A/N: This fic was requested back in March of last year to another writer on Tumblr and I offered to write it. I spent months on research and observation to make this fic work. It took time and plenty of crafting. This one is near and dear to my heart since I am married to someone on the Autism spectrum (and have another close loved one with it, too.)

This particular fic is outside my nicheverse (cough AU cough), because of the prompt I received and I had to nudge a few things to make it work as closely as canon but I hope it's still acceptable to my readers, neuro-typical and neuro-atypical alike.

Please bear in mind I am a writer, not a counselor or child psychologist. That is why I asked many wonderful ladies to read over such for better accuracy in depicting the character requested. Their assistance has made this a much, much better fic, in my opinion.

I'm also dedicating this fic to my older Hooligan, who has a special place in my life and said she wanted to read it, too.

Rated T for various reasons, including crass words, racial epithets, adult situations, and later on, artificial lemon flavoring.

"Drs. Granger?"

Robert Granger shook the older gentleman's hand and entered the office. Jean followed them in and sat as well, shaking the Headmaster's hand as well.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice." He pushed a button on his phone and an older lady came in, leading six year old Hermione with her. Hermione's face was flushed under her darker skin, showing her mortification through her features. Tear tracks stained her face while her shirt and skirt were tattered, like she had been in a tussle. In her hands was a checkerboard covered book that she held tightly to her chest.

"Here she is, Headmaster. She was very upset at being summoned to the Headmaster's office."

"Come here, sweetie," a rich, melodious voice called to her from the seat. Hermione ran to her Mum and fell into her embrace. Tears flowed easily, leading to sniffles and an occasional sob.

"They took my book, Mummy!"

Mrs. Granger looked up from her extremely upset daughter on her lap. "Would you explain what happened, Headmaster?" Her accent slipped out, betraying that she was British but not English. Jean Granger looked like a more mature version of her daughter, with short bushy hair, prominent nose and cheekbones, and still showing the glow from her British West Indies childhood.

"Mrs. Gale was there on the playground and saw what happened. I'll let her explain it."

"Well, Hermione was sitting on the bench on the side of the playground, reading her book like she does during every break time. Some older lads thought picking on her would be a laugh and went to taunt her. She heard them speaking such silly things but for some reason, she didn't react like the other girls would. When they finished, demanding she say something, she started talking about what she was reading, why it was much more interesting than what they were saying and she'd like to get back to her reading.

"That went over as well as you'd expect from a playground bully. The lad doing the taunting, Eddie, slapped the book out of her hands and another one, William, ran off with it before throwing it over the fence.

"Miss Granger was rather upset with the loss of her book. I turned my head to tend to Zoey who had fallen and scraped her knee on the pavement. When I looked up, Hermione pushed Eddie down and he kicked her shin, making her fall. He jumped on top of her and screamed at her while hitting her.

"That's why her uniform is natty."

"I sent another student for Miss Peel and tended Zoey as quickly as possible. When I finished, I looked up and saw something off. Eddie had her pinned in the dirt and she shoved him. He fell backwards, like he had been yanked by his jumper and thrown across the school yard, by some ghost or another."

"Hermione sat up and looked at Eddie across the school yard and started screaming at him, demanding her book back. He took off running inside the school house for his teacher, Mr. Barley, I presume. I went to check on Hermione, since Miss Peel hadn't come out yet and Hermione was distraught. She wasn't upset that Eddie pummeled her, but that she lost the book her Mum purchased for her.

"When Miss Peel came out and found us, I went to look for the book. I found it in the weeks outside the fences and Hermione settled down once I returned it to her."

"Mr. Barley came out and insisted we come to his room to discuss the matter. Once in there, he said that Eddie told him that Hermione cursed him and that's why he got mad."

"Hermione, did you curse at Eddie?"

Hermione shook her head vehemently.

Dr. Granger looked at his cowering daughter. "You need to tell us, not shake your head, Hermione. You've been accused of cursing the little boy and that's why he got mad and hit you. Speak up, dear."

She turned and wouldn't look at anyone, only her dusty shoes. "I didn't curse Eddie. He called me a brownie and a golliwog, whatever that means. He was being mean to me and took my book away." She looked up towards the Headmaster's desk but refused to make any eye contact. "Eddie called me a freak and a feb. I ignored him, like Daddy taught me but he still hit me." She looked at her father. "I didn't curse that boy."

