As soon as I stepped out of the shower, a bewitched towel embroidered with "The Three Broomsticks" floated from the linen shelf to wrap around me as if summoned, enveloping me with the peaceful scent of lavender. When I came out of the bathroom, Ginny was spread eagle on top of one of the inn's beds and had a huge goofy grin plastered on her face.

"I can't believe our parents let us stay at The Three Broomsticks! Being seventeen is amazing…" A sigh of happiness sounded from the middle of the bed. Cheerily, I walked over to perch myself on the edge of it and began brushing out my wet and tangled tresses.

"I know…it was really cool of them all to agree. Poor Neville, though…" I looked down at the fluffy white comforter and reached out to lay my hand against it. It was soft as silk. I cast a forlorn look at the cozy, inviting room around me. Neville's Grandmother hadn't let him join in our overnight stay at the inn. She'd been afraid he would forget many more of his school things in a different setting than home. Too bad.

"Yeah, it's a bummer he couldn't have come along." Ginny said plainly.

"Uh-huh. Hey any idea what that potion does?"

"Oh, yeah-it makes you have amazing dreams…about what mysteries lay within the pink bottle from Diagon Alley. Ha-ha!" Ginny taunted.

"Ugh! You insufferable little witch! Come on-tell me. I bought it for goodness' sake!" With a sort of frustrating adrenaline coursing through me, I ran over to my still unpacked shopping bags and retrieved the pink potion from the beautifying potions shop. I uncorked it and dabbed a bit on my fingertips and then trudged determinedly back to the bed, almost tripping over a chair-admittedly, my brain was a bit foggy. I scooted myself up by Ginny and half-lay against the pillows, readying my potion-covered fingertips at my temples.

"I'll do it," I threatened. Ginny bit back her lip, trying to suppress a giggle. Then her eyes lit up with a mischievous glint.

"Hold on. Stay right there." Then the redhead flew off the bed and grabbed something from her trunk, back turned. Ginny fumbled a bit and I saw her take out her wand and whisper a spell. Ginny scampered back to the bed, bringing with her a large tin of something and her wand. The container was as big as a bucket and for a moment, as Ginny took off the top, I feared for my life. I relaxed when, with a flourish, she removed the lid completely and nothing came jumping out. She muttered another spell, pointing to the inside of the tin and I waited a second before I heard a series of popping noises erupt from the contents. Small masses of something fluffy and white appeared in the tin, mounding over the top.

"Popcorn? Really, Ginny?" I sat, incredulous against the pillows, fingers still poised above the sides of my forehead.

"You can do it now." Ginny began stuffing handfuls of popcorn into her mouth gleefully.

With that, I tackled her, grabbing the potion bottle in one hand and gripping her shoulders with the other in an attempt to get my hands near her temples. I was gonna find out what this damn potion did. End. Of. Story. With a squeal, Ginny wriggled her tiny frame out from my grasp and bolted across the room to the doorway, still clutching her tin of popcorn. She escaped in a flash, darting out in the hallway, running while still filling her mouth with popcorn. I was close behind, Eau de Sex in hand.

"You're gonna choke, lady! Stop running-you can't hide from Eau de Sex!" I sprinted after Ginny as she giggled like a madwoman, running in zigzags down the dark hallways of the inn. She hooked a left and I sped up.

"Aaaeeeeeh!" I heard her scream as she flew across the wood floor in her sock-feet. A door opened nearby.

"Ur gonna die!" I exclaimed in the most hoarse, creepy, and horror movie-like voice I could conjure. Soon, I was joining in Ginny's diabolical laughing as my road-runner feet crunched and grinded her popcorn trail into bits.

Without warning, she ran right into Harry, who had come out with Ron into the corridor to see what the ruckus was all about. Instantly, her game plan changed and she decided to use Harry as a shield, grabbing his arms from behind and placing him directly in front of her. Ron's face was a hysterical contortion of confusion and befuddlement. To rebuttal her strategic advantage, I formed a brilliant scheme of my own and put it into action. Without hesitation, I pushed Ron into Harry and his mouth opened for a yell of surprise but turned into a grunt as he collided with everyone and knocked them down. He lay, crumpled, on top of Harry, Harry on top of Ginny, and Ginny gasping for breath underneath it all, trying to get a hold of her popcorn bin which lay turned on its side, popcorn spilling out.

