It was a large and impressive muggle kitchen; black granite graced the counters and the appliances were the stainless steel variety. In the Altar to Morning, the center counter, a pot of coffee barely finished filling when Emma Granger reached for the nectar. Early mornings did not really agree with her; as a matter of fact, Emma had a history of arguing with them, arguments she was prone to lose.
Just as she was pouring herself a ration of liquid wakefulness, there came the sound of clicking on the kitchen window, as if someone were tapping on it with their fingernails. Pulling herself away from coffee, Emma glanced at the window and saw a snowy white owl pecking lightly at the pane. When the bird saw that it had her attention, it gave three more quick raps on the glass.
Emma smiled to herself; she had been informed about the tendency to use owls as message bearers. It was a strange and impractical-seeming practice, but if this was how she was to stay in contact with her daughter, she’d get used to it. Crossing the length of the kitchen, she opened the window and let her morning visitor in.
“Aren’t you just a beautiful thing?” she cooed as the owl took roost on the kitchen island. “I was told that having owl treats on hand would be a good idea, but I must admit I forgot to purchase them. I was about to make breakfast, though, and there will be some sausage, if you’d like.
Emma was just talking to talk; she wasn’t awaiting an answer, but the bird bobbed its head and barked at her. There were no words, but Emma got the distinct impression that even though they weren’t bacon, sausages would be fine. After blinking at the bird owlishly for a few seconds, she went to the stove and started a fry-up. Only then did she approach the owl and remove the letter it bore.
Emma had been very wary of the idea of sending her daughter away for schooling. The thought that she wouldn’t be seeing her offspring for months on end was very disturbing, yet it was offset by the knowledge that she could not help Hermione learn magic. She and her husband had been aware of that shortcoming for a period well prior to her daughter receiving that letter from the school. Flying stuffed teddies were rather hard to miss, after all.
It had come as no small relief that there was a community of magic users, albeit a hidden one. Her daughter would be taught how to use her gifts and not be a danger to herself or others. Reading through the books her daughter had bought at the magic book store brought some understanding of their ways. Even though Emma had been forced to wait for her daughter to fall asleep before she could get her hands on “Hogwarts: A History”, the book had given a decent, if not obviously abridged, summary of what life would be like at the school.
Predictably, once she had been made aware of the school’s existence, Emma had dialed up the internet to see what information could be obtained. What she found there was more than a little disturbing. A little research showed that the magic community was evidently obsessed with keeping itself secret and, as a result, segregated from non-magical communities. To maintain that secrecy, they would employ a spell to remove people’s memories, and they would systematically destroy or alter documents pertaining to their existence.
Unfortunately for them, they had yet to comprehend the importance of video cameras, computers, and the internet. Admittedly, the people writing the newsgroup threads didn’t have all the answers, but they knew where The Leaky Cauldron was, they knew where platform 9 ¾ was, and they knew what the mages who took away memories looked like. Their veil of secrecy was well and truly ripped away, and the wizards and witches weren’t even aware of that fact yet. Her daughter would be feeling the effects of that within her lifetime, especially if technology continued to advance as fast as it had been.
Trying not to imagine the worst-case scenarios of what was to come, Emma started to read the letter. It was exactly as Emma had hoped; the missive was from her daughter, detailing her first day of school.
<->
She arrived early, earlier even than the building was officially open for visitors. So, she sat by the door with her tail wrapped around her legs and waited. There had been no more sleep last night; instead, she had been alone with her thoughts. The result had been the injection of determination to her conviction, and she had concluded she would put this off no longer.
She had scarcely sat before the door was thrown open by a light tan mare with a foal’s bottle and rattle for a cutie mark. “You’ve come,” the tan mare beamed. “Come in! Come in! We’ve been expecting you!”
Speechless at the unforeseen greeting, she entered and basked in the feeling of home that radiated from within the building. She would not have thought such a thing possible from such a place.
Silently, and a little nervously, she followed the tan mare who was chattering along, “We knew it was just a matter of time before you came calling. I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful it is that you finally had your epiphany. We like to think it was self-evident for everypony to see, but sometimes it takes a little push.”
