So, I know what you're gonna say... "Why hasn't this chick finished her last story which hasn't been updated in FOREVER!" The answer is the same as always. School, College, Determining what the hell I'm going to do with the rest of my life... Yeah, most of all- I reread through the last chapter of the story, and it's crap. So is the sequel. I took it back to the drawing board, but I don't have any inspiration for it. I got really distracted and came up with this story. This is the story that I've always wanted to write when I first got into HPFF. I really hope you like this story, because I breezed through it. Literally, I wrote half the story in a day.

I'll upload for every 250 reads or 15 reviews that I get. Other then that, I'll upload every two weeks. That's it. Hope you like it. R&R people. Much love

x

OCgirl

Chapter 1-Summer Night

The summer heat was getting to the poor people of London. The little town seemed to drag along day by day in a simmering haze of girls running errands for their mothers and boys lounging around to observe what those girls were wearing. Most of the streets held elderly couples pasted to their porch chairs bickering about one thing or the other. It was relatively quiet, that is, except for one little small section of London.

The market place was bustling with noise in its beautiful stone streets. The old stone walkways led to several stores about twenty feet around. Teenagers danced around a tall, stony celestial fountain. The water ran down the sides in wild waterfalls. A gentle mist floated up and cooled the kids, leaving them even more excitable.

Among them was a laughing Hermione Granger. Her hair fell in long, soft curls. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat, but she didn't seem to mind. Skin glowing from the perspiring heat, she sat in a low wooden seat a ways away from the crowd. Her brown eyes shone with amusement as her friend pulled her into the crowd of people. She shook her head and wiped her damp hands on her low-cut denim jeans and pink tank top.

"Megan, for the hundredth time, I am not going out there and making a fool out of myself." Hermione sighed pleasantly. She tried to hold on to her serious tone, but her grin slipped onto her peach colored lips instead.

Megan was tall and thin. Her skin was the color of coffee with an extra dose of milk. It was tinted red and glowed in the light. Her hair was up in a single ponytail, but fell down in pretty curls all the way down her back. She had dark, charcoal eyes that always seemed happy and a smile that knocked everyone off their feet. Hermione thought that she was one of the most beautiful people that she knew, but Megan was always modest.

Megan towed her friend with her elegant fingers away from the table toward the crowd. "Just dance with me. You'll be no worse than Calvin." She sighed dramatically. She then pulled on a smirk and twisted her friend to the music. Megan's playful eyes winked at her friend, and it sent Hermione into a fit of giggles.

"Meg." The girl said through her laughs. She looked down but let her friend move her to the boisterous muggle music.

Hermione was surrounded by her friends, muggles. They had no idea of anything that Hermione was involved in. Granted, many of them used to think that she was just a stuck up know-it-all with big teeth, but her close friends grew to love her just the way she was. Her summers were filled with memories of them, and when she most missed Harry and Ron, Megan and her friends were there. So, the music played on. The hot sun beat down on the company with gentle mists of fountain water cooling them.

It was a joyous time. No one would have noticed the single figure standing away from the crowd. The person stood and watched girls dance around happily. Exuberant laughter overthrew his solemn disposition. The person was tall. Even though he looked like he belonged with his khakis and white button up, his hat hid most of his face. He had caught sight of the two of them hours before. It seemed as though he'd finally found what he'd been looking for.

Suddenly, he whipped around a corner into a shop and removed his hat to reveal shock a blond hair. His wild, familiar smirk slipped onto his lips. He had found what he had come for.

The sun dropped below the horizon leaving Hermione and Megan with their damp clothes, their quiet laughs, and the countless stars above their heads. It was far too late, and the girls were trying to make their way up to Hermione's house without the nosy neighbors noticing that Hermione had come home past her curfew.

Hermione's parents had gone away to a dentist convention. With all the new technology, they thought it would be best to get with the times. Hermione thought it would be best to stay home and keep up with her studies. So she was alone for the week under the watchful eyes of the meddlesome and ancient McLean's. Robert McLean was a rude man who thought that it was still 1940, and Leanne McLean thought that all children were the devil. That included Hermione Granger. Every morning, the old woman would go up to the house and make sure that Hermione was alone. She had a full investigation of the house, even the kitchen cabinets, to be sure that Hermione hadn't snuck a boy into the house and "soiled the name of Granger." She'd look out her window every night to check what hour the girl got home. It was downright insane.

Even tonight, Hermione caught sight of Mrs. McLean from the corner of her eye. The old hag was peeking through her shades with narrowed eyes. Hermione clamped her mouth into a brimming smile and waved at the woman. Mrs. McLean scowled and walked away from the window that was her living room. The girls continued to walk on, but Hermione noticed that the woman had abandoned the living room only to take a seat in her upstairs bedroom to glare at them through the dusty shutters.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Megan droned sleepily. She had her arm entwined with Hermione. She patted it softly and drew away.

