Disclaimer: Everything here is JK Rowling's. I own none of it. L
A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed my first chapter! Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I have no internet on my new computer ::sighs:: It's been really frustrating, but hopefully I will get internet access soon so I won't have to save on a disk and post on a different computer like I had to for this one. The encouragement of those who reviewed has really helped, though! I hope you all like this chapter! Again, please read and review and give any suggestions that you may have.
Chapter 2: Dumbledore's Announcement
All of a sudden, there was a loud knocking on Hermione's door. Thinking that she was at home, she answered, "Not now, Mum, I still have a few minutes left." When the knocking didn't subside, Hermione sat up slowly and opened her eyes.
She noticed that she was not at home when she noted that her window was on the left side of the bed, rather than on the right as it was at home.
"Duh," she muttered to herself.
Finally realizing that she was in her room at the Leaky Cauldron, she called, "Who is it?" and Harry's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Hermione? Are you awake?" he asked.
"No, I usually carry on conversations with other people in my sleep," she answered back, somewhat annoyed by his mistake.
"Oh, well, Mrs. Weasley told me to wake you up, because it is about time to head off to the station," Harry said, a little embarrassed.
Looking back at her clock, she realized that she had about an hour and a half to get all of her things in order.
"Okay, Harry, thanks!" she yelled back, throwing the covers off of her and scrambling off of her bed.
"I can't believe that I didn't wake up until now," she muttered, frustrated with herself, "I thought I set this stupid alarm. Man, now I have barely enough time to…" she continued to scold herself for not waking up on time while quickly getting dressed and packing all of the things that she bought in Diagon Alley the day before. She didn't have much time to do anything once she got back from eating downstairs the night before, for she threw her things on the ground and passed out on her bed from exhaustion.
Once she had gathered all of her things together and checked the room several times for any possible misplaced socks, she opened the door to her room and struggled to drag her now incredibly full trunk out into the hall. Without watching where she was going, she bumped into someone walking past her room and knocked them down, her trunk going down with them.
"Watch it, Mudblood," spat a venomous voice as Hermione looked down to see a disheveled Malfoy pulling himself up.
"If you were looking where you were going, you wouldn't have run into me, Malfoy," she rallied back, with the same disgust that Malfoy had when he realized whom he had been knocked down by.
"You had better be careful how you talk to people, Mudblood. You never know if the person you talk back to is one who wants to kill you. You're lucky I don't have my wand with me. I would have hexed you the moment I saw who you were," he warned, threatening her.
"Well, then I guess that makes you lucky that you didn't have your wand," she stated, her face growing hot with anger, "because everyone knows that in a match with me, you wouldn't have lasted a minute."
At this, Malfoy laughed, "You wish you were as good as me," he started to walk away, "Oh, and by the way, Granger, your trunk came open. Nice bra," he looked down at a spot on the floor, "Too bad it has to be wasted on someone so filthy and pathetic."
Satisfied with the somewhat defeated and embarrassed look on Hermione's face, Malfoy continued down the hall the way he was going and went into his room, which was just a few rooms down from her own.
"Stupid ferret," she said to herself, clearly upset. She sighed an obviously frustrated sigh and snatched her bra and stuffed it back into her trunk and shut it; this time, with magic. She went back into her room to gather the rest of her things when she heard someone knocking on the frame of her door.
"'Mione?" she heard Ron's faltering voice ask, "do you need any help with anything?"
Hermione turned and smiled at her red-eared friend, "Sure. Could you carry Taffy's cage out?" she asked.
Ron's face immediately brightened, "Of course." He stumbled across her room, moving a little too quickly and tripping on the rug by her bed, causing him to bump into Hermione and knock them both onto her bed.
"I'm s-sorry, 'M-Mione," he stuttered, too shocked to move.
Hermione laughed, "Don't worry about it, Ron. Accidents happen."
Ron started to get off of her when they both turned to the door when they heard a voice.
"I knew there had to be a reason why you hung out with her, Weasel," Malfoy smirked, eyeing them in suspicion after walking past Hermione's open door, "Even the likes of you should know how shameful it is to be involved with a mudblood," he stood, leaned against the frame of the door with an evil grin on his face.
