NOTE: This story is an AU where Dumbledore is still alive and Snape isn't evil/good yet. Just so you know, I don't really read or reply to reviews b/c it's usually people whining about how I made one minor mistake or how Draco's mom's name is Narcissa. I know, I've read the books too, but if you get off on telling someone they're wrong, go for it, but no guarantees I'll read it though. I re-wrote this chapter b/c I was sick of so many people bitching at me about how they didn't like it. Thanks to those few that offered helpful advice though ;) and for those who were actually encouraging.

"Finally! Hogwart's!" Hermione exclaimed with glee as she took a seat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"Careful Hermione, you're starting to sound like Harry," Ron joked. They all chuckled then glanced around at the Hall's inhabitants. Friends were hugging and others were relaxing at their place on the bench. The teachers were seated at the front table. Professor McGonagall was seated next to Dumbledore, who were both speaking with Brianna Tasset, the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Welcome everyone, to another year at Hogwarts!" Professor Dumbledore exclaimed to the students, "Now, for the sorting." Hermione and the others watched as the first years were sorted. How small they looked compared to them as seventh years. She had been that small once.

After the sorting, the Headmaster stood again for announcements.

"I am overjoyed to see that Hogwart's will once again be open to educate the young minds of the magical world, even in the direst of circumstances. The muggle war that has been escalating in past years has spread to every inch of the globe, bringing terror and unnecessary loss to our world. I want all of you to know that it is the utmost prerogative of this staff to ensure your safety in this troubled time. Members of our staff and student body are either affiliated of members of the CLAW community that are going to ensure the complete safety and transition of this school. Would they please stand?" She said.

Professors Tasset and Sprout both stood, along with a small handful of students, including Draco. The other students who stood were merely pinpointed motivators for the movement and the professors were obviously appointed by the staff to help with the transition of the worlds. Applause sounded for a few moments, and then died off as Dumbledore resumed his speech.

"Please remember all the same rules, do not enter the forbidden forest or wander at night. I would like to recognize our new Head Boy and Girl, Blaise Zabini and Hermione Granger."

Hermione took her turn to stand and accept applause. She smiled as she stood and retook her seat. Draco caught her eye and gave her a small congratulatory smile.

"We would also like to welcome," he continued, "Our newest DADA teacher, Ms. Brianna Tasset. She has extensively studied the history of the Dark Arts and has proven herself an extremely capable teacher as an Auror instructor for the past 5 years." The students applauded as she stood.

"I wonder how long this one will last," Ron murmured, "and if she's evil like the past couple have been."

"Please keep in mind," Dumbledore said, "We will offer seminars when necessary about the Return to Eden campaign, as well as keep you all informed about the advancement of the muggle wars and the extensive means taken to ensure the safety of every member of this school. Everyone is safe and welcome in this school. Thank you."

Applause erupted for the headmaster, soon followed by cheers as food appeared on the tables. Hermione dove into her first Hogwart's meal of the school year.

"So, Hermione, tell us about your summer, what happened to you out there in the muggle world?" Ron asked. Hermione stared at him for a few seconds then looked down at her plate.

"It was um… ah…" she said softly. She didn't want to talk about it to anyone else just yet; Draco was the only one aware of her family's death and her current situation regarding Dolohov.

"She doesn't want to talk about it Ron," Harry said.

"Oh, sorry. Just tell us when you're ready," Ron said, obviously embarrassed.

Hermione shook her head.

They both instead decided to tell her about their own summers. Harry had luckily been placed with Ron's family the entire time since the Dursley's evacuated and "forgot" to wake him up the first week he was back.

Ron and Harry told Hermione how the summer had been busy; they had frequented the Order of the Phoenix safe houses who were now working to ensure there was no rising up after the transition. Hermione was desperate to tell them about the plot she knew about, but didn't because she was afraid Draco would be convicted once revealed. Besides, they didn't need to know anything about Draco's personal life. She was content to sit back and listen to their somewhat easy and uneventful summers in comparison to her own. The thing she wanted most was just to curl up in her four-poster bed and have no fear of the ceiling collapsing on top of her in the middle of the night.

The biggest perk to being Head Girl was that she received her own private room in the Gryffindor tower. At the end of the girls' hall was a door that always remained locked unless the year's Head Girl was from Gryffindor. That year, Hermione was given the key. The quarters were spectacular compared to the other rooms, yet quite plain when compared to her accommodations at Malfoy Manor.

She had a king sized four-poster bed with the same crimson curtains. She had her own fireplace, which was not in use since it was early fall. She had several bookshelves and a walk in closet. The thing she was most thankful for… a private bathroom. She also had access to the Prefect Bath and other areas. She laughed for a while when she saw the large painting on her wall. It was similar to the Marauder's Map, but less detailed. It showed red, green, blue, and yellow dots for the students wandering the halls and grounds. It also showed black dots for the teachers so she could find them if necessary. She wondered why they had never been caught in their past night outings if the Head Boy/Girl would have been able to find them, but assumed they must have been small potatoes and not worth the effort to the past Heads.

