In This Chapter- Lauren isn't who she seems, Ron meets his first muggle, Hermione gets mugged and kicks some royal ass. Everyone vows to keep in touch with one another, Harry, Hermione and Ron bond some more.

~

"Lauren! Are you really?" Hermione was elated. "Oh my Lord…. Are Jared and Jessica?"

"No." Lauren said quickly. "But they know about me, and they are trustworthy, you know that. They have known all along I was a witch, I think you should tell them." Hermione had a look of pure happiness on her face, and she grabbed Laurens hand and they both sprinted back to the booth, they couldn't wait to spill their news.

Once they were all sitting together, Lauren and Hermione back in their places. They looked at each other and winked, then said unanimously. "I'm a witch."

The reaction they got was amazing. The twins where both gulping down cokes and that nearly spit everywhere. Harry fell of the booth's edge, and hastily got back up, fixing his glasses, Jared and Jessica where in mid-bite on their fries, and dropped them, and Ginny and Ron gasped.

Hermione and Lauren grinned at each other, and then Harry gained his voice again. "Hermione! Their muggles! What the heck are you doing?"

"It's all right. Harry." Hermione said. "Lauren already told me she knew, after all of Ron's little slips, and Fred and Georges hushed Quidditch talks, and besides, Jared and Jessica know already too." Harry looked at her, speechless; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He then looked at Lauren. "So, you're a witch?" He asked, trying to sound casual, but Hermione noticed that his brilliant green eyes were dancing.

"I'm a witch." Lauren said proudly, and to prove it, she brought out a wand from her pocket. George looked at it closely.

"That's not an Olivanders, is it?"

"No." Lauren said. "A nice woman in America made it. My mom grew up in Pennsylvania, and she is rather found of America still." Hermione laughed, just because she was so happy, one of her best muggle friends wasn't really a muggle! And one of her best wizarding friends was completely hitting on her! Ron looked over at his friend, who was trying to cover her mouth up to conceal her giddiness, but wasn't succeeding very well.

"Hermione are you ok?" Ron asked, eyebrow cocked in amusement.

"I'm great Ron." Hermione finally calmed down and sighed happily. "I'm better then fine, I think, I don't have to keep secrets anymore, you don't know how thin this was wearing me." Everyone was smiling at her, and Hermione just started giggling again.

Twenty minutes later Hermione, Ron, Lauren, Harry, Jared and Jessica were walking down one of the crowded muggle London streets, Fred, Ginny and George decided to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. Fred seemed very jealous of Jared.

Hermione was pleased to see all her friends getting along with one another, although getting along may have been an understatement. Lauren and Harry were walking very close together, talking rapidly. Hermione noticed Lauren turning a very flattering shade of pink every time her hand brushed against Harry's. Ron and Jessica were also being very friendly, and, although Hermione shouldn't have thought so, it was odd to her that Ron was getting along so well with a complete muggle; she didn't think he had ever had a true conversation with a completely non-magical person before.

"Seem to really be hitting if off, huh?" Jared asked her. They were walking together.

"Yes, I'm very happy they are." Hermione answered.

"I think Lauren and Jess are equally happy, Lauren told me a lot about the famous boy-who-lived." Hermione smiled at him.

"Does it seem strange?" She asked him. "To be friends with one witch, then discover that your friends with another?" Jared simply smiled and shook his head.

"It would make you think that, wouldn't it?" He asked her. "But honestly, Lauren and you are just people to me, who have a very special talent, the same as Jess being an amazing athlete and me being great at biking racing cars. It's all really just a talent you're born with, you either have it or you don't, you know?" Hermione looked at him.

"You're very smart Jared." She said. "I never really thought of it that way, but your very right. I could never hit four homeruns in a row, and throw a no hitter in a baseball game like Jess could, or run 5 miles at a time, nor could I pull off the amazing things you do in the air with your bike, or reach the amazing speeds in a car without freaking out. Just as you cannot make things hover with a stick, or turn one thing into another, it's almost like everything equals out, doesn't it?"

Jared smiled again, then said, "I notice you're giving Ron a strange look, are you two involved?" This question caught Hermione completely off-guard.

