CHAPTER ONE:
Percy Weasley made his first appearance about fifteen minutes before they pulled into Hogsmeade. He had pulled last rounds on the train with a pretty Ravenclaw prefect named Penelope and, seeing as they were in the last compartment, they signalled the end of his prefect duties until he had to help shepherd the students to the boats or carriages upon arrival. He woke them up with clipped phrases, obviously nervous about arriving and starting his first year of true responsibility for real, but Hermione still pursed her lips a bit at the way he was talking to them. It was difficult for her to reconcile Prefect Percy with the Percy who exchanged magical novels for muggle ones over the past summer and spent hours discussing them with her and explaining his summer assignments and Hogwarts in general while the others played quidditch in the Weasley's yard. Her worries were partially dispelled while she followed him and Penelope into the hallway, heading for the bathroom to change seeing as she was the only girl.
"Penelope's right, Hermione. You'd fit into Ravenclaw just fine, but if you're looking for a homier environment, you're better to set your sights on Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," he assured her after she had asked the other prefect about her house. Most of her interactions had been with Gryffindors, after all. Penelope's answer had been matter of fact and logical, softened only by the warm smile she gave her at the end that showed her innate kindness no amount of logic or detachment would erase.
"I don't know if Gryffindor's really for me," she confessed, avoiding eye contact.
"I didn't either. I initially wanted to go there because it was expected of me. I've accomplished a lot and am doing very well. I'm even happy with my decision - coming from a large family doesn't prepare one for being separated from their brothers, you know," Percy assured her. "Happy as I am, I can't help wondering if I should have made a different choice. The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw and then tried to push me to Slytherin instead. I suppose I am ambitious, but we both know that wouldn't have worked out well. But my choice has been made and I'll make do with what I've got. It's how the Weasleys have always gotten through life," he finished resolutely with a smile. "Follow your gut. As much as Ravenclaw may have helped or suited me, when I considered family, there really wasn't a choice anymore. I knew where I belonged."
Hermione thought on Percy's words while she changed. She thought on them while she sat through the last few anxious minutes in the compartment with her friends. She thought on them while she followed a gigantic man named Hagrid to little boats that sat four people. She thought on them as she watched Harry, Ron, and Neville climb into a boat, only remembering Draco when they turned to ask why she wasn't joining them. She realized her choice was made when she stood aside to let a boy who had been chatting about quidditch with Ron take her place, much to the other's confusion.
"I'll take the next one," she told them, looking down the line of boats filling quickly. Almost none of them had two seats left now.
"You sure?" Harry asked, looking at the quidditch fan Anthony a bit critically.
"Draco and I will find a place," she assured him before looking to Draco as they walked away, squashing a mysterious feeling inside of her that warned her against trusting the blonde boy at her side and offering a hand. "Together, right?"
"Right. We've got this one, Potter," Draco called back over his shoulder with a wave after taking her offered hand. "Look, there's space with those two. I think the redhead is related to Amelia Bones in the DMLE."
"Is it alright if we share with you?" Hermione asked, approaching the boat where the red head girl was sitting whispering anxiously to the blonde with pigtails next to her.
"You want to share with us?" she asked, making a double take at the sight of Draco approaching her boat.
"There were five of us on the train. Only four to a boat. No one wanted to be left alone, so I offered to find a place with Hermione," he explained with a shrug.
"Oh...I mean, yes, of course you can share with us. I'm sorry - that was rude of me, I'm just so anxious about the sorting," she explained, turning a bit pink, but still looking at him warily.
"Probably not half as worried as me. I'm a muggleborn and have no idea what I'm getting into. And Draco's got me beat by a mile," Hermione offered a hand with a smile. "Hermione Granger. And this is Draco Malfoy. We met through my sponsors."
"Susan Bones. This is Hannah Abbott. Her mom and my auntie were friends at Hogwarts. We've known each other for ages," she introduced the two of them as they all shook hands, looking at Draco with a bit more confusion now.
