The Colour Pink

Chapter One

The living room at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was covered with decorations. Balloons and streamers covered much of the floor and ceiling, and a large sign hanging on one of the walls sported the words 'Happy Birthday Harry!' in glittering red. It was hardly recognizable, compared to what it was before.

And in the room a party was taking place, for Harry Potter of course.

"Happy Birthday!" Hermione chirped as she raced into the room, having just flooed in. She sought out Harry in the small crowd of people and fairly leapt onto his back.

"Woah. Thanks." Harry replied once he'd regained his balance, and Hermione had let go of her hold. By this time, most of the room had diverted their attention to the two of them.

"Hermione!" Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise when he turned around and looked at his friend.

"Of course." Hermione shifted her weight onto one foot impatiently, a smile on her face.

Ron, who had been raiding the desert table, had stopped chewing mid-bit and had put down the piece of cake he was eating in order to run over and wrap a bear hug around the girl.

"Hello." Was Hermione's muffled response to Ron's hug, and greetings issued from the observing crowd before they went back to their previous conversations.

"It's great to see you, Hermione." Ron was beaming, and Hermione only smiled back before she turned her attention to Harry.

"Having a good party, Harry?" Hermione asked, her brown eyes smiling as she reached into her pocket.

"I was having a good party, but it just got about ten times better. I thought you were going to be in Italy with your parents for the rest of the week!"

"I was. They had so many tours planned…but then I went ahead and hurried the vacation along by tourguiding them around so that I could leave early, you know. Couldn't miss your birthday!" Hermione handed Harry a small rectangular present, wrapped with gold paper and tied with a red ribbon.

"Harry, you should've told me you wanted jewelry for your birthday." Ron poked fun at the size of the gift.

Hermione sent a glare at Ron from underneath her bushy bangs, and then whisked her wand out of her pocket. With a flick and a muttered incantation, the giftbox grew to its regular size(roughly the size of a shoebox).

Harry grinned as Ron gave him a look. Hermione lowered her wand and rocked up onto her tiptoes in excitement as she off-handedly explained: "I ran out of room in my trunk."

Her widened eyes were saying something else, however. They seemed to be screaming the words, 'Open it!'

And Harry did.

Wrappings left on the floor, Harry was left with something in each hand. In his left hand were a pair of shiny sleek Quidditch Goggles, a brand new design that would fit over his glasses, but it was what was in his right hand that held his green-eyed gaze.

"It's the very first copy. I just finished writing it last week. There's a chapter about your parents including pictures which I think you might like…" Hermione was anxiously awaiting Harry's reaction as was Ron, as he surveyed Hermione's first published work, The Fall of You-Know-Who: What You Don't Know. "Look, I even signed the inside cover for you."

Harry finally moved. A smile graced his face and he quickly laughed, blinking a few times to try and control his watering eyes.

"Hermione, it's perfect."

Hermione clapped her hands together in relief as Ron tried to take a look through the book and voicing; "What about me, Hermione? What did you put about me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron would never change. Harry was much the same as well, though she admitted he was finally getting some meat on his bones, considering You-Know-Who was gone for good and stress didn't eat at him every second of the day.

It was good to see everyone again, Hermione thought as she went around to greet and talk. But there was one thing she noticed about every single person there that for some reason she couldn't share with him or her; they were all overwhelmingly happy. She didn't know why she didn't feel that way, perhaps it was because she felt that she hadn't changed one bit. She was still Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired, smart friend of Harry Potter. And though receiving the Head Girl's badge a couple days before in the mail had overwhelmed her, it hadn't been with happiness.

"You're Head Girl?" Ron demanded incredulously from his spot seated in a compartment of the Hogwart's Express. Hermione pretended to take a moment to ponder his question before nodding meekly in response.

Ron couldn't seem to find an answer.

"It's not all that unbelievable, Ron." Harry offered from his seat opposite Ron, "She was Prefect and top of the class. She's probably the best witch Hogwarts has every seen."

Hermione gave a pointed look to Harry, but reddened all the same.

"Well…I know." Ron sputtered, and then resurfaced to ask his next question; "Who's Head Boy?"

Hermione shrugged, and Harry shook his head unknowingly.

"It's a wonder this school's run for so long." Ron shook his head, "When they get Boy-Wonder, Saviour of the Muggles and Magical alike, they don't even make him Head Boy."

"I'll see you two when we reach Hogwarts." Hermione suppressed a smile before heading towards the Head's Compartment.

Who Is Head Boy? She thought to herself, and started running through the list of seventh year boys she'd formed in her head. Absently, she straightened her Head Girl badge and pulled her untamed hair into a messy bun as she bit her lip in thought until she reached the compartment.

