Hermione woke up in her elaborate glass dome room feeling calm, cool, refreshed, and excited to start the new year. She pushed her covers back, climbed out of bed and immediately straightened out the hardly disturbed sheets and blankets.
She then turned to her bathroom and brushed out her hair curly mess of hair thoroughly before casting a smooth curl charm, that she had learned in a Witch Weekly magazine, that made all her curls look managed and not so frizzy. Then she brushed her teeth and washed her face. She hardly ever wore any make up, aside from a little mascara that she applied sparingly. When she was finished she stretched and went to her new wardrobe that held all her school robes and clothing. She slipped on a black pleated school skirt and a crisp, white, button up blouse and placed her school robes over it. She tied her tie and then looked at her self in the full length mirror on the door.
Satisfied, she turned and picked up her knapsack and left her room and headed to the common room. She looked around the comfortable room and as soon as she reached the wall where she was supposed to exit she realized that there was no door. Just a blank wall. Just then Draco Malfoy walked through his dorm door.
"Malfoy, could you help me?" Hermione asked stiffly.
"Why?" he asked looking at the wall.
"The door isn't there," she said.
Malfoy pulled out his wand and tapped the wall. The door appeared immediately. "And you call yourself a witch," he sneered, brushing past her and taking his leave before she could retaliate.
'He hasn't changed at all, the Prat!' Hermione thought catching the door before it closed and following Malfoy. 'You'd think the war would have taught him something.' But then she realized that she was a bit quick in asking for help. She'd have to work on that.
She made her way down to breakfast and settled in between Ron and Harry who were shoveling eggs and bacon into their mouths at an alarming rate.
"You'll make yourself sick, eating that quickly," she said, pulling a plate of bagels toward her and spreading some grape jelly on them.
"It hasn't happened yet," Ron said around a mouth full of toast.
She shook her head and sighed. Just then the post came and an owl dropped her the Daily Prophet. She opened it up and rolled her eyes at a sub article that caught her eye.
THE GOLDEN TRIO BACK AT SCHOOL!
Details on page 6.
Hermione sighed and folded the paper and tucked it away. She was starting not to like the Prophet so much.
After she finished her breakfast she decided to Advanced Transfiguration early to read a little bit more in her book before class began. Most of her classes were advanced which delighted her. She loved a challenge of any kind, even though she was a little more wary about said 'challenges' because of the war. She'd never hop to a camping and find your own food challenge. She'd had quite enough of that life.
She entered the class room and was surprised to see that she wasn't the only one who was early. A few Ravenclaws were already in the room chatting with the new teacher, Professor Flute. Hermione sat down at the head of the class and pulled out her parchment and quill and Transfiguration book. Soon everyone filed in, even Draco Malfoy who sat a few seats behind her. And soon, the class began.
"Welcome to Advanced Transfiguration!" the Professor announced energetically, spreading her arms and grinning broadly. Hermione almost expected fireworks to explode in the background. She smirked. "This year we are going to cover everything, from Disguises to Animagi Transformation. You are in this class to perfect your skills in the art of Transfiguration. By the end of this class you'll know not only the basics, but the in depth magic that not everyone goes out of this school knowing." She paused slightly before adding. "And you all will get a chance to find your 'inner animal' and learn to transform into an Animagus state. If you succeed in the transformation, you will be automatically registered into the Ministry and will receive top scores on your N.E.W.T. for this class."
Hermione grinned in excitement, she wondered, almost cockily, what her 'inner animal' would be. She raised her hand, "Professor? When will we be starting that particular bit?"
"Probably straight after the winter holidays," she answered smiling at her enthusiasm. "Right then! Everyone take out your books, skip the introduction, and turn to the first lesson…"
Hermione knew she would enjoy this class. She looked around to see how the other students were taking to it. Everyone seemed pretty eager, even Malfoy, who caught her eye and shot her an annoyed look before turning his attention back to the Professor.
"Now," the professor smiled, "I'd like you all to try the first few spells in the first chapter in your book after the introduction…"
There was a lot of rustling of pages and muttered syllables as the students attempted the spells. Hermione, however, had practiced over the summer and already could do these spells.
"Good work, Miss Granger!" Professor Flute chirped, grinning broadly. "You got it as quickly as Mr. Malfoy did. Perhaps you could both could go about the class room and help the others?"
Both Malfoy and Hermione started walking around the class room and soon most of the class were getting the spells right.
When the class was over she made her way down to the dungeons, for potions. Dreading the cold damp place even with a somewhat decent Professor teaching the class. She didn't like potions, she never had. She guessed it was because of where the class was held, and the fact that the class was dominated by Slytherins. Upon entering the room she felt the temperature change dramatically from cold to pleasantly warm. She'd never been in this classroom before. It was brightly lit by an oddly greenish light and there was a warm fire at the head of the room. What really drew her eye was not the expanded ingredients shelves and cupboards, but the long, shimmering, glass window looking out to the bottom of the great lake.
'How odd,' Hermione thought to herself for the second time that day. She sat in one of the only seats left, which, coincidentally, was near the window.
"Hello to you all!" chortled Professor Slughorn walking into the class. "Today is the beginning of your last year at Hogwarts. So, I want to ship you off into the world with the best knowledge of potions I can give you!"
And so began the lecture. Hermione avidly took notes on what they would cover, what kinds of potions would be made and many other things. Finally, Professor Slughorn said something that caught Hermione's undivided attention.
