Chapter 2: departure

A large part of Peron 9½ was colored red. Almost the entire Weasley family was waving out Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione. Hermione's eyes were searching above all the heads around her. Her parents would weave her off, but they had owled her to say they probably wouldn't make it. But she really expected her parents to come. The thought that she hadn't seen them for over 3 weeks and she wouldn't see them until Christmas was slightly unbearable. After 5 minutes she gave up, a sad look in her eyes. Molly and Arthur were giving their famous preach and warnings. And Hermione grinned when Molly addressed Ginny to be careful, and not to hurry into something and that if there would be any problem she could owl her, and so on. But it definitely was addressed on her relationship with Harry. And as she saw Ginny blushing, she knew Ginny also knew wat it was all about.

She started smiling broadly when she saw Harry creating a red blush on his cheeks. Apparently Arthur was giving him a lecture about the fact that Ginny was still to young, and he would not appreciate it when he forced her into something, but he was also telling him that if she was ready, he would be relieved to know it was Harry who took away his daughter's innocence.

She looked at Ron to see whether he was having as much fun as she did about it, when she heard Arthur say: "And you son, the same counts for you. So don't even think about letting go of your hormones before she makes the first move." His head giving a quick hint on Hermione.

From the morning she had woke up, holding Ron in her arms on the couch, the whole family thought she and Ron were a couple, just like Harry and Ginny. It was clear to her, that everyone had seen them sleep and let them, before Fred and George woke them up with their loud whistling.

Although she had told everyone that it was nothing, that they just fell asleep while working on something, anyone seemed to believe her. She told Ginny and Harry, and although they assured her they knew the truth, they hadn't giving any sign of it.

Her thought were ripped away when she heard a familiar voice shouting her name.

"Mione!"

"Mom?"

Her parents came running towards her

"Sorry where late girl, it's just..."

Hermione broke the speech

"No problem mom, I'm glad you're here now. By the way, have you heard? I'm going to be a head girl this year! Dumbledore owled me this morning!"

Her mom gave a smile: "I'm so happy for you Mione, I'm sure you're going to do a great job!" then turned to Molly and Arthur:

"I hope she has been good, you haven't had any problems with her did you?"

"No, the opposite actually. Sometimes I wish I had children as quiet as her. I don't think she will need to study throughout the year anymore."

"She certainly will find it necessary to make time to study, I'm sure" Ron said teasingly.

Hermione gave him a cold glare

"Actually yes, as I almost do all your homework, and will need to help you study for your NEWT's."

"Ouch, that hurts, Mione" was his only answer, and everyone laughed loudly.

Everyone started hugging each other to say their goodbyes. Hermione needed more time than anyone else, as Fred, George and Percy wanted a firm, long hug, all telling her that they were better than Ron. Only Percy congratulated her for being promoted to head girl, and gave her a few hints, on situations he had been in.

"Thank you" was the only thing she said when he let her go.

Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione took a seat in the train, and waved at their parents who where standing outside of the train with watery eyes while the train left the station.

They had just bought as many candy as the little table could bear, and where all talking excitedly about the new school year. Harry and Ron were discussing a new quidditch tactic, while Hermione was nearly teaching a bored Ginny all the things she herself had studied this summer, when a white haired boy looked down at them standing in the doorway.

"Potter!" he sneered, still not killed by the Dark Lord, I see?"

Ginny stood up, only then realizing the boy had grown over the summer and was now, a head taller than her. But, she was too angry to take the weight of her feet, and said "buzz off, Malfoy!" Hermione pulled her back on her seat.

"I see you already hired someone to defend you!" his mouth curling into a devilish, daring smile

"He didn't hire me! He's my boyfriend!" Ginny yelled at Draco

"Even worse" was his only comment and after a few minutes, when he didn't get an answer, he said: "I would better keep an eye on my baby sister if I were you Weasley; she's shagging a born loser"

Ron could do nothing but look very, very angry. Now it was Hermione's time to speak

"At least she isn't shagging you!"

Draco looked at the young women that looked up from an opened book, trying unsuccessfully to keep his mouth closed.

Draco finally noticed that he was gazing at a mudblood, and turned with only a disgruntled and confused look on his face.

"Wow, Hermione, have you seen his look?" There was Harry's voice that broke the occurred silence.

"He hadn't expected you on saying that, that's for sure" Ron commented with a proud voice

Hermione let a careless shrug. "I just can't believe you don't know how to stand up for yourself, and of course he knew I was right." She said with a big smile.

