Hermione's P.O.V.

Hermione slowly chewed on another stale biscuit before finally putting down her breakfast. Her stomach was in no mood to agree with her that morning with her nerves having skyrocketed since Harry had left not even half-an-hour ago.

Ginny and Ron sat across from her, each seemingly having taken Harry's departure much better than she had. Ron, as usual, had stuffed his face as full as he could get it, and Hermione was mildly satisfied that Ginny was sharing her look of disgust.

"Mum we should have named him Pigwidgeon rather than give the owl," Ginny exclaimed, gesturing with her head to her brother who had paused with his biscuit half-way to his mouth. "Emphasis on the pig part."

Ron glared at her sister as Hermione forced a laugh to stay down.

"Now I'll have none of that this morning," Mrs. Weasley scolded, not stopping her quick movements from around the kitchen. "Rather than berate your brother around, if you're finished with your breakfast, why don't you start in the spare bedrooms? But before you go I'd take Fred or George up with you. I thought I heard Alastor mention something about a few spare banshees up there."

Ginny groaned under her breath but rose from the long kitchen table and made her way towards the door. She glared back at Ron as he gave her a satisfied smirk.

Quietly thanking she wasn't the one to go up to deal with the creatures, Hermione took another small bite of her biscuit as it turned from a mush to a grain in her mouth in a matter of seconds. She glanced up as Mrs. Weasley bustled by again, waving her wand towards the sink and managing the dishes - for the third time that morning.

"Er, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione started, rising from the table. "Do you need any help with cleaning up in here?"

Mrs. Weasley didn't answer for a second, and Hermione heard her mumble something under her breath about "the audacity of them" and "the poor boy only being fifteen". She snapped her head up towards Hermione when the girl cleared her throat to grab her attention.

"W-What? Oh, um, no no that's alright. I can sure I can manage on my own!" Mrs. Weasley reassured, though the frown lines she hadn't had the night before said otherwise. "Nothing I can't handle!"

"Oh, um, alright," Hermione conceded, taking her seat again across from Ron. She raised a brow at the red-head across from her when she realized one of her biscuits had somehow ended up on his plate. "Really?"

"Like you were going to eat it," Ron mumbled under his breath. He glanced over at Molly as she scurried from one end of the kitchen to the other at near lightning speed. "I think she's starting to go a bit mad."

"You don't say," Hermione agreed as she watched her pick up a pan that was already spotless and give it another run down with an old wash-rag. "We need something to distract her for the day. I think with Harry's trial and everything it's starting to wear her down a bit."

Ron snorted in agreement. He didn't answer for a minute, his brow furrowing in concentration as he thought of something they could do for Mrs. Weasley. His eyes lit up for a second before he slumped back forward, clearly debating whether or not it would be a good idea.

"What?"

"Do you think she'd want to get out and go somewhere?" Ron asked, lowering his voice as Mrs. Weasley passed. "You know, like out to Diagon Alley just to see some of the shops and what not. Might be nice for her to get out of this place for a bit."

"Is it safe, though?" Hermione asked, a hint of worry creeping into her voice. "With everything that the Ministry is putting against Harry and Dumbledore, and now that You-Know-Who's back, we don't even know if - "

"What are you two muttering about over there?"

Both Hermione and Ron lifted their heads and looked over to where Mrs. Weasley had occupied herself by the stove. She rose a brow at the two as she absentmindedly ran her wand over the stop and a mangled pile of old grease lifted off the top.

"I - er - I just remembered that I forgot to grab one of my books when we went out for school," Ron said a little too quickly. "Yeah, Hermione just reminded me that I missed the last bit of the list. Wouldn't want to send me off without all my stuff, right?"

"Ronald Weasley, you can't be serious!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "We were out at Diagon Alley during the summer for nearly two hours running around that place trying to pull everything together. You're really telling me that you forgot to grab your books during that time?"

"Yeah," Ron admitted with a slight grimace. "Would it hurt to maybe go out and get them…?" His voice trailed off with a stern glare from Mrs. Weasley.

"That's the last time I let you stay along with Fred and George," Molly muttered under her breath, though both Hermione and Ron heard it loud and clear. She released a quick huff before throwing her rag back across the table. "You've got ten minutes to get yourselves ready. And I best not see you or either of the twins poking around in the quidditch shop. Heaven knows that's what got you distracted in the first place."

"Got it, be right back!" Ron exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and shoving three biscuits into his mouth at once as he bolted for the stairs. Hermione ran up behind him and followed his tail all the way up the stairs. She ignored Walburga's screams of protest as the two came running by, and it was only when they had reached the top landing that Hermione congratulated Ron for his quick thinking.

