Author's Note:

I would like to apologize profusely for not updating sooner. My life has been one hectic event after another and I have had very little time for writing. But for the record, this is not the only thing that I've been working on. I've finished most of Chapter 16, all of Chapter 17, the last couple chapters of this story and... I've been doing a little work on the sequel. Yes, there will be a sequel. It's currently untitled and I hope to get to it very soon because I have a lot of ideas for it. But first we'll have to finish this one, which from my outline, looks like it will be about 30 chapters. Maybe if I get a lot of reviews, I'll give you a little sneak peek into the last couple chapters or the sequel...

I've recently set up an email account especially for FanFiction. Before, I had been using my regular email, and was apprehensive about sending out alerts for new chapters. Since I'm not as paranoid about this account, I'm going to do alerts, so tell me if you want to be added to the list. And if you have any questions or ideas for me, I'd be more than happy to read and reply, so send them to lana-la-bananayahoo.com.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

lana-la-banana

Disclaimer—I am not affiliated with Joanne Kathleen Rowling or AOL Time Warner Company, and have no claim to Harry Potter or other characters of the series. This story is written solely for my enjoyment and that of those reading it. I am not making any money off the publishing of it on FanFiction.net.

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Chapter 14

Avalon Strip

Sunlight filtered through the long windows and penetrated Hermione's eyelids, which fluttered open a few seconds later. She smiled, closed her eyes and buried her head even deeper into the pillow. Hermione let herself fall into a light nap, the morning sun warming her face. Her eyes had barely been shut for two minutes when music blared from invisible speakers around the room.

Hermione could hear Jules groan in the bed over.

"Someone turn the music off!" Jules cried, pulling her pillow over her head. Hermione, however, sat up and rubbed her eyes. Cara was getting out of her bed and walking to the stereo set in the corner, and Scottie-Anne was nowhere to be seen.

The music dwindled down to a low purr and Cara pulled back the sheer curtains that covered the windows, allowing more light to enter the room.

"Too...bright...too...early!" Jules' muffled voice came from under the pillow.

"Come on Jules, it's 8:30 and we got to sleep in. Rise and shine."

Juliet pulled her head out from under the pillow only long enough to glare at Cara. "You rise, you shine, I'm going back to bed." She buried her head again.

"Sorry about this Hermione. She's not really a morning person."

"It's alright." Hermione stretched her arms upward then climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

When she returned ten minutes later, Jules was awake and brushing out her short blond hair.

"So, Hermione. Scottie-Anne said that you needed to borrow some clothes?"

"My trunk got misplaced somewhere between here and New York," Hermione explained.

"That's rotten luck. Do you want to borrow some of my stuff for today?"

"That would be great," Hermione said. "Thank you so much."

"No problem," Jules said, vaulting off the bed and walking over to a dresser. "Your coloring's a little different than mine, but I'm sure we can find something."

She dug around for a moment then pulled out a shirt in a dark periwinkle color and tossed it to Hermione. "Here. Sydney has the cutest skirt that goes just perfectly with that. Hold on and I'll go ask her for it."

"Alright," Hermione said surveying the shirt with a bit of disdain. It seemed rather short, but maybe that was just her.

Jules reappeared a few minutes later with a white skirt. "There you go. Now go try it on...I want to see how it looks."

Hermione obliged and to her dismay, she found that the shirt was too short. The white band at the bottom stopped right above her bellybutton and despite furious tugs on her part, it would not come down any further. The white cap sleeves were find and she could live with the two inch cut at the neckline's center, but the length was too short. The one part of the ensemble she really liked was the skirt. It stopped right below her knees, and swayed as she turned.

After another fruitless tug at the shirt's elasticy bottom, Hermione emerged from the changing unit.

"That looks so cute on you!" Jules exclaimed.

"The shirt's a little short, don't you think?"

Jules snorted in a very unladylike manner. "It's suppose to be short. And besides it's nothing compared to what Marleigh wears."

"Okay," Hermione said, still tugging at the bottom of the shirt.

"Don't pull at it; it will bunch up," Jules instructed. "Laurel and Cara are about ready to go down for breakfast if you want to go with them."

"Alright." Hermione started to pull on the high-heeled boots she had worn all yesterday, already dreading having to spend another day in them.

"You can't wear those with that outfit. Here—you can borrow my Pumas."

Hermione could object to the shirt, but every sensible cell in her body told her not to reject a pair of sneakers.

