A Story During a Storm
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Muggle Studies Assignment 8.
Task 1: Choose one of the Gods, and incorporate one of their domains/jobs as a theme in your story, taking them either literally or figuratively. Zeus/Jupiter – King of the Gods. The God of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order and justice.
Written for The Ultimate Hermione Granger Pairings Challenge.
Hermione cried softly to herself as she hid under the covers, jumping out of her skin every time she heard the loud crash of thunder. She was six years old and had stubbornly told her parents that she was a big girl now, and silly things like thunder and lightning no longer bothered her. Unfortunately, she was now discovering that this wasn't the case. The little girl who Hermione was trying so valiantly to distance herself from was clinging tightly to her and refusing to let her grow up, but pride stopped her from waking her parents up to tell them how scared she was.
The wind whistled wildly at the same time as she heard a loud thump on her bedroom window. A petrified scream could be heard echoing around the house, but it took Hermione a while to realise that she was the one making the noise. Footsteps could be heard approaching her room, and before she knew it her father walked in.
Hugo Granger rubbed his eyes sleepily as he walked towards her bed. "Hermione? Are you okay, sweetheart?"
Finally feeling safe and secure in her dad's presence, Hermione came out from under the covers and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm not a big girl, Daddy. Storms still scare me, and I'm just a silly little girl."
Trying his best to stifle a chuckle in case he upset his daughter further, Hugo gathered her in a bear hug and sat them down on her bed. "You're not a silly little girl at all, sweetheart, but you should've told us as soon as you got scared."
"I didn't want you to be disappointed in me, Daddy," Hermione said ashamedly as she looked at her father tearfully.
This response took him by surprise and broke his heart; how could she think that of them? "You could never disappoint us, even if you tried, sweetheart," he replied while rubbing her back soothingly. "How about a story to take your mind off of the storm? Would you like that?"
The enthusiastic nod he received in answer to his question made Hugo laugh heartily. Hermione picked her favourite story, Beauty & the Beast, and thoughts of the storm left her head completely as her dad started to read.
"Once upon a time...,
And they all lived happily ever after," Hugo whispered, closing the book gently and placing it on Hermione's bedside table. Sleep had finally claimed Hermione a few pages back, and she looked to be in a peaceful slumber; he leaned in to kiss her on the forehead before sorting out the blanket and draping it over her.
"Goodnight, Sleeping Beauty."