Disclaimer - The only thing that belongs to me is the plot.
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Hermione Granger lived in a one-story brick house on Bomel Drive with her parents. Their home always smelled like plastic gloves and mint due to the fact that both of her parents were dentists. They never had candy around and their bathrooms were kept impeccably clean.
She wasn't a very tall person, standing at only 5 ½ feet tall. She was also rather petite. Over the summer holidays she played field hockey with her Muggle friends to stay fit. During the school year all she did was read and study. She had long curly brown hair that reached down to her mid-back and sparkling honey colored eyes that demanded your attention when she was talking to you.
Hermione was the smartest witch in her year. She learned everything she possibly could from books and had read almost all of the volumes their school library held.
Once a year the Ganger family went through Spring Cleaning, only they did it in the middle of the summer. Hermione was away at school during the spring so unless they wanted to clean the entire house by themselves they waited until she was home for their summer vacation. Today was Summer Cleaning day.
Hermione's job for the year was to clean out the attic. Their attic was full of old boxes; boxes containing heirlooms, photographs, and everything else significant to the family. She had to go through every single on of the boxes to make sure that mice hadn't eaten their pictures and to dust everything.
This had always been her father's job but this year she had to do it because her father had been admitted into the hospital for surgery the week before and her mother didn't want to wait another two weeks until he got home. Hermione always loved looking through photo albums and such so this was a good job for her.
By her fifteenth box she was getting tired of looking at photos of people she had only seen once or twice in her entire life. While shifting through moldy old papers she came across a document that seemed untouched by aging. Her mother must have thought it was important for she had it in a plastic bag to keep all moisture from damaging the black ink.
The paper itself didn't look out of the ordinary. It was cream colored with a black floral boarder around the outside edge. It was what was on the paper that was so important. Her eyes scanned the page and slowly her mouth fell open in shock. She clutched her hand to her chest and let the paper float to the ground beside her.
"This certificate identifies that Alexis Kelgara is hereby adopted into the family of Josef and Elizabeth Granger and is to be given the name Hermione Alexis Granger. -May 24, 1986." Thoughts pushed their way into her brain and flooded her senses. "I'm adopted? Why hasn't anyone told me this before? This is insane. I can't be adopted. How is this possible?"
Gradually she found her feet pushing her up and taking her down the stairs and into the living room where her mother was cleaning, Certificate of Adoption in hand. Her mother didn't hear her come in over the vacuum but Hermione placed the document in front of her. The vacuum fell to the floor and Mrs. Granger had tears in her eyes.
"When were you planning on telling me?" Hermione already had tears streaming down her own face but didn't bother to brush them away and they fell freely to the floor, showing up vividly on the freshly cleaned carpeting.
"This is why you're father always cleaned the attic. I had forgotten. Oh Hermione dear we had always planned on telling you but constantly found an excuse to put it off. Either you were to busy with homework or it just wasn't the right time; we've used every justification in the book. But I suppose I can't put it off any longer. Sit down dear." Her mother took a seat on the couch and patted the cushion next to her but her daughter stood stiff as a board and stayed standing. "Hermione, when your father and I got married we tried to have children. We
really did. But every time nothing happened. Finally we went to the doctor to see if there was a problem and found out I was unsuitable to have children. We really wanted a family though so we decided on adoption.
I know we should have told you sweetie and I'm sorry we didn't. You just don't know how hard it was." Her mother gave her an _expression of pure love and Hermione couldn't help not being mad at her. This was the woman who had helped her grow up; done her hair, painted her nails, and cooked her dinner. It was impossible to be angry with her.
She didn't say a word. Just sat down and threw her arms around her mother. "I love you mom." She said and rocked with her back and forth before pulling away suddenly. "Mom did they tell you anything about my real parents at the adoption agency?" Hermione was already on her feet and waiting.
