Hermione's first lesson of that day was Ancient Runes with Professor Babbling. She had left Harry and Ron who, of course, had their first period free. Now that the war had finished, Hermione had wanted to discuss her rune findings with her professor regarding the Deathly Hallows. Having never come across the Hallows before her camping days she hoped to provide some useful insight into the actuality of the symbol.

She took out her textbook (Advanced Rune Translation by Yuri Blishen) and waited until the end of the lesson to discuss her findings with Babbling over the historical significance of the Deathly Hallows symbol. Professor Babbling grew very excited at this new finding as well and thanked Hermione profusely for the insight.

Hermione, of course, hadn't told her that she personally knew what the three Deathly Hallows were – or that she knew where they were. Currently, it didn't matter where the Hallows were but rather that it could be an insightful nugget of information for untranslated texts. Of course, the Hallows seemed to have become more of a cult classic than anything substantial. Hermione could only think that was because it was so unlikely to find these three treasures because they were kept relatively secret enough to turn into a myth.

She just felt that it was right that the Peverell brothers had a more prolonged reign in history than the name's quick extinction. Professor Babbling had even decided to rifle through her notes because she was 'certain' that she had seen the symbol before.

Making her way to her next class (Potions) meant that she bumped into Harry and Ron on the Grand Staircase who were heading to their first lesson of the day.

"She said that our findings might change how wizards and witches have been reading runes all their lives because the Deathly Hallows happens to look exceptionally similar to two symbols; an all-seeing eye and also a campfire. It's remarkable really; how long they must have gone through history, making little sense of sentences with campfires in the middle of a sentence about politics," Hermione said eagerly, looking at either boy strolling along beside her.

"It makes for interesting storytelling…" Ron muttered. "But hold on… if these are ancient ruins, why is politics playing such a large part of it all? I thought the whole point of that class was reading the first signs of written magic… Surely that would've happened much earlier than politics?" Ron said sardonically.

"Obviously didn't pass your History of Magic exam, Ron," said Harry teasingly.

"Well the Peverell's couldn't be that ancient to be included in ancient runes, could they?"

"Well… No, you're right; they came much later. However, they were alive several centuries before us. Some still communicated through runes or wrote magic using them. I don't think the Deathly Hallows made a noticeable impact on our history but if Xenophilius Lovegood and Dumbledore found out about the symbol, they must have gotten it somewhere elsewhere from where we found out about them, which was through them. And it is because the symbol, that is so loosely known or acknowledged, that makes me think that it isn't a modern comeuppance. I'll have to read about its origin and see if it is part of rune text..." Hermione pondered for a moment, mentally ticking off the books that she would look at first.

"Have you gone out to look for the–" Ron paused to check that no one was listening, "–stone?"

Harry shook his head, his messy black hair falling into his eyes as he did so. "I'm not sure I want to use it again… I guess it's worth a shot, but I have no clue where I dropped it – quite frankly I was more concerned about facing Voldemort at that time than where I dropped it."

"S'pose… Thought it might be useful…" Ron mumbled. Hermione was on the verge of telling Ron that it wouldn't be a good idea chasing after a false representation of someone, but she thought better of it. Anyone who lost a loved one in this war had someone ripped from them whose time was cut far too short. She couldn't deny that a sense of closure through the Resurrection Stone could potentially become an addictive and not-so-final way of saying goodbye. But she didn't want Ron or others not having the chance to make it so.

Hermione frowned with new thoughts of retrieving the stone. She mused whether it could potentially be dangerous to have it fall into the wrong hands – of someone who might use the ghostly figures to bring back Voldemort's values. It seemed unlikely if it were just the three of them who knew about it and had it, but the possibility was there all the same.

They made their way down the stone staircase that led to the Dungeons. The air was cold, so each of them wrapped their cloaks around themselves to ward off the chill. They reached a small gathering of Gryffindors who were waiting outside the Potions classroom for the previous class to file out the room before they turned in and made their way to their preferred seats.

