Here is chapter two! You get a glimpse of Malfoy in this scene, and some Ginny (because I just love her). Reviews equal updates, so read and review! I have another few chapters already written (and longer than this one!) so it's up to you!
As always, I own nothing you recognize.
Chapter Two
"All right honey, are you sure you have everything?" asked Hermione's mother, fussing over Hermione's coat buttons. "Enough skirts? A toothbrush?"
"Mum, I'm fine," Hermione replied, pushing her mother's hand away. She was sure she'd miss her mother in a few weeks, but at the moment she was simply desperate to enter The Leaky Cauldron and return to the world of magic. Ron had finally owled her, requesting she meet them at Diagon Alley and stay the remaining days before term at the Burrow. "Trust me, after last year this one will be a breeze!"
"I know honey, but you're Head Girl now, and you're already so busy with your studies…"
Her father placed his calloused hands on her mother's shoulders. "Relax," he murmured. "She'll be fine. She always is."
Hermione smiled and reached out to take her mother's hand. "Dad's right. I'm safe and happy at Hogwarts. And I'll write often, you know I will."
"I know." She pulled her daughter in for a hug, placing a kiss on Hermione's soft curly hair. "I love you."
"I love you too," Hermione replied, hugging her father as well. She stepped back with a satisfied sigh. "Well that's everything, I suppose. How do I look?" Although she didn't often think about appearances, she knew as Head Girl younger witches and wizards would be looking up to her, and she wanted to fit the part of the wise witch.
"Confident," her father assured her. "And beautiful. You'll do great." Hermione smiled at her father's praise, but couldn't help having a feeling of doubt deep inside. For her entire wizarding life, she had been known as Harry Potter's best friend, the brains behind the war. But now she would have to reinvent herself, as would everyone else. She had a sad feeling that this year would be nothing like those in the past, and wasn't sure she wanted the change.
"Thanks Dad. Good bye for now!" She grabbed the handle of her luggage and turned around to enter the pub, where she could store her things while she shopped. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered the world of magic once more.
Looking around, Hermione could see the changes that had been made since the end of the war. Things had seemed to have an ever present dark tint to them during the last few months, with people hurrying to get home, never staying to chat. Now the pub was bright, the windows flung open, and people in various robes sat at the tables, drinking and enjoying one another's company.
"Hello Hermione dear," said the innkeeper, wiping her hands on her stained apron. "Can I get you anything? A warm butter beer, perhaps? The afternoon is a tad nippy." Hermione paused for a moment, confused as to how the woman knew her name. She had spent the summer being a nobody, and it was strange coming back into a world where everyone knew her. She couldn't imagine how strange it must be for Harry.
"Not right now, thanks. My friends are waiting for me in the alley. Could you show me where I can put my things while I shop?"
"Of course dearie, just this way." Hermione followed the woman to the back of the pub where there were lockers for wizards to leave their items while shopping. After handing her some money Hermione left the pub to meet Harry and Ron.
The alley was just as bustling as the pub had been, and Hermione smiled as she saw the young witches and wizards gazing in the store windows at the new brooms, books, and robes, remembering her own first experience here only seven short years ago. She was glad that these children would be able to fully experience the wizarding world. Most of the first years during the war – those who had been allowed to attend – had been forced to arrive at Hogwarts wearing used robes with hand-me-down books and wands chosen by their parents on a brief, solo trip to Diagon Alley. Parents had been too afraid to bring their children there for years, but now youth once again lit up the streets.
"Decided to return, have you, Granger?" asked an all-too-familiar voice. Hermione steeled herself before turning to face the blonde boy who had come up beside her.
"I should be asking you the same, Malfoy. After supporting Voldemort so blatantly, I'm surprised you aren't in Azkaban," she snapped back, her voice full of malice. She was worried enough about the upcoming year without Malfoy making it worse.
"Apparently McGonagall doesn't agree with your view of me," Malfoy said, the sneer gone from his face. "She was so sure I should return that she made me Head Boy."
