When Hermione is four years old and ready to start reading, her parents give her her first book.
It's a tattered little storybook with a peeling cover and worn pages, but it's Hermione's first love. It's a place where she can lose herself no matter how she's feeling.
Then the world starts.
Hermione raids the local library on the weekends and every corner of her room is occupied with a stack of books taller than she is. Hermione doesn't discriminate against genres, she loves all — but horror takes a little time to warm up to, as she had the nightmare after the first book she'd read, involving a possessed murder doll.
(She never touched a doll again.)
When her parents ask her why she enjoys books more than socializing. Hermione looks up at them, grinning toothily, and tells them, "I like to read my books because it-it's like I get to go on a journey in my mind!"
It's true. Every book captivates her; there isn't a book she doesn't like and her literary skills soar — so naturally, she's the smartest girl in her class.
Her teachers call her gifted, but Hermione's parents know her secret and they let it continue, proud of what their daughter is achieving.
One day, an old man with a letter arrives and Hermione's life changes forever.
At Hogwarts, there are even more books. There's a boy in her year who makes fun of her love of books — but she doesn't care; she's used to this kind of teasing from Muggle boys.
The library is vast and Madam Pince isn't awful; she lets Hermione check out as many books as she wants and is generally nice to her.
Hermione likes this new place, full of knowledge about a brand new world, and she's ready to explore, no matter where the world takes her — because the books offer so much more.
319 words
Auction - "I like to read my books because it-it's like I get to go on a journey in my mind!" (19-1)
