Behind the Brains
Chapter1
Holidays
A/N This is the Harry Potter books from Hermione's point of view! I just wanted to see if anyone was interested in reading this. Section breaks are marked by -HP- just so you know!
-HP-
Hermione Granger had always been smart, unlike those who realized they were smart at around 12 years old, she had know since the the day she started school. Although she enjoyed being the one to always have the answer, being the brightest girl in her school had its drawbacks. There was no-one who would want to be her friend for the simple reason, who would want to be overshadowed by their brainy friend or corrected every other sentence? Every lunch time, every break time, every single weekend all spent alone with only her books for company, it tired her out. All she ever did was read. One of the reason she was so far ahead of her classmates was because she had no friends, no-one to distract her from her work or play with at the weekends, this meant that in every spare moment she would be found engrossed in a book and expanding her knowledge.
She had the same routine every single day; get up, wash, brush her hair, smile as she went downstairs and pretended to be like any other carefree 11 year old, not a care in the world. But her life was not carefree, she worried and wondered if she would ever get a real friend. Her teachers reassured her that when she moved up into secondary school she would make new friends because there were simply to many children like her in the secondary school she was moving to after the summer holidays. Saint Augustines Academy for the Gifted and Talented. Hermione was dreading September 1st when she would have to walk through the metal gates and step into the form room which would be hers for the 5 years she attended the school. The worries that plagued her were starting to distract her from her work.
"Hermione, Hermione dear are you alright?" came the voice of her favorite teacher, Miss Rose.
Hermione sat up straighter and replied "I'm fine Miss, I'm just a little distracted."
"Or just being weirder than normal as others would put it!" whispered one of her classmates.
Turning around amongst a sea of giggles Hermione identified the speaker as Annie Gregory. The tall and pretty girl had everyone wrapped around her little finger from the day she had joined Eden Primary school last year. Her mother had moved here after her father decided to join a local building firm meaning Annie had arrived to ruin her life. The only upside Hermione could see about going to Saint Augustines Academy was that she would finally be leaving Annie behind. Annie may be prettier and more popular than Hermione, but Hermione had something that she didn't. She had brains and the ability to think logically.
"Hermione, it's the last day of school, I really doubt that it will matter if you miss a few lessons if you're not feeling well." Miss Rose said smiling down at her.
"No I assure you I'm absolutely fine Miss." Hermione firmly said.
"I assure you I'm absolutely fine Miss" Annie mimicked.
Sighing Hermione returned to her French work, translating a huge block of writing that no-one else in her class could even attempt to read. 'They were still learning their numbers up to thirty,' she thought smugly.
-HP-
The bell rang to signal the end of the day and Hermione packed her bag slowly so to avoid Annie and her 'crew' as she called them. Hermione thought of it as more of a gang for bullies.
"Hermione. I wanted to thank you for your present. And I wanted to wish you luck at Saint Augustines, my sister teaches Maths there so I expect to hear great things from her." Miss Rose smiled "I'll miss you"
"I'll miss you too Miss" Hermione replied, suddenly rushing to hug her, "School won't be the same without you" Hermione then turned and left quickly so her favorite teacher couldn't see how much she would be missed. She didn't even see Miss Rose wave goodbye with glistening eyes.
Waiting outside for Hermione was Annie and her 'crew'. They followed her to the gates whispering in a loud voice so she could hear "Ewwww what a weirdo. Who would miss a teacher that much?"
After they reached the gates, they decided to skip behind her stepping on the back of her shoes making her stumble, singing an edited version of 'twinkle twinkle'.
"Twinkle Twinkle Hermione smells"
How she hated those girls.
"How we hate the way she yells"
Why did they always torment her.
"Miss, Miss I love you"
She had never done anything to them.
"Miss, Miss I stink of poo"
Why wouldn't they just shut up.
"Twinkle Twinkle Hermione smells"
If they didn't shut up soon she was going to get really annoyed.
"How we hate the way she yells" they finished with a flourish.
Hermione was so angry, she was surprised that Annie didn't notice.
