Chapter 1

"Here, let me grab those." Dad nudged me aside and took the cardboard box I pulled out of his 2003 Nissan Altima trunk. "Wow. What is in this box? Bricks?" He turned the cardboard around so he could read the marker on the other side. "Ah, books. I should've guessed."

"Hey, without them, I wouldn't be able to snag the scholarship." I poked him in the hips, then bent to grab another box. "You should've thanked them."

Dad threw his head back in a booming laugh. "Maybe I should take this box with me to dinner. You know, a little wine and dine, really show them books my appreciation."

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help my smile. "You do that, and I'll pretend I'm an orphan."

"Ah, you're no fun, beaver."

We made our way through the parking lot to the three-story concrete building in front of us. The Andromeda Apartment, my home for the next year.

The building stuck out from the rest of the campus because of its modern design and relatively smaller size. It had better amenities compared to the rest of the dorms too, which put it way out of my price range. Fortunately, my scholarship includes tuition and a shared room in this fully-furnished apartment.

"Wow. This is …" Dad took in the building in amazement. I couldn't blame him, I looked exactly the same when I first scouted the area. "You sure this is for free, right?"

"Yeah." I read my welcome packet five times, and I had already confirmed my accommodation with my advisor weeks before. There was no way I made a mistake. "Come on, I'm on the second floor."

We climbed up the side stairs to the hallway. There were five doors on this floor. My room was next to the last one.

"204 – this is it." I announced, trying to balance two stacks of cardboard boxes on my hands while opening the door with my elbow.

It swung open smoothly without any noise. In fact, it was so quiet, the people inside didn't even notice our entrance.

A beautiful blond woman with high cheekbone and full lips sat with her legs crossed on the couch. Next to her stood a raven-haired man in an expensive-looking suit. Sitting across from them was a girl who looked almost identical to the woman.

"I still can't believe you choose to live in this dump. I mean… look at the size of this place. They don't even have cleaning service here." The woman huffed, brushing invisible dust off her shoulder. "You should've taken that Penthouse on 19th Avenue with the Parkinson girl."

The girl rolled her eyes as if she was tired of the conversation.

"I'm sure Daphne will be just fine, dear." The man tried to soothe her.

But the woman plowed on, "And her roommate – ugh, her roommate. I have people look into her. Hermy-something-or-other. His father works in a grocery store, for god's sake. They're a bum."

My jaw slackened. She had people look into me? What a creep. And what's wrong with working in a grocery store?

"Excuse me." I clear my throat.

Three sets of eyes quickly turned to me. The girl quickly jumped to her feet, a guilty look crossed her face. Meanwhile, the woman took her time standing up and straightening her dress. No guilt whatsoever in her face.

I set down the boxes on the floor and put on a friendly smile as I approached them. "I'm Hermy-something-or-other. The bum. Please to meet you." I extended my hand toward the woman, and she crinkled her nose like she just smiled something unpleasant.

"Come on, dear, let's go." The woman flipped her wavy blond hair and turned at his husband, ignoring me. Her shiny heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she sauntered out, head held up high, but not before throwing a disapproving look at my dad.

His husband mouthed 'Sorry' as he passed us, and he really looked like he meant it.

At least someone didn't have a stick up their ass.

"I am so sorry about that." The mellifluous voice snapped me back from my thought. The blond girl was still here. "I'm Daphne Greengrass, your roommate." She took my still hanging hand. "Nice to meet you. "

Her sincere apologies evaporated my anger. She might have inherited her mother's looks, but at least she didn't have her attitude. "It's alright." I smiled, earnestly this time and gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'm Hermione Granger."

She let out a huge breath of relief, then gazed politely at my Dad. "Mr. Granger."

"Please, call me Rick." Dad smiled jovially.

"Oh, a-alright… Rick." She said Dad's name like it was a foreign word. "Again, sorry about my mother, sir," Dad raised a brow. "I mean, Rick, sir… u-um, Rick."

Dad cackled and Daphne flushed. She probably never addressed someone as old as my Dad with just their name. Dad was pretty easygoing.

"You don't have to apologize for your Mom. But I do hope you get along with my little beaver here." He grabbed me and ruffled my hair.

"Dad!" I swatted his hand and ran away, laughing. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Haven't you read the universal father-daughter contract? You'll always be my baby."

"Unless it's notarized, it's not a contract." I stuck my tongue, and Dad's booming laughter echoed around the apartment.

