9A/N: I've seen things like this before, but I thought that it would be fun to put my own spin on it - and so this was born. Just to note- this is not a crossover, and the first chapter is what I consider to be the intro. Reviews would be nice...
The chill of late October, 1998 swept through the dimly lit street, through the thin fabric of Harry Potter's sweater, and surely had bitten right through to the core of his bones. Shivering, the black-haired nineteen year old fumbled back through the open Muggle door.
A girl not much younger than himself was hurrying about with a broom. She had extremely bushy brown hair, which was tucked away in a messy ponytail, and she was hacking away at the corners in a frilly polka-dot apron that covered her jeans and t-shirt. This girl was named Hermione Granger.
Hermione's parents were moving, which of course had meant that their daughter thought it necessary to help unpack, dragging along her steady love interest and boyfriend, Ronald Weasley. Ron, though he liked Hermione's parents well enough, had a natural disdain for cleaning. In turn, he had made it his sole interest to take both his sister and best friend down with him to engage in the tedious tasks.
The conclusion was met before Harry's eyes. Glancing at his watch, he deduced that the six of them had been working at setting up the place for at least nine hours already, not including lunch. Unfortunately, they had been doing everything the (as Ron and Ginny called it) "Muggle way."
Indeed, Harry had scrubbed the dishes with a sponge and soap water, opposed to simply flicking his wrist with a piece of wood. It was entirely true that Hermione had been sweeping at the floor for two hours when there already existed a two-second charm to eliminate flecks of dirt and dust. And yes, Ron had been breaking his back by moving large boxes to and fro, when the same might have been achieved by levitating them about without any complaint.
Alas, nothing could change the fact that Hermione's parents were Muggle dentists, and refused to be dissuaded in their insistence on magic-free solutions to unpacking. Now Harry felt rather exhausted, and was content to plop temporarily onto the sofa in the living room
". . . that's right, just up here, and over there. Careful, now Ron," spoke Mrs. Granger.
Not long after, Harry heard a bang, and then Ron swearing loudly just before he caught himself.
"Ron!" chastised Hermione and Ginny in unison from downstairs.
It sounded as if Ron had hit his head somewhere on the door again. The Weasley boy was taller and ganglier than ever, able to tower over even his best friend with ease. Poor Ron kept finding himself colliding with door frames as a consequence.
"Stupid door," he muttered. Another cardboard box was in his arms, looking heavy and stuffed to the brim.
Ron unceremoniously tossed the cardboard container onto the coffee table in front of the sofa and dropped into the vacant spot to Harry's left. Peering into the box, he took out a rectangular object, eyeing it strangely.
"What's this?"
Having lived with the Dursleys his entire childhood, Harry recognized it immediately. "It's a video. You put it in a machine and it, um, plays."
"Plays?"
"Like on a screen. It's like a story." That was probably the best he could do at explaining it.
From her corner, Hermione exclaimed, "Ooh, Star Wars! Mum, are these all the videos?"
Mrs. Granger replied slowly from somewhere above, otherwise preoccupied. "I think there's another box. Just, erm. . ."
"What is it?" Ginny came over, her own flaming red hair wrapped in a bandana, and her hands covered with gloves for dusting and scrubbing.
Smiling, the Muggle-born witch took the cassette from Ron's hand and slipped it from the cover. The other three watched as she shoved the black box through the slot in the VCR machine and turned on the television. A brilliant fanfare began to play as the words "STAR WARS" were emblazoned across the screen.
"Uh, 'Mione, what's it about?" He tried to look over her shoulder and back at the cover, which had a strange depiction of several characters on it.
"Shh, you'll see," she answered as the opening crawl scrolled down slowly.
Ron and Ginny read, their mouths slightly open. They had never seen things like this before.
Harry, meanwhile, was also taking his time to read. While the Dursleys had owned several such machines, he had never been allowed the opportunity to watch movies like Star Wars on the television, and Uncle Vernon had highly protested the film anyway because of its "hokeyness." He had always closely related it to magic, which was already enough for it to be banned from his household.
So, interested, the three virgins and one veteran to great science fiction watched the Star Destroyer Devastator in hot pursuit of the Corellian Corvette Tantive IV. It was certainly an intriguing start.
Nonetheless, Ron had to break the awe by talking. "Of course Hermione likes a vitriol that begins with reading. I should've guessed."
"It's video, Ron," Hermione corrected quickly.
"What kind of weird thing is this anyway? I mean, honestly, the 'Galactic Empire?'"
"It's a science fiction film, Ron. Emphasis on the word 'fiction.' Meaning that this is in a different galaxy. You did read, 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away' didn't you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course, but-"
"Quiet, Ron. Something's happening. Wait - what in Merlin is that?" Ginny was pointing to a shining golden figure.
As if in another of their Hogwarts classes, Hermione's answer was fast. "It's a droid. Like a - a robot. Your dad would know. It's a machine, just watch. His name is See-Threepio. The small one there that beeps, his name is Artoo-Detoo."
"I don't care what it's called, it looks like a rubbish bin turned upside down," commented her boyfriend. In retaliation, he was hit swiftly by one of the sofa cushions, and was reprimanded "Shh!" by his companions.
Ron's silence did not last, as anticipated. Even Harry was taken aback by the extremely strange appearance of the menacing black suit of Darth Vader, while Hermione strived to be patient in order to answer all of Ron's baffled questions.
"What the bloody hell was that? Another droid?"
"Darth Vader," Hermione replied in a hushing tone. Rolling his eyes, the redhead turned back to the screen. He was somewhat appalled by Vader's cold, ruthless manner. But Ron could no longer hold in his puzzlement and semi-amusement when Vader angrily dismissed the bun-headed princess.
Laughing just a few moments short of "there's no one to stop us this time," Ron was gasping for air. "What is wrong with that poor woman's hair? And the bloke in the black with the heavy breathing - what in Merlin's drawers is his problem?"
"Shut it, Ron! If you just bloody watch it, you'll know!" His sister grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and hit him in the face with it to show that she meant business.
While Ron spent a couple of moments giving his little sister a death glare, the others turned back their attention to the screen. So far, it was a bit hard to make out exactly where the film was going, but it finally became really intriguing once Obi-Wan Kenobi was introduced. Harry, Ron, and Ginny watched transfixed as Luke Skywalker ignited his father's lightsaber.
"What the bloody-"
"RON!"
"Yes, Little Miss Perfect," Ron muttered under his breath.
No matter how quiet her brother had been though, Ginny was in close enough proximity to his mouth that she could not help but hear.
"What did you just call me?" She asked acidly.
Ron chose to avoid the question as a sudden urge of his bladder overcame him. Obliging, Hermione paused the tape, silently thanking her parents for the fact that she was an only child.