Recommended Songs: The Reason by Hoobastank
New Kings by Sleeping Wolf
AN: Don't own anything and I'll own less if I don't find a quarantine proof job soon. In other news, air pollution is down because of the quarantine and going out into the solitary countryside for a walk or a picnic or even just for a short drive is better than it's ever been. There's lots of empty country around me and I just love it.
Hermione Jean Granger had finally found her niche. She was a witch, a real magic using, broom flying, cauldron stirring witch. Today, today!, she'd finally be off into the world of magic where no one would make fun of her for wanting to know why everything worked and how. Her only worry was how far away from her parents and how far behind the children of magicals she would be. She'd already read all her textbooks and even a few others for information. She had even asked her parents to take her back to the Alley for more books!
Hermione was so excited that she dragged her long-suffering parents out of bed and through their morning rituals early so she could watch the station and train fill up. She was glad to see she wasn't the only student with the same idea. Only ten minutes after she and her parents had arrived, another family walked through the brick wall that hid the portal to King's Cross.
There were two women, a baby, and a boy. The eldest of the four was a model-like blonde, the second woman a petite dark haired teen, and the only boy looked about Hermione's age. Her parents, who had been sitting in the train with her while they waited, smiled at each other.
"Let's go over and introduce ourselves." Hermione whipped her face towards her mother, Patricia Granger. The girl bit her lip and looked at her lap, unsure. What if she did and the boy thought she was annoying? She was thinking about it when her dad moved closer to the window.
"Honey, isn't that Amaryllis Lansing?" Patricia looked closer and gasped. That was her old classmate! She and Amaryllis had attended the same classes most of their lives. Patricia wondered at the woman, she hadn't aged in sixteen years!
"Let's go over and greet them! Maybe you and her relative will be classmates!" Hermione was snapped out of her considering and pulled out of the compartment. As they moved closer to the family, she realized that the boy she was looking at looked a little older than her and that his eyes were really, really green. Hermione wasn't a flittering girl like her ex-classmates but she could tell that he was a very cute boy.
"Amaryllis Lansing?" Her mother caught the family's attention and Hermione fidgeted. It was hard to be looked at by people that were so incredibly beautiful. Their gazes made her uncomfortable.
"Oh my! Patricia Holden! How are you? Is this your daughter?" The small, dark haired woman handed the blonde the baby she had been carrying and pulled her mother into a hug.
"Yes! My daughter Hermione and my husband, William Granger! Oh, Amaryllis it's been too long! Is this your son? Is he going to… Hogwarts too?" Hermione's gaze darted from the beautiful woman to the boy standing a few feet away. There was no way someone so young could have a son her age! But then, her mother had apparently gone to school with the young looking woman.
"Yes he is. Hawthorn, this is my good friend Patricia Holden, well Granger now, and her family. Patricia, this is my eldest, Hawthorn Domini Lansing." The boy held out a hand to Hermione's mother and Hermione almost giggled when he placed a kiss over her mother's knuckles.
"A pleasure to meet you, Madam. Have you met my grandmother, Ianata Lansing?" Patricia nodded her assent and shook the blonde's free hand. Hermione was shocked. His grandmother? Her grandmother was ancient looking and this woman looked no older than her forties!
"And this sweet baby?" Her mother cooed.
"Her name is Aspen Aella Lansing. She's a month old." The two sets of adults descended into a conversation about babies and their school days. Hawthorn came over to stand next to Hermione.
"Is this your first year at Hogwarts as well?"
"Yes, I was ever so surprised when my latter came! No one in our family has magic, you know. So you're a first year too?"
"Yep. We knew I'd be getting an invitation since I was very little so we weren't as shocked."
"Oh, are your parents magical?"
"Sort of. Our family has had witches and wizards in it before but I'm the first in one hundred and ten years. I'm excited, are you?"
"Yeah, very! I wonder what house we'll be in. Do you know anything about the houses? Did anyone come to show you the wizarding alley or did you already know about it? Have you read the textbooks yet? I finished those and read a couple others. Did you know Harry Potter is supposed to be a first year this year? I wonder what he'll be like." Hermione stopped when she saw Hawthorn laughing. "Stop laughing at me!" She felt tears gather in her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't laughing at you! I was laughing because I was already worried and homesick but you look so excited that I felt better. Don't cry Hermione, I didn't mean to upset you!" Hermione sniffled at the boy.
"You didn't?" He shook his head, a guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just that other kids like to make fun of me sometimes."
"Why? You're nice." Hermione hesitated to say it was because she was 'an annoying know-it-all'. What if he didn't want to talk to her afterwards? "It doesn't matter, you're my friend and no one makes fun of my friends."
"You want to be my friend?" She asked quietly.
"Of course! Unless you don't want to?"
"Yes! Yes I'd like to be your friend!" The two eleven year olds smiled at each other. The parents, who'd been watching and listening smiled at each other too.
