Chapter 1: New Year, New Beginnings

It was exactly 10:50am, September 1st. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger stood side by side on platform nine and three quarters. They were here to complete their final year of Hogwarts, as they'd been hunting horcruxes the previous year. In fact, nearly all their fellow students had decided to re-take along with them, what with it being interrupted by war and destruction so often. The Wizarding World had taken six months to rebuild what had fallen and at long last managed to retrieve normality. Or close to normality at least. People were still mourning for their family and friends, but somehow it had gotten easier. No one had thought that possible until now.

"So, this is it." Hermione spoke first, surveying her surroundings. Old and new students flittered across the platform, parents in toe. People passing baggage to each other in order to put it on the train. Owls were hooting, cats meowing. It was loud, yet their ears heard nothing and their eyes only saw the Hogwarts Express. "Our last year." She looked down to see Ron's hand clasping hers, as it had done for the past several months. It was reassuring, and now somewhat expected.

"Should be normal enough this year." Harry glanced at the two of them with a smile. Things had been quite surreal for him since the war ended. Danger was no longer present constantly and he wasn't having to look over his shoulder all the time. It made him feel slightly useless and unnecessary, people had needed him to protect them before, but now there was nothing to protect people from. He wondered what his purpose in life was now. Of course, Ron and Hermione had told him the thought was stupid, so he no longer mentioned it. But it still lingered.

"Normal?" Ron raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Never." A grin grew across their faces and Harry sniggered, closely followed by his friends' laughter. Hermione quietened first, unable to stop wondering what a normal year would be like. It might be nice to have a quiet year at Hogwarts for a change. No fighting evil and no death. Just them, like this, having a laugh and enjoying each others company. The idea of this caused excitement to bubble in her stomach.

"Hey guys! I found a compartment!" Red hair flashed in front of them as Ginny arrived, dragging Harry and his trolley towards the train. Ron followed, pushing his trolley with one hand and pulling Hermione with the other. Crookshanks stirred when the movement jostled her cage and Hermione tried to sooth her. The men transferred their cases onto the train before they carried the remaining belongings through the carriage. Ginny ushered them into a compartment. Hermione entered after Ron to see Luna and Neville, Neville had his arm around Luna and there was a sense of new found confidence in the couple. It surprised Hermione to begin with, and she could tell it Ron had been too, as he'd faulted slightly at the door. However, the one person it seemed to affect most was Harry. He entered the compartment last and stood for a second, staring transfixed on Luna and the arm around her. It didn't last long and Hermione seemed to be the only person who noticed. It must have just been a bigger shock for him to see Luna with someone, Harry was closer to her than Ron or Hermione ever were.

"Luna, Neville! How are you?" Hermione lent forward and hugged then both at once, it seemed easier than making them separate. The two of them grinned back at her, she'd never seen Neville so happy.

"We're good thanks. What about you lot?" Neville gestured to them with his free arm before placing it back on Luna's leg. Luna had the quibbler in her lap, upside down like usual.

"Great thanks, mate." Ron nodded with a grin, sitting down and pulling Hermione down beside him. She stifled a giggle and snuggled closer to him, his arm going around her waist. Harry, who had been silent since his arrival took a seat next to Ron and Ginny sat opposite him, putting her legs up on his lap. As there wasn't enough room for them to sit cuddled like the other two couples they had to maintain contact somehow. He ran his hands soothingly across shins, his eyes were trained on his hands but Hermione could tell he was desperate to look up. Look at someone.

"Oh, I heard the news! Well done, Harry. Head boy!" Neville exclaimed proudly. He knew Harry would get it, how could he not? Harry went to thank him but was cut off.

"Oh my goodness, Luna! We heard you made Head girl! That's great news." Ginny beamed, glancing at Harry before turning to congratulate the blonde girl along with Hermione and Ron.

