Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

***

Chapter 1

She lied to everyone else when she said that she didn't care every time they unintentionally brushed her off and said, "Sorry, we'd love to chat but we were actually planning to play some quidditch," and then hesitantly adding, "But you can come watch us." She lied every time she responded, "No problem guys, I really don't mind. I have some stuff to do anyway." She lied each time she replied, "I'd be happy to help you with your homework." And she lied when she told her parents, "They're my best friends in the world. They know and love me as me."

But she couldn't lie to herself.

Because she did care when they forgot to include her in their plans, and she did mind that they left her all alone on a Saturday with nothing to do because she had already finished all her work. And she wasn't happy to help them, essentially completely doing, their homework because she felt that's all she ever did; that's all she will ever be- a detached tutor. She had somehow deluded herself into thinking they were close friends, but deep in her heart, she knew that they weren't. They couldn't love her as her, as she had told her parents, because they didn't know anything about her.

They didn't know her favorite color was purple, her favorite book was Pride and Prejudice, her favorite thing to eat was California roll with a little bit of mango and a boatload of avocado, and that her favorite thing to do was to sing and play the piano. She doubted that they even knew she could play the piano. They had never asked, so she never answered.

To them she was "Mione" the reliable friend whom they could always copy their homework off of, the girl who spent all hours at the library, and the student who always scored above the number of points possible. She wanted to be known as "Hermione"- she always did hate it whenever anyone called her "Mione" which is basically every time someone talked to her- a true Gryffindor.

It was actually quite ironic that the "brains" of the Golden Trio was still not considered a brave and loyal person despite the fact that she had spent the last six years by Harry Potter's side fighting Death Eaters and Voldemort. Sure she was nice, kind, and quite the champion for lesser creatures, but if someone was to ask a fellow classmate to describe Hermione Granger, the first words would not include adventurous, loyal, courageous, sacrificing, or even cool.

Despite all the blatant reasons explaining why Harry Potter and Ron Weasely were not her best friends, Hermione just ignored them and continued to lie.

* * *

"Harry, Ron, wait up!" Hermione yelled as she ran across the field adjacent to the Weasely house.

Harry and Ron turned their heads, motioned Hermione to move quicker, and returned to their brisk pace. Geez, you guys can't even wait for one minute, Hermione bitterly thought and reluctantly picked up her speed to a fast jog. As she approached the boys, they abruptly stopped and Hermione, unable to stop herself, crashed into them. "Ow, why'd you stop? This isn't where it's located," she asked confusedly.

"We know, we just forgot where to go from here," responded Ron. Oh of course, so now you stop, when you need me. That's nice to know. "We have to keep following the fence until it ends and then turn to the right. The portkey should be sitting on the fish-shaped rock. And in order to activate it-" Hermione was roughly cut off by Harry, "We know, we know, the blood thing." "Alright, I was just double-checking," Hermione explained.

The trio marched the rest of the way across the barren field in silence save for the occasional complaint about the length of the distance.

"Bloody hell, we've been walking for over an hour! Why couldn't we just apparate there or fly there?" complained Ron.

'Ron you know that we can't apparate there. It's too dangerous! What if we accidentally landed somewhere else or even worse, what if we got separated and ended up in a location other than the hideout? You know what Moody always says, "You MUST stay together!" Haven't you been reading the news Ron? People are being attacked left and right!' Hermione continued, "And we can't fly there because- well because I'm petrified of flying okay?"

Ron muttered incoherently under his breath before looking up and snapped, "Fine, but how much longer do we have to keep on walking? I'm starving and my feet hurt."

"We're here Ron. If you had just stopped complaining for like two seconds, you might have noticed that we've stopped walking," Hermione exasperated.

Harry, always the calm one, stepped in between the two feuding friends and quietly said, "Please stop arguing. We're going to be late soon and we still have to do this barbaric blood ritual. And stop looking at me like that Hermione; I know that it's a way for identification. I just don't like the idea of using blood even if it's to protect the Order. Seems a little savage like. Why couldn't we just have answered a bunch of test questions or something like that?"

Resigned, Hermione took her place around the fish-shaped rock, took out her wand and murmured a spell at her ring finger. Immediately, a lone drop of blood fell on the portkey, an inconspicuous brown feather. The trio would not have been able pick out what the portkey was had they not been told beforehand of what it was. Harry and Ron followed Hermione's example. The blood drops were instantly absorbed and immediately after, the dull feather morphed into a magnificent ruby red phoenix feather. The three quickly held onto the portkey and a familiar force instantaneously yanked on their navels, transporting them to an unknown location.

