Hermione goes to her first classes without Harry and Ron. More tomorrow. Ta ta.

S. White

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 11 – The First Day Back

Hermione awoke early the next morning at the sound of her alarm clock. She pushed back the curtains of her four poster bed, and it took her a minute to remember where she was. The bed was larger than the ones they usually had in the house dormitories and the room was much smaller, but of course it would be, her last dormitory had been big enough for four girls. She glanced at the clock and saw she had a few hours before the first classes would start. Pushing herself off the lovely bed she looked around the room.

She had a wardrobe and a dresser of a warm wood with candles on top of them and the stone walls had red Gryffindor banners covering them. There was also an empty bookshelf against the wall opposite her bed. She picked up her wand and opened her trunk, sending the books inside onto the shelf with a flick, almost filling it. But she peered into her beaded back and flicked her wand again, holding the bag away from herself as books soared out of it. She didn't take all of them out, since she wanted some of them around in case she had to leave the school in a hurry. Hermione surveyed her work with satisfaction; she had even got the books to organize themselves by subject, with this year's textbooks on the top shelf. Now she could attend to less important matters, but the room already seemed much more hers.

Hermione walked to the windows and looked out on a breathtaking view of the Hogwarts grounds. She could see the vast Forbidden Forest stretching out below her and from the windows on the other side of the room she could see the edge of the forest, a little of the lake, and Hagrid's hut. Her feet were chilly on the stones of the floor and she could feel the colder air around the window, but the room was warm and she thought she could feel the heat coming off the walls. She stood, admiring the view for some time before she wrenched her eyes away and turned back to the room.

She began waving her wand again to send her robes into the wardrobe and her underwear and muggle clothes into the dresser. It was nice to have more of a room, she considered, as she placed photographs on the dresser where other girls might put hair accessories or make up. There were a few static photos of her family and a couple moving photos of Harry, Ron, and her, or all the Weasley's with Harry. She also stuck a few newspaper clippings to the frame of the mirror that rose above the dresser. She had a copy of the article which had contained Kingsley's speech at the memorial for the battle and she had not been able to resist keeping the story announcing their Order of Merlins.

Having finished sticking her clippings to the mirror she looked around happily and began to dress. Her bag was already ready with quills, ink, and parchment, but there was no point in bringing it down to breakfast when she would have to come back up to get her books anyway. She was ready quickly, taming her hair and adjusting her beaded bag so that it was invisible under her robes. Her wand safely in her pocket she descended the stairs and paused to look admiringly at the common room before stepping up to the wall, which moved obligingly out of the way.

Hermione had to dodge Peeves once, but otherwise had an uneventful walk down to the Great Hall and a much shorter one than it might have been given her knowledge of the castle. Just because she hadn't approved of Harry and Ron's rule breaking hadn't meant she had gone around with her eyes closed. When she reached the Great Hall Dean waved at her from halfway down the Gryffindor table and she joined him with a smile.

"Nice rooms, eh?" He asked, grinning at her.

"Very," She agreed, "It's nice of them to create all this for us. I'm assuming you have all your own rooms too?"

"Yeah. They've done them all up special for each person's house too. Ernie showed me his and its all yellow with Hufflepuff banners."

"Wow. I was so tired I didn't really even look around until this morning, and the other girls had gone to bed before I went up." Hermione said as she buttered some toast.

"Oh, yeah, what did McGonagall want to talk to you about?" Dean asked eagerly.

"Oh nothing much," Hermione said, blushing under the scrutiny. "I was hoping to get a couple of private lessons with her."

Dean was about to speak again when they were interrupted by the owl post, to Hermione's relief. Dean was looking a little too interested in her invented story and even if she trusted him, part of the point was to keep her animagus attempt to as few people as possible. An owl soared down to her with a copy of the Daily Prophet, and she scanned the pages of the paper, eating her toast unconsciously.

"Anything interesting?" Dean asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Kingsley is putting things back to normal, and there were a bunch of muggle borns welcomed back into the country. Oh dear, they caught an escaped giant!"

"They did?!" Dean jumped and only just avoided slopping eggs down his front.

