Two Weeks Later

Hermione left her trunk down by the end of the engine and smiled back at the conductor as he tipped his hat towards her and hoisted it towards the growing pile beside the train. Hugging the struggling ball of fur against her chest, Hermione wove her way back towards the group waiting by one of the entrances to the train. The platform buzzed around her as families said their good-byes for the year, hugs were exchanged, and the usual nostalgia of leaving for school again engulfed her.

Another year was waiting ahead of her, and frankly, Hermione wasn't quite sure what to expect. Every year prior had consisted of some sort of grand adventure, whether that be tracing back Harry's parseltongue to the Chamber of Secrets or praying he wouldn't die while fighting a dragon. Honestly, she wondered sometimes how he was still alive.

Dodging around another family, Hermione came to stand between Ron and Harry as Mrs. Weasley went around to each of her kin and wrapped them in a giant hug with a long kiss to the cheek. Ron tried to dodge it when his came, and Hermione couldn't help but chuckle when Mrs. Weasley gave him a stern glare.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione heard a few people gasp or giggle with delight. She turned just in time to catch the body of a large, black dog running around the corner and disappearing out of sight. She turned and raised an eyebrow at Harry, who nodded and gave her a small grin in return.

"Right, well, off you go then," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, wringing her hands together in front of her as she took in each of their faces again. "Be sure to write every so often. If you've left anything behind we'll send it on…go on now, hurry, hurry!"

Everyone followed as Mrs. Weasley gestured them towards the train. Squeezing into the tight corridor, Hermione waved from the window as the train's door shut with a low hiss. In a matter of seconds, she felt the familiar lurch beneath her feet. She waved at the disappearing figures of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, Lupin, and Moody from the platform, and she only peeled herself away from the glass when they turned a corner and the platform disappeared.

"Well, shall we go find a compartment then?" Harry asked with a grin. It fell away just as it had come when Ron darted his eyes down to his shoes that suddenly seemed incredibly interesting. Hermione sighed and started with a stiffer edge than she meant, given his last reaction when it had come to the prefect situation.

"Er, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Harry but me and Ron - well - we're supposed to go down to the prefect's carriage."

Although his smile had already fallen away, Hermione could have sworn there was a bit of worry hiding behind the slight disappointment swimming in his eyes. Not wanting to think they were simply going to leave him behind, she quickly added, "It really shouldn't take that long, though. From what I understood in the letter, we're supposed to head down for a quick meeting with the Head students I believe. Me and Ron will come and find you when it's over, if that's alright."

"Y-yeah that's fine," Harry replied hastily, brushing off the few nerves she had seen. "I'll see you guys later then."

Hermione gave him a reassuring smile and nodded, momentarily distracted by the annoyed mewl from her arms. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Ginny held out her arms to take Crookshanks off her hands, and Hermione muttered a much appreciated thank you. The red-head smiled in understanding.

Brushing a few stray pieces of cat hair from her sweater, Hermione gestured for Ron to follow as she turned to head the opposite way down the corridor. He seemed both eager to stay where he was and run the rest of the way there in fear of whatever reaction Harry might have been hiding.

Hermione led Ron through the corridor, squeezing their way past students and occasionally glancing towards the filling compartments. A few eyes lingered and fingers were pointed their way, but Hermione paid them no mind. Whatever they had to say, most likely in regards to the boy the Daily Prophet was currently and rather obsessing over, was not something she was in the mood to hear.

As they came to the end of another train carriage, Hermione glanced behind her towards Ron. To be quite honest, Hermione knew she had no idea where she was going, and by the look on Ron's face, neither did he.

"What are we supposed to do, just wander around until we see another person with a badge?" Ron gestured to the pinned prefect's badge to her sweater, and Hermione released a huffed sigh. She glanced around at the remaining compartments, most of which had crammed in more than enough students. Some gave her odd looks for lingering outside the corridor, but Hermione brushed them off and ignored them as easily as she had done with the others.

