Okay, so sometimes I get really into the characters here. Like, "What would Draco do in this situation?" or "How does Theo's childhood reflect his outlook on that statement." In this chapter in particular, I kept saying to myself, "How the hell would X respond to that?" I try not to make things easier on myself by hitting delete on the last several paragraphs. When I doubt myself, I stop writing and then I get writer's block.

In other news, writing this chapter. The last part has been planned for a long time and I'm glad it could finally be put into writing.

Before coming to Hogwarts, Hermione dreaded the end of summer. Her parents sympathized, of course, but didn't truly understand her situation. Unlike Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were incredibly bubbly and had absolutely no difficulty making friends.

The last week of summer leading up to grade five, she remembered sulking for long periods of time in her bedroom. Despite having only attended one school for her entire life, she was an outcast.

Lunch rolled around on that first day back and, as usual, she found herself eating in the corner of the library. Food was banned, however Mr. Demelo, the kind librarian, seemed to relate to Hermione. The older man would oftentimes bring his own lunch to Hermione's corner and they would talk. These moments were the only times she felt genuinely welcome at her school.

The first day, Mr. Demelo was in a rush to organize the library books, so Hermione ate her sandwich alone in silence, which didn't bother her much. Her maths teacher told them they'd be doing a line graph project later in the year, so she was trying to work out her study schedule.

Perfect, she thought to herself after figuring out her schedule, I'll have plenty of time to learn the material and get a head start on the project. Needing to see her schedule written out, she left the room in search of paper. She was about to round a corner, when she heard her name. She pulled back and listened.

"That freak eats in the library, y'know?"

"Rubbish. Food isn't allowed in there."

"Her and Mr. Demelo are loverrrs," the voice drawled. "How else would you explain it?"

There was a pause. "I dunno. He probably just pities her like all the other adults, 'cause I doubt he's a nonce."

"Shut up, Craig. . . I hear something."

Hermione quickly fled as quietly as she could. Tears were streaming down her face before she reached the library.

Bright and early, Hermione entered the Hospital Wing to check up on the Slytherin boy. Scanning the narrow room, her eyes fell onto Theo, who was standing over one of the beds. She walked over.

"How's he doing?"

Theo's face remained neutral. "Alright. Pomfrey gave him a sleeping draught, so he'll be out until tonight."

When they discovered the boy on their way to dinner, the corridor was too dark to truly see the damage done. Now, in the light, she was able to get a good look.

All over his face and neck were dozens of red, scratch-like marks that ranged from a centimeter to an inch long. The left side of his face was hit the worst, particularly below his eye. Although his arms were under the blanket, Hermione knew similar markings covered his arm.

Theo realized Hermione was studying the young boy. "It was some kind of curse. Probably banned, if this is the result."

Who could do such a thing? Hermione internally seethed. What could this young boy have possibly done to warrent such a curse? Her face reddened in silent anger.

Her brother pursed his lips in thought without allowing his anger to consume him. He needed to think rationally. "We look after our own, Hermione."

With her own thoughts running wild, she nodded.

"No," Theo said to her, turning to fully face her, "I don't think you understand. We look after our own."

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Yes, Theo. I heard you the first time. Slytherins look after-" Understanding dawned on her and she realized what he was implying. "-No. . . I'm Head Girl. I can't condone that."

A corner of Theo's lip turned up. "You don't have to be there. . ."

"We aren't going to fight violence with violence, Theo!" Madam Pomfrey poked her head around one of the privacy screens to scowl at Hermione. She shot the older woman a smile and feigned innocence. Pomfrey's head disappeared around the screen. "If we hurt whoever did this, we're no better than they are," she finished in a whisper.

He turned away in a visual scoff. "They won't get away with this, Hermione. I'm sorry. I know you still feel like a Gryffindor, but we're your house now." He paused. "At some point, you'll need to come to terms with that." Theo moved to leave, but she reached a hand out towards his forearm. He stopped, inclining his head slightly to indicate he was listening.

