Hello!
In this chapter, you'll see more of Hermione in the family, and with Severus, so look forward to that. You may notice some changes to Hermione in the story, but that's just how I feel she would be different, having lived with the Evans'.
To answer a reviewer question (thank you for reviewing, if you did) -
DGfleetfox: Hermione, Lily and Severus will most likely be just friends.
Thanks again,
Lots of Love,
Emmy. x
If you asked Hermione what her favourite holiday was, the answer would definitely be Christmas. With logs on the fire and gifts by the tree, their little cottage had become the Santa's grotto of her village, and Christmas was always a family affair.
Her Mum would always have some festive treat on hand for any passing visitors, and her Dad thought it imperative for them to try a new wintery beverage every year: this year it was mint hot chocolate, something Hermione had taken a shine to.
The Christmas lights of the Evans home shone like beacons, guiding their close friends and family to the celebrations. It had taken two two days, thirty-three batteries and the help of all five residents to decorate the house – not that Mrs Evans helped much.
She had, however, taken the month leading up to Christmas, when the girls were off school and her husband was on leave, as an excuse to cook almost every recipe in her repertoire.
To begin, she and her girls had made five-dozen batches of triple chocolate fudge squares, which had taken an entire day to make. All three siblings had been sent to the bath before they went to bed that evening, where Petunia found remnants of fudge in the oddest of places.
The next day, they'd wrapped the sweet treats in festive plastic, which made them look almost professional. These were, of course, for the inhabitants of Halfpenny lane and consequently, Hermione, her sisters and her Mother had received more praise and greetings than ever before from neighbours in the following week.
The seasonal cookery continued pleasantly, and next up on the list was Lily's favourite desert, a gingerbread house. The pointed creation was smothered in icing, sweets and candy canes, and Mrs Evans had taught her daughters how to make evergreens using a candy cane, strawberry laces and some glaze, so the girls made a miniature forest for their house. The siblings then lovingly decorated a replica of their little village green for their local church raffle, where the locals cooed and complimented their creation. Hermione loved to see the jolly smiles on the parishioner's faces, and decided that giving was even better than receiving – which she liked a lot.
The next venture was a special request from their Grandma, Carol Evans, who'd needed a Christmas cake and a substantial amount of mince pies for the annual party she hosted – to which the family had been invited. The girls had thoroughly enjoyed learning to make pastry, something they'd never done before, and they all made it to the party in one piece.
Hermione's Dad finally managed to drag them away from their confectionary-crazed Mum when they went on a family trip to the nearest garden-centre in Taddington, where they picked the biggest tree they could find. When they got home, their Mum had made colourful stain-glass biscuits that they could hang from ribbon.
They sat on a tray, waiting for a branch to nestle on and the girls stared in awe of their mother's handiwork.
Hermione and Lily had met covertly in their bedroom the week before Christmas, emptied their piggybanks and counted their money. After realising that they didn't have that much, they headed down to the Saturday market, where they bought a little something for each of their family members.
By the time Christmas Eve came around, the atmosphere in the home was magical: the house permanently smelled like freshly baked cookies, tinsel had been hung on every available shelf and all the family had taken to wearing Christmas colours.
The five were all curled up on the sofa, sipping from mugs of mint hot chocolate and watching Miracle on 54th Street. Hermione was eager to get her presents in the morning, but just feeling content with her parents and siblings was probably the best gift she'd received that year.
At 10pm, the sleepy children were sent off to bed, and they slept soundly, their dreams filled with gifts and cheer. The next morning, they were not disappointed.
The children received their presents from their parents first: new clothes, board games, cassettes and stationary were all accepted excitedly. Petunia shyly passed her parents a small, decorated box, which contained hundreds of photographs she'd taken of the family, and the twins were given leather-bound journals.
Finally, after a long morning of ripping paper, it was the girls' turn to give. They gave their sister her present first; a gold-chained necklace with a red rose charm. She gushed over her new piece of jewellery, hugging both her sisters tightly. They then presented their parents with their gifts: for their Dad, a few records by his favourite singers, and for their Mum, a large book of baking.
