A/N: Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. I merely try to make the impossible coupling of Hermione and Draco work out.
After having rushed to fetch Harry's cloak, begging him not to ask questions yet, she was rushing from compartment to compartment, trying to locate Malfoy and his new buddy, Ortellado. How could she have believed him to be nice so easily? Why had she acted like such a complete fool and child in front of Malfoy and the likes of him? Well, she thought bitterly. I can say I've endured worse. She kept walking until she spotted them, sprawled over a few seats, Pansy and her friends sitting in their laps. Wrinkling her nose, she opened the compartment door and screamed, distracting them from the whores within. Anthony looked up but, seeing nothing, resumed caressing a blonde girl's hips. Yuck, she thought dismally. Boys, I swear!
The emboldened girl entered the compartment and slammed it shut, shattering the glass. Pansy squealed her high-pitched cry, deafening Hermione slightly for a few seconds. I suppose hot bodies come with a price, she thought nastily, wishing the worst for the Slytherin girl.
"Is that a custom in the trains too?" Ortellado asked lazily saying Reparo, while nibbling at the girl's ear. She moaned and he smirked. "Viola darling, are you telling me you aren't accustomed to that kind of behavior?" Hermione nearly gagged. Viola seductively raised an eyebrow, perhaps suggesting public places were not a common make-out area. Either way, Hermione found herself praying Anthony would be placed in Slytherin, far away from her.
It was minutes before Hermione could move at all, being nudged between Blaise Zabini and his whore Mathilda. And she was a Ravenclaw; what has the school turned into? She kept watching until the plump sweet-cart lady passed by their compartment, her stomach grumbled loudly giving her away. To everyone's surprise, Malfoy lunged forward and tore the cloak off by her head immediately, clearly experienced in the cloak-bearers' discovering. She gasped and sat helpless in the middle of a compartment-full of Slytherins. Especially this bunch; on top of Anthony Ortellado being there…Malfoy grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, lifting her closer to him, his face ablaze with fury.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her dangerously, daring her to lie. She gasped, scared for her life. Ortellado just sat there and looked at her through narrowed eyes; Zabini smirked evilly, looking her up and down.
"I-I'm. Well I was…I." annoyed at her own stupidity, she decided to be brave. "Fuck off, Malfoy. I'm not the one converting the first newcomer to evil." He slapped her. Again, may I add?
Anthony stood and walked over to her, "Granger, stop being so stupid. I'm stronger than your pathetic brain may think; devilishly handsome too…" he looked her up and down like Zabini had, his face forming a smirk. "You can stay for fun too, if you'd like…"
She tore herself from the small group that was forming around her, but not quickly enough for Blaise, who pushed her into the group of girls sitting around Malfoy. She gulped. How do you get out of this one?
Malfoy grabbed her by the neck and shoved her out of their compartment. Oh, that's how. She thought massaging her neck, thankful, for once in her life, that Malfoy was alive. She ran back to her compartment, and handed Harry the cloak.
He asked her what had happened for the third time that day. "I just wanted to know what they were all doing in there with the new guy," she said, finally explaining when she sat down. "I snuck in, but they found me out before anything good had been said. I don't know what I'd been expecting really…" she pondered over everything that was said. Just that the Slytherins were a bunch of whores. "Anyway Malfoy threw me out almost as soon as he saw me. I suppose he was being nice and getting me out of there. I'll have to thank Ginny." She added, speaking more to herself than anyone at the moment. After a few more minutes of discussion and chastising her for having been so stupid as to think the Slytherins had anything to talk about now that Voldemort was gone, Hermione leaned her head against Ron's shoulder and fell asleep.
--
When she awoke two hours later, the train had stopped. Ron was lightly shaking her awake. "Wake up, love. It's time to go, we're back." She smiled sleepily and yawned, forgetting entirely about the whole "Slytherin compartment dilemma."
And then she realized: they didn't know who the Head Girl and Boy were. That was strange; didn't they usually receive the badges by mail before the start of term? She shook it off and took Ron's waiting hand; she was happy they were together, looked forward to a new year at Hogwarts as boyfriend and girlfriend. She giggled to herself, surprising Harry and Ron, whose eyebrows skyrocketed. Shaking her head, she squeezed Ron's hand, grabbed Harry by the arm and led them out of their compartment.
They met up with Ginny and Luna in a carriage; both were chatting about the new classes they were to be taking and theorizing over how many free periods they were finally going to receive. "Loads." Ron informed them, "remember last year Harry? We had plenty of time to relax-" but Hermione interrupted.
"Don't think it's going to be all fun and games! Those free periods will be spent studying and doing homework soon enough-"
"Yea but not for a while, so enjoy the first few weeks while you can!" Ron told them, ignoring Hermione. She scowled and they all laughed. Hermione, Hermione.
"Anyway, I thought you were the one saying you wanted to have loads of fun this year…" Harry started pointedly. "Don't tell me you're scratching that one."
