A/N: This story takes place after Half-Blood Prince, not including Deathly Hallows. It's a Draco/Hermione story, but there is also a lot of Ron/Hermione. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, or the back-story, or anything. Those all belong to JK Rowling and Warner Brothers.
Chapter One
Heavy drops of rain splashed against the windows of the Great Hall. Light reflected from hovering candles on the gold dining utensils, plates, and goblets, which had yet to be touched by the food that was still waiting bellow in the kitchens. The dozen and a half first years had just been sorted by the ancient hat of Godric Gryffindor into the four Hogwarts houses and the only thing left before the feast was a start-of-term greeting.
"I hope this is short," Ron Weasley whispered in his friend's ear. "I'm starving."
"Quiet! Here she comes," snapped Hermione from across the long Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron rolled their eyes but stopped complaining all the same.
Professor McGonagall reentered the hall through the door she had left to carry the Sorting Hat away, causing the students to cease their chatting in anticipation for her speech. This would be the first time in many long years that Albus Dumbledore would not welcome the students in his usual witty fashion. Professor McGonagall stepped up to the front of the extended table of teachers however, with the same respectful power and grace that Dumbledore had displayed only a year ago.
"Welcome to another start-of-term feast!" she began, all eyes and ears paying attention, "Due to the tragic events of this past year, I have been appointed Headmistress of Hogwarts. I would like to welcome the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Brooks."
A tall man with trimmed black hair, just beginning to turn gray, stood up from the staff table. He gave a slight nod and a warm smile appeared on his aging face.
"Let's hope he's a more than decent teacher," Harry murmured, eyeing the new professor and trying to assess his abilities.
"I'm sure McGonagall wouldn't hire someone unqualified at a time like this," Hermione pointed out, "If there's one class we need, it's Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Due to the fact that I am now Headmistress," McGonagall started again, once Professor Brooks took his seat, "The position of Transfiguration teacher will be filled by Professor Tonks, who is unable to be here for the start-of-term feast."
"No surprise there," Ron said, "She'd only been marching around the Burrow, complaining about being locked inside the castle for a year instead of helping with the Order."
"They needed someone to teach, and she was the only one who had given it any thought. It's not a poor idea to have another Order member here, either," Hermione logically explained.
"Lupin also probably wants to make sure she's safe and out of harm's way," said Harry, before McGonagall spoke once more.
"I would like to remind everyone of the new security measures that have been put in place," Professor McGonagall interrupted the whispers of the hall, "No student is permitted on the grounds after six o'clock and everyone must be in their common room no later than ten o'clock unless they are escorted by a professor. The forest is, as always, out of bounds. All Quidditch practices must be monitored by either Madame Hooch or another professor. Anyone caught breaking these rules will receive detention and points will be taken from his or her house. Now, let the feast begin!"
Just as it had for the past six years, piles upon piles of delicious looking foods popped out of thin air onto the golden dishes along the tables.
"Finally!" Ron and Harry rejoiced together, immediately reaching for their forks.
"Calm down! The food isn't going to run away if you don't eat it fast enough," Hermione scolded, scooping vegetables onto her plate.
"You never know… I mean, it did just appear out of nowhere," Harry commented for Ron whose mouth was entirely filled.
"Disgusting," Hermione concluded. There was nothing else to do but ignore them and gaze at the stone wall in the foreground.
"Who did you say was Head Boy?" Ron asked once he had inhaled two platefuls of the feast. Hermione thought she detected a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff," Hermione said. Ron made a face. "Well, he's not as bad as someone like Zacharias Smith."
"I guess, but he's still a—" Ron cut off, staring at something to the left of Hermione's head. She turned around to see what was going on.
Looking much more gaunt and skeletal than ever before, with dark circles emanating from under his lifeless eyes, Draco Malfoy took his seat at the Slytherin table. It was very fortunate that the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or else Harry would have tried leapt from his seat to strangle him.