"And what are you planning on doing with your hair? It would be so cute if you straightened it and then did like a messy bun. I could do it for you if you want."

"That's so sweet of you. Thanks." Inside, Hermione was screaming. She felt like a Barbie doll controlled by someone else. As nice as here roommates were, she was ready for her trunk back.

Jules straightened Hermione's hair with a tap of her wand and used her fingers to pull the hair into a messy ponytail. She flicked her wand and invisible bobby pins contoured Hermione's hair into an extremely messy bun.

"Thank you. It looks so cute."

Hermione shoved her wand and what little money she had into a borrowed purse and then went downstairs with Cara and Laurel.

The Great Hall was packed, excitement for the day in Los Angeles filling the air as the girls walked over to the Tashbaan table. Hermione felt a slight smile come across her face as she noticed a platinum blond head sitting at the table. Cara lead Hermione to a set of seats across from Draco.

"Good morning," Draco said, a genuine smile spreading across his face.

"Good morning to you too." It was then that she noticed the blonde sitting next to Draco.

"Hi. You must be Hermione. I'm Marleigh Paris."

"It's nice to met you." Hermione might have felt like a Barbie doll, but Marleigh was a living one—Perfectly highlighted blond hair, sky blue eyes, and impossibly small halter-top complete with an authentic Tiffany's necklace around her neck.

Cara was slightly less diplomatic in her response.

"Well Marleigh, this is the first time I've seen you at the Tashbaan table...ever." Hermione noticed for the first time just how close Marleigh was sitting to Draco and felt a strange emotion come over her. She knew that she had no right to feel it. Marleigh had right to sit next to him in all her blond glory, but Hermione couldn't help it.

Marleigh smirked. "I almost didn't see you there Cara. That's quite a feat considering how curly your hair is. It's like the anti-christ of proper hair maintenance."

"At least I can still see my natural color." Hermione watched the debate silently. Marleigh seemed to be everything Scottie-Anne and Jules had described her as.

Marleigh just scoffed and turned back to Draco to finish their conversation.

"Be careful," Cara whispered to Hermione. "Marleigh's marking her territory. She wants Draco and if you don't make a move she will."

"And I have no right to stop her." Hermione helped herself to some scrambled eggs.

Breakfast passed quickly, Cara and Marleigh throwing as many insults as they could think up at each other. Professor Callaway stood up at the meal's end, magically enhancing her voice to fill the whole hall.

"If you are going to Los Angeles, you need to check out with your house moderator before leaving the campus. The buses will leave Avalon Strip a precisely five o'clock. It would be wise to be there at least fifteen minutes early.

"But before you leave, I would like to introduce to you our exchange students from Hogwarts School in the United Kingdom. I will hope that you will make them feel at home. Hermione and Draco will you please step up?"

Hermione's cheeks burned as she stood for a moment before sitting down as quickly as was considered polite.

"And you are dismissed. I will see you at six." The hall exploded into noise as people pushed to get out the door.

Cara pulled Hermione through the crowd to where Scottie-Anne and a few others were standing.

"So you survived your first encounter with Marleigh. Congratulations," Scottie-Anne said sarcastically. "Isn't she just a lovely person?"

"Scottie-Anne's just being cynical. Correct, but cynical," Jules said. "Anyways, are you ready for some Los Angeles shopping?"

"Yeah, I'm excited," Hermione said genuinely.

They walked out into the bright California sunlight where several large vans stood, awaiting occupants.

"Here, this one's empty." Scottie-Anne pulled open the door to a giant navy blue van.

"Our home away from home," Jules said sardonically. "We've spent half our lives in here."

Hermione climbed into the farthest back row of seats and leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the window.

"Hey." Hermione turned her head to see Draco sliding into the seat next to her.

"Hey." Hermione prepared to make the small talk that seemed to dominate her conversation with Draco lately.

"Draco! What a surprise. I never guessed I would run into you here." Hermione could feel the corners of her mouth turning up at that bold-faced lie. Marleigh wouldn't have come anywhere near a Tashbaan van unless she had something to gain—Draco. Apparently, her want was great and Hermione couldn't help but be annoyed.

Jules was past annoyed. "Marleigh, get out of our van. Now!"

The van began to move and Marleigh gave a satisfied smile.

"It seems a little late to leave," she said, her face saying oh too clearly 'deal with it.' She then turned back to her newest conquest.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the blatant flirting going on next to her. She finally leaned forward and joined in with Scottie-Anne and Clark's conversation, wanting to drown out the words being said just to her right.