"What's got you so worried about the sorting? I've got my grandmother harping on me to end up in Slytherin and my cousin begging me to join her in Hufflepuff," Draco offered as everyone settled in.
"Her auntie was Gryffindor, and so was her dad, but Susan doesn't think she'd belong and her aunt would be disappointed if she gets sorted elsewhere," Hannah jumped in as he friend started stuttering a bit. "I'm probably going to be Hufflepuff - my whole family has been for generations. But yours has been Slytherin, hasn't it?"
"Aside from my cousin Dora who's a seventh year Hufflepuff and my second cousin Sirius who was Gryffindor," he told them with a grin. "Maybe I'll try for Ravenclaw so the Black family can have the whole lot in their tree."
That got the two girls giggling, most of their nervousness gone. Hermione tried to remember why everyone was so weird around Draco, but only vaguely remembered a terrible story about his father from the war that had ended when they were babies and his apprehension about this very thing on the train. The four were chatting amicably until their first sight of Hogwarts castle. If she had any doubts about magic being real until now, they were entirely gone as soon as the turrets and twinkling lights came into view. It was just a building, but there was something otherworldly about it. Hermione could practically feel the magic, understanding what it was for the first time with a start. Pushing aside a feeling of deja vu, she leaned towards Draco.
"I can feel it. Percy was explaining to me how magic is a type of energy, but I didn't quite grasp it. I understand what he was talking about now," she told him, receiving only a nod in response.
They met up with the other three while waiting to be marched into the great hall for their sorting, introducing them to Susan and Hannah while they were formally introduced to Anthony Goldstein, whose father worked with Mr. Weasley and Ron knew only well enough to know he had a fellow Chudley Cannons fan beside him. If the first sight of Hogwarts hadn't stolen her breath, the first sight of the hall would have. Despite being a ball of nervous energy, she half heard herself telling Draco about the enchanted ceiling she had read about in Hogwarts: A History. He snorted at her when he realized she was quoting a book he had teased her for reading until the binding had started to break, but looked every bit as nervous as she was.
"Together?" he whispered a bit later as the hat sat upon Anthony Goldstein's head, his anxiety almost a palpable thing.
"Together," she told him resolutely as the hat sorted Anthony into Ravenclaw and Professor McGonagall called her name. Taking a seat on the stool, she grinned at the boys she had spent the train ride with, each looking slightly green and worried despite trying to send back encouraging smiles, before nodding at Draco once more before the hat covered her eyes.
Miss Granger...I feel like we've had this conversation before.
Me too...but I've never been to Hogwarts…?
You have and you have not. Very interesting. Well, even if we don't clearly remember it, this conversation has already been had, so no need to stretch this out. Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?
Hermione froze, wondering what she truly wanted. Promises aside, it would do her no good to trap herself somewhere she didn't belong for seven years. Somewhere she didn't belong…
Are those my only choices?
You were expecting more than two houses to suit you well, Miss Granger? Most students are surprised they'd be considered for more than one.
It's not so much I expected more...perhaps I just expected more of an opinion from you rather than a choice? I don't know what exactly I expected, and that bothers me more than anything because I feel like I should, that I know exactly what it is somewhere...hidden, maybe?
Hm...I can see your conflict and can assure you that it'd be best to put it from your mind for now. Focus on being a student, living your life. It's something deep inside your head here and you will have to face it at some point. But not just yet, I don't think. So Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? You have the mind of a Ravenclaw and the heart of a Gryffindor. The loyalty of a Hufflepuff, come to that, but not the temperament. Do you want a say in this, Miss Granger?
Of course I do, but I wonder if it would be a wise decision to question your judgement. You have centuries of experience in exactly this and I'm just shy of twelve, after all.
The hat actually chuckled at that. Out loud if the murmuring from outside their conversation was any way of judging. She, and the entire hall, waited patiently until it got past it's mirth.
