Disclaimer:
I own nothing but the plot and my yoo-hoo. J.K. Rowling owns the rest and is too greedy to share.
Chapter Five: School Begins
The next morning Hermione could be found tapping her foot, arms crossed, while standing in front of her closet. Although she couldn't be happier that Seventh Year students had been granted the privilege of wearing regular clothes two days out of each school week and every weekend so that they could "express their individuality," it did put her in a slight dilemma. 'What should I wear?' She finally decided on a hot pink mini skirt that had flowers stitched into it with the same color thread, so that it was barely noticable. Along with that she chose a white v-cut cotton shirt. Now another decision. Flip-flops or tennis shoes? She decided to go sporty and comfortable with her white and hot pink Nike Shox.
After dressing and straightening her hair with a spell, she grabbed her bookbag and headed out the portrait. Once in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione stood and tapped her foot impatiently. After a few minutes she sighed in annoyance and sat on one of the comfy couches that cluttered the large room. She grabbed a book from her bag, opened it, and prepared to wait. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, Harry stumbled down the stairs that lead towards the Boy's Dormitory, followed almost immediately by Ron. Both boys looked as though they were in dire need of a few more hours of sleep. Yawning widely, Hary mumbled "Morning 'Mione." Ron only lifted his hand in a wave of sorts, his eyelids drooping and shoulders slouched. Both boys were wearing hastily thrown on uniforms.
Hermione bit back laughter as she snapped her book closed and placed it inside her overstuffed bag. "It's about time," she began, her tone clipped with impatience as she pretended to be upset. "I've only been waiting for an eternity. Honestly, you two really should have gotten up earlier. It's the first day of school!" The two boys simply rolled their eyes, too tired to argue. "Ready to go down to breakfast?" she asked. Ron perked up slightly at the mention of his favorite hobby and nodded his head fervently. This time Hermione couldn't help herself and she grinned at her friend's bottomless stomach.
Harry, also with a grin plastered to his face, said, "Let's go then guys. They should be giving out timetables soon." The three friends headed towards the portrait of the Fat Lady, Hermione's troubles momentarily tucked into the back of her mind. As the three tramped down to the Great hall, cheerier at the prospect of breakfast, they began to discuss what the year might hold in store for them. It was unanimously agreed that, whatever happened, the Seventh Year Gryffindors would most likely have Double Potions with the Slytherins first thing in the morning. The only bright side to this was that Snape had been replaced by Slughorn the year before. Not to mention that, in Ron's case, he was excused from Potions altogether. It was widely known that Ron failed to receive an Outstanding in Potions on his O.W.L's at the end of his Fifth Year and that the only person who really cared was his mother Molly Weasley. Ergo, Ronald Weasley was perfectly content knowing the fact that he would not have to contend with the Slytherins three days a week for two hours a day while learning something he was, quite frankly, positively terrible at. For this reason, and this reason alone, he practically skipped down to his breakfast that morning.
As they entered the hall, Hermione took the time to check out the other student's apparel. She noted that most of the muggle born witches and wizards who weren't dressed in their school robes were dressed somewhat like her, whereas the purebloods were draped in robes made of different colors and fabrics. Hermione reached the table in time to see Ron's face turn a mottled red as he opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. Following his gaze, she saw his younger sister Ginny wearing a short dark brown mini skirt made of some rough material that looked strangely like courdoroy. Her top was a green spaghetti strap tank and, to complete the look, a pair of dark brown open-toed heels adorned her dainty feet. Her red hair flowed past her shoulders in graceful waves. Ginny had also applied light makeup to her face. In short, she looked absolutely gorgeous.
"Woah babe! You look hot!" Hermione exclaimed. To Lavendar Brown and Parvati Patil, she yelled out, "You two better watch out. It looks like you've got some competition!" At this statement, Ron's face went even redder as he started blubbering like an idiot.
"You. Change! Now! Tell Mum. I. You. CHANGE!" Ginny, Harry, and Hermione all rolled their eyes at the ever articulate Ron, Harry forcing himself not to laugh.
