Chapter Five – Of Red Hair, Glasses and a Lost Toad
Hermione was standing completely still, staring at her trunk which was now full to bursting point. In it she had packed most of her normal clothes, all her new books and supplies and her Hogwarts robes, which were at the top of the trunk, ready to get changed into on the train. It was a beautiful summer's day and Hermione's window was thrown wide open, sending in the smell of freshly mown grass. Hermione now slowly turned around to survey her room, it had barely changed. Her bookcases were still all there, her desk with muggle stationary was still waiting neatly for someone to sit and do homework at it. The only differences were her empty wardrobe and chest of drawers and the empty spaces where some of her photographs had been, which were now packed in her trunk. Hermione sighed as she looked around the room that she loved. With its calming blue walls and traditional wooden furniture, Hermione had always felt safe in this room, especially with all of her books around her.
"Hermione,"
It was her mother standing in the doorway, Hermione hadn't heard her approach she had been so lost in thought.
"Are you ready dear, it's almost time?" She asked softly, stepping into the room.
Hermione nodded, did a final check of the to-pack list she had made and went to close her trunk.
"Are you not taking any of your books dear?"
Hermione turned to face her mother who was standing by her bookcase
"No, the other children won't read muggle books, I don't want them to think I'm odd, anyway they'll have a library at Hogwarts where I'll be able to read lots" Hermione said
Now her mother sighed and bent down slightly to pull two books from the bookcase. Hermione knew immediately what her mother had picked.
"At least take these two Hermione, if only so you can remember where you came from" She said pleadingly holding out the two books to her.
Hermione accepted and looked down at the faded covers of her two favourite reads. 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'The Winter's Tale'. The former was Hermione all time favourite book. She adored how realistic the love between Darcy and Elizabeth was and how it had been born out of friendship and hatred, unlike those pathetic fairy stories where a prince and princess only talk a few times before falling in love. The latter was Hermione favourite Shakespeare. Not only because the heroine carried her name, but because through the comedy of it you could see the physiological drama and underlying sadness of it all. Hermione turned away from her mother and packed them in her trunk, realizing that she shouldn't try to completely cut herself off from the muggle world. It was always going to be part of her.
"Ready to go Shakes?" It was her father now entering the room. He had called Hermione Shakes for as long as she could remember. It had come from Hermione's love of books from a young age. Her father had once said, when he realised how abnormally advanced his daughter was, that she would be reading Shakespeare by the time she was seven. Hermione had actually stuck to this and not only had understood Shakespeare but had enjoyed it a great amount, during one summer she had actually made her way through the complete works of Shakespeare. That tied with the fact that Hermione was named after a Shakespeare character had landed her with the nickname Shakes.
Hermione nodded and closed her trunk
"I'll be down in a minute,"
Her parents nodded, understanding she needed a few moments alone, her father took her trunk from her bed and they left the room. Hermione suddenly felt very young and afraid. She crossed the room to her window with shaking hands and looked at the view outside. The sky was a clear blue and a very slight breeze played with Hermione's hair as she watched her neighbour mowing his lawn. The smell of freshly mown grass overwhelmed Hermione's senses until she could notice nothing else. It was a beautiful clean smell filled with summer and new beginnings. Hermione realised as she stood there watching the familiar view, that this smell would always mean something to her. It would always mean new beginnings and amazing opportunities.
OOO
In the car on the way to the station the three Granger's listened to music. Hermione's parents both had a firm love for music and were always making mixed cassettes, or more recently CD's, of songs they loved to sing in the car. A brand new obsession which they had recently found was Take That, and although only a few songs by them had been released, it was them that dominated the car journey to Kings Cross station, along with many classic Granger family songs that Hermione had known the words to since she was a child. When they arrived at Kings Cross, Hermione was met with a flood of conflicting emotions. On one hand she wanted to stay comfortably in the car with her parents, singing songs and laughing, on the other hand she was desperate to start her knew life which she has read so much about. Before Hermione could sort through her battling feelings the three Grangers were standing in front of the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten.
