Hermione rose bright and early that morning. She whipped up a cup of tea, grabbed the morning's copy of the daily prophet, and munched on some toast. Rita Skeeter was back at her old antics. Not even the rise of a powerful dark wizard could put a damper on that woman's lust for gossip. Hermione devoured a second piece of toast and the rest of an article that had caught her interest before making her way back up to her room and passing a groggy Mrs. Weasley on the stairs.
"Good morning," Hermione beamed pleasantly. Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly and gave what Hermione took as a good morning grunt. She rushed into her room and opened her trunk to recheck her packing list for the fourth time. Everything was as it should be. Lying back on her bed, she read over her Hogwarts letter, textbooks list, and the enclosed letter detailing her duties as head girl for the sixth time in the past few days.
She was ecstatic to return to Hogwarts. Of course, hunting Horcruxes with Harry had been the most important thing for her to do last year, but she missed learning. She missed classes and friends and being a part of the Gryffindor family.
She was disappointed when Ron and Harry had opted to take auror positions at the ministry, insisting initially that they should finish their education. It didn't take her long to realize that it made little sense for the boys to return. They wouldn't learn anything particularly useful from a couple more potions classes or so-called Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons that they hadn't already learned from their real-world experience. The aurors office gained two skilled wizards when her friends joined, but that wasn't going to stop her from going back to school. She would miss them, but nothing would get in the way of Hermione Granger and education.
The boys were currently living at Grimmauld Place or, as she preferred to call it now, their new-found bachelor pad. It gave the pair easier access to the ministry while attending auror training and a space to call their own. Following Voldemort's defeat, Mrs. Weasley had invited both Hermione and Harry to come live with their family for a while, given that neither of them really had any family to speak of, but unlike herself, Harry had politely declined the woman's offer. He had later confided in Hermione that he didn't want to burden anyone with the care of him any longer.
Though she had wanted to tell him that Kreacher would be doing exactly that sort of thing, she had managed to hold her tongue, knowing that Harry would not have taken kindly to the suggestion as most people seemed to do when she vocalized her support of elves.
Ron though had been especially eager to move out of the crowded house he had lived in for so many years. He had packed half his room before Mrs. Weasley found out he had even given any thought to moving at all. She had scolded, cried on, and hugged him for nearly an hour straight before leaving the room, still sniffling, only because the food she had cooking downstairs was threatening to burn. A similar scene presented itself later on the day Ron actually left.
Yesterday, however, the boys had come to stay the night at the Burrow. They had insisted on seeing Hermione and Ginny off to their sixth and seventh years of school respectively and had managed to secure a spot of time off from auror training to come visit.
Hermione had just finished stowing her schoolbooks away in her trunk when she heard the telltale sounds of the Burrow coming to life. Voices and the sound of clinking silverware carried their way upstairs along with the mouthwatering smell of cooking bacon. She grabbed her wand off the bedside table, tossed her papers back into her trunk, and grabbed hold of it, dragging it behind her.
The room downstairs was alive with talk and laughter. Mr. Weasley had on a jolly expression as Ron told what Hermione could only assume was a funny office story. She caught bits and pieces like the words "George" and "Wheezes" and knew immediately she wasn't likely to find the anecdote nearly so humorous.
With all of her belongings safely downstairs, she took a seat beside Ron. She helped herself to some bacon and a few roasted tomatoes to supplement the two pieces of toast she'd had earlier. To her left, Harry and Ginny were conversing about quidditch.
Ginny would have a lot on her plate this year. She had received a prefect's badge and instructions along with her Hogwarts letter in late July. But she was also the newest Gyriffindor team captain. Hermione tuned in to catch the last bit of Harry's comment.
"…I suppose. I'm sure you'll find a decent seeker capable of getting the job done." She could tell he was disappointed not to be returning to the quidditch team, but knew that he was also quite content at the auror's office.
"I hope so," said Ginny as she stuffed another whole sausage in her mouth. Ginny was one of the most athletic girls Hermione knew, hands down. But the girl had a bottomless pit for a stomach with which she fueled her energy- not so different from another Weasley she knew. Indeed, when she glanced to her right, the boy in mention was in the process of inhaling a whole pancake and chugging a glass of pumpkin juice. She rolled her eyes but cracked a smile.
"Oh good heavens, would you look at the time!" squawked Mrs. Weasley. "We're going to be late!" Hermione glanced at the Weasley's new and more conventional clock. 10:43. She took a last bite of her bacon and joined the mass of shuffling as everyone around the table dashed away to prepare their things. This year, they were taking advantage of the fact that it was the first year in which everyone boarding the train to Hogwarts was capable of apparition, and though apparition was nearly instantaneous, the Hogwarts Express left at 11 o'clock sharp and they still had to get into the station once they arrived in London.
Ginny probably set a world record retrieving her things. She had dashed up the stairs and come crashing back down with her trunk thumping its way down the stairs behind her quicker than Hermione could have said "Ginevra." Ron stuffed another pancake in his mouth for good measure while Mr. Weasley called "Has anyone seen my work jacket?" He turned to find Mrs. Weasley holding it out behind him. Hermione remembered her head girl badge in her pocket and pinned it above her heart. She saw Ginny follow likewise with her own prefect's badge. Soon, they had all gathered in front of the stairs.
"Everyone got their things?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Hermione looked over to the place where she had grabbed her trunk and noted that she hadn't left anything behind. "Yes? Alright… here we go."
Mr. Weasley began the count down. "5…4…3…2…1…" everyone grabbed the hands of the persons next to them and soon she felt the twisting sensation of apparation pull in against her gut. No sooner had her feet left the floor of the Weasley's living room than they touched down on the concrete of a quiet alley near King's Cross.
The group made its way hurriedly into the station. Hermione glanced at a clock when they stepped through the wall and out onto platform 9 3/4. 10:55. They were cutting it close this year.
She said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, thanking them for their hospitality and generosity for allowing her to stay with them and gave Harry and Ron farewell hugs. Ron clutched her firmly, resting his chin atop her head. He sighed as they were forced to let go, looking at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes. She caught his hand.
"I'll see you soon," she said with a smile. "I promise." He smiled back. Their hands dropped and she and Ginny climbed onto the train. She waved out the nearest window as the train gave an initial lurch and began to crawl away from the station.
Fortunately, the two girls had boarded the train in the car just behind the prefects' carriage and, with a low amount of difficulty, managed to squeeze past their fellow students and into the more roomy second carriage of the train. They were greeted with several happy cries when they entered. Of the many familiar faces smiling back at them, notable were those of Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, Hannah Abbot, Anthony Goldstein, and Ernie Macmillan. Hermione also recognized Daphne Greengrass and her sister Astoria sitting quietly towards the back of the carriage with two other students she was not as familiar with.
But before Hermione could take stock of the new prefects, she was pushed forwards as the door bumped into her from behind. Luckily, she managed to catch herself against the wall on her way down. Upon regaining her footing, she turned about to see who had just come through the door when her gaze fell on a pair of striking grey eyes.
A/N Please review! I'd love to know what you're thinking. I posted four chapters in a row because I didn't want one big mega chapter, but all four of these form the basis for leading into our story.