When she first came into the Wizarding World, it was one of the best moments of her life. She'd always loved learning, and here she discovered a whole new reality beyond anything she'd ever dreamed of. It was a strange world with odd rules that sometimes seemed almost random, but it was one she loved for years.
Returning to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the magical world altogether, was a difficult task for Hermione. The war had taken its toll on the students; seeing so much death and so much destruction can really offset a person, whoever it may be.
Arriving at Platform 9 ¾, Hermione waited patiently for the Hogwarts Express to transport the students. She was alone, a single briefcase in one hand and a pen in the other, to fidget with. Across the platform, she could spot a few familiar faces; some of which she hoped perished in the war. Deep in thoughts about the different methods of suffering those across the platform could face, she was distracted by the voices of old friends.
"Hermione!" the infamous boy-who-lived pulled her into a hug out of nowhere, with two redheads following up behind the pair. "How was Australia?" Harry had asked. "I heard that bears drop from trees there!" Ginny stated, desperate for a reply.
"Yeah, good to see you guys too," Hermione answered. She turned her head back to the group of people she was focused on earlier, only to see that all but one had vanished. She stared at her, but the other girl never took notice.
"Hermione, you alright?" came Ron. "You've been watching Parkinson like a bloody owl," he turned towards the girl and gave her a dirty look. She didn't notice."
"It's Pansy," Hermione said coldly. "A decent amount of respect for our fellow students would be a great way to start the term, Ron,"
Ron was confused. His eye twitched, and his head went through several deep thoughts, several deep ideas, and tried to find several reasons why Hermione would suddenly be nice to her school bully of all her years at Hogwarts. He finally formed the words in his throat. "But 'Mione, she's – she's bloody Parkinson! A sliver of respect? Not for her! Not for Queen Slytherin, our enemy!"
At this point, Hermione was furious, and Harry and Ginny were forgotten as bystanders. "Ronald Weasley! How dare you! Pansy is a student of Hogwarts, and in case you have forgotten, she wouldn't be here if she was in fact the enemy!" she had whisper-shouted it somehow that it was quiet enough to not draw any attention from the passersby, but it definitely caught the attention of the subject of her outburst: Pansy herself, who was eying her suspiciously from a distance. Hermione was angry, and her face showed that very well. She noticed Pansy looking at her, and she slowly shifted her frown.
Hermione turned to face Ginny and Harry, who were rightfully enough frightened. A grumpy Hermione was usually not someone to be meddled with. "Look, I'm sorry, It's been a while, and I think it's time to stop being so prejudiced against those in another house," she turned towards the Hogwarts Express, which was now slowing to a halt. "You three can seat yourselves together, I'll need a moment to myself." She hopped on the train without a single backwards glance and found herself an empty compartment. When Harry came by, Hermione mouthed "later," and waved him off. These few hours to herself would be the best thing for her, giving her time to think about the road that lies ahead, the future of her Golden Trio, and the future of –
"Granger," came the voice from the now-open compartment door. Hermione turned her head to see none other than Pansy Parkinson, grinning with her signature smug look on her face. "May I?"
"If you wish," she motioned to the seat adjacent to her. Pansy sat down and looked at the Gryffindor know-it-all carefully. She then pulled a book from her bag whilst Hermione did the same.
Hours had passed in the cabin in silence, the two girls avoiding each other for as long as they possibly could, except for the occasional glance and grin when they turned their heads from their books. Finally, Pansy broke the silence with one word.
"Why?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Why did you do that, on the platform?"
"To speak up for you?" Hermione began. "Because there are many in the world that deserve redemption. Plus, you're a student of Hogwarts, you're one of us. The school is a place to learn together, share thoughts together, tackle problems together; not a place to prejudice those that have a different point of view than yourself.
"And you, Miss Parkinson, you haven't done too much evil. The fact that you still even thought about going back to Hogwarts says that you're a good person at heart, never mind the events of the war. This is a chance to start over. This is a chance to be good, because Pansy, that's what you are inside. That's who you can be."
Pansy looked like she had found a million Galleons and that she'd been struck with a cricket bat at the same time. The fact that Hermione saw her as Pansy Parkinson and not a sneaky pure-blood Slytherin manic said a lot to her, even after she had constantly tormented and bullied her throughout the previous years at school. She straightened her back and swallowed. "You really think so?" she said, completely dropping out of her Slytherin-queen-bitch façade.
Hermione replied only with a look that said something around the lines of "Are you kidding me?" and "Obviously," she returned to her books, saying nothing as she waited for Hogwarts to come around.
The only thing Pansy could say after that was a faint "thank you," with teary eyes. She didn't know if the tears were from her emotions or her fatigue, or both. She closed her eyes for a few minutes and fell asleep sideways on the seat, not knowing that later Hermione had pulled out a blanket and softly placed it on her comfortably.