Note: so I'm back with a new update, just in time for Christmas!!! I wanted to post this chapter now after spending the past 3 hours trying to finish it as a gift to you all for all your love and encouragement.
I'm extremely busy over the festive break so I can't guarantee when my next update will be but please all of you take care and stay safe. I hope all those that celebrate have a wonderful time.
Merry Christmas you beautiful people.
My love, Nell xoxo
~Sydenham, The Haven Home for Girls ~
~1st of September 1991 ~
~Hermione's POV~
She sighed quietly as she finished checking through her school trunk for what felt like the first but was actually the twelfth time in not as many days. All her supplies were packed neatly, organised with a precision one certainly wouldn't expect from a ten year old. But after years of having to be self reliant Hermione could fold and organise anything with such tidiness one would guess an adult had been the one to pack it all.
Her books held pride of place at the very top of her trunk so as to ensure they weren't squashed in any way. One of the things she despised most was seeing a book of any sort being damaged or mistreated. Knowledge was important and nothing provided more insight into the world around her than that of literature.
In the past eight weeks she had devoured the books she had got on her first trip to Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall. Hogwarts: a History along with various others, including "An all encompassed guide to honing the magical core, and mastering your Magic" had been read twice over. Her eyes and mind enraptured by the words on each page. Her mind conjuring vivid images of the world she had only just begun to explore.
She had even been back to Diagon Alley three separate times since her visit with Professor McGonagall. Sneaking in and out of the orphanage without being caught by Matron had been a feat all on its own but she had managed. On her second trip back she had even found her familiar. She had felt almost compelled to enter Eyelops Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie as she had walked past on her way to the book shop. Entering she had been drawn to the back, where a large ginger cat sat atop a stack of beds in the corner furthest from the door. Hermione got the impression that no one ventured this far back very often. The cat was rather scruffy looking but he held an intelligence within his yellowish eyes that Hermione found endearing. The scar atop his right eye and ear. A long thin pink line that looked as if it had been slashed by a claw or a blade gave him character, it made him look fierce though the way he had instantly leapt from his perch and trotted towards her, rubbing his larger than average head against the bare flesh of her leg certainly contradicted his fierce exterior. The shop owner had found her hours later, curled up asleep, the cat curled up on her chest and an open book resting on her lap. He had told her that the cat had been in the shop for so long he was left to wonder on his own, often venturing into the Alley to entertain himself as he was often aggressive or outright dismissive of anyone who attempted to get near him.
Seeing the young muggle-born so tenderly at ease with the usually aggressive cat convinced the man that the cat truly belonged to Hermione. Taking pity on the sadness in her eyes when she explained she would never be able to afford to pay for the cat or any of the needed supplies, he had offered both cat and supplies, free of charge. Mainly glad just to be rid of the feline.
He had explained that the cat was a half Kneazel mix, kneazels being a highly intelligent breed not found outside the magical world. They were naturally attracted to strong magical aura's and lived long lives. She had snuck him back into The Haven, choosing to keep him in the attic while Matron was around and true to word, the feline seamed to understand just how important it was for him to remain undetected. She had decided to name him CrookShanks, a name she found befitting of both his crooked personality and his fierce appearance.
She had enjoyed her time in Diagon Alley, mainly spent browsing books though she was rather unsettled by the realisation that Madame Lestrange had seemingly predicted her inability to stay away from the book shop, the owner informing her that the pure-blooded woman had set up and all but demanded that Hermione was not to pay for a single book. All purchases were to be billed to her and as she had the money and power to make the owner unwilling to go against the demand Hermione did not feel completely comfortable with purchasing any books. Instead she took note of all the titles she was interested in, determined to find them elsewhere.
Now the day had come that she finally got to leave this place. She was nervous. More nervous than she ever remembered being for any other singular event. Although moving away to a boarding school in a different country with no real way of contacting the place she had called home almost her entire life could be considered a rather big deal she supposed. So nerves were understandable she rationalised, finally shutting and securing the lid of her trunk. She made sure her hair was tied back tightly because she knew Matron wouldn't resist the chance to criticise her one last time if the opportunity arose.
