A/N1: Thanks to all reviewers, the response to this story continues to amaze me. And the date at the end of this chapter is December 30th...just like today!! Hehe there's my obsessive-ness coming through! Please review!! No flames!

RE-DO!! This is the edited chapter. I now have the Hogsmeade trip in here! Sorry for my idiocy.

Disclaimer: Let's make a list of what I don't own, kay? Just so we're clear.

Harry Potter and Co.

The Twilight series (I can't wait for Breaking Dawn and Midnight Sun

The Truth About Forever and for that matter any of Sarah Dessen's books!

Kodak/Kodak Moments

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XXXXXHermioneXXXXX (The Three Broomsticks)

Hermione walked into the Three Broomsticks, very much embarrassed. She really didn't want to be here in her pajamas. She would have much rather been in her bed. Oh dear Merlin, this is so embarrassing. A sudden yell from the corner of the pub had everyone's eyes on her.

"Hermione, we're over here!!" Ginny all but screamed. "Wow, I can't believe you actually did your dare!!!" I think she did that on purpose. I would give all the Wizarding money I have to have the floor open up and swallow me. She could feel everyone staring at her, and someone in the back wolf-whistled. Forget my Wizarding money, I'd give all the money I have to be swallowed up right now.

She walked over to Ginny and sat down, still sensing everyone's stares. Spencer decided to embarrass her even more, but not purposely of course. Her intentions were good. "Hey everyone! Mind your own business!! Stop staring."

Outbreaks of muttered whispers were everywhere.

"Great. Thanks Spence." Hermione said dryly. Now instead of obvious staring, people were just sneaking glances at her every now and then.

"Ginny, is there any particular reason why you chose this dare?" She shrugged. "No not really. We just thought it would be funny."

"Yeah, it's hilarious, I'm rolling with mirth."

"Oh come on, it's all in good fun."

"Good fun? GOOD FUN?!?" Hermione was on her way to hysterics now, not even bothering to be quiet. Marie tried to shush her, but that only infuriated her more. "No, don't 'SHHH' me! I have had enough. I'm cold and I'm tired and I have so much stress on me it's not even funny; especially with the whole thing with the Mirror. This is NOT fun. MY idea of fun would be to be relaxing with a good book, but no. I get out of bed and go to Hogsmeade wearing barely anything. That is not 'good fun!'" The Three Broomsticks was silent and everyone was watching the Hogwarts 'Know-it-all' explode. Elaine was the only one brave enough to speak, and even she spoke meekly.

"How are you cold if you had cast warming charms on yourself?" Emboldened by Elaine, Alyssa spoke.

"Did you not cast enough? Or were you not able to cast them on your butt?"

"No I cast plenty of warming charms on me...including that area."

"But, it's impossible to cast them all on your own. Who helped you?"

"Nobody helped me with anything. I know how to cast simple warming charms thank you very much."

"We know that Hermione," Soothed Spencer.

"But what we don't know is who helped you cast warming charms."

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't we just want to know?"

"But why?"

"Just because." Hermione growled in frustration.

"Fine. Drac—Malf—grr, that's beside the point. The fact is I got help. Did you ever say how long I had to stay?"

"No I didn't; but were you about to say that MALFO—"

"Great thanks Ginny. Bye." Hermione rushed out the door and bumped into Ron and Harry.

"Hiya Hermione." Ron chirped happily.

"Hi Ron. Hi Harry." She turned to walk back to the castle, hoping that they wouldn't notice her lack of proper clothes. But Hermione heard an intake of breath behind her and a muffled 'Ow' and knew that it was too late.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, trying to bring her back, "What on earth are you wearing?" She turned around miserably.

"My pajamas, why?"

"Well no real reason. But aren't you cold?"

"Not completely."

Ron stuttered. "But how are you not cold. You're barely wearing anything. If those shorts were a couple of inches higher—" Harry elbowed him again.

"So why are you down here...like that?"

"It was a dare, Harry. Do you honestly think that I would be down here wearing such clothes in December, of my own volition?"

"No."

"Exactly."

"Who dared you?"

"Ginny and the rest of the chick night group."

