I'm tired, its 3:46 in the morning, its hot, I'm watching the British Who's Line, and for some odd reason I feel like writing, although at the moment I have no idea what this chapter is gonna be about…oh wait, I think I used to have a plan of some sort…oh well….
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Hermione's last week at Hogwarts had come to an end. Earlier that day she had said goodbye to her friends and teachers, including the remaining (loyal) members of the DA. After fifth year, the students who hadn't already known about it were informed of the existence of the Order of the Phoenix. Those who had graduated Hogwarts that year- Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Lee Jordan, and the Weasley twins-were now all members of the Order. Most of the ones who were still at school were planning to join as soon as they were of age. Cho Chang, Zacharias Smith, and Anthony Goldstein all flat out declined. Now, as she stood once again in the headmaster's office, there were only two people left to bid adieu.
"So, I guess this is it." Harry looked down at his feet, none of them really knowing what to say. They had been through so much together…how could they say goodbye?
"Hey, think of it this way." Ron strained to keep a happy face, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Besides, we'll all be together again before you know it."
"Yeah"
"I don't want to leave you guys!" Hermione sobbed, pulling her friends into a hug.
They could have stayed like that for hours, but Hermione was expected in Texas at a certain time. When they pulled apart it was evident that Hermione hadn't been the only one crying. Harry looked away and wiped his eyes, while Ron turned to face the wall and gave a fake cough. Hermione walked over to her boyfriend and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Ron, I-"
"Don't…don't say anything. Maybe…it was a mistake for us to begin a relationship so soon before you left…"
"Are you-?"
"I mean maybe if we had started this earlier…'Mione, I just…I want you to be happy; as much as possible before…well, you know. You're going off to the States and…well, you deserve to be happy now." It wasn't that he didn't want to be with her. They both knew that wasn't true. The time between now and when they would next meet would be difficult, and even then there would be no guarantee that either of them would survive to see Voldemort defeated. It was just easier to end it now.
Understanding, if not somewhat in agreement, Hermione nodded. She then went over to Harry, who had been standing off to the side pretending not to listen.
"Look, I'm really not supposed to tell anyone this," Her voice became quieter to keep the portraits (or who or whatever else might be listening in) from hearing, "but if anything happens…if you guys ever need me, just look for Jayne Johnson in Austin, Texas.
"I should get going."
Hermione walked over and opened the door to find Professor Dumbledore leaning against the opposite wall twiddling his thumbs and whistling a cheery little ditty. He had kindly left the room to give the three best friends time to say their good-byes in private.
"Professor?"
"Ah, Miss Granger. I take it you're ready then?"
"Yes sir."
"Well you should be off then." He followed her back into the room and handed her the jar of Floo Powder that rested at the top of his fireplace. "Good luck Miss Granger, and stay safe."
"Yes Professor, thank you." She threw a handful of the powder into the fire, instantly turning the flames an eerie green. She said one last quick goodbye to her friends and headmaster before dragging her trunk with her into the fire. With a quick shout of her intended destination, she was gone.
"Well, I guess that's it then." Ron said sadly.
"Perhaps for now, Mr. Weasley, but if you concentrate on your studies and give yourself something to do, then time will pass quickly and before you know it you and Miss Granger will be together again."
Ron could have sworn he saw the old man wink at that last part, but as he and Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower, he shook it off as a trick of the light.
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Hermione looked all around her. She appeared to be in an inn quite like the Leaky Cauldron back in London. She took a few steps away from the fireplace when she was met by a man in a sports jacket and sunglasses.
"Are you Jayne Johnson?" He asked in a Texan accent.
"Yes," replied Hermione, unused to the sound of her new name. "Are you Tom?"
"Heck no!" the man laughed, "I've been hired by Mr. Johnson to pick you up today. Follow me, my cab's just outside."
He led the way to a car sitting in front of the inn. It had 'Dibton Taxi Service' written along the side. The man hoisted Hermione's trunk into (ironically enough) the car's trunk. Hermione climbed into the back seat, and the man into the front, and as they drove along Hermione got her first look at America.
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When Hermione reached the house in which she was to live until she had completed her witch training, she was greeted by a quaint, one story house (painted dark brown) with a small (but not too small) front yard. A cement path led from the street to the house. Hermione walked from the taxi, down the path, and up the two steps that brought her to the front door. She tentatively reached out her hand and pressed the tiny round button that alerted those inside to her presence.
A crash, a curse, and the angry screech of a cat nearly made Hermione trip backwards down the steps. Luckily, she was able to catch herself just as the door opened. A tall, thin man, with short dark hair looked up and down at the young witch on his front stoop.
"Hay, you must be Hermione! Come in, me an' Mouse here've been expectin' yah." He moved aside to let Hermione in, his cat "Mouse" brushing against her as she took his outstretched hand. "I'm Tom Johnson. Nice ta meet yah.