Suddenly someone screamed. Turning around Hermione realized that Annie had yelled and was running away as her hair was growing so fast that it had already reached her knees. The long rope of hair that was slowly winding around her tripped her up and she fell to the floor with an "Ouch". Hermione just stood there stunned as Annie's 'crew' ran off. A few loud cracks filled the air and she dashed into a nearby alleyway. Peeping out, Hermione could see some strange men and women, wearing some sort of robes and who definitely hadn't been there a second ago, encircling Annie. When they moved away, Annie was just lying there as if she was asleep. Hermione heard one of the men say
"Take her back to the school and obliviate her memories. I need to contact Dumbledore and inform him that it's time to send out a letter to the witch or wizard who did this so it doesn't happen again! We can't afford to have the accidental magic reversal squad sent out on any more silly accidental muggleborn magic"
Another man replied "Look just because whoever did this was muggleborn doesn't mean that they're uncontrollable! I would even go far enough to say that the muggleborn who did this is a very capable one because I don't think that even I could perform a hair growth charm that well!"
"Oh shut up just because we all know you're about as good as a hinkypunk at charms!"
"Look who's talking. The very definition of squib."
A woman intervened just as the men were pointing sticks at each other, "Look boys settle this in the office it wouldn't do to just let all the muggles see you turning each other into gerbils would it!"
With that comment all of the strange people left with a 'pop' except for the one who was leading Annie back towards the school.
Hermione shut her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened them Annie and the strange man had disappeared. Was she hallucinating? She didn't know, but Hermione decided to put it out of her mind and was just about able to convince herself that she just needed to have more sleep, but a little thought at the back of her mind was saying 'It could be real.'
-HP-
When she got back home, her mother called out "Hermione dear, is that you?" from the kitchen.
"Yes Mum" she answered.
"Dinner will be ready in about half an hour, so you can go up to your room if you want." Sticking her head out of the kitchen she added "Oh and I bought you that new book about trigonometry that you wanted."
"Thanks Mum" She said with a smile as she walked up the stairs.
When she entered her room she saw the book on her bed 'Trivial Trigonometry questions and answers' and her face broke into a broad grim that showed off her large front teeth. Hermione loved learning new things and trigonometry was just one of the new subjects she wanted to earn outside of school and now it was the summer holiday she had all the time she wanted to read up on it. Sitting down, she engrossed herself in the book putting all thoughts of strange people out of her mind.
-HP-
Half an hour later a call came up the stairs "Hermione, it's dinner now."
"Coming Mum" Hermione replied.
She stepped into the kitchen and saw that her Mum had only put one plate on the table.
"Mum why is there only one plate of lasagna? I though you were eating with me."
"Oh Hermione dear I forgot to tell you, I'm going out with you're father tonight. I'm meeting him at his work and then we're going to watch a movie and then have dinner. I really am sorry." Her Mum said apologetically. " Now I'm going out now and your Aunt Jessie will be round in about an hour."
"Ok, bye Mum"
"Bye darling"
'Great now what do I do.' Hermione thought 'I think might go and read a book after tea before Aunt Jessie comes round. Otherwise I wont get a chance she's always telling me that I read too much.'
When she had finished her tea she went upstairs and resumed reading her trigonometry book.
-HP-
About fifteen minutes later the front door opened and Aunt Jessie walked in thirty minutes early. "Hermione, Hermione it's me I've come to stop you reading those nasty books with big words." She sang up the stairs.
"I'm coming downstairs now." Hermione said with a sigh.
Aunt Jessie wasn't her actual aunt. She was just one of her mothers close friends who asked practically everyone she met to call her 'Aunt Jessie'.
As Hermione walked downstairs she saw Jessie go into the sitting room. Jessie never seemed to wear clothes that matched. In fact if it wasn't impossible for girls to be colorblind then Hermione might actually believe that her Aunt Jessie was. Today she was wearing a flowery pink skirt with beads around the bottom, red shoes with black socks, a floaty grey top and a butterfly hair ornament in her long auburn hair.
Hermione entered the sitting room and was quickly enveloped in a smothering hug.
Putting Hermione down Jessie said "Wow who's looking lovely today! I can't believe how much you've grown! You're almost as tall as me! Now let's get some telly on. You can't be reading the whole night long." She sat Hermione down on the couch and picked up the remote. "Now let's see whats on the telly tonight. Ah there we go, let's watch Corrie."
"Oh no please don't make me watch Corrination Street it's absolutely awful. It's really fake!"
"Oh alright then my darling how about a nice documentary about the lives of ants." Jessie said as a joke.
"Ooh that would be wonderful Aunt Jessie!" Hermione replied not realizing it was a joke.
Jessie looked slightly confused but changed the channel anyway.
