Disclaimer: Nope, i still dont own it

Chapter 2

Thankful that the welcoming feast was finally over, Hermione made her way up to Gryffindor tower.

She had, unsurprisingly, been named head girl, which meant that while she was still able to spend time in her house common room, she wouldn't be sharing her usual quarters. Her new quarters were, disqustingly enough, in the dungeons. Apparently they moved the heads' quarters around every year, but she just couldnt fathom why this year, of all years, she had to live in the dungeons. Her house common room was, of course, connected to her private common room. So, at least she'd have some semblance of normalcy in her last year. There was a trap door on the floor beside the couch that somehow managed to open up into the wall behind a small portrait in the Gryffindor common room. One thing was certain, this castle never ceased to amaze her. The passage defied all laws of nature, and a few laws that even nature doesn't mess with. At least she'd have some privacy though. Apparently you couldnt access the trap doors unless you were the head and also of the house you were trying to enter. It made her feel a little better about having the trap door out for the world, and Malfoy to see.

Yes, she was blessed to be stuck with Malfoy for an entire year. Oh how god must really love her right now.

She climbed through the Fat Lady's portrait and sat down on the couch by the fireplace. She smiled when Harry sat down beside her, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Even though I know you dont want to talk about it, just know that I'm here for you if you need me. If you ever decide you want to talk about whatever it was this summer thats had you so depressed, well, I'm here to listen," Harry spoke softly while stroking her hair. "And if Malfoy ever messes with you, you know right where to find me."

His last comment causing her to giggle a little.

"That's my girl!" Harry beamed. "I've missed that smile."

Giving Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and telling Ron and Ginny goodnight, Hermione slid through the portrait on the wall and into her common room. As luck would have it, Malfoy was sitting on the couch reading when she came through the trap door. Cursing at her wonderful luck, Hermione ignored his presence and hoped he'd ignore hers. She really wasnt in the mood right now.

"I know you dont want to talk to me, Granger. And I know you're not happy about having to live down here with me, and trust me, I'm not exactly thrilled either, but after that lovely display of anger on the train, I think I might have just underestimated you all these years," Malfoy spoke without his usual sarcastic bite. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that, perhaps this year will be more interesting than you think."

"I doubt that, Malfoy," Hermione mutter as she walked away.

Closing her door and plopping down on her bed, Hermione fell asleep. All she could manage to think before losing herself to her nightmares was "I'd give anything for tomorrow to be a better day.

"So far so good," she thought when she actually woke up in time for a shower the next morning. "Perhaps today wont be so bad."

Making it to the Great Hall for breakfast, Hermione was pleasantly surprised to see she had plenty of time to spare. Harry had even somehow managed to beat her down. Yes, today was looking up.

"Hello, Mione," Harry greeted as she sat down and started fixing her plate.

"Hello Harry. Ready for the first day?" she inquired.

"As ready as I'll ever be," he chuckled.

Discovering that they had their first class together, Transfiguration, Harry and Hermione decided to walk together after they ate.

Yes, so far today was much better than yesterday. Transfiguration, Charms, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, DADA and Potions. That was her daily line up. It was a pretty basic line up, but it was all she needed. Many other people were taking special classes, not her. She didnt have a profession she wanted to go into straight after Hogwarts. She had decided she'll probably go to a university for a while first. She'd worry about specialized courses there. Or perhaps she'll take on an apprenticeship after graduating. She'd worry about all of that after the end of first term though. It didnt really matter until then anyway.

Dinner came quicker than she expected and she was all to happy to have the day over with.

Deciding she didnt want to talk tonight, she fixed a plate and went to her common room. She walked in and placed her food down on the coffee table in the center of the room, and took out her homework for the day. She didnt have much, but seeing as how she was a seventh year, the teachers still assigned on the first day. A few rune translations for Arithmancy, and a 1 foot essay on sleeping draughts for Potions. She decided to get to work right away.

She finished her homework in record time and rested her head down on her parchment for just a second. The next thing she knew someone was shaking her awake.

"Granger? Are you ok? How long have you been sleeping? You really dont look all that well, and you havent touched your food. Maybe you should go to bed," Malfoy was being unusually human, but Hermione was too tired to even think about it. Gathering up her things, she vanished her untouched dinner and dragged herself to bed.

The first few weeks went by just about the same as that first day. Classes went well, Hermione continuted to stay to herself, she didnt seem to eat much at all, and she had a tendancy to fall asleep over her homework at night.

Usually unconcerned with the wellbeing of a Gryffindor, Draco was becoming worried. He noticed Hermione seeming to slowly deteriorate before his eyes. She had been losing weight, and always seemed to have dark circles under her eyes no matter how much she slept. He decided after watching her fall asleep over her homework for seemed like the millionth time to find out what caused Hermione to fall as she had.