"Put your wand away, Harry," Ron warned. Harry had barely noticed his sudden impulse to grab his wand in the first place, but he reluctantly placed back inside his robes.
"I need to switch seats with you," he said to Hermione with a sense of urgency, "I'll end up blowing something up if I have to look at that foul git for the rest of the night. I can't believe they would let filth like him back inside these walls!"
Hermione agreed and walked to the other side, seating herself next to Ron, who was glaring maliciously at Draco and across from Harry who was trying hard to behave himself.
"What was McGonagall thinking?" Harry put his head in his hands in a very frustrated manner.
"The only people that know he was involved in bringing the Death Eaters into Hogwarts are those in the Order. No one else suspects him of anything," Hermione pointed out.
"McGonagall's in the Order! She should have more sense not to let a 17-year-old Death Eater, the reason for Dumbledore's death, back into this school. That would be like letting Snape teach here again," Harry rebutted in outrage.
"We'll just have to pay more attention to him this year. We can make sure there are no more secret trips to the Room of Requirement with Crabbe and Goyle under the Polyjuice Potion," Ron suggested, glancing at Hermione for her thoughts on his determination.
She nodded to show her support then added, "The teachers will be keeping a closer eye on him, too. There's nothing to worry about."
"I guess, but I still don't think this is a good idea." Harry put the subject to rest, though, jumping back to talk of Quidditch, the feast, and all the work they were going to get the next day.
Hermione, however, was busy watching Draco from across the Great Hall. Something seemed a bit wrong about him— well, more wrong than usual. He was sitting at the end of the table, far from Crabbe and Goyle, the food piled on his plate remaining completely untouched. His cold eyes lay fixed on nothing but the empty air in front of him. He appeared almost lonely. Hermione couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for him, though. Draco Malfoy didn't deserve an ounce of sympathy for all the trouble he had caused.
The meal continued and Hermione was drawn from her studies of the blonde Slytherin into Harry and Ron's conversation on the N.E.W.T. exams at the end of the school year.
"I've already started studying," Hermione said matter-of-factly.
"Figures…" Harry rolled his eyes, "I'll start with a month left, or if the professors start assigning essays on things that I don't remember, I guess I'll have to start then."
"That sounds about right for me too," Ron agreed, picking at the dessert that had just replaced the main course on the table. It was almost time to report to the common rooms and get a decent night's sleep before classes started again.
Quite abruptly, Hermione saw Draco rise from his seat. He shoved his uneaten food carelessly away and stalked out of the Great Hall, as if it were unbearable to remain there for any longer.
"I wonder where he thinks he's going to go," Ron said, shaking his head in disgust, "He doesn't know the password for the Slytherin common room yet."
"He can't go far. The feast is almost over and if he's not found in his common room by the end of the night, professors will be looking in all of the right places for him," Hermione said, with perfect timing. McGonagall had just risen from her seat once more to send the students off to bed.
Filling her role as Head Girl, Hermione began ushering the Gryffindors out of the hall. There was chaos as everyone tried to exit at the same moment, four different houses all trying to listen to Prefects or Heads shouting directions.
"Gryffindor first years! Follow me up the stairs!" Hermione yelled, standing on her toes. She looked around for Ron or Harry to help her but they had gone ahead once they received the password. She sighed in frustration and continued to herd the Gryffindors on her own.
"Granger," a chillingly familiar voice spoke from what sounded like inches from Hermione's ear. She hesitated before facing Draco who indeed was less than a foot behind her. She shot him the worst look she could come up with.
"What?"
"You're Head Girl. What's the Slytherin password?" It was more of a demand than a request.
"That doesn't give me the right to know every password. Go ask a Slytherin," Hermione spoke quickly, trying to end the conversation. She analyzed his face properly, now that they were so close. His gray eyes were darker, nearly black, and his skin looked tight around his bones as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. It was a frightening image.
"I don't… I don't want to talk to any of them." He looked around uncomfortably.
