THE FOUR SERPENTS OF AZEROTH

"Ahhh!!!!! My eyes! What on earth are you doing?!," screamed a 17 year old Hermione Granger.

"Opening your windows to let some fresh air in. It's not my fault that you seem to be blinded by natural light," replied her mother.

It was true; ever since she ended her sixth year at Hogwarts, she had been spending al her time locked up in her room doing her homework. She was going to be starting her seventh year as Head Girl, and she believed that now was not the time to be slacking off.

"Now come downstairs sweetheart. It's already almost noon."

Hermione's cat Crookshanks jumped up onto her bed and began purring loudly, giving her the hint that he wanted his tummy rubbed. "Not now Crookshanks," she mumbled, gently pushing the cat away. She groaned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as her mother walked out of the room. 30 minutes later Hermione was fully dressed, walking downstairs in an old Aerosmith tee shirt, (a muggle band her mother listened to when she was younger), and jeans, her hair thrown up into a messy bun. Her hand slid down the oak rail with each step she took.

Their house was an enourmous two-story that included a library (her parents knew how much she liked to read), an office for each of her parents, and a pool in the backyard. There were wooden floors instead of carpet, but there was a long green rug that led from the top to the bottom of the stairs. The walls were a very light brown, decorated with pictures of Hermione's family and her relatives.

"Morning pumpkin," Jonathon Granger said to his daughter as she walked into the kitchen complete with green marble counters and an espresso machine. "Well, I'm off to work," he said rising from the table finishing off the last of his coffee. "See you all tonight!"

Hermione and her mother bid her dad goodbye, and then went about their business, Hermione getting something to eat since she slept through breakfast, and Annelise (as was her mother's name) washing the dishes. Halfway through eating her orange, a sleek, grey owl suddenly swooped in from the open kitchen window and landed on the counter in front of Hermione.

"Oh! Is that from Harry?," her mother asked. Ever since meeting him the summer before at the Weasly's house, Annelise had taken a liking to Harry.

"No, its not. Harry has his own Snowy owl so he wouldn't have sent this one."

Before taking the letter from the owl, Hermione reached over to the cookie jar on the counter and grabbed a shortbread cookie from it. She took the letter from the owl, handed it the cookie, and preceded to open the letter. It read:

To Miss Hermione Granger:

Since you have been selected as Head Girl for your seventh and Final year at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore has asked me to inform you that the last week of your summer holiday, you will be staying here at the school. Therefore, you will need to be getting your supplies earlier than usual this year. The Headmaster will be implementing some new rules this year, so your attending the school early will be mandatory. You will be joined by this year's Head Boy as well as the school prefects. You must be at the train station before 10 am sharp, though I doubt you'll have any problem arriving there on time.

Sincerely,

Professor M. McGonogall

After reading it, Hermione replied with a short "Okay, I will be there," and sent the owl off. She then informed her mother and ran upstairs to finish her homework. (She only had an essay left to write for Transfiguration).

'This should be interesting,' she thought to herself while pulling out her quills and parchment. 'I can't wait to see Harry and Ron and Ginny again. I haven't seen them all summer.' She smiled at the thought of her friends. Her smile suddenly came to a frown though, as she remembered the thought that she had kept in the very back corners of her mind all summer, the one thing she had been dreading: Draco Malfoy was going to be Head Boy.