Chapter One

Voldemort was defeated. Harry, Ron, and I were getting the chance to retake our seventh year at Hogwarts. I had been chosen to be Headgirl. Life was looking pretty good from where I was standing. I smiled as I watched students walk past the Heads compartment on the train. I was waiting for McGonagall and the Headboy to show up for our meeting. I was, as usual, quite early. I'd settled down and was reading Hogwarts, A History for the millionth time. My head snapped up as I heard the compartment door slide open. I was completely surprised at who I saw standing in the doorway.

"Malfoy?" I asked incredulously, "You're Headboy?"

"It appears that way." Malfoy responded with an edge in his voice. He walked in and sat down opposite me, pulling out a book and studiously ignoring me. I took this time to study the man in front of me.

The war had changed everything. Deatheater were in Azkaban. Their families were being kept under strict watch of the Ministry. Most all Purebloods had realized that the old ways would just not stand any longer and had given up the old blood prejudices. Of course, not everybody was going to change. I'd noticed a fair few who had thrown dirty looks my direction or muttered Mudblood under their breath as I'd walked by. I chose to ignore these comments and looks and carry on with my day. Malfoy appeared to be one of the one's who had changed. He no longer had a permanent sneer or smirk on his face. He still walked with his head held high and a prideful swagger, but he no longer looked at others as if they weren't worth the dirt he walked on from what I could tell. He still looked the same with his platinum blonde hair, grey eyes, aristocratic features, pale skin, and lean, muscular build, but he had changed somehow.

"Why are you staring, Granger?" Malfoy drawled

"I'm not staring!" I said defensively as I whipped my head to look out the window

"Sure looked that way to me." He muttered

I opened my mouth to retort, but McGonagall chose that moment to enter. She glanced between Malfoy and I and shook her head.

"Still arguing, I see." She observed lightly

We both chose to ignore that comment and turned to stare at the Headmistress, who was shaking her head with an amused look about her face.

"First off, you two are this year's Headboy and girl and you are expected to act as such. I know asking you not to argue is asking too much, but I do ask that if you must argue, you keep it confined in your dormitory. Yes, you will share a dormitory. You will have separate bedrooms, of course, but will share a common room, kitchen, and bathroom. Other students will look to you as an example of behavior, personal and academic. You will conduct yourselves as such when you are out of your dormitory. You will be in charge of patrol schedules in which you must include yourselves and the Prefects. You will be in charge of scheduling all Hogsmeade trips, two school dances, and all holiday feasts and celebrations. You will work together on these events and I will supervise. Any questions?"

"Where is our dormitory located, Professor?" I asked immediately

"You two will meet me in the Entrance Hall after the feast and I will lead you to your dormitory and give you the password."

I nodded and McGonagall turned to leave. As the door slid shut again, I glanced at Malfoy. He was staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts. I sighed and knew a truce had be called.

"Malfoy," I began, "We need to call a truce. If we have to work together this whole year and set an example for other students, something will have to change between us."

"Like what, Granger? Do you want us to be friends?" he retorted sarcastically.

"No, I don't." I said haughtily, "We have to get along though. Being a Head is a huge responsibility. McGonagall chose you for a reason, whatever that may be. I may not like you or agree with her choice, but it is what it is. We have to find some way to get along, at least in public."

Malfoy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Can we sort this out later? I'm rather tired at the moment and I really don't feel like listening to you nag at me the whole train ride."

He promptly stretched out on the seat and threw an arm over his eyes. I huffed and stood to exit the compartment, all the while muttering under my breath about how this year would play out. I made my way to the compartment that Harry, Ron, and Ginny were seated in. I fell into a seat beside Ginny and sighed.

"How'd the meeting go?" Harry asked

"Bloody Malfoy is Headboy." I grumbled

"What?! How?! Why?!" Ron fired off questions rapidly

"I don't know, Ronald. McGonagall chose him to be Headboy, so there had to be some reason for it." I said tiredly.

"Go talk to McGonagall. I'm sure she can do something about it." Harry urged

"Oh, shut up, both of you." Ginny spoke up, "McGonagall won't change her mind, you know that. Hermione and Malfoy are both adults and I'm sure they'll work out some kind of truce."

Harry and Ron sat back in their seats with sour looks on their faces, but I quickly changed the topic. We talked about the upcoming school year and our summers for the remainder of the train ride. When the tree's began to grow thicker and the sky darker, the boys left the compartment to change into their robes while Ginny and I did the same. We pulled our luggage from the overhead racks and prepared to lug it all to the carriages.

