Hermione stood on the platform with her trolley, staring at the plain looking brick wall in front of her. It felt strange knowing that this would be the final time that she would pass through this wall to the concealed platform nine and three quarters, board the Hogwarts Express, and travel to the school that had become her home. A sigh escaped her lips at that word. Home.
She still hadn't told Harry and Ron about her current living situation.
Since she had removed all traces of herself from the memories of her parents the previous year, Hermione had been residing alone in her parents' house. During the holiday, she had travelled to Australia, and spent weeks in search of her mother and father, but despite all her efforts she could not find them. She had known this would be a risk when she wiped her parents' memories to keep them safe during the war, that she may never see them again, but she still found it hard to process in her mind that her parents were out there somewhere, not even aware of their only daughter's existence.
Hermione felt the sting of tears pricking her eyes but wiped them away angrily before anyone could see. She was Hermione Granger. She had aided in the downfall of Voldemort. She was strong. She didn't cry.
Walking forward through the invisible barrier, Hermione was so caught up in her thoughts that she accidently bumped into someone on the platform, jolting them forwards onto their trolley and causing one of their smaller suitcases to topple onto the ground. Aghast, she immediately started apologising profusely, bending down to pick up the fallen suitcase and replace it onto the trolley. Her apologies fell dead on her tongue when she turned around to see who it was she had bumped into.
She met Malfoy's cool grey eyes and time seemed to freeze.
His face brought rushing back the painful memories she had been trying to block out, of being held to the floor of Malfoy Manor by Bellatrix Lestrange, having the word 'Mudblood' carved into her arm, the agony of the Cruciatus curse…
The knife Lestrange used must have been cursed, for the word in her arm would not fade naturally. The nurses at St Mungo's hospital had tried their best to get rid of it, but the word could still faintly be seen, permanently tattooed onto her arm.
Malfoy had been there.
He had done nothing while she was being tortured. A small voice in her head reasoned that he had had no choice, but she still hated him for it. His father had gone to Askaban after the death of Voldemort, but all Death Eaters who were under a certain age were not sentenced to imprisonment, as the ministry officials understood that many children of Death Eaters had not had a choice in whose side they wanted to be on. Instead, they were banned from using magic outside of Hogwarts until they had finished their final year, a couple of years later than the usual allowance.
Hermione sucked in a breath and calmed herself, pushing down the harrowing memories of the war that he had caused to resurface. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her weak. She waited for him to speak, meeting his cool gaze unflinchingly, expecting some kind of spiteful remark or a derogatory comment about her supposed inferiority.
But none came. His face was set in a stony mask, unreadable, and his grey eyes yielding nothing as to what he was thinking. Malfoy was a master of concealing all feeling.
Or maybe he just didn't have any, she thought bitterly.
Finally Malfoy opened his mouth to say something before closing it, as if changing his mind, before opening it again and speaking in a cool, detached voice, "Watch where you're going, Granger." Hermione watched his platinum blond head disappear into the crowd of bodies on the platform as he swiftly pushed his trolley away from her.
She scowled at his retreating form, confused and infuriated by his unusual demeanour. She would almost have welcomed a verbal duel with Malfoy, anything to return the world into some feeling of normality. After so much had changed it would have been reassuring to have at least one constant, one thing that had outlasted the war, evening if it was just a conflict with Malfoy.
War isn't over when it ends.
It changes people. It leaves scars that take more than a victory to heal. War changes everything.
Raising her head to take in the familiar sight of platform nine and three quarters, Hermione managed to pick out a few of her classmates, and saw numerous first years looking completely awe struck, just as she had been all those years ago in her first year. However, she could not spot Harry and Ron anywhere. She sighed. She had hoped to be able to see them before she boarded to tell them that she could not sit with them straight away as she had to meet Professor Mcgonagall in the Head Girl and Head Boy compartment to discuss their duties. Biting her lip, she realised that this was another thing she had neglected to tell Harry and Ron. Becoming head girl had been something she had been dreaming about since her first year, but with her situation at home, she had been unable to feel particularly excited for the role.
