Hi All,

This is my very first fanfic. I have been reading Harry Potter fanfiction, specifically Hermione centric fanfiction, for close to 2 years now. So, I am excited to add to the ever growing collection with my own creation. I would appreciate any feed back you have. I hope you enjoy!

-DaeunMalfoy1989

*I do not own any part of the Harry Potter Universe or its characters. That esteemed honor belongs to the beautiful J.K. Rowling.*


Chapter One: A New Beginning

The train's whistle pierced the air. As the engine roared to life, children stuck their heads out of windows waving their last goodbyes and parents waved sadly from the platform as the Hogwarts Expressed chugged away, heading off to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To many it was the start of a new era; a time free from dark wizards, fear, and death. Harry Potter had defeated Tom Riddle and the name Voldemort no longer struck fear in the hearts of the masses. The wizarding world was finally free.

But for some, like Hermione Granger, her time spent in the war was not easily forgotten. Harry and Ron seemed to be moving on seamlessly with lives. Happy. Forgetting did not come as easily to her. There were many nights when she woke covered in sweat, tears streaming down her face as the cold tendrils of fear gripped its tentacles around her heart. She tried talking to her best friends but they would always tell her that she had nothing to fear anymore. That they were safe. She knew that but even so her time spent in Malfoy Manor had left its mark on her.

As she sat in her compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express, she found it hard to join in the merriment around her; she felt like an outsider on the periphery looking in. She looked at the faces of each of her friends in turn and smiled. Harry and Ron sat across from her engaged in an ongoing conversation on Quidditch. At the moment, they seemed to be listing why the Chudley Cannons were the best team to ever grace the league. She rolled her eyes and glanced next to her at Ginny and Luna. Luna was regaling Ginny with her trip to the Scottish countryside to find some new creature that was bound to have some wacky name. Ginny, to her credit, seemed to be trying her hardest to pay attention and offer the appropriate responses.

Hermione was happy that her friends had all decided to join her for their last year at Hogwarts. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been appointed the new Minister of Magic and as such gave them the choice to forgo their last year and let them sit their N.E.W.T.S early. He, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, knew first hand what both her and Ron had done for the magical community, as Harry's role spoke for itself. But Hermione felt like she needed some normalcy. She had missed her last year due to the hunt for horcruxes. Although she knew she could take her N.E.W.T.S now and pass, she needed to be back at Hogwarts. It was her home and she needed to be encased in the comfort of its walls. She touched her right arm almost habitually. She couldn't feel the scar Bellatrix had left on her arm but she still knew it was there, hidden underneath her clothes. Sometimes, she would spend hours staring at the ugly, twisted lines that would forever mark her as a mudblood. She was the only one that carried a physical reminder of the war, the only one that would never be able to forget.

Sighing, she looked at her wristwatch. It was time for her to meet with the prefects. As Head Girl, she was in charge keeping her junior prefects in line along with the Head Boy. When she found out about her status as Head Girl, she thought she would be happier. This is what she had wanted since she had read about it in Hogwarts, A History. But for some reason she couldn't seem to conjure up the feeling to care. It all just seemed so perfunctory to her now. Ron and Ginny had made prefect alongside her. Harry had been offered the role of Head Boy but he turned it down citing the need to feel like a normal student. What Harry didn't understand was that they would never be normal. He would always be Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived-to-kill-the-darkest-wizard-of-our-time, and she and Ron would always be remembered as his sidekicks, the brightest witch of her age and the loyal red head.

"It's time to go the prefects compartment," Hermione announced.

"Already," Ron whined.

"Yes, Ron. Already," Hermione said with a frown. Sometimes Ron's laziness astounded her.

"Honestly, we haven't even started yet and you're already whinging," Ginny said rolling her eyes.

"Oh, shut it," Ron said getting up from his seat, glaring at Harry as he chuckled.

Hermione lead the way out the compartment, saying her goodbyes to Harry and Luna. She saw Ginny give Harry a kiss goodbye out the corner of her eyes and felt a painful throb in her chest; their happiness seem suffocating. She and Ron had tried to give it a go after the war but they couldn't seem to make it work. He couldn't understand her pain, thinking her silly, and she couldn't understand his need to be in the spotlight. Like Harry, Hermione shied away from the reporters and adoring admirers. She wanted peace and quiet and Ron wanted fame. She couldn't begrudge him his four minutes of fame; he had spent most his childhood in the shadow of his older brothers and younger sister and his adolescent in the shadow of his best friend. All Ron ever wanted was to be acknowledge in his own right and now he was getting just that. She was happy for him but she couldn't be with him, not in that way. So, they broke amicably and now he spends his days the swinging from groupie to groupie.

"Hey, Hermione do you know who made Head Boy?" Ginny asked, walking alongside Hermione.

"No," Hermione said. " Headmistress McGonagall didn't say when she sent me my letter" Frankly, Hermione couldn't care less. She was more curious about her dorm. She was happy that she and the unknown Head Boy had a dorm to themselves. That meant no noisy, loud girls to share a room with, it meant peace. She wouldn't have to explain away her nightmares or sleepless nights. No questions she didn't have answers to. She could be alone and that was priceless. She was sure the Head Boy would be some quiet Ravenclaw, who would understand her need to keep to herself. As they reached the Prefects compartment, Hermione was struck by the silence. Usually, the compartment was so rowdy it took the Head Boy and Girl a moment to calm everyone down before they could begin the briefing. But today, however, it was completely silent. Maybe, they were the first to arrive.

She slid back the door and saw it filled with people all staring awkwardly at a platinum blonde man, sitting in the window seat staring at the landscape; the pin on his robes marking him as Head Boy.

"Why are two just standing there gaping?" Ron said, as he pushed Ginny and Hermione out of the way to get a better look. Hermione stumbled catching herself on the doorframe.

"Malfoy," she heard Ron growl.

"Weasel," Malfoy replied in his deep dulcet tone, as he turned his head to face the redhead.

Hermione could feel her heart speeding up; she couldn't breathe. Why?, she thought. Why is Draco Malfoy Head Boy?!


I plan for this to be a decent length fic. Hopefully, no more than 15 chapters. I look forward to your reviews!