"Hey! Granger! Where're you going? I need you to open this package for me! I need those huge rabbit teeth of yours!"

I walked away as fast as I could. It was the end of the first day of the last week of school. Excitement was running high, which meant most people were acting quite irrationally. Of course, when people were around me, they always did quite a lot of irrational things.

From the first day of kindergarten, my peers had been making fun of me for my bushy hair and my big buck teeth. Not to mention all the weird things that sometimes happened around me. In fact, Carver Lewis never let me forget the time Patrick Perks started throwing up after he told me that I was a cross-breed between a rabbit and a dictionary. I received a few violent threats after that one, which was disturbing as always, but not unexpected.

"And maybe my Gran can use some of that hair to knit my new sweater!" Carver called, Patrick as well as the rest of their gang laughing along with him. I turned the corner before they could say anything else. However, I did catch a glimpse of Brittany Morris, Eliza Rees, and Haden Nwosu laughing too.

They were the most popular girls in the school and were almost as bad for me to be around as the boys. Luckily, after this week, we would be starting high school and most people would end up at different schools. I myself, was going to City of London, School for Girls, and was quite excited. It was a beautiful building right on the Thames in the heart of London. It had quite a good reputation, and to say that I was thrilled when I got in would be an understatement.

Still though, I wasn't out of my personal hell quite yet. My eyes were burning. Even though I was used to this torment, it hurt every time. I cheered myself up with the fact that I could go home and burry myself in my new book. Just three more days, I reminded myself. Three more days.

"Oh cheer up Hermione!" said my best friend Fredrika. Really, she was my only friend. She was a bit bossy sometimes, but I enjoyed her company. She would also be coming to City with me in the fall, and while I was hoping to make lots of new friends, it was certainly nice to know at least one person.

She was rather chubby, with a round face and body that earned her the nick-name snowman. The fact that her thick, black framed glasses squeezed her oversized head making it constantly red and giving it a pinched look didn't help at all. However, unlike me, she had perfect teeth and her sleek blond hair was nice, apart from the fact that it appeared to be plastered to her because of her rather wide shoulders.

"At least they only make fun of your hair and teeth, you can fix that. I would have to loose about 20 pounds before they stopped calling me marshmallow."

"It's much easier to lose weight then to shrink your teeth," I reminded her.

"Maybe for you, but believe me, I've tried. I'm going to be fat forever."

We walked in silence before parted ways on the corner of Cross and Clifford. I walked down Clifford road thinking that Fredrika was actually right. They did only make fun of my hair and teeth. Once I was done with my braces, I could use some hair product and a blow drier and though it would take lots of effort, I would look just fine.

Only—only I'd still be very plain. I wouldn't have Brittany's stunning pale violet eyes, or Eliza's thick bright red hair. I wouldn't even have Haden's flawless, perfectly tanned skin. I would just be a girl with brown eyes and brown hair. There would be no reason for anyone to look at me over the girl I was standing next to.

The only thing that had ever set me apart was my grades. I buried myself in every book I saw, especially non-fiction. I often learned a whole year's curriculum a few years before it was taught!

I walked up to my front door and let myself in. Both my parents where dentists and worked until at least 5. I helped myself to a few sugar free snacks and dragged my backpack up to my room. I breezed through my homework, (I had learned about parliament in second grade) and quickly fed my fish, Cleopatra. Then, I picked up my book, Vietnamese Legends and buried myself in another world until my mum called up the stairs to me that dinner was ready. I hadn't even heard her come home.

I ate my ready-made lasagna quickly. I was dying to get back to the very interesting creation story I was on. My mum had other plans though.

"Tell me about your day Hermione." She always wanted to know everything.

"Not much happened. We learned about parliament and started working with exponents." I brought my dishes to the sink.

"How did that go for you?"

"Good I already know that stuff. Can I go—read my book now?" I asked tentatively.

Mum sighed. "Yes I suppose so."

