Lessons of Life

History

Hermione Granger loved to learn. She studied everything she could get her hands on; from instruction manuals, to encyclopedias, to phonebooks, and to newpapers.

She first began to study in a physical form when her parents introduced a fish to the family. She had just turned seven and had decided upon the name of Leroy for the small catfish. She read every book about fish she could find and then placed herself in front of his tank for hours, with a pen in her hands and a notebook open to a blank page. Every motion he made was cataloged, every breath and every twitch of his fins was labeled, and every time his eyes turned to her, another bulletpoint was added to her notes.

Leroy, of course, passed away as most fish do. Hermione felt only a twinge of grief, seeing as how she hadn't considered him as something to really love to begin with. Of course, he was cute and interesting, but nothing about him had piqued her concern. She gave him a proper burial and shed a tear or two as any ten-year-old girl would do at the passing of their family pet.

Then she continued on with her life.

At eleven, she recieved her Hogwarts letter.

She had an entire new world to study, and one which was vastly more interesting than the world she had originated. She poured over the textbooks and scrolls she required for school, searing them to her brain until she could cite them word for word. When she arrived, she immediately began to dissect everything she encountered and questioned what came upon her path.

Two things that happened to fall upon her, almost quite literally, were Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley.

The troll, having cornered her, was disgustingly rank and her eyes watered as she stared up into his hideous, graying face and screamed. All of a sudden, Harry was clinging to the troll's neck as Ron helplessly waved his wand erratically. She blinked, noticing the way their faces contorted when faced with the troll, before she jumped into action.

At twelve, she read over every book in the Hogwarts' library a second time. Her eyes glanced towards the Restricted Section before she shook her bushy curls and inwardly laughed. How could she ever find need for the dark magic that was surely accosted in those books?

And so she moved on.

At thirteen, she studied time travel and the theory of dimensions. She wondered if maybe, just maybe, there was a dimension that she could reach through use of time travel. Upon further study however; she concluded that it would be preposterous to try at such a young age and with such limited knowledge still, and so she should remember to experiment with the theory later.

At fourteen, she was faced with the horrid subject of hormones. Her body reacted viciously and suddenly; her ovaries deciding to begin the process of menstruation without consulting her brain. She became bitter and passive-aggressive with the change and resolutely began the study of human anatomy.

Of course, this decision led to another topic altogether: Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and the newly added champion, Viktor Krum.

The insinuation of her and Harry boiled her blood and made her want to scream. She didn't love him because he was famous; she loved him because he was Harry. He was her best friend; brother even. Their relationship had never even touched a romantic or sexual boundary.

Ron was an entirely different story. He made her hands sweaty and her head ache, but he was such an idiot at times that she wanted to just give up. His lanky build was somewhat attractive as he continued to grow into his long arms and legs. His freckled face and shaggy red hair were endearing features that clung to her heart. The brightest blue eyes she had ever seen caught her attention in every room and she'd be faint with breath when they turned her way. However, when he began to speak, she grew easily frustrated and annoyed. He just never seemed to be able to keep up.