Thank you for all your reviews! :)
Hermione
.
.
On 5 August, Hermione entered the London Underground with her stomach churning with stress. Her mother and father, sitting on either side of her in the jump seats, looked as anxious as she did, so neither spoke the whole way to Charing Cross.
It took them a while to find the pub McGonagall had indicated, but Hermione managed to see the door between a small bookshop and a closed vinyl shop. The landlord of the Cauldron accompanied them to the entrance of Diagon Alley, a red brick wall, which he tapped with his wand.
The wall opened, and Hermione found herself stunned by the view before her.
Diagon Alley was lined with shop windows of all colours, which crowded along the cobbled street. Owls hooted happily, hundreds of people chatted and laughed as they walked. Almost all were dressed in capes and gowns, like Professor McGonagall. Some were Hermione's age, others were older. Hermione never thought that there were so many wizards in the heart of London.
She clutched the list of supplies in her hand and walked forward with her parents who were looking around as she was, completely shocked with stars in their eyes. They took a first look around to read all the names of the shops, and after figuring out which ones they should go to next (thanks to the queues of students out front), they headed to Gringotts first, as McGonagall had advised.
If some of the shop fronts were incomprehensible, the bank was recognisable as a whole. It stood out from the other buildings, and the name "GRINGOTTS" was carved into the white stone.
She and Hermione's parents approached, and they were so focused on the impressive bank front that they didn't see the little man standing by the doors. Hermione's mother let out a cry of surprise, and Hermione looked down with a start. She understood why her mother had screamed: the man was small, had big pointy ears and long hands with thin fingers.
She had never seen such a strange man, and Hermione realised that it was probably a goblin. He didn't seem at all offended by Rachel's cry of amazement and bowed slightly as they passed him.
"McGonagall didn't mention that the bank was guarded by... them." her father commented in a whisper as they entered the large building.
The entrance hall was as majestic as the white façade. There were large counters with many goblins behind them. The interior was all marble, with a huge white chandelier on the ceiling that lit up the long hallway.
They hesitantly approached one of the goblins who was bent over a strange brown stone.
"Excuse me?" Hermione's father asked timidly.
The goblin raised his head. He wore a long red beard and small square glasses on the end of his hooked nose.
"Yes, what is this for?" he asked in a husky voice.
"We would like to exchange money for... er... wizard money?"
The goblin raised a thick eyebrow:
"Do you have a vault at our house?"
He pulled a thick dusty ledger from a pile of books beside him.
"No. We're 'muggles'." replied Hermione's father haphazardly.
"All of you?"
"No, my daughter..." He pointed to Hermione with his hand as if she were an international star and he would immediately recognize her. "My daughter is a witch, she got her letter to go to Hogwarts a few days ago."
"Ah, I see. How much do you want to trade?"
Hermione's parents looked at each other, probably not knowing the conversion they needed to make. Rachel announced:
"300£ ?"
"Right. That'll be sixty Galleons, four Sickles and two Knuts. We take a commission of 2 Galleons. Does that suit you?"
Hermione's father nodded, though none of the three understood the value of the currency they were about to receive. He held out the notes, and the goblin took a quill to write on his ledger, before handing thick gold, silver, and two bronze coins to John who shoved them into his jacket pocket. They thanked the goblin and walked out of the bank.
"Very well, then read us your list of supplies."
Hermione read aloud each item she needed to buy. They went first to the uniforms, where the kind saleswoman explained the value of wizarding money in pounds and offered them three black robes which she shortened on Hermione, a cloak for winter, a black hat, and a pair of dragon leather gloves.
Hermione's parents paid with the coins and were pleased to see that they would have more than enough for all the school supplies. Then they went to the apothecary, a feather shop, Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment, and the cauldron shop.
"What else do you need to buy?"
"We can go to Ollivander's shop, it's right over there."
The Grangers walked into the small shop. If McGonagall hadn't advised the name, Hermione would probably never have noticed its existence amongst all the other colourful shops on the street.
