A/N: This was written for BtBFN's Age of Potter competition. Winner in the following categories: Kissing Hour - Best Kiss; Tomes & Scrolls - Best Execution of Prompt; and Sweep of Sunshine - Best Fluff.
My prompt was: Regency. In the wizarding world, everyone follows the rules of magic. All magical blood is precious. The world consists mostly of pureblood wizards and witches. But every few generations they are required to find a Muggleborn to marry, but they are extremely rare. When a Muggleborn comes to Hogwarts, they are courted from day one by the most prominent families. The previous generation's Muggleborn was Lily Evans. Many fought for her hand but House of Potter won. And the proof of their union is a very powerful son. After Draco was born Lucius knew he had to find the best witch for his son. Only the best will found a way to see the list of Muggleborns. He investigated all of them. The best is a beautiful child named Hermione Granger. So he sets his eyes on her and tries to win her parents to sign a betrothal contract.
Much love to my beta RachaelLA26 who helped bring this piece to life. And to Alina Marie who gave me the perfect idea for this prompt.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
~0o0~
The day Lady Hermione Granger found out she was a witch started off quite normally. She'd had breakfast with her governess and lessons with her tutor. Hermione was quite a remarkable girl in that her parents paid for a tutor for her, instead of just a governess as most girls were afforded. Hermione didn't even have any brothers to warrant a tutor; she was an only child. Which made her rather lonely but that was probably for the best. When her emotions ran high, strange things tended to happen around her. She'd gone through three tutors before Mr Jenkins had been hired. He, at least, dealt with her strange outburst with aplomb. The outbursts were becoming more frequent and Hermione was getting to be extremely embarrassed about them.
Halfway through tea with her mother, the butler—Caddington—interrupted.
"A Professor McGonagall is here to see you, madam," Caddington intoned in his deep bass voice.
"Professor McGonagall? I've never heard of such a person," Hermione's mum, Lady Granger said.
"She's asked to speak with Lady Hermione as well, madam," Caddington informed them.
"Do you know of such a person?" Lady Granger asked Hermione
"No, Mother," Hermione shook her head. While she was confused, she was also very excited. It was rare that her parents entertained, so having someone new to see and talk to was always a treat.
"Well, see her in Caddington. We'll see what she wants. Is the Earl home yet?"
"Not yet, madam," Caddington replied.
"Very well," Lady Granger waved the butler away. As he left, a footman came into the room to add an additional setting for tea.
"Oh, are we to provide tea for this Professor McGonagall as well?" Lady Granger asked the footman.
The footman's eyes widened and he froze in terror. Hermione hid her smile behind her hand. It wasn't polite to laugh at servants.
"Well?" Lady Granger asked when the footman didn't respond.
"Mr Caddington said—"
"Oh, well if Caddington requested it," Lady Granger sighed and waved her hand, allowing the footman to continue with his setup.
"Thank you, Barrett," Lady Granger said when he was finished. The footman bowed to them both and stepped smartly out of the room.
"Mother, that wasn't very nice," Hermione scolded her mother lightly.
"Oh, well, they are just too easy to frighten, aren't they?" Lady Granger's eyes twinkled merrily and Hermione did her best to suppress her laughter, even if she wasn't capable of suppressing her grin.
"Professor McGonagall, madam," Caddington said a few moments later, sweeping the door open for Hermione to see a severe-looking woman with black hair and a pair of spectacles perched on her nose. Hermione had never met any sort of professor before, but she had thought they were all men. She was quite surprised to find that Professor McGonagall was a woman.
"The Countess Granger and Lady Hermione Granger," Caddington introduced. Hermione stood and dipped a small curtsey to the professor.
Professor McGonagall stepped further into the room and Hermione felt her heart beat rapidly. She wasn't sure why, but she felt she knew that this visit was going to change the rest of her life. And she wasn't wrong. Professor McGonagall told Hermione and her mother strange and unbelievable things. She was a witch! Just like Professor McGonagall. And when the professor had transformed into a common cat in front of their very eyes, Hermione had thought she must be daydreaming. She pinched her arm hard to see if she would wake up, but it seemed that it was really happening.
"Could this explain some of Hermione's quirks?" Lady Helene asked.
"Quirks?" Professor McGonagall inquired.
"Yes, when Hermione gets excited, or very emotional, strange things seem to happen. Sometimes things levitate... We've had a terrible time keeping certain members of the staff. Her tutor is the fourth one we've had."
"Ah, yes, well, Mr Jenkins is a Squib," Professor McGonagall said.
"How do you know Mr Jenkins? What's a Squib?" Hermione asked. Neither she nor her mother had mentioned the name of her tutor. Just how much did Professor McGonagall know about her?