Going on twelve indeed. Regardless, you are correct in my having centuries more experience than any part of you. Of course, you also made the decision for yourself.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted just before it was lifted from her head. Returning Professor McGonagall's small smile, Hermione took the same path Anthony Goldstein had before her name was called, sitting on the opposite side of the table from him. Looking back at the un-sorted students, Ron was all but glaring at her, looking quite grouchy indeed. Harry seemed a little put-out, but smiled and gave her a thumbs-up anyway. Neville had a sad smile and a nod, more to himself than to her, having perhaps known that Gryffindor wasn't her cup of tea despite how much they had all wanted to be in the same house.
Draco didn't look at her. He didn't look at anything but the hat, even after Neville's sorting into Hufflepuff, and didn't cheer or smile for anyone. When McGonagall called his name, he practically marched up to the stool, his whole form taking on the determination that had been clearly etched onto his face following Hermione's sorting. The hat took less time than it had with either Hermione or Neville, but chuckled out loud at one point like it had when sorting Hermione. One of the older Ravenclaws noted it was fairly unusual, especially twice in one sorting, and the hat hadn't said anything to the crowd while sorting aside from house names since the Weasley twins had been sorted. Apparently Fred had stalled the hat quite some time, leading to some actual muttering and a few chuckles. George hadn't taken nearly as long, but had earned a flat out laugh from the fraying relic. Shortly after the chuckle, the hat announced Draco to be a Ravenclaw.
McGonagall looked surprised as she lifted the hat off the boy, faltering for a moment incredulously, but grinned back at him when Draco looked up at her with a triumphant smile before jumping off the stool and hurrying over to the spot Hermione had saved for him next to her. He was so pleased with himself, he didn't even flush or stumble awkwardly when she flung her arms around him in a congratulatory hug. She didn't know why, but Hermione felt that Draco not only being sorted into Ravenclaw, but actively choosing the house was something to be celebrated and only heralded good things.
Those at the head table seemed to have similar thoughts by their reactions to Draco's sorting, the headmaster going as far as to raise his goblet slightly in a subtle toast to the eleven year old. Draco and Hermione were so pleased to be sorted together, they almost missed Harry and Ron being sorted into Gryffindor while whispering congratulations and reassurances to each other. He may not have been the wizarding friend she had seen the most of in the previous year since she met her sponsors, but Draco was one of the few she had had an immediate rapport with and there was almost no one she'd rather be by her side for the next seven years. As odd as it seemed when she thought about it for more than a split second, Hermione was strongly drawn to certain people in the wizarding world. She couldn't recall it having ever happened with non-magical people, but it was a real, almost tangible, thing amongst the magical. Honestly, she felt the pull towards almost every magical person she had met, and had wondered if magical people were just drawn to others like them, until she had set foot at Hogwarts.
Clustered in the entrance hall with all the other first years, Hermione realized she could feel the magic in the different students, but that pull wasn't there with almost anyone but her friends. There was a slight tug where Susan and Hannah were concerned, as well as one of the other girls that was sorted into Gryffindor and the twin of the girl sitting next to Anthony Goldstein across from her. But that was only a slight feeling somewhere in the back of her mind like she had forgotten to turn off the kettle or something. There was a strong pull to her friends, particularly the Weasley twins.
She could actually feel where they were in the hall, which led her to ponder Percy's insistence that magic was a form of energy a bit more, deciding it would be a side project of hers here at Hogwarts. She mulled over that idea for quite some time while eating absentmindedly. After all, where better to research magic than the most magical place in all of the UK? Perhaps she'd ask Professor McGonagall for help. The upperclassmen told her that Professor Flitwick was their head of house after the feast appeared, and Hermione had immediately felt that same draw towards her new diminutive head of house as soon as she looked at him up at the head table. Despite all that, the pull was stronger with Professor McGonagall. Instinctively, Hermione knew the woman would be incredibly helpful to her in this pursuit, though she had no reason to believe so.