She momentarily thought of Ron, Anthony and Malfoy. Malfoy. He better not become Head Boy…She was pretty sure she was to become Head Girl; it was to be expected after all; she was the only to give a damn about anything in plenty of their classes. Not to mention the amount of classes she was taking in the first place.
"I've been thinking I want to get into an archeological field of work. My parents and I visited Bill and his work in Egypt over the summer and I was completely fascinated." Hermione said, "That might shrink the number of classes I'm taking."
The whole carriage laughed and cheered. Free periods for all!
The carriage came to a stop in front of the gates and they all got out, Hermione between Harry and Ron, her arms linking them. It wasn't until she realized yet again that this was her final time in this position that she took off towards the castle, sprinting and yelling, trying to treasure these moments forever. It wasn't until half the seventh years had joined her that Professor McGonagall stuck her head out the front door, pursing her lips at first, but softening her expression at the tears in most of the students' eyes.
The old woman stepped aside and let them all in, telling them to hush up only when Peeves entered the Entrance Hall, curious at all the commotion.
"Please!" she said over the yelling and various conversations. "I wouldn't want to dock points off Houses already." She ended sternly, looking at Hermione who remembered the Head Girl badge and quieted immediately, turning to face her fellow classmates and drawing a line across her neck, motioning to cut the noise.
McGonagall seemed surprised at first by the girl's methods but smiled, satisfied, when the room had gone considerably quiet. She nodded at Hermione and moved out of the way to let them all pass into the Great Hall for a final start-of-term feast.
On her way to Gryffindor table, she saw Malfoy and Ortellado deep in conversation. Probably plotting something already, she thought, uninterested. All she wanted to know was who the Head Boy and Girl were going to be. Reading her mind, Ginny wondered aloud, "Hermione, who do you think the Head Boy is going to be? I mean, I think we're all pretty sure you're the new Head Girl though you aren't wearing a badge yet…" All the Gryffindors nodded vigorously, taking seats as close to Hermione as possible, while being nudged by Ron and Harry who sat on either sat of her.
She glanced once more at the Slytherin table and realized that Anthony had already taken a seat though as far as she knew, he hadn't been sorted. Maybe it's temporary, she thought. Maybe he was sorted before term started…?
As all the students filed into the room and the first years filed in, Flitwick placed a stool in front of the school, teachers and students all being able to see it. The Sorting Hat twitched when Flitwick called the first name on the list to be sorted. McGonagall sat in the Headmaster's chair, Professor Slughorn and Sprout on either side of her. Hagrid waved at the Golden Trio when Hermione caught his eye. She smiled and winked, focusing her attention on the tiny first year India Berlin, who had been blinded by the hat. The hat called "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the girl ran to her new House, smiling brightly.
Hermione smiled at the eagerness of the little girl to start at Hogwarts, remembering the time she had been sorted into Gryffindor…Her focus on the present dissolving as the memory took over, her young determination and fierce pride had won her over to Gryffindor though the hat had actually wanted to place her in Ravenclaw.
She jerked out of her reverie when the entire Great Hall's silence was broken; Anthony Ortellado was the final student to be sorted as he walked up to Professor Flitwick, placed the Sorting Hat on his head, took a seat on the stool and waited.
It was a few minutes before anyone moved, the Hat taking longer time than anyone could ever remember; longer even than Harry Potter's sorting. Finally though, the tear which was the Hat's mouth opened and announced "SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione's fears were confirmed; this was not a friend. Though she had previously wished for him to be far from her, she was sad that the house had obtained one more partisan of evil. O. K. maybe that's a little much.
He winked at her. O. K. maybe it isn't.
When everyone had settled down, McGonagall stood and announced the usual terms with which students at Hogwarts had to comply if they were to remain at the school, reminding them that Filch's office was open to any student who wished to see the list of banned objects.
Hermione had started to get impatient at the lack of knowledge she was dying to find out when the new Headmistress finally started on the Head Girl and Boy question.
"The Head Boy and Girl this year, as always, are the best students of each sex in their year. They have earned this through six years of proving themselves and I'm pleased to announce that Hermione Granger-" there were loud cheers from the Gryffindors and many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs as they tried to pat her on the back, "and Draco Malfoy-" boos issued from all House tables but the Slytherin one, which proudly smirked and gave him the thumbs-up. "Will assume the posts this year. The reason this news is so delayed is because the two dormitories, formally separated, have been combined so as to make space for our new seventh-year student. The Head Boy and Girl will share a common room and bathroom." Hermione gasped in horror; Malfoy looked disgusted. "There is no arguing this point; further instructions will be given at the end of the feast. Enjoy!" she added hastily as an outburst was soon to break out. The food magically appeared on hundreds of platters and soon the only noise issuing from the Great Hall was the clinking of forks and knives on plates.