Snow lightly fell outside the large window that Hermione sat in front of. The plush blue window seat was often occupied by some of the older housemates, however with this being the day before holiday break most of them were still finishing up the packing that she had already completed a day ago. Curling her small fists into the large knitted sweater sleeves she watches as her warm breath fogged over the cool glass. Hermione allowed herself this moment of peace in her dorm space before the excitement to head home tomorrow hit her. Seeing her parents was something that as a usually very independent girl hit harder than she thought possible. She could practically feel the warmth of her fathers hug and the kiss from her mom on her brow. She craved the business chatter from her parents and the small simple moments they shared just the three of them. Living in such a large place with so many people seven days a week actually made her feel more lonely than when she is by herself at home.
The forgotten book laying in her lap over her throw blanket from her room was not yet finished. A small sigh escaped her as her finger caressed the worn cover. It was one of those older books that had caught her eye in the history section of Flourish and Blotts, different from the rest because it was based on the old religion. The title read in fine gold leafing, Remembering Our Roots written by Belvina Burke. Hermione was actually savoring this book, not because she didn't enjoy it but because there was so much detail and she had quite the list of questions from her reading. Currently she was almost to the end, which had been her goal for the hols break. Yule was her last read, and although she missed her parents finishing this will only make her crave a trip to Diagon for more material. It seemed odd to her the way this population functions. She felt like an outsider who was dropped into a culture that had the same language roots, but differed drastically in how it advanced. Thus terms and unspoken rules confused Hermione, a girl who had undeniable thirst for knowledge but fear for being unprepared.
Hogwarts was weird in itself because while she was learning new information, most of the students had prior at home teaching in most if not all of the subjects. Which in her option was highly unfair. It came across like it was progressive in certain aspects like the holidays. They called it Halloween and got sweets, and Christmas hols. In the book Halloween was Samhain, or the Witches New Year where the veil is the thinnest and families paid homage to their ancestors. Alters are created or spruced up to be dedicated to those you love, often involving candles, cloth and photos. Or a bonfire on ancestral grounds is lit and maintained throughout the night telling stories and singing to them. None of that was whiteness here, so was it just Hogwarts that didn't follow the old religion or was it tightly practiced only at home? With religion being something seemingly not talked about Hermione had left those specific questions in her list to ask her Head of House. However a literal ghost teaches History of Magic, in the most droll way ever. Progressive questions were ignored or unable to be answered. Hermione especially felt out of place just walking down Diagon Alley, where everyone wore robes and visibly in some way or another stuck their noses up at people wearing muggle clothing. Like they are elitists or something similar. No one helped Hermione understand or adjust to the communication or stood up for her when she was confused. She hated to be confused. Besides of course Padma, who although also being a Ravenclaw, which when it came to knowledge most of them seemed snobbish with how much they know, she did not. She has once explained due to her cross culture exposure often understood confusion on certain things. She also giggled lightly and said some of her sisters open and honest Gryffindor ways have rubbed off on her. Even with that available Hermione did try her best to look for the answers herself.
When everyone thought she was scrambling for the information to complete her course work every night at the library the reality was that she yes finished her work and double checked her books since she read ahead the year before her first year started when she turned eleven. Her eidetic memory allowed for her to recall everything she had ever read. Her notes in class were additional information spoken from the teachers or additional questions that had popped up while she was there. Her study time was actually her reading down other paths of information, topics that had not been covered in class nor would be. Like religion, or traditions. Not that there was a lot of material in the first place. When she wasn't reading all that she could with what she had available Hermione was often questioning Padma, which Padma probably took more as an interrogation. Hermione couldn't help it though, no stone unturned. She needed the important information to navigate this culture. Otherwise she would always feel an outsider, both as a witch and a muggle.
Feeling her fingers starting to really chill Hermione looked back out the window to realize night was falling, small specs of students could been seen returning towards the castle. Swinging her head towards the groups of people sitting in the common room, a weight was lifted that at least the likely hood of her missing dinner was relatively low. Casting a quick Tempus 5 o'clock flashed in the air in front of her. Gathering her blanket and book Hermione walked towards the right stair case, one good thing about living in a tower was that her endurance seemed to increase slightly. All the stairs the first and second week were really hard on her bookworm body, which usually sat in one spot for long periods of time. A slight smile curled at her mouth, her dad would be happy. He always attempted when she was younger to introduce her to different physical activities. The only one that somewhat fascinated her was archery, she loved the feeling of hitting the mark. Sport competitiveness was not as fulfilling as intellectual success in Hermione's personal opinion which led to the abandoning of the sport. Unless of course Hermione was particularly angry.
-Break-
Arriving at 9 & 3/4 station was always underwhelming for Hermione, because unlike anyone half-blood or pure blood her parents were not right there to greet her. She had to leave back to the muggle side of the station, another tally on the book of complete unfair aspects of being Muggleborn. Huffing she pushed the trolly along until she passed through the column. Immediately eager amber eyes searched through the crowded area until catching on her smiling and waving parents. Rushing forward Hermione abandoned her trolly to run into her dads open arms. Giggles left her as he lifted her up and spun her in a quick circle.
