"Junior year?" Hermione looks at her aunt horrified. "Aunt Sheila, I'm nineteen bloody years old. Please don't make me start at junior year. I'm literally going to be the local grandma freak around seventeen year olds. No offence, Bonnie."
"…none taken?" Bonnie frowns at her cousin, her previous excitement at sharing a class with her all but evaporated.
"Sweetheart, you're lucky they're not starting you with the freshmen."
Hermione gasps and Bonnie stifles a laugh behind her hand.
"Please tell me you're pulling my leg."
"Oh honey," Sheila takes her nieces hand in hers, "You have no record to speak of, you barely passed the tests I gave you to figure out your level. I pulled all the favours I could to get you in Junior year and you will have to work your ass off to graduate, I'm warning you right now."
Hermione stares aghast into the void. "Graduate? You mean I have to go to High School for two years?"
"Well what did you think you would be doing?" Sheila asks, dumbfounded.
"I don't know, I thought I'd learn a few spells with you for a few months then go back to my life."
Sheila's face turns stern. "This is your life, Hermione, just as much as it was in England, just as much as it will be wherever you go next. And I want you to give it your all. I will be teaching you all I know, both of you girls, it will be my pleasure. But I want you to have a non magical education as well. That British magical society of yours messed with your perspective."
Hermione fiddles with her sleeves. She hasn't considered living in the muggle world for a long time. And what did that say about her? Maybe her aunt is right. Having options couldn't hurt. But the prospect of two years in High School still made her want to cry.
"Aunt Sheila, you don't understand," she pleads. "School wasn't exactly a tea party for me the first time around. I was the weird kid even when I didn't have two years on everyone and a weird accent…"
"You won't be alone," Bonnie is quick to reassure her. "You'll be fine, I promise. And you'll love my friends. Caroline just got back yesterday, and Elena is coming back today. You'll meet them tomorrow and we'll all be friends, I can already see it."
"Oh you can see it? With your psychic powers?" Hermione squints at her.
"Hey," Sheila admonishes her, "don't make fun of your cousin's powers just because you don't understand them. Honestly, what did they teach you at that school?"
"Not divination, that's for damn sure," Hermione grumbles.
"Alright, Missy, take a time out. Go to your room, take a breather, meditate like I taught you and get your attitude in check. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
Sheila walks to her kitchen, shaking her head.
"What meditation?" Bonnie asks her, curious.
"To find the courage to change to the things I can change, the serenity to accept the things I can't, and the wisdom to know the one from the other. Allegedly, I have a problem with those. I really think I can change this High School thing!" she says a little louder and sighs when her aunt ignores her. "Alright maybe, I do have an attitude problem."
"Hermione?"
She hums but doesn't look up at her cousin, her lips set in a grim line.
"I remember our calls when you were still in primary school."
Hermione freezes and still doesn't look up.
"It won't be like that this time around. No one will bully you."
"That's not…" she looks up at Bonnie's raised eyebrows. "Alright, fine, maybe it is that, a little."
"First of all, you can take the meanest bully with your eyes closed and your right arm tied behind your back." Hermione giggles and Bonnie smiles triumphantly. "Second of all, you won't be the freak with the weird accent. You'll be the exotic transfer with a really cool dark academia accent straight out of Tumblr. Everyone will fall in love with you. I'll have to fight them off you with a bat or something."
"Alright stop it, we've gone past making me feel better and straight to making me feel ridiculous," Hermione laughs and throws a pillow at Bonnie who easily avoids it.
Bonnie leaves for her dad's house and Hermione sheepishly apologises to her aunt.
Sheila pats her cheek. "Honestly, I'd be surprised if you didn't have a little aggression pent up in there. You've been through an ordeal. But you'll get better, I promise. You will not be angry forever."
Hermione freezes for the second time that day. She hasn't verbalised her feelings, even to herself. Truth be told, she hasn't sat and felt her feelings in a really long time. And she wasn't used to people reading her so easily. Yet both her cousin and her aunt were right. She is scared, and she is angry, and she has been for so long she doesn't even know what the alternative feels like anymore.
