Ok im just testing the waters so here we go! xD
Disclaimer: I do not own or have the rights to any of the characters used in this fic or the original plotline, everything belongs to JKR.
The girl hurried through the narrow corridor of the Hogwarts Express. Her eyes swept through compartment after compartment filled to the brim with young people of all ages dressed in long dark robes that revealed that they were students at Hogwarts School for witchcraft and wizardry. They would all in only an hour or so arrive at the ancient school to begin the first school year since the Great War against Voldemort.
The girl pulled a hand through her long chestnut brown hair, a habit she acquired recently since she had let it grow over the summer. Who needed anti-frizz spells when you could just tame it with its own length? The movement was a bit jerky and stressed out and almost made her drop the cauldron cakes she held in her other hand.
She stopped to balance up her burden and decided to press them down her bag instead.
The compartment she had stopped outside of was full and all its residents stopped their conversations when they saw her through the window. A third year from Hufflepuff hugged a little girl protectively, who looked at her from under her lashes, her eyes wide as teacups. Two fifth years, one from Gryffindor and the other Ravenclaw, gawked at her dumbfounded.
This scenario was repeated through the entire train as she moved further and further back. All ages mixed within all the four houses, all of them had smiled to her gratefully and shouted encouraging words as she rushed by, or stared at her like she had grown tentacles out of her nose.
She was after all the fourth most famous person in all of the wizarding community nowadays. She could definitely do without the extra attention. She had enough on her plate at the moment and thought for the gazillion'th time that she now knew how Harry had felt all those years. Like a rare caged animal, and a lonely one too.
A thought of her parents slipped into her mind but she quickly pushed it back inside what she liked to call her 'pain box' in which she stuffed all of her most hurtful memories. That way she could think about them later or not at all. Just to mention, the box was almost exploding.
Her thought of train returned to the highly mixed student body. A couple of years ago sights like that would have made her frown. Gryffindor's with Slytherin's and sixth years with seconds? No, not likely.
The answer was sad but very simple, because they had nothing in common (and Slytherin's and Gryffindor's loathed each other). Sure they would be expected to show curtsy towards each other but nothing more prominent.
But now after the war, everyone, young and adult, treasured each other's companies on a very high scale and they were all just so damn grateful to be alive. They had gotten a second chance and no one wanted to waste it.
She didn't even think it would be fun to go to the Quidditch games this year since all the rivalry between the houses had vanished in thin air. It wouldn't be much of a sport without the usual competitive spirit now would it?
On the other hand she didn't blame them for clinging on to each other, or talking about her. Many people had lost so much. They had all witnessed so many deaths and so much pain and it was still very fresh in their minds, especially in hers.
Many seats and beds would be empty at Hogwarts this year. Almost one third of her generation had been wiped out in the Great battle of Hogwarts and many of the older surviving students had chosen not to attend their last year. There would be jobs and positions to be filled without a graduation diploma anyway.
But she wanted to finish her education. She was determined to try and get back to a normal life after the horrors she'd been through. And most important she didn't even have a choice, she just couldn't bear the thought of going home, or the place she used to call home. She felt tears prickle behind her eyelids. Gah! Back inside the box!
Now she had walked the entire train, and was left with only one compartment and thank Merlin it was empty. She just couldn't take all the stares of admiration at the moment and just wanted to be alone for the rest of the ride.
Almost none of her friends would be attending the last year with her anyway so it wasn't like she had someone to talk to. And if they would have she could bear without the long quiet pauses that sometimes occurred during their conversations when everyone else knew what they were thinking anyway.
She ran a hand through her hair again as she entered the space. She noticed another bag slung on one of the seats but since no one was present she figured she could possibly catch some alone time before that person showed up again.
She sat down and emptied her pockets on the table along with the cakes she bought from the lunch trolley. She looked at the five miniature sized books that she had shrunk with a simple spell and almost smiled.
They looked so cute! She had almost had too much fun packing this year when she could use all the new advanced spells the learned during her year traveling around with Harry and Ron.
But then she remembered why she had learned them and her smile faded away again. Unshrinking Enchanted Encounters by Fifi LaFolle she tucked her legs under her and drifted away into the world of literature while she nibbled on her cakes.
After some time had passed the door slid open making her head turn. The boy who had opened was tall and lean and his robes bore the crest of Salazar Slytherin, very unusual amongst the students this year. The almost white blond color of his hair and the distinctly pointed features in his face revealed him to be Draco Malfoy.
"Hermione"
The greeting nod was almost so faint it wasn't there but she saw it, and she had definitely heard his voice, but she got so surprised that the book slipped through her hands and landed on the floor with a thud. He had never, and she meant never ever called her by her forename before.
She almost hadn't recognized him without the patronizing sneer on his face that had always been his most dominating expression for the last seven years. Now he looked tired, with big dark circles under his eyes and there was something submissive in his icy grey eyes.
But the nerve he had to show up here this year! She thought. That slithering snake should be in Azkaban after all he had done. She was in complete shock and her mouth opened and closed without being able to produce even the tiniest sound.
