Chapter 1
Wishful Thinking
Hermione Granger could not believe her good fortune. Things have gone so incredibly well over the summer. In her sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry and Dumbledore had set out to destroy all of Lord Voldemort's horcruxes and accomplished the task just in time for a final showdown with Harry Potter and Voldemort. Harry had vanquished him in the eventual duel and the wizarding and the muggle world was finally freed of Voldemort and his Death Eaters' tyranny. To top it all off, many of the Death Eaters were captured and sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban prison. It was a slight disappointment that some of Voldemort's followers have fled the country to escape the Ministry Aurors and that Lucius Malfoy was released from Azkaban, no doubt owing to his connections in the Ministry of Magic and abundant affluence. The Malfoys still had some power in certain political and social circles but it was apparent that they lost their once infinitely strong influence over the Ministry. No longer would the Weasleys or any one else ever suffer their evil machinations.
Lord Voldemort is gone… Hermione found that she had to inwardly repeat this many times over the summer just for the concept to sink in. The relief that she felt upon the prospects of returning to a peaceful Hogwarts with Harry and the Weasleys was only equaled by her receipt of the Head Girl badge she now held admiringly in her hands, sitting in the Head students' compartment in the Hogwarts Express.
The Gryffindor girl polished the already shiny badge for the third time that day and pinned it on her robe gingerly to avoid smudging the spotless surface with her fingerprints. She could hardly contain her excitement about the upcoming year in Hogwarts as she sat peering out of the window, watching the picturesque English countryside pass her by. She was selected Head Girl. And that meant that she was going to have her own bedroom and bathroom and a common room that she shared only with the Head Boy. Though moving out of her old dorm had the disadvantage of lacking her friend Ginny Weasley's company, it offered the added bonus of no longer having to listen to Parvarti Patel and Lavender Brown's incessant giggles and banal gossip.
Besides the luxury of privacy, the rumor had it that the Head Boy and Girl were even granted the privilege of being serviced by their own house elf all throughout the year. As much as she felt tempted to resign to being catered to by an over-zealous elf so that she could spare more time for her studies, Hermione felt equally disgusted with the idea of having a slave, no matter what Ron had to say about it. Now that the war was over, she shifted her priorities from her own survival to others' and was much more adamant about S.P.E.W. She planned to speak with Professor McGonagall about dismissing the elf back to the kitchens at the first opportunity. Ron had told her she was "mental" for entertaining such thoughts but she was determined to take her cause even to the headmaster to ensure the discontinuation of the private elfish service in the Heads dormitory. Yes, that's it. She would go all the way to Dumbledore if need be!
Pushing her wild locks off her face, Hermione leaned her head against the window and continued to watch the lush landscape rush past her, wondering where the Head Boy was. It had been at least half an hour since they boarded the train and he should have already joined her in the Heads compartment to wait upon the professor who would be briefing them as to their living arrangements and their list of duties. After the Heads meeting, she planned to go back and sit with Ron, Harry, Ginny, Luna, and Neville and discover which classes they would be taking together this upcoming year. This upcoming year… Hermione almost shuddered at the thought. In a matter of months, she would be taking her N.E. and the results of the N.E. always determined one's future career choices. She wanted to do well. She had to do well or she could end up with a life-long failure. If her grade history was an indication of the future, her prospects seemed almost guaranteed but still... Even the best of students could let things fall through the cracks if they got over-confident in their skills and knowledge. She was going to focus, study hard, and receive the best N.E. results in Hogwarts history.
Fantasizing about the proud moment when she would be informing her family about her perfect test results and their satisfied smiles, Hermione got lost in her daydreams aided by the silence of the compartment and the monotonous rumble of the train tracks. After several minutes of such blissful reverie, the serenity of the compartment and its occupant was crudely interrupted when the compartment door suddenly crashed open. Caught completely off her guard, Hermione gasped, jumped to her feet, and froze on the spot. Her face contorted with a horror-struck expression as her eyes befell on the tall Slytherin boy standing before her who sported a Head Boy badge on his chest that looked just as shiny and polished as hers.
The Gryffindor girl groaned. "Oh hell! Not you!"