"Yes, and it looks like they're going to have to execute it. That's a pity, but I suppose it has to be done. If they thought they could just release it I'm sure they would." Hermione said mournfully. It was a mark of her trust in Kingsley that she didn't much object. Those giants had been horrible, and if they tried to release it, it would probably try to attack people anyway. She had been trying to overcome her fear of giants though, and feel better towards Grawp, too, since she knew what it meant to Hagrid.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Thomas?" came a cheerful voice. Hermione looked up into the bright face of Professor Miranda. She had been right about the woman's eyes, they did twinkle like Dumbledore's had. Now that she was closer, she could see that Professor Miranda also had laugh lines creasing her face as well. She extended a hand to each of them in turn and they both shook.

"Professor Julie Miranda at your service. I'm very pleased to meet you two. Professor McGonagall has told me a little of what you did to fight Voldemort last year, and of course I've read about you, Ms. Granger. I'm very pleased to be your new Head of House. Please, feel free to stop by my office anytime, for anything; questions, comments, or snide remarks." She said with a grin. Hermione smiled back without a thought. She liked this woman already.

"Thank you, ma'am." Dean said, grinning back.

"You're welcome." Professor Miranda was practically beaming. "Now, I have to give you your schedules..." She flipped through the sheets of parchment she was holding until she found the right ones and gave them to their owners. "And I'm also to ask if either of you want to sign up for the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts."

"I'd like to!" Dean said eagerly, "I play Chaser."

"Fantastic! I'll add you to the list then, Mr. Thomas." She said, scribbling a name on the top sheet of parchment. "Have a good first day, you two, and remember, my door is open any time!" She said with a wave before moving down the table. Hermione noticed with a certain amount of satisfaction that she shook the hands of the second years sitting a little away from them.

"I think I might be able to make the team this year. I haven't been practicing much yet, but I think the last year has actually helped my reflexes." Dean was saying as Hermione scanned her timetable. She made a few "mm"s when Dean paused and she judged she was supposed to, as she always did when the talk was irreversibly fixed on Quidditch. She didn't mind watching the game, sure, but she didn't understand how people got so worked up about it.

Hermione was much more concerned with her timetable. She had seven courses, which was a few more than normal for a student in their final year, but she wasn't concerned with that. She was used to the work after all. She still had a few free periods, which would be useful for getting her work done. But for now she saw she had Charms first thing Monday morning.

"What are you taking, Dean?" She asked to divert the conversation from Quidditch. He glanced over at her timetable and she showed it to him.

"Not as much as you." He said, looking a little surprised. "Just Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology. Hey, we have Charms in 20 minutes."

"I'll meet you there; I need to get my books." Hermione rose from the table, dropping her last bit of toast.

Dean already had his bag so he went back to polishing off his breakfast as Hermione hurried from the Great Hall. She made her way quickly up the marble stairs, and was thinking about the books she should pack. A glance at her schedule told her she also had Transfiguration that day, so she would need those books too. She would be able to see what Professor Miranda was like in the classroom, which would be interesting.

Suddenly she realized she was halfway to the Gryffindor common room, and ran down another corridor towards their new one. This meant she was slightly out of breath when she told the suit of armour the password and crossed to the girls' staircase. It didn't take long to grab the books she needed, sling her bag over her shoulder, and, after pausing to get her breath back, head down to the common room again. It was empty save for Malfoy who was emerging from the boys' staircase and lengthened his strides to catch up with her.

"Mind if I join you, Granger?" He said, and she thought he sounded a little anxious.

"Feel free," She said.

"Allow me to apologize for my reaction to seeing you by the carriages last night. I was remembering, and I didn't think anyone had seen me."

"That's alright, I was too." Hermione said, with a slight smile. He seemed to relax at this.

"So, how are your books treating you? You haven't been cursed by reading them yet?" He drawled. She laughed, and he seemed a little surprised.

"I trusted you wouldn't curse me, Slytherin or not. Even then, just because someone is a Slytherin, doesn't mean they're bad. Not all Gryffindors are brave, either. Look at Peter Pettigrew. You can't judge people by their house, or before you know them." She said, a little more bravely than she felt, and smiling warmly at Malfoy's pale face. His mask was in place, and her smile faltered on it, but then a tiny smile creased his own lips and the tension released somewhat.

"You must know that I'm trying, Granger. I'm not good at this...niceness." He said, as if it was an unfamiliar and slightly disgusting word. "There hasn't been much of it in my life."