Hermione made her way to her usual spot (next to Harry and Ron on the bench over) but was called over by Parvati for her to sit at her desk in the middle row. She greeted the girl and apologised for acting so strangely that morning. Parvati waved the notion away and said that she supposed it must have been a matter of importance. Hermione smiled kindly and nodded.

There was a pleasant buzz of conversation floating around the room, which was a nice change of late. Even Professor Slughorn was taking his time starting the lesson while he spoke conversationally to some of the students on the Slytherin side. Hermione vaguely noted that the room was still separated into either house, not that this was surprising in the least.

She noted that three spaces from Gryffindor were missing; Neville, Seamus and, sadly, Lavender. It was strange not to have either boy in the class, but Seamus felt he had learnt a lot during his last year, and Neville who found (not to anyone's surprise) that his talents lay within Herbology, not Potions. A few were missing from the Slytherin table. In fact, the only male that was sitting on the other side was Goyle, which surprised Hermione as he usually was with Malfoy and his cronies.

Her thoughts drifted to Crabbe for a moment, her eyes crinkling in sadness. Everyone's situation seemed to be more grey than black or white. Evil was just an unfortunate and unavoidable situation for some. Many people search for sin because they believe in it and others were just born into it.

It wasn't as easy as Good and Evil – those that wanted equality and those that didn't permeate in both groups. Naturally, despite the war, inter-house relations seemed to be going poorly. Especially as there was still some hostility towards those who had actively participated as defendants of the Death Eaters during the battle. Pansy Parkinson, who had so graciously stepped forward to hand Harry over to Lord Voldemort, was still exercising her pureblood status and others followed.

The Parkinson family weren't Death Eaters and as such weren't shunned like some of the others, but Hermione hated to see her prance around so happily after having made such bold and disloyal statements. It certainly felt like she felt no need for repentance, or even felt like she had done anything wrong. Hermione rarely crossed paths with her, but Pansy was as nasty as they came without the prejudices.

Professor Slughorn clapped his hands, calling attention to his students. "Good morning, boys and girls; or should I say ladies and gentleman... Most of you, I know, have passed your seventeenth birthday…" He observed, his eyes bouncing from face to face.

The room became eerily quiet as Slughorn hesitated in his speech. Hermione could hear the creak of the professor's hands as they tightened their hold on each other, his lip also struggling in a fierce grip held by his teeth.

"It is my duty," he paused, "and a moment that I may express my personal misery… For many of you, friends, colleagues and family, and for myself students, and life-long companions have been taken unexpectedly and unpleasantly from this earth.

"I do hope that through the coming months that each of us, if you have not yet already, can unite and celebrate the lives of truly extraordinary people. It is tragic that so many lives – lives that were destined for greatness – were ripped apart and stolen. Such prizes these witches and wizards were…" Slughorn stuffed his clammy hand into his waist pocket and procured a purple handkerchief to wipe his brow and nose.

At that moment, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini strode into the Potions classroom. They apologised to the professor, who nodded and asked for the three wizards to take their usual seats at the front.

"Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini," called Slughorn, "as it is the first day I will not be taking points from Slytherin, however I implore that you arrive on time to save yourselves from the glares of your housemates..." Slughorn regarded them with a stern eye. He edged closer to Malfoy and whispered something into his ear, to which Draco solemnly nodded before rummaging in his pocket for a piece of parchment that he handed over.

Hermione and the others watched silently through the exchange, none the wiser as to what Slughorn had asked of the blond boy. The professor shuffled over to his desk and placed the folded piece of parchment onto the table top then turned back to the class with a smile.

"Today will be a practical day to get your brains working, chugga-chugga," said Slughorn, with a tight yet cheerful smile. They were to make a relatively simple potion since they hadn't been taught properly in over a year and needed to get into the swing of things again.

