Chapter 3

Hermione woke the next morning. For a moment, she forgot why she wasn't in the girl's dormitory, and upon remembering, smiled cheerfully. She looked over to the bed beside her, and was surprised to see it was empty.

Guess I'm not the only early riser in Hogwarts, she thought. She found a note on her bedside table.

Dear Hermione,

Hope I didn't disturb you, I've gone out to do a few warm ups on my broom. ( I don't want to get out of shape) Save me a seat and I'll meet you down for breakfast.

-Lera

Glancing at the clock, Hermione realized she would have to get moving if she was going to be ready for her first day as Head Girl. She quickly had a shower, got dressed and rushed out the room.

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"Harry, Harry wake up! We're gonna be late!"

Harry groggily woke up. Sitting up, he watched as Ron frantically ran around the room. "What time is it?"

"7:30, breakfast is almost over, and Hermione is going to get worried if we're not there." said Ron, his voice muffled as he threw on his uniform.

That woke Harry up, he hurriedly rushed around, and within minutes he and Ron were running out the door. Now, he thought, was probably the best time to talk to Ron.

"Ron, hold up for a minute, I need to ask you something."

"What?"

Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I just wanted to know if you think Lera's going to be hanging around with us a lot this year."

Ron paused thoughtfully, " To be honest, yeah, I think she will be. Why? Does it matter?

"No, well yeah, kinda. Its just that I was really looking forward to spending our last year with just the three of us."

"Harry, I know you were looking forward to it, but you have to think about Hermione."

"What about her?"

"You know that Hermione has a hard time making friends with girls. Being friends with Lera really means a lot to her. And Lera is really nice; you just need to get to know her. Please try to be friendly to her, for Hermione."

"Anything for Hermione," replied Harry, though deep down, he knew that he couldn't put his full heart into the request.

"That's the spirit," said Ron, completely oblivious as they arrived in the Great hall. "Hey Hermione!"

"Hey Guys! I was getting worried! What took you so long?" said Hermione, who was sitting down finishing her breakfast.

Ron and Harry sat down. "We slept in, is there any food left?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and motioned to several plates of food she had saved for them. "Have either of you seen Lera? She left before I woke up, and I'm worried that she might be lost."

"Haven't seen her, but I bet that's her coming down the stairs." Said Ron, pointing towards a large group of teenagers coming down the stairs with Lera.

"Oh, there are my friends! Thanks so much for helping me find my way! She said to the group.

"You're not going to sit with us?" said one boy disappointed. His expression was mirrored on many other faces.

"I'm sorry, but I promised. Maybe another day." She said smiling. She waved and then walked over and sat beside Hermione. "Sorry I'm late, I got lost. I knew I shouldn't have tried to find my way by myself. Luckily those guys were able to help me."

"Of course, lucky you!" said Hermione starting to giggle, and Lera soon joined in.

"I'm so nervous", said Lera. "What's our schedule?"

"Who cares?" said Ron, "the more important question is who do we have the classes with?"

"Herbology, and Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination with Ravenclaw and Defence against the Dark arts and again, Potions with Slytherin." Replied Hermione, "I checked the schedule already. On a happier note, Lera and I get to share the Head girls room!"

"You're kidding!" cried Ron "Jeez, are you pulling strings already Hermione?"

"Of course not!" cried Hermionie disapprovingly. "Dumbledore suggested it."

"That so cool! So when do we get to see your room?"

"After school, but first we should probably get to class, the bell is going to ring soon." She said.

"Alright, alright," said Ron "She's always in a hurry to get to class. Did I ever tell you about the time she had a crush on our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" he whispered to Lera.

Lera started laughing, finding the expression on Ron and Hermiones face priceless. "I'd be careful Ron…"

"Whoops! She's gonna explode! Take cover!" cried Ron glancing at the slowly advancing Hermione. He took Lera by the arm; "Lets get out of here, before she kills us both!"

