Chapter 1 -Summer

She tossed and turned in her sleep, trying to rid herself of this dream. It was the same one, over and over again, night after night. She saw the snake lunging at her; she heard its demonic hiss and felt Ron pulling her close to him as the beast attacked. It came bounding towards them, fangs unleashed and eyes fixed on its prey…

Then the dream ended, so suddenly that Hermione herself questioned whether she was alive. She sat up in bed, took a quick, cautious look around the room before grabbing her wand and whispering 'Lumos.' Unable to sleep after the nightmare she sat for an hour, reading as expected, until the clock ticked to 5:25. She left 'Hogwarts, A History' and rose from her bed to look at herself in the mirror. She had dark circles under her eyes and frizzy, unkept hair. 'Urgh, I need to sort this mess out' she thought. Heading to the bathroom she once shared with her family, she slipped out of her black lace nightie and hopped in the shower.

The thing is, she thought she would have been happier, what with Voldemort gone, Hogwarts saved, Harry Potter and his companions as wizarding heroes…

But she wasn't, she hated being in her home alone, the place which had filled her with happiness as a child was now, without her parents, an empty shell of what it used to be… Even worse, she hadn't seen her best friend Harry, in a month. Now that he was the head of an auror team tasked with bringing in Death Eaters and collaborators he didn't have any time, not for her at least.

And then there was Ron… That idiot had taken turning 18 very badly in her opinion. He was always out getting drunk with muggles or wizards. He hadn't spoken to her sober in weeks, so she had formally ended it with him. That had hit him very hard and had the opposite effect than she had hoped, with Ron turning to more drink. Despite being offered a job at the ministry by Minister Shacklebolt he was planning to do nothing with his life except stay at home with his over-protective mother. Well, she'd had enough of it; she wasn't going to drag him along with her any longer.

Realising she had been in the shower for a considerable length of time she got out and brushed her teeth. She straightened her hair and opened the wardrobe to find something befitting of an 18 year-old woman. She found a summery dress to suit the sunny day, one that complimented her slender figure and went off to the kitchen. As she put the kettle on, she heard a quiet 'meow' at her kitchen window. She opened her front door and the jet black cat ran in. As Hermione poured the milk into her coffee, the black tabby transfigured into Headmistress McGonagall.

'Miss Granger, it's wonderful to see you again, I trust you've had an enjoyable summer? I'm sure you understand how busy I am so I cannot stay for long.' McGonagall spoke at Hermione rather than too her.

'Good to see you too Profes… sorry, I mean, Headmistress,' Hermione still had a hard time picturing McGonagall as head of Hogwarts, 'it has been interesting, how are you?'

'Good, Good,' Hermione gestured for the headmistress to sit down and joined her 'Now then. You're wondering why I am here,'

'Well actually professor I wa…'

'Hermione Jean Granger,' McGonagall began reading from a letter 'you are hereby accepted back into Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, On the condition that you will return as head girl of our school and with the assistance of the new head boy, aid the professors in any way to bring Hogwarts back to its former glory and aid the students in any way you can.'

'Wow professor… you really want me back…?'

'Of course dear, why wouldn't we?'

'Oh thank god for that, I didn't know what to do with myself,' Hermione cried, on the verge of tears, 'And as head Girl?'

'Hermione, you are the most gifted witch of your generation, and I will not let you miss out on any opportunity because you did not finish school. Now, clean yourself up and get to Diagon Alley before all of your books are sold out, and I'll see you on the first day of Hogwarts.' And with that, McGonagall opened the window and jumped clean out of it, morphing herself back into her cat-form in mid-air.

'See you Professor,' Hermione shouted after her, beaming… Suddenly she felt as if she could rule the world. She was going to be Head Girl, her lifelong ambition come true. 'See, who needs that fool Ronald anyway…'