Chapter 2

Disclaimer: It is still the same

Enjoy.

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Hermione arrived early for the train, and with her luggage aboard she jumped off the train with Chrookshanks in her arms. She looked both ways looking for her friends Ron and Harry.

The weather was perfect with temperatures comfortable and the sky a cloudless, brilliant blue.

Chrookshanks head perked up and he looked over her shoulder and perked up his ears. Squirming in her arms, he jumped down and took off at a quick speed through the confusion.

"On no," she panicked. Stricken she started shouting, "Chrookshanks, Chrookshanks!"

There was just too much chaos around with parents and guardians, family, and Ministry members and all the returning student body and trolleys and luggage. As much as she searched she could not find him. She continued to call for him.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to come eye to eye with her cat, but eyes roaming up she saw that the person holding her cat was Blaise Zambini. It made her very nervous. Suddenly the motions around her stopped. Would he hurt her cat? She couldn't bear if that was to happen.

Blaise was a student in her year. Dark skinned, he had high cheek bones and very small eyes that were dark. He was very handsome and intelligent. The only problem with him being intelligent and handsome was that he was in Slytherin and was the biggest Mudblood hater you would ever find at Hogwarts. He was also very vain when it came to a lot of things.

Just the opposite of his attitudes would make him a wonderful person, only he wasn't and he would never be so it didn't matter.

"That's my cat," she said very calmly, hands out ready to receive her cat as if it was her baby.

Chrookshanks looked content in his arms, just looking around, and Blaise was holding him like it was normal, like it was his cat.

Blaise looked down at Chrookshanks, then back to her. He said, "I've seen him around school." He held the cat towards the side and out of her reach.

For someone with brains he sure wasn't using them. Didn't she just say that it was her cat?

"Cause he is my cat," she spoke the obvious, wanting so badly to use 'duh' or something like that that little girls use when they thought they were better than the boys.

Annoyed she grabbed Chrookshanks from him with a very pissed look on her face.

"Leave my cat alone," she barked in an easy tone. She couldn't be afraid this year. She was Head Girl. She had to run things with Malfoy. Working with him would prove to be an interesting experience. Whoever made it to the end of the year would be the strong witted person. All limbs included would be a bonus as well.

Hermione stood her ground with Blaise and held her gaze to his, as well as her head held high. Well, also because he was way taller than her, and most. He had to be a good foot and change taller than her.

He stared her down.

"New found confidence, huh Mudblood?" He spoke low to not attract rumors from the bustle around them. If things got out of hand and people heard him, then it would get traced back to him and it being his fault. Wouldn't that be a surprise for a Slytherin to say or do something cruel? She didn't think so.

Blaise was still talking but she was not listening and for that she felt embarrassed. She felt foolish for spacing out, and he was so close that she could feel his breath while he whispered in her ear. He was mad, saying words like, 'don't trust,' She wasn't in his attention anymore because he wasn't important and also, Harry, Ron and Ron's big family popped into view. Totally forgetting about him she ran in their direction.

"Harry! Ron!" She shouted getting their attention. They met her halfway and she gave them a one armed hug because she was still holding her cat.

She greeted the others with a smile. She was back with her friends and going back to school, her home away from home.

"Where have you been all summer?" Ron was the first to question slinging an arm around her shoulders, "Usually we hear A LOT!" he emphasized that word, bug eyed, "From you, but we only heard with a moderate amount."

She jabbed him in the ribs.

The warning bell sounded. They said their good-byes and boarded the train.

They were late for class, but didn't classes start tomorrow? They didn't even make it to school, did they? No matter, they had to get to class before they received a detention.

The trio rushed down the steps to the dungeons when they came to a brute halt.

Everything was very quiet.

Hermione was freaked out of her head and could only stare as she knelt down. Right in front of her laid the dead body of Draco Malfoy. It wasn't thrashed messily, but gave the impression that whoever did it knew what they were doing and had planned it out. Cut down the middle, a bloody edge, he was white as paper.

"Ron, Harry, we better-" she stopped and shrieked as loud as her lungs could produce.

Hermione jumped back from the window with a halt. Realizing that she was screaming a loud she closed her mouth and tried to swallow. Her mouth was very dry.

Malfoy was sitting across from her with that ever popular irked expression on his face.

She didn't know how long she was sleeping or how she even fell asleep. She didn't get much sleep the night before, but that always happened when she was excited to be returning to school.

Malfoy was just sitting across from her like he didn't want to be there. They didn't have to be there, but they had assembled the prefects before and they since then have scattered.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then stretched very loudly from her stiff position, looking out the window. She exclaimed dully, "You're alive."

