Nothing Mary Sue here, probably Jordan won't pop up in person again, but I wondered how a muggle-born would tell their muggle friends that they were, well, not muggles. I'll get back on track next chapter, I promise.

Enjoy! Remember, I don't own this!

-The Author

Hermione knocked on the Prendergast's door. There was a commotion behind it; dogs and pots and pans and screams and shouts, heels smacking floors, and a small head poked out from the curtains. Hermione waved and smiled. The head disappeared behind the curtains once again.

"JOOOOOORRRDAAAANNN!"

Hermione's friend Jordan opened the door a few moments later. Her curly dark hair was braided with odd butterfly clips, and there was green eyeshadow on her cheeks. Hermione laughed.

"We're playing grown-up," Jordan said.

Three of her little sisters giggled.

"Well, stop it and come to the park with me," Hermione said.

Jordan sighed dramatically and turned to face her sisters. "Girls," she said, "I must bid you ennui."

She closed the door. Hermione said, "You do realize that ennui means boring or uninteresting, right?"

"I know that," Jordan said. "adieu, adieu," and she punctuated it with a sneeze. Hermione laughed. "Sup? I heard you didn't even get Hill High. What's with that?"

Hermione shrugged. She had wanted to try for Hill Higher Education School before the Hogwarts Letter had arrived. "I just found a better one. You're fine with Lincolnton Public?"

"I'm in love with Lincolnton Public," Jordan nearly sang. "And my parents won't pay for it. We're not all only children of successful dentists."

"I'd love to have sisters. You always have someone to play with. And you usually have the same interests? So you always have something to talk about. And I love your house! There's always something going on!"

Jordan shrugged and rubbed at her cheek. She smeared the eyeshadow a little, making it at least paler, although no less noticeable. They arrived at the park. Hermione sat down on a swing. Jordan sat next to her. Their toes touched the ground. Swinging was more fun when you hopped up to the swing and it practically started swinging for you.

"What's this other school?" Jordan asked. "It sounded perfect for you. Smart and organized and neat. They were measuring the length of the grass, remember?"

"Just a specialty school."

"Oh yeah? What's its specialty?"

Hermione looked at her. No one had told her she couldn't tell anyone she was going to a witch school. And Jordan was her best friend.

"A magic school," she said.

"Magic? How's it magic?" Jordan leaned over in her swing. Her eyes flashed with mischief. She didn't believe her.

"Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble!"

Jordan laughed and spun around in her swing. It unspun itself, and she whooped. "Fillet of a fenny snake, in a cauldron of boil and bake!"

They recited the rest of it together:

"Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

"But seriously," Jordan said. "Where are you going?"

Hermione sat up in her swing. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The finest school of magic in the entire United Kingdom."

"Hogwarts? That's just 'warthog' mixed up!" Jordan laughed. "Fine, don't tell me what your mystery school is! Just promise me you won't let your special private school interfere with your real life!"

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jordan twisted in her swing as she spoke. "You know what I mean. You're so focused on school. We wouldn't be friends if Mrs. Miller hadn't assigned us to work on that Triangle Trade project, you know."

Hermione kicked her legs up, sending her backwards a few feet. She pumped her legs, until she made quite a nice pendulum. She looked. Jordan was swinging, too.

"I met a boy from the school, you know."

"Is he cute?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's weird," she said. "He…" he was shockingly normal for a wizard, that's what he was. All of the witches and wizards were. He could have passed for a boy in their old school. "He's nice."

"But is he cute?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head. They swung in silence, feeling the wind in their ears and their hair blowing about. They passed each other, one going up, one going down. Then they passed again, one going down, the other going up.