CHAPTER 2 – Surprises

OMG THANK U SOOOOOO MUCH MY LOVELY REVIEWERS!

u don't know how much i luv u rite now! Thanx sooo much Auden-Annalia 4 ur lovely review - u wer my first reviewer and u made me soo happy! & thanx 2 u 2 chesterstacos 4 ur review - 2 reviewers (+ Harpiebird which kinda makes 3) has really made my day! I'm in such a good mood now that im gna post chapter 2 rite nw :D

Hermione arrived at platform 9 ¾ early, awaiting the arrival of her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Harry had gone to stay with Ron, since the Dursleys had kicked him out as soon as he had turned 17, but Hermione's parents had decided that they wanted to spend the last summer of her school years as a family.

She scanned the crowd in the platform, searching for any trace of red or black hair when she spotted them engaged in an animated discussion with Ginny about Quidditch. Hermione hurried over to her friends, anxious to see them after the summer holiday.

"Ron! Harry! Ginny!" squealed Hermione as she rushed up and enveloped them in a big hug. "How are you all?"

"We're fine thanks Hermione," said Harry

"Wow, Hermione, you look great! Doesn't she Ron?" Ginny exclaimed whilst elbowing her older brother in the ribs.

At this comment, Ron turned a deep shade of red that rivalled the Hogwarts Express, mumbling, "Yeah, you do," in a very awkward way.

Ginny's comment was not unfounded, as Hermione had changed from the gawkish bookworm she had been for the past few years into a beautiful young woman oozing with confidence. She had somehow managed to tame her hair, so instead of its usual bird's nest it fell into soft curls in a ponytail. She had lost a bit of the baby fat that had plagued her for the past few years in a growth spurt, so she was now perfectly proportioned – not stick thin, and with curves in all the right places. Needless to say, Hermione was not the only one whose appearance had changed slightly for the better. Ron had developed some muscles over the holidays from playing Quidditch nearly every day, which made him look a lot less gangly and more well-defined. Harry had grown so he was only an inch or so shorter than Ron, and had also gotten muscles from playing Quidditch with him. Ginny had gained a couple of inches also, so she was slightly taller than Hermione and had grown her hair longer, so it was nearly at her waist and a lustrous titian colour. It would be hard to recognise them as the short, innocent children that they were a few years before, but then again they had been through much since then.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm Head Girl!" said Hermione.

"We already knew that," said Harry with a laugh.

At this comment the usually all-knowing Hermione became quite confused.

"But…how?" stammered Hermione, "Harry, are you having visions again?"

"No, 'Mione you nutter," laughed Ron, "It's been obvious you'd get Head Girl since you walked into our compartment way back in first year!"

"So which one of you guys is Head Boy?" asked Hermione.

"Uh Hermione? Neither of us is." said Harry quietly.

"But Harry's still Quidditch captain, and Ron's still a Prefect." added Ginny brightly, "So you have no idea who the Head Boy is then?"

"No, but I guess I'll find out soon. I have to share a compartment with him on the train."

"Let's hope it's not someone like Malfoy then!" joked Harry as they boarded the train.

Hermione laughed at the riduulous notion, "See you later then!"

Draco arrived at the platform alone, and was greeted by a loud shriek from Pansy Parkinson.

"Drakie-poo!" screeched Pansy, "How good to see you! Did you miss me?"

"No," replied Draco shortly, "And how many times do I have to remind you that my name is Draco?"

"Oh, but Drakie-wakie, you know you love my little nicknames."

Draco let out a groan and walked away. Much to his annoyance, Pansy had had a crush on him since first year and was not afraid to make her feelings known. She was also completely oblivious to the fact that Draco did not reciprocate her feelings, so every year she had battled along with her fruitless cause. Draco had even tried pretending to like her last year, then 'dumping' her, but still she persevered.

"Drakie-kins, wait up!" called Pansy, "Aren't you going to share a compartment with me?"

"I have to share a compartment with the Head Girl. Sorry Parkinson." smirked Draco.

He walked off, delighted at the confused look on Pansy's face as he headed into the Hogwarts express.

Hermione found the Head Prefects' compartment with ease, retrieved a large book from her bag and made herself comfortable on the seat before settling down to read The Complete Works of Shakespeare, an early birthday present from her parents. She was so absorbed in her book that she didn't notice Draco enter the compartment, and was startled when she heard the door close behind him.

Draco entered the compartment to see the back of someone's head. Just who that someone was, he didn't know yet, as he didn't know anyone in his year with hair like that. As he closed the door behind him, the girl spun around, and he took a start with surprise.

"Granger?" he said incredulously.

"Malfoy." spat Hermione, disgusted at the thought of sharing a common room with him for the WHOLE YEAR.

Of course, Draco thought to himself, how could I not have realised that mudblood Granger would be Head Girl.

Truth be told, Draco hadn't put much thought into who he would be sharing a common room with. He didn't actually think he would care, but when he saw Hermione, he was regretting that he didn't think about it more. Hermione was equally surprised, as she thought either Harry or Ron (OK, most likely Harry) would be Head Boy, but she never thought in a million years that the Head Boy would be MALFOY.

Resigning herself to the fact that she would have to be living with him for the next year, Hermione decided to break the silence by attempting to improve relations between them.

"Well, since we're both going to have to live with each other for the whole year, we could try to be friends……or at least be civil towards each other."

"And why would I want to do that Granger? You're a mudblood, and I wouldn't normally bear to spend the entire year living in the same space as you, but since I have to I'm just going to ignore you, which is more than a filthy mudblood like yourself deserves." spat Malfoy.

Well, it was worth a shot, thought Hermione, as she settled down for what was likely to be a long and boring train journey.

A/N - I had abandoned this story 4 a while coz I thought that no1 was reading it, and nw after re-reading chapter 3 I don't feel that it fits in really - it makes things move too fast between Draco and Hermione and I think that I need 2 develop their friendship a bit more...so here's ur choice...I can either post chapter 3 as it is now and u can read it and decide wetha i should delete it and re-write it or not, but that mite kill it 4 u, OR I can re-write it asap and then post the new 1...I'm curious 2 what u guys think so jst mention it in ur review...personally I think it would be better if I jst re-wrote it but hey, I'm putting the future of this story in your hands!