Thank you to the people that have reviewed me, telling me to get my butt up and moving again- I'm dedicating this chapter to you.

"Wake up, wake up, it's a neato day! The sun is shining, it's time to play!"

Hermione groaned and pulled an extra pillow over her face. "Whose brilliant idea was it for a talking planner?" she mumbled into the pillow, trying to remember how to get the stupid thing to shut up. "Would a memory spell affect an inanimate object?"

"Wake up, wake up, it's a neato day! The sun is shining, it's time to play!"

Her hand groped around on the bedside table for her wand. Instead of her fingers finding the smooth piece of wood that had become almost permanently attached to her hand over the past six years, her hand landed on something covered in paper and rather squashy. Head still buried, her hand continued patting the object, trying to figure out what in the world had appeared overnight on her bedside table, until…

"Ow!" Hermione shrieked.

A few things happened in rapid succession that looked like it came straight from a Baz Lurhmann film. One, Hermione screamed again and tried to sit up in bed. When she sat up, however, her head hit the headboard of the bed, ending her attempt at getting the pillows off her face. Two, since her hand was currently flailing around in pain, it began knocking things right and left off the furniture, managing to injure her hand at least four more times. Oh well, at least it shut the planner up. Three, Crookshanks, who decided he didn't appreciate the early morning commotion, began hissing from wherever he rested (Hermione assumed it was in that hoity toity cat bed Malfoy bought him), which caused some odd noises to come outside the room's window.

Once the pounding in her head stopped and the throbbing in her hand slowed down, Hermione used her good hand to pull the mountain of pillows off her face and look around at the disaster area. Clothes were still piled haphazardly over chairs and on the floor. Crookshanks was standing in pre-pounce mode, eying the window, where an owl fluttered outside the window. Her bedside table was now void of anything that had previously occupied space there, but the floor surrounding the table was decorated with books, dishes, a wand, and an odd, triangular-shaped paper bundle. Hermione could feel a bump on her head beginning to rise thanks to the headboard of her bed. Gingerly bringing her damaged hand into view, she saw blood dripping from several parts of her palm and a few fingers.

What a fantastic start to a new day. Where to begin?

Now mostly awake (As compared to mostly dead, Hermione thought, she swung her feet over the side of the bed (making sure her bare toes missed the cracked dishes) and bent down to reach for her wand. "Reparo," she croaked, voice scratchy from lack of use. The dishes mended themselves, and Hermione floated the bowl and plate up off the floor. Squinting at the books, she shoved them aside with her foot. Then her somewhat bleary eyes focused on the object that had attacked her poor hand. She started to reach for it, then thought better, levitating it up so she could get a good look at this horrible object.

Hermione gasped.

A bundle of lush, red roses were floating roughly a foot away from her face. Hermione counted. A dozen red roses, complete with thorns. So that's what had hurt her hand. Reaching out to take them, Hermione stared at them, and then buried her entire face in the bouquet. Roses. As much as she hated to admit it, she was a sucker for roses. Lifting her face from the blossoms, she inspected the bundle for a card. Frowning, she shook the roses to try and shake the card out of the bouquet. No success. Whoever had sent her this gorgeous bunch of roses decided to remain anonymous. Hermione shrugged. She'd find out eventually—she had her ways.

Still holding onto her flowers, the brunette stepped over the mounds of clothes and turned her attention to the window outside. The poor owl was still positioned outside her window, albeit several feet back. The bird was eyeing Crookshanks warily, while the feline continued emitting low, hissing noises at the owl.

"Crookshanks, calm down," Hermione told the animal, shuffling over to the window and opening it to receive whatever message the owl had to deliver. She freed the parchment from around the owl's leg, and after groping around on the floor for a few seconds, came up with several coins to drop in the owl's payment pouch. Closing the window, she absently brought both her treasures back to her bed, where she laid the roses on the comforter, and unrolled the letter.

Hermione,

We'll be arriving at Diagon Alley around mid-afternoon. Do you want to meet somewhere? Or should we just come by wherever you're staying? Owl us back so we can tell Mrs. Weasley.

