Halloween 2011 - Prompt 2 - "First Impressions"
Title: First Impressions
Author: mihnn
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1200
Notes/Warning: Prompt 2 - Candy / Cauldron / Fairy
Hermione frowned at the shop she was standing in front of before looking down at the parchment in her hand. There it was in bold letters, the name of the shop where she was to get her robes. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, what an odd name. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted her parents as they continued to eye the recent contraptions they had purchased that morning; everything from a brass scale to crystal goblets and even a large cauldron held their interest as they searched for a manual that could explain to them what their only daughter could possibly do with these items. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes with some sort of affection. She loved her parents dearly, but the interest they showed in her new life was getting a bit tiresome. It was because of this reason that she had accepted how hungry her parents were and sat down to lunch with them. But after a few moments, Hermione found herself looking around restlessly, needing nothing more than to finish everything on the shopping list of a first year so she could go home and examine all the items she had purchased. She had gotten everything but school robes, which was why she explained logically to her mother that it might be best for her to go on her own to get the uniform she was to wear for the rest of the year. Ever since she was a child, Hermione and her mother never quite saw fashion in the same light. Her mother cared about how she dressed, Hermione didn't.
With a sense of apprehensive excitement, Hermione entered the shop, her eyes keen as they studied everything around her. The shop wasn't as small as the entrance would have had people believe. Inside, there was room to spare. She watched as those roughly her age were eyeing robes, which Hermione still thought of as a rather odd piece of clothing. Coming from a Muggle background where pants and skirts were a norm, Hermione couldn't help but think that the robes were somewhat unnecessary.
"See anything you like?"
Hermione whirled around, the voice taking her by surprise. "I'm not sure."
The boy, roughly her age, eyed her warily. He had pale blond hair and the most clear grey eyes. Yet, there was a sense of coldness that she could feel radiating off of him. "You starting Hogwarts?"
Hermione nodded, unsure of how to speak to this boy who had randomly come up to her and started talking. Normally, she would have asked a million questions regarding Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, but with his demeanour, she thought he might not appreciate it. If anything, he seemed like he might get annoyed.
He walked past her to the robes she was looking at, roughly pulling them apart so he could look at them. "These won't do. This rack is for those who can't afford the best." He shoved the last robe aside, not caring that it fell off the hanger and onto the floor. "If you want the good robes, best get it from Madam Malkin herself."
Hermione simply stared at this arrogant boy before she forced a fake smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
But the boy didn't seem to want to let her leave. "Do you not like Madam Malkin's robes? They're the best, you know. Everyone in Britain comes to Diagon Alley just to get her to make them their robes."
"That's impressive," Hermione mumbled distractedly. She kept moving, eyeing the robes that hung from every inch of the shop while the boy fell into a step beside her.
"But-?" He prompted, as he watched her pull the hanger of one robe, then another.
Hermione said the first thing that popped into her head. "It reminds me of Halloween."
The boy stopped, his face a mask of confusion. "Halloween?"
"Yes, Halloween. You know, candy, costumes, trick-o-treating..."
He blinked at her. "Trick o' what?"
"You know, trick-o-treat. When children go to houses and demand adults to provide candy or to be tricked."
The boy frowned. "That seems like a very weird practice."
At that, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "It really isn't."
The boy smiled, somewhat arrogantly but in a friendly way all the same. "Is this the first time you'll be going to Hogwarts?"
Hermione felt a soft blush creep up her cheeks. She had wanted to give the air that she knew everything, so it unnerved her that this stranger could probably sense how anxious she was. "How did you guess?"
"I'll be starting Hogwarts with everyone, although it won't be the first time I've been there." The boy smirked, his chest puffing out from pride when he realised that he had impressed her. "My father is a member of the Board of Governors. Ever since I was old enough to walk he used to take me to visit with the Headmaster. The castle seems impressive enough, although I think they could have made it a bit bigger."
Hermione's eyes widened. "It's not big enough?"
"Of course it's big enough. It's just not as big as it could be." The boy eyed her curiously. "You don't seem to know that much about Hogwarts."
She blushed, finding the fact that even this boy knew that she was a stranger, embarrassing. "I never expected to get the letter. I think my parents would have gladly believed in fairies rather than me getting a letter from a wizarding school."
The boy's look of curiosity turned into one of brief suspicion. "You're one of that sort, are you? As for me, I developed early. I could easily close doors and move things even when I was a baby. What about you?"
What about me? Hermione shook her head. "There were things that happened that I couldn't quite explain, I suppose. Things that I didn't think was possible. The letter explained it all for me."
The boy looked at her in a way that no had ever had before, his expression a mix of disbelief and disgust. "What's your name?"
Unsure of how to react to this sudden shift, she stated plainly, "Hermione Granger. What's yours?"
She didn't know what she had expected, but she knew she didn't expect what he did next. Without another word, the boy turned on his heel and left, leaving Hermione completely startled and alone in the one robe shop found on Diagon Alley.
It was later, when she saw him enter the shop again -this time with a woman who could only be his mother - and smiled at him, but received nothing more than a glare, did she realise that she had offended him in some way. Why or how she offended him she could not say. Hermione watched them as they entered the shop where she had bought her robes from and frowned at the first impression she had cultivated of a typical Hogwarts student. Her father had told her that she needed to make friends. But if all her fellow classmates were going to be as charming, Hermione would rather focus on her studies and nothing else.