The visitor let her ears fall, and she barely got the whisper out. “I thought I’d lost her.” Then after a deep breath, she said aloud, “I thought I’d never see her again.”
The tan mare nodded, her ears also drooping as she stopped in front of the office door. “I know; we were all so worried here. It wasn’t a good week. The other children were all distraught; a few even refused to eat.”
The visitor continued as if not hearing the words of the tan mare. “No, that’s wrong. I didn’t think I had lost her . . . I knew I had lost her. I kept wishing there was something I could do, something I could have done. I wished I could have told her just how much she means to me.” She lifted her head and let her pleading gaze fall fully on the tan mare. “I wished I had known just how much she meant to me.”
The tan mare perceived that the one before her had gone through a drastic change. The visitor’s ego had clashed with the understanding of things too important to even be given a proper name, and her ego had lost; overmatched, her ego had been ruthlessly crushed. Despite this, she had emerged more mature, and, evidently, more willing to undertake responsibility.
The tan mare opened the door to her office and gestured for her guest to follow. “Unfortunately, I’ve been down that road myself. This time, we were lucky; there are second chances available.”
Her guest smiled weakly and said, “That’s right. I get a second chance. I won’t let it slip through my hooves.”
The tan mare reached into a drawer and pulled out a packet of papers. They had been prepared months ago with this individual in mind. They were just sitting and waiting for this day. “Sometimes, all it takes for us to commit is the realization that the heart knows what is right even though the head refuses to believe.”
The guest nodded her head as the papers were placed in front of her. “It’s time to do what I should have done before.” She started signing the papers that formally began the adoption process.
<->
Vernon Dursley populated his bed as he had a bit of a lie in. His loving wife had already gotten up to start breakfast a while ago. She was now forced to do the activity herself, since the boy was no longer present to mess up the meal on a regular basis.
Vernon grinned to himself as he reflected how life had taken a turn for the better. True, the boy was off with his unnatural freak friends, learning unnatural freak things, but he wasn’t Vernon’s problem right now. He wouldn’t be his problem for most of the year. He could relax and be normal for once, without the worry that the boy would do something freakish. He’d still have to contend with the hassle during the summer months, but, for now, he was free.
Today he planned to waste the day away watching sports on the telly, a well-earned reward for a hard week put in on the job.
<->
Molly Weasley cooked, what seemed to her, a small breakfast. It was just for her husband and her; as such it didn’t need to be very much.
As the bacon fried, she could feel that the house was empty, the unnatural quietness grating at her very nerves. She was unprepared for the silence. She had planned on at least one more year, with one more child to keep her company. Instead, the absence of all of her offspring was a psychological blow, a bittersweet reminder that they had a tendency to grow up, to grow apart and not need their mother anymore. They had a tendency to live their own lives.
She was so proud of each and every one of them. Arthur and her may not have been able to give them everything they deserved, but they all had made do with what they had received. All of them had risen above the norm and were making marks for themselves. Her oldest had been head boy, and now her youngest was starting school a year early.
Yes, she had been blessed by an assortment of exceptional children . . . if only it didn’t hurt so much letting them grow up.
<->
Applejack paused to survey the hogs as she hauled the slop wagon toward the pigpen. Many of the chores had been neglected over the course of the week, but the hogs had been fed, if not otherwise cared for. Today, she’d catch up with the work that had been disregarded. Nurse Redheart had told her to take the day off, but Applejack knew that hard work was what she needed instead. It would help her get her mind off just how angry she was. Never before in her entire life had she been so angry. Never before in her entire life had she been so relieved. If Apple Bloom were to show up that very moment, Applejack wasn’t sure if she would tan her little hide or hug her and never let her go. It was a close call.