"Oh sweetheart!" He said holding her tightly. Setting her back down on the ground Howard Granger held her shoulders as he looked into his daughters sweet face.
"We have missed you so much!"
Helen Granger knelt next to Hermione to place her own arm around her and kiss her brow.
"We are so excited to have you home for the hols darling." Helen said softly with warmth in her eyes.
"Mum, dad I am so happy to be going home." Hermione said.
Helen and Howard both exchanged happy smiles. Their little girl has always been home unless they left on holiday together. It was good to see she had missed them as much as they missed her.
Mum grabbed Hermiones hand and dad grabbed her trolly as they headed to the car.
"So dad and I talked about maybe grabbing your favorite fish and chips tonight for dinner and we can decorate the tree?" Helen asked.
Hermione knew grabbing something as greasy as fish and chips was really such a treat. The grin ached on her cheeks. It was amazing to be headed home for time with her parents.
"I would love that!" She exclaimed. "I'm also surprised you waited for me to get home to decorate the tree!"
"Well of course sweetheart, we wouldn't want you to miss one of your favorite parts of the holiday." Howard said while grinning at her through the mirror in the car.
Hermione sat back in her seat, incredibly happy to be home.
-Break-
Christmas morning came early and went by before she could blink. The smell of fresh breakfast and tea settled around the house as Hermione descended the stairs. Just like her parents she was a morning person, not quite as early as them yet. She could hear their low chatter from the kitchen as she glanced at her decorated living room. Garland and candles above the fireplace with the bright tree in the corner surrounded by presents. Tea was already placed on the coffee table with festive blankets laid on the couch ready to use.
"Hermione darling is that you up?" Helen called.
"Yes mum, just got down here."
"Okay, breakfast is almost done. Why don't you go ahead and start separating the presents under the tree." She suggested.
Approaching the tree Hermione started with the first present of the group, placing it near the recliner her dad mostly used. The long thin box was actually mum had helped Hermione pick up for him. In no time presents had been organized and mum and dad had joined her in the living room.
Helen and Howard smiled at Hermione as she made herself comfortable on the ground near the table.
"Go ahead sweetheart, mum and I will wait until you're done." Howard stated.
Hermione was so excited to open her presents. This year she had quite a handful, and she was hopefully at least one or more were magical. Most were books and a few regular Christmas presents like clothing or wanted items but the one that really stuck out was a checkbook register and a check for two hundred pounds. Mouth gaping like a fish Hermiones confused eyes raised up to first her mum and then her dad.
"What... what is this for?" She asked.
"Well.." Howard started "Mum and I discussed the current situation and realized with us being Muggles? As you stated, we are unfortunately very limited in our access to you when you are at school. Of course we could send a check with the owls but that seemed a bit to risky for us. Best to get you started on your own bank account, and your first step into adulthood for managing money. Professor McGonagall had informed us when she first visited how the wizards have their own bank and currency. So to get you started there is a little cushion of funds for whatever you desire."
Hermione could do nothing but stare at them. She had managed a bit of money on her own such as small allowances or birthday money.
"Now darling don't get us wrong, school items and costs are still our responsibility so please let us know about those items." Helen stated. "This is simply pocket money, which you can do as you please with. Just be responsible and don't spend it all on books." She said with a smile.
Jumping up to hug first her mum and them her dad Hermione felt her tummy warm. She loved being treated as her own person and allowed opportunities of responsibility. Her parents were actually pretty good about this, they may have never had a pet in their home but Hermione was often given choices and allowed her opinion in several matters as she grew up.
"Does this mean before I go back to school we can go back to Diagon Alley to open my account?" She said excitedly.
"Of course, but for now how about we eat breakfast and enjoy today."
Following her dads suggestion they cleaned up the mess made and sat down to enjoy a comforting meal together.
-Break-
The trip to Diagon had really been the only other activity they had set out to do for the rest of break. Her parents had to go back to work right after Christmas so in concession of missing the rest of her break Diagon had been the first Saturday after it. It was actually a bit quieter than the before school season which her parents were quite happy about.
The goblins in Gringotts had been quite the shock to all of them. They weren't very pleasant little creatures and after the basics explained and the contract was signed which Howard had asked for a copy of they made a trip to the book store. Hermione was carefully running her fingers along the spines of the books on the shelf in front of her. Once more she was going down the history section in order to find more tombs on religion or traditions.
Frown pulling down her mouth Hermione exited the aisle in search of the person at the cash register.
"Pardon me sir." She greeted.
The older gentleman looked up from what he was writing. Long mostly grey hair had been pulled back from his face, a somewhat messy beard and small square glasses sat at the end of his rather long straight nose. Faded green eyes locked onto honey brow.
"Oh hello there, what can I do for you." He said.
"Hello sir, I was wondering by chance if you could point me to a certain topic of book. I already checked the history section and cannot seem to find what I want." She said with a small frown.
"Of course, of course. This is my shop after all. I would hope a could find my way around." He responded with a small grin.
"Oh really!? How wonderful. My name is Hermione Granger." She stuck out her hand in greeting.
