Hermione's Quarters

4:30AM

Sunday, October 6th, 1998

Hermione had woken from a nightmare and moved to lie on her side, watching her slumbering fiancé.

Ron had chased her to Honeydukes, begged for her forgiveness in the middle of the sweets store. The desperate look on his face and sincerity in his eyes had swayed her, letting him walk back with her to the castle, his jacket slung around her shoulders for extra warmth. The couple had stayed up until the early hours of the morning, sitting on her bed with cups of tea and an assortments of chocolates and candies he had bought for her from Honeydukes, talking about everything until, close to three o'clock, he had begun to nod off.

She had slept for an hour and a half before the nightmare begun. It had started with a bitter laughter, turned to a shrill cackling. Then, in the fog of unconsciousness, hands had pinned her down and no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't break free. Finally, the true horrors begun. Millions of pins were sticking into her body, someone was hammering at her joints, her skin was melting off her bones. Or that's what if felt like. In fact, her physical body remained unharmed in the dream, but there was nothing unharmed about how she felt.

When the fires began to die out across her skin, they were replaced by a blade. It would cut and slice and carve, controlled by an invisible hand, egged on by the laughter which ricocheted in her skull, bouncing off her ears until her head felt fit to explode and she woke in a layer of sweat, hands running unconsciously over the scars which had not healed on her torso.

Ron had slept through her fit, snoring lightly. She wanted to curl into his chest and sob but she didn't want to disturb him. Hermione opted to let him sleep away the bags under his eyes, consoling herself by climbing silently from the bed and tiptoeing out of the room. The fire was close to burning out and her flat was cool, drying the sweat on her skin. She boiled some water and poured herself a cup of tea, taking it over to the embers with a copy of her Ancient Runes textbook.

She had spent the week paired with Malfoy and it was another class where they had outshone everyone else whilst working together. At the rate the pair were going, they were to be working together in both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy for the rest of the year. There was just one more class for new partnerships to be tested in and that was Potions. Hermione had jumped from Theo to Blaise to Daphne and for the last week she had worked badly alongside Pansy Parkinson who had refused to aid the Gryffindor in any way. She was almost looking forward to working with Malfoy just for the sake of having a competent partner.

Her eyes skimmed over the translations in her textbook, pushing the nightmare to the furthest recesses of her mind. It had been the same reoccurring horror at least three times a week since her visit to Malfoy Manor. The same laughter, the same pain, the same terror felt in every nerve of her body. She pushed a sweaty lock of hair off her forehead, trying to focus on a complicated sequence of runes as the shrill cackling played over and over in her head.

The sun was starting to rise before Hermione's eyes grew heavy again, her mind finally having erased the nightmare for the time being. She abandoned the nearly finished tome on her armchair and crawled back into bed, fitting herself into Ron's arms. He pulled her body flush against his own, mumbling something appreciatively in his sleep. She smiled against his chest before her drowsiness overcame her, forcing her into a dreamless doze.

When she woke, Ron was watching her with a small smile on his lips, tracing his fingertips up and down her arm.

"Morning," he said, moving forward a few inches to kiss her. "I missed this."

"So have I," she moved towards him again until their lips met again, moving against their partners until she was left gasping for air. "What time is it?"

"Half eight," Ron said, kissing along her jaw. "We can just spend the whole day in bed."

Hermione sat up abruptly, putting an end to whatever plan her fiancé had that tempted her to stay in bed. She rolled off the mattress. "I have a meeting with McGonagall at nine," she explained, running into the bathroom. As she stripped down and started the hot water, she could hear Ron complaining to himself on the other side of the door.

Her shower was quick, her hair still a tangled mess when she hurried back into the bedroom wrapped in just a towel. She could feel Ron's eyes on her before he pulled her over, kissing her deeply.

"I don't have time," she pried herself away reluctantly. "Go have a shower. We can hang out after my meeting."

