Prologue: Unwanted Nightmare

It was nearly midnight. Hermione had been frantically packing her bags for the start of the new year. It was not like her to procrastinate, especially with school. Though it was not to start for another month, Mrs. Weasley had invited her to stay at the burrow, which she happily accepted. Normally Hermione was filled with excitement, but this time, Hermione shook with fear, her mind filled with the uncertainty of the upcoming months.

With Dumbledore gone, everything seemed to be hopeless. She sighed solemnly. With a final click of her trunk, she managed to finish stuffing all her things inside. Already in her pajamas, she collapsed on her bed falling straight asleep within a couple of minutes.

--

Hermione awoke, startled, to the sound of the rustle in the bushes. Hermione blinked and rubbed her eyes only to find herself surrounded by absolute darkness.

"What? This can't be right. Why am I not in my room?" thought Hermione, her mind racing.

She looked around frantically, hoping to find some familiarity with her surroundings. The atmosphere was damp and cold and the fog prevented her from seeing past just a couple of feet. It was the Forbidden Forest. Hermione remained still on the ground, paralyzed with shock and unable to move. The wind howled in her ear and she could feel the wet ground beneath her fingers. Suddenly, as if she was being pulled by some unexplainable force, Hermione pushed herself up from the ground and began to walk, fervently, until she reached the edge of a small clearing.

Just before she was about to expose herself in the opening, she eyed a dark figure, with a hooded cape, a couple of feet away from her. Hermione glanced more to the right finding more dark figures in hoods. Among the Death Eaters was a blonde boy with brilliant blue eyes - Draco Malfoy. However, different from his normal, stuck-up and snobbish self, his body shook, terrified; his voice croaked with fear. In front of him, there stood a large, hooded figure.

"You sure have amazing confidence showing your face here boy," boomed the tyrant voice. "You know, you always did resemble your father. What a faithful and easily corrupted man he was. You were always a disappointment like he would always say. Even so, I do not tolerate traitors. You must be punished… by death"

The young boy nodded his head solemnly. Another figure moved slightly in protest, then backed away into the crowd.

Hermione gasped. "It can't be," she thought. "Voldemort?" She reached in her pocket, expecting to find her wand. Nothing. She could feel her eyes begin to water; her voice croaking. Terrified, Hermione retreated backwards and stepped on a twig, breaking the deafening silence. His face turned. The large hooded figure moved swiftly towards her direction, wand out.

"DRAAAAACO!" Hermione screamed. She reached out helplessly to the blonde boy.

"Avada Kedav-"

--

Hermione shot up from her bed, finding herself in her room once more. Her breath was heavy, her forehead wet with sweat and tears streamed down her cheeks. "It was just a nightmare," she reassured herself. Realizing her present surroundings, she sighed in relief before she collapsed once more on her bed and stared upward towards her ceiling before drifting off into deep slumber.

Chapter 1: A Warm Welcome

Hermione's final month at the Burrow ended magnificently and she had forgotten about her horrible nightmare she had a month ago. Over the summer, Hermione's figure had drastically changed. Her body was much more defined, her hair waved nicely down to her breasts and she had gained a nice tan. Harry had shown up at the same time she had and was unexpectedly happy, considering the current conditions. Hermione and Ginny had bonded quite wonderfully and Ron remained the same as usual with Harry.

The arrived at the station and immediately headed to the already packed train. After stopping by a couple compartments to greet and catch up with old friends, Hermione set out to find Harry.

"Hermione, over here," Harry waved at her. His emerald eyes sparkled and his smile was absolutely brilliant. Hermione found herself surprised to be looking at Harry in such a way. When did he change into such a charming and handsome man? She must've missed it through all the times they had desperately tried to stay alive. She chuckled lightly. Shaking off the thought, Hermione smiled and walked towards him.

"Care to share a compartment?" asked Harry. Ron was already inside stuffing his face with trolley goodies. He quickly nodded his head at Hermione and returned to his chocolate frog and jelly beans.

"Sorry Harry, but I can't. I gotta head over to the Head's compartment. I'm quite curious to see who they chose to be Head Boy," Hermione gleefully answered. She flashed a smile at Harry, nodded at Ron and closed the compartment door. She took her time to walk over to the Head's compartment. This was her last year she would be attending Hogwarts. She wanted to enjoy every last bit of it. She would make sure this would be her best year. Even though the headmaster was gone, she refused to have anything keep her down. Before she knew it, she found herself in front of the compartment door. Anticipation filled her every nerve as she slid the door open. Much to her surprise sat a very familiar blonde boy inside. Her heart sank.

"Hey Mudblood," he smirked at her. Hermione stared at the boy in utter disbelief.

"Malfoy, are you serious? How did you get past the guards? How on earth are you even on this train?" she glared at him. Her body fumed with anger. The boy who had helped in the murder of Dumbledore, the boy who tortured her and her friends for the past six year was selected as head boy. That insufferable git.

"Nice to see you too. You sad your sweet Potter wasn't chosen?" he smirked. "I thought you were smarter than this, Granger. As much as you would like to believe, I did not join up with you-know-who and I AM better than your wonder boy."

