A/N – I don't own Harry Potter or Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
Chapter 1
Earth – Harlaown Temporary Residence
July 13th, 1991
10:02 AM
Lindy Harlaown sat comfortably on the living room couch surrounded by vid screens and data pads containing all the information regarding her crew's most recent mission. They had recently returned from a weeklong investigation concerning possible gadget activity on an Un-Administered planet far from Earth, and so the crew of the Arthra was taking some well-deserved shore leave. Chrono and Amy were out on a date around Uminari City, and Fate had left to see Nanoha as soon as they had returned to Earth.
And so only Lindy remained in the house to finish off the paperwork. Not that she minded much. Chrono and Amy, who had only recently started dating, deserved some couple time where they weren't at work. And Fate had been so worried that Nanoha would start to over work herself again now that she has been cleared for duty after the gadget incident a year ago that had almost claimed her life. Ever since that incident, Fate practically hovered around Nanoha to make sure everything was all right.
Lindy frowned, thinking back to that day. That had been a dark day for the TSAB; for one of their aces to go down like that. Once Fate had heard that Nanoha had been critically injured during her mission with Vita, she had been beside herself with anxiety and had been unable to teleport herself to the hospital. Chrono had to come get her, and then she had refused to leave the hospital when the doctors were unsure if Nanoha would survive the night. Once Nanoha had been cleared of any immediate danger and transferred to the long-term care unit, Fate would visit every day until she woke up a month later. That had been a very hard time for Lindy; as Nanoha lay in a coma, Fate became a shadow of herself. Refusing to go on missions and constantly training but still failing the Enforcers Exam twice and hardly talking to anyone.
However once Nanoha woke, everything started to look up. There were bumps along the way, such as when Nanoha received the news about the possibility of never walking again. But Nanoha worked through it, and with the help of Fate and her family, she managed to walk again. And then she managed to fly again. It was the closest thing to a miracle that Lindy had seen in a long time. Now just over a year later, Nanoha had just been cleared for active duty again; her magic strong and lots of eyes watching her to make sure she didn't over work herself again.
Lindy sighed, returning her thoughts to the mission reports. It was boring work that often resulted in her mind wandering, making the paperwork take that much longer. Working diligently for the next ten minutes, Lindy was nearing the end of the mission report when the vid screens flashed, indicating an incoming call. Looking up, Lindy saw that it was from a number local to Earth. Knowing that there was only one person whose number would be local to Earth, but have no identification name, she answered.
"Admiral Graham, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm not an Admiral anymore, remember?" Gil Graham responded lightly, with a small smile.
Lindy took a moment to observe Graham, recalling that she hadn't seen him since the resolution of the Book of Darkness incident. He looked much the same as he had three years ago. His hair was still grey; a short beard grew along his jaw up to his hairline and a nearly trimmed moustache to complete the look. His face however, looked smoother from the lack of stress of the past three years.
"It's a habit." Lindy responded with small laugh. "But it looks like retirement on Earth has been treating you well."
"Yes, it has. I moved back to London with Aria and Lotte, and we've been enjoying the peace and quiet. Although it seems like they get bored sometimes, if the mischief they get up to is anything to go by!"
"That's good to hear! Now enough small talk, what was the reason that you called?" Lindy asked.
"Ahh yes. Do you remember the small task force that the TSAB set up after the Jewel Seed incident to monitor Earth to try to determine its magical potential?"
"Mhmm." Lindy mussed. "Yes, I remember being briefed on their presence. My crew and I were assured that they wouldn't interfere with us while we were station here. Although, I recall that even after two years they haven't found anything substantial."
"Yes. The small task force that was sent couldn't find anything more than odd, unrelated occurrences around the world and were recently pulled back to resume their usual duties." Graham paused here, looking at Lindy, who was listening with rapt attention. By her silence, Graham figured she had figured out that he hadn't called to discuss the TSAB magical reconnaissance task force. With a deep breath, he stated. "I believe I might have found a magical community on Earth."
"What?" Lindy asked, surprised. "A magical community?"
"Yes. Aria and Lotte, who have taken to be in their cat form more often due to the non-magical nature of Earth, have been playing with one of my neighbour's daughter and overheard a very interesting conversation."
"See, I babysat Hermione, the daughter, last year during the summer while her parents were working and before she could stay home alone. And sometimes, when she got very emotional, strange things would happen. Clothes would suddenly become clean or spills would be cleaned up suspiciously fast for example. At the time, I thought nothing of it. It was easy to convince myself that I was just missing Mid-Childa and magic." Graham explained. "But then today, Aria and Lotte overheard a woman say that Hermione was a witch. A magical child." And so, he started to recount what Aria and Lotte had overheard in the Granger household.