"So, instead, you're talking to me?" Hermione was confused now, but still making her way slowly to the Gryffindor common room.
"Yeah, that was a bad choice. You're just as useless as everybody else in this damn hell hole!" Draco snarled but kept his voice low so only the people next to him could hear. He gave Hermione one final loathing look, which she gratiously returned, and pushed his way through the crowd toward the dungeons.
Finally, Hermione pulled all of the Gryffindors out of the mob and in minutes, they were climbing through the portrait hole. She pointed out the girls' and boys' dormitories and quickly many of the new students shuffled off to bed. The excitement had drained all of them of their energy and even a bunch of the older student had gone, as well.
"Are you two going to sleep, now?" Hermione asked, approaching Harry and Ron who had left their usual chairs by the fire.
"Yeah, Quidditch tryouts start tomorrow and I know I'm going to be dead if I don't get enough sleep." Harry shuddered at the thought of all the stress it would surely cause.
"Do you even have time for Quidditch this year with the final Horcruxes you need to find and the N.E.W.T. exams?" Hermione argued, trying to think logically.
"We found more than half of them during the summer, and with the help of the Order, it won't be long before they're all destroyed," Harry reminded her. They had informed the Order of Dumbledore's remaining task and through research, they had uncovered the objects known to be Horcruxes. The only ones left to find now, were the ones that Dumbledore had been unsure of.
"I guess you're right. We have help," Hermione admitted, "Goodnight, then."
She thought she saw Harry nudge Ron, but it could have been her imagination. Harry walked up the spiral staircase to the boy's dormitory leaving Ron behind.
"So… Uhh how were the first years on their way up here?" Ron started, making small talk. He was fidgeting with the hem of his robes and he wouldn't meet Hermione's eyes.
"Not bad, once we separated from the other houses. Malfoy wasn't up to anything, by the way. He stopped me in the hallway," Hermione added as if it were no big deal.
"Can I ask you something?" Ron said in an awkward voice before she could tell him any more.
"No, it wasn't like that at all. It was more like he commanded me to give him the Slytherin password. I told him I didn't have it, which was the truth," Hermione blabbered on, completely misunderstanding Ron. She thought he was imitating Draco with whatever voice he had just used.
"Hermione, I need to ask you something," he restated with more confidence this time.
"Oh, sorry! I thought you—Yes, you can ask." She felt her face grown red for not understanding properly.
Ron looked around the room, taking a deep slow breath. Hermione turned and looked around as well, wondering what was going on. They were the only two left in the common room. Had Ron planned this?
"I wanted to know if you err… wanted to go out with me," he said, his hands shaking at his sides and his knees about to give out.
"As in boyfriend and girlfriend?" Hermione stammered and felt her stomach flipping as if she were about to lose everything she had eaten in the past few hours. What a sight that would be.
"If you don't want to, I would understand." Ron looked slightly disappointed. "I was a real prat towards you last year with Lavender and all, but I thought you felt the same way as I did at the end of the year. And then, at the Burrow this summer, I would have asked you, but I could never get you alone. It's real tricky in a house full of nosy siblings." He managed to laugh with all of the tension.
"You've waited all summer to ask me?" Hermione didn't know what to say.
"Yes, and you don't have to say yes, but, it would make me really, really happy if you did say yes," Ron sputtered quickly, trying not to sound funny yet failing miserably.
"Then, yes," Hermione agreed, grinning widely. This wasn't at all how she expected the year to start.
"Good," Ron said, relieved, "It's getting late, though, so I'll see you in the morning?"
"Goodnight," Hermione said, feeling slightly anticlimactic as she turned to leave.
Before she could walk away, though, Ron grabbed her hand and spun her around, his lips crashing into hers without hesitation. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was enough to leave Hermione stunned as they pulled away, smiling innocently at each other.
"Goodnight," Ron breathed and they reluctantly set off for their dormitories, anticipating the pleasant dreams that awaited them.