"Involved?" She asked, a little confused. "No! Oh jeez." She laughed, and then turned serious. "No, it's not that. I don't know if Lauren told you about pureblooded family lines…" Jared shook his head no. "well, in the wizarding world, Lauren and I are considered muggleborns, of course. (Hermione decided it best not to tell anyone just yet about her real birthright.) There's Purebloods, those are the families of all wizarding and magical blood, no muggles, or non-magic people in the line at all.  Then there are half bloods; they usually have one muggle parent, or a parent who is a muggleborn.  And a muggleborn is what I am, and that's a witch or wizard who has all muggle heritages. Pureblooded wizarding families usually have no contact with anything of the muggle world." Hermione stopped, trying to think of the right words, without sounding awful. "Put it this way, Purebloods and muggleborns could be compared to white people and black people of the muggle society. There are some cases where purebloods look down upon muggleborns as inferior, when, in fact, the muggleborns are equally as good, if not better then the pure bloods. Ron comes for an old wizarding family, and, although I should know better, it just strikes me odd that he can get along so well with a full muggle, having never met someone without any magical ability."

Hermione looked down at her feet, embarrassed to have been so politically incorrect, but Jared put a reassuring arm around her.

"I get what you're saying, and it's all right. I think it's great that Ron is being so nice to Jess. She's had it pretty rough lately."

"What?" Hermione asked, wondering.

"Last year she made All Stars for our schools baseball team, an award that not only guarantees a full scholarship to any university in Europe and the United States, but also a paid vacation to the location of her choice, and a pass to get into any professional sports game."

Hermione looked at him doubtfully. "Oh yes, I see now, that is horrible. And all this time I thought being tuned into cat girl was bad."

"That's not it." Jared said crossly. "She made All Stars from an all-boys baseball team. She was the only girl, and by being the best, she took away the title from the best male player, and the most popular guy in school. Before her, only guys got the award, and the school is treating her like she made a permanent dent in the pride of tradition. She's ridiculed in school. She doesn't fit in with the girls, and way too good for the boys. With you and Lauren at school all year, she only has me, and I can only do so much." Hermione looked sadly at Jessica, who was laughing with Ron. "This is the first time I have seen her let her guard down around a guy for a long time." Jared said. "That Ron must be a really good person."

"One of the best!" Hermione said. "Definitely one of the best!"

I'd throw it all away before I lie
So don't call me with a compromise

As the new friends all hung out more, the more they liked one another, which pleased Hermione to death, Dumbledore would definitely be proud. Now they were doing some window shopping in the busy muggle London streets. "Hey look! OMG! Those are the most gorgeous jeans!" Lauren exclaimed, and pulled an excited Ginny and a bored Jessica over to a window display.

"Hey, you guys ever play soccer?" Jared asked Harry and Ron. Ron looked confused, but Harry said

"It's my favourite game next to Quidditch!" Jared pointed to a sporting good store, where in the window was a cardboard player kicking around a soccer ball "we're going to the dress shop!" Lauren and Ginny told the boys.

"Want to come with us Mione?"

"No, I think I'll go to that bookstore over there." Hermione said pleasantly.

"We're going to go to the sports store then." Jared announced, and he, Ron, Harry, and Jessica walked into the store. Hermione could distinctly hear Ron mutter

"What kind of sporting good store is this? Where are the brooms?" Hermione laughed and walked into the small bookshop.

Ten minutes later she walked out with a bag full of muggle romance and fantasy books. She put her wallet back into her small Gucci bag and stood on the street, looking for her friends. She saw Jared and Harry's heads in the sports window. She looked down the street and decided she was thirsty. She didn't think her friends would mind if she went to find a drink shop.

Hermione walked down the busy London Street, looking for a place where she could find something to drink, but to no avail. She did not know this part of London. Hermione continued walking but started to feel more and more suffocated; she needed to get out of there. She ducked into an alleyway and caught her breath, then tuned towards the depths of the Backstreet.