Hermione froze at these words, her planned retort frozen on her lips. "Head Boy?" she whispered. Malfoy could not be Head Boy! Sure, he had been a prefect, but he had supported Voldemort more than any other student. How could Professor McGonagall view him as a suitable role-model for the younger students?
"Yes, Granger, Head Boy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to do some shopping. I've seemed to outgrow all my old robes," he said, flexing his toned arms with a smirk. Hermione watched him leave, stunned. She was going to be Head Girl… with Malfoy as Head Boy.
"Hermione!" called out a much more inviting voice. Harry raised one arm in a wave, his other busy holding Ginny close to him. The couple had been almost inseparable since the war without the constant threat of death over their heads. Ron was hovering around them, shooting awkward glances toward Hermione. There had been a spark between them during the war, Hermione could not deny that. But there was something holding her back, something that Ron could not seem to push through. She doubted any boy ever would.
"Harry! Ginny! Ron! How are you all? I've missed you so much, you promised you would write more this summer!" she said in a mock disapproving tone. "I've been starved for companionship; my parents insisted on teaching me the basics of dentistry this summer! They seem to think it's a reasonable job in the Wizard world, but we just use magic to fix teeth! Which I wish I had known before the years of braces," she added, touching her lip at the memory of pain. Her friends laughed.
"Sorry Hermione, we just got so caught up in everything this summer," Harry apologized.
"And these two couldn't keep their bloody hands off one another," added Ron with a scowl, still unhappy about his little sister's new relationship. Hermione shot a grin at Ginny, happy for her best girl friend.
"We have plenty of time to catch up this week!" Ginny said, pulling away from Harry's grasp and grabbing Hermione's wrist. "Come on – I want to go shopping!" The girls laughed as they left the boys standing in the middle of the street, unsure whether to follow. "We'll meet you at The Leaky Cauldron in three hours!" Ginny called back over her shoulder, her long red hair swinging as she hurried off.
Ginny pulled Hermione into a shop stuffed full of various colors and fabrics crowding around them on all sides. "It's time for a makeover," she announced, releasing her hold on Hermione and turning to ruffle through the hangers, pulling pieces at random and shoving them against Hermione's chest. After finishing her rummage through one rack, she turned to face her friend, looking at her seriously and cutting off Hermione's inevitable protests. "Now that the war is over you need to begin focusing on you. Your whole life has been about helping Harry and Ron and defeating Voldemort. Well, Voldemort's dead, Harry and Ron are big boys, and you're seventeen, for goodness sakes! It wouldn't kill you if you began to dress your age, or, I don't know, date?" Hermione instantly blushed at the suggestion, turning away.
"Well, I don't deny that my look could use some updating. But I'm certainly not looking to date anyone at the moment. With NEWTs, being Head Girl… I'll be lucky to find time to sleep!" Her mind instantly turned to Ron, but she shoved the thought out of her head.
Ginny sighed, leading Hermione over to the fitting rooms. "We'll see. With the war over, everyone's in a cheery mood… maybe someone new will catch your eye. It wouldn't kill you to have a little fling, you know."
Once again Hermione's mind flickered back to the summer after fifth year, and the stolen kiss she had shared with Ron beneath the staircase while she had stayed with him at the end of the summer. Neither had mentioned it during the school year, but now that they were returning to the scene, would the same thing happen? And if it did, how would she tell Ron that she didn't think he was the best man for her? That he was a good mate, but that was all he'd ever be?
"I think I just need to focus on myself this year," Hermione said, partially obliging. "You're right: I've been obsessed with the Voldemort hunt for so many years now, I hardly know myself other than being an encyclopedia for the boys. Maybe a little makeover wouldn't be so bad."
Ginny grinned, knowing that the dating question would be much easier to tackle once Hermione noticed boys noticing her – which they soon would, once she began taking the time to brush her hair in the morning and look up from her books. Hermione was a very pretty girl, but a tad of mouse and lip gloss couldn't kill anyone.