Chapter One: Something Special

Summer

Beep!

"Attention passengers, the captain has turned on the seatbelt light and asks that you please remain in your seats as we begin our descent into Miami International Airport." The voice of the co-pilot informed the passengers over the intercom, "We hope that you have enjoyed your flight on UK International Airways and we hope to see you again soon. Have a wonderful stay in Miami, Florida."

Finally… a young woman of seventeen, named Hermione Granger, thought as she eagerly looked out of her window, peering through the wisps of clouds and squinting down at the city, thousands of feet below, resembling a model of a town. She was so excited to be here, that she wasn't able to sleep for weeks, knowing that she would be coming after the week when school was out. Her parents had received tickets for a Mediterranean cruise from their co-workers back in April and they were now going to use them. From there, they were to embark on a vacation in Italy, a present to each other for their anniversary. After all the fun was done, it would be time to return to work.

Hermione, being seventeen years old, didn't want to be left to watch the house while her parents went on to have loads of fun for their summer, so she decided to plan out her own vacation. She told her parents that she would like to stay with her perfectly responsible, twenty-one year old cousin who lived in Miami in her own apartment. What she didn't tell them was that she was actually planning to stay at the family beach house on her own. Initially, her parents weren't too keen on it, but after an innumerable amount of pleading, bribing, reasoning and sophomoric temper tantrums, she was granted permission to spend her summer in Miami, Florida. She had been so happy, that she had rushed to the mall, and bought a truckload of summer attire. From tank tops, to flip flops, and from shorts to bikinis, she was ready for the Miami heat.

Being what she was, which was a witch, she had to turn some of her wizarding money into American Muggle cash. Hermione wasn't exactly sure where to go to have such a job done, so she decided to take advantage of the fact that she had now come of age as a witch. Though it was a fairly difficult task, she was a very clever witch and managed to transfigure a generous amount of her wizard coins into American Muggle dollars and cents. After she had solved that little problem, she had packed her bags, acquired a passport and waited for the day when she would begin her first expedition alone in Miami.

So here she was now, watching out of her small oval window as the plane became closer and closer to the ground. Her hair tied up in a ponytail of bouncy, honey and chestnut curls, her body clad in a simple orange tank top, a pair of shorts and orange flip flops, she was ready to roll. When she felt the giant bump of wheels on pavement and the screech of braking tires on the runway, her pulse quickened in excitement and anticipation. When the seatbelt light had been turned off, she unbuckled her seatbelt and rose from her seat, retrieving her carry-on bags from the rack above her head. Rolling the small suitcase that contained little means of entertainment for her, as the flight was very long, behind her and off the plane, Hermione couldn't help smile and have a little bounce in her step. She flashed her passport to the man working the booth and headed for baggage claim.

As she was searching for her suitcases with the little peach ribbons tied to the handles, she began to also look around the airport, taking in the faces of the people rushing around. There was a woman standing off to the side with a screaming infant, whom which she was attempting to console and two rambunctious boys who looked to be around the ages of six and seven, while her distressed looking husbandsearched frantically for their luggage. Hermione smiled a reassuring smile as the mother locked eyes with her briefly. The woman smiled back at her and then continued to tend to her crying baby. Hermione looked a little bit past the troubled family and her eyes fell on something that seemed to ring a bell in her brain.

A tall, lean figure was standing in front of a map of the airport, looking very confused. He had a pale hand scratching at his white-blonde hair in befuddlement and he was dressed in a long, white sleeveless T-shirt, a pair of black and silver basketball shorts and a pair of black and white sneakers. He looked to be around her age and that made Hermione curious. She didn't know why, but he looked very familiar. She craned her neck to try and catch a glimpse of his face, but his body was angled away from her. She walked a little to the left, trying to get his face within her visage. As he began to turn around, Hermione shifted to get a better look, but when he was practically facing her, she couldn't make heads or tails of who he was. His facial features were strikingly familiar, and his silvery blonde hair really pulled at her thoughts. His eyes were concealed by a pair of dark sunglasses, unfortunately so she couldn't completely piece together his features. She stared hard at him, until a name entered her mind.

No way, it can't be… Hermione thought to herself. What would he be doing in America? Wait, not even. What would he be doing in the Muggle world, let alone America? She wouldn't believe it, she refused to. There was no way that the lost looking boy could possibly be—

Her thoughts were quickly chased away by a light tap on her shoulder. She spun around, startled and looked up to find a smiling face looking down upon her.

"You lost, miss?" the stranger asked. He was tall and tan and had a mane of unruly brown hair. He wore a sleeveless, dark blue surfing shirt that boasted well toned arm muscles, black swim trunks and a pair of black flip flops.

"Oh! Me? No! I just though I saw someone I knew…" Hermione answered, glancing back at where the familiar stranger had been, inwardly disappointed to find that he was gone.

"I'm Alex Matthews," the guy said, extending a hand to her, a huge grin on his face. Hermione shook it and smiled.

"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you." She said politely.

"You foreign?" Alex asked, 'Cuz you have an accent." He said, his words chopped with slang.

"Uh, yeah," Hermione said, taken slightly aback by his bluntness," I'm from England."

"England, huh?" he asked, "That's cool." He said with a smile.

Hermione found herself thinking him pretty cute, and she had a feeling that the vibes of attraction were being mirrored.

"So…you have a place to stay?" he asked casually.

"Um, yeah, I'm staying in the Hidden Cove summer homes." She answered, wondering why he was so interested.

"Really? Awesome!" he exclaimed, "I live in those Seaside Breezes houses about five minutes down from there!"

Hermione just smiled, she wasn't sure if she should be excited or indifferent about it. After all, they only just met.