Who would want to be friends with wizards when wizards were so...mean?
Author: mihnn
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1200
Notes/Warning: Prompt 2 - Candy / Cauldron / Fairy
Hermione frowned at the shop she was standing in front of before looking down at the parchment in her hand. There it was in bold letters, the name of the shop where she was to get her robes. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, what an odd name. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted her parents as they continued to eye the recent contraptions they had purchased that morning; everything from a brass scale to crystal goblets and even a large cauldron held their interest as they searched for a manual that could explain to them what their only daughter could possibly do with these items. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes with some sort of affection. She loved her parents dearly, but the interest they showed in her new life was getting a bit tiresome. It was because of this reason that she had accepted how hungry her parents were and sat down to lunch with them. But after a few moments, Hermione found herself looking around restlessly, needing nothing more than to finish everything on the shopping list of a first year so she could go home and examine all the items she had purchased. She had gotten everything but school robes, which was why she explained logically to her mother that it might be best for her to go on her own to get the uniform she was to wear for the rest of the year. Ever since she was a child, Hermione and her mother never quite saw fashion in the same light. Her mother cared about how she dressed, Hermione didn't.
With a sense of apprehensive excitement, Hermione entered the shop, her eyes keen as they studied everything around her. The shop wasn't as small as the entrance would have had people believe. Inside, there was room to spare. She watched as those roughly her age were eyeing robes, which Hermione still thought of as a rather odd piece of clothing. Coming from a Muggle background where pants and skirts were a norm, Hermione couldn't help but think that the robes were somewhat unnecessary.
"See anything you like?"
Hermione whirled around, the voice taking her by surprise. "I'm not sure."
The boy, roughly her age, eyed her warily. He had pale blond hair and the most clear grey eyes. Yet, there was a sense of coldness that she could feel radiating off of him. "You starting Hogwarts?"
Hermione nodded, unsure of how to speak to this boy who had randomly come up to her and started talking. Normally, she would have asked a million questions regarding Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, but with his demeanour, she thought he might not appreciate it. If anything, he seemed like he might get annoyed.
He walked past her to the robes she was looking at, roughly pulling them apart so he could look at them. "These won't do. This rack is for those who can't afford the best." He shoved the last robe aside, not caring that it fell off the hanger and onto the floor. "If you want the good robes, best get it from Madam Malkin herself."
Hermione simply stared at this arrogant boy before she forced a fake smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
But the boy didn't seem to want to let her leave. "Do you not like Madam Malkin's robes? They're the best, you know. Everyone in Britain comes to Diagon Alley just to get her to make them their robes."
"That's impressive," Hermione mumbled distractedly. She kept moving, eyeing the robes that hung from every inch of the shop while the boy fell into a step beside her.
"But-?" He prompted, as he watched her pull the hanger of one robe, then another.
Hermione said the first thing that popped into her head. "It reminds me of Halloween."
The boy stopped, his face a mask of confusion. "Halloween?"
"Yes, Halloween. You know, candy, costumes, trick-o-treating..."
He blinked at her. "Trick o' what?"
"You know, trick-o-treat. When children go to houses and demand adults to provide candy or to be tricked."
The boy frowned. "That seems like a very weird practice."
At that, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "It really isn't."
The boy smiled, somewhat arrogantly but in a friendly way all the same. "Is this the first time you'll be going to Hogwarts?"
Hermione felt a soft blush creep up her cheeks. She had wanted to give the air that she knew everything, so it unnerved her that this stranger could probably sense how anxious she was. "How did you guess?"
"I'll be starting Hogwarts with everyone, although it won't be the first time I've been there." The boy smirked, his chest puffing out from pride when he realised that he had impressed her. "My father is a member of the Board of Governors. Ever since I was old enough to walk he used to take me to visit with the Headmaster. The castle seems impressive enough, although I think they could have made it a bit bigger."
Hermione's eyes widened. "It's not big enough?"
"Of course it's big enough. It's just not as big as it could be." The boy eyed her curiously. "You don't seem to know that much about Hogwarts."
She blushed, finding the fact that even this boy knew that she was a stranger, embarrassing. "I never expected to get the letter. I think my parents would have gladly believed in fairies rather than me getting a letter from a wizarding school."
The boy's look of curiosity turned into one of brief suspicion. "You're one of that sort, are you? As for me, I developed early. I could easily close doors and move things even when I was a baby. What about you?"
What about me? Hermione shook her head. "There were things that happened that I couldn't quite explain, I suppose. Things that I didn't think was possible. The letter explained it all for me."
The boy looked at her in a way that no had ever had before, his expression a mix of disbelief and disgust. "What's your name?"
Unsure of how to react to this sudden shift, she stated plainly, "Hermione Granger. What's yours?"
She didn't know what she had expected, but she knew she didn't expect what he did next. Without another word, the boy turned on his heel and left, leaving Hermione completely startled and alone in the one robe shop found on Diagon Alley.
It was later, when she saw him enter the shop again -this time with a woman who could only be his mother - and smiled at him, but received nothing more than a glare, did she realise that she had offended him in some way. Why or how she offended him she could not say. Hermione watched them as they entered the shop where she had bought her robes from and frowned at the first impression she had cultivated of a typical Hogwarts student. Her father had told her that she needed to make friends. But if all her fellow classmates were going to be as charming, Hermione would rather focus on her studies and nothing else.
Who would want to be friends with wizards when wizards were so...mean?