Life is Strange: A Hermione Granger Story

Chapter One

Chapter One

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. She was alone. The train station was deserted. It was two hours until the Hogwarts Express would leave on this sunny September morning. Two hours, Hermione thought, two hours seemed like the perfect amount of time to ready herself for her final year at Hogwarts. Her final year where she knew where things were, what to expect, and her place in the scheme of things. Well, her final year of childhood. After this year of safety and security (even if it was in the midst of a frightening wizard's war), she would be thrust into adulthood, perhaps unprepared for the challenges that might lay in store for Ms. Hermione Granger.

It was these feelings of inadequacy and fears for the years to come that had guided her to arrive so early. Her parents had wished her goodbye at the parking lot, as she stood there for the last time with her trunks and books. Her father, with a sad smile playing around his face, had given her a slight hug and garbled in choked words well wishes for a good year. She had turned to her mother whose eyes twinkled with tears but kept a stiff upper lip. Hermione couldn't resist throwing her arms around this woman who had guided her for so long during these last seventeen years, a woman from whom she had learned the importance of integrity and hard work, compassion and forgiveness. With a final abrupt wave she had walked alone onto Platform 9 and 3/4.

She knew that needed some solitary time with her thoughts. This was a huge step, a last plunge into the magicking world before she resurfaced as an adult. Hermione looked around the empty platform, the warm wind blowing through the eaves, the rustle of the birds, the predawn light filtering into the platform around her. She wanted to find the perfect spot to wait for them. A spot where she would see them arrive before they saw her. Trundling along with her suitcases trailing behind her, Hermione found the perfect place behind a wooden pillar situated near the magical barrier. She sat down on the stone ground, still chill from the night, and laid her head on her knees.

Yes, her last few moments of childhood were all she had left, and Hermione wanted to have a chance to reflect, look back on how Ron and Harry had made her life as a young witch...something important to remember, to cherish.

Of course they had moments of terror and danger that bound them together. Those moments she would never forget, though she almost wished she could. Moments where she feared for her life, but more importantly, moments when she had feared for their lives. But rather than dwell on those horrifying moments, sitting here, Hermione decided to consider those moments of quiet friendship.

Like two summers ago at the Burrow. It had been a day of splashing and swimming in the pond. The sunlight had warmed her back as she stretched out next to her two best friends, their tanned bodies still glistening with stray water droplets. The sound of Ron's snores and the shared laughter between her and Harry.

Another time when she'd been privy to Ron's snores. A night in the Gryffindor common room, a storm blowing against the windows. They had been studying ancient spell components, (well, she had been studying while the two boys had done as little as possible), when sleep had overtaken both boys. They'd been sitting on either side of her, ostensibly reading together from the book she held, when Ron's head had leaned down on her shoulder, his hair tickling her. About to remonstrate his behavior she stopped herself, upon hearing his snores. Turning her head to the right, she saw Harry begin to fall forward, his head coming to rest on her lap. Sitting as still as possible, she had let them snore away the storm as she sat there, watching the flickering flames in the hearth, her hands gently ruffling both heads. A moment of perfect peace.

Resting her own head against the pillar behind her, she smiled and shrugged at the same time. Sometimes those boys just drove her crazy. Yes, she had plenty of warm and wonderful memories about them, but there were more times where they had made her blood boil. Boys were just alien creatures. Lazy, slovenly, annoying. She hadn't seen them all summer, having been on vacation with her parents to Spain, but she could just imagine how little they had done this summer. She knew, at least, that they hadn't bothered to write to her at all. How very typical.

She closed her eyes again and let her thoughts drift. For an hour or so, she decided to let her thoughts just come as they may. She would not study or even read, for once in her life. Right now, at this singular moment she felt content to just sit.

And sitting there, Hermione fell asleep.

A/N:  So...I wrote this over ten years ago.  I decided to post it just for kicks.  I hope people enjoy it.  It's basically  just a writing exercise to some extent.  Don't expect there to be much plot.