Hermione opened her eyes and groaned as she looked at the clock. It was 4.30am and she had to be up at 6:30 to get ready for practice with Annabel and Emily. She rolled over and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her under again.

"Hermione, Hermione wake up," said Annabel, shaking her shoulder. Hermione groaned and shook her head.

"Five more minutes, Mom," she yawned and pulling the covers over head. Annabel looked at Emily and nodded. She'd forgotten her cousin wasn't much of a morning person whenever she came home for the holidays. Emily snickered quietly as she tiptoed to the end of Hermione's bed.

"BOO!" she said as she jumped onto Hermione's bed, landing right on top of her. Hermione shot wide awake and crawled out from under the covers.

"Oof! What the heck, Em?" she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glared at Emily who was sitting on her legs, beaming.

"You wouldn't wake up when Anna shook you, so we had to use Plan B. Now get your butt out of bed, and get dressed. Coach will kill us if we're late!" Emily exclaimed as climbed off the bed and yanked the covers back as Annabel threw the curtains open. Hermione yawned again as she swung her legs out of bed.

"Don't worry, Mia, we'll stop for coffee on the way to school," Annabel promised as she pushed some clothes into Hermione's hands. After instructing her to pull her hair back so it was off her face, Annabel and Emily left her to get dressed. Once she'd finished dressing she sighed and stretched.

"Well, Hogwarts, you're about to see Day Two in the muggle world. Hope you're ready for this," she said as she slid her arms into her jacket and picked up her gym bag which she'd packed the night before with extra clothes and some of her homework. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen where Emily and Annabel were waiting for her. Annabel handed her a yogurt and fruit cup with granola sprinkled on top.

"We've got lunches and snacks packed for the rest of the day," Emily explained as the three of them left the house, Hermione pausing to lock the door behind her.

"How are we getting to the school? Are we taking the bus?" Hermione asked as she caught up to them. Emily shook her head and held up her car keys.

"I got my license last summer," she explained.

"I got mine in September, now Em and I carpool to and from school," Annabel explained as they reached Emily's car. Annabel climbed into the back seat and let Hermione have the front. Hermione nodded as she dug into her breakfast. She couldn't help but feel a little out of place and slightly behind Emily and Annabel. She always thought she would get her driver's license the same time as they did, but that had all changed when she went to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Harry was contemplating his conversation with Cho from that morning as he copied down notes in his Defense against the Dark Arts class. Now that he and Professor Snape were on better terms, he found he actually enjoyed going to that class instead of dreading it. The bell rang, signalling the end of class.

"Mr. Potter, a word if you please," called Professor Snape. Harry nodded and neatly packed his books away into his bag. Approaching the teacher's desk, he stood and waited for Snape to speak. The professor finished packing his papers away before looking up at Harry.

"Potter, you have a free period after lunch, correct?" Harry nodded and shifted his bag from one shoulder to the other.

"How would you feel about starting that tutoring job we were discussing? I have a class of first years after lunch and that would be a good place to start I think," said Snape.

"Great, what classroom?" Harry asked as he walked out of the classroom with Snape.

"Classroom five on the third floor," responded Snape. Harry nodded as they reached the Great Hall.

"Brilliant, well I'll see you then, sir," he said. Snape nodded before heading to the staff table while Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table where Dean, Seamus and Neville were sitting.

"Wonder how Hermione's doing so far," Seamus said as he took a bite of his fish. Harry shook his head as he served himself some soup and garlic toast.

"Don't know, I guess we'll find out tonight," he said before taking a bite of his lunch.

"I have to say, after seeing last night I'm intrigued to see the rest of this week," Neville said. The boys nodded in agreement and spent the rest of the lunch hour eating in silence. As the bell rang signalling the end of lunch and beginning of afternoon classes, there were more than a few groans.

"If there's a spell that allows us to see Hermione while she's in the muggle world, why isn't there a spell that makes the day go by faster?" Parvati complained as she left the Great Hall with the girls.

"Parvati, would you really want a spell that makes time go by faster? Time already goes by so fast and we can't get it back once it's gone," said Luna.

"That's true, I just really want to see what Hermione got up to today," Parvati admitted. The girls nodded in agreement as they headed to their afternoon classes.

Harry climbed the last few stairs to the third floor and walked down the corridor. Peering into a classroom he saw Professor Snape standing at the front of a classroom. Harry carefully pushed open the door and walked inside. Snape looked around as did the class, who immediately began whisper.

