Chapter Text
It was 5pm on her birthday when the doorbell rang. Nobody had showed up to the party that day, but maybe someone was just a couple hours late? They could have gotten stuck in traffic or had other obligations and now even though it's 5pm they would show up and celebrate her 11th birthday with her.
Hermione ran down the stairs and rushed to the door, just in time to see her mother open it. There was an old woman there, dressed in green robes and a pointy hat. If she believed in magic she would have almost thought this woman was a witch. But magic wasn’t real, so she must have been celebrating a very early halloween, she concluded. It was quite an odd sight.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Ms. Hermione Granger.” The woman dressed up as a witch spoke in a clear, practised tone, no hint of emotion in her voice.
She had never heard her name spoken out loud before. She had picked it out one day in the library, about a month after figuring out she was a girl. She hadn’t had the courage to tell her parents about it yet.
“We are the Grangers, but nobody named Hermione lives here. Perhaps there’s been some mistake?” her mother replied, confused.
“Oh, in that case, is there a child who has completed 11 years of age residing here? There seems to have been a mistake on the paperwork given to me.”
“Yes, that’s our son. It’s his 11th birthday today. If I may ask, who are you?” Her mother spoke quickly, slight impatience showing in her voice.
“I am Professor Minerva McGonagall of Hogwarts. I have some rather big news for your child. May I come inside?”
Her mother let the woman in with slight reluctance. She poured a cup of tea for the adults and gestured for her to sit down across the woman. Her father had taken a seat right beside her on the sofa.
The woman began. “I am here to inform you that your child is a mage and has magical abilities. Children with such abilities, upon reaching 11 years of age, must receive magical instruction on how to perform and control their magic. Your child will be required to attend Hogwarts starting from the next school year.” She paused and drank a few sips of her tea, then continued. “It is required for a professor to deliver this news to children with non magical parents, which is why I’m here. I can assure you this is not a prank. If you’ll allow me, I will demonstrate a few simple spells.”
Hermione didn’t fail to notice the lack of gendered vocabulary used by the Professor. She wondered if that was on purpose as a small smile appeared on her face.
Her mom looked incredibly sceptical, but nodded. The woman pulled out a length of wood Hermione guessed was a wand and pointed it toward her now empty teacup. The teacup started flashing rainbow colours, leaving her parents shocked and confused.
The next short while was a blur. Her parents were bombarding Professor McGonagall with questions, who was answering them all patiently. It had dawned on her that she would need to clear up the naming mishap soon, and suddenly everything had blurred. She could barely breathe.
“Excuse me, I need to visit the loo.” she croaked out, running out of the room. She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink while trying to get her breathing under control. She looked at the curly mop of hair on her head that she had managed to convince her parents to let her grow. She looked at her nails and the little streaks of pink left on them, from the time she had tried to paint her nails with a paintbrush.
1… 2… 3… She breathed in and out like her mother had taught her. She was planning to tell her parents soon anyway. Why not today? Maybe she could enter her new magic school as a girl. Wouldn’t that be nice?
She walked out slowly to the living room once more. The woman was promising to come back and take the family shopping for school supplies the next summer. She said something about having essays to grade and left their house.
Her hands were trembling. “Mum? Dad? Um..” She didn’t know where to start. She should have been more prepared. She should have thought about this before just starting to do it.
Her parents sat back down on the sofa, looking at her curiously.
“You know how the woman asked for Ms. Hermione Granger? That's me. There wasn’t a mistake. Well maybe there was, I don’t know how she could possibly have known my name considering I haven’t told anyone. I’m rambling. Sorry. That’s me. I’m Hermione. I’m a girl. Please don’t be mad.” She couldn’t bring herself to look at their faces as the tears started falling. She did it. It was done.
“Oh honey. Thank you for telling us. Hermione, my daughter. Come here hun” She ran into her parents' open arms. She didn’t know how long they stayed in that group hug, it felt like years. Years of love, acceptance and safety in those few moments.