Early the next morning Hermione woke to someone sitting heavily at the foot of her bed. She opened her eyes to see who her intruder was, to find that it was only her father. He smiled warmly at her.

"I'm glad you're up Pumpkin. I just wanted you to know how very proud of you your mother and I are of you. We know that you have been working so hard for the head girl position every year, and now that you've made it, well, we could not be happier for you." He told her as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"HEAD GIRL! Daddy what are you talking about?" She asked. He handed her the piece of paper he was holding. She noticed it was the very same letter she had read last night, only she must have skipped over part of it in her search for the bit about dance class. There it was before her: We are very pleased to inform you that you, Hermione Granger have been awarded the Head Girl position for your seventh year with us here at Hogwarts. Congratulations.

"Whoa…" That was all that she could say. Her father pulled her into a tight hug. So many thoughts and questions were spinning around in her head. She was the smartest witch in her class, and yet, by the end of this year she was going to have to decide what it was that she wanted to do with the rest of her life. And for the first time, the girl who always had an answer for everything didn't have the slightest clue what to do.

The rest of the summer flew by. Hermione filled her days with dance practice, and her evenings with reading and studying. She wanted to be prepared; she wanted to be the best. It wasn't as if she had a budding social life to attend to either. The one letter she had gotten from Harry turned out to be the only letter she got from Harry. She hadn't heard from Ron or Ginny at all, and she figured that it was just as well, since she wasn't in the mood for small talk these days. Harry and Ron had stopped including her in their deep, secretive conversations almost a year ago, and the more she tied to jump in and join the conversation, the more they would clam up. She finally decided that it was no use, and had accepted the fact that they were treating her differently now. Most likely because she was a girl.

It was the evening before September 1st, and Hermione was packing her trunk when a tapping noise on her window got her attention. She opened the window and a dark brown owl swooped in and landed on her bed.

"Hello there little guy," Hermione cooed as she bent down to stroke it. It nipped at her fingers and she pulled back quickly. "Little girl, my mistake." She apologized to the owl and she untied the letter from its leg and watched as it flew out the window from which it came. It was another letter from Hogwarts.

Miss Granger,

I am pleased to hear that you have been appointed Head Girl. I know that you will do a fine job. You are to meet me at the front entrance of Hogwarts on the first day of school to meet the Head Boy and receive the password to your dormitory. Have a pleasant journey.

Best regards,

Minerva McGonagall

Head of Gryffindor House

Hermione exhaled deeply. She was about finished packing when she came across her dancing shoes. She handled them gently, her fingers tracing their curves and taking note of every scoff, every tear, and every loose string. She placed her ballet slippers and her jazz shoes neatly into her trunk and securely latched it. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

"Hermione! Wake up before you miss the train!" Her mother shouted up the stairs. Hermione scrambled out of bed and ran to her closet. She had picked out her outfit the night before so getting dressed would be a breeze this morning. She pulled up her slim fitting jeans and reached for her red off the shoulder top. She slipped on her high heals that she wore when she danced tango, so they fit her perfectly. Luckily, one of the new spells she had perfected over the summer was one that made hair soft and shiny. She carefully pointed her wand at herself and muttered the short incantation. Before her eyes her tangled, frizzy, unmanageable hair became soft, silky curls. She didn't bother with much make-up, just clear gloss and mascara. On her way out, she paused at her doorway and took one good last look at the room she wouldn't see for another year. Hermione sighed as she heard her mum calling for her once more.

"I'm coming mum." She shut her door and made her way to the car where her parents were waiting. Her father lifted her trunk into the car, and they were off to catch the Hogwarts Express for the last time.