The room was small and the shop looked very old with hundreds of shelves full of dusty boxes. A man with long white hair was behind the counter, tidying up one of the bookcases. He suddenly turned to the family and stared at Hermione with his piercing eyes.
"Hello, we've come-" Rachel began.
"To buy a wand? You made the right choice."
Mr. Ollivander slid down the ladder with unexpected grace and stood in front of Hermione, whom he watched for long seconds without saying anything. The young woman held the old man's gaze, a little intimidated.
"You're a Muggleborn, aren't you?" he asked suddenly.
There was no prejudice in his voice, but the question made Hermione a little uncomfortable.
"Yes, I got my letter to Hogwarts..."
"Oh, there's no doubt about it." interrupted Mr. Ollivander again. "I know you're a witch, I felt your magic the moment you walked into my shop."
Mr. Ollivander turned around and Hermione took the opportunity to glance at her parents, who were just as taken aback as she was.
"Your name, please?"
"Hermione Granger." she said.
He nodded, but didn't write her name down anywhere. He pulled a tape measure from his pocket and began to measure Hermione's arm.
"Are you right or left handed?"
"Hm, I'm ambidextrous."
Ollivander arched an eyebrow but made no comment. He put the tape measure back on the counter and rummaged through several boxes. He handed one of the wands to Hermione:
"Elm wood, unicorn hair, 11 inches."
Hermione grabbed the wand, but Ollivander took it from her hands instantly. He did the same for the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that. There were about thirty sticks on the floor when Ollivander pulled yet another one out of an orange and very dusty box:
"Vine wood, dragon heartstring, 10 3/4 inches, rigid."
Hermione took the wand. It had lovely ornaments carved into the wood that intertwined and fit perfectly into her palm, as if the carvings represented the lines of her hand. As soon as she closed her grip on it, Hermione felt a delightful warm sensation run down her arm, and her curly hair puffed up a little, as if she had just stepped under a fan.
Hermione felt as if the energy that she had had since she was a little girl and that she had struggled to grasp had just condensed inside her. All that excitement and thirst for learning that she had always known and that often kept her from sleeping because her heart was beating so fast was pouring into her wand, like an alignment of herself.
So this was magic? She raised her wand in an automatic gesture and blue sparks flew immediately. Ollivander and Hermione's parents exclaimed at the same time.
"This is the one!" cried Ollivander, clearly excited that he had finally found the right wand. "An extremely powerful wand, Miss. Granger, very powerful. You were born in September, weren't you?"
"Yes, September 19th." she said, surprised.
"Vinewood is one of the most powerful woods in the wizarding community, Miss. Granger. I wouldn't be surprised if you became as brilliant a witch as your wand is. And dragon heartstring... very interesting, very interesting..."
Hermione contemplated her new acquisition. She didn't want to let go of it. This was the first proof that Hermione was really a witch, that she belonged to this intriguing world.
Mr. Ollivander asked for seven Galleons for the wand and Hermione was forced to put it away in her box for the rest of the shopping trip.
"We've got just over thirty Galleons left." John pointed out.
"Do you want a pet?" asked Hermione's mother as she read the list.
"Not really, I'm going to have a hard enough time taking care of myself, I can't see myself taking care of an animal as well." said Hermione with a smile.
"Consider this 30 Gaellons an early birthday present." her father said as he shoved the coins into his daughter's hand. "It's not like we're going to use them anyway. How do you want to spend them?"
So they went to Flourish and Blotts, and when they entered, Hermione's father let out a sigh of despair when he saw the hundreds of books in front of him.
"I don't think there's any point in getting the list out now," Rachel said, her eyes as big as her daughter's as she saw the shelves. "We'll take everything."
Two hours later, the Grangers left Diagon Alley with four bags of books. Hermione had practically spent all her Galleons at Flourish and Blotts, and she was already looking forward to read everything.
.
.
.
.
The rest of the summer passed in record time, and Hermione spent August reading.
On her bench, in parks, in the London library, and even on the tube, taking care to hide the titles of her new books.
She learned absolutely everything she could about the wizarding world that fascinated her, and explained it all to her parents in the evening when they finished work. As soon as she finished a book, she would pass it on to her mother, who wanted to learn as much as she did.