"Mal-foy… um, this isn't what it looks like. I-I, uh, tripped over the rug and then fell on top of Hermione and we fell down, on the bed. So, you see, it was an, uh, accident," Ron tried to explain what exactly had happened, but failed to convincingly sway Malfoy.
"I've tried that one, Weasel, and I know for a fact that it doesn't work," he sneered at Ron and turned to Hermione, "So, you're moving up in the world, I see," he grinned mischieviously, "Got tired of wee ittle Potty? Well, that's understandable."
"You know, Malfoy, what I don't understand is why you keep spending your 'precious time' on making sure that I've been miserable this whole time I have been here. If I wasn't worth it, then why do you keep pestering me?" Hermione argued, with her forehead screwed up.
Malfoy laughed, "Oh, you're not worth it, alright, but I do enjoy the reactions I get out of you and your two pet lemmings," he smirked.
Hermione sighed, "I guess I can't blame you," she started, getting a surprised look from Malfoy and one of disgust from Ron, "You know all those times your two enlarged lemmings' potions exploded? I did that for their reactions, as well." With that, Hermione walked up to her door and paused for a moment, "Goodbye, Malfoy, don't spend too much time thinking about why I slammed the door in your face, okay?" Hermione grabbed the handle, smiled at a shocked Malfoy, and slammed the door.
Hermione turned to see a drop-jawed Ron standing a few feet away from her. After a few moments of staring, his face lit up and a smile brightened it even more.
"That was… amazing," Ron started, not surprised that she was clever enough to say such a thing, but surprised that she had been so rash with Malfoy, when she typically just ignored him.
"Well, I'm getting tired of him thinking that he can push me around without me having a say. It's high time that ferret learns that he isn't what the whole world revolves around. I think it would do him some good, don't you think?" Hermione asked, but Ron just shook his head.
"I don't think that even if someone hit him over the head and he got amnesia it would do him any good," Ron commented, and Hermione smiled.
"Ron, Hermione, are you guys in here?" They both turned to the door when they heard Harry's voice on the other side.
Hermione walked to the door and opened it, relieved to not see a blonde head in the hall. "Ron's just helping me get the last of my things out into the hall," she stated, also relieved to see that her trunk was still there.
"You missed it, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, hurrying to the door, "Hermione just told Malfoy off! It was incredible," he smiled fondly at Hermione, which made her shift a little uncomfortably.
"You mean, Malfoy was just here, and I wasn't here to hex him? Man, just my luck," he said, trying to lift the tension that was obviously bugging Hermione.
"Are you dears ready?" Mrs. Weasley had just come out of her room, and saw them all out in the hall.
"Um, yeah, we are," Hermione said, "just give me a couple of minutes to check my room one more time."
"Alright, Hermione. Ron, Harry, why don't you two bring Hermione's trunk over here so we can put all of our things in the same spot," Mrs. Weasley requested while Hermione quickly made her last once over, and picked up Taffy's and Crookshanks' cages and left her room.
Once she got into the hall, everyone else was out there chatting about which compartment they would use and, of course, Ron and Harry were talking enthusiastically about the new Quidditch season. Fred and George had to say their goodbyes before the rest of them went to King's Cross Station, for they had to go to work in their joke shop. Mrs. Weasley told Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Harry that it was time to leave, or else they would be late, and they went out the door of the Leaky Cauldron to pack their taxi.
"Let's go, you four," she said to the back seat as she slipped into the passenger seat, "King's Cross Station, please," she said to the taxi driver, who was eyeing the three owl cages in the back.
* * *
Once on platform 9 ¾, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry loaded all of their things onto the train and then dashed off for a quick 'goodbye' to Mrs. Weasley, and then they settled into their compartment.
"It's really good to be coming back," Harry started, gazing out of the window, "I haven't had much fun."
"But you had Dudley to experiment on, didn't you?" Ron asked with a smirk on his face.
"Well, yeah, but it got too tedious looking for him after the first few times," Harry frowned, "Besides, I got a lot of bruises from flying frying pans whenever I did it. Aunt Petunia didn't find it too amusing."
