Her Plane Leaves
It was Sunday evening and once again Hermione sat gazing out the window. The heat wave had broken and a pleasant breeze drifted through. She sat savoring the smell of late summer and watched a lady make her way up the street. So lost in her reverie of the fine quality of the day, it took a moment for Hermione to realize the lady was dressed rather odd. What, at first glance resembled a somber dress was actually a long billowing set of robes. The woman appeared to be somewhat elderly but still had traces of black in her hair which was drawn up in a tight bun…beneath the pointy hat of a fairy tail witch.
The woman walked briskly as Hermione watched on. She seemed to have purpose in her direction, which was made clear when she took a sharp turn and began travelling up the driveway to the Granger household. The lady looked upward and met Hermione's eyes with her own bespectacled gaze, smiled ever so slightly, and nodded. Now, Hermione could see what looked like an envelope clutched under the lady's arm.
"There must be some kind of promotion going on….and end of Summer fair perhaps?" thought Hermione.
Wanting to hear what was going on, Hermione left her bedroom and stepped onto the landing above the stairs where she could hear. She had yet to decipher the garbled voices when they stopped and paused
"Hermione, come down for a second please."
Her father's voice breaking the silence so suddenly caused her to jump. However, she descended the stairs to the empty greeting hall and toward the living room. Her parents sat on the couch across the oddly dressed woman, wearing looks of concern.
"Miss Granger, will you have a seat next to your parents?"
It was the lady who spoke. Hermione stood dumbly for a second (very uncharacteristic of herself) before she realized that she was the 'Miss Granger' being referred to. Joining her parents on the couch, she gave her attention to the stranger.
"There is never an easy way to break this to muggles so I'll just go ahead and say it: Hermione Granger, you're a witch." there was a pause to allow this to sink in. "You have been so since you were born. And now that you're eleven years old it is time for you to begin your magical education."
The lady stopped and handed a reluctant Hermione the envelope that she had been carrying. Slowly, not wanting to take her eyes off the formidable presence of the lady, she opened and read for everyone in the room.
"…we look forward to your attendance. Signed Professor Albus Dumbledore and Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall".
"That would be me by the way."
"A witch?...I dunno what you're doing and why but I think you need to leave right now." began Mrs. Granger before her husband placed a silencing arm on her knee.
"The fastest way to convince you of your daughter's witch hood would be a demonstration."
And before anything else could be said, McGonagall was replaced by a cat. Looks of shock and awe graced Mr. and Mrs. Granger's faces as they leaned away from the cat as much as the couch would allow. Hermione was as much in awe but lacked the fear her parents seemed stricken with. Just as suddenly as the transformation occurred, McGonagall returned to human form.
Hermione needed no more evidence. She had always known her destiny would lay elsewhere from the insufferably mundane lives most people were sentenced with. Despite her huge intellect, everywhere she looked she saw nothing that appealed to her as far as a life choice was concerned. Though she had a healthy amount of fear and apprehension of what training to be a witch would lead to, she was ready to embrace this life whole heartedly.
"Right then." said McGonagall curtly. "The other sheets of parchment contain a list of books and school supplies Ms. Granger will be needing for the coming year at Hogwarts. I understand that you do not yet have an owl so I will be leaving a school owl here in order for you to send me any further inquiries and questions."
On cue, a large russet owl swooped into the open window and perched on the arm of the couch, causing Mr. Granger to knock over his untouched cup of tea. Without a word, McGonagall withdrew her wand from her robes and with a simple wave vanished the spill. At long last, Hermione's parents found their voices.
"Look. I don't know who or what you are. Obviously you have some…unusual abilities but you're telling us to send our daughter away to a place we've only just heard about! We aren't comfortable with that…" Mrs. Granger delved head on with questions, concerns and inquiries. The conversation was punctuated with gasps of disbelieve and wonder here and there. Hermione was irritated at her parents' frequent inquiries about safety. Something incredible walks through the door and that's all they could think about!? Nonetheless she sat and listened for the three hours it took for her parent's to have questions answered and for a level of trust to be established.
"Well…it kind of makes sense." began Mr. Granger. "From the time she was small odd stuff would happen. Her toys would appear on the roof, her hair would return to it's unmanageable bushiness no sooner had it been done and…"
"That's all the proof I need Mr. Granger." said McGonagall with a smile.
At long last, the old witch stood and stretched. She said goodbye to the Grangers and disappeared into thin air with a pop! Recovering from this final surprise, Mrs. Granger turned to Hermione.
"Well, how do you feel about all this, pumpkin?"
For once, Hermione was not irritated with the question.
"I'm excited mommy!" she exclaimed
And she honestly was. Term for this "Hogwarts" started two weeks later than muggle school and in the interim they'd be going to this 'Diagon Alley' place to collect her supplies. All in all, it was the best day of Hermione Granger's life so far.
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