Mariah,
I have some bad news. I’m afraid I won’t be seeing you again until the next holiday. I have been requested for a boarding school far away (for Hermione had realized, even she didn’t know where the school was) and I’m leaving on August 30th. I’ll write to my parents and you as much as I can, and I can’t wait to see you again!
Missing you already,
Hermione
Hermione folded up the letter and sealed the envelope, wiping her eyes. However excited she was to go to Hogwarts, she still didn’t feel ready to go away from the only life she knew, away from the only friend she had. She put Mariah’s address, the return, and a stamp on the letter and tried to contain herself so that she could mail it.
After mailing the letter, Hermione settled herself down on her bed. She would be leaving tomorrow, and the impact of what a big change this would be was just hitting her. She looked through her suitcase, making sure she had everything that had been on the Hogwarts list and a few more personal items of her own - including a picture of her parents and herself. She double and triple-checked that she had every item for sure, and then began to read about everything there was to know about Hogwarts and the magical world. She still felt herself quite unprepared for the magic that some of the children who had grown up with magical families would know. She had tried a few spells and succeeded with them, but after receiving a terrifying warning letter from the Ministry of Magic about not using magic outside of school, she stopped immediately.
Hermione had thought about the many interesting aspects of the school she was going to go to soon. One of the most interesting, she had thought, was the Sorting. In Hogwarts, a History, it explained how the Sorting had begun. Hermione had thought over all of the houses carefully, and had decided (although she couldn’t be sure, she didn’t know what the Sorting Hat was like) that she would be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. She had also decided that she was most excited for Charms and Transfiguration. Ancient Runes sounded fascinating as well, but she was disappointed to learn that she would not be able to pick that class until her third year. Everything was just too exciting to think about.
When Hermione settled into bed that night, she found herself unable to go to sleep. When she finally did fall asleep - about two hours after her bedtime - her dreams were filled with Hogwarts, good and bad.
Hermione awoke the next morning before her alarm and quickly got dressed into her school robes. The letter hadn’t said if they would have time to change on the train, so she decided to stay on the safe side. She picked up her suitcase, woke up her still-sleeping parents and told them to come to the car with her.
–Hermione, go back to bed,†her mother told her. –We’ve only got a half hour drive and it’s five thirty! Your train leaves at eleven.†Hermione sighed and went back into her room, deciding to read her schoolbooks one more time, just to be sure she knew everything.
When they finally left the house at ten o’clock to go to the train station, Hermione had to take one last look around. This is the last time I’ll see this before Christmas break, maybe even the summer holidays, she thought. After her look around the house, she looked around outside her house, inhaling the smell of the summer garden, the mown grass. She surveyed the neighbor’s houses and was surprised to see two large brown eyes watching her out of a window. At first Hermione jumped, afraid of what the neighbor would think of her in her strange robes, but then she realized who it was. The big, deep brown eyes, the tan complexion, the midnight-black hair... It was as if Hermione was literally falling backwards into a flashback. She remembered, in fourth year, everybody would have to read to a preschooler. Hermione had gotten Naliah, a little girl who loved to be read to and, Hermione felt, respected her more than anyone ever had before. After the day that the two realized they lived near each other... they had spent hours together, reading books of all sorts outside on the lawn between their houses. it was more than a friendship, it was a connection between the two of them. And now... now... Hermione realized that would probably never happen again. It was as if something had hit her... she was making a completely new life... she would probably never see Mariah or Naliah ever again....
–Hermione, dear, are you coming?†her mother called.
Hermione responded, –Yes, mum!†and looked back into the window one last time. Naliah waved, and Hermione waved back. Then Naliah disappeared from the view of the window, and Hermione left.
When they arrived at the train station, twenty minutes to eleven, Hermione hugged her parents with all of her might.
–I’ll write every week, I promise. Unless I have too much work, I will. I’ve read there’s owls that send messages that I can borrow to write to you, and you can send an owl back with a letter back. Maybe I’ll try and write you tonight. Please don’t worry about me,†she said as her mother started to cry.
–I know you’ll be great in school, honey,†her father said. –Just try your best and I know you will.â€
–I will, dad,†she promised. –Bye, Mum! Bye, Dad!†she called as she headed towards the platform that McGonagall had told her to run at. She ran towards and straight through it, with a brick wall now behind her, away from the non-magical world.
For the Love of Books by Theloonyhermione
Chapter Notes: This is the last chapter, so I hope you like it. I will miss Hermione very much, at least until I write another story about her (if I ever do). JKR, thank you for letting me write about Hermione!
Chapter Endnotes: How did that wrap things up? I loved writing this, but that's just me. I need more opinions! So leave a review in that little box! Please?