It was like walking into a winter wonderland. Everything seemed as if it were covered in snow! The room itself was rather small, with only a bed, a nightstand, a tall shelf, and a wardrobe. However, there was a large window with a sill and snow lace curtains, perfect for receiving owls.
The design really is timeless and graceful though, Hermione thought. I truly can imagine making a fresh start here, and put the past behind me. She wondered if Ferret Boy was feeling the same way. Nope, I don't think he possesses that sort of brain capacity. Smiling like a refugee who had finally found a safe haven, Hermione exhaled, and started to unpack, ready for her new life.
First, she put the trunk down at the foot of the bed, with Crookshanks's cage placed right beside it. She opened the door of the cage, and Crookshanks streaked out like a bolt of lightning, his bottlebrush tail held out high. He immediately leapt onto the creamy white covers of the bed, laid down again, and purred, seeming to like the room immensely as well.
For the next half-hour or so, Hermione added color to her new home, literally, because her belongings were the only things in the room that weren't white. The shelf was perfect for putting all her books, parchment, quills, and other school belongings on, as well as her shoes. The white wooden nightstand came with a little white wooden chair and mirror, and had a drawer underneath for storing personal belongings. The surface became the new home to a framed picture of her, Ron, and Harry, as well as her wand. The wardrobe was actually quite large, having drawers at the bottom for Muggle clothes such as jeans and T-shirts, and also for other things such as undergarments, pajamas, and socks. Above the drawers were double doors that were a little less than one and a half meters tall, whose insides came with built-in hangers and provided a wonderful storage for her robes.
As Hermione stood tiptoe to hang her last pair of school robes up, she remembered the dress robes at the bottom of her trunk. In the letter Professor McGonagall had sent out during the summer, she had surprised everyone by saying that a new tradition, an annual Valentine Ball, was to be started this year. Everyone was required to bring dress robes, whether they wanted to attend at the moment or not, for minds could be changed throughout the year, and this was another way to promote House Unity, the most important aspect of the new Hogwarts.
So Hermione retrieved the dress and started hanging it up along with her other robes, not being able to admire it, although it was quite a lovely dress. The only thing she could think about was the Yule Ball from fourth year, and how the Triwizard champions had been required to start off the dance. Would the Head Boy and Head Girl start off for this ball? She couldn't quite imagine Ginny Weasley and Zacharias Smith waltzing. Or worse, she thought, the Senior Boy and Senior Girl? The thought was truly horrifying, and her only hope was that Malfoy hadn't reached this conclusion as well. She could just imagine him saying, "ME? Touch that filthy creature? NEVER! So don't even think about dancing!" Not that she cared, of course. Malfoy was Malfoy, and she was sure that living with him would make it even easier to ignore him, once she got used to it.
Seeing that all her clothes were out of her trunk, and the only things left were her bags of toiletries, Hermione shut the double doors, gathered up the bags in her arms, and closed the lid of her trunk. Crookshanks watched her with those lamp-like eyes of his as she marched off to the bathroom, his tail thumping on the duvet.
The bathroom was just as blindingly white as the rest of the dorm, and smelled just as fresh. On the right side were two other tiny rooms, separated by a thick wall that was wide enough to have stainless steel bars for hanging two fluffy white towels (one of which was currently missing), and another pair above those for washcloths, and with each room having doors that locked. The door of the room closest to Hermione was ajar, and she could see a toilet inside, so that room was for the loo. The room next to it and closer to Malfoy's room was closed, but judging from the sound of falling water that was coming from it and the missing towel, that was the shower, currently being used by Ferret Boy himself. On the opposite side of the bathroom from where Hermione was standing was the doorway into Malfoy's room, and as the door was open, she could see that he was rather slow and messy at unpacking, his trunk still half full, and with the unpacked contents dumped on the floor.
On the left side, the bathroom door that was visible from the common room was closed as well, and separated two sinks that had large mirrors above them. The farther one was obviously for Malfoy, who had unceremoniously scattered all his toiletries onto the sides of the sink, and the closer one was obviously for Hermione, complete with a white rose hand soap standing next to the taps. Underneath Hermione's sink was a cabinet that housed two shelves that were tall enough even for the largest of Hermione's shampoos and conditioners to fit into. So she took everything out of the bags and put them on the top shelf, and put all the bags on the bottom.
As she finished and was closing the cabinet door, the shower room door lock clicked and in the next moment, Malfoy stepped out into the bathroom, his wet blond hair tousled so that it looked like a model's. Hermione didn't know why, but for some reason, just being in a bathroom with Ferret Boy made her blush furiously. Maybe it was the fact that he was, admittedly, a boy, and a she was a girl, or maybe it was because his pajamas just made her want to giggle.
He wore a dark gray v-neck shirt that was tight enough and thin enough to display his rather well-developed abdominal muscles, and floor length cotton pajama bottoms that were dark green with a pattern of golden Snitches embroidered all over it. Oh Dear Lord. Hermione thought. Am I paying attention to Ferret Boy's clothes? No not even- AM I PAYING ATTENTION TO HIS BODY? She panicked. By wanting to make a fresh, new start, she hadn't really meant to take it to the point of checking out this loathsome cockroach. Snap out of it! She reprimanded herself.
Malfoy, who hadn't paid her the slightest bit of attention after coming out, was busy hanging his towel back onto the bar on the left, making sure it didn't touch Hermione's on the right, and that the corners were perfectly even. What an arse. She thought.
Suddenly, he whipped his head around, saw her blush while staring at him, registered this in his little mind, and smirked.
"You know, Granger, it's not like I'm wearing lingerie or something, so you can calm yourself down. That's right, just slow down that little heart rate."
Hermione regained her composure at hearing his sarcasm. She exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, turned back around, and tried to brush off this embarrassment by washing her hands. The sound of the water relaxed her, and she found her wit again, cheekily replying, "I pity the poor creature that actually will see you wearing that… erm, stuff."
With that, she turned off the tap, dried off her hands with the hand towel that was hanging on her side of the wall next to the common room bathroom door, and marched back into her room, closing the door behind her. She then closed her room door, and flung herself back-first onto her bed, right next to Crookshanks, who did NOT appreciate the bounce.
Well THAT was awkward, she thought. But not humiliating. she consoled herself. Just then, the voice of Lady Montecino rang through the room. "Three kitchen elves are here with dinner!"
Hermione jumped up and opened her room door, and saw that Malfoy had already raced across the common room to open the portrait entrance. The three kitchen elves came in bearing trays of food, one with soups and salads, another with main dishes, and the last with desserts. A large basket full of silverware, plates, bowls, napkins, and a little silver bell floated in after them, and set itself on the glass coffee table after the elves had set down all the trays.
"Enjoy!" the three simultaneously squeaked, and hurried out of the room. The last one, before closing the portrait, sang out, "Ring the bell when you're done!" and disappeared.
Malfoy, without so much as a glance at Hermione, sat down on the couch, grabbed a plate, and started loading it with food. Should I take a shower first or spend an awkward dinner with "it?" she thought. No, it's probably better to eat first. Knowing him, he'll finish eating before I'm done showering, ring the bell, and go to bed doubly satisfied, his tummy full, and his mind happy from knowing I went to bed hungry. Sighing, she grabbed a bowl, being careful not to touch that little silver bell, and served herself some clam chowder.
She grabbed a spoon and sat down on the couch as far away as possible from the ferret, who was stuffing himself like a pig. It reminded her of… and without thinking, she said aloud, "You look as disgusting as Ronald when you eat."
Malfoy froze, mid-bite.