My So called Perfect Life

First of all, thank – you to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Same as last chapter

Recap

She turned around and found herself looking in a mirror. The sight that greeted her left her speechless. Looking back at her was the reflection of a pale woman. There was a cut over her right eyebrow and dark circles under the eyes. Her body was that of a young woman, but her eyes were that of an old woman who had suffered enormous grief in her lifetime.

Hermione made her way to her bedroom and lay down. Her pillow was soon soaked through with soundless tears. Her eyes were bloodshot but also determined.

'He may hurt my body, but he'll never hurt my soul.' That was Hermione's last thought before she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 2

Hermione Granger was not having a good day. Her morning started off by wincing in pain as she tried to sit up on her bed. Slowly memories from the previous night invaded her mind, obliterating all the peacefulness of her dreamless sleep.

'God, please help me make it through today. I'll leave for Hogwarts tomorrow and I won't ask you for anything else,' prayed Hermione as she gingerly walked to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes and one shower later, she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen to get some breakfast. She immediately wished that she hadn't. HE was there. He just sat there reading the newspaper, a cup of coffee in one hand with no care in the world.

"Good morning Hermione. Have a good night sleep?" he asked.

It never ceased to amaze her how he could pretend nothing had happened. It was always like this. Whenever he hit her, he somehow managed to delude himself into believing that nothing had ever happened. He was always perfectly cordial the next morning. Hermione had learned early on never to mention the beatings. Any reference usually led to another beating that night. The cycle started again the next day.

"Yes," mumbled Hermione as she went to the refrigerator to get something to eat.

"So, what are going to do today?"

"I'm going to Diagon Alley (did I spell that right?) to get my books," said Hermione and silently added new robes to the list. After all she was the new Head Girl. It wouldn't do to have old robes.

No one knew she was Head Girl. She couldn't tell her mother because she was out of town and she knew her stepfather wouldn't care. She hadn't even told her best friends Harry and Ron yet because she hadn't had time to write to them.

'Oh well, I'll tell them today," thought Hermione as she helped herself to some toast. She quickly ate her breakfast, stood up, and put the dishes away. She then turned to her stepfather.

"I'm going to leave now," she announced.

"Okay. Hurry back."

Hermione walked to her room to get the list of things she would be needing for her new year at Hogwarts. She briefly stopped in front of a mirror on her way out. Staring back at her was the reflection of a petite woman in black jeans and a white sweater. Her chestnut brown hair was slightly wavy and hung down to her waist. It was held back by a jeweled head band. She could have passed off as a model without a care in the world if it hadn't been for her eyes. Her beautiful golden-brown eyes looked like they held all the pain in the world. Only by being careful had she managed to hide the pain from everyone else. No one ever saw the true Hermione Granger. All they saw was a mask behind which she hid her true self.

'Good. They won't be able to see a thing.' She thought as she left her room.

Diagon Alley

"Hermione! Hermione! Over here!!" yelled a voice from behind Hermione.

She turned around and saw her best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. They weren't alone. They were surrounded by the rest of the Weasley clan. Hermione waved at them and made her way closer.

"Hey guys! How was your summer?" she asked when she reached them.

"Brilliant! We went to see the Chudley Cannons last week. They were amazing. They caught the snitch in less than 15 minutes. Everyone thought the game would last longer. So to make the time go by they started signing autographs. I've got all of them now. And after that…" Hermione smiled wistfully as she listened to Ron talk about his summer. How she wished she was in his family. Any family other than hers would have been a blessing.

Harry laughingly stopped Ron. "Maybe she should tell us about her summer now Ron," he said gently.

"Oh yeah. So how was your summer 'Moine?" asked Ron with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"It was alright. Nothing that exciting happened. Although I did get a letter saying that I'm the new Head Girl," she stated proudly.

Both the boys cheered and tried to hug her simultaneously. The end result was a sandwich with Hermione in the middle. She tried not to wince in pain as they came in contact with her cuts from the previous night.

"Way to go Hermione. We knew it had to be you. Who else could possibly get it?" asked Harry as he let her go.

Hermione smiled. Was it any wonder they were her best friends? Her smile grew wider as she heard Mrs. Weasley tell them to hurry up so they could buy everything they needed. She hooked each of her arms with Ron and Harry and walked towards the book store.

Today may have started bad, but it had improved. And who knows? Maybe tomorrow would be even better.

So what do you guys think? Do you like it? Hate it? Either way please review. The deal's the same as last time. I won't update without reviews. So if you want to read more, just click the little button at the bottom and review. It's really not that hard.

Thanx again to everyone who reviewed for the first chapter. I'll try to make the next ones longer.