The Head Girl That Couldn't

The Head Girl That Couldn't

CHAPTER ONE:

Hearing Aids Are Not Meant For Future Ministers of Magic

Hermione threw herself onto the window seat in her room, arms crossed, and sighed heavily. She was just so sick and tired of trying to impress everyone. She was stressed out of living up to everybody’s highest expectations. She was just tired of being Hermione Granger.

Hermione shifted her weight and laid her head on her knees, looking out of her window at the stars. She wondered what it would be like if she had never received that letter and never gone to Hogwarts. She wondered how different it would be to live the simple life of a Muggle, not having to worry about the Dark Times. Voldemort was in power again, ruling in his highest and deadliest reign ever.

He had killed so many people, many of them Hermione had known or even had become great friends with. Hermione let a tear slide down her cheek as she remembered some news that she just received a couple of hours ago: Hagrid was dead. But he hadn’t just died; he was murdered, murdered by Lord Voldemort. Even Hogwarts was barely safe now. It was constant paranoia and pain for the wizarding world, wondering where and who he was going to strike at next.

Although Muggles were suffering too, they didn’t have to live like the magic people did, in constant paranoia. Hermione wished to know what it would be like, just for a moment, to live that easy life.

Hermione got up and started to walk to her desk when there was a soft tapping at her door. She went to the door and opened it to see her mum standing there with her arms crossed.

“Hermione,” she began in a harsh tone, “are you deaf? I’ve been calling your name for the past ten minutes. It’s time to eat dinner.” And then she turned right around and went back downstairs.

Hermione flicked the light switch off and followed her mother gloomily downstairs. She must have been so preoccupied with thinking that she didn’t hear her mum calling her. Hermione pulled a chair at the table, sat down and started to pile spaghetti noodles on her plate.

“Why didn’t you come when your mother called you the first time?” her dad asked severely.

“I-I don’t know, I just didn’t hear her,” Hermione said. “I’m sorry.”

“I tell you, Natalie, that girl needs a hearing aid or something. You were shouting loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear!” her dad said with a mouthful of green beans.

“Robert!” Natalie Granger scolded. “I was not shouting that loud. And my dear Hermione does not need a hearing aid.” She looked at her daughter fondly and put a comforting arm around her. “Because if she did need a hearing aid then she wouldn’t have made the highest grades in Hogwarts history. You need to listen to your teachers to get those grades. And you can’t listen if you can’t hear.”

Robert Granger shook his head in disagreement. “Nonsense. You need to study those books to get high marks. Teachers have hardly anything to do with it.”

“No, you need to listen to know what the lesson is about and to know what you are supposed to read about. You can’t study those books unless you know what to study in them. Therefore you have to listen and study to make top marks,” Hermione said in a dull tone, twirling the spaghetti noodles in coils around her fork.

“Robert!” Mrs. Granger said suddenly. “What if this is something new? What if all of a sudden she can’t hear that well? It is hereditary, you know. Grandpa Herbert needed a hearing aid at a young age. And if she can’t hear, then she won’t be able to listen to the teacher to know what to study and what the lesson assignments are. And if she can’t hear what to study, then she won’t know what to read, therefore making her grades drop. Then she won’t have the highest marks that Hogwarts School has ever recorded. She did have seventeen O.W.L.s after all. And if she doesn’t have the highest marks anymore, then she will be stripped the title of the role-model student. Then her grades will keep on getting worse and worse until they strip the title of Head Girl from her too! Then she won’t graduate and become the first female Minister of Magic!”

Hermione dropped the fork and stared at her mother with eyes wide and opened with wonder.

Finally she found her voice. “Mum! Chill out! I can hear perfectly fine, my grades won’t ever drop—believe me—they can’t strip my title of Head Girl away from me—that’s just absurd and impossible—I will graduate, and I will not become the next Minister of Magic. I want to teach Arithmancy and maybe even become the next Hogwarts Deputy Headmistress. I can hear perfectly fine. The only reason I didn’t hear you earlier is because I was preoccupied.” Hermione heaved an exasperated sigh. And dinner was like this every single night. Thank the sages that she was away for almost a year. They always expected Hermione to perfect. If there was even the tiniest chance that Hermione had a flaw, they panicked.

Dinner got quiet again, much to Hermione’s relief. Then Mr. Granger broke the silence.

“Hermione,” he said,” would you mind staying with your aunt for a week? She’s feeling ill again and needs somebody to help her around and to do the shopping. Your mother can’t because, of course, she’s always at work and I figured since you always stay home with nothing to do it would be a nice change of scenery.”

“Sure, why not,” Hermione said, shoving the last bit of her supper down her throat. “When?”

“Tomorrow morning,” he answered. “Just for a few days, a week at most.”

Hermione nodded, washed her food down with some iced tea and ran upstairs. She ran to her desk and pulled out a long piece of parchment and a silver quill. She tore the piece of parchment into two, dipped the quill in her ink bottle, and began to write:

Dear Harry,

Hello, how has your summer been? Mine’s been normal enough—we haven’t gone off to some distant country for vacation this summer. I think we’ve been to them all. When are you going to Diagon Alley? Do you think we could all meet each other there and do our annual before school shopping together? Reply with an answer soon because I need to know now. I’m leaving tomorrow to go stay with a sick aunt for a few days—Hedwig will know where I am. Waiting to hear from you soon.

Love from-

Hermione

Hermione folded the piece of parchment and picked up the other piece and started to write:

Dear Ron,

Hello, are you having a good summer so far? I hope you are, but if you aren’t—no bother! School is about to start and you know Hogwarts, full of surprises and adventures everywhere. Is Harry staying with you yet? I wasn’t positive but I’ve just written him a letter also. Do you suppose we could all meet at Diagon Alley to go shopping? Well, if so, please reply soon because I’m leaving tomorrow to go stay with a sick aunt for a few days. Pig’ll know where to find me. Waiting somewhat impatiently for her two best friends to reply.

Love from—

Hermione

Hermione sent the two letters with Belle, her little owl that she had received as a gift from the Headmaster for making Head Girl. After Belle had disappeared, Hermione put her materials away and threw herself onto her bed, falling asleep soon afterwards.