"I'm going to talk to McGonagall. We're going to do something about this. I promise." Her voice was confident, but Theo still wasn't convinced. She took her hand off his arm, and he walked out of the Hospital Wing.

She needed to act before the Slytherins did anything rash. She would never be able to unite the houses if her housemates sought revenge. Turning back towards the young boy, she conjured a dark blue peony and placed it on his bedside table.

Aside from an alchemy explosion during her second class that morning, Hermione's day was fairly uneventful. She had a pile of homework weighing on her mind, but she knew that she would need to put it off until after dinner. She gave Theo her word that she would speak to McGonagall.

Once her free period rolled around, Hermione ditched her heavy bag in the Slytherin common room and left for the Headmistress's office. She then realized, in that moment, that she didn't know how she would approach the subject with her former head of house.

She knew she couldn't jump in and say that something needed done for house unity. Obviously McGonagall knew that much. But if everyone knew there was an issue with interhouse relations, why wasn't anything being done to solve the problem? Had the Hogwarts' staff given up?

One of her solutions that she came up with in her brainstorm was an inter-house program, of sorts. Hermione's idea was to pair students up that were from different houses and have them do. . . something. Her thought hadn't fully developed yet. She didn't think something would need to be done so urgently.

Another one of her thoughts, noticeably more thought-out, was to abolish the houses for a day. Logistically, it would be fairly simple: they could charm everyone's uniforms to temporarily be the same, no house points would be awarded or deducted, and all students would sleep in the Great Hall that night. As thoughtful as this idea was, she knew McGonagall and the professors would never approve. Although the house system promotes segregation, it's the foundation on which the school is built.

Hermione looked up and realized she was at the gargoyle entrance to the Headmistress's office. She smiled, remembering being here with Draco and making a fool of herself. "Needlework."

The statues granted her entrance and she moved onto the staircase. Once at the top of the rotation, she knocked. McGonagall beckoned her inside and she opened the door.

The older woman sat behind the grand oak desk and seemed to be crocheting an elaborate blanket with incredible focus. She looked up over the top of her glasses to peer at Hermione, who visibly shrank at the look on McGonagall's face.

"Yes, Miss Nott?" she said, irritated at the interruption.

Hermione was surprised to see that the Headmistress had enough downtime to crochet, but decided not to press her on this matter. "Erm. . . I went to see the first year in the hospital wing this morning and it got me thinking that we need to do something about house unity. . ." So much for being eloquent, she immediately thought to herself.

McGonagall, in an air of disinterest, gave out a sigh. She set her half-finished project down and gave Hermione all her attention. "You should know-"

"- Before you say anything," she interrupted, "I think I should explain. I know you're aware of the issue the houses are facing right now, but we need to actually do something about it. I know I'm only the Head Girl, but I have had quite a few ideas. I don't know how many of these ideas you'll approve of, but I do think they are good starting points for further discussion. Now, I didn't expect to need these ideas so soon, so know they aren't finalized by any means. The first-"

"-Miss Nott-"

"-The first, which you are much more likely to approve of, is an inter-house program. We could pair students off with each other-"

"-Miss Nott. Please-"

"-These students could form a team for different events that we would host-"

"-MISS NOTT!"

Hermione's eyes widened and she grew quiet immediately.

McGonagall, glad to have finally stopped the rant, pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation. "While I admire your passion, Mr. Malfoy already came to me for this exact problem. We have already decided upon the action we will take. Now, is there anything else?"

Draco came to talk to McGonagall already? Hermione wondered internally. "What are you planning on doing?"

Wanting to get back to her blanket, McGonagall answered, "We will be doing career groups. If you want further details, I suggest you talk to your fellow Head of House." With that, she pulled the blanket back onto her lap and resumed her craft, dismissing her.