Professor McGonagall sighed heavily, "In addition to being a witch, you are what we call Muggleborn. Muggle means non-magical folk. A Squib is someone who is born into a magical family but has no magic of their own. Most of the magical folk are pure-bloods. There is usually one or two Muggleborns born each generation."
"Each generation?" Hermione asked. "So, I'm the only one?"
Professor McGonagall nodded, "The last Muggleborn we had was a boy, he's about ten years older than you. Prior to that was another girl, about twenty years ago. There's more..." the professor trailed off and looked concerned.
"More?" Lady Granger asked.
"Yes. Because Muggleborns are so rare, the marriage market for them is quite... fierce. Because of that, our government, the Ministry of Magic, assigns a wizarding liaison to each Muggleborn and their family to help them navigate the betrothal contracts as they come in. As well, as help the Muggleborn settle into the magical world."
"You make it sound as if Hermione is going somewhere. And betrothal contracts? She's only a child!"
"Lady Hermione will need to be educated with other witches and wizards as is our custom," Professor McGonagall explained. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is the finest wizarding school in Britain. Schooling is for seven years. Lady Hermione will be eligible to go in the fall. She'll learn all about magic and how to control her talent. After that, it will be expected that she accept a betrothal contract into a pure-blood family."
Lady Granger frowned, "And if we had a betrothal contract drawn up with someone in the peerage already?"
Professor McGonagall looked grim, "I'm not sure you understand Countess Granger. Muggleborns are so rare, that to keep one out of the wizarding world would be considered an act of war. If you chose to keep Lady Hermione out of the wizarding world, you could not do so and stay in Britain. Our government would track her down and bring her into our world without the benefit of Lady Hermione being able to still see her Muggle family."
"You mean they'd take her from us? You would take our daughter away?" Lady Granger sounded both incensed and horrified by the prospect.
"If it came to that," Professor McGonagall said. "There is much about wizarding culture that you don't know and more than I could hope to impart in an afternoon. Suffice to say, wars have been fought over Muggleborns in the past. And they will continue to do so. Just as wars have been fought over other precious items in the world. Trading routes, gold, goods..."
Hermione watched the back and forth between her mother and Professor McGonagall and was equal parts fascinated and horrified.
"Mother?"
Lady Granger seemed to remember that Hermione was in the room with them and turned to her daughter.
"I don't want a war to be fought over me. Nor do I want to lose you and Father. I think it would be best to send me to this Hogwarts and go along with Professor McGonagall's plan. There was a liaison, correct?"
"Yes, my dear," Professor McGonagall smiled at her. "You've been assigned Lord Arthur Weasley as your liaison. He's a good friend of mine and a good man. He also has a son your age."
Hermione smiled at the professor, then said to her Mother, "See? I think this will be alright. Besides, there isn't a betrothal contract for me. I'll hardly be missed when it's my turn to come out. And this way, I don't lose you."
Lady Granger reached her hand out and Hermione grasped it.
"Always so logical, love," Lady Granger murmured and squeezed Hermione's hand.
"I'll need to discuss it with The Earl, of course," Lady Granger said. "But I don't see why Hermione couldn't attend this school."
"It really will be for the best. As witches age and their bodies change, their magic becomes less stable. Having her in a school and learning how to use her magic and stabilize it will be best for everyone."
Lady Granger just nodded. Professor McGonagall made to take her leave, promising to bring Lord Weasley with her next week. They would be getting a few lessons on the magical world with Lord Weasley and then he and Professor McGonagall would take them shopping. Apparently, wizards had their own shopping district in London. Hermione hadn't spent much time in London and was exceedingly excited that she was going to get to go in a few weeks time. They'd even get to stay in the London townhouse! Hermione hadn't been there since she was a very small child, her parents deciding they'd prefer to raise her in the country. But now, she wondered if it had more to do with her magic than anything else.
~0o0~
Lord Ronald Weasley turned out to be a bit uncouth for Hermione's tastes, but his father, Lord Weasley was delightful. Although, maybe only because of Lord Weasley's absolute glee with all things Muggle. Hermione felt her lips turn up at the word, Muggle. She wasn't a Muggle, like her parents. No, she was a witch. A thrill ran through her when she thought about the wand, which was safely tucked away in her trunk. The carriage she was currently riding in consisted of her, Lord Ronald Weasley, Lord Harry Potter, and Lord Weasley. Lord Weasley had made introductions immediately, so Hermione knew she had permission to speak with the boys. It felt strange to be sharing a carriage and not having at least her maid with her.