The group laughed. And continued with whatever they were doing.

"Longbottom! How many cauldrons are you planning burnings holes in this year. I'm sure you're a going to try to break last year's record" the sharp voice of Draco sounded in the compartment next to them.

"I've had it with that boy" Hermione said while placing her book gently on the table. She stood up, and walked towards a stuttering Longbottom.

"That's enough Malfoy! Go play with Crabbe and Goyle!" Hermione said with an angry, but calm voice.

Malfoy twisted his head, looking down in Hermione' eyes.

"euhm" He didn't know what to say. But immediately he continued. "See you in school Longbottom, be afraid! Because she" Draco gave a little nod in Hermione's direction "won't be around all the time to save your ass!"

"Enough Draco! Leave him alone"

Draco now turned completely, and with a swing of his robes, he disappeared.

Ginny was looking from the doorway, mouth open in her gaze. She had seen everything that happened.

"Tsjees, thanks Hermione!" Longbottom said.

Hermione was relieved that Draco hadn't lift his voice to her. And although he was taking every chance to show his hate to Griffyndors, she was happy that he acted rather civilized to her. "No problem Neville"

Ginny turned, and took place on her seat once again.

Harry saw the confused look on her eyes, so he took Hermione's place next to Ginny, embracing her. "Hey, you're ok?" he said, while gently turning her face to his, and giving her a little kiss.

"Yeah, I guess?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, It's nothing, I'm fine" and immediately after "Draco is acting really strange in company of Hermione"

Hermione finished comforting and talking to Neville and went to see here friends again.

She saw Harry sitting next to Ginny, leaving only a place next to Ron.

She took that place, and looked at her watch. "We're almost there" she stated; "Lets put on our uniforms" she said with a way too excited voice.

In the great hall the new first-years were sorted, and the teachers were introduced. The table full of Slithering applauded and yelling each other's head off, when Professor Dumbledore introduced the new DADA-teacher: Professor Severus Snape!

Harry's eyes met Ron's, Hermione's and Ginny's when he heard the news.

Ron was the first to let his mind slip: "This can't be true! And he's still teaching Potions too? That is way too many hours of Snape in one week!"

Hermione simply nodded, she had quite a bit respect for the old man. She didn't like him, but respected his double life as a spy.

"Maybe this really is a good idea, when you think about his experience." Harry said.

"Still, I don't really like the idea."

A little light sparkled out of professor Dumbledore's wand. Everyone had noticed it, and the buzz stopped immediately.

"And before we start with our meal, I would like to introduce our new headgirl and headboy. Miss Hermione Granger and Mister Draco Malfoy.

"And now, let the feast begin!"

On every table, dishes with the most exclusive strange and good things appeared.

Hermione was a bit shocked when she heard his name. She was going to share a tower with Draco! She was going to stay as little time as possible in that tour. She was sure of that.

Hermione, curious as ever, wanted to see Draco's reaction. She didn't need to look for him a long time, cause because of his height, he came head above the other students, and his long blond hairs, well, they weren't really difficult to find. From the minute she saw him, she found him looking at her, not in hate, not in disappointment, but with a shine in his eyes.

She was shocked. This couldn't be, she must be looking at someone else, she glimpsed over the Slytherin table. No, this was definitely him, but when she wanted to find that sparkle in his eyes again, he was already talking to Crabbe and Goyle. So she turned back to the rest of her friends, so she could share her disbelief. She met 3 gazes, and 3 open mouths full of food.

"Hermione! You just have spent a whole 3 minutes looking at Draco!"

"A little bit jealous Ron? You do know she will be spending more time with him now, do you?" Harry said before bursting into laughing, immediately joined by his little angle next to him.

Ron's face was almost as red as his hair. He was both angry and embarrassed by Harry's confrontation.

Finally Hermione had something to say. "C'mon guys, you know I don't fancy Malfoy, so Ron has no reason to be jealous. Second, there was a strange sparkle in his eyes of which I couldn't find the reason. One would almost start to think that he's up to something."

That shut the friends up, and besides, their food was getting cold.

Hermione entered the tower. She couldn't believe where she was looking at. 2 long 3-person sofas and 2 1-person couches, all placed around solid wooden fireplace. There was also a large table with 10 seats, with a bowl of cookies and a bowl of candy. Ron would like this she taught. On her right side, there was a small bar. Behind it, she saw a sort of fridge and something that looked like an oven. There was also a little elevator to send all their dirty dishes to the kitchen, and 10 glasses. You could easily call it a small kitchen.

