The Life of Juniper Potter
Chapter 3
A Brief Parting
A/N-Wow, I got a positive response on this. More than six hundred people read the first three chapters. It's been out for about a day and you welcome it with great aplomb and enthusiasm.
"I thank dbzgtfan2004 and knightwolf20x for leaving a review, but I'm feeling ever so greedy."
Lila smacks me upside the head, "Use your own lines."
"Right, so please be sure to leave behind your comments and constructive criticism."
Disclaimer-I in no way own Harry Potter, it belongs to she-who-must-not-be-named.
Juniper ran as fast as she possibly could. She ran past the four adults she was traveling with, the onlookers, and the people that just instinctively seemed to like her. She didn't get it. Why did they like her? No one liked her at home. She wasn't anything special, she just got lucky. That was it. They'd probably think differently when they found out what kind of wand she had.
What was bad was getting this wand in particular. Why of all the wands in that shop, did she get the one with dark relations? They'd probably think she'd go evil now or something. She continued to run until she got to a space between shops. She could rest there, it was hidden and out of the way.
Hermione…
She didn't tell the girl anything about Voldemort. How she was supposedly marked for death by someone that's 'sort of' dead. She didn't know. She probably just felt that she left her there.
"W-Why d-did I have t-to g-get you as a w-wand!" she growled as she glared down at her wand. "You c-could've c-come from anywhere e-else in th-the world, so why d-do you sh-share a r-relation to h-him."
"Who's this 'him' that your muttering about?" She turned around to see a very out of breath Hermione. "And how, can anyone run that fast. It shouldn't be physically possible." Juniper laughed a little bit despite herself.
"P-Practice." Was the single evasive reply.
"Okay, now answer the first question please. Why did you run out earlier? I'm guessing this person was responsible for your parent's deaths." Juniper only nodded slowly, she reluctantly began explaining just who 'him' was.
"H-his name was V-V-Voldemort. He was r-responsible for k-killing a lot of p-people." Juniper looked to be on the verge of tears. "He t-tried to kill my p-parents and m-me when I was a-a b-baby. He k-killed th-them, but when he t-tried to kill me, his s-spell b-bounced b-back and h-hit him." Juniper looked down at her own wand. "M-Mr. Olivander s-said it was th-the wand th-that chooses th-the wizard. What is it th-that th-this wand saw th-that made it p-pick me. W-Why would something l-like th-this choose me?"
Hermione smiled gently at her friend. "Juniper you're one of the nicest people I've ever met and my first friend, I think that wand picked you so you could redeem its brother for all the bad things his master made it do." Juniper just stared at her, unable to form words to say back. "I'm sure that it saw you would only use it for good things, as opposed to what the other one did. You're a very, very nice person, I doubt if you could ever do something 'evil'." Juniper gripped her wand tightly. Still staring at it tentatively. A few tears had fallen down her cheeks.
"H-Hagrid told me th-that one of th-the good th-things about th-that night was th-that I didn't r-remember seeing him. It wasn't something th-that I wanted t-to remember. He was right t-to. It isn't something you w-want t-to relive." Hermione made a move to get closer to Juniper. The girl was looking to the ground as she said this to Hermione.
"I've h-had a recurring n-nightmare since I w-was r-really s-small, a-as far back as I can r-remember. I'm s-sitting o-on th-the g-ground o-of a nursery a-and th-there's a s-someone th-that l-looks a l-lot like me st-standing over me, t-telling me e-everything's g-going to be okay. Th-the door b-burst open t-to one o-of the m-most t-terrifying th-things I've ever s-seen." Hermione had a feeling she knew what this particular dream was, she really wished that it was just a dream.
"The th-thing in th-the door m-moved c-closer with a w-wand in his h-hand. H-He t-told th-the person t-to move aside so he c-can k-kill me. The w-woman is sh-shouting. 'N-no, n-not Juniper, t-take me, k-kill me instead.' A b-bright g-green light leaves th-the piece of w-wood and the w-woman f-falls over, l-looking very s-still." Hermione was horrified at this point but didn't show it. She knew that this happened when she was a baby, but Hermione wasn't entirely sure if she could live through something like that.
"Th-The th-thing in th-the door p-pointed his w-wand at me, h-he laughed as th-the same g-green light th-that k-killed the one l-lady came from his w-wand. I always w-woke up a-at that p-part. I c-could never s-see what h-happened n-next." Hermione was now very close to Juniper now. "I d-don't ever w-want to do anything l-like th-that." Hermione hugged Juniper right after she had said this statement.
