Gato: Time for chapter dos.
Irie: Well, it took you longer to update than it did for me to get my cows back into my closet. You owe me money.
Gato: That was never the deal!
Irie: It is now! Mwhahahahahahaha.
Gato: ...no. Now do the disclaimer.
Irie: Fine, fine. Once again, she is not JK Rowling. Because of this, she does not own Harry Potter.
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The bell awoke Hermione from her thoughts. She slipped from her seat and quickly made her way to the stairs.
"Hermione! Hermione, stop!" Hermione sighed. She recognized Ron's voice and paused. He caught her and forced her to look at him, "Hermione, what's going on?"
"What do you mean, Ron? Don't you like my new look?"
Ron glanced at his girlfriend then shook his head fiercely. "You look great, but why did you change like this? And what was that thing with Snape?"
"It's nothing to worry about, Ronald." Hermione grinned and pulled her boyfriend into a kiss. She then turned and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Ron behind.
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Hermione arrived in her empty dorm room. Lavender must still be in class, she thought. Hermione glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't have to change much in order for her plan to succeed. She played with her hair for a while, and finally decided to pull half of it off her face. She walked over to her trunk and Lavender entered the room.
"Oh, Hermione. Hello," Lavender greeted.
"Hello, Lavender." Hermione found a black hair clip and returned to the mirror.
"I have to say, I love you're new look, Hermione. What made you decide to change?"
"Oh, you know," Hermione fumbled with the clip, "I just got bored with my old appearance."
"I see," Lavender muttered. "Well, you sure gave Snape a shock, didn't you?"
"I suppose I did."
"Listen, Hermione, we're having a slumber party on Friday and I was wondering if you wanted to come. You can bring Ginny if you want."
"Who is 'we'?" Hermione continued to fail with the hair clip.
"Me, Pravati, and some other girls." Lavender took the clip from Hermione and secured her hair. "It would be great if you could come."
Hermione turned from the mirror, "I'll think about."
"Okay," Lavender grinned and grabbed her hat, "Are you ready to go down?"
"You go on ahead, I'll see you there." Hermione turned back to the mirror as Lavender left. She rolled her skirt once more so that it ended at her mid-thigh. She left several buttons on the top of her shirt open, and allowed the bottom to remain un-tucked. Finally, she replaced her traditional school shoes with fancy, black, runners. Perfect, she thought as she covered her illegal uniform with her robe. No one would see her outfit until she chose. Hermione smiled at the mirror, and for a moment, swore she saw her reflection wink back. She shook her head, grabbed her hat, a small, blue object from her truck, and left the room.
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Hermione slowly made her way to the entrance hall. Several people passed her at faster paces, whispering about the guest from the Ministry. Some people paused and glanced at Hermione; some did a double-take. Hermione ignored them and walked with newly acquired aloofness. She hid the blue object in the sleeve of her robes. Just before she arrived at the hall, she removed it. Hermione muttered a quick spell and the object became invisible. Upon returning it to her sleeve, she heard the contained liquid slosh around. Hermione smirked, I knew those leftovers from potions class would come in handy someday.
When she arrived at the entrance hall, most of the school had already congregated on the steps. She searched the crowd quickly, and her eyes distinguished familiar red hair. Hermione shoved past several people and positioned herself beside Ron, who was in conversation with Pravati.
"Well, Ron, I know it will take a lot of time, but I think that we should..."
"Hello, lover," Hermione interrupted seductively.
Ron turned with a start. Pravati stopped in mid-sentence and glanced at Hermione. "Hermione? Hermione Granger?" She demanded in disbelief, "Wow, look at you!"
"Uh, Hermione, you have to stand with Harry and the others. Pravati and I have to be here to greet the guest."
"Oh, but Ron," Hermione played with Ron's hair as she spoke, "it's not like you'll get in trouble if I'm just standing here innocently."
Ron bit his lip and glanced at his girlfriend, "Well, I guess it's alright..."
"That's what I thought," Hermione smirked and placed a kiss on Ron's lips.
Professor Snape moved to the front of the stairs. His look silenced the students. Syltherins looked at him with respect. Others rolled their eyes in annoyance. "As I am sure you are all aware, this guest from the ministry will be inspecting the school. The decision will come to him about whether or not Hogwarts is a good institution. We expect you all to be on your best behaviour. Mr. Lemont will be here soon, and he will be reporting everything that he sees directly to the Ministry. Is that clear?"
Several students nodded or muttered responses. Hermione's smile merely widened. She felt the latex of the balloon in her sleeve and slowly unbuttoned the front of her robe, revealing her terribly illegal clothing. Ron stared at her in surprise.
The large double doors opened and Professor Dumbledore entered, followed by a short, stocky man. His jet black hair lay plastered to his round head. He wore an immaculate suit, every button in place. He stopped beside Dumbledore and regarded the students through rimless glasses while Dumbledore spoke. Hermione gripped her wand deep within her sleeve and forced concentration. "Wingardium Leviosa," she whispered so that not even Ron overheard. She felt the balloon leave her sleeve and watched its faint outline float until it hovered directly above Mr. Lemont.