Aria and Lotte were wrestling in their cat form in the Granger's back yard while Hermione lay on the grass under an umbrella reading The Hobbit. She would occasionally glance up and smile at the cats, amused by their apparently boundless energy for rolling around on top of each other. Her parents had gotten home about mid-afternoon, and while she liked Mr. Graham from across the street, she was glad that her parents let her stay home alone during the summer. And she even got to look after Mr. Graham's cats, Aria and Lotte, when he was busy. Or when he was tired of their energy. They were strange cats; almost always coming when she called them, playing with each other when she was reading but wanting to play with her when she was feeling lonely. It was odd; it was almost like they understood her when she talked to them. It was almost like having human friends.
Looking towards her house, Hermione saw that her mother had started to set the table. Knowing that dinner was soon, she placed her bookmark in her book and stood up. A quick, "Aria! Lotte!" and the two cats were immediately following her inside.
After washing her hands, Hermione sat at the table just as dinner was finished. Her parents sat down, and the twins took up their usual spot on the back of the couch adjacent to the kitchen area. Soon, the kitchen was filled with small talk. Daniel and Maria Granger telling their daughter about their day at work while Hermione told them how far she'd gotten in The Hobbit that day. However, a knock on the door interrupted them near the end of the meal.
"Hermione, dear, can you please answer the door?" Her mother asked politely.
With a quick nod, Hermione pushed herself away from the table and walked to the door. Thinking it was Mr. Graham asking for his cats back, she was quite surprised when she saw a woman standing on the other side.
The woman was tall, taller than her mother, with dark skin, and dark brown hair pulled into a bun on the back of her head. She wore a light blue blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a knee-length black pencil skirt and black flats. Over her shoulder was a leather book bag that looked quite empty.
The woman smiled kindly, and asked. "Are you Hermione Granger?"
Hermione just nodded shyly, while glancing back in the direction of the kitchen.
Catching the look, the woman spoke up again. "Do you mind if I come in and speak with you and your parents?"
Hermione nodded once before replying. "Let me go ask my parents first." She turned, leaving the door open, and hurried back into the kitchen. Moments later, scrapping could be heard and Maria Granger was accompanying Hermione back to the stranger at the front door.
"Maria Granger correct?" A quick nod. "My name is Aurora Sinistra. I'm a professor at a private boarding school hoping to talk to you about Hermione attending my school."
"Oh!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but we've already decided where Hermione will be attending school."
"I see. Well, I come representing a very special school that would offer a very… unique opportunity for Hermione. I have letter in my bag that will help explain the situation, but I would much prefer to show it to you inside the house. It can come as a bit shocking."
With a slight hesitation, Maria stepped aside and motioned for Sinistra to come while also calling for her husband to join them in the hallway. Daniel came immediately, noticing that his wife and daughter had been by the door for a bit, and was closely tailed by the twin cats.
Seeing that the family was all together in the hallway, and the front door closed, Sinistra reached into her bag and pulled out a parchment envelope addressed to Hermione Granger. With shaking hands, Hermione took the letter and opened. After reading over the letter, she gasped and handed the letter to her mother. Her mother began frowning as she read the letter, and gave it to her husband before address Sinistra.
"Is this some sort of elaborate joke? A school for magic? Magic doesn't exist!" Maria demanded.
"I'm quite serious. I'm a witch, and so is your daughter. Haven't you ever noticed anything unusual happen around Hermione when she's upset or angry?" Sinistra responded calmly. After all, this was a common reaction from the few muggleborn letters she had delivered.
This gave pause to Maria and Daniel, who was just about to start on his own rant, as they recalled the few moments when Hermione had lost her cool. Like when she had accidentally knocked over a tea set that had been passed down through their family for generations. She had been so distraught about breaking it, that when Daniel had returned to the living room after fetching a broom and dustpan, the tea set had been repaired. The family, too confused over what had happened, simply believed that the tea set had never broken, but had just been knocked down. Eyes widening in realisation, they looked back at Sinistra.
With a big smile, Sinistra carefully took out her wand and pointed it at Aria and carefully saying "Wingardium Leviosa!"
To the surprise of everyone, Aria started to levitate while moving her legs frantically to find the ground. Quickly, Sinistra set her back down and looked backed to the Grangers.
"Shall we go to the living room where we can discuss the magical world and what to expect?"