"And I know for a fact that you never will."Hermione said in her know-it-all voice. Juniper tried to struggle out of the hold for a brief second before giving in and just leaning against Hermione. They stayed like that until Juniper agreed to go back the Grangers, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall.
Scene Shift
Professor McGonagall was starting to get worried. It had been a good fifteen minutes since Hermione had followed Juniper off to part's unknown. Juniper had looked extremely distressed when she had left. Hermione had told them not to follow and that she had a very good idea as to what the problem was. After Professor McGonagall talked to Olivander she understood why she reacted badly as well.
Hermione returned after a good twenty minutes. The two of them looked exhausted. Juniper was the first to speak.
"I a-apologize f-for running o-off l-like th-that. I was j-just f-feeling a b-bit overwhelmed." Juniper sounded so small when she stuttered the brief reply out.
"It's alright Juniper, happens ter the best of us sometimes." Hagrid replied gently. Juniper simply nodded and went to stand by Hagrid. Hermione followed after and engulfed her in a hug.
"Thank you for shopping with me, I'll see you on the train, right? We could share a compartment." Hermione looked really sad to see Juniper go.
"We'll m-meet up b-before we g-get on th-the t-train. D-Does th-that sound alright?" Hermione smiled brightly when Juniper said this.
"Of course it is." When they parted she went back to her parents. She said good bye one last time before Juniper left with Hagrid.
"Alright you three. We're doing this the quick way this time. I'm going to apparate us back to your house. Be forewarned, you may throw up the first time you do this." The Grangers paled at this. "Alright then, grab my hands, come on then." The three of them grabbed a hold of McGonagall. A brief crack later and all that was left behind was a small amount of smoke.
Scene-Shift
"I think I'm going to be sick." Mr. Granger was on the ground clutching his stomach. He was desperately making his way to the bathroom, trying to avoid hurling in the living room. He had the weakest stomach of the three. Mrs. Granger was on the couch trying to recompose herself, Hermione was standing very shakily beside Professor McGonagall, and Professor McGonagall was standing upright in the middle of the room.
"Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. You just have to get used to it." Mrs. Granger visibly blanched at the idea.
"Ah-ah, no way, I am never doing that again." Mr. Granger shouted. Professor McGonagall frowned.
"It felt like I was being squeezed through a very small tube. Isn't there anyway you can make the trip more enjoyable." Asked Mrs. Granger. She looked like she was starting to get her color back.
"Each time you apparate, your body get more used to the rapid transport. It isn't that bad for other means of magical transportation because they use mediums. Apparating is just teleporting from one place to another. I'll go ahead and link your house to the Floo network. We can contact you directly from the school with this." Professor McGonagall moved to the fireplace and waved her wand. The fire burned green for a few moments before dying back down to its natural orange flame. She handed my mom a jar of green power.
"You throw a bit of this into the fire and say the name of the place you want to go. Say it clearly. The flames will rise and burn green, just like what you saw earlier. This will only work if the place you want to go is connected to the Floo network. When it burns green, you can either walk through to go there, or you can stick your head in the flames to talk with the people there." Hermione and Mrs. Granger nodded. Paying attention so that they could explain all of the details to Mr. Granger when he was feeling better.
"Know that Floos that aren't public have screening on them. You can see who's trying to come through and choose to accept or deny the person entry. If you wish to speak with me, you can contact me by naming 'Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall's office.' I will try to help in any way I can." Mrs. Granger smiled and thanked Professor McGonagall for doing this.
"I'll make sure Hermione doesn't call unless the question can't wait until she gets to Hogwarts." Hermione looked both indignant and insulted at her mother's insinuation and crossed her arms in a huff. Both her mother and Professor McGonagall laughed.
"You get onto the Hogwarts Express by running straight at the brick barrier between platforms nine and ten." I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts." Professor McGonagall said goodbye before using the floo she just made to return to Hogwarts.
Scene Shift
Mr. and Mrs. Granger were both getting ready for bed. Hermione was in her room, eyes glued to one of the many books they had gotten at Flourish and Blotts. Adam looked to his wife before speaking.
"Are you sure we're doing the right thing in sending Hermione to this school?" Mr. Granger looked unsure as he spoke.
