Chapter 2: Better or Worse Alone?

Hermione Granger walked around her kitchen listening to the news that was coming on. She had developed quite beautifully. Her brown, bushy hair was now silky and smooth with golden highlights. She was much more taller and had acquired curves and a great figure. (A/N: In other words, girls were really jealous of her for having all the guys checking her out! hehe!)
"Oreo Cookie researcher have just found out that the makers are putting pig lard into the cream..." The anchor man said mater-of-factly.
Hermione looked at the cookie in her hand. It was an Oreo.(A/N: I have nothing against Oreos, but my mad science teacher told us this!) Hermione sighed and dropped the cookie down.
Ring, Ring. The phone rang. Hermione walked over and picked it up. It was Ron, her boyfriend. "Hey, Ron! What's up..." Hermione didn't even notice the time; she was going to be late. "I'll call you back later, Ron, I have to go to go pick up my niece and nephew...yeah, I'm taking them on a road trip. Okay, I love you too. Bye." She put down the phone, grabbed her purse and drove down to her cousin's Lydia's house.
"Lydia! How are you?" Hermione hugged her cousin.
"Fine, fine, were all great." she responded, "so what's going on?"
"Nothing much, you the same old," Hermione said, "so where are the kids?" Hermione looked around the house for her niece, Allie, who was thirteen, and her nephew, Thomas, who was no older than nine.
"Over by the kitchen," Lydia said, inviting her in.
Hermione walked into the kitchen. "Aunt Hermy!" Thomas ran up to her and gave her to a big hug.
"Hey, Thomas! You ready for the road trip?" she asked. He nodded. Hermione looked at Allie. "Hey, Allie."
"Hey, Aunt Hermione," Allie got up and walked up to her.
"Aww," Hermione said. "Allie is a teenager, now!"
"Please, Aunt Hermione," Allie said smiling.
"Oh, come on," Hermione said, "please call Hermione, 'Aunt' sounds so old!" Allie nodded. "So, are you having fun in school?
"Yeah, it going great," Allie said, "though there's nothing interesting ever going on!"
"There was a lot of interesting stuff going on when I was in school," Hermione said smiling, "my...er friends made it very interesting."
"Aunt Her--- I mean Hermione," Thomas said. "is it true that one of your best friends was Harry Potter?"
Hermione looked at him, unsure of what to say. "Yeah, sort of."
"Wow!" Thomas said excitedly. "I hope I can find friends like that when I go to Hogwarts!" Hermione's face was unreadable. She had a mixture of sadness, anger, and happiness being stirred inside of her.
"Yeah..."she said quietly. Allie gave her a questioning look. "Er... so lets go then," Hermione said changing the subject. "We have a long way to go."

(A/N: This is happening a little bit before Hermione's story began.) Harry's alarm clock rung several times, before Harry reached over and banged it closed. He groaned and then got out of bed. Harry was now living in his own house, which was really cozy and nice. It was really pretty and well built. Harry had acquired a lot of money from his job as an Auror.
He worked his way out of bed and walked into the bathroom, rubbing his eyes, sleepily. He had gotten really muscular, from playing Quidditch and whatnot. His soft, messy raven hair was still messy and stuck out all over the place. Something that definitely did not change, was his emerald green eyes. He had got rid of his glasses, but his eyes shone brightly and could still make any girl melt away. (A/N: In other words, the guys were really jealous of him for having the ladies fall for him! hehe!)
Harry finished getting ready and walked downstairs. He turned on the News.
"Oreo Cookie researcher have just found out that the makers are putting pig lard into the cream..." The anchor man said mater-of-factly.
Harry looked at the cookie in his hand. It was an Oreo. Harry sighed and dropped the cookie down.
Ring, Ring. The phone rang. Harry walked over and picked it up. It was Albus Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic. (A/N: Okay, I know that Dumbledore will not be the Minister, or if he's even alive when Harry's older, but this is my story, and I'm sticking with it!)
"Oh, Hi, Professor," Harry said sleepily.
"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore said back, "you sound tired."
"Yeah, well, I was up all night trying to figure out the mishaps that happened yesterday at the Ministry."
"That is what I was calling for," Dumbledore sighed, "Harry, I have noticed at work, and at home, you seem to be working to hard."
"But--- "
"Harry, I know that you mean well, but you seemed to be very stressed all the time." Harry knew that he couldn't see Dumbledore, but he had a feeling that his eyes were twinkling. "You seem to make too big of a deal of too small things."
"But, Professor--- "
"Please let me finish, Harry. I want all the employees to feel to feel relaxed and calm when at work, not stressed nor strained. That is why, I want you to take a break from work, and please just have fun. You're to young to be worried about work and whatnot."
"But, Professor--- "
"Harry, this is an order," Dumbledore called back, "you must do it. Go for a road trip just to get your mind off everything, who knows, you might even find something precious along the way..." Harry had another feeling that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling.
"Alright, Professor," Harry said.
"Please, Harry," Dumbledore said, "I'm no longer your teacher. Call me Albus."
"Sorry, Professor, but you will never stop being my teacher," Harry said. "Well, er...I guess I'm going on a rode trip."

A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'm not going to beg, but...PLEASE!! Next Chapter will be more interesting! One more thing: If you have nothing to read, and want to read a good story, check out my other story, Harry Potter and the Arch of Memories! I poured my soul into that story! Thanks! REVIEW!!