Hermione began to unpack. She got halfway through her trunk when she ran into a present.

Dear Hermione,

I assume you still remember what a CD player is. This CD

is from America, and features a band called Bon Jovi.

Listen, and share it with your friends. Remember that we

will always love you.

Mum and Dad

Hermione placed the CD player and the CD, entitled 'Bounce', on her bed and continued to unpack.

Draco walked up to his room and opened his trunk. He flicked his wand at it and the contents zoomed to their designated places.

Draco and Hermione met in the bathroom, both attempting to brush their teeth. Malfoy sneered at her. "Little Mudblood all ready for bed?" he asked in a baby voice that made Hermione glare at him.

"Look, lets try to at least act civil toward each other. Arguing with each other won't solve anything, especially when we're supposed to be working together for the next year." Hermione said after rinsing out her mouth.

Draco looked at her like she was an alien, then shrugged. "Fine, Granger, I don't exactly want to get kicked out just because I didn't agree to be nice. Just don't show your face when my friends come over, got it?

"Same goes for when my friends come over." Hermione walked out her door, slamming it shut just as Malfoy was about to protest.

"Well, I guess that's fair!" He shouted through the door. "Just don't keep me up until three in the morning!"

Hermione's Diary

Well, I guess Malfoy and I are on civil terms now. Don't know what to think of that, but okay then. Harry was okay with it, Ron probably wasn't even listening, he was too busy trying to break the Hogwarts record for 'most amount of sausages eaten in one sitting'. Glutton.

I got a CD from mum and dad. An American band, they know how much I like things from America. I wrote home and everything is fine there, they just sent back my owl.

That said, term isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Draco and Hermione were on better terms now, able to call each other by their first names. They still acted like jerks outside their dormitories, but inside it was better to just get along.

Draco decided to take a shower, so he pulled out a shirt and flannels and walked into the joint bathroom. It was made entirely out of white marble, bore two showers and a huge 20 foot squared bath which had spigots with various colored jewels encrusted into them, and two sinks with mirrors above them. Draco walked toward his shower area and proceeded to take his shower.

Emerging about 10 minutes later in a white tanktop shirt and long green flannel pants, Draco heard singing in the room next to him. He stopped to listen to the song.

"...I had enough of crying, bleeding, sweating, dying,

Hear me when I say gonna live my life everyday

I'm gonna touch the sky, spread these wings and fly

I ain't here to play, gonna live my life everyday…"

He stepped into the doorway to see what Hermione was doing. He saw her laying on her bed singing in a voice just barely audible, some sort of earmuffs on her ears. Her eyes were staring up into the red canopy above her.

"What's that, Hermione?" Draco asked, almost timidly.

Hermione looked over to see Malfoy standing in her doorway. She took the headphones off and began to talk to him. "This? It's a CD player."

"What's a CD player? And what are you singing?" he questioned again.

"A CD player lets you listen to music. It's a Muggle band called Bon Jovi. Do you want to listen?" Hermione wondered whether she should have offered to lend it to him, but he nodded and came to see how it worked.

"Just press the play button, and put the headphones on your ears." Hermione explained.

"Thanks, Hermione. I'll go back into my room." Draco retreated into the Slytherin-colored room, placing the headphones onto his ears as he went.

Hermione decided to take a shower also, then go to bed. She proceeded to the bathroom and saw Malfoy sitting on his bed, listening to what she could tell was the song 'Everyday', his head bobbing slightly. Hermione smiled to herself and turned back to her shower.

Draco's Journal

Sitting here, listening to Granger's music machine, I think it's called a CD player or some odd thing like that. Some Muggle band, I kind of like their music. Normally I only listen to The Serpents, but this is okay too.

Hermione and I are on speaking terms, she's finally getting used to the fact I can be nice. Sometimes.

PS If you're reading this, Zabini, my journal is written on Jinxing Parchment now. Happy Birthday.

15 minutes later Hermione came out of the bathroom, wearing light blue shorts and a light blue tanktop. She threw her clothes into a drawer and went back into the bathroom with her wand, intending to straighten her hair and put it into a ponytail even if it was the last thing she did.

"Here's your DC player back, Hermione." Malfoy held it out to her.

"Thanks. Put it on my bed, please." Hermione began shooting her hair with spells.

"Girls and their hair…"Draco began to mutter under his breath, and noticed an owl at Hermione's window. He placed the CD player on her bed and opened the window to let it in.

"Granger, you have a letter." Draco detached the letter from the owl's leg and it flew off through the window.

Hermione emerged from the bathroom, her hair in a straightened ponytail. "Thanks, Malfoy." She tore open the letter to read it. Suddenly she turned pale white and fell to her knees.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco rushed over to her and knelt down beside her.

"My parents…killed...DRACO!" she screamed and threw herself at him, taking refuge in his arms while knocking him over. "They're dead, and never coming back." She cried, abandoning the letter which bore the news. Draco read it to himself.

Miss Granger,

It is with our most sincere regrets that we inform you

your parents were killed in a raid conducted on your

house by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The objective

of this raid is still unknown, but it is currently under

investigation.

Eric Wilson, The Department of Muggle Relations

"Hermione…" Draco held her in his arms, unable to do anything else until she cried herself to sleep.