Hermione even practised with her wand to try a few simple spells, which she succeeded in doing every time, much to her delight. She could light her wand and make objects in the house fly like a magnet with a simple wave of her hand.
She also visited her grandmother in Edinburgh for a few days, spending long evenings playing Scrabble with her, walking through the alleys and visiting the castle.
When she wasn't memorising her school books, Hermione was hanging with Danny. They spent the rest of the summer together, almost every day, either walking in the parks and talking, or in the shops on the street, or at Hermione's house. One evening, Hermione's parents even took them to a theatre in Piccadilly Circus to see a magic play (much to Hermione's father's amusement as he winked at her throughout the show).
Hermione enjoyed her August, which went by a little too quickly. She was very excited to discover Hogwarts, and at the same time very anxious. She was afraid of being lonely, of not making friends, or worse, of being rejected because she didn't know enough about it.
In primary school she had always got excellent marks, she wanted to get the same results at Hogwarts, but being such a stranger to the subjects stressed her enormously. On top of that, she was afraid to leave her parents, and Danny, and the familiar, peaceful life in London that she loved so much. The mixture of all these emotions gave her insomnia.
On the 25th of August, Mary returned from St Tropez and invited Hermione to the funfair that evening with Danny and his brother, Thomas. Hermione accepted (after spending the day learning all the spells in 'The Book of Spells and Enchantments'), and so left after dinner to join her friends.
The fair was actually a small end-of-summer fair, held every year in the park at Hampstead Heath. There were few people and few attractions. When she arrived at the gate, she saw her friend Mary running towards her from a distance, and hugged her laughing. Her hair smelled of vanilla.
"Finally, you're here! I missed you! Come on, I'll tell you about my holiday!"
Mary took Hermione's arm in hers and began to walk along the candy stalls.
"You got a tan!" remarked Hermione.
Mary was of mixed race, with hair even more frizzy than Hermione's, full lips and big brown eyes. She was very pretty, all the boys in primary school had sent her love letters, but she hadn't accepted any.
"Thank you! There is a lot of sun in the South of France. You didn't get much sun, though, did you spend your summer reading at home? Danny told me. He also told me you were going to a boarding school in France, but I didn't believe him."
"Yes, I'm leaving on the first of September..."
"NO WAY!" exclaimed Mary. "Oh no, I was hoping it was a joke. What am I going to do without you? Besides, no one will be able to help me with my homework, and you know how bad I am at geography. My dad bought me this globe in a tourist shop in France, and I couldn't name more than eight countries without getting it wrong. Where will your boarding school be? Did your parents decide at the last minute? My cousin went to a boarding school, I think, I'll ask her if she liked it. Will you write to me?"
Hermione nodded, amused. Mary had the characteristic of being extremely talkative. She was a very good friend of Hermione's, but sometimes her head threatened to explode when she spent too much time with her.
She lost the thread of conversation a little as they walked along, getting lost in the contemplation of the attractions, the smell of popcorn from the machines, the colours of the stands...
"Hey Hermione, Mary, over here!"
Danny's voice interrupted Hermione's thoughts and Mary's stream of words, and they joined the boy at the end of the aisle. He still had candyfloss in the corner of his mouth.
"Hi Danny!" greeted Mary and Hermione in the same voice.
"What ride do you want to do? I want to do the giant rocket!"
He pointed to the gigantic spinning ride and the poor people screaming inside.
"It'll be without me." groaned Hermione who was gagging just looking at the ride.
"And anyway, you're probably not old enough to do it." muttered Thomas who had just appeared behind Danny's shoulder.
Thomas was tall, with a lighter shade of hair than his brother. Due to his tall stature, he stood slightly bent over to the side, which Hermione thought was very cool. He kept shaking his head to brush a lock out of his eyes, and he always had a smirk on his face.
Hermione had always had a bit of a crush on him, she couldn't really deny it. He was her best friend's older brother, and in her mind, he was 25. He swept his eyes over Mary and Hermione.