I walked as fast as I could without running. I wanted to get away from my mum before she asked how the boys were treating me. When I was younger, I would complain about them to her, but as I got older, she pestered me about them every day to the point of insanity. A while ago, I had lied to her and told her that everything was fine now.

At about 9:00, I finished my book and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth with the special super strong toothpaste my parents made me use. Through the vent in the floor, I could hear my parents talking.

"I don't know Daniel; It feels like we're losing her! She spends all her time in books, never with any real people!

"Relax Cynthia." My dad said. "She just likes a good book, that's all. She's probably going through an awkward stage too. Once it's over, she'll go out with her friends again."

"I hope you're right, Daniel." My mum worried. "Most girls of her age are out having fun, awkward stage or not. It just doesn't seem right to prefer books to people!"

"She'll make plenty of new friends next year at City of London. Full scholarship! Can you believe it? All that time with the books is really paying off!" My mum chuckled a bit and their conversation turned to a different topic.

I spit out my toothpaste and walked back to my room where I pulled the covers up to my chin to ponder what my parents had said. I had never really thought about it, but was I supposed to have more friends? Was it my fault that nobody liked me? The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I craved human company. And a human who wasn't bossy and loud like Fredrika. I always told myself otherwise, but I wanted to be like Brittany, Eliza, or Haden. I wanted people to move to the sides of the crowded hall at a glimpse of my bronzed skin. I wanted my shimmering red hair to command even a teacher's respect. But most of all, I wanted to call normal seeing a look of awe on the face of the person I was talking to as my pale violet eyes stared deep into theirs.

But it was true that I was one of only two in the school to get into City, and the only one to get a full merit scholarship! Haden didn't even come close, and she was widely considered the smartest girl in town. I had proved that I deserved that title, and that was what set me apart. When I started City in the fall, I would be smart, and if I was friendly, maybe people wouldn't care so much how plain I was.

I breezed through the last few days of school. I barely heard Patrick's regular torments, and the walks home with Fredrika were as silent as ever. I finished Vietnamese Legends, and went on to read Romanian Legends and Mongolian Mythology as well.

Finally it was summer. I was free of all bullies and awkward walks home. The first thing I did after breakfast was go to the library. I needed a good selection of books to start the summer right. I brought home about 2 bags full just in time for lunch. After eating my cucumber sandwich, I started my first book, Medieval Tales. I was really into this Cultural Legends series. In the spirit of summer, I spread out a blanket under the single tree in my small back yard and read there.

As August was drawing nearer, even I was getting tired of reading. Unfortunately, I didn't have any friends to hang out with, so I decided to switch to one of the less explored genres of books, sci-fi.

One day, it was raining so I was reading MARS MYSTERY on the couch. It was rather early but I never slept very much. My mum came down wearing a pair of pink scrubs.

"When you're ready, there are some toaster waffles in the freezer. Ok? Have a good day sweetie! Dad already left. He had to perform a surgery today."

"Have a good day Mum." I said without looking up. My book wasn't very good, but even so, it had some very interesting facts about Mars. I heard the door shut and the car pulling out of the gravel drive way. A few minutes later, I got up to make breakfast.

I was shuffling around the kitchen with the butter dish and a box of waffles when I heard the mail slide through the slot. I put a waffle in the toaster, and then went to pick up the mail.

I had an unfortunate habit of looking through the mail. There were a few bills, my mom's housekeeping magazines and then, I stopped short and looked more carefully at this one. It was a thick yellowish parchment envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Granger in emerald green ink. On the back, was a purple wax seal. Imprinted in the seal, was a crest of what I thought was a lion, an large bird, a badger or skunk perhaps, and a snake. In the middle of all of these, was a large capital "H".

This was the sort of letter you didn't see every day. I wondered if I should open it or not. It might have something in it that I wasn't supposed to see. But I didn't like my parents keeping secrets. If I was careful not to rip the seal, they would never know.