"I can feel you thinking. And supper's almost over. Want to slow down a bit?" Draco suggested, interrupting her introspection. "We're already Ravenclaws, for Merlin's sake, you've no reason to try and be the queen swot here. Quite frankly, I won't let you."
"Queen swot?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised.
"I admit, it would be an accomplishment to get a whole house of swots to bow down and name you their queen, but it would also be really annoying. And boring. And in this house you'd have to work on it so hard, you'd need my help, which I'd feel obliged to give you seeing as you gave up Gryffindor so I wouldn't be lonely, so we'd be so busy making you queen swot of the swottiest swots in Hogwarts we'd never get to have any fun at all. And no one else would want to be our friends. Ever. So you can stop that line of thought right there before the idea fully develops," he drawled, looking utterly bored, before turning to her with a smirk. "Besides, the food's starting to disappear, which means one thing: pudding."
"I could hardly let my ambition to be - what did you call it? - the queen swot of the swottiest swots in Hogwarts distract you from your sweets," she deadpanned back. "Even though I wasn't thinking about that at all."
"And what were you thinking about instead of introducing yourself to the people you'll be spending the next seven years sharing a tower with like I was?" he asked pointedly, taking a rather large serving of the sticky toffee pudding that had appeared in front of him, causing his eyes to light up in delight. She blushed as he started digging in, smirking into his plate.
"I was thinking about a side project. Percy had said something over the summer about magic just being energy and now that I'm in a semi-sentient magical building surrounded by all magical people I've noticed...why are you looking at me like that?" she trailed off upon noting his raised eyebrow.
"That sounds exactly like what I was saying," he pointed out, turning in his seat to spoon some of the sticky confection onto her empty plate. "Here, you should start the year off on a high note. Toffee's amazing and your parents won't have let you eat it with all the sugar and sticky. Try it. From September through May, excluding holidays, you can try all the things all the other kids were allowed to eat that your parents forbade because they destroy your teeth. Start with the toffee pudding. You'll miss it come summer, I promise."
"I think there's more to school than sticky toffee pudding," Hermione pointed out, taking a forkful to inspect before trying it. She felt her eyes open wider as she did - it was very sweet, but like nothing she had tried before. Rules were important and she never broke them, not even when she was visiting at the Weasleys. She would politely decline dessert, feeling her parents would know if she had eaten the things they had told her to avoid to save her teeth. She hadn't really intended to have more than a bite or two to placate Draco, but was now enjoying it enthusiastically and even considering a plate of biscuits looking far more sugary than her parents ever would have allowed between her and Anthony.
"Of course there's more to school than pudding. But Hogwarts knows what they're doing there. There's also more to school than what we learn in classes, which is why I will, very kindly, agree to help you with your project before you ask. Plus, it sounds slightly interesting and I don't even really know what it's about, so I imagine I won't be upset about offering my help when I learn the actually interesting parts. Despite my teasing, I do like the way your mind works and the ideas you come up with," he conceded before nudging her and nodding to the people across from them.
"That's Anthony Goldstein. You met him briefly at the boats. His dad works at the ministry and he, quite unfortunately, cheers for the same quidditch team as Ron. This is Padma Patil. Her twin Parvati was sorted into Gryffindor. Their father is an ambassador from the Indian Ministry, but they've been here almost as long as they can remember. This is Tracey Davis. She's from a prominently Slytherin family like me as is the girl next to her, Daphne Greengrass. We all know each other vaguely. They were forced into more interaction with the 'right sort' than I ever was, though, so sucks to be them," he explained, earning a glare and an eye roll from the two girls. Everyone had looked up and shook Hermione's hand as Draco explained who they were.
