Disclaimer : I obviously am not J.K Rowling, so anything you recognise doesn't belong to me.
A/N : The story in the school year of 1998, after the War. I have modified one major aspect of the original story : Dumbledore and Lavender are alive. This is my first story, so please review, I would love some feedback! This chapter may be a little short, but I'll try to make them longer as I go along, just give me a chance! Enjoy!
Hermione looked around her carriage. She was aboard the Hogwarts Express, surrounded by her friends. Ginny's head rested on Harry's shoulder, Lavender was curled up in Ron's lap, and Neville had his arms around Hannah Abbott, a rather pretty Hufflepuff girl he had only recently got the courage to ask out. In the corner, Parvati Patil and Luna, the only people other than Hermione to be awake, were laughing over a magazine.
Even though her carriage was full of people, Ms. Granger felt lonely. She was surrounded by friendly faces, yes, but she felt like a third wheel. Well, more accurately, a ninth wheel. Ginny and Harry had always been a thing, whether the pair admitted it or not, and she couldn't be happier for Neville and Hannah. Having never had a close female friend, she slightly resented how close Parvati and Luna had become, but most of all, it was Ron's relationship that bothered her.
She didn't like Ron or anything. It was just that, well, it did hurt a bit to know how little her short-lived relationship with Ron meant to him. They had agreed that the War probably made everyone a little desperate for someone else, but that once the threat of death was much less imminent, circumstances had changed. They separated amicably and tried to stay good friends, but they hardly talked anymore nowadays, as with Lavender always shoving her tongue down his throat, it was impossible for him to have a proper conversation with anyone.
Not that she cared. She did not like anyone, least of all Ron. If she had come back to school for her 8th year, it was to do her N.E. , as the War had inconveniently gotten in the way of everyone's exams last year, and she didn't plan on having any distractions. She knew very well how difficult heartbreak and boys in general could be, and did not plan on letting either get in her way.
As the train pulled in to Hogsmeade station, Hermione suddenly felt the need for fresh air, and quickly excused herself from the carriage. Once she was outside, she looked around, taking in her surroundings. Her fellow students laughed and chatted, however she could tell they were only trying to make things seem normal, trying to feel normal, after the horrible events of the previous year, and the dark circles under their bloodshot eyes was only further proof of that. She wasn't alone in having nightmares, she thought to herself.
Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Watch it, Weasley!" Malfoy snapped.
Hermione turned around to see Malfoy and Ron glaring at each other. From the looks of things, Ron had been helping Lavender off the train when he had accidentally bumped into Draco, whose hand now hovered dangerously close to his wand pocket. Not wishing to see Ron hit with some curse Malfoy had learned during his time as a Death Eater, Hermione rushed to her friend's aid.
"Leave him alone!", she exclaimed. "Don't you think you've had enough problems already?"
"Stay out of it!", the boy retorted. "Filthy Mu..."
"Go ahead", she muttered, her eyes glittering dangerously. "Call me a Mudblood one more time, and I swear you'll regret it."
"Don't make promises you won't keep", he smirked. "Mudblood."
"Densaugeo" she muttered, pointing her wand at the boy, whose hands flew to his mouth as his front teeth began to grow.
"You bit…!" he began to cry. He was however unable to finish his sentence, as Hermione had silently cast a Langlock on the boy, rendering him unable to speak.
"Run back to your little friends" she said, laughing. "Leave mine alone. Otherwise, you'll be dealing with much worse problems than a few large teeth."
Furious, Draco stormed off to meet up with Blaise and Pansy, shrinking his teeth as he went over. The trio glared at Hermione before making their way along the platform.
"He's not a very nice person", Luna remarked with a frown. "No wonder he's so unhappy all the time."
"Not a very nice person? Try arrogant git", Ron replied. "By the way, thanks 'Mione"
"No problem" Hermione answered. "My pleasure, in fact"
"Remind me to never get on your bad side", Neville laughed. "Though why you didn't do anything worse baffles me"
"He's not worth it", she said simply. "Anyway, we should probably make our way over there, the carriages are arriving."
As the group got into a carriage that Hermione may or may not have charmed to fit all of them, which may or may not have been against the rules, not one of them said a word. They had all noticed the wide-eyed stares the Thestrals were getting. The stares of children. Children who had seen death. No one wanted to acknowledge how much the War had changed their world. Putting it into words would have been pointless anyway; everyone knew that everyone else was thinking it too.
Trying to break the painfully awkward silence, Ginny wondered out loud what the Sorting Hat would come up with this year.
"I mean, it's always made its song relevant to the times around us, but at the moment, I don't think anyone really knows what's going on..." she sighed.