Hermione left the room in confusion. Although she was disappointed that she couldn't put her ideas into effect, she was impressed with Draco for taking such quick action. He was already a step ahead of her.

She still had half of her free period left until the next class, so Hermione retrieved her book bag, made herself comfortable in front of the common room fire, and got a head start on homework.

Twenty minutes later, Draco walked through the entrance of the room and made for the boy's dorms.

"Hey," Hermione called out to him. He stopped and turned around to face her. "Did you talk to McGonagall?"

"Yeah, this morning. Why?"

"It's just. . . I went to her office to talk about suggestions for inner-house peace and she told me that you already talked to her."

He smirked. "Beat you to it, huh?"

"Yes, well, it doesn't really matter, does it? As long as something is done, I'm happy."

Draco seemed unconvinced at that. "You want to know what we're doing." It wasn't a question.

Hermione nodded. "All she told me was that it had something to do with careers."

"Everyone in fifth year and older is going to be sorted into a group based on what they want to do after Hogwarts. Every month or so, someone from this field will come and meet up with the group."

This seemed like a good program on the surface, but she still had questions. "What about younger students?"

Draco knew she would ask this question, and had an answer at the ready. "Exploration groups. They'll get to learn about different careers without having to commit to one until fifth year."

"Okay. . . but how will this help with inner-house unity? This seems like a great idea for a career program, but how could it possibly solve the issue?"

He smiled, glad she was challenging his and McGonagall's idea. If Hermione wasn't asking questions, he would be worried. "There will be students from all houses in every group and they'll have to work together for the group assignments as the year progresses."

She nodded while trying to discover a hole to the problem. When she found none and was thoroughly pleased with Draco's idea, she gathered her books into her bag.

Draco, still in the common room, smirked. "When will you stop underestimating me?"

Mimicking his expression, she stood. "I suppose once I'm impressed." She left the common room for her last class of the day, leaving Draco lost for words.

Dinner soon rolled around and began with an announcement from McGonagall about the upcoming career groups. Students across the hall didn't seem too thrilled about the program, but quickly changed opinion when the Headmistress announced that it was to take place during a school day.

Several times during dinner, Hermione's eyes traveled across the hall at the Gryffindor table. If the Slytherins were right and it was a Gryffindor that hexed one of the first-year snakes, which one of them did it? These were the people she had called family for the last six years- would they really hurt an 11 year-old kid?

Hermione had a hundred thoughts running through her mind about house unity and the events to come this year. She tried to tune into the Slytherin girls' conversation, but found something unusual: they weren't talking. Even though she usually appreciated silence, the girls were always talking; their sudden silence was unnerving.

"Hey," Hermione said in suspicion. "How are you guys doing?"

Daphne smiled innocently. "Just fine, Hermione. How are you?" After a venomous look shot her way by Pansy, she looked back down at her plate.

Something is definitely going on with them, Hermione thought to herself. Slytherins could keep secrets well, however, so she didn't press them.

Without the distraction of the girls' conversation, as she had been hoping for, Hermione's thoughts came back to the kid in the hospital wing. Her brother never gave her a definitive answer on whether or not he would abandon revenge on the Gryffindors, but she doubted he would. Even though there was a plan in place for the house unity efforts, she knew there would be Slytherins that weren't satisfied. She still needed to ensure her fellow housemates played nice.

Theo stood up from the other side of the table and left the Great Hall. Hermione saw her opportunity and decided to take it. Once Theo was out of earshot, she turned to Draco. "Hey, Draco. Would you do something for me?"

He slowly finished chewing his pie, thinking his answer over. "Will it impress you?" he replied cheekily.

"Perhaps." Draco nodded to her and she continued, "I need you to tell me if Slytherin is planning revenge on Gryffindor."

He scoffed lightly. "We're always planning." Hermione thought he was kidding, but the look in his eyes told her he was completely serious.

"Okay. . . then let me know if Slytherin moves out of the planning stage."

