Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter

A/N: When the— sign is there, it's still Hermione speaking. Just for the record.

Chapter 1: The Art of Mentally Slapping Yourself

…

Let me just get this straight: I am not a morning person. Ask anybody. They can testify to my puffy eyes, tangled hair, and vague expression. And no, I don't take drugs. That said, Wednesday morning began the same as any other summer morning. You know the routine, getting up, throwing on my oversized "London" sweatshirt, and stumbling down the stairs. However, that morning, instead of being greeted by a hungry Crooshanks, I was greeted by a hungry Crooshanks and two parents that should have been at work two hours ago. I went through the things that could possibly keep them home from their precious work… I didn't sneak out, I didn't stay up late, my room already was clean…It left me no other option.

"Why…you…here?" I managed to croak.

My parents glanced at each other in that infuriating way, as if to say, "They're making us work with THIS?"

Whatever was on their minds, however, the politely replied…well sort of politely, I had asked an apparently stupid question after all… "School? You leave today?"

"Haha…Oops!" I laughed…Yup, it's all up here. I went to get my pre-packed trunk. Yeah, last night I remembered I had school today. Of course last night I could think. ANYWAYS… moving right along…

One hour later, after I had fully finished my morning ritual, my scrubbed- moisturized- conditioned- make-upped- self was in the car, ready to drive to the train station and begin my 6th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wow, that sounds official.

Two hours after we had left, we arrived. Running so as not to miss the train, which could be disastrous, I finally arrived at platforms 9 and 10. Hugging and kissing my parents good-bye, and 10 promises to write, 13 to stay out of trouble, 8 to have fun, and 22 to practice good oral hygiene-well, they are dentists- I rushed through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. Still running, I boarded the train with 3 minutes and 23 seconds to spare. Pausing to breathe, I started walking, trying to find my friends on the massive train. Several wrong turns later, I found Harry and Ron along with Ginny, Luna, and Neville. Pausing again to regain my composure, (it didn't work), I finally grabbed the handle and walked into the compartment.

5 pairs of eyes turned to me as I walked in. Talk about awkward.

"HERMIONE!" I had a sudden vision that I was being run over by a stampede of angry gazelles—wait, no, it was Ginny hugging me. After Ginny relinquished her grip a little, I managed a quick hug to Harry and Ron, sliding into the only available seat. Now your probably asking yourself, "Where was this seat? Why is she leaving us in this tortured suspense? This is killing me!"… actually you're probably asking yourself, "Will she get ON with it already?" in which case I will. ANYWAYS, I slid next to Ron, while trying to breathe, not turn red, and look sexy…or at least presentable… all at once. Let me tell you, this is no easy task. I ended up kind of slouching down. Fortunately, I had a memory of my mother reprimanding—isn't that such a cool word? Reprimanding? Hehe—me. So I sat up straight and blushed. It was a nice compromise, or so I thought.

Ron leaned over towards me and grinned, "I missed you. Harry doesn't give very good love advice."

A perfectly innocent comment, no? BUT, his straight white teeth were showing against his luscious red lips and I wanted to… dammit shut up brain!

"I missed you too, no one to use my infinite knowledge on," I said grinning mischievously, though inside my heart ached…. Okay, okay, I'll shut up! We chatted for a little while, though my witty comments began to wan, and we slipped into a peaceful silence.

We passed the remaining time as we always did: Exploding Snap, sharing stories, the boys eating, Ginny, Luna—kind of— and I gossiping, the works. I even refrained from quoting my all-time favorite book, Hogwarts, a History. There's so many facts in it! I find something new in it every time. Thought that might be because it's magical…ANYWAYS, I even refrained from mentioning SPEW. Yes, I still do SPEW in my spare time. Of course the reason I didn't mention it might be because that when I mentioned "house-elf," I saw five…well, four, Luna didn't know about SPEW, glaring at me and threatening bodily harm. Needless to say, I shut up.

