**Sorry for the wait, Thanksgiving turkey had me sleeping the week away. So, I made the chapter twice as long as the last. ;) Enjoy! I don't own Harry Potter, blah blah blah**
London, England. Present day.
A train pulls out of King's Crossing from platform 9 ¾, its smoke leaving a darkened plume against the bright blue morning sky. Inside, a vast array of students smile and laugh while eating a colorful feast of candies and pastries. They had much to be joyful for. The Dark Lord, Voldemort, had been defeated, and even though the sacrifices had been grave, hope for the future filled the hearts of all who lived through the carnage. It was back to life as usual for most, but one compartment that usually seated three fierce friends, now only seated one. A girl, on the cusp of womanhood, sat staring out of her window, with big amber eyes and large bushy hair. Hermione Granger sighed and pulled a folded note from her pocket that she must have read a hundred times.
Hermione,
Good luck finishing out your final school year at Hogwarts. Ron and I miss you dearly. We were both surprised at the news! Can you believe it? Ron, the new member of the English National Quidditch team and I'm an auror in training! I know you would rather we finished our final year as well, but things just wouldn't have been the same. Not after everything that's happened. But we both know it's what's best for you and wish you the best. Not that you need it, Miss 'Brightest Witch of the Millennium'. We'll be in touch. Don't forget to send us an owl every once in a while. And, Hermione, DO try and have a little fun. Pull a prank or two. While you can still get away with it.
Harry
She folded the parchment back up and tucked it away with a sigh. As much as she hated not having them around, she was still very excited for them. They were fulfilling their dreams and she was… what? Returning to being a student? For what purpose? She still enjoyed learning as much as ever, but the end of the war had taken the wind from her sails. All the dreams she had of becoming an auror or a healer or even a professor seemed now so typical. Even though the threat of Voldemort was gone, she couldn't shake the feeling of there being a storm building just past the horizon. The rational part of her brain knew the signs of shell shock and she made a daily effort to push away the paranoia, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. There was still hate for muggle borns, the evidence was in the news. Voldemort sympathizers made frequent visits to muggle homes and would harass, vandalize and even murder them. It was for this reason that Hermione tearfully decided not to repair her parents memories and bring them back from Australia. They were safe there, and her infamy would only bring them trouble.
A noise at the door broke her from her thoughts and she turned to see a sneering face and a pair of cold grey eyes regarding her with bitter mirth. Draco Malfoy leaned casually against the door frame to her compartment.
"Mudblood," he acknowledged to her with a tilt of his chin. She huffed in annoyance.
"Watch your language, ferret, people might hear that kind of talk and throw you into Azkaban."
He shrugged. "I'd say, by the looks of things, that you're the one who should be careful." At her confused frown, he continued. "Potty and Weasel miss the train? Or dare I hope they met an unfortunate accident?"
"I think she was abandoned by the duo for bigger and better things." The figure of Blaise Zabini strode beside Malfoy.
"Ah!" Draco exclaimed in mock surprise. "Guess their smart little pet will have to find some new play mates."
Hermione shook her head, suddenly too tired to deal with the blond boy and his companion. "Just piss off, Malfoy. I'll have plenty of time to listen to your insults when we get to Hogwarts." She pulled a tiny book from her pocket and enlarged it with her wand. Dismissing them, she flipped through the pages to her book mark. Pale, long fingers slithered down the text and pushed the book down. She glanced up at Draco, who was now bent eyelevel with her.
"Granger, you have no idea how true that statement is." With another signature smirk, he turned and left her compartment, followed by Blaise who looked her up and down and grunted before leaving.
"The bloody hell was that about?" she muttered before lifting her book back up again. She knew better than to take Malfoy's little threats lightly, but at the same time, there was no use in dwelling on it. She'd known that keeping an eye on him would be a mandatory part of her job this year, anyway. A triumphant smile graced her features. Headmaster McGonagall had owled her a week before informing Hermione of her rewarede3d status as Head Girl. She would be lying if she said she didn't expect it, of course. Out of all the girls at Hogwarts, even the Ravenclaws, the bushy haired book worm was an immediate shoe in for the position.
"Hermione!" a peppy voice squealed. She looked up at the red-headed girl bouncing toward her.
"Ginny! You're here!" Hermione had thought for sure the young Weasley would stay with Harry.
"Hello, Hermione." The dreamy voice of Luna trailed as the long haired blond followed Ginny into the compartment. Hugs were shared all around.
"Oh, thank goodness, I thought for sure I'd be on my own this year," Hermione confessed.
"Mother wouldn't hear of it," Ginny huffed and plopped down by Luna. "Said she'd be damned if another of her children didn't graduate proper."
"I just wanted to be here for my friends," Luna smiled. "I have so few now that everyone's gone their separate ways." Despite the sadness of her words, the smile on her face was sincere.
Ginny hopped in her seat. "Harry did say that he and Ron would be making frequent visits to make sure everything's alright on the home front. Perhaps we can all meet during the school outings!"
Hermione nudged the red head with her elbow. "Speaking of, how are you two?"
Ginny's face fell a fraction, "well… we're great. He's just having a hard time coming back around, you know? The war was hard on him." She was silent for a moment, but regained her momentum. "Oh, but he does love his new line of work! Gathering up and lingering Death Eaters and other such rubbish really has him focusing on being productive and not the past."
Hermione wasn't sure that continuing the fight was exactly moving on, but she wasn't about to burst Ginny's bubble. "Have you two decided on a wedding date yet?"
"During the winter holiday," she answered, twisting a diamond ring on her finger absently. "There's a church near the burrow where Mum and Dad were married. It's very nice."
