Forest Grawp by Tall-Ripley
Disclaimer- Don't own or make money off of Harry Potter
Big thanks to Lupinsgirlfriend who took the time to review
CH 4.- The Great Muggle Debate
It was around 8 a.m. when they set off towards the town. As they entered town one thing was obvious, it wasn't a muggle town. Harry never knew a wizarding town existed solely on it's own. In London, Diagon Alley was a hidden part of London. A town in a city. But this town was just sitting out in the open for anybody to see or so Harry thought. He could see that the town had a single street down the middle of the town and various stores were on either side. People were apparating from one side of the street to the other side. There was a huge outdoor fireplace were people could travel by floo powder and instead of bike racks, there were racks to set your broom. Hermione had stopped at a sign by the entrance of the city. It said "Welcome to Charmed." But it wasn't the welcome sign that she was looking at, she was looking at the sign that said "No Muggles allowed."
"Well, that isn't very friendly." Hermione stated. "This is one place I could never bring my parents," she added. Ron didn't seem to worry much about it.
"I doubt muggles could see this town anyways Hermione. Charmed. Get it. It's been put under a spell like Hogwarts. Muggles don't even now it's here," Ron stated. "There are little towns like this scattered all over England and Ireland."
Hermione was still looking at the sign when Harry grabbed her by the arm to lead her to the town. Nobody at first seemed to notice the trio but when they got closer they started to get stares in their direction. By the time they got to the first town a large man appeared instantly before them. He was around six foot tall and very muscular, dressed in a wizarding gown. On his chest was a badge that said "Charmed and law enforcement." 'A type of auror,' Harry thought. He didn't look the least bit friendly and was scowling at the dress of the three.
"Well, you obviously aren't muggles or you won't be here. But you are dressed just like muggles and that is against the town dress code." he said. "Now, what is your business in Charmed."
"We are on a hike and I have to get a new backpack so we thought we may get one here." said Ron.
The sheriff glared at Ron then poked at his backpack. "It is pretty pathetic isn't it?" the sheriff drawled.
After what felt to be an eternity, the sheriff pointed to a store in the middle of town. "Mr. Pocock may have what you need. We don't have much backpacking supplies here but he may be able to fix you up with something. But you can't take your wand, if you have one, no wands allowed in town. Keeps things safer, more easier to manage."
Harry noticed Hermione wasn't saying a word for a change and that had his curiousity up. He could tell that she was hoping the sheriff wouldn't talk to her. "Here Ron, I'll hold your wand," Harry said. "Hermione and I will wait out here for you. And make it quick, we got a lot of hiking to do today!"
The sheriff was looking at Harry intently, his eyes focused on Harry's forehead. "Well I'll be, it's Harry Potter!" Nearby shoppers stopped what they were doing to focus on Harry. His attitude improved somewhat and he turned his head toward Hermione. "Introduce me to your friend Mr. Potter, " the sheriff commanded.
"This is Hermione Granger." Harry glanced at a nervous Hermione. Her quietness made Harry anxious. He could tell that Hermione was afraid.
"Granger, "the sheriff mulled over. "Never heard of a wizarding family by the name of Granger. Why is that I wonder."
Hermione offer nothing to the sheriff so he was forced to make his "questions" more direct. "Are you part-witch or full blown mudblood?"
Hermione's checks flushed under his questioning but she held his gaze. "My parents are both muggles," she said.
"Tell me how does a witch get born into a muggle family? I always wondered that. Could it be genetic or perhaps your mother had another man on the side. If I were your father I'd be asking some questions." The sheriff was clearing egging Hermione on and Harry was hoping she won't take the bait. In the distance he saw Ron coming quickly with a large sack. He appeared to have noticed things weren't going well. Hermione standing her ground and he could tell she had her hidden wand ready for use. The sheriff's hand was also resting on his wand. They were in a tight spot, they couldn't use magic since they were underage and using magic could get them expelled from Hogwarts. Ron finally arrived breathless and took his wand from Harry.
"Well, we should be getting on our way." Ron said quietly. "Let's not trouble the sheriff anymore okay?"
"I'm sorry Ron, I didn't realize we were troubling the sheriff any." Hermione had a dangerous look on her face, something Harry never seen before. It seemed the sheriff had hit a raw nerve with Hermione. Hermione's glare was intense and there was a strong flow of magic coming from her. Her hair was actually flowing as if it was in a wind although there was no natural wind blowing. He was afraid Hermione would ask for an apology.