Harry made a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe the Hat does… We'll just have to see"'.
A couple of minutes later, everyone having entered the Great Hall and sat with their housemates, the Great Hall doors opened to reveal the first-years, lead by Professor McGonagall. They walked up to the top of the Hall, where the Sorting Hat was already placed on a stool. There was a moment of silence, during which the new students stared nervously at the old, dirty wizard's hat. Then it opened its mouth and burst into song:
I was sewn many moons ago
When the founders still lived on
And every year I've been a Sorting Hat,
I've sung a brand new song
While you once thought I was just a hat,
You now know I'm so much more
For Godric's sake, I even partook
In the Second Wizarding War
However that is not my job,
My task is not to fight,
But to sort young sorcerers
Into the house that fits them right
In Ravenclaw, the smartest ones,
Whose favorite word is why,
Or in Slytherin, those filled with ambition
Known to be cunning and sly
In Hufflepuff, the kindest ones,
Who believe in what is fair,
And in Gryffindor, we put the brave,
That almost nothing does scare
So put me on your head young one,
And I'll know what to do,
I'll shout out the name of the House
That is best for you!
However, I would like to say a word
Before I let the sorting begin,
While we are all different,
It is only together that we win.
The Hall rang with applause as the song ended. The first years were then called, one by one, up to the Sorting Hat, who cried out each sorcerer's House. When Whisply, Kevin, the last student, was sorted into Ravenclaw, Dumbledore's stood up, his eyes twinkling, and said two simple words : "Dig in!"
And they did! The second the Headmaster had uttered those words, platters of food appeared. Moments later, everyone's mouths and plates were full.
"Why aren't you eating anything ?" Ginny asked Hermione. Luckily, she didn't have her brother's tendency to eat with her mouth full.
"Oh… Just a lot on my mind", Hermione lied. Quite truthfully, it had been months since she had eaten a proper meal. She wasn't trying to lose weight or something, it was just that since the War… She sighed. Everything was different since the War…
Once the food had vanished and everyone was far too full (almost everyone anyway). Dumbledore got to his feet and the Hall fell silent.
"So! I should probably remind you of all the rules in place here at Hogwarts. However, I feel likely to be ignored, and have more important things to announce." Dumbledore said jovially.
"The rules will still be available for reference outside the Great Hall, and breaking them will obviously still have consequences", he added, seeing Hermione's outraged glare.
"Anyway, I would like to introduce you to Professors Bumble and Lewsky, who will teach Muggle Studies and Defence against the Dark Arts respectively. "
The crowd erupted into polite applause and took in their new teachers.
"They don't look bad..." Lavender said tentatively.
"Can't be worse than last year's", Neville grunted.
As the Hall settled into silence once again, Dumbledore resumed his speech.
"However, that is not this year's big news. Along with the 11 other Wizarding schools, Hogwarts will partake in the first ever Wizarding Intellect Challenge!"
People looked around them, slightly perplexed. Hermione and Harry shared a look, they both thought back to their catastrophic 4th year tournament.
"Allow me to explain" said the Headmaster. "The most intelligent 8th year from each House will participate in a contest designed to test all aspects of their magical abilities. Each school hosts their own internal contest, and the winners from each school then compete against each other in a task whose nature is yet to be made known to the student body. I have in my pockets four enchanted rings, and in a couple of moments, one shall appear on each candidate's hand"
"3,2," Dumbledore's eyes glittered mischievously."1!"
Utter chaos exploded in the Hall as everyone craned their necks to try and find the four lucky students. No one was surprised to see a beautiful ruby ring on Hermione's finger, nor to see an enchanting sapphire one on Padma Patil's, even though there were more than one disappointed faces at the Ravenclaw table. Ernie Macmillan sported a simple yellow topaz ring and a smug look on his face, and lastly, one slytherin boy stared down at his hand with a mixture of pride, surprise, and disgust. That boy was Draco Malfoy.
Just as the shocked muttering began, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat : "If Mr. Macmillan, Mrs. Patil, Mrs. Granger, and Mr. Malfoy could follow me please."
Hermione got up and made her way out of the Great Hall, barely glancing back at her friends. How could this be happening? She'd have to change her whole N.E.W.T study plan! And she had to figure out how to win, obviously. She'd rather not let herself be beaten by the Hufflepuff or the Ravenclaw, but Malfoy beating her? That wasn't an option.
Hermione had never been big on trusting her gut for no apparent reason. However, as the Great Hall doors closed behind her, she had the undeniable feeling that this contest was going to be so, so much more than just that...