Hey guys! So, it's been a while… Almost two months to be exact. To be honest, I had forgotten about the story and at the end given up on it, not having the time for writing. It's actually thanks to one of you that I was motivated enough to continue it. So, I was checking my email the other day and noticed a notification from FanFiction. Shout out to Darksoulblaze1090 for taking the time to write a review asking for an update. I'm glad that you enjoy my story, so I'll definitely try to continue it. Now, while I don't know how often I will be able to update, I'm hoping to be releasing around 2-5 chapters every month. Some will be longer than others, so please bear with me. I know it might not be much, but I really do have a limited amount of time for this. Anyways, I think you've waited enough for the next chapter, so here you go, guys:
Darksoulblaze1090, this one is dedicated to you mate. That review might not seem much to you, but it sure does to me! Thanks again!
"Hey, do you mind if I join you? It was getting a bit crowded in there."
Already frustrated that he had to put up with visiting parents, Harry turned towards the stranger, an objection already on the tip of his tongue. He was taken aback when he stared into those intense, chocolate brown eyes. They were calculating and shone with intelligence bellying the age of the little girl sitting next to him.
"Oh, excuse me, where are my manners. My name is Hermione, what's your name?"
February 20, 1987
Daniel Granger could not believe the day he had today. The most peculiar chain of events had happened, events that led him to this current conversation with his wife.
- Flashback -
His day had started like any other day. He woke up and got ready for work, taking a quick shower and then eating the small breakfast that his wife had prepared for him. He put on his suit, then headed towards the front door, kissing his wife and daughter good-bye before heading for work. He took the usual morning commute to his workplace. He wished a good morning to Isabelle, the receptionist, as he entered the building, hanging his blazer on the coat rack. Just the usual everyday routine, but everything started spiraling when he headed for the small kitchen to make himself a coffee. Honestly, who knew that getting a cup of coffee could change one's life?
While sipping on the hot beverage and reading the morning paper, which was always laid down on the counter (courtesy of Isabelle), his boss Ryan came in and said that there were some errands that he needed to take care of for the day, so he would need to take over his afternoon shift. He wasn't particularly enthusiastic about this, as it was a Friday and he had planned on going home early and spending time with his family, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. Work was work.
Oh, if only he and his wife could get that loan from the bank to open their own dentistry.
He couldn't necessarily complain about his lifestyle since he had a stable income while his wife stayed at home and took care of their daughter. He was so glad that his wife was as understanding as she was. She never complained, and always cleaned and cooked for them, while tutoring and watching over their daughter during the weekdays. Out of the two of them, he knew that she was the one with the real burden.
Having their own dentistry would make things ever so simple, what with his unpredictable schedule they were never able to comfortably make plans to spend time together. They had planned on raising another child, but after years of trying without results, they had simply let the matter be and gave up on the idea. And that was without taking into account what was happening around Hermione. Ever since the weird occurrences had begun to take place around her, he and his wife had decided to home-school her. And so, his wife had turned in her resignation and became a stay-at-home mom.
Releasing a small sigh, Daniel got up from his chair, folded up the paper and put it back on the counter, heading for his office to deal with his first appointment. Work was especially boring today. He had removed two crowns from one of his patients, and then removed the braces from another, just the usual.
At around noon, he left for his lunch break, thinking about taking a small walk around the area. He decided to have a quick bite at a nearby Subway, so he headed inside and ordered a Teriyaki chicken sandwich. Once he received his order, Daniel changed his mind about eating there. He didn't know why, but he had a sudden urge to take a walk. He got his lunch and headed outside, walking towards a nearby park where he could peacefully eat without the city's background noises bothering him.
He took a seat on a bench facing a small artificial lake, positioned under a considerably large willow tree. He decided that this was as good a place as any and unwrapped the sandwich. After around 15 minutes of eating in deep thought, his attention was grabbed by an approaching figure. It was that of an old man, with a long, white beard and the weirdest set of purple robes he had ever seen. He kind of looked like Gandalf now that he thought about it. Give him a hat and a staff and he would be all set.
Gandalf (he had decided to call him that within the confines of his mind) sat down next to him and took a loaf of bread from the sleeve of his robe (Honestly, who does that?!). He proceeded to throw it into the empty lake.
Daniel thought that was pretty strange, seeing as there were no ducks or fish there. Suddenly, a small family of ducks approached the old man and began to eat the bread. Daniel could have sworn that there hadn't been ducks before he got there, but maybe they had just been hiding somewhere. Either way, he just watched as they ate the bread with visible gusto, which was pretty fascinating considering ducks should not be capable of showing such emotion.
