Chapter 1
Voldemort fell 5 months ago. We all watched as he hit the ground. After, there had been weeks of partying and celebrating. But under all the drinking, laughter, and the supposed happiness, there was a hidden sense of pain. Nearly everyone had lost people in the war. Unfortunately, no amount of parties could cover up the pain for long.
"Hermione!" I jump as Ginny slams her bag down on the table, in the Great Hall. "Finally. I've been trying to get your attention for like ten minutes!" Harry chuckles beside her, "Gin, it was more like thirty seconds." She glares at him, then sits down. "It felt like ten minutes… so what were you doing in that head of your's "Mione?" As Harry sits down beside her, I contemplate what to say. I don't have the heart to tell her I've been reflecting on how bad everything got after the war, as she's convinced that if we don't think or talk about it, it will go away. "Oh I was just trying to remember how many feet of parchment Professor Flitwick wanted for our charms essay." Harry makes a choking noise. "We have a charms essay?" I roll my eyes. "Yes we do, but it isn't due for another week. You should be fine, as long as you actually put your mind to it." We came back for our mandatory eighth year of Hogwarts a month ago, after the school had finally been rebuilt. Harry and Ron still had the same work ethic, and if I was to be honest, I was having a huge amount of trouble trying to focus. The war affected me, more than I'd like to admit. I start to stand up. "Look I have to go to the library. I'll catch up with you guys—." I'm interrupted by Professor McGonagall standing up at the heads table, and asking for everyone's attention. I sigh and sit back down. Something about her serious expression tells me this won't be good. "I have a few matters to discuss with you today. I am aware that not everyone is currently present, so there are announcements being put in all the house common rooms as I speak. As I'm sure everyone knows, there are still quite a few rogue Death Eaters outside our walls. Now I don't want to alarm anyone, there is a large chance that they will be looking for revenge, especially on certain students." Her eyes swept the room, lingering on Harry, Ginny and I for about five seconds, then slowly moving across most of the eighth years that fought in the war. Surprisingly, she then lingered again, this time on Draco Malfoy. I can understand why though, as defecting from Voldemort, and not to mention helping Harry, would definitely put him high up on the Death Eaters list. "Because of this, the Ministry of Magic has decided that we need a new type of defence class, on top of Defence Against the Dark Arts. This class will not be with wands however. As much as we rely on our wands, there is always the chance of being disarmed, or having our wands break. So the Ministry has decided that you are to learn to fight with other weapons." The silence that had previously encompassed Great Hall broke, as everyone started whispering to each other. "Silence!" The students focused their attention back on Professor McGonagall. "This class will be for third years and up, and it will be mandatory. Now, on to the next topic. As this is the first time in Hogwart's history that we have an eighth year, and because of everything the has happened over the last three years, the staff has come to a decision. The war has changed everyone who fought in it, and it has been years since some of our students were sorted. Because of this, we will be resorting all seventh and eighth years." At this, it sounded like the Great Hall exploded. People were yelling and arguing. I just sit in silence. I have no idea which house I'll end up in. On top of that, however, all I can think of is how tired of everything I am. I was hoping I could just bury myself in schoolwork, while pretending everything is normal. I've been working my arse off, trying to hide just how depressed I've gotten. People always say that change is a good thing, but I have a particular feeling that this change won't help me at all. I know I've changed a lot, and part of me is pretty damn sure I won't end up in Gryffindor again. I push that thought out of my mind. Overthinking it won't change anything. "That is quite enough!" McGonagall shouts. "This decision is final. Now onto the third matter of business. We are aware that spirits are low, so we have asked two individuals to stay at our school this year, solely to lift spirits and create some happiness. Everyone, I'm sure you remember Fred and George Weasley." This actually does surprise me. I watch as Fred and George walk out of a door behind the head table. It's an unusual move for McGonagall to make. Hopefully it'll work though. My attention is drawn back to the head table as McGonagall dismisses us. Harry starts to say something, but I'm already off the bench. I practically run to the doors of the Great Hall, and then I'm gone
—