I gently pried the wax off the parchment and slid out the letter, written on the same sort of material. I unfolded it. Written on it, in the same emerald green ink was:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Granger,

My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster at a school called Hogwarts. If it is at all possible, I would like to make an appointment with you to discuss the enrollment of your daughter, Hermione at my school this coming year. I would appreciate it if she could come to our meeting as well.

Do not be surprised if you have never heard of Hogwarts before. Most people have not. We at Hogwarts accept only about forty people a year. Only about half of those are children whose parents did not come here in their youth.

You are probably a little bit confused right now as well for you never applied for your daughter to come to this school. We at Hogwarts do not take applications. Every year, we do a nationwide search for worthy candidates. Hogwarts students are chosen, not accepted.

In conclusion, your daughter has been chosen by the Hogwarts admissions board. Please write back using the return address on the front of the envelope with a suitable date and time for our meeting. However, please do not mention this letter to anyone, as we at Hogwarts prefer to maintain secrecy. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore

I read the letter a few times. Then she slid it back in the envelope and carefully pushed the seal back down. I buried the letter back into the pile of mail and went to take out my waffle.

As I was eating, I thought about the strange letter. Wasn't it a bit late in the year to be accepted to another school? No, not accepted, chosen. That made it seem so much more spectacular. However, if they wanted me to attend so badly, shouldn't they have alerted me before any other school did? But it wasn't that that bothered me. I had plenty of schools begging me to enroll with them. But I had no idea that I was one of the 20 smartest 11 year olds in the country! They chose 20 people with family connections, and 20 people had to be so incredibly smart, they would show up when the whole country was searched! This was a huge accomplishment. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to go. My brains were the only thing that set me apart, and at a school like this, most of the people would be as smart as me, if not smarter. Though, I would probably get along better with people like that. Yes, when my parents got home, the first thing I would do was point out that strange letter and tell them to read it. But in the meantime, I would get back to my book.

I had trouble concentrating on my reading today, which was a first for me. Eventually, around 3 o'clock, I gave up completely and just pondered that strange letter. I tried to imagine a place even more wonderful than City of London, School for Girls, where I might learn something new.

My parents came home together, at about 5. My mum had a box of spaghetti in one hand, and a jar of tomato sauce in the other. When they walked in the door, I was on the couch pretending to read.

"How was your day? Learn anything you didn't know yet?" My dad asked. He was the funnier of my parents, but really, he wasn't very funny at all.

"No." I replied calmly.

"Big surprise." He muttered.

"Anything interesting happen?" My mum broke in, expecting the usual answer.

"Yes actually." I could tell that now was the time to say something. "When the mail came, there was this really weird letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I'm curious about what it says so could you maybe read it right now?" I walked into the kitchen, picked the letter out of the pile, and handed it to Mom.

"This is something you don't see every day." She commented. She turned it over and stared at the wax seal curiously for a moment before showing it to Dad and picking it off carefully. It was obvious that Dad really didn't care what was imprinted on the seal. I had my mother's love of learning, not his.

"Interesting…" she muttered before handing it to my dad. He read it with a confused expression on his face, before handing it to me. I read it again.

"Have you heard of this place Hermione?" Dad asked.

"No. I'm just as confused as you are," I reassured them.

"What should we do Daniel?" Mum wondered.

"Well, why don't we ask Hermione?" he suggested.

"What should we do, Hermione?" Mum asked again.

"Well, should we schedule a meeting…?" I trailed off when I pretended I couldn't think of any other options.

"Do you want to go to this school?" Mum looked a bit worried.

"Well, I suppose so; I'd want to find out more about it first though."

"I agree. I suppose the only way to learn more is to invite him here. How's Saturday for you Daniel?"

I smiled widely at the approval. "Thanks." I muttered.

"Works for me! But I'm hungry. How 'bout some spaghetti?" I sat back down on the couch while Mum started to cook, Dad chopping vegetables at her side.