"So we just…." Hermione's mother trailed off
"Walk straight through it" Said Hermione, faking confidence
Slightly terrified Hermione took her mother and father's hands, whilst her father tightened his grip on the trunk. Slowly Hermione began to walk forwards, shooting glances left and right to check no one was looking. She quickened her pace slightly as the very solid looking brick wall came closer and closer. They were going to just slam straight into it! Her mother moaned slightly before letting out a small scream as they reached the wall. Hermione clenched her eyes shut ready for the impact. But it didn't come. Instead she carried on walking, still with her parent's hands in hers.
"Bloody hell…." Gasped Hermione's father.
Hermione wrenched open her eyes and blinked several times to make sure what she was seeing was real. She was standing on a platform a sign overhead saying Hogwarts Express, eleven O'clock. A scarlet steam engine stood next to the platform and all around her people were moving about. Talking with parents, shouting to friends, checking trunks and animal cages. Hermione smiled, she had done it.
Her parents, who had been looking around in awe, now looked down at there daughter and smiled sadly, realizing it was time to say goodbye.
"I don't think we need to tell you to work hard Hermione, you've probably worked harder than most of these kids put together this summer, but remember to have fun, this is going to be an adventure ok, you have to enjoy it" said her mother stroking her hair.
"And if you hate it you can always come back home, there is nothing stopping you from coming back from going to a norm….. a muggle school" Her father said.
"You'll have to write to us first but we promise to write lots and lots, and we'll send along your birthday gifts and cards from all the family. Make sure to tell us all about the lessons and the teachers and the food and all the new friends you'll make and…." Mrs Granger had begun to cry a bit and Hermione felt a sharp pain in her chest as she watched her.
"Just be yourself Shakes, everything else will come when you do that" her father now spoke, gripping Hermione shoulder as he said the words.
A shrill whistle blew from somewhere on the platform and everyone surged towards the train. Children lent out of windows to kiss there mothers and fathers goodbye, whilst some parents yelled final reminders to there kids. Hermione's father carefully handed Hermione her trunk and bent down to kiss her.
"Good luck Shakes, you'll be brilliant"
Hermione's mother nodded and wrapped Hermione in a tight hug.
"I love you dear"
"I love you too mum"
Finally she let Hermione go and Hermione stepped aboard the train, she was one of the last on and the door was shut with a snap behind her. Hermione turned and looked at her parents as the train slowly began to move.
"I love you" She called back to them as she waved
She couldn't hear there reply over the noise of the train but she saw as they blew her kisses and waved frantically until Hermione could no longer see them. Hermione felt the pain in her chest grow slightly and her eyes began to prick with tears. She quickly turned around and grabbed her trunk from the floor where she had put it down to wave. She needed to change, and compose herself a bit. She found a toilet not far from the door and quickly took off the thin summer jacket she had been wearing and pulled on the long black robes, she had tried them on before and although she thought they were a bit odd, everyone would be wearing them so it wouldn't matter.
She looked at herself in the small, spotted mirror above the sink, her dark brown eyes looked back at her under her head of bushy, plain brown hair, she tried to smile to herself and saw her overlarge front teeth. Hermione sighed and left the toilets, dragging her trunk along behind her.
As she walked down the corridor she peered into different compartments, looking for somewhere to sit. She saw lots of different pupils, right up to ones who looked like adults but found it difficult to spot people her own age. Finally she came across a compartment where five girls her own age were seated, she slid open the compartment door
"Hello, is it alright if I sit with you?" She asked
The girls nodded and stopped whatever conversation they had been having as Hermione walked in, Hermione realised she recognized one of the girls. The red faced, blonde with pigtails from Ollivanders. Hermione smiled at her and the girl stood and helped Hermione heave her trunk into the luggage rack. Finally Hermione sat down and looked around at the girls. As well as the girl with pigtails, there was a girl with hair tied back in a long plait down her back, a girl with dark, wavy blonde hair and eyes that almost seemed purple in appearance and a pair of twins with dark skin and black hair. Hermione felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach s she watched them all, but she pushed them away.
