[A/N: Real life and research takes time away from any actual writing. Sorry for the delay.]
4 January 1992
Dear Mum and Daddy,
Things have been so wonderful here at Hogwarts. I'll say it again that I'm truly grateful to have been sorted into a warm and loving House. As you may remember, I had wavered on whether or not Gryffindor or Ravenclaw would've best suited me. Boy, how wrong I was! Ever since I met Harry Potter, my life has been one great adventure. Daddy, I don't mean adventure as in wandering down deserted corridors in search of some mystical object or battling dangerous creatures.
No, my adventures lie in discovering that I'm meant to be part of a whole. A group mentality that offers peace and solitude while at the same time a chance to be part of something larger. One thing that has resulted in my friendship with Harry Potter has been a development of my love for art in all its forms.
There is a remarkable artistic revolution occurring here at school and I want to be part of it. Even though I can't draw or paint and definitely can't sing; there is one thing I can contribute to the revolution. The Art of the Silver Screen through film and movies. Daddy, I was wondering if I could borrow one of your old projectors that don't require electronics to work and some of your early films? I was thinking of starting simple, silent films like Laurel and Hardy, Keystone Kops, Buster Keaton and the others of that generation then build up to color movies with sound like Wizard of Oz.
I've spoken with my Head of House and she's said that there is a way for you to visit the school if you so desired to oversee the installation of the projector.
Please say yes,
Hermione
Hermione found Harry and explained what her solution to the technical problems of bringing a projector into the school and what Professor Sprout had offered.
"I was wondering if I could borrow Hedwig to send off my letter?" She asked him Friday morning at breakfast. A flutter of wings and a hoot announced the arrival of said owl with the morning mail. Harry looked pleased at the question and turned to Hedwig.
"Feel like making a special trip, my dear? Hermione here would like to send a message to her parents."
Hedwig gave him an imperious hoot, puffed up her feathers and held out her leg.
With a broad gesture Harry quipped, "I think there's your answer, Hermione."
Two days later, Hogwarts received a most important visitor. For the first time in several hundred years, a Muggle had stepped foot within the castle grounds. Daniel Granger looked around him in awe and wonderment. His gaze wandered over the towers and battlements, over the stained glass windows and the flags fluttering in the breeze. He witnessed a group of young wizards flying overhead on brooms. He could hear the sounds of hundreds of students going about their daily business and could also hear the sounds of what could only be a metalsmithing shop.
After getting a visit from Professor Sprout and loading up the projector and requisite films; Dan had put on a special necklace, took hold of a hula hoop and with a blinding maelstrom of light and who knew what else; was transported to the Scottish Highlands.
Just then he heard the most wonderful sound of all. "DAAADDDYYY!"
Hermione arrived in a tumultuous fashion and slammed into her father like a tsunami of laughter and fast-paced Hermione-babble. He was well used to this so he just waited until she ran out of steam. He glanced over at Professor Sprout who chuckled lightly at the heartwarming scene.
Finally, Dan held a finger over her mouth and got her to quiet down, "It's good to see you too, pumpkin. Why don't we go in and I can see the school for myself, eh?"
Hermione spotted the crate sitting on a trolley behind her father and squealed in joy, "You brought it! Oh, thank you so much!" Dan just smiled knowingly and nodded before gesturing for her to lead them inside.
Pomona led them into the Great Hall where once again, Dan Granger was speechless. The immense grandeur of the room spoke of centuries of tradition and culture and seemed frozen in time. The ceiling seemed to reach for the heavens; it blew his mind as to what magic was capable of. 'Certainly more than a visiting professor who turned herself into a cat and made a teacup dance on the table.'
"Do you require anything else, Dr. Granger?" Pomona inquired.
Dan opened up a couple of crates and examined them for damage before looking up, "Nope. I think I got it covered. Thank you, Professor Sprout." He held out his hand, which she took and shook in pleasure.
Harry arrived in the Great Hall after hearing a commotion outside his shop about a muggle in the Great Hall. Knowing this probably had something to do with Hermione, he packed up what he was working on, washed his hands and proceeded to walk up there. Upon entering, he found Hermione in a near state of bouncy panic. She was flitting from one point to another at blazing 'Hermione speed.' 'Haven't seen her get like this since our last Defense test.'