"I'm Terry Boot," the boy on Draco's other side offered with a wave, rather than shaking her hand from around Draco. "I don't really have a story, but I've got two older siblings in this house. I caught part of what you were saying to Draco about magic being energy, though. Don't know what you're on about, but he's right - it sounds interesting. I may not be as naturally gifted as my brother and sister, but I am good at research. My mum always teased I had the work ethic of a Hufflepuff when it came to studying. If you need help and want to float the idea around more people, let me know."
"Thank you," Hermione told him genuinely. No one had ever offered to help her with independent studies before. Suddenly feeling slightly more embarrassed, she turned to the boy on her other side, who she had sat down next to without even introducing herself, focusing instead on seeing if Draco would join her house and where her other friends would end up before being distracted by her own thoughts. "I'm so sorry I didn't introduce myself, that was terribly rude of me. I'm Hermione Granger," she offered, cheeks red.
"Michael Corner," he offered, shaking her hand. "Don't worry about it. It's been a day for all of us and Draco mentioned you were muggle born, yeah? I suppose even with sponsor families and all being so fully immersed in a different culture so quickly and being expected to just adapt immediately is a bit much for kids our age."
"You've got that in one," Anthony agreed, drawing a few stares and raised eyebrows. "Hey, my dad's a wizard, my mum's a squib. We live on the muggle side of things. I went to a muggle school, live in a muggle neighborhood in Croydon, played footie in a muggle park on weekends, the whole package. Of course, my dad works at the Ministry, so I've been to see him at work and spend the occasional afternoon at Diagon Alley, which means I was more exposed than your average muggleborn, but it was a rare thing.
"My mum is very good about accepting my dad and I have magic even if she doesn't, but it does make her a bit sad, so aside from where he works, even my dad goes through life mostly as a muggle for her and my brother, who's also a squib I guess. She's been very dedicated to making sure both of us felt loved and valued. Dad says her family wasn't very good to her because she wasn't magical. He grew up near them and had been friends with her when they were little, but lost touch when he went to Hogwarts. Very romantic story about her sending an owl hoping he'd help her out when she left home that ends with them falling in love and marrying, but I don't even know what her maiden name is, she won't talk about it at all."
"Davis," Tracey supplied, looking like she had seen a ghost. "Is your mother's name Beatrice?" Anthony nodded incredulously. "Then her name's Davis. Probably. My family's home is near the Goldstein family home, though it was sold when I was really little. My dad talks about how he went to Hogwarts with the kids that used to live there every time we pass it for one reason or another. My mother doesn't know I know anything about it, and wouldn't approve, but my dad sat me down about a month ago. Told me to keep an eye out for anyone whose mother is a squib named Beatrice. He had a younger sister that ran away from home while he was in his seventh year. Because she was a squib, he never fully bought the pureblood stuff the kids in his house were spouting, but his parents did and were deeply ashamed of her. Kept her a secret best they could once she didn't get her letter. A few days before her sixteenth birthday, she stole some money, packed a bag, and flooed out in the middle of the night. They were able to track her to Diagon Alley, but she disappeared somewhere in there.
"My dad was very slightly involved with the wrong side in the war. Being in Slytherin back then, especially with parents like his, it would have been impossible to have avoided it entirely. He never took the mark and most of his involvement were some shady deals he set up for other people, using his connections more than doing anything personally, so he got a few years of house arrest and that was that. My mother's always been ashamed of him for not being more involved fighting for 'the right sort of people', but he's the head of house, so all she can do is complain and insult. His parents died during the war and he's been searching for his sister behind my mother's back since his house arrest ended. To think she's only in Croydon married to a wizard with a son in my year and house," she surmised, shaking her head in shock.
Daphne put a hand on her shoulder while Draco reached across the table to squeeze her hand. The three shared looks of understanding. At least Draco's mother was ruling his house until he reached his majority, so he was spared most of the pureblood dogma the other two were raised with. Daphne because both her parents were true believers, Tracey because her mother was and her father had put on a good show to survive school and his parents.