The trip seemed to take less time than it had the night before, and before Hermione realized it, they were in the heart of Los Angeles. The van pulled up to an antique clothing store and the doors opened, letting the warm air penetrate the vehicle.

Everyone pilled out of the van, Marleigh still clinging to Draco and Hermione feeling the slightest bit irritated.

Scottie-Anne caught up with Hermione as they were walking through the sliding doors.

"Don't worry about Marleigh. The boys will go into Quidditch Unlimited, she'll get bored out of her mind and by the time we met up with the boys for lunch, Draco will be all yours."

Hermione didn't bother to correct her.

The store was filled with out-of-date clothing, everything faded and ridden with holes. There wasn't a single customer in the shop, save for the hordes of Calorman students. Scottie-Anne waved to the woman behind the counter and lead the way into one of the changing cubicles at the back of the store, where Hermione was herded into one with Jules, Cara, Laurel and a few other girls. The cubical, larger than usually found in shops, was dominated by the presence of a magnificent gold-framed mirror. The ornate border was decorated by emerald spotted vines, spiraling down the sides. A massive emerald topped the mirror, bordered by slightly less massive rubies.

Scottie-Anne pulled the door shut, increasing the claustrophobic tendency of the changing room. "Whoever's closest to the mirror, open the gateway please."

Cara pulled out her wand, a trim 13-inch holly wand containing a Chinese fireball heartstring, and tapped the emerald and rubies in rapid succession. The mirror dissolved in a glittering waterfall, exposing an opening behind it.

"Welcome to Avalon Strip," Cara said stepping through the mirror archway. Hermione followed her through, her eyes widening to immense proportions.

While Diagon Alley possessed old-world charm with its knobby cobblestones and quaint buildings, Avalon Strip was all corners and angles in bold colors providing a modern feel. Store signs flashed different colors and all the buildings, while solid colors, seemed to possess the faintest metallic luster.

Hermione followed the other girls habitually, drinking in every detail of her surroundings. The amazement she had felt her first time in Diagon Alley was nothing compared to this. The shops alone overpowered her.

The first one to catch her eye was 'Potions in Motion,' whose sign guaranteed sale of every potion ingredient known to the wizarding world, including the very rare hen's teeth displayed in the shop window at eight galleons a tooth.

Next to it stood Quidditch Unlimited, a towering three-story building that, from the looks of it, was chock-full of everything needed to play, in Hermione's opinion, the over-rated game. Ron and Harry would have given their two front teeth to be standing where she was. A smile tugged at the corners of Hermione's mouth as she though of them.

Scottie-Anne lead the way into the building across the street, the one that Hermione could easily identify as Gringotts. The goblin doorman smirked as he pulled the glass doors open for them. The clutter she knew from the London bank was gone, replaced by a freakishly neat interior.

Scottie-Anne stepped up to the nearest goblin checker.

"Calorman account 741." She handed him a thin silver key, which he took and inserted into a key-hole on a pedestal on which a black track rested, its' ends disappearing through small archways in the wall. Seconds after the insertion a milky color globe with a faint glitter appeared through the archway and rolled to a rest in front of the goblin, who presented it to Scottie-Anne.

Scottie-Anne opened it's top, revealing a considerable amount of gold galleons. She pulled out a small stack and pushed it towards the goblin. "Can I exchange this for dollars?" Another small golden stack disappeared into her wallet as she waited for the transaction.

Hermione was amazed by the simplicity of the procedure. She had been prepared for a scream-inducing trip into the depths of the continent.

Cara saw the look on Hermione's face and offered a response. "Since they're swamped with Calorman students on Avalon weekends, they rigged up this system so they wouldn't have to make a couple hundred trips to the vaults."

"Thanks. I was wondering about that."

As Scottie-Anne was replacing her wallet in her Louis Vuitton purse, her fingers brushed against a pale blue parchment envelope and a puzzled look crossed her face for a moment before she remembered its purpose.

"Hermione, I almost forgot. Professor Callaway wanted me to give this to you. They transferred your London account into a Calorman account."

Hermione opened the envelope and found a slender silver key and an index card on which was written 'Account #943'... her account. A slight feeling of euphoria filled her for a moment at the idea of her own account before the realization that she had no idea how much money was in her account or how much she should take out.

Subsiding her momentary panic, Hermione carefully surveyed each girl's withdrawal, and when it was her turn at the counter, she knew exactly how much she wanted.