He was brought out of his musings when 'Gandalf' began speaking.
"Such a wonderful day we are having, wouldn't you agree?" he said without turning to Daniel, proceeding on feeding the ducks.
"Ehm, yeah, I guess so." To be honest, it wasn't a particularly beautiful day. The sky was scattered with grey clouds promising rainfall, and there was the occasional gust of wind which made you wish you had brought a jacket.
For a couple of moments, they just sat there in silence, watching the ducks swim around. Daniel was deliberating on whether he should say something or get going when Gandalf turned to him and spoke yet again.
"You know, people never think about it, but it is these small moments that should be cherished above all else. One would never think about it, since we are always preoccupied with one thing or another. People are always concerned with what their future holds, always trying their best to prepare for it and in the process forget to live in the moment. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is because of this that they never seem to grasp that they are getting further away from humanity's main aspiration. Happiness."
Dan was starting to get creeped out by the old man.
Sure, there was wisdom to his words, and he had no doubt that 'Gandalf' had a handful of years' worth of experience when dealing with life, but he just couldn't fathom why a complete stranger would approach someone random and start lecturing them about life.
"I guess I can agree with your statement, but how can one enjoy the present when the future holds the scary and unknown?" he asked of the old man, continuing the strange conversation
"You know, there is a saying that I heard in my youth many years ago" Gandalf said with a reminiscing look, staring into the distance.
"I, like many others before me, had great aspirations. I was an ambitious young man with great potential. I had a vision, something that could have changed the world for the better, but in my haste, I forgot about the things that mattered to me the most."
Gandalf got up and threw the last of the bread into the pond, staring at the ducks with a sad expression.
He turned to Daniel and shared the piece of wisdom that he had heard in his youth.
"Whenever you feel that you're a bit preoccupied with the future, just remember this fun little saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift. That is why it is called the present" he said with a small smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
Daniel could have sworn that he had heard that somewhere, but he was unsure as to where it was, or even when it had happened.
"Never forget to enjoy the present, because I can guarantee you that the future holds many surprises" he said with another twinkle in his eyes.
Daniel was seriously beginning to get creeped out. No one should have that unnatural gleam in their eyes, no matter how old. Suddenly, his alarm started ringing, signaling the end of his lunch break. With a sigh, he took his phone out of his pocket and turned off the alarm, quickly reading the small message from his wife asking if he wanted anything particular for dinner. After a quick response, he looked up to thank Gandalf for the friendly advice only to realize that he was gone. How was that even possible?! He was literally standing 3 feet from him, surely, he couldn't have gone away without making a sound? He decided to ignore the weird occurrence and headed back towards the dentistry.
When he arrived at the office, he instantly knew that something was wrong. The first sign of this was the police cars parked outside with their sirens on. He also noticed that they were currently leading his boss in handcuffs towards the back of one of the cars. He ran up to the scene and asked Isabelle what happened.
"You'll never believe this! Ryan basically ran into the office and told me that he was never there, locking himself in his office. Next thing I know, a bunch of cops show up looking for him! I didn't know what to do, so I just told them that he was busy and to look for him some other time. They then threatened me with arrest for helping to hide a convict, so I had no other choice but to let them know where he was. He was just arrested for drug trafficking, money laundering, and possession of illegal firearms! Can you believe it? To think we worked with him for 3 years!" she said, completely shook.
Daniel was speechless. Drug trafficking? Money laundering? Possession of firearms? To think that he shared an office with the guy and had absolutely no clue! What was he going to do? Surely, they wouldn't shut down the office? He and Isabelle would be out of a job!
"What's going to happen to the dentistry? Do we have to look for another job? I don't think that I can afford to lose this job." he asked, bearing himself for the worst.
"Oh, you won't believe me if I told you, here comes the real shocker. You know how he went out today to "take care of a few errands"? Turns out he bribed a bunch of officials to help him turn things over to his wife. I guess the evidence must have been overwhelming for him to give up on a trial and just hand over his fortune. Anyways, as it turns out, he passed over the dentistry to you Dan!" she said with a huge smile. "You're officially the new boss!"
Dan was left completely speechless. Suddenly, he remembered the discussion he had with the old man about living life in the present. It seemed that things had certainly started going his way.
"Isabelle, how would you like to join me and my wife for dinner tonight? I think this calls for some celebration." He said with a wide smile.
