Author's Note:

I present you with chapter 08! From here onwards, I plan to do daily or bi-daily updates. I am delighted over every review!

Harry and Hermione had found a compartment at the end of the Hogwarts Express, and both were lost deep in thought, which bathed the compartment in a pleasant silence. Harry was slightly unnerved by the fact of them leaving for Hogwarts before everything was fully prepared. Sirius was still recovering and lacking a wand, but at least Remus was at the Potter home to care for him. Hermione had gotten a wand at Ollivander's, with Harry picking up his phoenix feather wand, too. It would just have been too suspicious if they hadn't bought it there, especially with Professor McGonagall taking Hermione shopping. That meant they had to bear with their magic being tracked for now. Luckily, the rest of the trace would not take a hold of them, thanks to their vows. Harry had taken a look at Hagrid's umbrella, which held the parts of his broken wand. It actually was a decently crafted focus. Harry had theorized that Dumbledore might have given it to Hagrid, which the half-giant had confirmed after Harry had asked him. Harry had given Remus the task of checking Kusnezow's hiding places, now that Harry would be unavailable to do so. Maybe, they could get at least Sirius' wand from there, and then one for Hermione too that didn't hold the trace.

Hermione was slightly nervous for her first day at Hogwarts. Last week, Harry had once again tested her Occlumency shields, declaring them passable to fight off surface intrusion. Nonetheless, he had recommended not meeting Dumbledore's, Snape's, and especially Quirrell's eyes. He had also proudly told her that she had mastered most of the first-year spells wandlessly. On the one hand, that made her very proud, on the other hand, she was a bit put out with the lack of challenge her classes would present her with, but Harry had promised that he would continue teaching her, and that they would be starting duelling practice soon.

The silence in the compartment was broken by the door slamming open, revealing a nervous looking redhead.

"Can I sit here? Everything else is full," Ronald Weasley said, his eyes darting from Harry to Hermione.

Harry grimaced at the sight of Ron. The redhead, unlike Hermione, was still very much an eleven-year-old boy. He was hot-headed, but lacked actual Gryffindor courage, which was proven by him deserting Harry numerous times after they had formed a friendship in their first year. He was small minded, quite egoistical, and had a huge problem with feeling unrecognized by others. In short, he wasn't the type of friend Harry needed in his life.

However, Harry didn't want to be rude without reason, so he simply nodded, returning to his thoughts. Ron seemed put out by the response, heaving his trunk into the compartment and sitting down next to Hermione. Then, he notices Harry's scar.

"Bloody Hell, you are Harry Potter!" he practically shouted, and Harry had to visibly reign himself in and bite back an angry retort. Hermione furrowed her brows at Ron's mannerism, but before Harry could respond, Ron started loudly talking again. "Can I see it? The scar? Do you remember it…you know?"

Hermione's look had turned from slightly annoyed to visibly angry, and before Harry could answer, she practically exploded at Ron. "Do you realise you just asked him if he remembered his parents' deaths? Are you really as rude as that question implies or are you just painfully ignorant?"

For a moment, Ron looked as if he actually realised, he had committed a blunder, but then, his head turned an angry shade of red. "I didn't ask you! Who are you anyway?"

Hermione just huffed, staring at Ron for a few seconds as if she wasn't sure if his question warranted an answer. Then, she pulled out a book out of her open suitcase and started reading. Actually, she was readjusting her Occlumency shields, as her sudden anger had disrupted the newly build defences and leaving them like that would not be good for their continues effectiveness. Harry realised her effort, and flashed her a small smile, even though she couldn't see it.

"She's insufferable, isn't she?" Ron asked, and Harry's blood turned cold. That sentence out of the Weasleys mouth triggered a set of memories Harry really didn't want to live through. Pictures flashed before his eyes: Ron saying something quite similar to him in their first year, and Hermione nearly being killed by a troll because of it. That led his thoughts to...no he didn't want to think about that. Harry's relationship with Ron had slowly started deuterating, until it was completely broken in their fourth year, when Ron had accused him of putting his name in the Goblet of Fire for money and fame, a notion so ridiculous Harry had thought Ron was joking when it had first left his mouth.

"Get out," he said. His tone was quiet, but sharper than a razor's edge. Ron just looked confused.