"Only a little bit. Then when you got your letter from Hogwarts we learned a bit more." Her mother was abruptly overcome with a look of extreme guiltiness. Why would Hogwarts tell you anything about my parents?" Nothing in this was
adding up. The different pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together but several were still missing from the big picture. "You must not have gone through all of the boxes yet. I suppose it would be
easier to show you than explain all of this." Her mother started up the ladder that led to their attic. She rummaged through four or five boxes before finding what she had been looking for. She pulled out a large envelope made of yellowed parchment and handed it to her daughter. Inside was a letter to her parents explaining everything about Hogwarts, which they gave to all Muggle parents, and about Hermione's real family. "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would like to offer its condolences to you and your family. It is a school where witches and wizards come to learn
magic that will further along their magical abilities. As non-magic persons you have never been exposed to this world. You're adopted daughter was born from a magical family. Both of her parents had magical abilities and also attended our school. Their names were Joyce and Thomas Kelgara. If you have any questions feel free to ask but please send them by owl as Hogwarts has no means of Muggle post. Minerva McGonagall."
Hermione's hands started shaking as she handed the letter back to her mother. This was too much to take-in in one day. Her mind was instantly flooded with questions she wanted to ask Professor McGonagall about her parents. "So I'm
not a Mudblood. Why did they put me up for adoption? Are they still alive? Why haven't they ever tried to contact me?" "I-I-I h-have to think about-t this for a minute." She hurriedly climbed down the ladder and ran outside into the pouring rain. The weather reflected her mood; dreary and depressing. She herself was a lie. Who was she? She moved her hands up to massage her head as the sadness started to overwhelm her. Her senses were in a jumble, tangling themselves into knots and twists.
She was in awe at how much pain and trouble was caused just by cleaning out an attic. She lost track of where she was going. Suddenly she looked up to find herself in a part of her neighborhood she didn't recognize. The houses were much smaller with un-kept yards and chain link fences. Her brow furrowed in as new thoughts of confusion were added to her grief. "Great now I'm lost." She muttered and turned back the way she had come. She had a lot of time to think on the way home and realized how far she must have run without noticing it.
"The least they could have done was told me. I kind of have a right to know. Everything I've ever thought about my past is a lie. I'm not a Muggle-born witch. I'm pureblood. Wait till Malfoy hears that. He'll die of shock. I still don't understand how it could be so hard for them to tell me. If they had told me earlier I wouldn't be so mad about it now. Well, I guess I'm not mad just disappointed." The warm summer wind blew against her cheeks and pushed her hair out of her
face. The walk home seemed to pass quickly as the thoughts in her mind whirled and trampled each other. Before she knew it she was home. She quietly crept up into her room so her mother didn't know she was there. Inside, was her cat, Crookshanks, curled up in a large ginger ball at the foot of her four- poster bed. An owl she didn't recognize was perched on her bedpost cleaning its tawny feathers.
She untied the letter from the owl's leg and gave him a piece of fruit. He then soared into the sky and back to whence he came. She unfolded the parchment and began to read. It was her sixth year's Hogwarts letter with her supplies and requirements. "Suppose I should owl Ron and Harry to see when their going to Diagon Alley." As if the birds could read her thoughts, Ron's owl, Pig, suddenly came bursting through her open window in an explosion on squawks and flying feathers. Crookshanks licked his jaws and drew himself into a pouncing position but Hermione quickly grabbed the little bird and drew him to her.
The cat let out a hiss but settled back onto the bed to go to sleep again. Set patted the owl's tiny head and took his letter as well. She read Ron's untidy scrawl and immediately missed her friends terribly.
"Hermione - Me and Harry," 'Harry and I,' she mentally corrected. "Are going to be at Diagon Alley tomorrow at 2:30 in the afternoon to get all of our supplies and such. If you can come meet us at Flourish and Blots no later than 2:45. Hope to see you there. Ron."
She wrote her mother and father a note telling them where she'd be and decided to leave a little bit early and stay at the Leaky Cauldron until Ron and Harry arrived. She slunk down the hall with her possessions and Crookshanks in hand and took a handful of Floo Powder from the vase next to the fireplace. "Diagon Alley." She whispered and took one last look around her home before the green flames engulfed her and she appeared in the Leaky Cauldron. -=-=-=- That's it for the first chapter. Tell me if you think it's worth continuing I thrive on reviews. Would live off them if they gave off any vitamins of protein.
