(A/N): This is my first fan fic. (Go me, go me, it's your birthday!) I hope you like it! I have high hopes for this fic and I will try to update as often as I can!

Disclaimer: (I'd forgotten this before, but now I'm fixing it!) As much as I loathe to admit it, Harry Potter and Co. Do not belong to me... Hey, I'm not even a British citizen!

(EDIT): 3/19/06—Thanks to my lovely beta, Audry, who is now helping me fix up the story! Any mistakes are a result of my own fiddling after she sent back the chapter. Keep in mind this story was written before HBP so a lot of things are not HBP-compliant. In later chapters, I may incorporate a few, not major things from the sixth book.

Descriptions and Mysteries:

Hermione Granger sat at a quaint café in the middle of a busy plaza in London. She and her friends conversed at a small round table talking about everything that had been going on in the world. Well, almost everything.

Hermione listened to her friend Jessica describe a boy she had a crush on. Since Hermione went to a boarding school, she didn't know the same people Jessica and Adrian knew. Not that she would have given up her…magical experiences at her school just to know who the hottest guy at London Central High School was. What her friends didn't know about Hermione was that she did have magical experiences; she was magical herself. She was a witch, in fact, just like all the students— and most of the staff—at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every year when Hermione went away to school, she went to Hogwarts to memorize spells and learn how to brew potions. At the end of summer break, she would be in her seventh and last year of school. This part of Hermione's world was a complete secret to Jessica, Adrian, and all of the people in the entire world who were not magically capable. These people were called Muggles by the wizarding world.

"…eyes like chocolate and a military buzz cut. God, he makes me ache in all the right places..." The two girls laughed at Jessica's remark. She didn't take offense, in fact, she laughed with Hermione and Adrian.

"God, Jessica, you can be so perverted sometimes!" Hermione choked out through her laughter.

"You should see him! You'd want him too, you know, but you can't have him. He's mine!"

Still laughing Hermione replied, "Right, like any guy would want me!"

Adrian had stopped laughing and looked at Hermione critically. "You know, you are always putting yourself down and it's not healthy."

"Yeah, you look gorgeous, but you don't see the way guys drool over you! When you go back to your school, everyone is going to be speechless!" Jessica flung her arms out beside her to emphasize her meaning.

I have changed a lot this summer... Hermione thought to herself. Her hair used to be a big bushy puff of fluff, but her mom had bought her new hair care products to make it sleek and wavy. Even though her dad didn't like to see his baby girl wearing makeup, she wore just the right amount to spruce up her face but not too much that her father would totally object. She'd had a figure for a good part of sixth year and as soon as her best Muggle friends had seen her, they knew she needed a new wardrobe. Hermione tried on clothes and let her friends buy her outfits but she still felt self conscious in them. She thanked every god listening that her school uniform was a big, billowing, black robe that could cover her up at school.

Hermione gave a small, almost satisfied, grin to her friends. "I have changed a lot. I can't wait to see their faces at school!"

"Yesterday, Hermione told me she has a crush on someone..." Adrian was so polite as to inform Jessica. Hermione slapped her arm playfully with a shocked expression on her face.

"Ooh...! What does he look like?"

"I am so glad my best friends at school are boys, I would have never told them who I liked," she gave a slightly mean glare to the girl sitting on her right. "And I wouldn't call it a crush, I just think he's...pleasing to the eyes." Jessica and Adrian giggled at this but Hermione didn't. Her expression sobered immediately as she began to talk, her tone serious. "His name is Draco Malfoy and he is the biggest git on the face of the Earth."

Her two best friends stopped giggling and looked at her seriously. "But I thought you..."

"Yes, he is extremely good looking but he always plays tricks on Harry, Ron and me, calls us names, makes fun of our families... He's arrogant, conceited, and thinks he is superior to everyone just because his father had a high position in the government. That only means that he flung money around to bribe people to do what he wanted. Thank god that man is dead now. I hate Malfoy more than any one else at school." From this pronouncement, Hermione had a look of disgust and anger on her face.