"You are such a nerd."

Daphne chuckled at our banter. But I couldn't help but notice the tightening under her eyes. It was there for only a split second before she blinked. "Want me to give you a tour?" She offered.

"That'll be great. Thanks." I smiled and Dad nodded in agreement.

"So, as you can see, here's the living room, dining room, and kitchen." She began.

The whole room was open. L-shaped couches, a wooden coffee table, and a 42-inch flat-screen TV mounted on the wall made up the living room on the right side. A circular dining table that can seat four people was in the middle of the room, and to the left was the kitchen space with granite countertops, double door fridge, and stainless-steel stove oven.

Now that I got a good look at this place, I couldn't help but notice how shiny everything was. The furniture looked brand new; the countertops, the floor, and the window looked like they were just recently cleaned. Everything was just… perfect.

How could Daphne's mom call this place dump was beyond me.

"The cooking utensil and stuff are included, so we don't have to worry about that." Daphne said, throwing open the overhead cabinet where the pots, pans and other stuff where stored. "This is for cleaning supply." She pointed to the counter near the sink. "And there's also a closet space for broom and stuff. Come on, I'll show you your room."

"Gotta' admit, I'm kinda' jealous of you right now." Dad whispered to me as we follow Daphne down the hall.

I nodded. Our two-bedroom clapboard house was nothing compared to this, though I would always love it since it was full of our family memories.

Daphne opened the third door on the left and my mouth dropped open. It was three times the size of my old bedroom, and it was furnished just as lavishly as the rooms before.

The walls were painted eggshell white. A queen-size bed with black frame and matching nightstand sat in corner of the room, right next to a window overlooking the backyard where the basketball court was. Facing it was a desk and huge empty bookshelf. A dresser and a rectangle wall mirror filled another corner next to a door which opened up to a moderately huge closet.

"W-Wow…" I gaped.

"I hope you don't mind I took the first bedroom overlooking the front street. But this view is quite nice too." Daphne said, peeking through the window.

"Yeah, I'm good wherever." I shrugged.

I didn't mind this bedroom. In fact, I was already loving it.

I started planning where I would put my stuff. The books of course would go on the shelf. I was glad they gave me a big one because I had a ton of books, but I could always use the top of the dresser for extra space. The family picture would go on the desk, in front of the study lamp. The potted kalanchoe Dad gave me as a 'housewarming gift' could go on the nightstand.

"Wow, would you look at that! Now that was a great view." Daphne breathed, pulling me out of my hectic mind.

"What?" I sauntered next to her and took a look.

Down in the basketball court was a tall guy with a crop of dark hair glimmering under the sunlight. His arm moved up and down, bouncing the ball off the floor. His face was facing downwards so I couldn't have a good look, but I did notice his lean and muscular body thanks to his sleeveless top. And his short accentuated his tight, muscular ass-

"You girls are being creepy." Dad said from behind me and Daphne. "And you, young lady, are not allowed to date anyone until you're thirty."

I scoffed, though I couldn't tear my gaze away from the boy. "Was it in the father-daughter contract?"

"Yep." I could almost feel his nod. "But seriously, girls, come on – let the boy play in peace."

"One more minute…" Daphne pleaded.

At that moment, he dropped the ball and straightened up, almost like he noticed somebody looking at him, and started gazing all around.

"Oh, crap." Daphne darted away from the window, but my leg was frozen in place, just in time for him to turned his eyes in my direction.

I gasped when our gaze met. Damn, he was handsome. I could make out his chiseled features even from here.

"I-I'm not stalking you or anything!" I tried to explain but then noticed there's no way he could hear me. Shaking my head at my idiocy, I waved awkwardly at him with what I hoped looked like an apologizing smile.

To my surprise, he waved back at me, and then he smiled. I melted a little inside because he looked so much more handsome with that smile.

A group of guys entered the court and started talking to him. They chatted and laughed together, tossing the ball around.

I was about to move away when his gaze returned to my window. Our eyes met and once again, a smile tugged at his lips. I could my heart beating loudly in my ears.

One of the boys noticed and looked up too. That was when my feet finally move, and I ran away as fast as possible from the window.

A/N

New story! I had been wanting to write this story and especially Hermione/Cedric pairing for a verrrry long time. Hopefully you guys like it, and if you do please leave me a review and tell me what do you think about it.

Special thanks for my beta reader, ekaterina016.

And thanks again for checking this story.