Just as she was about to offer the idea that perhaps the carriage was towards the front of the train, Ron tapped her shoulder and pointed to something behind her. Hermione followed his gaze to the Ravenclaw Patil twin exiting one of the compartments further down the train. She took note of the blue badge on her chest with an embedded "p" across the front of her house crest.

"Follow the leader I suppose," Ron snickered, gently pushing Hermione forward. Picking up her pace so as not to lose her, Hermione followed Padma back through one of the last remaining carriages, dodging a few remaining students still looking for empty compartments. She and Ron only came to a stop when they spotted Padma poke her head into one of the compartments where a light chatter floated out and into the corridor. She was relieved to hear most of the conversations revolving around the excitement of wearing the badge and the few privileges that were to come with it.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a quick nod before closing the rest of the distance between them. Coming up behind Padma, Hermione lightly cleared her throat and the Ravenclaw witch turned with a beaming smile across her face. It only widened when she saw the badge on Hermione's chest.

"Congratulations, Hermione!" Padma squealed, a small giggle escaping with her giddiness. "I just got my letter a few weeks back, same as you I presume."

Hermione didn't have time to answer before Padma continued. "Merlin, this is so exciting! I mean, a school prefect always kind of sounded fun to begin with, but now that I'm actually wearing the badge - I don't even know how to say it!"

Ron bit back on a cough from behind Hermione snapping Padma's attention up to him. Her smile wavered, and a slight frown creased her brow. It drew her eyebrows further together when she saw the badge hanging loosely to his shirt.

"You…you got a badge?" Padme spluttered, her confusion turning into mild shock.

"Yeah, is that so surprising," Ron stated, a harsh snap to his voice. Hermione suddenly recalled the still bit of icy tension remaining between the two from the events of the Yule Ball the year before. Rather she quickly discovered that Ron had ignored her most of the night and she was confident the two hadn't danced even once.

Padma returned his icy expression with one of her own, but before either could get another word in, a voice called from behind Padma.

"Oi, you coming or going?"

It seemingly snapped her attention away from Ron, and Hermione was momentarily relieved when her smile returned (though she noted it to be a bit more strained now). Padma stepped inside the compartment and Hermione was quick to follow. Ron bumped into her from behind when she paused in the doorway, taking in the sudden change in scenery from the rest of the train and of the other compartments.

Unlike the others, the prefect's carriage was seemingly larger, but still spanning two rows of cushioned lined seats that consisted of a deep red with arm rests separating each seat from another. A large window with what looked to be silk drapes on either side spanned out over the majority of the compartment's wall, and she watched as the world outside whizzed by in a blur. A small table stuck out from the wall holding a single lamp and scattered objects, ranging from candies and chocolates to books and a started and unfinished game of wizard's chess. Lofted on either side were high-vaulted shelves, some holding trunks and bags while others took up space for what appeared to be an assortment of snack foods and candies. All in all, Hermione took in the compartment itself in less than a few seconds, and she stepped aside to let Ron slip in beside her as she began taking in the faces scattered around the compartment.

Already dressed in their robes, she recognized the two Hufflepuff students lost in conversation over what appeared to be a book on herbology. Ernie Macmillian had his back turned towards her and didn't look up to see who the newcomers were. Hannah Abbott glanced up in Hermione's direction and offered her a smile before returning her attention to him.

Another Ravenclaw boy who she recognized as Anthony Goldstein sat with his back against the wall, a few strands of shaggy blonde hair falling in front of his eyes as he talked with who she presumed was the Head Boy and Girl. Padma walked over and joined in on the conversation, and Hermione was left to name the two remaining people in the compartment who seemed keen to keep to themselves.

It didn't take Hermione more than a second before her eyes widened and she immediately recognized both Slytherins.

Pansy Parkinson was leaning into the boy beside her, a scowl taking over the wistful expression that had been there moments before upon seeing Hermione. She didn't pay her much attention, though, as she took in the blonde hair and silver eyes staring back up at her.

