Harry Potter's Bizarre Adventure
Set the summer before Harry's Third Year...
Suspicion had been growing in her mind. Ever since her parents had taken her home from the train station, the suspicion grew and grew like a tumor feasting on her brain. But even for Hermione Jane Granger, it wasn't easy to put all the pieces together. Not when you didn't know what all the pieces were.
A week after returning, she began to see spider webs everywhere. Shiny, clean cobwebs all over the house. She grabbed a duster and immediately set to work clearing them, happy to have something to do with her hands.
"Honey? Are you all right?" Her father asked. She looked back at him with an exasperated smile.
"Just... All these cobwebs. You and mum haven't been taking good care of the house since I was gone, have you?" She asked. Her father's lips thinned as he looked up at the ceiling corner. Hermione followed his eyes-The cobwebs were there still, but without a bit of dust or debris attached to them.
"Cobwebs?" He walked over slowly, and rested a hand on her shoulder. He leaned over and examined the corner more carefully. "I don't see any cobwebs."
"Wha...? How can you not?" Hermione asked. She gestured to the other walls, the cobwebs glinting in the sun. "They're all over!"
Her father looked at her in deep concern, his grip tightening on her shoulders. "Sweetie, I can't see anything," he said gently. "Are you sure you're all right?"
She felt his repressed anger, trembling through his fingertips. She looked up at him, seeing the rage he was keeping hidden. She wanted to pull away-What had she done? But in a moment, he closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head.
"Maybe I did miss a few. I'm getting old... My eyes aren't as good as yours," he said gently, smiling again at her. She managed a smile back. "Now come on. We have a doctor's appointment."
"But the nurse at my school checked me out," Hermione complained. That anger flashed in her father's eyes again, so she meekly nodded. "I mean... Better safe than sorry."
"That's right," he said. He guided her away, and she focused her eyes forward. The cobwebs kept glinting everywhere around her, and she almost felt like something was crawling inside her. She shuddered a bit, and turned her eyes onto her father. He smiled warmly, and Hermione felt her smile become more genuine.
They'd changed their GP a little after Hermione had gotten her Hogwarts letter. They got in with just a hushed conversation with the receptionist, skipping ahead of a mass of irritated looking people. Then they hadn't needed to wait more than five minutes before the doctor came in: An older, silver haired man with a bristly mustache and a few old scars on his fingers. The way the doctor checked her over personally, going right to the same spots Madam Pomphrey had checked...
"So... I take it you know about..." Hermione shrugged, and looked over at her father. He nodded, and the doctor chuckled.
"Yes. I know. I went to Hogwarts myself, actually," he said kindly. He reached into his coat pocket and produced a wand-Eleven inches, made of oak. He waved it over her a few times, and held the wand tip to his eyes. He nodded. "Mmhm... You're going to be fine, young miss," he said. "Madam Pomphrey does good work! Next time you see her, ask her if she'd consent to having some tea with Herman Speedwagon any time soon, hm?"
"I-Of course," Hermione said, shocked. She blinked, questions immediately filling her head. "Why are you a doctor in the Muggle world though?"
"Oh, that is a long and dull story," Speedwagon chuckled. "One you need not know."
"But I really do," she insisted. Doctor Speedwagon hummed thoughtfully. He then gave her a smile.
"Maybe when you're a bit older," he said. He glanced at Hermione's father. "Jack, about the other thing...?"
"Right," Jack Granger said, nodding slowly. He reached out and handed Hermione a book-A thick medical text on magical maladies. "In the meantime, Doctor Speedwagon said you could read through this if you'd like."
"I..." Hermione nodded, seeing the bribe for what it was. "Of course."
Her father smiled, and hugged her tightly. She returned it... Again feeling like something was crawling in her skin, and over it. She fought her shudder, as her father pulled back. Her eyes widened-Strands of spider silk were hanging off him, reflecting the florescent light from above. She opened her mouth as he turned away, following Doctor Speedwagon.
"Dad, wait, you've-!"
"Yes Hermione?" Jack asked, immediately turning back in concern. The threads still hung from him, one sticking to his bare right hand. Yet he didn't move to swipe it away. He didn't do anything about it. She took a deep breath, and forced a smile as her mind raced.
He can't see it. He can't see it, what is it?! Magic. It has to be magic, but what kind?!
"N-Nothing," she murmured, looking down at the book and opening it. Jack nodded, and closed the door behind him. Hermione sat up, and looked at her hands-Yes, they were covered in spider silk. Pure and clean, like glass tubes freshly blown. She gulped audibly... And took a deep breath.
"W-Well... Come out, whatever you are," she murmured. She shook her hands like she was dispersing water droplets... And a form emerged from her! She yelped, falling backwards onto the examination table. The spirit floated above her, looking down with a curious expression on its-her face.
The spirit looked like a woman. A beautiful woman, with proportions reminding Hermione of her mother, especially in height and her hips. It was colored a pale whitish-blue over most of its smooth, marble-like skin. Her arms and legs were covered in beautiful, glittering armor resembling the chitin of an insect's exoskeleton. This armor extended over her torso in elaborate patterns, resembling webs. On the spirit's back were four long, armored spider legs, with multicolored silks wrapped around them like the spindles of weaving looms. She had four, ruby red eyes, with a helmet resembling a Corinth Hoplite's armor over it. Her fingernails were like knitting needles, long and sharp and colored gold. Hermione took deep breaths, focusing on calming herself.
