A year and a half after the Battle of Hogwarts

Draco Malfoy stood alone on Platform 9 ¾ with his trunk watching the other patrons as they avoided his gaze and busied their children onto the train with goodbye kisses and advice for the upcoming school year. A dozen yards away two ginger headed women shared their farewells. Their clothes and hair were unmistakable: Mrs. Weasley and the youngest Weasley girl. The older woman wiped away the traces of tears from her eyes and fussed over her daughter's robes and straightened her hair. The effect was so universally motherly that Malfoy felt a small amount of pain and loss, and for a moment he wished Narcissa had come to see him off to school.

This school term was Hogwarts first year of being fully functional after the battle. The school opened last year to allow some students, no doubt Miss Granger among them, to return for testing to graduate and move on with their lives. Malfoy had not had the chance to do the same as his existence had been temporarily suspended by spending six months in the Ministry's juvenile detention center. The rehabilitation program had been a humiliating, somewhat enlightening, and blessedly light sentence compared to what Draco could have gotten, what he should have gotten.

Malfoy shook off that line of thinking and blinked back to his surroundings. He noticed Zabini leaning on a pillar also wearing school robes. Zabini made eye contact and gave Malfoy a slight nod in recognition. Malfoy returned the greeting and surveyed the crowd to see who else had decided to return. He noticed Longbottom talking with Lovegood as they boarded the train, Ron Weasley seemed blessedly absent, Theodore Nott now joined Zabini in glaring at everyone, and the Boy-Who-Lived had joined the red heads.

Malfoy groaned. He had hoped the great Savior would have skipped out on returning to Hogwarts. Malfoy could still remember Potter's testimony at his trial. He had been honest and not openly hostile against Malfoy and was perhaps the only reason Malfoy could return to school at all. It wasn't as if Draco wasn't grateful, but that was just the problem. He was grateful. He was grateful Potter stopped the Dark Lord. He was grateful he could continue with his life. He was even grateful Lucius was in Azkaban and Narcissa had only been placed under house arrest. The Slytherin felt the uncomfortable position of being indebted to his school rival with no idea how to repay said debt. When he saw Potter in the papers, when Potter gave his testimonies, when Potter had visited—and, shit, he was walking over now.

The two boys exchanged a curt nod. Malfoy kept his features calm and collected. Potter on the other hand looked as if he had undergone great pain to even come this close to Draco. Without speaking, they managed to come to a silent agreement of sorts: Don't mess with me; I won't mess with you.

The war, it seemed, had been hard on them both. Potter's face looked aged a bit past what his nineteen years should look like. They weren't quite men, and yet they weren't children anymore either. Potter held out his hand and for a brief second and Malfoy entertained the ridiculous notion he was attempting to shake his hand. But the hand outstretched to him held out a package instead of a welcome.

"Come to give me a present for getting out of prison?" Malfoy asked while raising an eyebrow. He didn't make a move to take the box, though he was intrigued to know what the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice could possibly be trying to give him.

"Just take it Malfoy. You might find it comes in handy at a wizarding school," said Potter. And with that, he took Malfoy's arm, his left arm, and shoved the box in his hand. As quick as he had come he had turned and proceeded to board the train.

A little off kilter, Malfoy followed the last of the students aboard and searched out an empty compartment to settle into. The box sat heavy in his lap. Nervous fingers hovered over the clearly muggle bought lid. As he was about to open it, a couple of first years stumbled through the door and landed in an excited pile on the seat across him. The two boys wrestled about for a moment before realizing anyone else was in the car. Malfoy watched on in a little amusement and some annoyance.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't notice it was occupied," said one. He had dark brown hair and a pale freckled face. The first year's face was bright and innocent. His companion, however, looked at Malfoy and recoiled before putting on sneer worthy of any Slytherin.

"Don't talk to him, come on. Let's go," said the other. He knocked back black bangs which drooped over one eye, threw his nose up in the air, and grabbed the other kid's hand as he pulled him to the door.

"What? Why?" said the brunette throwing one last look at Malfoy. His blue eyes were wide on his face and Malfoy wondered if he had ever been so innocent and young. He thought not.

"I'll tell you later, come on."

In the safety of the hall, Malfoy could hear the raven haired boy hiss "Death Eater" before they took off running. Malfoy put the box aside.

"Harry!"

Harry Potter walked arm and arm with Ginny towards the carriages which would take him to Hogwarts one last time when he heard his name called out. "Neville!"

"Good to see you, mate. Good to see you!" Neville said as he rigorously shook Harry's hand. Harry politely pulled away his hand and then drew Neville into a hug.

"You too. How've you been?" Harry asked. While the Battle of Hogwarts had left many scarred and broken, Longbottom had walked away a changed man. He was outgoing, adventurous, and amorously attached to Luna Lovegood, who was staring at Harry with a happy, if not a shade disconcerting, smile.

"Fantastic. Look!" Neville said and then held Luna's hand out for Harry to see. On her ring figure was a silver band and with an opal. Ginny gave a gasp and began to jump up and down.

"Are you engaged? That's, wow, that's amazing. Congratulations!" Ginny squealed and took Luna into a hug.

"Yeah, congrats, Neville," Harry said and smiled. Luna was looking at her own ring as if she was seeing it for the first time. "I'm invited to the wedding right?"

"Harry, Gran would kill me if I didn't get you to come. Let's all ride together, yeah?"

The group boarded the carriage while fondly watching new first year students board the boats with Hagrid. The number of small boats seemed to be twice as big as they had in previous years, and while Hagrid normally could scare the firsties into submission, the size of the new crowd had him struggling to keep the excited students in line.

