Beneath the Surface

Chapter One - The Library

She woke up, screaming, for the third night this week. Hermione Granger was back at Hogwarts, to repeat her Seventh Year. She was Head Girl, her dream from the day she received her Hogwarts letter. Being Head Girl had its perks, if you could say that. She had her own room in a shared dormitory with the Head Boy, which came in handy as she woke up almost every night with horrific vivid nightmares about her experiences in the war. Tonight was one of those nights.

She had had the same dream again; she was in Malfoy Manor, being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Except this time it was slightly different. Just as Bellatrix started to carve the word "mudblood" in her arm, Bellatrix's face changed into Voldemort. If that wasn't bad enough, the face changed into each one of her friends; Harry, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and finally Ron. Ron was the love of her life, they became a couple soon after the War ended. She had always imagined her and Ron ending up together at some point, and now they were. But when Ron appeared as Bellatrix torturing her, Hermione woke up, his face appearing everywhere she looked. She couldn't close her eyes for fear of the dream starting again. Hermione turned on her light and picked up her Potions homework, which was not due for another week, but she started to do it anyways.

The next morning, Hermione walked down to the Great Hall, alone, as usual. Ron and Harry decided not to return to Hogwarts for their final year, as they had already been offered Auror positions. Even though Hermione did have Ginny, Neville and Luna, she felt entirely alone, as they had made a new "Trio" when Harry, Ron and she had left Hogwarts to hunt for the Horcruxes. The Gryffindor Tower was also on the other side of the castle, so it was difficult to see the two often. Even though it was a Saturday, Hermione was still up early. No lie-ins for the Head Girl! She wandered down to breakfast. Since it was seven thirty, the Hall was almost empty, apart from her and Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, Head Boy. He was such a confusing character. He used to always think that he was King of the World, or the Wizarding World at least. Now, he wasn't. Hardly any of the Slytherins had returned, especially from Fourth Year and up. The only ones left were Draco, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, and Theodore Nott. She had also noticed that the younger Greengrass sister, Astoria, had returned. Hermione had heard that Daphne, the elder sister, had married soon after the war, in an arranged marriage organised in the hopes of redeeming the Greengrass name after the war.

Hermione sighed and sat down at the Gryffindor table, which was empty apart from her. She propped her Charms book up against the milk jug, so that she could study while reading. Since she had missed out on her proper Seventh Year, she wanted to start studying early so that she could revise all her Sixth Year work before the NEWTs.

Breakfast passed quickly and quietly, and as Hermione was leaving the Great Hall, more students were entering to get their breakfast. She passed Ginny, Neville and Luna, and after a quick hello, Hermione headed off to the library to get some study done.

Hermione had missed the library. She missed the solitude, silence, and peace that was in there. She walked down the back of the library, to a secluded corner with a desk and armchair, and also had a nice view of Hagrid's hut and the Forbidden Forest.

As Hermione was sitting in the armchair, reading a book on Runes, a shadow fell over her, blocking the light from the window. She looked up to see none other than the Head Boy himself, Draco. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "What does it look like, Malfoy, I'm reading," Hermione replied calmly. She was unsure of how to act around Draco. He seemed to have changed slightly since the war. His father had been Kissed by Dementors during the summer, and his mother and he had been sentenced to house arrest until Draco was out of Hogwarts, and they had another court hearing to review their sentences. He seemed unsure of how to act too.

"Well, well move!" He said, but without any malice. Hermione sighed and looked around. "Look, Malfoy, I was here first, but there are two armchairs and a desk here. You can sit here too if you want. I won't talk to you, or make any contact if you don't want. If not, since I was here first, you can leave."

Malfoy then sighed, and sat down on the opposite armchair. He took out his Quidditch Through the Ages, the newest edition, and began to read. They sat in silence until about six o'clock, when the Head Boy and Girl decided to go for dinner, also in silence.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully for both Draco and Hermione, and both went to bed, hoping that the other wouldn't hear their nightmares, knowing that they were likely to come again tonight.