Chapter - 8 : Meeting the Heroine

After another enjoyable roller-coaster ride, I found myself in a small isolated part of what looked like a park surrounded by a few trees. Although it was late afternoon, the sun was still up, giving a warm glow to the surroundings. In the distance, I could hear voices of children who seemed to be playing, if their joyful screaming was anything to go by. I surmised that we must be in a park. 

I looked around to see if there was anyone nearby, and started to walk towards where voices of children could be heard, Tinky following behind me, invisibly. After a minute of walking, a view of a small park came in front of me. Children were running around, some playing games, others playing with swings and such. Some parents were also playing with their children, most just sitting on benches, keeping an eye on their children. In the distance, I could see the outline of a tall building, most probably a church. That church confirmed what I learnt in passing back in my world.

'Huh, so the fan-fictions were wrong about the address. I do wonder how they thought her address was in Crawly.' I thought to myself as I started to walk around, taking in the sights of the park.

'There!' I thought to myself as I gazed at a small figure sitting under a tree on patch of grass, a book in her hands, often looking at the children playing around with longing and wistful glances. Even from a distance and with my current bad eyesight, there was no mistaking who she was. Short, bushy, chestnut hair, brown eyes and the prominent two front teeth, she was none other than the Hermione Jean Granger, the future best friend of Harry Potter, brains of Golden Trio, brightest witch of her age, and many more titles.

Ever since I really realised my condition and existence in this world, I really wanted to see her in person. Why? Because, to me, she is the most brilliant person in the whole Harry Potter world. She is frightening intelligent, an excellent witch, and most of all, a loyal friend. Even when the world the whole school and later, the whole wizarding world turned against Harry, she never left his side.

She always stood by his side. During the Goblet of Fire fiasco, even after Ron, the supposed best mate left him, Hermione never left him. She followed him even in the face of danger, and never broke his trust. And that's not to even mention the other sacrifices she made for him; I mean, come on, she even gave up her family in order to support him. I don't think there's a bigger proof of her loyalty than that. 

Another reason that I wanted to meet her, and cultivate a close relationship with her early on is because I know that she will be a really important and irreplaceable ally and asset in the future. Call it being a fan or whatever, although, I don't want to drag her into the mess that I will surely get into in the coming years, I also don't want to let go of her and see her suffer because of the discrimination due to being a muggleborn. I know that she would be huge help in my future endeavours. That's why I want to become her friend early on, so she knows she can depend on me, and will help me when the time comes. Although all of this is true, it is also a just the justification I give to myself for trying to manipulate a small child. I might be a child again, but mentally, I am more than double her age, an adult her age. 

Is it manipulative of me to take an advantage of a lonely child who craves friendship, like this? Maybe, maybe not, but I don't really care. Though, I never liked hypocrites, and always tried to not be one myself, no matter how much I wanted to be, this time, I don't really care. As the saying goes, 'The only hypocrite I like is myself.' Besides, it's not like it will be harmful to her. I am just bringing her into my camp before others can, so to speak.

Looking at her, I couldn't stop myself from going into fan boy mode inside. Honestly, coming here today, was an impulse decision, I was just so excited to see her in person that I just couldn't control myself from coming to see her. Another thing I noticed, was that she was really cute. With puffy cheeks and a small nose, she really was cute. And she actually looked like a smaller version of Emma Watson. And this might be my teenager brain talking, but if she grows up to be like counter-part, she would be really beautiful, and I want her. But for now, I am only interested in her friendship, I am not a pedophile. 

Now that I saw her in person, I just couldn't keep my excitement in control. And who would be able to control themselves when their favourite character is front of them, let alone their favourite fictional character coming to life? And so, I started to walk towards her, wanting to start a conversation with her

Just as I was a few feet away from her, she suddenly looked up at me, sensing my arrival. I stopped right there as I saw her giving me a guarded and wary look, most probably thinking I was coming to pick on her. It really pained my heart to see her so lonely like this. If her early days in Hogwarts were anything to go by, she most probably didn't have a nice childhood. Being extremely smart, or least much more smarter than your classmates, must have created a distance between her and the rest of children, leaving her unable to really connect with children her age, leading to her being picked on by others. I really felt for her, for I knew how that felt, I had been in that same situation in my life.

I looked her in the eye, gave a small wave, and with a smile on my face, asked, "Hi, can I sit with you?" For a fleeting moment, her eyes flickered, and I noticed a different emotion, hope maybe, pass through them, before it was gone. She looked at me with narrowed eyes, and asked, "Why do you want to sit with me? Are you also trying to make fun of me?" I tried to keep myself calm, and asked her with a confused expression and a slight smile, "Why would I want to make fun of you? I saw that you were sitting here all alone, looking really lonely. So, I wanted to sit and talk with you, maybe make friends with you." 

She had a really shocked expression on her face that I almost laughed out loud. She was actually gaping with mouth and eyes wide open. It was really funny and sad seeing her like that. A few moments later, she averted her eyes from mine, and said in a really low voice, full of hope, "Really? You want to be friends with me? But why? I am a nobody, just a know-it-all." Hearing this, a small smile crept up on my face, realising that I was already halfway there. 

I walked up a few more steps towards her, crouched down, and said to her with a smile as she met my eyes again, "Of course, I want to be your friend, I mean, why wouldn't I want to be friends with a pretty girl such as yourself. As for being a know-it-all, I can assure you that you can't be bigger know-it-all than me." I told her, complimenting her, to distract her, while also teasing her, but with a kind smile, to let her know, it was all in good humour. Her eyes were again wide open, with a blush on her face reaching down her neck. 

She sputtered and said, "I- I am n-not really p-pretty. And what do mean by being a bigger know-it-all?" I smiled at her, stood up, and sat by beside her, ignoring her question for a while. She did not object to that. "So, my name is Harry Potter, and what's your?" I asked. She stared at me, and if her facial expression were anything to go by, she was both happy, and in disbelief. A few moments later, she had a small smile and said, " Nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Hermione Granger." 

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Hey guys, sorry about late post, I am getting busy with college, and had a huge writer's block, so I couldn't really write anything up. Even this took me more than two hours to write up. I hope I'll get out of this soon. Till then, happy reading and keep sending some POWER STONES!!!