As the goblin presented her with her globe, Hermione pried open the top. Inside rested what appeared to be only a fraction of her Gringotts account, the rest of which Hermione hoped was in an underground vault. She took out about 10 galleons to transfer to dollars.

"You might want to take out a little more if you need to get new clothing," said Jules, leaning against the counter casually. "For the most part we wear muggle clothing and in Los Angeles that usually isn't cheap."

Hermione dutifully shelled out another ten to add to the pile and took another twenty galleons for her purse.

Jules mock applauded. "We'll make a shopaholic out of you yet." Hermione's cheeks darkened slightly as the goblin counted out the crisp dollar bills which she promptly tucked into her wallet.

"Everyone's financials taken care of?" Scottie-Anne asked. Everyone acknowledged her in some way and they moved towards the front entrance.

Back in the sunshine that filled Avalon Strip, the group split up, spreading out to every corner of the shopping center. Hermione followed Scottie-Anne and Jules, having no idea where to go otherwise. They lead the way down the street, passing by shops filled with spell books that Hermione was dying to visit, and magical bakeries from which the most delectable, mouth-watering aromas emanated. After surpassing most of the stores, Jules and Scottie Anne turned into one of the only stores Hermione didn't want to visit. Their shop window exhibited their newest non-smear eye shadow in 'twenty-four luscious colors for autumn' and their shelves were filled with every cosmetic known to muggle and wizard. Hermione greatly lacked Jules and Scottie-Anne's enthusiasm as they entered the store, listening to the two girls' excited chatter about whether not they had restocked their selection 24-hour lipstick and pretending to be interested.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione could have sworn that Jules and Scottie-Anne had tried on every shade present in the shop, and were going around for second opinions.

"Do you like?" Scottie-Anne asked, spraying a cloud of 'Glimmering Goddess' in Hermione's face.

"It's very nice," Hermione said, choking back her first comment—"Please chain me up in solitary confinement and torture me with every torment- inducing instrument known to wizard before you make me smell another perfume."

"It's a little strong," Jules commented, wrinkling her nose. "Too much."

"I think you're right." Scottie-Anne replacing the bottle on the shelf. "How about this one?"

Hermione spared herself having to answer by pretending to be absorbed with her study of the ingredients on the side of a lip liner she found in a nearby display.

"That shade's too dark for you," Jules said, "you want a lighter color."

"That's alright," Hermione said quickly replacing the thin tube. "I was just looking."

"Well, if you lost your trunk, surely you need to restock your make-up."

Hermione tried to explain that she didn't wear make-up and therefore had no use for industrial amounts of cosmetics, but her comments fell on deaf ears as Jules and Scottie-Anne were too busy deciding what eye shadow went with her "warm brown" eyes. Hermione watched in horror as they put together a collection to rival Parvati's.

"You do realize that I'm not planning to pay for all that," Hermione said as Jules added yet another tube of eyeliner to the basket.

"Don't be absurd," Scottie-Anne said. "Jules and I are going to help you pay."

"No, you aren't, because I'm not buying it."

Five minutes later, both sides still heavily defended their argument, but in the end, Hermione ended up helping pay for the entire array of cosmetics that she would never use and would eventually send to Parvati and Lavender as souvenirs.

"Well that was a successful trip," Jules said optimistically, as they walked out of the store, their arms laden with bags.

Hermione snorted in response.

"Once you see how beneficial this are, you'll thank us for forcing you to buy them," Scottie-Anne said sagely. "Where do you think we should go now? My vote goes to Chocolate Enchantment." Hermione perked up—it sounded like the delicious smells that filled the air were going to be included in the next stop.

"Choice seconded. I'm starving," Jules said. "Hard to believe it, but we were looking at make-up for almost an hour."

"That's not shocking," Hermione said in an undertone as they entered the chocolate store, the delicious aromas making their stomachs rumble and mouths water. Laid out before them was chocolate in every shape and form. Brownies, chocolate bars, fudge, malted milk balls, cookies. Milk chocolate, dark, white, flavored, with and without almonds. Hermione was overwhelmed with choices.

After much debate, Scottie-Anne decided on dark chocolate fudge with mint flavoring, Jules got a triple chocolate cookie and Hermione purchased three chocolate dipped strawberries. Munching on their chocolate snacks, they made their way down the sidewalk, looking in shop windows as they went. Hermione was licking the chocolate off her fingers as Jules pulled her into a dress robes store.

