…
They arrived at the train station calmly, their trunks with them as they waited to be picked up- it was only Ron and Ginny who had family already there waiting for them, and they were nice enough to stay with them to wait for the other guardians.
Suddenly Luna was accosted into a big hug, her face lighting up as she giggled and was spun around. Neville and Ginny grinned, sharing a sweet look before they both blushed and looked the other way. Harry watched Hermione tilt her head and widen her eyes, the brown melting like the good chocolate that Remus had given him.
Mr. Lovegood turned to be introduced… "Hello, you must be Ronald and Ginevra Weasley, Luna has told me about you- Weasley Red she calls it, and now I can see why, she's absolutely correct." Luna smiled at her father as the two siblings blushed. He turned to the two remaining as Harry tensed. "And you, Harry Potter, you did excellent at the tournament, shame it had to end with all that wicked interference." He shook his head as if he honestly believed Harry about Voldemort and the Death Eaters and the graveyard, and the boy gaped before a quirky smile found its way onto his mouth- he was just like his daughter.
Finally, he turned to Hermione. Abruptly he stopped and gaped at her; Luna calmly and sympathetically patting his arm as he tried to form words into a sentence. "Hermione Granger! What a pleasure to finally meet you!" Hermione narrowed her eyes and blushed, trying to keep up with his rapid speech. Harry shifted slightly closer to her, protective all of a sudden, before Luna whispered into her father's ear and he waved her off. "Quite right; quite right. Sorry dear. I've heard so much about you. Brightest student of your year and muggleborn to boot! Luna speaks so highly of you…being the first to help her find her things and all. I dare say that you like finding things- even heard of you finding some bloke's toad for him!"
Hermione smiled and finally took his hand, shaking it firmly as he smiled back and laughed. They chattered a bit before Neville's grandma called him over, his shoulders slumping before Hermione hugged him and kissed his cheek playfully- he was grinning as he set off. Luna was drawn away by her equally absent minded father after she received a hug from Hermione- the small family almost going back onto the train instead of out the portal before they managed to find their way.
Harry grinned as Ginny drew her eyebrows together in confused amusement and Ron scratched his head. Hermione simply looked around at the crowd, and Harry thought to help her except he had no clue what her parents looked like.
"So, where'd you meet that bird?" Ron asked blithely, ignoring the look Ginny shot him for the metaphor. "She's right off her trolley."
Harry glared before he laughed a little, unable to deny the oddness of Luna though now he found it endearing. "Luna's a Ravenclaw who studies with us. Hermione introduced her."
Their attention was suddenly on the quiet lion beside him, her back to them as she searched through the crowd for her parents.
Ginny cleared her throat. "So how'd you meet Luna?" Hermione didn't respond, and Ginny's eyes narrowed at the affront before Harry hastily tapped his friend on the arm and directed her attention to the fiery redhead. She gave them an innocently inquiring look that did little to still Ginny's ire and she spoke in a tight voice. "How did you meet Luna?"
Hermione tilted her head to think, and she brightened before opening her mouth to speak. Harry smiled to encourage her if needed- but they were interrupted by a shout of a name-
"Hermione! There she is!"
Harry and the two redheads looked over to the side, a confused Hermione following their gazes before she lit up like Luna had- brilliantly. Her arm waved before a large man was suddenly beside them, laughing with worried tears in his eyes as he held his daughter at arms length and quickly looked her over for injury. Harry shifted slightly, wondering why that was his first response instead of the tender hug she was pulled into right after. A smiling woman came over and gently stroked the hair back from Hermione's face- her hazel eyes liquid as she kissed her temple and stood off to the side, a hand firmly resting on Hermione's shoulder as if to make sure she stayed there.
Harry felt his temple pierce with the thought that came, but he shook his head and stepped forward. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger?"
They turned to him as one, Hermione, by default, glancing at him with her curiosity due to the shift of her father's stance. "Yes, young man?"
Harry wondered why it sounded like a curse.
"My name's Harry Potter, I met Hermione this year."
Mr. Granger drew up, his brows lowering over darkened grey eyes even as his wife shushed him and gave him a tight, worried but encouraging, smile. "She wrote us a few letters about you, dear. We were very surprised to hear that she'd made a friend- especially one of your popularity."
Ron and Ginny shifted suddenly, and Harry looked at them to find their stunned faces a mite affronted- he cleared his throat. "I was very surprised Hermione took a liking to me."
"Oh?" Mr. Granger's voice was purposefully idle, as if he had no idea how to take the dark haired child he had suddenly been presented with due to his daughter's abilities. "Have you done something to my daughter?"
Harry shivered and actually had to tell himself to not take the step back; Ginny drew in closer to Ron. It wasn't that there was truly any menace in his voice, more that the casual inquiry and affable face using such words hinted at the underlying steel that would emerge should something have been done to his daughter. As if he was trying to give Harry a chance only on the basis of written words, letters, and the trust he had in his daughter-- but still unyielding with the natural protectiveness he'd gained. The paradox sent tingles down his spine.