Hermione could hear her heart pick up its pace when their eyes met, his widening just as hers had when she had first stepped into the compartment. As always, he was dressed in his signature suit of black, and she wasn't afraid to admit it to herself this time that he certainly looked handsome in the color. She took note that he now had a silver badge pinned to his jacket, a snake curling around itself behind the stamped "p".

A few strands of blonde hair fell across his forehead, hanging in that casual and soft sort of way that she had hated admitting she noticed. She didn't even have time to let herself think on his eyes before she caught sight of the easy smile pulling back on his lips. Hermione didn't even let herself think about glancing down at them.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a surprise?" he drawled, rising from his seat and coming to stand at his full height. Hermione, again, took note that the summer season had done him nicely. Her head only reached barely above his shoulder, and she didn't have to wonder if he had kept himself busy with quidditch.

"I'd certainly call it that," Hermione replied, her own lips twitching up in a smile. "I don't remember getting a letter that you had managed it. Quite honestly, this is the last place I'd expect you to be."

"You wound me," he chuckled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. "And here I thought we had left things on good terms."

Shaking her head, Hermione rolled her eyes but kept her smile nonetheless. Draco's teasing voice dropped low as his eyes flickered down to the floor and back up to her.

"It's good to see you again, Hermione," he said, and what she dared would have called a light nerve in his voice. She refrained from letting the warm and fuzzy feeling growing in her chest to show and managed to keep her blush at bay.

"It's nice to see you too, Draco."

The blonde's shoulders dipped every so slightly with what could have been relief. Hermione didn't let herself dwell on it as his suddenly soft gaze moved from her to the boy beside her. His smile fell away into a firm line as Ron stared back, neither seeming eager to greet the other first.

"Weasley." Draco gave him a curt nod, his voice sharp and to the point. Ron didn't respond at first, his eyes narrowing in on the blonde as Hermione gave a quiet huff beside him.

Lightly nudging him with her shoulder, he stole a glance down at Hermione. He either didn't have the time or energy to try and argue back with her about being civil to the blonde wizard in front of them. That, or the recollection of their conversation in the common room the previous year had come back, when she had permanently put her foot down with her two best friends that it was her choice who she spent her time around and befriended. If that meant in the form of Draco Malfoy, that was still her choice, whether they liked it or not.

To this day, she still wasn't sure whether the two had tried to be civil with the Slytherin for the sake of their friendship, or if she had simply scared them with her retaliation to Ron's words.

"Malfoy." Ron returned the small nod but didn't offer any other sort of greeting. For now, Hermione knew it was most likely all she was going to get out of him, and when no snappy remark came after from either one, she found it to be a tremendous victory.

Narrowed eyes locked on steely, silver ones, Hermione lightly cleared her throat and asked, "Er, how was your summer? I know you kept me updated, but it's always good to hear it upfront."

Draco pulled his attention away from Ron and finally offered her another small smile. "Alright, I guess. Blaise and Theo obviously kept me busy and on my toes, as you know. Not to mention Noctis. Merlin, and we both thought handling her had been easy."

Hermione chuckled. "I'm hoping it wasn't all bad, though. She seemed like she just needed a bit of attention every now and then. I'm sure she didn't mind the change of scenery, did she?"

Draco barely held back a snort as his smile turned into his signature Malfoy smirk. "No, she certainly didn't mind getting the hours of attention from my mother. If anything, we'll just say Noctis managed to settle in pretty easily, and as far as she's concerned, I don't think we'll be seeing any less of her at the Manor anytime soon."

"I'm glad to hear," she replied. "It's not everyday you can see a change in the better of someone, whether they see it too, or not."

Draco's smirk faded back into an easy smile, and a gentle warmth covered the usual icy steel in his eyes. Before either could get another word in, though, someone loudly cleared their throat, catching the attention of everyone in the compartment.

"Alright, since everyone I think is already here, we may as well get started," the boy Anthony had been talking with earlier started. "As I assume you're all aware of, Professor Dumbledore has chosen you eight students as our latest batch of prefects for the year. This will just be a quick meeting and then you'll all be off."