"Speak much?" Ginny asked snidely as she glared at her controlling brother.
Hermione put her arm around the younger girl as she said, "Ignore him, Gin. You look wicked." Ginny gave her a thankful smile as they all sat down to breakfast.
Harry took this time to ask, "So where did you get those clothes? I've never seen them before, and I take it that Ron hasn't either."
Ginny shrugged and said, "I got them when we went to Diagon Alley. While you boys were glued to the brooms, Hermione and I went shopping in muggle London." At this statement Ron started choking on his food and sending death glares to Hermione. The two girls and Harry began laughing and, just as Ron was about to retort, the owls started swarming into the Great Hall. The four took this time to look at Hermione's Daily Prophet for news of any attacks, the previous topic completely forgotten. After perusing the wizarding newspaper, sighing in relief at the absense of bad news, the Gryffindors were handed their timetables.
Harry and Hermione groaned and shared a glance as they spoke simultaneously, "Potions with the Slytherins." Ron just grinned cheekily at his two friends, considering it payback for their support of Ginny's clothing.
As the day wore on, the students were loaded down with more and more homework. Hermione, in all NEWT classes except for Divination, had more work than Harry or Ron. Especially Ron. She dragged herself to her room that night looking tired and worn out. Tossing her bag on the ground, she shuffled through it for some parchment, ink, and a quill. Grabbing her materials, she proceeded to her meeting with the Head Boy, Terry Boot from Ravenclaw.
At the Head's meeting Hermione and Terry spent their time coming up with a patrol schedule. The eight Fifth Year prefects had the first shift. Ravenclaws and Slytherins were paired together and they were separated by gender. The same went for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Each group was given different days to patrol. The same was then done for the eight Sixth Year prefects and the six Seventh Year prefects. The Sixth Years had the second time slot and the Seventh Years the latest. Terry and Hermione would patrol at random times to make sure the prefects were doing their job.
After the schedule was decided upon, the two head's went to patrol the hallways for a couple of hours. Dead on their feet, they retired to their rooms and collapsed onto their comfortable beds, more than ready for a good night's sleep.
The next day found Hermione anxiously waiting for her first Transfiguration lesson of the year to begin. She had serious doubts over the new professor's ability to fill Professor McGonagall's shoes, but she was willing to give him a shot. Sitting in her normal seat with her belongings set in neat piles, she tapped her quill impatiently and glanced at her watch. Hermione let out a sigh of relief as a mop of black hair darted through the door, followed closely by a shock of red. The two boys dropped into seats on either side of her. As she opened her mouth to reprimand them the door closed with a bang and Professor Langston strolled toward the front of the room.
The professor began by taking roll. He never once paused, not even when he came across the name Harry Potter. He acted as though he'd never heard the infamous name and treated each name on the list equally. After roll, he began by introducing himself and telling the students a bit about where he grew up, what he likes and dislikes, his family, and so on. He then went around the room and asked each person to tell him their name, favorite color, favorite quidditch team, favorite activity, and favorite animal. He wrote all of this information down next to the student's name on the roll. By the time every student had spoken it was time to dismiss class. The students left the classroom puzzled and somewhat disappointed.
Later that day, on her way to dinner Hermione ducked down a deserted hallway. She found an abandoned classroom and sat in a rickety chair. As she sat there, a single salty tear made its lone journey down her cheek, curving over her chin, and dropping onto her chest. Hermione missed her father more than anything and, for perhaps the hundredth time, the same rebellious thought drifted through her head. 'What good is being a witch if I can't even bring my own father back? What's the point of all this if he isn't here to be proud of me?'
With a sigh, the Head Girl heaved herself to her feet and slipped out of the door, making her silent way to the Great Hall to join her friends for salisbury steak and mashed potatoes.
A/N:
Hey everyone. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, especially when nothing really happens in this chapter. But trust me, I'm just laying the groundwork. Thanks for sticking with me and please review!