Disclaimer
Haruno Sakura and other Naruto characters belong to Masahi Kishimoto
Hermione Granger, other HP characters and story settings from canon belong to J.K. Rowling
Everything else belongs to LadyScatty
.
.
.
"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
J.K. Rowling in HP and Socrerer's Stone
.
.
.
Hermione Jean Granger was a strange little girl with an even stranger story.
Nothing in her physique suggested that she was different. At five, she had the same large, hazel-colored eyes as her father and the same bulk of tousled brown hair as her mother. Hermione also had a small, upturned nose, inherited from her paternal grandmother, a small mouth similar to her maternal grandmother's, front teeth that were a little too large, and a few barely visible freckles peculiar to her.
As for her personality… well, let's say Hermione was unique. At least, that's what her parents would insist on repeating until their last breath. The little girl had the strange habit of bringing injured animals home for treatment, meditated as much as a Buddhist monk, was incredibly intelligent, and was prone to episodes of depression that worried her parents. She also possessed Herculean strength and spoke Japanese fluently much to the amazement of Thomas and Faith Granger who had no idea where their little girl had learned the language from. But all of this was nothing compared to the strange things that were happening in the Granger house that stunned the whole family, including little Hermione. Exploding vases? Books that levitated? Cats mysteriously dyed pink? For logic-minded people, the three Grangers weren't sure what to think.
But Thomas and Faith Granger loved their little girl, they loved her more than anything, to the point of adopting the ostrich policy and cheerfully ignoring all these weird things going on around her. As long as these strange things didn't hurt their child, the couple would continue to pretend not to notice anything.
They just loved her and protected her in the best way they know. By not mentioning her strangeness.
Hermione was unique, period.
.
.
.
Maybe she was, just a little too unique, they thought when they were summoned to the primary school principal on the first day of school.
The Headmaster in question, a plump, red-nosed, bored-looking little man, rested his head against his hand and seemed to wish he was anywhere but there. His tie was loosely tied, his fingers were impatiently tapping his desk, and he was visibly holding back from yawning. Thomas didn't hold it against him in the slightest. He too would have preferred to be elsewhere. The whole situation was ridiculous.
Faith was busy glaring at the mother of the boy responsible for their presence, while the father timidly stayed behind his wife. They were accompanied by two other couples who were the parents of the friends of the offending boy from what Thomas understood.
"Your daughter brutally attacked my son and his friends without any provocation on their part, I demand this savage girl to be expelled!" The mother cried in a rattling voice that made Thomas Granger wince.
Her voice horribly reminded him of his sister-in-law.
"You are telling me," replied Faith in a biting tone "that my five year old daughter decided to attack three boys taller and older than her for no reason despite the fact that they were three against one and that everything is her fault? That the three boys are completely innocent in this story and that my daughter is a liar besides being violent and unruly?"
"Exactly!" Replied the woman.
Her bun that was too tight must have hampered her ability to think, Thomas thought.
"You are ridiculous," Faith laughed. Hermione is the most polite girl there is. If she fought against your son and his friends, it was to defend herself and her friend, period. Your boys tried to harass my daughter and they got what they deserved."
Faith royally ignored the sour looks she got from the other parents. The mother, Mrs. Bobofit seemed to swell with indignation and was about to reply but Faith - Thomas fell in love with his wife a little more each day - continued.
"What exactly are you mad at? Realizing that your son and his friends are bullies or that my five year old daughter has managed to defend herself, showing everyone what kind of education you provide to your child?"
"I will not allow you…!"
"No! I don't allow you to insult my daughter, call her a savage and then play the indignant!"
"Ladies, that's enough!" Interrupted the Headmaster gruffly.
Faith sat down next to her husband and took her hand in his to calm down. For their part, Mr. Bobofit discreetly tried to get away from his stormy wife.
The other two families, Gilbert and Lewis, huddled up slightly even as if they were the ones the headmaster was rebuffing.
"It is obvious that Percy and his friends are at fault ..."
"It's Peter!" Cried Mrs Bobofit. And my boy is an angel! Before the arrival of the little savage, he had never had any trouble ..."
"There was no proof you mean," replied the headmaster, rolling his eyes. "Perry has a serious behavior problem and only a blind man would say otherwise. His friends just follow him, but they're no better if you ask me."
"But…"
"The three boys will be disciplined and if you don't like it, you can always make them change schools," the man said, shrugging his shoulders.
Thomas and Faith exchanged an uncertain look.
Mrs Bobofit screamed her indignation for almost ten minutes, no doubt being heard by the four children waiting in the hall. When she finally left, under the bored and indifferent gaze of the director, followed by her poor husband, Mr. Gilbert informed the director that it was out of the question for his son to continue his education in this establishment and that he intended to pull him out of this school as soon as possible.
"Do so," replied the fat headmaster with a condescending hand gesture.
When the Grangers were finally alone in the office, the headmaster lost all traces of boredom on his face and gave them a probing look, a glint of intelligence in his blue eyes that they had previously missed.
"Now that the banshee and the rest of the followers are finally gone, we can talk."
Faith raised an eyebrow, not in the least taken aback by the nicknames given to the other parents. It was deserved, she said.
"What is it, Mr. Dennis? I thought you would agree that Hermione was just defending herself."
"Your five year old daughter beat up three boys who were taller, stronger and older than her, I find it more amusing than anything else," the principal admitted with a shrug. "More seriously, I don't think this school is suitable for someone like Hermione."
Both parents froze as caught in the act.
"What do you mean by someone like Hermione?" Faith almost hissed.
"Hermione is a little girl like the others" adds Thomas.
Mr. Dennis looked at them incredulously, as if to say they were fools to say such a thing.
