According to Daniel and Helen Granger, Anne Peasegood had come highly recommended by her former employers and by some stroke of luck had recommended herself to Hermione's education.
"I met your daughter in the library of her former primary school during a tour of public schools. I was looking for bright young minds that needed me, and I think your daughter would benefit greatly from my methods of teaching." Anne primly sipped at her tea in the front room of the Granger home.
"We are very lucky to have someone so academically accomplished interested in our Hermione." Daniel watched the woman with wide eyes and held onto Helen's hand firmly.
"Yes! We are thrilled! Hermione has always been too bright for her peers. I think your tutelage will suit her well." Helen watched only Hermione with a sad glassy look in her eyes as if she was trying to remember something that wanted to be forgotten. Helen absentmindedly twisted one of Hermione's curls around her pinky and started abruptly as she remembered something.
"Hermione! Didn't you need a haircut? I should call the salon to make an appointment. I forgot twice last year as well. Age finds us all." Helen trailed off and contentedly met Anne's wizened eyes.
"So true, Mrs. Granger. Time does slip away, doesn't it? Soon enough Hermione will be an accomplished woman in her own right. I look forward to being a part of her future."
"I'd like to take Hermione shopping for some books and learning materials. I have my own that I will bring for her of course, but I think she should have the most updated editions of certain texts for accuracy's sake." Anne handed Daniel a notepad that listed book titles. Hermione glanced at the paper and saw titles like History of Magic, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Magical Drafts and Potions, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, The Ingredient Encyclopedia, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and The Essential Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione drew in her breath sharply and waited for her father's reaction to the strange titles.
"Some of these are well above Hermione's age group…" Daniel studied the list closely.
"Yes, but I know she would be bored with anything less. These are above her age group's level, but some are below her own comprehension level. I have high expectations for Hermione and I know she will exceed them by strides." Anne beamed directly as Hermione and snuck a wink.
"A bookstore field trip would be just lovely, wouldn't it, Hermione?" Helen hugged Hermione tight to her side.
Helen remembered a daycare field trip, where Hermione had to be picked up early. Some other students had pushed a young Hermione in an indoor play place and Helen's four year old daughter had fractured her pinky and ulna (the small bone in her forearm). The image of her own toddling child in a cast from bullying broke Helen's heart then, but she grinned broadly now.
"We are very lucky to have you, Anne Peasegood." Helen offered kindheartedly.
~
Hermione walked with her mother to the coffee shop where Anne would meet them.
"My last appointment is in the early afternoon. I will meet you and Anne here at 4:30 pm exactly. Make sure you stay close to her and try to hold her hand or coat as you walk through crowds. Just- Be careful, and be smart."
"Yes, mum," Hermione smirked.
~
"Numerology and Grammatica. Not necessary before reading Basics of Runeology." Anne commented on the two books Hermione had pulled from a rotating tower of floating books arranged to promote modern runeology.
"So just Basics of Runeology then to start?" Hermione asked already returning Grammatica back to its place.
"No, neither for now. Runes are an ancient and useful methodology but more important are cultural and history books before your first year. Magic culture can seem overly complex at first glance." Anne stepped away to allow Hermione to wander further into Flourish and Blotts.
"I'm going to collect the essentials, but you can wander the stacks as you please. Check upstairs for cultural books!"Anne picked up two books immediately and moved to scan the shelves at the back of the first floor. Hermione approached the worn ladder leading to the second floor and tentatively rubbed her hand against a rung, feeling for splinters in the old wood. Feeling none, Hermione climbed her way to the second floor which was in utter disarray.
There were no displays on the upper floor, just forgotten piles of dusty outdated books.
Hermione scanned the spines, finding The Witch's Guidebook, Comportment Companion, Festivals & Rites, Legendary Magicks, Courting Customs, and the Pure-Blood Directory.
"These could all be helpful," Hermione murmured to herself as she created a stack of tomes.
"The comportment and lineage books are necessary, I think." Hermione set them aside and added Festivals & Rites. Hermione was startled from her options by a soft and sudden voice.
"Good choices." A small girlish voice called from the loft's edge. A slight and pale blonde climbed fully into the balcony and approached Hermione with silent footsteps.
"Hello," Hermione replied to the non-greeting.
"Hello! Interesting book choices. I have my mother's old copy of The Witch's Guide, but Festivals & Rites is much more interesting." The blonde witch had a whispering voice, that soothed and intrigued Hermione at once. Hermione stepped closer to the girl with her pile of books and braced herself.
"I'm glad you think they're good choices. My parents are muggles so they don't have many magical books to pass down." Hermione admitted.
"Oh, you're muggle-born? That is so interesting! You will learn a lot from these books then. I prefer reading magazines like the Quibbler, they're more updated than some of these old books." The blonde moved to pick up The Witch's Guide that Hermione had discarded.
"I didn't realize wizards had magazines," Hermione commented.
"Of course! Every magical community and nation has its own newspapers and there are even more magazines. My father is the owner and editor of the Quibbler Magazine- he publishes experimental research and other rare magicks."
"He's a very accomplished wizard!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I think so." The girl smiled softly and reached into a knit bag of clashing colours, producing a glossy magazine.
"This is this month's issue. Keep it. You can owl-order it next month by sending a Knut to the address on the front."
"Thank you. I don't know anything about, 'owl-ordering'? But I'm sure I'll figure it out." Hermione held the magazine close to her chest and felt her nerves rise.
"I know you will. My name is Luna Lovegood," Luna offered her hand to shake.
"I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to talk to another witch my age, Luna." Hermione smiled and took the other small girl's pale hand.
"It is nice. I have to find my father now. I hope we meet again, Hermione!" Luna climbed back down the ladder, seeming like she only came upstairs to speak with Hermione.
"I don't know if that was strange or normal for witches," Hermione murmured to herself. Regardless, she added the Witch's Guide to her pile and climbed down the ladder.
~
Hermione's first Diagon Alley trip found her well-supplied for her private education. Potions sets and study materials took a permanent position on her bedroom desk which Anne had enlarged to fit them both comfortably. The desk and its shelves above had been made comically large to accommodate a growing library of books and magazines. After Anne had subscribed to The Quibbler for Hermione, Luna and Hermione exchanged letters each week. Hermione much preferred her homeschooling with Anne over her previously public education.
Every day at 6 am, Anne arrived and joined the Granger family for morning tea. Anne enjoyed her re-introduction to the muggle world and enjoyed listening to the BBC News with the Doctors Granger, as Anne had done in her youth in the 1940s.
Hermione studied Magical Theory in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration, and wrote short essays rephrasing theory and process in her own words. Anne instructed her student in Latin, Runes, and Arithmancy and Hermione stayed up late reading so often, that she dreamed in latin and doodled Runes constantly. In just two months of obsessive study, Hermione was already breezing through second-year material. Before purchasing third-year material, Anne decided to do something she had hoped to try with her own children that had never been born.
"Wands choose their witch, Hermione. They are a deeply personal magical artifact and completely unique to their owner. Some identical twins have similar wands and some wands can even be related through shared sources of their wood or core. It is very rare to be able to use someone else's wand. Some families or married couples find they can use the wands of those they are closest to, but it is still never a perfect match. This is the root of today's lesson. Witches and wizards will often let their children practice with their parent's wands, as their magics tend to be similar enough. I am giving you this opportunity today. This is a very dangerous lesson, but I feel you are well-prepared. Are you comfortable trying to cast with a wand?" Anne was extremely nervous and excited.
"I'm ready," Hermione replied confidently.