Disclaimer: With the exception of a few OCs, this world belongs to the great Jo Rowling and her affiliates.

Summery: After the fall of Voldemort, Hermione goes back to a rejuvenated Hogwarts to finish her formal education. After a brief and unsuccessful stint with Ron, and hanging out with other boys, she is left to wonder if she will forever be considered as just 'one of the boys'. What can she do to break out of that type cast?

-I was mostly inspired by a slew of movies but I plotted this out after watching "Easy A."

Chapter 1

Here she was again. At Hogwarts. The smoke had finally cleared after Harry defeated Voldemort, but the dust kicked up again with ensuing never-ending celebrations. Hogwarts, thanks to the remaining staff, was rebuilt in a matter of months. Just in time for a new generation of students.

Of course, Hermione went back to school to finish her final year that she had spent chasing Horcruxes. It was mostly by some probing by the new Headmistress McGonagall. McGonagall even offered her Head Girl position.

That was the kicker. Ever since her first year at Hogwarts, she dreamed of being in that position. While Hermione was sure her experiences on the run was more than enough to warrant her degree, she felt a formal education would satiate her thirst for the classroom setting. Besides, her fondest memories were at Hogwarts, not in the woods and creeks she ran through with Harry and Ron.

Those two of the "Golden Trio" continued on with Auror training. Usually, the Aurory required a degree to even be considered into the training program, but it was Harry Potter. He killed freakin' Voldemort. That was even better than a degree.

Hermione was sure she could be admitted into the program as well, if she wanted to be an Auror, but she wanted a more practical profession. Now that Voldemort was gone, the Aurory could pretty much sit and relax, and occasionally capture a few straggling Death Eaters.

Well, she had a whole year to think about it. Maybe she could take an apprenticeship and boost up her résumé. Heck there were a whole things she wanted to do before she entered the real world.

Seeing McGonagall again was one of them. She had always been one of Hermione's favorite teachers. She was masterful and powerful, adept at everything, strict but understanding at the same time. Her sternness and focus would make her tenure as Hogwarts Headmistress much different than Dumbledore's near whimsical demigod presence.

She entered through the double doors alone. The term had yet to start, but Head Boy and Girl were required to arrive a few days early to get informed on rules and regulations. Never had she seen Hogwarts so empty.

"Hello?" she called through the empty Entrance Hall, unsure whether or not to just head up to the Headmistress' office on her own. Her voice bounced off the suits of armor that protected the castle months before.

"Miss Granger—"

"Jeesh!" Hermione yelped, jumping in surprise. She looked down to see tiny old Professor Flitwick by her leg smiling up at her.

"Professor Flitwick! It's so good to see you. Sorry I got so startled."

"No matter," Flitwick squeaked with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Minerva is waiting for you."

Professor Flitwick led her to the Headmistress' office and stopped at the gargoyle guarding the office.

"Calico," Flitwick said and the gargoyle jumped out of the way, letting them pass through.

McGonagall sat behind the Headmistress' desk with smile on her face, the portrait of Dumbledore directly behind her. Dumbledore, now finally awake, beamed and seemed to lean forward in his chair in interest. In a chair opposite the desk, was a young black man, who looked wide-eyed at Hermione, surprised that he was in the presence of one of the great heroes of the Wizarding world.

McGonagall rose from her chair and glided towards her, shaking her hand, "Hermione, it's so good to see you."

"You as well, Professor."

"It lightens my heart to see that we are able to see each other again in joyous circumstances."

"Indeed," piped Dumbledore who began looking around obscurely when McGonagall turned to glare at him for interrupting her.

"Hermione," McGonagall gestured to the young man in the chair, "This our Head Boy this year, Clinton White, from Slytherin."

Clinton stood from his chair and wiped his large sweaty hands on his robes, before extending one to her, "A pleasure, Miss Granger."

"Clinton, I assume you already know who Hermione is?"

Clinton smiled, "Yes Professor."