The smell of steamy pumpkin soup and broiled steak inundated the three's senses before their feet were firmly planted on the ground. Hermione found herself situated in the middle of a very homey kitchen. Pale sunlight was streaming in through the generous skylights, a warm current of air ruffled Hermione's hair as Molly Weasley stepped into the kitchen with a basket of green herbs hanging from her tan skin.

"Oh good! You three are right on time! I hope the walk wasn't too long for you. I told Alastor that flying was a better way to go but he was dead set on walking. Anyway, I was just preparing dinner. There's some leftover pumpkin soup and a little bit of Shepherd's pie left if you'd like."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley, but where's everyone else? I thought this was a rather urgent meeting. And by the way, where are we?" asked Harry.

"Well everyone else should have come a few minutes ago. You three were the first. Honestly, doesn't anyone know the importance of punctuality these days? Harry dear, and Hermione of course, you should really eat something. The two of you are as thin as sticks! What have you been eating this summer?" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley as she set three bowls of steaming pumpkin soup in front of the group.

"I'm not hungry Mrs. Weasley. I had a light snack on the way here. But I'm really curious too, where exactly are we?" questioned Hermione.

"I almost forgot! A few months ago, the Order found this dilapidated and abandoned home. We're actually in a quaint little Muggle neighborhood. But for obvious reasons, we've set wards around the house so that Muggles can't see us or the improvements we've set. They're rather like the wards surrounding Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley happily described.

"That is so clever!" Hermione said. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters would never try and find us here, in a Muggle neighborhood. Mrs. Weasley, do you mind if we go outside and explore for a bit?"

"Of course not, but just eat first. You look like you've been starving yourself! Actually, I forgot, Charlie, Bill, Ginny, Percy, Fred, and George have already come. They've been here for the whole day actually. I can't believe I forgot. They're playing quidditch in the backyard. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean up the dining room. They're like pigs."

Upon hearing Ginny and quidditch mentioned, Harry and Ron, who had kept quiet during the entire exchange, suddenly began inhaling the soup, hoping to just finish the whole thing in one gulp.

"Ugh, for goodness sake boys, at least try to eat like human beings," Hermione said disgustedly.

Either they ignored her, or just couldn't hear her over the loud slurping noises emitted from their mouths, but Harry and Ron did not respond. They were gone two minutes later leaving the clattering of their spoon against the empty bowls echo across the kitchen. Well, those two were certainly in a hurry to leave. Couldn't have hurt to ask me you know, Hermione thought.

With a sigh, Hermione polished off the rest of the delicious soup and pulled back from the table. She gathered Harry's, Ron's, and her bowls and placed them in the sink. She stared around her for a moment before noticing the door that Mrs. Weasley had exited from.

Hermione hesitantly walked through the dark and gloomy hallways, lightly skimming her fingers on the cracked paint. After fully exploring the house for over an hour, she made her way down to the porch. It really was a beautiful day. The sun was beginning to set leaving golden pink streaks across the sky.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw a Muggle family carrying bags and bags of food into the car. There was a little girl with bright blonde ringlets and a slightly older boy with messy brown hair tightly holding hands. "See Emily, there's no monsters out here. Nothing's going to hurt you." "But Dustin, the book said witches and ugly monsters come out at dark. I'm scared." "Ems, there's no such thing as witches and monsters. I promise that no thing will hurt you. I'll protect you. And if I'm not there, remember, all you have to do is demand that they leave you alone. And they will. "

Oh how Hermione wished things were that simple. She wanted this war to end, she wanted the murders to stop, she wanted families reunited, she wanted to see her parents again with their memories completely restored, she wanted a lot of things, but unfortunately, Fate was a fickle player.

"Hermione! Where have you been? I've been searching for you. Dinner's starting soon," Ron said as he stepped through the door and onto the porch.

Hermione instantly snapped out of her reverie and replied, "Oh, I'll be there in a few seconds. Save me a seat." Then she turned her back on him.

She heard him shuffling back into the house. With one last nostalgic glance at the Muggle family, Hermione turned around and entered the house.

She was met with utter chaos once she arrived at the kitchen. Flashes of red hair whipped past her, Percy and Charlie were arguing about the Ministry's actions so far, and other Order members began appearing out of thin air. She walked over to Harry, Ron, and Ginny who were actively discussing the Chudley Cannons' probability of winning this season.

"MIONE!" Ginny squealed as she engulfed Hermione in a bone crushing hug. "I haven't seen you all summer! I was supposed to meet you today with Ron and Harry but Mum refused. How've you been? OMG your hair! It's-it's not bushy anymore! What have you done with Hermione Granger the bookworm? You look absolutely gorgeous!"

