Disclaimer: I own no characters or locations. They are the brain-child of J.K. Rowling. The only thing I take credit for is the plot, which I hope you enjoy.
Summary: Hermione and Draco are the new Head students, chosen to bring unity to Hogwarts. But can they do it, or are there too many obstacles in their way?
Peace and Unity, Forever.
Chapter Two: New Year, New Start, New Friends.
On the morning of the first day back at school, Draco was awoken from his restless sleep by the sound of the shower running. Hermione, Draco thought, realising that his new roommate was occupy the shared bathroom, meaning he'd have to wait to get ready. Oh, well, Draco thought Guess I might as well wake myself up properly with a little workout. With that in mind he rolled out of bed and started to stretch his muscles in preparation.
Draco had started to work out at the beginning of last year, when his father had his wand taken from him by the Dark Lord. Draco realised then that he couldn't always depend on his magic. It had started out small, running and flying around the Malfoy Manor gardens, but it soon became about building muscle so he could hold his own in a fist fight. Not that it was much help when Potter snatched my wand form me he thought bitterly. After that little incident the workouts increased and he focused more on reflexes than before. He was till slender but now he sported defined, strong muscles.
After about thirty minutes of push-ups and stomach crunches Draco was distracted with a knock at the bathroom door. Wiping the sweat from his face he made his way over to the door and opened it cautiously, not wanting to risk hitting Hermione with the door and it moved inwards. Peeking around the side her saw his new roommate stood just on the other side wrapped in a Gryffindor-coloured bathrobe. Once he was sure he wouldn't hit or see any of Hermione that he shouldn't he opened the door fully and stepped inside, looking at the head girl quizzically.
"Morning, I just wanted to let you know that I was done in here, if you wanted to come in now and get ready for the day. I didn't know if you'd tried to get in earlier or not, so I thought I'd come and tell you it's free." She told Draco who was presently looking around the previously unseen bathroom.
"Yeah, thanks. I heard the shower running when I woke up so I figured you took the first turn. Don't worry, if I think you're in here I always knock first. Don't want you feel uncomfortable." Draco told her with a slight smile. Before Hermione could say anything to him, he turned and walked back into his room to collect his wash bag. When he returned he expected to find the bathroom empty but was surprised to still see Hermione there, leaning against the doorframe of her now open door. "What's wrong?" he asked confused as to why she was still here.
"I just wondered if you wanted me to wait for you so we could walk down to the Great Hall together, show some unity, you know. Give a good example to the school." She asked him with a friendly smile. She didn't want there to be a permanent awkwardness between them, keeping them in uncomfortable silence throughout the school year. If the Headmistress wanted them to bring unity to Hogwarts, she was going to goddam make it happen!
"Yeah, okay. That's fine with me. If we're meant to unify Hogwarts I guess walking down to breakfast together is a good start," he said with a little chuckle that caused her smile to widen even more. "I'll be about ten, fifteen minutes max. Why don't you wait for me in the common room?" Draco suggested while closing the door leading to his bedroom. Hermione nodded and smiled at him before closing the door to her bedroom and locking it from her side.
After fifteen minutes a fully dressed Draco made his way down the stairs to the common room refreshed and ready for a new school year. Hermione was leaning against the back of the sofa giving her back a last check to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. When she heard Draco come down the stairs. "Ready to go?" she asked. He nodded, throwing his bag over his head as they made their way towards the portrait. "How did you sleep last night? The Head's room are quite a bit different to the dungeons I would imagine." Hermione asked in an attempt to make easy conversation.
Draco gave a dry chuckle before he answered, "If I'm completely honest," he looked over to her as though asking if honestly is what she wanted and when she nodded her confirmation he told her, "even after only one night, I can, without a seconds pause, say that the Heads room is infinitely … better than the dungeons." He told he with a smile and laugh which she couldn't help returning. "What about you? Gryffindor or Heads room, which is better so far?" he asked her in return thinking I'm going to make this unity thing happen.
"Heads room is much better so far. It's quite a nice feeling being able to get ready with having others criticising and complaining about what I was and wasn't doing." She told him with a smile. At his confused look she elaborated slightly by saying, "Lavender and Pavarti are very high maintenance and I'm not. They couldn't understand why I didn't wear loads of make-up, tonnes of jewellery and did my hair perfectly everyday. They walk down these halls like they're catwalks. I walk down them like they're school corridors nothing more. Does that make sense?" she turned to him to find him smiling gently at her. She cocked her head to the side and asked what was wrong. His answer surprised her.
"It just makes a nice change, knowing someone who knows that there are more important things than how you look. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you changed your appearance to be like every other girl in this school and a guy asked you out you wouldn't accept them. You'd appreciate the attention, but you'd want someone to want you, for you. Not just the way you look. Am I right?" he asked her. Hermione blushed slightly under his gaze. Keeping her eyes on the ground she replied quietly;
"Yeah you're right. Unfortunately, either as myself or a primped up princess, I'm not likely to have and boys names on my card any time in the future." She told him with a sad smile before bidding him goodbye and heading towards the Gryffindor table while he made his way towards the Slytherin table, both thinking about what the other had said.
"Morning Mione" the simultaneous call came from Harry, Ron and Ginny. "What are the Head rooms like? And how's the company treating you?" asked a giddy Ginny. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at her exuberance and excitement.
"The rooms are great. Joint common room and a bathroom joining our separate bedrooms, which from what I've seen aren't any different to those in the tower, only larger." She then smiled brightly; "The beds are so comfy though, even better than those in the tower" she told them with laugh, which quickly faded however when she saw Ron glaring at her. She looked at him quizzically, "What's wrong Ron? You look as though I've committed a heinous crime."