"But Ha-"

"Out. Now." This time, Harry's voice wasn't quiet anymore, his hands slightly trembling. Ron shot him and Hermione an angry glare, before taking his trunk and storming out of the compartment. When the door slammed behind him, Harry cast a quick locking charm, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone while he tried to explain his outburst to Hermione, who was shooting him a questioning look.

"You didn't have to-" she started, but Harry held up his hand, and Hermione fell silent again.

"I know I was a bit overreacting, but…I have bad memories of that phrase and I really don't like anyone calling you names."

Hermione slowly rose out of her seat, sitting down next to him and taking his still trembling hands into hers.

"I know you don't like talking about…your past. But…I would really like to know…how it was, you know?"

Harry unsuccessfully tried to steady his hands. Her touch felt warm on his skin, and when he met her eyes, he could see the same warmth looking back at him.

"I…will tell you. But not now, okay? I.. wasn't the friend that I should have been. You were lonely for more than two years, and I never did anything about it, even though I saw you being in pain. When I finally approached you…we didn't have much time to spent together."

"I died early, didn't I? And you feel responsible?" she asked, and Harry didn't know if he should be amazed at her intuition or angry at himself for telling her. He simply nodded. Hermione just put her hands around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Whatever happened, I don't blame you. You did more for me in the last year than anyone else has ever done, and you most likely had enough on your plate at that time that you didn't have time to think about me."

Harry wanted to retort how he should have seen how much she was suffering. How he, as someone who had felt cruelty his entire childhood, should have been the first to help her, and how he could never forgive himself for just letting her run off after that awful comment when he was the only one she had started to trust. But he said none of that, and simply burrowed his head into her shoulder.

He didn't know how long they just sat there like this, but eventually the train arrived at their destination, which prompted them to hurriedly change into their Hogwarts robes. The boat ride towards Hogwarts was just as magical as his first time, with Hermione's eyes lighting up like stars at her first sight of the majestic castle bathing in the moonlight. Professor McGonagall's speech went by like a breeze and Harry had nearly forgotten about Malfoy's pompous talk about Harry Potter's arrival at Hogwarts, but he simply stayed silent in the back row next to Hermione, and the blonde grudgingly got back into the line when no one answered to his bait.

The coming sorting was something Harry had thought about a great deal. He knew one could influence the heads decision quite a bit, but he hadn't been sure where he wanted to be placed. Gryffindor was a great house in many aspects, but it also brought a lot of attention with it. He needed something subtler, somewhere he could go mostly unnoticed. While that was quite hard as the-boy-who-lived, he hoped that when the initial hype was over, he could sink back into the shadows as an ordinary student. Gryffindor, as well as Slytherin, did not help him in that quest. That was why, he had decided to urge to head to put him into Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff would have also been possible, but he knew Hermione would have a much easier time getting the hat to sort her into Ravenclaw as well.

When Hermione's name was called, she nervously sat down on the chair, and it didn't take long for the hat to yell out "RAVENCLAW". He flashed her a small smile as she headed to the Ravenclaw table. When Professor McGonagall finally called out his name, he ignored the resulting uproar of whispers as best as he could, and walked up to the chair in a slow, confident stride.

"Well, well. This is…unusual," he could hear the hat talking in his mind, and without missing a beat, he put forth his request.

"Ravenclaw, please!"

He was sure he could hear the hat chuckling inside his head. "Mr. Potter, while you are right in your assumption that I take your wishes into account, I am still the one sorting you. You can't just demand to be put into a specific house."

Harry's face blanched at that. He had been sure that if you wanted it hard enough, you would be put where you wished. Racking his mind for something to convince the hat to put him into Ravenclaw, it quickly became apparent that he fell short of convincing arguments. He wasn't a book fanatic like Hermione, and he valued knowledge for its purpose, but not knowledge for knowledge sake.

"Hermione is in Ravenclaw! I need to be in her house!" he desperately tried, working very hard on keeping his face and body relaxed, and to not show his panic to the whole student population.

"There are only two houses you would fit into," the hat answered as Harry's panic spiked, "and while you have tremendous courage, your recent actions are far more calculated and cunning than any Gryffindor could manage…in that case…"

"No…no…no…no," Harry repeated inside his head, knowing exactly towards which decision the hat was heading.

"Don't panic, I am quite sure you will do very well in…SLYTHERIN."