The day passed slowly, with lots of crackers, turkey and laughter. Her Dad managed to set fire to his new jumper when he lit the Christmas pudding aan It was by far one of Hermione's best Christmases yet, but Hermione had one more surprise in store.
The twins clambered up the attic stairs after saying goodnight to their parents, hugging Nia and thanking everyone again for what they'd received.
Once they'd slipped into their pyjamas, Lily called her sister over to sit on her bed. They sat facing each other, Hermione just a tad smaller.
"Mione, do you remember that Snape boy from our last birthday?" she asked hesitantly, looking at her sister.
Hermione did, indeed, remember Severus Snape, but he was someone she constantly wished she could forget. He had desecrated her birthday, made her feel bewildered and perturbed, and single-handedly instigated the most horrendous fight she'd ever had with her sister.
'Why she's bringing up that wretched boy,' she grumbled to herself, before eyeing a still nervous-looking Lily.
"Yeah," she shrugged, looking away momentarily, "what about the him?"
"Well, you remember what you did, right?"
"Of course,"
"And you remember-"
"Just tell me!" she interrupted hastily, annoyed at her meaningless ramblings.
'She's normally so upfront…'
"I can do what he did, and what you did,"
"What?" she asked perplexed, looking at her frowning sister.
"I can do magic too."
The new year brought a new, unfamiliar atmosphere to number 37.
Petunia, who'd turned 14 by then, had swiftly transformed into a typical teen. Apathetic to everything but herself and her friends, she had distanced herself from her younger sisters' juvenile fun: swapping February afternoons at the park for gossip-filled shopping sessions in town and baking with her mother for long telephone conversations about boys and crushes. It seemed to Hermione that Petunia was ever-changing; her wardrobe swapped from preppy and pretty, to grungy and dark then straight on to neon and raves. She could barely keep up with her sister's mood swings, which were unbearable for everyone in the house. She sometimes wondered what had made her eldest sibling such a monstrosity, but never dared ask.
Lily and Hermione, to substitute for their sister's absence, had gotten even closer. Hermione still refused the notion that what they were doing was magic, but they practiced like crazy. She had also noticed some unconscious trickery, like when flowers would bloom wherever she sat, but she couldn't be what that boy was.
'Nia would never talk to me again,'
Hermione had thought of Severus Snape more than she ever thought she could. She tried to rationalise the day so many times, it was beginning to make her brain hurt. She scrutinised every moment in her mind, scraping at an empty barrel for explanations of what that boy had done. It was obvious he had a screw loose, but she didn't think he belonged in the loony-bin. If she was a 'wizard', she'd probably want to find some kids her own age that were the same - not that she and Lily were.
She remembered what he'd told them, of Hogwarts and letters, but the proof of the pudding's in the eating, and there was nothing on her plate.
She couldn't totally dismiss it, considering he'd told them Nia wasn't magical, and they hadn't turned eleven yet, but it was so, ludicrous, preposterous, comical even, that she just couldn't accept it. The idea that they were witches, things she'd read in fantasy and fiction novels, just flabbergasted her. To think up all of these facts, like the magical school and letters; he must have a vivid imagination if he could come up with this entire world of 'magic'.
Some days, she felt foolish for ever treating him badly; he only did what she'd done, and it wasn't his fault he knew more about it than she did. She'd start making a batch of her mother's famous chocolate orange biscuits and her mind would run wild with ideas of apologies.
She'd go to the Cokeworth estate - which was considered suicide if you didn't live there - and find out where he lived. She'd knock on every door and politely inquire about his whereabouts until she found him. Then, when he tried to escape, she'd grab him by his hand and offer him the freshly baked treat. Then, once he'd bitten into the taste sensation, he'd forgive her wholeheartedly and they'd become friends.
It was around about then in her little dream that she remembered she'd called him a freak and then run out of the park. Also, Petunia would never accept him as her friend; she thought he was round the bend.
