Forged In Strife Part One
Chapter One: You're a wizard, Henri.
Author's Note: Hello out there. Welcome to my latest fanfiction. You don't need a lot of context getting into this one. The only thing you need to know is that I've gender swapped Draco and Hermione. So Draco is a girl named Draka Malfoy and Hermione is a boy named Henri Granger. And oh, I've made Henri half French. I was reading an article about Emma Watson which said she was born in Paris, that immediately made me think, hmm, what if Hermione or in this case Henri was French?
Chapter Summary: Young Henri discovers that he is a wizard.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.
Minerva McGonagall moved out of the dark alley after making sure no one could see her. This was always the issue when apparating to Muggle neighbourhoods; you had to be careful that no Muggle saw you performing magic. That meant apparating into dark and filthy alleys, no matter how undignified it was.
Her first stop today was a family named the Grangers. They lived in a nice and picturesque neighbourhood in Chelsea. The neighbourhood consisted of two-storey buildings with plenty of yard space. Most of the yards were filled with children's toys. She stopped when she reached her destination, number 17. Oddly, the yard was nice and well looked after, but it lacked personality, as if the place hadn't been lived in. There were no scattered toys or holes dug by a dog.
Still, the place looked nice, and Minerva took note of it as she approached the doorbell. There was a blue flag attached to a pole on a railing on the porch, and Minerva noticed a blue doormat that didn't have the normal welcome message but instead read, The Home of the Blues. Minerva smiled to herself. There it was, personality. She guessed that The Blues referred to some sports team, probably football, as it was the most common and popular Muggle sport.
She rang the doorbell. It was quiet at first, then she heard a thud and the sound of running feet and muffled words she could not hear behind a closed door.
The door was opened by a small boy, about 10 or 11, probably Henri Granger. He had light brown short curly hair and curious brown eyes. He was wearing swimming trunks and had floaters on his arms. Seeing as there was no swimming pool in the Grangers' yard, she deduced that she had caught the Grangers just as they were about to head to the beach or some other water attraction.
"Bonjour, comment ça va?" the boy said. Hmm, French. Not what she was expecting to find in Chelsea.
Before Minerva could reply, she heard an approaching voice, this time in English but with a pronounced French accent. "Henri, I told you to wait for me before opening the door."
A woman in her mid-thirties came behind and stood beside the boy, who was looking curiously at her. She had her son's hair except it was longer and worn in a loose bun. Her eyes were lighter than her son's, almost green.
"Mrs. Granger, I presume?" Minerva McGonagall said in lieu of introduction.
"Oui, can I help you? I'm sorry if I sound rude, but we were just about to go out," said the woman. Her tone was very pleasant.
"My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I'm sorry I've caught you at a bad time, but I was hoping you could spare a few minutes of your time. I promise, it's important, and I will be brief."
Mrs. Granger looked at her for a while, weighing the options in her head, then sighed and opened the door wider, pulling Henri closer to herself. "Sure, of course, come in."
"Thank you, Mrs. Granger," said Minerva as she entered the house. The house was warm and had a lived-in atmosphere. The living room was tastefully decorated, with soft beige walls adorned with family photos and a huge banner with the words Chelsea Football Club written on it. Minerva smiled at that. As a dedicated Quidditch fan, she understood sports fandom. A comfortable-looking sofa set complemented the room, and a faint aroma of nutmeg from the kitchen made Minerva's mouth water.
"Please, call me Jean," Mrs. Granger said as she motioned for Minerva to sit in one of the comfortable-looking couches in the living room. "This little man here," she said, pointing to the boy, "is Henri. Say hello to the nice lady, Henri," she said to the boy.
"Bonjour," the boy said.
"In English, ma chéri," said Jean with a smile. She then explained to Minerva, "We've just recently moved to England, so he's not yet used to speaking English."
"Ah," Minerva said. Henri said hello in English and apparently lost interest in the conversation and dedicated his attention to a cartoon that was playing on a giant TV that was mounted on the wall. For all the wonders of magic, Muggle technology always amazed Minerva. She briefly wondered how it would be if Quidditch games were televised the way she knew Muggle football was.
As they sat, Jean offered Minerva some lemonade, which Minerva graciously accepted; it was hot this time of day. Jean said her husband was upstairs finishing up on a project, which Minerva took to understand that they should wait for him.