Sheila gives her a knowing look. "Are you sure you won't give therapy a try?"
"What am I supposed to say, Aunt Sheila? Hello, I fought in a wizarding war and a crazy witch tortured me for two hours once?"
"You don't have to go into the specifics…"
"I don't know," Hermione sits at the dining table and puts her head in her hands, her fingers lightly pulling at her roots. "I don't know, I don't think I'm ready. Not now," she looks pleadingly at her aunt, "I already have to face a whole school of strangers tomorrow. Can we leave the soul-baring in front of a stranger for another time?"
"Sure, honey," Sheila squeezes her shoulder and moves to sit in front of her plate.
The next morning, Hermione welcomes dawn with her eyes wide open. She hasn't slept a wink. She's almost relieved when a tap at her window makes her leave her cursed bed. She smiles when she sees the owl and hurries to take the letter tied at its leg. The owl flies away, not waiting for an answer.
Dear Hermione,
You'll read it in the paper yourself but I wanted to personally congratulate you. The case you argued in front of the Wizengamot has finally been approved. Vampires are officially full citizens of the British Wizarding World and are no longer classified as creatures. Our 'friends' are very happy with the development. Kingsley wishes you were still around. Apparently they don't get along with the wizard they hired to replace you as their liaison. But I told him they don't get along with anyone anyway, the uptight gits. But our end of the bargain is almost entirely fulfilled now and the last part is well on the way. You can rest easy.
I hope you're doing well in Mystic Falls. Send me a postcard sometime.
Love,
Harry.
Hermione sighs and puts the letter away. One day she's arguing cases in front go the full force of the Wizengamot, the next she's getting ready for her first day at High School. The daunting prospect of getting used to the ecosystem of a whole new school makes her want to write Kingsley, beg him for the job she refused and sneak back into England without telling her parents. But she promised them, and her aunt, she'd give it a serious try.
She puts the letter away in her desk drawer and heads for the shower.
The drive to school is awkward to say the least. Bonnie and her friend Elena pick her up. Elena looks like she's seen a ghost and gives her a stiff smile as a greeting. Bonnie fills the silence with overly excited chatter which Hermione knows she only does when trying to make someone feel better though she isn't sure if it's for her benefit or Elena's.
When they get to school, Elena jumps out of the car before Bonnie even puts it in park and heaves a deep relieved sigh. That's when she turns to Hermione and gives her a real smile.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't really myself back. Can we start again? Hi," she gives her a hand to shake, "I'm Elena. Bonnie has told me so much about you I feel like I know you already."
Hermione shakes her hand. "Likewise," she tries to loosen the stiffness in her shoulders and give her a happier smile.
Elena threads her arm with hers and drags her while Bonnie flanks her on her other side.
"I'm the sad freak who just lost her parents," Elena whispers to her conspiratorially, "Bonnie is the freak who's still friends with me even after I ditched everyone. So you're normal by comparison, believe me."
Hermione snorts. "That's really nice of you to say," she says and she means it. She feels herself relaxing already.
A blonde tornado falls upon them and squeezes Elena in a tight hug.
"Elena, you're back! How are you? How is she?" she turns to ask Bonnie before Elena has time to answer.
"I'm right here, Caroline," Elena smiles, "I'm fine."
Caroline gives her a dubious once over and turns back to Bonnie. "Is she really?"
Elena scoffs softly and shakes her head.
Bonnie smiles and nods. "Everyone's good, Care. How are you?"
"I just spent the best summer with my dad, ugh, I wish it didn't have to end. But," she grabs Bonnie's arm excitedly, "being back at Mystic Falls means seeing you guys again. And you know what that means right? Sleepover!" she squeals.
Bonnie returns her excitement. "Oh my god, yes! When? Where?"
"My mom is working the night shift this Wednesday, so my place. Elena will be there too, right?"
"Yes, Care," Elena sighs, "I'll be there."