Dinner went by rather quickly after the sorting and McGonagall's speech. Harry and Ron spent the whole feast grumbling about the fact that I would be sharing a dormitory with Malfoy between bites of food. Ginny and I ignored them as we talked about how much more fun girls' nights would be due to the fact that I had my own room now. The feast was over far too quickly for my liking and I sighed as I told the boys and Ginny goodnight and stepped out into the Entrance Hall to wait for McGonagall and Malfoy.

"This way, please." The Headmistress said as she began to walk up the stairs. She led us to the fifth floor and stopped in front of a portrait of a happy looking couple. The man had is arms wrapped around the woman's waist and her head was tilted back to look up at him. She had a large smile on her lips and the man was staring at her in an adorable way, "Hello, Emily and David. Meet this year's Headboy and girl, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger."

"Hello," the couple said in unison, "Password?"

"Pax." McGonagall said clearly and then turned to Malfoy and I, "It means 'peace' and you have the ability to change it. Just make sure to keep each other updated on the current password. Now, if you'll follow me."

We stepped through the portrait hole and I felt my lips part in surprise. The room was not decorated in Gryffindor or Slytherin colors as I thought it would be. No, the room was decorated in neutral colors. The walls were a dark espresso with tan trimmings. The curtains were chestnut colored and the furniture was all beige. To the left was an open door, through which I could see a sink and a stove; our own kitchen! To the right was a giant marble fireplace with a bookshelf on either side of it, fully stocked with books. In each corner beside the bookshelves was a door. One door had a large H engraved on it and the other a large D; our bedrooms. Along the wall just across from us was a large window with a desk on either side of it.

"As you can see, you have your own private kitchen. Just imagine what you would like and it will appear either on the table or the countertop. You each have a desk to use as a study area if you wish. I'm sure you can tell which door leads to your room. Inside your rooms there will be a door leading to a shared bathroom. Your rooms are white and void of decoration, at the moment. All you have to do is imagine how you want it to look and the room will decorate itself accordingly. The same applies to the bathroom. I suggest you two sit down and talk about how you'd like the bathroom to appear or you're in for a lot of arguing. I'll leave you to explore your new living space. Goodnight." The Headmistress turned and exited the room.

Malfoy and I stood there, looking around in awe.

"I have my own kitchen!" I squealed excitedly as I hurried through the open door.

"What's this thing?" Draco questioned.

I turned to see him staring at the stove in confusion.

"It's a stove. Muggles use it to cook."

"Why do we need one? We have magic and house elves."

I rolled my eyes, "I figure it's there because I come from a muggle home and I, for one, enjoy cooking from scratch, Malfoy."

I watched as Malfoy sneered at the stove and turned to exit the kitchen.

"Whatever, Granger. I'm going to my room."

I shook my head and took one last gleeful look at the kitchen before bounding across the common room and into the door with the large H on it. I looked around the bland room for a moment and then closed my eyes and pictured my room at home. I opened my eyes and clapped happily. It looked just like my room at home! The walls were lime green and the floor was covered with thick black carpet. The queen sized bed was covered with lime green sheets and a fluffy black comforter with swirling patterns in white. A large overstuffed white chair was placed in the corner with a matching foot stool and a black bookshelf beside it. A white vanity and dresser were along the wall opposite my bed. I opened the closet door to see all of my clothing already inside; the same was true of the dresser. I smiled in contentment before walking over the bookshelf beside my chair. It was stocked with all of my favorite books; muggle and magical. I threw myself down on the bed and sighed in contentment. I was just about to get comfy when I heard Malfoy call for me from the only door I hadn't opened. I stood and walked to the door slowly. As I shuffled inside the bathroom, Malfoy watched me with an impatient look about himself.

"Let's get this done so we can go to bed and know that we won't argue about it later," Malfoy sighed, "What were you thinking?"

I closed my eyes and when I opened them, Malfoy was looking around.

"Hm. Not bad, Granger." He said

The walls were a dark blue with a black trim running around the ceiling. There was a mat outside of the shower and one in front of the toilet, both black. The counter top was a black marble and the baskets holding our toiletries matched the walls. There was a grey shelf beside the shower that held white towels.

"Would you like to change anything?" I asked, surprised that Malfoy wasn't sneering in disgust at my decorating.

"Just one thing." He replied as the previously wooden floor turned into grey ceramic tile.

I nodded, "Okay. Are we done? We agree that the bathroom suits us both?"

"Yeah, Granger. We're done." Malfoy turned on his heel and walked back into his bedroom. I did the same.

I changed into a baggy t-shirt and crawled under my covers. I took one last look around my bedroom, smiled, and shut off the lights.

This is gonna be a great year.