Unofficial Portkey Archive

A/N: Man, I love Portkey! You guys are the greatest, you really are. Because of your great reviews, I decided to post this REALLY soon. I was planning to wait 'til tomorrow...but I wanted to thank you. To AnonymousWestern-Girl and that crazy kid - I'm not sure yet about Ron. Maybe he'll fit in later, but if he does, it'll only be a small part. To alayneni - I thought this was going to be done in five chapters, but when I tried to write that fifth one, I ended up adding some more plot. So I'm not sure about how long it'll be...maybe eight chapters? And thanks to everybody else (you know who you are) for reviewing and reading. I'm soo glad you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize as belonging to JK Rowling.

Harry, with Hermione on his arm, made it down the hallway to Miss McGonagall's room uneventfully, talking and laughing about random subjects. They were still laughing when they walked into the classroom, but stopped suddenly when they realized that the entire class was staring at them, including Miss McGonagall. How often is it that you see the most popular boy in school associating himself with, well, a non-popular person? Miss McGonagall, who had always had a soft spot for Hermione, cleared her throat, easing the pressure on the two and effectively capturing the attention of every student in the class.

"Since Miss Granger and Mister Potter seem to have mastered the art of being late to class, I would assume that they would also succeed as partners in our new history project, which is a research paper on any aspect of American History you wish. I will give you the specifics of the project after assigning partners. Starting with Cho Chang and…let's see, yes. Miss Brown. Miss Patil, you and Mr. Weasley. Longbottom, you and…" as she reeled off pairs for the project, Miss McGonagall gave herself a virtual pat on the back. She had watched these two, and knew that all they needed was a shove in the right direction. Besides, with two superb minds like these, there was bound to be an excellent paper produced at the end.

"I think we should do a biography on John F. Kennedy," Hermione suggested.

"But why?" Harry asked. "That's so cliché. Let's do something more exciting, like a war!" Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly. A war? How barbaric.

"If you want to do a war so badly, how about the events leading up to the Civil War? Not so brutal, but at least you'll get some action."

"Yeah! That's a great idea," Harry exclaimed, his green eyes lighting up at the prospect. "There was that John Brown massacre or something, right? Oh, this'll be good." He and Hermione were sitting at the front of Miss McGonagall's classroom, choosing a topic for their research paper. They were sitting rather intimately, with their heads bent over the desk and their shoulders almost touching.

"So now that that's settled, we need to decide on a work schedule. Your house or mine?" Hermione inquired.

"Er - would it be O.K. if we worked at your house? My aunt and uncle aren't very welcoming to my friends. My aunt has always held a sort of grudge against her sister, who was my mother," Harry replied nervously. Hermione realized that she didn't actually know very much about Harry's home life, so she worked up the courage to ask more about it.

"Why do you live with your aunt and uncle?"

"My parents died in a car crash when I was one. That's how I got this scar," Harry explained, lifting up his unruly raven bangs to show her the curious lightning bolt-shaped scar that resided on his forehead. "Since then, I've been living with my aunt and uncle. So since you're my friend, I don't think they'd take very kindly to you. I just think it would be better to avoid confrontation and just go to your house."

"Sure, that's fine. We can work on it today, if you want," Hermione offered.

"Sorry, no can do. I have crew practice today. How about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's cool. If you meet me out front after school, I can give you a ride," Hermione said.

"Thanks. My aunt and uncle won't buy me a car. My cousin Dudley has one, though," Harry said bitterly. Then he smiled. "But perhaps it's all for the best. Now I get a ride from a beautiful girl." Hermione blushed at this compliment.

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"So…what was it like sitting next to the gorgeous Harry Potter?" Lavender Brown asked her friend Hermione as they left Miss McGonagall's class. "Was he nice? Charming? Smart? Tell us!"

"Well actually, he was all of those things. I was actually kind of surprised," Hermione replied. "Did you know that he lives with his aunt and uncle, and they're mean to him?"

"Yeah, I'd heard that," said Parvati Patil, Hermione's other best friend. "They live down the street from me. Their front lawn is the most anal thing you'd ever see. But back to Harry. You're gonna have to work on the project outside of school, right? When are you meeting him?"

"Um, tomorrow. He's coming to my house," Hermione replied.

"Ooh! Please tell me you won't be talking about school and stuff with him," Lavender warned. "Cuz Mione, he is the most-sought-after male in school. You don't have a chance if you act all nerdy."

"Lav, please. It's not like I have a choice. This is a school project! What do you expect me to do? Give him a lap dance? Besides, I'm not even trying to 'get' him," Hermione said.

"Yeah, right. Tell you what, d'you guys want to come over to my house after school today? My brothers are going to be at their piano lesson, so we'll have the pool to ourselves," Parvati suggested.

"Cool! I'll just have to go home to get my suit," Lavender said.

"Me too. I don't have anything to do today, so I can go," Hermione said. She always enjoyed spending time with her best friends, and Parvati's house was as good a place as any. Especially with her rock-bottom pool. Even though her friends constantly talked about boys and makeup, Hermione always had a good time. Besides, if she was going to be hanging out with Harry Potter, she might need some FA.

FAFashion advice, for those who weren't sure. Again, thanks so much for your reviews! You guys sure make a first-time author feel loved.

Thanks for reading! Please review.

Love, Kaye.