"You saw how happy she was, I've never seen her like that before. It was like all of her troubles went out the door when Professor McGonagall came in and told her she was a witch." Mrs. Granger looked off to the side, away from her husband.
"It just seems weird, sending your daughter away at eleven. It's so far away too." Mr. Granger rebutted.
"With Professor McGonagall connecting us to the floo network and owls, we'll be able to talk with her every day. We could even go through and visit if things were bad." Mrs. Granger looked a little unsure.
"She isn't happy at her current school. I know she's still being bullied, even though she tries to hide it. She came home early today and was taking a shower when we got here. I'm certain that they did something to her that she had to leave school for. She already has a friend at Hogwarts." Mrs. Granger looked determined at this statement. Mr. Granger visibly saddened at the mention of Juniper.
"That girl looked entirely too small for her age. Hagrid said that her aunt and uncle had prejudices against magic in general. The fact that they knew what she was before they took her in, makes me shudder to think of what they put her through." Mrs. Granger raised her hand to her mouth at what Mr. Granger was insinuating.
"You don't think… to their own family…" Mrs. Granger said in a slight state of shock.
"I doubt if it really mattered to them that much." Mr. Granger looked thoughtful. "Getting a Hogwarts letter was probably the best thing that ever happened to her. Something to help her get away from her 'family'." Mr. Granger seemed to just barely choke out the word family. He seemed to think of them as anything but.
"We'll just have to do our best to make her feel like she's a part of our family." Mr. Granger smiled at his wife as she said this.
"Hermione always wanted a little sister." was Mr. Granger's clipped reply.
"We won't lose Hermione to the magical world, dear. That's your main worry with sending her, isn't it? We'll be just as involved in this as she is. We'll make sure of it." Mrs. Granger smile to her husband. "Now start reading some of those books we got on the magical world."
"Yes, Hermione." Mr. Granger joked. Mrs. Granger lightly whacked him over the head with the book she was holding.
Scene Shift
Life at Privot Drive was startlingly different from what she was used to. The first major difference was the fact that Dudley absolutely refused to come out of his bedroom. He couldn't really talk without letting an oink, snort, or wee loose every other word for the first week, and he still had the pig tail. Uncle Vernon said he was going to take him to the hospital to get it removed before he went off to Smeltings in the fall, the same day the Hogwarts Express left for Hogwarts.
Another noticeable difference was the increased amount of space. She got to keep the bedroom! She could stretch out her legs when she slept. The four by four cupboard was perfect until she was nine, then she had to curl into ball little by little. She had difficulties moving in the morning when she slept like that.
Aunt Petunia still had me cook all the meals, but she got to eat them to. All of them, not just leftover scraps that her aunt left. Her aunt was the only one that left anything behind. Dudley and Uncle Vernon both scarfed down anything that Juniper put in front of them. The fact that she had to cook didn't bother her. She was scared of what would happen if Aunt Petunia got close to the stove.
Nobody said anything to her and she didn't say anything to them. They kept their distance and Dudley even seemed to be afraid of her a little bit. She loved this, she wasn't being called freak or running in fear anymore, it gave her time to read.
She had gone through Hogwarts a History at least three times. She wanted to make sure that she knew as much as possible when she went. She was worried that some of the other students would've been ahead of her so she went through a bunch of her school books, and she kind of read through those to. A few times actually.
Another thing she found out about were the houses. There was Gryffindor for bravery, Hufflepuff for loyalty, Ravenclaw for the intelligent, and Slytherin for the cunning. Each of them were named for a founder of Hogwarts, but it didn't mention anything about how they were sorted.
She had read through the book on Magical law, like Hermione said, and found out that it was illegal to perform magic out of school until she was a legal adult in the Magical World, she would be an adult at seventeen. She thought it would be best if her aunt and uncle knew very little about that law.
The weeks seemed to fly by at a snail's pace. She only had three days left here, than she'd be at Hogwarts with Hermione. She was a little nervous. The ticket she had only said to show up at platform nine and three-quarters, but Hagrid never said anything about how to get on the platform. He was really, really nice, but he forgot a lot of things.
She'd just have to figure it out when she got there.
A/N-Adam and Jane are both going to have more of a part then they did in the books. I have difficulties believing that they weren't involved that much in Hermione's life at Hogwarts. It seems odd to me. Yes Hagrid still forgot to tell her how to get on to the platform. I wanted to give you a feel for their home life. Please review I got tons of favorites and alerts but very few of you reviewed.