She stood from the table a while later, feeling satisfied and tired, knowing she still needed to meet with McGonagall to determine the whereabouts of her sleeping arrangements. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, have a good one." With a feeble wave she walked away from them, noticing they barely paid her leaving any attention, and recognising that despite the difference circumstances, that this school year may not be as different from the others as she thought.
She walked absentmindedly through the newly rebuilt stone corridors, ignoring the dull ache it caused in her chest to stare too long at the rubble still littering the floor in areas. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and took in a deep breath, ignoring the muted screams she could hear, and the violent visions dancing across her eyelids. The dreams had been plaguing her for weeks, slowly at first, and then all at once. She could not sleep…she could not think… without remembering.
Hermione was brought back to reality by her chest crashing into something solid. She rebounded backwards, arms flailing. A moment before her impact with the ground however, something reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her back into a standing position. She breathed a sigh of relief before turning her vision towards the person. "I'm so sorr- ….oh. It's you."
Her jaw clenched tightly as she stared a the man before her. Gone were his school boy looks, replaced by a pointed, sculpted face, pale in the light of the hallway. His body had grown since she'd last seen him a year ago in the room of requirement. He was tall, far taller than her, reaching roughly Ron's height. His handsome face and tall stature did not intimidate her however. She squared her shoulders and braced herself for his rude retorts, glaring daggers into his dull, grey eyes.
"Granger," he drawled, "Falling for me already? Bit early in the school term don't you think…?"
"Shove off Malfoy," she spat back angrily
"I could say the same to you. Watch where you're walking Mud-…" He stopped and swallowed, eyes darting around in frustration, before lowering his voice, "I'll have to wash the filth off my robes now."
"Go cry about it to Daddy, Malfoy," Hermione responded, equally as quiet, and smiled in victory as she saw his eyes darken considerably. "Move out of my way, I'm late."
"I didn't hear a please Granger. Didn't your muggle parents ever teach you any manners?"
She growled and shoved him aside, but her caught her arm and yanked her, far more forcefully than before. It was then that he caught sight of the pin on her robes, and he sneered at it tauntingly, "What's the matter Granger? Worried that if you didn't keep your initials on your robes you'd forget who you were? I didn't realise you were so dimwitted."
"It's not meant to be my initials you insufferable prat, I'm Head Girl." He dropped her arm in shock, as if remembering she was vermin to him, and she took the opportunity to storm away.
She reached the gargoyles, and whispered "Ragdoll," climbing the emerging staircase quickly, aware of her late arrival. The door opened with a crash, and she quickly bid her apologies, but Mcgonagall waved them away nonchalantly.
"Ms Granger, I was beginning to wonder whether either of my Heads would be turning up tonight." Hermione's eyes cast around the room and noticed the empty chairs, feeling somewhat better knowing the Head Boy was not there yet. "Take a seat, I think I hear him coming now."
Hermione sat, and watched in anticipation as the door opened once more to reveal the same blonde haired man she'd been previously arguing with. "Malfoy!?" She asked incredulously, "Are you following me?"
Draco Malfoy looked down on her in disgust, pausing only on his way to the chairs to say, "Get your head out your arse Granger, like I would want to follow you of all people."
Minerva McGonagall cleared her throat sternly glancing at the two students, wondering what she'd been thinking when she'd allowed Dumbledore' portrait to convince her that this was a good idea. "Mr Malfoy, Ms Granger, you two have been chosen to be Head Boy and Head Girl this year." Hermione sprang to her feet in shock, staring at Malfoy's twisted face. "Before you protest, it's too late for you to change anything. So sit back down Ms Granger." Hermione sat, much to Malfoy's amusement.
The headmistress frowned before pointing to a beaming portrait beside the windowsill. "Albus over here seems to think that inter-house unity will stem from placing the two feuding houses together, and this will start with the two of you. Yes Mr Malfoy, you heard me correctly." Malfoy's eyes had widened considerably, making it difficult for Hermione to hold back a snigger. "Now you two can carry on wanting to kill each other in the comfort of your own exclusive common room, but from the moment you step out into the castle corridors, you are to be civil to one another. Do I make myself clear?" The two nodded hesitantly, and she continued on, "now I'll show you to your rooms. Follow me."
The two trudged behind her grudgingly as she led them up to the sixth floor corridor, before halting in front of a portrait of a nymph, combing her hair on a log near a winding stream. She giggled when she saw Malfoy, and his grin widened considerably. Hermione groaned, knowing his ego did not need expanding.
"Water lily."Hermione recorded the password to memory, knowing full well that if she forgot it, Malfoy was sure to keep her locked out for as long as possible. The Nymph winked before sliding off the log into the stream, and with that, the portrait opened to reveal a gorgeous looking common room.
Two beige armchairs and a beige couch surrounded a sandalwood coffee table, cream and blue coloured cushions littering the seats. The floor was hardwood, with a soft white rug beneath the furniture in the centre. The couch faced a blazing fireplace, which lit up the room with a soft yellow lighting. Beautiful landscape paintings hung around the walls, and a grand staircase came up at the back, from the left side of the room leading to a white door with a large golden "HG", and a staircase led up from the right side of the room towards another door with a "HB." A small chandelier of cut glass hung from the ceiling, and the room looked like a beach house mixed with a five star resort. Hermione beamed in excitement as she rushed towards the centre of the room, her eyes transfixed on the over flowing bookcases, and study desks lining the walls, while Draco strutted in, seemingly unimpressed.
"Needless to say, Mr Malfoy and Ms Granger, the same charms apply to these staircases, as they did to the ones in the Slytherin and Gryffindor common rooms, so don't try to break into each others rooms. I'll be going now, but before I do, just a quick reminder that you need to set a prefect meeting for tomorrow to discuss patrols, and that you need to remember to act civilly in public. Do not make me regret your positions. Goodnight." She turned around and walked out of the portrait hole, closing it behind her with a resonating thud.
"Well that keeps the mood light hearted." Malfoy mumbled sarcastically, and Hermione rolled her eyes, already sick of his attitude. She walked up her staircase to investigate her room, which on discovery, reflected the same beach-like colour scheme of whites, cremes and blues as the common room did. Her trunk sat at the foot of her bed, and her beloved cat Crookshanks was lounging on a cat climbing tower in the corner of her room, pawing at a toy that Hermione knew she had not brought herself. This made her wonder just how much these Head Dorms were customised for the yearly owners.
She skipped back down the stairs after exploring the conjoining bathroom between her room and Malfoy's, humming to herself happily, ecstatic at the living quarters she'd inhabit for the next year, before a frustrated "huff" reminded her she was not alone.
"You finished exploring yet? I mean I know your boyfriend can't afford such a nice place, but I thought at least you would not be quite as pathetically excited about this." Hermione's positive mindset shifted nearly instantly at his insult towards Ron.
"Leave him alone Malfoy, he's better than you'll ever be." She hissed sourly in the direction of the armchair he'd claimed.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Granger." He smirked in satisfaction at her reaction, toying with her like a cat to a mouse, "I wouldn't be too sure." And with that he stood from his perch, and headed up towards his room, leaving her fuming in her chair.