Draco's POV:
I woke up at seven o'clock, feeling more worn out than I had when I went to sleep. I padded lightly to the bathroom and started the shower. Grabbing a green towel and setting it on the rack next to the shower, I stripped down and stepped into the steaming shower, welcoming the prickling heat that woke me up.
After about fifteen minutes, I turned the water off and got out, drying my hair and body off with the towel before wrapping it around my waist. Just as I was about to start my hair routine, a polite knock sounded on the door.
"What do you want, Granger?" I sighed.
"I need to use the loo," her muffled voice came through the door.
I put down the comb I'd been holding on the counter next to my sink and opened the door, allowing her in. She muttered a "Thanks," before closing the door behind me. The temperature in the hallway was much cooler than in the bathroom, causing goosebumps to erupt on my still-damp skin. Rather than freeze in just my towel, I returned to my bedroom and got out my school uniform; slim-fitting black slacks, a white button-down shirt, green and silver Slytherin tie, black socks and shoes, grey sweater with green trim, and finally my Slytherin robes, my Head Boy badge pinned over my heart.
The sink turned off and I reentered the hallway, patiently waiting for Granger to exit so I could finish my hair. She opened the door and practically fled the loo, keeping her head down as she closed her bedroom door behind her swiftly. I shook off her erratic behavior as nerves for the first day of classes, and walked over to my sink. With great care I combed my hair back just enough to make it look professional, yet still messy enough to make girls urge to mess it up further. I smirked at myself in the mirror, suddenly feeling very confident about my last, first day of school, ever. I put my hair products away in the cabinet and went back into my bedroom to retrieve the books I'd need for classes today.
Hermione's POV:
Surprisingly, taking Harry's advice had been relatively easy. He wasn't being an arse to me so I didn't have to be one back to him. It was actually kind of nice, for once. Although, I was nervous how the first day of classes would go considering we had every class together now since he was taking Defence Against the Dark Arts.
I was still wary of his badgering me about the memory of the Battle of Hogwarts, but if he didn't bring it up, I wouldn't either. I figured I would just let things develop at a slow pace and not push anything. It was clear from last night he wasn't willing to accept my help yet; even though I could see he desperately needed it. What I refrained from telling him last night was that I'd been having nightmares too. Almost every night I watched as Fred was killed right before my very eyes; as Lavender Brown was mauled by Fenrir Greyback; as countless schoolmates of ours were flung aside by Death Eaters, Acromantulas, and Giants alike in the frenzy of battle. I watched as Hagrid carried Harry in his arms, limp as a ragdoll, believing he was dead and that Voldemort had won.
I could only imagine the nightmares Malfoy was experiencing. Crookshanks meowed, and that shook me out of my memories into the present day. Today was the first day of my last year at Hogwarts, and I was Head Girl. I had a job to do, and I would do it well, even if it meant hiding any anger I felt towards Malfoy behind a mask of deceptive calm and kindness.
Sitting in the chair in front of my vanity, I deftly applied some light mascara and minimal concealer to hide the already forming bags under my eyes—no thanks to the constant nightmares and war flashbacks whenever I'd fall asleep. Wiping the excess off with a tissue, I began working on my hair. Five minutes in, I gave up and straightened it with a quick spell and fishtail braided it, opting for simplicity today. Satisfied with how it looked, I threw on my uniform and grabbed my book bag, giving Crookshanks one last pet before leaving my room.
Draco's POV:
Twenty minutes later found me sitting in my armchair by the fire, waiting for Granger to finish getting ready. Staring into the fireplace, I couldn't get my mind off of last night.
The nightmare I'd been having was different than usual. Instead of me being tortured by the Dark Lord, I watched Granger being tortured by my father on the floor of the drawing room in the manor, almost exactly like she'd been tortured by Aunt Bellatrix about the Gringotts break-in. Except it was just me in the room with her, my mother nowhere to be found, and we seemed a few years older than we were now. He was alternating between Cruciatus curses and physical abuse, much like he did to me as a child when I did something wrong.
I'd had the strongest desire to help her but I seemed to have been body bound, forced to watch helplessly. Lucius's words were too quiet for me to hear what he was interrogating her about, but her muttered cries and pleas for forgiveness were almost unbearable. After giving him an unsatisfactory answer, he'd thrown another vicious Cruciatus at her, her body writhing on the floor, blood from numerous small cuts oozing and pooling underneath her. Rage filled my veins as I watched, and just as her screams reached a peak, the real Granger woke me up.
The sudden change in her appearance had freaked me out, and I immediately shut down, refusing to tell her I'd just had a dream about her, one in which she was tortured by my father and I sat by and watched, just like last year. It would've been too big a blow for her to handle so soon in the year. So, naturally, I lay awake for the next hour, mulling over what the hell I'd just dreamed about and whether or not it was a premonition or just a reimagined nightmare. Mother always said I'd had some Seer in me, but it wasn't prominent enough for it to be of real concern, so I didn't tell anyone about it. It only became a concern to me when a few of my dreams as a child and preteen came true sooner or later. I couldn't tell if this nightmare was a vision, but if it was, then I'd try my damndest to prevent it from happening.
I tore my gaze away from the fire as I heard her feet on the steps, expecting the usual frumpy, modest school uniform she'd been wearing since we first started here. My eyes were not ready for the change they saw.