Other days, when Hermione wasn't feeling quite so repentant, she'd scream his name to the heavens, cursing the day they ever met and blaming him for any problem she could think of.
The same idea of baking would arise, but because she was thinking with her cruel, revenge-seeking, sinister side, she'd poison the cookies easily.
She's march down to the Cokeworth estate and they'd all be too scared of provoking Hermione's wrath to speak to her. She'd bang on every scummy council house till she found his. Then when he tried to run away, she'd drag him back by his greasy hand and forced the food down his stupid little throat. Then, once he started choking on the essence of foxglove she'd 'lovingly' prepared, he'd beg for her forgiveness as he slipped into the eternal darkness, curtsey of Hermione Evans.
It was around about then that she'd realise she was strangling an object and force herself to calm down.
On the 3rd April, everything changed.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hermione was roused from her peaceful slumber by blood-curdling screech she could hear from the top of the house. Her eyes snapped open, automatically searching for the source of the war cry. Once she'd realised it hadn't come from her own room, she jumped out of bed and raced down the stairs. She almost slipped when her foot got caught in her pyjamas, but she righted herself hastily and kept on her chase. The screaming had stopped by then, but she could hear the commotion in her kitchen before she got to the hall.
The room was in complete chaos; her Mum was screaming furiously at the top her lungs for her Dad to do get rid of something Hermione couldn't see.
"Get it out, Christopher! Get it out of my kitchen! It's vermin! VERMIN IN MY KITCHEN!"
Her Dad, in what Hermione decided was an active reply to her mother's caterwauling, was bellowing at the window from the top of his lungs.
"Scram, you filthy beast, we don't want you here!" he barked, poking the broom out the window.
Lily, meanwhile was screaming in what Hermione quickly identified as pure despair. She was begging and pleading her Dad in an incomprehensible language, barely spewing her words out in between dry sobs and hiccups: it seemed she'd been crying for quite a while, which unnerved her, because her sister never cried.
"Please... do't... huuur'... ti'!" she wailed pathetically, clutching the counter in an effort to stay standing up.
However Petunia, who Hermione eyed with growing irritation, was clutching her stomach, bent over and releasing peals of laughter. She seemed to be the only one to notice Hermione enter the kitchen, and gasped, trying to stop, but when she failed she begun cackling again.
"You really can sleep through anything!" she squealed, as she turned away from the commotion to face her youngest sister.
"Mum's been like this for twenty minutes, all 'cause of some ruddy bird!" she chortled, reminding Hermione of a snotty boy in her class.
'Bird?'
Hermione turned to face her sister, her temper flaring as she tactlessly smirked whilst she watched , having calmed herself.
"Nia, what's going on? What bird?"
"Duh, the big owl that flew through the window! Mum's terrified, but it's not going anywhere."
"And why is Lils crying?"
"She's been blubbering about keeping it safe or whatever, but Dad's gone barmy! Hasn't let go of the broom since he got downstairs!" she snorted, pointing at her Dad, who was still poking the stick through the window.
"He's mental..." she whispered, staring in shock and awe at the pandemonium her birthday had become.
'My birthday. I'm eleven."
She started to pace as memories flashed in her mind, hinting at the answer that she couldn't quite grasp. Suddenly...
"The letters!"
She raced to her Dad, ignoring the bewildered look she was receiving from Nia, and pulled sharply at his jumper, shocking him out of his attack toward the poor creature. He dropped the broom with an almighty clang. This brought everyone's attention to the bird and Hermione.
She could faintly hear her mother howling punishments at her.
"IF YOU DARE TOUCH THAT BLEEDING BIRD HERMIONE EVANS YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR A MONTH!"
Petunia, it seemed, had become very serious and was hurling insults at her sister to get her to back off.
"Your a frigging basket case, you know, you'll get killed! What am I gonna tell my friends, that you were mauled by a barn owl?"
It was perhaps when her Dad grabbed her own pyjamas, that Hermione slightly lost the plot. She swiftly manoeuvred from his grasp and turned to face them.