Dumbledore continued to speak, "...as you can see, our students have an excellent and healthy learning environment. We have produced some of the greatest witches and wizards of our time, and currently house some prodigies. Hermione Granger is one of these students. She is the best student Hogwarts has ever seen."
"Yes," Mr. Lemont polished his glasses, "Is she here? I wish to speak to her."
"She may not be here," Dumbledore scanned the crowd. "She has had a very difficult month. Hermione Granger? Are you here?"
Ron nudged her, "Hermione, they're calling you."
Hermione's concentration wavered for a moment and she saw the balloon drop several feet. She managed to regain composure in time. She straightened her hat and smiled, I can do this; I just have to concentrate. I am the best student Hogwarts has ever seen, after all. Holding her wand firmly, Hermione made her way through the crowd. The people she passed whispered loudly about her uniform. When she reached Mr. Lemont, she had the pleasure of seeing Snape's face distort in shock. McGonagall looked appalled and moved forward to reprimand Hermione. Dumbledore raised his hand and halted his co-worker. McGonagall turned and began a hushed conversation with Professor Sprout. Mr. Lemont looked as surprised as anyone. "Er, Hermione Granger?" He asked, extending his hand. Hermione ignored his friendly gesture. He frowned and continued, "Well, I must say that your academic success is staggering. You truly are..."
"The best student Hogwarts has ever seen," Hermione finished for him, "I know."
"Yes, well, if your marks hold up and your teachers continue to give you a good report, you will have a guaranteed spot in the Ministry upon your graduation."
Hermione opened her mouth and shut it again. Just nod and drop the balloon.
No, a part of her mind commanded, say it. You know you want to.
No, I don't.
Don't lie. You do want to say it. Stop being such a goody-goody.
Fine.
"Who says that I want to work in the Ministry?" Hermione demanded, tossing her head.
"I merely..." Mr. Lemont began.
"I refuse to be involved with such a dirty organization." Hermione took a step relaxed her concentration. The balloon fell onto the head of Mr. Lemont. The latex exploded and a bright green liquid flowed down his round head. Hermione laughed at his shocked, stupefied expression. She felt as if she was the only one moving in the entire hall.
Well done, I knew we could do it.
What? Who are...? Snape's vicious grip on her wrist snapped Hermione out of her thoughts. She heard herself continue to laugh while Snape dragged her in the direction of Dumbledore's office. She quelled her laughter and managed to distinguish a jumble of voices in the entrance hall. She thought she could hear Dumbledore's calm voice. When Mr. Lemont's voice emerged, Hermione began to laugh once more.
"Maple fudge," Snape snapped at the statue.
Maple fudge. Remember that, it could come in handy in the future.
Hermione acknowledged the voice with a nod amongst her laughter. Snape forcefully shoved her into a chair. Her laughter ended once again and she defiantly stared at the greasy man.
"I suppose you think that was funny?" He sneered.
Just don't answer, she thought, I'm in enough trouble already.
Stop being a coward. This is what you want. Answer him.
I don't want to.
Yes you do. Stop lying to yourself. If you don't answer him, I will.
What? I don't want to answer him!
As you wish, the voice stopped, but Hermione felt her mouth open, "Yes, actually, I do. You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy the show. I caught you staring at my clothing. You like it?"
Snape merely gaped for a moment. Finally he muttered, "I may not have the power to expel you, but Dumbledore does. And, when I tell him everything - including my potions class and what you just said - you will not be able to weasel your way out of an expulsion, brilliant student or not."
Snape turned and left abruptly. Hermione heard a lock click. The voice did not return and she slumped down into her seat. The portraits in the office demanded to know what had occurred. She merely ignored then, a pensive look on her face. Hermione glanced up and saw a small mirror that hung by Dumbledore's desk. She approached it slowly, a slight frown on her face. For a moment, her reflection frowned back. Suddenly, it smiled cruelly. "We're going to have tons of fun. This is just the beginning."
"What are you?" Hermione demanded. Just then, the door opened. Hermione turned to find Professor Dumbledore in the doorway. When she glanced back at the mirror, it reflected her perfectly.
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Gato: There we are, that is the end of chapter two. Très different from the original, no?
Irie: What is it with you and mixing languages?
Gato: shrugs Some people mix paint, I mix languages. Now, reviewer's response.
TO Box-Personna: You.are.the.BEST.reviewer.ever. I don't care it that sentence was grammatically incorrect. Spell-check will have to deal with it. Thank you so very much for your review. I write for people like you. I hope you enjoy the changes that I've made with the story.
Gato: Okay, please review. I would love some more opinions.
Irie: Not that it matters, because she will keep writing whether you review or not.
Gato: But review anyway!