On the other side of the table where Hermione was, Dan and Professor Flitwick were busy trying to figure out how to convert magical energy into something the motor would accept.
He walked up to the bench and waved at his best friend, "Hey, Hermione. You seem excited about something." He drawled with a smirk on his face. Hermione acted maturely and stuck her tongue out at him.
Dan looked up at the sound of Harry speaking with Hermione, "Pumpkin, why don't you go stay with your friends? It's going to be a while Professor Flitwick and I figure out the conversions."
Harry took her hand and led her away from the activity and sat her down on a bench. "Hermione?" She didn't respond, "Hermione! You got a Astronomy test in fifteen minutes!"
Hermione got a look on her face that suggested she was not amused, turned to glare at Harry and blew a raspberry. He could only chuckle at the action.
"Well, I had to see if you were alright and you weren't responding to your name."
"Harry, I'm just excited. My daddy is here at school with me."
"Yeah, and you were disturbing him and the professor to figure out a solution to a problem that you created." He said slowly with a cheeky glint in his eyes.
She let out an exasperated sigh, " I know that, Harry. I-I've missed him so much and now he's here. I'll be able to show him the school and where I'll be for nearly nine months out of the year." She glanced down at her hands, "He originally didn't want me to come here. He said that a boarding school wasn't something that neither one of us was ready for. I want to be able to show him that he was wrong and that I'm thriving here."
Harry put his arm around her shoulders and let her lean into him, "It'll be fine, Hermione."
It took a while but Dan and Filius finally figured out a way to create a magical version of a power inverter. The look of intrigue on the Head of Ravenclaw's face as Dan instructed him as to the properties and basics of electro-mechanical operation was plain to see as was several nearby students. 'There's going to be some NEWT level projects in this for the foreseeable future.' Harry mused.
Dan instructed Filius on how to properly load and run the opto-mechanical projector and at what time would be best to cast the charm to get the sound to work. After a bit of experimentation, Professor Flitwick came up with the charm of 'Sonum deferunt.' They tested the projector briefly and to all appearances, it worked just fine.
"So, as to the types of movies I brought. I have a number of family friendly films ranging from slapstick comedy to action/adventure types," Dan commented as he rummaged around in the smaller box containing the reels, "I even brought a few bags of popcorn…though looking around, maybe you ought to see if your kitchen staff could come up with something to snack on instead."
Dan was invited to stay for the evening so he could visit with his daughter and also get the chance of a lifetime to witness real magic. He happily did so and allowed himself to be dragged out of the Hall by his over-excited daughter. Professor Babbling and Vector, the Runes and Arithmancy teachers respectively, came down to investigate this new device. They, along with Flitwick were excited by the prospect and possibilities for future classes.
Harry had offered to Professor Flitwick that he would contact the elves and see what they had in the way of popcorn and if they didn't, what else they could whip up. Filius nodded and gave him the permission to do so before turning back to the in-depth conversation between the other teachers.
Harry made his way downstairs to the kitchen and entered to find the room in its usual state of organized chaos. He was spotted almost immediately and a couple of elves popped up in front of him.
"What can we be doing for young master?" inquired one.
"Well, I need to know if you know what popcorn is and if you do, how much do you have in stock?" Harry replied.
With a puzzled look, the first elf turned to the other and had a quiet conversation in their native language. Turning back to Harry, they sadly shook their heads, "We is sorry young master but we is not knowing 'popcorn.'"
Harry knelt down to their level, "It's not your fault. It's a muggle snack food, which is probably why you didn't. Here, I have a couple of bags of it so you can see if you can get more. What's going to happen tonight is what is known by the muggleborns as 'movie night.' Now, this popcorn is made and eaten as a snack during the movie. The amount in these bags is not enough to give to everyone so that's why I wanted to know if you had any in stock."