"You said 'beds'. As in two" When she still didn't know what he was getting at her carried on, "How the name of Merlin do you know what ferret boys bed is like?" he asked her angrily and his glare only intensified when she started to laugh at him.
"Me and Draco were talking on the way down and I asked him how he thinks the Heads rooms compare to the ones in the dungeons. He told me that they are infinitely better than the ones in the dungeons. That's how I know what his are like, get your mind out the gutter, you should know by now that I'm not that kind of girl." She told and then promptly stood up from the table and made her way to the staff table to get her timetable. After exchanging pleasantries with her new Head of House, Professor King, she moved back to the table to grab her satchel and some fruit before heading to her first lesson of the day, even if she was half an hour early.
The first class of the day was Muggle Studies. All those that took the Carrows version of the subject last year had to take it again this year, to counteract the biased information they were taught by the Death Eater. Sitting at the back Hermione had a perfect view of the entire classroom as well as her fellow classmates. Bending down from her seat to remove her text book she was surprised when she sat back up to see Draco sat next to her.
"I didn't know you were taking this class" she told him surprised that he would want to learn about muggles willingly. Unless she thought he took this subject last year with the Carrows and he's being forced to take it again this year. Yeah that makes more sen-… her thoughts were cut off when he replied to her statement.
"I realised last year that were not as superior as we think we are. Purebloods I mean. Can't rely on magic twenty-four seven and besides. The magical world will keep shrinking unless we break the barriers between worlds. Taking Muggle Studies is the first step." He told her with a smile, his text book already on the desk and open, ready to begin.
"Well I'm glad you're broadening your beliefs Draco. Now all we need is the powers that be to see that as well. Then our world might finally catch up with the rest of the world. Advance a little, you know?" before he could answer Professor Bands entered and the lesson began.
"Welcome to Muggle Studies, I am Professor Miriam Bands and I'm sure most of you are curios as what makes me appropriate to teach this subject, so to clear things up, I am a muggle-born who worked as liaison between the magical and muggle governments so I have a clear understanding of both worlds." She paused and walked around her desk to the board and took a pen from her pocket and began to write down about the technology what the muggle world had developed over the last seventy years. For the next hour the students learnt just how advanced the muggle world was in comparison to the magical one, shocking the purebloods in the room. At the end of the lesson the Professor set a simple homework of suggesting how muggle technology could help the day-to-day life.
"I never realised how behind we were. I mean I knew there were differences but I didn't realise how … backwards we are." Draco told Hermione as they made their way into the corridor and towards their next class, charms, which they happened to have together.
"We may be backwards at the moment, but if you think about, it shouldn't stay that way for long now." When he told her he didn't get her meaning the elaborated, "If Professor Bands stays on for a long time, till old age, just think about how many students she's going to teach over the years. And those students are going to go on to work in the Ministry and the hospitals. Be members of the Wizengamot and Board of Governors for the school. They'll be able to change so much and integrate all the muggle world has to offer into the magical one to make it a better, more advanced place. Our world would be so much better if that happens, don't you think?" she asked him as they waited in the classroom for the other pupils to arrive. They were yet again sitting next to each other.
"It would be much better. And if there's a good level of cooperation we could use our magic to improve the lives of muggles too. Sort of like a, fair exchange. You scratch our back, we'll scratch yours type of thing." He told her excitedly but when he saw her worried expression he was quick to reassure her of what he meant exactly. "I mean that, we could help the muggle world with our knowledge in things like health and safety, medicine, cosmetics. While in the majority of cases the muggle world is more advanced than us, we're more advanced than the muggle world. We could help each other until we're once again able to live side by side peacefully." He told her and he could tell she was surprised at how quickly he appeared to have come around to a world with cooperation between magic and muggle. If only she knew he thought to himself sadly.
"Draco that's, really insightful. And this is just after one lesson, I can't imagine what you're going to be like at the end of the year." She told him with a bright smile. Before they could carry on their conversation however, Professor Flitwick began the lesson.
The first week back at Hogwarts was unlike any of the others. While there was happiness to be back at school and seeing friends after such a tumultuous year, there was also an underlying current of sadness running throughout the school, staff and students a like.
No one could help but think of all those that were no longer there. Those that gave up their lives so that those that survived could be free from prejudices. It was especially heartfelt in particular subjects and years, those that had lost the most noticeable people, the ones that made every lesson and joy to be in, or the ones that lost the unusual quirks of certain students such as Colin Creevey.
No one could deny that while this was undoubtedly the happiest year anyone had spent at Hogwarts, it was also one of the saddest as everyone was still mourning those that were no longer with them.
But while there was sadness in the air, happiness and light blossoms from the darkness and this perfectly described the growing friendship between Hermione and Draco.
Most nights would find them sat on the sofa or at the table, talking about their subject's ad what they thought on different social and political issues. And while the topics of conversation always stayed neutral, they both knew that it was only the beginning for them. After six years of animosity, to be able to talk to each other so easily after only a week back at school was a great achievement. One that noticed by the staff and the students. While the students began to wonder what other houses had to offer them, the staff hoped that the two head students would be able to break the barriers and prejudices between house down and bring the school together again, just like it was meant to be and just how the founders wanted it to be.
A/N: Well, here is the second chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one and thank you for my reviews and i've tried to take into account what's been written. Please review and let me know what you think, positive and negative feedback is welcomed. Anything to help me improve my work.