Hermione the Intelligent
Hermione Granger had always been a smart girl.
She was always at the top of her class, leagues ahead of anyone else.
She wasn't a genius, or even a prodigy.
Hermione simply coupled natural intelligence with a single-mindedness of working hard that bordered on obsession.
She simply had to be the best- nothing else was acceptable.
Both of her parents were smart, and valued intelligence, but neither was as clever as their little girl seemed to be.
They were proud of course, enormously proud.
And little Hermione, fueled by the look of admiration in her parents' eyes, worked even harder.
Being so upfront about her love of her studies led young Hermione to a life loneliness, and a partially stunted social life.
So as she grew up, books became Hermione's best friends.
They would never turn on her, would always be there, would always understand her.
But despite this, Hermione was acutely aware of what she was missing.
So she vowed that when she got to middle school, she'd have a fresh start.
Hermione wanted a way to compromise her love of learning, and her yearning for companionship.
But before she got to middle school, Hermione was invited to Hogwarts, and there she planned to make friends.
When she learned that there were houses, and one's personality decided where you were supposed to go, Hermione freaked out.
Two stood out in her mind; Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.
The first was a house of the clever, and the second of bravery and courage.
The first seemed to fit her personality, but by this time, Hermione was incredibly lonely, and would do almost anything for friendship, or even simple kindness from her peers.
(She didn't think going into Ravenclaw would help her).
She convinced herself that Gryffindor was the best house.
And indeed, the history books seemed to agree with her- the favorites were always from Gryffindor.
And how had she gotten to the intellectual level she was at?
Books had never led her astray before.
Here was her chance to make friends, and she might blow it by going into the nerdy house.
So Hermione tried to act like a Gryffindor, and think like a Gryffindor, and when she met the hat, a steady stream of Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor was running through her mind.
So despite seeing the intelligence in her mind, and arguing strongly for Ravenclaw, the sorting hat had only had one option as the girl stayed steadfast in her beliefs.
So the hat shouted out, and Hermione ran to her new house, and was politely greeted by her housemates.
She beamed at them, glad that finally, she had made the right choice.
But as that first night at Hogwarts turned into weeks, she began to doubt her choice.
She hadn't realized how totally unmotivated some of her housemates were.
And when she tried to help them, they were downright rude.
It was a slow realization, but a crushing one for the child.
Hermione was horrified; she had made a choice that would impact the next seven years of her life, and she had chosen wrong.
The people here...
They were not at all why she had expected.
She had thought she would be accepted if she got into the right house, but the people there were brash, and foolhardy, and didn't care about their studies at all!
They were rude and mean, and refused to accept her.
Heartbroken, Hermione sobbed into her pillow, wondering why children could be so cruel.
But soon enough, she wiped her tears away, fury replacing sadness.
Wanted her to be unintelligent like the rest, did they?
Well, she'd prove them wrong.
She'd be smart, and wise, and intelligent, and better.
They call her a nerd?
She'll show them- she'll be the most powerful witch of her generation.
They'd laugh at her now, but they'd see...
They'd see.
A smile quirked upwards on Hermione's face.
It all seemed wonderfully hilarious now, their rejection of knowledge.
Fine!
Let them be silly, let them be foolish, let them be stupid!
She was smarter, and that was all she needed.
Confident in her knowledge, little Hermione Granger rolled over and fell asleep with a faint smile on her face, her loneliness forgotten in the wake of such glorious plans.
Author's Note: This is my first time writing Harry Potter fanfiction. I just started it while I was trying to think of ideas for my current WIP. This'll be a pretty short story, because the chapters aren't relegated for a specific length like my other stories.