"But for right now, I am just going to forget that he's a humongous prat."

Adrian and Jessica nodded with bewildered looks on their faces. "Draco Malfoy has hair that is so blond you would think it was platinum silver. He always has it slicked back, which gives him an almost greasy look. His mouth is almost always positioned in a sneer or a smirk. He was a little bit taller than me, about an inch or two, last I saw him, and he looks pale and thin. He has the most remarkable eyes I have ever seen, though. They're grey, but so light they almost look white. Even though he doesn't show any emotion, even though his eyes are so cold, they send shivers up my spine. It's almost like Malfoy has a secret, or like he's an enigma, and I would do anything to figure him out." Hermione was so absorbed in picturing the boy that she actually shivered despite the warmth of the hot day. "He may not sound sexy, but believe me, he's probably had half the girls at school. He's a sex god, I tell you."

Jessica laughed, bringing Hermione out of her reverie. She stared at her friend and soon all three girls were laughing.

"You're right, he doesn't sound sexy! He sounds like a dork!" This got the three friends laughing harder than ever.

The next morning, as Hermione lay sleeping in bed, she heard a tap, tap, tap at her window. She groaned and pulled her comforter over her head, trying to ignore the incessant tapping.

"Hermione, when an owl is at the window, please let it in. Your father and I are trying to sleep," Mrs. Granger said as she walked into Hermione's room, yawning. At first, the owls flying in and out of the house, carrying mail, had frightened and annoyed Hermione's parents. They understood that in the wizarding world, people sent letters using owls as carriers. How so many owls had been tamed to carry mail—in the light of day too—was beyond the Grangers, but it went on nevertheless.

Mrs. Granger walked over to the window and opened it, letting the frustrated owl into the room. The tawny creature landed on Hermione's dresser and ruffled its feathers, waiting for the letter to be removed from its leg. As soon as the owl was freed from its tie, it took off without so much as a snack or a look back. Mrs. Granger laid her daughter's mail on the lump in the bed and shuffled out the same way she came in—yawning.

Again, Hermione groaned and threw the covers off of her. She looked at her clock; 5:30 A.M. Sitting up, she grabbed the letter in her hand and immediately recognized the purple stamp that was the Hogwarts crest. Proudly, she looked at the capital letter H, surrounded by a badger, a snake, a raven, and a lion. These animals symbolized the four houses at the school; Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor—the house she had been sorted into.

Every year, Hogwarts sent a letter to all of the students attending, reminding them that the Hogwarts Express leaves for school at eleven-o-clock on September 1st and also included the list of supplies each student would need for the year. Hermione knew this was one of those letters but she noticed that it was a bit heavier and bulkier. The last time she had gotten a bulky letter, she had received news that she was a Prefect for her fifth and sixth year. She ripped open the letter in anticipation, hoping that what she thought was in the letter was. Almost ripping the thick parchment as she unfolded it, she read:

Dear Ms. Granger,

It is my pleasure to announce that you have been selected as this year's Head Girl. I am sure that you are as delighted by the news as the entire staff is. ("Yeah right," she thought, thinking of the potions master, Professor Snape; who had despised Hermione, Harry, and Ron since their first year.) The faculty, not to mention the student body, expects you will fill the position as well as you possibly can. I will leave you to contemplate who the Head Boy could be and have exciting news for the both of you when term starts.

Hope you have an excellent end of summer,

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Attached to this cover letter was the expected supply list. As Hermione squealed in delight at being named Head Girl, a badge fell from the folds of the letter. The badge was gold, although Hermione wasn't sure if it was made of real gold, shield-like in shape, and the size of her palm. Engraved in the smooth surface was:

Hermione Granger

Head Girl

Lastly, a large scarlet and gold colored ribbon hung down from the bottom of the badge. Hermione screamed as she pinned it to her pajamas.

"Hermione! What's wrong?" Mr. Granger cried out in alarm, running into his daughter's bedroom with Mrs. Granger right behind him.

"I'm Head Girl! I'm Head Girl! Can you believe it?" Hermione's parents beamed at their daughter, too proud of her to care that she had scared the living daylights out of them.

