Draco stood by his luggage on Platform 9 and 3/4, tapping his toe impatiently on the sidewalk. He peered up at the clock once again, which still read 10:46. Figuring it was hopeless to stand out there much longer to wait for Hermione, he pushed through the throngs of people.

"Move it kids, NOW!"

The crowd parted in the gleam of his Head Boy badge. After marching up the train corridor for a moment, he stormed into the compartment that read "Head Boy and Girl." As he was putting his things away, he realized that there had never been a special compartment for Head Boy and Girl. He lifted his eyebrow in a moment of thought before settling in with his book.

Hermione gave the Weasleys a quick hug before rushing through the wall between platforms nine and ten. The family always made it a point to be fashionably late, and this time was no exception as the gate was set to close in another two minutes. She made sure her luggage was safely stored on the train before bounding down the corridor, screeching to a halt near a door that read "Head Boy and Girl." She had been preparing for this role since she first heard about the positions seven years ago, and she knew that there had never been such a compartment before. Curiously, Hermione slid the door open.

"Draco!"

Draco dropped his book on the floor as Hermione flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a giant hug. Stunned, he took a few moments to realize what had happened before hugging Hermione back. The train lurched to a start.

"Hermione, as much as I missed you over the summer, I can't breathe..."

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said as she disentangled herself from Draco. "Its just, wow, I've missed you over the summer. I mean, I had a great summer and all, but it would have been better if you were around." She beamed at him.

"How rude of me to not ask how your summer went! I loved your letters, but tell me again about your summer, Draco."

"You've called me Draco, twice now."

She looked confused for a moment, then it faded into embarrassment.

"Well, I mean... Silver was a nice nickname and all, but it's a bit silly to call you that all the time. Draco is a beautiful name...besides, I got used to referring to you as Draco in our letters."

He smiled.

"It's alright. Did you get my ring?"

She held up her hand before replying, "Yes! Oh, it's so beautiful. Did you get my poetry book?"

He reached inside his robes and pulled the book from his pocket. As he held the book up for her to see, she could see that it was already worn in; the leather was soft and malleable, there were folded pages, and the edges were weather worn from use. He put the book back in his pocket.

At that moment, Harry and Ron burst through the compartment door.

"Hermione, can we - oh, you're in here." Ron looked Draco over with disgust.

"Mione, we wondered where you'd gotten off to so fast. Listen, aren't you going to come sit with me, Ron, and Ginny like you usually do?" Harry gestured in the direction of their usual compartment.

"It's Ron, Ginny, and me, and no, I'm going to sit in this compartment this time."

"But it's the last time we'll ever ride the train to school! It's tradition. Would you honestly rather sit in this compartment with Malfoy than sit with us?"

Hermione sighed, staring carefully at Ron and Harry. She then turned her glance towards Draco, then back at her two best friends.

"Guys, I've been with the two of you all summer. Tell you what, I'll spend a bit of time in here, and then I'll come back to sit with you guys."

Harry nodded and left the room, but Ron stood firmly in place staring Draco down. Harry popped his head back in and pulled on Ron's arm.

"Ron, come on, your sister is down there talking to Seamus."

At this, Ron snapped out of the staring contest and jerked to face Harry. "Seamus? Why didn't you say so sooner!" He turned and as the compartment door shut, they heard Ron's voice: "GINERVA WEASLEY!" Harry and Hermione laughed, and Draco couldn't help but bite back a smile. Seamus had a reputation of being a ladies man, and it was looking like his first target of the year was none other than the blooming Ginny Weasley.

After Harry left, Draco and Hermione talked about everything that had happened over the summer, even the things they had written about in their letters, and when they were done talking about that they talked about anything that came up. The old witch with the trolley filled with snacks stopped to knock on the door. She slid it open, and slowly hobbled in, as she was getting on in years.

"Compliments of Professor Dumbledore, and congratulations."

She passed them each a Chocolate Frog and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans before giving them a proud grandmotherly smile. Hermione got up to give the old woman a hug, the first hug she'd had in a while. Draco, seeing the woman's face light up, followed suit by embracing the cart witch and giving her a peck on the cheek. A small tear slid down her face as she simply nodded at them and left. Hermione spoke softly.

"You know Death Eaters killed her only child and grandchildren, don't you?"

Draco looked stunned. "I had no idea...how did you know that?"

"Mr. Weasley told us about it. She only had one child... a woman, who had two young children; an eleven year old girl who would have started at Hogwarts this year, and a seven year old boy. Death Eaters broke into their home, because apparently her husband had an important ministry job. He refused to help them with whatever they wanted, so they tortured and killed his children and wife, before finally killing him as well."

"Oh, wow..."

She simply nodded. She almost expected him to say something about Lucius, but he only sat staring off into space, his eyes clouded over. She glanced at her watch.

"Well, I think I should probably be going now. Harry and Ron are probably about to wet themselves."

"Hmmm? Oh, yea, of course. I'll see you when we get back to the castle, then?"

"Of course." They both stood and hugged before she exited the compartment. She couldn't wait for the school year to really start: she was sure it was going to be the best year ever.