This story is for the Choose Your Wand Challenge by Coruscanti Clover, a super cool challenge you guys should definitely check out! I hope you enjoy!
Children poured out of the train and onto the platform, a combination of young children staring at their surroundings in awe and returning students greeting their friends excitedly. In the mix of huddled bodies was a young Hermione Granger. Her brown eyes were the size of saucers as she gazed at the magic all around her, and a pair of large front teeth were exposed from her wide smile.
When she'd been at her old school, one for muggle children, she hadn't been well liked by the other students. They teased her early in her school career for her frizzy hair and large teeth. After seeing how cruel the other students could be she withdrew from them. But she didn't need them to keep as company. She found friends in the pages of fantasy books.
Her friends came from all areas of the world, and sometimes even from worlds different than her own. They could do wonderful things with wands and potions and sometimes even with their minds. They could bend time, make light, and countless other things. Reading about their adventures made her dull suburban feel just a bit more adventurous.
Then she'd gotten her letter, and she too was special. Who could have ever thought Hermione Granger could be a witch? Someone who too could learn to do spectacular things. The letter told them where to buy books and a wand and lots of other things she thought only existed in her dreams, and she insisted her parents bring her as soon as possible. In the month and a half between when she'd gotten her letter and when she went off to school her entire life was in those books.
She needed to learn as much as she could before she went to school. After a few days of practice she'd finally mastered the lumos spell, but one spell wasn't enough. She needed to know them all. Certainly when she arrived at school there would be some sort of test to determine how much she knew. What if she didn't know enough? What if she wasn't good enough to be a witch?
For weeks she lost sleep worrying about her own capabilities. All she'd ever wanted, more than anything, was to be special like her friends in the books. And if, for any reason, this ray of a hope for a fantastic life was taken away from her she had no idea what she'd do. Not only that, but if the reason it was taken from her was because of her own incapability she didn't know if she would be able to life with herself. Failing was not an option.
On the car ride to the train station Hermione had made a decision; she would not let anyone see how scarred she really was. If the school was competitive the last thing she needed was to look weak. She needed to be confident and sure of herself, or at least know how to look it. And if she came off too strong, or even a little obnoxious, so be it. School was for learning, not making friends (though a few of those would be nice).
As the first years were led to the boats to take them up to the castle Hermione Granger held her head up high, checking her robes one last time to make sure they were as perfect as can be. She made conversation with the other kids in her boat about the history of the school she had read about in the countless books, and they were all a bit surprised she knew as much as she did. The closer she got to the castle the crazier the butterflies in her stomach got. As she hopped off the boat she couldn't help but feel like this school would hands down be the best thing that ever happened.