Prologue
"Hermione Jean Granger! Stop fussing in your seat or you'll ruin your dress!" chided Elizabeth Granger as she attempted to salvage the crumpled mess her daughter had made in the span of the three hour drive. She sighed inwardly at her daughter's behavior. Sometimes she forgot that her daughter was only a child.
Since the day Hermione was born, Elizabeth knew that her little tyke was unlike any other child out there. When she first laid eyes on her little miracle, the first thing she noted about Hermione was her eyes. While they shared the same intelligent eyes, there was something in her daughter's orbs that set them apart from her own. She recognized the spark of curiosity within Hermione's golden eyes and immediately realized that her little girl's intelligence coupled with her insatiable curiosity would manifest into her eagerness to learn. How right she was.
Ever since Hermione learned how to read at the tender age of three and a half, she had taken it upon herself to read anything and everything she could get her little chubby hands on, from menus to fairytales.
At first, concerned that her daughter was missing out on the wonders of childhood, Elizabeth tried to introduce Hermione to a world outside her books by taking her to the local playground every afternoon, but even then, Elizabeth would find Hermione lounging under the shade of a tree reading a book! How Hermione had snuck books into the park without her noticing continued to remain a mystery to Elizabeth today! After attempting countless efforts to "child-fy" her daughter and garnering fruitless results, Elizabeth eventually gave up and left Hermione to her own devices.
As her reading material grew heftier and her vocabulary grew broader, Hermione's mentality advanced as well. Rather than acting like the eight year old she was, Hermione often came across like an experienced young woman. It would be only a matter of time before her little girl opted to wearing suits instead of her usual jumper and slacks combo Elizabeth mused wryly. While she did not exactly approve of Hermione's lack of enthusiasm towards most things children her age adored, she had grown to accept her daughter's quirks and was content with who she had grown up to be. If only she was able to curb her restlessness!
Although her little Hermione was very mature for her age, like any other eight year old, it was practically impossible for her to stay still in one place for more than a few hours, that was unless she had a book with her of course. Sometimes it was so difficult dealing with this side of Hermione, Elizabeth thought as she finished soothing out the rest of the wrinkles on Hermione's dress, as a restless Hermione often meant a cranky Hermione.
Upon glancing at her daughter's expression, any exasperation Ms. Granger had previously felt towards her daughter deflated. While she had been tending to Hermione's wrinkled dress, said five year old had decided to give her mother the silent treatment. Hermione's pink lips were puckered with annoyance while her puffed out cheeks glowed red with irritation like little christmas lights. Determined to look at anywhere but her fussing mother, Hermione had taken to looking at the rows of thick trees outside the car window.
Elizabeth's red lips quirked up while her eyes lit up with mirth at her daughter's antics. Despite having to deal with Hermione's crankiness, it was nice to see her acting like a child once in a while. After musing about her daughter's behavior, Elizabeth decided it was time to tame her little disgruntled princess.
"Hermione, just please bare with us for a little while, I'm sure we'll be at Port Angeles soon enough." tried Elizabeth. When the eight year old refused to respond or even look at her, Elizabeth mock pouted and opted to poking Hermione's crossed arms to get her attention. "Please dear, talk to me. I'll keep poking you until you do."
Elizabeth made good on her promise. After five minutes of getting her arms poked continuously, Hermione finally relented and peeked at her mother. Sighing she said, "Mum, why must we come all the way from London to America?"
Elizabeth's eyes were understanding and patient when she answered, "Hermione, this year's International Dentistry Convention is being held at Port Angeles, America. You know me and your father, dentistry is our passion -it's like you and your books- we just have to go!"
At the sound of his wife's enthusiasm, Richard Granger glanced at the backseat where his wife and daughter sat through the rearview mirror and quipped, "Plus, Hermione dear, I heard one dentist who runs a practice in Austria invented a new type of cavity filling! How exciting!"
Hermione sighed at this, her anger diminishing at her parent's antics. "Alright, well couldn't I have stayed with Uncle Jim and Aunt Carrie?" Since the convention was to be held at Washington state, Richard and Elizabeth had decided to visit their relatives who lived in nearby Olympia for a week before driving up to Port Angeles.