She picked up her backpack, helping Crooks settle himself inside so as to stay out of sight before dragging her trunk out the room she had stayed in for forever and down the stairs to wait by the door. Matron was a punctual woman so she knew she would only have to wait exactly five minutes before they would head off towards King's Cross Station for the train.
Platform 9 and 3/4 was not as difficult to find as she had expected it to be. Made all the easier when she over heard a large, plump red headed woman talk none too quietly about making sure they stuck together and didn't draw the attention of the muggles around them. She had scoffed internally at hearing that, as if the woman and her motley crew of weirdly dressed red headed children hadn't already drawn a lot of attention from the muggles that bustled about Kings Cross. Seeing that they also pushed trolleys filled with trunks and had a brown owl caged on one of the trolleys Hermione deemed it safe enough to assume she could simply follow behind them at a respectable distance.
"Non magical people cannot get through to the platform ma'am so if it is alright with you I will follow that family through?" She asked politely, not daring to look the woman who had both cared for and been the source of her nightmares in the eye less she anger her at the last moment.
"Of course girl, now do remember what you have been taught and do not dare forget I expect nothing but the most glowing report from your professor's come the summer. Just because I do not understand the material you shall be learning does not mean I do not still require nothing but the best from you, am I understood?" Matrons tone was stern even if she spoke quietly and Hermione did not even want to entertain the idea that she would embarrass the elderly woman by failing at anything. She knew better, Matron had never demanded anything less than perfection from her wards and possessing magic or not the brunette did not want to earn her ire.
"Of course, I will not disappoint you ma'am" she replied sincerely, bowing her head respectfully as her shoulder was patted in farewell and she was left standing on her own. Nothing new there then, she thought rather dryly. She released a slow breath of relief at the familiar security she felt at being left alone, if she were on her own she couldn't mess up at all, she now had all year free from the awful woman and intended to enjoy it as best she could.
Gathering herself Hermione pushed the trolley forward, catching up with the red heads rather quickly she managed to follow them through the wall between platforms 9 and 10 easily. Marvelling at the large steam train that sat in wait for all the new and old students to board it. It was easily the longest train she had ever seen and the platform was busier than she had ever seen any other. There was people everywhere she looked and she could feel herself begin to panic a little at the thought of trying to guide her trolley over to the luggage drop off. There was so much potential for things to go drastically wrong and the last thing she wanted was to hit someone with the trolley and earn their anger.
"Miss Granger, how lovely it is to see you once more" a familiar lilting voice sounded from behind her and Hermione swivelled, coming face to face with none other than Lady Lestrange. Dressed up in an almost silvery grey robe with her hair styled neatly atop her head the woman looked just as regal as she had the first time they had met and Hermione paled.
The book shop owners stuttered admission to this woman's demands filtering through her mind and filling her with a mix of indignation, anger and trepidation, entirely unsure of how to deal with this woman.
"Lady Lestrange" she greeted cordially, inclining her head.
"I noticed you dithering dear girl and thought I ought to offer my assistance, the platform can be rather overwhelming for one so tiny" the woman said, stepping forward so they now stood closely face to face. The older woman turned Hermione by her shoulders and took hold of the trolley either side of the young brunettes own hands and she knew it must look like a strange and awkward imitation of a tender embrace. She flinched more visibly than she would have liked at the woman's proximity and judging by the hand that was placed on top of her own left hand, Lestrange had noticed. Thankfully for Hermione though the older woman didn't make comment, simply pushing then forward as she began to guide Hermione and the trolley forward without a word.
Reaching the luggage drop off, Lady Lestrange wasted no time in waving her hand, levitating the trunk onto the stack of luggage already in place. "Now I have placed a feather light charm upon your trunk, it shall make it a lot easier for you to move on your own. Do Owl me when you figure out how to remove the charm and cast it yourself" the woman explained, finally stepping back from Hermione and moving to stand in front of her.