I grabbed her tin of popcorn and ran crazily, into Harry and Ron's room nearby, flailing my arms and waving the popcorn and potion around wildly. Ginny was on me like butter on bread, wrestling the popcorn from my hands. It turned into a struggle, with limbs-a flying and intense headlocks before Harry started forward, attempting to quell the confusing wrestling match.

"Is there a problem?" croaked a voice from the doorway. Tom the innkeeper stood with a broom and popcorn filled dustpan, face purple and swollen with rage. A vein at his temple throbbed threateningly-much like Uncle Vernon, Harry noted. Ginny and I sat up straight and forced fake innocent smiles on our faces. I put the popcorn in my lap and stuffed the potion in one of my slippers. Tom zeroed in on us girls and I took a tentative fistful of popcorn and shoved it in my mouth, hoping to avoid confrontation.

"Er-no…kind, kind sir. We were just getting ready for bed," Ginny piped up nervously. Tom gave a warning snort and started shaking his head in disapproval. Then with the slam of the door, we were alone. There were so many odd things that went on at the Three Broomsticks, it took a lot to get you kicked out. Still, popcorn littered the floor and he wasn't happy about it.

We didn't let Tom ruin our fun, though. Soon, Ginny and I were breathless with giggles, laughing until long after the boys had gone to sleep. When we dragged ourselves back to our room, exhausted, I had no energy to change into my jam-jams. I fell asleep on the spot, sprawled out on the second, untouched bed still in my towel and still smiling.

The next day, I awoke to our wake-up call: a young house-elf dressed in the fabric of a stuffing-less chair cushion.

"It is time for waking up, miss!" the house-elf squeaked. "The sun is out and the Hogwarts train is arriving very, very soon!"

I stumbled out of bed, still sore from the wrestling match with Ginny. Tugging my towel tighter around me, I grabbed my new potions and clothes and dragged them into the bathroom. It was time to complete my transformation. If I was going to be a different Hermione-I needed to show it-and the best way to do that would be to look and feel my best on my first day back. With finality, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and put my determined face on, repeating the mantra that had helped me so many times before. You are the new, confident, beautiful Hermione. You can do anything. Confident, beautiful, Strong. And after a long inspection of my tangled hair and paler-than-wanted complexion, I got to work.

Witch's Sunless Tanning Solution and Hex-A-Blemish worked miracles on my skin. I was now golden bronzed, as if I had spent the whole summer outside. My body glittered with sunlit tones of perfection and the skin-clearing potion made it flawless. The LashGro Balm was a little trickier: even though it was applied in mascara form, the under-eye lashes needed careful attention, as applying too much of it would make the bottom lashes way too long. In the end, though, I spent a little extra time and ended up with something close to amazing. My eyes, a green-blue, turned out very beachy, the new luscious lashes transforming the normally drab colors into sea stormy hues; I was happily surprised.

The only thing left was an outfit and hair. After checking my watch, I clambered over to Ginny's still sleeping form and woke her up more forcefully, basically dragging her to the shower. While she got the sleepiness out of her eyes in the tub, I continued getting ready. Without further ado, I coated my scraggly hair evenly with the new and improved version of Sleakeazy's Hair Potion and watched as my hair went from tangled, matted curls to shining tendrils of voluminous sexy. Satisfied with my appearance, I pulled forth the bag of clothing items and picked out my change of clothes and uniform I would bring with me on the train.

Only twenty-five minutes before the train arrived, Ginny came out of the bathroom, ready to go. She looked gorgeous in the mauve sundress I had gotten her the night prior and her hair was pinned up into a loose chignon.

"Wow." I said, appraising Ginny with a wink. "You look like a total hottie, Ms. Weasely."

"Tell me about it. You almost look better than me." She winked back and then gave me a high five as we pulled our trunks out into the corridor so that Tom could come bewitch them into a cab for us. I looked down at the outfit I had chosen. I wore my favorite pair of shorts with blue flats and a cute top I had found last night.

Less than a half-hour later, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and I all climbed onto the Hogwarts express and waved goodbye to our parents and our last summer of innocence. My moms shining white teeth glinting as she smiled and blew kisses at me from the station were engrained in my mind as we found our way to a compartment. Ah. Hogwarts at last.