"I'm just going to take my bag" He said in a low voice and nicked the think quickly before he darted out of the door again. Hermione was so shocked and angry for the remaining time that she had to be reminded to get off the train by a small first year girl.
"Miss Granger! Miss Granger! We're here! Finally! We need to get off!" She chirped happily before she flung herself out of the door. Hermione cursed under her breath and she too hurried off.
Since she was head girl this year she had more than enough to do with her prefect duties and was momentarily distracted with the ushering and collecting of all the first years, taking her mind of Draco Malfoy and home for a while.
It was not until they all had arrived up in the great hall of the castle, the first years safely organized in a neat line for the sorting, that she sat down exhausted at the Gryffindor table and noticed Malfoy once more.
He was sitting alone at one end of the Slytherin table with his head in his hands wearing a slightly panicky expression. His eyes kept sweeping the hall over and over just to return to stare at an old stain in the table and then doing it all over again.
He was the only Slytherin seventh year attending except for Blaise Zabini, and from the looks of it only the first years was a full class, making Slytherin the house with the smallest number of students. No wonder, Hermione thought.
They are all a bunch of evil loving Death Eaters and all their families have been rejected by our whole civilization. Sending their kids to school would be to ask for it, big time. But Malfoy had always asked for it, she snorted.
Even though you could cut the tension with a knife, the sorting was just as exciting as it always was, everyone smiling at the energy the little ones had as they bounced over to their new houses like Pygmé Puffs on a sugar high.
After they all concluded that the sorting hat wasn't going to burst into some weird and pestilent like song similar to the previous years, the relaxation spread through the hall like a calming potion.
The feast began and Hermione even enjoyed herself even though Harry and Ron weren't there. She sat with Ginny, Seamus and Dean talking about everything and nothing. As soon as the plates had cleared and all the food vanished down for the elves to take care of, Professor McGonagall stood up at the old owl-podium to perform her first speech as post war Headmistress.
Her crisp voice sounded clearly through the hall and its familiarity made Hermione feel calm and at ease. She started out with the usual welcome and announced this year's change in the staff. Slughorn was back as a potions master, much to Ginny's despair since the old chap wouldn't leave her alone. They all snickered at her groans of discomfort.
And much to everyone's delight Tonks had been appointed the new Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher. Hermione felt a sting of pain in her heart as she thought of the young woman's poor faith, her first real love and the father of her young child killed in the very hall they were all in.
She didn't know what to feel about Tonks leaving little Teddy with her parents to go teaching at Hogwarts but then decided that she was no one to judge how others handled their grieving. The war had changed her as much as everybody else, besides she missed Remus as well.
Hagrid was to teach Care of Magical Creatures yet again and the only really big surprise was that Professor Trelawney had resigned and a French young man named Aden Abel would take her place as teacher in Divination.
Many of the girls swooned over his good looks and Hermione could hear whispers like "why didn't I choose divination this year" and "if I had known that he would be teaching I would have…" further down the Gryffindor table.
Ginny, Seamus and Dean all laughed at that and then even more when Hermione mentioned that his name wasn't very French at all and in fact meant "fire breath". The Headmistress also gave the traditional ranting about safety, forbidden objects (all Weasly products) and some information on the extensive re-build of Hogwarts.
The castles magic was old and very complicated and some parts of it were still 'acting up' even though the stone and bricks had been fixed. This caused more talk but they were shushed by the raised voice of McGonagall who suddenly dropped a bomb on them.
"Since many of the students who were to graduate last year are re-attending due to, ehm poor educational standard, and due to the fact that that there aren't enough pupils in seventh year to make individual house classes we have decided to make one big class of you".
"This also means that there will be a few gaps in our general curriculum so you will be offered optional extra advanced courses depending on the subject. This will apply to all of year seven re-attendants, even if you didn't attend at all last year (McGonagalls eyes lingered on Hermione while she spoke those exact words) and sixth years who achieved more than six Outstandings on their OWL's."
Hermione felt a jolt of happiness when she processed that piece of information; after all she had come back to Hogwarts to drown herself in studies.
"I would like you who are interested to report to your subject teacher after your first class and times for these special lessons will be owled out. With that said I bid you all a good night and will see you well rested in the morning." McGonagall finished off and tapped her wand and the podium rose a feet in the air and flew back to its place beside the staff table.
After taking care of the first years (this was immensely energy draining!), delegating prefect duties and discussing security with Filch (this was even more exhausting) Hermione dragged herself up to her bed chambers. She was very tired but sleep wouldn't come as she laid thinking of her own loneliness.
She was the only girl in this dorm and her thoughts wondered back to the horrific night of the battle when so many people had died, people her age, people that should be lying next to her whispering and giggling about boys and make up.
She used to hate it but no she really missed the annoying sounds. The young wizarding world had really taken a hard blow.
She also thought about how Malfoy must be even lonelier than her (and this despite her newly discovered family situation ), it would be him, Blaise Zabini and fifteen babbly first years give or take a few in the entire dungeon.
Serves him right that bloody coward! And she would have every class with him, she groaned inwardly. Hermione's last thought before her eyes fluttered shut was that it bothered her that her last thought before she fell asleep would be related to Malfoy somehow.
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What did you think? Should I even continue? :D