Hermione threw up her hands in frustration. Out of all the people in this school, the Slytherin Prince was chosen as Head Boy. At that moment, she wished desperately that it was any other seventh year, just not him. Hermione let out a deep sigh. Awkward silence quickly followed and Hermione reluctantly sat herself down, still gazing upon the disgusting Slytherin. After awhile, the provoked anger subdued and she gazed out the window, lost in deep thought. Draco shuffled his feet uneasily. The silence was absolutely killing him. He soon found his eyes wandering in her direction, then stopping. There he sat, intently gazing at her. There was something definitely different that made him attracted, that made him smile.

Suddenly, Draco jerked his head away. "What the hell has gotten into me, it's Granger," he told his mind over and over again, trying to throw off any form of affection for the Gryffindor. Yet, for some reason, a deep hunger rose inside of him. Draco had always gotten what he wanted, but it had always been something acceptable on his terms - gifts and Pansy. Draco spent all his time, having his brain fight against his desires that he didn't even notice the Hogwarts Express arrived at the school.

With a irritating sigh, Hermione got up from the compartment and headed straight outside leaving Draco staring at the empty seat, blankly. Students excitedly exited out the train and created a great amount of confusion. Just then, Blaise Zambini walked past and then noticed a familiar being. Surprised, he approached the dumbfounded Draco.

"Draco? You're not with him?" Blaise questioned inaudibly. Noticing he hadn't gotten a reply, he refuted, "Man, what the hell is wrong with you? You look as if you just got-" just then, had gotten interrupted by a girl who pushed him aside.

"Draco!" squealed Pansy Parkinson. "You're alive! It's nice to see you again" she smiled at the blonde boy.

"Yeah. Sure, whatever Parkinson," he waved arrogantly at the girl and walked right past her. "Blaise, I'll catch up with you later in the Great Hall. I gotta... meet up with Crabbe and Goyle for a sec," he quickly lied and turned in the opposite direction towards Harry's compartment leaving both Blaise and Pansy staring blankly.

--

Luckily for Draco, all three Gryffindors were still there.

"Really Ron. It's bad enough you ate all that candy, but did you really have to make such a mess?" Hermione shot at Ron. With a flick of her wand, Hermione mumbled a few words and disposed of the muddle. Harry merely chuckled.

Draco seemed to be drawn to her voice, even when she was irritated; it had only made her more appealing to him. He peered over, hidden by the compartment door a few feet away from them, and began to eavesdrop once more.

"Anyways, guess who the wonderful masters of magic have chosen as Head boy this year?" Hermione said, with a noticeable irritation.

"I wouldn't have a clue," replied Ron dryly. He really couldn't care less.

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione strained. Harry's mouth dropped and Ron stared blankly at Hermione. It took the two awhile to accept the fact that the pigheaded Slytherin would be Head Boy and have a certain power over them.

"Hermione, I don't expect you to lie about such things like this," Harry said sternly, unwilling to believe that Malfoy was still Head boy. "You are... lying, right?"

To Harry's dismay, Hermione shook her head. Draco Malfoy really was Head Boy. That meant Hermione was forced to share a common room with him, not to mention the same bathroom. Could she really last all year? Not far away, Draco stood there, still gazing at Hermione. His heart sank as Hermione seemed upset at his return.

"Well, we don't want to be late for the feast, boys. We better hurry," urged Hermione. She turned towards Ron in frustration, "Why aren't you in your robes?" Ron merely rolled his eyes. The trio made there way outside the train and took the carriage to the castle. The feast was the same as usual except without the normal Fred and George silly antics. After having all the first years herded into their dorms, Hermione parted ways with Harry and Ron and headed to her dorm.

Hermione was making her way to her dormitory when Draco appeared in her path. He merely nodded his head and walked beside her in silence. Neither made any movement to glance at each other the whole way there. Hermione could feel the building tension, her cheeks burning red. When they arrived, they found the familiar portrait hole of Gatsby the First.

"Greetings Heads!" he exclaimed. Gatsby was a jolly fellow, totally oblivious of the current events in the Wizarding world. He sat in his rocking chair glancing over old newspapers. He smiled and nodded at Hermione and Draco.

"Hello there, Gatsby," Hermione replied. Hermione found him much more pleasant than the Fat Lady. She looked at Draco expecting a similar response, but was dismayed when she only saw a small nod.

"Silver winged Hippogriff," she plainly said. The portrait swung open and led to a magnificent common room adorned with green and golden curtains. They had been opened giving a clear view of the night sky. Hermione made her way in ignoring the blonde boy following closely behind. The room had a certain warmth that the Slytherin common room seemed to lack. Hermione glanced at the door to the right decorated with a lion's head. "That must be my room," she thought and made her way towards the door. Draco sat himself down in the common room and let out a relieved sigh before falling asleep. Hermione looked back at him and stopped. He slept like a small child lacking any of the horrible and cold characteristics that she knew of her whole life here. He looked so peaceful and so quiet that she couldn't help but smile. For the first time, Hermione thought Draco looked amazingly attractive.

"Goodnight Draco," she whispered unexpectedly. With a swift turn, she disappeared into her room and shut the door behind her.

--

A/N: Hey hey! This is my first fic so I hope you like it so far. There isn't much action in this chapter except for the usual introduction and first day at the castle. Enjoy! I shall update whenever I can, but sadly this happens to be finals week. Ack!