Hermione Granger and the Time of her Life

Hermione Granger and the time of her life

Chapter 1: Happy Birthday

"Ringgg!" The alarm clock rang furiously, informing Hermione that, not only was it 6:00 a/m, but it was also her birthday. She jumped out of bed, exhausted and excited at the same time, for yesterday she had arrived home from Russia. . Her parents had decided to give her a trip for her birthday gift and she spent all the month of July in Russia, buying books for a bit of light reading, and learning new spells and charms as well as the Muggle history of the country.

Despite her holiday, Hermione was eager to begin her sixth year at Hogwarts. She was making her bed when she received three owls.

"Three? That's strange," she thought, as she rarely received more than two owls; one each from Harry and Ron. But she didn't hesitate, and taking the gift from each owl, she sent them on their way. She opened Harry's gift first, eager to see what he had sent her. It was a bracelet, but no ordinary one.

It was colorful and very bright. She put it to one side and read the letter enclosed:

Dear Hermione,

Hello from Greece. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to write you more, but this summer I moved in with Sirius. We've been traveling all summer and I've been extra busy. I hope you like the bracelet. It's called a "Distraction Bracelet" and it comes from Germany. Here's how it works; every time you get scared or are in trouble, the bracelet glows and blinds your opponent, allowing you to escape. I think it will serve you well, although I know what you're thinking: I need this bracelet more than you do, but anyway, happy 16^th birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing you at Hogwarts. That's all for now. Say hi to Crookshanks for me.

Your friend,

Harry

Hermione hadn't realized how much she missed her friends. He was right, he needed the bracelet more than she did, but she was glad to have it anyway. She put it on her wrist and continued by opening Ron's gift. It was a book of spells, accompanied by a bag of homemade pumpkin cookies. She began to read the letter:

Dear Hermione,

Happy Birthday! I hope you like the book. I figured that if anybody could use it, you could. Surprised by the cookies? Mum made them. I know they're your favorite. Oh, Ginny says hello and asks for you to send her an owl if you find out where Harry is. He hasn't returned any of her owls and she's been worried sick. I told her to get over him, but she doesn't seem to understand the meaning of that. Happy 16^th birthday. Greetings from all the family. Can't wait till term starts.

Love from,

Ron

PS (Don't forget to send Ginny that owl. I can't stand her worrying anymore!)

Hermione laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She missed Ron's sense of humor. She put the spell book in her little library (composed of 1000 books), and finally settled down to open the third gift. It was some sort of hair product. The bottle had very little liquid and it was too small to be regular shampoo. She reached for the letter, which left her mouth open in astonishment;

"Fleur Delacour?" Hermione thought. " That veela ! Sending me a birthday gift? It surely has to be poisoned". Nevertheless, she proceeded to open the letter carefully, which led to even more astonishment.

' To mademoiselle Harmonia Granger,' the envelope read.

"Harmonia?" God! She couldn't even spell Hermione! What on earth made her think that she was going to accept the gift? Regardless, Hermione continued to read...

Dear Harmonia

I guess that you must be wondering why I would send you a birthday gift. Happy 16^th birthday. The reason I am writing is that I got transferred to Hogwarts. Madame Maxime insisted on improving my English. Since you are one of the intelligent students, I was hoping that you could assist me on getting around Hogwarts. Plus, I have to take Arithmancy and since that is your favorite class, I thought you could help me. I shall return the favor. Please consider my offer. I made you a potion for your birthday gift to straighten your hair. All you have to do is put it in your hair, leave it for ten minutes and rinse it. Your hair will be so straight that you will not remember it was bushy. Test it and see. I await your response. Send your owl.

Sincerely,

Fleur Delacour

Hermione couldn't believe it. Fleur Delacour? Asking for her help? Why would she? Even so, Hermione decided to try the hair product. It worked wonders. Her hair was straighter than it had ever been in her life. She decided to take Fleur up on the offer. It couldn't hurt to try, surely. Besides, Fleur could teach her some new spells.

She sent Fleur an owl saying that she would be happy to help. Fleur was clearly pleased, and sent Hermione owls for the remainder of the holidays. They went to buy their supplies together in Diagon Alley, and Hermione began tutoring Fleur in English, making certain that the first lesson addressed the spelling of Hermione!.