She caught sight of a pout on Ron's face before she turned back around to change quickly into a pair of jeans and a large sweater whilst the shower started up again. By the time he had returned to the room, dressed in the crumpled up clothes he had worn yesterday, she had put her hair into a bun and was waving her wand around to tidy up the room.

"It's five to nine, babe," he said, watching her work. "I'll walk you to McGonagall's."

Their pace was closer to a run as they ducked through hallways crowded with sleepy students. When they reached the stone gargoyle at the foot of the stairs leading to the Headmistress' office, Ron pulled Hermione in for a long kiss, effectively taking her breath away for the second time that morning.

"I'm going to have breakfast with Gin but then I should probably get back to London," he told her, a crease forming between his eyes. "I'm sorry for being such a prat yesterday, but it was really good to see you."

"Oh, okay," Hermione stood on her toes to kiss him again. "I'll send you a letter."

"Sounds good," he said, turning and heading towards the Great Hall.

She watched him go until he was swallowed up by the castle, turning and speaking the password to the statue. Her mind wandered to their time together as she climbed the stairs to the office, entering at the sound of the Headmistress' beckoning voice.

Terry was already seated inside, looking much more presentable than Hermione was sure she looked. Professor McGonagall offered her a rare smile, asking her to take a seat and pouring out a cup of tea for her.

"Miss Granger, how has your first month back been?" she asked, placing the teacup in front of Hermione.

"Quite pleasant, thank you," the Head Girl said, sipping at the hot tea.

"Good, good. And I hope you and Mr Nott will work well together in my class. It's of the utmost importance that you and Mr Boot here work your hardest to cooperate with other houses in order to set an example for some of our younger, less accommodating students."

"Of course, Professor. I'm sure Theo and I will work well together."

"Well, excellent," the Headmistress came as close to beaming as McGonagall ever did, topping up her own teacup. "Now then, onto business, as it were. For the last ten years or so, Hogwarts has been in a state of disarray, meaning we have omitted some of our more enjoyable activities. The Samhain Ball is something which Hogwarts had held for many, many years on the night of All Hallows' Eve. For the past few years, it has simply been replaced with a feast. However, as the wizarding world is becoming more stable, Albus," she gestured to the portrait of Dumbledore which hung on the wall, his eyes twinkling, "believed that it would be a good time to reinstate this event."

"Most of the arrangements have been organised, and the evening will progress in a similar way to the Yule Ball in your fourth year," McGonagall continued, and Hermione remembered the glittering Great Hall, her argument with Ron, how she had spent the last part of the evening in tears. "Similarly, only students from fourth year upwards will be allowed at the event, and that is where you two come in. You will be expected to gather the names of students who will be attending. Younger students will only be eligible to attend if accompanied by an older student."

"So Hermione and I are to simply collect the names of students?" Terry clarified.

"That is correct, Mr Boot. You two will also serve as a role model for the younger students and, as such, it would be encouraged if you promoted the inter-house unity we are so desperate to achieve this year. It could be something as simple as a single dance with a member of an opposite house, but it must be observed by the other students that two of our brightest are willing to put their best foot forward and interact with members of other houses."

"We will be expected to bring dates, I assume," Terry said and McGonagall nodded in response.

"Correct again. However," and now the Headmistress turned her gaze directly to Hermione, "you will be unable to bring a partner from outside of the school, Miss Granger. There are too many security issues and it would no doubt induce a large influx of unwanted visitors to the grounds. I apologise, but this is my final word on the matter."

"I understand," Hermione said, biting her lip in frustration. Who was she supposed to bring as a date if Ron was unable to come? And how would he react if she took anyone other than him?

"Now, there will be a list of instructions to follow awaiting you in your respective quarters. Students will be coming up to you whenever they please to record their attendance to the ball, so I encourage the pair of you to carry your ticket sheets around with you at all times. If neither of you have any questions, you're free to go," McGonagall dismissed them, Hermione leading Terry out the door and down the spiral staircase. They went their separate ways, Terry veering off to his quarters and Hermione heading to the Great Hall, keen to see if Ron was still around or if there was at least a scrap of food left.

