Chapter 1

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Granger
We are pleased to inform you that you have been appointed Head Girl this
year. Congratulations!
The new book list is provided on the accompanying parchment.
Term begins on 1 September. Instructions of your duties as Head Girl will be
issued upon your arrival at Hogwarts.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Hermione read the letter over again and smiled to herself. This was it. She was finally Head Girl. It hadn't come as too much of a surprise, she had always known that she would be Head Girl. It was what she had been striving for, for the past six years. And in the end, she always reached her goals.

Hermione laid her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. The movement of the wheels on the track created soothing vibrations which lulled her to sleep. She wondered who the new Head Boy was. Maybe it would be Ron or Harry. She hadn't seen either of them all summer and she hadn't been able to locate them in the crowded platform either.

Just as she was about to give in to sleep, she heard the compartment door being pushed open and heard a loud voice say, "Hey Ron, here she is! Come on!"
She opened her eyes to see a tall, well-built boy…no, man, looking down at her, his emerald green sparkling under his round spectacles.

"Hi Harry! How was your summer?" she asked him, smiling, as she got up to hug him.

"Not bad, at least I didn't have to stay with the Dursleys for more than a week. I spent most of the summer at the Burrow," he replied, lifting her off her feet as he hugged her. "Are you getting shorter every year?" he asked, jokingly.

Hermione hit him lightly on the shoulder and turned to greet Ron, who had grown a few more inches and had developed more manly features.

"Wow…you guys must be taking some Stretching Potion!" Hermione exclaimed, as she was lifted off her feet for the second time. As she was put down, she stepped back and examined them critically.

"Hmm, you guys have really grown, haven't you?" she concluded smiling. "And I don't mean only your height!"

For some reason, this set Ron blushing, something which Hermione tactfully chose to ignore.

Once they were all settled inside the compartment, she turned to her best friends and asked, "So, are either of you Head Boy?"

They both shook their heads.

"I wonder who it is…" she mused out loud.

"Maybe it's that guy from Ravenclaw…uh…Andrew Jennings," Harry suggested.

"Yeah, or Sean Averall from Hufflepuff," Ron piped in.

"Or Vincent Crabbe from Slytherin!"

The three of them broke out into laughter at the immensely stupid suggestion.

"Hey! That's not funny!" Ron broke in. "It could be him…or Gregory Goyle!"

This brought about a relapse of laughter. Finally, Hermione wiped away the stray tear at her eye and said, "Just as long as it's not-"

Before she could finish her sentence, they heard a familiar voice outside.

"Hey! You! Yeah, you, you filthy midget! Why aren't you in your robes yet?"

"Umm…I thought–"

"I don't care what you thought! I'm Head Boy, see, so YOU should be caring about what I think! And I think you should put you robes on before I make you!"

Hermione closed her eyes and prayed really hard it wasn't who she thought it was. Her prayers weren't answered. A second later, the compartment door flew open and a deep voice said, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Golden Trio. Potty, Weasel and Mudblood Granger."

Hermione finished her sentence silently. "Malfoy."