It was the sheriff that fliched first. He slowly backed off and gave a nervous laugh. "No harm done, you three be on your way now. Next time you come for a visit Mr. Potter make sure you leave the mudblood at home." Power radiated even more from Hermione and Harry was beginning to get really afraid. He lightly grabbed Hermiones arm and slowly pulled her away. He cast a quick glance at the sheriff and saw that the sheriff actually seemed relieved that Hermione was backing away. Hermione was the smartest witch Harry knew and he now realized that she had some power as well. Actually quite a bit of power. They cut across a field to get back on track and when they came to a shaded area, they stopped for lunch. Hermione looked so sad and Harry couldn't resist giving her a huge hug. He held her for a long time and she finally relaxed in his arms.
"I'm so proud of you Hermione. You could have dueled with him and I have no doubt you would have won but the powers that be probably would have kicked you out of Hogwarts. It wasn't worth it, he wasn't worth it, and you held back. I've always had a hard time with that, remember the time I blew up my aunt!" And with that, Hermione finally smiled.
They finally stopped hugging and found Ron just staring at them."You okay Ron?" Harry asked.
Ron stood there and seemed to thinking seriously about what he was going to say next. He should have thought harder. "I realize that the sheriff shouldn't have called you a mudblood. He had no right to be vulgar like that. But you need to realized that there are those who don't like "mudbloods." If the towns folk wanted to exclude mudbloods and they all agreed to have that law, you have to respect that. You should have kept your temper in check and just left the town."
Hermione looked at him like he had shot her. "You mean to tell me that I was in the wrong. That I have less rights than other witches because I'm a mudblood. That I have to accept discrimination and segregation because I'm not pure or even partly pure." Hermione was advancing quickly on Ron. "So I should just stop fighting and just sit at the back of the bus!"
Ron was backing up but not exactly backing down. "What bus are you talking about? And again, I'm not saying that it's right but it's the way things are. It's like those house elves you are trying to "save" Hermione. You know, the ones that don't want to be saved, the ones that are happy the way they are."
"There not all happy Ron, but what choice do they have. They've been told their whole lives that serving others as slaves is what they are born to do. They don't know anything else. They've been brainwashed and nobody cares!" Hermione yelled back.
"Exactly Hermione, nobody cares! Get it! That's why nobody wants to be part of SPEW, they only agree with you to get off their backs!" Ron spat back.
Hermione looked to Harry for support but he didn't know what to say. He didn't want Ron to get mad at him, he had suffered without Ron as a friend before and he didn't want to go through that again. He tried to take the middle ground. "I agree with Ron, the sheriff had no right to call you a mudblood. I think you're a brillant witch Hermione, you know that. I just don't know if the wizarding world is ready for your ideas, whether they are right or not."
Hermione just looked at Harry. Resignation and a profound sadness shown on her face. Harry knew instantly that Hermione thought that he placed his friendship with Ron above his friendship with her. That simply wasn't true and when he went to clarify his weak stand she just held up a hand to stop him. She didn't want to hear anymore from either of them. Harry could only hope to clear things up when feelings weren't so raw. The three continued their walk toward the forbidden forest till evening. They set up camp again and this time they used the tent. Hermione hadn't spoken to them at all and retired to the bedroom without eating. Harry was feeling horrible and he could tell Ron felt the same but neither knew what to say to make things better. Harry was even beginnig to wonder if their friendship could be saved when he thought back to all the things Ron had said. 'How do you get past that,' Harry wondered. They both decided to retire early mostly just to get the day over with.
When they awoke, they realized that Hermione had left during the night. She had taken the map and compass plus she had taken food and other supplies. The forbidden forest would be hard to find without the map, but not impossible. Harry thought he remembered the route Hermione had mapped out. They had no choice but to try to find her and make things right, it was what friends do. They set out as soon as possible, and it wasn't long before they were lost. By noon, they had no idea which way was which. They thought the were walking west but somehow they were going south. They tried to back track and get corrected. By the time evening came, they were disappointed to discover they were on the outskirts of Charmed. They walked away from Charmed quickly and proceded to start a fire. They opened up their emergency bag of floo powder and decided to call off their search for Hermione. Harry could only hope that Hermione was safe. He scanned the countryside again hoping he would see her but he saw absolutely nobody. With a sigh he threw his floo powder in the fire and said "the burrow."