"That's wonderful, sweetie! This calls for a celebration dinner tonight!" Hermione smiled. She hurried out of bed to write a letter to Harry and Ron. Pulling out a clean sheet of parchment from her school trunk, she wrote:

Harry, Ron! (She knew Harry would be spending his summer with the Weasleys.)

I'm Head Girl! Hermione

She knew it was short, but she would talk to them when they met at Diagon Alley in about two weeks. Using a leather thong, Hermione tied her note to the leg of the owl she had gotten as a gift from Ron while they had been dating in the sixth year. He had said that he wanted her to feel that they could write whenever she needed to, instead of waiting until Ron or Harry wrote first. It was a very generous thing to do as Ron's family was...well...poor and owls could be expensive. She named it Pantalaimon, after a character in her favorite Muggle book. After releasing the owl from her window, she went downstairs to see what was being made for breakfast. Her mother made her favorite foods for her and planned where they would go for their celebration later that night. Hermione couldn't wait to spend this time with her parents. Since starting school at Hogwarts, she spent less time with them even on the holidays. Usually she spent most of her Christmas or summer vacation with the Weasleys or at school.

Just as Hermione was cleaning her plate, Pan flew into the kitchen through the window. Giving the owl a piece of bacon, she read:

Our Dearest Hermione,

Congratulations! We knew you would be Head Girl this year! You definitely deserve it. Do you know who the Head Boy is? Send a reply with a good date to meet in Diagon Alley.

Harry and Ron

Hermione reread the letter twice. Harry wasn't Head Boy? She was sure he would have been since Professor Dumbledore hadn't picked him for Prefect in fifth or sixth year. Harry was a fine student (not that Ron wasn't), and Dumbledore seemed to favor him sometimes; this had seemed to lick the envelope and send it too—so to speak—for Hermione. She grabbed a pen since it was closest to her, and replied on a napkin:

H and R,

Are you saying that neither of you are Head Boy? I was sure it would be one of you... I guess we will see on the Hogwarts Express. Does August 29th sound okay to you guys?

Hermione

In the next ten minutes, Hermione finished washing the dishes and Pan was sent back with a reply. August 29th, at eleven-o-clock, she would meet Harry and Ron at the Leaky Cauldron. It seemed like whoever the Head Boy was would remain a mystery for two more weeks...

At about the same time, miles away, Draco Malfoy was receiving his letter from Hogwarts. He read a similar letter to Hermione's without much surprise:

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

It is my pleasure to announce that you have been selected as this year's Head Boy. I am sure that you are as delighted by the news as the entire staff is. The faculty, not to mention the student body, expects you will fill the position as well as you possibly can. I will leave you to contemplate who the Head Girl could be and have exciting news for the both of you when term starts.

Hope you have an excellent end of summer,

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Exciting news? Dumbledore was well known as the greatest wizard that ever lived and the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of, but sometimes Draco doubted his sanity. Sure, he hated the man as much as he hated Harry Potter, but he had to say that Dumbledore was a fraud and an old loon—an over-rated old loon. It was just like him to leave out bits of information just to entertain himself with face-to-face interaction.

As for "contemplating who the Head Girl could be", Draco was almost positive that it was the Mudblood, Granger. She was the brightest in the year, as much as he hated to admit it, with himself in second. He hated Granger for being on top. His father had nagged him all the time about how he couldn't be beat by a girl, especially a Mudblood. In most purebloods' eyes, people who had Muggles for parents, or in their lineage at all, were considered beneath people who were known as pureblooded. Lucius Malfoy had been pureblooded, Voldemort's right hand man, and extremely wealthy. This made the Malfoy's the most powerful family in all of Britain—if not Europe. Since Harry Potter had killed Lucius and Voldemort, Draco Malfoy was now the most powerful person in Europe.

So as to being named Head Boy, Draco was not in the least surprised. His family expected no less of him. His name expected no less of him. Now all he could do was count down the days until the term started, and he could see the look on Granger's face when she found out he was Head Boy.