Harry and Ron had both just left, a very tired Ginny informed her, but they had saved Hermione a small amount of food. The younger girl rested her head on the table.

"We were up all night," she said, turning away to yawn. "Because he couldn't come up to my dormitory, you know? So we tried to get to the Room of Requirement, but it was all messed up and wouldn't give us what we asked for. Harry said something happened to it in the Final Battle. But we went back to the Common Room and just stayed up all night there because the couches weren't big enough for us to sleep on them together. Why do you look so tired?" the redhead asked. "Wait, if it's something gross then I don't need to know what you were doing with my brother."

"Nothing like that, Gin," Hermione said, working her way through the bacon and eggs which had been set aside. "I had a nightmare and ended up only getting a couple hours of sleep."

"Ron didn't comfort you?" Ginny assumed, refilling her cup of coffee. She winced at the strength.

"He looks so tired and I didn't have the heart to wake him," Hermione finished off the last of her eggs. "I think working with George is putting a strain on him."

"Probably," Ginny agreed. "Georgie is a wreck since…"

Hermione nodded, noticing Ginny's eyes well up at the thought of her late brother. The brunette reached across the table to pat her friend's hand and tried to change the subject.

"So, I just had a meeting with McGonagall and there's going to be a Samhain Ball at the end of the month," Hermione said, watching Ginny's face brighten. "We can't bring dates from outside, but it'll be a lot of fun."

"I need new dress robes," Ginny frowned. "D'you think there'll be another trip to Hogsmeade soon?"

"Next weekend, from what I've heard," Hermione scraped her plate clean. "C'mon, let's go back to mine. I have to collect names of students who want to go, so I'm assuming I can add your name to the list."

Ginny nodded, prodding the tentacle of the Giant Squid as they reached the Heads Quarters. When the pair reached Hermione's apartment, the Head Girl found McGonagall's instructions beside a large box of strawberry flavoured Sugar Quills, her favourite sweet. The box had been wrapped with a large gold bow and was accompanied by an apology note from her fiancé, bringing a smile to her face. Ginny cracked open the box and started sucking on one of the treats immediately, Hermione following suit.

"Who are you going to ask to the ball?" Ginny asked, nibbling on her quill as she sprawled herself out in front of the fireplace which was crackling merrily.

"I haven't a clue," Hermione sighed, curling herself into a ball in an armchair. Crookshanks leapt onto her lap, purring contentedly as she scratched behind his ears. "McGonagall is going crazy over inter-house cooperation, so I'm assuming someone from another house would be for the best. That said, I don't really have many friends outside of Gryffindor."

"I was thinking Michael Corner," Ginny mused.

"Your ex-boyfriend?" Hermione paused scratching her familiar's ears and raised her eyebrows. "Harry would just love that."

"You're right," Ginny frowned and let out a sigh. "I suppose I could go by myself."

"At least you don't have to find a date," Hermione continued pleasing her cat who had begun to grow restless. The creature calmed down at her touch. "McGonagall says Terry and I need to have dates."

"Michael?" Ginny offered.

"No offence to your past taste in men, but I'll pass," Hermione shook her head. "I'll figure it out later, I suppose. There's no rush. Worst case scenario, you and I can go together."

Transfiguration Classroom

11:30AM

Monday, October 7th, 1998

"No, you're doing it wrong," Hermione grabbed Theo's arm, stopping his harsh jabbing motions. "It's not that harsh."

"Bloody hell, Hermione," he moved his arm from her grasp. "I'm not a first year. I know how to use a wand."

"Well then how come your table still has the legs of a dog?" she asked, pointing to the hairy legs which threatened to wander off with the top of his transfigured table. "It's like this."

Hermione jabbed her wand forward with less force than Theo, flicking her wrist at the end of the movement. The table abruptly stopped moving, legs transfigured into ornately carved table legs with delicate clawed feet at the end. Theo glared at her, reversing her movements in an attempt to return the table to its former canine form. Instead, the piece of furniture kept the legs Hermione had created, but the top resembled the body of a Dalmation.

