Hermione Granger and the Philosopher's Stone

The Witch Part 4

The hand that had been furiously taking notes as she held her little question tirade stilled then, along with the rest of her body. Slowly she looked up. "'Hogwarts a History'" she repeated before inquiring: "Is that a book?"

"Why, yes it is," she answered a small smile spreading across the professor's face for the first time since she walked through the door.

Hermione's entire being lit up as she processed this. There was a book. Finally something familiar, something she could work with. "I see. And where would I be able to find this book?"

The smile on the professor's face grew wider as she answered: "Why Diagon Alley of course. It's one of the busiest shopping streets in wizarding Brittan. If you were to choose to go to Hogwarts, this is where I would take you to buy all the necessities that you can find on the back of your Hogwarts acceptance letter."

"And the curriculum?" she asked again. It was a rather important question after all and one that would surely play a decisive part in her decision.

"Well..." the professor explained that there were seven core classes each student had to take until their fifth year. These classes were Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration. At the start of their third year the students were also allowed to pick two electives. The names of the classes mostly spoke for themselves, but the professor suggested that, if Hermione was interested, she could always take a look at her schoolbooks before school started. That is if she chose to go, of course.

"... and I do hope you decide to further your studies at Hogwarts, Miss Granger. You have a fine mind, I can tell. It'd be a shame if the wizarding world were to lose you."

The professor was looking intently at her as if she could mentally transmit her sincerity. In fact Hermione wasn't entirely sure she couldn't, because she didn't have a shred of doubt that the witch meant every word. Being appreciated, complimented, felt nice.

Glancing at the paper Hermione had been steady crossing out questions on since the beginning of the meeting, the professor asked kindly and, Hermione thought, slightly amused: "Will that be all; Miss Granger?"

"No," Hermione said steadily, "I still have one question left."

Slowly Hermione lay her pen back on the table and let go of the notebook she'd been clutching. She deliberately folded her hands in her lap. There was one question she hadn't written down, one question which was perhaps the most important of all.

She cleared her throat before hesitantly asking: "These students, will they be like me?"

For the first time since she had sat down the professor faltered, for the first time she looked unsure, uncomfortable even and while Hermione picked up on it, she could not explain it. A shiver went down her back as she waited for the professor to speak.

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth at least twice before eventually deciding on: "There are a number of muggleborn witches and wizards that join Hogwarts each year so I can assure you that you will not be the only student new to our world."

"Yes, but what about the others?" Hermione challenged, "Have they had incidents like me?"

Apparently comfortable again, the professor didn't hesitate to raise an eyebrow as she answered: "If you are referring to accidental magic, then yes. Every magical child has burst of magic they can't control. It's completely normal."

Normal. That was one word that had never before been associated with her and certainly not with the accidents she caused.

"Normal" she whispered so softly the professor didn't even hear it. She quite liked the sound of it, normal. Much better than weirdo or freak. 'Yes,' Hermione thought while a soft smile appeared on her lips, 'that works.'

Breaking out of her musings, Hermione turned her full attention back on the older woman: "Thank you for your time, professor. I don't believe I have any more questions at this moment."

"Very well," the professor said standing up again, "I shall take my leave then."

"Of course," Hermione jumped out of her chair and walked down the hall, all too aware of the witch following her. She opened the door and made what she hoped was a graceful hand gesture as she let the woman out. Professor McGonagall walked out with a court nod in her general direction. Before she could close the door though, the professor spoke again: "I will send an owl in exactly two day. Please give him a paper with your answer on it."

"I," Hermione hesitated; while the professor had explained how owls delivered the wizarding post, she still didn't have any practical experience, "certainly will, professor."

"Oh and Miss Granger, as I've said before, I do hope you come to Hogwarts."

Author's Note

Hey guys,

I know I'm spending a lot of time on just the going to Hogwarts part of the story, but it's just so important! Harry was a very special case. He wasn't a muggleborn and his guardians knew about magic so 'technically' he should have already known everything Hagrid explained to him before he boarded the train. Hermione is completely different. As a muggleborn with parents who might object to her going into the wizarding world the process of her admittance has to be a lot more thorough to be practical. Just saying 'Congratulations, you're going to Hogwarts. Yeah parents, you're not seeing your kid until Christmas, because she's going to learn about something you didn't think existed. See ya!' just wouldn't go over well. It just wouldn't. That's why a professor of the school has to come over and calmly explain everything to both the parents and the child, to answer questions. The way Harry himself was handled wasn't correct at all either, which I have quite an opinion about as well - Oh do I have an opinion about that -, but this is getting long enough as it is and I still have a complete other topic to rant about which actually has to do with the fanfiction.

So onto Hermione's parents. As you have probably noticed they take allowing your kid to make its own decisions to the extreme. If this made them seem irresponsible or like those parents in children's tv-series where they only show up at the beginning and the end of the episode where they only show up to be ditzy then I get it. That problem isn't caused by them so much though as it is caused by Hermione. What do you do with a child smarter than you? How do you raise it? Hermione's parents are very rational people and Hermione is very good at everything to do with rationality. If they make a decision she doesn't agree with, she's smart enough to outmaneuver them in a debate and then what can they do? She also acts a lot older than she is and as a result makes her parents treat her older than she is. That makes their relationship very interesting to write about and it is certainly going to come up in some of the following books, but for now this is it.

Wow, that got long fast. And I haven't even talked about all I wanted yet. I'm going to let it be though before you all decide not to read this monster note at all.

I hope all of you liked this chapter. By all means leave a comment regarding any topic in my rant or just a random one or you know if you just want to say you liked it that's all fine. I would also be very happy with a vote. I'm cheap. Don't judge me.

Until Wednesday!