Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada.

A/N: My first fanfic. Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave a review.

Almost There

Hermione Jane Granger woke to the ringing of her alarm and quickly turned on her side to hit the snooze button. She had been up all night before trying to get everything in order for her final year at Hogwarts. To say she was excited would be an understatement! She was looking forward to this year more than she had any other year. This would be the year that the real Hermione would shine through.

After snoozing for another 15 minutes, Hermione finally decided it was about time to get up. Pushing aside her bright yellow comforter she threw her legs over the side of the bed and proceeded to push herself up. As she walked to her bathroom she couldn't help but glance at the fully loaded trunk in the middle of her room.

This was it! She was about to leave for Hogwarts for the last time. Sure it was sad to think that she only had a year left, but those thoughts were pushed aside as she thought of all the adventures she was sure to have with Harry and Ron.

After showering quickly and towel drying herself off, she walked back into her room to get ready. Deciding to go with an outfit that would let people know what she was made of, she threw on some tight, low-rise jeans that seemed to hug her in all the right places and a cute, tight Bob Marley T-shirt. She thought it said a lot about her, and besides, she looked cute in it.

Once she was dressed, she grabbed her wand off of her night stand and preformed a quick drying spell to her hair. It left her hair cascading down her back in soft, silky ringlets. As she studied her reflection in the mirror she couldn't help but notice how long her hair had gotten (about half way down her back) and the beautiful dark brown it had settled into. She also silently complimented herself on having the few streaks of dark purple put in. It really helped set off her look.

Next she looked to her vanity where all the makeup her mother had bought her sat unused. Her mother had been very supportive of Mione's change of style, yet she seemed to have gone a bit overboard with the helping. Hermione didn't think that makeup was necessary. 'Might as well let my cheeks go bare while they still look young and unblemished. I can use makeup later when I actually need to hide something,' thought Hermione.

Her gaze shifted to her eyes now. Many before had considered her eyes to be a murky brown color. Thos close to Hermione knew better though. They might describe her eyes as brown orbs with flecks of sunlight. Now as she looked at her reflection she seemed to notice more gold flecks and a dark green ring surrounding the brown. She liked her eyes. Always had. She thought that eyes held all the knowledge that one person had and therefore felt her eyes said something about her.

Finally coming out of her daze, Hermione heard her father's voice call up the stairs. "Mione, dear, we should be leaving soon if you don't want to be late for the train, and your mother has made us some breakfast."

"Sorry dad, I'll be right down!" And with that Hermione straitened out her clothes and hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Harry! Ron! Breakfast is ready dears!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs.

Ron groaned and put his pillow back over his head in attempt to shut out his mother's voice. "She's horrible mate. Seriously, I can never sleep around here!" he mumbled from under his pillow.

Harry laughed at this. He imagined that the real reason that Ron never slept well in the burrow was because the twins were constantly leaving their test tricks in and around Ron's bed. "Come on Ron. She's not that bad. Besides, we need to get up and go. We promised Mione we'd meet her at the station a few minutes before the train leaves, and at the rate your moving, we'll need to use the flying car again!"

Harry walked to Ron's bed and not-so-gently pushed Ron onto the floor. Ron landed with a thump and cursed at the surprise of it.

"Fine. Fine. But I'm only doing this cause I know you have a thing for Hermione and I think you guys might actually work out. Better than she and I did anyway." Ron reasoned.

"Hush mate. I don't need the whole world knowing!" Harry whispered harshly.

"Alright, alright. I'm up. Let's go and eat now cause I'm starving. Then we can get to the station in time for you to drool over Hermione some before we board." He made sure to stage whisper the last bit so as to not tic Harry off any more this morning.

"Goodbye dear! We love you! Make sure you write home often. And do say hello to Harry and Ron for me." Hermione was pulling away from a tight embrace with her mother.

"Of course I will write and say hello to the boys for you. I'll miss you too and I love you both so much!" Hermione said now addressing both of her parents.

"Good luck this year honey. Have fun and I love you!" called her dad as she began to walk toward the barrier. She waved back and then quickly ran at the post between platforms 9 and 10. Once inside she began her search for Ron and Harry.

It didn't take her long at all. All of a sudden she was being lifted up from behind and strong arms were encircling her waist. Once she was firmly placed back on the ground, she turned around and threw her arms around Harry. His eyes widened in surprise and he broke into a rather large grin.

"Oh Harry, it's great to see you!" As she loosened her hold on him she caught him blushing a bit. Not knowing what to make of it she stored the thought away for a later time.

"It's great to see you too Mione! You look fantastic. How was your summer?" Harry stuttered out, trying to cover for the blush that she had clearly noticed. You couldn't get anything past the smartest witch of her age.

"Thanks Harry. It was really great!" responded Hermione while pulling away from Harry. She then quickly turned her attention to Ron. Jumping into his arms she greeted him. "Ron! Oh, I've missed you guys. It's good to see you."

Ron pulled back and smiled at her. "Glad you finally noticed me."

Looking confused, Hermione replied "What do you mean?"

Ron just shook his head and started leading them onto the train. "Nevermind. I'm great though. Had a good summer and I'm glad to see you again."

They continued on to the train and searched for a compartment whilst making small talk about their summers and the upcoming school year. Every so often Hermione's and Harry's hands would graze against he other's and they would both feel their faces heat up. Neither took notice of how the other reacted and just proceeded to follow Ron through the train.

Once they reached an empty compartment they all filed in and began their journey to Hogwarts for the last time. They all knew it was going to be a hard, but fun year. However, none of them knew exactly how fantastic it was going to be.