"Thank you ma'am" Hermione forced herself to sound calm and politely grateful for the woman's help, not wanting to offend her or find herself in any sort of verbal sparing match with a virtual stranger in the middle of the platform. Nor did she deem it necessary to inform the woman that she was pretty sure she already had a decent grasp on what the charm and counter charm was and once she was allowed to legally use magic she'd be able to cast them pretty quickly.
"You are more than welcome, and please less of the formality young one, it makes me feel old, it's Andromeda or Andy" and fuck the woman's gentle tone could have Hermione convinced she was genuine in her care for a muggle-born girl if she weren't too careful.
"I'll let you board now miss Granger but do keep in touch, I'll expect your owl" and just like the last conversation she had been part of with this woman, she was gone before Hermione had a chance to respond, striding off down the platform towards the Malfoy men who had appeared not to long ago.
Hermione sighed, her rather impressive brain failing to come up with any sort of reasoning as to why Andromeda Lestrange, pureblood Lady had taken an interest in her, a ten year old muggle-born girl. There was absolutely no reason she could find. Especially now she had read more about the first Wizarding War that ended the year she was born. The book she had found was similar in layout to Hogwarts: A History and no less informative in just what Pureblood supremacists thought of muggle-borns like her and she remembered seeing that the Lestrange family had been among those that had supported the Dark Lord Voldemort.
She shook her head, refusing to let the encounter dampen her new found freedom and excitement. Tramping down her nerves Hermione boarded the Hogwarts express in search of a compartment to find herself a seat.
The trains hallway was not the widest but the oak doors separating each enclosed seating area gave it a cosy feel and she could feel her shoulders relax minutely as she went. Finding herself an empty compartment was easier than she thought it would be but as someone with no loving relatives and therefore no tearful goodbyes or hugs that lasted a little too long meant that she was one of the first to board. She settled down, closing the door behind her before pulling out her book on mastering ones magic. She was determined to prove to herself that she could do it. That she could master her own magic and be as powerful and as accomplished as any other witch or wizard. Though she didn't plan on showing anyone she could do such a thing when she eventually achieved it.
She had learned quickly in the orphanage that showing off all the knowledge she held only resulted in her making enemies out of people, she had experienced the harsh truth of that early on, the bullying had been horrible despite it having built a thick skin.
Knowledge was power, but in her eyes it was even more so when those you faced didn't know you held that power. It meant you could go unnoticed, underestimated and generally left alone. Something she found quite appealing.
Hearing the whistle blow signalling the trains imminent departure, Hermione soon lost herself within her book.
The sudden bang of her compartment door startled Hermione out of her book, making her stand quickly, facing the door. Her left hand clutching her book and her right palm down facing the floor instinctively. In front of her stood two males who looked to be a few years older than she was, both boys holding their wands menacingly in their hands as they sneered at her.
"Draco mentioned there was a mudblood on board, thought we'd come check out the trash ourselves" the first boy said. He was pale in comparison, brown shaggy hair hanging rather messily down his narrow features.
"Seems Malfoy was right and we do have a mudblood in need of being taught her place" the second agreed, a cruel smirk on his face. His hair was dark, cut short to the point of almost non existence. His nose looked too large for his face. They both looked at her with indifference but Hermione could see the flicker of cruelty gleaming in their eyes, frightening her more than a little.
Their words however sparked that same anger within her she had felt the day she had knocked over Malfoy in the book shop. The slur, stung just as much as before but she refused to let it show. Straightening her spine and raising her chin she met their prejudice with defiance. Not moving an inch even as they raised their wands to point at her.
"Leave" she said calmly, staring them both in the eye and she could see her false confidence had confused them a little, hesitance creeping up on their faces before it was gone. Replaced by two identical looks of anger.
"You filth dare command us" the first boy hissed.
"It seems you need to learn to respect your betters mudblood" the second added before raising his wand. "Aguamenti"
A stream of water shot towards her and acting on nothing but instinct Hermione raised her hand. Aiming to protect at the very least her face and book from the oncoming spell. Though when she saw the water run off an invisible force field, not touching her in the slightest she looked up in confusion. Searching for the source of what she recognised as a Protego from her reading. It was effectively a shield of sorts protecting an individual from most spells, curses and jinx's.
