Chapter 1

"So you're the new girl, huh?" a voice called from behind her.

After Severus Snape killed Professor Dumbledore, Hogwarts was shut down. Too many memories for too many people caused the place to be too haunted for students to want to go there. And so, after a thousand years of boys and girls filling its corridors, Hogwarts was finally quiet and abandoned.

Being a muggle-born, it had always bothered Hermione that she couldn't graduate from a proper, muggle high school. So, acting as the nerdy learn-loving girl she was, she decided to take the opportunity to realize her dream and become a senior-year student. Also, she argued, it could be exactly what she needed to take her mind off the events that took place at the night of Dumbledore's death; or rather, cold-blooded murder. It might also return some of the lost sense of normality to her messed up life.

Currently, she was roaming the walkways of her brand new high school. Greenmeadow High. Perfect.

Hermione Granger turned around to see a girl with a brown hair and sparkling green eyes. She was looking at her expectedly, waiting for her to introduce herself.

Hermione shook herself from the contemplating and smiled warmly at her. "Yes, I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?..." She trailed off waiting for an answer.

"I'm Madeline Davis, and you're gonna be my best friend, well…other best friend, but still, you'll have to call me Maddy!" she said quickly. "So where did you come from?"

"I…uh…used to go to a boarding school in Scotland" she felt guilty about that one. Not that it wasn't true, but in order to enroll to Muggle school she had to magically create a result-sheet from a fake boarding school in Scotland. She added a little spell to make sure the principle wouldn't want to question too much into the whereabouts of this school, which made her even guiltier, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do, right?

"Cool! You're probably going to be cutely shy around boys, so you're lucky to have me around. Ellie is sick so we're going to have some time to work on that alone!"

"Huh?" Hermione looked at her in confusion, until understanding downed on her. "Oh, no… It wasn't an all-girls school"

"Oh…" that Maddy girl seemed a little disappointed. "Never mind, we can still try to find you a cute guy, but I've already got a boyfriend, you'll meet him soon enough, being my best friend and all…"

"Best friend?" Hermione wasn't quite so sure that she was following the chatty girl in front of her.

"Yes… unless you don't want to. But you better want to because me and Ellie-"

"Ellie and I." Hermione corrected out of habit.

"-yeah, we are the most popular girls at school so…" she wriggled her brows smiling broadly. For some reason she didn't sound arrogant at all.

"You've only just met me and you already want to be my best friend?" Hermione asked, amusement dancing in her eyes at that surprising, funny girl.

"Strange, right? But the moment I saw you when the principle came to introduce you today at lit class I knew we'd be best friends. My intuition is never wrong, you know…" she wriggled her brows once again.

At that point, Hermione couldn't hold back anymore and she laughed whole heartedly. Maddy grinned too, taking her arm and asking her what was her next class.
Hermione looked the paper the principle had shoved to her hand but before she could answer Maddy was waving enthusiastically to someone Hermione didn't know.

"Jake! Over here!"

"Hello Mads. Hello new girl." The approaching boy smirked at Hermione before giving Maddy a quick peck on her lips.

"As you've already guessed, that's my awesome boyfriend, Jake. Jake, that's Hermione Granger, my new BFF" she said as she linked arms with him.

"Poor you" he shook Hermione's hand with mock sympathy, earning a swat on his head from his girlfriend.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked, faking innocence.

"You know damn well what was that for, Jay-boy, now shut up and escort us ladies to-what class did you say you have again?" she looked at Hermione questioningly.

"Biology and then chemistry"

"No! Don't say the 'C' word!" Jake suddenly cried out, but then sighed in defeat, muttering a silent "dammit" under his breath.

Scared and confused, Hermione watched Maddy's eyes light up and a huge grin crossed her face. Then her eyes became dreamy and she jumped up and down, holding Hermione's hands in hers. "Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod!" she squealed in excitement.

Jake groaned, rolling his eyes.

"You have to meet our chemistry teacher, you have to! He's the hottest thing ever! All the girls in the school have a huge crush on him, and he's so…tall and funny and…dark! And he's flirting with us shamelessly! God, I'm in love" she batted her eyelashes a few times, her hands clasped dramatically in front of her.

"Um… isn't your boyfriend here?" Hermione raised one eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"Oh, he's used to it." She swatted Jake again on his head as he smirked at Hermione. "Besides, he knows he's the only man for me" she jabbed at his ribs, earning a smug full kiss on the lips from her boyfriend.

Hermione laughed at that, thinking that it was probably going to be a very interesting year.

***

By the end of biology class, Hermione already knew Maddy wasn't lying when she said she was the most popular girl at school. Wherever she went she was greeted with smiles and "hi's" and waves. Other students also constantly asked about Ellie, Maddy's sick best friend (Hermione assumed). She thought she was lucky Maddy took notice at her on her first day.

