One
"First Sight"
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K. Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted. I make no money from any of this. I'm just taking her world and tweaking it a bit. ALSO, I used some of the text from the Philosopher's Stone and that most definitely belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Note One: A big thanks to the_scribbler for being my awesomesauce beta/editor!
Note Two: Hey guys! Wow, let me say I am so thrilled and amazed at the response I got from you guys! It made me get right on with writing and if it keeps up, you'll probably be getting a new chapter every week!
In this chapter we have some new characters. J.K. Rowling said that she played with the idea of Hermione having a sister but in the end didn't go through with it. Well, I did. I hope you guys like Viola Anne Granger as much as I do!
EDITED 06/11/2011: More changes with the dates.
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23 June, 1991
It was an unusually warm Saturday afternoon in June and, even though all windows of the car were rolled all the way down, there was no breeze to cool off the car's passengers. Perspiration began to form on the brow of eleven year old Hermione Granger. Wiping the sweat away with her hand, she shot an annoyed scowl at the seven year old bouncing excitedly in the seat beside her. "Would you stop that?" she hissed. The heat made Hermione cranky.
Little Viola Granger stopped vibrating for a fraction of a second to examine her older sister, "Why?" she asked, going back to her annoying fluttering. "You can see the sign now, Minny! Look!"
"I don't care if you can," her older sister growled, "you're being annoying."
"Hermione, we talked about this," their father, David Granger, scolded from the front seat, looking at his oldest daughter in the rear view mirror. "No attitude. Now apologize to your sister."
"I'm sorry, Vi," she sighed, giving a small smile to Viola.
Viola returned her smile with a watery one and pushed her curly brown hair (which was borderline bushy but not as bushy as Hermione's) out of her face. "It's okay, Minny."
Hermione reached over to clasp her hand in Viola's, giving it a soft squeeze. After moment, Viola ripped her hand out of Hermione's and plastered herself to the window. She was still fidgeting with excitement but it was toned down for Hermione's sake. But, as they got closer to the zoo, Viola seemed to forget about Hermione and her movements got more erratic.
Hermione rolled her eyes and clenched her fists on her lap, bunching the material of her jeans in her grip. Her parents refused to let her bring a book with her to their cousin's birthday party, saying that it was rude to just sit at a picnic table and read for the duration of the afternoon. Not used to not being allowed to read put Hermione into a foul mood and the heat and her little sister's over-excitement was not exactly helping.
"Girls," their mother, Jane Granger, spoke up. She twisted in her seat so she could look at her two daughters, her light brown hair up in a high ponytail. "Before we get to the party, we need to make something clear."
Both girls groaned loudly but Mrs. Granger ignored it.
"I know Claire can be…" she trailed off, not entirely sure what word to use.
"Snobby?" Viola suggested.
"Difficult," Mrs. Granger corrected. "But it is her birthday and your aunt and uncle told me they didn't want to break up any arguments today."
"I will if Claire keeps her mouth shut," Viola declared, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Viola Anna Granger you will not argue with your cousin today," Mrs. Granger said in a stern voice.
Viola met her mother's gaze with her own, their light blue eyes locked in a match of dominance. After a moment, Viola sighed and looked down. "I promise, mummy."
"That's my girl," she smiled, reaching back to squeeze her knee.
As the car pulled into the zoo's parking lot, Hermione felt dread start to creep into the pit of her stomach. Usually when Claire and her aunt and uncle visited, she had a book to preoccupy her time. But now, bookless and cranky, Hermione had a feeling that it was going to be a very long and trying day.
Mr. Granger found a parking spot relatively close to the entrance and pulled into the space. "Look! Look! An ice cream van!" Viola started shouting suddenly, her eyes going wide. She craned her head to look at her mother. "Can I get some? Please?"
"I don't know," Mrs. Granger hedged, glancing at her husband. He shut off the car and merely shrugged.
"It won't ruin my appetite, I promise," Viola begged. "And I promise to brush and floss my teeth extra good tonight, too!"
"Alright, you can get some this time." Mr. Granger relented, shifting so he could grab his wallet from his trousers pocket. "But," he added as Viola started to unbuckle her seatbelt, "Hermione has to go with you."
