Chapter 1

Queen Pumpkin Pie

Hermionie stood in the huge bathroom that was just for the Head Girl, meaning her. She had been so excited when she had found out that she had been chosen for Head Girl. Everyone around her had told her that it was blatantly obvious who it was going to be, but she had still been overwhelmed with joy when she had gotten her badge in the mail. Today was her first day back at Hogwarts and she still hadn't heard who was going to be Head Boy with her. She secretly hoped that it was going to be Harry, but that might have been just because she was holding a grudge against Ron at the moment.

She had stayed with them over the summer and Ron had increasingly been getting on her last nerve. He seemed determined to tease her about every last thing she did and never let her have any alone time. She didn't understand this change in Ron, she used to like him, as in like like him, but he started acting so different, she just didn't understand it. Harry never seemed to want to talk about Ron's weird behavior, but still, he tried to talk to him about it.

The huge tiles that were imbedded in the floor had tiny blue intricate designs on them that almost made her dizzy. She sighed in relaxed joy and began to fill the pool that was sunk into the floor with warm steamy water. She twisted all the taps on, except the last one labeled lavender scent. She hated the smell of lavender, and her mother had given her a bottle of that perfume for her 17th birthday. It had made her eyes water and it had irritated her skin for days. The pool filled extremely quickly and she was surprised to see bubbles the size of her head. She laughed and popped one experimentally. It exploded and left water and soap running down the nearest mirror.

Determined to stop thinking about Ron, she stripped off her clothes and slid gently into the water. The foam from all the soap soon enveloped her in a silky cloud and she closed her eyes, treading water.

Hermionie awoke suddenly when another bubble popped loudly in her face. She was surprised that she had managed to stay afloat and she thought it might have had something to do with the massive amount of foam and soap that layered the pool. She glanced up sharply at the shell shaped clock on the wall behind her. She hoped she hadn't missed any of her Head Girl duties, especially since it was her first day and all. With a sigh of relief she noted that it had only been 20 or so minutes.

An oddly shaped red bubble went floating passed her and she was reminded of Ron and his stupid hair. Thinking about her eventful summer she remembered one day in particular when Ron had actually made her cry. He had been quite horrified of course, but Hermionie had enjoyed the shocked look on his face when he saw her tearful reaction.

"Ron!"

Harry had yelled, astonished at his cruel joke. He knew that Ron was only flirting with Hermionie, but this time he had gone way to far. There was one thing that you didn't joke about with a girl, and that was weight.

"I…but, Hermionie, wait"!

Ron, stood, flabbergasted as Hermionie took off down the hall, sobbing and going into hysterics. He turned, confused, to his best friend who was shaking his head in disgust.

"You don't say that to a girl man."

"It was just a joke, I don't even know why she took offense."

"Can't you see that you've been driving her over the edge these past few days? I think this was the last straw."

"Oh my god, all I said was that the bathroom scale kept muttering obscenities at me and maybe it had gone through some major abuse."

"Ron, that was her scale"!

Hermionie was finishing up her bath and rinsing out the shampoo residue from her hair. She was remembering how thoughtless and cruel Ron had been treating her and the full length, talking mirror was raising its eyebrows at the vigorous way she was scrubbing her hair. With a sigh, Hermionie dove under the water for the last time before rising, her hair streaming, from the pool. The whole room had been filled with steam and most of the mirrors were fogged up except the magical one. Hermionie didn't know that it was magical, that is, she didn't know until it started talking to her.

She was standing in front of it, turning this way and that as girls tend to do, when suddenly, it spoke.

"Did you have a nice bath, sugar plump?"

Hermionie stared at the face near the top that she had just assumed was decoration with an open mouth. She was to stunned to notice the subtle insult directed towards her and she tried to form words, but her mind was still in its relaxed state and just as foggy as the other mirrors.

"A bit on the slow side are we? Not much of a thinker? I'm surprised that they made you Head Girl, my little cherub."

By this time Hermionie was furious. No one had insulted her intelligence in a long time and it irritated her to no end.

"To your information, Mrs. Two Dimensional, I'm at the top of my class in all my studies. You don't know me at all." The mirror smirked, which was odd, for a mirror.

"Well, dearie, I might be only 2 dimensional, but you, Queen Pumpkin Pie, are the reason they had to make a 3rd Dimension"!

Hermionie was horrified. Two people had hinted that she was, dare she even say it…fat! She looked down at her stomach and noticed a bit of pudge that she hadn't seen before. She turned pale. This would be her downfall. She knew how the world worked. She would never get an ounce of respect for her brilliance if she were overweight.

She squeaked, her eyes blurry, and dashed around the corner, grabbing her clothes blindly. As she pulled on the skirt she had bought over the summer, she noticed how tight it felt and gasped in terror. She had bought it because Ginny had advised her to show off her long legs a little. It was nothing too short, but Hermionie had felt cute in it and had decided to wear it to school. Now, aghast with the thought of her weight, the thought of showing of her chubby legs was appalling.

Her hair still drenched and her clothes getting wetter by the minute, Hermionie tried to walk with some sort of dignity passed the mirror, but it laughed at her and she ended up running out of the bathroom, all pretense of nonchalance gone.