"Settle down, settle down. Mr. Potter has kindly agreed to assist with the lesson this afternoon. He'll be walking around as will I and helping anyone who asks for it. If you wish to catch his attention, please raise your hand," said Snape. Harry grinned at the first years and set his bag in a corner of the classroom. He wasn't really sure where he was supposed to sit/stand, so he settled for leaning against the wall while Snape outlined the lesson plan. Today they were learning about defensive spells.

"Now, while we are focusing on the written theory today, next lesson we will be learning the practical part. In other words, how to use the spell properly," Snape explained. He settled behind his desk and pulled papers towards him. Harry pushed himself off the wall and started walking up the first aisle of desks. His attention was caught by a hand belonging to a Ravenclaw student. He crouched down next to the girl and spoke softly.

"Hi, what's your name?" he asked kindly. The girl swallowed nervously before answering.

"Brianna," she answered hesitantly.

"Hi Brianna, it's nice to meet you. I'm Harry. What do you need help with?" Harry asked. Brianna swallowed and pointed at the book open in front of her. Harry looked at the page and saw it was about "Expelliarmus."

"Ah, Expelliarmus, that's a good spell. I've used it quite a bit myself," Harry told her as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What's it for? How do you use it?" Brianna asked. She was beginning to get over her shyness, that was good, Harry thought.

"It's for protecting yourself. Say you got into a sticky situation and you needed a spell that would allow you to defend yourself. Used properly, "Expelliarmus" would allow you to disarm your opponent long enough for you to get away and find help. It's also a good way to block unfriendly spells," Harry explained. Snape watched from his desk as Harry interacted with Brianna and found himself smiling. He had been right; Harry was the right man for the job. Spotting another student with their hand in the air, Snape gathered his black robes as he got to his feet and walked towards the Gryffindor boy. Bending over the desk, he listened as the boy explained he didn't quite understand the disarming spell either.

Harry looked up and saw the professor was no longer at his desk. Spotting him two rows over with a first-year Gryffindor, he looked around and saw two hands raised at the same table.

"Brianna, I need to go help the other students. Do you feel like you've got enough of a grasp on the spell now?" Brianna nodded.

"I think so. Thank you for helping me, Professor, I mean, Harry, I mean," she spluttered. Harry patted her on the shoulder.

"Harry is fine. You're welcome and if you need help again don't hesitate to ask, okay? It's what I and Professor Snape are here for," he said. Brianna nodded and gave him a shy but bright smile. Harry smiled back at her before standing up and heading over to the table that had a Ravenclaw boy and Slytherin girl sitting at it.

"Hi guys, what are your names?" he asked.

"Braden."

"Halle."

"Well, it's nice to meet you both. I'm Harry. What can I help you guys with?" Harry asked. The rest of the class passed by quickly; with Snape and the class thanking Harry for his help, the latter giving Harry a small nod before he left the classroom. As he walked along the hallway, Harry thought about how much he'd enjoyed helping the class. Walking into his last class of the day, he settled into his desk that he shared with Parvati. The class flew by and before anyone knew it, it was time for dinner and then that day's viewing.

As they finished dinner, Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand and the silver screen from the night before flew from it. The other professors, with the help of the students were rearranging the seating. Once everyone was settled, Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at the screen and it began to play. The students and staff chuckled at Hermione's sleepy conversation with her cousin and collectively winced when they saw Emily jump onto Hermione.

"That had to hurt, what a wake-up call," Cho murmured to Harry and Luna who were sitting on either side of her. The two nodded before turning their attention back to the screen, which was showing Hermione following Emily and Annabel into the gym and over to a tall brunette woman who had a clipboard in her hand.

"Coach Simpson, I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger, my cousin," Annabel introduced Hermione. Hermione smiled brightly at the coach and held out her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Hermione, thank you for coming to our rescue this week. Ever since the unfortunate incident with Felicia I was concerned we wouldn't have enough team members to compete," the coach said, shaking Hermione's hand.

"It's no problem at all, I'm excited to be here," Hermione said.

"Excellent, well before we get started, we need to find a uniform for you. Captains, take Hermione to the closet where we keep the uniforms and be back here in 15 minutes. The rest of you get changed and back out here in 5, I want 10 laps around the gym to warm you up. And Hermione, I hope you're prepared to work hard," Coach Simpson said before blowing her whistle. The Hogwarts population watched this scene with interest and a bit of fear. The coach seemed like person that was not to be crossed.