CH 4.- The Great Muggle Debate
It was around 8 a.m. when they set off towards the town. As they entered town one thing was obvious, it wasn't a muggle town. Harry never knew a wizarding town existed solely on it's own. In London, Diagon Alley was a hidden part of London. A town in a city. But this town was just sitting out in the open for anybody to see or so Harry thought. He could see that the town had a single street down the middle of the town and various stores were on either side. People were apparating from one side of the street to the other side. There was a huge outdoor fireplace were people could travel by floo powder and instead of bike racks, there were racks to set your broom. Hermione had stopped at a sign by the entrance of the city. It said "Welcome to Charmed." But it wasn't the welcome sign that she was looking at, she was looking at the sign that said "No Muggles allowed."
"Well, that isn't very friendly." Hermione stated. "This is one place I could never bring my parents," she added. Ron didn't seem to worry much about it.
"I doubt muggles could see this town anyways Hermione. Charmed. Get it. It's been put under a spell like Hogwarts. Muggles don't even now it's here," Ron stated. "There are little towns like this scattered all over England and Ireland."
Hermione was still looking at the sign when Harry grabbed her by the arm to lead her to the town. Nobody at first seemed to notice the trio but when they got closer they started to get stares in their direction. By the time they got to the first town a large man appeared instantly before them. He was around six foot tall and very muscular, dressed in a wizarding gown. On his chest was a badge that said "Charmed and law enforcement." 'A type of auror,' Harry thought. He didn't look the least bit friendly and was scowling at the dress of the three.
"Well, you obviously aren't muggles or you won't be here. But you are dressed just like muggles and that is against the town dress code." he said. "Now, what is your business in Charmed."
"We are on a hike and I have to get a new backpack so we thought we may get one here." said Ron.
The sheriff glared at Ron then poked at his backpack. "It is pretty pathetic isn't it?" the sheriff drawled.
After what felt to be an eternity, the sheriff pointed to a store in the middle of town. "Mr. Pocock may have what you need. We don't have much backpacking supplies here but he may be able to fix you up with something. But you can't take your wand, if you have one, no wands allowed in town. Keeps things safer, more easier to manage."
Harry noticed Hermione wasn't saying a word for a change and that had his curiousity up. He could tell that she was hoping the sheriff wouldn't talk to her. "Here Ron, I'll hold your wand," Harry said. "Hermione and I will wait out here for you. And make it quick, we got a lot of hiking to do today!"
The sheriff was looking at Harry intently, his eyes focused on Harry's forehead. "Well I'll be, it's Harry Potter!" Nearby shoppers stopped what they were doing to focus on Harry. His attitude improved somewhat and he turned his head toward Hermione. "Introduce me to your friend Mr. Potter, " the sheriff commanded.
"This is Hermione Granger." Harry glanced at a nervous Hermione. Her quietness made Harry anxious. He could tell that Hermione was afraid.
"Granger, "the sheriff mulled over. "Never heard of a wizarding family by the name of Granger. Why is that I wonder."
Hermione offer nothing to the sheriff so he was forced to make his "questions" more direct. "Are you part-witch or full blown mudblood?"
Hermione's checks flushed under his questioning but she held his gaze. "My parents are both muggles," she said.
"Tell me how does a witch get born into a muggle family? I always wondered that. Could it be genetic or perhaps your mother had another man on the side. If I were your father I'd be asking some questions." The sheriff was clearing egging Hermione on and Harry was hoping she won't take the bait. In the distance he saw Ron coming quickly with a large sack. He appeared to have noticed things weren't going well. Hermione standing her ground and he could tell she had her hidden wand ready for use. The sheriff's hand was also resting on his wand. They were in a tight spot, they couldn't use magic since they were underage and using magic could get them expelled from Hogwarts. Ron finally arrived breathless and took his wand from Harry.
"Well, we should be getting on our way." Ron said quietly. "Let's not trouble the sheriff anymore okay?"
"I'm sorry Ron, I didn't realize we were troubling the sheriff any." Hermione had a dangerous look on her face, something Harry never seen before. It seemed the sheriff had hit a raw nerve with Hermione. Hermione's glare was intense and there was a strong flow of magic coming from her. Her hair was actually flowing as if it was in a wind although there was no natural wind blowing. He was afraid Hermione would ask for an apology.
