Hermione Granger stood on Platform 9 3/4, waiting while her best friends stared at her.
"Hermione, wow." Harry said, still staring. He elbowed Ron in the side.
"You, um, you look…different." He stuttered, stating the obvious. She knew she was different. Her hair was straight, thanks to a heavy duty Straightening Charm. It was a few shades darker with many layers. She had at least 3 earrings in each ear, as well as a belly button ring currently concealed by her form fitting top. She'd grown from last year and so her shirt was tight and her skirt a little short. But the most shocking change for her best friends was that Hermione Granger was wearing make-up!
"So why this change?" Ginny asked from Harry's side.
"Just felt like it." That was partially true. The only person who knew the real reason was the one person she was supposed to hate.
Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, Hater of Mudbloods, and new Head Boy to her Head Girl. When the letter from McGonagall first came, Malfoy had written her basically to tell her how unworthy she was. She wrote back to him in a fury, telling him how she wouldn't take any of his shit this year. Surprisingly, he'd sensed the depression in the letter, grown a heart, and asked her what was wrong. She'd been so desperate for someone to talk to, she'd told him everything. In just 3 months, Hermione's perfect life had spiraled into a miserable abyss. She couldn't tell Harry for fear of ruining his happiness with Ginny after defeating Voldemort. And Ron was always so busy with Quidditch and Lavender. So she'd turned to her sworn enemy. The bad news started when Crookshanks died a few weeks after Harry's triumph. Then, to stoke the fire, her father revealed that he was in love with another woman. Watching him leave was incredibly hard to bear. Then, she came home from the library one day to find her mother unconscious on the floor with an empty pill bottle next to her. Doctors were able to save her and her aunt Julie was staying with her mother who had been put on suicide watch. But the letters with Malfoy were never quite enough. The one thing she'd never told him was her own personal 'pain killer': sex. She was only with one boy all summer, Jason, but the relationship was purely physical and only for a distraction. She didn't know why, but sex made everything better for a few hours, she almost felt numb. The physical change in her came from wanting to shed her little girl looks. She was in no way a little girl anymore. That summer had stolen her innocence long before she gave it to Jason.
The train ride was awkward and Hermione struggled to act happy in front of her friends. She was relieved when she had to do her rounds. She walked alone, silently through the train.
"Granger!" she turned to see Malfoy striding towards her, flanked by Blaise and Pansy. Keeping up their reputation of enemies, she glared at him.
"What do you want Malfoy?" she spat.
"My, my. Sexy new Granger comes with a fiery new attitude." Blaise snickered and Draco fought the urge to punch him.
"McGonagall wants to talk to us." He told her. She followed him to an empty compartment, leaving Pansy and Blaise behind. As soon as the door was closed, Draco's infamous sneer was replaced by concern.
"How you doing Granger? Your letters haven't been as frequent." Hermione did not want to have that conversation yet.
"Not now Malfoy. We'll talk later. We have work to do." He sensed the pure despair in her voice as she walked out of the compartment and avoided him for the rest of the trip.
After the Sorting, Hermione quietly ate her dinner, trying to ignore the uncharacteristically concerned glance from the Slytherin Head Boy. The truth was, Draco was genuinely concerned for his Gryffindor counterpart. Over the summer, he'd grown to see Hermione as an actual person and now he felt responsible for her. In a strange way, it comforted him knowing he was the only one who knew how horrible her life had become. He'd never been there for someone to rely on, and now he needed her to need him. He'd never been so important to another person like that before. His father barely acknowledged him, and his mother was too frightened of him to go against him. After his father was arrested, his mother was discovered to be thoroughly under the Imperious Curse and had been released from Azkaban, but home was still not what he'd heard it was supposed to be like. Malfoy Manor had never been a warm, family oriented place. There had never been 'family time' or any kind of bonding within the family. As a baby, Draco's parents had barely touched him; everything was left to house elves.
"Would the Head Boy and Girl please report to me please?" McGonagall's voice shook Draco from his thoughts and he rose from his seat as Hermione did the same.
"I will show you too you're shared Head's Dorm." She informed them once the teenagers had reached her. They nodded and silently followed her. She led them to a portrait of two young children, a boy and a girl. The girl looked slightly older and was holding a sunflower out for the young boy, who looked about 3 years old. McGonagall cleared her throat and the two children turned their attention to her.
"Loyalty." She said clearly and the portrait swung open. She left the two at the door and walked off towards her office. Hermione entered first to find a small living area. The furniture was green, comfortable material and the room was accented with silver and gold. There was a fire place and a huge bookcase, so large it needed a ladder. Off of the room, was a small kitchen stocked with the basics. Three doors led off of the main room. The middle, Hermione discovered to be a bathroom. The tiling was black with silver and gold bath, shower, and sinks. The room on the left was labeled as hers. She had a large, king sized bed with a red, silk duvet and gold sheets. Gold curtains hung from the bedposts in which the Gryffindor lion was carved. She had a large desk, a wardrobe already stocked with her clothes, and a full length mirror. She figured Malfoy's room was the same, but in Slytherin colors. She began personalizing her room with pictures when she heard a kettle singing and Malfoy's voice from the living room.
"Granger! Come have tea with me and you can tell me what's going on and why you've avoided me all day." Hermione sighed and walked out of her room.