All her things had already been arranged for her so she changed into her nightclothes. She went out onto her private balcony and took in the view. She could see out into the Forbidden Forest and saw a few lights twinkling in the distance from Hogsmeade. Few were on though, because it was quite late. She had been briefed by McGonagall after dinner and had talked with some of the other seventh years before venturing to her tower.

She pulled out a quill and some parchment, she knew what she wanted to do. She lay on her bed for over an hour writing the letter. It wasn't lengthy, but she wanted to make sure each word was the perfect way to describe her current thoughts. She wrote how glad she was that she had been saved, given a home, and helped to re-establish her life. She told how happy she was to finally be back at Hogwarts and how hopeful she was for the coming year and that she had a new relationship to explore. She thanked Draco for everything, and told him that she truly did like him for who he was now and wanted things to remain the same as they had been in the manor. Lastly, she confessed how scared she was of the campaign and of diving into a relationship at the moment, but she cared for him and wanted to pursue their romantic relationship further, just at a slow, trusting pace.

She signed the letter and sealed it. She placed it in her book bag with her things for class tomorrow, eager to give it to him.

Now, she was worn down and ready for sleep. She crawled into bed and lay down, hoping for good dreams.

The next morning, Hermione joined her friends at breakfast. It was still early in the year, so Ron and Harry had enough energy to drag themselves out of bed before classes at nine. After comparing their classes, Hermione saw that they had few classes together. All of her classes were the most advanced level. All three of them had Advanced NEWT Defense Against the Dark Arts together and Hermione and Harry had Advanced NEWT Charms together. Hermione glanced across the Hall and saw Draco contemplating his schedule amidst a plate of French toast and couldn't help but hope they had classes together.

"Well it looks like I won't be in class with you guys until Wednesday," said Ron sadly. They all had DADA on Wednesday and Harry and Ron had Semi-advanced NEWT Herbology together on Friday as well. Ron stood to go his NEWT Transfiguration class with Harry following because his Potions class was a long walk. Hermione gathered her books and glanced over to the Slytherin table, but Draco had already left. Perhaps he had a long walk to potions of Care of Magical Creatures. She sighed and left the Great Hall on her way to Advanced NEWT Herbology. Once she reached the greenhouses she had to wind her way to the farthest one in the back of the gardens. The door was locked and she had to state a password written on her schedule in order to get in. Many of the highest-level classes were this way because they worked with dangerous materials. Upon entering the green house, she saw she was one of the last ones to arrive. Neville waved at her, but apologized that he hadn't known to save her a seat and had given it to a Hufflepuff.

"True friend," she heard someone snicker. She glanced over and saw Draco sitting by a window on the far left, "You can sit with me if you'd like." He said. Neville scowled a little at having his dedication to his housemate insulted.

"No worries Neville, it's not your fault," she said with a smile. She took the seat next to Draco and began organizing her things.

"That was rude," she said softly. Draco just shrugged and looked out the window. "I never knew you were so interested in plants Draco," she joked.

"It was either this or Advanced NEWT History of Magic and that didn't sound particularly interesting," he said.

"How many OWL's did you get?" Hermione asked, trying not to sound too obvious.

"Nine O's," he said bluntly, "With two E's in Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

"Impressive," Hermione said. Draco didn't ask her her scores, he assumed they were all O's. "I hope you had a good oh!" Hermione exclaimed. Draco had placed his hand on hers that was resting on the table. She quickly pulled it away and pulled her hair behind her ears. Draco sighed and gave her a small glare. "I just um… well," Hermione stuttered.

"GOOD MORNING CLASS!" Professor Sprout exclaimed as she entered the greenhouse. Hermione quickly faced the front of the room happy to have an excuse to look away. Out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw Draco reach into the collar of his robes to touch his pendant. Hermione felt that he was extremely angry and upset, but ignored it.

Professor Sprout then explained to all of them the importance of Herbology and how excited she was to have all 10 of them in her class. She gave them all a syllabus and a list of materials they would need for the next few months. She then answered a few questions students had about the plants they'd work with and extra credit and homework.

"Any more questions?" she asked.

"Professor…" a girl in the back asked, "You are one of the appointed heads for Hogwart's and the CLAW group, can you give us any information?"

Professor Sprout erm and ummed for a minute, glancing at Draco a few times, who quickly averted her eyes.

"No worries child," Sprout said, "Everyone here is safe and all measures of the campaign will be explained before being implemented. But if you have any personal questions or fears, please come talk to me in private."