She and Jean filled the waiting time with small talk. She found out that Jean, her husband, and little Henri had moved to England just eight months ago. At some point during their small talk, Henri got bored of his TV programme and came to sit by his mother, who immediately started playing with his hair. The boy made mock protests of outrage, but it was clear that the two had a very close bond.
"I'm sorry, darling, that took longer than necessary. I hope Henri is not too angry at me," said a voice coming from upstairs. A man whom Minerva assumed was Mr. Granger descended the stairs. It was clear that their son took after his mother, for Mr. Granger had dirt blonde hair, blue eyes, and his skin was fairer than that of his wife and son. He was also very English. "We have a guest." He said, more like a statement than a question.
"Come sit, darling. This is Minerva McGonagall. She says she has something important to discuss with us," Jean said.
"Oh, Miss McGonagall. I'm Daniel Granger, but you can call me Daniel," he introduced himself and stretched out his hand in greeting.
"Minerva, please," Minerva McGonagall replied as she shook his hand. He had a firm handshake.
He joined his wife and son on the couch and they exchanged the obligatory small talk before getting down to business.
"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," she stopped herself, "Daniel and Jean, I am a professor at a very distinguished and exclusive boarding school in Scotland. I'm here to offer young Henri here a place at Hogwarts."
"Hmm," Daniel said. She noted how both parents did not seem surprised by the offer; she was not the first person to offer their son a place at a school. It seemed young Henri was remarkable in more than one way. "I understand, Minerva, but you have to understand that we've received hundreds more offers like this, with each school claiming to be the best that education has to offer."
"I understand as well," Minerva said, "but I can guarantee you that what my school offers is not offered by any other school. You see, Hogwarts' full name is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your son, Henri, is a wizard, and at Hogwarts, we train young wizards and witches."
The Grangers were shocked, of course, and there was some skepticism. But like every other parent of Muggleborns, they had noticed things about or around their child that they could not explain, so they listened to Minerva as she explained.
She briefly explained about how the wizarding world existed, its governance, and the need for secrecy. She explained that the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts had an ancient and very powerful quill and parchment which kept track of all magical children as soon as they performed their first act of magic. Their name would be written down on the parchment by the quill, and when they turned 11, they would be invited to attend Hogwarts.
Minerva proceeded to perform a few simple spells to demonstrate magic. She then handed the Grangers Henri's acceptance letter to Hogwarts.
While his parents were reading his letter, young Henri's eyes were wide in amazement. Magic. He could do magic. He had always wanted a puppy, but his parents said it was a big responsibility. Now that he knew he had magic, he wished with his entire being for a puppy. "Wow, I could do magic too? I wish I had a puppy!"
Minerva was about to tell him that magic didn't work that way when, to everyone's astonishment, a small puppy appeared and landed on Henri's lap. Henri was over the moon, hugging the puppy with delight. And screaming in delight, it took a while for his befuddled parents to calm him down.
When Henri was finally calm, Minerva had to explain accidental magic to the Grangers. "Accidental magic often occurs when young witches and wizards experience strong emotions. It's not uncommon for magical children to perform magic without realising it, especially when they're excited or distressed. In Henri's case, it seems he summoned this puppy out of pure desire."
The Grangers were astonished and concerned, but Minerva reassured them that such incidents were normal for young wizards. The problem with accidental magic was that it was too unpredictable and could be dangerous. Wish fulfilment in children can be dangerous because a child could wish for something harmful in anger without really meaning it, and not be prepared for the consequences of said wish. Minerva gave them an example of a young Muggle-born witch who had wished her mother to disappear. It took the Ministry days to find the poor woman, and they found her in a forest, scared out of her wits. The child didn't really wish for her mother to disappear, but at that moment, because her mother was forbidding her to do something she wanted, she wished for her to disappear.
The Grangers were very alarmed, but she assured them that incidents like that were few and far between. What mattered was that Henri should go to Hogwarts so that he could learn how to control his magic properly and, most of all, use magic, which was an enormous power for a child, responsibly.
She then helped them trace the puppy's origin. It seemed young Henri had summoned it from a nearby pet store. After begging and tears from Henri, his parents relented and let him keep the puppy. Minerva, with a brief conversation and some memory modification, sorted out the bewildered pet store owner. The Grangers paid for the puppy and went home with their new pet.
Minerva promised to return the following week to take them to the wizard shopping district, Diagon Alley, where they would gather the necessary supplies for Henri's schooling.