When the bell sounded everyone in the Hall rose from their seats and moved to their classes. Hermione and Draco met in the middle to assume the Head's duties of showing the First Years to their first classes of the day. "Gryffindors and Ravenclaws have class together first so I can take them, and you can take the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs?" Hermione said.

"Whatever, see you in Potions I guess." Both left with the first years and took them to their classes. Hermione took them up to Transfiguration on the 3rd floor and then sprinted down to Potions. Draco took the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs down to the Greenhouses and ran back to the dungeons.

The bell was just about to ring when Draco and Hermione both met outside the door. They walked in without saying anything to each other. All the students were milling around the desks waiting. There was a notice on the blackboard in huge letters that said, in plain and simple wording, "Do NOT take a seat until I seat you- Professor Snape."

Hermione found Ron and Harry towards the back of the room with Parvati and Lavender. They were surprisingly hands-off at the moment and Hermione suspected it was because they didn't want Snape to come in and take points off immediately for displaying inappropriate behavior in a class room or something of that nature. She leaned against one of the tables across from them and resumed their conversations. Neville stood next to Hermione very nervously. Potions was his worse class but he was so determined to become an Auror he wouldn't let anything stop him. Not even Snape. He never said why, but Hermione had the suspicion that it was to avenge his parents condition. To put away people that hurt innocent and take away the things he never had- a real family.

Across the room Draco had met up with Blaise again. "So you're seriously dating her?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, man. She's something."

"How is she?" Draco asked raising his eyebrows.

"Wouldn't know. Good I assume."

"You mean you don't know?"

"Nah, we didn't really get to that on the train back last year. She was away all summer and we only got to see each other again yesterday. Give it sometime... She'll be all mine."

"Whatever. I still can't believe that you're with her. I mean any other girl in the entire school would have taken you, but you chose a Weasley? That's almost as bad as choosing a muggle. Or a mudblood."

"You shouldn't be talking. You like Her-" Blaise started but Draco quickly elbowed him hard in the side cutting him off and knocking the wind out of him.

His eyes flashed dangerously. "Drop it. I don't, so just drop it."

"Jeeze... I was only kidding. You don't need to get physical about it," he said rubbing his ribs gingerly.

Just as he said this Snape waltzed into the room, robes flailing out behind him in a dangerous sort of way. His greasy black hair was, if it was possible, greasier than usual. His hook nose curled in a way that suggested that he smelled something foul and his hands clenched and unclenched several times. Although the room was as quiet as a morgue he still felt the need to say, "Silence! Silence!" He sat behind his desk, shuffled some papers and then looked up holding one particular piece in his hands.

"The Headmaster has asked me, in hopes of promoting more house unity to seat you in specific places this year. So as I point to your new seats, move quickly so we don't waste anymore of our time." He began seating people, boy-girl and Slytherins next to Gryffindors. Harry ended up next to a very annoying Slytherin girl that was often seen with Pansy. Ron was sitting next to Pansy the fat-cow Parkinson herself to his disgust. Neville was next to another of Pansy's friends, Lavender was sitting next to a new Slytherin boy that was awkward and gawky. And Parvati was sitting next to Blaise. No one in the class seemed too pleased with the new seating arrangements.

Finally Snape was at the back of the classroom and pointed to the last desk. He said with a particularly nasty sneer, "Mr. Malfoy," pointing to one seat, "and Miss Granger," pointing to the other. He then turned with a swish of his cloak and walked briskly towards the front of the classroom again. "Today, you miserable lot will be starting to make the strongest truth serum there is out there, Veritaserum. At the end of the moon cycle, after they've sat in the cycle, we will test them on each and everyone of you. Your instructions are on the board, work with your partner, one cauldron per table and begin."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other, shrugged and began to work. They worked quickly and efficiently together, both being exceptionally well at potion making. By the end of the class they had finished the day's assignment and were both reading a book again. Snape came back to investigate the blatant stoppage to their work. "What is this? Why are you not working?" he asked viciously.