The girl nodded nervously.

"No more questions?" Sprout asked, "Well, we're almost out of time anyway, I'll see you all on Wednesday." Professor Sprout exited followed by a few students eager to get onto their next lessons. Hermione took a minute to pack up her things, feeling Draco's eyes boring into her scull.

"Can I help you?" she asked him as she stood to go.

"Just disappointed that you'd lead me on," he snapped, "Us kissing and now you pretending it didn't happen."

"Who's pretending?" Hermione asked defensively, "I haven't denied anything to anyone. Besides, I don't see you telling all your friends about our current status."

"What status is that?" Draco asked, "And for your information, I told Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy to leave you alone and be civil to you because you are under my protection."

"YOUR PROTECTION!" Hermione screeched, "Since when do I need your protection?"

"Maybe since I found you dying underneath your own home," he said sharply. Hermione stared at him in shock.

"I'm a person, not a pet Draco. I don't need your protection or anything else otherwise. I can take care of myself here at Hogwarts. I have denied nothing about us. But I'm not ready to go skipping through the corridors with you and having people stare at the Mudblood and the CLAW saint, savior of us all." Hermione said, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

Draco stared at her for a few seconds, then shook his head.

"Fine," he said, "I understand. I embarrass you."

"Draco…" Hermione said. He shook his head and turned to leave. She grabbed his shoulder and shoved the letter into his hand.

"That's for you, I guess this is as special a time as any," she said flatly. He glanced at the letter and tucked it into a pocket in his robes. He placed his hand on her shoulder and rested his forehead on hers.

"We'll figure this out," he said softly and ran his other hand down her hair. He gave her a peck on the cheek and left.

Hermione sighed and rubbed her forehead, alone now. She adjusted her belongings and prepared to leave. She was glad they hadn't ended things yelling and storming out. Draco was right. They would figure everything out. She turned and left the greenhouse.

She exited out into the midmorning sunshine, heading back towards the castle. She had to hurry or else she'd be late for Charms with Harry. She hadn't even asked Draco what his next class was. She stopped when she overheard voices around the corner.

"You see professor, I don't know what to do or tell them. There's no way on earth I'd ever abandon my family, but I don't want to die. I don't want them to die either. There's got to be something that can be done. I guess CLAW has overlooked families like mine," Hermione heard a girl saying.

"I understand completely Melinda. I will write a letter tonight to the CLAW council and will mention the issue to the Headmaster. We will get this whole thing sorted out and all the other muggle borns like you will be safe ok?" Hermione heard Professor Sprout saying.

Hermione realized she was eavesdropping so she continued on, passing right by the girl from the back of the room and Professor Sprout.

"Hermione!" Professor Sprout exclaimed as Hermione walked away. She stopped with pain on her face, she was going to get docked points for listening, the Head Girl!

"Yes professor?" Hermione asked as she turned.

"Could you walk with Ms. Taxby back to the castle?" Sprout asked. Hermione nodded gladly. Melinda smiled and Hermione and joined her. They turned together and began heading up to the castle.

"Is uh.. is everything alright?" Hermione asked Melinda.

Melinda nodded. "I sure hope so," she said softly, "CLAW has completely neglected muggle borns and our families. They tell me I'm going to be saved and sent to "Eden" but don't say anything about where my family is going. I'm not leaving them behind. They don't deserve to die either. They didn't start this war."

Hermione met eyes with her and nodded.

"You're muggle born aren't you? You know where I'm coming from!" Melinda said with a grin. "It's nice to know someone feels the same dilemma as I do. What does your family think about Return to Eden? Would they come if they were allowed?"

Hermione stared at her for a second and continued to walk.

"Well?" Melinda pressed.

"I uh.. I'm from Bristol," Hermione said.

"Oh! Bristol's completely gone isn't it? Good thing you got evacuated in time. Like I said, this war isn't our fault and it's not our family's faults either. I'm sure they'll find some way to allow all the muggle born families to come along, there wouldn't be that many. Where were you evacuated too?" Melinda babbled.

"We weren't evacuated. My family is gone," Hermione said as she wiped a tear on her cloak.

Melinda gasped and shut her mouth. They walked for a few minutes back into the castle. When they reached the entrance hall where Melinda was heading to potions Melinda hugged Hermione.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea," Melinda stammered. Melinda wiped tears from her eyes. "It could have been my family you know? It could have been anyone; anyone who didn't deserve it. And your family definitely didn't deserve it. You must be ready to get as far away from this war as possible, as far as another plane," Melinda said sadly, "I really can't tell you how sorry I am. Sometimes I just need to shut up you know?" She said. She turned and headed down the steps to the dungeon for potions. Hermione continued to the Grand Staircase for Charms.