"She doesn't mince words, does she?" Draco murmured to Blaise and Pansy Parkinson who were sitting with him. The two shook their heads. They watched as the three girls entered a closet off of the girls' change room.

"So do we wear the uniforms to practice in or do we wear shorts and a tank top?" Hermione asked as she followed Annabel over to a rack of cheerleading uniforms. She wasn't sure as everyone had been in track pants and hoodies.

"Our uniforms. Coach insists on it because in her mind, we have to be comfortable in them for games and stuff. Sorry Mia, I should have warned you about that, it slipped my mind," Annabel answered as she pulled a plastic garment bag off the rack and checked the tag.

"This is a size four, is that going to fit okay?" she asked. Hermione nodded as she took the bag from her cousin and examined it. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

"What's wrong?" Annabel asked.

"Just don't want to let you guys down that's all. It's fine," Hermione said. Annabel nodded and squeezed her arm comfortingly.

"Then let's get out there and show them what you've got," Annabel said as the two of them walked out of the closet. Emily and the other girls were waiting for them, already changed and ready to go. Annabel quickly slipped into a stall to change into her uniform, with Hermione doing the same. The screen went black for a moment and only the girls talking could be heard.

"Hey, Mia?" said Emily.

"Make sure you put your hair in a ponytail before you come out. It's the most effective way to keep your hair out of your face," Emily instructed.

"Okay, thanks. I'm almost done. I'll be out in a couple of minutes," Hermione listened as the girls left the change room. She exited the stall and went to stand in front of a mirror.

"Sir, why is it only showing her head?" Harry whispered to Dumbledore who was sitting behind him.

"The spell only shows what the person is focusing on at the moment," Dumbledore whispered back before gesturing to Harry to turn back around. Hermione pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, tightening the elastic around her hair three times. She took a deep breath and turned around. To her surprise, she saw a single girl standing in the middle of the room. Smiling warmly, she approached the girl.

"Hi, I'm Hermione. Are you on the squad too?" she asked. The girl gave a derisive sniff as she looked Hermione up and down.

"I used to be. I'm the one whose spot you took after Emily snitched on me and got me kicked off the squad. But don't worry; I'll be back on the squad for the competition this weekend. I wouldn't get too comfortable in that uniform. Once Coach Simpson sees how . . . incompetent you are, because honestly you don't look like much of a cheerleader, she'll be begging me on bended knee to come back. Enjoy it while you can," Felicia said as she flipped her dark hair over one shoulder. Hermione's mouth dropped open and so did Harry's, as well as the rest of the Hogwarts audience. Before Hermione or anyone else had a chance to say anything, Annabel came into the change room.

"Hermione, come on, everyone's waiting for you," she said before she caught sight of Felicia.

"What are you doing here? You're not on the squad anymore," Annabel said, placing a hand on her hip. Felicia turned away from Hermione and faced her cousin.

"Just giving a warm welcome to your cousin, and last time I checked it was a free country," she said before leaving. Annabel turned to Hermione.

"What did she say to you?" Hermione snorted.

"Just a pile of rubbish about how I shouldn't get too comfortable in the uniform, blah blah blah," Hermione said. Annabel grinned at her.

"Listen to you, you've barely been in that uniform for 5 minutes and already you're talking like a cheerleader. Come on, let's go," Annabel said as she turned and walked out of the change room, Hermione following after. Annabel cleared her throat loudly as she walked into the gym where the rest of the team was waiting.

"As your captain, it is my greatest pleasure to introduce to you the newest member of the England Knights cheerleading squad, Hermione Granger!" she said, before turning and gesturing wildly at Hermione. Hermione shook her head smiling as the team started cheering; her cousin always did know how to make an entrance.

"Are you ready Hogwarts?" she said quietly before placing her hands on her hips and lifting her head high. She walked out into the gym to great applause and whoops and hollers and a catcall from Emily. Once again, the Hogwarts audience collective jaws dropped. Hermione was wearing a baby blue crop top with the letters EK blazoned across her chest, a matching skirt, and white trainers.

Oh yeah, this is going to be good Hermione thought as she joined Annabel and the two walked over to join the rest of the team.

Ginny watched jealously as the boys near her and the ones around the hall began talking animatedly about what they'd just seen. She'd find a way to get the attention off the Golden Girl of Gryffindor and onto herself. Just you wait, Hermione, you might be on top right now, but you won't be for long she thought.

Author's Note: BAM! Chapter 10! Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for your patience while I balance school, work, and fanfiction. You guys are awesome! Kisses! Till next time, Xoxo