"Oh."

"Well I'm going to go change and then crawl under a rock to die of embarrassment. Nice seeing you two."

"Yeah, it was really nice seeing you." Ron murmured.

"Don't you still have to pack? You should do that before you crawl under your rock." Harry asked, partly joking but partly serious.

"I've already packed Harry. But thanks for your concern." Hermione turned and walked very quickly away. Ron believed her to be out of earshot and he turned to Harry. "Mate, remind me to thank Ginny for that later." Harry hit him again. "Ow! Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because you are such an idiot." Harry told him matter-of-factly.

XXHermioneXXXXX (Hogwarts Express, compartment)

The door to the compartment that Harry, Ron and Ginny were in slid open and a very worn out and sweaty Hermione appeared with her luggage in tow. They all looked at her curiously. Harry spoke first, "What happened? You almost missed the train. Yesterday outside the Three Broomsticks you said you were all packed."

She smiled sheepishly before taking a seat beside Ginny. "I was all packed. But this morning I overslept." Hermione glared halfheartedly at Ginny. "It may have been because I was up nearly all night at Chick Night." Ginny simply smiled contentedly.

"Yeah, that was pretty fun, wasn't it?" Hermione just looked away and rummaged in her suitcase for a book to read. She pulled out Eclipse and began reading eagerly after turning to where her bookmark was. To no one's surprise, Ron brought up the Chudley Cannons and started a discussion about them with Harry and Ginny, which soon turned into a fight between the two siblings. Ginny didn't like the Cannons she preferred the Arrows. The vehement yelling was interrupted by a huge snort of laughter uttered by Hermione who was apparently oblivious to everything but the plot in her book. The three stopped and looked at her in concern. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Bella...Jacob...space heater...Edward...control his thoughts!!!" Her sentences were unintelligible due to her hysteria which made her friends continue their discussion while worrying over Hermione's sanity.

The train soon pulled to a stop at the station where Hermione was hugged by Harry and Ginny, and Ron gave her a very awkward peck on the cheek. She waved goodbye to them merrily, promising to see them on the 30th. Hermione glanced around anxiously, looking for her parents; it had been so long since she'd seen them last. From behind her a voice called out: "Hermione, over here!" She whipped her head around, saw her parents and immediately started running towards them, her hair whipping furiously against her cheeks.

"Mum! Dad!!" Hermione hugged them both tightly. "I missed you so much!"

"We missed you too honey. How've you been?" Her dad boomed.

"Pretty good." The happy family turned and walked toward the parking lot. Next to their tan Honda Civic, she saw an outrageously flamboyant red convertible BMW and a familiar face in front of the car, inspecting the hood.

"No freakin' way!" Hermione looked at her parents for confirmation. They nodded and she ran to the car. "EVELYN!!" The person in front of the car turned her head and an enormous smile lit up her delicate features.

"MYA!" Evelyn ran to Hermione and gave her a huge hug.

"Is that really you?? Oh wow, I haven't seen you in forever!"

"I know!" Hermione gushed very out of character. "What's it been...4 years?"

"Yeah. I got tired of my parents' refusal to let me see you but now, I'm 20 and engaged so I moved out and came back to England." Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're ENGAGED? Who to? When did this happen?" She turned to her parents while pasting a mournful, pleading look on her face. "Can I ride with Evelyn and see her house and everything?? Please? I'll be home later. Please?" Her parents smiled warmly at her.

"Sure you can. Just bring your suitcase and you can stay with her for a couple of days; but come back by noon on the 23rd. You have to be home before Christmas."

"Oh thank you so much!! I love you guys." She pecked them each on the cheek. "I'll see you guys later."

Hermione and Evelyn chatted amiably while they got in the car, and while Evelyn was driving. They hadn't seen each other since Hermione was 12 and Evelyn was 16, so they had a lot of catching up to do. Evelyn was the only muggle friend that Hermione had told about her magical abilities, and Evelyn wasn't horrified; on the contrary she was amazed and never the least bit jealous. Sadly though, Evelyn's parents somehow found out and forced her to move to a location that Hermione was never told. But Evelyn ensured Hermione that her parents would never say a word.

