(I always appreciate feedback! So please review! Anyways, hope u are enjoying. I know I am fickle with updating. BUT I will NOT give this story up. Promise! Because I hate when people do that to me. Much love all, SFC3)

Chapter 2: Roommates

Completely bewildered Hermione exited the train and soon spotted Ron and Harry jumping into a carriage with Ginny. Ron had already seen her and was waving despite the close distance. Hermione just chuckled and headed towards the carriage.

After taking a seat next to Ron, she said her greetings to everyone as they headed towards the castle. Hermione took note that Ginny and Harry were holding hands and soon spotted a protective older brother staring at the same pair of knuckles.

Hermione said little throughout the trip and only talked when answering a question. She couldn't seem to get those silver irises out of her mind. The words replayed themselves again and again. 'I'm sorry and I've changed. Caring about muggles…a long time ago. I'm sorry. Call me Draco. The person I was. I can't ask you to forgive me. I've changed. I'm sorry and I've changed. The person I was. I've changed'. Changed yes, but into what? Part of Hermione wanted to believe that this was all a trick. Someone was fooling her and using the Imperius curse on Malfoy. But all their foes were dead.

Before she knew it she was eating dinner at the Gryffindor table, though her plate barely showed an indentation. She fiddled with her fork lightly, and Ginny noticed.

"Um, Hermione."

Hermione's head turned to look at Ginny, who was sitting next to her, "Yes."

"Are you alright."

"Me?" she pretended to look shocked, "never better. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, don't play games with me. You've barely touched your food and you've hardly said a thing since we got off the train." Hermione put down her fork as though she had been caught fibbing to her mother, "Please tell me what's troubling you." Ginny urged.

Why not just tell her, "It's just…" oh, how to put it, "You know how I'm head girl," Ginny nodded, "Well…Malfoy is head boy."

She was expecting some sort of jump or shock out of Ginny, but she had no such satisfaction.

"Oh, blimey is that what this is about. 'Mione, it's not that bad. You've never let that wanker get to you. Honestly, is that what's put a damper on your spirits. He's not worth the breath to worry about. And no wonder he's Head Boy. He's bound to have good grades if all he does in his spare time is pick on people."

Hermione said nothing. She didn't want to make a scene, even though boys were too busy with food to notice anything other than what was on the table in front of them. Ron had already gone back for thirds. Hermione looked around the Great Hall as though expecting to find the answer to all this written on a wall. Ginny realized it was not just the fact that Malfoy was head boy.

"I'm guessing there's something you're not telling me Hermione."

"Oh, don't be so childish." Hermione attempted a half teased smile and bumped Ginny with her shoulder. The two were more like sisters after all these years.

"Hey, I'm almost seventeen."

"ALMOST! And don't you forget it," Ron butted in from nowhere waving his fork at Ginny. Hermione was glad she hadn't said anything about Malfoy's questionable reformation, now that she knew Ron had been listening.

Two long tables away sat Draco Malfoy in the center of the hall. He had told Pansy Parkinson off on the train earlier and had opened a door for a strange young Ravenclaw girl. He was not popular at dinner tonight. The only friend who seemed to be tolerating him was Zambini. But the two said nothing throughout their meal.

Malfoy couldn't get his mind off what he attempted on the train earlier that day. Perhaps he had been too forward? Too soon? No, it was best to get it over with sooner, now that I'll basically be living with her.

The entire summer Draco had been living away from his parents, attempting to find himself. Figure out who he really was and what he wanted out of life. He was no longer the character his parents had molded him into, and he was partly ashamed to think that he was proud of that. The other half felt so happy to be who he was for once in his life. He imagined the school would have a hard time of seeing him as a more gentle spirit. But he knew he would enjoy that far more than inflicting pain upon others. He could handle the teases, certainly Potter had had worse.

Soon enough, it was time to retire to their towers. Hermione, being Head Girl, now shared a tower with the Head Boy. And she was not looking forward to it. Her gloomy walk made Ginny even more suspicious. She was usually so excited to delve into her new school books.

Alright, as long as I stay in my room and away from the common room, she pondered, it shouldn't be a problem at all. It'll be like he's not even there.

Hermione continued to try to calm herself as she said goodnight to her Gryffindor friends and headed towards the small tower she would soon come to know well.

She muttered the password to some muscular young Indian man with a funny red hat inside the portrait, and stepped inside.

The room was covered in silver and gold. Carpets, pillows, sofas, and even the curtains appeared inviting and warm. Hermione never thought the two colors would look good together, but these particular shades seemed harmonious together. She stepped towards the middle of the room, simply taking in the beauty. She looked around. Malfoy wasn't here. Moving forward into the room, she let her bag fall off her shoulder and onto a silver colored couch.

Just as Hermione was ready to sit down and relax in this new oasis, she heard the portrait door open. She slowly turned her head around, almost hoping against hope that is what not the same boy she had spent the train ride this afternoon with.

