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Chapter 2 – Another Familiar Face

Harry and Ron eyed the thick envelope she clutched in her hands, and the letter that her eyes had scanned several times since the spat with Malfoy.

"So-er-are congratulations in order? Did you make Head Girl?" inquired Harry, with a slight gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah, let's see your badge, I'm surprised you're not wearing it already!" Ron chimed in light-heartedly, nudging Harry.

"Hmm? Oh-" she finally tore her eyes away from the paper, "I didn't--I'm not Head Girl," she informed them, attempting to uphold any amount of dignity that hadn't leaked from her ego.

Both boys chuckled nervously, exchanging glances, "Not Head Girl? But how?" Harry asked, his bottom jaw dropped slightly agape.

"Then who is?" Ron added.

"I don't know," she replied quietly, longing for a drastic change in subject.

"Well if it's any consolation, neither of us got Head Boy," Ron offered.

"Well, that's a surprise," she replied shortly, glaring at the pair of them in agitation, "I mean...obviously."

Ron's face fell and Harry frowned. They exchanged another set of uneasy glances, hoping the awkwardness would be taken out of the situation in the near future.

"Hermione!"

As though their prayers were answered, both the boys turned around and Hermione's head shot up at the sound of her name being called. Looking at the figure approaching them, Hermione smiled brightly.

"Ginny! How are you? My goodness, you look wonderful!" Hermione gushed.

And Ginny did. The Ginny that Hermione had left behind with the rest of the Weasley's at King's Cross that summer was much different from the girl that stood before her now. Over the short period of time they'd been apart, Ginny had changed. Her usual mop of red hair was tamed and clipped back, showing off facial features that hadn't always been especially noticeable. The freckles on her nose and cheeks extracted the same sort of childish charm for her as they did for Ron, yet she was still undeniably a very pretty young woman. A smile broke out across her features.

"I'm good, how are you? What have you been doing all summer? We've missed you at the Burrow!"

"Oh, I spent a few weeks in Italy with my parents," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "But I got my letter and I just had to come early when I found out that all of you would be in Diagon Alley."

"Have you gotten any of your supplies yet?" asked Ginny.

"No, I haven't. I just got here about half an hour ago."

"Oh good! I haven't either, and I really need some new robes. Want to come?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. She was in dire need of some company other than Harry and Ron. It wasn't that she didn't love the pair of them like her own brothers; she knew full well, as did they, that she would do most anything for them, and vice versa. Sometimes, however, she simply needed a break from them and longed for some company of the female kind, which was always met by Ginny. So she tucked the manila envelope into the bag hanging off of her shoulder.

Looking directly at Harry and Ron, she asked, "Should we meet back at the Leaky Cauldron for dinner?"

"But-but we didn't even-" Ron protested.

"You two already bought your things, she's coming with me," Ginny interrupted, "Besides, you two would rather go look at Quidditch supplies, wouldn't you? I know you would. We'll meet you at four, does that sound okay?"

Harry had given up the fight by now, and Ron's face fell in disappointment. "Okay, see you then," he agreed reluctantly.

The two girls hurried off together toward Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Once inside, Hermione paced the room impatiently as Madame Malkin fitted Ginny for her new robes. However, something caught her eye outside the store window. The boy from earlier was just across the street, looking into the window of another store. Her gaze lingered on him closely.

"Oh–so have you met Kieran?" Ginny asked nonchalantly.

Hermione was snapped out of her daze, "Who?"

"Apparently not. I figured you might have met him, I wasn't sure if you had run into Malfoy yet."

"Malfoy? What's he got to do with this? You've completely lost me now."

"Malfoy's cousin is visiting from Austria this summer...he and his father. Dad says his father is much worse than Lucius, if that's even possible. I guess he's been in the office every day, acting like he owns the place, and Mr. Malfoy just follows him around," she explained angrily, her face beginning to turn the color of her hair. If there was one thing Hermione had learned through her friendship with Ginny, it was that Ginny would do or say anything to defend her family, and she took anything that affected her family very personally.

"So we met his cousin earlier," Ginny added, blushing furiously. "Kieran. Draco was parading around with him, but Kieran didn't seem anything like him at all."

Hermione looked at the boy out of the store window again. He was still there.

"He's not...I mean, he's not going to Hogwarts this year, is he?" Hermione asked apprehensively.

Ginny shrugged, "I have no idea."

Hermione sighed as she waited for Ginny to pay for her new robes.

"So how do you feel about sharing a dormitory with Malfoy this year?" Ginny asked as they exited the shop.

'Ugh, people and their assumptions,' Hermione thought angrily.

"I pity the poor girl," Hermione replied coolly.

"What?" Ginny asked, "You're not Head Girl?"

"No...I'm not," Hermione said, once again making a flailing attempt to uphold her dignity. Ginny saw the look on her friend's face and decided against saying anything more on the subject. They walked through Diagon Alley for another hour or so, buying their potions ingredients, books, and, in Hermione's case, cat food and tonics.

"We'd better get back to the Leaky Cauldron," Ginny said, adjusting her bags of supplies in her arms. Hermione nodded in agreement, and they made their way back.

Hermione hoped that Ron and Harry had told the Weasleys that she wasn't Head Girl. She knew everyone expected things of her, but this was the first time she truly felt as though she let everyone down, herself in particular, and she longed for the end of the day when she could curl up in her own bed and be left completely alone. As they walked into the Leaky Cauldron, her only thought was to put down her bags and eat a quiet, peaceful meal. Of course, though, nothing could ever work out as she wanted it to. Around the largest table in the back, sat Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry, Ron, Draco and Lucius Malfoy, Kieran and another man, who was, presumably, his father. Hermione and Ginny stared at the table in disbelief, and Harry and Ron looked back at her. Neither of them looked particularly happy, either. Hermione and Ginny exchanged looks. 'This,' Hermione thought, 'will be a long night.'

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