"Your daughter spent the day reading a pediatrics manual that she stole from our nurse while her classmates were screaming and jumping like hyperactive baboons. Miss Dune, one of my teachers gave her test after test, With an IQ like hers, Hermione has absolutely nothing to do in an elementary school, she is a gifted.
"What?" Thomas asked stupidly.
He was reassured that nothing… abnormal had happened, but he was dazed at all times. 'Hermione gifted?' He exchanged a meaningful look with his wife. Hermione's intelligence explained some things but not everything.
"You should give her an intelligence test," Mr. Dennis continued. "If the results are successful, you should consider getting her into the Mensa club or enrolling her in middle school classes."
"Wait a minute…"
"In any case, Hermione can't stay here."
"But she's only five years old!" Thomas protested.
"I know and I tell you that your daughter is smart enough to pass her GSCE. It has no place here. It is not a punishment, on the contrary it would be better for her to broaden her horizons. Staying here with kids who are just learning to read and write… that will only isolate her and stunt her growth."
.
.
.
Sakura was meditating. Or rather, Hermione was meditating. For some time now, she didn't quite know who she was. Haruno Sakura or Hermione Granger? There were days when she felt very English, quite normal, and when she really felt like she was five. Those days were her favorites. They were her favourite because they were the simplest. Sadly, there were other days when she found it difficult to breathe and felt overwhelmed by the feeling of Hiraeth[2]. Those days, she terrified her parents who couldn't understand why their five year old daughter was showing symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. And she felt so guilty for causing them concern because she loved them, but Hermione/Sakura/whatever her name was had no idea how to approach the subject of her reincarnation or even if it was a subject that she should address.
Hermione loved her new life. She loved her new parents as much as her old ones, maybe even more. She loved this new world where war might still be present, but so rare, and children were never sent to risk their lives. But a big part of her felt out of place. She missed Konoha. She missed her old friends. She missed Tsunade-sama and her old job. She missed the use of chakra. By becoming Hermione, Sakura had lost much of her identity, a decade of work and everything she had always known. It was slightly terrifying. Because she had no idea who she was now.
When her identity troubles persisted, she retreated into the things she loved, the things that were familiar to her.
She read, she meditated, she tried to heal, because she had worked hard to become a good medic and categorically refused to lose this aspect of her identity. It was, after all, the only thing she had liked about herself.
It was this need to hold on to something familiar that had made her throw out the window any subtle attempt to throw herself into a Japanese couple's shop when she heard them speak their native language, her native language. She had inadvertently caused a mini heart attack in her parents but her joy to find out that dangos existed had convinced her that sometimes the Naruto method (that's it, go for it) could work for her.
Of course, her parents being dentists, it was very rare for her to indulge herself on this point, and she had gotten to the point where she would be ready to kill for a jar of umeboshi.
It was by clinging to her past that she also discovered that she still had chakra within her… She wasn't really sure it was chakra itself, but she did have an energy anyway in her that allowed to walk on walls and increase her strength. She wanted to recover her super strength and her byakugô as much as her medicinal skills and would not stop until she had achieved her goals. If there was one thing that hadn't changed about her, it was her tenacity.
And so, Hermione would meditate whenever she had free time.
That was what she was doing when she saw three little bullies attacking a little girl, making fun of her curly hair, her broad forehead and her accent. Hermione had intervened without even thinking. She had tried the diplomatic approach in the first place, but when the boys had the bad idea to laugh at her teeth, Hermione lost all trace of indulgence. With a "Shannāro!" Enraged, she had attacked.
After much thought, Hermione admitted that she might have been slightly, a tad exaggerated… But damn it, it made her feel good. She hadn't realized how much she had missed fighting.
It was what made her realize that she was still a kunoichi at heart, no matter her name or nationality.
"Hermione?"
She opened her eyes to meet her mother's worried gaze. She felt a surge of guilt for all the problems she caused her parents almost daily.
"I'm sorry," she whispered sincerely.
"Oh my dear…"
Her mother knelt in front of her and took her face in her hands.
"I am against violence, you know that? But what you did today was defending yourself and your friend. I am proud of you."
"Am I being punished?" She asked.
Hermione anxiously watched her parents exchange a meaningful look.
"Not exactly," her father replied slowly. "The principal decided to punish the boys. He doesn't think you did anything wrong but..."
"But?"
"But nothing at all," interrupted his mother. "Your father and I decided that this school was not good enough for you. We will try to find something more suitable for your level. But first, we'll give you a test to assess your intelligence quotient. Miss Dune reported that you spent the day reading a pediatric textbook. I am impressed. At least I would if you hadn't stolen the manual, frankly Hermione, what were you thinking?"
Hermione knew that when her mother babbled it was that she was stressed. As a rule, she only babbled when her family came to visit them. Her mother didn't really get along with them. Her father didn't like them at all and neither did Hermione to be completely honest.
"Sorry mom, I won't do it again."
At least she wouldn't get caught anymore.
Her father ruffled her hair and she glared at him. Her hair already refused to cooperate, she didn't need him to complicate her life any further.
"What if we ate outside tonight?" Her mother asked. "I don't particularly want to cook. What do you say about it?"
"I don't mind, his father replied. Could we try the new Japanese restaurant that opened in St. Regent? Hermione?"
She nodded enthusiastically. Hermione loved the cuisine of this world. Especially Italian cuisine. But something more familiar was always welcome.
[1]Mensa - international oganisation created to serve as a round-table society for highly intelligent people to meet on a monthly basis
[2]Hiraeth - (especially in the context of Wales or Welsh culture) deep longing for something, especially one's home
.
.
.
Hi, It 's me with a new story! Not mine, mind you.
LadyScatty was kind enough to let me translate her story.
Link to her profile: u/6277594/LadyScatty
and her story: s/12986940/1/Hermione
I will be also translating it Polish where the chapters will show a few days later.