So I know I am in the middle of a WIP currently, but I promise I will still continue to work on Shackles Can Lead To Freedom. I just wanted to write something fun and uplifting.
That being said, this story is definitely going to be AU. Voldemort has not returned since the first wizarding war. Everybody is attending Hogwarts as usual, but without all the worries of fighting Voldemort. Some characters will still have the blood prejudice, but there isn't a war.
If you don't like that, then this story is probably not for you. But I just wanted to write a fun story!
Let me know what you think!
Hermione loved going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She loved her classes and her friends, but most of all, she loved being a witch. All the strange things she had done as a little girl was finally explained when McGonagall arrived at her house, with her letter to Hogwarts and the proof that magic was real.
Hermione had been ecstatic, she finally felt like she belonged. And now, in her 6th year, she was considered the brightest witch of her age. But this lead most of the school to consider her a book worm and thought of her as 'lame'. She had to admit, she was a rule follower, since she was a prefect and all, but that didn't mean she didn't ever want to have fun. She was a teenager after all.
Even her best friends, Harry and Ron, thought she could be a stick in the mud. They would sometimes sneak off to parties under Harry's invisibility cloak, never asking her if she wanted to join. And the thing is, she did want to join. But she was never invited, unlike her fun-loving friends. They were invited to parties all the time.
She had asked on several occasions if she could join, but they always had an excuse, or they would sneak off before she could get to them. She loved her best friends, but sometimes, they were frustrating. They were definitely popular around school, while she was not. There was always some girl coming up and talking to them, and they thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Ron.
They had become friends on the train ride to Hogwarts. She had slipped into the compartment they were in and they conversed easily, especially because Harry had grown up in muggle society just like her. And Ron was easy to talk to. After that, the three had remained best friends.
Ron had been shy and awkward at first. He was terrible at talking to girls, other than Hermione. And she had never meet anyone who loved food as much as he did. But as the years progressed, he got more confidant, loving the attention from the girls. Now he was boisterous and fun-loving. He was always doing something, and it was usually with Harry.
Harry had also grown into himself. He had been quiet and unconfident at first, but now he embraced himself and was always in a happy mood. He wasn't quite as happy to have girls around him as Ron was, but that didn't mean he still didn't enjoy it. Him and Ron were always getting into something, but they were always having fun, so Hermione couldn't complain.
That's not 100% true. She would complain when they never took her to parties. There were always parties happening around Hogwarts, especially on the weekends. Some were small, and some were big, but she had never been to one.
But that was going to change. Apparently the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were holding a big party this Friday night, down in a big room in the dungeons. Harry and Ron couldn't stop talking about it since they had been invited. She had asked if she could go, but they awkwardly admitted that she hadn't been invited and they didn't want to cause a problem. Of course she was upset, but she tried not to show it.
She loved those two, but sometimes they didn't think about how it could hurt her feeling when they hinted at thinking that she would be a buzz kill. But she just shouldered it and smiled as they raved on about the upcoming party. It was a masquerade party and they wanted her advise on what to wear.
Like the good friend she was, she had helped them prepare for the party the next evening, and they had hugged her happily before they ran off to do whatever it was they did.
This was her opportunity, she could go to a party and no one would ever know that it was her. So she had snuck off to the Room of Requirement and diligently worked on her outfit and mask in private, away from prying eyes. By the time she had finished, she was sure no one would know who she was once she was dressed up.
With a smile she shrunk her outfit to be able to fit it into the pocket of her robes before exiting the room, a smile playing on her lips. As she walked out of the room, she smacked right into somebody who was walking past. That smile left her face as she fell on her butt, a blush running across her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry!" She started to mutter as she climbed to her feet, embarrassed at running into another student.
"You should be Granger." She heard the voice as she dusted herself off, she looked up and saw Draco Malfoy standing next to her, also dusting himself off.