Unlike the severe strokes of Severus Snape, Slughorn wrote in a curly script on the chalkboard:

Homework:

Write ten inches on the effects of aged ingredients and why this would affect a potion's i) consistency ii) taste iii) strength iv) impact.

Read chapter 1-3 of N.E.W.T level Advanced Potion Making.

Q) Using your current knowledge, produce an ingredient list and recipe for Veritaserum.

Q) Write the effects of each ingredient to your Veritaserum recipe were it to be past its expiry.

Hermione estimated that the first piece of homework would at least be twenty inches long. She mentally made a note to perform some finger exercises before starting that particular task. The two final questions were a little trickier, but she was confident that she knew the process.

Still lost in thought, Hermione only became aware of her surroundings when Parvati whispered to her a quick "fuck, Hermione", that several people had been reshuffled to sit at other desks. It was clear that Slughorn had asked the class to mix up the seating arrangement so that the houses would mingle more.

Begrudgingly, several Slytherin and Gryffindor students got up to move places, and so Hermione watched as Parvati sat next to Millicent Bulstrode and found Pansy Parkinson had taken her place. Hermione still regarded Pansy with a sceptical and suspicious eye and so did not make any effort to speak to the witch, which suited them both as Pansy was not going to interact with her either.

Hermione noted that Harry had swapped with Malfoy, so he was sitting with Blaise Zabini instead of Ron. She turned to look at Ron behind her and gave him a sympathetic smile. Malfoy caught her reaction to the new set-up, his stormy and intense eyes making her turn quickly to face the front again.

Now and then, Hermione glanced over to Pansy who although was a few steps behind her in the potion making process was adept in the skill. She seemed impatient with the class, producing a sigh every so often, also avoiding speaking to any of the surrounding Gryffindors.

Hermione stirred her potion to completion and left it off the heat at the top of her desk for inspection. She glanced over to the other side of the room to see that Harry and Blaise were ignoring each other. She turned to Ron and Malfoy. Ron seemed to some steps behind in his potion, but he was being slow and deliberate with his actions and reading the textbook twice. Malfoy had also finished his work and was sitting at his desk, hands interlocked in front of him as he leaned on them with his chin. He was staring into space but with deep concentration.

Hermione straightened her back and got off her stool to walk over to Ron.

"You have a good colour there, Ron." She remarked, looking into his cauldron. His potion was, in fact, a deeper shade of green than it should've been but only due to over-cooking, which she attributed to the fact that he was taking his time over it. Ron grunted in response.

"Would you like me to help?"

"No."

Hermione raised her brows at his dismissive tone.

"I was just wondering… I finished early… thought you might want some company…?" She asked with a quick glance at Malfoy who had been eying her out of the corner of his eye. He quickly looked away but seemed unabashed that Hermione caught him interested in their conversation.

"Yeah, alright… do you think that's the right colour?"

Hermione leaned over and peered into the cauldron. The pale green that it should be was the colour of moss.

"Well, it's on the right section of the colour chart." Ron gave a disappointed grunt. Hermione looked around the workstation, then had an idea. "If you were to add moondew, do you think that would make it paler?"

Ron shot her an irritated glare, possibly feeling self-conscious and patronised. Hermione gave him a small smile to try to make him think. "I guess… not?"

Hermione nodded. "You need asphodel milk." Ron gave her a sheepish grin and added the milky liquid to his potion, effectively turning it paler. "You're improving, Ronald. You did everything correctly but not quickly enough so your potion over-brewed."

Ron stirred his potion but didn't acknowledge her compliment. Hermione supposed it was because Malfoy was next to him, although he seemed bored and uninterested in sneering at them.

The class was told to complete their homework by next lesson and that their seating arrangements would alternate, to incite inter-house relationships. Hermione regarded it as a forced way of getting people to interact with each other; perhaps it would help somewhat to alleviate blood prejudices. She was thankful that she wouldn't have to sit next to Pansy for each class, but it also brought the prospect of sitting next to other Slytherin cronies.