He stood there with his bag and books, halfway across the room. Just standing and staring. Before either of them could say anything, Hermione swiftly lifted up her bag and ran up the stairs on her left and to her room. She burst through the door and threw her bag across the room, its contest spilling out across the floor. She ran towards the bed and threw herself facedown upon it. What was she going to do? She was so confused about this boy who just yesterday she had thought was the biggest bully in school. And after all these years he expected her to believe and accept that he had changed?

There was a knock at the still opened door. Hermione lifted her face from the covers; she could not see the door from this angle, but knew he was there. Pretending her mind had only imagined the noise, she tried to focus on something else:

The floor was a soft almost fur-like dark green.

The oak wood that made up the bed was painted an almost sparkling silver.

The long curtains matched the floor color perfectly.

Under the window there was a suitcase with the letters DM carved on it—

Oh Merlin! She was in the wrong room, his room. She sat up on the bed, still half in shock, and spun to face the boy standing in the doorway.

Except, he wasn't in the doorway anymore; Malfoy was down on his knees picking up her dropped belongings and placing them back within her bag neatly.

Hermione scrambled off the bed to stop him, she didn't need help cleaning up her mess. She reached for the last quill lying on the floor, but Malfoy got to it first.

"No need, I got it all." Their eyes met and he smiled warmly at her as they both still sat kneeling on the rug. Neither moved right away, but soon Hermione quickly got up and threw the bag over her shoulder. If someone had told her just this morning that Draco Malfoy would smile sweetly at her today, she would have thought them crazy.

"Thank you." Her tone was to the point.

"If you prefer this room, I could easily move my things out of here and—"

"There will be no need." She said as she passed by him through the door and down the stairs with her head held quite high.

Draco realized she was trying to maintain her dominance of the situation using her stubborn attitude. Perhaps she did not believe him after all, or she was in shock. Draco sighed, got up off his knees, and went to open his truck. All he wanted was to be himself and he had been hoping Hermione (being an intelligent head girl, and the person he'd be living with this year) would help him with that. Perhaps he wished for too much after all the horrible things he'd done to her. A glimmer of him had hoped that one day they might laugh about their childish times. How he made her two front teeth grow out of proportion, how she had threatened him third year, how he got turned into a ferret in their fourth. It was too much to hope for, he realized.

Once she had found where her true room was Hermione wanted to again throw herself upon the bed. But instead she found herself setting her bag down lightly and standing in front of the window. It held the view of the Forbidden Forest and as she squinted she could see Hagrid's cabin. She sat on the bed and continued to stare outside. This was not going to be the fun final year she had hoped for.

A few hours later Hermione exited from the bathroom, freshly showered and clean. It was nice having her own shower, not needing to fight over one against other girls. Leaving her towel to dry, she put on a long pair of pajama pants and a slightly tight fitting camisole.

As soon as she slid under the soft covers of the red bed, she realized she'd forgotten to dry her hair. But the bed was so warm and comfortable, and her wand was buried in her bag. It didn't matter; she would fix her hair in the morning. She was never a girl who worried much about her looks.

Though Hermione was known for reading ahead in class, not all the material she read was school based. She loved reading muggle historical romance novels. Her mother was a big fan and always sent her some by owl. Sure the romance was great to read about, but Hermione loved the ones that had the adventure behind it. She even owned a few sci-fi books about creatures muggles thought to be mythical, such as dragons and unicorns. She found them more like comedies; since the writers had no idea what they were talking about.

And so, Hermione pulled out her most recent romance novel to be cracked open, "Pirate's Princess". So far the story involved a Captain of a pirate ship taking a woman as a hostage for money, but Hermione could clearly see where this was headed. The Captain was beginning to fall in love with his captive. Hermione made herself comfortable and immersed herself in the simple story. An hour or so passed and she was just as interested in the novel as when she started.

"You know I read romance too."

Hermione jumped so high she actually fell off the bed. Lifting herself up so that her eyes merely peeked over the bed, she froze from shock. Malfoy was sitting under her velvet red covers. How could she have been so mesmerized by her book not to here him come in, or to even feel him take a seat upon her bed?

"Though it's a different type I must admit."

Before he could even finish his last sentence Hermione was standing and shouting, a mixture of anger and hate running through her. , "What the HELL are you doing in my bedroom?"

"Language Miss Granger, and to think I mistook you for the dainty type." He hadn't expected this much of rage from her; he had been aiming for a comical effect. Something to lighten the mood between them. Show her that he was more than a cruel little boy or an apologizing fool.

"Well that was before you decided to wriggle your male body under my bed covers, now will you please remove yourself?"

Hermione's white camisole was not entirely revealing in the dim light, but there was definitely more to be seen compared to here class attire. And although her pink bottoms clearly stated that they were worn for comfort, Draco couldn't help but appreciate her fine body in this light. Over the years she had maintained her slim frame with the exception of the development of her curves. Draco's ex-girlfriend Pansy never grew the curves of a woman, and he doubted she was soon to gain them. He had come to continue making peace with the Head Girl, but in this light, his thoughts turned more to wooing her instead.

Hoping Hermione had not caught him staring at her body, Draco shook his head of these new thoughts.

"Please sit down, Hermione," he patted her side of the bed only once, "I only wish to make peace." His tone was calm and honest.