Nothing had prepared her for who was inside. She hadn't even added his name to the list.

"Granger." It wasn't even a greeting. It was a drawled form of acknowledgement coming from a mouth whose lips were curled into a sneer. Malfoy. Yes, he'd resigned himself to the fact that there was no doubt Hermione would be Head Girl. But he was not Happy about it.

Hermione stood in the compartment doorway, mouth slightly open in shock. There was no way Dumbledore would do this to her. She was in such denial that her mouth opened and she said; "Get out, Malfoy. Prefects are one over."

"Is my badge not shiny enough, Granger?" Malfoy clenched his teeth together in distaste when he said her last name again. But this time, as Hermione's eyes flew to the golden badge sporting the bold words Head Boy, her mouth was closed, her lips pressed together with determination.

Hermione knew that she had to be careful of what she said, if he really was Head Boy(and she was still suspicious that he'd stolen it from the real one), she didn't want to start of the year by igniting a fight that might end up in a duel.

Draco's narrowed glare moved away from Hermione, and his eyes softened as they settled to look out the window.

Teeth clenched, Hermione stubbornly shut the compartment door closed behind her, and sat down on the bench opposite Draco. It was hard to imagine a year working close with this…boy.

Although Hermione had to admit that his unslicked hair did well with him. She had no idea that if he let it down so, and allowed it to grow out a bit that it would start to curl slightly towards the tips. She started to wonder mildly if he still played quidditch, and if he practiced at home like Ron and Harry did at the burrow, and if he played shirtless too like her friends sometimes did. Her train of thought was broken, thankfully, when the compartment door slid open.

"Good, you're both here." McGonogall stepped into the compartment, her dress robes stiff, her strained face smiling.

Both Heads erupted at once, jumping up and voicing comments.

"I cannot work with him."

"I'll have you know I work alone."

"Harry deserves that badge and everyone knows it."

"Did you think I would welcome more responsibility?"

"His father is a Death Eater!"

"Hey!" This and a glare were thrown towards Hermione.

"We all know it's true." Hermione glared back fiercely.

McGonogall sent a stern look to the both of them, but neither caught it.

"I turned in my father, Granger." Draco hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What kind of person betrays his own family?" Hermione spat this without thinking. It was a low blow and she knew it, but at the moment she didn't care.

In the blink of an eye Draco had Hermione pressed to the side of the compartment, one hand at her throat, their noses inches apart.

"That's right, he was family. Now think what I would do to my enemies." And despite their position and the threat Malfoy'd just voiced, Hermione couldn't help but be completely conscious of how close they were.

"Mister Malfoy!" McGonogall exclaimed. Malfoy let go of Hermione instantly, but his glare remained. "Dumbledore continues to keep you in his highest regards, and he seems to think that this is the best set up for Head Boy and Girl. If you cannot handle the chance he's offered you, Mister Malfoy, you may very well need to find yourself another school."

"I can handle it." Malfoy wrenched his glare away from Hermione, and tried to settle himself.

"Are you alright Miss Granger? Do you have any objections?"

I never realized his eyes glistened like that. Hermione found herself thinking. Her thoughts trailed off until it registered that McGonogall had questioned her. She cleared her throat, eyes narrowing in annoyance towards herself. "I'm fine. As long as Mister Malfoy doesn't make that a habit, I'm sure we will find some way to…work together."

Hermione enjoyed watched Malfoy clench and unclench his teeth as she performed her best McGonogall imitation.

"Good." McGonogall paused in order to survey her two seething Heads. "Your first order of business will be to draw up a Prefect Patrolling Schedule. The Prefects need to have this before they exit the train today. Dumbledore will meet with you in his office next Monday after you've had the first week to settle in. I will, however, need to meet with the both of you directly after dinner tonight. Come up to the Professor's table when you've finished."

Hermione nodded, aware of Malfoy doing the same beside her, and Mcgonogall nodded also before giving the two of them a pointed look before exiting the compartment.

The room was quiet. And Hermione could hardly stand it. But for some reason, she didn't know what to say to Malfoy first. She didn't know how to say anything civil to him, in fact. And she wondered mildly if he was having the same problem.

"Well, Granger, you heard McGonogall. Now write up that schedule and wake me when we reach Hogwarts." Malfoy was stretching out on the bench opposite her.

Apparently he doesn't know how to be civil. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she forced herself to look away from the taut smooth skin that was showing when his shirt rode up as he tried to get comfortable. Merlin, it was going to be a long train ride to school.