Hermione and Draco both looked up at him over their books. Draco, knowing that he was easily Snape's favorite student, said very bluntly, "We're done with today's assignment professor. You can look for yourself if you want."

And Snape did just that. He looked into their cauldron and was disgusted to find, that they had done everything exactly right and on time. "Alright, but no more reading in class! Unless you want your books taken away," he shouted. He turned on this heel and propelled himself back to his desk to sulk.

Hermione suppressed giggle as she put her book away and Draco had to fight away the laughter rising in his chest. They looked at each other and knew that they only had one option left. Talk to each other. The thought made Hermione sick, so she turned her head to stare somewhere- anywhere- else. Draco didn't think much of this and decided to be cocky and a pain in the ass. "So, Granger. You really have changed this year," he began, stretching backward in his seat, making himself comfortable. "Yeah, the low-rise jeans, tight shirts, short skirts. Oh and I must say that I particularly enjoyed the thong this morning. Very classic slut device, hoping to catch yourself a guy this year? Because if you're looking for one, you might want to try somewhere where mudblood's are considered socially acceptable."

Hermione finally rounded on him and slapped him across the face. Luckily the room was buzzing with chatter and Snape was busy yelling at Neville as usual, so no one noticed the attack, or the red hand print slowly creeping into his face. Her eyes were dangerously narrowed on him. If they had been signs they would have been flashing the words "I hate you" or "You can die for all I care". Draco instantly backed off and assumed staring off to the distant wall- avoiding Hermione's death glares.

When the bell finally rang Draco was the first to sprint from the room to get away from the glares of pure malice that Hermione was sending him. He glided up the stairs and through the Entrance Hall, up the main stairs and didn't stop till he was in the classroom away from the glares of loathing coming from Hermione.

The next class went by quickly and Draco didn't see Hermione once. He over heard someone saying that she had an important project to do and had to be in the library all period. He knew that was a lie, but didn't say anything, trying to make up for what he had done.

Lunch went by quickly and Draco loathed going to Transfiguration. Seeing her again. He had messed up and even though he had done it before, he didn't have to live with her then. He did this time.

He walked into Transfiguration and there was another notice on the board not to sit down. It had been there for every other class so far. Dumbledore really was promoting house unity. The rest of the class filed in and milled around the desk. After the bell rang Professor McGonagall sprang from her position on the corner of her desk as a cat into her normal form as a person. Everyone applauded and she took a small bow. "Thank you, thank you. Now I know this will seem odd but I have to assign seats this year. The head master has decided to promote house unity and has sent me a seating chart that he would appreciate if we used. So, as I call your name please move to your new seats."

Everyone ended up in the exact same seats that they had been in for Potions, much to their displeasure. Draco was close to fearing for his life as he sat down next to Hermione who was still shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

Professor McGonagall stood at the front of the room waiting for silence. As it settled among the class, she cleared her throat and said, "First thing we're going to do, to make sure you remember what you learned last year," she said sternly. "Is I will give you each a piece of chalk, one piece, and you have to turn it into something that you think would describe your day so far."

She pass out the chalk and everyone sat for a minute trying to decide what would sum up their day well. Harry chose a mirror because everything so far had reflected on his past choices; Ron chose a spoon because he was expected to dig right in; Lavender chose a feather to represent the lightness of the first day back; Parvati chose a ring to show that school was a never ending cycle. Pansy changed her chalk into lip gloss because she had left hers in her room.

Hermione chose a dagger.

Draco sat and thought for a long time. He couldn't decide what he wanted to represent his day as. Finally he waved his wand and conjured a long stemmed rose. The flower was to represent the beauty of the new year. The thorns on the stem represented the mistakes he had made already and the pain he had caused. And the entire rose all together... The entire rose together represented his apologies to the person he had hurt.

He hadn't said any of this out loud, but knew what he had done. And what he had to do.