"Look, I just need to check something, and you're not going to change my mind by banging on about my funeral like I'm already dead!"
But it was definitely when she saw those rolls of paper clasped in the birds talons that she knew she'd unhinged the stark raving mad she'd always thought ran through Petunia's veins entered her own.
"I knew it!" she yelled, turning to her Mum and sister, who kept crying their rage, "stop shouting, you'll scare it!"
She turned to Lily and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to where she was stood. Her sister had stopped crying, and was now looking at the irked creature with love.
"It has letters, Lils, like Snape said."
"Letters?"
"Letters."
They both spun to face each other, leaving the bird - who was ruffling his chocolate feathers, obviously disgruntled. She searched Lily's eyes, taking in the concern and excitement in her jade orbs and Hermione found that, like most of the time, she just knew what her twin wanted to do.
She slowly approached the owl, and Lily went over to the cupboard. She grabbed a shallow bowl and filled it halfway, glancing over her shoulder while Hermione untied the letters from the owl's legs. There were two, each with the same address, but they had different names. Hermione watched, still gripping the papers tightly, as her sister gently placed the bowl of water in front of it.
She passed Lily her letter, and shakily breaking the blood-red wax seal of the envelope and slowly pulled out two heavy pieces of paper.
When she unfolded them, the paper seemed wrinkled and yellow, but she ignored this and started reading.
Hermione Evans,
37 Halfpenny Lane,
Preston,
Lancashire,
PR3 2OL
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster Albus
(Order of Merlin - First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear Miss Hermione Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Uniform
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes in black
2. One plain pointed hat in black, for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves in dragon hide or similar
4. One winter cloak in black, with silver fastenings
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags and we shall not be responsible for any missing items of clothing.
Course Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Tremble
Other Equipment
1 wand,
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl, a cat or a toad.
Parents are also reminded first year students are not allowed their own broomstick, however they will be provided when necessary.
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
"Girls, what's going on?" her Dad demanded, standing boldly in front of them with a strict face. He had moved away from Hermione's Mum, who was no longer shaking now that the owl had gone and had sat down.
Petunia had also stopped screeching and was slumped in the chair next to her mother, looking forlornly at the window where the source of her entertainment had just left.
"I'm going to Hogwarts." she whispered in awe, her hands almost quivering with shock.
"No," Lily said, grabbing onto her sister's hand and squeezing tight, "we're going to Hogwarts. Together."
They both beamed at their parents and shoved the letters their faces. Holly took Lily's as Chris snatched Hermione's. A whirlwind of ideas and questions flooded her mind and fluttered around, surfacing one after the other only to sink back down again.
'I'm magic! Wait, I'm magic? I'm going to Hogwarts... What will it look like? Will it be modern, old, run-down? Will it be hard? Will there be loads of people? Oh god, what if there's heaps of them and they try to kill me! No, they won't, will they? Will Snape be there, he said he'd get a letter? When will we see Petunia?'
At that thought she paused, looking up at her elder sister. It seemed she hadn't noticed Hermione's gaze, and by the look on her face, she wouldn't want her to.
Petunia was glowering, her arms were crossed sharply as she scrutinised Lily and her parents. With one last contempt-full glance at a frowning Hermione, she swept furiously out of the room like a turbulent hurricane.
Her parents, who were gushing over her sister, hadn't noticed Petunia's departure, and that irked her.
"You're so special, Honey, you and your sister!" her Mum grinned, enveloping Lily in a warm hug.
"We always knew you were. Congratulations, dears!" her Dad chuckled, patting Hermione in his laddish affection.
They both sounded so proud of the twins, like they'd known all this time, but she knew they couldn't of.
'She thinks she's not special..." she realised as her mother embraced her excitedly.
"I'm going to see Nia, okay?" she asked quietly, slipping away with a nod from her Dad.
Petunia's room was like an alternate universe to Hermione.
There were loud posters covering her back wall, hiding almost all of the gaudy, pink, neon paint. Her covers were zebra striped and flashy and more stuff than Hermione thought she owned had been thrown onto the floor. Almost every surface was covered in clutter, but she still seemed so neat, lying on her stomach and writing in her journal.
