Disclaimer: Would you like to know a secret? I don't own Harry Potter, shocking, I know.
The sun was streaming through the windows, and fell across her face, waking her with the promise of a beautiful day. And for the first time in a month, she felt like her mood might just correspond with the weather. She lay in bed, savoring the last few minutes beneath the warm sheets, before accepting that she had to get up. She never was a morning person, it took her at least 15 minutes and some water splashed on her face before she would usually even talk to people when she first get up.
Heaving a great sigh, she threw back her covers and her toes touched the cold bare floor of her studio style apartment. She slowly drudged to her small kitchenette to fix herself a cup of grape juice. After her father had left last summer, and her mother begin having her...problems, she had begged her grandmother to finish in the basement below the house. She actually won this battle with her grandmother, which was incredibly surprising, as she very rarely did. Only one restriction was placed upon her, she had agree to have dinner with her grandmother and mother upstairs at least three times a week while she was not in school in order to keep her new freedom. She smiled remembering the time she had put her door to the outside world to use one weekend at the end of February, then quickly scowled, trying, like she had been all summer to push every thought of him out of her mind.
Putting her cup down, she pulled Crookshanks down from off of the top of her refrigerator, why he liked to sit up there so much was beyond her, and headed towards the bathroom. After a refreshing shower, she finally was able to put a few words together. She picked out a white flowing skirt that hit just below her knee, and light blue halter top to go with it. She said a few spells to get her hair under control and into big pretty curls, applied just a tad of light make-up (yes believe it or not, he had done SOME good for at least, she didn't dress like a blind nun anymore), and yelled upstairs to her grandmother that she was heading out. To which her grandmother quickly replied "Is your escort here yet? I don't want you going out all alone." She rolled her eyes, she was after all almost seventeen, but quickly lied to her grandmother that she was meeting Ron at an ice cream shop near Diagon Alley, which she would have remembered if she wasn't busy attending too her useless mother. Her grandmother quickly told her to come upstairs and kiss her good bye, not to talk back, and say good bye to her mother.
Walking up the stairs, she quickly pecked her grandmother on the cheek, waved at her mother, and walked out the front door. Hermione Granger having developed an attitude problem was something no one saw coming, but of course a lot of things that had developed recently no one had seen coming. And it wasn't her fault after all, she was just a product of what they had made her, right? Shaking her head of such thoughts she decided to try for the first time in a long time, to really focus on having a good day, instead of just making it through the day. After all, tonight she would reunite with Harry, Ron, and Ginny, all of whom she missed dearly, and they would celebrate Harry's seventeenth birthday.
Diagon Alley was full of life today, which was actually odd. She figured it must be the fact that the ministry had recently set up a magical law enforcement office there, making it a little more secure, which in turn made the people feel a little safer about shopping there. She realized a few of the old shops had reopened, but sadly, Ollivander's remained closed. Hermione liked the old man and wondered where he was. She remembered back to the day she had gotten her wand. He told her that as a muggle born she was expected to fail, but that she must not. Especially since the wand that had chosen her had such a past. A glorious past, one full of passion, excitement, and destiny. He told her that her wand, could do magic that not even Voldemort himself could perform, but he also told her that she didn't get to choose when the magic came, the wand chose, for it was wiser than her. Not once had she seen any inclination that her wand was special, but she liked the story, even if she didn't believe it.
She headed up to Flourish and Blotts to look at the books, and actually found something for Harry there. It was a very interesting looking book called "Seventeen things you can do now that you're seventeen." She knew how excited he was about this birthday and finally being free from his aunt and uncle, so she decided to get it for him, then stop off at the local chocolate store and buy him some candy to go along with it. Waving to the many, many fellow Hogwarts students she saw along the way, saying hello as she pushed through the large group of Gryffindor boys all crowded around the outside of the Quidditch Supply Shop, she headed back to the leaky cauldron.
She was happy with her day trip, but realizing that Harry's party was to start soon and the day had really gotten away for her, she was quite glad to be leaving. Especially when she saw that a few Slytherins, including the nasty Pansy Parkinson were heading into Diagon Alley as she was heading out. Giving her a death glare on the way out Parkinson bumped into her purposefully, then shrieked "Don't touch my clothes you filthy mudblood!!!"
To which Hermione quickly responded, wand to her throat, "And don't be so quick to insult some who could hex you into oblivion Parkinson!" The pug-faced girl, looked at the girl, knowing she was outmatched, and looked around at the Slytherins watching. "You watch your back Granger" She said shakily, trying her best too look tough, and then quickly headed off down the street.
Doing her best to shrug the unfriendly encounter off. Hermione headed towards a back table in the leaky Cauldron where she was to meet Remus Lupin. Walking into the small restaurant, she smiled at her favorite professor, who warmly smiled back as he extended his arm to her in an older brotherly fashion and said "Hello Ms. Granger, I do believe we are late for a party." Hermione smiled, took his arm, when her cell phone went off.
She reached inside, realized it was just a text message from one of her muggle friends about her not knowing if her boyfriend truly loved her. She put her phone quickly back inside her purse, since it was eliciting some odd looks in the wizarding bar. It was then that she realized her small wallet was gone. "Someone's stolen my wallet!" she exclaimed to Professor Lupin, who in return replied "You're kidding! Petty theft is getting ridiculous in London, even here in Diagon Alley it's starting to happy, well what was in it? A lot of money or anything of great importance?"
"Well, no. I only had ten dollars and a library card inside it, I mean I don't use it all that much" "Well that's a relief, do you want to go file a report with magical law enforcement, or try to look for it?" "No, no" She replied, knowing they were already late for the party "let's head on, I don't want to be late for his birthday." It was odd though, when she thought about it...she didn't have much money, she didn't look like she would even have much money. So what on earth would someone go to the trouble of stealing a teenager's wallet?
Feeling like her day was a little less wonderful, she had no idea that in less than an hour she would have much much more to worry about than her wallet.
A/N: Yes this chapter is more background and shopping,etc. things that seem unimportant now, however they will be very important later on. I know the story may seem a bit slow, but it will pick up soon, within the next chapter. I just had to set up a few things so everyone can understand what's goin on later!