It was true that Hermione didn't look as dull as she had looked before; she grew into her figure and tamed her hair so that it no longer resembled a wasp's nest. But she wouldn't go so far as describing herself as "absolutely gorgeous," she was decent looking though.

"Nuh uh Ginny, you're the one who's beautiful! You look so pretty! And Ron's a prat, as usual." Hermione playfully glared down at Ron who feigned a wounded look. Laughing, Hermione and Ginny sat down across from one another at the dinner table and began discussing their summers.

Dinner was a loud and festive occasion. The adults, including Remus Lupin, his wife, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Minerva McGonagall, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Alastor Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt, chatted about the Ministry's failure to quell Death Eater activity and Fudge's incompetence.

Dinner ended too quickly and the Order soon got down to business once the dishes were cleared away.

"You're probably wondering why I called an urgent meeting," started Moody. "A Horcrux has been destroyed. However, I can't tell you who, this person has requested his anonymity. Now before you all start objecting, let me assure that I wholly trust this person because I've administered several Veritaserum tests. Several other Order members know who but we cannot reveal who he or she is. It's much too dangerous for his survival." Moody pulled out the battered and deformed tiara- the last remnant of Rowena Ravenclaw.

The table stared in deafening silence. When Harry cleared his throat, everyone's heads snapped to look at him. "I am slightly suspicious of this whole matter, even if this person passed your tests, and we know how difficult they are. But if you say that we can trust him or her, then I'll trust you. But that still leaves another Horcrux missing. Hermione, Ron, and I are still planning on searching for the missing Horcrux. We're not going to Hogwarts this year."

"Ahh, that's where you're wrong Harry my boy. My informant, who is also the person who destroyed the Horcrux, told us what the last Horcrux is: Nagini. The snake is always by Voldemort's side, so it's too dangerous to destroy it until the final battle. Therefore the three of you will be able to return to school until then."

"But if that's true, why can't we go attack now! We have the element of surprise, they'll never know we're coming, and we can finally just get this over and done with," Bill yelled as he pounded his fists into the table.

"We can't!" Sirius and Lupin exclaimed at the same time. "We need time to build up our army. Right now the number of Death Eaters far outnumbers the amount of Aurors combined with Order members. With Voldemort out in the open, people are becoming scared. They'll do anything to protect themselves even if it means allying with the wrong side. Voldemort seems to be the winning side. Once he takes over the Ministry and Hogwarts, the war's a lost cause," Lupin explained.

"Then we will stop him before that happens. That's why we have to attack NOW and FORCEFULLY! The longer we prolong the final battle, the stronger Voldemort will get!"

"We do not have enough people! We cannot defeat him right now!"

"But we do, we can gather Ministry officials and we can defeat him!"

"No we can't!"

"But we MUST!"

The arguments volleyed back and forth between each member. Only Harry and Hermione remained calm during the heated exchange. Finally Harry cracked.

"Oi! Since I'm the one who actually has to kill the slimy bastard, can I at least choose the time said event will occur?" Harry yelled. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I was hoping to mentally prepare myself for the final battle while searching for the last of the Horcruxes, but since that's already been done, I kind of don't have that time anymore. So I agree with Professor Moody, there is no way we'd be able to fight off all of Voldemort's Death Eaters. We need to build up our army and I'll work on myself. It would be a horrible waste of time and people if the final battle comes too soon and I don't have enough strength to kill the evil incarnate."

Once again, silence descended on the Order members. Everyone turned Harry's idea over in their minds and gradually they all verbally agreed to postpone the date of attack.

"Excellent!" Professor McGonagall clapped. "Then in that case, as Headmistress of Hogwarts, I am pleased to announce that the new Headgirl is none other than our very own Hermione Granger!"

Everyone started applauding; Harry and Ron took turns hugging Hermione. Hermione tearfully accepted the highly coveted Headgirl badge from Professor McGonagall's extended hand. She looked at it proudly, happy that she'll be able to attend Hogwarts for the final year.

"Who's Headboy?" At this question, the trio turned to their Professor's face expectantly.

"Draco Malfoy," she replied shortly.

"I figured. He does have the second best grades in our year," Hermione admitted dejectedly.

Harry and Ron, not pleased with the latest development, frowned. But there was nothing they could do.

That night, the trio bid each other goodnight as they parted ways to their respective bedrooms. Each hoped that the new year would bring better changes and an end to a violent monster.

Hii!! This is my first fanfiction! Please review!!

XOXO

abski