"Oh that wasn't a lie," Ron began with a sheepish look. "Fred and George drug me over to one of the shops to check out some new materials they could use for their products. I kind of actually got distracted and skipped over Flourish and Blotts while we were there…"

His voice trailed off again when Hermione narrowed her eyes in a stern look that very nearly resembled Molly's.

Fifteen minutes later, Hermione found herself waiting in the drawing room by the fireplace as Mrs. Weasley walked in dragging Ron by the scruff of his sweater behind her. Ginny and the twins followed close behind, and it was evident all three were trying to keep themselves from laughing.

Hermione stumbled forward out of the pit of swirling green flames from behind her. Brushing away the extra soot that had gathered on her jumper, Hermione walked forward and joined Ginny by one of the tables. The cozy and warm feel of The Leaky Cauldron swelled around her as Mrs. Weasley appeared in front of them, adjusting her cardigan and narrowly missing getting trampled by George as he fumbled out.

Ron and Fred were quick to follow, and no more than a minute later, Hermione found herself at the main entrance of Diagon Alley once again. The streets, as usual, were bustling with witches and wizards moving in and out of shops. Chatter filled the air with the sweet scent of butter beer, accompanied by the over looming shadows of crooked buildings. Diagon Alley had never ceased to amaze Hermione, and no matter how many times she had already come through, it still felt a little exciting to come in each time.

Beside her, she glanced to see Mrs. Weasley breathe out a small sigh of contentment. Looking over her shoulder, she shared a look with Ron knowing it had been good to get her out of the house, even if it was just for a little while. Before any of them had a chance to take in the splendor of it all again, or before the twins had time to sneak away on their own adventures, Mrs. Weasley had turned to all of them with a new determination.

"Right, Ron, you'll be coming with me and we can swing by Flourish and Blotts to pick up the rest of your things. Fred and George, don't go overkill with the joke equipment, but in Merlin's name, you better not come home with any of those extendable ears again. Got it?" Mrs. Weasley clarified. Fred and George each gave a curt nod, but Hermione could already see the mischievous glint in their eyes. "Ginny, do try and stay with the twins. And Hermione - "

"Actually, Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if I could go off on my own for a little bit," Hermione cut in as she pulled a small bag of sickles from her bag. "I need to pick up some extra parchment before school starts, I'm running a bit low."

"Oh, well, alright," Mrs. Weasley conceded, her brow furrowing with internal debate if she should let her go off on her own. "You know where to find me if you need anything, dear."

"Will do," Hermione smiled before turning on her heel and making her way into the crowd.

A small smile pricked the corner of her lips when she heard Mrs Weasley say, "I thought she had come with a full stack of parchment when she arrived. My, my, she really must keep herself busy."

At the moment, school work wasn't what had kept her on her toes. Writing letters, on the other hand, increasingly decreased the amount of parchment she had in her trunk from when she had first arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. It didn't do much better when she had opened it back up that morning to see she only had one left when Kreacher had come to deliver the morning mail from Draco.

Her thoughts beginning to wander, Hermione didn't see the blonde approaching from the other direction, or the Italian wizard walking beside her. It was only when she heard someone say her name that she looked up from the street to see a Slytherin beaming back at her.

"Daphne!"

Daphne dodged her way through the crowd, abandoning the wizard behind her, and ran up to Hermione. The brunette witch didn't even have time to register it before Daphne had wrapped her into a hug.

"My goodness, Hermione, it's been such a long time!" she blonde squealed, finally pulling back when Hermione gasped that she still needed air. "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you too, Daphne," Hermione returned with a wide smile. Her eyes traveled down to the deep emerald robes her friend was wearing, along with the simple gold bracelet encircling her wrist at a perfect sizing. "Wow, you look amazing!"

"Seems my birthday present paid off after all."

Hermione's gaze moved from the blonde witch to the wizard behind her. She couldn't help but give Blaise a small smile as he came up to Daphne's side and gave her a playful bump with his shoulder. A teasing grin made its way onto Daphne's face and she glanced at Hermione before smoothing out a few wrinkles.

"Well, I honestly would have preferred it in blue, but I suppose green will have to do," Daphne shrugged, turning to face Hermione again so Blaise couldn't see the smirk pulling at the corner of her lips.

Blaise's own smirk had fallen away, and Hermione was near awestruck when he muttered, "Oh, sorry. I didn't know - "

The entire effect was lost when Daphne burst out giggling. From his seemingly genuine hurt expression, she quickly took his hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. "No, no, Blaise, I promise I was just teasing! I absolutely love it."

