A/N: This is my first Draco/Hermione fic, so be nice. :) Background: All the kids that dropped out of Hogwarts (like Neville, Luna, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, etc.) got special permission to finish school with the new seventh years after the war was over. Might be a little OOC. If so, sorry. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! The wonderful J.K. Rowling does!

Ch.1: Back Again

Hermionie's Point of View

I got through the barrier and took in my surroundings with a smile on my face; the Hogwarts Express. It had been too long since I'd seen the huge train. So many memories had taken place on it: Meeting Ron and Harry for the first time, Ron and I partaking in our first duties as prefects, the many laughs with all my friends.

A year of terror, and now we're back for another round of laughter, smiles, and memories. It was unreal.

"Oi! Hermione!" Ron said, bringing me back to the here and now. I turned to him and smiled.

"Can you believe we're actually here again? Six months ago, I don't think I would believe you if you even told me I'd be alive right now, let alone get the chance to go back to school..." I stopped, on the brink of tears.

He put his hand on my shoulder and directed me toward the train. "It is pretty crazy... but we should get out of the way before Harry or Ginny run into us on the way in." Oh. I was still standing in front of the barrier from King's Cross.

I grew silent as Ron and I dragged our bags onto the train and navigated our way through the crowds of people to find an empty compartment. Glancing at Ron again, I had a brief flashback of our kiss during the Battle of Hogwarts. Then, it had seemed like the best thing to do at the time. I'd always had feelings for him, and we were about to die. But the kiss, rather than bring me closer to Ron romantically, only made me realize that he'd only ever be a really good friend to me.

He took the news easily when I told him one evening at the Burrow, after all the hype from the Battle of Hogwarts had gone down. It was awkward at first, but we were able to part friends. Since then, things have returned to normal: Ron and I bickering occasionally, but overall we get along.

Harry and Ginny are still inseperable, of course. I think the war brought them much, much closer.

The summer at the burrow wasn't all fun though. There was the memorial ceremony for all that had died, the funeral for Tonks and Lupin, and Fred. Fred's funeral was unbearably sad. I think it was the most I'd ever cried in such a short period of time. George was strong through it, though he shed tears, too. All summer, he seemed a little out of it. He told us all that he was going to focus on the shop and make the best of things. I wish I had his strength.

I was still beating myself up about my parents. Oh, they were fine, I was positive - I'd been keeping tabs on them - but I missed them terribly. I hadn't been thinking, when I put the memory charm on them, that I might actually survive. And there's no way to reverse the charm, as Professor Lockheart so aptly demonstrated.

But I'm not going to engage in regular pity parties, I kept telling myself. Some people have it so much worse. At least my parents are still alive.

"Hermione? Hermione?" Harry's voice brought me back to reality. I blinked, realizing I had been staring out the window for the better part of a half an hour. Oops.

"Sorry, Harry, I was just thinking," I said guiltily.

"About what? Seemed like you were really out of it," Ginny said, and I smiled wanly.

"It was nothing." I took a moment to see who was in the compartment with us: Ginny, Harry, Ron, Luna, Neville, and... Draco Malfoy, who was reading a book in the corner, separated from the rest of us. I blinked in surprise and glanced at Harry questioningly. He raised an eyebrow, and I jerked my head in Malfoy's direction. He just shrugged, like he didn't know why he was in there. I looked at Ginny and she just shook her head; she didn't know either. So I just shrugged and let it go. He wasn't bothering anybody.

"So how was everyone's summer?" I asked timidly. All I got back was incredulous stares that said, Are you being serious right now? I just nodded sadly and turned back to the window.

About five seconds later, Draco burst out, "Seriously? Are you all going to just sit there and pout, because... because what? You lost a couple of friends? A family member or two, maybe? Well, listen to me now. You're alive. Voldemort isn't. You're on this train, getting a second chance that many would die for, have died for. Why don't you quit being selfish, and take the time to enjoy what you still have."

And then he closed his book, got up, and left. We all sat there in silence for a moment, our mouths open, our eyes wide.

Ginny was the first to speak. "He's... he's right." We all nodded. It was the most "right" thing I had ever heard him speak. It seemed the war had changed even the seeminly unchangable Draco Malfoy. I was shocked, to say the least.

We spent the rest of the train ride talking about nothing in particular. I don't think we ever fully recovered from Malfoy's outburst. Soon, we felt the train begin to slow, and the prefects came around to knock on the doors, letting us know that we would be arriving soon.

"Hermione, what are you going to do on the first day during classes?" Ron asked and I glanced at him while heaving my trunk onto the floor.

"What are you talking about, Ron?"

"Well, you haven't been reading the textbooks lately, and I just wondered what you're going to do when you realize you can't quote the entire textbook in every class on the first day." He and Harry started laughing, and I gave them both a good smack on the arm.

"Ha-ha, you two. How do you know I haven't memorized the textbooks?"

Ron looked incredulous. "We just got our books three days ago! There wouldn't have been time!"

I smiled smugly. "That's what you think." Of course, what he thought was right. Of course I hadn't been thinking of actual school work. I was, for once, more anxious to be at the only place I could truly call home now. As much as I love being at the Burrow, it isn't home like Hogwarts is.

We stepped off the train, and I looked up at my home.