Seeing no one else around, Hermione looked to her still raised hand in confusion. The shocked expression of her would be attackers were enough for her to know it wasn't either of them who had cast it. Her raised palm was glowing slightly as the shield around her held. The two unknown boys had begun to cast more spells in her direction, both hoping to get something past her protective barrier to humiliate or hurt her in some way.
She didn't want to risk the shield dropping but she was growing rather bored and annoyed with their attempted attack on her. She had known this was a possibility. McGonagall and her books had warned her enough of the remaining blood prejudice that still ran deeply in some circles of this new world and she knew if she gave them even an inch to hurt her now, they wouldn't stop. She didn't want her next seven years to be like the ten she had spent in the muggle world and that meant she had to stand her ground. Stand strong and prove everyone around her they were wrong.
She wasn't weak or inferior, nor did her blood make her dirty. Hermione Jean Granger would not be made to bow and cower again, this was her chance at building something for herself and she was not about to let two teen boys ruin that on the first day. She grit her teeth. Pushing down on her fear and uncertainty, narrowing her eyes at them she allowed herself to feel her magic, feel as it pulsed and curled around her, warming her. She took note of the way her hand felt slightly warmer than the rest of her. Her magic being channelled to that point of her body.
'To ever have the chance of mastering ones true magical ability one must first learn to feel their magic as instinctively and as naturally as if it were a physical object' the words of the book she had devoured twice now whispered through her mind as she let the feeling of her magic, the warmth give her the confidence she needed to hold both boys off. Her hand glowing brighter, feeling warmer as her resolve to stand her ground strengthened. She pushed her hand out further. Arm straight, keeping her palm flat. Surprising herself at how steady she appeared to be, feet planted shoulder width apart.
"I said leave" she repeated as they finally ran out of steam in their spell casting, their wands lowering with a slightly fearful but enraged look.
Before they got the chance to retreat, the blonde boy she had knocked over several weeks ago appeared in the door way. Draco Malfoy looked just as regal as he had the first time. His robes were perfectly pressed and expensive looking, though the surprised look on his face contradicted the sophisticated look he gave off as he looked between Hermione, her glowing palm and the two boys.
"Paucey, McNair what is going on?" He demanded not sparing her a second glance as he seemingly settled on addressing the two older boys.
"We came to teach the mudblood a lesson is what is happening but the filth has used some trick to make our spells ineffective" the dark haired boy growled, casting an accusing look her way.
"So you thought you ought to embarrass yourselves further by continuing to throw ineffective spells at a girl several years your junior. Are you both insane? If she went to a professor you would both be expelled" he chastised and Hermione had to fight hard to conceal her mirth. Finding something acutely funny about seeing the much smaller blonde all but dress down two boys much like they were small children.
"Besides regardless of her unfortunate blood status, my aunt has tasked me with letting the student body know that this mudblood is off limits. She is under the protection of Lady Lestrange and therefore an attack on her person will be seen as a personal attack on the Lestrange family." His words almost knocked her off her feet as much as it very nearly did the two boys. Though she managed to conceal her shock and horror much better than they did. Her face remaining blank and unimpressed.
She watched as the boys stuttered and hurriedly left, Draco offering her a small nod before following suit, closing the door behind him, all the while she remained mute while her mind reeled.
Under the protection of Lady Lestrange? Andromeda Lestrange? The woman who should despise her for her heritage, whom had done nothing but confuse and frighten her had ordered her nephew to make sure she was protected? She could not make sense of that as yet again the mystery and audacity of that woman grew.
And as the train rolled into Hogsmead Station, Hermione could not shake her unease at the revaluation. Internally screaming at the confusing mix of anger, shock, pain and uncertainty this Witch she had only let a small number of times was causing her.
Her softly muttered "what the fuck" went unheard by anyone and un criticised herself for her lapse in composure. But the three simple if a little crude words were an adequate response to what she had just learned she supposed. She turned to get changed. Shaking her head to try and quiet her thoughts, attempting in vain to close off her mind and focus on simply getting to the castle.