Chapter 1

Hermione was sitting cross-legged on her bed with her laptop on her knees. She was reading everything she could on the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses of which to her surprise she knew all the surviving members of the original seven. The Emery and Pendragon lines were presumed extinct while the Stewart line became the Royal Family. Of the other four she knew the Longbottoms, Bones, Blacks and most surprising Potters. What had come as an even bigger surprise was when in the Ancient Family's she had run into the Granger name, something she would have to bring up at Gringgotts the next time she visited. What she found odd was that both the Dumbledore's and the Weasley's were only Noble Family's and the Dumbledore's only very recently. The funniest thing she found was that the Malfoys, for all of Draco's boasting and bravado were only considered a Clan and all their money seemed to be through their marriage with the Blacks, if it wasn't for Narcassiss the Malfoys would be considered little more than First Generation in Great Britain. In France (the Malfoys home country) they had been an Ancient Family having lost Noble standing three hundred years earlier and at that time fleeing France for England. Hermione had found all this out from being bored one morning and, on a lark, typing Magi-pedia into Google Search. The author of the site was one G. Ringgotts with a contact address of, something else she would be asking the Goblins about before the summer was over. Since the discovery of the site she had been printing reams of pages to share with Harry when they got together later in the summer at the Burrow. She caught herself remembering riding on the Hippogriff with Harry and even though she hated flying could not think of a better moment then being in the air with her arms wrapped around Harry's chest. Shuddering slightly she knew that she would have to make the first move, even if she was fairly certain that he felt the same his upbringing would not allow him to share these emotions with her until she let him know how much she liked him.

Harry sat on his bed and turned his attention to the cat door as he heard the bolt being drawn and a plate with a piece of bread and an open can of mushroom soup (condensed and unheated without a spoon of course) was pushed through. At least they were not starving him as much this summer and they did let him out to use the bathroom three times a day. As he used the last of the bread to get as much of the soup out as he could his thoughts went to Hermione and how good it had felt when they had flown on Buckbeak and she had held on to him tightly. She had always given him bone crushing hugs, but this was different if he didn't think she liked Ron he would have found a way to let her know he liked her. He was brought out of his musings by the pecking of his window from Hedwig; he opened the window and allowed the snowy owl to hop on his arm before taking her over to the perch and untying the note around her leg.

Dear Harry,

I know it's only been three days since we last spoke, but I've already found out some very good information that I will share with you once we see each other at the Burrow. How are the Dursley's treating you? Have you even started your homework or are you going to pull a Ron and wait for me to help? Tell you what, you start it and I'll go over it with you and help make it better if it needs it. Anyway, I really miss you and can't wait the three weeks until I can talk to you in person and show you what I found.

Love Hermione

Ps How does Hedwig know when I need to send you a letter and that it's okay for me to use her?

Harry smiled as he folded the note up and stuck it under the loose floorboard under the bed with the rest of his treasures. He then went to his desk and pulled out a pen and paper to write back to her.

Hermione,

Great to hear from you already, I hope you don't mind the regular paper and that I'm using a ballpoint pen to write this? I've decided that I'm bringing several note pads and packages of pens with me next school year as it should make taking notes easier. I'll still use parchment and quills for my homework but it's ridiculous to take notes with the stuff. Someone has to begin to bring the Magical World into the 20th Century and if they want me to fight their war for them (the whole Boy-What-Lived thing) they're going to have to give me some concessions! I am eagerly awaiting the information that you found and can't wait to get out of here and be with my friends. To answer your other questions, no I have not started my homework yet but will, at the very least, have rough outlines done as to what I want to say so you can check those for me, thanks. As for Hedwig, she's just a very special owl and I told her that you can use her whenever you need her. She really likes you as you are the only other person she nips on the ear but me. The "family" is treating me okay, I'm getting three meals a day at least and the rest of the time they pretend I don't exist, so I guess there is an upside to every situation. So stay out of trouble (as if Hermione Granger actually gets into trouble) and I'll see you soon.

Harry

Harry reread the letter before sealing the envelope and asking Hedwig if she would be able to deliver it later tonight. With a soft cooing sound Hedwig nodded a yes and tucked her head under her wing to get a couple hours of sleep before her nightly hunt.

Ron had it all figured out, since Dumbledore was going to let him have Hermione anyway, he was going to make his move this summer when she came to visit. She always came several days before Harry so he would be able to rub Harry's nose in the fact that he had a girlfriend and the "Great" Harry Potter was single and alone. Merlin, if he wasn't being paid to be his friend there's no way he be anywhere near the attention seeking prat. He figured that with the 100 galleons a month he was getting that he was one of the wealthiest wizard teens there was (poor, deluded bastard even at an exchange of 5 to 1 he'd only have 20,000 pounds which is a good amount. What he so often forgot was that at any time he only had a couple of hundred in the bank from all the Chuddly Cannon crap he bought and the amount of sweets he inhaled? Ron has learned nothing from his family's past and would never be a saver). Molly on the other hand had taken the 1000 galleons a month since Harry's birth and squirreled it away. This was her money for continuing to have children until she had a girl that would marry into the Potter line. Dumbledore had begun paying her as soon as he found out that Lilly was having a boy, she was disappointed when she had Ron and not Ronda, but had cut Arthur off completely as soon as she found out about Ginny. As soon as she told Dumbledore she was having a girl he had written up a betrothal contract between the two and had forged James and Lilly's signatures. Molly was ecstatic, she finally had a daughter to dote on and the Heir to the Potter fortune all in one shot, but she would have to start feeding Ginny stories of the "Boy-Who-Lived" as soon as possible to make sure she knew her destiny. Harry Potter might make his seventeenth birthday, but by then Ginny would be carrying his child and his money would already be theirs.