A/N: I felt like putting something up and found the notes I had originally written for the next chapter in this story. There are a lot of ways I can take this story and many are mutually exclusive. While this may not be the best direction for the best story, it is a direction where I have not run in to writers block. For those of you hoping to see updates to my other stories, (An Abandoned Classroom) I'll see what I can do.
Not All Bookworms Are Alike
A Magical World
Hermione was in her room reading an interesting book she had found the previous day. It seemed to be quite a silly book, describing a fictional system of magic. The title was, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. Normally, Hermione would have ignored such a ridiculous book, but a combination of boredom and a bit of curiosity caused her to look more closely.
The book stood out quite a bit from every other book in the library, both in looks and in content. It used a very outdated binding method, but was not overly worn like other old books she had seen. It did not include a copyright notice or publisher's information, only that it was written by Miranda Goshawk. Asking the librarian on duty about the book only elicited a shrug as she said that someone had left it after a study session, and with no way of contacting its owner, they added it to their collection.
Hermione always enjoyed a good mystery and decided that a little entertaining distraction couldn't hurt. But, before she tried to find more information on the book's origin, she might as well read it. So, she checked out the book.
As she read through the sections on basic spellcasting, she marveled at the intricacy of the text. She briefly wondered if it was meant to be used as an author reference for a series of books, but the sheer length and the number of footnotes referencing other works seemed to make that unlikely.
After finishing the introduction section, she decided to remove that niggling little voice in the back of her head. She picked up a pencil, waved it at the cracked mirror she had sitting nearby, and clearly said, "Reparo!" She giggled at her silliness and got back to reading the silly book. Then her eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped to the floor, and she couldn't stop staring at the perfect surface of her once broken mirror.
Hermione quickly managed to reign in her surprise, joy, and confusion, boiling it all down into a mumbled, "I see." as she contemplated the implications of her new discovery. Magic was real, but more importantly, why did no one know about it? How could no one no about it?
While the book seemed to insist that magic only worked with a wand consisting of a magical core, a pencil seemed to work just fine for Hermione. In fact, after a bit of experimentation, she seemed to be able to use her finger just fine, though the effects always seemed a bit more consistent with a pencil. She tried other pieces of wood, from tiny twigs to large branches, but the only thing that seemed to work as well as a simple pencil was a broken branch longer than she is tall. Tree branches are a bit too big to be carrying around, not to mention she was still a bit wary of them after the role one played in gouging out her eye.
As she worked her way through the book, she made sure she could cast each spell with and without the pencil to assist. Her only guess as to what made the pencil special was that the graphite must act in a similar fashion to the 'Phoenix Feathers' and 'Unicorn Hairs' mentioned in the book. It took quite some time, but was not very difficult for her to master all the spells in the book, quickly learning that the wand movements and incantations were only really necessary until she cast them a few times without the pencil. As long as you knew how it felt when the spell formed in your hand, you could easily focus on that feeling to cast it again. She still found that using a pencil was the easiest way though.
After milking the book for all it was worth, Hermione began to experiment with making her own spells. For example, combining an overpowered application of the bluebell flames charm with a levitation charm creates a large floating blue fireball that she can make float wherever she wants. Even with all of her experimentation, she eventually became stuck. She could probably have figured out more magic, but without an idea of what was truly possible, she had no idea what to work on. It was obvious that some other people were aware of magic, so any experimentation on her own could lead to a massive waste of effort. There were surely more books of magic out there. The real trouble was finding them, and even more worrisome would be what would happen when she did. Obviously most people were unaware of magic, and to make the majority of people around the world ignorant of something that powerful would take a lot of effort. If she were to show herself to other magic users, would she be allowed to live, knowing what she now knows? She remained hesitant for several weeks, until the middle of the summer. She finally decided that she had to do something. Though it might be a bit rash, Hermione needed to figure out what was going on.
Quite by accident, Hermione created the perfect spell for use in a plan to discover magic users. It happened one night when she was coming home late from the Library. She knew her parents would be furious at her for staying out that late. It was the only thing they ever got mad at her for. Most of the day, especially now as it was the summer, they were at work and couldn't care less where she was. They considered her a responsible young girl who was fine at home without supervision, but as they were home in the evenings, they seemed to needlessly reprimand her for staying out late, not caring that she was only a short walk away at the local library, conveniently located just down the street. This time however, she felt a spell activate as she was worrying over her parents' reaction while walking home. Quite confused as to what she had done, she shrugged it off until she arrived home.
She saw her mother watching the telly, seemingly ignoring her entrance. "Mum, sorry I'm late. I just got caught up a bit with reading."
Her mother briefly glanced at her before turning away. Confused, Hermione went looking for her father. Finding him getting a snack in the kitchen, she asked, "Is there something wrong with mum? She's acting a bit odd."
He acted in a very similar fashion. Briefly looking at her, before glancing away.
"Dad? Is something wrong?"
He shook his head briefly, but she wasn't sure whether that was a response or just coincidence.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Hermione poked his arm as he walked away from her, and he didn't respond at all.