Bonnie startles and shoots Hermione a quick apologetic look. "And this is Hermione," she introduces her and pulls her arm to bring her into their makeshift circle, "she's my cousin and she just transferred to Mystic Falls."
"Hi," Caroline gives her a polite smile.
"She'll be with us on Wednesday too, I know you guys will love each other."
"Do we have to invite her? It's our girls' time."
Bonnie brings out the puppy eyes. "Please? She's my cousin I want her to feel welcome."
Hermione bristles at being talked about as if she weren't there. Elena winces and gives her an awkward shrug.
"Fine," Caroline huffs and turns to Hermione. "But you should know we have a dress code. On Wednesdays we wear pink," she announces brightly.
"Why on Wednesdays?" Hermione asks, confused.
"Seriously? You've never heard of Mean Girls?" Caroline asks her incredulously; unaware of the glare Bonnie is sending her.
"As a concept…?"
"No," Caroline scoffs, "the iconic movie."
Hermione shrugs and shakes her head no.
"Were you like living in a cave or something?" the blonde scoffs.
Hermione gives her an indulgent smile, pats her on the shoulder, and walks around her to leave. She hasn't missed school at all. Elena catches up to her in a light jog and bumps their shoulder together softly.
"Caroline can be…insensitive at times, but she means well," she explains in a kind voice. "Mostly," she adds as an afterthought and chuckles.
"Don't worry about it," Hermione replies.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Elena asks and Hermione stops in her tracks.
"No, I don't," she sighs.
"Come on, I'll take you to admin, we need to pick up our schedules."
Bonnie catches up with them in time to find them waiting for a male student to finish his registration.
"That is a hottie," Bonnie breathes out.
"All I see is a back," Elena laughs.
"A hot back," Bonnie amends.
"Oh my god," Elena exclaims and walks away from them. Hermione stays put and fiddles with her sleeve while Bonnie stares at the boy leaving the office with a slack jaw.
Hermione shakes her cousin out of her stupor with a smile and drags her to the office with her where she's relieved to find out all of her classes will be with Bonnie so at least she won't be getting lost.
The response to this The response to this was so heart warming, thank you so so much you have no idea how much it means to me. I've been writing non stop, I have over 60k word written, as well as the general plot outlined, the bridging of the two worlds, the Hermione x Elijah meeting that I'm so excited to share and even the epilogue. Why did I have an epilogue written before the second chapter? Adhd that's why. Anyway, thanks again.
Hope you like this second chapter. Hermione and Caroline don't start on the right foot but they wouldn't honestly. Hermione has a lot to face and get through. And this chapter set up so many plots that I'm just vibrating to reveal but I'm pacing myself because timing is everything but oh I'm so excited you guys.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say anything about Damon or Klaus or anyone yet. But I will say this as a blanket statement for what's to come, I don't believe Damon had his humanity off during season 1. I think he wanted Stefan to believe that, because if there's one thing that will make Stefan forgive him, it's the humanity argument and Damon for all his wrongs never wants to lose stefan completely. But his humanity was very much on, otherwise he wouldn't even be in Mystic Falls to begin with. He went back to MF to free Katherine from the alleged tomb he believed she wa sin. If his humanity was off he wouldn't still be in love with her and wouldn't care that she was still in a tomb. Also, the asshole things he does in season 1, he does again in later seasons. Andy, the news reporter woman he dates in seasons 2 and 3? That's not consent in my book. She consents after he compels her not to be afraid of him. Without his compulsion, she probably wouldn't have consented, or maybe she would have, we'll never know. That man is vile and has no redeeming qualities in my book. He is charming, and hilarious, and has great one liners, but he's a creep. He's also a creep who's pretty vital to the plot so he won't be dying anytime soon unfortunately. But one thing I will spoil is that Hermione will not be his friend in any capacity. Hermione x Damon will be more of a revenge fantasy of mine than a Lexi/Stefan dynamic. Speaking of Lexi, I will also spoil that Lexi will not be dying, that was a crime I will not repeat. I need to stop talking before I spoil everything. I reall hope you guys like where this keeps going and I will see you next chapter!
Thank you for reading :) 3