The Girl with the Bushy Hair (Harry Potter Fan fiction -Hermiones story)

Chapter 6 - Magic it up

Chapter 6 - Magic it up

That summer was the longest she had ever known. Josie and her gang lived for the summer holidays; it was not safe to go outside. After what had happened last time they met, Madeline and Georgina Blufield felt that it was important that Josie and Hermione learnt to get along. Forced into a daily torture at the hands of a bully intent on revenge, Hermione’s one defense was her mind. Anytime Josie put on her false smile, Hermione’s mind went into defense and she would think about her first visit to Diagon Alley.

She was still not quite sure what had happened. Professor McGonagall had given her and her parents instructions to take a pinch of the glittering powder from the flower she had conjured, stand in the fire place and say very clearly ‘Diagon Alley.’ Hermione had been very cautious but had complied. As she stepped into the fireplace the flames disappeared.  Doing exactly as the Professor had said, she was suddenly she was being whisked away in whirl of green flames. It was worse than the time Josie had tried to flush her head but her hair blocked the drain instead. She was spinning so fast, forced to close her eyes to avoid being sick. Then as suddenly as it had started, the spinning stopped and her feet hit the ground so hard her knees buckled. Standing up she stepped forward as her mother, followed shortly by her father, also fell out of the fire place.

They were in a small grubby pub. After smartly emerging from the fireplace, Professor McGonagall led the three of them to a small courtyard and taped one of the bricks with her wand. Before their eyes the bricks began to shift and move out of the way to reveal a beautiful cobble street. A sign called it Diagon Alley. Hermione’s grin would not and could not fade. Everything was just too amazing.

The next several hours passed in a whirl of sights, smells and magical anomalies. They visited a bank made of marble and manned by goblins… they removed gold galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts from a never ending volt… she was measured for witches robes by a magical tape measure… she bought potion ingredients from a man with a dragon’s tail… she bought a whole trunk full of magical books that seemed to weigh nothing at all… her mother ate an ice-cream that made her hair turn purple. By this point Hermione was over the moon; she had never imagined that any of this could be possible.

The last place they visited was Ollivander’s Wand Shop. He was a very strange man constantly running backwards and forwards along the never ending shelves full of boxes containing magic wands. They were in there for ages, Mr Ollivander getting happier and happier with every tried and failed wand he pulled from her fingers. After about 20 minutes during which time Mr Granger was getting steadily more frustrated. Finally felt her fingers began to tingle as one more wand was placed in her hand.

“Vine and dragon heartstring, 10¾ inches, a good all-rounder’s wand,” Mr Ollivander explained happily.

She lifted the wand and twirled it. A fountain of fresh water poured out of the wand, vanishing before it hit the floor.  This was it, this was her wand.

Sitting in her bedroom she twirled it between her fingers. It was beautiful with a slight green tinge and a nice smooth handle. There was a notch in the wood near the handle that formed a perfect heart. It was wonderful and it was hers. When she was not with her parents or avoiding Josie, Hermione could be found in her comfy chair reading. She had decided that because she was muggle-born she truly had to prove herself as a witch. She thought people would treat her differently or underestimate her and that was something that Hermione Jean Granger could not allow.

She had another reason for spending everyday reading, she loved it. And her books were so interesting; who didn’t want to know how to turn another student into a toad or how to create fire without matches. The best book of all was “Hogwarts: A History” containing everything there was to know about her future home. She grabbed it, snuggled into a comfortable position and fell into her new life though the book.