"I'm Hermione Granger," She said breathlessly.
"Hannah Abbott," Said the nice girl with blonde pigtails
"I'm Lavender," said the girl with wavy blonde hair confidently, smiling at Hermione
"Susan Bones," The girl with the plait said quietly
"Parvati,"
"Padma," The two twins spoke one after the other, smiling kindly.
It was only know as they introduced themselves that Hermione noticed that they were all wearing normal clothes, she was the only one already wearing the Hogwarts uniform.
"Are you muggle born?" asked Hannah
Hermione looked at her curiously and she blushed, obviously thinking she had offended Hermione.
"Yes I am, are both your parents wizards?" Asked Hermione equally interested
"Yes, but one of my Grandmother's is a muggle, she's lovely," Hannah said smiling at Hermione.
Hermione smiled back just as the confident girl called, Lavender asked.
"So you didn't know anything about magic until this summer?" She sounded extremely shocked.
"No, I didn't, it was a bit of a surprise for my parents at the time, but I've been doing as much as I can to catch up with you all." Hermione informed them proudly.
The girl named Lavender seemed a bit bored now and quickly turned to the twins sitting next to her.
"Have you heard that Harry Potter may be coming to Hogwarts this year," She said excitedly.
One of the twins (Hermione wasn't sure which) sat up, looking eager.
"You mean to say he could be on the train right now?" She asked.
Lavender nodded importantly.
"Yes, he's in the same year as us, he'll definitely go into Gryffindor won't he?"
All of the girls in the carriage nodded agreeing with Lavender. Hermione thought this was rather odd.
"But surely it was just luck that saved him that night, not braveness. He was only one year old after all." Hermione reasoned.
Now everyone in the carriage was looking at her curiously.
"He defeated the most powerful, dark wizard ever, I think that probably secures you a place in Gryffindor." Said Lavender, she did not say this unkindly, more pityingly, she probably thought that Hermione was pretty clueless on the whole thing.
"Both his parents were in Gryffindor anyway," said Susan, finally speaking up.
"Do family's normally all go to the same house then?" asked Hermione, glancing at the twins.
"No it's not guaranteed, but it is common, for example, all the Weasley children have been in Gryffindor and there have been five of them so far."
Hermione had no idea who the Weasley's were but she nodded anyway, pretending she did. This plan to make a lot of friends already seemed to be crashing around her. She had changed into her uniform to early, disagreed with someone who was obviously going to be popular and was already having to pretend that she knew things she didn't. She had to turn this around. She remembered her mother had once said that people loved to be asked questions.
"So does anybody know how we get sorted into houses? I couldn't find it anywhere in Hogwarts: A History." She asked the carriage at large
To her surprise all the girls shook there heads.
"My brother refused to tell me after he got sorted," Said Lavender
"Yes so did my sister," Susan agreed
"Oh," said Hermione disappointed.
The more eager of the two twins was now sitting au fully in her seat.
"What do you think he'll look like, Harry Potter?" She asked, directing the question mostly at Lavender
"Well don't all the rumours say he looks exactly like his father?" she answered
"It's difficult to know, no-one seen him for years, he went to live with his muggle relatives didn't he." Hannah informed the carriage
Hermione was now getting steadily bored. She didn't want to talk about what a famous boy looked like, she would be much more interested in a conversation over how you-know-you was defeated by him, or what you-know-who could have wanted with a toddler. But the girls did not seem interested in that sort of thing. Hermione was itching to get one of her books out and sit and read calmly, but she so wanted to make friends so she would have to sit this out. Just then the compartment door slid open. A round faced boy, with dark hair stood there looking extremely sad.
