Hermione thought it unreal how fast the morning had gone by. She was now en route to Diagon Alley where they would be staying. She had been caught up in a whirlwind of activities before they left. Not only did she spend an hour picking out an outfit, which ended up being her favorite pair of jeans and a cute black t-shirt, she also spent another good hour perfecting her hair (it takes a lot of work trying to straighten a bush of a do) and make-up (she was going for the natural look which takes a lot of time as we all know). After that was done and her bags were packed she spent some time trying to get the butterflies out of her stomach by shaking her booty to the Spice Girls. Hermione had always thought it weird that people at school only saw her as this stuffy, smart teacher's pet when she was just a regular fifteen year old.
After what seemed like a million years, she and her family finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron. In just the few moments they spent lugging the bags into the place, her butterflies returned almost as fast as they had went before they left the house. She wanted to see Ron and then again she didn't. She felt like she would go tongue-tied if she had to talk to him, which would be weird since they had been best friends for almost six years now. It wasn't until recently that feelings of real deep emotion for him arose in her. Sure, she had a cute little crush on him for awhile now, but she had never felt such intense emotion for him until the end of last year when they left Hogwarts. She helped her parents get all the bags while Tom got their rooms situated. Ginny had already invited her to stay in her room so they could have lots of girl time. Hermione decided that this would also be a good arrangement seeing as she might be able to pry some answers from her about her brother. Harry, Ron, and the Weasleys were no were in sight, and Hermione figured that they were all out an about taking in the many pleasures Diagon Alley had to offer. She still had about a half and hour until she was due to meet Ron and Harry. She decided she would go and freshen up before heading out. This meant making sure she looked her best if she was going to be seeing a certain someone. Her parents had given her a bit of money to use since they were going to be staying in the room for a bit and recuperating from the journey. She walked into the room (Ginny had told her that she could just go right in and settle into it) and found a note from Ginny on the desk by the bathroom. It read:
Hermione,
So glad to have you here with us! Make yourself at home and get your things settled. I'll see you when we all get back. By the way, everyone says hi!
Ginny
Ginny was always so sweet to her. She looked up to Hermione as a sister since she herself had not one sister in her entire large family. As the youngest Weasley, she also needed a role model she could relate to, and that was what Hermione was to her.
Hermione walked into the small but cozy bathroom and began to look herself over. She had to say, all her effort had paid off. She actually felt good about what she was seeing. "I hope Ron does too," she said quietly to herself. She now had about ten minutes to walk to Quality Quidditch Supplies where they were all meeting. The walk alone was probably a good six minutes up the street, so she started off.
The stroll was very pleasant and full of eye popping sights. She liked being amongst the witches and wizards that made up her world. Each one had their own special characteristic about them that she loved to try and decipher. The meeting place was quickly coming into view, and Hermione was getting so nervous her palms were starting to sweat. She couldn't make out if Ron and Harry were standing there from this distance, but she was pretty sure they were since she had about two minutes until noon. As she loomed ever the more closer she could definitely make out Ron standing tall next to Harry right in front of the shop watching her. He looked to die for in a pair of dark jeans and blue t-shirt. The butterflies were fluttering madly around in her belly when she finally reached them.
"Hermione!" They both called to her as if they hadn't seen her in a million years. Now that she was thinking about it, it had been awhile since they had last spoken to her in person.
"Harry! Ron!" Harry embraced her first in a brotherly hug. It was Ron's turn next. Although he looked fine as he tightly wrapped his now slightly muscular arms around her, Hermione could see he was blushing a bit. She felt like she could stay in those arms forever when Harry suddenly cleared his throat breaking the silence and causing Ron to end the embrace. Oh how she didn't want it to end!
"So Hermione, I hear there is something of complete urgency that you must discuss with the two of us," said Harry jokingly.
"Yes, I need to tell the two of you about this nightmare I had two nights ago. It was horrible! You-know-who was there, and he was going to kill you, Harry. He had a special charm he was going to use to do it, and he also said something about harming anyone associated with you." It felt so good to get it off her chest where it had been for the past few days.