"Fuck," Theo muttered, repeating the spell until the legs matched the torso. The dog promptly curled up on the floor, watching the pair with sleepy eyes. "Why would anyone ever need to transfigure a dog into a table, anyway?"

"It's about practicing incantations and complex wand movements," Hermione said, sitting on the floor to scratch the Dalmation's ears. They had fulfilled Professor McGonagall's requirements which stated that each pair had to transfigure their canine at least once each. No other pair had completed the task yet and there were tables walking all over the classroom.

"Right, obviously," he sat beside her, lavishing attention on the dog. "You taking Weasley to the Samhain Ball?"

Posters had been plastered up over the school overnight and Hermione had already been greeted by a rush of students eager to put their names down. Theo's question took her by surprise, unsure of his motives behind asking. What would he care if she was taking her fiancé to a school function?

"No," she answered slowly. "McGonagall said no outside visitors for the ball. There'd be too many students wanting to bring partners who don't go to Hogwarts and the castle would be too overcrowded. Who are you taking?"

"No idea," Teddy said, watching a flustered Pavarti Patil chase her table across the room. "Blaise got Daphne and Drake asked Pansy before I was even out of bed. The last Slytherin girl I would even consider is Millicent, and really, I'm not certain she's even a girl."

Hermione tried to hide her smile at his comment. She remembered the disastrous Polyjuice affair back in her second year after Millicent Bulstrode had placed her in a headlock. "No, I'm not sure, either."

"We should go together," Theo tossed an arm over her shoulders, winking at her. "Set the tongues wagging."

"As romantic as your notion is," she rolled her eyes and shrugged out of his arm, twisting Ron's engagement ring in circles, "I don't think that would be a particularly good idea."

"Worried about Weasley?" he asked, watching her twist the piece of jewellery. "It'd be just as friends, because that's what we are. There'd be nothing sinister, and your fiancé should probably let you choose your own friends. Besides, who else are you going to take? Boot? Because I'm pretty sure he doesn't swing that way."

Hermione scowled at her new 'friend'. "Yes, I am worried about what Ron is going to think. I know you saw his reaction at the Three Broomsticks on the weekend, and that was just a conversation. How do you think he's going to react if we go to a ball together?"

Another table with dog legs raced past them, this time pursued by Blaise who was waving his wand wildly through the air.

"Look, I know you're in love with your ginger, and I won't begin to understand how that's even possible, but you're allowed to have friends, you know," Theo said, laughing at his mate's attempts to catch his classwork. "But fine. If you want to end up going with some nerdy Ravenclaw, that's okay."

"Fine," Hermione said as the bell rang. Their Dalmation disappeared, as did all the other barking tables in the room. She snatched up her leather satchel. "I'll go with you to the ball."

"I might even bathe for you, 'Mione," Theo said, ruffling her hair as he strode past her and out of the classroom. She wrinkled his nose at his back but she was pleased that she wouldn't be turning up to the Samhain Ball by herself.

Theo, for all his annoyances, was right. She was allowed to have her own friends, regardless of what her fiancé thought. And she enjoyed the Slytherin's company. Their witty banter made her look forward to their trying Transfiguration lessons and she was certain this was exactly what McGonagall had in mind when she brought up house unity. Hermione would certainly face repercussions from this and Ron's anger was nothing to look forward to, but she had every right to take whomever she wanted to the ball.

Potions Classroom

2:45PM

"I think we have a new top pair," Slughorn announced gleefully, staring down at the flawless luck potion Hermione and Draco had created. Hermione felt her face flush with pride at the announcement, though it was tainted with concern when she realised that Slughorn meant to pair her with Draco for the rest of the year. The two were already working together in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. There had been no conflict between them, but Hermione still felt awkward and cold sitting beside the haughty Slytherin.

