A/N: I want to personally thank my first five reviewers! Thank you for giving my story a chance! Those who have asked – my story is in a various POV's. And its not completely following canon so if there are situations like the retainer thing. I just wanted to make the whole transformation thing more realistic I hope you understand.

Disclaimer: I know I disclaimed everything in the first chapter. Remember this is all fiction so there are a lot of things that I personally invented! Okay? Yey!

Summary: She loves him, he doesn't know but he loves someone else, and she loves this guy—you just can't win. What if love doesn't have to be written in the stars but in your eyes and the only people that can see it are the people around you? Let the third war begin.

I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again

Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

(Collide, Stop All The World Now, Howie Day)

Life can be lived

Hermione's Point of View

It feels great to finally be at Hogwarts. I look around my new room and sigh. Dumbledore showed me my new quarters (being head girl and all). And I had my own common room. There was a certain portrait that could lead me to the common room of the Gryffindor common room and another that led to the halls of Hogwarts. Although it was a much, much smaller common room than those of the Gryffindor's it was still mine.

Lavender and Ginny were waiting for me in MY common room.

"This place is awesome." Ginny gushed. "I so would like to be head girl next year."

I laughed as I buttoned up my button and brushed off the invisible lint from my shorts.

"What on earth were they feeding you at Hazard?" Lavender asked.

"Harvard, Lav. It's not a mental institute." I replied with a laugh.

"Sounds like it." She shook her head. "That's beside the point, you're a stick. Are you sure there is nothing wrong with you Hermione?"

"Nothing," I assure her. "My metabolism is quite fast."

"I hope so." Ginny put in. I can't stop my yawn and I actually make a sound.

"So-rry, Miss America." Lavender teased, "Didn't mean to bore her majesty."

"Yeah, well you should be," I decided to play her game. I laughed at her reaction. "I guess I'm really tired."

"We should let you rest." Ginny was always the more sensitive one.

"Yeah, she's got to save her energy for her boys." Lavender laughed. Lavender could never really keep her silly side comments to herself.

"Cause I love them more." I replied. "We'll have our girl's night soon though."

"We better before I start getting the idea that the three of you are doing you-know-what." Lavender wiggled her eyebrows.

"And you know what a blabber mouth she can be." Ginny pushed Lavender toward the portrait.

"Rita Skeeter Junior from what I've heard." I waved as my friends made their way out.

I made my way to my bedroom to take a little nap before dinner. I had to prepare myself for Harry and Ron because I knew they were going to ask me more questions than a toddler. I can't blame them though all I did was write them a letter saying that I would be a little late for school and didn't put any other details because I knew I would not be able to write them.

I pulled out one of bags and took out a box that was decorated by Michelle, a girl I had met a few months back.

I had gone to a muggle college in the United States, called Harvard. My parents had finally signed me up for the program that I had been dreaming of since I was ten. It was a summer camp for juniors who were on their way to graduate. Only seventy-five teenagers between the ages of sixteen to nineteen were invited to participate. And I had been one of them. There was no way I could turn it down. I was going to miss a few months of school but I was also offered a possibility of studying there after I had graduated. At the end of the summer all seventy-five of us took an entrance exam and in a few months time I would find out if I had gotten the full scholarship that I wanted.

I traced my fingers over one of the pictures in the box.

"Adam," I whisper with a smile, almost as if I'm talking to an angel or something. It's a muggle picture so there is no form of movement. I feel my heart ache and realize that it hasn't even been two days and already I miss him. There are over a hundred pictures in the box. It had been a farewell gift from my friends in America. I laughed when I found a picture of Michelle, Ava and I goofing around with crazy wigs at this thrift shop. I wipe the one tear that has fallen from my eye; whisper a spell as the pictures plaster themselves over the walls of my room. I keep a few pictures inside Mr. NB. Yes, I have named my trusty notebook. I've had it with me for years and since its refillable so I never really let it go. I wrote my inner most feelings in it. It was like a journal really but it also had a lot of other things inside, like what I had to do, the books I wanted to read and the books that I wanted to read again.