"So you two will be seeing a lot of each other this year." Neville was still grinning, having not noticed the strange look in Harry's eyes. The new appointed Head boy was staring at the Head girl, his eyes never leaving hers as the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

"Yeah," He nodded with sudden enthusiasm, his eyes leaving Luna's to address Neville. "We've got some good plans." Harry seemed to relax and leant back in his seat, hands still caressing Ginny's legs.

"It'll be a great year if you two are in charge." Ron looked from one Head to the other, a sly grin on his face. Hermione glanced up at him with a disapproving frown, trying her best not to show her amusement.

"We are not using their new position to our advantage, Ron. Just like we're not using the fact we're prefects either." She scolded, hitting him in the chest.

"Ouch." He rubbed the place she'd made contact with before rolling his eyes. "How did I know you'd say that?" Hermione didn't dignify the question with an answer, instead just turning her head away from him slightly. Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry who laughed quietly, eyeing his best friends cautiously.

"So…" Neville filled the now awkward silence, a hand playing with Luna's hair. "When do you guys have to go to the meeting?" They all looked up at each other in revelation. They'd almost forgotten. Harry looked at his watch before carefully lifting Ginny's feet off him.

"Now, actually. Let's go." He bent down to give Ginny a goodbye kiss as Hermione, Ron and Luna all stood. Neville sat up straight and kissed Luna's cheek as a quick farewell before the four of them left the compartment. They heard Neville ask Ginny if she wanted to play Wizard Snap as they closed the door.

Harry and Luna led the way to the Head compartment; both were muttering to each other so Ron and Hermione kept their distance. It must have been about their Head duties and what was to happen in the following meeting. Ron had a grip on his girlfriend's hand, stroking her palm with his thumb reassuringly. She didn't need reassuring though and presumed it was a way of reassuring himself, so her grip tightened a little in return. Students filled the train to almost overflowing as they walked, some they knew and some they didn't. Seamus, Dean, Parvati and Lavender popped out of their compartment for greetings, but they had to move on very quickly or they'd be late. Ron had mentioned how different Lavender was as they'd departed. The usual talkative, giggly girl was gone. She had been a lot quieter with an air of shyness to her. Hermione had seen the large scars on Lavender's neck and the side of her face, although a scarf had been round the girl's neck in an attempt to hide them. All courtesy of Greyback.

"We're here." Luna spoke. It was the first time Hermione had heard her speak since they got on the train. The dreamy tone to her voice still lingered but was no longer as prominent, Hermione guessed it had something to do with the war and the reality of it all. It was bound to change something in everyone, however small. The look in Luna's eyes was still far off, like she was in her own little world.

"Looks like we might be the last here." Harry pushed open the compartment door gesturing for Luna to go first. She gladly did with a curt nod.

"Oh, my shoe lace. I'll be there in a second." Hermione pushed Ron towards the door, letting go of his hand gently. She bent down to tie her shoe lace quickly before also entering the compartment. Her mind was reeling with possible ideas to run by Harry for improving the school, so she didn't see the body walk into her path. Hermione knocked into someone hard, almost falling but managing to gain composure. Ron's worried voice was somewhere in the distance which meant it wasn't him she'd hit into.

"Sorry." Her eyes lifted from the floor to look directly at Draco Malfoy. She flinched, waiting for an abrasive comment about how clumsy she was, or some cocky advice about paying attention to where she was going.

"It's fine. Are you alright?" That was not what she'd expected. There wasn't even the usual annoyance in his voice. Hermione nodded, words failing her as she stared dumbfounded. He nodded his understanding before making his way to sit with Pansy on one of the sofas. This left Hermione to stare ahead of herself, still unable to do anything coherent, even moving her legs had become an impossible task. Ron rushed over, scooping her up in his strong arms and assisting her to walk towards their spot by the window. He was such a gentleman sometimes.