"Do you think...we could be friends? Or at least spend some time getting to know one another? I only have one other cousin and Pansy's...well, vile. There's really no other word for it," Tracey asked, earning a snort from Draco and a grin from Daphne.
"Of course we're going to get to know each other. I say friends depends on that," Anthony assured her. "I'm sure you don't want to be stuck with a friend you don't really get on with personally just because there's a high likelihood they're your cousin," he teased, getting a smile in return as dessert disappeared from the table.
"I'd like that a lot," she decided, falling into step beside him as the prefects led them from the hall. "And maybe my dad could send a letter to her through you? He's been searching for years."
"What kind of person would I be to say no to that?" Anthony laughed. "But this means you have to help me with my brother's letters. He's already given me a list of questions and I have no doubt his first letter will only bring more!"
"I forgot you said you had a brother," she mused, turning to Daphne with a beatific grin. "I've got two cousins who aren't pureblood supremacist gits!"
"Lucky," the other girl groused, looking supremely jealous despite her supportive grin.
"Is it really that bad?" Hermione asked Draco.
"Not for me, I've just got my grandmother and my mum fights her off most of the time. Tracey at least has her father when her mother's out of earshot. Daphne, however, may need somewhere else to live when school's out since she's been sorted outside of Slytherin," he admitted, bringing a scowl to Daphne's face.
"A bit early in the year for scowling, isn't it, little eagle?" Fred's voice popped up at Hermione's side.
"I'd say so, brother mine," George's voice popped up from the far side of Daphne as the Weasley twins made their entrance, distracting the Ravenclaw first years even further from the prefect's guided tour no one had been paying attention to anyway.
"I suppose you're right and I should save the scowling for when I'm a homeless, disinherited Ravenclaw," Daphne deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
"Who would disinherit a pretty face like yours?" Lee Jordan arrived, jiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"The great Lord Greengrass," Daphne told him, smirking in her effort not to grin at his antics.
"Merlin, Mya! You sure you didn't get sorted into Slytherin? Walking here with a Greengrass, sharing hugs with a Malfoy...what's this world coming to?" Fred lamented dramatically with a fake faint and a hand to his forehead, finally earning a giggle from Daphne and the attention of the prefect.
"What are three Gryffindors doing following us to Ravenclaw Tower?" he demanded, stopping in his tracks.
"Ah, calm down Dagworth, we're just here to say hello to Hermione and congratulate her on her sorting," Lee protested.
"She's muggleborn. We're her sponsors," George informed him, puffing out his chest importantly.
"Shouldn't you be congratulating your brother on being sorted into the house you should be heading towards?" Dagworth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Probably, but we like Hermione better," Fred quipped, winking at her. "But we've interrupted your very informative and necessary tour of things the firsties won't remember come morning, so congratulations, Hermione! We'd be sad about your inevitable demise into swottiness if we weren't around to keep a close eye on you and steer you away from that dreaded path."
"A truer word has never been spoken, brother! Draco's going to need all the help he can get in an environment like this!" George agreed, clapping the younger boy on the back hard enough to make him stumble.
"And congratulations to the rest of you!" Lee agreed, turning to Daphne, "Especially to you, Lady Greengrass. We will be forever grateful you are in a more approachable house than anticipated," he told her as he theatrically bowed over her hand with a loud smack of a kiss.
"Alright, alright, you've said your congratulations! Now get back to your tower before curfew!" Dagworth insisted, shaking his head while Daphne rolled her eyes at the three pranksters. Once they finished their bowing and departed with final grins at Hermione, Dagworth hurried them along, the tour forgotten. "Professor Flitwick will be waiting for us now. The history of the castle will have to wait for another time."
"Why does everyone keep saying I'll be some kind of super swot?" Hermione grumbled as they picked up the pace to the tower.
"Is that supposed to be rhetorical?" Draco asked, bewildered. "I mean, have you met you?"
The arrival at Ravenclaw tower, discussion about the riddle blocking their entry, and a hearty greeting from Professor Flitwick saved Draco from Hermione's ire...mostly. She did get a good smack across the back of his head in, but her argument would have to wait or be forgotten.