Three days later, the seventh and eighth years sit in the Great Hall, waiting to be re-sorted. I feel like I'm about to vomit, but I've discovered that by pinching my hand, it gave something to focus on, other then the re-sorting. I'm in the middle of a particularly hard pinch, when a voice cuts through my photos. "Granger, what the fuck are you doing?" I whip my head around to look over my shoulder. Looking right back are the grey eyes of one Draco Malfoy. "Piss off Malfoy." I turn back around. "No. Why were you doing that. Actually what were you doing?" I turn back around, expecting to see glaring grey eyes. But instead they look curious, and almost… concerned? I scoff. Yeah right. Draco Malfoy concerned about anyone but himself. He may have switched sides, but he's still an egotistical prick. "I said piss off Malfoy. It's none of your business." I hear him mutter something, but I ignore it. Then I hear something that I was completely unprepared for. "Granger, Hermione." I wipe my palms on my robes, and slowly stand up. I almost trip as I approach the chair that the old hat is on, but I manage not too. McGonagall lifts the hat, and I sit. The last thing I see before the hat blocks my sight, is a pair of grey, calculating, eyes staring right at me.
"Hermione Granger… hmm, haven't seen you in years. Now, what to do with you? Still extremely intelligent I see. Yet you don't seem to have that thirst for knowledge anymore. I doubt Ravenclaw would suit you… hm, now here's a problem. You've still got quite a lot of courage… other Gryffindor traits too, yet this war has changed you quite a lot. You've got a lot of Slytherin qualities in you now. And something else. The war took a huge toll on you didn't it? It'll get a lot worse before it gets better unfortunately. But I know where to put you now. Where there are people who I don't doubt will help you with this crushing darkness." Oh god. I hope this bloody hat doesn't put me where I think it's going to. "SLYTHERIN!" Oh fuck.
My head shoots up, and I make eye contact with Harry. He looks as shocked as I feel. I can't bring myself to move, until McGonagall practically pushes me off the chair. I stumble towards the Slytherin table. My new House table. Bloody fucking hat. What the hell is it playing at. This is supposed to help me with the "crushing darkness?" Throwing me in with a House full of people that I don't know, or people that hate me? That definitely sounds helpful. I continue my inner rant about the stupid hat until a name catches my attention. "Malfoy, Draco." Now this is interesting. I mean sure, he's still a prick and still seems quite Slytherin, but it does take courage to stand up against everything that your family believes in, and then help the opposing side of a war, knowing how many people would want to kill you. I find myself leaning forward a bit. He's been sitting there for over a minute now. I can almost hear a clock ticking. And then it happens. "SLYTHERIN!" Double fuck. I was expecting it, but the fact that I officially have to share a common room with the "Slytherin Prince" is already giving me a headache. I watch as he saunters over to the table, then I direct my attention to the plate in front of me. I wait until I hear Harry's name, then look up. I'm already fairly sure where he'll be put, so I'm not surprised at all when I hear "GRYFFINDOR!" Great, so far I'm the only one of my eighth year friends to be put in Slytherin. Dean and his boyfriend Seamus had both been put back into Gryffindor as well. Luna, it turns out, has been put in Slytherin with me. I hadn't realized it, but she had sat down in across from me about five minutes ago. At this point I've begun pinching my hand again. Hard. I'm sure it'll leave a mark. I don't really understand why I'm doing it, I just know the pain seems to be helping me for some reason. I start staring at my plate again, waiting for the Weasley's to be called. About ten minutes later, Ginny is called up. Honestly, I'll be surprised if she's put anywhere but Gryffindor. She's always been one of the bravest and strongest people I know. Unlike me. People think I'm some amazing war hero, when really I'm a weak, sorry excuse for a human being. I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a shout that shook me to my core. "SLYTHERIN!" Holy shit. Did that actually just happen? She walks slowly towards me, rather pale but otherwise emotionless. She takes a seat beside me, and even though she doesn't say anything, the way she leans against me tells me she needs support. "Weasley, Ronald." I watch Ron walk confidently towards the sorting hat. I don't even bother to try and figure out which House he'll be put in. Since I broke up with him just days after the war ended, we haven't spent much time together. We tried to remain friends, for Harry's sake mostly, but it just seemed to strain things more. After the battle, he changed. He barely let me leave the house alone, and when we went to the celebratory parties, he'd spend almost the whole time with a tight grip on my wrist. At first I thought it was just paranoia from the war, until we got into a fight about it. "I don't want you running off with some other guy! I've seen you eyeing men in the streets!" Just that sentence had made me want to run from the room. I had never eyed anyone, and the thought of leaving Ron had never crossed my mind. The argument got more and more heated, until Ron suddenly raised his hand, as if to hit me. He stopped though, and muttered that I was "to weak to take a hit." That was it for me. I yelled that we were over, and then fled from the room. He had apologized eventually, and that's when we agreed to try and remain friends, but I haven't trusted him since. The Sorting Hat yells "GRYFFINDOR!" I roll my eyes. Of course he's the one put with Harry.