It was a dark and grungy alley, the kind you see in those sinister gangster movies. Hermione curiously walked across the cement-paved ground. Small rats and creepy bugs hovered around delidded garbage cans. Hermione was a little apprehensive, but not scared, she had her wand in her lengthened pocket, and she knew more then enough spells to protect herself-but nothing could have prepared her for what came next.

"Hello there!" Hermione whirled around at the sound of a stealthy voice.

"Yes?" Hermione said in her most calm and arrogant voice. She was staring at a man. He looked rather young, late teens or early twenties. He had sandy blonde hair and a build that resembled Draco Malfoy's cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, only this guy was tall like Ron.

"I could help but notice you look lost little girl." He said, his voice dripping with fake support. He grinned showing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. Hermione made a disgusted face, nice teeth was a must him her growing up.

"I'm perfectly fine sir." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"You don't look fine, miss, you look lost and I'm going to help you."

"I don't need help, thank you." Hermione tried to walk past him, but the man caught her shoulder.

"No you don't girl, why don't you empty your pockets and that expensive handbag your carrying?" Hermione couldn't believe this! She was being mugged by a muggle!

"Look, guy, I really don't think so, I rather like my possessions." Hermione said to his face, narrowing her golden eyes. The man still had her by her shoulder. So he shoved her against the wall of a tall building.

"I said." His voice was angry, "empty your bag." Hermione's normally soft eyes hardened and she glared at her attacker.

"I don't think so." The man advanced on her and swung. Hermione dodged it easily, causing him to punch the brick wall he had shoved her against.

"Ouch you dumb bitch that hurt." He said, rubbing his sore knuckles.

"No kidding?" Hermione asked, amused. "And here I thought it would have tickled!" The man lunged at her again, this time grabbing her around the shoulders. Hermione gracefully tuned in his grasp and flipped him over her shoulder in one swift motion. The man lay on his back for a second, dazed at the turn of events, but quickly got up and tried to tackle her again-big mistake.

He was met with a storm of direct punches, uppercuts, and height and low kicks. He stumbled back and Hermione was pleased to see that he got quite a few nasty cuts and two black eyes already forming. Hermione stood a few feet away from him with a self-satisfied smirk that would have made Malfoy jealous. The man slowly looked up at her and pulled something black and shiny out of his jacket pocket. Hermione swore.

"A gun, oh that's rich." She said staring at it, but before she could react- BANG

Hang up the phone
I've got a backbone stronger than yours

Hermione crumpled to the ground, her arm sputtering blood in large amounts. The bastard had hit her upper arm. Hermione didn't know what the Cruciatus curse felt like, but she was pretty sure after this it would be a picnic.

"Shit." She swore through gritted teeth, tears welling up in her eyes. I can't let him win. With her good arm, she pulled out her wand from her pocket. "Recte romnus reparo!" She touched the tip of her wand to her bloody wound and cried out in pain as the bullet magically dislodged itself from her flesh, sealing the skin back together as it emerged and sucking the blood back in. The wound left a peculiar mark on her skin- a diamond shaped scar with different shades of red mixed together in a pattern that reflected the mark of a powerful healing spell... It was tiny, about the size of an American half-dollar, and in its own way, was quite beautiful. Hermione was almost surprised she had been able to pull it off so well almost.

Hermione looked up at her attacker, who was staring in amazement and shock.

"All right you bastard." Hermione said getting up, her new scar throbbing dully inside her arm. "You really are a stupid fuck, aren't you?" Hermione was seething mad she could feel her heart beating through her chest, into every part of her body. The man barely had time to aim the gun again before Hermione screeched "Petrificus totalus!"

Hermione watched smugly as the guy's arms and legs snapped to his sides, his eyes going wild in fear. He teetered a little, and Hermione stepped up to him and in one swift motion, pushed him down onto the hard cement ground. She stood over him, arms folded primly over her chest.

