Alright… Just a couple of notes before we begin. In this fic, it is their seventh year in Hogwarts, but we're just going to pretend that Dumbledore's not dead. I like Dumbledore! This fic revolves more around Hermione and Draco than it does Voldemort, so we'll just put him and his death eaters and their deeds aside. Okay? Okay.
Also, I haven't read the sixth book yet. I'm only on the fifth. So if I say something that's completely wrong, please review and let me know! Thanks, lovelies. 3
Hermione closely studied herself in the large, full-length mirror in front of her. For the past half an hour she had been weighing her options, choosing which outfit to wear for the first day back to her school: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was never one to care too much about the way she looked; in fact, she found it dismally boring when Ginny Weasley carried on about clothes. But this year, she wanted to make a statement, and show the world (or at least her friends) that she was not just a know-it-all bookworm.
Finding her appearance satisfactory, she turned from the mirror and knelt to reach the suitcase beside her. Flipping it open, she glanced inside. It was there, on top of her neatly folded shirts - her Head Girl badge. It was of golden hue, engraved with a large "H.G". She wasn't quite sure whether that stood for "Head Girl" or for "Hermione Granger". No matter, it looked quite like the Head Boy badge, so naturally, people would know that she was Head Girl. 'Head girl…' she thought to herself with a wide smile. 'Me! Hermione Granger!'
She had sent owls to her friends Ron and Harry before about it, and they congratulated her profusely. Even the habitually querulous Ron found it to be an extremely great idea - now he could make Hermione take points off the Slytherin house for anything! Hermione declined that idea, though, saying she shouldn't abuse her power, and Ron's next letter seemed dreary after that.
Hermione was hoping that Ron would be Head Boy, seeing as he was a prefect and all, even though she knew fully well that he wouldn't be. He had gotten in trouble too many times to be Head Boy, and Hermione knew that his marks weren't exactly Head material. She knew that the Head boy and girl shared a bathroom and common room, so she was hoping that whoever the Head Boy was, he would be nice. In fact, most of the other prefect boys seemed nice - all except Draco Malfoy, that is. But there was no chance of him becoming Head Boy… was there?
Hermione boarded the Hogwarts express briskly, looking forward to the new school year. She had already waved good-bye to her parents, and both of them had a bit of a cry at her departure. Finally, it was her seventh year at Hogwarts! Soon she would be a full-fledged witch, allowed to cast spells outside of school! Just the thought made her giddy, and so she was grinning widely as she boarded.
As soon as she did, however, she ran straight into something, and she stumbled back at the sudden impact. Rubbing her head with a scowl, she looked up to see a familiar face. Instantly, the frown was gone. "RON!" She exclaimed, quickly wrapping her arms around the boy. He weakly hugged her back, giving a bright smile in her direction.
"Hermione! How've you been?"
"Oh, just wonderful, Ron, just wonderful. I can't believe it's finally our seventh year! Where's Harry?"
"Oh…" Ron seemed disappointed, no doubt because she had mentioned Harry so soon. He quickly recovered, however, and with a large, breathtakingly cute smile, pointed her further down the corridors of the train. "He's in our compartment already. Are you coming?" He asked it hopefully, raising his eyebrows as he did so. Hermione smiled warmly.
"No, not right now, I have to go to the Head compartment first."
"Oh, well I have to go to the prefect compartments first, so I guess I'll see you after."
"It's a date!" She said excitedly, smiling with her pearly whites bare to the world. At this exclamation, Ron's ears turned pink.
Hermione waited impatiently for the Head Boy to arrive. She had already changed into her robes, bought candy from the trolley, and waited for fifteen minutes before she heard the door open. As soon as she heard the sliding of the glass door, she stood quickly, smoothing her robes and waiting for the presumed Head Boy to come in.
Instead of the head boy, Draco Malfoy came in. 'What? He's not supposed to be in here!' "Get out of here, Malfoy," she seethed, returning her outstretched hoping-for-a-handshake hand to its original position.
"Touchy, aren't we, Granger?" He snapped, the traditional Malfoy sneer adorning his face. However, his eyes perked with a realization, and the sneer turned into a self-absorbed grin. "I'm supposed to be in here." He reached his hand into his pocket and fished around for a moment. Hermione crossed her arms, giving him a glare that clearly said 'Explain yourself.' Finally, his hand returned to view, taking a shiny silver badge along with it. He held it to her, as if offering for her to hold it, the top on the upside. Engraved in the silver was "H.B" - clearly standing for "Head Boy". Hermione gasped, eyes widening to clear saucers - if they could have gotten any bigger, they would have.
"Oh God, you're Head Boy!"
"No shit, Sherlock!"
"Don't take that attitude with me! I'm Head Girl!"
"I'm Head Boy, I'll take an attitude with whoever I want."
"Why you little…"
Somewhere in the midst of the arguing, a shocking realization dawned on Hermione: She would have to share a bathroom and common room with Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. She promptly shut her mouth, shoved Draco out of the way, and left the compartment raging, leaving a very confused but proud Malfoy in her wake.
