Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. However even though I have read a couple of stories similar to this one, I did come up with the concept all on my little lonesome, and have not outright copied anyone's text. If I wish to use someone's ideas I will acknowledge them. Thanks, and hope you enjoy "Summer with the Grangers"! ;-)
Chapter 1: Breakfast
"Rise and shine, Mr Malfoy, it's time to get up!!!" a voice said in an ironically cheerful voice.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!! STOP HITTING ME!!!" Draco Malfoy yelled to the arm that was slapping him across his face rather forcefully. He managed to wriggle free from the arm, which retracted quickly, and turned to face his alarm clock, the one his parents had got him after he had kept ceasing to wake up on time. He would curse the thing till the day he died, and his parents more so for buying it in the first place. The alarm clock looked like an ordinary Muggle alarm clock, from the analogue face to the shiny steel bells and handle at the top. Only when it activated, the face of the clock would become animated and speak. If that did not wake the slumbering person, the two bells would part and an arm would extend out to slap the offending person who dared sleep in.
Bloody hell, he thought. I'm so tired, let me go back to sleep!
He seemed to have a terrible habit of staying up to all hours to do homework, or even just to read, without thinking of what he'd be like in the morning. Each morning he vowed he would go to bed earlier, and each night he would stay up late again.
Luckily for Draco, it was Friday, and furthermore, it was the last week of classes before exams started. This meant that it was his last week of getting up at 6:30 for class for another year, because exams were usually held in the afternoons. He eventually dragged himself out of his warm and comfortable four-poster bed and went to have a shower and get ready for breakfast.
By the time he was ready, Crabbe and Goyle were surfacing from their beds.
"Oy, Crabbe, Goyle, make it quick, alright? Don't wanna be late for class do you?" he sneered.
"Whatever, Malfoy," Crabbe retorted.
"What?" Draco glared at Crabbe. "What did you say?"
"We'll get ready, Malfoy. Don't worry, we won't be late," Goyle replied for Crabbe.
Draco narrowed his eyes, for a second, and then said, "Good. Because I won't wait for you." He gave Crabbe another look and turned around and left the dormitory.
"You never do," Crabbe said to no-one in particular.
&&&&&&&&&&
Hermione Granger had been awake since 5:30 that morning, unable to get back to sleep. This wasn't a usual occurrence, but every now and then she'd find that she was unable to get back to the same comfortable slumber from which she had awoken. She usually wiled away the time until breakfast by catching up on reading or doing some revision. This morning was no different.
She sat at the large mahogany table in the Gryffindor common room with parchment in front of her, quill in hand and a few large books opened and spread around her.
I can't believe exams are next week, she thought to herself. I hope I'll be prepared for them.
If anyone had have heard her thoughts, they would have not only laughed rather hysterically, but given her hell for the rest of the day, and quite possibly all weekend. It was a known fact that Hermione was the smartest student in the year level, and was even cleverer than some seventh years.
She looked at her watch. 7:15am. She sighed quietly and was packing her things up when Harry and Ron surfaced from their dorms ready to head down to the Great Hall. Ron, who stood a good half foot taller than his scruffy-haired mate, was gawking with disbelief at the pile of books in her hands.
"What?" asked Hermione.
"You've read up on everything already Hermione," Ron answered. "What could you have possibly missed?"
"Exams start next week Ron, are you prepared? You can never do too much study, and besides, we are completing our N.E.W.T. levels next year, and I want to do well in them."
Ron rolled his eyes and looked to Harry. "Can you believe her?"
Harry hesitated. "As much as study isn't my favourite thing to do Ron, Hermione does have a point. I wouldn't mind getting good scores either because I need them to become an Auror."
Ron gave a small look of irritation at Harry, but said nothing. Rod had also wanted to become an Auror but didn't get an O for his Potions O.W.L. It had made a small void in their friendship, but wasn't apparent unless the topic arose in conversation. He had resigned to simply trying his best in his other subjects and deciding during his final year what he wanted to do after leaving Hogwarts.
"So," Harry broke the silence that was threatening to become awkward, "shall we go down to breakfast?"
"Yeah alright, but I've just got to go put my books back in my dorm," Hermione said. "Wait for me okay?"
She didn't wait for a response but hurried off to her room. She returned quickly and they made their way down to the Great Hall.
&&&&&&&&&&
During breakfast they didn't say much as all three were thinking about the upcoming exams. As much as Ron didn't wish to admit, he was quite worried about how he was going to go this year. Mrs Weasley had not been too pleased about his Average in Potions and wondered how he could have got it when Harry himself had got an Outstanding.
They had just got up from the table when they heard a familiar drawl behind them, "Got over your little infatuation with Granger yet Weasley?"
They all turned around to face a smirking Malfoy. Ron went as red as his hair. Hermione had politely given Ron the flick in the middle of the year claiming they were better off as friends. Ron still liked Hermione, but knew nothing more would happen. He looked as if he was about to attack Malfoy but Harry verbally beat him to it.
"What happened between you and Pansy, Malfoy?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Lately she seems to be hanging all over Goyle, and that's saying something."
Malfoy steely grey eyes flashed with malice, but he blushed ever so slightly. "What happened between Parkinson and I has nothing to do with you, Potter."
"Funny, the same could be said about your question to Ron. Now if you don't mind, we have classes to go to." And with that, Harry quickly led a shocked Hermione and an angry Ron away from a clearly fuming Malfoy back to Gryffindor tower.
Comments:
The whole "going to bed late, getting up even later" concept is one I'm sure many are familiar with, I happened to write this part at about 2am, so I thought it fitted quite well!
I will be chopping and changing between Hermione and Draco so I hope people don't get confused by this. When talking in Draco's perspective I will call him Draco (obviously) and Hermione I will call Granger (since that is what Draco would call her). For Hermione's perspective she will be called Hermione, and Draco will then be called Malfoy. Tell me if this is confusing, or if it sounds crap, but the idea was there...
Also, I haven't been able to read the books in a bit, so any minor details that I haven't got right, please tell me, cos anything that makes the storyline a bit more genuine means that it will be more enjoyable.
Lastly (this is the all-important first chapter after all), I may not be able to post chapters as readily as I would like, since this is a work in progress and I have my university exams in a week lasting three weeks. Please bear with me, though because I really wanna write this story.