Clinton White was tall, and handsome, but seemed to be inherently nervous and stricken with low self-esteem. But he was a good representative of Slytherin. He had high marks and had been working on programs with McGonagall to educate students on tolerance of all sorts, including Houses, race, color, sexual orientation, and magical blood.

"I think this whole House rivalry thing sends the wrong message," McGonagall said. "The Houses were meant to unite, but unfortunately all it has done is create labels for the members in the Houses that could lead to…disastrous results."

With that McGonagall peered back at Dumbledore, who gave a sad nod. McGonagall patted Clinton on the shoulder, "Mr. White has been giving me some excellent ideas on having guest speakers come in and talk about diversity and tolerance."

Hermione nodded with a smile, "I'm impressed, Mr. White. That sounds like a wonderful idea."

White looked embarrassed, but he still managed a smile and stammered, "Th-thank you…"

"In addition to that, I have spoken to a friend of mine who runs a school in the Americas and he thinks it would be a good idea to have an exchange program with Hogwarts. So we have a new student in his seventh year coming here to study for his final credits. I would really like it if you both help him out. Especially for the first few weeks. America doesn't have castles like we do here and I don't think they have a problem with changing staircases."

Suddenly they all heard a noise from the outside.

"Oh that must be him now…"

There was a heavy knock on the door.

"Okay, Hagrid. Bring him in."

Hagrid opened the door, "Here ya are…"

A young man was at Hagrid's side. He, like Clinton, was tall and handsome, but he was much more imposing. He had the body of an athlete, and short dirty blonde hair that seemed to stand on end. Instead of robes, he wore a vintage t-shirt and loose cargo shorts. On his ears were two small diamond studs.

"Hermione, Clinton, this is Alexander Summers. He's our exchange student from America."

Alex walked forward and extended a hand, shaking both Hermione and Clinton's hands, "Hey, nice to meet you. Sorry about the get-up. I literally just got out of the Apparation point when Hagrid picked me up. I didn't have much time to change."

Before McGonagall could respond, a portrait of a former Headmaster spoke in awe, "My lord…I have never seen a yankee inside Hogwarts walls…"

Alex seemed slightly offended by the way the Headmaster used the term "Yankee."

"Sorry sir, you must have me mistaken with someone else. I don't play Major League Baseball."

His words were meant to be a sarcastic response to the portrait, but since the majority of people in the room were British wizards, the term "baseball" was lost on them.

"Nevermind," the young man grumbled scratching his head.

"Alexander," McGonagall got his attention, "Hermione and Clinton will help you if you need anything. Since you were Sorted into Gryffindor, Hermione will most assuredly be most available to you."

Summers smiled, "Alright, Hermione…?

"Granger," Hermione answered. "Welcome to Gryffindor, Mr. Summers."

Summers chuckled, "Mr. Summers is my father. Call me Alex. The only time I hear Alexander is when I'm in trouble with my mother. I makes the hair at the back of my neck stand up."

McGonagall patted the tall young man on the shoulder, "I apologize then, Mr. Summers. Please sit and relax while I go over some rule changes with the Head Boy and Girl."

"Yes, ma'am."

There weren't much in terms of rule changes, except a few places of the castle that were off limits due to renovations. She also went over harsher punishments for even playful duels on the grounds.

Alex sat quietly looking at all of the surroundings as if he were new to magic. Sure, he was familiar with the portraits, but a few other things in the office, such as Fawkes, garnered his questioning attention.

Finally, McGonagall finished, "That's it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"Will do, Headmistress," Clinton said.

"All that's left to do is to prepare the castle for the Welcoming Ceremony. Mr. Summers…?"

"Yes?"

"I would really appreciate the help if you would join us," McGonagall said.

Alex stood up, straightening his shorts, "Sure, I don't see why not. As long as I don't have to do too much Transfiguration. After seven years, you'd think I'd get the hang of it. One time I had to transform a rat into a Great Dane…"

Alex paused as he shuddered, "We had a 400 pound rat running through the halls…"

Once again he paused and shook his head, "Luckily, my Transfiguration instructor had the sense of humor to transfigure a 500 pound rat trap to catch it."