After a few more stragglers joined them and they all hurriedly changed into their robes, the meeting began. Harry and Luna went through the usual announcements that Hermione had heard so many times before they were basically memorised. She glanced at Ron as he listened intently, his memory wasn't as good as hers so he had to listen to every word carefully. This made her smile and she snaked an arm around him carefully, trying not to distract him. It didn't work. He glanced down at her and smiled, putting his arm around her too before returning to concentrating on the meeting. Hermione snuggled her head into his chest a little, though keeping her eyes on Harry and Luna so it at least looked like she was listening. After a while her eyes began to wonder around the compartment. She knew most of the people and they didn't look much different except older, slightly more relaxed and happier. As she surveyed them her eyes fell onto the back of Draco's head. His hair was a little messier than previous years, as if he hadn't taken as long in front of the mirror. His arm was stretched across the back of the sofa while Pansy Parkinson was sat close to him, though not close enough to be quite touching. Hermione couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't thrown an insult at her like she'd expected and like he would have in years before. The war must have had a bigger effect than people first thought. It was true Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban, so perhaps that was also having a profound effect on his son's behaviour. Hermione furrowed her brow, he had also discovered manners by the sounds of things and it intrigued her for some reason. Before she could go on to procrastinate about it further Harry began to talk about prefect rounds and patrolling, this changed every year so she had to pay attention. Asking Ron what was said would be devastating, he'd never let her live it down.

"Right, we're mixing up the patrolling rounds a bit this year. We want to promote house unity so we're partnering you up with another house prefect." There were a few groans, including one in Hermione's ear from Ron.

"Oh, shh!" She nudged him playfully in the shoulder.

"What? Can't blame me for looking forward to spending time with you in dark corridors." The red headed man winked before nuzzling his face in her neck. She gasped at his outrageously inappropriate comment, concealing the giggle that tried to escape her lips.

"So the pairs are quite simple. Weasley and Parkinson," Harry called out, a piece of parchment now in his hand. Ron backed off Hermione and looked towards Harry in shock, this shock soon turning to annoyance. Ron glared, mentally promising to get his best friend back later. Pansy sat up in her seat looking utterly appalled.

"You're joking, right?" When Harry shook his head she turned to Draco for help. He simply shrugged, running a hand through her hair briefly to try and calm her down. It seemed to work as she slumped back into the sofa defeated.

"Malfoy and Granger," Luna had leant across Harry to see the list and spoke before he had a chance. It felt weird addressing Hermione by surname. Draco didn't respond, silently accepting his fate, while Pansy turned to stare at him again. She gave him a questioning frown but gave up when he didn't acknowledge her. Hermione had to admit she'd expected it, who else could Harry really pair Draco with? Ron? Everyone knew that wouldn't end well. Ron was watching her closely, he'd put his arm back around her and pulled her close, as if protecting her from something. Someone.

Harry and Luna read out the rest of the pairs and finally dismissed them. Hermione parted from Ron with a kiss, he attempted a little more than what she'd intended so informed him it was neither the time nor the place before hurrying to find Draco standing by the door. Pansy kissed his cheek before disappearing with Ron, both of whom were looking thoroughly unentertained. Draco watched them go, a smirk tugging at his features, that was going to make for an interesting year.

"I give them an hour." He muttered in her direction as they joined the queue to exit the compartment. Hermione glanced up at him disapprovingly, until the thought of a flustered and angry Ron crossed her mind. He was funny when he got worked up.

"Half an hour, at the most," A smile progressed onto her face at the thought and Draco chuckled. The sound was so foreign it took her by surprise. He had laughed with her and not at her like it used to be. They had shared a joke this time, something she never thought they would do. They fell silent before finally exiting the door and starting their rounds. They had been given the last two carriages of the train with the youngest years in, which would make it easier for them. Hermione didn't know why it mattered though, she had Draco Malfoy as her partner, everyone knew who he was. He terrified most of the kids. It was for this very reason that they didn't find much trouble on their patrol, whenever the children saw him coming they darted into the nearest compartment. Hermione found it strange because it almost felt like they feared her too, just for being in his company. They didn't speak often unless to discuss something suspicious amongst the students. Hermione wanted to ask what it was like, to have them all run scared from him.

"I know what you're thinking, Granger." Hermione had been watching over her shoulder as kids peaked out of compartments to check he was gone. She snapped her attention back to him when he spoke, his back still to her.