"You really should pick on someone your own size." She stated simply. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to mess with witches? I mean, really! And shooting me? Jeez, how flaming stupid are you!" Hermione stopped her yelling and looked at him mischievously. "I could kill you, you know. Just like you wanted to do away with me, only my way is much cleaner. Just two little words, one small spell and all the life would be drained from you in moments. Leaving your body unscathed and perfectly healthy, besides the death factor. No mess, no fuss, and no one would know what happened to you." Hermione looked at the fear in the mans eyes. She knew she couldn't kill him, but he didn't. She could barely stand seeing the poor spider get killed by the infamous killing curse, let alone another human. She did like turning the tables on this prick though; she bet he wouldn't be mugging anyone for quite some time.

"I hope you learned your lesson." Hermione said to him, venomously. "You sick, twisted little-"

"Hermione!" Hermione turned around to see her friends running up to her, all clearly out of breath, besides athletic Jessica.

"Oh hey everybody." Hermione said cheerfully. "Where have you been?" Ron and Harry asked together, and then Jared noticed the still figure on the ground.

"Hermione! What's with that guy? Did you do something?"

"Body bind curse." Ron said simply. Jared goggled at the guy.

"Curse?"

"Body bind?" Jessica asked faintly. "Why did you do that?"

"Oh." Hermione said offhand. "The prick tried to rob me, so I roughed him up a bit and put the curse on him. Oh yea and he shot me." Lauren yelped and grabbed Harry's arm for support, while Jessica, Harry, and Jared rushed to her side. Ron just looked confused.

"Mione!" Jared said, looking at her. "Where did he shoot you? Why aren't you bleeding? Oh my God, are you all right?"

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, "Why are you grinning like that? Have you lost a lot of blood? Damnit stop grinning like that!" Hermione stepped back and calmly said.

"He shot me in the arm, and it hurt like hell, but I read a magical medical book last year for extra credit and remembered the spell to fix it, but I think I'm going to have a tattoo for the rest of my life." She showed them her upper arm, and they all just stared. Lauren said.

"I'm so glad you're all right." She breathed. "You know, that isn't too bad looking, considering you were just shot there a few moments ago." Everyone laughed at Laurens approach of making a bad situation better.

"Will someone please tell me what a shot is?" Ron asked irritably.

"It's from a gun." Hermione replied, picking up the cold object.

"One of these." She held it out to Ron, who looked at it curiously. Hermione elaborated.

"A gun is kind of like a muggle wand, only it is only used for destruction. Some muggles use them for sport, some use them for protection, and some- some use them for attacking innocent people."

"If you get shot by one of these you could die." Jared added faintly. "Had he aimed any father over, that guy would have him Hermione's heart and she would have been dead before you could say Abra Kadabra."

Ron took one look at Jared, then another at the petrified person and surged forward to Hermione and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "Oh my God! I'm so glad he didn't kill you!"

"Ron!" Gasped Hermione, "You're squashing my vital organs! Geroff me!" Ron let go and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"What I tell you Ron?" Jared said smiling, "Told you Mione can hold her own against the baddies, and it doesn't hurt she's got some magic to back up that powerful high kick." The six friends turned to the attacker and stared down. What are they going to do with him?

"What are we going to do with him?" Lauren asked pointing her thumb at the man.

"We could hex him for kicks!" Ron asked, eagerly pulling out his wand.

"No." Hermione said. "We really should just let him go; we can't have him walking out covered in purple boils and expect anyone to not notice." Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but Jessica nudged him in the ribs.

"Better not, we don't want him blabbing all over Europe." Everyone nodded and Harry stepped forward, drawing himself up, and said- "my name is Harry Potter.  I have faced the foulest creatures you could ever pray to not see.  The most deadly of both the wizarding world and the world you know-and I have defeated them all, and I can talk to snakes.  Don't give me a reason to kill you, because I will." Hermione and Ron stifled their giggles, they know Harry was just pretending to be a bad ass; Harry had a hard time turning girls down for dances, let alone killing some stranger. He had faced a lot of baddies though, that's for sure, and he could in fact speak to snakes, which came in handy when fighting Basilisks. But Hermione and Ron knew Harry was too big hearted to be able to harm anything unless absolutely necessary, he couldn't even let his godfather and Remus Lupin kill Wormtail, the very man that led Voldemort to Harry's parents.

