Chapter 3

~Hermione~

Hermione was silently making her way to the Great Hall, she was late to the feast. She would have liked to skip the feast altogether, but she did not know where her new dormitory was. When she walked into the hall, she chose a seat at the farthest edge of the Gryffindor table away from her classmates. She wasn't in the mood for people, she just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep until her pain left her.

"Hermione!" She heard Harry call to her. He was sitting in the middle of the table with Ron. "Hermione over here!" He was waving at her, trying to get her attention. Hermione pretended not to have heard him. She stared down at the dark mahogany table in front of her for a moment, then looked everywhere that Harry wasn't.

While she was casting a glance around the Great Hall, she noticed Malfoy looking at her with an unreadable expression. Once she made eye contact with him, however, he looked away and turned to talk to Blaise Zabini. Hermione returned her gaze to the table and waited for Dumbledore to send them all to bed. She didn't have to wait very long, fortunately. After about 10 minutes Dumbledore stood gracefully from his chair and cleared all of the tables.

"Now that we have all filled our stomachs with a hearty meal, it is time for us to turn in!" He announced. "Please follow your house prefects to your dormitories! Heads of House please meet Professor McGonagall outside the Great Hall, she will take you to your dormitories!" Everyone rose from their seats and made their way out of the hall. Hermione darted out, not looking at anybody. She spotted McGonagall in a corner and hurried over to her.

"Hello Hermione." She said with a slight smile, Hermione smiled back. "Once Mr. Malfoy arrives we can- Oh! Nevermind here he is now. Good evening Draco." McGonagall had turned her attention to the tall blonde boy making his way over to them.

"Good evening professor," He said with a slight bow, he then turned to Hermione, "Granger." He greeted lazily without looking at her.

"Malfoy." she answered him.

"Right, now that you are both here, please follow me." McGonagall said. She turned and began a brisk walk down the corridor. Both heads struggled to keep up with the Deputy Headmistress. They didn't have to walk for long, their dorms were right next to the kitchens. McGonagall led them to a large painting of a little girl who had on a neat pink frock with matching bows in her curly brunette pigtails. She was beaming up at her visitors.

"Hello Lucille." McGonagall stated before she turned to the two heads. "The password is 'Pumpkin Pasties'."

"Mmmm my favowite!" Interjected the little girl before her portrait opened.

"Now, I would like you two to come to my office tomorrow morning so that I can get you organized. Goodnight." With that she left them. Hermione looked over at Malfoy, who was now entering their dormitory. She glanced around her for a bit before following him inside.

What she saw when she entered made her temporarily forget her problems. It was a high-ceilinged room with stone walls with round, ornate windows circling the domed ceiling. The walls were decorated with satin gold hangings and tapestries and the dark-wooden floor was littered with ornate rugs. The middle of the large room was occupied by various rococo-style couches and armchairs (one of which was occupied by a bored-looking Head Boy) with solid gold lining and white satin fabric, and a matching gold coffee table which had an ornate tea set rested upon it. Hermione noticed that the tea set actually contained tea. 'How nice' She thought to herself. In the back of the room there were two sets of stairs that lead to the bedrooms with a large but empty portrait was hung on the wall between them. Hermione wondered why the portrait was empty, but she was soon answered.

"Hi!" Lucille had just appeared in the portrait, looking as enthused as ever. "Um Miss Mc-Gown-a-gall told me to tell you that Hew-my-nee's woom is on my wight and Dwaco's woom is on my weft. Night-night!" Lucille giggled before disappearing again. Without looking back at Malfoy, Hermione hurried up the staircase to her room. Once she entered, she found that her room was decorated in the same fashion as the common area. She had a large four-poster bed with a solid gold frame and white bedding and drapings, and it rested on a large rug. She also had a gold desk with a chair that matched the sofas in the common area, and a gold wardrobe and bookcase. There was a bay window with gold curtains and cushions on one side of her room and a door on the other. The door lead to an equally extravagant bathroom which had a luxurious bathrobe and towel set. She walked over to her bed and she saw a note laying on it. "If you are not pleased with the decor, you are free to make adjustments." Hermione looked around, "It's so beautiful, I think I will keep it the way it is." She decided.

Hermione walked into the bathroom once again and filled the tub deciding that she could use a good soak. She added a perfumed bubble bath to the water before undressing, becoming very aware of her body as she did so. She noticed various bruises on her arms and her stomach where Ron had handled her, and she felt slightly sore. Biting her lip, she slowly entered her bath. The bath relaxed her immediately, and she dozed off.

~Draco~

Draco watched as Hermione scurried up the stairs to her room. He let his mouth forming a slight frown. He had watched her during the feast, she arrived late and she looked miserable. Draco thought this odd, but not as odd as what happened next. Rather than take her seat with her two annoying companions, she sat away from everyone and ignored boy wonder when he called for her. For some reason, the scene troubled him. 'What the fuck is going on with Granger this year?' He asked himself. With one last glance at her bedroom door, he decided to turn in for the night and made his way up the other set of stairs.