The day Hermione had been waiting for all summer had finally come; it was time to meet the Weasleys in Diagon Alley. The months that she'd been away from Hogwarts had dragged on for what seemed like years. She was getting so tired of her parents not understanding the importance of her education in the magical arts and trying to send her to a muggle school instead, where she would study to be a dental hygienist.

Hermione quickly brushed her hair, threw on some clothes, and went downstairs for breakfast that morning, where she was immediately bombarded by her mother.

"Now Hermione, sweetie," Mrs. Granger said as she placed a plate of toast and orange marmalade in front of her daughter, "wouldn't you rather go to a nice human school instead? They're nice and clean, and you'd be able to study to be a dentist like your parents. Wouldn't you rather be like your dear mother and father than some...some..."

"Freak," her father said quietly behind his newspaper.

"Hogwarts is a human school, mother," Hermione argued, ignoring the toast sitting in front of her and glaring at her father. "Hogwarts is very clean, as a matter of fact! I've informed you many times about my organization, S.P.E.W. You know; for the house elves that slave away every day and night to keep my school clean. And I am still human, you know. I'm not some creature...Hogwarts isn't a freak school!"

"That's exactly what it is!" Mr. Granger raised his voice, putting his paper down angrily. "A school for freaks likes you. I don't know what went wrong with you; we had hoped for a normal baby, but we got you instead."

Hermione's eyes had begun to fill with tears. "You know, you are quite possibly the worst father in the world," she said.

"What did you just say to me?" Mr. Granger screamed. "I have provided for you and raised you since you were born, even though you weren't the type of child I wanted. You should be grateful; no other normal family would have taken you in."

"I can't take this anymore," Hermione said. She stood up and ran as fast as she could up the stairs and into her small, yet comfortable room, skipping steps as she went. She wasn't surprised when neither of her parents called after her or came upstairs to check on her. "Soon, I'll be able to get out of this hell-hole," she said to herself as she sat down on her bed.

Hermione had already made plans to stay with the Weasleys for the remaining days of summer. She had packed every last one of her belongings into her trunk a week ago; since she was seventeen, almost eighteen, she didn't plan on returning home after school.

Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Granger didn't know about this, nor did Hermione plan on telling them. They would simply notice she was gone one morning, or perhaps they wouldn't even notice. Hermione didn't care what her parents thought anymore. "Screw them," she thought.

She was looking forward to arriving at the Weasleys even more so this year. Last year at school, she and Ron had started dating, though no one else knew yet; not even Harry. Hermione had finally realized that even with all the bad things in her life, when she was with Ron, she was happy, and she needed happiness in her life.

Hermione hadn't been able to speak with Ron all summer, and she was starting to really miss him. She wanted to tell Harry about their relationship so badly, but Ron thought it might make him uncomfortable, so they were keeping it a secret until the right moment came up.

Tears still filling her eyes, Hermione decided that she would leave for Diagon Alley when her parents left for work that morning. She waited for at least an hour, twiddling her thumbs and looking out her window, until finally she heard the front door slam. Rushing to her window, she saw the car pull out of the garage and drive away.

She quickly grabbed her trunk which was lying on her bed and tried to lift it, which was a mistake...her trunk was much too heavy for her to carry by herself. So she decided that dragging her trunk was the best way to do it. "I'll have to take a cab," Hermione thought to herself. "I can't drag this through the streets."

Standing on the side of the road, she waved down a yellow taxi cab, and got in. "London," she said to the driver, and she took one final look at her home as the man drove away. Surprisingly, Hermione didn't feel sad at all; she was actually happy. After seventeen long, hard years of living with her emotionally abusing parents, she was free.

"So, little lady," the muggle cab driver said, "what's a pretty girl like you going to London by yourself for?"

"I'm going to school," Hermione answered simply. "My parents were trying to keep me from going."

The cab driver was astonished. "Not wanting you to go to school?" he asked. "What kind of parents are those?"

"Horrible ones," Hermione answered.