"How could you possibly know that?" She realized once she'd said it that her tone had been quite rude. Draco glanced over his shoulder for a second before returning to stare ahead.

"You haven't stopped gawping, for a start." His infamous smirk sat in its rightful place on his pale face. The Gryffindor was never good at hiding things.

"I do not gawp, thank you very much." Hermione frowned in annoyance. Maybe he hadn't changed that much after all.

"Whatever, but you better get used to it. It'll be like this for the rest of the year." A hand ran through his hair as he walked. Sometimes it was tiresome, having so many people afraid of him. It meant he could never really meet new people because they already had a set perception of him. Except her, she wasn't afraid of him.

"Why?" A cold breeze ran through the train and she crossed her arms to shield herself.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, that's why. Get over it." He snapped back at her, anger building as he continued to walk. This hadn't been part of the plan, he wasn't meant to get angry. This only infuriated him more, why couldn't he control himself.

"There was no need to get angry." Hermione glared at the back of his head. There was still that horrible boy inside him and right now it was coming out to play. This was going to be a long year.

The two stayed quiet after this small interaction. Draco still walked with fists clenched, though the tension in his shoulders had dissipated. Hermione tucked her hair behind her ear, every minute brought about a new urge to say something. After what seemed like at least half an hour Hermione was about to go against her better judgement and say something, when they were plunged into darkness. Screams erupted throughout the carriage and Hermione dashed forward to try and find her fellow prefect. She came in contact with his arm and grabbed it. The first thought that came to her mind was that Voldemort was back and death eaters had attacked the train. This was disproved when Draco cursed quietly.

"Weasley…" He growled. Hermione furrowed her brow for a second, until realisation hit. The twins' shop, well George's now. They sold Instant Darkness Powder, or whatever it was called. Slowly the darkness lifted and the carriage came back into full view. Draco looked down at his arm where Hermione was clutching it, she followed his gaze.

"Oh!" She quickly let go, jumping away from him. What in hell had driven her to do that? She guessed it was because she'd been so scared it was deatheaters and Draco was familiar to her. They had known each other for several years now.

"Right!" Her thoughts were interrupted when he yelled and she jumped in surprise. "Who is the culprit?" Draco's voice was loud as he projected his voice to reach all corners of their current carriage. There was silence when no one came forward. The Slytherin prefect sighed, rubbing his forehead. "If I don't have the culprit in front of me in one minute, you all get detention. Every single person in this carriage! You hear?" Draco was firm in the way he told them off, but he no longer looked down his nose at them or anyone else for that matter. She couldn't remember him ever doing so since she'd first bumped into him. It was strange. After half of the minute two boys came out of a compartment and stood in front of Draco, their heads bowed. He didn't like how they stood, it reminded him too much of how they'd all stood in the Dark Lord's presence.

"Look at me." His voice was quieter as he only spoke to the two boys. They looked up at him and Hermione noted that they wore Slytherin crests. This meant he would go easier on them, he wouldn't take house points and probably wouldn't give them detention either.

"This..." He pointed at each boys crest in turn, leaning down to be nearer their height. "…doesn't give you the right to be arses. Detention-Saturday. Got it?" The boys nodded quickly, though the fear in their eyes had faded slightly. "Good. Now, off you go. And don't do it again." He took their shoulders and turned them round before pushing them lightly back towards the compartment they'd come from. Every single person in the carriage, including Hermione, was staring at him astonished. Some students had even leant out of compartments to get a look. Draco surveyed the watching eyes. "What?" He demanded forcefully, the frosty exterior back all too quickly. Everyone jumped back into their activities, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Hermione glanced at the floor when he turned towards her. She was still trying to get to grips with what she had just witnessed. Draco Malfoy had been relatively nice to misbehaved students, he hadn't done anything to scare them really. She'd found it oddly sweet. Sweet? Her head shook as an attempt to get rid of such thoughts. That was ridiculous. Draco eyed her closely before beginning to walk again, and he heard her follow once more.