-HP-
After the documentary was over Hermione said "I think I might go to bed now Aunt Jessie"
"Ok honey, but don't you want to stay up a bit later? I don't think your parents will mind." Jessie said with a smile.
"Oh no I want to go to bed because Dad said that he would take me to the natural history museum in London tomorrow as a present for it being the end of school!" Hermione said with an excited expression on her face.
"If that's what you want, then it's fine by me." Jessie smiled.
As Hermione stepped out of the room she could hear her Aunt Jessie mumbling something about strange children who would rather go to a museum than the beach. But she thought 'I mustn't blame Aunt Jessie for being worried. I mean how many people are like me! And anyway Dad always said that being different is good and if you follow the crowd then you can only blame yourself if you don't get to where you want to. Even if people don't like you then it's them that's got the problem, not you.'
Her father always knew what to say. After all, he was her closest friend. Even Zoe one of the neighbors children didn't want to play with her because they thought she was 'strange' well Tom didn't seem to mind her. With that thought, Hermione changed into her pajamas and hopped into bed with thoughts of dinosaurs and medicine running through her head as she fell asleep.
-HP-
The next morning, Hermione was up bright and early, buzzing with excitement as she ate her breakfast.
"Dad." she called up the stairs, "When are we leaving!"
"Soon honey I just need to get dressed. Why don't you read that book on trigonometry that your Mum bought you yesterday." Her father replied.
"Ok then but you better be down here before I finish it!"
"I don't think you can finish it in 15 minutes, darling."
"I wouldn't bet on it Dad. I only have a couple of chapters left."
"What!" Her father exclaimed, "But...but you only started it yesterday!"
"Well I'm a fast reader!" she answered.
A couple of minutes later Hermione's father was ready and in the car.
"Hermione." He yelled as he beeped the horn.
"I'm...here." Hermione gasped as she jumped in the car after running around the house trying to find a book on the Natural History Museum that she could read on the way.
"Honestly don't you ever stop reading Hermione," Her father sighed as he pulled out of the driveway.
-HP-
"Mum, we're back!"
"How was it honey," her Mum exclaimed!
"It was wonderful! And Dad bought me another book! So I'm off to read it now!" Hermione said in one breath as she hurtled up the stairs.
"Well you can't say she's stupid can you Helen," Hermione's father said walking into the house. "She was out of the car before I could even say "We're home"!"
"I do worry about her sometimes you know. But I'm sure that Saint Augustines will be alright and she will hopefully fit in there!" Hermione's mother said wistfully as she wandered into the kitchen.
-HP-
The weeks flew by as Hermione brushed up on all the topics she would be studying at Saint Augustines, until suddenly Hermione realized that there were only 14 days left until she started the new term.
"Mum," she cried as she flew down the stairs, "I don't have a uniform for school!"
"Don't worry dear," Her mother said with a smile as she stirred eggs round a pan, "At Saint Augustines they don't have a uniform."
Hermione's jaw dropped.
"Oh don't worry dear. It's just because they only let in very gifted and able students, so they said in the pamphlet that they didn't feel the need to have a uniform as the students are smart enough to realize that some clothes will be inappropriate for schooling."
"What! How can they expect us to learn properly if there is no uniform! Everyone will just run amok! It will be like feeding time at the zoo!" Hermione exclaimed as her father sat at the table hiding his smirk with his newspaper.
Her mother just looked on with an amused expression. Any other child would be ecstatic at the news that they didn't need uniform. But Hermione wasn't just any child she was different. "Look if you're that bothered about it then you can read the pamphlet! It's on the table dear."
"Thanks Mum," Hermione said as she picked up the pamphlet and headed upstairs.
Hermione's father looked up from his newspaper and smiled, "When will she learn that rules don't always have to be followed Helen! She needs to loosen up a little."
"You can't tell her that William. She won't listen to you! Also I really don't think it matters if she abides by the rules, she will loosen up in her own time. Maybe when she gets better friends."
"More like any friends." William Granger sighed softly.
"What was that dear?" Helen Granger said distractedly
"Oh nothing Honey." He responded
"That's nice" She smiled back staring into space wondering if her husband was right. Maybe Hermione should learn to not treat rules as if they were made of glass. Shaking herself, as she sat down at the table to eat her scrambled eggs, she thought 'That is no way to think about your own daughter.'
-HP-
'When I expand the bracket I get x^2 + 625... No that's not right!' Hermione thought as she sat down on her bed trying to figure out a SATS question.