The rest of the seventh and eighth years are sorted, and then McGonagall stands up to make another announcement. Honestly how many things does she need to say? "I am well aware of how much of a change this must be for some of you, but I implore each and every one of you to do your best to set a goof example for the younger students. We have one more change this year. In an effort to promote inter-house unity, House common rooms will be open to everyone, not just the students of one house." This makes me somewhat happier. At least now I'll be able to visit my old common room when I need the comfort of something familiar. "Now everyone off to your dormitories, and remember, the new defence class starts tomorrow." I stand up, and with Ginny and Luna beside me, we follow the group of Slytherins that are heading down to the dungeons. We arrive at a random wall somewhere in the dungeons, and here the group in front of us call out the password. "Argentum." We speed up and walk in behind them. It's a lot warmer in here then I expected. One wall is charmed to allow us to see into the Black Lake. There are about three different fireplaces, spaced out around the common room. The different tones of silver and green suit it quite well. Multiple comfy looking couches and chairs are placed near the fireplaces. There were two hallways, each on one side on the common room. I look around, with no idea where to go. "The seventh and eighth years share a big dormitory down here. Follow me, I'll show you. We'll be sharing a room after all." I turn around to see Pansy Parkison standing behind me. I look at her, confused. "Honestly Granger." She sighs. "Look, I know I've been a right bitch to you all these years, but that wasn't really me. I had to act like some stuck up pureblood arsehole because of my parents and their prejudices. Sure when I was younger I believed that pureblood shit, but I learned better." I slowly nod. Better that then making an enemy as soon as I enter the common room. "Right, so you were going to show us the dormitory?" She walks past me, and heads down the hallway on the right side of the common room. "Yep, come on." We follow her down the hallway, and into the biggest dormitory I've ever seen at Hogwarts. I head to the bed that has my trunk beside it. Ginny's bed is to the left of mine, Luna's is to the right. Pansy heads to the bed directly across from mine. I turn as I hear the door open. In walks Tracey Davis, Astoria and Daphne Greengrass, Nerissa Brody, Diane Carter, and Mandy Brocklehurst, who had previously been in Ravenclaw. Out of the ten girls in the dormitory, only four had previously been in different Houses. Fortunately for me, I'd never had any issues with any of the other girls, save Pansy. "Er, hello." I call out. I get a chorus of hellos back. introductions were made, and then everyone got ready for bed, as it was getting rather late, and we had to be up early for classes tomorrow.
