CHAPTER FOUR
Summary: Hermione has recently found out that she is a witch and is off to attend her first year at the prestigious Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Wizarding World. There she meets a strange family of red heads, the famous chosen one - Harry Potter, a tight nit group of pranksters and Quidditch players that don't feel quite complete, along with meddling professors and ghosts. What will happen when long kept secrets are finally revealed? Will the new bonds of friendship and love that develop at Hogwarts create the saviours that are needed?
Disclaimer: All canon/original characters, plot line and rights belong to the author J.K. Rowling. Non-canon events and characters belong to me. I am not making a profit from posting this story. Some of the characters may be OOC and the plot is a mixture of both canon and non-canon with some of the main events from Rowling happening differently to canon.
Updated: 19/09/18
Page count: 9
Granger Residence – Wednesday 21st August 1991: 09:00
Hermione woke at seven am on the day of the visit to Diagon Alley. 'Today is my first real glimpse of the Wizarding World. I wonder what it's going to be like; extraordinary, amazing, phenomenal, probably', she thought with a silly grin. She was in such a good mood that nothing could ground her.
Jumping out of bed and running to the shower, she quickly got washed and dry. Returning to her room she dressed in a comfortable pair of blue jeans, a white jumper and white trainers. After drying her hair she for went tackling the bushy mess into submission and put it into a not so tame pony tail.
High tailing it down the stairs and to the kitchen table she was bouncing in her seat with excitement. Her parents greeted her and breakfast was placed on the table. Hermione began to eat her bowl of porridge whilst sprinkling blueberries, strawberries and sugar over the top of it.
Talk was on the topic of muggle news until her parents decided to throw her a bone and asked her about the trip to Diagon Alley.
Hermione began rapidly firing answers while she buzzed with enthusiasm and her parents watched on in amusement. After breakfast The Grangers went to the living room and waited for Professor McGonagall to arrive. Hermione's parents usually would have left for work by now but they decided they wanted to see her off before going to the dental office. They chatted until nine am rolled around and right on time the doorbell rang.
Jean stood to answer the door as Hermione was too busy shaking with anticipation.
"How is she?" Professor McGonagall asked Jean whilst walking through the door into their home.
"Why don't you see for yourself, Minerva," Jean replied with a laugh.
Together they walked into the living room and the sight that presented itself was rather amusing, McGonagall had never seen a student with a wider grin than the one Hermione was supporting. 'She doesn't have a clue,' McGonagall thought and she smiled to herself.
"Hello, Miss. Granger, and how are you this morning?"
"I am brilliant, Professor."
"Are you ready to get going?"
"Yes, I'll just grab my coat," she said, all but sprinting from the room. The Grangers and McGonagall shared a chuckle.
Hermione and Professor McGonagall took their leave out of the front door after exchanging their goodbyes with The Grangers. Outside there was a taxi waiting, they climbed in and Professor McGonagall gave the address. Half way through the journey McGonagall asked Hermione if she had her supply list with her which Hermione confirmed, pulling it out of her coat pocket and handing it to the professor. Hermione's rambling continued until the car pulled up on to Charing Cross Road.
"I'm thrilled to finally have the chance to see Diagon Alley," Hermione commented.
"So I see," the Professor replied with a smirk pulling at her mouth.
Hermione blushed straight to her roots in embarrassment. "Sorry."
"Don't be, My Dear, it's rather amusing," she replied and Hermione smiled, albeit embarrassingly.
They paid the driver and Hermione followed the professor into a pub called The Leaky Cauldron. 'Fitting,' Hermione thought to herself. Professor McGonagall made pleasantries to the owner, Tom, whilst making her way to the back of the pub and out of the door, stopping in front of a brick wall.
McGonagall pulled out her wand from her tweed outfit and transfigured it back into her witch's robes. Hermione just stared as the wand was tapped against the wall in a sequence, almost like a pass code, she noted, gaping as the bricks began to move and part allowing a doorway to be formed.
~000~000~000~
Diagon Alley – 09:35
Professor McGonagall pushed Hermione forward making sure she was by her side, she couldn't be losing a student, now could she? Hermione gasped and almost choked on her breath. The sight was incredible; people were walking in and out of shops and going about their own business. Children and teenagers were running around, laughing and stood in front of shops with their faces pressed up against the windows looking at the products.