"Are you sure, Hermione?" the Headmaster looked bemused. "Eddie is a top pupil and would never react like such if he wasn't provoked. Are you sure you didn't call him a bad name?"

Hermione sat back in her Mum's lap. "Mummy, I didn't curse Eddie. He called me a freak and I told him he was rude and he should leave me alone. I didn't do it!" she ended in a shriek. She started crying and uttered a broken I'm not lying."

"So can you explain how you pushed him hard enough to land on the other side of the schoolyard? Mrs. Gale saw Eddie hitting you on the ground and then it looked like you shoved him so hard he landed ten feet away. Can you explain that?"

"I wanted him off of me. So I pushed him. I sat up and saw him running into the schoolhouse. I didn't know I pushed him that hard."

"But Hermione, that's extraordinary how far you pushed him. I don't know how you did it."

"I didn't do it, Mrs. Gale." She looked at her mum. "Maybe he tripped or something."

The Headmaster looked at Mrs. Gale and the doctors Granger. "Why don't we let Hermione stay home the rest of today and tomorrow so I can deal with Eddie's parents. I'm sure his father will be rather beastly because Eddie will say Hermione provoked him."

"And that's a load of rubbish!" Dr. Granger snarled. "My daughter isn't a liar."

"I know that, Dr. Granger. Mrs. Gale supports Hermione's story but I still have to deal with Mr. Pryce. If Eddie said that Hermione attacked him, I have to let him hear Mrs. Gale's story to know that Eddie isn't quite being truthful. He's a top marks pupil but if his father heard that Hermione cursed him, he'll believe Eddie and I'll have to disabuse him of such. He might not believe that Hermione was minding her business and Eddie started the entire sordid affair."

"It sounds like Mr. Pryce is a bad influence on his son." Dr. Granger looked at his wife and daughter. Hermione was still nestled in her Mum's lap, looking asleep except for her large brown eyes watching yet not looking directly at anyone. "And my Hermione wouldn't do that. She learned to read, and talk, almost at the same time she was walking. She knows better than to be mean to boys, especially at this age. I remember how cruel boys are and this is why we taught her to treat people the same, even if she's a little different. If my daughter said she didn't do it, then she didn't. But that other child should be disciplined for using slurs against my child. I won't sit aside and let the mindset of boys will be boys treat my daughter like rubbish. So I'd suggest you inform Mr. Pryce that his son should stay away from my daughter from now on. I'd hate to pull her from here and the school loses the pounds I'm paying for her education."

"We can't pick our parents, can we? So why don't you take Hermione home and we'll see her again on Monday. I know she's upset and I want to give her a couple of days to not have to deal with any playground antics. After I speak with Mr. Pryce I doubt this incident will happen again."

Dr. Jean Granger adjusted Hermione on her lap. "After this incident, can she stay inside, like in the library, so this situation isn't repeated? She loves to read and the librarian won't have a problem with her. Will you, Hermione?"

"No, mummy. I'll be very good and quiet."

Mrs. Granger gave the Headmaster a hard look. "Is that acceptable, Headmaster?" Her slight accent punctuated the title with considerable force.

"I think so. I'll write a note for Mrs. Peel that Hermione is excused from recess for the rest of this term. If there are more problems, I'll bring them to your attention straight away."

The Granger family stood up from their seats and went towards the door. The Headmaster escorted them to the front office. "You know, something boggles me. How did Hermione push him so hard he flew ten feet through the air? Was it about ten feet, Mrs. Gale?"

"It sure looked like that. He landed on the grass and looked stunned for a moment before getting up and running for the school building. I can't explain it."

Mrs. Granger held her daughter in her arms. "I can't either, headmaster. That is boggling." She looked at her husband. "But I'm sure the lad will say it was 15 meters by the time his father is here." She walked out with her daughter comfortably nestled in her arms.

The Headmaster returned to his seat, regarding the matron teacher sitting with him. "How long is it until the Pryces are here?"

"About twenty minutes, Headmaster."

He read over the reports from the incident while Mrs. Gale fetched tea. "How did she push him so far?" he asked when she returned.

"I don't rightly know, Headmaster," as she was making her own tea.