There was pause in the room as pretty much everyone was trying to envision the fiasco.

"What about Charms…?" McGonagall asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Summers' eyes widened, "Oh God yes. I'm cool with Charms. No need to worry about that."

Hermione sighed inwardly. 'Cool with Charms'. She'd have to get the hang of his northern U.S. vernacular. It wasn't so bad. It certainly could've been worse. Hermione was aware of the stereotypical American accents, such as the New Yorker dirty talk and the southern drawl. Alex's accent had the soft twang that was probably the typical American accent, but his words were…different, certainly to the older generation in the room.

Hermione glanced up at Dumbledore's portrait. He was stroking his beard, a smile of curiosity underneath the white beard in regards to the American exchange student.

The rest of the day was spent helping Professors Flitwick and Sprout prepare the dining hall for the Welcoming Feast. She could distinctly remember Alex's head staring straight up at the ceiling that unveiled the sky. He gave a sharp whistle of amazement.

"Haven't seen anything like this before?" Hermione asked, deciding to strike up a conversation with her new Housemate.

"Nuh-uh," Alex responded, not taking his hazel eyes off the vast hall. "We don't have any castles in America. Our biggest buildings are usually government buildings and museums and they aren't nearly as old, no matter how many Corinthian columns they put on those buildings."

Hermione laughed. The kid was smart. Alex too seemed relieved that she got the reference, if not a little amazed. Not many seventeen-year-olds had conversations with the word "Corinthian" in them.

"Here, you are good with Charms, right?" she asked and Alex tore his gaze away from the magnificent ceiling and nodded. Hermione pointed towards Professor Flitwick who was charming candles to float and give off flames of different colors.

"Professor Flitwick is the Charms professor here. You can go help him out, while I take care of the Transfiguration."

"Got it," he responded jogging towards the miniature man, bending down and shaking the Professor's hand.

And this was the beginning. Hermione was stuck alone with two young (and attractive) men. Too bad she decided to go off men for a while. Yes, she and Ron had their moments a few months ago and they pursued dating for a little while, but it never got beyond that. Hermione didn't see it going anywhere and Ron felt like he was dating his sister. Hermione felt the same. If she were to explain it to someone she couldn't quite point out what was wrong. Ron was a good man and deceptively romantic, but she didn't quite click with him. They decided, thankfully, to remain friends. Ginny and Harry had better luck.

Hermione had a theory on that. While she and Ron hung out with each other day in and day out for seven intense years, Harry and Ginny had gotten to know each other through comfortable distance, therefore erasing the sibling-type relationship.

It didn't matter now. Hermione was secretly thinking on what type of love life she wanted. If she wanted to call it that. She was famous now, so she had to be careful, but secretly, she doubted herself. Who really would want a brainiac girl with bushy hair?

Ugh, I don't really want to think about it. Best to remain as goody two-shoes Granger who would not let a boy kiss her without a written contract of some sort.

After things were all set up in the hall, Hermione decided to take Alex to the Gryffindor Common Room. The Fat Lady was surprised to see someone aside from the Headmistress try to enter the Common Room before the start of term.

"My, my, this young gentleman wants to see the valor and wonder of the Gryffindor Common room?"

"If I say yes, am I to assume that you will let me in?" Alex said raising an eyebrow.

The Fat Lady waggled her thick finger, "Not so fast young man. I will open to no one without a password."

Hermione chuckled, "You have been hanging out with Sir Cadogen too much, madam."

The Fat Lady gave a high giggle as she blushed a little.

"Squilly Yiks!" Hermione said aloud, knowing full well that Alex was probably giving her a double take. It was what she did when McGonagall told her.

The door swung open.

"Squilly Yiks?" Alex said incredulously. "What is that exactly? Some sort of wizarding Preparation H?"