"Furthermore, as your final project, I will assign you all partners and you must create your own potion. All of them will be judged on usefulness, creativity, and how well it works. More details will be provided when the time comes, but for those who wish to begin brainstorming, I tell you this. No poisons are allowed to be concocted."
The end of the class chimed and Hermione put her things away. It still surprised her that a professor could lecture for a whole class period. But she couldn't help but notice that this year the Professors were really creating great opportunities for the seventh years. As she walked out the door of the classroom she tripped and fell. Someone snickered to her left.
"Oi!" she yelled at the unidentified miscreant who tripped her. She looked around for the idiot and found she couldn't deduct any points because she didn't know what house the retreating third year was from. Angrily, she went to start picking up the books and papers she had dropped, when she realized someone was holding all the school supplies, neatly stacked, out to her.
She started a little when she realized the one who'd helped her was Draco Malfoy. "T-thank you," she stuttered, taken aback by his seemingly kind deed.
Malfoy rolled his eyes at her bemusement and said, curtly, "Are you going to stand there and keep your face frozen like a fish, or are you going to take the damned papers?"
Hermione shook herself out of her shock, snatched her papers and placed them in her bag. What was wrong with her today? She felt rather odd, and wasn't sure if it was Malfoy or the fact that she wasn't as quick as she usually was. She shook her head and decided that during lunch she'd go see the hospital wing and see if Madam Pomfry could help her clear her head. It seemed to be in the clouds. Maybe a focusing draught would help.
She readjusted her knapsack and headed off to Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts. She carried on to the right classroom and walked in and found that Professor Bellamy was quietly looking through a brief case looking for something.
"Good morning, Professor!" she said brightly.
"Oh, good morning, Miss Granger," the teacher said distractedly, running his hand through his slightly shaggy, butterscotch blond hair. "What are you doing here so early, break is not over for another five minutes!" She took in his gracefully untidy appearance before answering him. He looked to be in is mid twenties. His white shirt was half way tucked into his black trousers. He had a small scar on his right cheek bone, and his tie was loose around his neck.
"I was just going to read a bit before class started. Get a little more prepared before assisting you," she smiled energetically.
"Actually, in this class, you'll just be learning, as you haven't taken it yet," the professor said, looking up. "You've been assigned a Third Year Defence class that you'll be assisting me with."
Disappointed, a little stunned that she hadn't realized that particular fact, and slightly confused, Hermione pulled out her schedule. "Sir, it's not on my schedule…?"
"Because it's during your free period. I hope that isn't a problem," the professor said opening and closing drawers. "You won't have to assist the class every day if you think you'll need that time to study." He looked up. It was then Hermione realized that he had purple eyes. How odd.
"No it won't be a problem," she said, "I'm sure I'll manage." Then she paused. "Professor, what are you looking for, exactly?"
Professor Bellamy looked at her again, his face coloring slightly. "My wand, actually." He ran his hand through his hair again. "Could you help?"
Hermione was shocked, to say the least. A teacher misplacing their wand?
"Of course," she said, "you can use my wand to summon yours." She pulled her own out and handed it to the professor who cringed slightly at the feel of the unfamiliar wand.
"Accio Wand!" he said, and a wand shot up to him from somewhere on the floor. With his wand in his grasp he handed Hermione's back to her. "Thank you."
"Your welcome," she nodded going back to her seat at the front. As soon as she sat down the students started to filter into the classroom in twos and threes. Most of the students, she noticed, were Ravenclaw. But there were a handful of Gryffindors too. Then three Slytherins came in, all of whom Hermione disliked very much. Malfoy was flanked by Theodore Knott and Blaise Zabini who were both looking at the only three available spaces left, which happened to be an empty table behind her and the seat right next to her at her table. Zabini and Knott both sat down at the empty table and a scowling Malfoy sat next to her.
She couldn't help but notice that something in his facial expression was missing. However, she didn't get to ponder over that fact for long because Professor Bellamy cleared his throat, announcing the beginning of class.
"Alright! Class. This year we'll be going over a many different things. Most of the things I will be teaching you will not be in the book. So you will have to rely on your skill for the most part of this year! Not to say that we won't use the book at all, mind you."
Hermione stared at the Professor in shock. Did he say what she thought he said?
"Now, nothing gets accomplished by lecturing all day so, everyone, stand up and help get the desks out of the way. We're going to be practicing a variation of different spells today that might come in handy…"
The lesson went by quickly and not with out incident because a Ravenclaw by the name of David Higgleton got a well aimed jinx in the face, causing him to sprout small arms all over his face. But after that and before she knew it they were being dismissed. She tucked her notes into her knapsack and almost left the classroom when Professor Bellamy called her back in. She turned quickly and bumped into a Ravenclaw that was behind her.
"Sorry," said as she went back into the classroom. "Yes, sir?"
"I just wanted you to know that you didn't have to start in the third year class today," the Professor said. "We're only going to be going over introductions and reviews. Things of no real importance."
Hermione shook her head, "Oh no, Professor. I'd much rather come in during that class. Just to get into the routine of it."
Professor Bellamy smiled at the eager student, "Alright. But bring a book or something, you might get bored."
"Never," Hermione said perkily before nodding to him and excusing herself to Lunch.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Just the plot.
A/N: I hope you like this story so far. I love reviews and they make me want to write more often so support please? Thanks. I'll update as soon as I can.