"So where did you move to?"

"Germany."

"Are you SERIOUS?!" Hermione laughed mentally at the ridiculously overused pun that slipped from her mouth.

"Dead." She sobered up completely at her friend's response. That's when the pun became not as funny.

"Oh...wow. Your parents must have disliked me a lot."

"Mm, no they were just afraid of you." They laughed and simultaneously said: "That's ridiculous!" Evelyn sighed.

"It was hell. I really missed you. You were (and still are) my best friend."

"Yeah. I remember when we were so much younger and when we lived next door, it was great." Hermione suddenly noticed how fast they were going.

"My gosh Evelyn! You're going so far over the speed limit. Why are you going so fast?"

"Oh yeah. In Germany we have autobahns and they're sorta like freeways but there's no official speed limit; so you can go as fast as you want. You just have to be careful."

"Well you're not in Germany anymore Evelyn, so you might wanna slow down."

"Oh that's ok, there's no point. We're here." She parked in front of a decent looking apartment complex.

"Wow! I never pictured you an apartment type. No offence. I always pictured you in a mansion or something."

"Nah, too much room, you know? And besides, that's exactly what my parents want for me; which is why I say 'hell no!'" Hermione grinned happily.

"You haven't changed a bit; you still always rebel against your parents."

"Yeah."

"So which one are you in?"

"Number 32."

"Awesome! Let's go." They walked into the apartment, and Evelyn quickly turned on a light.

"I'm really sorry about the mess. Please excuse it." Hermione just rolled her eyes.

"It's no big deal. I'm not as much of a neat freak as I used to be."

"That's a relief. I remember how crazy you were about being organized and clean. Out of the blue, you would start dusting and not stop until the whole area was completely spotless." Hermione turned red.

"So...where's your fiancée?" Evelyn's face dropped.

"He's the manager of this company in Germany, so that's where he is. Still in Germany, but after I visit with you I'm going back and living with him until he's ready to move here and get married." Evelyn announced, taking Hermione's suitcases and putting them in the room before sitting on her bed.

"But enough about me, what's new with you?" Hermione took a deep breath before starting her story.

"Ok, you remember me talking to you about this horrid, little boy named Draco Malfoy right before you moved?"

"Yes! I remember. He made you cry. If you'd have let me I would have caused him so much pain that stupid Lord Voldyshorts could never even dream of inflicting that much pain on anyone!"

"Yeah him; well to make a long story short...he's my soul mate." The look on Evelyn's face was so perfect. Hermione wished that she had a camera or something for it was a definite Kodak Moment.

"No, don't make a long story short. I want the whole story! How the hell did that happen?"

Hermione sighed melodramatically and started telling the whole story, starting from the Mirror of Erised, but including much more detail than she gave to those at chick night.

"So have you told your parents?"

"Of course not! Why would I even consider doing that?" Evelyn shrugged.

"I think they have a right to know, I mean...you are their daughter."

"Hmm, slightly hypocritical coming from you, but you do have a point."

"Is Draco hot? Do you like him now? Does he like you? What's going on with you guys?" Hermione's cheeks turned a pale shade of pink and she avoided the questions very overtly. "Hey let's watch a movie!!"

"You're terrible at avoiding the subject and trying to change it. I'm sure you know that so I guess I'll humor you, just this once. But know that I will definitely get more answers from you before Christmas if it's the last thing I do." Hermione shot her a grateful look for the temporary subject change and began to list movies they could watch.

Surprisingly Evelyn never brought the subject of Hermione and Draco up for the rest of Hermione's stay. She was much too distracted by everything else. The two had only four days to catch up on 4 years of separation: they had half of the 19th, all of the 20th to the 22nd, and half of the 23rd. It had seemed like a long time from the viewpoint of the first day, but only when they reached late night of the 22nd, did they realize how short the time really was.

"Hey Mya," Evelyn said, using the special nickname for Hermione that only she was allowed to use.

"Yeah Ev?"

"We should go to the tree house!" A look of confusion lit Hermione's features.

"You know...the one in my old backyard?"