"I hate to have to tell yah this since yah just got here an' all," His heavy Southern accent slightly obscured his words. "but somethin's come up. It seems that I've got tah go on a buisness trip for the next two months. See, I'm in construction, an' I need tah go to Seattle ta start work on a major project. This could mean a whole buncha money for my company if it works out, see. But the thin' is I can't exactly take you with me…but it's okay though! I've already made plans for you.
"I have a friend up North who used ta teach at the White Wig School, so she's fully qualified ta teach you magic. She has a daughter 'round your age who's a squib. Durin' the day you can go tah Muggle school with her. We've made up a story that y'all are gonna tell the Muggles. As far as anyone's gonna know (both there an' when you get back to Texas), you're my daughter. I just moved to Austin from Dallas so no one's gonna need tah question that. When you're up with them Yanks you can just say you're an exchange student from Down South. Yah got that?"
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Wait," she looked up curiously, "What's a 'Yank'?"
Tom laughed. "A 'Yank' or Yankee is what we down here call 'em Northerners…Oh, and up there its just used as the name of a damn good baseball team.
"Right so, you'll be staying here for another two days" he moved back to the original topic rather then get into a long discussion on how the Yankees kick ass (he'd let her figure that out when she was in Muggle territory). "That'll give yah time ta work on a Texan accent. In the meantime, I'll show yah where you'll be stayin'." He grabbed hold of Hermione's trunk and led the way to her room in the back of the house.
*****
//"Alright," the teacher began, "It seems that our new exchange student will be joining our class. Jayne, would you like to introduce yourself."
"Um, alright," She said with a horrid Southern accent. "Hi y'all, my name is Jayne Johnson and, um, I'm from Austin Texas."
At once the questions began-
"What's it like in Texas?"
"Whose your host family?"
"How long are you staying here?"\\
Reflecting on her stay one night, Hermione realized that she had actually been very nervous when she originally got "up north". It was her first experience at an American school, as well as her first time in a Muggle school since she had found out that she was a witch. Not to mention she now had a new name and a new look. On her first night in the US, Tom had taught her how to do a rather complex glamour spell. Bushy-haired, brown-eyed Hermione Granger had become Jayne Johnson; choppy blond hair, blue eyes and all. As her stay in the states progressed, she began to become more comfortable. Though she missed her friends and her cat (Crookshanks was living with the Weasleys…at first the twins had offered to take him in, but Hermione was against animal testing and out of fear for her cat's life, refused. That was when Molly volunteered to care for him). She had made a few new friends, and had become close with her host family. A few of her new friends had even tried to set her up with a couple of hot boys, but deep down Hermione knew she wouldn't be able to push aside her feelings for Ron so easily. All in all, she wasn't having that horrid a time. But then, something happened that put her on edge.
//"Harry Potter is like, my life!"
"Oh I know! And Sirius is TOTALLY still alive"
"If you ain't got a body, you ain't got a death!"
"You know, I happen to prefer Lord of the Rings…"
"You what!?" All heads turned in the direction of the one person claiming to like Lord of the Rings over Harry Potter.
"Actually I kind of do too…" And for the next 15 minutes, the class debated back and forth which was better, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Meanwhile Miss Conner just stood there in the middle of the room waiting for her chance to regain control of the class.
"Alri-Alright…we need to get back to Things Fall Apart" Normally, that would have worked, but today something…else happened.
"Ha-Harry Potter?" Jayne said slowly.
"Yeah," echoed another student, "Harry Potter, you know, like the books?"
"Books?"
"Oh don't tell me you haven't read them either!"
"Hey," Sam cut in, "What is it with you exchange students? Last year Mari didn't know about the series either…of course now she's addicted too…"\\
'Harry Potter?' Hermione had thought worriedly to herself, 'How the bloody hell could a bunch of American Muggles know about Harry?' Her mind reeled. 'What if this is some kind of trick and You-Know-Who or someone is waiting around somewhere!?' Her nerves were only slightly calmed when she was told it was a book series. 'Okay, keep calm. Now, they obviously think it's a fictional story.' This had just added a lot more confusion to her already growing list of mixed emotions. She tried to play along with it for the rest of the class, which was easier once the teacher gained control of the students. Not that the reference to her best friend as a book character had left her mind, but even though it was a Muggle school, Hermione was in her element, and nothing was about to stop her from making good with the English teacher.
Later that night she had questioned her host family about these "books". Mrs. McBride (divorced, as she had so adamantly proclaimed upon first introductions) and her daughter Kerri started laughing when the subject came up. Luckily, they were eventually able to explain how a single witch who had been short on money and was struggling to raise a daughter, had decided to sell the story of Harry Potter and his oh-so-exciting life as a fiction novel to a book publisher. Apparently this witch, a British woman going by JK Rowling, was a very powerful seer. She did not have much trouble finding out about the major events in Harry's present and future, and what she didn't know she made up.