He shook his head slightly and looked at her in wonder. "Why are you still protecting them?"

Hermione sighed. "Will you tell me if they're going to act? That's all I ask."

Draco hesitantly nodded. "Just know that if you side with Gryffindor, our house won't take it lightly. You're one of us now."

She stood and left the hall. It would be the weekend tomorrow and she was looking forward to a long night's rest to think about everything that had happened today.

Getting back to her room later, she put on her best pajamas and sat in bed for a while to read. She was hoping the girls would get back and go to bed so that she could fall to sleep in a silent room, but they still hadn't gotten back to the dorms. She resigned. Pulling her drapes closed, she cast a silencing charm and closed her eyes.

Hermione had just fallen asleep in her four poster bed, when she was woken up by sudden light. Someone had pulled the curtains open and was yanking at the blankets covering her.

"Wakey wakey!" Pansy screeched. Daphne and Tracey stood behind her with concerned looks.

"Ah- what? What's going on? What time is it?" Hermione asked in a panic.

"10 o'clock," Daphne replied softly. "We're awfully sorry to-"

"- Shut up, Daphne," Pansy chastised. "Get up, Hermione. It's an emergency."

Warily, but quickly, she moved her feet to the floor and grabbed her wand.

"Oh, you won't be needing that," Tracey told her.

Hermione was incredibly confused. What kind of emergency was this? Had she not been rudely woken up, her guard would have been up.

"Now," Pansy beckoned her, moving across the room, "the emergency is over here."

Hermione stumbled over and saw what Pansy was motioning to: a dress catalog. "I just want to go back to bed," she groggily told them.

Pansy feigned dramatic shock. "How rude. We're all awake for you, Princess Nott."

Hermione's face shriveled in confusion. "And why are we awake?"

Tracey and Daphne pulled out additional dress magazines from behind their backs with knowing smiles. Despite fatigue, understanding fell on Hermione.

"We have ages until the autumn ball. Can't I go back to sleep?"

Pansy, Tracey, and Daphne shook their heads. With a tired sigh, Hermione sat down on the floor. "You guys should know, I'm going to have trouble staying awake."

Tracey walked across the room to the dresser and pulled the bottom drawer open. She walked back to the group with four, neon yellow potions that almost seemed to glow.

"No. . . invigoration draughts? I'm pretty sure those are banned," Hermione cautioned.

The other girls looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Pansy broke eye contact with them to look at Hermione. "Look- if you can stay awake, fantastic. Let us know the minute you're knackered, though. We'll keep a potion for you." She passed the potions around and the other girls downed their draught's contents.

They sat down with Hermione on the floor and began combing through the catalogs.

She noticed that Millicent's bed was empty and asked the girls where she was. She hoped they weren't excluding the other girl.

Tracey and Pansy snickered. "Boyfriend," Daphne mumbled, barely taking her eyes off the catalog in front of her. She seemed to be admiring a bold, strapless red gown.

The bright dress caught the attention of Tracey. "No offense, Daph, but I don't think that one's really you. Maybe something more. . . I dunno. . ."

"Subtle," Pansy supplied.

"Yes! Subtle," Tracey finished.

Taking their advice, Daphne set the catalog aside and found another from the pile, this one featuring primarily black dresses.

Although it had only been fifteen minutes, Hermione had already nod off. Tracey placed the energy potion in her hand, thinking she would wake, and told her to drink up.

Hermione, still not fully awake, uncorked the vial and downed the contents. Her eyes flew open as a course of energy went through her body. "Wha-?"

The other girls laughed. They hadn't expected her to unknowingly drink the potion, but it was infinitely funnier that she had.

Hermione's posture perked up and she started drumming her fingers on the floor next to her. Her cheeks flushed. "I feel like I've just run a marathon," she gushed.

"Aww," Pansy smiled. "I remember my first invigoration draught."

