigh of relief. That went well...So far, so good.
When she arrived at the grand mansion Lottie called a 'house', Hermione fingered her necklace nervously. Lottie was one of those preppy, snobby girls she normally stayed far away from. So why was she walking into the lion's den?
No, I'm the lion. I am a Gryffindor! And we are brave! she reminded herself.
So she strode confidently up to the door and rang the doorbell. Within moments, she heard excited squeals and a horde of dyed-blond girls assaulted the expensive-looking door. They pulled her inside and bombarded her with questions before dragging her upstairs to Lottie's room and giving her a complete makeover, including expensive shoes, clothes, accessories, and makeup. Lottie's mother offered them food and took them all to the movies, where they met up with some guys, and one of the cutest boys Hermione had ever seen.
"He's single. His name's Jack Williams. He admires confidence. Go on!" Lottie hissed in Hermione's ear. "You look totally adorable! Just keep your cool and whatever you do, don't trip!" The girls all winked and giggled before shoving Hermione over.
Jack turned around just in time to catch an armful of dressed-up, extremely embarrassed bookworm. "Whoa, there. Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Just messing around." Hermione replied, thinking fast. She shoved another girl into the group, sending giggling girls everywhere.
Jack laughed. "Okay. Why don't we go get some seats?" he offered. "It's a lot harder to fall and break something that way." He flashed her a wink. The girls all cooed.
Jack sat next to Hermione right as the movie started, and from then on until the end, she heard nothing but his voice. They talked about many things, mostly him talking about celebrities, and who was dating who. Hermione just kept gazing into his gorgeous eyes, they were a brilliant shade of blue, which went perfectly with his brown hair...
After the movies, they all stood around outside and waited for their rides. Jack moved off to the side to call his parents, and came back looking worried.
"Hey, Lottie, can you give me a ride home?" he asked. "My parents are working and can't pick me up."
"Sure," Lottie replied. "Here's my mom."
Somehow, there weren't enough seats, and Hermione ended up in Jack's lap. She tried to hide the fact that she was very self-conscious, but she knew it showed. By the time they reached Jack's house, he was fidgeting and upset, and pulled Hermione off to the side as the other girls ransacked his kitchen.
He flicked her curls over her shoulder and gazed into her eyes. "This isn't normal for you, is it?"
"No." she admitted. "I just wanted a night out for fun."
"Well...I'm sorry, but you're not really my type, then. See ya around." he said and walked away. Just like that. Hermione stared after him for a moment, before her vision blurred, and tears rolled down her face.
Why am I so upset? I just met the guy! Surely he can't mean that much to me!
Surprisingly, she wasn't that far from home. She told another girl what had happened, and asked her to tell Lottie Hermione was walking home. The girl giggled and nodded, running quickly back inside, but not before Hermione saw Jack and Lottie kissing in the doorway.
Her heart felt like it was being ripped to pieces. She turned and ran, not stopping until she reached her house.
She paced around her room until she looked at the calendar. She was supposed to leave for King's Cross when her parents came back in two days. She decided to owl Ron and ask if she could stay at the Burrow until her parents came back. Mrs. Weasley had become like a second mother to her, and she needed a mother badly right now.
Hermione wrote a letter to Mrs. Weasley and sent it off with Errol, who had been recovering in her room from delivering Ron's message telling her when they were leaving for King's Cross. Then she went to bed and cried herself to sleep.
When Hermione woke the next morning, she found Errol tapping at her window with a reply attached to his leg. Mrs. Weasley had said of course, and they would come pick her up around noon. Hermione quickly cleaned up, packed her things, and called her parents to tell them to meet her at King's Cross in two days. They wanted to come home to be with her, but seeing as they were on a business meeting, that wasn't possible.
So they agreed to let her go stay with the Weasleys, who showed up a little after twelve to take her back with them.
Once at the Burrow, Hermione made herself right at home, talking and laughing with Ginny and the boys. They even convinced her to play a game of Quidditch with them before bed.
By the time everyone else was packing for King's Cross, Hermione again found herself sitting staring at a blank page of her diary. Sighing, she picked up her quill.
All I learned was that I'm not a normal girl. And no guy would ever like me like that. But where does that leave me? All I want is to fit in...to have people around who love me, who I love, and for us to all have fun together the way others do...Is that so wrong?
She paused to think, looking over at the door, out into the hallway. Ron stopped on his way down the stairs. "Hey, 'Mione, want to play a game of Exploding Snap?" he asked, blushing slightly for some reason.
Hermione could feel her own cheeks reddening. "Sure, give me a minute. I'll be right down." she promised.
"Okay. See you." Ron mumbled before rushing down the stairs.
Hermione smiled. "Oh, Ronald..." she whispered giddily.
Turning back to her diary, she finished her entry.
Or maybe I just needed to open my eyes and see what I have in front of me. I'm fine the way I am, so I'll stay this way!
She closed the diary and went downstairs, greatly looking forward to her future.