Hermione snuck a glance at Lauren, and her friend had a very awed expression on her pretty face. It looked as though Lauren finally got star struck by the famous Harry Potter. Hermione loved her friend to death, but she also knew Lauren was a very dependent girl, she needed a best friend in any of her boyfriends, and she was always bitterly disappointed when none of them could be that for her.

"I'm going to release you." Harry said. "But one wrong move, one at all, four of us are wizards and are not afraid to take advantage of the fact. Enervate." Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lauren all had their hands on their wands as they watched the man quickly regain movement in his limbs. He remained silent.

"What is your name?" Hermione asked him. "And how old are you? You don't look very old at all." "Not saying." The man defied her. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, then looked at Harry and jerked her head at the grungy man. Harry smiled and pointed his wand "Serpensortia!" He yelled, remembering the nifty little spell from his second year duelling match against Draco Malfoy. As if a flash of black lightning shot out of Harry's wand, a snake appeared at the Mans feet. It was a deadly looking snake, dark and slightly glittering, as if it had just come out of the water.

Hermione listened as Harry started hissing at the snake, which looked to be totally under control. The unfamiliarity of the snake language always sent chills up Hermione spine, from the first time she had heard it in their second year, to right now in this dark alley, but Harry was unafraid.

Harry looked at the man. "This is an Egyptian adder." Harry said simply. "One of the deadliest in the world its poison can kill an elephant in a matter of minutes, as for a human- you would be dead before you even touched the ground.

The man visibly gulped and Hermione asked again. "What is your name, and how old are you?" The man fumed at her for a moment, and then said, "My name is Max Burden, and I am eighteen years old." He crossed his arms over his chest and stares at them with a look that clearly said 'well?'

Hermione looked at Harry, then at Ron, who was staring daggers at the man. "You can go" Hermione said, and Jared gave her another glare. Harry swore under his breath and used the recall spell for the deadly serpent. Hermione waved her hand at Max, ushering him away, and away he went, running full speed out the alleyway, but before he reached the cover or the London crowds, Hermione pulled out her wand and said something faint under her breath. The guy gave a small yelp of pain and picked up speed, Hermione watched until she could no longer see anymore.

"What did you do?" Jared asked in a hushed voice. "Same thing he did to me." Hermione said, pointing to her bullet wound. "People are going to think he has a very unusual tattoo.

The friends laughed and joked as they made their way to the main street. Hermione was now confident that she could hold her own just as well as Harry or Ron.

~*~

The group of friends spent an entire day in muggle London, seeing the sites, and getting to know one another better. Hermione reconnected with her old friends, who in turn were connecting with her new ones. Hermione noticed Harry and Ron looking very interested in Jessica and Lauren, who in turn looked interested back. Hermione talked to Jared most of the time, giving the others more opportunity to talk.

At the moment, Hermione was showing Jared her wizarding money. "This is called a gold galleon." She said, holding up the large piece of gold.

"My God!" He exclaimed. "Wizards use actual gold for money?"

"Yes we do." Hermione said proudly.

"Where do you find it all?" Jared was asking, "I mean, don't all of us, err, muggles, know where all the mines are? Or if not, how do you keep it all hushed up?"

"There are some places muggles cannot go, unless they know exactly what to do." Hermione said, loving to talk about her other world. "Take my school for example, to a wizard or witch, It's a great Scottish castle, bigger then any in England, but to a muggle who merely glances at it, It looks like a ruined castle, with large caution signed condemning it." Jared whistled. "Same thing for platform 9 ¾, a muggle wouldn't know how to get on, so therefore, to them it doesn't exist." Jared looked at hr wide eyed.

"You very lucky, Mione." He said. "To be able to live in both worlds, and be accepted in both." Hermione faltered. She had explained the system of pure bloods and muggle blood to him, but did he really know what some people at school put her through? No, she wouldn't tell him, she had painted this perfect world for him, and as long as he believed it, it existed.

Hermione smiled at her friend, and then jerked her head to Jessica and Lauren who were walking very close to Ron and Harry.

"Cute isn't it?" She said with a smile. Jared grinned.

"I like your friends, they seem like good guys."

"They are." Hermione said. "They're both brave, and loyal, and have helped save the world in their own way twice now." Jared looked startled.