"Nope! We would miss you too much poppet." Elizabeth replied as she playfully tapped her on the nose. Hermione frowned in turn at her mother's actions.
"Oh lighten up Hermione, this trip won't be all too bad." tried Elizabeth. At the lack of response from Hermione, Elizabeth decided to go about her daughter in another way and slid on a sly smile.
Turning to her husband who sat on the front seat, Elizabeth questioned innocently, "Richard, didn't you say that there was a bookstore at Port Angeles?" At this, Hermione quickly perked up and began to listen attentively.
Quickly catching on to his wife's new tactic, Richard returned his wife's sly smile and answered amusedly. "Why yes dear. It should be a rather good one too, lots of variety I heard."
At this point, Hermione was bubbling with so much excitement that she couldn't bear to keep it in anymore. "Really Dad? Mum, Dad, can we please go there?" Hermione bursted out as she bounced up and down with excitement in her seat. Hook, line, and sinker, Elizabeth thought evilly to herself.
"Of course we can," at this Hermione squealed in delight, "But! You must promise to behave yourself for the remaining two hours of our drive. If you remain seated and promise to not ruin your dress, we'll go to the book store and I'll let you pick out any book you want." Elizabeth finished.
"I promise! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Hermione all but squealed in reply. She then preceded to pepper her mother with kisses to show her gratitude. Elizabeth laughed at her daughter's antics. Oh the things her little girl would do for books, she thought. "Alright now Hermione, remember your promise." she teased. Hermione merely nodded in response, a silly grin on her face.
Somewhere in her head, a voice was telling her that she was being duped by her parents, but Hermione couldn't find it in herself to care. Her excitement over possibly getting a new book overwhelmed any negative thoughts she might have had. For the sake of getting a new book, Hermione felt she would be able to do anything, even wear the pink silly old dress her mother picked out for her and sit patiently in the car for two agonizing hours.
Now content with the way things were going, Hermione once again turned her gaze back to the world outside her window. Examining the impressive foliage outside, Hermione couldn't help but feel admiration bubbling inside of her at the strength and simplicity of the trees. For the next hour, Hermione had taken to staring outside at the forest. Even though the view never seemed to change, Hermione never got tired of looking at them. She thought it was cliché but she felt as if the forest was calling to her.
Suddenly, a quick shadow shot across the treeline, disrupting the serenity that encompassed the forest. While it was too quick for Hermione to make out, she could still faintly see the shadow speeding ahead. Curiosity piqued, Hermione felt the urge to swing her legs down from her seat and stand up to trail her gaze after the mysterious shadow.
Just as one of her feet touched the ground, she suddenly remembered her promise to her mother and hesitated. Unlike most eight year olds who acted upon their first impulse, Hermione chose to consider her situation logically before carryout her decision. Half standing, half sitting Hermione quietly contemplated the best course of action. Was obtaining a new book worth abandoning her growing curiosity towards the mysterious shadow?
A decision quickly made its way to her head. Although it was a shame that she wouldn't be able to satisfy her curiosity at that moment, Hermione rationalized that there were other ways to satiate her curiosity towards the shadow. It was probably an indigenous animal that she saw moving through the trees, if the size of its shadow was anything to go by, it was probably a bear. She could probably find a text in the Port Angeles bookstore regarding the native wildlife around the area.
Decision made, Hermione quickly shifted back into a comfortable position on the cushions. Hermione settled down just in time to see the shadow fade completely into the greenery. Her curiosity could wait, she decided. Glancing at the time near the dashboard, Hermione calculated that she only had to sit still for another half an hour.
Though her dress started itching and her legs started to go a bit numb, Hermione reminded herself that in just a half an hour, she'll be able to dive into the tomb of books awaiting her, and so a little discomfort would be worth it. Glancing outside the window once more, Hermione became resolute.
Yes, Hermione thought, it was definitely worth it.
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Sorry this was not a terribly long nor was it particularly interesting. This was more of a background than anything. But I promise that there will be more exciting events in the next chapter, after all, that'll be when Jacob makes his first appearance. But don't get too excited, as you can tell from the time frame, Jacob will still be a child, probably the same age as Hermione, maybe a bit younger. As you can see, I'm not sticking to the canon.
Should you choose to review, please no flames, I'm hot enough as it is. ...Lame puns :D