“Should we go in?” asked Ron.
“I don’t know. Its midnight and we’re trying to get into a supposed stranger’s house. What do you think?” Harry answered.
“Well, where are we supposed to stay? Dumbledore didn’t tell us that bit.”
“I guess we could stay in their house for tonight, but we NEED to stay under the cloak. If we don’t, we’ll end up in prison before we even see Hermione.”
“Alright. We can use Alohomora to get in. Then, we’ll figure out the rest once we get inside.”
Harry and Ron approached the house of Hermione Granger. After unlocking the door and entering the household, Harry and Ron realized that they have never seen Hermione’s house before. They always went to the burrow. Ron scoped the living room for the “vicious” Crookshanks, but she wasn’t there. After a while, Ron realized that Hermione bought Crookshanks in Diagon Alley. Now that she wasn’t a witch, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do so. The boys went upstairs, as quietly as possible, and saw Hermione’s room.
“I don’t think we should go in,” Harry told Ron. “I don’t want to creep in Hermione’s room…”
“Good idea,” Ron added. “Plus, she doesn’t know who we are…so, yeah.”
Harry and Ron found an empty den a couple doors down. They decided to sleep there for the night.
***
In the morning, Harry and Ron woke to the sound of Hermione’s alarm clock blaring. They decided to get ready for Ron’s first official day of Muggle School. Hermione took about 45 minutes to get ready. Hermione’s hair was straight. Harry and Ron guessed that was why she took such a long time in the bathroom. She was wearing Muggle clothing. In Harry and Ron’s perspective, it was weird to see Hermione dressed up for school without wearing her giant, black Gryffindor cloak.
Pretty soon, Hermione was out the door. Apparently, she could drive. She had car keys in her hand; a bright shiny car was sitting in the driveway. Harry and Ron wouldn’t have enough time to get into the car without Hermione noticing. They were basically screwed. Luckily, they were saved by Mrs. Granger. “Hermione, you forgot your uniform!” Hermione ran to get it. Harry and Ron snuck into the car with surprisingly good grace. They still had to wear the invisibility cloak.
Hermione pulled into Center High School. Harry and Ron were so confused. Everything was out of order. It was utter chaos. Upper-class guys were beating each other up. Girls were putting make-up on. Freshmen were walking along the grounds keeping to themselves. Harry and Ron walked to an empty alley in between two buildings. There, Ron became visible and gathered his muggle supplies. He spotted Hermione talking to a group of girls: a large group of girls. They were acting as though Hermione was the Queen or something. Then it hit Ron: Hermione was actually popular. At Hogwarts, Hermione was “the mudblood bookworm.” Here, she was just like everyone else.
An older looking boy snuck up behind Hermione and hugged her. She turned around and noticed the boy. They started kissing, no, not kissing, snogging! This is going to be harder than I thought. Ron thought to himself. Oh, and I’m going to kill him.
“Hermione, I missed you,” the mystery boy finally said.
“I know! I missed you too, Greg. Are you feeling better?” Hermione asked Greg.
“Yeah. I feel much better, thanks,” Greg said, “Hey, look, fresh meat.” Greg bore his eyes through Ron’s. “Watch this.”
Ron was walking toward the front doors of the school. Snow was falling. Greg winked at Hermione, and then tripped Ron as he was walking towards the front doors. Greg’s posse laughed. Even some of Hermione’s friends were laughing. Ron was downright humiliated, in front of Hermione too!
The group of kids walked inside laughing maniacally. Ron was lying in the snow, and then he realized that he needed to get up. He started picking up his papers and books. Suddenly, a pair of gray boots appeared before him. Ron slowly looked up. It was Hermione.
“I’m sorry about him,” Hermione told Ron. She bent down to help him pick up his belongings. Sure, Hermione didn’t know Ron, but this was still Hermione. She was still a warm-hearted person.
“It’s okay,” Ron choked on his words. Either the cold was biting at his cheeks, or he was blushing.
“Are you new here?” Hermione asked.
“Yeah, um, I’m Ron Weasley.”
“I’m Hermione Granger.”
“Hermione? Like from Greek mythology?”
“Hermione was from Greek mythology?”
“Yeah, she was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen. Helen was the cause of the Trojan War; she was too beautiful. I’m guessing that Hermione was very beautiful as well.” Ron was trying his hardest to impress her.
“I’m flattered,” Hermione laughed.
“Um, I’m sorry to bother you, but could you help me find my classes?”
“Sure.” Ron passed Hermione his schedule. “That’s a big coincidence. You have every single class with me! That’s really lucky actually, because then, I can get you to all of your classes.” Hermione gave a reassuring smile.
“Thanks.” Ron smiled back. He was getting on a pretty good start.
“Come on Ron Weasley. Welcome to Center High School.”
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