"Nia?" she said consolingly. It was, apparently, the wrong thing to do, she realised, as Petunia's face became sharp and angry.
"What now, Mia! Come to tell me how great you are again?" she cheered sarcastically, shutting her journal a bit too forcefully and manoeuvring to sit back against her headboard, her body ram-rod straight.
"No, I just, wanted to make sure you're okay," she sighed, coming to sit on the bed by her sister, "I know you think it's all tosh, but you saw what he did, and what I did. Lily can do it as well, she's shown me, it's no-"
"Wait, Lily knew?"
"Yeah, we've both been practicing it a lot an-"
"You've been practicing? Practicing!? You could of killed us all!"
"No, it was harmless, we just made flowers and some other stuff. We know what we're doing!" she replied indignantly, getting a tad angry herself.
"You don't know what you're doing! God, I was right when I said it the first time; you, Lily, that pleb, you are freaks! Yeah, that's right, you're not special at all, Miss hoity toity. You're common as muck and you can just bugger off!"
"Ni-"
"I don't want you here, get it? I don't want you or your freaking twin to speak to me, touch me, approach me or even look in my direction!"
Hermione, who was so angry she could barely hold it in, slammed the door so violently, she was worried it would fall of it's hinges. She was still breathing heavily as she left the room, and she felt almost ill with rage as she fumed.
Crunching her hands into fists to control her outrage, she headed to her bedroom.
She'd considered just storming out of the house, but she was still wearing her pyjamas, and, as fashionable as they were, she didn't think it'd do to be walking around in a nightdress she'd slept.
Anger still raged through her, but she refused to lash out, shutting the door carefully, waiting to hear the click of the handle before she turned to dress.
'She's just jealous, it's not personal,' she chanted, as she picked out something.
Her temper had receded somewhat, but she was still volatile. The only things that spurred her serenity were Lily's reaction and thought of her last birthday. It she stayed calm, her sister would probably do the same, but if she exhibited her ire, she would become protective and start a fight. She didn't want to ruin her birthday again; they deserved a nice birthday.
Once she was dressed, she walked back to the kitchen. She slipped quietly past Petunia's room, not even glancing at the wooden door, instead choosing to finger the buttons of her pearly cream cardigan.
Her family - she could tell they had heard - were waiting anxiously for the inescapable anger that was sure to come, but it never did.
"Mum," she started in a strained voice, "Lils and I are going to the park, okay? We'll be home for lunch."
"That's fine, Sweet. I love you," her Mum said, kissing the top of her head.
"Love you too."
"Take your brownies, girls, you can have a little picnic and we'll open presents when you get back," her Dad added, passing Lily a large plastic tub full of warm brownies that were steaming up the container.
The two walked the familiar route to the park, waving to Mrs Jennings as they passed. They strolled leisurely through the playground, heading across the field to the river. They settled under a oak that overlooked the small river, the gentle rush of water flowing matching the hum of comfortable silence.
They just sat, Hermione's floral yellow dress matching the spring daffodils that had bloomed all around. She smiled at her sister, who was eating a brownie gradually, and turned onto her back and looked up at the tree. Watching the singing birds perch on the branches above her, she whistled to their tune as they celebrated the coming of new things.
"I didn't know she was upset," Lily sighed, startling her out of her stupor, apparently ready to assess the damage Petunia had done.
"I did. That's why I went to check on her."
"We haven't done anything!" she groaned frustrated and swung her head back onto the trunk of the oak with a resounding thump that broke the air of calm.
"No, but we have something she doesn't." Hermione pointed out, looking around at the trees.
"I don't get why she's jealous of us, she's great at history!" Lily growled softly.
"History is not the same as magic, Lils," she shrugged, grabbing a brownie from the box and chewing mildly.
"So you are witches!" a voice called from behind, making both girls shoot up from their relaxed positions, their heads moving quickly as they tried to locate the source of the voice. Hermione had an idea of who it was, and it was easily confirmed when Severus Snape shuffled shakily from behind a tree.