—
At breakfast the next day, we got our new schedules, as they had to be updated with the new defence class. I still felt rather uneasy at the Slytherin table, but as I was sitting with most of the girls from my dormitory, I was slightly more comfortable. I turn to Ginny. "What time is your defence class?" She waves one hand at her schedule, whilst the other grabs a piece of toast. "It's my last class of the day. How about you?" I look down. "It's my second class of the day, right after charms." She nods, and then focus all her attention on her food. It almost makes me laugh. Almost. I haven't legitimately laughed in months. Once breakfast ends, she heads to Care of Magical Creatures, and I head to Charms. When I get there, I see Harry sitting at a desk, with an empty seat beside him. I start to make my way towards him, until I'm almost knocked over by someone pushing past me. I see a flash of red hair, and realize it was Ron. He sits down in the spot I was planning to sit in, and I can't help the slight ache in my heart as he flashes me a smug smile, then starts chatting with Harry. Who of course didn't notice the whole thing. I stand there not knowing what to do, until I feel a hand on my elbow, and look over to see Pansy beside me. Without a word, she pulls me to the back, where Tracey and Daphne are sitting. We sit down at the empty desk beside them. I smile at her, and she flashes a genuine smile back. "Thanks." She waves me off. "I have no idea what your on about." I almost believe her, until I see her wink. I'm starting to take a liking to this girl. As I turn to look at the professor, I notice Malfoy staring at me. Instead of snapping at him, I just raise an eyebrow. He gives me a somewhat questioning look, then turns to the front. Okay, this is definitely not like the Draco Malfoy I know. I try to push the thought out of my mind, and watch as Professor Flitwick begins his lecture. I do my best to focus on the lesson, but it's become almost impossible. I begin to pinch my hand again. As soon as the pain registers, my mind clears and I'm able to focus again. I don't understand why it's been helping, but I'll take it. I hear a noise beside me, a quickly stop pinching. I turn to look at Pansy. When I meet her gaze, she's staring at me strangely, but doesn't say anything. I'm not sure why, but I hope she didn't see what I was doing. For some reason I feel like I should be hiding it. I hear Professor Flitwick dismiss the class, so I quickly make my way out of the classroom, and head outside to the defence class.
I get there ahead of everyone else, which gives me a chance to meet the new Professor. "Oh hello there! I'm Professor Tanner. Where is the rest of the class?" I nod towards to castle, where a large group of students were making their way towards us. "They're on their way Professor. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way." He smiles. "I know dear, I've seen lots of photos of you in the paper. Though I daresay, I find the talk of how skilled you are in all magic a bit more fascinating." I don't say anything. Instead I observe his appearance. He looked to be in his fifties, with greying hair, and deep crows feet by his eyes. He seems nice enough, so I decide to give him something. "Thank you Professor. I'd rather be known for that." He chuckles, and moves away to organize a stand of… swords? Oh shit. So this is what McGonagall meant by "other weapons." I take another look around, and notice many different types of weapons. Swords, knives, bows, arrows, axes, and even spears. Oh and shields. Great, at least they gave us some type of protection. This is not going to end well. By now the rest of the class is here. I jump when I feel someone brush my shoulder, and I turn to see Harry. I smile at him, and pull him into a one armed hug. "This is crazy isn't it? I mean, I was sorted into Slytherin, and now we're learning to fight with these?" I ask him. "Yeah, it is rather crazy. But don't worry 'Mione, just because you're a big bad snake now, doesn't mean we aren't friends." He teases. I remove my arm from his shoulders, and then use it to hit him on the arm. He starts to laugh, and I almost join in. I can't bring myself to though, so I just smile and shake my head at him. Then Ron appears on his other side, and my smile is instantly gone. Ron opens his mouth to say something, but before he gets the chance, Professor Tanner begins talking. "So I've got all the eighth years here right? Good. Now I'm Professor Tanner, and I'll be your Weapons Defence teacher. In this class, I will teach you how to use the weapons in front of you. I'll also be teaching you how to defend yourself against them, just in case. Now some professors would sugarcoat this, but I won't. This class has been added to help defend you against the remaining Death Eaters that want you dead. Some of these Death Eaters will not have wands, which is part of the reason you'll be taught to defend yourselves from these weapons as well. In muggle London they might be uncommon, but not so much in our world. So if everybody would come pick a weapon, we will begin."