She'd asked Professor McGonagall if she could take her maid to Hogwarts with her, how was she to dress otherwise? But Professor McGonagall had told her that Muggles weren't allowed at Hogwarts. Nor, were they allowed to know about magic at all. She'd assured Hermione that there would be plenty of help at the school for dressing. The other girls in her dormitory would help, and there were house-elves. Hermione didn't know what house-elves were, but now she was extremely curious to find out.
Lord Weasley explained that he'd had to hire the carriage to take them to the school from the wizarding government, the Ministry of Magic, where Lord Weasley worked. He was in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement dealing with Muggles, which was one of the reasons why he had been tapped to be her magical guide. The other had been that his family was too poor to offer her a contract. Which Hermione didn't necessarily care for, but she had known her entire life that she would be accepting some sort of marriage contract. She was an Earl's daughter, after all, her parents would want to make her a good match. She just hated that they were talking about it now. She was only eleven after all and wouldn't marry for years and years.
"What's it like being a Muggleborn, Hermione?" Lord Ron asked he'd insisted on Lord Ron over Lord Ronald.
"It's Lady Hermione," Hermione corrected with a frown. "What's it like being a wizard?" Hermione asked in return. Honestly, how was she supposed to answer such a question?
Lord Ron shrugged and muttered, "Sorry."
"My mother is Muggleborn, Lady Hermione," Lord Harry piped up.
"Really?" Hermione asked, suddenly very interested in knowing Lord Harry Potter.
Lord Harry nodded, "Yes, there was apparently a very fierce bidding war for her contract. But House Potter won."
"Do your parents not love each other then?" Lord Ron cocked his head to the side.
"Ronald!" Lord Weasley scolded. "That's rather impolite."
"Oh, no, they do," Lord Harry told them. "Mother wanted Father the entire time, but her parents were holding out for the best contract."
"Is that going to happen to you?" Lord Ron asked Hermione.
"Well, my parents will definitely give me a choice in any contracts," Hermione said. It was something her parents had always told her. They'd never force her to marry someone she didn't want to, but they reiterated that life wasn't fairy-tales and even they hadn't been in love when they married. But they'd grown to love each other.
"Did your parents have a betrothal contract too?" Lord Harry asked her.
Hermione nodded, "Yes, my father is an Earl. Which is why I'm introduced as Lady Hermione."
She hadn't meant to scold Lord Ron, but his face took on a pinched look and the conversation in the carriage fell quiet again. She couldn't believe they were going all the way to Scotland. She had never been, and they were due at the school that evening. She'd asked Lord Weasley how it was possible they could travel so far in just one day. Normally a trip to Scotland would take three or more days, depending on how long they traveled each day.
"Magic," Lord Weasley had said with a grin. And he wasn't wrong. Not long after the carriage had picked her up, it had risen into the air, and flown like a bird. The horses drawing the carriage weren't regular horses, but Pegasi. Hermione couldn't wait until they were on the ground again, so she could see their wings. She hadn't paid any attention to them prior to getting into the carriage, and now it was everything she could do to keep still and not try to climb out the window and look.
The trip to Hogwarts did take most of the day, despite the help from the Pegasi. The moment the carriage landed, and Hermione was handed out by Lord Weasley, she trotted around to view the beasts. They were huge—much larger than most horses—and were a beautifully matched pair in dappled grey. Their wings were folded neatly along their backs and Hermione longed to touch one but held back.
"First years?" a voice boomed from behind and Hermione whirled around to find a giant of a man with large black hair and a beard standing behind them.
"Yes, Mr Hagrid," Lord Weasley said. "This is my son, Lord Ronald Weasley, Lord Harry Potter, and this is Lady Hermione Granger."
Hermione dipped a curtsy, even as she stared wide-eyed at the huge man before her.
"Potter? I knew your parents!" Mr Hagrid said, holding out his hand.
Lord Harry stepped forward and shook Mr Hagrid's hand, or rather, Mr Hagrid shook Lord Harry's entire arm, he was so large.
"He's half-giant," Lord Ron whispered to Hermione.
"Giant?" Hermione's eyes widened.
Lord Ron hummed his response.
"Well, come on then, follow me," Mr Hagrid waved his huge arm and indicated that they follow him to the boats resting at the lake shore.
Hermione looked around and realized they were at the edge of a small village, and across the lake was a very large castle.
"That's Hogwarts," Lord Harry said pointing at the castle.
"And that's Hogsmeade," Lord Ron said indicating the village. "The only all-wizarding village in Britain."
Hermione took it all in, suitably impressed and grinned at the two boys. She couldn't wait for her Hogwarts education to begin.