Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I do not make any money from my stories.

Authors Note: hi all, this is my old story I posted in 2002 and forgot about LOL. I just recently remember what I called it and found it again and have decided to continue working on it. I am not sure where the creative bunny went for this story but I will fix up the chapters that created all those years ago and see if I can get back into the swing of things to keep it going. I hope that the readers from so long ago find this again and continue liking what I write.

I decided to continue this story because of all the awesome comments and reviews from previous readers. I hope I don't disappoint.

Thanks to all of those that supported me and this story all those years ago.

So on with the story. This story was created from a song that I fell inlove with a long time ago by Christina Aguilera called "I'm Ok". Very moving song.

Ok so this story is set for their last year of Hogwarts. So it will only be up to date with the fifth book. I didnt want to go changing what I had started with. There will most likely not be anthing reguarding the final battle, but I am still unsure where this will end up.

Chapter One: The Escape

As I looked at myself in the mirror, I stand and stare at my reflection. Yep, little Miss Bookworm-Granger had changed over the last year. My hair was now tamed and in ringlets. I had grown a few inches taller, but would still be considerably shorter than both Harry and Ron. My skin was no longer milky white. It was now beautifully tanned, thanks to spending most of my vacation on a beach in Miami. I still have that sparkle in my eye. The only real difference is that I have become... womanly! I am now equip with having curves in all the right places.

Yes, I do have to admit, I love the way I look. Spending time with my cousin Amelia in America had helped me realise that I do have things to be proud of. With her help, I have a learnt how to look after myself, I have great tan and knowledge of how to properly take care of my looks. Amelia sure taught me how to work with what I had and up until my most recent visit, I didn't think I had anything that could work. With the help of some beauty products (and some personal tweaking, courtesy of potion knowledge) I was finally able to tame my wild mane of curls. I was also introduced to clever makeup tips that made it hard to know that I was actually wearing make up! Yes, when it came to being a woman Amelia had all the right tips and tricks.

Now that's the Hermione from a couple of weeks ago, and that's what I would have said to you to start my story. That Hermione seems like forever ago, since I have been back time has seemed to stand still. I was carefree. I was a normal teenage witch heading to her last year of school. That was before I had realised the horrible truth of my father and my mother had to go through while I was away from home.

This is my story now...

It was a week away from the new school year and I had just awoken with a start from the sound of my mother and father screaming at each other downstairs in the kitchen. This had become a regular thing since the end of sixth year, and had escalated since I left on my trip to America.

Apparently it had all started when my parents' business had collapsed, and we were strapped for cash. I was now about to start seventh year and they weren't sure if whether I was going to be able to attend my final year at Hogwarts. I had no idea of their money problems, and had found out that my aunty and paid for my vacation to America.

When their company had first collapsed, there had been private, yet strained conversations. I didn't even know that their company had gone under until I came home after finishing sixth year. They started fighting about what to do about the business and their money. Then their fighting turned onto the most stupid things. They now fight about everything. Every tiny, pathetic reason, there they are screaming at each other. I was glad that I was visiting Amelia and Aunt Susan, I needed to get away from the tension. But by the time I had returned home from America, their verbal abuse had formed into something much worse. Physical abuse.

Every morning I would wake to the sound of them fighting. By the time I was downstairs for breakfast, my mother would be lying somewhere on the house floor in pain. At first I tried all I could to stop my father from hurting her. But I was nothing compared to my father. Every time I tried to stop him, he would throw me against the wall and hit me while telling me to stay out of it. Sometimes I was lucky and he would hold me down while he screamed at me, or he would only throw me out of the room, forcing me so hard that I landed against a wall or the stairs. Other days I wasn't so lucky. I had no chance of protecting her. I had no chance of protecting myself.

As I made my way to my dresser, I heard the familiar sound of my mother yelping in pain and the thud of her body to the floor. I shut my eyes, trying to block out an image of my mother sprawled onto the floor. It hurt me to see the pain across my mothers face, every time my fathers fists would put her in her place. It was inbedded into my mind. A tear stained my cheek and I opened my eyes. There I stood staring into the mirror. The bruising on my cheek has subsided considerably but was still painful, and the cut on my lip had healed slightly. These were the results of being in reaching distance during another one of their fights. I tried to creep out of sight, but I was not stealthy enough.

I wiped the tear away as I looked at myself in the reflection, I hated what I saw. I looked exactly like my father. I hated it, I hated him. I hate him for what he has done to me, what he has done to my mother. I couldn't wait to get out of this house. I couldn't wait to be in the safety of the castle walls. I raised my hand and touched the large black bruise on my right cheek and winced at the pain.

"You're going to pay for our pain." I whispered.

I had a look of pure hate in my eyes. There was no longer a sparkle, not one tiny note of happiness. They were just dark and cold. Happiness had been stripped from me and I don't think it was going to come rushing back anytime soon. My fathers' abuse had damaged me, love and trust was no longer an option in my life. I raised my wand to my face to apply a glamour charm when...

"GET UP YOU STUPID BITCH. GET YOUR ASS UP FROM THAT FLOOR"

I could hear my father right under my room. So my mother had to have been lying on the kitchen floor... again.

"I SAID GET UP"

Saying that last word, I heard a noise from my mother. She yelped in pain. He was kicking her while she was down. That was it! I had to get out of here. I had to get help. I had to protect myself.

I applied the glamour charm to my face to hide all bruising, changed my clothing and grabbed my trunk. I started throwing everything within reach into it. I did not want to be around long enough to hear any more of this bull shit. I had no idea where I was going to go, or how I was going to get there. There was no way my father would let me out of the house, not while he was still angry. Not while he still had the chance to hurt someone else.

I quickly tied my hair back and scanned the room checking for missed items while trying to think of a way to get out. I grabbed my shoes and put them on. While tying my last lace, I heard something I feared. My father. He was stomping his way up the stairs. He was coming for me. Mum wasn't enough this time, he was still pissed and she wasn't strong enough to withstand his temper.

I pulled my wand out of my back pocket and flicked it at the door, locking it. I scanned the room in a panic, still trying to figure out what the fuck to do. The window. It was my only option, my only chance of escaping.

I shrunk all of my things so they would fit in my pocket, and ran to the window. I went out the window and down the terrace. When I reached the ground I heard my bedroom door slam open. I pressed myself against the side of the house looking up towards my room, holding my breath hoping that he would not look out the window and see me. He didn't. I heard the door slam again and finally breathed out. I didn't know where to go, so I just ran. As fast as I could, I made my way towards the centre of town.

Tick tick tick tick tick... the clocks were working overtime in this head of mine. Where can I go? Where?

I stopped running and continued through the park, catching my breath while checking to see that I wasn't seen. He wouldn't chase me; he wouldn't even know where to start looking. So I made my way to a quite area of the town, stuck out my wand hand and hailed the 'Knight Bus'.

Within seconds the bright purple, triple-decker bus screeched to a halt right in front of me. The doors opened revealing Stan Shunpike looking down at me.

"Hello Miss, welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor, where are we off to today?"

"The Leaky Cauldron"

Ok so there is chapter 1 all re-edited and tweaked. I know it is still quite short, but I am still very new to this and feel that it was only really an introduction to the adventure. I hope its working for you. I am working on chapters 2 and 3 straight after this 1. So stay posted and feel free to review. I would love your thought and ideas of where the story should head.