Taking the bags from Harry, the elf opened one and examined the kernels and the flavoring. The second one took the opened bag, pulled out the instructions and read them. Again, they held a quick conversation before nodding. The second elf popped away while the first turned back to Harry.
"We is getting the ingredients and will have the popcorn ready for tonight's activities."
Harry stood up and bowed to the diminutive creature, "You have my thanks, Master Elf."
The elf gave a shy grin back and popped away.
That evening the whole school was in attendance not only for the night's meal but also for the first showing of 'Movie Night.' The muggleborns and muggle-raised were high spirits and were constantly chattering to their magically born and raised friends just what sort of a treat they were in for. When the dinner plates had magically cleared, in their place were bowls of some kind of strange, fluffy…something. The magically born were a bit leery but the muggleborns were fairly laid-back about it.
Hermione had been chosen, since it was her idea, to go up to the front and introduce her father and the reasoning behind the event. Knees practically knocking and her fingers shivering; Hermione managed to get up on stage and turn to face everyone.
"H-Hi. Um…tonight's entertainment is being brought to y-you by my father, Doctor Daniel Granger. His hobby is collecting old movie projectors and their accessories along with old films." Dan stood up and gave a nod to everyone. "There are bowls of popcorn and the usual drinks on the tables there and I-I thought that perhaps we could start with something simple and watch a movie that had some magical elements in the story rather than diving into something more mundane."
With that, Professor Flitwick lowered the lights in the room and started the projector. There were some flickering lights as the film ran through its counters and alerted Filius as to the proper time to cast the Sound Charm. From the moment that the title of 'Willow' appeared to the moment when the end credits were rolling up, the room was mesmerized by what they saw. Hermione felt Harry's arms wrap around her shoulders as he gave her a comforting hug in light of her big debut in front of a large crowd.
It was decided by the staff that every Friday evening after dinner would be 'Movie Night.' Professor Sprout had contacted the Ministry to get a special dispensation to connect the Grangers' fireplace up to the Floo Network directly to her office alone so the school could send back the films that had already been watched for new ones. Hermione was practically floating without the aid of a charm everywhere she went. It was helped by nearly everyone complimenting her on the novelty of muggle movies.
The movies that were selected were wide and varied. They ranged from the silent films of Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton to the talking movies like 'The Wizard of Oz,' Disney's animated 'The Sword in the Stone,' 'Dumbo,' and so many others. The theater arts group immediately offered Hermione a place amongst their ranks and when not studying or hanging out with her friends, she could often be found helping to organize and produce their next performances.
Headmaster's office…
Albus was sitting in his office sucking on one of his favorite lemon drops as he contemplated all the recent changes and events going on in his school. He was annoyed by just about all of it since he wasn't included in the planning or even consulted to find out if such things like bringing in a muggle parent was even allowed! Truth be told, if he were consulted, he'd have denied the access. 'Better the children be kept away from undue influences and under mine. I'm starting to wish I had a way to have prevented Harry Potter from getting his Letter. That boy has brought nothing but trouble from day one!'
Valentine's Day…
To some it is a day of love and caring with that someone special in your life. To others, it's a that moment where you're sweating it out because you either forgot or couldn't think of anything to do or give to that significant other. In Harry's case, it wasn't that he forgot about it, rather he was bricking it because he couldn't decide on what to do! He'd spoken with a couple of the older Puffs, both male and female, as to what the best sort of gift and/or date would be for someone his age and had gotten quite an earful of advice; some good, some bad, some just…bizarre.
He'd even written to Hermione's parents to find out what her favorite foods, tastes in music and the other things that she was in to that he couldn't ask her if he still wanted their date to be a surprise.
The week before, Harry'd approached Hermione in the library to find out if she'd be willing to spend the day with him.
Playfully smirking she commented, "But, Harry, I spend nearly all my free time with you. Why should that particular day be any different?" The sparkle in her eyes suggested she knew exactly which day was in question and why Harry was asking but she was having so much fun twigging him that she was loathe to give him a break.
Sighing in feigned exasperation, "Hermione, I know that you know that I know what is so special about that day a week from now. It's no surprise that it's Valentine's Day. I just wanted to know if you'd go on a date with me?"