Having no need for dress robes between that moment and when she got her trunk back, Hermione only looked through the robes, running her hands over the smooth silks and satins, and occasionally providing opinion for the ones that the other two girls singled out.

"Hermione, it's your turn to decide where we go," Jules said as they emerged from the dress shop half an hour later.

"Do you know any good book stores?"

Jules looked at her in surprise but directed the group to Legendary Literature, where Hermione spent an enjoyable three-quarters of an hour paging through the spellbooks that lined the walls, while Scottie-Anne and Jules read the newest edition of Teen Witch.

"Are you really buying all those?" Jules said wrinkling up her noise as Hermione boosted an armload of books onto the counter.

"Of course! Do you know how long I've been looking for 'An Advanced Study of Ancient Wizards in the Far East'? And I've never seen these books before in England..."

"Okay, I get it," Jules said jokingly. "Just spare me the details."

"We better get moving. We're meeting everyone for lunch in fifteen minutes," Scottie-Anne said, taking one of Hermione's monster-sized bags.

"Thanks," Hermione said struggling with the other bag.

The girls made their way back through the mirror into the changing cubicle of the antique clothing store.

"Here, we can leave your books here." Scottie-Anne lifted one of the bags over the counter and handed it to the saleslady on the other side, taking the ticket she was given. "Don't lose this. You'll need it to get your books back." She passed the ticket with the number 45A on it to Hermione, who tucked it in her purse.

"How far is this restaurant?" Hermione asked as the bright California sun beat down on them.

"About two blocks." Hermione spent the entire blocks of the trip trying to drink in every detail of muggle Los Angeles: the stores, the people in the street, the flashy cars that seemed to rocket past.

"Here we are," Scottie-Anne said, pushing opening the glass doors of California Pizza Kitchen and letting the aroma of cooking pizzas, spicy tomato pesto, and pepperoni to permeate the air around them. She led the way to a table in the back where a dozen other Calorman students were already sitting, Draco among them talking animatedly to Clark and another boy Hermione faintly remembered as Cody.

Hermione smiled slightly as she silently slid into the booth next to Scottie-Anne and across from Draco. Draco's face broke fully into a smile as he saw her, a look so different from the smirk he usually wore.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked good-naturedly.

"Very much so. Have you been to Legendary Literature yet? They have an immense selection of historical texts."

"Really? Do you remember if they had a book titled An In-depth Study of Famous Wizards of Ancient Egypt and Their Contributions to Modern Magic? Flourish and Blotts haven't had it in stock for the past year."

"I think I saw it, but I'm not sure. I know they had quite a few books on Ancient Egyptian Wizards."

Scottie-Anne butted into the conversation. "So, Draco. What happened to Marleigh? She didn't seem too eager to leave your side this morning."

"She's not really into Quidditch and spending two hours in Quidditch Unlimited strained her a little too much. I haven't seen her in a couple hours."

"It must be fun having your own stalker," Scottie-Anne said lightheartedly.

"To be completely honest, I was growing homesick for the constant presence of Pansy Parkinson. It's just too quiet without someone following you along. But there's one thing you must know about Pansy: It's not a pretty face, I grant you, but underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character."

It took Hermione a moment to register what he had said, but once she understood, she burst out in laughter.

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The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly, getting new clothes to wear until her trunk was found and spending time with Draco in the bookstore, pouring over the tiny text of the dusty tomes in Legendary Literature. Even the reappearance of Marleigh as they were boarding the buses could not dampen Hermione's spirits. She and Draco spent the duration of the trip having a vigorous conversation with Scottie-Anne and Clark about the best kind of chocolate in Chocolate Enchantment. Hermione thought it was the Turtle Fudge, Scottie-Anne believed it to be the mint chocolate liqueur balls, while Draco argued it was the Chocolate covered cashew clusters, and Clark was inclined to think it was the chocolate cheesecake. By the end of the trip, there was no agreement, but everyone had worked up an appetite talking about food.

After dinner in the Great Hall, the entire 10th grade of Tashbaan crowded around the television in the common room to watch a movie. Hermione ended up sitting next to Draco, and by the end of the movie, her head was resting on his shoulder.

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Like it? Hate it? Please drop me a review and tell me. I love constructive criticism, and if you think I can improve in any way, I'd love to hear it.

I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't as interesting, but I promise that it will get a lot better. Chapter 16 is extremely pleasing and I'm proud of Chapter 17. So hang in there a little longer!

lana-la-banana