Just knowing she was alright was uplifting in a way that only a parent could adequately explain. Truly, unless you were a parent yourself, you couldn’t actually understand what they were trying to convey to you with that explanation. Having somepony tell you that they would rather die than have harm come to their children sounds so cliché that it might be easily overlooked as uninspired, or even hollow. The fact of the matter is that the phrase falls short of conveying the truth behind its meaning. Many think it is an exaggeration, yet any parent will tell you that it is the unadulterated, plain and simple truth. Applejack now had a new and profound understanding of that phrase.
Whistling for the pigs’ attention, Applejack began transferring the slop from the cart to the feeding trough using a bucket and her hooves. This was not a chore you’d want to use your mouth to accomplish. The hogs, whose only concern was stuffing as much food as possible as fast as possible into their stomachs, came charging at the announcement of a meal. Grimly, Applejack mechanically went through the motions of the task at hoof while her mind wandered back to the last couple days. Relief and anger warred with one another. Halfway to completion, she realized two things. The first was that she was weary, bone-tired. The second was that it was no contest at all, she would hug Apple Bloom for all she was worth if she were here right now. In the end, anger could not compete with love.
<->
Rarity stared at the breakfast she had prepared for herself. She was both starving and without appetite. The humor and paradox of the situation did not escape her attention.
A letter had been sent, but there was no guarantee when or if it would reach the fillies, and no pony knew when they would send another owl. They may even think that the first owl never arrived since it had failed to return with a reply.
Forcing herself to eat, Rarity still had worries, worries that were easy to deal with compared to what she had experienced over the last several days. She would recover.
There would be no work done today. Rarity knew that she didn’t currently have the drive, and she ached in ways she would not have thought possible, both physically and mentally. No, today was a day to recover. She would go find Fluttershy, and together they would drag the rest of their friends to the spa for a much-needed relaxation period, even if she had to drag Applejack the entire way in her telekinesis.
<->
Laughter giggled.
Magic hummed.
Kindness loved.
Loyalty planned.
Honesty accepted.
And Generosity healed.
It wasn’t a perfect day, but it was a better day than they had dreamed possible.
Hmm, is that Rainbow Dash adopting Scootaloo? Just a theory.
I'm surprised the Grangers are already used to Hermoine attending Hogwarts. But she's right. While there are memory-erasing spells, there are cameras and the Internet to counter that.
8195669 a game theory.
This is nice. It's fun knowing what's going on outside of hogwarts. No crazy potions or kitchen catastrophes, just the regular lives of the people and ponies. Can't wait for the next chapter and when they get to herbology and flying , that's going to be some good stuff there
8195763 looks like thaumaturgy will evolve to adapt to the internet
scoots is gona flip
A brilliant idea, sending the CMC to Hogwarts. Wish I had thought of it. Looking forward to reading the next chapter.
P.S. Have you plotted out the rest of the story, or are you just going chapter-by-chapter? And, regarding posting, I much prefer quality over speed, so take your time.
Great story!
Just one quibble, though - I'm afraid that canonically, Harry's first year at Hogwarts is in 1991. The Internet would be in its infancy; there would be no blogs and only the most primitive search engines. Still, I could see the Grangers having an internet connection (for their daughter's sake, if nothing else), and perhaps the BBS's and primitive websites could serve to start chronicling Hogwarts?
8359060 Not to mention, the departments of the Ministry may not have understood the workings of technology, but they knew it's implications and how to adapt to keep up with technology. Otherwise, the mere emergence of the film and camera age would have already revealed them.
Instead, we might see the emergence of a new class of wizardry: the technomages.
Well now. I usually dont like stories that play the orphan Scootaloo ploy but it fit here likly as it was more a char development for Dash over Scootaloo.
8359060 Perhaps this takes place in a slightly shifted timeline? With the whole Voldemort thing being given up for this 'Alice' (if anyone knows who that is, or if she's an oc, let me know.), I wouldn't be surprised if this was set in the 21st century.
8531029
Harry Potter is already in a timeline where information technology advanced more rapidly than it did in real life. At the beginning of Goblet of Fire (specifically, page 25), Harry writes a letter to Sirius where he mentions Dudley getting mad about his diet.
