It All Started At a Lake

Chapter 2

Monday, September 2nd, 1998

Today was the first day of going back to school.

Hermione was usually excited to start school again, but this year she was dreading it. 

She was always known as the smart one at Hogwarts. Boys and Girls of all ages looked up to her and her brilliant mind. She always had perfect grades in all subjects.

She could only hope that she will be able to keep up with that reputation this year. 

Hermione groaned and rolled out of bed. Ginny and Padma were already in their red Gryffindor uniforms. 

She was not excited to put the uniform back on, but she sucked it up and quickly put it on.

She used a few glamour charms to make her bushy hair look more tame and to hide the bags under her eyes. 

Hermione grabbed her wand and walked out of her dorm room. People were just leaving the common room to get to the Great Hall.  

She sighed and mentally prepared herself for the day. As long as she stayed focus and studied enough, she should be able to get through this year. 

She walked down the hallways with Ginny. The red-head looked excited and she was showing off her Head Girl badge. 

Hermione smirked and remembered when she was Head Girl in sixth year. She was doing the exact same thing that Ginny was doing. 

She opened the door to the Great Hall and walked in. Students were piling in and walking to their house tables. Some people waved at her as she walked to the Gryffindor table.

She sat across from Harry and Ron. They smiled at her and poked at their eggs.

"Are you excited for your first day back?" asked Harry.

Hermione really wasn't. She shook her head and took a bite of her eggs. Harry and Ron gasped in a joking manner. 

"The smartest girl I know isn't excited for school. That's a first." joked Ron.

Hermione fought the urge to scoff and the two. She instead glared at the two boys across from her. They stopped laughing once they realized she wasn't joking.

"Wait, you're serious?" asked Harry

Hermione nodded and took another bite out of her toast. She angrily poked at her pancake and lifted the fork to her mouth. She needed something to let out all her emotions right now.

Just as she thought that--a familiar blonde walked into the room with his three Slytherin friends. He didn't have his head held high like normal, but he was smirking at anybody who glared at him the wrong way.

"He looks the same as always." scoffed Ron

Ron might have thought that he was alright, but Hermione noticed his skinny frame and the bags under his eyes. 

"Apparently, if he misbehaves he will end up in Azkaban with his father." said Harry

Ron smirked and took another bite of his egg. "We can only hope."

Hermione was outraged at the comment. Even though Malfoy wasn't the best person, he didn't deserve to be in Azkaban. He had saved them that night in Malfoy Manor, and he lowered his wand on Dumbledore. 

She hit Ron with her book and glared at him. "If you say one more bad thing about Malfoy, I will hex you senseless."

Ron stopped talking as he saw the dangerous glare in her brown eyes.