Disclaimer: As I have said, I don't own anything in this fic. Except for the plot.
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-Chapter 1: New Image-
"Where the heck are they?" Hermione mumbled to herself as she was impatiently standing outside of the train station. Harry and Ron owled her that the three of them would just meet up outside of the station so they'll go through the barrier together.
"Hermione, why don't you go in ahead? Maybe they're already there waiting for you" Mr. Granger suggested. He noticed that many passers-by are ogling at Hermione. "And why are you wearing that outfit young lady?"
"What? It's style," Hermione said as she did a few poses making a few people – mainly boys her age – stop and watch her.
"You stop that," Mr. Granger said in a warning tone "next time, wear something decent when you go out" he continued as he pointed out Hermione's miniskirt and tube-top, which showed off her belly button piercing.
Hermione sighed and walked inside the station with by her parents who were pushing the trolley carrying her trunk beside her. She quickened her pace and walked on ahead of them all the while searching by the barrier of any sign of her two best friends.
"Okay dear," Mrs. Granger started "get going, you have ten minutes left until the train leaves, you'll have enough time to look for a compartment in the train. If either Harry or Ron comes by we'll tell them you went through already. Is that alright with you?" Hermione nodded.
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"Draco, honey, are sure you have everything with you?" Narcissa Malfoy asked her son.
"Yes mum" Draco replied dully as he was standing by the train, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle to arrive.
"Okay good, I'll be going ahead now. I have to meet up with a few friends of mine in less than an hour" she said as she checked the clock, which hung by the barrier. "Good bye Drakey-poo" She gave her son a little kiss on the cheek and disappeared with a pop.
"Good bye Drakey-poo!" someone said mockingly. Draco turned around to see Harry and Ron making kissing noises while doing exaggerated hugs with each other.
"Stop it Potter," Draco said and glared at the direction of Harry "you too Weasley" he continued his gaze now at the direction of Ron.
"Make us" both Harry and Ron said together, and then continued on mocking him.
Draco merely glared at them teeth clenched and hands balled into fists. But he then stopped as he was gazing at something behind the two Gryffindors.
"What is it Malfoy? Lost your touch haven't you? Don't have anything to say?" Ron mocked.
"How pathetic" Harry murmured to Ron. Draco heard this and glared at them both but continued to look past them. Harry raised an eyebrow wearing a very confused expression; he then looked over his shoulder to see what Draco was looking at. His jaw dropped.
"Harry?" Ron said as he waved his hand in front of his best friend's face "Harry!" Harry didn't cut his gaze instead pointed at the direction he was looking at. Ron turned to see and his eyes widened.
"Hermione?" Ron said in total shock.
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As Hermione went through the barrier platform 9 ¾ was already packed with Hogwarts students. While pushing her trolley, she looked around of any sign of her two best friends. Then she got a glimpse of flaming red hair amongst the crowd, who was beside someone with jet-black hair, and a blonde?
Hermione squinted her eyes and noticed that it was Malfoy together with Harry and Ron. She started pushing her trolley to their direction.
"Hey Hermione" Dean Thomas said who was her fellow 6th year Gryffindor. Hermione grinned and waved at him.
"Yo Mione!" someone called out. Hermione looked around and saw Ernie McMillan, a 6th year Hufflepuff waving and grinning at her. She smiled and nodded in response.
A few people had now noticed and started to stare at her. As she was closing in on her best friends, she noticed that a certain blonde was staring at her as what most of the students are doing. She raised an eyebrow and smirked.
'You'll pay Malfoy. You're the reason I'm doing this' Hermione thought. Draco was the main reason she decided to change her image; he had been mocking her since late of her first year at Hogwarts when she became friends with Harry and Ron until the end of her fifth year just before the war. 'It's my turn to play the games now'
Hermione had been thinking on how to make her revenge on Draco, and the only way she knows will work is by seducing him. She had thought of challenging him, but she knows better because they are both at the same level when it comes to academics. She quickened her pace and was slowly closing in on the group. She noticed that Harry was now looking at her direction. She smiled widely at him and waved. Now Ron was looking at her, again she smiled and waved.
"Hermione?" Ron said sounding so shocked.
"Hey Ron! Hey Harry!" She said as she gave her two best friends a tight hug each. Her gaze then fell on Draco, who just stared. "Malfoy" she said drearily to acknowledge his presence.
"Mione?" Harry said, still in shock.
"Yes Harry?" she asked innocently. She noticed that they were still gawking at her and so were most of the students around her. "Guys, please stop gawking at me, it's not like you haven't seen me before"
Harry cleared his throat, which caused Ron and Draco to revert to their senses. "Mione, what happened to you?" he asked while looking at her best friend from head to toe.
