Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. They all belong to the fabulous J.K. Rowling.

Hey guys! I got this idea for a new story so I decided to start up on this website again after quitting last summer. I will not be continuing my old stories, sorry, but hopefully I can keep this one going.

Please review after reading! I love hearing what you have to say so I can improve my writing.

Love, Wiktoria (:

It was just a typical day on the Hogwarts Express, the train rattling it's way to the school many of the students called home. In one of the closed compartments, four friends sat, surrounded by the Chocolate Frog boxes and Pumpkin Pasty wrappers that littered the floor. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley sat on one side of the compartment, hands intertwined. Harry whispered something into the red-headed girl's ear, and she giggled in response, her freckled face flushed. On the other side sat Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, watching the pair and awkwardly trying to sit as far away from each other on the small velvet seat as they could. Things had been a little awkward between the two ever since their kiss the previous year that had never really gone anywhere. They spent the last couple of weeks at the Burrow avoiding each other and blushing deeply when they passed each other in the kitchen. Hermione crossed her arms and exhaled, and Ron took her cue and cleared his throat. Ginny and Harry looked embarrassed and leaned away from each other, looking at him expectantly.

"I still don't understand why we have to go back," Ron grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Well, we did miss an entire year of school," Hermione pointed out, avoiding eye contact with him, "It would only make sense that they would have us make it up,"

"Yes, but you would think they would take into consideration the fact that we spent the year searching for Horcruxes and risking our lives to defeat Lord Voldemort-"

"Ron, everyone at the school risked their lives. It doesn't mean you shouldn't have to finish school," Ginny scolded her brother, "Besides, look on the bright side. We're in the same year now! We can have classes together!" She smiled at Harry and he grinned back.

"Joy," Ron mumbled under his breath sarcastically, and Ginny shot him a look.

"Well, I say we make the best of it. No more stress. Let's make this the best year at Hogwarts that we've ever had!" Harry encouraged, and the friends all stated their agreement.

There was suddenly a knock at the door of the compartment, and they looked up to see Neville Longbottom sliding the glass door open, Luna Lovegood standing right behind him, peering in. The four friends stood up, welcoming the two with open arms and making conversation about the summer and how great the upcoming year would be.

"Come in, you two. There's plenty of room," Hermione welcomed, gesturing for them to step in.

"We'd love to," Neville smiled, "But we only came to tell you that we're getting close,"

"It would be a good idea for you to get your robes on. We're heading to the changing compartments at the moment. You could come with us," Luna offered in her breathy voice.

"Oh, sure! Just let us gather our things!" Ginny exclaimed, and reached up into the overhead compartment for her suitcase. She opened it and took her robes out, and the rest followed her lead and did the same. They all stepped out of the compartment, shutting the door behind them, and made their way down to the changing rooms, making conversation. The three girls led the way, giggling about Pansy Parkinson's new haircut, and the boys took up the rear, making small talk about Quidditch and their plans for the year.

"I want to win every Quidditch game," Harry said excitedly, "I have a lot of plans for great practices to get our team to perfection. I hope they managed to rebuild the field well,"

"I want to get Luna to realize I like her," Neville said, and Harry and Ron grinned at him, patting him on the back, "The girl just can't seem to take a hint,"

"I just want things to go back to normal between Hermione and me," Ron groaned, staring at her back, "I wish that kiss never happened. Things are so...weird between us,"

"It's not just you," Harry realized, "She's been acting strange ever since we both came to the Burrow. Not just around you. Around everyone. It's like she's not being herself,"

"Maybe something happened to her over the summer?" Neville suggested, shrugging.

"I asked. She said nothing happened. But maybe she was lying. Something seems completely fishy to me," Harry said, and Ron nodded in agreement.

The sign for the changing compartments came into view, and the friends split. The girls turned left and the boys turned right. They changed quickly, anticipating the stop at Hogsmeade Station and not being able to wait for the feast. Ron especially, and almost all of the guys in the room could hear his stomach grumble. He laughed apologetically, and Harry suggested that they leave and get some more candy from the trolley before Ron's stomach imploded. They came out of the dressing room the same time the girls did, and the six of them turned to squeeze out of the narrow hallway and back to their compartments, Hermione at the lead. She suddenly stopped short, having bumped into someone currently walking in, and all the friends ended up running into each other from the back.

"Hermione, what the hell?" Ron moaned, rubbing his throbbing forehead where it had collided with the back of Neville's head.

"Sorry. I ran into...something," she snarled. Everyone else, out of curiousity, looked over her shoulder to see the boy standing before them, his almost stark white hair glistening and his blue-gray eyes taking in the sight of Hermione. She scowled at him, but he just looked sad, his jaw set and his eyes empty. He nodded at Harry, who nodded back, no scorn between them.

"I'm just a something to you now?" Draco Malfoy asked quietly, and Hermione didn't answer, only looked at him coldly. He shook his head softly and looked apologetic, but she simply looked away. Mumbling a "pardon me", he squeezed past, dejected, clutching his robes in his hand. Harry waited until Draco was safely in the changing compartment, door closed behind him, before turning to Hermione with a questioning look on his face.

"Why are you so negative towards him? I thought we called a truce," Harry truly didn't understand. The two boys had mutually hated each other for years, but after Harry rescued him from Crabbe's Fiendfyre the year before, they had a slight understanding between them and simply ignored each other instead of having hate between them. He had believed that Ron and Hermione felt the same way, but, by the way she had acted, old feelings seemed to have only gotten worse.

"Maybe you did. But I didn't," she grumbled, and Harry opened his mouth to question her further. After seeing the look on her face however, he shut his mouth and decided to keep his inquiries to himself. She looked satisfied, and, linking arms with Ginny and Luna, started making her way back to their compartment without a word.

The boys hung back, watching them go, sharing a look of confusion between them.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked, a hint of anger in his voice, "What did he do to her?"

"Don't get all protective just yet, lover boy," Harry warned, and Ron's face tensed angrily, "We don't even know what happened,"

"Well, obviously something happened," Ron grumbled, still hurt by the "lover boy" comment. He tried to act like he didn't still have feelings for Hermione to save his own pride, but it was obvious to everyone that he did.

"Not necessarily," Neville said, "She could just be holding a grudge against him for everything that ever happened,"

"Unlikely," Harry shook his head, deep in thought, "She wouldn't be like that. She seemed fine with him after the battle last year. Something happened. We just need to find out what it was,"

Sorry this is so short! I should be posting another chapter in the next few days, so keep an eye out for that!

I like where this is going and I definitely want to continue it.

Again, please review!

Thanks in advance. :)