The Grangers had grown increasingly worried over the years. Their only child was struggling to make friends or even get along with people. They had homeschooled her until her third year of primary, when they'd moved. Hermione hadn't acclimated to her new school and classmates at all. In fact, the bullying had possibly worsened in the last two years. They had hoped that it was a side effect of her magic, somehow.
Ianata and Amaryllis were just proud Harry was so polite. If he did become the girl's friend, they would be glad. One never had too many friends, after all.
As the two families had been meeting and talking, the station had started to fill up. Most of those who'd bothered to arrive early were upper years who said quick goodbyes to their parents and wandered into the train. The rest were first year children who, like Hermione, had been too excited to wait. Those students' families stayed with them, looking around the station and into the train. A few of the adults greeted each other and chatted while their children explored the train. Most wore robes, though a few wore old fashioned 'normal' clothes.
One of those that had arrived stood near them. It was an elderly woman and a young, chunky boy. The woman caught everyone's attention because of her ridiculous style; dressed like a Victorian lady with a large, red leather tote and a stuffed vulture on her hat. The Grangers looked fascinated by the woman's appearance but the Lansings frowned at the way she interacted with the blond boy.
"Now, Neville, do try to get into Gryffindor. Hufflepuff is the least you can do, if you can't get in with the lions of the Ravenclaws. Goodness knows I don't think you have what it takes for Ravenclaw any more than Gryffindor. Stay out of the professors' hair and try to get passing grades. I won't have you shaming the Longbottom name with failing marks, you hear?" The blond boy looked like he was going to cry and was slowly turning red at the dressing down he was receiving in public.
"Hello, first year too?" Asked Hawthorn, who'd been edging towards the pair during the old woman's rant. The two Longbottoms looked up at him, one with a thankful face, the other with a frown.
"Y-es. I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom."
"I'm Hawthorn Lansing and this," Hermione was gently pulled toward Neville, " is my friend Hermione Granger. We're first years too. Would you like to join us?"
"Young man, it is rude to interrupt when an elder is speaking." Hawthorn looked her over and then focused on the train, clearly dismissing her.
"It's rude to have a loud disagreement in public madam. Come on Neville, let's put your things in Hermione's compartment and you can tell us about yourself." Harry gently pulled the two children with him.
"Well, I never! Has no one taught him manners?!" The old woman clutched at her chest dramatically. The Granger's shared a look and smiled as Ianata and Amaryllis moved towards the woman.
"Oh, I don't know. It appears Carlton Longbottom chose a poor substitute for Alexandra Clearwater. Perhaps she would have known better than to verbally mistreat her grandson in public and in front of a Lansing, no less." The old woman turned to glare at Ianata so quickly that her neck cracked audibly. Very few people knew that Augusta's husband had married her after his fianceé, and love-match, Alexandra Clearwater had passed away. Even fewer people would have commented on it.
"How dare you-"
"How dare you treat that poor boy in such a fashion after having the cowardice to hide yourself away in safety while his parents were tortured before his infant eyes. Remember this woman: the Lansing family have been protectors of the Longbottom's even before we became their liege Lords. If we find out you mistreat him ever again, we'll file to have you banished from the family register and have his custody awarded to us." Augusta's eyes became very round very quickly, looking like they'd pop out of their sockets.
Augusta had married into the Longbottom family after Alexandra's death had left Carlton's eldest son bereft. He had accepted the match and never looked for anything from her other than her duty be fulfilled. She had learned the family history and borne a son.
It had taken her far too long to realize the boy had said he was a Lansing. The Lansing family had been close friends of the family since time immemorial. They could, if these were the main branch of Lansings, petition the court to hand them Neville's custody or, if they so wished, call upon the Longbottom family magic to judge her and banish her from the family. Such a thing would leave her a nameless pauper or kill her.
Augusta colored deeply. She had been a passable Gryffindor student but she had hidden in a close by panic room when she had felt the breach of the wards during the attack. She had sat there the five minutes it took the breach to be completed, the five it took for her son and daughter-in-law to be defeated, the ten it took for the Death Eaters to find her grandson and bring him into the same room as his parents, and the twenty minutes during which Frank and Alice were tortured before Aurors arrived. Few people would dare mention her cowardice, especially anywhere near her grandson. The Lansing women must know that a judgement would probably take her life for her inaction to protect her grandson and the verbal abuse she had heaped upon him. It would probably do so in a painful manner for the abuse she let her brother, Algernon Beaufort, perpetrate on the boy.
"Oh, look! The children are waving!" The three first years were waving from their compartment in the train. "Smile and wave Augusta. We wouldn't want Neville to worry, would we?" The low, but perfectly audible whisper from the dark haired Lansing put Augusta into motion. The tone promised terrible things if she didn't obey.
AN: IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT AS I FINISH THIS CHAPTER AND IT'S RAINING AND I REALLY LOVE THE MOOD OUTSIDE. The idea that Augusta hid during the attack on the Longbottoms is from another fanfic but I can't remember which one or by who. The idea that she's a shit parental figure is just me being very, very hormonal and mad at her comparing Neville to his dad.
Recommended Reading: The World Without Me by Eternal Cosmos