"I meant that Hermione already has two good friends, and it must be hard to make a new one when they don't understand anything about her." He shuffled a bit, "Hermione is very bright though, and um…she-"
Mr. Granger finally smiled; his face softening as his hold relaxed on his daughter and she looked up to him with a smile. The incongruity of his approach left, and Harry was left staring at a very gentle looking man who had Hermione's twinkling eyes. Mr. Granger wrinkled his nose (as Hermione was prone to do) before sighing and signing with his hands in front of Hermione's face- so she wouldn't have to strain her neck to read his lips and facial expression. Hermione watched his hands closely, her visage pleasant and lips plumped with curiosity before she smiled and leaned further into her father with silent agreement.
Mrs. Granger laughed openly before nudging her husband in the arm with a loose fist, then using that same hand to put her hair behind her ear and turn back to regard Harry. "Well, it was very nice to meet you Harry, but I believe Hermione needs a good plate of homemade biscuits with tea and a book- she didn't visit for Christmas this year, and the house is feeling empty without her." She winked at him and ruffled her daughter's hair. Hermione stood steadfast under the contact as she smiled contently- like Crookshanks when he was being petted.
Harry stammered a bit before he managed a complete sentence. "It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Granger, and you too Mr. Granger. I can't wait to hear from Hermione this summer."
Hermione beamed at him and her eyes crinkled, her mother smiling at him gently as she pulled her daughter away and into the crowd. Harry watched their hands tighten on each other as they disappeared into the rushing populace, and then he sighed and turned to Mr. Granger.
His eyes were bright and speculative as he watched him closely, and Harry squirmed before he offered up a tentative smile. Mr. Granger sighed and then his face became solemn, his head tipping in acknowledgement before he stepped closer and leaned down to speak more privately. "My daughter is very special Harry, and thank you for seeing that in her…" he hesitated before twisting his lips and continuing with nary a blink, "I do hope that you will be good friends, willing to stand by each other's side even with all that does seem to happen." He gave a brief, wry and whimsical smile. "It seems that in every letter I hear of some strange and perhaps dangerous happenings going on at that school." He shook his head, his sandy blonde hair rustling before he smiled more naturally and gave his farewell.
Harry blinked and watched the man leave, his green eyes wide and steady upon the man's broad back as his brain rapidly clicked to wade through everything; Harry couldn't understand what Hermione had said of him to get quite that reaction out of her parents- and he wondered at how they were so protective and yet so hesitant, as if afraid to stifle her and coddle her and smother her potential …and, he wondered who had been the ones to hurt her before.
Ron shuffled. "I guess she's not that much of a nightmare at all. It's funny that she's so quiet though."
Harry shook his head and then looked at Ginny, scrutinizing her horrified face as she stared after the Granger family. Her eyes slowly went to him, and he watched her swallow, scrubbing her hands on her pants. Her skin was pale under her freckles, and the Weasley red of her hair stood out in stark contrast. She offered a weak smile, "I thought that…is she…" She looked down and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
Ron scratched his head. "Yeah….Neville seems like a nice bloke, odd that he hangs out with her."
Ginny twitched and glared at her brother, but then her eyes softened and she turned back to Harry. "How far gone is her hearing?"
Ron stilled and slowly lowered his hand to regard him curiously, and Harry suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders as he wondered what he could tell and what should remain between Hermione and him- like a secret.
But he didn't want her to be kept like a secret. She was the greatest friend he had; she listened and worried and was so darn giving that he wondered what he'd done to deserve such caring.
"Hermione's completely deaf, but she does know how to speak."
Ginny nodded her head and her lips formed a thin line, her eyes drifting guiltily to the side. "I thought she was a rich witch. I mean, she's always so closed off- like she's better than all of us."
Ron shuffled and blushed at his ears. "I reckon we all thought that. She does come off as a snob."
Harry bristled and straightened his shoulders. "Hermione's wonderful, she's just quiet. Once you get to know her, she laughs at a lot of stuff."
Ron snorted and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah Harry, but quiet. So quiet we all thought she was mute. And that was before we were certain she thought she was better than us."
Ginny shook her head and bit her lip, her eyes large and pleading as she looked at him (Harry shifted uncomfortably). "I admit I ignored her because Ron said she was a right nightmare- and the one time I bumped into her and tried to apologize she didn't even respond to me."
Harry felt his jaw tense, and he focused on the feeling of the muscles in his neck shifting before he spoke. Talking with Hermione had taught him to think out everything before he actually said it- so there could be no room for misunderstandings.
There had already been enough of those.
He swallowed and looked at them firmly. "Ron, do you remember our first year? The rest of us weren't the nicest to her in the first place, and then she ignored us when we tried to get her attention."