Surprise flitted across her cute features, "A-a date? An actual…date? With me?"
Slightly confused, Harry slowly nodded, "Yeahh… you know anyone else named Hermione Jean Granger that goes to this school?"
"Um, yeah. Sure, Harry, I'd love to be your date for Valentine's Day. Did you have anything in mind?" she stammered.
"I got a few ideas in the works. Just dress nicely and keep the day open."
Hermione let loose a bright, happy smile and nodded vigorously, "G-great! I'll…um, I look forward to it."
Next thing Harry had to do was get permission from Professor Sprout to get the things he needed to make sure their date went smoothly. Pomona was all smiles and even giggled lightly a few times as Harry laid out his plans for the best day ever.
"I'm thinking that I'll need to write to Mr. Granger and see if he has any light-hearted romance films. I have no idea if that's even possible but…" he continued to ramble on.
Pomona finally held up her hands and got his attention, "Perhaps you're going a bit overboard here, Harry. A first date should be something simple, even simpler than what you just described. I'd recommend doing something like having a picnic in the greenhouse or perhaps in Potter's Place, do something artistic together, or just play in the snow together building snowmen and having a snowball fight."
Harry cocked his head in thought before sighing deeply and loudly, "Yeah, I guess we could do that. I just wanted everything to be so absolutely perfect that people would be talking about it for years to come."
Pomona could only chuckle at the romantic woes of an eleven-year-old boy.
The morning of Valentine's Day arrived and all throughout breakfast the owls were swarming around delivering gifts and flowers to their intended recipients. There were oohs and ahhs permeating throughout the Great Hall, even a few groans and grumbles as someone received a gift from a hopeless or undesired romantic.
Hermione was sitting in her favorite spot at the Puff's table eating her porridge with her friends when she and everyone else heard the gentle strumming sounds of someone playing a guitar. The room quieted down as they all tried to figure out where it was coming from. She finally recognized that everyone in the room had turned their heads towards the door and spotted Harry walking in with a seventh year Slytherin guitar player slowly striding in behind him. Her eyes widened comically as she thought he was about to serenade her but he merely plonked himself down across from her and watched as the Slytherin sauntered over to his swooning girlfriend.
"For a moment there, I'd thought you were going to serenade me with a song, Harry." Hermione commented quietly.
Harry huffed, "I'm talented in many things, Hermione but singing isn't one of them. Dudley once said that I sounded like someone was trying to use a chainsaw to recreate the opening soundtrack for Doctor Who." Hermione's laugh echoed across the Hall.
Harry had decided to follow Pomona's suggestion to do something simple. 'She's right, of course. The more elaborate things can come later.' He'd finally decided on something fun without being too 'gooey' with the romantic feelings. Hermione arrived just a little before eleven in the morning at Potter's place, per Harry's suggestion. He welcomed her inside with a warm smile and open arms.
"Welcome to Casa de Potter!" he said cheekily as she just shook her head minutely and giggled, "Today, I have something special lined up for just the two of us."
She wiggled side to side cutely, "Oh, Mr. Potter? What sort of wild and crazy thing do you have planned?"
He mockingly put his hand on his chest and let out a gasp, "Hermione Granger! I'm only eleven! I got time to do the sickeningly sweet, gooey dates later." Then he softened up, "Nah, I thought we'd just spend the afternoon playing in the snow, make some snowmen and have a snowball fight with anyone who dares show their faces."
"In that case, I approve. Let's get ready shall we?"
The Great Hogwarts Snow War of 1992 was a smashing success as far as the kids were concerned. The two lovebirds teamed up with the other Hufflepuffs they managed to con into joining and squaring off anyone who approached and wasn't of their House. The Weasley twins got wind of this and set up the Gryffindor Zone not too far away and charmed the snowballs to repeatedly attack anyone and everyone.
When they finally got too cold, wet and tired from the activities, everyone congratulated each other on a fun day and trooped back inside to where the elves had setup a hot drink bar complete with various hot soups, hot chocolate and teas.
As far as Hermione was concerned, it was the perfect capper to a perfect day.
