Hermione was lounging in the Gryffindor common room, trying to mentally have the strength to get out of bed. She had imagined being able to sleep in and relax all throughout the war, and now that it was finally over, she was cashing in on the rewards to relax. Hermione had decided to return to Hogwarts in order to properly get her NEWT'S , unlike Harry and Ron who had readily agreed to take part in the auror training program. She felt as though she needed to earn her grades and diploma in order to move on and find a suitable career. During the war, she had little to no time to think about what she wanted to do after, however, the one certainty was to never become an auror. She had had enough fill of danger and excitement in her lifetime and needed a break from it, choosing to focus her efforts on more academic pursuits. She and Ron had fought endlessly about her coming back to Hogwarts whilst he was enrolled in the ministry's auror program. He had wanted her to follow him in his pursuits, but she had explained her reasoning for wanting to come back, feeling as though she had unfinished business. They had decided to take a break, she would focus on her studies without the distraction of always having to complete both Harry's and Ron's homework as well as her own, and he would focus on completing the auror training and start chasing down the remaining death eaters that had managed to escape. Hermione knew that deep down, her and Ron would not be a good match, be he had begged her to reconsider once she was done her studies, and so she had obliged.
"Hermione!" Ginny called "We only have 20 minutes until breakfast is finished. We need to go!"
Hermione was pulled out of her musings and hoped out of bed. "Ok Ginny, I'm coming just let me get changed, I'll be right down." Hermione called back.
As Hermione entered the great hall, she saw Neville and Luna sitting and chatting among the other young Gryffindor's. Neville and Lunda had been the only other students from Hermione's class that had come back to finish their studies. Both had lost their only living family in the war with Luna's father being assassinated for writing against Voldemort in his newspaper the Quibbler and Neville having lost his grandmother as she fought valiantly and bravely in the war, only to be struck down by Greyback near the end. Hermione had felt connected to them as she herself had lost her parents, once the war had finished Hermione set off to Australia to try and find her parents but had been unsuccessful in her attempt to bring their memories back. She did not want to risk permanent brain damage, especially when their lives seemed full and happy. The three of them had bonded in a way Hermione had not expected, sometimes she even felt closer to them than she had ever been to Harry and Ron.
As Hermione sat down next to her friends and reached for a cup of coffee, Neville turned to her and asked "Hermione have you ever been to, what was the name of it Luna? Disney world?" Hermione immediately spit out her coffee in amusement, never having guessed that Disney World would ever be mentioned at Hogwarts.
"No I haven't Neville, why do you ask" Hermione answered while laughing.
"Luna told me that there was magic there and that muggles go with their family on vacation. Did wizards build it and how is magic safely performed around muggles without having to obliviate them?" Asked Neville clearly puzzled by the whole concept.
As Neville asked Hermione more questions about Disney World, Hermione began to riminess about the many vacations she had taken with her family over the years. A sense of nostalgia and sadness came over her but she maintained her amused smile and diligently answered every question Neville was asking, explaining that in the muggle world, magic was nothing but an illusion, a slight of hand. Hermione happened to have a coin in her pocket and decided to show Neville "magic" first hand.
"What's that behind your ear Neville?" asked Hermione, feigning curiosity. As Neville started reaching towards his ear, Hermione was quicker and produced the coin from her sleeve and into her hand, drawing back and showing Neville who exclaimed in excitement. Little did they know they had drawn the attention from the entire Gryffindor table as well as a few Ravenclaws sitting at the table over. The entire Gryffindor table erupted in laughter and excitement, asking Hermione to perform her trick on them next. Hermione gave a mock bow, laughing with the younger Gryffindor and her friends. She would have to learn to do more muggle tricks if this was the response from such a simple muggle magic trick. As the foursome finished their breakfast and got themselves ready for their first day of school, headmistress McGonagall approached the podium, clearing her throat in order to make her announcements for the day.
"Goodmorning students! I hope you are all rested and ready for a new school year. For those who are returning, welcome back, for those who may be new, I welcome you to Hogwarts. Tonight, we will be celebrating with a welcome feast and you will be sorted into one of our four houses. In the meantime, you may find your schedules as you leave the dining hall. Your luggage will appear in your dorms once you have been sorted into a house so do not fret, you will not need much for your first day of school. I encourage you all to take the time and get to know your peers without the restraints of being in different houses, this year more than any other, we encourage you to unify amongst the houses. You never know, your best friend may be in Slytherin..." Minerva smirked as she said this whilst looking over at her colleague Severus Snape who simply sneered and rolled his eyes "But I digress, classes shall be starting in an hour so you best hurry up and find your time table, if you have any questions about where classes are, just ask any faculty staff, older student, or even the many ghosts and paintings that reside within these walls. Best of Luck!"
As Headmistress McGonagall stepped away from the podium a rush of students, mainly the first years, ran towards the entrance eagerly trying to get their timetable first. As the first years rushed towards the table containing the schedules, Hermione chanced a glance at the high table admiring the new staff that had joined the Hogwarts staff. One was a fairly handsome mid 30s gentleman resembling the late Sirius Black had he not descended into madness from being tortured by death eaters in Azkaban. Next to him was also a new staff, a woman with beautiful, vibrant ginger hair. She was laughing and smiling at what the handsome new professor was saying which was a stark contrast to her counterpart on her right which so happened to be Severus Snape. As she was laughing and smiling, he was scowling and brooding as he was looking around the room, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. As he scanned the room his eyes fell on hers. Right before he proceeded to look away, his eyebrow lifted ever so slightly and he gave her a slight nod of acknowledgement which she also reciprocated.
"Earth to Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, Hermione blinked for a few seconds before looking at Ginny "Let's go get our time tables and get ready, won't want to be late in case we have potions first thing" said Ginny.
"Coming!" Said Hermione.