"Wow, why are there so many first years?" Ginny asked. Her and Harry sat a modest distance apart while Luna practically laid in Neville's lap.

"Hermione told me the castle was only open to those taking their O. and N.E. last year," Harry said. "The damage was still quite extensive so the ones who would have started last year came this year."

"The sorting's gonna take forever," Neville marveled. Harry chuckled and eagerly watched for the castle to come into view. Hogwarts may have been the sight of a war, but for Harry, coming back always felt like returning home.

"Some of the walls are still rubble," said Ginny. The castle had come a long way from the destruction of the battle, but the construction looked like it was slow going. "Hermione said the castle is rebuilding itself, it's enchanted to do so. I think they brought in a team of people to help speed it along though."

"Good ol' Hermione still teaching us things about Hogwarts even when she's not here," Harry joked.

"Harry," said Luna. She was lazily moving her hand in the air as if batting away invisible bugs and Harry turned his attention to her. "I saw you talking to Draco." Neville frowned at her familiar use of Malfoy's first name. "What did you give him?"

"You gave Malfoy something?" Ginny asked. Her eyes narrowed relaying a mix of confusion and accusation all at once, and Harry was reminded of her mother. He suppressed a shudder.

"Er, well, gave back something really. It was his to begin with," Harry said and tried to ignore his friends' faces for the remainder of the trip. His post-war feelings on Malfoy were complicated and he didn't care to share his thoughts with his friends.

Immediately after the war, Harry and several other students had been pulled in to give testimonies and sit in at trials of Death Eaters and former students. Harry had been there when the time had come for Malfoy to take the stand. His former rival had been quiet and succinctly answered the prosecution's questions one after the other. Harry had expected Malfoy to be angry and hostile, but he just appeared relieved. He hadn't even tried to defend himself, which was why when Harry took the stand he felt compelled to tell the Wizengamot about how Malfoy had saved Harry by refusing to acknowledge who he was at the manor, and how during the skirmish he had relinquished his wand to Harry without struggle. When Harry said in his testimony that he thought Malfoy had been manipulated to take the dark mark and forced to serve Voldemort, he found he meant it. After all, Malfoy had been a boy surrounded by psychopaths and who had a family Harry thought was only marginally worse than the Dursleys.

Before the Great Hall, McGonagall took a quick attendance of the new "eighth year" students. While the first year was the largest class Hogwarts had ever seen, the new eighth year class was the smallest. Harry looked around noting the faces he knew and some he didn't. Luna and Ginny were excused to go sit at their respective house tables while Harry and Neville remained behind with the rest of the eighth years.

"I have an announcement for you all. You will no longer be staying with your former houses," Professor McGonagall said and waited for the grumbling and indignation to subside. "Instead, as many of you are now legal adults, you will be housed together. Additionally, you will be seated together for meals and attend classes together. Your curfew has been extended to midnight, don't abuse that privilege please, and you will be able to travel off the premise whenever you wish as long as you have no other responsibilities. Most elective classes have been cancelled for the foreseeable future as we attempt to fill vacancies in teaching positions. I wish you the best of luck, and please don't let your previous house rivalry come between you."

Harry winced and looked around again. Some students were nodding as if this was to be expected while others were clearly not pleased. He hazard a glance at Malfoy—and yep—that was the brooding glare he had come to know from years of watching the boy. Harry frowned when he realized Malfoy still had the black box in his hands.

The Great Hall was decorated in the normal fanfare with the exception of a new, smaller table set in front of the professors' table as if the older students were to be on display. The murmurs of the hall fell as Harry and those in his year entered to take their seats. Once the last of them had sat down, a small roar started at the Gryffindor table and rose until nearly every student in the Hall was standing and cheering, some in tears.

"Why are they clapping?" Harry asked Neville.

"Because, Harry, we won."

After the sorting and the introduction of a new potions professor and history professor, Professor Flitwick led the Eighth Years to a newly remodeled wing where their dormitories were located. The entrance was not hidden like the other houses. Rather the door looked mundane. Malfoy listened to Flitwick explain how to open it with a combination of spell and password which only experienced students should be able to pull off. He had to repeatedly slow down and show the process to a nervous Longbottom and frustrated Finnegan. At least if the door caught fire they would have a reasonably short suspect list. Malfoy wondered if the other students knew the door opening technique was common to Death Eater safe houses, and then realized that was probably the point, to familiarize students to the world they would be helping recover after graduation.

The common room was decorated similarly to what Malfoy suspected the Gryffindor common room looked like with a glaringly red and gold color scheme. High backed chairs and couches covered one corner along with tables and desks. A tall bookshelf imported from Ravenclaw stocked with books he had never seen sat by the fireplace which was decorated in skulls and candles. Pots of random herbs and moving plants were delicately arranged under a window which overlooked the Quidditch pitch. A bulletin board was posted near the entryway and was spelled to show next week's charm and password along with the room assignments.

Everyone crowded around to see who they would be bunking with for their last term. Many were grumbling and complaining, so Malfoy assumed the professors had set the room arrangements not by house or friendship status. He wasn't disappointed. Zabini was glaring at Potter who looked like he was contemplating jumping in the lake. As students went up to their rooms, Malfoy made his way to the bulletin board. Before he could look, Professor Flitwick grabbed his sleeve.

"We thought it best to give you your own room, Mr. Malfoy," he said and let go.

Malfoy looked to the list and back at the professor. No words came to him, so he nodded and went up to his room in silence.

A/N: Chapter updated July 10, 2017