Draco had been a pain in the ass since she had known him. He was in the same year as her and he came from a pureblood family, which came with certain beliefs. He had never gotten along with her, he never called her Mudblood like Pansy and the others would, but he would sneer at her and be mean to her all the same. Even Harry and Ron didn't like him, they would always call him a pompous git. He was easily the most popular guy at school, flocked by people everywhere he went, that was why she was surprised he was alone at the time.
"I never would have apologized had I known it was you that I ran into." She growled, shooting a glare at the arrogant Slytherin. A smirk came to rest upon his face as he crossed his arms while looking down at her short frame.
"What's got your knickers in a bunch Granger?" He asked, his face showing his amusement like it always did when he picked on her. He leaned back against a wall, looking self-important as ever.
"Shut it Malfoy, I don't want to hear it today." She grumbled in agitation, surprising herself. Usually when he messed with her, she would just try and ignore him, she would never usually lash out.
"Well, well, well. Someone is rather feisty today." He commented, raising his eyebrow in surprise.
"I'm not in the mood Malfoy." She muttered as she turned, ready to leave the conversation behind her.
"Is it because you weren't invited to tomorrow's party?" He jeered from behind her, his voice condescending and humorous. Almost like he wanted to laugh at her.
She whipped around and watched as he pushed of the wall, approaching her slowly, the smirk never leaving his face.
"I could care less about your stupid parties." She lied. "I have better things to do with my time." She sniffed, turning back around and making her leave. She heard him snort from behind her, and she clenched her fists in agitation.
"Whatever you say Granger." He called after her right before she turned a corner, effectively ending the conversation, if you could call it that.
Stupid Malfoy always had to be causing her problems. She grumbled about it all the way to the Gryffindor tower. She slide into the door behind the fat lady, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She really did hate that stupid boy and she hated running into him, and this time she literally did run into him. With a sigh she turned and head towards the common room, surprised to find that it was mostly empty.
Neville and Ginny were pouring over some text books together, and there were a few lower years huddled in a corner, but otherwise it was surprisingly empty. Needing something to lift her spirits she headed over towards Neville and Ginny.
Neville was always a good study partner, especially when it came to herbology, so they had naturally become good friends. And Ginny was the only girl she could really talk to, seeing as there were things she couldn't talk to Harry and Ron about. The two had become exceptionally close, sharing secrets that no else knew. They could often be found studying together or found talking secretly to each other.
"Hey guys." She smiled as she set her book bag next to the arm chair before taking a seat. Neville looked up and gave her a smile, before burying his head in his book again. Ginny beamed at her, giving Hermione her full attention.
"There is so much to talk about!" Ginny rushed out, looking sideways at Neville as if saying that it was something she didn't want Neville to hear.
Hermione chuckled before making herself comfortable. "You act like you haven't seen me in forever. We talked this morning Gin." Hermione noted, preparing to pull of her Charms text book. She needed to finish her Charms essay, then she had to study for a test that was coming up in Transfiguration tomorrow.
Ginny groaned as she watched Hermione pull out her quills, inkwells and parchment.
"Can't we talk first? We can study after." Ginny whined, glaring at the text book Hermione placed in front of her. "I've already been doing homework for the last two hours."
"I'm sorry Ginny, I need to finish this essay, and I have a test tomorrow I need to ace." Hermione admitted, opening her book to the proper chapter and dipping her quill in her inkwell.
"You know you are going to ace it either way." Ginny pointed out. "But it's fine, I understand. Can we at least talk before you go to bed?" She asked, her gaze flickering to the group of the third years when they broke out into loud laughter.
"Of course, Gin, I actually need to talk to you about something anyway." Hermione agreed, sending her friend a warm smile. Ginny returned the smile before beginning to pick up her books.
"Alright, well I've finished my homework. I'm going to go see if I can find Luna, I haven't talked to her in a couple of days." Ginny explained as she stood and slung her book bag over one shoulder, flipping her long red hair over the other shoulder.
"Sounds good, I'll look for you before I go to bed." She called after the red head as she flounced out of the room. Hermione smiled after the girl, they had become such good friends, it was nice having a girl to talk to. She turned back to the work in front of her and threw herself into it. Before she knew it she finished her Charms essay, feeling like she would get a great marks for it.