-Harry

Harry! Of course that's who sent her the flowers. And he was such a boy, no wonder he forgot to include a card. He'd probably never sent flowers to a girl before, so he didn't know she wouldn't automatically be able to tell who had sent them. Hermione smiled to herself. Boys.

Hermione began the hunt for some parchment. Under the clothes? Nope. Behind the lamp? Nope. In the closet? Nope. On top of the armoire, beneath the bed, next to the table? No, no, and no. Hermione almost wailed when she looked in the mirror and saw how horrible the room really did look.

Wow. At least her hair looked perfect.

But aside from that, she felt like screaming. What kind of a Head Girl are you if you can't even keep your room clean? She asked herself.

Aren't these places supposed to have some kind of room service? She answered herself.

That doesn't count. That has nothing to do with your level of responsibility.

Hermione sighed. As usual, she was right.

So, she began to do what she always had to do when she lost something: clean her room.

Hermione was a practical thinker. Everything had a reason. Her reason for losing things was something along the lines of some sort of a Divine Intervention whenever her room got unbearable. Like the time she lost her favorite pen. That incident got her room dusted, vacuumed, and reorganized before she found her pen. Well, her mum was sure pleased over that one.

Too bad her mum wasn't here to be pleased with this particular makeover story. All of her clothes were back in the closet, all her books were stacked neatly on the table, any dishes had been sent downstairs, and the roses were now in a pretty crystal vase on her bedside table. Somewhere between dusting the lamp and banishing the dust bunnies under her bed, Hermione had found her box of vanilla scented parchment paper (an early birthday present from her dad) and stashed a sheet for her reply. Ten minutes later, Hermione looked around the now spotless room and nodded to herself. Much better, she thought, satisfied. Now, to write back Harry.

Harry,

She paused. What to say?

I can't wait to see you two. I've been bored out of my mind here!

Well, so that wasn't exactly true. Malfoy had kept things… lively, to say the least.

Why don't we meet for some ice cream?

No, bad idea. She might run into Malfoy. Hermione scratched that out.

Why don't you guys come to The Cat's Paw when you arrive? Just tell the lady at the desk that you're here to see me- I'm room 317. Beware the changing stairs.

-Hermione

She laughed and folded the letter. Slipping her feet into her bunny slippers, she exited her room (after making a quick detour to rinse the blood off her wounded hand) and ran downstairs to put the letter in the "out" box at the front desk. Things were going all well and good, until she noticed the person sitting at the front desk, twirling a pen around his fingers.

Oh… snap.

---

Author Notes: my gosh, what a long hiatus I look. I hope everyone's Christmahaunakwanza was excellent and there were no drunk drivers on New Year's Eve. My break is going amazingly well, only I return to school in less than a week. don't be looking for too many updates, but I will make at least an attempt to continue thinking about this fic. Hm, what to say. This chapter is not my best, I know. I realize and admit it, but I have to get back into the swing of things some how. Four months off is a lot of time to pick right back up. But, um, at least it's something, right guys? Right?

This fic should be done within… oh, five chapters? The end will be right about the time everyone is leaving for Hogwarts. I know, I know, that seems so short, but let me explain why- I'm planning on doing a second part. I wouldn't call it a sequel, persay, more like one big story just cut into two parts. So yeah, there is a second half of this story. But perhaps I should concentrate on finishing part one before thinking about part two.

Thank you for reading! Thank you for adding me to your alert list, your favorites list, and for reviewing. You guys rock. I hope all of you have a great year ahead of you!

Time for shoutouts, please forgive me if I forgot you.

Shoutouts:

To my newbies:

Anonymousreader, befuzzled, kurama lover 518092, and jo- you're right! I loved those books, so I just had to pay homage. You all win! ::tosses out cookies::

Khuu-khuu- nice name- very creative. Thanks for reviewing!

Rae- ::laughs:: evil ferret, indeed. Thanks!

Dumdumditz23- thank you for your review. I think, however, most people seem to be enjoying the story and think it's exciting enough. Yours is the only complaint of boredom I've gotten so far.

XPussyWillowKittenx- thank you! Hope you're still with me, it has been a long time since I updated…

Kerry- wow, you definitely win for most reviews. One every chapter? My gosh!

Fanrei- thank you! I love hearing what chapters people like.

