Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, not me. All characters and plot that are in her books are hers.
Chapter 5 - Welcome to Hogwarts
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Hermione announced, levitating a large cake from the kitchen. Harry's mouth dropped open at the cake, which was in the shape of R2D2. Hermione set it infront of him and proceeded to have him blow out the candles. Harry did, pausing to close his eyes and make a wish.
A few seconds later, he blew out the candles and opened his eyes. Hermione handed him the knife (with a "be careful" of course). Harry cut the cake and the two dug in.
"Here." Hermione said after they had finished, handing him his present.
A delighted look passed over Harry's face, and then he carefully opened the present to reveal -
"I know it's not much," Hermione said nervously, hoping that he would like it, "But I thought you would like-"
Harry suddenly stood up and hugged Hermione, who froze, not used to the gesture.
"It's amazing." Harry said, pulling away, "How did you know I liked R2 he best?"
"Because you told me a million times." Hermione said, trying to recover. Harry grinned at her, and then looked back at the miniature ice sculpture of R2D2.
"I bought an insulator and installed it into the sculpture." Hermione continued, feeling pride that she had made it so the insulator couldn't be seen, "But you still should put it in the freezer every night."
"So. Awesome!" Harry gushed, and wrapped Hermione in another hug.
The next day was a Sunday, so Harry and Hermione practiced their powers again. Hermione tried to be more patient with Harry, but he still didn't have levitation down. Hermione walked him through the steps again, and then shortly told him to do it.
Harry closed his eyes and his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. Then, suddenly, he gasped. Hermione turned to look at the rock Harry was trying to lift, but it hadn't moved an inch. Not a single one. She has felt it, though. A spark from Harry to the rock - but it had sputtered out.
"I felt it!" Harry shouted in joy, his eyes open and a smile that seemed to be a mile high on his face. Hermione sighed, fighting down her irritation, and turned to Harry, who was bouncing up and down on the ground.
"Focus!" Hermione said, some of her roped irritation coming through. Harry quieted instantly, looking confused. Hermione pointes to the rock and Harry let out a sigh before sitting down.
Hermione stared up at the ceiling of the living room, where Harry and Hermione had decided to sleep. Harry was out, snoring beside her. He hadn't gotten anything else while they were practicing earlier today.
Hermione pushed her thoughts about Harry away, not wanting to get to annoyed. She instead focused on Jedi Vector's disappearance.
At first, Hermione thought that she simply had disappeared, and then left. But that voice of reason argued with her - She couldn't of, it whispered in her head, no, you know you couldn't feel her presence when she left.
So Hermione thought. And thought. Her mind supplied countless ways as to how Jedi Vector had done it - turning invisible and then jumping down a trapdoor, turning invisible and then getting in an invisible x-wing, the list went on. Her voice of reason rejected all of them.
Well, maybe she just teleported, then! Hermione's non voice of reason shouted at her voice of reason sarcastically. The voice of reason went silent.
No. Way. Hermione's non voice of reason said excitedly, I got something RIGHT for once?
But it actually right. It made sense.
A Jedi could teleport.
Hermione slashed her hand at the last water balloon, her force abilities making her hand faster and sharper. The water balloon broke in two five feet from Hermione.
Harry, who was on the other side of the hidden part of the park that Hermione had found, cheered. He walked over to Hermione, who instantly noticed that he was hiding something - a water balloon, her force senses told her, behind his back.
In a quick throw, a water balloon was hurtling at her -
Only to stop where it was, turn around, and pop over Harry.
Hermione smirked at him.
"Sooo..." Harry said, a hint of smugness entering his voice, even though he was currently drenched in water from a water balloon he had just thrown, "Have you figure out how to do that teleporting thing that Jedi Vector did?"
Hermione glared at Harry. Hermione had told Harry that what Jedi Vector had been doing was teleporting six days ago, and Hermione still wasn't able to do it. Hermione had grown very frustrated; it had never taken her that long before at anything related to the force!
"No." Hermione ground out, and promptly used the force to lift Harry up by his ankle leave him hanging upside down in a tree, "You haven't even done levitation, though - so perhaps you'll figure it out now."
And she left.
Hermione felt a bit guilty as she walked away. But Harry was soooo annoying right now, and he had to be taught a lesson. Hermione's thoughts flashed to the direction of Lindsay and the orphanage. The other kids had been annoying at first, but Hermione didn't teach them a lesson. Not until Lindsay. And that annoyingness continued until they thought they could push her around without large consequences. So they did. Harry needed to be taught a lesson, yes he did. Hermione's resolve was firm, and she crushed any doubt- a whisper in her head that said Harry wouldn't do that and walked on.
Hermione had almost reached Number Four and was about to turn back, worried about Harry, when her force senses went haywire, recognizing the person who was lurking behind a bush.
Hermione didn't think. Her instinct took over, and she leaped.
She had touched the hem of Jedi Vector's robes when with a crack, the two disappeared.