She cleaned up all he Charms stuff, then proceeded to pull out everything for Transfiguration.
"Are you studying for the test in Transfiguration tomorrow?" Neville asked from next to her, nearly making her jump. She had got so focused and they were working so quietly she hadn't expected him to speak up.
"Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure I'll do good on it, but I want to be prepared for anything." She admitted, looking up from her book to look at him.
"Ok. I was just wondering, do you think you can help me? I just want to make sure I do good on it." He mumbled, diverting his glance down to his book as if he was embarrassed.
"Of course Neville, I'd love to help. It would be helping me too in a way." She smiled encouragingly at him. He gave her a grin and they studied together for a while. Once she was sure they had gone over everything she stood up and gathered her things. She gave Neville a quick hug before making her way out of Gryffindor tower in search of Ginny.
If she was with Luna, then she assumed she should look near the Ravenclaw's dorms. She took her time as she made her way there, checking various spots that Ginny liked to hang out at. She checked down a hallway and saw a familiar flash of red. But it wasn't Ginny, it was Ron. She quickly changed her course and headed towards the tall Weasley, who was standing next to Harry as they chatted with some girls from Hufflepuff.
Harry saw her coming first and he sent her a grin and a small wave. This caused the girls to turn and look, one of them rolling her eyes. The girls who hung around her best friends never like Hemione. She figured they were jealous because she was always with the boys. But they had no need to be, she saw the boys as brothers to her, nothing else.
"Hey Hermione." Harry greeted her, give her a small hug, before Ron pulled her into another embrace.
"Where have you been 'Mione?" Ron asked, leaning back against the wall leisurely.
"Studying. You remember we have a test with McGonagall tomorrow right?" She asked, expecting them to have forgotten about it. As expected, Ron's face paled, and Harry's eyebrows shot up.
"Bloody hell!" Ron groaned, running his hands through his hair. Then he got a sheepish smile on his face.
"Will you help us study?" He asked, his gaze flipping to Harry. Harry just nodded, looking at Hermione hopefully.
"I can't tonight boys. I'm looking for Ginny, we are supposed to talk. But I can go over things with you on lunch tomorrow. I advise you do some studying on your own tonight." She glared playfully at them as their shoulders sagged, they obviously had other plans. Harry nodded solemnly, and Hermione noticed the girls giving her even harder glares. They had probably planned to hang out with these girls tonight and Hermione had just ruined that.
Ron looked like he was about to protest, but Hermione wasn't going to hear it. She wanted them to do good in their classes. "Off you go!" She ordered them, pointing towards Gryffindor tower. She smiled at their defeated looks. They hugged the girl's goodbye before they scurried off. Hermione had to chuckle at them, they probably would have failed most their classes if she hadn't been there to keep them in line. Shaking her head, she turned to leave.
"Doesn't she realize that no one likes her? She is lucky Ron and Harry put up with her." She heard one of the girls whisper harshly behind her. Hermione fought the urge to turn around and say something, instead she carried on forward, acting like she hadn't heard a thing.
She knew she wasn't well liked, for many reasons. She had caught many students out after curfew, even caught some shagging in abandoned classrooms. She had taken points and sent them back to their dorms, leaving a lot of people upset. Then there was the fact that she was such good friends with Harry and Ron, and a lot of girls were jealous. Plus, a lot of people just saw her as a nerd. And most of the Slytherin's didn't like her because of her blood. Overall, she didn't have much of a fan base, but she didn't really mind.
She had been so lost in thought she almost walked past Ginny and Luna.
"Hermione!" Ginny called after her as she almost passed them. Hermione snapped out of it and smiled sheepishly at them.
"Sorry about that." She said as she walked up to them. "I was lost in thought." She explained, joining the girls and sitting on the bench they occupied.
"It's probably the wrackspurts." Luna explained animatedly. "It happens to me all the time."
Hermione just smiled at the girl. They had become friends, but sometimes the things she said still threw her off.