Viola's head whipped around to stare at Hermione with enough force to almost give her whiplash. Hermione, resisting the urge to disagree, gave a non-committal shrug. Her father handed her some money and she unbuckled her seatbelt, getting out of the car and going over to Viola's side. She was already out of the car and grabbed Hermione's hand, impatiently tugging her towards the van. The sisters got in line behind a family of five just as one of the boys began to rattle off what all he wanted.
"Now Diddydums," the mother of the family said, sounding almost cautious. Viola snorted loudly at the nickname. Hermione quickly shushed her and looked anxiously at the group to see if they heard her sister. It seemed only the smallest of the three boys did; he glanced back at them and gave a small smile, rolling his eyes before turning back to the van, "you can only have one right now. But once you and Piers finish them, we can get you a different one."
This seemed to placate the large boy and he ordered his ice cream. The ice cream lady turned to the scrawny boy next to `Diddydums' and he ordered what he wanted. The father grabbed his wallet and was pulling some money out when the ice cream lady turned to the small boy and asked what he wanted. The father went beet red and quickly ordered him a lemon ice lolly, thrusting the money at her before stomping off to the entrance of the zoo, the family trailing behind him.
"What can I get you ladies?" The ice cream lady asked as Hermione and Viola walked up to the window, still eyeing the man who was now paying the entrance fee.
"Can I have a fudgesicle?" Viola asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Please?" she added, suddenly remembering her manners.
"You sure can," The woman chuckled as she disappeared for a moment and returned with a wrapped fudgesicle, handing it to Viola with a cheerful grin. She turned to Hermione, "And what can I get for you?"
"Uh…" Hermione looked up at the menu, unsure of what she wanted. She saw the lemon ice lolly that the man bought for the small boy and frowned, immediately feeling sorry for him. It was the cheapest thing on the menu and didn't look very appetizing. "Can I just get an ice cream sandwich?"
The woman disappeared once again and reappeared, handing her the treat. Hermione paid for the ice cream and took Viola's hand. She saw their parents in line at the entrance and made her way over to them, dragging an already chocolate covered Viola behind her.
Viola dropped Hermione's hand as soon as they got into the zoo, rushing over to Mr. Granger's side and offering to carry one of the presents they had gotten for Claire. Hermione delicately unwrapped half of her sandwich and took a bite out of the corner, looking around at the different attractions. As they made their way to the picnic area and playground, the sound of children laughing became louder and louder, Claire's voice carrying over all the other kids.
"Aunt Jane! Uncle David!" Claire screamed as soon as they came into sight. She dropped the ball she was playing with and bolted over to them, her chocolate brown eyes (which were identical to Hermione's) glinting in the sunlight. She skidded to a stop in front of Mr. Granger, her smile faltering when she noticed Hermione and Viola's ice cream. "You didn't get ice cream for me?"
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. They hadn't been at the party for five minutes and Claire already was going about her selfish ways. Claire's father, who was Mr. Granger's brother, was a dentist and her mother was a lawyer. They certainly weren't short of money and all of the extra money they had to spend was spent on Claire. They put her through dance lessons, entered her in child beauty pageants (which most of the time she won), and never said no to her. All this made Claire an extremely spoiled and selfish child and, as Mrs. Granger had said in the car, difficult to be around.
"Claire, remember your manners." Hermione's Uncle Robert chided lightly, patting his daughter on the head. "David, Jane."
As the adults were saying their hellos, Viola walked up to Claire with a look of determination on her face and handed the bag to her. "Happy birthday, Claire."
Claire took the bag and evaluated it, "Thanks Vi." She turned to Hermione and raised an eyebrow, "No book today, Hermione?"
"Not today," she bit out, forcing herself to smile. "Happy birth-"
Hermione didn't even get to finish her sentence. Claire turned on her heel and walked back to the picnic table where her friends were waiting, casually dropping the present next to the growing pile. Hermione stared after her in disbelief, her mouth open.
Uncle Robert suddenly realized that Hermione and Viola were there, he bent down and wrapped his arms around the girls, drawing them into a hug. "Thanks for coming, girls," he said, kissing them on their cheeks. "We'll be having cake soon, then it'll be present time, and then we can go explore the zoo. Okay?"
"Okay Uncle Robert," Viola grinned. He dropped his arms and gently nudged them in the direction of the rest of the girls.
Hermione wrapped her half eaten ice cream sandwich in the wrapper and walked over to the empty table beside Claire's as Viola took off to go play on the playground. Cake was soon passed around and then it was time for Claire to open her presents. Her and her friends chattered excitedly as Aunt Mary grabbed the first present and placed it in front of Claire.
