Chapter 2: The Burrow/Diagon Alley
When Hermione arrived at the Burrow for the remainder of the summer holidays, she was greeted with not only hugs from her two best friends, but also the up down.
"Wow, Hermione. You've really changed." said Harry.
"Yeah…you have…" Ron trailed off, still staring at her.
"Thanks, guys." she replied. "Anyone up for a game of Quidditch?"
"Yeah!" they both replied enthusiastically.
They joined Ginny, Fred, George, and Bill for a game of backyard Quidditch. After a few hours of playing, they were all called inside for dinner by Mrs.Weasley. After they finished dinner they all spent time catching up. Apparently Harry had been living at the Burrow all summer—his Aunt and Uncle kicked him out of their house the minute he arrived on their doorstep.
Harry was still pursuing his dream of becoming and Auror, he had been taking classes at the Ministry all summer, which he dragged Ron along to. Hermione didn't have much to tell. She helped her parents at the office all summer for a small salary. She was much more interested in the other's summer stories. Mrs.Weasley shooed them all up to bed early because they would be heading off to Diagon Alley the next morning to do their school shopping.
Hermione was awoken half and hour earlier than everyone else the next morning by her alarm clock, for she wanted to get a shower in early. By the time she had readied herself for the day, breakfast was at the table along with a groggy looking Ron and Harry. They all ate a family breakfast, and once everyone was ready they all made their way over to Diagon Alley by way of Floo Powder. Their first stop was to Madam Malkin's to buy Harry, Ron, and Ginny some new robes because all three had another growth spurt over the summer. Ron, Harry, and Ginny went to go look at the latest broomstick and Quidditch supplies, Hermione accompanied Mrs.Weasley to Flourish and Blotts to get all of their new spell books.
Hermione, having gotten distracted by reading her school supplies list had wandered through the book crammed shelves of Flourish and Blotts until she didn't know where she was anymore. She stopped and looked around, wondering where exactly she was. As her eyes swept her surroundings, a book labeled "Dark Magic" on one of the top shelves covered with dust. She pulled over a small footstool and attempted to retrieve book. As her small fingers grazed the binding of the book, she lost her balance and fell off the stool. She tried to prepare herself for a hard collision with the floor, but a pair of strong hands caught her in the air, placed her on the ground, and a low voice cooed in her ear,
"Here. Let me help you with that."