Hermione smiled, but couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She had thought that her and Ron had something special as well after the war ended, but when he was offered to join the national Quidditch team, he forgot about everything else. It was like she no longer existed to him. Last she heard, he had a date with the seeker of his team. It's not like she had an official relationship with him, but the hurt was still there. Before her feelings had a chance to show, Luna's hand reached toward her chest and pointed at the badge that was sewn there. "Well, well."
Ginny gasped. "Hermione! Why didn't you tell us you were Head Girl?"
"Oh," she giggled and shrugged. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it."
"Forgot to mention it?!" Ginny gaped. "This is great! Oh, please say this means we can abuse your power to stay out late."
Luna shook her head, "Ginny, that would be against the rules." At Ginny's annoyed glance, Luna amended herself. "I see, and we want to break the rules. Because friends get into trouble together."
"No, Luna, that is most certainly not what friends do." She smiled at Ginny. "Maybe, if it's for something important."
"Did I just sway little miss goody two-shoes into breaking rules?" Ginny smiled wickedly. "Oh, this year is going to be good."
"Who is the head boy?" Luna asked?
Hermione shrugged. "I'm about to go find out. Actually, I should be getting to the head compartment right now."
Ginny shooed her away with her hands. "Go, go! We'll meet up in the Great Hall."
She stood and gathered her things, then waved goodbye to the two girls before making her way to the front of the train.
Draco walked leisurely toward the last box car he and his entourage had used every year. Students made a hasty path for him at one glance toward his cold glower. His reputation had reached an all new high after the war. Surprisingly, not as many people hated him for his involvement with the Death Eaters as he had thought. Most were under the assumption that he, like his godfather, was a double agent for the Order. Silent praises and subtle nods were awarded to him, but people still kept their distance. A boy of his age to earn the trust of the Dark Lord was still a boy to be feared. This suited Draco just fine. He opened the compartment door to find Pansy sitting cross legged by the window. He took a moment to take in her appearance. The war had been difficult on her, at least the after effects. Her father had died and her mother, lost in grief, went mad and had a padded room to call her own in St. Mungo's. Despite all of that, one would think Pansy was fine if they didn't know her well. Her perfectly manicured nails, carefully applied makeup and top of the line school uniform concealed the sunken, haunted eyes and her rapid weight loss. These subtle flaws in her appearance did not go unnoticed to Draco.
"Pansy," he said.
She spared him a glance. "Draco." Turning back to the view outside her window, she twirled a piece of hair between her fingers and tapped her shoe against the ground. "Don't you have a 'special' seat to sit in this year?"
"And deny you your yearly pleasure of seeing me before school begins?" Draco sneered. Blaise slinked into the room and took the seat by Pansy. She rested her palm on his thigh and returned a mirror image smirk to Draco.
"I've already seen the only man I need to see like that." She squeezed his thigh and Blaise casually tossed his arm around her shoulder. Draco threw his hands up in surrender.
"Hey, I know when two people need to be alone to… study." He turned and closed the doors behind him. He had known about his two associates becoming an item over the summer, and he couldn't be happier for them. Not only did that get Pansy off his back, which was a big plus, but Blaise finally got the only girl he ever had an eye for. They kept each other enough company for Draco to get the alone time he coveted these days. And what did he plan to do with his newly acquired time? He hadn't quite worked it out yet, but after years of stress under Voldemort's thumb, a bit of nothing would be nice. He made his way to the head compartment and sneered. Of course there was always time to harass a certain Mudblood. He approached the door.
Hermione admired the head's compartment. A small table with food centered the space. A large window made up the outer wall and along the parallel walls were two sofas. She took a seat by the window and magicked her list of chosen prefects for that year. She would need to discuss their duties with the head boy once he arrived. As if on cue, the door to her compartment swung open. She turned with a smile, which quickly faded. "I should have known they'd choose you," she growled at Draco as he stepped in.
"Surprise."
"Pay them off with generous donations?" she spat through her teeth.
Draco chuckled and sat across from her. "I'll have you know the you aren't the only brain that was cultivated the last seven years, Granger." He leaned back lazily into the leather cushions. "In fact, I do believe my potions and dark arts scores were higher than yours."
She scoffed. "Marginally." With a great huff she set the paper down beside her. "I imagine the real meaning of this union, as much as it pains me to admit, is to promote house unity."
"And who better to show how well we can all get along than the muddiest witch and the purest-"
"Traitor," she finished for him. He frowned at that, but said nothing. She looked hard at him for a long second. "I am willing to do this for the cause McGonagall sees. I will work with you to be sure our roles as Heads are done properly. The past is, after all, in the past."
"My, how forgiving of you."
"NO!" she said forcefully. His eyebrows lifted. "No," she repeated now in a hiss. "I do not forgive and I do not forget." Her hand reflexively touched an oddly shaped scar on her arm. An engraving that Draco recognized. "I don't have that in me."
To her great surprise, he actually laughed out loud.
"And just what the bloody hell is so damn funny?!" she shouted. He laughed harder.
"Well, first of all, the war certainly has given you a colorful use of the English language that I'd never thought someone as prude as you would use, and secondly," he stopped laughing and his smile became menacing. "If it were any other year, I'd have your head swiped clean off your scrawny little neck for talking to ME like that." He met her hard gaze and Hermione stifled a shutter at the cold truth in his words. "Now," he sighed and his features once again became bored and uncaring. "I'm sure you've already decided on the best ways to delegate tasks onto our prefects. Fill me in, and make it fast."
Hermione tapped her papers together neatly and handed half of the stack to him. The remainder of the ride continued in silence as they read them over.