It was dark. Yes. So dark. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but she had no air left. She attempted to breath but there was nothing for her to suck in -
Hermione opened her eyes to see - a hospital room? Hermione sat up quickly, jumping off the white bed and looking around. Where was she? The room was white with hospital beds lined up around the room. In the corner were two doors, both of which were shut. Hermione walked over to one of them and was about to open it when a voice stopped her.
"Stop right there, young lady!"
Hermione turned around, frightened, to see an old lady standing behind her,, a stern look on her face. The woman pushed Hermione back onto the bed and took out - wait, was that a stick? - and waved it at Hermione.
"Alright." The woman said after a while to a bewildered, "You may go now."
"Go where?" Hermione asked. The woman didn't look up from the piece of paper she was writing on (with a quill?), but said in a no-nonsense tone:
"To Headmaster Dumbledore's office, of course."
Hermione looked at the woman as if she'd grown a head or two.
"Whom?" Hermione asked, fighting to keep the bewilderment out of her tone.
The woman looked up, realization dawning on her features.
"Are you a muggleborn, dear?"
Forget a head. Hermione was looking at the lady as if she'd grown seven.
"A what?"
The woman nodded to herself, and then pulled Hermione up, walking to the door Hermione had previously been caught attempting to open.
"Follow me, deary."
Hogwarts, as Hermione quickly learned from the woman, Madam Pomfrey, was a school. As Hermione spotted the moving staircases (a hundred and forty two of them, which apparently some led somewhere different every other day, some that moved on Fridays, and some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump), animated portraits, and doors (some of them opened only if you tickled them, and some of them weren't doors at all, just walls pretending), she grew more and more convinced that Hogwarts wasn't just a school.
It was a school for Jedis.
They arrived in the Headmaster's office, Hermione's prepared speech for letting her into the school going through her mind at about two hundred miles an hour. Hermione looked to the desk to see an old man who reminded her of Yoda (he was much taller and not green, of course) sitting there.
"Would you like a lemon drop?" The man asked. Hermione, who hadn't ever taken a liking to the candy, politely turned him down.
"Go on, sit down, Hermione." The old man, who was probably Headmaster Dumbledore, said, "That is your name, correct?"
Hermione nodded and took a seat.
There was an awkward silence, and then Hermione launched into her speech, wanting to get it over with.
"Hello, Headmaster, I'm Hermione. Recently, I realized I was a Jedi and began looking for some of my kind. When Jedi Vector disappeared I touched the hem of her robes and awoke here, only to learn that this school was a school for Jedi. I was wondering if I could be allowed in, sir, you see -"
Headmaster Dumbledore chuckled merrily at her.
"You're a witch, Hermione." He said.
Hermione stared at the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry two hours later, her mind still processing what he had told her. But - but - well, she had been sure she was a Jedi. It had - and still, frankly, made sense. The whole witch and wizard thing, though, made more sense. So - yes - she accepted it.
"So, Hermione, where are you living now?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked. Hermione looked at him like oh, sure, that's not creepy at all, and replied:
"At Number Four, Privet Drive. I'm adopted and -"
Hermione gasped, remembering. And then she stood up and found herself halfway to the door before turning back to a startled Headmaster.
"It's my adopted brother, Harry, sir. He might still be stuck upside down in a tree in the park - you see, we were training - and I've got to go help him but - how do you leave sir? I'm not sure how to teleport - er, I mean, apparate, yet and sir I really need to get to Harry."
The twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes diminished, and he stood up, looking grave. He touched a penny on his desk.
"Professor Vector will come and get you. I'm going to get Harry. Lemon drop."
With a spin, both Headmaster Dumbledore and the penny disappeared.
Hermione stood there, staring blankly at the penny. She calmed herself, realizing that Harry would be safe in the hands of the Headmaster. She looked at the space where the penny was. It must have been another form of transportation, Hermione reasoned, thinking to calm herself, yes, the penny must have done it, and was activated by the code words - 'lemon drop', probably.
"Ms. Hermione?"
Hermione whirled around to see Jed- er - Professor Vector (who, Hermione learned, was the Professor of Arithmancy) standing behind her.
"Hello, Professor." Said Hermione, looking up at the person who she had been searching for.
"The headmaster will be back shortly." Professor Vector announced, "Since we have discovered that you and your brother have been living alone," Professor Vector took the opportunity to glance disapprovingly at Hermione, who honestly still thought she was right, "You will be staying at Hogwarts until the term starts on September 1st."
Hermione instantly brightened.
"Excuse me, professor, when will we get our school supplies?"Hermione asked politely , making sure her excitement only showed in a reasonable amount.
"Tomorrow." Professor Vector said, "I will escort you."
Hermione nodded, and the two exited the office.
"Where would you and your brother like to sleep?" Professor Vector asked as they stood by the gargoyle to the office, "In the Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Gryffindor dorms?"
Hermione pretended to think, but inside, she was elated. This was her chance to scout out the territories!
"Could I see them first and then decide?" Hermione asked slyly. Professor Vector gave her an amused smile before agreeing.
