Hermionex ???
“I’m worried John.”
The young child tilted her head as the soft melodic voice of her mother floated up to the staircase on which she sat. She looked over at her friend, yet to be named, and he shrugged.
“Honey, I’m telling you.” Said her father, “It's completely normal for Hermione to have an imaginary friend. She’s a bit too old but I mean she’s also a little too smart so it makes sense. She must be so lonely. We should – ”
“I don’t think he’s imaginary!” She blurted and Hermione’s eyes widened.
“She believes me.” she whispered in wonder. “We have to get closer! Can I hide behind you?” she asked. He nodded and together they silently crept into the room.
For as long as she could remember, Hermione was constantly accompanied by a shimmering blue man invisible to all but her. He was silent, and had no face, but it was always easy to tell what he was thinking. In fact, she had the feeling that he rarely thought at all and she was doing it for the both of them. She would think of an object and he would immediately grab it for her. Sometimes, he grabbed it before she’d even completed the thought. In those she’d laugh and make him put it back. One day she spent hours thinking of different things until he learned to stop bringing them prematurely.
She soon figured out that while no one could see him, he was definitely real, as was evidenced by her hiding behind him as they crept towards her parents. She stopped a few feet away from where they were standing.
“What?” her father asked, confused. Hermione nearly giggled at the look on his face.
“I don’t know if it’s a ghost or what, but I don’t think her friend is imaginary. Things happen around here John. She appears in places. She pulls things to her without moving a finger. I’m scared and worried for her. You’ve seen those movies!”
Her father sighed, “Yes, and apparently, you’ve seen too many. It’s just paranoia, Jean, nothing more.”
“They say that in the movies too, and then it’s too late. You know I believe in spirits. I need you to believe me. I’m really worried about her.”
He folded his arms while Hermione and her mother waited with bated breath. “I’ll do some research on the house.” He said reluctantly. Jean sagged with relief.
“God I love you.” She breathed hugged him.
He kissed her head, returning the embrace. “I will check to see if there’s any bad history on the land, and we can call a priest to bless the house if you want. But I refuse to subject her to any sort of paranormal experiments unless I see undeniable proof with my own two eyes.”
Hermione bit her lip and frowned. Mommy wouldn’t experiment on her would she?
Jean nodded, “Thank you. I don’t want to do that to her either. I’m just scared.” They hugged and John kissed her head.
Hermione turned and raced up the stairs.
“What was that?” John asked and frowned. “It looked like – she couldn’t have run past us like that. She’s been in her room the whole time right?”
Jean looked up at him and shook her head. “I don’t know. Go check on her.”
“Sweetheart?” John asked as he slowly walked upstairs. He could hear Hermione talking with someone, and after the conversation he’d just had with jean, it was safe to say he was a little rattled.
BOOM!
“Hermione?” he called and raced to her door, flinging it open. She was sitting on the bed, knees to her chest. She was fine, but her room looked as though a tornado had run through. Her books were all on the floor, stuffed animals and clothes too. Even the books she couldn’t reach had been knocked down. He just might owe Jean an apology.
“Hermione, what happened? Did your friend do this?” he asked as he sat on the bed beside her.
“I sent him away,” she sniffled, “so you and mommy wouldn’t be scared of me and experiment on me.”
The hair on the back of his neck rose at the first half of her sentence. Perhaps he would skip the research and just find them a new home. Gently, he coaxed his daughter into his arms and shushed the crying girl.
After that day, no further events occurred, and Hermione seemed to have forgotten all about her imaginary friend. Unfortunately, she was unable to make any tangible friends.
“They hate me! They all hate me and they’re too stupid to even understand why!”
John eyed the girl in his rearview mirror.
“What did they do this time my love?”
She threw her small little hands up in frustration.
“I answered the teachers questions perfectly and they didn't even have the sense to pick on me about that! They hate my hair, my teeth, my shoes. Stupid things! It's so frustrating!”
“Did they hurt your feelings?”
“As if I care what those peasants have too say about me!”
“Peasants?”
“Imbeciles. Mouth breathers! Morons! Insignificant idiotic pea for brains! But did I call them that? Ha! Their eyes would glaze over after the first syllable!”
John whistled. “You are hot today. It must be been that boy you like? The cute one.”
“No. It was Melody. The pretty one.”
“Ah yes the one with skin like what was it again?”
Hermione sighed. “Skin like a Saharan dune on a windy August morning.”
“Riiight…have you been reading your mother’s romantic novels again?”
“No...”
“Mhmm. So she’s pretty but stupid?”
“Smarter than the rest, but absolutely idiotic.”
“Well, the good news is your mother called. There’s a woman waiting to talk to you about a special school in the mountains of Scotland. Says it’s magical.”
“Scotland? I doubt it. Lovely views but terrible weather, at least that’s what I read in Mom’s…weather…book.”
“I don’t think she has one of those.” He said with a faux confused look to his giggling daughter. He chuckled. “We'll check it out. Maybe there will be smarter people there for you.”
“Great then they’ll pick on me for being stupid.” She sighed sadly.