Then she saw 5 doors. One had a sign with Draco's name on it, on the other one she could fin her own name, but for who were the other doors for? She walked towards the one next to the kitchen/bar. She opened it, and found the lavatory. Ok, that's a good start; we have a toilet for guests.

She walked to the other door, the one opposite of her and in the middle of the 2 bedrooms. She opened the door, and gasped. This was not possible! She was not sharing a bathroom with Draco, She was certainly not! But she liked what she saw anyway. A very large bath, you could take a bath with two, and still find some space available, a shower right beside, another toilet, and a washbasin.

Above that washbasin, there were 2 semi-small closets apparently for their little bathroom-stuff, like shampoo for example. She wanted to open one, but it was closed. She tried the other one, and that one did open.

She closed the bathroom door, and moved to the last mystery door. Gently she opened it.

Books, nothing but books, Hermione jumped and ran towards the bookshelves... There must be hundreds! She had her private library for crying out loud!

In the far end of the library she found another door, this one however, was locked. Hermione was thrilled. So many books to read! She was going to spend awfully much time in here. Now she figured out the use of the bar. The house elves had better things to do than serving one person who was studying much too hard.

With the top of her fingers she ran over the covers of the books, while heading for the door.

She closed the library door with sad look, and opened the door of her bedroom. There it was. A king-sized-waterbed. In the room there was also a little fireplace, with a 2-person couch in front; a large built in cup board a desk and a window overlooking the lake.

She unpacked her luggage immediately, and laid down on the king-sized waterbed.

Turning her head to the left, she saw a letter laying on the nightstand. "That's strange", she taught, "That letter hasn't been there before."

She read it:

Dear Miss Granger,

I see you found your way through the tower and I am pleased to see you like most of what you have seen already. And no, you can't have a separate bathroom.

Although I completely trust your actions, as a Headgirl, you have a few rules you have to attend.

1.You can invite friends, but they must be back in their own rooms before curfew.

2.No guests can enter the library, except for when you or Mr. Malfoy are tutoring someone. That person must be accompanied by you or Mr. Malfoy.

3.As a headgirl you can order food or drink any time you want until midnight. At midnight, the fridge will be filled for nighttime use.

4.Guests can only enter the living room and the lavatory. The other rooms are protected by wards and can only be entered by an authorized person, or accompanied by an authorized person.

5.You're allowed to leave your tower after curfew

6.You are obliged to attend at least one staff meeting every month.

7.Laundry will be picked up every Friday

8. 3 times a week you will have to take the duty of night-surveillance on you

I hope you enjoy your year as a headgirl. If questions pop up, you can always ask me or another staff member.

Sincerely

Professor Dumbledore

She finished the letter and smiled. She was thirsty, and there was only one way to solve that problem: She threw a little bit of floo-powder in the fire and said "kitchen". The flames became green, and she asked for a cup of tea. 5 minutes later, a house-elf walked towards her, and gave her the asked cup of tea. The elf was dressed in Gryffindor colors.

"Thank you, euhm"

"My name's Loddle, miss, I will be serving you throughout the year miss"

"Thank you Loddle"

"If miss needs something, miss asks Loddle"

"Ok, Loddle, thank you"

And with that Loddle disappeared.

Hermione couldn't wait to see her friends again. She had so much to tell...

She gave her room another look, and opened the door, and there he was.

Draco had moved the chair he was sitting on, to let it face Hermione's door. He had his hands in his lap and was playing with his fingers.

"So, we meet again Granger" He said in a calm, masculin voice.

"Yes Malfoy. And although I would love to stay and talk to you, my friends are waiting" She said in a sarcastic way, before she stepped on her heels, and left the tower leaving Draco with a stunned look in his eyes.

Hermione opened the door to the common room and it took only a few seconds before Lavender was standing in front of her.

"What did you do this summer, Hermione?!"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, as she was certain Lavender wasn't asking after her social life"

"Well, you're tall, shaped. I mean, last year you were only as big as me but almost without any indication about you being a girl."

"Oh, thanks, Lavender" Hermione said in an angry sarcastic tone.

"No, no, no, I don't mean it that way. It's just...you're almost half a head bigger than me now, and every guy is staring at you instead of, well...at me!"

"There must be another reason for that"

Hermione walked to Harry without even waiting for Lavender's reaction

Ginny stood next to Harry, and is was she who opened the conversation

"She's right, you know"

"About what?"

