Sorry for the wait, everyone. I've been having a bit of writer's block. ;)

7. BONDING OVER CALCULATORS

"School?" Ron complained. "We have to go to school? Muggle school?"

"You have to, it's a requirement," Molly Weasley argued. She put a frozen dinner in the microwave and it started to cook.

Harry sat at the table, taking in the news. They would have to go to Muggle school, a place Harry hadn't been to in five years. The Weasley kids had never been to a Muggle school at all; they had never experience Muggle curriculum. Hermione would still get top marks; no doubt, he had noticed her poring over her Muggle math and science textbooks earlier in the day.

"You don't have to pass every class, but I expect you to go and abide by the rules!" Molly said.

"Watch out, though. There's a traitor around every corner…" said Moody, walking into the kitchen only to walk back out. He never missed out on an opportunity to warn anyone to watch out.

"Do we have to do the work?" Fred asked.

"To the best of your ability, you will!" Molly scolded. "Even Dad and Sirius are going to school, so you must, too."

Ron had a puzzled look on his face. "But they're decades older than the rest of us! Why do they have to go?" He received an icy glare from his father and Sirius about the age comment.

"Driving school," Sirius said mid-chew. He was eating a frozen dinner. "Don't think I'm going to be any good at it, but I'm not complaining. I'd like to be able to drive myself out once in a while."

"Are other kids going?" Ron asked. "'Cause I'd rather go there, if that's okay…"

"No, Ronald, you will go to Muggle school and you will like it. There are no exceptions. They're not going to a public driving school anyway, it's a private instructor that Dumbledore hired. We're bending the rules a bit here," Molly said as she took the frozen dinner out of the microwave.

"Of course… Can't Dumbledore find private instructors for us?" Ron argued.

"No. This will be a good thing. You'll make friends and play sports and live with Muggles. It's a learning experience," Molly said.

"How is that learning?" Ron quarreled. "And I'm guessing they don't have a Quidditch team, either." He was setting himself up for a big fight, Harry thought. He left the kitchen before he could hear Molly's response.

It wasn't long before Molly called all the kids into the kitchen. Harry sat down next to a tired-looking Hermione.

"Is everyone still watching that ridiculous show?" Harry asked. Hermione stifled a laugh and nodded.

"They're addicted!"

Harry laughed.

Molly cleared her throat and everyone quieted down. "Today we're going to be going shopping for your school things. School starts next week, as you all should know. This will not be like Diagon Alley, so we must all stick together."

Gasps and whispers went around the room. Harry was dreading it.

"Get your things and we'll be off. Kingsley will accompany us," Molly said as she sent them off.

While taking the bus to the closest Wal-Mart, was an adventure within itself, school shopping was another. Molly had the supply lists in her hand, and Hermione was instructing her on what was what and where to find it. Luckily there was an entire section dedicated to school things, otherwise Harry knew that at least half of their group would get lost somewhere.

Hermione was generally the one that picked out the school supplies. She lifted notebooks, packs of pencils, and binders by the armful into their cart. The twins roamed around the school section, cracking jokes about things they didn't recognize and doing stupid things. Harry and Ron simply stood back and watched while Molly and Ginny read the list out to Hermione.

"Ron, go get your brothers to look for backpacks," Molly said after Hermione had explained to her what a backpack was and directed to where they were. Harry and Ron pulled the twins over to the backpack section.

"Mum told us all to pick one out," Ron said.

"I think this one's your style," Fred said, holding up a pink and fluffy backpack with a rather demented and fat cat wearing clothes plastered across the front. It read "Hello Kitty" in large purple letters.

"What the hell is 'Hello Kitty'?" Ron asked, rather disgusted. "You're a git," he muttered to Fred and shoved him off.

"Fancy this one, don't you?" George teased, holding up a bright purple shoulder bag with a girl in a blonde wig, supposedly "Hannah Montana" as the bag proclaimed in big pink letters.

Harry laughed. He picked out his backpack, simple and black, and watched Fred and George mercilessly tease Ron. Harry held the bags they'd all picked out for themselves.

Molly, Hermione, and Ginny came around the corner with the almost-full shopping cart. Harry suspected that they wouldn't really need half of what Hermione had picked up, but of course she thought all of it was necessary. That, and the fact that the bill was on the WPP.

"We've already picked out your backpacks," George said, holding up the "Hello Kitty" and "Hannah Montana" bags. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Sure you didn't pick those out for yourselves?" Ginny retorted. The twins defensively threw back the backpacks. Hermione and Ginny picked out simple pink backpacks and threw them in the cart.

"Hold on, I forgot something," Hermione said. She turned on her heel and walked back around the corner.

"What could she possibly have forgotten?" Ron muttered to Harry. He shrugged.

They heard something fall from one aisle over. Molly shrugged it off, assuming something just fell over, but Ron and Harry went to investigate. Anything to get away from the rest of them.

They peered around the corner. Hermione had fallen on the floor, an array of calculators strewn around her. She was laughing as a boy around their age helped her up. They picked up the calculators. Harry and Ron retreated to the other side of the aisle to hear their conversation without being seen.

"No, no, it's my fault," the boy said. They could hear the clicking of calculators being put back on the rack.

"Sorry, I'm so clumsy," Hermione giggled. They were silent for a moment.

"It's okay," said the boy. "Are you British? You don't hear many British accents here in Chicago," he chuckled.

"Er, yes. My… my family just moved here. Well, just me and mostly extended family. My parents decided I should continue my studies and attend college in the states, and since I had family moving here already, they sent me with them."

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Could they possibly pass as cousins?

"What school are you going to?"

"I… I think it's called Lakeville High School," she stuttered. Where she had gotten that information, Harry didn't know.

"That's where I go, too!" the boy exclaimed. "What's your name?"

"Hermione. Granger. Hermione Granger," she said nervously. Harry rolled his eyes; he could tell by Hermione's tone that she was blushing.

"Cool name. I'm Tom Phelps."

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said.

"You too. I'll see you next week, maybe I can give you a tour of the school?" he said with a playful undertone, which Harry and Ron knew didn't truthfully mean "tour the school."

"Oh- of course," Hermione said, surprised. "See you around, Tom."

"Later," he said. Harry and Ron watched him leave, pretending to be occupied by something else. He was tall and muscular with suntanned skin and dark blonde hair that fell into his eyes. Harry knew Hermione was already absolutely head-over-heels.

"Looks like a git," Ron muttered. Harry agreed.

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