The Gryffindor common room and dormitories were located in Gryffindor Tower. The entrance to the tower was through a painting of the Fat Lady (who's appearance was just as her name described), and the password had to be given in order to get her to swing open and reveal the common room.
Gryffindor's common room had armchairs and a roaring fire. The arched windows looked out over the Quidditch Pitch, lake, and the Forbidden Forest. Hermione glanced over at the forest, but could only see the tree tops. A picture of Godric Gryffindor was hung above the fireplace.
The walls were decorated with pictures of mythical creatures and important Gryffindor alumni. Mahogany spiral staircases led to the dormitories. The dormitories had mahogany four-poster beds and scarlet curtains with threaded gold hanging from it.
Hermione unsuspiciously looked around and determined that the only secret passageway other than the Fat Lady was the fireplace, which she resolved to come look at later, remembering the password to be, 'Caput Draconis', and that it would change every month or so.
The Hufflepuff common room and dormitories are located in Hufflepuff Basement. Students entered the Basement through a barrel in a stack of barrels in the kitchen corridor. They must tap the correct barrel in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' for the lid to open and reveal the passageway to the common room. If someone tapped the wrong barrel or used the wrong rhythm, that person would be drenched in vinegar.
Hufflepuff's common room was round and cozy with a crackling fire that warmed the room. There were also low ceilings and circular windows showed rippling grass and dandelions. The room seemed sunny (something Hermione didn't particularly enjoy), a feeling enhanced by the copper furnishings and the overstuffed yellow and black sofas and chairs. Plants hung from the ceiling or sat on windowsills. Combined with the sunny feel, the common room felt like a greenhouse, in Hermione's opinion.
Round doors in the common room led to the dormitories, which were lit by copper lamps. Patchwork quilts covered the four-poster beds, and a bed warmer hung on the wall beside every bed.
The Hufflepuff common room was also the only common room that had remained free of outsiders for over 500 years, something Hermione was sceptical of.
There was only one secret passageway: by the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff.
Hermione's second favorite was Ravenclaw, however. The Ravenclaw common room and dormitories were located in Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the castle. The first reason why Hermione liked the tower was that the students entered through a door with an bronze eagle-shaped knocker which asked a question to anyone who knocks on it. The door would open only when the question was answered correctly. Apparently, if the riddle was especially difficult, large groups of students would gather to outside try to figure it out. Of course, when Hermione entered, she answered the question with ease.
The Ravenclaw common room was circular with arched windows that provided rather spectacular views of the Hogwarts grounds. There was a library on one wall to the left. A domed ceiling painted with stars like the night sky was also a highlight. The centerpiece of the common room was a white marble statue of founder Rowena Ravenclaw. Behind it lied the door leading to the dormitories.
The dormitories were in turrets off the main tower, where the wind whistling around the windows could be heard. There was at least two benches by windows in a dorm, which could be used for reading. The bedsheets on the four-poster beds were made of sky blue silk.
There seemed to be not one, but three secret passageways there: the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw and her diadem, a book in the library (which also contributed to Hermione's liking of the common room and dorms), and a bricks of the fireplace.
But, by far, Hermione's favorite was Slytherin. The Slytherin common room and dormitories were located in Slytherin Dungeon. The entrance to the Slytherin common room was through a concealed stone wall. Students would have to present the correct password, which changed every fortnight, to open the wall and reveal the entrance to the common room.
Slytherin's common room looked out into Hogwarts lake. Underwater creatures often passed by the windows, which Hermione enjoyed immensely. It had the feel of a underwater shipwreck, but it was still quite cosy with all of the couches and the fireplace.
The dormitories had four-posters with green and silver silk hangings and bedspreads that were embroidered with silver thread (something Hermione approved of). Medieval tapestries depicting the adventures what was obviously famous Slytherins hung from the walls. The light came from enchanting silver lanterns that hung from the ceilings, which Hermione felt like she could stare at all day.
Something else that Hermione approved of was what Professor Vector said: no outsider had entered the Slytherin common room for more than seven centuries. That one, she believed.
In addition, there were countless secret passageways, including some behind the portraits of the snakes (which Hermione could understand). The best thing, though, was the fact that the top academically for the boys and girls per year got their own room.
Between looking at the dorms and common rooms, Professor Vector gave her a short tour of the classrooms, library, great hall, and the fastest ways to get there. Hermione found all of this immensely helpful.
Afterwards, she told Professor Vector that she would like to sleep in the Slytherin dorms. The former Slytherin nodded in agreement and showed her her dorm, where her trunk of her things had somehow made its way there. Of course, that excluded the secret passageways that Hermione was sure were scattered around the school.
Professor Vector left her with a last speech:
"You may explore until dinner, when your brother will be here. Dinner will be in the Great Hall. Remember the places I warned you not to go, especially the Forbidden Forest and the third floor corridor. Try to stay by the places I showed you, and don't go farther than the grounds. Oh, and welcome to Hogwarts."