Ron had drug Hermione to the two empty seats across from Pansy, and both watched with mild amusement when Draco returned to his seat with a bit of reluctance. Hermione caught Ron biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snickering when Pansy glued herself to his side again and Draco seemed to be hiding a grimace.

"As you all know, being a prefect comes with many high responsibilities and extra accounts of authority, hence why you were all chosen," the Head Boy began again. "Just to name off a few things, as a prefect you have the right to take points away from houses and give detentions as punishment. Er, let's see…you'll be handling patrols to make sure no students are breaking curfew, tonight after the feast you'll need to show the first years to their dormitories, and if necessary you'll overlook decorating the castle for the holidays."

The Head Boy continued to list off the policies and responsibilities as a prefect, and Hermione made sure to keep count in her head. Ron, on the other hand, seemed most intrigued and granted his full attention when it came to the special treatment on the fifth floor.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," the Head Girl cut in. "If you're not already aware, on the fifth floor in the castle is the prefect's bathroom. It's specifically reserved for prefects, Quidditch captains, and the two Head students, and you can feel free to use it anytime you'd like."

"I remember Harry telling me about it last year," Ron whispered, leaning closer so she could hear. "He told me the tub is literally the size of a swimming pool! I can just imagine getting in after a long quidditch practice. Merlin, I can't wait!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head. Ron sank back into the cushions, already looking far too comfortable with the new accommodations. Turning her attention back to the two students, she listened in on their final instructions of the night.

"As far as right now, you'll need to do a quick patrol of the corridors and make sure no one's getting into any trouble," the Head Boy advised. "I'd get used to it, seeing as you'll start this habit pretty soon. You'll be switching out with patrols of the castle every other night, and I can say from experience that you do not want to bump into Filch whether you're a prefect or not. It's best just to get it over with quick and then be done for the night."

"Other than that, you're free to stay or head back to your compartments," the Head Girl exclaimed. "This entire carriage here is dedicated to the prefects and Head students, so you're always free to come and go as you like!"

She offered a smile to each of the students before gesturing for them to go as they please. The light chatter and conversation started up again as Hermione turned to face Ron, who had folded his hands behind his head and released a sigh.

"Come on," she exclaimed, nudging his ankle with her foot. "We've got some patrols to do. Plus I want to get back to Harry soon. I feel bad for just leaving him back there like that."

"Alright, alright," he replied, getting to his feet. "The bloke is probably losing his mind without us there anyway."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sent Ron a playful glare. He simply shrugged his shoulders and took it with ease. Hermione shook her head as she slid the compartment door open and stepped back out into the corridor. Ron followed and took a slow head start as he began making his way back up the carriage.

Before pulling it closed, Hermione took one last glance at the blonde wizard deep in conversation with the Head Boy, Pansy still clinging to his arm with batted lashes. Not in the mood to see her practically drool over him for another year, Hermione slid it shut behind her and ran to catch up with Ron.

She didn't catch Draco's gaze darting over to the door as she had slid it shut again, nor did she see the slight look of disappointment in his eyes. He didn't let it linger as he looked back to the Head Boy, and he thanked Merlin prefects from the same house didn't have to patrol on the same night. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle Pansy for an entire hour or two, walking through the empty corridors of the castle, alone.

However, in the far back of his mind, the one he had ignored for months the previous year on the pressing feeling he would experience anytime he was around her, he selfishly wished a certain Gryffindor witch would end up on the same night shift schedule as him.

Hello my fellow Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins!

Here is the latest chapter for the next portion of the story between Hermione and Draco, and I hope you guys enjoyed! I apologize for not updating as quickly as I hoped I would, again just with extra assignments from school and still mildly recovering from not feeling to well these past few weeks, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update!

Be sure to stay on the lookout for the next chapter, and as always, I hope y'all have a magical morning, afternoon, evening, or night!

-Summerwinds