Isabelle squealed and hugged her colleague in response.
- End of Flashback -
He was currently enjoying a glass of wine with his wife. Isabelle had left with her partner not so long ago, and Hermione was sound asleep in her room.
"So, what do you think Dan, would you like to have another addition to the family?" asked Emma. He knew that this conversation was coming the moment he recounted the day's events to his wife. He saw that small gleam of hope in her eye, knowing that in the end, he would give in either way, never being able to resist giving his beloved something that she truly wanted.
"I don't know Emma, another addition to our family is one thing, but adopting? Let's say that I agree with you for a moment, and we adopt. What happens when the kid sees what Hermione can do? He would just make her feel even worse about herself! You know how the other kids got at school. It's enough that she was mocked for her academic aspirations, add to that the fact that she's basically capable of witchcraft? I can't say that I want to see her hurt like that… Not again." He said, staring at the wine he was absentmindedly sloshing around in his glass.
It had taken a considerable amount of time trying to explain to their daughter why she couldn't attend school like the other kids. Why they had a certain privilege and she didn't. In the end, they were lucky that she was such a bookworm, always burying herself in literature as a way of escaping reality.
Dan knew that it couldn't possibly be healthy, growing up without much socializing. That was one of the main reasons he was actually considering this and not dismissing the idea out front.
"Dan, you know you can't keep her wrapped in bubble wrap and hidden from the world forever. Sooner or later she's going to start asking questions. She's already way too mature for her age." She argued.
Dan knew she was right, but she was his little girl! He would go to the ends of the world to protect her, to make her happy. And therein lies the root of the problem. He could not do these two things at the same time. At least not in his current situation.
"You know we could always try again, but we're getting old Dan. You know we didn't have much luck after Hermione, add that to the fact that we're getting older and it is a recipe meant for disaster. Hermione is already 7 years old! She would still be without anyone even if we managed to conceive a child."
"I don't know Emma; don't you think this is something that we should be discussing with her?" he asked his wife, taking a small sip of the vintage wine in his glass. A small present from Isabelle and her partner.
"Dan, I know for a fact that she would love nothing else than to have a sibling. She's so lonely, why do you think she buries herself in books? We could adopt someone closer to her age. I'm sure that living with her as a sibling is better than the life of an orphan. They'll learn to love each other, bringing out the best in one another. It would help bring her out of that shell…" Emma said with that pleading look that always made him give in to anything.
Honestly, how could he say no to her? After everything she has done for him, the sacrifices she's made.
Out of nowhere, he remembered his conversation with the old man. How he should live in the moment instead of worrying over the future.
Dan released a small sigh.
"Alright… You win, Emma" he said in resignation. Not like there was an alternate reality where he would have been able to say no to her.
She gave him that smile that always made his heart lift and reached out across the table to hold his hand.
"You won't regret this Dan, I have a feeling that this is something that we need to do. Not only for us but for our daughter."
February 21, 1987
Harry stared at Hermione, not sure if he had seen her around the orphanage up until now. He wouldn't be surprised, seeing as the boys and girls were kept in different wings of the building. She was a little bit taller than him, with curly brown hair tied back into a bun and two small expensive-looking earrings with blue gems. She was wearing a yellow sundress with sunflower mints splattered across it and a pair of white sandals to complement the whole set.
Shrugging, he muttered a quick "Sure", ignoring her question before returning to his thoughts, not wanting to give her his name.
"How come you're back here and not with the other kids trying to make a good impression?" asked Hermione while swinging.
"I don't know, I guess I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing. It's not like there is a chance of me being adopted either way. Even if I was, I would get sent back here anyways." He said while giving his feet a look of resignation.
"Oh, come on, I don't think you should give up. I'm sure there's a family out there that would gladly adopt you!" she said with way too much cheer.
Harry was beginning to get annoyed by this girl. It was like she didn't know, or cared, about who he was. Not to mention how she seemed unaware of the rumors that the other kids spread behind his back. What he was capable of and all the things that he had 'done' so far. Harry had quickly realized that word got around the orphanage mysteriously fast.
"Listen, err, Hermione, is it? Not to be rude or anything, but why are you back here? They're far more likely to adopt you than any of us boys.
"Oh, ehm, I just arrived here recently," she said avoiding his question.
Harry could see a small blush creeping up her neck. He didn't have a clue what she could be so embarrassed about so decided to just change the topic to avoid any uncomfortable situations.
"I'm Harry, by the way," he said awkwardly.