On boarding the train, she wondered who the Head Boy would be. She hoped it would be Harry. As much as she loved Ron, she couldn't quite picture hi in the role of Head Boy. But she also knew that it was unlikely to be Harry if she was Head Girl, as the Headmaster- Headmistress, Hermione had to remind herself- normally tried to pick students from different houses for the role. She prayed it would be someone she could get along with, for in her letter it had said that this year, the Head boy and girl would be given their own private common room which they were to share. Obviously it had separate sleeping quarters, but Hermione was still not thrilled with the prospect.
She arrived at her designated compartment and sat down, staring out of the window, watching in amusement as someone let off one of Fred and George's mini-fireworks, before being told off by a haughty looking prefect. 'Just George's fireworks now' a small voice in her head whispered. Her amusement vanished in a heartbeat. Many losses had been suffered in the war, but none had hit her as hard as the death of Fred Weasley, who had been like an older brother to her.
Through her letters with Harry and Ron, she learnt that George was still grieving, but was trying to put on a brave face. The tragedy of it was horrible. Throughout her years at Hogwarts, Hermione didn't think she had ever seen the twins apart. They came as a pair, they were a package deal. Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard her compartment door slide open behind her. She banished the thoughts of the past from her head, and turned to smile at the person who she would be sharing duties with over the course of the next year, but she froze in place when she saw who was standing in the entrance of the compartment.
Malfoy's face seemed to hold the same dismay as she felt. But he quickly regained his composure, barely sparing her a glance as he sat down opposite her and stared pointedly out of the window. Hermione was still in disbelief and was having trouble stringing a coherent sentence together in her shock, "Y-You? But why- who would- there must be a mista- you can't be head bo- I am not sharing a dorm with YOU!" Hermione fumed. What was Mcgonagall thinking? Giving Malfoy, MALFOY, the boy who had tormented her for the past six years, who had been a DEATH EATER, the position of Head Boy.
The carriage door slid open and the Headmistress entered the compartment. Immediately Hermione jumped to her feet. "Professor please, you cannot expect me to share duties with- with him! Let alone a dorm!" she pleaded, casting a scathing look at Malfoy who tore his gaze from the window to glare back at her with equal venom. Mcgonagall watched the interaction and sighed, "Miss Granger please sit down, I will explain the arrangements and their reasons shortly to you, but I need you both to try and cooperate while I do."
Hermione sat down grudgingly, shooting a glare at Malfoy. Mcgonagall cleared her throat, "You have both read your letters so you know that this year it has been decided that the Head Boy and Head Girl are to be sharing a common room." She raised a hand to silence Hermione, who was about to interrupt, causing Malfoy to smirk, but he too was silenced by a glare from Mcgonagall. "The reason for this is because after the.. events of last year-" Hermione thought she saw Malfoy flinch at the mention of the war, but when she looked at him his mask of composure was set on his face. "-it has been decided that this is going to be a year where unity between ALL houses it created. You Know Who may be gone, but prejudice between certain houses is still strong, and this year, that is going to end. You two have been put together in order to set an example which others will follow." Malfoy rolled his eyes and spoke in a bored tone, "This is never going to work."
"For once I agree with Malfoy Professor." Hermione interjected sullenly.
"I did not come here to negotiate with the two of you. This is final. This is an opportunity to forget your differences and build bridges. This year is going to be a year of new beginnings." For the last sentence, she looked directly at Malfoy, who Hermione noticed refused to meet Mcgonagall's eyes.
After giving the pair of them a list of their roles and duties as the Head Boy and Girl, Mcgonagall swept out of the compartment, leaving Malfoy and Hermione glaring daggers at each other. Hermione couldn't believe that she would have to spend her final year in the company of Malfoy. What could she possibly have done to deserve this? As if reading her thoughts, Malfoy said, "Believe me, I am no happier about this than you are."
"I sincerely doubt that," she retorted before stalking out of the compartment to find Harry and Ron. This was certainly going to be an interesting year.
…
Hermione thought her ribcage was going to collapse. "Guys – missed you too – but – can't – breathe!" Harry and Ron released her from their tight hug, which Hermione though may have caused a punctured lung, and laughed, "We haven't seen you all summer Mione!" Ron cried, grinning his goofy grin and planting a kiss on her cheek, causing her to blush deeply and a strange, uncomfortable feeling twist her stomach. But she pushed it down, acquitting it to her guilt of not seeing them all holiday.