She couldn't blame them; she would probably be doing the same if Professor McGonagall was looking away from her. Diagon Alley was bright with colours and laughter could be heard amongst the crowd, the window displays were even moving. Hermione couldn't believe it all felt normal, like this wasn't the first time she had been exposed to magic. It felt right!
Hermione's attention was distracted by everything and anything that she wasn't watching where she was heading as she was too busy looking and gawking like an idiot. Luckily for her Professor McGonagall was steering her in the direction of Gringotts.
When Hermione looked up she saw a building in the centre of Diagon Alley, it was the biggest by far and looked old. On the front of the building it read 'Gringotts Wizarding Bank.'
"What are we doing here, Professor?"
"We have to get your muggle money transferred into wizarding currency," replied the Professor.
"Wizarding currency?" asked Hermione with a slight frown of confusion.
"Yes, My Dear, English muggle currency consists of pounds and pence, whereas wizarding currency is galleons, sickles and knuts. There are seventeen sickles in one galleon and twenty-nine knuts in a sickle," she said. "Are you with me so far?"
"Yes, I believe so," replied Hermione.
"One galleon is equivalent to four pounds and ninety-three pence, almost five muggle pounds. One sickle is equivalent to twenty-nine pence and one knut is equivalent to one pence."
"Seems easy enough, Professor," Hermione said and McGonagall smiled at her.
They walked up to the front of a desk and stopped. Hermione noticed that the bank teller wasn't human. She did her best to keep her face passive as to not seem rude. First impressions always mattered, she remembered that her Mother always used to say that to her.
McGonagall took the muggle currency from Hermione and handed it to the bank teller goblin. After the money was counted out, she was given a money pouch containing twenty-four galleons, fifteen sickles and three knuts.
"Thank you," Hermione and Professor said together.
They walked out of the building with McGonagall steering Hermione towards a shop.
"What are we shopping for first, Professor?"
"The most important thing that every witch and wizard needs in the Wizarding World."
"And what's that?" the Professor smiled at her.
"A wand," she answered, stopping outside a shop called Ollivander's.
The sign had gold peeling lettering that read 'Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' Upon entering the shop Hermione looked about. In the corner near the door there was a small counter with a spindly chair behind it. There were rows upon rows of stacked boxes that were covered in a thin layer of dust. The wands Hermione presumed.
An old man with grey hair and wearing black wizard's robes came out of the back room at the sound of the bell above the door.
"Good morning, Minerva," the old man said pleasantly.
"Good morning, Ollivander, we would to purchase get Miss. Granger her first wand."
Ollivander looked at Hermione and held his hand out for her to shake.
"Hello there, I'm Ollivander, let's get you your wand then, shall we?" He said whilst shaking her hand.
"Hello, I'm Hermione. Thank you for helping."
"It's no problem My Dear, it's my job," with that said Ollivander walked towards the rows upon rows of boxes, muttering to himself and frequently looking between Hermione and the boxes.
"No, not this one…That's not right, maybe this one…Then again, maybe not..."
Hermione couldn't help but smile to herself at hearing him.
"I think this one will do nicely," he finally decided, pulling the box out of the pile and placing it on the counter. He opened the box and took out a wand handing it to Hermione who took it in anxious hands. As soon as she held it her whole body began to tingle, the wand fit perfectly into her hand.
"Well, give it a wave."
Hermione waved her wand and it began to glow and fireworks shot out of the tip, causing several smiles in the room. Ollivander took the wand from her and placed it back into the box and wrapped it up for her.
"That will be one galleon, eleven sickles and six knuts."
Hermione got the correct amount out of her pouch with McGonagall watching over her shoulder to ensure she handed the right amount of coins over. They said their goodbyes and left the shop.
"Where are we visiting next, Professor?"
"How about we get your uniform, then your school supplies, we can go to the Magical Menagerie and then get your books?"
"Okay," Hermione agreed.
Their next stop was Madam Malkin's. Hermione was ushered onto a raised podium where tape measures were charmed to take her measurements magically. Hermione smiled and laughed. She paid for her uniform purchases of three plain black robes, three white shirts, three black/grey skirts, two pairs of comfortable black shoes, five pairs of black/grey socks, one pair of dragon hide protective gloves, one black pointed hat and three ties. Without a backward glance at her Professor - she was really getting the hang of wizarding currency.