“Perhaps. But they’ll understand your insults.” John said and thankfully, his lonely, little girl giggled.
“John, Hermione! We’re in the living room.”
Hermione put her backpack away and walked into the room to find her mother talking to a cat.
“Uh babe. You said teacher, not creature.” John said with a kiss to her cheek.
Jean smiled. “We’ll, actually she’s both. Remember those early years when Hermione’s imaginary friend was plaguing us?”
John’s eyes widened and he looked at Hermione. “I thought we were never to speak of that.”
She smiled. “Its okay. I’d like you to meet Ms. McGonagall.”
The cat leaped from its position on the back of the couch and transformed mid air.
“Oh my god.” John said and gripped his chest. “What?”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Granger. I normally don’t do that as a greeting but your wife was rather insistent. And well…it does speed things up a bit.”
“Uh huh.” He said in shock.
“Hermione.” Minerva said and squatted down to her height. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. How would you like to come to my school? You’ll learn to do things like that and much more.”
Hermione’s eyes widened and she smiled at the wise looking woman before her. “Like what?”
Minerva smiled and grabbed a nearby notebook. “Well…” with a wave of what appeared to he a wand, the book transformed into a scroll.
“This is a syllablus and supplies list. You’ll learn all these things. And if you look here, you get to have a pet. A familiar. So that we mages are never truly alone.”
Hermione grinned. “Wow! This is amazing! Charms? Potions? Wait. Why is it on a scroll?”
Minerva chuckled. “Well the wizarding world has little need for technology, so if you go, it’ll be a bit like stepping back in time.”
John, finally recovered, stepped forward.
“Wait a minute. This is definitely…different, but I know one thing for certain. Hermione might be new to this but eventually she’ll get her bearings and excel at an alarming rate. She’s a genius, and I’m not saying that because I love her. I’m saying it because her teachers have taken to shoving her in a corner with upper-level course work. Do you have the capacity to keep up with her?”
Minerva rose her brow and moved to join them on the couch, Hermione seated right beside her. “I assure you, Mr. Granger we can keep up. There are certain rewards and responsibilities given to those that exceed expectations. Book smarts are one thing, but we would be remiss if it was all that taught in Hogwarts. And if that is still not enough, I will tutor her myself.” She looked down at the young girl who stared back curiously. “I teach the more advanced classes for students such as yourself. Though I haven’t had a student in quite some time.” She winked at the girl and turned back to John.
He nodded. “And discipline? You say it’s like stepping back in time. How far back we talking here?”
“I already asked, John. Detention and a little farm labor is as far as they go before actual sanctions like suspension, intervention, and finally expulsion.”
He nodded. “Good. Okay. Good. Hermione, my love, any questions?”
“Where do I buy these items?” she asked curiously.
“Ah, in a special market. We will all go after you have decided whether or not to attend and we have set an appropriate date.”
Hermione nodded and glanced at her parents. “I want to go.”
“Wait a minute, wait. I want to talk more about this imaginary friend she had. Is that normal?” Jean said.
Minerva frowned, “I’m not certain what you mean.”
Jean sighed, “Hermione, I doubt you remember, but when you were younger, you had an imaginary friend. You said he had no name. But Ms. McGonagall, this imaginary friend would grab things off the shelf for her. She could hide behind him, and even…” She looked at John. “I never mentioned, because I thought it was madness, but this friend could change objects into something else.”
Hermione’s own eyes widened, “I remember sending him away because you said you’d experiment on me.”
Minerva stiffened in her seat and the two adults held up their hands.
“We said no such thing!” Jean said.
“Only that I refused to subject her to any experiment, such as suggesting she make her friend do this or that, especially without knowing if there was any real problem.”
“Were you in that room with us?”
Hermione looked down and nodded. “I was hiding on the banister and when mom said she believed me, I hid behind him and we moved closer.”
Minerva looked at the three people before her. “Well, Mr. Granger. You were right to ask for advanced classes. Hermione, do you see this friend of yours now?”
Long brunette curls shook on her head. “No. I sent him away.”
“There was a loud boom and everything on her wall was on the floor. It was terrible.”
Minerva nodded. “Very well. We can work with that. What’s happened here is your daughter has the very rare ability to see magic. The phenomenon has been known to drive children and the family mad. You all are quite lucky.” She hummed. “I don’t often say this, but, please tell me you accept my offer? I’d love to work with young Ms. Granger. Oh but I’d be rather remiss if I didn’t mention…”
She turned to Hermione and took her hand. “My dear, the wizarding world may seem now like a fantasy and it is in so many ways, but it is not a paradise.”
“Oh dear.” Jean said. Minerva glanced her way quickly before returning to Hermione.
“You are what kind people refer to as a muggle born. Someone who comes from a family that does not practice magic. In the social hierarchy, you’re only one step above magical creatures. You will be insulted by people who come from old wizarding families, both child and parent. You will be looked down upon, even more for your intelligence. They will call you horrid names, a mudblood for one. But I think, those worth your time, with a good head on their shoulders and a working pair of eyes, will call you the brightest witch of her age.”