"Well, I'm off to meet some mates on the other side of the fair. You let me know when you want to go back, okay Daniel?" he said mockingly, insisting on his first name.
"Stop calling me that." his brother snarled.
"Why? Don't your friends want to hear your name, Daniel?"
Thomas ran to the end of the alley and disappeared from their sight. Hermione, Mary and Danny found themselves in the fair together. After buying churros, Hermione agreed to do the bumper cars and the pistol shoot, which she failed miserably.
Danny, on the other hand, shot all three of his plastic bullets perfectly at the targets, and won three stuffed animals, which he chose and gave to Hermione and Mary. Hermione's was in the shape of an otter, her favourite animal.
After so much stomping, Hermione complained that she was tired and waved to Danny who left to join his brother, while she and Mary went home. Mary lived a few blocks away from Hermione's house.
"Seriously, Hermione, I'm going to miss you when you're over there," Mary sighed as she slipped her arm through Hermione's.
"I'll be back for Christmas break, and I promise to write to you."
"I hope so!"
"See you tomorrow, at the park? Danny's offered to have tea at his house at five, we can meet up a bit before then if you like."
"Okay, I'll give you your present. I got you a souvenir from France. It's not much, just some cinnamon candy."
Hermione burst out laughing at Mary, who was unable to contain a surprise for more than thirty seconds without giving it away. They hugged on the Grangers' doorstep and Hermione went straight to bed, one of her new books in hand.
.
.
.
.
The day before she was due to return to Hogwarts came a little too quickly for Hermione's liking. She had managed to read all the books she had bought and learned most of the enchantments and potion properties required in first year.
She was excited about the prospect of studying in the Library that McGonagall had told her about, she could continue to discover new things. She said goodbye to Danny and Mary after the dinner her parents had arranged for her departure, and got ready for bed. As she had feared, she couldn't keep still.
After tossing and turning in bed a hundred times, turning her wand off and on again, and reading two chapters of 'Hogwarts : A History', Hermione gave up trying to sleep and went downstairs to make herself some tea.
When she came downstairs, she was surprised to see a dim light in the living room. She looked at the clock: 2:30 in the morning. She went down the last few steps and saw her father sitting at the dining table in his dressing gown.
"Ah, Mimi. Can't you sleep?"
"No..."
"Me neither." her father said with a small smile. "Too stressed for you. Do you want to share an orangette and a tea with me? We won't tell Mum."
Hermione gave a small laugh and sat down in front of her father. He poured her a cup of tea and gave her an orangette, a chocolate covered orange confection.
"Do you realise it's been a month and a half since Professor McGonagall sat here?" her father observed, looking at the chair absently.
"Already? The summer has gone by too quickly."
"Yes... Time always passes more quickly when you don't have much time with the people you love."
He smiled a sad little smile and Hermione stroked the back of his hand:
"Dad, you know I'm going to write to you all the time."
"I know you will, sweetheart. And I'm really proud of you. I think you're going to love this world, you seem to like it."
"Don't you?"
Her father shrugged.
"I don't know... I like my own world. I like my practice, I like my house, I like you, and your mother... All these fantasies, I don't know if I'd like them. But I can see you in there, I always knew you were special, my Mimi. Exceptional, even."
"If you'd received that letter, wouldn't you have gone?" asked Hermione, surprised.
John seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds and sighed:
"I don't know, to tell you the truth. I don't know if I would have had the courage."
"The courage?"
"Yes, you're very brave to go in there. On Diagon Alley, I kept looking at those children, with their parents who seemed to know everything by heart. You had no one, just two poor parents who were completely lost. And you did it all by yourself, as usual. You're very brave."
"I don't think so. But I wish I was, I wish I was in Gryffindor..."
"You will be, I'm sure. Or Ravenclaw, your mum thinks it will be Ravenclaw. Actually, you fit all the Houses, but that's just my subjective opinion as a father." he said with a big smile.
"I'm afraid..." Hermione swallowed a little. "I'm afraid I won't be able to make friends. It's not my thing."