"Surely the wizarding world would know about this? It's not like the British ministry to sit around and let something like this happen!" Hermione had reasoned.
"Magic officials were not aware of this until it was too late. The first book was a fast seller; after that any action on their part would cause too much suspicion- too many people had read the book to wipe all their memories, and to arrest Rowling for her work would lead to Muggle investigations- it would be a while big mess. They decided to keep this from the rest of the wizarding world, which wasn't too difficult seeing as how most wizards tend to not get involved in Muggle affairs. There was a whole big conference on this…they had representatives from all the main magical governments of the world."
"So you mean that there are actually books out there about my best friend?"
"Yup!" smiled Kerri, "Why do you think we were so happy to have you stay with us…not that we don't like you or anything, because we totally do, but still…your famous!"
"ME!?"
"Of course! You're one third of the Dream Team…Harry, Ron, and Hermione; everyone's favorite teenage wizards!"
Hermione just sat there with her mouth hanging open at this revelation. "Wait," she said, coming to her senses once again, "If these books are out there, then what's to stop You-Know-Who from reading them and using them as a way to get to Harry?"
"What, Voldemort?" asked Kerri, knowing perfectly well whom her friend was talking about (she just wanted to see if it would make her cringe like it did in the book…it did).
"Oh don't worry about that." Said Kerri's mother. "The books are specially charmed so that he can't get a hold of them. And, on the off chance that he did find a way around those spells (which is not very likely), Rowling refuses to let anyone read the material until after it happens in real life. That was the one request made by the wizarding world, and she was happy to agree. She has the unpublished parts of those books so well guarded that I doubt that even Voldemort and a full army of dark wizards could get a hold of it."
This had calmed Hermione a bit until Kerri broke in again.
"Hey you wanna read them? I have all five books in my room."
And of course, Hermione being the bookworm that she is wouldn't have been able to refuse even if the books hadn't been about her best friend. And so she decided to spend all of her free time reading until she had finished all five (with the help of a speed reading spell Mrs. McBride had taught her in a recent tutoring session, she was able to finish that same weekend). But of course she had not forgotten the confrontation she had had with Mari Smith the day that she found out about the books.
// "First of all, I don't know where you got that accent, but it wasn't Texas. A parrot could do a better accent than you. Secondly, I could possibly understand your not having read the Harry Potter books before, but not knowing what they were!? Now I may not be from down south, but I do know that the books do exist down there, so how is it that you could have possibly never heard of them?"
"People in different parts of Texas talk with different accents, and this is just how I talk. As for the Harry Potter books, I never said I hadn't heard of them. I just haven't read them is all."
"Then why did you look so startled when we were talking about them?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh don't give me that! You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! You're not even from Texas, are you!?"
"I'll have you know that I was born and raised in Austin, Texas. And while we're on the subject of hometowns, why don't we talk about you? From what I've heard, you came here as an exchange student and never left. Some exchange!"
Mari grew quiet at that. "There happens" she spat out, "To be a perfectly reasonable explanation for that."
"Well I'm waiting."
"You know what? Just forget about it!" Mari stood up, yanked at her bag, and walked fiercely out of the room.
"Bloody hell that was close," Jayne whispered to herself in an English accent, no longer caring about the slow southern drawl her alter ego was supposed to use, "She almost found out that I'm a witch."\\
Mari had been the only person even the slightest bit suspicious of Hermione in the time she had been there. Not even counting the business of how Mari was only supposed to come here on exchange, Hermione noticed the girl seemed to be hiding something. There was something off about Mari Smith and Hermione was going to find out what it was…without giving away anything about her own secrets of course…she hoped.
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Yes! Done with chapter five…ugh that was annoying, I don't like writing in a Southern accent.
I know that chapter was kind of choppy in some parts (srry), but that's just how it turned out. Ummm….right, the White Wig school is the name of a witchcraft/wizardry school in America…Also, since Rowling's never said otherwise, we're gonna assume for this story that each country has its own form of magical government…I think that's basically it…
Oy now I have to figure out how I'm gonna get Mari and Jayne to each figure out what's going on with the other in a very short period of time (6 weeks of Jayne's 2 month (abt 8 weeks) stay have already passed (stupid, stupid!) so that doesn't exactly make it easy. Although come to think of it I'm not really sure I want Jayne to find out about the whole thing with Mari…I think I want her to tell *ahem* someone else first (but that can't happen till later on) ugh…oh well….
Eeks I have this whole elaborate scene planned out with Mari and…someone else that was inspired by somethin I read in another fic…its gonna be so yummy!
review! or I might just have to tape you to a chair and leave you in an empty classroom (hehe we did that to my friend today)!!
Lily and James Potter: *blinks innocently* and which question would that be?