I shut my eyes and was asleep before I had even hit the pillow. When I woke up I looked at my watch and saw that I was already fifteen minutes late. Supper in the Great Hall sounded absolutely fabulous. I put one of my robes over my shorts and t-shirt and buttoned it up completely. I stormed out of my room afraid I was going to miss the meal completely. After I had gone inside the Great Hall I realized that it was practically empty. Dinner was at seven and I was forty-five minutes early. I trudged over to my usual place and buried my head between my arms, which rested on the table.

"Hermione?" Lavender's voice interrupted my sleeping state. "I knew you wanted to sleep but I assumed you were going to sleep on your bed and not in the Great Hall."

I rubbed by eyes trying to get rid of my blurred vision. "I fell asleep waiting for dinner."

"Someone's excited." She laughed. I looked around and saw that we were still one of the few people there.

"It's another five minutes." She laughed and sat on the empty spot on my right side. "How in the world did you change your hair?"

"It's a muggle creation." I explained. "They call it Extenso." I ran my fingers through the tip of my ponytail.

"It looks like they removed every strand and made it straight." She touched my hair. "But it does wonders for you."

"Thanks." I smile gratefully. "That's what the hairstylist said. Amy forced me to have it done. I was half expecting her to show me a before and after photo when she saw me. On Merlin's beard I thought she was going to cry."

"Who's Amy?" Lavender asked curiously.

"She was this girl I had met there. A fashionista, so they say." I smiled as I remembered her. "I wasn't really close to her but I was her charity case for a few months so she decided to give me a make-over. She's a lot like you, Lavender."

"Really?" Lavender didn't really seem to be interested in what I had been saying about Amy. "Sound like you met a lot of interesting people there, Hermione."

"I did." I say excitedly. I enjoyed talking about the last two months more than anything else.

Ginny made her way angrily toward our table. "I swear boys can be so annoying!" She exclaimed as she slumped on her seat.

"What happened this time?" Lavender asked placing her hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Its Dean!" Ginny sighed in frustration.

"Dean?" I asked not understanding the entire situation.

"Let me shorten the not really long story. Dean likes Ginny and Ginny likes Dean but Dean doesn't want to tell Ron." Lavender explained. "I don't blame him though, seventeen is a pretty young age to die."

"So are you two?" I wanted to ignore the latter part of Lavender's statement.

"Sort of, it's just." She sighed, "Ron! Dean refuses to tell Ron because he doesn't know hot the big brother is going to react."

"Like I said I don't blame the guy."

"I see," I nod. "But Dean will never really know until he asks, right?"

"That's what I've been saying," Ginny replied.

"It is the only thing the two fight about." Lavender put in making Ginny's face slightly red.

"Ginny!" Dean Thomas ran through the hall and hid under the table, behind the three of us. Ron followed soon after with Luna of course.

"You told him?" Ginny hissed but sheer joy evident in her voice. She looked at Ron who seemed to be a little out of breath.

"Ron Weasley if you put so much as a breath on him," Ginny stood up to defend her… love?

"What?" Ron panted. "He ran away from me and I hadn't really understood what he said. It sounded important so I followed him here."

"Ron, you heard what he said." Luna shook her head.

Ron shot a look at his girl friend. "I came to thank him."

"Excuse me?" Ginny asked not quite sure with what her brother had just said.

"What did he say?" Dean hissed.

"I wanted to thank him for finally closing the possibility of you going for Harry. I don't think I'd be able to handle my little sister going out with my best friend." He said more clearly as Dean got out from under the table.

Ginny smiled and then suddenly hit Ron on the shoulder. "Scaring him like that, really Ronald."

I watched as this whole scene unfolded before my eyes. It was surreal how they had all seemed to change in such a short span of time. I almost felt like I didn't belong again.

"I'll see you later." Ron kissed Luna's forehead as they parted ways. "You look like you've never seen people date before."

"I'm sorry," I didn't realize I had been gawking at them. "It's just that---"

"She's never dated Ron, she's too smart for that." Harry's voice cut in.