"Wow, my heart is beating fast. Wait, 'first'? Do you guys do this often?"

Everyone shook their heads except for Pansy, who remained expressionless.

Before anyone could comment, Daphne tossed Hermione a catalog and, full of energy, she flipped through it quickly. "No. . . no. . . no. . . no. . ." she trailed off, repeating the word for every page.

The others stopped looking through their own catalogues to watch Hermione in amusement. Although they had all consumed the potion, the effects weren't quite as strong for the other girls.

"Hermione. . ." Daphne started, "do you maybe want to take a break?"

"Hm. No. Wait- yes."

Pansy eased forward on the floor. "Perfect. I think we all have some questions about you and Draco." She smirked, knowing truthful answers were more likely to come out into the open with Hermione in this state.

"Yes! What do you think about him?" Tracey added. Daphne and Pansy turned to Hermione enthusiastically.

"Well. . . he's alright, I guess."

Pansy smiled. "It's okay. You can trust us- Slytherins are excellent at secret-keeping."

Hermione, in this energetic state, relaxed a fraction of an inch. "I. . . think I. . . respect him." Her face reflected nervousness, as though she just disclosed an incredible piece of information.

The other girls waited to hear more, but quickly realized that was all Hermione was going to say. Their disappointed reactions came immediately after.

"That's it?" Daphne huffed aggressively. As she rarely revealed anything other than positivity, everyone looked to her in shock. She shrugged.

"Yes, that's it. But we've already come a long way for me to respect him. He used to be a prat." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Okay. . . so, explain why you respect him. I have a hard time understanding how anyone can merely respect him without any feelings involved," Tracey said.

Hermione thought about this for several moments before coming up with a few reasons. "Hm. Well, he apologized to me and got me pumpkin juice on the train, which was very helpful. I thought I was going to pass out, but he was right there helping me. Then. . . um. Oh! He works with me when it comes to our duties. Usually, I have to take on everything by myself, but he's made agendas, reminded me of meetings, and actually comes up with good ideas. He also took care of something with McGonagall just hours before I was going to. Since we've come back, he's just been really sweet and thoughtful." She hadn't even begun to mention other situations, such as his help with owling Harry and Ron, the fun they had in Defense with nonverbal spells, or his agreement to notify her of impending house violence.

The other girls smirked at each other before turning back to their roommate. "Hermione, hon," Tracey began softly, "I think this is more than you give it credit for."

Hermione's eyebrows drew together. Does this actually mean something? I'm sure he's just being nice, she internally reflected.

Silence overtook the room, making her lack-of-reply even more obvious. She snatched one of the catalogs back up and flipped through it, more slowly than before.

The girls shared another look before following her lead. Several minutes passed, everyone in the room utterly absorbed in the available dresses.

Finally, Hermione's eyes lit up on one one the dresses. "Oh, wow."

Tracey took the catalog from her and the other two girls joined her in looking at the page. "Hermione. . . this is stunning. You would do Slytherin proud in this number," Pansy commented. The others nodded enthusiastically.

She took the page back and fully examined it. Once her eyes fell on the price of the elegant gown, she blew out a pronounced sigh. "It's out of my budget."

The others laughed, which drew Hermione's head up quickly.

"You're a Nott, remember? No price is out of your budget here," Tracey reminded her.

She looked down once again to admire the gown. It would be funny to see Draco's face when she came to the ball wearing this. Her Yule gown had been pretty, yes, but modest; the dress in front of her was downright sexy.

Hermione head came up to slowly make eye contact with the girls and she nodded. For some reason, and it may have been the side effects of the invigoration draught, she couldn't wait to see Draco's face when she wore this to the ball.

Do you guys read these things? Probably not, but I'll use this space anyways-

What do ya think? I remember those sleepovers where everyone would reveal a bit too much about themselves when they started getting tired and since Hermione didn't have many friends before coming to Hogwarts, I wanted her to have that experience, too.