Two weeks later, Harry received a letter in the morning mail bomb from Director Bones about the status of the Sirius Black affair. In it, she stated that Black was responding well to treatment and had consented to being dosed with Veritaserum, a powerful truth-inducing potion. When their interview had concluded, it was clear that the only thing that Sirius was guilty of was being a bit of a rake and a general scoundrel not a murderer. The next step in the process to get him free was to bring the case before the Wizengamot, the governing body of magical Britain. She hoped to have the case presented and heard by the month of April, if not sooner.
In addition, Harry also received a letter from the Dursleys.
Dear Harry;
How are things going up there in magic-land? Learned how to pull rabbits out of hats yet? (Dudley)
Ignore him, Harry. Seriously though, I hope you're learning a lot and staying out of trouble. I wanted to thank you for the wonderful gifts you sent for springtime. The gardening gloves you sent are so interesting! Charmed to change color based on the soil quality and water levels? That's so helpful! (Petunia)
Why'd you send me a couple of those gold coins, Harry? You know that I can't spend them here, right? That ceramic mask you sent however, I really love it! I have it hanging up on my office wall. I do have a question though, why does it change color whenever someone comes into the room? What do the colors mean?" (Vernon)
That reminds me, Harry, I was wondering if you knew of any magical potions that can change the color of milk when it gets too old for safe consumption without needing to open the container? (Petunia)
I can't wait for you to come home, Harry. It's no fun here with just the adults. I got a new video game I wanna show you. (Dudley)
Well, that's all for now. Hope things are going well up there in Scotland. We all miss you greatly. It's just too quiet in the backyard without you working on your pottery and playing that radio of yours.
Love you,
Petunia, Vernon and Dudley
Harry wrote back telling his uncle that the coins were for him to hold onto in case of a financial emergency. He mentioned that the coins didn't have any enchantments on them and could be melted down and sold for the price of gold on the muggle stock market, if needed. The mask he'd made for his uncle was charmed to react in different colors based on the intent of his visitors. If, for example, someone were being dishonest, the mask would change to a green color or if someone were angry with him, it'd change to a red color (though he figured his uncle would recognize if someone were angry with him.) Harry wrote his aunt and said that there was a potion for detecting spoils and that he'd try to work it into his next project before sending it to her. With Dudley, he jokingly suggested that instead of his video game, he should go out and get some exercise if Dudley wanted to impress him.
He glanced around him and saw one of the other Puffs examining their camera and headed over, "Hey, Steven. Neat camera. Would you mind if I asked you something?"
Steven put down the tool he was holding and motioned for Harry to ask his question.
"Would you mind if I were to borrow this to take some photos of the castle and the grounds for my aunt and uncle?"
Steven pursed his lips and suggested that he'd take the photos as long as Harry told him what it was that he wanted, "It's a vintage camera from my grandfather and I'd rather not risk it getting damaged by anyone else, Harry."
Harry gave a small smile and shrugged, "It's not a problem, thanks."
The two Puffs then headed out as Harry pointed out the highlights he wanted to be photographed. As they descended into the dungeons on their way to the potions lab, Harry inquired as to what Steven wanted to trade for the photos.
"How about five Galleons for the set?"
Harry held out his hand, "Deal!"
Harry paid for the set and got the photos a couple of days later then packaged them up with the return letter to his relatives. There were candid shots of all the major points of interest as well as various shots of Potter's Place, Artist's Row and of him as well. Harry then trooped up to the Owlery and sent them off with Hedwig.
A second letter reply was written and sent to Director Bones thanking her for the update she'd sent earlier.
His third letter was to Sirius himself, explaining Harry's role in getting him the trial that should've been held ten years ago. In it, he also gave Sirius the background of his living arrangements and what his life had been like since that night. He explained that even though the Will stated that he was never supposed to go to the Dursleys, Harry was happy with them and they with him. Harry invited Sirius to write back and let him know about Sirius' recovery and what sort of plans the man had for when he officially got released.
[A/N: My postings will probably slow down a bit. I'm all out of pre-written chapters. It takes time to research things.]