Hermione reluctantly went to go stand by Claire's friends, knowing it was what her parents wanted her to do. Everyone grew silent as Claire opened the first present, pulling out a box with the picture of a very intricate vanity mirror on the front. Claire's eyes roamed over the box for a moment and then nodded, giving her parents a bright smile. "Thanks, mummy."
"You're welcome, dear." Aunt Mary said, returning the smile.
Present after present, Claire would evaluate whatever she opened and either like it or say it was the wrong one. Hermione rolled her eyes. Every year since Claire was seven she would make her parents send out specific lists of what she wanted to people. At first Hermione resisted, picking out books and beauty magazines that suited Claire's taste. Eventually Claire had enough and told Hermione that if it wasn't on the list, she would hate it as a gift. After that, Hermione let her parents and Viola pick out the gifts and she just signed the card.
Claire seemed pleased with what she had gotten and present time went by without incident. The adults began to pack things away, leaving the children to go play. Claire and her friends sat around some benches near the playground, discussing what animals they wanted to see. Hermione reluctantly sat on the bench near the girls, making sure she was close enough so her parents would think she was being at least somewhat social but far enough away to not be included in the conversation. Thankfully, Claire ignored Hermione as she and her friends talked.
As soon as the adults were done packing up, the group made their way through the zoo with Claire leading the pack and Hermione and Viola drawing up the rear. Hermione could tell that Viola was itching to go up to the front and see the animals first but held back to be with her sister. She felt a surge of love go out to her little sister and casually put her arm around her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Thanks Vi."
Viola looked up at Hermione, wrapping her small arm around her waist, "You're welcome."
Despite Claire's random fits when animals wouldn't do what she wanted, Hermione was surprised to find that she was having fun. Watching the animals on television or even reading about them in books was nothing compared to the real thing. She enjoyed reading the little plaques with information about the animals to Viola, occasionally adding a little fact that she had read somewhere in a book. Viola seemed to enjoy this as well, soaking up all the information Hermione was giving her like a sponge.
The group had made it halfway through the zoo and decided to go into the reptile house to get out of the sun. Claire let everyone go inside first, waiting for Hermione and Viola.
"Come on," she said, walking with them into the room, "I feel like I haven't spent any time with my favourite cousins."
"No, that's alright." Hermione said quickly, feeling her skin begin to crawl as she caught sight of a large snake exhibit. Hermione had always been afraid of snakes and knew from the mischievous glint in Claire's eyes that she was planning something. She pointed over to a group of tables near the side of the room. "I think I got too much sun, I'm just going to go sit down for a bit."
Claire glared at Hermione. "Fine then," she said coldly, grabbing onto Viola's hand, "Let's go, Vi."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and headed to a table, feeling a tad guilty for leaving Viola with Claire. She'll be fine, she told herself, sitting down, Vi can hold her own. On the table there were scattered pamphlets about the different reptiles that were housed there. Hermione quickly turned over the one with the picture of an anaconda and grabbed the one about lizards. As she opened up the pamphlet and began to read, she felt some of her tension melt away.
"Make it move," the familiar voice made Hermione drag her eyes away from the pamphlet and look up. Standing at the snake exhibit was the family that had been in front of Hermione and Viola at the ice cream van. She watched with mild interest as the large, beefy boy leaned against the glass of the cage.
The father knocked on the glass, "Move."
The snake didn't seem to move which annoyed `Diddydums'. He banged both of his fists loudly on the glass, making the people around him look up in alarm. "Move!"
"He's asleep," the small boy who had gotten the lemon ice lolly hissed at him.
"This is boring," Diddydums moaned loudly. He and the other scrawny boy stalked off to the other side of the room with their father trailing behind, leaving the small boy all alone. Hermione went back to her pamphlet but soon found herself staring at the young boy, who was leaning on the railing. Taking the time to really look at him, she frowned when she noticed that his clothes were all ratty and at least five sizes too big for his small frame. Her heart went out to him as she took in his hunched figure, he looked so sad. As she continued to watch him, she noticed that he seemed to be talking to the snake in a low voice. Her eyes widened and she stiffened as the snake slowly stretched itself up and looked fully at the boy. As his voice carried over to where she was sitting, she felt her skin crawl when she heard it. He was hissing.