They then visited Potage's Cauldron shop for one standard size two pewter cauldron, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary for one set of glass vials, one set of brass scales and a list of required potion ingredients which the shop clerk already had made into batches.
'They must be expecting the school supply runs,' Hermione thought to herself.
Next came Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment for one telescope and they went to Scirbbulus Writing Instruments for parchment, quills and ink pots.
After paying for her supplies they made their way towards the Magical Menagerie to find a familiar for the young witch. They spent twenty minutes looking around and Hermione left the shop without a familiar. This affected Hermione's mood until Professor McGonagall assured her that she could look for a familiar the next year, as every young witch and wizard had one but they may not find the one they feel an attachment or a connection to their first year. Some may not find their familiar until after they graduated Hogwarts.
"Now, Miss. Granger lets go get you your books," Professor McGonagall said.
Hermione's spirited was instantly lifted at the mention of books. They walked into Flourish & Blotts and Hermione felt overwhelmed. Bookcases filled the majority of the room. There was a small reading area at the back of the room with comfortable looking chairs and cushions and a small empty space where the front counter was placed. There had to be a few thousands books in the shop. Hermione decided she could die happily surrounded by the smell of leather and ink. Professor McGonagall had to practically restrain her from stampeding around the shop.
First Hermione and the Professor picked up the books on the supply list - The Standard Book of Spells Grade one 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 and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble.
McGonagall gave her wand a flick and the books already collected by the two stacked themselves and floated in mid-air following behind them. Hermione was left to explore the rest of the book shop until she paid for her items. As promised Professor McGonagall placed a copy of Hogwarts: A History onto the counter. Hermione smiled her thanks to both the shop clerk and Professor McGonagall.
There was one last thing to do; purchase a trunk. When one was obtained with her initials engraved on the front, Professor McGonagall took all the items that had been recently procured and placed them into the trunk. The trunk didn't require any charms to be placed on it to fit all the purchases in as they were already built in. How else would students survive four months with only one trunk of clothing and other personal items? The professor then shrunk the trunk to fit into Hermione's pockets. She gasped and smiled.
Professor McGonagall and Hermione walked around the rest of Diagon Alley allowing her to take it all in.
'This is my world now. This is where I belong, where I've always belonged,' she thought gleefully.
It was now around one pm and Hermione's stomach began growling, Professor McGonagall's face was filled with amusement whilst Hermione's flushed with embarrassment.
"Miss. Granger, would you like to get lunch as we've finished shopping for your school supplies?"
"If you wouldn't mind, Professor," she spoke and McGonagall nodded her head in confirmation.
They made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and ordered their food of chicken soup and pumpkin juice and took a seat at a table at the back of the room. Lunch arrived and they both tucked into their meals. Hermione continuously asked questions regarding Hogwarts, classes and its professors and McGonagall happily supplied the answers.
Halfway through the meal the fireplace roared to life with green flames and one by one out stepped a family of redheads. There was an elder witch and wizard who were obviously the parents of the four boys and the young girl.
'They must be Hogwarts students shopping for their school supplies,' Hermione thought. Professor McGonagall noticed that Hermione had startled and looked up to see the cause.
"It's called flooing, with the use of floo powder witches and wizards are able to move themselves from one place to another as long as there is a fireplace connected to the floo network where their destination is."
"How does it work?"
"You take a handful of floo powder and step into the fireplace and you say the name of your destination, dropping the floo powder into the grate. It's also a way of contacting someone as you can make floo calls. It works the same as floor travel only you don't step into the fireplace and you're not leaving your current location."
"So it's a form of transportation and video calling for witches and wizards?"
"Yes."
"Are there any more forms of transport and travel?"
"There are a few more, yes. There's flying on a broom, port keying and apparition."
"And what are those?"
"Travelling by port key is similar to what the muggles call teleportation, only in the Wizarding World we use magic instead of science and we were able to accomplish it. And apparition gives the witch or wizard the ability to move themselves from location to location as long as there are no Anti-apparition wards in place. It is a learned skill that requires concentration as to not splinch yourself and others through side-along apparition."
