Disclaimer: - Harry Potter belongs to J. not me.

Chapter 1

As usual, Hogwarts had started in September. The faculty of Hogwarts along with the Order of the Phoenix and Ministry Aurors had restored Hogwarts and strengthened the charms and shields placed on Hogwarts. By the end of August, The castle was completed and if possible, was even more beautiful and mysterious looking than before. Everyone was sent an owl to come back to Hogwarts and complete their education. The younger students wanted to come back to the place that they had fondly remembered as their second home. But the older students, who had fought in the battle and had witnessed the deaths of their colleagues and loved ones were less sure. In the end, the Ministry had to step in.

In the beginning of August, the new rule proposed by the ministry came into effect and was published in the Daily Prophet.

Education Rule 4386

1stAugust, London: Yesterday, the ministry proposed a new rule hoping to solve the problem that has rose due to the reluctance of students wanting to return to Hogwarts to complete their education. It is known the Second Great Wizarding War was fought in the premises of Hogwarts. Many students had also fought alongside the Light side with the Golden Trio (More gossip on them on page 3). Many such students had fallen that night while fighting for the Light side. The surviving students were unwilling to attend Hogwarts after seeing so many of their fellow-students pass away.Thus, to resolve this problem the ministry has introduced a new law which states that- All those wizards and witches who have not completed their Hogwarts education will not be able to work in the Wizarding World and will have to reside in the muggle world. The minister of magic and the rest of his office remained unavailable for any comments. But an anonymous ministry worker said," The law was put forth to take the students' mind off the war and give them some sort of semblance to their life before the war." The Daily Prophet agrees with the Ministry on this matter.

-Rita Skeeter.

This left no option for most of the students but to go back to Hogwarts. The news that the Golden Trio had agreed to go back to school also helped!

Sitting in the Hogwarts Express on the 1st September, Harry remembered all the times that he had sat there and smiled. Hermione noticed that he was smiling and asked, "What are you thinking of? You look very happy." Ron said, "You better not be thinking of my sister, Harry" Hearing this, Ginny playfully swatted Ron. Soon everyone in the small compartment was laughing. After the laughter died down, Harry said, "I was just thinking of all those times that we used to sit here. This day has always been special to me since I was eleven. Every year I can get away from the Dursleys and stay with people who don't think that I am a freak. Even though we faced danger every year, I always made some good memories at Hogwarts." This sobered everyone up. They all knew that even though they had been a part of Harry's adventure, Harry had always been at the focal point of it all and he always suffered the most because of it.

"Well we are going to make much better memories this year." "So Hermione, does that mean that you are going to cut down on your library visits? Huh?" asked Ron. Looking flabbergasted, she answered, "Yes, I am." This astounded everyone. But quickly she continued, "Only if all you cut down on your quidditch!" At this, everyone started laughing again. Suddenly Hermione's charmed watch started beeping. This meant that it was time for her to go to the Heads Compartment for the meeting with the Head Boy. At first, everyone was shocked that Harry had refused to be the Head Boy. After constant trouble from the Daily Prophet, he had announced that he refused to take up the position because he did not want any responsibilities on his shoulders this year and that he merely wanted to live as a normal teenager. Soon another news that sold like hot cakes was that the new Head Boy of Hogwarts is none other than Draco Malfoy.

On entering the Heads compartment, Hermione saw Draco already sitting inside. She stared at him for a few seconds before Malfoy acknowledged her with a slight nod, "Granger" Unlike so many times before; this tone did not contain hatred or offense but instead was tired. Hermione recalled what she had read in the papers about him and felt sorry for him. Knowing that he was making an effort to be civil, she brightly smiled at him. Initially he was surprised with her response. The meeting was over in half an hour. Hermione left the compartment first with a big smile on her face. On her way to her own compartment, she was thinking about how Draco really was. He was sarcastic in a funny way; he was amusing and had a way with words. But the thing that intrigued her most was how he could keep up with her intellectually. On the other side of the train, Draco was thinking about Hermione in the same train of thoughts. He had always known that she was smart but he had never really known her to make jokes and laugh. By the time they reached their respective compartments they were both thinking the same thing- Maybe this year won't be so bad after all.

AN: - This is my first fanfic so please review and let me know what you think of it.

Also I would like to thank Sensula and AussieGrl303 for their reviews.