A/N -

This is the first Harry Potter FanFic I have ever written. I sincerely hope that my writing style is of the right sort to grant you the reading experience that you hope for. I will develop what I say I will, but the relationships make take time to make / fix, because I really am trying to keep the characters as close as to the way that they are in the original books as possible.

Thank you for reading - even if you just read this one chapter before you decide to leave. Knowing that some people read what I write is the largest gift that you guys can give me.

(Though reviews are nice!)

-TCZ

CHAPTER ONE

Hermione pulled her large trunk onto the Hogwarts express with a sigh.

It was a big relief that her parents knew whom she was again; after she'd erased their memories before the battle of Hogwarts – which in no way did she regret – she felt a part of her go missing... as though part of her life had been erased, which of course it had, but never permanently.

The cabin which she commonly had used to go to Hogwarts, for on and off seven years, had become more and more filled over time, and it was only now that she realised it. Sat there already was Luna, Neville, Ginny and of course, Ron and Harry. She was ecstatic to pull aside the door and step inside, and the 'whoosh' sound as she did so was nothing if not comforting.

"Hermironwhy!" Ron choked hopefully, his mouth filled with assorted candy from the cart that had undoubtedly already been and gone.

Hermione turned away from him with a frown, before a smile appeared on her face as she saw Harry, sat with an awkward look riddling his features. Being in the middle of Hermione and Ron's messy break-up had taken its toll, and clearly he was rather upset with the situation.

"How've you been Harry?" Hermione asked happily, pulling him into a tight hug, "It's been too long!"

Harry nodded in agreement, adjusting his glasses as Hermione pulled away, a flush settling on his cheeks causing Ginny – from the opposite side of the carriage, to frown and narrow her eyes suspiciously.

Ginny had no need to be worried, however. After two mere minutes had passed, Hermione had hugged and greeted every member of the compartment – bar Ron, of course - and was settled next to Ginny on one of the plush magenta benches.

The conversation seemed effortless. They discussed their summers, though they all seemed ludicrously boring after the battle. The discussed the latest Quidditch matches, their latest interests in all things from confectionary to clothing, the rebuilding of Diagon Alley, which had been constructed back to full capacity in a mere two weeks, and not least the relationship that had once again blossomed between Harry and Ginny.

"I'm so happy for you!" Hermione gushed, her face a pleasant and happy pink, "You two are perfect for each other!"

"T-thanks," Harry returned bashfully, "I'm glad things turned out they way that they did."

"Would be nicer if my best friend wasn't eating my little sister's face all of the time..." Ron's sour comment came surging from behind the 'Daily Prophet' that was hidden in his freckly fingers, turning the air of the carriage to ice. He'd been making snide comments for the majority of the journey, and Hermione was close to the edge of snapping. One more of those could send her into a fresh torrent of anger and disgust, aimed at the person who had undoubtedly snapped her heart in two.

"Neville, give up on that stupid Remembrall, okay?" Ron snapped, his words biting at a innocent, round-faced boy whom sat opposite him, shaking a small glass ball, the insides of which were a crimson red colour. "It's bloody useless! You're not going to reme-"

"RON!" Hermione shouted, standing and flinging her hands down onto the polished wooden table that separated them. Her were eyebrows knotted, and her knuckles appeared white from where she was pushing down on the table so hard. "I'm sick of it, okay? You pessimism is stupid, infantile and quite frankly ridiculous!"

"Well so-rry!" Ron started sarcastically, another face turning a bright red – but this was different. This was an angry red, and Hermione of all people was surprised. She'd never have thought there would be a difference. "Sorry that I have to sit in this bloody cabin, listening to people go on and on about how bloody brilliant their lives are, while I am a shrivelling wreck because-"

"Don't you dare say it!"

"I LOST THE GIRL I LOVE."

"How dare you!" Hermione said, her tone throwing Ron slightly – perhaps even scaring him a little. "You caused this! You couldn't be happy with one thing, could you? You had to go and ruin it. You had to go and ruin it because you always do, Ronald!"

The cabin door slid open once again, and the majority of people turned to look at who stood in the doorway. In fact, everybody did, apart from Hermione and Ron, who were glaring at each other with a look that could almost certainly kill.

"Miss Granger." A stern tone echoed across the cabin, and Hermione immediately turned her head so quickly that it was a wonder her neck didn't snap.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting anything.", came professor McGonagall's shrill tone once again, "But this is quite an urgent matter. We need to clarify some things about your new position as head girl."

Ginny gasped.

"Hermione?" She began, her eyes widening, "You're... head girl?"

Hermione nodded slowly, clearly uncomfortable – as was shown by her speech which came out in a stammer.

"N-no professor. No interruptions."

She turned to the others for a swift moment, mouthing at Ginny and Harry that she would be back soon, before clumsily following McGonagall from the room.

"I hope that your argument with Mr Weasley is not something that will compromise your judgement, Miss Granger." Professor McGonagall spoke briskly, her robes billowing out in a wide wave as she walked hurriedly down the corridor of the Hogwarts express, her clearly expensive shoes hitting the floor with an even pace. "This is your last year, and I hope for you of all people to do well with your new responsibilities, as well as the N.E.W.T's."