Rather than just any console, Rowling specifically mentions Dudley owning a PlayStation. The PlayStation was released on September 29, 1995 in Europe. The beginning of Goblet of Fire, however, takes place in August 1994, over a year earlier. Even if the Dursleys imported it from a foreign country where it released earlier, the earliest possible date was December 3, 1994, when it released in Japan. This means that at least that console was developed significantly faster in the Harry Potter universe than in real life, so it's not unreasonable to think that other computer technology might have also developed faster, to the point where blogs could exist and be accessible to the average person in September 1991.
This story is addictive, I just read chapter after chapter.
8195866
Memetic hazards will now be applied to all images found to be captured of Hogwarts.
This chapter was great! They've said it before and I'll say it again, you do such a great job of characterisation and development! I love this story.
This is one of the most powerful lines I've ever read
I'm enjoying this very much. I'd love it if Philomena showed up at Hogwarts with a letter for the girls.
It continues to amaze me how you can write entire scenes in which it is entirely clear whom you are talking abut without ever naming one of them ...
missing word: as such it didn't need
wrong form: Arthur and her
wrong words: alright
So wait, is Applejack Applebloom's mom?
9388795
Probably as good as. It's implied that Bright Mac and Pear Butter probably died very soon after Bloom was born, so AJ would have been her biggest mother figure besides Granny Smith.
Um. Harry Potter took place in the 1990s. Wat?
9435618
Yeah. BBSes and University-accessible USENET, I can see... but the first build of Berners-Lee's original WorldWideWeb browser/editor for NeXT didn't come around until Christmas Day, 1990. Blogs were a long way away. The Internet didn't really burst onto the public scene until 1995.
You know I really like this part, but at the same time I have a hard time believing that foster parents would be in short supply in Equestria, and even less so in Ponyville.
9435618
Those things were around then. Not as much as they were a mere five years later, let alone now, but still enough.
So we have a Dash adopts Scootaloo story. I can definitely see that.
I broke down crying reading this part. Whenever we lose someone close, often we regret not doing what we could have done. It teaches us to value the time we have, and spend it with those we love.
9486166
See the point that Scootaloo is most probably considered undesirable due to her being unable to fly.
9486166
10249917
Also, INFANTS are in high demand. Older children are harder to place.
9465285
I was just about to post about this myself. The canon story starts in 1990, about 5 years before public internet access.
I doubt that removing the bit there about the internet would negatively impact the story.
Here's some reference material:
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/936687/unofficial-hazy-days-and-magical-ways-character-listing-interlude-1
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/936688/unofficial-hazy-days-and-magical-ways-thread-tracker-interlude-1
10590794
Only have my phone or I'd post a link. Watch Internet Killed The Video Star (Regurge version) + Internet Killed My Favorite Store.
Yes, Once Upon A Time, you used Snail Mail to access the internet
IRL, I moved to Phoenix Az in 1988. (At that time, 6th largest city in the USA.) The library was just hooking into the internet
is this going to be a long-standing theme?
while it may be a bit gratintg, at times; but I guess it could be enjoyable, if done just right ..
8203139
Hey, it's the genesis of the other half-million word story in which the CMCs go to Hogwarts.
Speaking of which, any idea on when we can expect If Wishes were Ponies, Book III to come out?
It can't rain every day, sometimes a little sunshine that is all that makes the difference
True, love can move mountains 👍
10160816
We appreciate often others when it is to late...
As we often do with things like:
No pain in the back or knee why lifting things etc...
8195669
Sounds about right, who else we know is a Orphan and would be interesting enough to make us care?
8195763
Who don't keep up with modern technology is lost ne day...
8203139
Either way would be very entertaining
8735899
The only healthy addiction i know. Exception might be physical training addiction
9150554
Better yet: Philomina x Dumbledore Phoenix = Chick's ♡
9435618
AU or Authors creative time frame bending 👍
8195669
a FIM Theory
We often cherish only what is lost, because previously we take it for granted.
A lesson learned only the hard way...
11533037
Great reference also the only one coming to mind in mlp canon, unless unrelated.