Gryffindors at Platform 9¾

Hermione Granger

Hogwarts has been open for more than a thousand years. Nobody is sure of the exact date.

A clump of children further down the platform from her screamed while a boy with dreadlocks roared with laughter.

The four founders were Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. The four houses are named after them.

There was a barn owl looking at her with huge eyes from inside a cage that was atop a huge trunk, as its owner pushed it along on a trolley.

The location of Hogwarts is hidden from non-magical people as to keep the secrets of the castle hidden from their world.

"Hermione?"

Hermione ripped her thoughts away from the facts she had been desperately trying to remember and looked at her mum.

"You look petrified, darling," she said, rubbing Hermione's arm. "Please try and breathe."

Mrs Granger's face looked slightly paler than usual although, Hermione reasoned, she had just ran through a wall.

"I'm fine, Mum, really," Hermione tried to reassure her but even she could hear the quiver in her voice. "I was just trying to remember my textbooks."

Hermione was pleased to see her mum smile. They both turned to see her father looking around nervously at the owls and fully-grown men in robes and Hermione felt a prickle of guilt.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled before she could stop herself.

"What have you got to be sorry for?" inquired her dad, his attention now fully on her.

"For being…" Hermione struggled to find the right word for a moment. "Weird," she finished.

Both of her parents looked at her wide eyed. As usual, it was her mum that recovered from the shock first.

"Right now, Hermione," she said calmly, "the weird ones are your father and I."

Her mum smiled at her and Hermione felt a bit of the pressure lift off her lungs. Her parents had always told her that she could be anything she wanted to be. They supported her when she was six and decided she wanted to be a vet by buying her books about animal care and taking her to zoos. They had taken her to a museum when she announced she wanted to be an archaeologist after finding a shilling buried in a flower bed while she helped her dad with gardening.

But as soon as Hermione had discovered she was a witch her parents had been clueless as to how to nurture her new found talent. He dad had barely been able to speak and instead just held her as they watched Professor McGonagall turn their living room rug into a tortoise. Her mum had joked that at least it solved the mysteries that surrounded her little girl but had not been able to assist in any other way.

Hermione was scared that she had disappointed them but looking at her mum's face now, she knew she had done nothing of the sort. She had no idea where she would be without their constant love and support. That is what had her worried so much now. Before, if the other children were mean to her at school, she could come home and escape into a book but now she would be living in her school. If she was honest with herself, Hermione couldn't think of anything worse.

Seeming to know what was on her mind, Hermione's mum pulled her into a hug that Hermione enthusiastically returned.

"This will be different, Hermione," she whispered into her hair. "All of these children are like you."

She pulled away and observed her with a look of confidence that Hermione just couldn't share. She loved the idea of a whole new world to discover, brand new subjects to throw herself into, but the idea of leaving home was simply horrible. She had refused to let the threat of potential bullies get in her way though - Hermione Granger was better than that - but now, stood on the platform, all of the children looked the same as they did back at home.

Hermione fought back tears as she asked the question she promised herself she would never speak aloud.

"I-if I don't like it," she whispered so only her mum could hear, "can I come home?"

Hermione's mum looked at her sadly for a few moments before replying.

"Just be yourself, Hermione," she said, stroking Hermione's hated, out of control hair. "Be yourself and do your best and we'll be proud of you. Be yourself and everything will work out. That's all I ask."

Hermione sniffed and nodded. It wasn't until she had hugged and kissed her parents goodbye and climbed aboard the train, that Hermione realised her mum hadn't answered her question, because she knew Hermione would never quit. With a new spring in her step, Hermione went to change into her robes, make new friends and make the best of the chance she had been given.