"You like?" she asked in a roguish manner and she twirled around.
"We like alright" Ron said and whistled making Hermione flush. "What I want to know is, why?"
"Thought I need a new image," she responded coolly.
"Fair enough" Ron said as Harry nodded. His attention was now drawn to her belly button and her hair. "What is that thing on you stomach? And what did you do to your hair?"
"That," she said indicating her belly button "is a belly button stud, I had it pierced this summer, and as for my hair, I had it straightened"
"Pierced? I heard of that, Dad told me once. It's when muggles push needles through you. So, you mean you had a needle through your- Ewww!!! Mioneee!" Ron made a face. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes and laughed.
"I see a bunch of muggles having those, it looks cool Mione, but didn't it hurt?" Harry asked
"Thanks Harry and it did hurt a little, but it was worth it" she grinned
"Sounds like a bunch of Muggle rubbish to me" Draco said dryly. Hermione faced him, remembering only now that he was there all this time.
"Nobody asked you ferretboy" Hermione said crudely to Draco. Draco merely smirked and walked towards her, and stopped right in front of her. He lowered his head making their faces mere centimeters apart.
"Just watch out Granger, never know who'll be after you looking like that" Draco said in a serious whisper so only she can hear him. He then straightened himself, still looking at her.
"Thanks for the warning then" Hermione responded half smirking and half smiling at him. He smirked in return and winked, then walked away saying nothing more.
"What was all that about?" Harry said looking at Draco's retreating back suspiciously.
"Oh nothing, just his way of greeting and insulting me at the same time" Hermione lied. He was giving her a compliment of how she looked and decided not to tell them. She smiled one last time at Draco's direction and turned to face her best friends. She took them by their hands and pulled them towards the train "C'mon lets go, our trunks are already brought inside"
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"Hermione, we know something happened to you this summer, you changed completely," Ron stated as Harry nodded in agreement. "C'mon, you can tell us" Hermione sighed and inhaled deeply, ready to explain everything.
"Okay, I met this girl Daisy, she works at the mall as a model for a certain shop and also a saleslady. She was totally cool, and she looked gorgeous! I asked her if she could help me improve my image and she did, only she did more than that. She helped me with my clothes, accessories and also was cool with me having my ears and belly button pierced. After that she also convinced the manager of the shop to make me a model too" she took another deep breath and continued "spending half my summer with her was great, she showed me how to walk, talk, and look my age. She also changed my whole diet, that's why I'm not too skinny anymore, and also she managed my exercising to keep my figure. Of course mum and dad were a bit suspicious of me for my change since the start to the end of the summer, but I managed to let them off me and-"
"Wait," Harry cut her of "I also wanna know how your parents took all of this, your parents are strict and I just can't believe that they would accept this change of yours" Ron nodded
"Well, I made Daisy talk to them and then they were okay with it in the end. Of course they freaked out when they found out about my belly button piercing, but I managed to calm them down a bit"
"And how were you able to pay for all of it?" Ron asked in wonder, as he was about to open a chocolate frog.
"Savings and salary"
"And are you s- "
"Okay, can we stop with the thousand questions? I've told you what happened right? So if you boys will excuse me, I've got to go see someone," Hermione said as she glanced at her watch and stood up and went out the compartment door.
"Ron, do think Hermione changed a bit too much?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ron replied, as he stuffed the chocolate frog in his mouth.
"Her attitude. I mean, she wasn't at all arguing with Malfoy when we were at the station"
"Dunno what you mean Harry, she's the same old Hermione to me, maybe she was just threatening Malfoy silently so no one could here her"
"If you say so mate, but then - now that you mentioned him - what about Malfoy? Have you noticed that he also changed? Aurors killed his father during the war remember? Just when Voldemort - oh stop flinching Ron – died, he really seems different after it all"
"I doubt it mate, but you do make a point about Malfoy. He didn't even argue back to us that much when we derided him at the station, no name calling, no threatening, no- "
"That's what I'm trying to say all this time!" Harry cut him off. "I- Ugh! Never mind" He sighed and patted his best friend in defeat and took a chocolate frog from his pocket and started to open it.
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Hermione walked pass different compartments to the end of the train where the prefect meeting would take place. As she arrived six people were already there sitting down and chatting. Ernie McMillan and Hannah Abbott the prefects of Hufflepuff house, Stuart Jenkins and Padma Patil prefects of Ravenclaw house, Dean Thomas along with Hermione for Gryffindor house and Lisa Gerents for Slytherin house.
"Umm, hey guys!" Hermione said awkwardly.