Everyone was packing up their materials and edging their way out the door when Hermione clumsily knocked over her inkwell into her bag.

"Oh, no!" whined Hermione. The ink had splattered over her books, her jumper and had also seeped through the bag's material onto her desk. Performing various cleaning spells, she quickly became one of the last students in the room. Hermione sighed when she saw that neither Harry or Ron had waited for her. "Boys," she cursed. While cleaning up she noticed that Malfoy had strode past her to talk to Slughorn.

"Professor?"

"Ah, Mr Malfoy. What is it?"

"You need to sign my Performance Review, sir."

"Oh, yes! Right you are, Mr Malfoy. It's a terrible shame that we have to do this, but I can't say I can't blame them, right m'boy?" Slughorn laughed awkwardly.

Hermione looked slyly up and over at Malfoy who only grimaced and nodded as he waited for the paper to be signed.

"I'll have to take note of your tardiness…."

"Professor, I was held back by Professor Duffeling – she couldn't find her quill."

From his tone, Hermione imagined that Professor Duffeling might have held Malfoy back to make sure he was late for his next lesson... Of course, she couldn't be sure, but his statement seemed genuine enough.

"Not to worry, not to worry – I often lose my quill, and when it does crop up, it's usually right in front of my eyes. Mind you, that's because I jinxed some of my personal effects to make themselves noticed when I've lost them. Comes quite in handy!" Slughorn finished the write-up and grinned wetly at the boy. "Maybe I ought to show Professor Duffeling how to do it, eh?"

Malfoy smiled sardonically in return but accepted the parchment that was held out to him with a nod.

Hermione managed to clear her mess away and left the Potions lab just in front of Malfoy. The quiet hallway suddenly became a performance for both of their heels to clap their way towards the Entrance Hall and on to lunch.

Hermione couldn't help but feel self-conscious as she strolled paces in front of the infamous man, who made no effort to distance himself from her. She chewed on her lip, feeling obliged to fill the silence.

"So, did you enjoy your summer?" Hermione chirped, looking over her shoulder, catching the man already staring at her. His stony face quickly deepened into narrowed eyes and a tense frown on his sharp features. Realising her mistake, Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip apologetically.

"I didn't mean…" She faltered. "I'm sorry…" She added pathetically. Malfoy seemed to want to ignore her attempt at conversation, and now that Hermione had a chance to chastise herself, she realised it was an odd enough approach anyway. They weren't friends – he was her enemy, her tormentor, he had watched her be tortured – how would she have acted if he started making conversation with her. Probably disturbed and suspicious.

They continued walking towards the staircase to the entrance hall.

"Did you have a good summer–"

"–what?"

Malfoy expelled a hushed chuckle, finding amusement in Hermione's surprised and unguarded expression.

"Your summer?" He repeated. Hermione raised her brows in understanding.

"Oh, um… It was… It was difficult."

There was no point denying it; any other answer would be a blatant and pretentious lie. Malfoy nodded in response. They arrived at the Entrance Hall and were each soon swept by the hungry crowd to their destinations.


Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far – let me know your thoughts and opinions because you lovely readers might spark some more ideas (although, I'm currently writing chapter 27..!) I say this because although I've written many chapters, some places I need a little poke to make it something I'm completely happy with. So bare with me if updates aren't super fast because I'm still in editor mode. Also, I'm not finished by a long shot but I know where I want it to go, yippee!

Some chapters will be 1,000 words, others 7,000. It is what it is. This is my first Harry Potter fic and I'm trying to make it both book and movie compliant (I know there are major differences) so if you spot something that wasn't in the books then it was in the films... or I made it up. I'm from the UK so UK spelling has been used; if you notice a mistake please let me know and I will try to edit it :)

Of course, Harry Potter belongs to the magnificent J.K Rowling.

– Tooxi