Her daddy smiled sympathetically and it was he who put his hand on hers to reassure her:
"All those students at Hogwarts would be lucky to have you as a friend, never forget that. I think you're so smart and advanced for your age that you may seem intimidating at first, but I'm sure you'll find your place and friends very quickly. Don't worry about it."
Hermione thanked her father in a whisper, and finished eating her orangette. She could hear the ticking of the clock as it decreased her sleep time with each passing second. They finished their tea talking about many things. Hermione looked at her father as if it was the last time she would see him, inwardly memorizing his features that she would miss so much in a few days.
When they finished their teas, John yawned and advised his daughter to go back to bed, which she did, dragging her feet. She lay down in bed. Her father's words and the hot tea in her belly got the better of her and she fell asleep, despite the stress.
Draco
.
.
"Mr. Malfoy, you leave in five minutes."
"I'm coming." dropped Draco in a blank voice.
He heard Dobby's footsteps move away from his door and Draco closed his suitcase. He tried not to show it, but the stress was building up a bit. He opened the doors to his room on the fly without bothering to look at it one last time and walked down the steps of the Manor.
When he saw Dobby, he ordered:
"Get my suitcase and owl from my room and bring them down."
The elf hurried back up the stairs as Narcissa and Lucius waited at the door.
"Are you ready dear?" his mother asked as soon as he was in front of her, ironing his cloak with her hands.
"Yes." he said, his throat dry.
They walked down the driveway of Malfoy Manor. Draco saw the fountain in the distance and some of his anxiety vanished as he thought about the fact that he would soon see Pansy, and Blaise. The peacocks in the garden were walking around in the last rays of summer sunshine.
"Get your suitcase. Dobby, you stay here," said Narcissa. "Take my arm when you're ready, Draco."
The blond picked up his trunk and his sleeping owl's cage, grabbed his mother's arm and felt the unpleasant whirlwind carry him away. When they landed, Narcissa and Lucius looked as if they hadn't moved at all, their faces as frozen as ever. Draco wondered when he would finally be used to this mode of transportation.
He looked at King's Cross station for a moment before his father quickly took him away, muttering:
"Let's hurry, there are plenty of Muggles here... What an idea really, a train in a Muggle station..."
Draco tried to look around but his father's grip forced him to keep his eyes on the ground. They arrived at the invisible barrier between platform 9 and 10. Lucius removed his hand and gestured for him to move forward.
Draco felt apprehension rising: what if he didn't make it through?
He took a deep breath, looked around to make sure no passers-by were watching him, and took off. He ran, feeling his heartbeat pounding against his eardrums. When he was close enough to the barrier that he could no longer brake, he closed his eyes, fearing an impact.
But when he opened them again, he was on the platform of the Hogwarts Express.
He smiled broadly as he saw the red locomotive.
He was finally going to Hogwarts, after years of waiting for this moment.
Lucius and Narcissa came up behind him, and immediately Pansy emerged from the crowd and stood in front of them with a small smile:
"Hello Draco, hello Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy."
"Hello Pansy." greeted Narcissa. "Are you ready? Did your father come with you?"
"Yes, he's here."
Pansy's father broke away from the crowd and approached the Malfoy. He had the same porcelain skin as his daughter, and the same hair colour, but the resemblance ended there. He had lips so thin they were a line across his face and his short hair barely protruded over his forehead.
"Lucius, Narcissa, Draco." greeted Pansy's father coldly.
Draco gave him a subdued nod. He didn't like Pansy's father very much, he'd never had a good attitude with him, let alone Pansy. He was even more stern than Lucius.
"Come on, don't be late, both of you," Draco's mother said.
Pansy and his father walked off to find the Slytherin carriage and Draco turned to his parents. His mother had tears in her eyes.
"Mother, don't cry! I'll write you letters every week, I promise."
"I know, I know." she said, wiping her nose with a handkerchief. "We'll miss you at the Manor, Draco."
She walked over to him to give him a hug and kiss him on the forehead. Draco wasn't really used to affectionate gestures from his family, let alone in public, but he hugged his mother all the same. Lucius merely laid his hand on her shoulder:
"Make us proud, son. See you soon."