To his credit, he hadn't spoken to her since their first Arithmancy lesson except for things related to their work, but soon harder projects would be handed out and the pair would have to find time to be around each other outside of class, focusing on their schoolwork. Hermione knew that the best place for them to work would be her apartment, but she wasn't sure she wanted him in her private space.

"Well done, you two. I think I'm going to make an early assumption and pair you two together!" Slughorn moved around the classroom, pairing other groups up permanently.

"Look, Granger, you can ask for a new partner if you want," Draco said, uttering his first words to her all lesson. "I won't be offended. You already have to work with me in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, and I understand it must be trying for you to be around me so much."

"No," she said quickly. She had never achieved such brilliant results in Potions as she had in this lesson and she wanted to keep working with him purely for selfish reasons. "I mean, we're both adults. We can be mature about it. I'll be fine, and there's no point in sacrificing good grades. I'm sure we can both be civil and won't resort to hexing the castle down over an assignment."

She saw the ghost of a smile on his face. "Okay. Thank you," he said stiffly, organising his books and avoiding her eyes.

Slughorn moved back to the front of the classroom, clearing his throat loudly. "Now that you've all found your designated partners for the year, I have an assignment for you all. It is routine of seventh year Potions students to participate in this and its results will impact nearly half of your overall grade. You and your partner are to write an in depth paper on a potion of your own creation. This will be a project which extends the course of the rest of the year, but it is not something you can accomplish in the last week before the due date." He gave Blaise a long look and Draco sniggered beside her.

"I expect an outline of your potion and its uses by next Monday, so off you go," he finished as the last bell of the day signalled their release.

"I have my own quarters this year, so it'd probably be best if we worked there," Hermione offered, figuring the pros outweighed the cons of letting the Slytherin into her apartment. "We can start work on it this afternoon, if you want."

"Sounds fine," Draco still wasn't looking at her but he nodded.

"It's the picture of the Black Lake on the second floor. Poke the tentacle of the Giant Squid and it'll turn into a doorknob. My room is the one up the left staircase," she left her instructions with him and joined Ginny in the hallway.

"Teddy just passed on an interesting piece of information to me in that lesson," the redhead began as they traipsed out of the dungeons. "Apparently you two are going to the Samhain Ball together."

"It must have slipped my mind at lunch, Gin," Hermione said, squeezing past a giggling bunch of third year Hufflepuffs. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise to me," Ginny said, glaring at the group. "Apologise to my brother. He's going to be furious, Hermione."

"I'm allowed to have my own friends, Ginny. Ron doesn't get to choose who I socialise with. Theo is smart and funny and he's a friend of mine now, so your brother can learn to deal with it," Hermione said, tone harsher than she had wanted. "Anyway, Malfoy is coming over to work on our Potions assignment in twenty minutes, so I have to get changed and get my books ready. I'll see you at dinner."

The Head Girl took the last set of stairs two at a time, determined to have the last word, and slipped behind the painting of the Hogwarts grounds. Once in her quarters, she picked out a few of her favourite Potions books from the well-stocked bookshelves around the room and changed into a pair of jeans and one of Ron's old Weasley jumpers. She was just making a pot of tea when Draco arrived.

"Hello," he said stiffly, posture perfect as he sat in an armchair Hermione had gestured to. He was dressed down by his usual standards, a pair of black pants and a dress shirt with the top few buttons undone. Hermione noticed he had the sleeves rolled up slightly, but not to the elbow. She suppressed a shiver at the thought of what lay beneath the crisp white fabric.

"Have you had any thoughts as to what our potion could be?" she asked, sitting with her legs crossed beneath her on the sofa. She leaned forward to pour tea. "I haven't a clue."

"Hermione Granger clueless. That must be a first," Draco said, placing two sugar cubes into his cup with a generous splash of milk. She cracked a small smile but he had grown used to his habit of avoiding looking at her. "As it happens, I have an idea. I know there are healing potions, ones that can heal wounds and certain ones which are able to vanish scars, but there are some scars, usually the result of Dark magic that can't be removed with these potions."