"I understand." She said, nodding as they joined the end of the queue in front of the Charms classroom behind Dean. A few students looked surprised to see the Gryffindor war hero walking with a Slytherin and former Death Eater. There were only eight of them there; it was Mandy Brocklehurst that was the only eighth year not taking Charms. They didn't have to wait long for Professor Flitwick to open the door, but it still was very odd waiting there, and going into the classroom, and sitting down without Harry and Ron. She followed Dean in with Malfoy behind her, seeming lost in thought. She took the seat beside Dean and Malfoy slid into the one beside her automatically. Nott hadn't found a seat yet, so he took the one on Malfoy's other side.

"Earth to Draco." He muttered. "You do realize who you just sat beside, right?"

"Hm?" Malfoy jerked into consciousness and he glanced at Hermione on his left. "Yes, I do. Hermione Granger, Gryffindor and the brains of the Golden Trio." He drawled. "Is there a problem?"

Hermione ducked down and rummaged in her bag to pretend she hadn't heard.

"Okay." Nott said, shrugging. "Just checking."

Professor Flitwick began the class by telling them how serious they must take this year because of their N. E. W. T. exams, and not least because they had the rare chance to repeat a year. Hermione could barely contain her excitement to be back in school and her hand shot up every time Flitwick asked them a question. She earned 20 points for Gryffindor over the course of the class. Malfoy and Dean both looked somewhere between amusement and exasperation as she practically skipped from class, thinking happily of their homework. She turned around when she heard both men sigh, and exchange looks. The Gryffindor and Slytherin realized what they had done and stared at each other for a few seconds, before Dean grinned and Malfoy's mask broke into mild amusement.

They had some time to spare so the three of them slowly made their way down to the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione realized only when they reached the doors of the Great Hall that the other eighth years had caught up, and all eight of them had been walking together. Nott was beside her with a small smile and Dean and Malfoy were talking. The group only split when they entered the hall as first the Hufflepuffs, then Ravenclaws left them. Finally Malfoy, Nott and Zabini nodded to the Gryffindors and found seats at the Slytherin table.

Hermione still had the Charms class buzzing in her head, but Dean only had so much patience for it, and then he lapsed into the silence of contented eating. Just like Harry and Ron. Hermione sat in silence, thinking about how it had been to sit in a class and eating lunch on the first day without them. She had spent days and classes on her own, of course, she had always taken more classes than them, but she couldn't remember not being with them on the first day since their first year.

Once Dean had finished he and Hermione rose and headed for the Transfiguration classroom. Malfoy and Nott joined them in the Entrance Hall with smiles of greeting and the four of them went up to the classroom together. There were only eight of them there again, but this time it was Megan Jones, the kindly Hufflepuff who was not there. Blaise Zabini wandered down the line with haughty ease and cleared his throat behind Malfoy and Nott.

"Ah, yes," Malfoy said, "I'm forgetting my manners. Thomas, Granger, this is Blaise Zabini." Zabini bowed and brushed Hermione's hand with his handsome lips, making her blush. "Ah and this is Theodore Nott." Nott smiled.

"We've met." Zabini said in his deep voice. "At the Slugclub. I believe, like Draco, I have an apology to make for my rudeness there." He said, bowing again to Hermione.

"That's alright, it's the past. Thank you for apologizing though, I appreciate it." She said, not being able to repress a smile as he gave her a very handsome one.

Dean and Malfoy both opened their mouths but were cut off when the door opened and a broadly grinning Professor Miranda beckoned them into the classroom.

"Hello!" She said happily as they all found seats. "I'm so pleased to meet you all. In this class I hope to prepare you for your N. E. W. T. examinations." She went on cheerily for the entire class and soon discovered Hermione's tendency to know answers before the rest of her peers. She even gathered enough courage to whisper a suggestion to Malfoy, who whispered back "10 points to Gryffindor" and smirked at her. She turned red, but also noticed he successfully changed his desk into a dog after that.

Once again all eight of them left the class in one big group and made their way back to their shared common room. Hermione settled herself snugly into an armchair by the fire and pulled out parchment and ink. Dean looked at her in shock.

"You're going to do work?! Already?" He said, looking disappointed. His eyes strayed over to Ernie and Megan who were playing exploding snap. "Mind if I..." He pointed.

"Go ahead." She said with a smile at him, before turning her attention back to her work. Flitwick had assigned them an essay on the Fidelious Charm, which was nice, since it meant she had very little to look up. She had learned quite a bit about how the charm functioned in the previous years, the only thing she would have to check was exactly how to perform the charm. She glanced up from writing as someone dropped into the chair across from her. It was Malfoy.