"Are you sure it was you know, Voldemort?" Harry had never had a problem saying his name while everyone was too frightened to even speak the first syllable.
"Positive. He was at The Burrow. The last thing I remember was he ran into the sign outside the house as he was walking to the front door, and then I woke up."
"If he is...you know...after me then he is going to have problems getting to me. I mean we go back to school in a matter of days, which means I'll be under Dumbledore's watchful eyes." Harry didn't look concerned, but then again he hardly ever showed it when it came to Voldemort.
"Has it ever stopped him before?" Ron had finally chimed in. Hermione noticed that he had just been watching her for the past few minutes. That had to be good...right?
"Well no, but trust me. I'll be fine. We'll all be fine. Let's just stay aware of everything around us, and we can go to Dumbledore the first night we get to school. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Ron and Hermione answered at the same time.
"I hate to leave the party early, but I have to be somewhere in a few minutes. See you guys back at the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry looked anxious to get to wherever he was going.
"Yeah sure, but where are you going," asked Hermione curiously.
"He told me he has got to go see someone about something," replied Ron looking at Hermione with his innocent eyes.
"Yeah. Catch you guys later." With that Harry was gone walking towards the Magical Menagerie.
"So, how've you been," asked Ron a bit nervously Hermione noticed. "Oh! Great. And yourself?"
"Good."
"Um...if you don't mind I've somewhere to be too. I was supposed to meet Fred and George five minutes ago. They want to show me one of their new inventions. You can come if you like." Hermione thought for a quick second and decided the more time with Ron alone the better.
"I would! That is...if you want me to go."
"Yes, I want you to."
"Okay then."
The two of them headed off to meet Fred and George. It only took a few moments for them to reach the two rowdy twins. "Hi ya Ron. Hello Hermione. Glad you could make it," said George. "You're just in time for the show," stated Fred with a gleam in his eye. That gleam Hermione knew all too well, and it meant that the two of them were up to no good. "What show," Hermione asked curiously. "Fred and George are going to try out their newest invention, The Whirling Weezer!" Ron looked like he could pee his pants of excitement. He loved watching Fred and George at work. "That's right. Here goes nothing," replied Fred. He then bent down and lit the end of what looked like a type of firework. After a few seconds, the object took off at lightning speed, whirling and twirling as it whipped through the air. Then it happened. It accidentally flew up a woman's robe causing her to scream and howl with fright and pain. "Oops," the Weasley twins said in perfect unison with grins on their faces. "Right, I guess we'll leave it to them then. Want to head back to the Leaky Cauldron? I'm sure everyone's ready to eat by now." Ron looked so sweet, how could Hermione say no? "Yes, that would be nice. I am a bit hungry myself." They started off toward the Leaky Cauldron. A slight breeze was blowing, making it a bit colder than it had been before. "It's gotten a bit colder out hasn't it?" Hermione just wanted to hear his voice again. "Yeah it has. I wish I had brought a jacket. That way I could offer it to you." Hermione almost jumped for joy. Truly this meant he felt for her as she did for him. He wouldn't just offer his jacket to her and stare her down if he didn't like her a little more than a friend. "That's alright. I understand. Besides, we're almost there." A few moments later they reached the Leaky Cauldron. As expected everyone (minus the twins, who were probably caught up with the poor woman) was there and ready to eat including Harry. Hermione quickly spotted Ginny and embraced her in a sisterly hug.
After a delicious meal everyone was ready for a good nights rest. The twins had finally arrived and began to eat as everyone else was ready to leave. Ron had been watching Hermione all through dinner, and Hermione was dying to talk to Ginny about it. She knew she could trust Ginny with her little secret. Suddenly, just as everyone was exiting the table to head to their rooms, the lights flickered and extinguished launching everyone into complete darkness.
A/N: I finally finished the third chapter! I've been sitting her for quite some time trying to finish it. The fourth will soon be following. I hope you all are enjoying it so far. Lots more to come. I love receiving your reviews and the more the better. Keep them coming!