Laughing, Ron and Lera ran off, followed closely by a ranting Hermione, and Harry, taking his time, followed them.

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For Lera, classes were easy. Her teachers and classmates were all surprised when Lera constantly raised her hand with Hermione. Even Professor McGonagall gave a hint of a beam when Lera answered her questions correctly. What Lera found odd was that everyone was so friendly. Strangers were constantly coming up to her and introducing themselves. Lera's day went by so fast, that before she knew it, the bell rang for the last class. "So where are we off to next?" she asked cheerfully

"Potions with Slytherins," replied Ron dejectedly.

"Is it that bad?" said Lera curiously.

"Potions itself is a fascinating subject, but what makes it so depressing is that we have to take it with the Slytherins and Snape. God I hate that man!" said Hermione.

"Watch what you say to him Lera. He's always looking for a reason to take points away from Gryffindor. He's not going to make things easy for you now that you're with us." Said Ron.

"So remember, shhhh!" said Hermione as they entered the class. Taking a seat beside Hermione, Lera looked nervously around, the Slytherins were keeping to their side of the classroom, and the Gryffindors were keeping to theirs. Both were watching the other warily. Before long, Snape appeared from the storage room and began to call the attendance.

"Hmmm, we have a new student…well it seems that Miss. Arel has become a member of the Harry Potter fan club." The Slytherins let out a chuckle, and Lera's eyes flashed. She glanced over to Harry, who seemed unbothered by the comment if it wasn't for him griping his fists tightly. "You must be pleased Potter, this is exactly what you like, another person to fawn over you." Said Snape tauntingly.

Lera started to open her mouth in protest, but Hermione and Ron quickly stopped her from saying anything. They were too slow however, to keep Snape's eyes from noticing.

"Is there something wrong Miss. Arel?"

You know very well something's wrong thought Lera. "No sir."

"Hmmm…. I suppose you're rather proud of being a member, Miss. Arel, but its poor judgment on your case. I'm afraid you're in for a bit of a disappointment from Mr. Potter. Thank heaven he didn't become Head boy, unlike our very own Mr. Malfoy."

Draco grinned and smiled at Harry. "Perhaps, over time, you'll come to your senses Miss. Arel. Now, ten points from Griffindor for wasting valuable teaching time."

Snape quickly put them to work, writing scores of notes on ingredients and proper brewing techniques. By the end of the class, Lera's hands were red and sore. "Can you believe the way he's acting?" she exploded when she was safely out of hearing range.

"It wasn't that bad today, you'll get used to it." Said Hermione.

"Does he act like that all the time?"

"It's been like that every year. It's a wonder Dumbledore lets him teach here." Said Ron.

Well this years going to be different, thought Lera. "You guys run ahead, I think I forgot my quill in the classroom." Lera turned and ran back to the potions room. She quietly knocked on the door.

"One minute" came a muffled voice from the storage room. In a minute, Snape appeared. "Oh, its you. I don't help people after class, you'll have to figure it out on your own."

"That's not why I came Professor. I want you to start treating me and my friends fairly."

Snape stared at her and snorted. "I don't believe in favoring anybody Miss. Arel. I treat all my students the same."

"I didn't come here to debate with you Professor, I came to tell you to start treating my friends and my classmates better, or rest assured you will hear from my father."

Snape glared at her angrily. "Is that a threat Miss. Arel? Hardly proper Gryffindor behavior. Five points from Gryffindor for threatening a teacher, and don't come here after class again."

"I warned you…" said Lera before she walked out. The nerve of that man! I'll fix him one day, She thought to herself.

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Hello! Well this is the last edited Chapter! Horray! Now the reason it took so long for this chapter to come up was because I was debating whether or not to combine the next chapter and this one as one chapter, or leave it. I decided to leave it. Alrighty…all I have to say…pathetic me…REVIEW MEE YOU CRAZY MONKEYS!!! – Starrynight!