"I'm sorry, but have any of you seen a toad anywhere,"
They all shook there heads. The boy looked as though he may burst into tears, he sniffed loudly and said
"Ok, if you see him then….."
Hermione felt very sorry for the boy, she imagined how it must be on your first day of school to lose your pet and then have to ask lots of people you had never met before where the toad was. She could see a few people outside laughing behind there hands at the boy.
"Would you like some help looking for him?" Hermione offered
The boy's face brightened immediately.
"Yes please," he said, nodding
Hermione sighed and got up, muttering a quick 'see you later' to the girls in the compartment. Once out in the corridor she offered that they each take one side of each carriage, halving the workload. Neville nodded and they both started to open compartment doors. Hermione politely, but slightly impatiently asking if anyone had seen a toad because Neville had lost one. The answer was the same every time, 'no'.
Soon the lunch trolley was rattling past them. Hermione had put a bit of change in her pocket and decided to but something small to keep her going. She had read that Hogwarts terms always started with a start-of-school feast, and she didn't want to ruin her appetite. However when she approached the trolley, she realised she had no idea what any of it was. Luckily the plump lady who pushed the trolley was very helpful, and had obviously met people like Hermione before. She recommended Hermione have a cauldron cake or two. Hermione accepted her advice and handed over a few bronze Knuts.
Soon Neville and Hermione had moved onto the next carriage down and were fruitlessly asking all the compartments again. Finally after another twenty minuets of Neville coming out of each compartment shaking his head, almost in tears, Hermione decided that they would ask compartments together. As Neville was probably just blubbering to whoever was in there and no one was really taking any notice of him. So Hermione walked back with Neville to the last compartment he had come out of and slid the door open. Barely looking around before asking she said.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one,"
It was only as she asked this that she looked at who she was addressing. There were only two boys in the compartment. A small black haired boy and a red haired boy holding a wand. The red haired boy looked as if he were about to do a spell.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said the boy
But Hermione wasn't listening, she was staring at the wand, 'this boy must come from a magic family, so he'll be able to do magic quite well' she thought to herself.
"Oh are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
Hermione surprised herself by sitting straight down without asking permission, but she didn't care, she was about to see someone else do magic.
"Er – all right."
The boy looked Hermione in the eye for the first time and Hermione noticed the vast amount of freckles he had on this face and his calm blue eyes.
"Sunshine, daises, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow" He said waving his wand at the direction of a rat that was asleep on his lap.
Nothing happened. Hermione was disappointed, she had been expecting something to happen. Although she was also quite pleased, this meant she already knew magic, whereas this boy, who had probably grown up with witches and wizards, didn't.
"Are you sure that's a real spell." said Hermione. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you."
Hermione watched as the boys glanced at each other, looking worried.
"I'm Ron Weasley," muttered the red headed boy.
So the boy was part of the Weasley family that the girls had been talking about on the train, she wondered what would happen if he didn't get into Gryffindor.
"Harry Potter" Said the other boy.
Hermione looked at him more closely, so this was Harry Potter. She supposed she had expected someone…well a bit different looking if she was honest, not a skinny, short boy in clothes far to big for him.
"Are you really." said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.
Harry looked dazed as he said "Am i?"
Hermione was surprised, how could he not know that he was in history books?
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in. I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad"
Hermione realised she had been talking far too long and that they still had to find Neville's toad.
"Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." She said as a way of goodbye as she left the carriage.
"Should I go and change?" asked Neville tentatively to Hermione once they were outside in the corridor
Hermione sighed "Yes, but lets just check these last few compartments first"
So together Neville and Hermione asked the last few compartments if they had seen a toad anywhere, this time Hermione didn't linger to chat like she had with Harry and Ron. When they came to the end of the carriage Hermione said.
"Why don't you go and change Neville and I'll go and ask the driver how far away we are, that way we can work out if we have anymore searching time"
"Ok" said Neville, looking very upset at the thought of leaving the train without his toad.
