AN: This fic was inspired by the song Paradise, by ColdPlay. I found it very fitting for Hermione's life before Hogwarts and during her years there.
-katie4dragons
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Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!
When she was just a girl, she expected the world…
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"Hermione!" called Mrs. Granger up the stairs to Hermione's room, "Time for school!"
Hermione practically ran down and into the kitchen. She was starting a new school today because her family had moved, and she couldn't possibly feel more excited.
"Are you all ready dear?"
"Yes mum!" Hermione chirped out, a huge smile on her face. She had packed everything she would need the night before. She had read all of her books (twice) and was sure that she had memorized everything in them. Hermione knew that her parents wanted her to make new friends, but that to her was only second after perfect grades. She had high hopes for her new school, and absolutely couldn't wait start.
Her mum dropped her off at the front doors and Hermione walked inside. Hermione headed to her classroom and waited for class to start.
Every time the teacher asked a question Hermione's hand was the first to be in the air, and sometimes the only one. When another child was actually given the opportunity to answer, Hermione would correct them if their answer wasn't word for word from the book. She was only trying to please her teacher, and maybe impress some of her classmates. After all, having friends here would be nice.
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But it flew away from her reach, so she ran away in her sleep…
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"Know-it-all!"
"Show-off!"
"Nobody likes you, you bushy-haired freak!"
"Get away from us! We don't want to be friends with you!"
Hermione was silent the whole way home, remembering what her classmates had said to her that day. As soon as her mum unlocked the front door she ran up to her room and fell onto her bed. With her head on her pillow she felt tears run down her cheeks.
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And dreamed of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, every time she closed her eyes…
She had just wanted to impress them. She had only wanted them to like her. That's all she wanted, a place were she would be accepted. It seemed so improbable; today's children could be very brutal and heartless beings. Hermione knew though, deep down, that she would find a place were she belonged someday. It was her dream.
…
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!
When she was just a girl, she expected the world…
…
"Bye Mum! Bye Dad! I'll write you everyday!" Hermione yelled out from her window on the Hogwarts Express. She waved to them until the train rounded the corner and she couldn't she them any more. Finally, she was headed to the one place she was sure she would fit in. She believed that this would be the place where she would make friends while being herself. She was happier than one could possible imagine a girl so young could be.
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But it flew away from her reach, and the bullets catch in her teeth…
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"Have you seen her teeth Lavender? They're impossibly huge!"
"I know! And have you seen that hair!"
"It looks like a bush for Merlin's sake! Plus she's such a show-off in class! Oh oh! Professor! I know everything!"giggled two of her roommates, oblivious to the fact that Hermione was reading on the bed right next to them. Or at least she was trying to read; it's kind of hard to concentrate on reading when your eyes are blurry with unshed tears.
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Life goes on, it gets so heavy. The wheel breaks the butterfly, every tear a waterfall. In the night, the stormy night she'll close her eyes. In the night, the stormy night away she'd fly…
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"She's a nightmare, honestly! It's no wonder she hasn't got any friends!"
'But what was is about me that made me a nightmare?' Hermione though vaguely as she ran away from Ron, clutching her books to her chest.
Hermione sat with her head in her hands and her back to the door of the stall she was occupying in the girls lavatory. She was sobbing; the front of her robe was extremely damp. She had assumed that Harry and Ron had been friends of sorts of hers. She now thought she had been terribly mistaken. Why was it so hard for people to like her?
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And dream of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise…
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!
She'd dream of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise…
Oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!
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The euphoria in the room after the game was absolutely immense. Hermione had never really been one for parties, but even she found herself having an excellent time that night. That was, until, Ron had kissed Lavender. Things seemed to go downhill for Hermione from there.
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La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
And so lying underneath those stormy skies…
She'd say "Oh, oh oh oh oh, I know the sun must set to rise"
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"Ron! Ron! Don't leave! Come back!" there was a faint popping noise, and she knew he was gone. Hermione's knees gave out and she fell to the ground. Tears ran down from her eyes as she kneeled there on the dirt. He'd left her and Harry, and he wasn't coming back.
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This could be para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, this could be para-para-paradise, oh oh oh oh oh oh-oh-oh!
This could be para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, this could be para-para-paradise. Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!
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The war was finally over. Harry had defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and at last the Wizarding World was safe and sound. Hermione was sitting on a bench in the Great Hall, her fingers intertwined with Ron's. She was happy, and for the first time in her life, her happiness couldn't be ripped away.
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This could be para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, this could be para-para-paradise. Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!
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And of course, they would live happily forever after.
AN: You know what would make my day?
Wait for it…
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A review!
No way! Bet you didn't see that coming!