Her skirt actually revealed a small portion of leg above the knee and her sweater was formfitting enough to make it look like she had some womanly curves underneath it. Her Gryffindor robes pulled closely around her form—she must have gotten them fitted for her for once. Needless to say, she actually looked like a woman in charge, and that was something I could appreciate. The other part of my brain was telling me she was still the insufferable know-it-all muggleborn who beat me in every single class and I shouldn't trust this deceivingly appealing image of her. Granger had come into her own over the past couple of years, and I'd been a blind bat to it until now. I quickly realized I'd been staring and coughed, looking anywhere but her.
She adjusted her grip on her book bag awkwardly and moved towards the portrait hole. "Come on, Malfoy. We've got Gryffindor and Slytherin first years to take down to Herbology after breakfast," she intoned politely.
"How long do we have to do that for?" I whined, somewhat daunted with the task of shepherding forty, not twenty, first years down to the greenhouses.
"It's only for the first two weeks, no need to get your pants in a twist. We'll just have to rush to Potions afterwards," she replied.
Drawing a blank on a witty response, I closed my mouth and picked up my school bag, slinging it over my shoulder.
I followed her out, confused with her sudden change in attitude. I figured Potter talked her into playing nice with me, which made sense. We walked down to breakfast in somewhat amiable silence. I split off when we entered the Great Hall to sit by Blaise, Pansy, Millicent, and Theo. Setting my bag down on the bench next to me, I pulled out my class schedule one last time to look over it again.
M: Potions, Potions, [open*], Lunch, [open*], Defense, Dinner, Head Duties.
T: Adv. Runes, Charms, Charms, Lunch, [open*], Adv. Arithmancy, Dinner.
W: Adv. Transfiguration, History, Herbology, Lunch, [open*], [open], Dinner, Prefect Meeting.
R: Adv. Runes, Charms, Potions, Lunch, Adv. Arithmancy, Defense, Dinner, Astronomy.
F: Adv. Transfiguration, History, [open], Lunch, Herbology, Herbology, Dinner.
*Will be teaching War and Peace to fourth and fifth years with Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, and Dean Thomas.
I stuffed it back into an outer pocket on my bag and began filling my plate, occasionally glancing across the hall to look at Granger, who was in an animated conversation with Potter and Weasley, gesturing wildly with her hands. For some reason, her new and improved attitude made me want to talk to her more, but I didn't know why. Or, perhaps it was just my bad memories involving her were being replaced with much better, brighter ones. But, if we were ever going to get along fully, she needed to get her memory back from the Battle of Hogwarts; that much was certain to me. She had to know why I'd chosen to save the girl I'd hated with such passion for seven years, why I didn't even know my true reasons for doing it myself.
Realizing I'd been staring at her for the past few minutes, I returned my attention to my breakfast, finishing the rest of my eggs in two large bites. Double Potions was going to be bloody unbearable if Professor Imohera turned out to be awful. I glanced over at Granger again to see her standing and slinging her bag over her shoulder, frantically motioning the first year Gryffindors towards the entrance. I checked my watch and realized we were almost going to be late; I followed her lead and ushered all of the Slytherin first years towards the door as she herded the Gryffindor bunch towards us.
"Keep up, you lot! No wandering off after Herbology, either! Professor Sprout's assistant Mr. Longbottom will be escorting you to Defense Against the Dark Arts straight after class ends!" Granger reminded them loudly.
Groans came from the entire group. "Oi, do you want House points taken away or not?" I said testily, not in the mood to deal with rowdy first years. Their grumbles quieted immediately. "Thought so."
The rest of the short walk was subdued, but the first years got more excited as they neared the greenhouses. Once we were certain Longbottom had them all, we turned around and quickly made our way back to the castle and down to the dungeons for Double Potions.
Hermione's POV:
The sounds of our shoes slapping the floor echoed off the walls as we easily navigated the twists and turns of the dimly lit dungeon passageways. There was an electric feel in the air, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I sneaked a glance at the man striding along next to me, uncaring that I thought he had an attractive physique—it was common knowledge many of the older girls pined after him during fifth and sixth year.
Puberty and years of Quidditch had treated Malfoy well; that was for sure. His clothes fit him extremely well, something I'd have been ashamed to admit to three years ago. His high cheekbones and sharp jawline definitely weren't bad to look at, either. Even with the bulkiness of his robes, I could tell his shoulders had broadened out since sixth year, and he'd gotten even taller, now standing almost a full foot taller than me. The trademark white-blond hair was carefully crafted to look just messy enough; I'd have to take his products from him some time to see how he dealt without them.
"Enjoying the view, Granger?" the subject of my perusal smirked at me.
"Shove off, Malfoy, you did the same to me earlier!" I replied, recalling the way he'd appraised me in the common room before we left for breakfast. It'd made me feel slightly uncomfortable, but also somewhat validated in spending the money on properly fitting new robes for school this past August. I felt more confident when he'd just stared at me, clearly expecting my robes to be like they'd been in fifth and sixth year.
We fell into an uncomfortable silence then, suddenly extremely aware of our close proximity. The Potions classroom could not have appeared any sooner. We slipped inside just in the nick of time to join the small crowd of students waiting for Professor Imohera to make his first appearance.