"I know! I missed you guys." Sitting down in the compartment, the pair told Hermione everything they had done at the Weasley's that summer, and about Arthur Weasley's promotion in the ministry. "And what about you Hermione, how was your holiday with your parents?" Harry asked once they had finished recounting everything. Hermione felt awful lying to the pair of them, but she couldn't share her secret with them just yet, she wasn't ready. "Uh, yeah it was really good thanks Harry," Hermione vaguely described the holiday that she and her parents had supposedly gone on.
Luckily the boys couldn't ask her anymore questions about her holiday, as Luna Lovegood entered the compartment, wearing an extremely strange pair of glasses, the lens of which seemed to swirl when Hermione looked at them. "Gosh Hermione," Luna said as she sat down, "your head is full of nargles today, something's troubling you isn't it." Hermione had become used to Luna's strange beliefs and actions, and over the course of the last few years she had grown to respect the unusual girl immensely. "Actually I am a bit troubled today, you see I've become Head girl and-"
"What!? Hermione that's great!" Ron interrupted, "why didn't you tell us?"
"Sorry I forgot," she replied guiltily.
"Why is becoming Head girl troubling you? I thought you wanted to become Head girl?" Harry frowned.
"Well I did," Hermione sighed, "but they've given Malfoy Head Boy and I have to share a dorm with him." Ron choked on the chocolate frog he had been eating, his face quickly turning a shade of red. Harry whacked him hard on the back, dislodging the chocolate frog.
"WHAT?" Ron spluttered, "You have to share a down with- with that Death Eater, with that FERRET? How is this even allowed? This must be crossing some kind of line they can't expect you to-" Ron continued ranting, flailing his arms in the air as he spoke, before Harry cut him off, "Look, we'll go and see Professor Mcgonagall tomorrow and get her to change the rules, I'm sure she'll-"
"It's no use," Hermione interrupted miserably, "we tried to persuade her but she seems pretty set on it. She says it will 'encourage unity of the houses'".
"This-this is ridiculous!" Ron cried.
"Old Mcgonagall's finally lost it," Harry said shaking his head.
"Some pexicorns probably found their way into her head when she was sleeping," Luna mused, forcing Ron to muffle a laugh with his sleeve.
…
Having arrived and taken the carriages to the castle, all of the students except the first years filed into the great hall and took their usually seats at each of the four house tables. Hermione couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest that it was Professor Mcgonagall, and not Dumbledore, sitting at the centre of the table. A sidelong glance at Harry and she could tell that he was thinking the same thing.
Once everyone had taken their seats, the first years all entered the hall , staring around wide eyed in wonder at their surroundings, and Hermione couldn't help but smile at how small they all were, finding it hard to believe that six years ago that had been her, Harry and Ron. Silence fell over the great hall as the sorting hat burst into song, as it did at the beginning of every year.
"Another year over, another year has started,
New first years to replace those who now have departed,
I see this is a year of closing old doors,
Of seeing what we could not before,
A year of change, a year of new beginnings,
Of mourning our losses, and celebrating out winnings,
A year of unlikely alliances forming,
This is the year a new light is dawning,
So listen students, and listen well,
To what this old hat has to tell,
Whether you believe my words or not,
Believe me, I can see what you cannot,
And now I come to the end of this year's song,
To sort you first years to where you belong!"
The great hall burst into applause as the hat came to the end of its song. Harry leant over to Hermione, "Well that was different than its usual songs, I wonder what it meant."
"I know, what could it mean by 'unlikely alliances forming'," she wondered.
After the first years had been sorted, and Mcgonagall had informed the first years of the rules and had made a few announcements, there was the annual feast to celebrate the beginning of the year. By the end of the feast, Hermione was in high spirits, it felt good to be back. Her good mood did not last long however, as she saw professor Mcgonagall beckoning her over by the doors of the great hall, a sullen looking Malfoy standing by her side.
"I have to go guys," Hermione sighed, "looks like Mcgonagall wants to show me and Malfoy to our dorm."
"Make sure you hex him if he says or does anything to you," Ron muttered darkly. Hermione laughed and proceeded to approach Mcgonagall and Malfoy. Boy this was going to be fun.
Some of you may know that I began this story I few months ago, but I removed it as I wanted to make some changes and improvements to it. I have the whole plot figured out, so I warn you now readers, you are in for a bumpy ride my friends.
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