"Tease." Blaise spat as he rolled his eyes, but both Hermione and Daphne noticed the look of relief that had come before it.

"Aw, how sweet, he really is just a softy," Hermione chuckled as Daphne joined in. Blaise scowled and rolled his eyes again, and Daphne's smile widened when a twinge of pink appeared at the tops of his ears.

"You and Draco both," Daphne exclaimed, shaking her head. "You try to be all big and bad, but Hermione's right. You're both just big sweeties behind it all."

Hermione's ears could have literally perked upwards at the mention of Draco, and Daphne didn't miss it. "Speaking of which, where is he anyway, Blaise?"

"I think his mum dragged him back off to Madame Malkin's or somewhere like that," Blaise replied, quickly having a quick look around the witches and wizards swarming around them as they bustled by. "Truth be told, I actually have no idea where he went."

"No worries, I'm sure he'll catch up eventually," Daphne shrugged. "In the meantime, would you care to join us, Hermione? Blaise and I were thinking about stopping by at Fortescue's if you'd want to get a treat. Draco stops by there sometimes on his own anyway, and I'm sure he'd stop by there to look for us."

Hermione nodded in agreement as they began making their way through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. She let Daphne take the lead, though, when she quickly realized that she had no idea where she was going.

"Wait, you've never been to Fortescue's?" Daphne gasped, walking up beside Hermione, despite their barely being enough room for one person to walk down the street. "Oh, their ice cream is fantastic! It's actually where I first met Blaise and Draco if I recall correctly."

"Nice try, Daph," Blaise chuckled from behind her. "The first time all three of us met, it was a dinner party at Draco's Manor, and I specifically remember you throwing a huge fuss over the fact that Draco and I wanted to spend some guy time together and poor Daphne felt so left out."

"We were four at the time, alright?" Daphne hissed at him through clenched teeth. Blaise's smirk only widened when she gave him a light swat on the shoulder, and Hermione couldn't help but enjoy the bickering between the two. While she was convinced neither Blaise nor Daphne had probably announced it yet, it was obvious the two held something past friendship for each other.

"Ah here we are!" Daphne exclaimed, coming to a stop in front of a pastel yellow shop that read Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour next to a floating ice cream cone.

Almost fighting the crowd to get their way inside, Hermione was relieved when the inside of the shop was much calmer than the bustling crowd outside of it. The three walked up to the counter and placed a few orders in, and Hermione soon found herself sitting at a table with the two with a small cup of vanilla ice cream.

"So tell me, what have you been up to this summer?" Daphne asked, taking a bite of her strawberry. "Any new or exciting things happen I should know about?"

She raised a brow at Hermione daring her to ask what she meant. Hermione didn't need to to know what Daphne meant if she had said anything to Draco about her suspected feelings for him over the summer. Her disappointment showed for only a second when Hermione shook her head.

"Just a camping trip with my parents," Hermione explained. "Other than that, it was pretty quiet. I've been staying with the Weasley's recently for the last couple of weeks left of summer, but so far it hasn't been overly interesting."

"No?" Blaise asked with a bit of surprise. "Spending time around those twins, I'd guess the entire place would have exploded by now with all those new products they've been coming up with."

"You've heard about those?" Hermione asked with evident shock.

"Of course," Blaise remarked. "Word gets around between some of the pure-blood families. Honestly, I think gossip is one of the only things that keeps some of the mother's running."

Daphne snorted at his comment, seemingly agreeing without words that he wasn't wrong. From what Hermione had heard in the past, and what she had experienced herself, she couldn't say he was wrong either.

"What about you two?" Hermione inquired, focusing her main attention on Daphne. "Anything to share? I didn't get much of a chance to write to you as much as I wish I had over the summer."

"Nothing much from this side either," Daphne shrugged. "The only real exciting thing this summer was one of the Nott's dinners my family and the Zabini's were invited to. If you'd like, you can take a wild guess about who had enchanted one of the dining room chairs to dance the salsa."

Hermione nearly choked on her bite of ice-cream as a laugh bubbled up in her chest. Looking at Blaise, she exclaimed, "You can't be serious!"

"You should have seen the look on Mrs. Nott's face. In the end, it was so worth it," Blaise smirked. "It's moves were pretty hot, too, if you know what I mean."

"It literally danced into the fireplace!" Daphne snapped, though a small grin took away the annoyance. "Then you and Theo had to try and chase down a dancing dining room chair that was quite literally on fire."