Once they were all comfortably sitting in the living room Sinistra began her introduction to the wizarding world.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is one of the three main wizarding schools in Europe. The other two are Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the Durmstrang Institute. The current Headmaster is Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall is the Deputy Headmistress. Hogwarts is divided into four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Students are sorted during their first year and will remain in that house until they graduate. Education at Hogwarts starts at 11 years old and lasts 7 years, with the Ordinary Wizard Level tests, commonly referred to as O.W.L.s takes place in Year 5 and the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, N.E. , are taken at the end of Year 7. Any questions so far?"
There was brief pause before Hermione timidly asked, "Can you tell me more about the houses?"
"Certainly. The house system is a way to separate students based on the values they value. Gryffindors values bravery, nerve and chivalry. Slytherins value ambition, cunning and resourcefulness. Hufflepuffs value hard work, patience, fair play and loyalty. And Ravenclaws value intelligence, knowledge and wit. First years are sorted at the welcoming feast, where you will have your first meal with your housemates. Your house will become your family during your stay at Hogwarts. Every year there is a competition between the houses. Points are awarded for good behaviour and participation in class, while point will be deducted for rule breaking. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup."
"How are students sorted?"
"You'll have to find that out for yourself at Hogwarts, Miss Granger." Sinistra responded with a mischievous smile.
"What kinds of classes are taught at Hogwarts?" Maria asked, still looking like she was trying to process the fact that magic is real.
"Good question! For the first 5 years, the core curriculum is Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy and History of Magic. During third year, students may also take up to two more electives. These electives include Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and depending on the demand, Alchemy in 6th year. First years will also have Flying lessons and 6th years are able to take apparition lessons. After 5th year, students will take subjects that correspond best with their chosen career path."
"Oh. I see." Maria said weakly, clearly not expecting to not understand most of the subjects.
"Don't worry Mrs. Granger. Hogwarts is a fantastic school and will prepare your daughter for any magical career she desires." Sinistra said reassuringly. This often happened with muggle parents.
"A magical career? What if Hermione wanted a career that's non-magical?" Daniel said suddenly. While he didn't understand most of the subjects, he knew that none of them contained Math, Science, English or any other subject Hermione will need to go to university.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Granger, Hogwarts is a magical school that will only prepare Miss Granger for a career in the magical community. In the magical community, we are under a law known as the International Law of Secrecy, meaning that like you until very recently, no non-magical people know of our existence. That is why Hogwarts doesn't cover any muggle subjects; it would be redundant as no student will be able to say they were schooled at Hogwarts in a muggle environment."
Thinking the new information through, Maria and Daniel were silent. However, Hermione was eager to hear more about magic and blurted out, "Can you tell me more about the magical world? And what does muggle mean?"
With a soft chuckle Sinistra replied, "Muggle means a non-magical person, like your parents. Don't worry, it's not offensive, just a fact. And where to start about the magical world?"
"Well, in London there's a Ministry of Magic that runs the every day life of the wizarding world. We have our own law enforcement, known as Aurors, as well as government researchers, known as Unspeakables. The laws that you'll have to be concerned about are the secrecy law and the underage magic law. The underage magic law states that witches and wizards cannot use magic outside of school until the age of 17. There are a couple of all-magical communities, although the largest that I know of are Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. You'll have to go to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies if you decide to attend, but don't worry, you'll have help."
"When will we have to let Hogwarts know if Hermione will be attending?" Maria asked.
"An owl should arrive tonight with your school list. Just send a letter back with your decision with the owl. Don't worry about deciding immediately, the owl will stay here until it receives a reply. And if Miss Granger does decide to attend Hogwarts, meet at Charing Cross Road in London on Sunday, August 11th at noon, to get school supplies. I will be meeting with other muggleborn students at that time to help them get their school supplies. Oh! And your train ticket to Hogwarts, should you decide to attend, is in the same envelope as your acceptance letter."
"Thank you very much Ms. Sinistra, for your information and time." Hermione said politely as Sinistra stood to leave.
"It was no problem, Miss Granger. And hopefully it will be Professor Sinistra come September 1st!"
"And after that, Aurora Sinistra left the Granger residence and walked down the street." He finished.
"Walked down the street? How strange. Anyway, I'll talk to the monitoring team responsible for the area that Earth belongs to and get this mission started as soon as possible. When did they overhear this?"
"Yesterday afternoon. I thought it'd be best to report this immediately."
"Good thinking. Thank you, Graham, I'll see if we can keep you in the loop for this mission."
