A/N: Omg, I'm really sorry this took so long to get out! The disk that I had it saved on totally screwed up. It would only open half of the chapter, and I had to rewrite it. But actually, I think I like this version better.

Special thanks to: the 14 WONDERFUL reviewers! I expected 3 at the most! That's great for a first chapter for a first fic under this name.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to tell you that I don't own it? It's pretty obvious, so don't sue.

Note: Italics means she's/he's thinking.

Chapter 2:

~HERMIONE~

When they entered the library, a space was cleared in the middle of the room for everyone to gather around. Madam Promfrey was standing behind the desk with a disproving look; obviously, she hadn't agreed to move the shelves around. Every teacher and staff member was standing in the center, near a small table that had a black top hat placed on it. Even Professor Binns was there.

The students all squeezed together near the door, all afraid of going in any farther. Several of them had come up with the same conclusion: the teachers had finally gone crazy... Who would put a Slytherin in the same common room as a Gryffindor? You had to be crazy to attempt something such as that. Even Hermione was beginning to doubt their intelligence.

When every student and staff member had entered the room and the doors were closed, Dumbledore spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "Everyone, please, make yourselves at home," he said cheerfully, as though it were a happy gathering. "Well, have a seat," he added when no one made a move. "This may take a while. Just get wherever you can." He motioned to the empty space between the teachers and students.

People exchanged uneasy glances before slowly responding. There was a shuffle as they all scrambled to sit somewhere on the stone floor. The Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Gryffindors made sure to sit as far away from the Slytherins as possible, causing a gap to be formed like an isle through the middle of the room.

Hermione uneasily seated herself Indian-style in between Parvati and Harry, with Ron on his other side. It almost seemed as though she were dreaming; she was just playing the part.

"Now," the Headmaster said when everyone was comfortable, "I will draw pieces of paper from this hat." He indicated the top hat sitting on the table. "It has already sorted you into your divisions, as Professor Flitwick has charmed it to do so." He glanced at Professor Flitwick, who gave a small nod. "When I call your name, please make your way to the front of the room."

Several murmurs spread through the room, and he stuck his hand inside the hat.

"I really hope I'm not stuck with Millicent Bulstrode," Lavender hissed in Hermione's ear. Hermione nodded, but didn't take her eyes off of the Headmaster as he unfolded a small piece of parchment.

He peered over his half-moon spectacles and cleared his throat. "I give you the members of Division One." Hermione shifted. "They are: Michael Nott, Miriam Lovell, Valerie Webb, and Ginny Weasley."

The four students stood up and made their way to the center isle, slowly walking up to where the teachers stood. Hermione gave Ginny a sympathetic look as she passed. Michael Nott was almost as bad as Draco Malfoy...almost.

When they reached the front, they exchanged a few unheard whispers with the teachers. Then, without doing anything more, they followed Professor Vektor from the room through a back door. Dumbledore placed his hand back inside the hat to draw another Division.

~DRACO~

Pansy Parkinson tightly gripped Draco's upper every time the old coot reached inside the hat. The two fellow Slytherins had been "dating" for six months now, and he still didn't actually "like her, like her"- the way a boyfriend should. She was a bit annoying...(A "bit" is a very big understatement.) The only reason he was going out with her was because she was the only decent-looking Slytherin around, and he had to keep his reputation.

"Oh, Draco, I don't think I'll be able to function properly if you and I aren't in the same common room," she whispered. He merely stared at the front as Parvati Patil made her way to the front with her group. He had always found her hot. (To be a Gryffindor.) "We won't even be able to eat meals together!" When he didn't answer, she gave his arm an impatient tug, pinching the skin slightly.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he hissed and turned to glare at her.

"Were you even listening to me?' she demanded.

He shrugged off her grip and rubbed his arm where she had pinched it. "I was thinking, that's all..."

She giggled and asked, "Well why would you want to do that for, silly?"

"Because that's what normal people do?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"I was kidding," she responded before rolling her eyes and returning her grip to his arm. He sighed but didn't even bother to make her move. After all, he wouldn't have to put up with her after this. What would it hurt to let her get a last "moment?"

"Division Seven..." Dumbledore announced as he unfolded another piece of parchment. "Colin Creevy, Ashlan Albany, Hermione Granger...and Draco Malfoy." Pansy gasped and increased the pressure on Draco's arm.

 It took him a moment to register what the Headmaster had said, and when it finally got through to his brain, his stomach dropped; as did his mouth. He was joking, right? The Mudblood and him, sharing a common room? That was like an open invitation to start World War III!

"Oh, Draco! I can't believe you got stuck with that!" Pansy shrieked. Several of the other Slytherins gave him sympathetic looks, and the other three members of the Division started to make their way to the front.  "And not just one Mudblood...two!"

He stared at the Headmaster in disbelief. "There's got to be a mistake," he said hoarsely to anyone who was listening. He'd turned down the Head Boy position as not to be with her, and he got stuck with her anyway???