She had a Stand... She had a Stand... How? Why? She reached out her left hand, and the Stand reached back, like a mirror. Their fingers touched... And Hermione jumped again as she heard her father's voice.
"-can't you find anything? Anything at all?" Her father demanded. "They wouldn't have kept this secret if there wasn't something worse!"
"Jack,"
Doctor Speedwagon said gently, "she is fine. I assure you. I've done every test I can. She's all right. Don't you trust me?"
"You, yes. That school?"
She could hear and feel her father grinding her teeth. "What else are they hiding?! What else aren't they telling me?! They could rape her over and over again, erase her mind and we'd never know!"
"Getting angry about it isn't going to help, Jack," Doctor Speedwagon said calmly. She could almost feel his hand grasping her father's shoulder, as Jack Granger's heartbeat slowed a bit. "I understand completely. This helplessness. This rage. You're right to feel it. But it's not going to do any good."
"Can't we even file a complaint? With anyone?"
Jack demanded. "That Board of Governors-"
"The Board of Governors is composed entirely of old Pureblood lines,"
Speedwagon said softly. "They wouldn't care about the fate of one Muggleborn. Hell, they didn't care when numerous Muggleborn were being slaughtered before they even got into Hogwarts, back in the day. In their eyes, you're less than nothing. Why do you think I left?"
"But you're actually a wizard,"
Jack protested. Doctor Speedwagon chuckled darkly.
"Yes... A Muggleborn wizard. No family connections. No lineage. The moment I got out of Hogwarts, I couldn't get a job. I was lucky-My parents helped me get the money for medical school. And here I am. And here are so many other Muggleborns. That's the nature of the game, Jack."
"... I can't send her back there, Herman,"
Jack stated. "I won't."
"It wouldn't be any better anywhere else, Jack,"
Doctor Speedwagon said. "But at least here, she's got her friends. She's got Potter. She's got Dumbledore-"
"Fucking lot of good that did her!"
Jack snarled. Hermione winced at his anger, but not as badly as before. At least now she understood.
"I know, I know," Speedwagon said with a sigh. "But she's got attention higher up, Jack. They won't let her go now." They didn't talk for a while, and Hermione practically felt her father's shoulders sag. She felt just as terrible for him... For her...
"... So what do we do?" Jack asked, sounding hollow.
"Your daughter is a powerful witch," Speedwagon said. "Far stronger than an average witch her age. Her potential is immense. Even if she has to go into the lion's den, she's not going in like a lamb to the slaughter."
"I'm her father. I'm supposed to protect her,"
Jack whispered.
"I know... But in this case, you can't. All you can do... Is make sure she's prepared," Speedwagon stated firmly. She could feel her father look up at Speedwagon.
"What will you teach her?" He asked.
"As much as I can to keep her safe," Speedwagon said, chuckling. "It would be my privilege. After all, I've never tutored an actual Stand user before. Nor one who's grasped her abilities so quickly. Isn't that right, Hermione?"
Hermione jumped again, her fingers separating from her Stand's. The door opened, and Doctor Speedwagon stood there with a grin. Her father, confused, stared into the room and locked onto Hermione.
"Hermione...?"
"I... Well..." Hermione shrugged, her Stand copying the gesture, "I didn't know I could do that."
"No. But you learned quickly," Speedwagon chuckled. He hummed as he stroked his scruffy chin, looking over the spidery-Stand as it floated near Hermione. "It's young. Not very strong, yet. But those threads... Yes... I think you have a lot of potential." He walked up to her, and rested his hand on her shoulder. "It's not going to be easy."
Hermione looked over at her father. She smiled in a confident, determined way.
"No... But with you and my parents' help, I know I can do it," she said.
Her father smiled back, cautiously, but with faith in his eyes. She smiled back, and looked over at her Stand. Doctor Speedwagon hummed thoughtfully.
"Well... Now that that's out of the way, your Stand needs a name. Any thoughts?"
A childhood memory came to mind-Of trying to walk along the clotheline in the backyard, falling, and her father being there to catch her... She smiled.
"Tightrope."
[STAND USER] Hermione Granger
[STAND NAME] Tightrope
[STAND TYPE] Short to Medium Range Support/Entrapment
[STAND DESCRIPTION] Tightrope takes the form of a fit and athletic female humanoid figure, matching the proportions of Hermione's mother. It is covered in armor resembling a Greek Hoplite's made of iridescent aquamarine chitin (like a spider). It has four spider legs emerging from its back, and knitting-needle like fingernails. It's special ability is to weave silk, much like spider silk but considerably stronger. The threads can be used to construct items and structures: The longer Tightrope takes to build them, the stronger the structures are. Weak basic threads can be deployed like nets or string, but cannot trap human-sized enemies. They can, however, be used to transmit vibrations in the air and/or ground to Hermione, who can decipher them perfectly. This allows Hermione to eavesdrop on conversations or alert her if someone is approaching her out to a considerable distance. Tightrope also has an attack ability: Wondamix, a magical venom injected from the fingernails that can stun, paralyze, and even kill Stands or people. Tightrope however is not a very strong Stand-It works best by trapping enemies in the webbing and then disabling them with Wondamix.