It only took her a few more pokes to realize that this was the effect of her spell.
After a bit more experimentation with various people and situations, she was able to reliably repeat the spell and seem utterly unimportant in any situation. Just the thing she needed.
Hermione grinned as she watched the large ball of fire hovering over the small suburb of london. She was a distance away, hiding behind a tree, waiting for some response. It took longer than she thought, but after ten minutes or so, there were several loud pops and two people appeared out of nowhere. They were wearing ridiculous outfits. She would have called them dresses if the two wearing them weren't men.
"Any idea where it came from?" Asked weirdo one.
"Probably accidental magic from a mudblood." Suggested weirdo two, as if the very idea offended him.
Weirdo one nodded, "I suppose. Any witnesses?"
Weirdo two took out what must have been a wand, and drew a circle in the air while muttering an incantation, "One in that house, seems to be hiding under a bed, another across the street staring out the window, and then over…" He started to point towards Hermione, causing her heart to beat faster, but he shrugged and didn't finish the sentence.
Hermione watched as weirdo one went off to find the witnesses to do who knows what with them, and weirdo two pointed his wand at the fireball, causing it to disappear.
"So, did you obliviate them properly this time?" asked a grinning weirdo two.
Weirdo one rolled his eyes, "Of course, they won't remember a thing."
Weirdo two looked sternly at weirdo one, "I hope so. Last time I got my ass chewed out when you thought you'd have a little fun messing with the muggles."
Sighing, weirdo one hung his head, "I know. Sorry about that. I'll make sure I only muggle-bait on my own time."
Apparently satisfied with that weirdo two nodded, "Ah, before I forget, do you remember the muggle address for the Leaky Cauldron?"
Weirdo one scrunched up his eyes in thought, "Charing cross road, I think, but why would you need to know something like that?"
Weirdo two sighed, "It's my squib sister, it turns out her daughter is a witch, they need to go shopping for supplies in Diagon Alley."
"If her daughter's a witch, why aren't you adopting her? She should have a good family, not be stuck with a squib."
Weirdo two shuddered, "Ugh, there's no chance of that. She married a muggle of all things, can you believe that. That means her daughter can hardly even be considered a half-blood, she's practically a mudblood."
Weirdo one nodded, "I guess I can see that. I want as little to do with those foul-smelling beasts as I can get away with. Can you believe that they actually have a couple working at the ministry now?"
Weirdo two looked rather annoyed by the suggestion, "It's bad enough with all the half-bloods around, but mudbloods don't deserve to be anything better than servants or possibly menial laborers. They really shouldn't let them into Hogwarts at all. Just let them apprentice with some shops in Diagon Alley, that's what I say."
The conversation continued on in the same vein for several minutes, but Hermione had got what she came for. Her next journey would take her to London.
Since it was summer, and she had a seemingly fool-proof way to be ignored, Hermione was easily able to find her way into london and to Charing Cross road. The only snag in her plans was a minor one, as the first bus she meant to catch had driven right past her, obviously her spell worked a little too well. It only set her back half an hour though, and her schedule for the day was rather flexible, considering she had hardly any idea where she was going.
She then spent an hour looking up and down the street, trying to find this, 'Leaky Cauldron.' When she finally did, she was quite let down at the shabby condition of the exterior. Though, from what she understood from the conversation she overheard, most magic users had no use for this entrance, obviously taking other ways, so it wasn't too surprising that is was run-down, especially with the way that the average folk walking by seemed to completely ignore it.
She released her spell, figuring that using it in an area of unknown magic, might not be the best idea, then she entered the building. It was rather dark and grubby just as disappointing as the outside. The only thing that confirmed that this was the right place, was the terrible fashion sense of its occupants. Strange hats of all sizes, and not a pair of trousers in sight, except for her own of course.
Before she drew attention to herself, she noticed a fireplace burst into green flames and spit out a family of red-heads. Three boys and their mother, who was rather loud as she ordered them about. Perfect to distract the pub's patrons from her own odd circumstances.
"Percy, I know you want your own Owl, but we can't afford one right now. You already have Scabbers for a pet, you'll have to make due with him for now. If you make Prefect like Charlie or Bill here, we'll be sure to get you an owl then."
"Ah, I hate to correct you mum, but I am no longer a prefect."
The mother rolled her eyes, "Of course not Bill, you're head boy! Oh, your father and I are so proud of you, but the only big gift this summer is going to have to go to the newest Gryffindor Prefect. You had mentioned you wanted a new broom for quidditch, right Charlie, that is what you want right?"
"Sounds great mum!"
As the mother corralled them through the pub, Hermione followed them through a back door. She peeked through to see them somehow cause a wall of the back alley to open up, revealing a busy street filled with the strangest stores. Slipping by before the wall reassembled itself, Hermione did her best to blend into the crowd. She could tell that she stood out quite a bit, and made sure that she acted like she knew where she was going. The last thing she needed was some busybody trying to help her find her parents. An eight year old walking alone through Diagon Alley wearing decent clothes was certainly not a regular occurrence.