"Well, there isn't a single boy that hasn't looked at you. You've changed a lot, Hermione. Even my brothers couldn't keep there eyes of you. And even now there are a few guys staring at you. One of them is standing right behind me."

Hermione looked up, and saw Ron, walking towards them, eyes fixed

"Ron, stop that!"

"What did I do?"

"Don't look at me, like I'm a candy. Because I'm not!"

It was then, that Hermione started to look around the common room. And as she looked, she saw a few heads turning rapidly.

"I think you should go to Pomfrey, because you're starting to get illusions."

"Anyway, what do you think of your new room? Is it nice?"

"Yeah, and what about Malfoy, have you seen him yet, he hasn't been rude to you has he?!"

Hermione smiled "Yes Ron, I've seen him, but I walked right out to meet you guys. And the rooms are really nice! I even have my own library, well euhm, I'll have to share it with Draco, but anyway. And Harry? I've received a waterbed!"

"What? You got to be kidding me! Where did they get that from?"

"Dumbledore must have known that I have one myself at home, I don't know?"

"Well, congratulations! When are you having a sleep over?"

"Harry!" And only one second later: "Hermione! You're not going to invite MY boyfriend over in your bedroom! You already have Ron, so keep your hands of Harry!" she put out her tongue at Hermione, and gave Harry a quick kiss. "And that counts for you to!" Harry grinned. And they all started to laugh.

"So, what class are we having tomorrow, Mione?"

"Tomorrow Harry, we start with transfiguration. After McGonagall's opening speech, we will have to hear at Sprout's. After Lunch you will be having divination, while I'm going to Arithmetic's. The last class is euhm, right DADA."

"Gosh Mione, you've already studied your schedule by hard?"

Hermione smiled, "I only just looked through them once." She apologized

"Yeah Right honey, what's the first class the morning after?"

"Potions, followed by charms"

"You see, you're obsessed. You could better be obsessed by me, I'm much more interesting"

Harry and Ginny laughed, "And you are telling us, you two are not having a relationship? You sound like a marred couple!" the laughing became louder.

Ron obviously liked the idea, but Hermione stood perplexed.

Ginny had a comment to make too: "yeah Hermione, you're already wearing the trousers"

Ron gave an angry look at his sister, and after a few seconds Harry too noticed the change in Hermione's eyes, leaving only Ginny laughing.

Ron softly pulled Hermione closer, and laid her head resting on his shoulder.

Ginny threw another stone. "Of all the guys walking around in here, you choose my brother? Man, you must be crazy!" She was off laughing again.

Ron feared the worst, and pulled Hermione in a full embrace now. But Hermione turned and walked head down to the door.

"Good job, sister!" Ron's head was turning red, "you just never know when you've got to shut up, do you!" He turned and ran to Hermione, walking her towards her tower.

Ginny suddenly stopped smiling. She had now idea what she had done. She was confused, and feeling a bit guilty for the moment, apparently she had made her best friend feel bad. She faced Harry, who wasn't looking too happy either.

"That wasn't really nice Ginny, you've hurt her" "I don't know why, but you did, and tomorrow you will make it up to her. No more jokes about her and Ron ok? She obviously isn't quite ready for it."

"Now, go to bed, it's only minutes before curfew". He turned, stood, and turned towards Ginny again. He gave her a kiss. "Sweet dreams honey". And with this he walked towards his room, leaving Ginny all by herself.

"You ok, Mione?"

"Yes" She obviously wasn't, because tears were still running down her cheeks.

Ron gently rubbed her face dry with the tops of his thumbs while cupping her head.

Hermione just stood there, here arms still around him, needing a hug, but captured by his gentle touch.

Hermione opened the door with her wand, and walked in, still holding on Ron tightly. She was happy when she found the living room empty. No sign of the headboy. She opened her bedroom door, leaving it open for Ron. He stepped into the room and looked around. This was definitely Hermione's room, a big pile of books on her desk, and her backpack made for the next day.

He went over to the bed, and wanted to put his hands on the mattress as a first move to sit down. However, his hand seemed to sag in, instead of gaining some support, he stood back up immediately.

"Mione, there's something wrong with the bed" he looked at the bed while swallowing hard

"Oh, Ron, it's just a waterbed, the mattress is filled with water, it's a muggle-thing, it's better for your back and all."

She had her nightgown on, sat on the bed, and pulled a still amazed Ron down next to her.