Hermione's face fell towards the floor. She felt as though she had disappointed her Professor already, and after hearing McGonagall's expectations of her, she couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself too. This was certainly not the beginning to the final year of Hogwarts that Hermione had been hoping for.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly, Miss Granger." McGonagall said, being careful to keep her formal tone, although she was clearly distracted by something else. "Just focus on what is really important, and you will be fine."

"Thank you, Professor."

Reaching and empty cabin at the back of the Hogwarts express, Professor McGonagall swung the door open silently and sighed. She muttered something angrily under her breath, and though Hermione knew she shouldn't, she strained to hear the words, but with no luck. She could not understand any of them.

"It seems," said McGonagall, a sharp tone to her voice, "that our head-boy has become tired of waiting."

Hermione frowned. Patience was certainly a virtue, and yet again it had been proved to be absent from male figures – especially from hormonal teenage boys. She thought for a moment, and decided that she could redeem herself, show her worth for being chosen as the head-girl, as much as for now, it was a small gesture.

"I'll fetch him." She found herself blurting out, and McGonagall turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "I'll drag him back by his ear if I have to."

A crooked smile spread across McGonagall's sharp features and a moment of silence passed before she gave her response.

"I shall accept your offer, Miss Granger. And though you think you are joking, I will be surprised if you do not have to drag him by his ear."

"Who am I looking for?" Hermione said, smiling, looking forward to the opportunity to get back in, for lack of better words, McGonagall's 'good books', "And where do I find them?"

"Mr Malfoy. I can suppose you know where to find him."

Hermione's heart sank. She knew that, if the rumours were true, she'd be sharing quarters with the head-boy, and to find out that it was Malfoy... well, that was enough to make any Gryffindor cringe in distaste. She hadn't however, forgotten that McGonagall had heard the most of her outburst towards a fellow student – frankly embarrassing, and awfully damaging to her head-girl image already. Hermione, as much as she didn't like to admit it, was very affected by other people's opinions after all.

So, despite her disgust, she merely nodded slowly, told Professor McGonagall that it would not be long before her return, turned and left the carriage.

Once she had left, Hermione found it increasingly difficult to control her anxiety about confronting Malfoy.

Not only had he tortured her with her repeated taunts over the years – causing her so much distress that she had punched him once, and another time a 'Professor' (if she could call him that) was present and he had been turned into a ferret. No, not only that, but this certain person had seen her tortured with an unforgivable curse – one that made her cry out in anguish, showing weakness that she never wished for anyone to see. Worse than all of that, this certain person's aunt had been the one to inflict the damage.

Her heart raced, and her head shook at the memory. She refused to think about it; she was a Gryffindor – no such thing would be allowed to linger on her mind and distress her any longer.

She took a deep breath, and found herself sliding back another heavy, wooden carriage door. Inside sat an array of Slytherin, just as she had expected. Goyle, Zabini, Nott, Parkinson, and Malfoy turned from their before fits of laughter to face the person whom had interrupted their joking.

Hermione was not surprised to find them laughing – no. What she was surprised to see, was the reaction afterwards.

Over the summer, it was true, that Hermione Granger had come out of her 'shell'. It was true, that she had blossomed into a woman – developed womanly curves that showed she was no longer a child, developed glossy brown waves instead of the wild unruly mess that had commanded her head for years. Though she knew this, she had still expected snide remarks – hurtful cries of 'Mudblood' and 'Golden girl'.

Zabini and Nott looked at her simply in shock; Goyle looked as though he was about to drool – his mouth hanging open ever so slightly; Malfoy looked at her with something that could only be described as blankness – something that implied he was trying to conceal what he really felt, and Parkinson looked at her with disgust, envy, anger.

"Sorry to disturb you," Hermione finally spoke, attempting to disguise her disgust before brushing some of the hair away from her face, "But I'm going to have to borrow Malfoy for just a moment."

"Oh are you now?" Parkinson chirped up, scowling and narrowing her eyes at Hermione, showing clear hostility, "I don't think you will, Granger."

"McGonagall wants to see him."

Parkinson snorted.

"Sure, right." She scoffed, "Poor lying, even for you."

"Shut up, Pansy."

Parkinson turned around and gawked at Malfoy who was now staring at her with venom.

"W-what are you talking about, Draco?" She said, clearly shocked and yet still putting a sickly tint into her voice to try and take his fancy, or so it seemed.

"I said shut it." Malfoy spat, turning his face back to Hermione who stood in the doorway. "Now, Granger – I can't say I didn't expect McGonagall to track me down, but my question is why she sent you."

"Didn't you know, Malfoy?" Hermione replied, turning her focus away from Pansy and back to Malfoy, whose stony expression remained. "I'm head-girl this year."

Most of the Slytherin eyes in the carriage widened, but the largest reaction of all was Malfoy's, whose eyes almost bugged out of his head.

"Dammit, Granger." Said Malfoy, standing up and gesturing for Hermione to move away from the door, "How bad can things get?"

"Tell me about it." She said, her voice no more than a whisper as she turned to lead Malfoy down towards the cabin where Professor McGonagall would be waiting.