Hermione laughed, "Yeah, that would sort of discourage me, as well."
Ginny sat in the corner looking out the window in silence. It seemed as though she had a lot of things on her mind, but did not want to share it with the rest of the group.
"What's wrong, Gin?" Harry asked with obvious concern and the other two turned to look at her.
Ginny blushed and gave a weak smile, "Oh, nothing. I'm just listening to you guys talk. Your lives are a lot more interesting than mine, after all," she added, which made Ron snicker.
"What are you talking about? Did you forget what happened this summer, Gin?" Ron asked and Ginny's eyes widened as if to say 'you better not open your fat mouth', but either Ron did not understand her look, or he simply did not care. "Remember the trip we took to go see Bill?" he paused, and again Ginny glared at him, daring him to continue, which, of course, he did, "I do remember you having a quite interesting relationship with that one guy. You know, one of Bill's friends? I saw the way you looked at him. It was completely obvious. You're just lucky that Mum and Dad didn't catch you two. He would have been skinned alive," he said in triumph, looking at Harry, who looked slightly disappointed.
"Really? What's his name, Gin?" Hermione asked enthusiastically.
Ginny blushed a little and quickly said, eyeing Harry, "Gary, but I don't want to talk about that."
Noticing that she had looked at Harry, Hermione quickly changed the subject, "So, what classes are you all taking this year?"
"Uggghh, Hermione, we haven't even started school yet. Besides, didn't we already discuss this year's schedual with you at the end of last year?" Ron complained.
"Seriously, Hermione. I don't want to think of Hogwarts in the school aspect just yet. I want to enjoy the thought of beating Malfoy this year in the House Cup," Harry drifted off into a mock-day dream, making his three companions laugh.
"Harry, everyone knows that you are a better seeker than Malfoy," Hermione started, "Like you said before, he needs a handle on his broom to even think about catching the snitch."
They all grew quiet as the compartment door opened and revealed Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"I'm glad you're a fan, Mudblood," Malfoy started, "But remember, there is so much more to life than Quidditch."
"What do you want, Malfoy? And what could possibly mean more to you than Quidditch?" Hermione asked blatantly.
"Well, for one, good looks, which your dear Potty lacks," Malfoy started, making Harry jump up at Ron to stop him from attacking the smirking fiend, "Two, money, which is the thing you buy things with, get it, Weasel?"
"You stupid son of a… ummph" again, Harry held him back.
"And three, bras," Malfoy pulled the bra that fell out of Hermione's trunk earlier that day out of his cloak and held it up for everyone to see, "even if they do belong to the scum of the earth, I find them quite important." With that, he threw the bra at Hermione, gave her a fake smile, and left the room, followed by Grabbe and Goyle, who were laughing stupidly.
After they shut the compartment door, Harry let go of Ron who turned to Hermione.
"Who the hell does he think he is? Why did you let him talk to you like that, Hermione?" he shouted.
After putting her stolen bra back into her trunk, she sighed and responded, "Let him have his fun. He has no idea what is coming for him," and she smiled a little devilishly to herself, apparently lost in thought.
"You know, Hermione, you are a little scary sometimes," Harry commented quietly.
* * *
A week had passed, and the buzz about the start of a new year was quickly wasting away as they all settled in the routine they had followed during previous years. Ron and Harry still complained about all of the homework they received, Hermione found herself checking out books from the library every couple of days, and Malfoy continued to torture them at every possible moment. In fact, everything was so normal that when Professor Dumbledore stood up and raised his hand for the hall to quiet down, it took a while for them to be silent, for it was not always custom for him to stop them during dessert.
"I have an announcement to make," he started, causing everyone to look curiously at each other, "This year is very special, which will give a few of you a special opportunity. With the rise of Lord Voldemort now known to the entire wizarding world, there is a concern that students studying magic may not be as prepared for his return as many would like. Therefore, I am pleased to say that all three headmasters have agreed to an exchange student program that a few of you will be privileged to take part of."
Hermione gasped with glee and whispered, 'wow!' while others around her seemed to have mixed emotions about the idea.