"What do you DO at that school?" He asked.

"Oh we study, and sleep, and eat, and prevent the apocalypse from time to time." She winked at him. "Harry wasn't kidding when he told that guy that he has faced the foulest things on this earth, he was dead serious. Ron and I have been by his side for everything we could, but Harry is something special, he defeated the Dark Lord four times now." Jared was sending her a questioning look. "One of these days I'll tell you everything Jar." She said tiredly, "One day you'll know just how exhausting it is being a Hogwarts student."

As the sun began to set that day, Lauren sadly said, "We need to be getting home, our train leaves in half an hour." They were all outside King's cross-station, and they could hear the train whistles blowing. Harry and Ron looked crushed, and Hermione said,

"When do you start school Ren?" Lauren looked at her,

"September first, why?"

Hermione grinned, "I sure do hope America uses owl post, and I daresay you'll be getting some mail." Lauren smiled at her then at Harry. "Oh will I?" She asked coyly.

Harry blushed and said- "Sure, I'd love to keep in touch, maybe you can come visit sometime."

Lauren looked elated; "Oh that would be so nice and I've always wanted to see the Great Hogwarts." Hermione looked over and Jessica, who looked a little more then dejected. Ron didn't look too happy either. "Hey Ron, if you ever wanted to, say, owl Jess, my parents know all about owl post as well as muggle post, if you owl them, they could send it along to Jessica the muggle way." Both Jessica and Ron brightened immensely at the prospect, and they both looked equally ready to hug Hermione.

"As for you Jared" She said "I'd definitely be keeping in touch; we lost too much time with all these secrets I kept." He smiled kindly and hugged her.

"That'll be great Mione." He said to her. "I'll be expecting a letter." Hermione smiled and hugged Jessica, Lauren, and Jared again in turn, and after an extended chorus of goodbyes, Lauren, Jared, and Jessica boarded the Train that would take them back to their homes.

~*~

Hermione was lying awake in the room she now shared with Harry and Ron. She could hear the soft snores coming from the room beside her, Fred, Ginny, and Georges room, but the sound of sleeping was absent in her own.

"Harry?" She asked the darkness. "Ron?" Hermione heard the rustling of the cots beside her.

"Yea Mione?" She heard Harry's voice. "Are you guys still awake?" She asked. She heard two yeses. "What did you think of my friends?" She asked innocently. She heard a sharp intake of breath in the dark, and heard Ron's voice first. "I always thought muggles were quite dumb." He admitted. "I really know they aren't, but I always thought that, 'if they didn't have magic, then they must not be that special' and I know its very wrong of me, especially since I'm best friends with the smartest girl in school.  We all knew came from a muggle back ground, but after we found out you were in fact, a pureblood, that just encased my thoughts about muggles. I just thought they where slightly less smart. But after talking to Jessica today…" His voice went misty. "After talking to her, a whole new picture has been painted in my mind. She is so much like me, in all the ways possible. She loves sports, and she isn't afraid to voice her opinion of things, and, of course, she has a terrible temper. I said she runs like a girl and now I'll have a bruise on my arm for at least a few hundred years. It actually resembles a hippogriff though." Hermione heard her redheaded friend sigh, and heard Harry start his thoughts.

"Laurens really great." He said. "She reminds me of you in so many ways, Mione, but at the same way, she doesn't. She talks like you, and is smart like you, but there's a part of her that I think she needs to be able to give away, like she's not completely able to be independent, and for some odd reason, I like that. You know how I am Hermione, I like being able to protect things, and Lauren acts like she needs protecting. Not in so many words, but yea. Like she expects a lot out of a guy, and the way she smiled at me, it was like I was it.

Hermione giggled. "You two are head over heels for my friends!" She exclaimed. Hermione could practically hear Ron and Harry blushing, and it made her even happier. "You really like them, don't you?" She asked. "I think so." Ron said, and Harry agreed. And until early morning, the three friends stayed up and talked about things Harry and Ron only thought girls talked about- love

If you're trying to turn me into something else
I've seen enough and I'm over that
I'm not nobody's fool