"You mean 'goodnight'." Hermione stated with a small smile. She noticed that Megan did this too much. The girl would spend the whole day finding every possible thing to do with Hermione. Then when the day came to an end, she'd become sad. It was the result of counting down the days it would be until Hermione had to go back to her boarding school, in other words Hogwarts.

"Yeah, same thing. You're such a stickler for details." The girl rolled her charcoal eyes, but beamed at her friend.

"My parents will be home in a few days. You'll be able to come over then. With Mrs. Inquisitive and Mr. Mean across the way, there's no telling what they might tell my parents."

"I know, I know. It's just…it's so hard to have a best friend who I only see during the summertime."

Hermione shook her head and smiled. "You'd get sick of me. Trust me on that one."

Megan laughed and hugged her friend. "The summer's nearly over. We've only got a month and a half before school begins again. Then, you'll be living it up with your new best friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley."

The way Megan said Harry and Ron's name made Hermione sigh deeply. "People are allowed to have more than one best friend, you know."

"Yeah right. You're my only best friend Hermione. Everyone else around here in is a bloody mad hatter." Megan shook her head and shrugged. "If they're hot, I'm okay with it."

"Megan Louise Precilion!"

"What? You used to go on about how you used to like Ronald Weasley until you realized what a jerk he was."

"That was a year ago. We're just friends now."

"Okay, then you wouldn't mind introducing us one day. I wouldn't mind getting on a first name basis if you know what I mean."

"Goodnight Megan."

Megan laughed and kissed Hermione's blushing cheeks. "Goodnight Hermione Granger, my best friend whom I would do anything for. Goodnight, goodnight…." The girl strolled down the street shouting goodnight.

Hermione giggled shaking her head disapprovingly and went into her house. It was dark inside, but the sixteen year old girl didn't care to turn on the lights. She yawned and made her way up to her bedroom. Far too exhausted to take a shower, the girl stood in front of her mirror and observed herself. Her hair was damp and messy is the way the bushy stuff always was when she didn't tend to it. She pulled her wand out of her back pocket and made a movement to dry her hair when she heard the floor creak. It wasn't her who made the sound. She flinched slightly as a dark shadow lurked behind her. She murmured something and turned around. "Lumos."

A smirking Draco Malfoy stood behind her, wand pointed straight at Hermione. He looked at her triumphantly. She gasped and backed away, which only made his grin get wider. "You're not going to stop me?"

Hermione shivered from the cold words, but found her voice. She stuttered out, "…I have…I already h-have."

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the mirror in realization. "The Sustantive Charm. You're smarter than I give you credit for."

"I'm not called the brightest witch of the age for nothing." Hermione hissed as she snatched away Draco's wand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to get a good look at you." Draco told her sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Funny." Hermione murmured as she pulled out a roll of parchment. She began to write furiously against her white wood desk.

DEAR KINGsLEY,

I HAVEN'T HEARD FRoM YOU IN A WHILE. YOU SHOULD COME VISIT ME. I'M HAVING TROUBLE EXPLAINING AN AUROR TO MY FATHER. COME BY FOR AN HOUR sO WE CAN HAVE LUNCH.

Hermione Granger

Draco sighed. "It won't get to them, the Weasley's. You see, I've told my owl to intercept any letters that fly in or out of this house. So, I guess it's just you and me."

Hermione sat for a while and glared at the boy. "We'll see." She finished writing the letters and put it back in her drawer making a mental note to send it through the muggle post tomorrow morning. "This, however," Hermione said flashing Draco's wand, "is mine now." The girl threw it into another draw and put several charms on it, ones that couldn't be opened with Alohamora. "Now," Hermione began, "why are you here Malfoy?" Even with Hermione's calm disposition, she was quivering inside. She couldn't keep her eyes from wandering down towards Draco's arm. Was he a death eater now? Was his first mission to kill her? She bit her lip and attempted to keep her breaths even.

"Why do you think I'm here Mudblood?" He drawled. He wasn't too worried. Hermione didn't have it in her to hurt him, or anyone for that matter. He's been successful the entire summer in his endeavors. Hermione didn't answer. The girl didn't know what she was going to do with him. She didn't want to risk taking him through the floo network and him escaping. It would have to wait until tomorrow though. She was exhausted and didn't want to go a night without rest. She simply walked out of the room and laid down in her parents bed. She had to sleep, but she refused to when Draco Malfoy was standing over her. Tossing and turning, Hermione managed to drift off to a restless sleep.