Hermione thought of the long scars on her torso, the one on her neck which she covered with a concealment charm every morning. When the marks refused to fade, she had visited St Mungo's and found that they had been bestowed upon her by a cursed blade, that there were no potions or spells created to relieve her of the marks. "Go on," she prompted, sipping at her own drink.

"It would be difficult but with enough work, I think we'd be able to devise a potion to remove these scars," Draco said. "Or at the very least, make some headway in the area."

"Potions like these aren't top priority," Hermione nodded. "Not many people with incurable scars are willing to come forward. That's a really good idea, Malfoy." It felt strange complimenting him, but she saw his face turn slightly pink and a small smile on his face. "You should think about becoming a Healer."

"That's what I'm aiming for," he admitted, looking into his cup.

Hermione placed her saucer on the table and went to the pile of books she had selected out, flicking through to find any instructions on basic healing potions. She turned to the expanse of her bookshelf, standing on her toes to reach a book right on the top shelf. She considered pulling out her wand and summoning it down when she felt someone stretch up behind her. Draco's pale hand pulled the thick tome from the shelf and handing it to her.

"That was the one you wanted, right?" he asked, returning to his seat when she nodded.

"I remember a reference to this book when I was looking at healing potions last year, but I wasn't exactly in any position to get my hands on it," she said, flicking through the ancient pages. "It's a really old book and its said to have some of the very first potions in it. I'm sure I read something about medicinal mixtures. It'd be a good foundation to start at if we can go right back to the very core beginnings of healing potions."

"We'll need to have a look at Dark magic, too," Draco added, back on his feet and standing at the bookshelf. "Most of the books we'll need will be in the Restricted Section, I imagine, but we can start here."

"And we'll need some way of testing it, too," Hermione chewed on her lip absently as she searched for the page in her book.

"I'll be a test subject," Draco replied, just as vacantly. Hermione's hands paused in their search for her desired page, looking up at the blonde who was sifting through a stack of books he had withdrawn from the shelf. She knew such a potion wouldn't work on his Dark Mark, and she wondered what marks he would have which couldn't be removed. "Potter's curse left me scarred, but I have a few other scars on my back which won't fade," he added, meeting her gaze for the first time that year.

Even from their distance, she saw the heaviness in his eyes. He may only have been eighteen, but Draco Malfoy had seen things most would never see if they lived three lifetimes. Hermione noticed how old his silver eyes looked in that moment before he quickly flickered his gaze away and she felt a surge of remorse for him.

"I can test it, too," she said. She turned her head down but kept her eyes focused on the Slytherin as he looked up from his book for a moment, shocked, before looking back to his textbook.

They worked on their separate portions in silence until dinner, him focused on the cursed side of the potion, her working to modernise some of the instructions on the first healing potions. She had no idea where to find three hundred year old Boomslang skin and she made a mental note to do research on finding a suitable replacement.

When the clock struck seven, both looked up, confused at how quickly the time had passed. Draco stood first, stretching his legs and tidying up the stacks of books which had ended up strewn about. He made an excuse about having to go to his dormitory quickly, leaving her free to walk down to the Great Hall without quiet whispers from other students at seeing the two of them together.

She travelled down by herself and joined a disgruntled Ginny at the Gryffindor table, feeling ready to apologise for how she had behaved after their Potions lesson.

"Gin, I'm sorry about earlier," Hermione said, putting some mashed potato onto her plate. "I shouldn't have acted so horribly about it, but it's just frustrating when my own fiancé doesn't think I can take care of myself. He shouldn't be able to tell me who I can and can't be friends with."

The redhead's face softened. "I know, but Ron's always been like that," Ginny smiled. "He's so overprotective of the people he cares about. Remember when I was dating Dean? But maybe you should write to him and let him know that you're taking a Slytherin to the ball, rather than letting him find out about it through someone else."

Hermione nodded in agreement, the two finishing their dinner whilst trying to find Ginny a date for the upcoming event.