Anyway - REVIEW!
-=-=-=-
Hermione Granger lived in a one-story brick house on Bomel Drive with her parents. Their home always smelled like plastic gloves and mint due to the fact that both of her parents were dentists. They never had candy around and their bathrooms were kept impeccably clean.
She wasn't a very tall person, standing at only 5 ½ feet tall. She was also rather petite. Over the summer holidays she played field hockey with her Muggle friends to stay fit. During the school year all she did was read and study. She had long curly brown hair that reached down to her mid-back and sparkling honey colored eyes that demanded your attention when she was talking to you.
Hermione was the smartest witch in her year. She learned everything she possibly could from books and had read almost all of the volumes their school library held.
Once a year the Ganger family went through Spring Cleaning, only they did it in the middle of the summer. Hermione was away at school during the spring so unless they wanted to clean the entire house by themselves they waited until she was home for their summer vacation. Today was Summer Cleaning day.
Hermione's job for the year was to clean out the attic. Their attic was full of old boxes; boxes containing heirlooms, photographs, and everything else significant to the family. She had to go through every single on of the boxes to make sure that mice hadn't eaten their pictures and to dust everything.
This had always been her father's job but this year she had to do it because her father had been admitted into the hospital for surgery the week before and her mother didn't want to wait another two weeks until he got home. Hermione always loved looking through photo albums and such so this was a good job for her.
By her fifteenth box she was getting tired of looking at photos of people she had only seen once or twice in her entire life. While shifting through moldy old papers she came across a document that seemed untouched by aging. Her mother must have thought it was important for she had it in a plastic bag to keep all moisture from damaging the black ink.
The paper itself didn't look out of the ordinary. It was cream colored with a black floral boarder around the outside edge. It was what was on the paper that was so important. Her eyes scanned the page and slowly her mouth fell open in shock. She clutched her hand to her chest and let the paper float to the ground beside her.
"This certificate identifies that Alexis Kelgara is hereby adopted into the family of Josef and Elizabeth Granger and is to be given the name Hermione Alexis Granger. -May 24, 1986." Thoughts pushed their way into her brain and flooded her senses. "I'm adopted? Why hasn't anyone told me this before? This is insane. I can't be adopted. How is this possible?"
Gradually she found her feet pushing her up and taking her down the stairs and into the living room where her mother was cleaning, Certificate of Adoption in hand. Her mother didn't hear her come in over the vacuum but Hermione placed the document in front of her. The vacuum fell to the floor and Mrs. Granger had tears in her eyes.
"When were you planning on telling me?" Hermione already had tears streaming down her own face but didn't bother to brush them away and they fell freely to the floor, showing up vividly on the freshly cleaned carpeting.
"This is why you're father always cleaned the attic. I had forgotten. Oh Hermione dear we had always planned on telling you but constantly found an excuse to put it off. Either you were to busy with homework or it just wasn't the right time; we've used every justification in the book. But I suppose I can't put it off any longer. Sit down dear." Her mother took a seat on the couch and patted the cushion next to her but her daughter stood stiff as a board and stayed standing. "Hermione, when your father and I got married we tried to have children. We
really did. But every time nothing happened. Finally we went to the doctor to see if there was a problem and found out I was unsuitable to have children. We really wanted a family though so we decided on adoption.
I know we should have told you sweetie and I'm sorry we didn't. You just don't know how hard it was." Her mother gave her an _expression of pure love and Hermione couldn't help not being mad at her. This was the woman who had helped her grow up; done her hair, painted her nails, and cooked her dinner. It was impossible to be angry with her.
She didn't say a word. Just sat down and threw her arms around her mother. "I love you mom." She said and rocked with her back and forth before pulling away suddenly. "Mom did they tell you anything about my real parents at the adoption agency?" Hermione was already on her feet and waiting.