"Mum" She yelled down the stairs.
"Yes dear," Her mother responded.
"Could you help me with this maths question."
"What is it honey,"
"(x-25)^2 = x^2-25. But I can't expand the first bracket properly."
"Instead of the first part being (x-25)^2 change it so it's double brackets. Two lots of (x-25). Does that help?"
"Thanks Mum. I get it now!" Hermione ran over to her SATS paper and copied down the answer x=13.
Sighing she sat back down on her bed and thought, 'Wow year 9 SATS papers aren't actually that hard! There was only one question I needed help with.
"Hermione love, dinners ready," Came her mothers voice up the stairs.
She thundered down the stairs and said "Dad can you mark this test paper I did... Where are you going?" She questioned.
"Oh Hermione honey we just got invited over to your Aunt Jessie's house for dinner. So once you've eaten, we'll set off and you can go round to Tom and Zoe's house!"
"Mum! Zoe doesn't like me, and she only plays with me because her mum says she has to!" Hermione whinged "Can't I go with you?"
"No."
"Why not!"
"Because it is a cocktail party and you can't go because it's adults only!"
Hermione sat down at the table grumpily and ate her tea as fast as she could.
"Finished"
"That was quick darling!"
"Well you wanted to go quickly so I thought I wouldn't hold you back," Hermione smiled sweetly at them. Even if she was annoyed, she would try not to let her manners suffer.
"Ok then honey. I'll drop you off at the Brown's house and then we'll be off." William Granger said as he walked towards the front door.
-HP-
Three hours later, Hermione was sat on the Brown's sofa watching 'the Simpsons' with Zoe and Tom like she had been for the last two and a half hours (before that they had been watching Tom and Jerry).
"Mum," Zoe yelled, "Can I invite Clarissa over. Hermione's boring."
"Zoe Brown we do not talk about our guests that way!" Gemma Brown bellowed "And Hermione's not boring. Off to your room now!"
Hermione stared down miserably at her shoes as she thought about how lonely she was and how boring she was.
"I don't think you're boring Hermione, you're just quiet, you like reading and you're smart, thats why Zoe doesn't like you, because she is jealous." Tom said with a smile.
"Thanks Tom," Hermione smiled, "But you don't need to lie to try and cheer me up,"
"I wasn't try-" Tom began, but then a call from Gemma came down the hallway
"Zoe Brown what are you doing!"
Tom and Hermione looked at each other and then raced to the doorway to see Zoe looking up at her Mum with a guilty expression on her face. A torn up book lay on the floor next to her.
"I thought that you would know better. Now actually go up to your room and stay there we will have a conversation with your father later young lady!" Gemma said loudly. Turning around she said in a much softer voice, "I'm so sorry Hermione dear but Zoe ripped up your Trigonometry book."
"It's alright Mrs. Brown, I only had a couple of pages left. I'm sure the teachers at Saint Augustines won't mind. It is GCSE level after all." Hermione replied. Trying to hide the contempt she felt for Zoe at that moment.
"No. Zoe will buy you a new book. No arguments."
"Ok then. When can I go home Mrs. Brown"
Just on queue the doorbell rang and Gemma Brown opened it to reveal the Grangers.
"How's my Hermione been Gemma?" Helen asked.
"Oh she's been wonderful. But I'm afraid Zoe hasn't been quite as well behaved." Gemma replied.
"Oh really what has she done?"
"Well she wasn't particularly nice to Hermione, and when I told her to go to bed she only went and ripped up Hermione's lovely Trigonometry book!"
"Well I suppose it could have been worse," William said with a smile.
"Oh don't worry dears, Zoe will be punished for this! And as soon as I can I will buy Hermione a new book to replace that one," She said pointing to the scraps of paper that has once been a book.
"It isn't necessary," Hermione's father protested.
"Oh really it won't be a problem. Now I wont hear any more protests from you so off you all go." She said jokingly as she shut the door.
"Oh that Zoe is a right piece of work isn't she Helen." Hermione's father said as they closed their front door.
"Well I only hope she gets better as she gets older. Night Hermione dear. See you in the morning."
"Night Mum, night Dad." She replied before climbing the stairs to retire for the night.
-HP-
A/N I hope you like it. Please review :) and I welcome any constructive criticism! Or even plot idea. I'm going to make it in cannon but from Hermione's point of view but I am also not going to just copy the story so I'll miss out a few chapters and a some new scenes!