Even though irked, he still had confidence shining through every crevice, he leaned forward to be just a little bit closer and straight in her eyes said, slowly but surely, "I've been saying that since day one. You seem to have nine lives like your cat."

The cat in question sat in the sea next to Hermione, fast asleep on his front paws.

"Maybe this year your lives will run out," he leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head waiting for a reply.

Hermione didn't make a comeback so fast. She put her attention to the window and the beautiful scenery passing by. This was going to be the last trip to school.

The person sitting across from her, waiting for a reply was helping the cause of 'being tough' because he had a decent sunburn across his pale cheeks.

It wasn't like he scared her anymore, anyways. He wouldn't scare her at the school because she was protected. The fears of the looming war and dangers of the real world wouldn't bother her because school was fortitude for protection, even from the future death eater sitting across from her.

Any problems bound to rise, or her attitude to dip in change, or even any marks bound to show up and the blame would be placed immediately on Malfoy and immediate action would be taken; way before her friends could have their chance at him she would have hers.

She had to remind herself to be positive and have a positive start; he wasn't going to bring her down.

"As much as that makes my day, and I do want the same for you, I was actually having a dream about you," she started prudently, pushing her hair back behind her shoulders.

It was no use; the frizzy monster could not be tamed. She brushed off her robes and rubbed her right cheek. She bet anything she had a big red mark on it. She'd bet that he'd throw it into any sense.

For this year she wanted to actually put him in his place. The two of them had to live together; at least they could breath the same air which smelled like-

"Have you been smoking?" Crinkling her nose she sniffed to keep back the sneeze she wanted to emit, in his face. The smell was really bitter and set in, like he wore the same thing for days. Why hadn't she noticed before?

He didn't answer, instead he looked out the window and things became really awkwardly silent.

"You're killing yourself faster," she proclaimed heft fully. She gave him the once over.

Eyes returning to her, like cold stones, he took a few moments then smirked, "You'll be first."

Another silence fell in. The train was still nowhere near school and they could just separate now.

"I wish my dream would've come true." She really hated him. He always had it in for her because she was 'Mudblood.' It wasn't even the first official day of school and he was already grinding her gears. Not only would he tatter her every waking moment, but there were also the cronies that would love to join in and reduce her to a heaping, broken pile of worthless junk.

"Granger, grip it any tighter and you'll rip it," Malfoy spoke calmly now. He sat back against the seat and looked around out the window to see where they were. Offhand already, they've been through this route six times already, he should know.

"Don't change your tone you bi-polar bastard," she blurted standing up. She had enough of him. They didn't have to sit in there and she'd rather be with her friends.

At the door he called back to her and she turned around.

"What was the dream you had about me?" He seemed curious, like he actually wanted to know.

She smiled. Maybe this was going to be the start of the best year of school, with Malfoy. They said dreams can come true.

"In my dream you were murdered with a precise cut down the middle. It was like someone knew what they were doing and acted upon it. You must've pissed someone off with you being a prat and all. Sadly it was only a dream; you're still kicking, sitting across from me. But dreams come true sometimes." She walked away before he could say a word.

The time went by wonderfully with friends. Everyone seemed in an upbeat mood. They discussed the good times of summer and as a joke, how she was surprised that especially Ron wrote her back when she was on holiday in New Zealand.

"Well I had to," he bellowed, face turning red, "If an owl pecked your window two in the morning, even you took the letter you'd write too, especially with an owl you didn't leave unless it had something attached to its leg," he laughed.

"Yeah, about that, sending me an empty canister?" Hermione laughed. The empty food container was still sitting on her bureau, only now it had coins in it, ones she found on her walk home from the beach.

Everyone laughed, recalling it as well, or else remembering the story that was told to them.

"I hate your owl Hermione, as much as I hate your cat."

Cat.

Her eyes widened and she rose off her seat.

"Is something wrong?" Ginny questioned.

"I left Chrookshanks." She hurried back to that compartment. He should still be there on the seat.

He was still there and right on top of Malfoy was Pansy Parkinson with her mouth firmly attached to his. Their hands were in the wrong places for a public place. It made her sick to her stomach.

She wanted to tell them, 'It's a public place, get a room.'

Abruptly she opened the door, grabbed her cat and was back to her compartment where she she shut the door.

"Problem?" Harry questioned. Everyone was concerned for the girl out of breath.

She shook her head no and tried to keep her breakfast down.

Chrookshanks broke away from her hold and jumped into Ginny's lap.

She tried to get the image out of her head. She had to live with the pig and she was going to guarantee that no girl was going to enter the common room they were going to share. They had to live there, so they had to make the rules and that was going to be the number one rule.