Ron's ears went red and he looked to the side. He rubbed his nose as he spoke, "It's not like we were that rude."
Harry's brows rose incredulously and he sighed. "Ron, the first thing we asked her was if she knew what she was doing on the train. Not exactly…tactful."
Ron flushed deeper as Ginny's mouth dropped.
Harry remembered the little girl from the train, inching her way down the hall and peering into compartments. When she'd stepped into theirs and looked at the full seats she'd given them a tight smile and moved to step out- but she'd looked so lost Harry had felt bad for having his things spread out and taking up all the room.
"What are you doing?"
Her eyes glared at Ron as she stood there, tense, before she scowled and quickly closed the door behind her as she left.
Ron shrugged and spoke around a mouthful of pastry. "A little crazy, that one."
Ginny looked between them, her mouth slowly closing before her shrill voice rose. "You asked her what she was doing!? That was completely uncalled for- how would you like someone to imply that you didn't have the skill to be a witch!"
Ron's brows rose and he scowled. "It just slipped out- she was so mousy. She looked like she'd jump away from her own shadow, what would she be doing alone walking around a scary crowded train for?"
Ginny's face was sour but she settled back on her heels, Harry thought she would rip into her brother for such crass thinking. But the girl pinked in the cheeks under his expectant stare, and her eyes fell to the floor.
Harry's mouth dropped.
His brows furrowed and he looked to the ground, but then he lifted his head to stare in the direction Hermione had gone with her parents- he wondered if everyone she had ever met had thought that, wondered if everyone she would meet would think that.
He wondered why he had thought that.
He could easily deduce (with his intimate observations of how she struggled to hear and how her magic tried to compensate with emotions and body language) that she had struggled to decipher what Ron had said, and then been presented with the usual default incredulous expression he wore- as if he didn't believe she belonged there.
Harry winced and rubbed the back of his neck. "I think we all were kind of mousy, and we were pretty stupid too."
Ron and Ginny flushed, easily recalling all the silly things they'd done in their first years.
"It's just that she had more of a reason to be so scared, and we did nothing to make friends with her."
Ginny shifted and her face became shrewd as she looked at him, and Harry shifted as he realized something had changed in her expression- it didn't change how uncomfortable it made him feel. "I think we all should feel a little bad for the way we treated her, but that's the way it happened- no one knew how to take her."
Harry looked straight at her, quiet and contemplative, absently recognizing the abrupt movement of Ron from the corner of his eye as he slowly nodded his head and agreed. But Hermione wasn't really mousy and unsure of herself- she had been content being independent and alone…it was everyone else that had taken her for the shy little girl who didn't want to make friends.
Harry was glad she actually did want more friends, otherwise he would have never known her, and he wouldn't have been able to realize how precious she was. Hermione was special: she worked hard to understand a world she was thrust into just as Harry was; she made a point of smiling whenever she was around people who actually knew her, but never had he seen her scowl unless she was being confronted by Draco; and she didn't mind when Harry asked questions or stared or got confused. She simply helped him as best she could and tried to show him what she meant when they met with a communication gap.
Harry cleared his head and nodded firmly, Hermione was special and she was his friend.
It didn't matter that Ginny looked so sly when she talked of her, it didn't matter that Ron didn't understand how they had come to be friends- all that mattered was that she was. Hermione had taught him how to stand up, and he would do just that.
Even if it meant defying those he had come to hold dear- because really, he held her dear too, and everyone else needed to realize how special she was. They'd come around, just like Harry had.
Even if he didn't know that much about her, she was still a person he had come to adore and appreciate- which was more than he could say he was feeling for the Weasleys in his life right now.
He grumbled as Mrs. Weasley finally tugged him into a farewell hug, and he didn't feel any of the warmth it usually carried because Hermione's were better.
……
An owl came the next day, and Hermione was absolutely smitten with it. It didn't need to hear her speak to understand her, and it had the loveliest brown mist and the gentlest beak as it nibbled on her ear while she watched her parents read the letter and speak rapidly between themselves.
Her mother was crying, just a little, and Hermione could only watch and tilt her head as they spoke over her. She withdrew to the side of the kitchen, watching her parents worry and fret as her school work remained spread out upon the kitchen table. She understood that her parents were very wary of sending her back out to school instead of continuing their home schooling of her, they were too used to her coming home frustrated and withdrawn because of the other people behaving so awkwardly, and some even cruelly, around her due to her uniqueness.
But her parents didn't understand, they couldn't see. Hermione was drawn to the promise in the letter, the flowing script of words she wouldn't have imagined before due to the fact that she didn't think she'd be a witch, let alone much of anything- and she wondered if that was a sound, like wind whooshing through her hair as she read and reread and wondered…and hoped.
She caresses the sparkling ink with trembling fingertips: Hogwarts.
Would it be different there?
…
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