Professor Flitwick told them about the tower, explained they'd get their timetables in the morning with enough time to figure out how to get to their morning classes, and then explained their dormitory situation. Every floor in the tower had rooms for two surrounding a small common study area. Each room would have two beds, two wardrobes, two nightstands, and a small shared bath. The common areas had both tables and desks. The desks had soundproofed dividers for when you needed to concentrate without distractions and the tables were for group study or projects. The main floor of the common room was not only a smaller version of the Hogwarts library, but had plenty of room for lounging on comfortable looking furniture to relax with friends or a good book and several areas set aside for more practical hobbies. He explained that because Ravenclaws were defined by their thirst for knowledge and learning, and not all knowledge and learning came from books, he was committed to ensuring there were plenty of other things not just for them to learn, but to help them relax, refocus, and burn off some steam when necessary. A quick glance showed some chess boards, another couple game boards she didn't recognize, woodworking, a few easels and pottery wheels, and baskets of yarn and needles. She was sure there was more and that, if there was an interest, Professor Flitwick would provide even more stations for them to learn new things at.
Clapping his hands at how lucky it was to have even numbers of boys and girls, Flitwick asked if they'd like to choose their roommates or have them assigned, after a few shared looks, Michael told him they would choose for themselves. Nodding in agreement, their new head of house directed them to the first floor, where all of their trunks were in the center of the common area, and indicated the four rooms that were ready. There were eight rooms on this level, so an empty room sat between each bedroom. Flitwick told them boys and girls were not permitted to bunk together, but that they could enter each other's rooms - so long as the door remained open and the lights remained on. The magic in the tower would make the doors actually disappear if a boy and a girl were in a bedroom together. Seeing the raised eyebrows, he explained how the other houses segregated their students entirely, but that in Ravenclaw, you were trusted to make wise and intelligent decisions and that the separate common study areas for each year group were more important to the vast majority of students than access to each other's bedrooms. He did ensure they were left with the impression that taking advantage of that rule, at any age and under any circumstance, would bring down grave consequences extremely swiftly and that the magic of the tower would keep anyone from being able to hide their wrongdoing once called out on it.
Anthony and Michael decided to room together, so Terry and Draco shrugged and dragged their things next to each other. Similarly, Tracey and Daphne wanted to be roommates, having been friendly since they were very young, leaving Hermione and Padma quite amicably agreeing that they were fine being roommates with each other. Once the rooms were chosen and they were all unpacking, Padma admitted that she didn't really know anyone here, so it wasn't personal that she was completely indifferent to being Hermione's roommate, she just didn't really mind who she ended up with. Hermione laughed and pointed out that Draco was the only person she had known in her whole house before today, and rooming with him wasn't an option, so she was just very glad her roommate didn't feel stuck with her.
Apparently it was the right thing to say, and the two hit it off immediately, chatting while they changed into their pajamas, combed out their hair, and brushed their teeth. Padma's sister Parvati was incredibly outgoing and vivacious, leaving her quieter, bookish twin in the background. Consequently, Padma never really had friends of her own and wasn't really close to Parvati. Hermione explained how being so enthusiastic about her studies, her appearance, and how strange things seemed to happen around her had ostracized her from her peers and also hadn't had friends until she had a sponsor family in the wizarding world. Even then, it was mostly boys. She cared deeply for all her friends, especially the twins and Draco, who she had just clicked with immediately, and Harry, who had stopped Ron from picking on her the first time she had met him and had since taken on a big brother type of role for her, despite being almost a whole year younger. But despite all that, and Molly Weasley's best efforts to make her only daughter Hermione's best friend and vice versa, Hermione was pleased to meet a girl her age that had so many similar interests and experiences, despite how different their lives had been.
Ravenclaw, Hermione decided as she dozed off, had been a very good decision.