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After the battle at the Ministry of Magic, Hermione finds herself amidst the wreckage of statues and prophecies of what they thought was to come. she looks around all, all of the death and destruction around her and she thinks what if everything was different. if she was not in a battle of things being destroyed. if she was not sitting marble floor after seeing many she cares about almost get really hurt.
what is she could have lived a peaceful life a non-rebellious life, a life not on either side of the battle,a magic free life. if she was not a witch, if fate was just a little different. (not to say she did not like magic but..)
she thinks of loving moments of all the times she could have had together with her parents before everything. her family sitting at the table for dinner instead of her around the hall at her school even if it was with her friends, but in this reality Hermione hugging her parents. she has summers with her parents but she really misses them over the school year and she cannot even talk about it. because both her and Ron have a agreement not to go too much into it because of hairy's situation.
she thinks of watching Winning Lines and university challenge. Everyone is talking about X Factor but she has to keep nodding has not even been around to watch it with everything going on. at this point she would even take emergency or a talk show. (no offence to people who like this show and I have nothing against him,I am trying to think about it from my point of you of a 16-year-old girl and a 11 year-old girl (when she left) that likes learning stuff and might have went 'over her head' when she left at 11.) (2) she thinks of also going out,playing with friends (She was 11 when she first attended Hogwarts after all) to hanging out with them. birthday celebrations with her family or just regular family stuff. all of the little normal things in daily life that you do not realise until it disappears on you.
she even thinks of how are the less than joyful times might have been if given the chance. of yelling,some of the arguments they might have had over the years. about too many books , a show they would not approve of like Hollyoaks, maybe hanging out too late. just being their daughter both positive and negative. (make this more impact for that final sentence) she misses them so much and now they may even be in danger. granted with the way everything is going, everyone is in danger in the war like this. they would have been in danger no matter but at least they would not be singled out because of their own daughter.
and of course going to that leaver's disco and getting her diploma. (1) she is not even sure if she is going to get a hogwarts diploma with the way everything is going, never mind Hogwarts version of a the disco in which they call a 'graduation dance' the upper class mentioned multiple times. she enjoyed the Yule ball in fourth year before everything completely fell apart,but but one last disco with those she knew and remembered. (unlike the Yull Ball which was a multi school thing) something fun to end it all. it of course would have been so improved from what she is looking at now which is a bunch of destruction. it might have been simple compared to such a event, more of a recent idea (3) then the history that revolves around everything at Hogwarts but she would rather have simple then whatever this is, disaster.
granted she knows she never would have met Hairy or Ron or any of them. she is happy to have met them but she looks at what she lost. all of the muggle stuff she could have learned. would she have even been as interested in learning muggle stuff the way she was with magic or would she have chosen a different path, a different everything. she has not even kissed a guy her whole time at Hogwarts. (Viktor does not count, well I guess he does but he goes somewhere else far away) (4)
granted she loved magical,love the spectacular world that she entered into when she went into Diagon Alley that late summer. she learned magic as much as she can like it's going to just disappear if she stops. (because it might) she enjoyed every little thing she learned about it and wished she could have continued learning the great portions of the world and upfront deceit she now has to deal with on a daily basis. The death all around her as she is thinking of all of this. she just wants to be a school girl again no matter which side of the line, magic or not magic she just wants to go back.
would she have chosen books for love or chosen books for hanging out or would she have chosen books for something destructive like of those warnings that parents gave and she had to listen to from others when she went over the summer. she like to think she would have never do that ever and she believes that but I guess she will never know. she enjoys many things she entered into, both the magic and the people, and many things along the way. though she is not sure if she would have chosen if she knew how everything would turn out later. she knows in this alternate life she would never have met or known to miss them but in this life she likes her friends ready much and at this point became a good chunk of her life if not all. but what is the use of what would have been if that magical letter did not end up on her doorstep that day. she hast to continue on the path she is on she cannot ask for a time turner,they are all gone (for what she knows) anyway and she definitely cannot ask for there to be no magic because that was the gift she was given, even if it lead to being surrounded by death of those she cares and those she knows do not deserve it in this disastrous war of sorts. (5) she has to keep going on and bravely stop those that want to make the world bad.
(1) leaver is one of the names used to discuss the equivalent of leaving what Americans would call 'high school.' (based on the movies I saw) I have heard variations from different people who I am friends with from different regions of the UK. some also called the event a ball or formals, there is no set way of how the disco is done over here. I took the graduation dance portion for Hogwarts from Eastern Europe in which you actually get the certificate during the dance. (The only show I have ever seen that showed it in English language is degrassi street ep26,not to be confused with the longer series, even if it was for younger grades and technically Canada) it was mostly included because there was a scene in the movie that kind of hinted at it. I need something to balance it because of the obvious dance nature of the Harry Potter universe. (even if it was mostly book 4 it was obviously taken seriously)
(2) winning lines and university challenge are game shows. emergency is a soap opera/drama about doctors, Hollyoaks is a drama aimed at the younger generation like skins was. there are a lot of dramas and game shows because the book series is eight years meaning finding a show that Lord enough to have been rememberable before the books and still have staying power during the main book stay or at least close along with something that you would realistically show someone under the age of 11 that will still be shown after the age of 17. (which limited crime investigation shows like Crimewatch) we are starting to have some big limitations. there was a point in which there was going to be a 'I remember at before I left I was still watching choose kids program.' but I decided against it due to the weird age of 11 being a strange demographic and then finding out what time this program aired which can depend heavily on the region (round the twist was the up runner) it was just too much for a flash fic.
(3) this really really depends on the region of the UK. (something they seem to really have kept 'hush-hush' during the book) and this book coincidentally takes place when the attitude was moving around the most in many regions. I am going with that everything stopped in 1999 when she went to Hogwarts in terms of her perspective.
(4) I am going to be honest I do not remember how exactly every little thing went and if they kissed or not. Victor appeared and left so quickly (not in terms of book length but in terms of amount of conversations) I am going to gloss over it. I am not including Ron,nothing against these two characters but I do not think they even begin having moments until after this event. not to mention they just do not seem to click and it began too late in the story.
(5) I say it like this not because there is not a lot of destruction but it is not structured in the way of a traditional war with battle lines. but this is still a fight.