It was the sheriff that fliched first. He slowly backed off and gave a nervous laugh. "No harm done, you three be on your way now. Next time you come for a visit Mr. Potter make sure you leave the mudblood at home." Power radiated even more from Hermione and Harry was beginning to get really afraid. He lightly grabbed Hermiones arm and slowly pulled her away. He cast a quick glance at the sheriff and saw that the sheriff actually seemed relieved that Hermione was backing away. Hermione was the smartest witch Harry knew and he now realized that she had some power as well. Actually quite a bit of power. They cut across a field to get back on track and when they came to a shaded area, they stopped for lunch. Hermione looked so sad and Harry couldn't resist giving her a huge hug. He held her for a long time and she finally relaxed in his arms.
"I'm so proud of you Hermione. You could have dueled with him and I have no doubt you would have won but the powers that be probably would have kicked you out of Hogwarts. It wasn't worth it, he wasn't worth it, and you held back. I've always had a hard time with that, remember the time I blew up my aunt!" And with that, Hermione finally smiled.
They finally stopped hugging and found Ron just staring at them."You okay Ron?" Harry asked.
Ron stood there and seemed to thinking seriously about what he was going to say next. He should have thought harder. "I realize that the sheriff shouldn't have called you a mudblood. He had no right to be vulgar like that. But you need to realized that there are those who don't like "mudbloods." If the towns folk wanted to exclude mudbloods and they all agreed to have that law, you have to respect that. You should have kept your temper in check and just left the town."
Hermione looked at him like he had shot her. "You mean to tell me that I was in the wrong. That I have less rights than other witches because I'm a mudblood. That I have to accept discrimination and segregation because I'm not pure or even partly pure." Hermione was advancing quickly on Ron. "So I should just stop fighting and just sit at the back of the bus!"
Ron was backing up but not exactly backing down. "What bus are you talking about? And again, I'm not saying that it's right but it's the way things are. It's like those house elves you are trying to "save" Hermione. You know, the ones that don't want to be saved, the ones that are happy the way they are."
"There not all happy Ron, but what choice do they have. They've been told their whole lives that serving others as slaves is what they are born to do. They don't know anything else. They've been brainwashed and nobody cares!" Hermione yelled back.
"Exactly Hermione, nobody cares! Get it! That's why nobody wants to be part of SPEW, they only agree with you to get off their backs!" Ron spat back.
Hermione looked to Harry for support but he didn't know what to say. He didn't want Ron to get mad at him, he had suffered without Ron as a friend before and he didn't want to go through that again. He tried to take the middle ground. "I agree with Ron, the sheriff had no right to call you a mudblood. I think you're a brillant witch Hermione, you know that. I just don't know if the wizarding world is ready for your ideas, whether they are right or not."
Hermione just looked at Harry. Resignation and a profound sadness shown on her face. Harry knew instantly that Hermione thought that he placed his friendship with Ron above his friendship with her. That simply wasn't true and when he went to clarify his weak stand she just held up a hand to stop him. She didn't want to hear anymore from either of them. Harry could only hope to clear things up when feelings weren't so raw. The three continued their walk toward the forbidden forest till evening. They set up camp again and this time they used the tent. Hermione hadn't spoken to them at all and retired to the bedroom without eating. Harry was feeling horrible and he could tell Ron felt the same but neither knew what to say to make things better. Harry was even beginnig to wonder if their friendship could be saved when he thought back to all the things Ron had said. 'How do you get past that,' Harry wondered. They both decided to retire early mostly just to get the day over with.
When they awoke, they realized that Hermione had left during the night. She had taken the map and compass plus she had taken food and other supplies. The forbidden forest would be hard to find without the map, but not impossible. Harry thought he remembered the route Hermione had mapped out. They had no choice but to try to find her and make things right, it was what friends do. They set out as soon as possible, and it wasn't long before they were lost. By noon, they had no idea which way was which. They thought the were walking west but somehow they were going south. They tried to back track and get corrected. By the time evening came, they were disappointed to discover they were on the outskirts of Charmed. They walked away from Charmed quickly and proceded to start a fire. They opened up their emergency bag of floo powder and decided to call off their search for Hermione. Harry could only hope that Hermione was safe. He scanned the countryside again hoping he would see her but he saw absolutely nobody. With a sigh he threw his floo powder in the fire and said "the burrow."