Chapter 1: Pas d'argent - no money.

"Look Ron, me and Harry can just lend you the money. There's no reason to fret." Hermione said, her voice filled with exasperation. They had had this conversation for the past hour.

"No, I refuse to take charity from either of you." Ron said vehemently.

"And what are you going to do? Drop out of school? And what about Ginny, is she going to have to cut her future short just because of your pride?" It was Harry this time. He too was beginning to loose patience. He was NOT going to let Ginny leave Hogwarts, no matter the cost.

"What are you going to do Hermione? Ask your parents to pay my tuition fees and Ginny's? What will they think of me and my family?"

"Don't worry about that. There's more than enough money in my retirement fund to cover ten tuition fees, if not more." Hermione said proudly. Ron and Harry gaped , suddenly diverted.

"You have a retirement fund?!" They said in unison.

"Well, one can never be too careful. I read something when I was five saying that it was better to put money in a retirement fund at a young age, little by little, than putting a lot at a time when you're older. That's when I started setting money aside for my future retirement." Hermione said, unperturbed in the least.

"Are you sure they meant THAT young?" Harry asked.

Hermione just glared at them. "Look Ron, I have over ten thousand pounds in that fund, I don't need to ask my parents for money. So are you going to accept my help or not."

"Ten thousand pounds?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"My parents helped out a bit when they heard about my idea, and so did all my relatives. That's not the point."

"Well, Hermione, since its your RETIREMENT fund, maybe you should save it in case of an emergency or something." Ron said weakly, still in shock.

"That's what my emergency fund is for. My grandmother set one up for me before she died. She wanted to make sure that I wouldn't have to worry about money when I grew up. Look, you need less than a thousand pounds Ron. Just take it will you. Harry'll pay for Ginny and we can all go and buy our school supplies."

"Err.Hermione. Just out of curiosity, just what other funds do you have?" Harry asked.

"An education fund, a medical fund, a vacation fund, a house-buying fund. My grand parents were worry warts alright? Well, Ron, are you gonna take the money or not?"

"No"

"No?"

"Look Hermione, I don't care if it doesn't affect you or Harry in anyway. I refuse to take charity from my friends. I just can't!" Ron cried, feeling worse every minute.

"Don't think of it as charity." Harry said.

"What else could I think of it as?"

"A gift?" Hermione suggested.

"of two thousand pounds?"

"How about a loan? You can pay us back after we graduate ." Harry tried to convince.

"There's no guarantee that I'll get a job after we graduate. And then I need to help my parents with their mortgage."

"Look, we'll lend you the money now, and during this year, you can fundraise with Ginny to pay us back."

"Hermione, fundraise? What are you talking about?"

"It's simple. At the beginning of the year we just put up signs saying that we'll do odd jobs for people for, lets say, a Galleon. If we spend the entire year doing this, you'll have enough money to pay me and Harry back."

"We?"

"Of course, as your friends, me and Harry can't let you work all alone without helping you right. Harry would want to be close to Ginny anyway, so it's a plus for him. Together, the tree of us, we'll raise the money in no time." Hermione finished, winking at Harry. She only needed Ron to accept the money, whether or not their fundraising scheme would be success or not was another story.

"Well......"

"Come on Ron, It'll be fun. And truly, what's the worse that could happen? Malfoy hiring us to clean his shoes? If he pays me enough, I'll do it, and hex his shoes in the process." Harry said.

"Oh alright."

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Hermione dropped her book. Her gaze lingered on the boy who had just entered the store. He had grown immensely, and she realized that she didn't even reach his shoulder now. Although she had filled out in all the right places, she had never grown much taller than she was, and that made her rather petite. She didn't feel this defect that much when she was will Ron or Harry, they were tall, but not THAT tall. Draco would tower over her. His shoulders had grown broader, making him look devilishly handsome in his night-black robes. His strides were as arrogant as ever. He didn't even notice that she was there, staring, transfixed on the spot. She bit down on her lower lip.

'No. He's not for you Hermione. This is just a crush. It will pass!!' Hermione told herself. Well, it had better! It hadn't passed yet and it had been two years. Two whole years and she was still enamored by him. Drat it!

And acting like a coward for one of the few times in her life, Hermione paid for her books and dashed out of the store, heading straight for Gringott's Bank. Little did she know that her feelings for Draco Malfoy would be put to the test by the very scheme she had devised to help her best friends.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, Ms. Rowlings does. Please do not sue me.