Hermione strode purposefully down the street, discreetly glancing at the shops and vendors, soaking in as much information as possible. She was quite quick to notice that the money used was completely different from what she was used to. Thus, she needed to find a way to exchange the pounds in her pocket for something a bit more useful. She kept her eyes peeled and quickly found what she was looking for. Gringotts. Upon seeing the strange creatures that operated the bank, Hermione nearly lost her composure, staring openly for a second. Quickly pulling herself together, she scanned through the various signs and lines, before seeing her goal. A sign back in a dimly lit and mostly empty corner read, "Muggle Currency Exchange". Below it was written "£5 per Galleon"
Hermione had £50 with her that she had slowly been gathering over the past few months. A little bit of magic makes it quite easy to find lost change. A few quid in coins every day adds up quickly. It was a fairly simple process to exchange them with the goblin, he didn't seem to care at all how strange it was for a girl her age to be alone, though she couldn't shake the feeling that the grinning goblin felt he was taking advantage of her. She couldn't help wondering why, and she was very frustrated that she couldn't figure it out. She received the 10 galleons, so it wasn't like he was cheating her. She supposed that the exchange rate could simply be rigged, but there wasn't much she could do about that. Shrugging off the disconcerting feeling, she left that place as soon as she could.
Finding what appeared to be a rather large bookstore named Flourish and Blotts, Hermione chose that as her next destination. She figured that she'd get some books and leave the Alley before anyone got too curious about her. She grabbed several small books aimed towards children, covering a wide variety of topics from famous wizards to wizarding education.
'Wizards', that seems like such a strange thing to call them. Having memorized a dictionary, Hermione knew the origin of that word, and these people hardly seemed wise. From what she's seen so far, most of these magical people don't have much wisdom at all, calling them wizards seems like giving them a compliment they don't deserve. Something like 'magician' seems like a better word.
After losing herself in thought for a moment, she decided to grab a few more advanced books before leaving. The first was on cosmetic magic, and while Hermione certainly didn't care much for her looks, the section on disguises would be very useful. The second book was The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, the follow up book to her first magical find. She could have gotten more, but she really didn't have a good way to carry them, and a lone eight-year-old carrying a single bag of books would be odd enough. She knew she could always come back for more, hopefully with some magic making her look a little bit older.
At first, she had been worried about having enough money, but all the books combined was worth barely more than two galleons. Her knowledge of book prices wasn't perfect, as most of her experience was with the library, but she had thought that the larger books would have been worth at least £20, making them about four galleons each, but instead they were only eleven and fourteen sickles respectively, the books meant for children were each only a few sickles. The goblin's creepy grin made even less sense now. After purchasing the books, she quickly exited the store and back through the leaky cauldron into muggle london, barely containing her excitement at finally having more magic books to read.
Hermione was vaguely relieved by the contents of the children's books. They didn't have the outright disdain for non-magical people that the weirdos she had heard earlier seemed to. Though the attitude towards 'muggles' as they called them, was still rather disconcerting. The comic book she bought entitled The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle was especially enlightening on how most of these so-called wizards felt about those without magic.
She also learned that they tended to fill in the blanks of their knowledge with the strangest things. The book of famous wizards told the tale of "You-Know-Who and the Boy-Who-Lived." The story was presented as fact, even though the most important details couldn't possibly have been witnessed by anyone. It told of an unbreakable protection that was only breached by the betrayal of their best friend. So the only witnesses were the poor boy's dead parents, whoever this 'you-know-who' guy was, and a one year old baby. The only details that seemed at all clear were that this guy tried to murder the family and something stopped him before he managed to kill the kid. According to wizarding logic, that meant that the kid must be as powerful as Merlin and single handedly thwarted the evil man with his god-like baby powers.
The one figure that worried Hermione the most from that book was the man known as Albus Dumbledore. A different Hermione might have read the description of him as a defeater of dark lords, a man that fights for the rights of everyone, and been filled with adoration towards such a wise man, but this Hermione wouldn't dare to place trust in a man admired like a saint by this society that seemed so twisted. A man that is responsible for the well-being of nearly the entirety of the nation's magical children in a society that thinks nothing of erasing people's memories is most certainly someone to watch out for.
Dumbledore brings up another conundrum. From what she has read, a 'muggle-born witch' as she would be considered, is introduced to the magical world during the summer before the Hogwarts term that starts when they are eleven years old. She had three years before that summer would come. She most certainly can learn much faster on her own than they would teach her at that school, but her reading didn't specify what would happen if she were to refuse attendance. From what she read, there were other options abroad, but it didn't seem like anyone in Britain seriously considered them. Besides, she couldn't see Beauxbatons or Durmstrang being much better for her than Hogwarts. Unless she could come up with an alternative, she would most likely be forced into Hogwarts one way or another. She decided that she shouldn't worry too much about something three years away though.