Ernie turned to see Hermione by the door and raised an eyebrow. "Hullo Mione, I didn't get the chance to talk to you at the station"
"What did you want to talk about?"
"To tell you that you absolutely look stunning in that skirt" he winked at her. Padma rolled her eyes and pushed Ernie away and went to sit in his place beside Hermione.
"Mione, people told me that you changed, and they're absolutely right! You look gorgeous!" Padma exclaimed
"Thank you"
"Where did you get that skirt? And what's that on your belly button, can you tell me how to..." Padma and Hannah started asking questions but Hermione couldn't take anything in, because Ernie and Dean were also saying compliments from behind her.
Lisa and Stuart on the other hand were just watching she didn't need to wonder because she doesn't know them very much. All she knew about Stuart is that he had an older sister before who was in the same year as Fred and George, and as for Lisa, she doesn't know anything about her at all except for her name, but she did spot her a few times when they have classes with the Slytherins.
"Mione, your hair looks better than ever, and that top your wearing looks great on you and your..."
"Umm...guys, I forgot something in my trunk, I'll be back in a jiff" she tried to explain as she slowly slid open the door and went out. She rested her back on the door and sighed.
'I don't believe this!' Hermione thought furiously 'They're totally all over me' she sighed one last time and straightened her clothes. 'I better find the other Slytherin prefect, whoever he might be, or else McGonagall might give another lecture about us being tardy'
Hermione opened different compartment doors as she walked further up the train asking who the Slytherin prefect is. But to no avail, most of the students only shook their heads and gawked at her, even the females, until she came to the second to the last compartment up the train. Hermione knocked jadedly and slid open the door of the compartment without hesitation.
"Do any of you know who the- " she abruptly stopped when she saw who were in the compartment and groaned. She did want any trouble, especially at this moment.
"What do you want mudblood?" Pansy Parkinson said as her Slytherin best friend, Millicent Bulstrode, snickered beside her.
"Watch it, pug faced bitch" Hermione retorted casually. Draco smirked at Hermione's come back and Crabbe and Goyle grunted holding back their laughter.
"Why you little- " Pansy started looking ready to pounce at Hermione, but Draco cut her off.
"Parkinson, I would advise you to sit down, I wouldn't want our house to loose points on the first day we arrive" Draco said bluntly and then faced Hermione "Granger, you were saying?"
Hermione eyed him suspiciously but then smirked at him "I was wondering, if any of you know who the Slytherin prefect is aside from Lisa Gerents, because it is time for the meeting that is to be held at the back of the train"
"Why would we care mudblood? And, you better hold your dirty tongue to yourself next time, just because you look different doesn't mean we're gonna treat you differently" Pansy warned who was now standing in front of Hermione.
"We," Draco said as he stood up "would care Parkinson because it is our house, and if you must know, I'm the prefect. Let's get going Granger"
Hermione was a bit suspicious at first as to why Draco Malfoy, Slytherin pureblood king is acting civilized to Hermione. But she just shrugged it off as she noticed that she was blocking the exit, for Draco was standing right in front of her, waiting for her to move. Because of their close distance, she noticed that he smelled really good, he was also about two inches taller than her. His skin was as pale as usual, but his eyes changed. It wasn't the usual stormy gray that she always saw when they bicker in the last five years; she noticed there was a tinge of blue in them. She wondered why but she wasn't entirely sure, so she shrugged it off and moved out of the way.
"Let's go Granger, or we'll be late" Draco said as he grabbed Hermione by the hand and pushed her in front of him to lead the way.
"So, you're gonna start touching me now?" Hermione said nonchalantly without looking back at him as she continued to walk. Draco stopped and pulled her back by the arm and gently pushed her to the wall, resting his hands on either side of her head.
"Scared Granger?" Draco said sounding impish, raising an eyebrow at her. Hermione smirked at him and slowly raised her right hand and touched his left cheek. Draco's eyes followed her hand until it reached his face and looked back at the girl in front of him.
"Why?" Hermione said seductively as she closed the gap between both of them. "Do you think I am?" Draco too slowly came closer to her, but both abruptly stopped at the same time and just stared into each other's eyes.
'I was right, his eyes definitely have a blue in them' Hermione smiled
"C'mon, we have to go before McGonagall arrives or else we'll be late" she said suddenly, transferring the hand on his face to his arm and pulled him after her as she walked towards the end of the train. Draco, for some reason didn't protest, instead he stayed silent until they reached the door to the compartment.
-End of Chapter-
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Hope you liked the first two pages!! Please Review! I would very much appreciate it.
-DragonPrincessRhean-