"Mr. Malfoy, please make your way to the front. The others are waiting," Dumbledore said and nodded to the other three, who were standing behind Professor Snape.

Numbly, he got to his feet and began slowly inching his way to the front. It was as though he were a prisoner on death row, headed to face his executioner with the people in the crowds watching with held breaths.

When he reached the front, he glared at Dumbledore; he didn't care how powerful the old coot was. He was insane! Why even bother trying to change anything? Daddy Dear wasn't here to help...

Encyclopedia Granger glared at him. Not one to be outdone, he returned the 'loving' gesture with one of his nastiest smirks and leaned over so only she could hear him. "You'd better watch your back Granger," he hissed threateningly.

Before she could retort, Professor Dumbledore told them in a low voice, "Follow Professor Snape. He'll show you to your new quarters." He nodded toward the greasy-haired Potions Master, who turned around and walked through the same door the other students had gone through. Draco stepped in front of the other three with his nose in the air and followed him.

~HERMIONE~

Hermione was seething with anger. She brought up the rear, behind Colin Creevy. How dare that ferret-faced Malfoy threaten her! She'd show him! Stupid, conniving, conceited, son of a... She quickly cut her thoughts off. She was Hermione Granger, she didn't cuss! She wasn't going to let herself stoop to a level as low as his.

They followed Snape through a small, dark hallway lit with flame torches. It was as though they were down in the dungeons, but they were too much above ground to be. They went up a long staircase, and Hermione counted exactly 541 steps.

When they reached the top landing, they found themselves in a long hallway with several doors; each one had the corridor that it led to printed in bold letters above it. Hermione had never been here before, and curiosity caused her to forget about being so mad at Malfoy. She was sure that every corridor in the castle was labeled. There must be some sort of spell on the doors for them to be able to take you to the right corridor.

Snape led them down three doors, and they followed him inside, ending up in the fifth floor corridor between a portrait of Nicholas the Schmaltz and a statue of a fairy. Snape led them over to Nicholas. He was wearing an emerald green set of dress robes and he had jet black hair. He almost looked like Harry.

"Fickle Popper," Snape said said, causing the portrait to swing open.  They walked up a winding staircase and found themselves in a tiny room. There were two couches, four small armchairs, one coffee table, and four desks. The couches were situated in front of a fireplace with the coffee table in between them. The chairs were shoved in open spaces around them. Division Seven was written in dark blue letters above the mantel.

"This is your common room," Snape said dryly. "Your password is Fickle Popper. The girls' dormitory is up the stairs and to the right, the boys on the left. Each has its own restroom. Any questions?" When none of them replied, he said, "Very well then. Your schedules will be passed out tomorrow morning." He turned and headed for the exit, but before he went out, he turned back around. "No one else is allowed in this common room, understood?"

"Yes sir," three of them answered. Malfoy was the only one who didn't.

He left them standing there without another word.

There was an uneasy silence between the four students, and they all just stood there looking at each other for a couple of minutes. There was an awkward silence.

Malfoy was the first to wander up the stairs. He left the other three standing there without a word, and he didn't look back to see if anyone followed.

Colin shifted and cleared his throat. For the first time, Hermione noticed that he didn't have his camera around his neck. "So," he started, "looks like we're house mates for the rest of the year, eh?"

Hermione gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, looks like it..."

Ashlan did the same as Draco and left them without a word.

Hermione watched her disappear up the stairs and said, "Well...I guess I'll go get settled in. Tomorrow will be hectic..."

He nodded and the two made their way to and up the staircases, parting at the top landing. Hermione and Ashlan's door was a light pink color, and their names were carved into the wood. She walked inside.  

Like the common room, the room was quite small. But at least they had bigger beds. The beds were located in the center of the room, and on either side were a vanity, a closet, and a chest of drawers. There weren't any decorations, but the beds, just like the door, were pink and their names were carved onto the headboard. Their trunks sat at the end of the beds, and their clothes were already folded or hanged in their proper places.

Ashlan had already changed into her pajamas, Hermione noticed, and she was sitting up in her bed with a small lamp on...reading. Now there's a good student.

Not wanting to interrupt, as she herself hated being interrupted while reading a good book, Hermione quietly walked over to her chest of drawers to find her pajamas. They were in the first drawer she opened, and she smiled when she saw them, remembering when she had received them from her cousin in America as a birthday present. The bottoms were white with a blue bears (Night Time Care Bear) all over them, and the top had one of the bears sitting on a cloud.

She replaced her clothes with them and crawled into bed, planning on introducing herself first. But almost as soon as she crawled under the covers, the light from her roommate's lamp went out, leaving her in the darkness.

With a heavy sigh, she crawled the rest of the way under the covers and snuggled into her pillow. There was a window on her side of the room, and the curtains were pushed back, revealing a full moon. If she looked at it long enough, it was as though she really could make a face out of it, and the man in the moon seemed to be smiling down at her. The stars were dancing merrily around it. The sight of the full moon always made her want to stay awake, and she realized when she saw it that she wasn't sleepy. Maybe if I think about something lone enough, I'll get sleepy...