The rest of the journey was uneventful; they didn't come across anymore pesky children. Nor did they exchange another word between them. Hermione concluded that Draco had simply gained a soft spot, another thing to thank the war for. A small soft spot that would rarely be shown, or at least she hoped it was that. Surely the Slytherin would go back to his old ways once united with his fellow, arrogant pigs of house mates. They would soon pummel what seemed to be the start of moral values in his mind. None of them could have their leader showing weakness such as kindness. She could picture them all looking horrified if they'd seen his actions earlier, and it made her feel kind of smug. As if it was her doing, she'd been the one to influence him in such a positive way. Hermione nearly scoffed out loud at this thought, catching herself just in time.

Their round finished as the train began to slow and they made their way back to the head compartment. They'd turned back on themselves so now Hermione was in front, she decided very quickly she didn't like it. Having her fellow prefect behind her made it all the more important to concentrate on her walking. Did she have a stupid walk? Was she swaying too much? Did her hair look okay from the back? After a few minutes she mentally screamed at herself to stop being an idiot. For a start, she didn't need to care what she looked like to him. She knew. A mudblood was what he saw her as, that would never change. A filthy excuse for a witch with dirty blood. Worthless. Sometimes she agreed with him. In years past when she'd been under his hateful gaze, she couldn't help but think he was right. But now was different, he no longer looked at her in that way. That was what scared her the most.

"Are we going in then? Or would you rather we stood out here in everyone's way?" Draco's voice snapped her back to reality and she nodded quickly before entering the compartment. Before either could exchange a goodbye, Ron had hurried over and whisked her off to where Harry and Luna were standing. Draco stood and watched after her, knowing the goodbyes would only have been awkward. Hermione would possibly put her foot in it again and irritate him like earlier. He could tell she had been more than confused by his actions, causing a smirk to lighten his features. Pansy arrived at his side and took his hand, he lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it gently. She grinned happily. It was the only time he really saw her happy, when she was with him and he was showing some sign of affection. Having Pansy happy was always a good thing, he knew she was far more into their relationship than he was, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Truth was, he was lonely without her. He'd known Pansy for a long time and before the war they'd fooled around, resulting in him caring for her. Yes, her heart was in it far more than his, but that kind of made it easier. To be honest, Draco's heart was never in anything. It hadn't been for a long time and sometimes he wondered whether he had a heart at all. It was Pansy who reassured him he did. Their relationship was normal, it was expected of them. Draco always did what was expected of him, well, almost always.

"Shall we go find Blaise and Theo?" The dark haired girl tugged on his arm slightly, the way she did when she wanted to leave. He nodded an answer and they swiftly left the compartment.

Hermione, Ron, Harry and Luna stood far from the door in discussion about Ron's patrolling with Pansy. They were now the only people left in the compartment.

"It was quiet. I expected her to be mouthy, like she is, but nothing. Expect for when some kids tried to trip her up. Then she got pissed." Ron was explaining to an amused looking Harry, who was evidently doing his hardest to hide that fact.

"How was Malfoy?" They turned to Hermione next and she looked up at them.

"Fine, fine." She waved their worries off with a hand, not really wanting to go into detail.

"Fine?" Harry and Ron chorused, brows furrowed.

"Slightly strange, but fine. Other than the darkness powder I reported." Her three friends stood silent, staring at her in surprise and confusion.

"Strange?" Ron put an arm around her, looking for a better answer.

"He just didn't talk much, that's all. We should be going, the train's stopped." Hermione stepped out of Ron's clutches and made her way to the compartment door. "Coming?" She painted a grin on her face. The others nodded, speechless for a second before quickly joining her and exiting the door. They had a feeling Ron was right, this year wasn't going to be anymore normal than the last.

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I hope you liked it please let me know what you think! This is going to be my first multiple chapter fic on here, so advice is welcome as well as critique not sure how you guys think I got the characters? I really don't want to get them wrong :/ Thank you for reading! Xx (I just proof read this chapter, and I don't like it very much lol I apologise if it's poorly written, the chapters get better i promise)