John and jean shared a look.
“What if we say no?”
“No, please mummy! I want to go!”
John shushed her and Hermione bit her lip.
“I’m afraid it’s mandatory in most countries. If you refuse Hogwarts, you’ll receive invitations from the French, American, and Nigerian schools, among others. If you continuously reject them, well,it’s akin to truancy. A ministry official, probably a muggle mage diplomat, will show up, speak with you and subsequently arrest you depending on your response. An inexperienced mage let loose in muggle cities? It would create chaos.”1
John stood and ran his fingers through his hair. “Shit.” Jean wiped a tear from her eye.
“Can we visit her? Are there family days? Will we see her more than twice a year?”
Minerva smiled. “Of course. You can write her as well. Cell phones are utterly useless as the school is a stone castle but we will provide you with the means to contact her. I will personally arrange for travel to and from the school whenever requested on either end since I will be taking charge of Ms. Granger’s education.”
“Oh god. Hermione are you sure? This won’t be easy, you know? And you’ll be so far away. And the kids will be just as mean if not meaner.”
Hermione ran and hugged him.
“I really want to go.” She whispered in his ear.
He looked to Jean, then Minerva and nodded.
“Okay. Last question, how much is this going to cost?”
Option B.
“You’re scaring them.” She said her ever silent companion, tears in her eyes as she looked at him. “They’re gonna experiment on me and lock me away somewhere! I won’t get to go to school and become a dentist or have friends or anything! Because of YOU! I don’t ever want to see you again! Go!”
He frowned and attempted to reach out to her, but a wave of her hand sent him away, the books on her shelves falling as he passed through the wall and outside.
“Hermione! Are you okay?” Her father shouted as he ran inside. “What happened?” he asked as he looked at the mess in her room.
"Nothing.” she said, sniffling and ran to hug him.
“Hermione, baby, did your friend do this?”
“I don’t have a friend anymore.” She said. “Please don’t send me away.”
He hugged her tightly and lifted her, “Baby, we would never send you away. Come on, I”ll clean this up later okay. Let’s go read one of my books. SOund good?”
She nodded and from that day forward resolved never to believe in imaginary friends again.
“Hello. Are you the parents of Hermione Granger?”
John frowned at the woman at his door step. She seemed harmless, but the twinkle in her eye told a different story. Still, he nodded.
“Yes, and you are?”
“I’m Minerva McGonnagal. I’m a professor at a prestigious school for special children and your daughter has caught our eye. If I may come in?”
He snorted, “Now that I believe. Its not a catholic school is it? You’ve got the toughness of a nun all over you.” The woman rose her brow and he shuddered. “Not that it’s a bad thing. JEAN!” he shouted behind him. “Come in please. Have a seat.”
“What are you yelling about now?” she asked. His heart warmed at the smile released when his wife spotted their guest. It was one of the things he loved most about her. “Oh! Hello, I’m Jean Granger. And you are?”
“Minerva Mcgonagall.” She said and shook hands. “I was just telling your husband that your daughter could have a bright future at my school, however there are a few things I need to make certain of.”
“Oh?” She asked. “Such as?”
“When hermione was younger, were there strange occurences around the house? Things moving or falling on their own?”
His eyes widened. “Yes. Jean spotted most of the activity, and I called her crazy. Are you telling me she’s telekentic or something?”
MInerva chuckled. “Not quite. The school I teach is called Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In short, your daughter is capable of magic and I would like the chance to teach her to harness that power for good.”
John blinked slowly. “Okay. Well this has been a great talk, I don’t belive Hermione needs to – sd”
He was cut off at the sight of his guest transforming into a cat.
“Jean...help.” he said and looked at his crying wife.
“I’m not crazy!” she said and turned to him. “Oh John this is great! Hermione is special. Ms. McGonagall if you would please.” she said and the cat sat at attention before morphing once more.
Option C.
She silently communicated with her friend. Her mother believed her, the least she could do was prove it to daddy.
“I’m okay mommy. Really.” She said from behind her friend. She giggled as her father’s eyes widened and he looked around.
“Hermione? Where are you?”
Her mother ran over to him and whispered about the third dimension. He hugged her close and they spoke to the room. She nearly giggled again.
“Baby are you trapped somewhere?” her mother asked and Hermione felt a little guilty. They were clearly worried.
“No...I’m just hiding. I don’t want to scare you.”
“Oh baby, I'm not afraid of you, I just want to be sure you’re okay. What is around you right now?”
Hermione looked up at her friend who shrugged again and nodded.
“I’m in the kitchen, I’m just hiding behind my friend. See?” She stuck her hand out from behind him and waved. They gasped.
“Who is this friend? Whats his name? Can we speak to him?” her father asked.
“No, he doesn’t speak, and I havent named him yet. But he shook his head no about seeing him, or touching him. Only I can.”
Her mother looked at her husband and she shook her head. “Baby, you’re smart. YOu always have been. Tell me this, how do you know you can trust him?”
Hermione looked up at him and he winked, pointing to himself then to them.
“Um, I think he wants to show you.”
She watched as he walked over and