Draco nodded and boarded the Hogwarts Express. He watched his mother and father through the window until the train started, and as soon as they were out of sight, Draco quickly wiped his eyes and found the compartment where Pansy and Blaise were waiting.
They were accompanied by Theodore Nott, whom Draco knew a little from Blaise, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Draco sat down on the bench and quickly put away his trunk and his owl's cage before settling down. He listened to the conversation around him with one ear, lost in thought.
Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin, it had to be...
A lady with a trolley passed by in the hallway offering treats. Draco didn't take any (he was a bit nauseous from the stress), but Crabbe and Goyle rushed to get Gallions out of their pockets to buy as many as they could. As they rushed out of the compartment to follow the lady, Blaise whispered in Draco's ear:
"They look so dumb."
Draco agreed, even though he didn't know much about them. All he had to do was look at both their faces to understand. Nott shrugged:
"Yeah, but it could be useful."
"In what way?" sneered Pansy.
"Joining forces. They may be stupid, but they're tough. It might impress."
Draco considered the words. His father had said something like this to him before, "You need to find people to make you look good, surround yourself with naive Purebloods all the time." Crabbe and Goyle fit that description perfectly.
He looked at Pansy, who seemed to have the same idea as him, and smirked. Minions, like Dobby, were exactly what he needed to shine in a group. He decided to take Crabbe and Goyle as his sidekicks even before they returned to the carriage.
When they sat down again, they exclaimed at their findings and stuffed themselves with Chocolate Frogs, throwing the cards on the floor.
"Do you think you will be in Slytherin?" asked Theodore out of nowhere.
Pansy laughed dismissively:
"Obviously. Where do you want us to be?"
Nott shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe I can end up in Ravenclaw."
"But you're a Pureblood," Goyle pointed out.
"So what? There are Purebloods everywhere." Nott replied. "Blood statuses don't define our House."
"They don't? Then how are we divided?" asked Crabbe.
Everyone fell silent. No one knew how one passed the distribution test, it wasn't written in any of the books, and it was sort of a tradition of the parents to keep that part quiet.
"We don't know." said Nott finally. "But anyway, I've read the description of each House, and I know I can be in either Slytherin or Ravenclaw."
Draco arched an eyebrow:
"And you don't mind not being in Ravenclaw?"
It was the first time Draco had spoken since he sat down. Theodore shrugged again. He looked jaded. He was tall, with curly chestnut hair and almond-shaped blue eyes.
"Doesn't your father order you to be?" asked Pansy.
"Yes, but I don't care, it's not like I can control where I go."
Pansy straightened against her seat, uncomfortable. Draco too could feel the stress rising. If he didn't go to Slytherin, his father would kill him, and his mother would probably never speak to him again. He stood up suddenly and drew all eyes to him. He stammered:
"I'm going for a walk."
He slid the compartment door open and hurried out of the compartment. The pressure on his body dissipated a little once he was outside. He walked down the corridor, not knowing where to go.
There were a lot of students crowded into the corridors talking to each other, Draco had to zigzag between everyone to get through. He decided to walk back and forth from the train and back to his compartment, perhaps buying something to eat from the trolley to try and ease his stress. That's when he saw her.
She was a brunette with curly hair that went every which way and rosy cheeks. He had never seen a girl like that. All the girls he had seen in his life were always neat and careful to make sure their appearance was perfect for all occasions, like Pansy who had her hair straightened every day. But this girl looked so different from what he had seen before that it baffled him.
As he approached her, he noticed the big difference between her and the other girls. In his life, Draco had only known cold faces: Pansy and her porcelain complexion, his mother who looked almost like a statue, the friends or the pureblood family who all looked petrified, frozen.
This girl in front of him had nothing to do with coldness, she had red cheeks, pink lips, she was stamping and her face wore an expression that Draco could already read even though he had never met her.
She was really pretty.
Suddenly, the girl turned towards him and approached with a determined step. Draco almost recoiled. She was shorter than him by a few inches, but that didn't seem to intimidate him because she raised her head to look at him and asked in an authoritative voice:
"Have you seen a toad?"