Hermione looked at her iPhone and saw she head two missed calls; one from her parents and another one from Harry. Over the summer vacation Hermione convinced Harry, Ron and Ginny to buy cellphones. It took some getting used to from Ginny and Ron's side, but finally they agreed that it was the best way to remain in contact with each other.

After she finished talking to her parents, (assuring them she was doing great and that she settled in the new apartment they had rented for her), she quickly called Harry.

"Hey! How's my favorite girl doing?" It was Harry alright! "Ouch! Gin, baby, stop with the green-eyed monster, you know Hermione's practically my sister!"

"Hey Harry, hey Ginny." Hermione chuckled, speaking to both of them, as she knew
Harry put her on a speaker. I hope you two don't miss me too much"

"Of course we do, Mione, I miss terribly my best friend" Ginny whined, Harry joining her words.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, guys, but I already have a new BFF here." She smiled, looking at the nearing Maddy, who looked satisfied. "And if I don't end this call soon I might be late to my chemistry class with the hottest teacher alive apparently." Every female student who heard she has chemistry class assumed the same dreamy look Maddy had earlier when she talked about that mysterious teacher and sighed about how lucky she was to have a class with him.

"Yeah," Maddy stole the phone from her hand "It's your replacement for BFF-ery talking, whoever you are." She smirked when Hermione mouthed "Is BFF-ery even a word?" but ignored her and kept talking "I know you're dying from jealousy that I took Hermione from you," she was joking with them "And I'm sure you're dying to know me, but I only have time to tell you that my name is Maddy and we're gonna be terribly late to Chem if we don't fish this conversation, so bye-bye! Adios! Aloha! Whatever!" She hung up the phone, pulling Hermione from her hand to what probably was the chemistry lab.

Hermione texted Harry and Ginny her apology while letting Maddy lead her. When she finished texting, she looked up to see they were in a classroom. Strangely, it didn't look like a lab. There were five rows of desks instead of the normally long and high lab desks. Some tubes and substances were organized neatly in a large cupboard at the side of the classroom. It looked strangely familiar to Hermione and then she instantly thought of Potions class, but she determinately shoved the thought out of her head.

The first thing she noticed was that the first front lines were occupied solely by giggly girls with too much cleavage showing and suspiciously high skirts.

"Darn it." Maddy cursed under her breath. "All the good sits are taken." She led Hermione to the only available seats in the back of the class.

Suddenly the class buzzed with excitement as the teacher entered to the classroom, a self-confident smirk playing on his lips.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she saw his face. This amazing, amazing face.

It was very obvious he was aware of the girl from the front lines blushing and giggling "hi's" to him.

"Hello to you too girls," he said in his deep, sexy, velvety voice. "I hope you didn't go crazy over the summer vacation without me." Some of the girls muttered that they indeed went crazy, almost drooling at his sight and flirtatious words. He smiled even more flirtatiously, clearly aware of the affect it had on the girls "So without further ado, we will start with the lesson. Cleo, sweetheart, take out the gum from your mouth, you know the rules." She complied, smiling all the way to the trash can. He seemed to remember something then "Maddy, darling," he said, turning to look at Maddy who sat a few tables away from Hermione, "The principle said I have a new girl in my class? So who's the new girl I have to try and make fall in love with me?" He asked, grinning mischievously, making some of the girls sigh with jealousy.

"Mister S, you can try and make me fall in love with you." One of the girls, wearing a cheer leader uniforms tweeted.

He looked at her with the same over-confident grin and said "Now, now, Gloria, I think it's only fair that I give everyone in this class an equal opportunity, and I think I've already achieved that goal with you."

"That you did, Mister S, I'm totally in love with you. Do you want to be my boyfriend?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"A, it's illegal for you to have a relationship with a teacher, Gloria," Maddy finally spoke. "And B, even if it weren't, I would have the highest priority as the best friend of his sister, Ellie, and since I was crushing on him ever since I discovered that boys aren't just hair-pulling, gross creatures. C, the new girl is right here, and her name is Hermione Granger, and if the deep breath I heard her take is any indication, I think she is already in love with you." She pointed at Hermione who was inhaling sharply, not even listening to a word that was said ever since the teacher walked into the class.

He followed Maddy's finger until his eyes rested on her face, and they widened a little at her sight, a wild look hunting his face for a split second. But a moment later he was smirking, even if a little forcedly and said "well, welcome Hermione, to Greenmeadow High."

Hermione wanted to move, or reply or something but found it physically impossible, as if bound to her chair by a spell.

'Oh Merlin, help!' She thought voicelessly, looking helplessly at the intense gaze of her new chemistry teacher.

~~~##*##~~~

Hey. So thanks to my amazing beta, Christina Wynnwood, this chapter is edited now.

I hope you can enjoy it better now.