I was originally going to just completely rewrite my other story, but, since it's basically nothing like the new ideas I have, I have decided to just start a new one. I really didn't have enough readers to continue the other one, but I will keep those chapters posted just in case.

Just a little background: Takes place instead of the seventh book. Focuses mainly on Hermione. I may disregard anything that happens in the past books on accident. I'm sorry if I do. I want it to be an interesting and sophisticated book, so updates may take a while. Be patient. Also, unlike a lot of other fics out there, this will not be an instant Dramione, keep in mind they have been enemies since they met; it will take a while to get there.

I will do my best to keep this story as cliché free as possible, but alas I can not avoid them all.

Also, since I posted the teaser, a lot more people enjoyed it than I thought would, so I am working my hardest to get the chapters done and posted as soon as I can. I'm not as ahead as I would like to have been when I start to post, but I have this week off from school, so maybe if I'm inspired I will get there. I'm having a little bit of inspiration trouble, though.

I'm assuming the summary was decent, though, because a lot of you visited. Thanks!

Well, I'm droning on uselessly and boringly. Sorry for the long author's note; I'm just really excited. I guess I should get on with the story. I hope you will enjoy.

Hermione sat looking out the window of the Burrow. The fields still hadn't grown back completely from when Bellatrix Lestrange had tried to burn the house down. Interrupting the scene appeared very familiar black owl. It flew up and started tapping on the window. A smile crossed her face, which, up until that moment, had been very dim. She let the owl in and set some treats out for it while she delicately opened the weathered parchment. After all, it had just arrived after a very long journey. She grinned at the scribble that represented handwriting.

Every other month or so, it brightened her day to receive his letters. They'd stayed in touch ever since fourth year, her and Viktor. They'd actually grown quite close. Unfortunately for them both, the distance was too much for them both to carry out an actual relationship. Even though it wasn't a romantic exchange, every time they swapped letters, she felt warm and tingly. He was the first guy who really made her special.

As soon as she wrote back and sent his owl to deliver her reply, she sat down and started to wonder pensively. She mulled over what had happened before they'd left Hogwarts. A slight frown was pulling at the corners of her mouth. Although she was incredibly thankful that they had managed to convince Harry that he needn't go out and find the Horocruxes just this year, it was still worrisome. She had started to get annoyed with the way things had gone when Ron quietly made his presence known.

"Hey," He said softly. She looked up at him and motioned for him to pull up a chair. He did so and then continued on. "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing really. Just about how everything ended last year," she sighed as the wrinkles in her forehead disappeared.

"Well, I brought you some tea, but dinner's just about to start."

"I'll be there in a second. You go ahead," she dismissed him. She could understand why she was treated so delicately in these recent times. She knew that it was because of what happened with her parents, but she was a big girl now. Even though it hurt like hell to know that they won't remember anything about her, she would have carry on. This was more important than anything else and casting the oblivion spell was for their own safety; she couldn't put their lives at risk for her own selfish comfort. It still peeved her that they were treating her like a china doll, though. She knew what she'd have to do, and she did it. She'll deal with the consequences and get over the pain. Hermione cursed herself for getting so short with everyone, even if it was just in her mind. Besides, she knew they only acted that way because they cared.

With another tired sigh, she rose and carried herself to the dinner table.

X X X

Draco Malfoy straightened himself. He'd just finished packing for his final year at Hogwarts. The Golden Trio and the rest of his House would be very surprised to see him there. They wouldn't know why he returned and was allowed to do so. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He savored the smell of his home because he'd never be able to return. The mansion would house no one until it was taken over. He was sure he could reproduce the smell with a few expensive perfumes, but it wasn't the same.

It was mostly likely the last time he would see his "home." To him, it was more like a house or a residence. It didn't provide that warm feeling that Hogwarts did. How could it? It only housed three, more recently two, even though it was a mansion. The only way it remotely felt like home was if they were all together. Since there was no chance of that ever happening again, he didn't dwell on the thought.

Draco went out to the back and looked over the expansive back yard. The scene contained a magnificent willow tree shading a small, clear lake. It was cliché in his opinion but beautiful, none the less. There were cherry blossom tress scattered throughout the maples and oaks. His favorite had to be the ash trees with their beautiful bark. Draco could just barely make out the golden hoops of his Quittage field just beyond where the forest thickened. His father had built it just for him; his father always supported his love of flying and did everything he could to show that.

He stepped out of the doorway and went to go sit under the willow. He looked up towards the brilliant white house. It roughly resembled a castle, although, not quite that big. Other things showed that it wasn't a castle, including white coloring, wooden siding, and columns on the front porch. Draco sighed and fetched his stuff. It was quite saddening that his mother wasn't there to see him off, but she was already in hiding. Dismissing the thought, he began to make plans for transportation to the train station.

X X X

Hermione was ready to get to Hogwarts. She was slightly nervous about the train ride, though. When she received her notification about becoming Head Girl, it stated that she had to spend the first two hours of the train ride with the Head Boy. It obviously wasn't Ron or Harry, so that didn't leave a lot of choice. She was glad Malfoy was out, though. There was no way he'd be allowed back at Hogwarts. He was the one responsible for Dumbledore's death even if he hadn't done it himself.

Hermione's eyes welled up at the thought of the old man. She shook the thoughts away, though, and continued on with the rest of the group towards the King's Cross Train Station.

She was glad that Mr. Weasley had taken the liberty of transporting their things to the platform and was waiting with Molly for them to arrive. As they walked down the London city blocks, there was an air excitement about them. Ron and Harry's eyes were glinting. She smiled at them, and they happily returned it. Harry was beaming ear to ear, ecstatic that he was relieved of the duty to find the Horocruxes for a little bit, while Ron's smile was more shown in his eyes.