Before we knew it, the castle we called home…well except for Harry, in which case calling it home would be lethal (he explained the prophecy to us before we left over the summer), and the Weasleys, who actually saw their parents…okay maybe I'm the only one who calls it home… ANYWAYS, we boarded the thestral, (man those things are creepy)- pulled carriages, heading up to the great feast that awaited us.

…

We walked into the Great Hall, taking in where we spent a good deal of our waking lives at Hogwarts. The enchanted ceiling showed dark clouds, with scattered stars in between, and a crescent moon peering through. The five of us, (Luna went to the Ravenclaw table), found a seat and slid into it, giggling about the sorting, and reminiscing about ours.

The Sorting happened, we clapped for the Gryffindors, and tried not to boo the new Slytherins. We reminisced and gasped, trying to remember being that small. (Ron kindly pointed out I still was). It was soon over, and none too soon. I was starved. And judging by the restless glances and fidgeting of the rest of the students, I was not alone.

As if by reading my mind—whoa, what if he was?— Dumbledore stepped out. The entire hall fell silent, and that is no easy task. If there is any reason Dumbledore deserves respect, it's for silencing roughly 1,000 students.

"Students of Hogwarts. I know this is a tough time for you. However, you are probably too hungry to think about that, so for now I will say: Enjoy," and, grinning, Dumbledore sat down, food appearing before us.

…I…AM…AGAINST…HOUSE-ELF…LABOR…Oh screw it the food looks good! Ahh! Yes! Steak! Mmm…Oh yay now Ron's looking at me strangely.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing…I've just never seen a girl eat that much…" He said, with a look on his face that was sort of a mixture of respect, confusedness—is that a word? Confusion maybe?—

and surprise.

"I'm hungry!" I retorted, but it was to know avail.

"Uh huh. You probably just consumed, like, five cows," he said grinning in that adorable way.

"Hey!" Yup, I use great retorts, huh?

"Poor Bessie. May she rest in peace." He said looking solemn.

I swatted him. "Bessie?"

"My aunt read me a book about a cow named Bessie," he explained look rather embarrassed, and his chiseled cheeks turned a cute pink color…

"Aww! That's so cute!"

"Shut up! Cow Killer!" he replied, sticking his tongue out at me.

I swatted him again. "The cow was already dead, someone else ate the rest."

"You mean the morsel that was left," he replied, cocking his eyebrow in that infuriating yet wonderful way…

"Hey! It's no more than I've seen you eat!"

"Yeah, but I'm growing. I've seen you've stopped."

"Alright that's it!" I said as I did the inevitable: I pinched him. And no weak pinch either. I did with my nice long nails, right in the upper skin of his arm until…

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I GIVE UP! YOU DON'T EAT THAT MUCH!"

I let go. "Thank you. That was all I wanted. I said grinning, turning back to Dumbledore, who had stood up, as all our food was eaten/disappeared now. I had won, and he knew it.

Dumbledore gave a wonderful speech. He told us to bond together in our time of need. He told us that it was dangerous times, and to obey the rules and respect the staff that was here to protect us. He warned us how dangerous Voldemort was, and most of all, he told us to unite for the common cause of good.

People were surprisingly quiet after leaving the Great Hall. It took awhile for the message to sink in. There was only a gentle murmuring as we made our way to the dormitories. I barely remember walking, but suddenly I was saying the password and climbing into the Gryffindor Common Room. I went towards the dormitory, but before I could climb the stairs and fall into a deep sleep, I heard a whisper next to my ear, and looking over, I saw Ron, all muscled and hot 6'2" of him, standing there, and I heard him say, "This isn't over," then race up the stairs.

I suppressed a grin as I walked quietly into my room. Before I fell asleep, my last thought was, "Wow, he smells good."

A/N: There it is, Chapter 1. I don't really like the first part, if anybody has any suggestions that would be much appreciated.

Thank you to all my reviewers! You guys are the best!

Lost.Somewhere.Out.There: Yes, caffeine is very good! Lol.

And everyone else who reviewed, thank you very much, I hope you liked this chapter!

I have vacation starting tomorrow, so more chapters to come! Remember, the more you review, the more I write.