"Nice to meet you miss Granger." The shop keep said. Grabbing her petite hand to turn and barely grace a his lips across. "My name is Francis Blotts the III, at your service."
A red blush stole across Hermiones cheeks. Picking at the end of her sweater she shyly looked down before glancing back at his face.
"Well sir, I came across Remembering Our Roots the last time I was here and grabbed it. You see..." She hesitated. Friendly green eyes encouraged her to continue. "I'm a muggleborn and I want to learn more about wizarding religion and traditions but it seems options are quite limited."
"Hmm" Mr Blotts said as she stroked his beard before fiddling with the end of his mustache. "I understand completely young lady. I am glad to see you taking such initiative into learning about our world." He finished with a grin.
"You are right that the history section does not include many books of such topics. Ah yes, this is what we shall do." he said before going back behind the counter and looking under it.
"You are enrolled at Hogwarts I presume?"
"Yes sir." Hermione answered.
Coming back up from under the counter he was holding a roll of paper. "Flourish and Blotts does have a somewhat simple but straight forward ordering system."
At this point Hermione's parents had found her at the counter.
"Did you find what you wanted sweetie?" Helen asked.
"No not quite mum, there were a couple more I wanted to get. Mr Blotts here is helping me. He said there's an ordering system for the shop."
"Hello, you must be the young ladies parents. Francis Blotts III at your service. Your daughter here is asking for all the right topics, they just happen to not be a very popular buy." He said with a quick smile and wink at Hermione.
"Simply what we do here is I provide you with the order instructions which you can mail in to the store, I do strongly suggest investing in a owl if you haven't already. Some packages have been known to get lost at that school due to the borrowed owl service. Nothing wrong with that but the less chance the better correct?"
Hermione looked up at her her dad and nibbled her lip. She knew she could keep it mostly at school but her parents would have to figure something out for the holidays. Dad glanced at mom quickly before nodding. Smiling back at Mr Blotts Hermione nodded.
"Here are those instructions, simply write a topic, the more details the better my search will be if you don't already know the title you wish to buy, and the price range you're willing to spend. Which will be automatically debited from Gringotts once your book has been mailed to you. You do have an account yes?" He made eye contact to confirm her nod. "Since I already have an idea of what to get for you I can estimate a total of twenty five Sickles to start you out. Does that sound okay?"
"Yes sir." Hermione confirmed.
"Darling, what exactly is it you're searching for?" Mum asked.
"I am trying to research wizarding religion and customs." She answered.
"You're daughter is on the right track. I have to say in all my years of running this book shop, there has been on two other Muggleborns that had the initiative to do such a thing. Wizarding Britain may speak the same language for the most part but I always like to joke its like those British royals. There is a lot of rules and social expectancies of wizards. It has been that way for centuries." Mr Blotts confirmed.
"If she is home for the summers or holiday seasons is owl ordering something she can complete from our Muggle home?" Dad inquired.
"Mm, its not typically encouraged due to the parcels. But if it is identified before hand of the muggle neighborhood a temporary shrinking or notice me not charm could be applied to the parcels. Just make sure to identify that on your order and I would be happy to comply."
"Mr Blotts, do you happen to know if this happens for all of the stores in the alley?" Mum asked. her face one of contemplation.
"As long as you have the galleons I don't see why not. I would simply ask the shop owner, that way you can get their instructions as well." Mr Blotts couldn't help but be impressed by this little muggleborn and her forward thinking parents. It was not the commonality. She would go great places with this type of support.
"Thank you Mr Blotts, other than these two other books I believe we are good to go." Hermione said.
After the purchasing was complete Howard and Helen grabbed the bag and headed toward the store door.
"Young lady." Blotts called.
Hermione turned to face him once again. Giving him her full attention
"I know the world out there can be quite difficult for your blood status, if you ever need anything else please don't hesitate to reach out. I will help as much as possible. There is so much not written down." He finished ominously.
Her brows scrunched but she recognized the olive branch for what it was. A smile curled her mouth before nodding and meeting her parents at the doors.
The strange looks they gave her made Hermione realize maybe it was time to sit her parents down and speak to them about a couple important pieces of information.
First perhaps Hermione should speak to her head of house professor Flitwick or even professor McGonagall since she was the one who introduced her parents and her to magic. Hermione however had her first meeting with professor Flitwick when she got back from break.
With plans being made and items checked off Hermione decided to read her new books and enjoy the little holiday time with her parents that she could.
Can I just say how freaking excited I am that I got all of this out? Because we die like men, no beta and no pre plan. We write with the flow. I will apologize for this being slightly chaotic in the time jumps but I wanted bits and pieces of things. This is how as a muggleborn I would have addressed the wizarding world. I mean for someone so smart and so hungry for information I would have bought up every single topic I could get my hands on. I would have all the conversations and do all the research. Otherwise you're only at a disadvantage. Both Hermione and her parents should have been better informed.
Also like Hermiones great in the story for the bookie but like if she riddles word for word off like that wouldn't having a photogenic memory a high possibility? I get she probs studied lots of spells and other topics but idk. Just seemed like not enough into the society she joining? Just my opinion.
What do you think so far?
