The Journey (A Hermione Granger story)

The Journey

'Hullo Hermione! Had a good holiday?' Hermione turned around to a round faced boy, grinning from ear to ear.

'Hi Neville! Yes it was lovely, though I was so anxious to get back to school! We're going to study Gilderoy Lockhart's books! Isn't that exciting, all those adventures he's had? Of course, I read all the books over the holidays. Did you know--

'Hermione that's the last call, we need to get on the train now,' said Neville. He went over and kissed an old lady with a stuffed vulture on her hat and a red handbag, before he joined her at the entrance to the carriage.

'Oh Neville, wait. Have you seen Harry and Ron anywhere? I haven't been able to spot them. I'm sure I can see Ron's family somewhere back there, but --

Before she could finish, the door behind her snapped shut and the train lurched into motion. Hermione rounded and pushed herself to the window. Families began to wave their children goodbye, exchanging final kisses and shouts of love and luck. Hermione waved back at her parent's, right at the back of the throng. She could tell her mother had tears in her eyes, and they weren't due to the smoke from the engine.

She spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. They were waving too before Mrs. Weasley's face broke into a frown and her eyes began to scan the length of the compartment. Hermione saw her run to the next, still searching. Finally their eyes met and She heard Mrs. Weasley shout 'Arthur!' before the train rounded the corner and everybody began toward their compartments.

She could see Neville following Seamus and Dean into their compartment with Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins. She went on ahead. In another compartment she spotted Ginny Weasley in an animated conversation with a pretty girl with dirty blonde hair and large staring eyes, a tall boy with a handsome, haughty face and a large grey cat pawing a funny looking magazine next to the blonde girl. All three of them began to laugh at something and Hermione walked on ahead.

Where were those two boys? She was sure they wouldn't be missing school, they'd already bought all their supplies for the year with her at Diagon Alley just the other day. Were they somewhere else, maybe in another carriage? Yes that must be it.

She finally reached the empty compartment where she'd put her trunk. She pulled out her copy of Voyages with Vampires and continued her reading.

Hermione had a knack for being able to read, understand and retain the most complicated of subjects, in the noisiest of places. She remembered being at the seventh birthday party of an Emilia West, three years ago. (Emilia and Hermione used to go to the same school, they had been in the same class and they both had been the brightest minds of that class -- but they hadn't been the best of friends. While Hermione sat at her seat reading a book she'd borrowed from the library earlier that morning, Emilia would create a ruckus in the unsupervised class. Hermione remembered the foul language and profanity that spilled from Emilia's mouth and that was where and how she learned to ignore noise.) At the birthday party, after Hermione had given Emilia's gift to her, she'd secluded herself in the spacious dining room of the Wests' house where she sat finishing a book.

Half an hour went by before the other children noticed her in there and began to come in, carrying as much noise and cake icing on their hands as they could. They knew the little girl with the big hair and large teeth didn't care so they just milled around her, occasionally making fun of her, often blowing loud raspberries next to her. No matter how intent she was on finding out what happened next in the book, Hermione shed a tear. The little drop fell on the page of the book leaving a wet spot on the word 'alone'. The laughing and jeering grew louder as her vision grew blurred. She could tell who the loudest was: the little Ms. West, heiress to her family's fair fortunes and her mother's funny cackle. And the one girl Hermione wished to see hurt more than anything at that time.