"Homework already, Granger?" He drawled.

"You have the same homework." She pointed out.

"Yes, you're right there." He said with a sigh. "Mind if I work here?"

"I think I can bear your presence." She said. He looked at her curiously before laughing.

"So how is it you're not surrounded by books like you are in the library?" He said as he pulled out his own parchment, quill, ink, and books.

"Have you been watching me in the library, Malfoy?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, it was hard to miss the Golden Trio." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, as you know, Professor Flitwick asked us about the Fidelious Charm. I happen to already know a lot about that charm." She didn't explain further but Malfoy nodded, understanding. They worked in silence for some time until Hermione pulled out her book.

"I considered using it, you know. I bought a flat in London, and was putting some magical protection on it, but I thought it would be a bit much, besides not having many people I can trust. I couldn't stay in the manor." He said plainly, but she could understand why he wouldn't want to, after everything that had happened there in the last year.

"Some of them must want you just as badly as they want Harry, Ron, or...or me." She said, failing to keep her voice even.

"You coming back to Hogwarts was a very good idea. You helped Potter immensely, you're a muggle born, and not to mention Weasley's girlfriend." He sneered. "Has he proposed yet, Granger?"

"What?" She spluttered, turning very red. "How did you know we're dating?"

"Merlin's beard, Granger, you have very good powers of observation in the classroom, it's about time you applied them in life. Besides seeing the two of you together a few times and the fact that he almost tried to break my nose that one day." He sounded almost exasperated. "And you didn't dispute it at Florean's the last time I saw you in Diagon Alley."

"Yes, well, um." Hermione spluttered, looking mildly uncomfortable.

Her fears about the relationship she was in had been forgotten since the last night of August. She looked down at her notes and opened her mouth to say something, but looked up into Malfoy's face and shut it again. He was improving, but she didn't want to try her luck with him. But she was surprised to see that he was wearing a curious look, and not his usual mask. The only person here she could really talk to now was Ginny. She had a sudden pang of loneliness, here in a comfortable but unfamiliar armchair in a beautiful but unfamiliar common room, sitting across from a face that had only been temporarily friendly. She looked back down again to hide the tears forming in her eyes. Her gaze chanced to fall on her watch.

"It's almost dinner." She said, and began to roll up her essay.

"We have time." He said, looking fixedly at her. His parchment was blank.

They packed up their things and left them on their chairs as the others stood as well. Dean shot her a grin as the group gathered to walk down together.

As she ate, Hermione considered that Malfoy could be lying to her, about buying a flat, trying to win her trust for his own protection. But she didn't feel like that was it. Besides, if it was a ruse of Malfoy's, why were Zabini and Nott being nice to her as well? Because they had the same idea. Well, what about Malfoy being nice to Dean, too? Maybe it was part of the act to make it seem more genuine. She realized that she had been looking at Malfoy over the heads of some Gryffindor second years and he glanced up and smiled at her. She smiled back, blushing, and fixed her eyes on her dinner.

Dean left to get some flying practice in after they ate, and she wished him luck as he disappeared with his broom over his shoulder. Again Malfoy dropped into the seat across from her and silently rolled out his blank parchment. She finished her essay quickly, checking her information with Malfoy, who was rapidly catching up to her. She had to admit, his help had sped up the process. They moved onto Transfiguration next, and by discussing the questions they finished the essay much earlier than Hermione would normally go to bed.

"It's strange," she said, pausing after she rolled up the second essay.

"What is?" Malfoy asked, head down, finishing the last bit on his own.

"I'm used to finishing about an hour from now and then having someone else's work to check afterward." She said, half smiling, stowing the essay in her bag with more care than necessary.

"Sorry, but I don't think you need to read over mine, considering we talked over half of it." Malfoy drawled. "Maybe you can ask Dean, or one of the others."

Hermione smiled back, but kicked off her shoes and curled up tighter in the chair. She missed Harry and Ron already. Did she miss them, or did she expect them? Hogwarts just wasn't the same without them, but she had known it would be very different. She tried to smile at Malfoy to put him at ease, but he still looked suspicious. She considered getting out her things again and writing to Harry and Ron, but decided against it. She had a free period the next day, and she was planning to use it to go visit Hagrid, and perhaps she would spend some time with Ginny. That would make her feel better.