Hermione Granger tossed her hair over her shoulder. She had discovered something wonderful called layers over the summer, and now her dark brown hair was a lot tamer than it was before. It fell two inches below her shoulder, and her bangs swept over her forehead.
She looked at the letter one more time. It read:
Dear Miss Granger,
We are delighted to inform you that for your seventh year, you have been selected to be the Head Girl of Hogwarts. You will find out your Head Boy during your journey on the Hogwarts Express up to the school. Congratulations on your achievement.
We wish you a happy summer!
Sincerely,
Professor McGonagall
Hermione looked at herself in the mirror and picked out the outfit that she wanted to wear on her train journey. Something feminine, but comfortable. Searching through her drawers, she found a loose fitted red sweater with blue polkadots and a pair of navy shorts.
Pulling out her minimal set of makeup, she found some black kohl and traced her eyelids with it. Tucking the small pouch into her bag, she made her way downstairs.
"Mum!" she called. "I'm ready Mum! Let's go!"
Hermione spied two heads of vivid red hair and one of black hair and made her way over to her friends.
"Harry! Gin! Ron!" she exclaimed. The three of them turned at the same time.
"Herms!" they cried, all embracing her at once.
"What have you done with your hair?" Ginny asked. "It looks lovely!"
"I discovered layers," Hermione replied with a small smile. Harry grinned at her.
"Nice sweater," he remarked. Hermione giggled. Ron put an arm around her shoulders and brought her close. They had become a couple over the last year. The war had brought everyone closer. Even Malfoy had manners now, and he and Harry got on rather decently.
"How were your holidays?" Hermione asked her friends, walking with Ron into their compartment.
"Decent," Ginny replied, finding Neville and Luna inside. "Hey guys! How was summer?"
"Pretty good," Neville said, his round face lighting up with a grin.
"It was adventurous," Luna said dreamily. "I went off hunting for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks in Sweden with Daddy. It snows so much up there."
"That sounds wonderful!" Hermione responded warmly, to everyone's surprise. She was usually skeptical of Luna's beliefs. "Is it scenic?"
"Oh, very!" Luna gushed. "It's beautiful! There are little cottages made of brick with straw thatched roofs that look like they're from Beedle's tales!" Hermione laughed. She was so happy to be on her way to school.
A third-year popped his head into the compartment.
"Miss Hermione Granger," he said uncertainly. "The Heads' and Prefects' meeting has already started in the Heads' compartment. Professor McGonagall has also called Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood to the compartment as well."
"We'll be right out!" Hermione replied with a warm smile. The kid nodded and left. "All right, girls, shall we?" she asked. The other two girls stood up and nodded.
"Wait, love!" Ron called, pulling Hermione around and planting a kiss on her lips. Harry chuckled. "All right, you can go now." Hermione left with a huge grin on her face.
"I'm so happy for you two," Ginny said with a smile. "So glad that Ron's finally gotten someone with somewhat of a brain. Not like that Lavender." Hermione laughed.
"Yes, you two are like a fairytale," Luna said, her luminous eyes glowing. "Like Prince Charming and Salmonella."
"You mean Cinderella, right?" Hermione giggled.
"Yes, her," Luna replied. "She was lovely. But you're much lovelier, in my opinion." Hermione blushed and nudged her golden-haired friend. They had arrived at the compartment.
"Ah, welcome," Professor McGonagall said, gesturing around the compartment. "We were just about to get started. Miss Granger, if you would take a seat next to Mr. Malfoy over there." Hermione gasped and turned around. Malfoy was sitting in a seat across from McGonagall. When he heard his name, he looked up and smiled lazily at Hermione with a small wave. She smiled politely back.
"Hi," she said, sitting down next to him. "Congratulations on Head Boy."
"Same on Head Girl," he responded. "How were your holidays?"
"Pretty good," she said. "We went skiing. But of course, being me, I can't ski." Malfoy chuckled. It was startling how much he had changed since the war had taken his father. It was as if he was free to be himself now. Hermione appreciated the change. "Yours?" she asked.
"Well, I went to France by myself," he replied. Hermione's eyes widened in wonder. "It's really nice. I picked up some French over there. Beautiful language."
"Yes, it is," Hermione said with a smile. "You know, I speak French. So, how's this? Whenever we don't want anyone to know what we're saying, we speak in French."
"Deal," Malfoy said, shaking her hand. "You know what else? I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Hermione asked.
"For everything," he replied. "For name-calling, for being a bully, for acting like an arse to your friends."
"It's fine," Hermione said, waving his apology away. "You fought on our side when it counted, and that's what matters." Malfoy smiled at her warmly, a look that was completely different from his older smirk, and suited him much better as well.
"All right, everyone's here," McGonagall called over the hushed voices. "Let's commence the meeting."
Harry looked at Hermione's big smile upon entering the Great Hall and smiled at her.
"Looks like the meeting went well," he said.
"Yeah, it did," she replied, sitting down next to Ron at the table. "Malfoy's Head Boy."
"Really?" Harry asked, coughing a little. "That's amazing. Tell him congratulations from me."
"Will do," Hermione replied. Ron frowned.
"That git?" he demanded, a little loudly. "Bloody hell, a Slytherin becoming Head Boy."
"Ron," Ginny warned. "No inter-house rivalry, remember? That's what started the whole war in the first place. Rivalry's good for sports, but not much else. He's decent. He fought on our side. Remember?"
"So?" Ron asked belligerently. "He's been an arse until then. Maybe he did it to save his own hide."
"Ron," Harry cut in this time. "He's different. He wrote me over the summer and apologized." Hermione gasped.
"He did?" she asked. Harry nodded. "That's very nice of him. I'm rather surprised, even."
"Yeah," Ginny agreed with a nod. "I am too. But he seems alright. I think we should give him a chance. If not for anything but to promote unity."
"Thank you, Ginny," Hermione said with a smile. She looked at Ron. He looked a little indignant, but seemed calm enough. She grasped his hand under the table and ran her thumb over it gently. But to her surprise, he pulled his hand away from hers. Ginny noticed her hurt expression and raised an eyebrow, but she shook her head slightly.
"Oh, dessert!" Harry exclaimed, helping himself to his favorite – rhubarb crumble. "How did they know?"
"Well, maybe someone told them," Ginny said with a wink. Harry looked at her and his eyes twinkled. He planted a small kiss on her lips. Ron made a face.
"Sorry, mate," Harry apologized. "But to be fair, she's seen you do worse."
"Touché," Ron said with a fake grin. Harry raised an eyebrow but decided not to mention it.
After McGonagall's welcome speech, Ron took Hermione by the elbow and led her to a secluded corner of the Entrance Hall.
"What the hell was that?" he demanded.
"What?" Hermione asked, clueless.
"That! Getting everyone to take the mickey out of me over Malfoy," Ron spat, sneering. Hermione's eyes widened.
"Ron, are you feeling all right?" she asked. "I didn't mean to show you up. That wasn't my intention at…" She brought her hands up to caress his face.
"Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't, you little know-it-all," he snapped, seizing her wrists and pulling them away from his face.
"Love, I didn't mean it, I'm serious!" she exclaimed. Ron's grip tightened on her wrists and she gasped. "Ron, you're hurting me. Let go, please."
"All right," he said, shoving her against the wall. "There, I've let go. Now don't talk to me for a while. In fact, why don't you go talk to Malfoy." He turned on his heel and stormed off the the Gryffindor common room.
Hermione shook her head, simultaneously saddened and shocked. What was wrong with Ron? In her logical mind, Ginny and Harry were only telling him what was right. He didn't have any reason to flare up like he did. She turned and took off for the Heads' living area.