Like most people, I don't remember a lot about my early childhood. I remember that I was very smart. I've always been smart and I've always been ridiculed for it. I know that I never had any friends. I still don't have any. Of course I remember the important life lessons of childhood: never touch fire, don't run with scissors, etcetera. Despite what most might believe my clearest early memory is not learning to read or my first class but something much simpler. Somehow this memory has become precious to me despite its gruesome content. A memory of a mangled bird my mother and I passed by on a walk to the park. It was still breathing. My mother had seen it first and had tried to steer my attention from it, but being the perceptive child that I was she had no such luck. I cried to my mother to do something to fix it. She hesitated, probably thinking of what to say, before she spoke "Its wings are torn off", she'd said "one of its legs is missing. A bird is ment to fly and walk about to find food. With no wings and only one leg even if we did help it, it would only die slowly of hunger. It would be much kinder to let it go in peace now." I don't know why she explained such a gruesome thing to a four year old. Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she felt that I would understand because I was so clever. I do know that I'd learned two very important lessons then. One: even though they might be in a position of authority, adults cannot always have the answers. Two: There is no greater arrogance than assuming for another living being that it wants to be saved. Most would think that I am still just a child being only eleven, but from that moment on the turmoil in my mind forced me to be something else. I won't be dramatic and say that those words stole my childhood. I still appreciate a hug or two from my parents. I still like to play games. I have my moments of childish rebellion, but it will always be tempered with reason. That is why I, Hermione Granger, have decided that despite this strange woman McGonagall's insistence, going to Hogwarts must not be my only, or even my first choice for continuing my schooling.
I hope that was an okay start to a story. I'm not sure where I'd like to go with it or even if I should continue so I'd appreciate some feedback.