"Hey, are you doing anything later?" Alex asked, "'Cuz I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out later, I could show you around the city." He seemed a little unsure about asking this so early, but he obviously needed to get it out.

Hermione, not exactly wanting to go off in a big city, in another country, alone with a guy, no matter how good-looking she found him, was ready to politely decline his offer, but saw that he seemed to be embarrassed about asking in the first place. With an internal sigh, she decided to throw him a bone.

"Um, well I had a long flight and I need to unpack before I take a long nap," she began, "So not today I can't" She was very subtle with her intended message. Her comment left him a wide open space to interject another offer for the next day. Maybe he would take it, if he did, then she would have to eliminate all fears of being out in foreign territory with a guy she had just met. If he didn't, oh well, more time for her to spend at the beach.

"So how about tomorrow?" he asked, finding that open space and quickly filling it.

"Uh, I'll see about it," she answered, "It depends on how far I get with my unpacking, I suppose." She said with a nod.

"Well, do you have a computer?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I do actually." Hermione replied, a brief picture of her laptop flashing through her mind. Alex smiled and pulled out a small business card and pen from his swim trunks pocket. Hermione resisted the urge to laugh. She wondered who walked around with pens and business cards in their swim trunks. He scribbled something on the back of it quickly before handing it to her. Hermione looked at what was written and recognized it as a screen name.

"This is for AIM, right?" she asked, remembering that she had her cousin install for her, the last time she visited Miami.

"Yeah, do you have it?" he asked. He was pulling out another card and had his pen poised above it, obviously waiting for her to give him her screen name as well.

"Yeah, my screen name is babyxbrown3"she told him, then spelled it out for him so he got every letter right.

"Okay then, I'll IM you whenever." He said pocketing the business card with a grin.

"Yeah, okay," Hermione said, venturing to end the conversation, for she was ready to get out into the city of Miami.

"Alrighty then," he said, not budging. Hermione realized that she was the one who would be terminating the conversation.

"So, I'll see you around then." She said, making subtle, yet obvious gestures that indicated that she was ready to leave.

"'Kay then, I'll talk to you later." Alex said waving, because she was now taking tiny steps backward toward the baggage claim.

"Yeah, see you around." She said with a little wave and smile before turning around and walking away.

Hermione retrieved her luggage and made her way to the doors. She couldn't help but smile as she drew nearer to the exit. As the doors slid open, Hermione was hit with a sudden burst of sunlight and humidity. She whipped out her sunglasses and put them over her eyes, feeling the heat that she remembered from her previous summers. Walking quickly, sweat already beginning to bead her forehead, she flagged a taxi, threw her bags into the trunk and slid into the taxi. Shutting the door and feeling the rush of cool air mercifully pouring out of the air conditioner, Hermione checked her purse, ensuring that she had enough money.

"Where to?" the taxi driver asked with a heavy Spanish accent.

"Hidden Cove summer homes on South Beach Boulevard, please." She told him.

"Sure thing," he said, before pulling away from the curb and heading out onto the highway.

Hermione laid her head back against the headrest and looked out the window. Watching the palm trees wiz by and the golden sun shining merrily high in the aquamarine sky, Hermione felt at ease. She tapped her fingers on her bare knee to the alluring beat of a merengue song on the radio as she thought about all the things she wanted to do this summer. She planned to find her friends from last summer and hang out with them for the entire summer at the beach, nightclubs and anywhere else. The very thought of being out in Miami, with cash in her purse, friends by her side and no parents around made her excited and nervous at the same time. For some reason, Hermione felt that something special was going to happen this summer.

Hermione didn't know how long they had been driving, but after a while, she looked out of her window again and recognized the summer homes that she had spent countless summers at.

"Which one is it?" the driver asked suddenly, for they were turning into the neighborhood.

"Oh, 3 South Magnolia Court, the one with the blue shutters." Hermione informed him. Little random shivers ran from her stomach to her back as the taxi pulled onto her street and stopped in front of her house.

Hermione paid and thanked the man, gathered her belongings and walked up to the front door. She smiled to herself, softly. It was just as she remembered it. The same slightly chipped white paint and soft blue shutters. The wicker bench and rocking chair, which sat on either side of the front door, on the wooden porch, with the flowered cushions were still there and the stained glass wind chime that she made when she was twelve, still hung from the eve. She let out a quick breath, as though preparing herself for something, and pulled they house key from her pocket. She inserted the key into the lock and rotated it until she heard the click of the tumblers unlocking. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, dropping her things on the floor at her feet. Shutting the door and flicking the light switch on, Hermione took everything within her range of vision with eagerness and nostalgia. She took a few steps forward, looking around and seeing ghosts of small events passed and smiling softly to herself. She walked down a familiar hallway and closed her hand around the knob of a door that led to a room that she knew well: her room. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.

It was just the way she left it. Everything was in order, being the neat freak that she was, and it offered plenty of memories. She hopped onto her bed, sinking into the pillows and looked around the room. There was the soft white dresser, armoire and tall chest of drawers, the same window seat that she always sat on when she wanted to think and where she often daydreamed and her nightstand where her radio/alarm clock sat. The time displayed 12:17 pm in bright green characters. Hermione wanted to go out and start her day, since it was still early, but she needed to begin unpacking and, in addition, she was dead tired.

I think I'll have a nap before I start to unpack…. Hermione thought to herself, setting her alarm clock for 2:45. She adjusted her pillow to a comfortable position before laying back on it. She sighed contently as she felt her eyelids become heavy and her mind fuzzing over. The feeling came back again. The feeling that this summer was going to be different from all the others. Something, or perhaps someone, special was coming. As she drifted into sleep, her heart sped up and her thoughts wandered. Maybe something would happen. Maybe she'd meet that special someone that she had failed to find back home. Hoping strongly for this, Hermione sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.