Hermione wondered what the year would bring. She wondered how different things would be, and wondered if she would ever befriend her roommate, who seemed to be a bit distant.

Then her thoughts drifted to Malfoy. She often wondered why he was so cold towards everyone. After her first year, she had told her mother all about him and how mean he was to her. Caroline Granger's explanation was that he was probably just a troubled, misunderstood boy who obviously didn't feel very loved at home. It was a typical response from her mother, who had always wanted to be a psychiatrist, but got stuck as a dentist instead for reasons that she hadn't told.

~*~

After what seemed like hours, but had probably only been minutes, Hermione finally gave up on sleep and crawled out of bed. She stealthily tip-toed over to her trunk and opened it; then she started digging around in her many books for her Transfiguration one.

When she found it, she tip-toed from the room and down into the common room, seating herself at one of the desks. She turned on the lamp sitting on it and stared at the cover of the golden book. In cursive silver letters it said The Art of Complex Transfigurations for the title.

She remembered the day she had bought it. Somehow, she managed to wonder away from her parents at Diagon Alley and wound up in Knockturn Alley. She had found the book in an old bookstore. (All of the books inside it looked as though they belonged in the Restricted Section.) It had been covered in dust at the time, but a bit of scrubbing made it look as good as new. She was able to buy the book from the old clerk without questioning, as it was in Knockturn Alley.

She flipped the book open and skimmed to the page where she had left off. It was in a chapter on the art of animagi. Hermione had secretly wanted to learn the transformation, just to know it. She didn't plan on using it, though.

Curling up in a comfortable position, she settled herself in for a night of reading.

~Draco~

Draco sat on the window seat, staring out of the window. The view was beautiful; it was looking out over the lake, and the reflection of the stars and moon danced merrily on the ripples of the waters each time the wind would blow. The only sounds were the gentle snores coming from across the room from Draco's roommate, a Gryffindor named Colin Creevy. Better than Potter.

Draco had always preferred being awake at night. He loved the feeling of being awake, while the half of the world he was on was asleep. He felt that he could be himself, and there was no one to criticize him or his mistakes.

He heard the clock dong 1:00 down in the common room and sighed. It was always too hard for him to go to sleep on nights like these; when the weather was warm, and there was a full moon out. He had the crazy urge to run outside, the way he did back at the manor. But the school was a different story. There were guards up during all hours of the night, and it was hard to sneak around.

He wished he could transform into a cat. Then, he'd be able to do whatever he wanted with no one stopping him. In fact, he had been studying the complex transformation of animagi since his 3rd year at Hogwarts. But he hadn't tried to perform it just yet.

He sighed and looked up at the moon, which was smiling down at him. He scowled. It seemed to remind him of Granger, as she was always smiling. Bloody Gryffindor.

So far, the year had gone from bad to worse. First, he found out he'd be living with a Gryffindor. That was bad enough. Then, he finds out that it'll be Granger. That was definitely worse. Why couldn't it have been that Patil girl or somebody? Why was it the one person he couldn't stand to look at? He frowned at the thought of her.

Realizing that sleep wasn't going to come any time soon, Draco stood up and left the room as quietly as a cat. He figured he could just hang around the common room until he got tired enough to go to sleep.

His bare feet didn't make a sound on the stairs. As he neared the bottom, he saw the glow of a dim light. He could tell that it wasn't from the fireplace; obviously, he wasn't the only person awake. He stood on the bottom stair and peeked around the corner. Sitting in a desk, reading as usual, was Hermione Granger; she was wearing funny-looking pajamas. She obviously wasn't aware of his presence.

Suddenly she closed the large book and rubbed her temples. Even from afar, Draco recognized the book. His mother had one just like it in their library at home...It was full of Dark Magic and complex transfiguration spells. In fact, it had been one of his main sources on the key of becoming an animagus. What is Granger doing with a book like that?

She stood up and tucked the book under her arm. Then she flicked out the light, making the firelight the only source of light. It was just enough to see what she was doing.

Draco just stood there as she came closer to the staircase. When she was about three feet away, he stepped out into the light. Granger let out a yelp and jumped back, nearly tripping, when she saw him. 

He smirked evilly and said in a low voice, "Scare you, Mudblood?"

He could see her glaring at him as she hissed, "Stupid git," and she pushed past him, ascending the stairs at a trot.

Draco sat down on one of the couches and smiled to himself when he thought about the scared look on her face. But his thoughts drifted back to the book she had. How did she get a book like that, and what did she need it for?

A/N: I tired to make it longer, but I have to study for DREADFUL semester exams. (8 pages in Microsoft word in size 12 font. I usually use 8 font...) I know the chap was kinda boring, but like I have said, I'm taking this slow, as I want it to be perfect. Thank you for those wonderful reviews!