She gave him a stern look, still not trusting him. Why was he acting like this? Kind and calm? Hermione had to remind herself of the train ride. 'I've changed…I'm sorry.' To help her along, he quickly removed himself from under the covers and sat softly atop them.

Slowly, Hermione folded her left leg comfortably on the bed and allowed her right too swing over the side, so not to get to close to the first boy who had dared climb into her bed.

Neither spoke right away, Hermione keeping her hands busy close to her ankle and Draco looking down at his as well. Hermione could somehow sense he didn't mean any harm by invading on her like this, if Ron had done it she'd have yelled at him but laugh soon after.

Finally Hermione—thinking over everything he had said on the train—began feeling as though she knew this calm and gentle boy. It was almost easier to think of him as a new person she had just met on the train other than a transformed Malfoy, "You really meant it didn't you?" He looked to her, crossing his legs on her bed, she did not return his gaze, "The regret, the apology, the change, everything?"

In no way as a seductive gesture, but merely a display of wanted friendship, Draco placed his palm upon her knee and answered her slowly, "Every word of it."

If this was some joke on her, Malfoy would have never gone to these lengths to fully make a fool out of her. This was the real thing. Draco Malfoy had reformed and seen the brighter side of the trail. Hermione placed her hand atop his and smiled to him, "I believe you."

(CUT)

"HE WHAT?"

Hermione was sure Harry's voice could be heard all throughout the castle.

"Has reformed Harry."

"Have you completely lost your marbles, you do know who we are talking about here right? Malfoy!"

"Draco Malfoy"

"Maybe he's got her under some kinda spell," Ron simple suggested, "Or maybe it's not even Hermione at all." He pointed his finger at her suspiciously, "We are not the only ones to dabble polyjuice potions you know." He ignored Hermione's stern gaze.

"Oh stop it Ronald, I—"

"Maybe we should quiz her to be sure."

"Good idea Ron." Harry turned to Hermione , "Now listen you, when—"

Hermione was near the point of shouting, "Harry! YOU want me too tell Filtch about a certain map and cloak in your possession. And Ronald, does everyone need to know that the Cuddly Cannon Quidditch team dance around on your underwear." She landed her hands on her hips.

"Damn it's her mate."

"How did you know about my underpants?"

"Now we must deal with the fact that she's mental."

"BOYS!" now she was yelling, "I AM NOT CRAZY!"

"Not proving your point by yelling." Harry pointed out in a half muffled voice towards Ron.

A little calmer she stated, "I'm telling you, the war has changed Draco."

"Oh so now it's Draaaco!" Harry was taking this personally, "What happened to just calling him by his last name?"

"Look, if you two wont listen to me when all I've ever done is been a trustworthy friend all these years—"

"Seriously," Ron was in his own world, "Can you see through my pants everyday or something?" he looked down at himself.

Hermione sighed "Listen, just watch him okay, you'll see."

"Oh, we'll be watching him alright," Harry had that hatred face on again, "You can be sure of that."

It was the last day before classes and Hermione examining her class schedule. The classes were nothing new, but surely they'd be harder than last year. She'd have little time for romance novels if she wanted to get a good head start on her course material tonight.

"Bogart," she told the Indian on the tapestry, opening to the side to let her into her new common room.

Not only was there reading to be done, but she was in charge of inspecting the girls rooms this week, make sure all the first years were settled in and to discuss rules. She had been hoping she could somehow pass that down to the prefects, but they declined to take the job of her hands.

As Hermione looked around, she did not see Malfoy in the common room. She was curious as to where he had gotten to, but frankly it was none of her business to ponder the matter. Pretending not to care she walked up the stairs to her room, threw her bag and books at the foot of her bed and collapsed on it herself. She was making quite a habit of the act. Hermione had little time to stare at the ceiling before she realized the immense amount of work ahead of her. She opened a book and began.

After studying for a few hours Hermione went to discuss things with the first year girls of every single house. It was tedious, but she liked to give the girls a heads up on studying tactics before passing them over to the prefects, who took over from here on out.

When arriving back to her new tower, again she saw no one and proceeded to her room. She suspected Draco was spending time with the first year boys.

While organizing her school work she removed a few books from her desk and stuffed them in a drawer. As she did so, a slip of paper fell to the floor, obviously something that had remained hidden under her work earlier. She went to pick it up, but as soon as she touched it the letter flew up in the air in front of her and opened to show a golden piece of paper that glittered with silver bordering. The brown words were written in a fine cursive print that slanted almost perfectly. She read the words slowly to herself as the paper floated before her:

Miss. Granger,

I can not thank you enough for understanding,

and giving me a second chance.

You have no idea what it means to me.

Your,

Draco

Hermione stood completely shocked. This appeared to be a note written by a complete gentleman, not Malfoy. Although the more she thought about it, she no longer saw Draco in such a terrible light. Yours he wrote. How is he, in anyway mine? A few days ago she would have simply crumpled the paper in a ball and thrown it into the trash can. But now she laid it lightly inside one of her drawer, planning to safe it forever.