Hermione quickly marched up to the front of the train and asked the driver how near they were to Hogwarts. He answered with a swift 'we'll be arriving very soon'
When Hermione reached the end carriage she found that lots of people were running around, screaming about a spider escaping, bumping in to each other and laughing as they pulled there Robes over there heads. Hermione hated the childishness of it and quickly located the carriage with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley in as an escape. When she entered she saw that the sweets the boys had been eating were strewn all over the floor and Ron was holding his rat by the tail and poking him.
"What has been going on?" she asked
Neither of the boys answered, instead Ron and Harry began to talk about a boy named Malfoy and his family. Hermione hated being ignored and annoyance flared inside of her at the two boys. Finally Ron turned to face her.
"Can we help you with something?" he asked sarcastically.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at how annoying this boy was being.
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the driver, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" Said Hermione, realising that the strewn sweets and talk of another boy may have meant a fight.
"Scabbers has been fighting not us, would you mind leaving while we change?" Ron said, scowling at Hermione
Hermione felt anger spark inside of her, but it was coupled with a slight sadness of how badly she was failing in making friends already.
"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," Said Hermione, she was annoyed at the boy and wanted to get him back in some way for being rude to her.
"You've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She said pointing to a smudge Ron's nose
And with that she left the compartment, swinging her hair around behind her, satisfied she had at least got the boy back. As she was walking back to her own compartment a voice echoed through the train.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Hermione felt her stomach contract with nerves as she stopped walking and waited by the carriage door for the train to stop
OOO
Hermione was going to be sick, she felt as if her knees were made out of jelly and she couldn't stop biting her lip. Student after student got up and placed the hat on there head. And then finally
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione walked incredibly quickly to the hat, eager to both see what would happen, and for it to be over. She jammed the hat on her head as it was placed in her hand. She saw just the dark inside of the hat for a moment as it fell over her eyes before,
"oh, a muggle born I see, well, well, well I haven't seen this much mind power in a long time, that coupled with a determination to prove yourself….I think that makes in obvious which house to put you"
Hermione knew the hat was thinking of Ravenclaw, and although she did like the sound of them, there was a part of her that wanted to be known for something more than her cleverness.
"But there is also a startling amount of bravery and courage here, a quick temper and I can see the loyalty you feel for others. Hmmmmmmm this is difficult, although Ravenclaw would suit your talents, I think the best place for your personality is GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat shouted the last word and Hermione took off that hat, jumped up and almost skipped to the Gryffindor table, who were cheering for her loudly. She felt immensely proud and relieved, she had done it, she was really a Hogwarts student now.
OOO
On one side of Hermione sat Harry Potter, who was listening to the other Gryffindor first year boy's talk of ghosts and families. On her other side sat a prefect who had introduced himself as Percy Weasley – Hermione assumed he must be one of Ron's brothers. As Hermione chatted away happily to Percy about lessons and Hogwarts, the boys around her were devouring all the food in front of them. Just as Hermione had finished her main course, Ron reached around Harry to grab the dish of potatoes that was sitting just in front of her. As he did this Hermione smelt something quite odd, it was similar to the smell you get just after you blow a candle out, yet it was earthier in some way. Before Hermione could identify where the smell had come from, it had disappeared, and Hermione wondered as she lay in bed that night with her four new roommates; Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Lucy Moore and Julia Harrison, whether she had just imagined it in her excitement of being in her new home.
This has been my favourite chapter to write so far! Welcome to Hogwarts Hermione. In this chapter i have put 5 things that will become important to Hermione's story later. The most obscure of which being the Take That reference, which won't become important to Hermione until Order Of the Phoenix and again in Deatly Hallows. So i have a little competition for you - if you can guess why i have mentioned Take That in this chapter PM me and i will dedicate a chapter to you! (Open until i write the first chapter where you find out why Take That is important). Have fun guessing!
Please Review
Hannah x