"Noo" Hermione said, laughing even when she didn't want to. "Don't worry, the password changes every once in a while."

Alex's attention was now on the Common Room, decorated with red.

"Whoa, that's…a lot of red."

"Those are Gryffindor colors. Red and gold."

Alex eased himself in one of the plush, straight-backed chairs, propping his legs on the ottoman, as if trying to get himself comfortable in his new home before the term starts.

"What is with this whole House thing anyway?"

Hermione sighed, sinking into one of her favorite chairs, feeling fond memories of her innocence wash over her.

"Students are separated into Houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Originally, these Houses compete for House points, which are rewarded and taken away depending on behavior and performance in classes. McGonagall now wants to strive for more House unity. In the recent past, this whole House competition has caused polarizations among the students."

Alex chuckled, "Kinda like our Muggle politics."

"You didn't have Houses at your school?"

Alex shook his head, "Nah, we had dorms though, but nothing that separated amongst Houses. Segregation of any sort is kinda frowned upon in America."

Getting up out of her seat, Hermione motioned for Alex to stand, "I'll show you to the boys' dorms."

They proceeded up the winding staircase to the seventh year boys' dorms. The dorms were all pretty much the same, she learned, from hanging out with Harry and Ron. They never will enjoy the splendor of having senior status. Then again, they probably would've hated it given the seventh year project they all had to do.

The American beside her chuckled when he saw the four-posted beds with the crimson curtains, "I've only seen these beds in historic houses."

"Curtains are fairly effective if you want to study and the other boys are mucking about."

Looking back at Hermione, Alex smiled, "You were one of those girls, huh?"

Her cheeks flushed. Of years trying to wash away the whole bookworm reputation, why was it so transparent to this guy? They haven't known each other a day and he still picked up on that. Maybe it was that whole Head Girl status that tipped him off.

He gave her a friendly touch on the shoulder, feeling bad about what he said, "Shit…I didn't mean it that way."

"It's no bother. I was just wondering how you could see right through me."

He shrugged, "It was just a joke…"

Now she felt bad. Alex was obviously uncomfortable. There was something about him that Hermione couldn't quite put her finger on. He seemed alright by all outward appearances, and he spoke okay. What was it…?

He eased himself on a bed, bouncing a couple of times to test the mattress, a whimsical look on his face.

"So we have this place all to ourselves for the next week, right?"

"Yes, well, you actually you have this whole dorm to yourself. Head Girl has separate rooms, but I'll just be down the hall. I'm behind the portrait of the Red Maiden."

"How appropriate…" Alex murmured staring out the window, sarcasm creeping his tone.

Hermione sucked in a breath, "I'll let you get settled, Mr. Summers."

"It's Alex," the young man amended. "Just call me Alex, Hermione correct?"

She nodded noticing the slight quirk of his mouth.

"I'm refraining from mentioning anything from Shakespeare. It's killing me…"

Playing along, Hermione cocked her head, "Would you like to just get it over with then? What are you going to do? Quote something from Winter's Tale?"

She said it almost like a dare, challenging him. Not that she minded having to share a name with a character from Shakespeare's play. Hermione was more or less enthusiastic that this young man, who by all outward appearances was quite a modern-minded fellow, would be even referencing Shakespeare.

"I was going to ask if you have jealous boyfriend named Leontes."

"Seriously?"

"No," Alex groaned scratching the back of his head, "I was going to say that you must be pretty virtuous, if it didn't make anything awkward."

"Even though you just said it?"

"Beats putting on sexual tension for the next few weeks," Alex replied with a tad bit of wit.

Now he was being bold. A little too bold, but he was doing it one purpose. Hermione cautiously nodded eyeing the door.

"Well, while you are thinking about that," Hermione said backing towards the door, "I'm just going to go."

Alex smiled after her, but he seemed dumbfounded.

A/N: Weird and simple vernacular I know. Hopefully it will get better. Before you judge, nothing is as it seems. Anyway, review.