She wasn't the only one who noticed what he was doing. From across the room, the scrawny boy hit Diddydums and said loudly, "Look what Potter's doing!"
Hermione drew her eyes away from him to see the large boy go red in the face and run over to where he was, practically bulldozing the small boy out of the way so he could lean against the glass. The boy fell painfully to the ground with a small cry and propped himself up on his elbows, glaring at him with the most intense green eyes Hermione had ever seen.
The other boy ran up and leaned on the glass too, almost trampling over the boy on the floor. Then suddenly there were two shrill shrieks and both boys fell head first into the snake exhibit.
Hermione let out a yell and stood up, not quite believing what she saw. How could the glass just vanish like that?!
Then she saw the snake.
It was a lot larger than she thought and as it slowly started make its way out of the cage, she felt panic start to bubble up in her chest. Hermione screamed and went to jump up on the table as it made its way over to where she was. Her vision blurred and suddenly she was on top of a medium sized bookshelf about ten feet away from where she had originally been. By now all the people in the room had seen the snake and were screaming and trying to get to their children. She looked around, dazed and confused, wondering how she had gotten away from the table so fast.
A shrill, piercing scream caught Hermione's attention. She looked back to where the boys fell into the cage to see the mother crying and banging on the glass that suddenly reappeared, trapping them in. Hermione could only stare with horror as the workers rushed over to get the boys out. The father let out a roar and grabbed the boy who had been talking to the snake by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up. The boy had an expression that mirrored Hermione's, horror mixed with confusion as he stared at the glass with an open mouth.
"How on earth did you get up there?" Hermione jumped, startled, as Mr. Granger came running up to where Hermione was. "Never mind, come on." He reached up and pulled her off of the bookshelf and carried her out of the reptile house. The rest of the party had taken shelter underneath a tree; the parents looking frantic and trying to calm down the crying kids.
"Daddy," she said as Mr. Granger put her down, "I saw it! The glass just disappeared and those boys fell in!"
"Sweetie," Mr. Granger soothed, bending down and brushing back her hair, "glass doesn't just disappear."
"But I saw it, daddy!" Hermione protested, stomping her foot. "Those boys pushed the other one to the ground and leaned on the glass and then the glass just disappeared!"
"Hermione, the glass didn't disappear."
"How did the snake get out then?" she challenged, crossing her arms stubbornly.
Mr. Granger sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, but there's some logical explanation. There always is."
Mrs. Granger came up to them carrying a crying Viola, looking bewildered, "I have no idea what just happened but the party's over. Claire's too hysterical."
Hermione looked over and saw Claire sitting on the grass, bawling and chanting "My party's ruined" over and over again. More wailing came from the reptile house as the two boys, wrapped in blankets, were ushered out to the parking lot by their mother. A moment later the father burst out of the house dragging the boy behind him, almost purple in the face.
"I swear I saw the glass disappear and then reappear," Hermione pleaded one more time, looking at her mother. "And the other boy was hissing at the snake!"
"You're just in shock," Mr. Granger said, sounding reassuring. He picked up Hermione like she was a little child. As they made their way to the parking lot, Hermione looked over and saw the father practically shove the boy into the car before slamming the door and getting into the driver's seat. She frowned; maybe she had imagined hearing him hissing to the snake. Or perhaps he was just playing; he couldn't have been older than she was. Either way, Hermione hoped that he would be alright.
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4 July, 2016
"...Hermione hoped that he would be alright…" Karen trailed off, closing the journal and staring at Lindsay with wide eyes.
"What the hell?" Lindsay sputtered, grabbing the journal and opening it. She looked down, surprised to see that instead of being typed, the words were neatly handwritten in black ink. Checking the cover quickly, she noted that the writing was exactly the same to the one on the cover.
"I … don't even know what to say to that." Karen said, standing up and stretching. "I mean, this could be someone's idea of a joke, or some type of fanfiction, or an author's attempt at creating some next big series without plagiarism, or…"
Lindsay closed the journal and wrapped the leather string around it. She got up from the couch and headed towards the door, "I don't know about you but I'm putting this thing back in the box and going home. We'll tell Mrs. P about them in the morning and she can deal with it."
"Agreed."
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End Note: So what do you guys think? Drop a review and let me know!
Cheers,
Kelci
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