"I know," the Italian wizard chuckled. "It was awesome."

"Honestly, how you try to get attention sometimes is beyond me," Daphne said with an exasperated shake of her head. She turned back to her ice-cream before she had time to see Blaise's smirk turn into a genuine smile as his gaze lingered on her for much longer than necessary.

Hermione didn't comment, but she really didn't think she had to.

The conversation carried on between the pair from there. Stories were exchanged, most in regards to the stupid things the boys had pulled over the summer. Here and there, Daphne would swat Blaise's shoulder while he chuckled with delight, or Daphne would get so caught up in telling Hermione a story she wouldn't notice the smear of ice-cream on her cheek.

Blaise had no objections to wiping it away with his finger for her, and Hermione's smile would always lighten a bit more when a pink stain overtook Daphne's cheeks.

Hermione wasn't sure how long the three had sat there exchanging stories of their summer adventures before the front entrance of the store's door chimed from overhead. A red-head poked her head around the corner of the counter, and Hermione was surprised to see Ginny walking towards them.

"Oh Ginny!" Daphne exclaimed. "How lovely to see you again!"

"Nice to see you, too, Daphne!" Ginny returned with a genuine smile. It fell just a little when her eyes settled on Blaise, but she returned his nonchalant wave nonetheless.

"Hey red."

"Zabini."

"Come to spoil the fun again?" he drawled with a small smirk. Ginny rolled her eyes but released a sigh.

"This time, I'm actually afraid so," Ginny conceded. "Mum and Ron have finished getting the rest of his books for school, and Fred and George are honestly who knows where. She asked me to come and grab you to make sure you've gotten everything you need before we head out again…though I don't think she'd mind sparing a few more minutes out and about."

Hermione nodded in agreement and rose from her seat, knowing she really did need to go out and get more parchment for herself. Turning to Daphne and Blaise again before following Ginny out of the shop, she waved to them both and called over her shoulder, "It was nice seeing you again, Daphne! Be sure to save me a seat on the train!"

Daphne's P.O.V.

"I'll see you then, Hermione!" she replied. "Oh, and one more - "

The door swung shut behind Hermione again before the blonde witch got the chance to finish her sentence. Slumping down in her seat a bit, Daphne shrugged her shoulders and finished the last bite of her ice cream. Her head snapped back up to the entrance on the opposite side which Hermione had just exited.

A blonde wizard stepped inside, running a pale hand through his hair, he glanced around the shop before finally settling on the pair at the table.

"Ah there you two are," Draco drawled as he came to sit in the exact spot Hermione had occupied not thirty seconds before. "I was wondering where you both had run off to."

"You didn't seem overly concerned," another voice chimed in from behind him. Draco turned to Narcissa standing beside the doorway, a small smirk adorning her lips. He rolled his eyes, but didn't retort her comment. When he turned back to Blaise and Daphne, his eyes caught onto the empty ice cream bowl next to his arm. Pointing at it, he raised his eyebrow at Daphne who gave him a small smile.

"You just missed her, mate," Blaise exclaimed, leaning back in his chair as he put his hands behind his head. "Just went out the other way that you had come in."

"Who?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Hermione of course," Daphne replied, her grin growing wider when, much like Hermione, his ears could have perked straight up at the mention of her name. "She was just in here about a minute before you walked in."

"Really?" Narcissa asked when Draco made no comment. "That's a shame, I've been wanting to meet Miss Granger lately. She really does seem like a nice girl."

"She is, Mrs. Malfoy," Daphne reassured, though her focus was still on Draco. "She really is."

Draco sat a little more slumped when he ordered his own round of ice-cream, though Daphne noticed he quickly tried to disclose it as Blaise told him about the latest quidditch news. It was almost comical for her to see one of her closest friends try and cover the feelings that he might just hold for the Gryffindor she had befriended a couple years before. Although she didn't further push any information on him about her being there, she could tell he was disappointed to not have seen her.

Still, she knew if her hunch was right, the coming school year might just get a bit more interesting.

Hey my fellow Potterheads!

Summerwinds here, and I would first off like to apologize for the lack of progress I have been making with this story. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been super busy with just a lot of projects, school work, and I've also just not been feeling well (I am currently writing this quarantined in my room) and it started to add up. Anywho, I am back now and I hope to start getting back onto a pattern where I can update at least once a week. I cannot hold any official promises, but I will do my absolute best to always update ASAP!

And, as always, I hope y'all have a wonderful morning, afternoon, evening, or night!

-Summerwinds