"Malfoy's head boy!" She exclaimed in sheer rage as she stormed into Harry and Ron's compartment. Harry and Ron were in mid-conversation, but they stopped talking as soon as they heard the M-word.
"Really?" Harry said, sounding entirely disgusted. Ron, on the other hand, was palpably terrified. "How do you know?"
"He came into the Head compartment." she murmured, crossing her arms obstinately and sitting down next to Harry. "He was absolutely vile. There's no way I'm sitting with him!"
"Oh God," Ron stammered, clearly afraid of Draco's newfound power, "He's got the power to make our lives a living hell now!"
"Your life?" Hermione said skeptically, arms still crossed in anger, "What about mine? I have to do rounds with him!"
"But you can take points off him," Harry offered hopefully.
"Not if he doesn't do anything."
"You can take points away if he calls you mud--" Ron stopped when he saw Hermione's glare, "--That dirty word again." Hermione seemed satisfied with his correction, so she continued talking.
"Yes, I suppose I can. But if I do, he'll just take points away from me for something stupid, like walking on the wrong side of the hall."
"There is no wrong side of the hall."
"You know Malfoy. He'll make one up."
They all sighed and slumped back in the benches. This would be a long year.
The sorting and the feast dragged by slowly, especially since Harry, Hermione, and Ron couldn't help but steal a few glances at the Slytherin table. When anyone from said table looked back at them, however, they turned back to their food or whatever they were doing and remained silent.
The Great Hall was loud and buzzing with noise, gossip, and friends catching up with friends, and Professor McGonagall attempted to silence them.
"May I have your attention, please? May I have your attention, please!" When the hall didn't settle down, she slapped her wand on the table in front of her loudly, and then clapped even more loudly to get the school's attention.
"Please! Settle down! Now, since the feast is done, will first years please follow Mr. Filch to your appropriate houses! And also, would the Head girl and boy please come and follow me!"
At the mention of her title, Hermione stood, regrettably noticing that Malfoy had stood up as well. She quickly walked towards professor McGonagall, trying desperately not to bump into Draco along the way. She weaved through crowds of people, turning sharply when she almost ran into them, and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached the staff table. She also noticed that Draco was, unfortunately, next to her.
"Hello, students," McGonagall greeted warmly. The two replied in a chorused "Hello, Professor McGonagall."
"Please come this way. I'll take you to your rooms."
Hermione was excited for this. She had never seen the Head girl or boy's rooms before, and she could only imagine whether they were better or worse than the Gryffindor dorms… she was suspecting better. She and Draco followed McGonagall as she led them through hall after corridor after hall, turning sharply when the situation required it and walking straight at other times. After climbing slowly up a staircase (Hermione wished she would hurry up), McGonagall reached a large painting of a mermaid, then smiled and began to speak. "Teshia, these two are the new Head girl and boy." McGonagall turned, and then faced Hermione and Malfoy. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, this is Teshia, and her painting is the entrance to your quarters for the year." She paused a moment, as if waiting for her words to sink into the brains of the two students she spoke to, then continued. "Now, I know you two have a… er… history, but I expect you to put your differences aside. After you go in, the hall to the left will lead to the Head Boy's room, and the Hall to the right will lead to the Head girl's. They are connected in the middle for the bathroom. The password is currently 'Mandrake', but if you two decide on a password together, you can change it." Draco looked at Hermione, expecting a glare in his direction, but found that she was still looking at Professor McGonagall. "Now, I shall take my leave. Good day to you."
Hermione, completely ignoring Draco, said "Mandrake" solemnly. When the portrait which was apparently a door opened, she stepped into the room, then gasped.
It was, to say in the least, spectacular. Of course, she had seen more intricately designed rooms, but the comparison of the Head common room to the Gryffindor common room made the former look like a castle.
It was furnished well, with three couches before a blazing fire, and Hermione found herself absently wondering why there were three full-length couches when there were only two people to be held on them. The majority of the room was burgundy, usually lined with gold. Draco seemed miffed that the decoration was in the Gryffindor colors, but said nothing.
Hermione smiled widely. "It's gorgeous," she crooned, quickly hurrying through the common room to find the hall that led to her own room.
Draco eyed her suspiciously as she fled the common room, then when he was sure she was gone, he confidently began to explore. Walking, then turning, then walking again, he headed all around the room, eyeing things and surveying them, then turning around and walking away. When he finally had enough of exploring, he headed to his own room.
Hermione was entirely enthralled in the sheer wonder of her room. It was much more decorative than her room at home, and also larger! She made a mental note that her bed here was much bigger than the bed at the Gryffindor common room, and without hesitation, she leaped onto it, allowing herself to sink into its cuddly softness and let it soothe her frazzled nerves. She giggled ecstatically, bringing her hands up to her mouth to smother the noise. This was actually turning out to be a good day.