Nikka Malfoy- ::laughs:: very weird, I totally agree. I'm glad you liked it, despite the weirdness!

Chamorro- thank you for reviewing! ::tries to keep it up::

A geniune freak show- wicked awesome name. Glad you thought it was funny!

Bleedingheart14- well, I suppose Malfoy could be a goth. I guess I always pictured him as more of a prep. Thanks for reviewing!

Gothic-Cutie-Blues- thanks for the review!

Snuggly-wuggly- aww, it's nice to know people don't review but still read! But thanks for reviewing, haha. Chemistry went well! I managed to get an A!

Bludiamond- thank you for reviewing me and telling me to update J and for adding me to your watch list! I really appreciate that!

Dramaqueen07- update is here, hot off the presses!

Citcat299- glad you like it! Keep reviewing and let me know what else you like/don't!

Attolia- …is that good or bad?

Tamsididi- wow, definitely am not the best writer on the site, but thanks so much for the thought J talk about an ego boost!

Jexi- here you are!

To my crew:

Realityintrovert- My gosh, how many times can you change your pen name? Now you're just doing it to confuse me, I bet. That's not very nice. ::tsks:: anyway… I don't want to give much away, but I'm sure you've guessed by now… there will definitely be meeting of other people coming up…

Insidiae/black onyx- ::laughs:: you crack me up! So excited you can't spell? What a sacrifice. Thanks for reviewing!

Rinaula- ::grin:: well, mcdonald's doesn't count as French. That's pure American, right there. Sorry it took so long to update… are you still proud of me? ::hopeful grin::

In Dreams- I can't diss mcdonalds, I eat there every now and then. Cheers to you for working there and feeding the masses!

Draco's all mine- aww, thank you! Update is finally here. ::rolls eyes at self:: thanks for reading!

Xxkayleighxx- you asked for more… here it is!

Poetic-Mind- ::beams:: you laughed that hard? I'm honored! I'm glad you thought it was funny!

Biggest fan of yours- have I told you before how much I totally dig your name? ::laughs:: thanks for coming back and continuing to read. If you think it's that great… do me a favor and spread the word! You can be my publicist! Also, thanks for the second review reminding me I have people that want more! J

Elven at Heart- woooow, the beach! I want to come! That's so great your uncle could come back for a visit. Didja have a good time? Actually, my uncle is in Iraq as well. Wow, wouldn't that be odd if they knew each other?

Paprika90- ::beams:: seems like the Draco Meets McDonalds was a hit. I'm glad people liked it! You know… they'll be getting closer soon. Both physically and emotionally…

ILUVRONWEASLEY- aww, I got a hug! ::hugs back:: wow, you're from England? That's so cool! I wish I was. And it's good to know I was on track with the money thing- I was seriously worried that I'd have all these british people screaming at me in reviews going "YOU FAIL!" heh, thankfully that didn't happen. Thank you so much for reviewing!

Karana Belle- yes! I have a partner in my D/Hr cute campaign! –not to mention an accomplice if I ever need to go into hiding ::laughs:: you can keep me supplied with chocolate while I'm hiding in the woods. And thanks also for answering my question about pacing- I really appreciate your feedback!

Jewelwhisperer- ooh, another person that answered my pacing question! Again, thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you like it!

Dreary Days- I like your name too! Thank you so much for adding me to your favorites. It really means a lot!

Kole17- I swear you've reviewed me before, but I can't remember, but I'm putting you in with the old crew to be safe. Thanks so much for emailing me and reminding me I have a fic going, lol. My Christmas was brilliant (got to go snowboarding!) and my New Years was equally as fun. Yay for slightly alcoholic apple cider (long story….)!

And a shoutout to a few people that didn't review… ThreeEaredBunny, MonikadaLuver, ShimmeringEvil… where'd you guys go?? Don't desert me! ::sits and cries:: come baaaack!

And of course…

Kate- thank you for two things. One, for the regular review. I love hearing feedback from you J two, for the second review, telling me to get back to work!! The kick really helped ::laughs:: feel free to kick me again if I take that long again. Thank you so much for sticking with me… you realize this story has been going for… about a year and a half now? My gosh… well, here's hoping for a great year! ::raises glass::