Once they arrived at the train station and got to the platform, they were greeted by Mrs. Weasley's shrill voice. "Oh! I just can't believe it's your last year! You've all grown up so fast!" she managed to croak out through her tears. She pulled Harry, Ron, and Hermione in for a bone crushing hug and had to be pried apart from them by her husband. Ginny grabbed Harry and took off as soon as the opportunity arose.

"I'll get your bags and take them to the compartment if you want. That way you can just go and meet this kid right away and get back to us more quickly," Ron offered while smiling blindingly. Hermione returned the expression and thanked him. She was truly grateful to have one less thing to worry about. He pecked her on the cheek, wished her luck, and disappeared with her stuff.

She took a few minutes to compose herself, meeting new people was never a strong suit of hers. As she was scanning the crowd to calm herself, she caught the eye of a very attractive guy. He had to be her age, or even older. He shot her a lopsided grin, winked, and disappeared on to the train. A little voice in her head urged her to follow him, but she overruled it with sensibility, as always. She turned to the nearest door and boarded as the train whistle went off.

It took her a while to navigate her way through to the Prefect compartment. She was bustled around by the crowds, being small in stature compared to almost all of the boys. She pulled open the door that said, "Head Girl & Head Boy." Hermione stepped into the compartment and practically slammed the door to get away. With her eyes closed, she tried to catch her breath and jumped in surprise when she heard a boy's voice. She opened her eyes and saw Stephen Cornfoot, a Ravenclaw who was in a few of her classes. She should have known that he would be chosen; he was considerably bright. If they were going on grades alone, though, Malfoy would have been chosen, should he return. The thought caused her to shiver. She thanked God that he wouldn't be coming back, seeing as his academics and leadership qualities would have made him the obvious choice.

Hermione sat down and smiled politely. Cornfoot set down whatever book he was reading and stated simply, "I don't want to be here anymore than you do; we'd both rather be with friends. As long as we're here, though, we might as well do something we want. I'm going to read if you don't mind." She shook her head, indicating that it was ok. She analyzed him. He was the bookish sort, just like her. He didn't seem like the leadership type, but he must have some type of pull in his house, seeing as he was selected. His curly hair was a sandy color, and he read through plastic, square framed, black glasses. He was rather unremarkable, as she was herself, in her own opinion.

"Just wake me up in two hours," Hermione said as she laid herself down on the seat. He looked at her, nodded simply, and went back to his book. She'd only been around him for all of two minutes and could already tell that he preferred things simple and to the point, which suited her quite well. She'd had enough of elaborate things, considering one of her best friends was Harry Potter.

X X X

Draco Malfoy seriously debated going straight to Hogwarts of his own accord because by riding the train he ran a great risk of running into Potter and his gang, but he really needed to talk to Gregory Goyle. There was no way he could be seen, though. He'd decided that he would use his influence as a Malfoy to board early. It had worked, and no one saw him get on. He'd selected a nicer compartment, the one he always occupied. It had frosted glass windows so that no one could see into it and recognize him.

He waited very impatiently. He'd owled Greg beforehand to let him know that'd he'd be there, and they needed to talk. After being aboard the train for roughly an hour and when it jerked forward to pull away from the platform, he saw a figure shadow the window. He stood up as the silhouette knocked. "Come in," Draco cleared his throat. The compartment door opened, and the person slid in without a chance of anyone in the hallway seeing inside.

Before anything else happened, the two boys embraced and pulled apart quickly. "So great to see you," said Greg. "I wasn't even sure if you were alive, considering what happened to your father."

"Let's please not talk about that," Draco replied, not wanting to think about that particular situation. "The real matter, here, is you. Have you changed?"

"Of course! Not only am I not with them, I have changed everything! Can you not tell?"

"Yes. Yes. Sorry," the blonde boy sat down and rested his head in his hands. His tired eyes were curtained by his unkempt hair. "So what all is different?"

"My dad's still with them —" Gregory Goyle started saying.

"As is mine," he stated, lifting his head and sitting up with perfect posture.

"But my mum was killed when we tried to escape. So right now, I'm fending for myself."

"Looks like you started working out to do so," Draco observed.

"Yeah, need to be able to defend myself physically if something happens to my wand. Besides, I was fat," he chuckled.

"Please tell me you're not studying! I wouldn't even know you anymore if you started that!" he joked.

"No, not yet. I've been working on my muscles, but I'm getting a tutor as soon as we get to school."

"Yeah. I need one, too. I fell behind last year because I was a distracted," Draco said, his eyes downcast, looking ashamed.

Greg went to sit down across from him and changed the subject to his workout routine, seeing that last year was a touchy subject for his friend. They conversed lightly and joked for a while after that.

X X X

Feeling the sand in between her toes was more than heavenly. She smiled brightly and saw the grinning figure of Viktor standing in the distance. His thin white shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest, and he wore light jeans, rolled up to his knees. She walked up and placed a light kiss on his lips. He took her delicate fingers in his big, gentle ones, and they walked down a bit further until they decided to sit down on a small grassy knoll. When she sat down, she looked down to smooth out her white summer dress. When she looked up at the boy beside her again, she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was one Ronald Weasley. The change didn't faze her; she leaned in to kiss him anyways.

As their lips were about to touch, she was shaken awake. For a moment, Hermione had no idea where she was. She then saw Stephen Cornfoot and remembered. "We're allowed to leave now," He said and exited the compartment. She stood and pulled out a mirror. She grimaced as she took in her wild hair and disheveled clothes. She righted herself as fast as she could and set out in search of her friends.

I'm trying to decide on chapter length. Review and tell me whether it should be longer or not. Sorry about the long author's note. That's a one-time thing. Review and tell me what you think.