"Nice to meet you Harry," she said, the small blush returning tenfold.
After a few minutes of swinging in awkward silence, he decided to speak up to break it.
"Hey, you want to see something really cool?" asked Harry, wanting to get a funny reaction from her when she saw what he would do.
"Sure!"
Harry got off the swing and picked up a small pebble from the ground. He held it in the palm of his hand and stared at it, focusing on what he wanted to happen and not blinking for minutes.
Hermione just stared at him, wondering what he was trying to do. She was about to say something when the pebble started trembling. At first lightly but intensifying ever so slightly. Finally, it lifted off Harry's hand and levitated somewhat lazily a few centimeters above it.
He looked over at her to see her reaction, hoping to see her freaked out. Instead, she was looking at him with a calculating gaze, almost as if she were in a trance.
He had honestly not expected that. At all.
"Not bad, but now it's my turn!" she said while starting to swing ever so higher.
Harry thought she might actually get herself hurt trying to do something stupid and was about to protest when she jumped at the highest point.
Harry could not believe what he saw. She actually levitated on her way down! She was just like him!
"So, what do you think?" she said with a mischievous smile.
Harry just gaped at her, opening his mouth to say something but realizing that he was incapable of speech at the moment. He didn't realize the irony of his current predicament. He had expected her to be the one in his position, not the other way around!
"You-… Do you understand what this means? You're just like me! Where have you been all my life?!" he said, eliciting a small blush from her. Oblivious to her reaction, he was going through the endless number of possibilities that rushed through his head, thinking of how best to exploit their gifts together. How they could develop and eventually master their abilities.
"Okay Hermione, I understand that you just got to the orphanage and everything, so I'm going to take a risk right now and propose something. You see, the other kids… they don't like people like us."
"Harry…"
"They don't understand, not like they actually want to. So, here's the thing. You have a chance to not be isolated from the rest of society. You could hide your gift and pretend to be just like the others."
"Harry-"
"You could easily live among them and be an ordinary person, easily acquiring happiness for yourself. Or, you could be my friend."
Hermione was taken aback by the sincerity of that statement.
"We can figure out how this… this thing-… this gift, works, together! Do you understand of the potential that we have? What we could be capable of? The endless possibilities, never again being mocked for being different. So much power…" He said, mostly to himself by the end.
"Harry!" she cried.
He snapped out of the momentary trance he was in, noticing that the ground was trembling with dust and a few pebbles rotating around him, as if excited and hungry for power. That was enough to make him stop.
"Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away…" he said.
"Listen, Harry, I have to tell you something. But first, I want to make something clear. If we want to make this work, you have to promise me something." She said with a serious expression.
This sobered up Harry, unsure as to what to expect.
"Okay, let me hear it," he said, thinking that whatever she would ask from him would be worth it in the end. He would finally have an equal and there was nothing that would stop him from helping his long-desired wish come true.
"I want you to promise me never to use your gift... our gift, for selfish causes. I want you to guarantee to me that, no matter how tempting, no matter what happens, you won't use it for nefarious purposes" she said while staring at him an intense gaze, with a small sparkle of hope in her eyes.
Harry was actually perplexed for a moment. He didn't see why she was asking him for this. It's not like the others mattered.
His hand automatically reached up to his necklace, something he did when he was in deep thought.
Why should he be nice to the very people who seemed keen on confining him to a life of misery? Why should he turn a blind eye after everything that they said behind his back? After the way he was judged and mistreated.
Then again, it seemed like he had no choice. He couldn't let an opportunity like this pass up, he would rather make absurd promises than to live a solitary life as he had so far.
He looked into her eyes and knew in that instant that she wanted him to make the promise. He could see that she too desired to finally have someone like her in her life.
Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem like that much of a sacrifice. At least this way he would finally have an equal, someone who actually understood. He would need a moral compass, someone who would keep him grounded and his ego in check.
After coming to that revelation, something shifted within him. He couldn't necessarily explain what, but he felt it nevertheless.
"Alright Hermione, you have yourself a deal," he said, letting go of his necklace and extending his hand.
Hermione gave him a smile and shook his hand.
"Come on, there are some people I want you to meet." She said, not letting go of his hand and leading him back towards the orphanage.
So there you go, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think ill just skip Harry's meeting with the Grangers since I don't think that there is much importance in writing that. I'll do a few chapters where they bond and so on (maybe 2-3 chapters with little one-shots) and then they'll receive their letter. Either way, until next time! :)