"But Ev, people live there!!"

"So?" Evelyn shrugged carelessly. "Let's just not get caught."

"You realize I still live right next door." Evelyn's face became alight with mischief.

"Even better."

Donning outfits of all black, the two went to Evelyn's car and drove the 10 minute drive to Evelyn's old house. As a precaution, Hermione suggested that Evelyn park her car down the street and that they walk. The plan went without a hitch. The two silently crept to the backyard and hopped the fence, Hermione with major difficulty. Quickly they shimmied up the tree: Evelyn graceful as always and Hermione almost blowing their cover with the racket she was making while trying (and failing) to climb quietly. Once they were up at the top, they relaxed and didn't talk. It was enough for them to just be there like old times when Hermione would sneak out of her house with a flashlight and come over to shine it in Evelyn's window, signaling for company.

It was getting so dark that neither of them was able to see in front of them clearly, and they started to head back. Evelyn was over the fence and Hermione was halfway there when all of a sudden Hermione fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Immediately the lights flickered on inside and Evelyn was ready to scream in frustration. She didn't even bother to keep her voice down anymore.

"Hurry!!" Just as Hermione made it over the fence, the front door opened and they started sprinting down the block towards the convertible. They made it to and Hermione jumped in while Evelyn gunned the engine. They were down the road in no time and heading back. Evelyn pulled up in her same parking spot and turned off the car. It was silent, until their uproarious laughter rang. Clutching their sides, Hermione and Evelyn walked up the stairs and they were sure that they woke everyone in the vicinity.

The next day at 12:00pm on the dot, Hermione and Evelyn pulled into the driveway of Hermione's house. As slowly as humanly possible, Hermione got out of the car to get her suitcase out of the trunk. Evelyn got out and gave Hermione a huge hug, tears running down both their cheeks.

"I'll see you soon, promise. I'm going to come back for the summer and see you mmkay Mya?"

"Yeah, definitely. Go to Germany, get your fiancée, and drag yourself back here ok?" Evelyn sniffed.

"Of course, and you must tell me about Draco! You're extremely lucky that I forgot to bring that whole thing up again. Don't forget to tell your parents." They hugged again for the final time and Hermione walked up the front step and rang the bell. Evelyn beeped her horn once and drove off.

"Hi honey!" Her mom cooed. "Where's Evelyn?"

"She went back to Germany until the summer. But she'll be back."

"Ok, that's good. I'm glad you guys are still good friends. I need to go; I'm wrapping Christmas presents for you and your father."

"Ooh. Thanks for reminding me! I'm going to do that too." Hermione took her suitcase and ran down the hall to her room. In 30 minutes, she had every present wrapped as best she could. The ones for her parents were hidden in her closet and the ones for the Weasleys were in a duffle bag that she would take when she went to the Burrow.

XXHermioneXandXfamilyXXXXX (Christmas, by the tree.)

"Mum! Dad, happy Christmas."

After opening her presents and revealing books, some clothes and gift cards, she gave both of her parents big hugs. "Thank you so much." she said happily.

Hermione spent the rest of her vacation at home in a manner that would bore most people to insanity, but she enjoyed it immensely. She did some extra credit research for each of her classes and finished it easily in a couple of days. The rest of her time was spent reading leisurely. She finished Eclipse and started reading The Truth About Forever. She couldn't even believe it when her mom knocked on her door at 11: 30 Sunday morning.

"Aren't you going to the Weasley's today? It's December 30th."

"Oh crap!!! I only have 30 minutes to pack and shower and do everything else. Thanks mum."

TBC…

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NOTE: Poll on my profile; it's about what story I should post when all of my other in-progress ones are done. Please vote! And you can always find information about updates on my profile too. I update that regularly.

A/N2: WOW, extra long chapter!! Might have seemed completely pointless and I'm sorry if it did, but it was very important!

Hopefully I will have an update on January 1st sometime during the day. That would work perfectly with the plot in the story. Haha. Please continue to review!! No flames; and no 'Evelyn is a Mary Sue' crap. I tried to not make her a Mary Sue, so please don't flame if you think she is.

Lovelove, Amanda