"I've dated," I reasoned. "I just don't date and tell, it's really not my thing."

"Okay, than you've never been in love." Ron concluded.

When he had said that I instantly thought of Adam. His dark hair that was constantly all over the place, his hazel no more like chestnut eyes and the way he dressed. His polo's, jeans and rubber shoes were all done with his personal flare. He never wore over-sized jeans; he said that it was overrated. Was he thinking of me? He'd probably crack a really stupid joke about that question. I loved his sense of humor because whether or not it was funny it made me smile.

"Hermione?" Harry's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Oh bullocks!" Ron gasped as he dropped his wand. "You are in love!" He looked like he discovered the easiest way to get the highest grade in Snape's class. I saw Harry's expression darken.

"Really Harry, you're as bad as Ron." I teased. "I don't need someone to cover the protective brother role."

"So does this boy have a name?" Ron pushed the topic completely ignoring Harry's face.

"He might." I replied as I took a sip of my pumpkin juice. The meal had finally started.

"Is he from here?" Harry looked around the room.

"Really mate, if you growl any more I might start thinking that you have a little thing for Hermione." Ron tried to calm our friend.

I felt my blood go to my cheeks. "Adam's not from Hogwarts." I mentioned suddenly.

"Ooh, so his name is Adam!" Ron clapped his hands together. Harry still hadn't said anything. "So he's your Krum number two, Herm-ow-ninny?"

"No he's not from the wizard world. He's not even from any part in Europe. He's a muggle." I informed them I didn't want them to ask any more questions. At least not while we were having supper.

"So," Harry chocked on his words. "Are you two, you know, dating?"

"I suppose so," I replied cautiously. "Could we talk about Adam and everything later?"

"Sure," They both nod and focus on their food.

Ron and Harry came to my room after spending a little more time with their girlfriends. I had already changed into my pajamas. We had done this so many times and they had seen me in pajamas more than once. I removed my ponytail and brushed the lump in my hair out.

"So," Ron sat on the floor as Harry and I followed him. "Tell us everything."

"I really don't know where to start," I began to explain everything that had happened during the summer. For most of the night I told them about my trip to Harvard and all the people I had met and friends that I had made.

"So are you really studying there after we graduate?" Harry asked.

"If I get accepted." I replied with a smile and turned to the fire that flickered from the fireplace in front of us.

"Didn't you want to work for the ministry?" He asked again. I could tell Ron was almost ready to sleep. He was almost like a rat really, his life consisted of eating, sleeping and well mating, and I'm hoping the latter only goes until the snogging sessions.

"I do but that is only part of what I want, who I am and what I am." I whispered.

"Because the other part of you is still muggle." Ron could be very intelligent if he wanted to.

"I have no reason to stay." I put down my head. "There, I have mom and dad and now there's Adam."

"What about us?" Harry asked.

"It's months from now," I tried to explain. "And besides if either of you become an auror or a professional Quidditch player I won't be seeing either of you anyway. And not to mention you'll be too preoccupied with your girlfriends."

"But America is a world away." Harry placed his hand on my lap.

"I'll cross the bridge when I get there." I place my hand over his. "Are we really going to think of my POSSIBLY moving after I've only just arrived?"

They both didn't say anything.

"I thought so." I smiled knowing that I had one tonight.

Yet there was this odd feeling inside of me when I explained the situation to my friends, after the next months I will never see them ever waking hour of the day and it bothered me a little.

Who am I kidding? It bothered me a lot.

But I really had no reason to stay, at least not anymore.

"How can you hold her hands with the same hands that hold my heart?"

A/N: Here is chapter two! I hope you guys liked it! I'd really appreciate it if you review because it makes it so much easier to continue when people are encouraging you to go on. But mostly I want to hear your complete thoughts about this story. If there are things that are confusing you feel free to ask! Also, I know there might be some tense confusion in the beginning but I was too lazy to fix it. I will make sure to fix it in the next chapter.

Things to look out for in the next chapter: Harry's thoughts on his girlfriend, Hermione's friendship and her boyfriend. Harry reads a muggle book.