"Only a little bit. Then when you got your letter from Hogwarts we learned a bit more." Her mother was abruptly overcome with a look of extreme guiltiness. Why would Hogwarts tell you anything about my parents?" Nothing in this was
adding up. The different pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together but several were still missing from the big picture. "You must not have gone through all of the boxes yet. I suppose it would be
easier to show you than explain all of this." Her mother started up the ladder that led to their attic. She rummaged through four or five boxes before finding what she had been looking for. She pulled out a large envelope made of yellowed parchment and handed it to her daughter. Inside was a letter to her parents explaining everything about Hogwarts, which they gave to all Muggle parents, and about Hermione's real family. "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would like to offer its condolences to you and your family. It is a school where witches and wizards come to learn
magic that will further along their magical abilities. As non-magic persons you have never been exposed to this world. You're adopted daughter was born from a magical family. Both of her parents had magical abilities and also attended our school. Their names were Joyce and Thomas Kelgara. If you have any questions feel free to ask but please send them by owl as Hogwarts has no means of Muggle post. Minerva McGonagall."
Hermione's hands started shaking as she handed the letter back to her mother. This was too much to take-in in one day. Her mind was instantly flooded with questions she wanted to ask Professor McGonagall about her parents. "So I'm
not a Mudblood. Why did they put me up for adoption? Are they still alive? Why haven't they ever tried to contact me?" "I-I-I h-have to think about-t this for a minute." She hurriedly climbed down the ladder and ran outside into the pouring rain. The weather reflected her mood; dreary and depressing. She herself was a lie. Who was she? She moved her hands up to massage her head as the sadness started to overwhelm her. Her senses were in a jumble, tangling themselves into knots and twists.
She was in awe at how much pain and trouble was caused just by cleaning out an attic. She lost track of where she was going. Suddenly she looked up to find herself in a part of her neighborhood she didn't recognize. The houses were much smaller with un-kept yards and chain link fences. Her brow furrowed in as new thoughts of confusion were added to her grief. "Great now I'm lost." She muttered and turned back the way she had come. She had a lot of time to think on the way home and realized how far she must have run without noticing it.
"The least they could have done was told me. I kind of have a right to know. Everything I've ever thought about my past is a lie. I'm not a Muggle-born witch. I'm pureblood. Wait till Malfoy hears that. He'll die of shock. I still don't understand how it could be so hard for them to tell me. If they had told me earlier I wouldn't be so mad about it now. Well, I guess I'm not mad just disappointed." The warm summer wind blew against her cheeks and pushed her hair out of her
face. The walk home seemed to pass quickly as the thoughts in her mind whirled and trampled each other. Before she knew it she was home. She quietly crept up into her room so her mother didn't know she was there. Inside, was her cat, Crookshanks, curled up in a large ginger ball at the foot of her four- poster bed. An owl she didn't recognize was perched on her bedpost cleaning its tawny feathers.
She untied the letter from the owl's leg and gave him a piece of fruit. He then soared into the sky and back to whence he came. She unfolded the parchment and began to read. It was her sixth year's Hogwarts letter with her supplies and requirements. "Suppose I should owl Ron and Harry to see when their going to Diagon Alley." As if the birds could read her thoughts, Ron's owl, Pig, suddenly came bursting through her open window in an explosion on squawks and flying feathers. Crookshanks licked his jaws and drew himself into a pouncing position but Hermione quickly grabbed the little bird and drew him to her.
The cat let out a hiss but settled back onto the bed to go to sleep again. Set patted the owl's tiny head and took his letter as well. She read Ron's untidy scrawl and immediately missed her friends terribly.
"Hermione - Me and Harry," 'Harry and I,' she mentally corrected. "Are going to be at Diagon Alley tomorrow at 2:30 in the afternoon to get all of our supplies and such. If you can come meet us at Flourish and Blots no later than 2:45. Hope to see you there. Ron."
She wrote her mother and father a note telling them where she'd be and decided to leave a little bit early and stay at the Leaky Cauldron until Ron and Harry arrived. She slunk down the hall with her possessions and Crookshanks in hand and took a handful of Floo Powder from the vase next to the fireplace. "Diagon Alley." She whispered and took one last look around her home before the green flames engulfed her and she appeared in the Leaky Cauldron. -=-=-=- That's it for the first chapter. Tell me if you think it's worth continuing I thrive on reviews. Would live off them if they gave off any vitamins of protein.
Anyway - REVIEW!