'Is the boy only ever in trees?' she mused mirthfully as he scuttled toward them.
It seemed he had grown somewhat over the year, making his already lanky figure somehow more gangly and twiggy. His oblong face had thinned a little, revealing sharp, angular cheekbones and a square chin. His dark umber eyes were sunken, and deep bags filled the gap to his high cheekbones. His low eyebrows gave him a foreboding air, and his long nose hooked over the thin lips of his narrow mouth. His pale features were only half visible, though, due to the greasy mop of pale, unkempt hair. His raven locks made is slender neck even more elongated, but they still refused to hide a large silvery scar running down it.
He was slouched with uncertainty, most probably remembering the last time they had met. She also noticed that his clothing had improved somewhat; though they were still too wide, they seemed the right length for him now, and he wasn't wearing those god-awful rust-coloured, corduroy trousers. He was clad in all black, despite the shining sun and high temperature of mid-spring.
Hermione, having realised that the boy had done nothing some time ago, smiled lazily at him and patted a patch of flattened grass in what she hoped was an inviting gesture.
"Hello Severus," she laughed, bizarrely amused, not threatened, by his strange behaviour.
"You are witches then? You got your letters?" he demanded impatiently, a courageous act for someone so introverted.
"Yeah, we did. We're going to Hogwarts!" Lily squealed, waving her hand frantically before grabbing a brownie and chomping heartily.
Hermione sat up, and peered over to a still-standing Severus, who looked hungrily at the box. She picked up the box and shook it at him, silently offering to share. He snatched one from the top of the pile, sat down where Hermione had gestured, and begun munching on the sweet treat.
"Did you get a letter?" she asked the sallow boy curiously, who sped up his chewing and swallowed dramatically.
"Yeah, my birthday's the 9th January, so I've already got mine." he answered, before biting into the brownie again.
"I wonder where we'll get all that stuff. I mean, it's not like they sell it all at co-op, is it."
"Yeah, I doubt they have used wands and cauldrons in the charity shop," she added, laughing at the thought of the elderly shop assistant cashing in with little twigs.
"They have shops and all that in the wizarding world. My Mum's taking me to Diagon alley in the summer holidays to get my stuff."
"Diagonally, what on earth does that mean?"
"No, Diagon Alley, a wizarding street in london. Mum says it's really cool, but I've never been allowed to go."
"Why not?"
"I don't know."
After that, all three lulled into a gentle hum of nature and quiet, their minds traveling in all different directions.
"How will we get there?" she asked Severus, looking over to him perplexed.
"Where?"
"Diagonally?"
"It's Diagon Ally, and I don't know."
"Well that's no good, we don't know where the school is, where to get our supplies, we know nothing about magic and we don't have an owl!" she exclaimed, utterly bewildered at the thoughtless mistakes the school had made.
"Why would you need an owl?"
"We have to owl in conformation that we'll be going in September, but we can't cause we don't have a magical owl and Mum's scared of birds," Lily answered for her, smiling shyly over at Severus.
"Well, I'm sure I could ask my Mum if she could take you all with us, when we go I mean," he suggested shyly, obviously excited at the prospect of getting to know the girls better.
"That would be great!" Lily beamed, happy to have met this kind, if not a tad shabby, boy. She checked her watch and yelped as she saw the time - it was almost 1pm.
"Mione, we have to get back for lunch!" she said frantically, pulling herself up to stand by the tree.
Hermione graciously stood, looking down at a nervous and disappointed Severus, who was obviously upset about the girls departure.
'He must get really lonely' Hermione thought sadly, studying the boy.
"Hey Sev, do you want to come for dinner at ours? It's Mum's special birthday meal," Hermione offered kindly, hoping to speak to the boy some more.
"I'd love that!"
Oh My God!
Was it awful, terrible, great or a load of drivel! Tell me please; I can take it! Probably...
Thanks again for reading and please review,
Lots of Love,
Emmy. x
