Disclaimer: Its ALLLLL Rowling!!! 'cept the story, thats mine:)

Author's Note: A little background in the beginning, but don't worry, Draco will make his appearance soon: ) enjoy!!!

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Chapter 1: A New Year

Hermione Granger lay sprawled in a dim patch of disappearing sunlight on the carpet of the small room she and Ginny were sharing. Her hands up behind her head, she watched the faint golden glow fade slowly from the few clouds outside her window.

This is nice. She thought.

She had only been able to steal a few moments of silence in the busy household and only when she told her friends that she was 'pretty tired' and was 'going to take a small nap". She had spent her summer vacation trying to desperately to relax and forget the horrible events of her previous school year, both of which had been highly unsuccessful goals. Spending the last 2 and 1/2 months at the Weasly home, she had been right smack in the middle of everything anti-Voldemort. Order members were constantly in and out, stopping by to spill the latest news. And with the arrival of Harry at the Burrow, there was no way she would be able to take her mind off the current situation.

"DIIIINNNNNEERRRR!!!!" she heard Ginny scream from the bottom of the stairs.

This was immediately followed with what sounded like a mini stampede as Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Bill and Charlie came barreling down the stairs, coupled with the distinctly annoyed voice of Mrs. Weasly scolding her only daughter for shouting through the house.

Hermione languidly stretched out and let out a small sigh before hoisting herself up. She stood for a moment, catching her eye in the full length mirror on the back of Ginny's closet door. It was adorned with all sorts of moving photos. She smiled as she looked over what she knew to be Weasly relatives, from their bright orange hair, and smirked at the grinning faces of countless teen wizard heartthrobs. Looking into the mirror, Hermione studied herself curiosly. She had gotten a nice tan over the summer, she turned slightly so she could survey the rest of herself. She and Ginny had been able to sneak a couple of trips to the thrift shop in the small muggle village down the road and she shook her hips a little to let her mid-thigh length white skirt swish side to side. The beads sewn into the lace at the bottom of her red tank top shimmered in the dying sunlight. Hermoine jerked her head up towards the door as she heard her name being called up the stairs.

The seven hungry voices of the Weasly children, plush Harry, shouted up the stairs.

"HURRY UP 'MIONE!!! She won't let us eat without you!"

Hermione giggled silently as she hoped down the stairs. She gave a small apologetic look around the table as she took her seat between Harry and Ginny.

The boys immediately dove into the food.

"Wha' 'oog ooo 'o 'ong 'Mynee?" Harry asked, mouth full of chicken.

"Just taking a nap", Hermione lied casually, "I didn't hear you call the first time."

"You sure do spend a lot of your time sleeping! You must get a lot of beauty rest!", Ginny laughed helping herself to a mound of mashed potatoes.

"Yea…" Ron started, but stopped and looked back down at his food, blushing furiously when Hermione looked up at him. "So", he said quickly, "wonder how seventh year's gonna feel…"

Hermione grinned, acknowledging her friends crush on her.

"Prolly weird, it is our last year at Hogwarts" said Harry, swallowing his second bite of chicken.

"Yea...", Hermione thought out loud switching her gaze to the view out the kitchen window.

The chatter around the table grew louder as the twins began an argument over who had come up with the original idea for their Puking Pastilles and Ginny began talking animatedly about the cute boy they had seen in the thrift shop in town, but Hermione's wasn't really hearing her. Absently pulling fork through her potatoes, she watched as the last drops of sunlight faded from view and wondered what their year at Hogwarts had in store for them this time.

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