"Oh, how I love the summer", said Hermione, as she walked out into the hot, muggy day after having a shopping spree with her closest muggle friend, Adrianna. She was now 16 going on 17 and looking forward to the new year and getting back to her wonderful school of witchcraft and wizadry.....Hogwarts. Hogwarts has always been and always shall be the most wonderful learning center for those magically gifted. She had just spent the day being gleefully happy with buying, splurging and gallivanting around with Adrianna in her new and improved style. Hermione now stood at the petite height of 5'4 and had short, just below ear-length, choppy brown hair that was styled to fall over the corner of her left eye and was curled up at the ends with red and blond highlights. The way she wore it today was with some small clumps of hair in little braids and some other clumps drawn into little ringlets. She had on a tight white tank top and baggy corduroy, black pants with cargo pockets and suspenders hanging down. She and Adrianna were just walking out of the cd store when Adrianna dropped her bags suddenly and was staring straight ahead at a sight worthy of a queen. "That has GOT to be the most fresh boy in this whole friggin mall", she said. "Oh.my god. Oh my god. Ohmygod. OhmyGOD!" Hermione said in disbelief, over and over again. "What? He's HOTT!" Adrianna said enthusiastically. "I know that kid. He goes to my boarding school, and you do NOT want to get in with the likes of him. TRUST ME!" Hermione said "Why?" Adrianna inquired. "Because, he is a pompous freak, who thinks that he owns the world just because his dad's one of the richest wiz-", Hermione stopped short and corrected herself smoothly (she hoped) "winners..winners of the bets that are placed on the horse track. That awful man, I loathe them all". Hermione said vehemently. "Oh, so....does he have a girlfriend?" Adrianna asked sheepishly, while smiling warily. "RIA!!!" Hermoine yelled, using her nickname. "Its okay Mi, I was just kidding." She said slowly, using Hermione's nickname. (A/N: you can pronounce Mi however, my or me, just cause I was getting really sick of mione and I wanted to be original). "So, like, what's his name?" she said. "Draco Malfoy." Mi spat. "Well-", but she was cut off by 'yours truly' "Hello there my ravishing beaut-", but he stopped abruptly as Mi turned around and faced him with a glare. "My, my, Granger. Whatever possessed you to change in this way, might I ask?"

"No, you 'might not' ask." Mi said

"Touchy, touch, Granger. No need for rudeness. Now, please, kindly introduce me to your friend here." He said, staring at Ria.

"My name's Adrianna, but you can call me Ria." Ria supplied for her, blushing as she held out a hand to Draco. Who, in turn, took it and brought it to his lips in a kiss.

"Well, then, my fair Ria. How did you become friends with our little Granger here?" He asked

"Why, because she got thrown out of our old orphanage and-"

"And we really should be going now, so, goodbye." Mi said, with her hand over Ria's mouth, and Ria was looking at her with an apologetic face.

And then they left, leaving a very stunned Draco still standing there, looking after them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ***~ ~ ~ ~

"RIA!!" Mi said, to her friend who had just spilled her biggest secret to her biggest enemy.

"Sorrrrry, Mi. It just slipped out, I swear, I never would do it on purpose. Its just those eyes." she trailed off, looking off into the distance as if he were right there again.

"HELLO!?!" Mi shouted, "do you not hear yourself!?!"

Ria snapped back to reality to find a fuming Mi staring back at her with a disbelieving expression.

"Oooooh! Im so sorry Mi..but why do you hate him so much anyway?"

"Beacause, he has teased, pranked and totally destroyed my friends' and my lives for the past 6 years!" she replied.

"Oh.okay. Well maybe he's changed?"

"No, he hasn't, and now he knows my secret", she said, "he knows that I am an orphan. Its good that he doesn't know the whole story though" she said, remembering.

~FLASHBACK~

.."WELL, I'M SOR-REY MISSEY, THAT YOU DON'T GET THE FACT THAT I HAVE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT ME." She was shouting at the headmaster of her orphanage.

"WHAT I GET, IS THAT YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO HAVE ANY MEALS FOR THE WEEK LITTLE GIRL. IF YOU THINK THAT I WILL TOLERATE YOU GALLIVANTING AROUND WITH YOUR SLUTTY FRIENDS, IN YOUR SLUTTY OUTFITS AND THINKING THAT YOU CAN JUST LEAVE THIS PLACE WHENEVER YOU WANT. WELL, YOU CAN'T MISSY AND YOU ARE LATE FOR YOUR NIGHTLY CHORES. SO, I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GIVE YOU EXTRA, UNTIL YOU CAN PROVE THAT YOU'VE LEARNED YOUR LESSON." The headmaster said with equal fury.

"NO. I'M NOT DOING YOUR STUPID WORK, SO YOU CAN JUST FORGET IT!" Mi said.

"WELL, YOU CAN FORGET LIVING HERE THEN!! BEVUASE I HAVE HAD ENOUGH AND YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOUD IN THIS ORPHANAGE. YOU KNOW YOUR JUST AS BAD AS YOUR PARENTS WERE, NEVER CARING FOR ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES. I'M GLAD THEY DIED!" SHE SHOUTED.

But before she could get out another word, Mi had leapt onto her and started attacking her. When the police came in and picked her up off the headmaster to lead her to the court. She was now an 'official' juvenal delinquent and needed proper taking-care of. So she was sent to live with foster parents, who also were harboring her friend from the orphanage. Adrianna.

~ END OF FLASHBACK~

Her parents had died in a car crash when she was 15, in her summer before her 6th year at Hogwarts. And she had sort-of secluded herself from everyone that year, except for Harry and Ron and Ginny, though she still didn't tell them and they learned to stop asking after a while.

"Oh, Mi, I'm so sorry about your parents and I know that your just remembering them right now. But they would want for you to be happy and get on with your life." Ria said, while holding her now crying friend

"Hey, why don't we go and make fun of the couples making out in movies while pigging out on popcorn and skittles?" Ria suggested, knowing exactly what would make her friend happy.

"Yah, I guess.okay. And Ria? Thanks." Said Mi, brightening a little and looking at her friend sincerely.

And the rest of the day Ria did everything in her power to keep her dear friend as happy as possible.