A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: Hints proving I do not own Harry Potter: #1 I am not rich #2 I do not live in the U.K #3 My name is not J.K. Rowling
Chapter 27 – Back To School Again
The rest of the holiday passed quickly for Hermione. She had barely gotten a chance to relax at home before it was time to board the Hogwarts' Express again for the second half of the year. Usually excited for school, this year was an exception for Hermione. She was dreading the pressure of seeing Malfoy, and the enormous workload that was sure to come with their end of year exams.
Hermione said goodbye to her parents before boarding the train. She dragged her luggage along with her as she searched for Harry and Ron. She quickly found them in a carriage near the back of the train.
"Hi guys."
"Hey Hermione, how was your new year?" Harry asked.
"It was lovely, Viktor and I went to this wizard club. I've never been to one before, but they are
similar to the muggle ones. What did you two do while I was gone?"
"Quidditch," the boys answered simultaneously. She laughed then, with the help of Harry, lifted her luggage onto the rack above. The rest of the train ride went by smoothly. Harry and Ron played chess and discussed the newest and fastest racing broom, while Hermione re-read Hogwarts A History.
They had been back at school for a week, and our trio sat in the common room. Everyone, it seems, had already fallen behind on homework (except, of course, our dear Hermione). There was a stressed silence throughout the common room, especially amongst the older grades, who all sat working hurriedly.
Meanwhile in a corner of the room Hermione had begun to lecture her boys on procrastination. "Really, we had the project a week ago! Did it ever occur to you to start working on it before it was due?" She asked heatedly, knowing that she would spend the next hour helping them finish their projects.
"Hermione please, just look them over for us and I'll never procrastinate again," pleaded Ron desperately.
Hermione sighed, "fine, I'll look at them, but you really ought to work harder next time."
"You're the greatest 'mione," exclaimed Ron as Harry nodded in agreement. She replied by crossing out Ron's first paragraph.
It was the third week of January, and Hermione was alone in her dormitory. She showered quickly, and dried her curly hair magically. After drying off, she peeked out the window and saw that it was snowing. Poor Harry, he'll never see the snitch in this weather.
Keeping the weather in mind, Hermione put on a pair of blue jeans with a purple hoodie. Added to that were her jacket, hat and mittens, before she made her way down to the quidditch pitch.
"It's going to be a great match today. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw whichever team wins will move on to face Slytherin in the finals," announced a seventh year Hermione didn't know. The two teams walked onto the field to cheers and boos, Harry and the opposing captain shook hands before Madame Hooch's whistle signalled the start of the game.
Hermione entered the common room and there was an explosion of cheers as Harry and Ron walked in after her. The cheers were quickly followed by a loud chorus of Weasley is our King. The part went on well into the night; it only stopped when the prefects threatened to get Professor McGonagall. The Gryffindors spent the rest of the weekend, all hoping to win the quidditch cup again this year.
By Monday, however, things had calmed down. Everything was back to routine: classes, homework and bets on who will win the quidditch cup. Not surprisingly, most people were betting on Gryffindor to win. Even Hermione was in a good mood that week; all her feelings had been sorted out.
Even better, Fleur had finally dumped Ron . It seems he wasn't the only one having side relationships; she had been trying to convince him of that for months. It seems everything in her
life was falling into place: Gryffindor was in the running for the quidditch cup and Ron was single, so maybe he would pay some attention to Pansy. Nothing could go wrong now, or so she thought.