Looking around at the students, eyes twinkling, Professor Dumbledore waited for the whispers to die down. "A few students from each house will be selected to participate. I, along with the other professors, will decide who shall go by the end of the next week. Only fifth through seventh years are permitted to go. Those fifth year students will have to prepare for their O.W.L.s while they are away and will take them when they return. I will give more information to the students chosen. Now, I am sorry that I disturbed your desserts! Please continue."
Dumbledore sat back down and smiled when the Great Hall broke into loud whispers concerning who was going and what it was going to entail.
"Oh, I really do hope that I am chosen," Hermione partially whispered dreamily.
"Hermione, don't be thick. They would be stupid not to pick you. You're at the top of the entire 6th year class," Ron stated with disbelief at her uncertainty.
"That doesn't mean that they will pick me, Ron," she argued back, "What if they are choosing people who they believe need to study the most? Then I may not get this chance," she said breathlessly.
"Don't be so dramatic," he rallied, "Everyone knows that you've been wanting to see what Durmstrang looks like since Vicky came here," Ron said this with a look of complete disgust on his face.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew that he had made a huge mistake.
"What- Did- I- Tell- You- About- Calling- Him- That," Hermione said, her voice raising with each word.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm just kidding," Ron quickly apologized, though he already knew that it did him no good.
"So, what class do we have first, tomorrow?" Harry asked, knowing that this question always directed Hermione's anger off of Ron.
"Charms," Hermione said without thinking, still glaring across the table at Ron, "With Slytherin."
"Great," Harry said frustratingly, "Hey, maybe we'll learn something that we can use on Malfoy?" Harry offered, knowing that he had overplayed the 'let's hex Malfoy' card when he tried to stop an argument from combusting.
"Whatever. Harry, could you pass the pie?" Hermione said, completely ignoring the fact that the pie was closer to Ron than it was to Harry.
"And I mess up again," Ron moaned with exasperation.
Ginny stood up from the table and announced that she was going to go to the common room.
"You know what, Harry, never mind. I don't want the pie," Hermione said, completely ignoring Ron's comment, "I'll go with you Ginny. Goodnight, Harry," she said, also ignoring Ron's 'goodnight, 'Mione'.
"Ron can be so infuriating sometimes," Hermione growled.
"Huh, try living with him," Ginny sighed.
Hermione smiled, but noticed that she was being quiet again.
"Okay, Gin, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since we got here. Even before then," Hermione asked.
"I'm not really ready to talk about anything, okay 'Mione?" she sighed softly, "I promise you that when I'm ready to say something, I will, but right now I'm not."
Hermione swallowed her speech on how not telling is just as bad as lying, and instead encouraged Ginny.
"Okay, just know that I'm always here for you to talk to, okay?" she offered, which put a smile on Ginny's face.
"Thank you, Hermione. I really need a friend like you," she added, knowing that Hermione wanted to say more, but was thankful that she didn't.
As soon as the girls climbed through the portrait hole, they said their goodnights and went into their separate dormitories. Hermione pulled her pajamas out of her trunk and quickly changed as she heard the rest of the Gryffindors come into the common room. Wanting to escape the gossip that would definitely follow Lavender and Parvarti, Hermione jumped into her bed and drew the curtains.
She listened as Lavender and Parvarti came in, chatting loudly about who they were going to ask out this year, and they noticed that Hermione's curtains were closed.
"Hermione?" Lavender called in a loud whisper.
"Shhh, she's asleep!" Parvarti snapped at Lavender and started to whisper excitedly about how cute some of the boys in their house had become over the summer.
"Ron got so tall, and he looks so much more muscular than he did last year, don't you think?" Lavender 'whispered' to Parvarti.
"Ohh! Yes, I did notice that. And Harry doesn't look too bad himself. He filled out a bit, don't you think? He's not as scrawny as he used to be."
Choosing not to hear any more of their conversation, for it was starting to make her head hurt, Hermione closed her eyes and focused on one thing. She finally fell asleep, blocking out the two gossiping girls in the background, thinking about what it would be like to be a foreign exchange student.
Well, another chapter finished! What do you think? You can always tell me in a review… hint, hint. Just kidding. But please, review and tell me what I should or shouldn't do!
-SG