"Splinching and side-along?"
"Splinching is a dangerous and fairly common risk when apparating. When you apparate you are effectively breaking your body into thousands and thousands of particles, like grains of sand. When you arrive at your destination, if you did not concentrate correctly some parts of the body may be separated. It can cause cuts and other injuries if you don't land correctly or if you land in a small or crowded place. It's not a good idea to apparate whilst gravely injured, impaired in any way or after consuming alcohol. Side-along apparition is taking someone with you when you apparate, whether they have the ability themselves or not."
"Will I learn how to do these at Hogwarts?"
"Yes, My Dear, you will. You will learn how to fly this year with a flying instructor along with the other first years. The reason we didn't purchase you a broom is first years are not allowed to bring their own and the first year students use the school brooms. There is no need to learn how to port key, simply for the reason that it only requires you to touch the item that has been spelled when it's time for departure, and I've already told you how to use floo travel. Apparition, you will learn in Hogwarts if you wish to, but you must be seventeen years old before lessons begin and you must have a license before you attempt to apparate."
During the conservation Hermione tried to ignore the feelings that where stirring up inside of her. Ever since the redheaded family arrived her body and her magic had begun tingling, almost as if it was singing and butterflies were filling her stomach.
Hermione smiled to herself when the redheaded family walked past her table whilst they were all bickering and chatting back and forth. Once they left out the back door and headed into Diagon Alley the feelings stopped.
'Strange,' she thought with a frown and then she shrugged it off.
Lunch was eaten and when Hermione's stomach was full she and McGonagall stood to leave The Leaky Cauldron and made their way out the door to Muggle London, thanking Tom for lunch when they walked past him.
They got another taxi and returned to The Granger home.
Professor McGonagall left Hermione with her parents to talk their ears off. 'They will definitely have a headache in the morning. I just hope they continue to act clueless and don't give anything away,' Minerva thought to herself, before she left to repeat that morning's school supply run to Diagon Alley with Justin Finch-Fletchley.
~000~000~000~
The Burrow - 13:15
"Fred, George, get your backsides down these stairs this instant; everyone is ready to go. Your Father took a day off work to accompany us to Diagon Alley, so you better get down here or we'll leave you behind," screeched Molly.
When there was no reply Molly huffed and stomped up the stairs. When she got half way up the first flight of stairs she heard the sound of Fred's voice, or was it George's?
"Where are you going, Mum? -"
"- Yeah, I thought we were going to Diagon Alley," the other twin spoke.
Molly slowly turned and shot her twin sons a glare. They smiled angelically at her, forcing Ginny into a fit of giggles. Their Mother made her way towards the floo, when her back was turned the twins winked at their little sister.
One by one The Weasley members took a handful of floo powder, entered the fireplace and clearly spoke, "The Leaky Cauldron."
~000~000~000~
The Weasleys: Diagon Alley - 13:25
The Weasleys were piling out of The Leaky Cauldron floo. Molly was the first through and Arthur being the last who had yet to come through with Ron and Ginny. When the twins stepped out of the floo they were both suddenly hit with a feeling.
They couldn't describe it to anyone but each other as no one would understand. It felt as though their body and mind had been asleep for years and it has just awakened. Their skin felt as though it was on fire and their magic was humming. Fred and George looked at each other and moved slightly away from their Mother to chat.
"Do you feel that, Gred?" enquired Fred.
"Yeah, Forge," responded George.
"It feels strange."
"Yeah, but kind of good too."
"- My body's tingling and my magic's humming. -"
"- My skin feels like it's on fire. It's odd, I feel content, -"
"- Relaxed. I've always felt like there's been something missing -"
"- I know what you mean, brother mine, but now I feel whole, -" George frowned.
"- Complete," they said together with a content sigh.
Arthur was the last of the family to come through the floo, the family gathered and made their way towards Diagon Alley. As soon as the twins separated from the group and made their way to get their school supplies, the feelings they felt previously disappeared. Fred and George looked at each other and frowned, they felt like a piece of them was missing once again. Shaking their heads they went about their business. After all they needed to stock up on prank and joke products and they couldn't do that if they didn't have time. They worked quickly and efficiently knowing the other's next thought and movement like only The Weasley Twins could.