"How was studying?" Ginny asked, leaning forward to see Hermione better.
"It was fine, I did everything that needed done. Then I saw your brother and Harry on my way over here, I sent them off to study." Hermione concluded, watching as the youngest Weasley nodded.
"You're good at keeping those boys in line." Ginny commented, sending her a lopsided smile. "I thank you for that. I won't have to listen to mom yelling at Ron when we go home on break." She added, her face showing her gratitude. And she understood why, Molly could be quite stern and the whole house would have to hear her yelling at Ron.
"How have you been Luna?" Hermione asked politely. She hadn't talked to Luna much since they came back to Hogwarts two weeks ago. "How was your time off?"
"Oh it was great. I helped dad with a Quibbler article on nargles." She commented dreamily. "Otherwise, it was most uneventful. How about you?" She added, her faraway eyes falling on Hermione.
"Oh it was good. I went on vacation with my parents and then I spent some time with Ron, Harry and Ginny at the Burrow." She replied, a smile playing on her lips. She really did have a nice time. She loved spending time with her parents, but it was always nice to get back to Hogwarts.
"That sounds wonderful." Luna calmly responded.
"Well now that we have caught up, we should be going Luna, it's almost curfew. It was nice seeing you again." Ginny said as she rose to feet and stretched out her arms. Luna smiled and also stood. Both Hermione and Ginny hugged Luna before they headed towards the Gryffindor common room.
Once Ginny was sure no one was looking, she turned excitedly towards Hermione, stopping altogether. "You remember Oscar Layten from Hufflepuff right?" She asked, her face bright with amusement.
Hermione did remember him, he was quite popular, had short brown hair and pretty green eyes. He played quidditch for Hufflepuff and he was well built. He was nice on the eyes, and plus he was a pretty nice person too.
"Yeah I remember him, why?" Hermione inquired, eyeing Ginny as she practically bounced in place.
"He asked me to the party tomorrow!" The younger girl practically shrieked, leaving Hermione to cover her ears while she smiled.
"That's awesome Gin!" Hermione enthusiastically replied as she removed her hands from he ears. She couldn't deny the small pang of sadness that she was never invited to the parties.
"I know! I cant wait, it'll be so much fun, you have to help me get ready tomorrow!"
"I will, as long as you help me." Hermione added blushingly, she dipped her face as they started walking again, avoiding the red heads eyes.
"What do you mean?" Ginny wondered in confusion and Hermione could understand why. Just a week ago she had confided in Ginny that she was upset she was never invited.
"Did someone ask you?" She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth and her eyes hopeful.
"No, no, nothing like that." Hermione admitted. She looked nervously and Ginny who was looking more confused by the minute.
"It's a masquerade party. I'm gonna sneak in and no one will know it's me." She finally told her friend. Ginny's eyes got huge, then a large smile spread across her face.
"It's perfect. We will make you look so good, everyone will want to invite you to parties from now on." Ginny concluded, looking determined. Ginny could be fierce when she got determined, so Hermione had to tread lightly.
"Look Gin, I don't want anyone to know about this but you and me. I want my identity to stay a secret. I just want to have fun is all. I'm always busy studying, looking after the boys and doing prefect duties. I never really get to have my own fun. I don't want it to be ruined by people finding out who I am. A little mystery is fun." The bright witch insisted, her eyes pleading with her friend to comply.
Ginny heaved a heavy sigh, looking slightly put out. They walked in silence for a minute before Ginny brighten, turning to Hermione with a smile.
"It'll be great! We can put a sticking charm on your mask so it can be taken off unless you want it off and then we will make you look fantastic. I'll make sure no one recognizes you. You'll be the talk of the school, everyone will be wondering who you are!" Ginny rambled, her excitement was palpable. Ginny talked about it all the way until they reached the fat lady.
Hermione went to sleep that night more excited than she had ever been. The next night she was determined to have fun. She didn't need people to know it was her to have the time of her life.
Her mystery was about to begin.
Let me know what you think!