Chapter 3

A/N: J.K. Rowling owns it all; I am merely manipulating it in a way that pleases me.

They all moved into their common room. It was large and kind of oval. A fireplace took up several feet along one wall. In front of the fireplace were four large and comfy chairs. There were several tables with just as many chairs spaced throughout the room. A few more chairs were positioned by one of the window seats.

It was decorated using a blend of all of the house colors. There were Slytherin green throw pillows trimmed in silver on the chairs by the fireplace and window seat. The walls were Ravenclaw blue with Hufflepuff yellow trim. A large window seat facing the lake had the Gryffindor red colors on the cushion. A large painting of the Hogwarts crest was above the fireplace. There were four banners that hung down from the ceiling, one for each house.

The wood on the furniture was dark and rich. It looked brand new, but Hermione could tell by the detailed work that it was several centuries old and quite possibly hand carved. She knew that she would enjoy being here this year. This room was an excellent environment in which to study, and she could hardly wait to climb into the window seat with a book.

There were a dozen doors leading off the common room. These were the entrances to their rooms. Professor McGonagall was leading them each to their own door and explaining to them how to set the password for their room. When it was Hermione's turn she walked to her door and thought of the one phrase that always seemed to make her happy – sitis pro scientia. She knew it was a simple password for anyone who knew her, but she also thought maybe they would think it was too obvious.

She went into her room and looked around. It was better than the descriptions she had heard of the head boy and girl rooms. There was a full size, four poster bed in the middle of the room. The duvet had a Gryffindor lion on it. There were several large pillows propped up along the billboard sized headboard. Splashes of scarlet and gold were everywhere from the throw pillows on the settee to the trim on the walls.

A large ornate desk stood along one wall. Behind it were several large bookshelves. The settee was placed near the foot of the bed looking out a window. She looked out the window and noticed her view was one that would constantly remind her of her friends, and this made her smile. It was Hagrid's cabin she saw when she looked out the window. It reminded her of all the good times they'd had down there visiting with him.

Next to the window stood a wardrobe in which all of her clothing was already neatly hanging. To her left was a door that led to her own private bath. It was simple but elegant. A small vanity and sink, made out of beige marble, were along one wall with a door that led to the toilet. The other wall was almost entirely taken up by a regal marble tub with many different spouts on it. Next to that was a simple shower stall with beige marble surround.

After a few minutes exploring her room, she returned to the common room. Malfoy sat in the window seat staring out at the lake, or possibly the graveyard she couldn't be sure.

Professor McGonagall waited in one of the chairs by the fire. Slowly the rest of her classmates made it back to the common room, and Professor McGonagall stood and started to speak.

"I will return in a little while to escort you all to the Great Hall. You will wait in an adjoining room until I have had the chance to explain to the rest of the school the unique situation this year. I am afraid you will miss the sorting."

With that she left them.

Hermoine glanced around the room, everyone else was roaming about looking at the room. Pavrati, Padma and Lavender were showing each other their rooms. Malfoy was still sitting looking out the window. He didn't move or look around.

'That's odd,' Hermione thought, 'I wonder why he isn't bullying people around.'

It seemed so unlike Malfoy to just sit quietly and not say anything to anyone. Now that the headmistress was gone, she was sure he would start acting in his usual superior manner.

'I wonder what he is doing here. I need to write a letter to Ron anyways. I'll mention it; maybe he and Harry will know why they let him come back.'

Malfoy's quietness had made her uneasy.

She returned to her room and sat behind her desk. At first she just rubbed the top of the mahogany desk, caressing the smooth wood beneath her palms. Then she began putting her quills and parchment away in the drawers. She set out on the desktop a little crystal bottle of ink that her parents had gotten her for her thirteenth birthday and several pictures of her friends and family.

There was a Muggle photo of her parents in Australia, a photo of Harry, Ron, Ginny and her all standing in front of the Burrow waving and one of just her and Ron, looking into each other eyes. That one was her favorite. It was taken just after the fall of Voldemort at a celebration party. It was during the first days of her relationship with Ron.

She'd had a crush on him since third year. She had almost giving him up as a hopeless case, figuring he would never notice. Finally during the battle, as parts of the castle were falling down around them, they kissed. It was incredibly romantic and frightening at the same time. Pulling her eyes away from the photo, she grabbed a piece of parchment and one of her new quills and began her letter to Ron. They had promised to write each other every day. Well, at least she promised to write every day. Ron would have good intentions, but she knew he would get sidetrack once he started training.

She told Ron all about her day and especially her new room. She loved it here already. When she mentioned to him everyone that had returned she left out Malfoy at first. She wasn't sure why. Well actually she was. She knew if he found out, he would be here before the end of the feast insisting that she come home with him. And Harry would be right behind him. She knew he was bound to find out, yet she couldn't bring herself to tell him. And then she added to the bottom of the letter,

Malfoy is also here. Though he is only commuting to school, so he won't be staying here in the dorm with the rest of us.

I love you, Ron. Don't worry I can take care of myself and Ginny, too.

Love,

Hermoine

'There,' she thought, 'maybe he won't worry too much if he knows he is not staying in the castle. I had to tell him.'

A/N: Thanks to my lovely betas for their input and assistance, lilywillow, coley21 and sempra.

Sitis pro scientia – thirst for knowledge, courtesy of sempra