The hall, which had gotten very quiet as Harry's sorting had progressed, went from quiet to deadly still. Harry's eyes met Hermione's, and he could see the shock peeking through her Occlumency shields onto her face. Knowing how very important his conduct would be from now on, he stood up, handed the hat to Professor McGonagall, who looked just as shocked as Hermione, and took slow, confident steps towards the Slytherin table, just as he had done on his way towards the hat. No one dared to clap, and after he was seated it took McGonagall a few seconds to visibly gather herself before she continued with the next sorting. All the while, the entire Slytherin table was looking at him like a muggle seeing a ghost, and Harry was very careful to simply continue following the sorting with a blank face, as if he had all along expected to be placed in the snake's pit.

When the sorting was over, Harry ate in silence, and after Dumbledore had made his familiar "don't-go-and-die-a-painful-death speech", he quietly followed the prefects into the dungeons. When they had entered the common room, the prefects gave a short explanation of the layout of their new domain, after which Harry quickly made his way into the first-year bedroom. Before he even got a chance to open his trunk, a familiar blond walked up to him, regarding him in a contemplative manner, as if he was a riddle the Malfoy heir couldn't quite figure out yet.

"Potter," he snarled, and Harry took a moment to register the rest of the first years having placed themselves behind Draco. He instantly got the feeling that how he reacted right now would make or break the next seven years inside the castle.

"Draco Malfoy, I presume?" he asked, careful to keep his voice even and his face expressionless.

"That would be correct," the blonde simply said, leaving the weight of the conversation on him. Harry had to admit, for all his faults, Draco could be a good politician. He was testing him, and through giving Harry the initiative, he was subtly seeing if Harry would be able to respond properly.

Harry stretched out his hand, while keeping his eyes locked onto Malfoys. "It's good to finally meet you. I expect a lot from the heir of such an old family as the Malfoys."

A quick look of surprise flashed through Malfoys face, before it was carefully hidden behind what Harry suspected to be the start of Occlumency shields. Harry had done three things in one sentence: He had acknowledged the House of Malfoy as an esteemed part of the wizarding community, put the pressure back on Malfoy through that acknowledgment, and offered a civil relationship between two houses that had been on opposite sides of a war not too long ago. That clearly wasn't what Malfoy had been expecting. The blonde took a moment to regard Harry's hand before firmly shaking it.

"I expect the same from you, Potter. After all, the Potters are just as old as the Malfoys, even though…your blood isn't so pure anymore. But it seems like the Potter blood is stronger in your veins than the…other part."

"So it seems," Harry answered, before turning around and starting to unpack his trunk, internally sighting internally at the minefield of a five sentence conversation he had just walked through. At least, Malfoy had the decency to avoid the term 'mudblood'.

-o-o-

Harry hadn't slept more than an hour for the first night back in the castle. He had spent all of it thinking about one thing: How could he get the Slytherins to accept one of them having a close friendship with a muggleborn. Because one thing was very clear, there was no way Harry would let Hermione suffer the same thing again, just because it wouldn't sit well for his image.

On the other hand, status was very important inside Slytherin, and an open friendship with Hermione would quickly destroy any sort of peace he might have acquired through yesterdays interaction.

He was still thinking about it as he headed for breakfast, and he hadn't come up with any solutions as he stood up after finishing his meal and heading straight over to the Ravenclaw table.

"Hermione," he greeted his friend with a small smile, who in turned glanced worryingly at him, then to the Slytherin table, and back to him.

"Harry, you shouldn't…" she started saying, but Harry quickly interrupted her.

"Don't even try to say what you are thinking. This changes nothing," he stated, giving her a bit of a glare. She knew exactly how difficult this situation was. He had taught her enough about the ministry politics and their manifestation inside Hogwarts for her to understand the implications. Even though, Harry was more than ready to ignore all of that.

She nervously bit her bottom lip, before her eyes focused on something behind him. She then looked back at him, whispering something barely even audible. "Trust me."

Before Harry could ask her what she meant by that, a familiar voice snarled behind him: "What do you think you are doing, Potter?"

Harry slowly turned around, but he wasn't able to answer Malfoy's question, because Hermione had risen from her seat, fixing Draco with a blank expression.

"Malfoy. What do you value more: Blood or Magical Power?"

Malfoy looked confused, before sneering at her again: "I didn't ask you anything, Mudblood."

Hermione didn't show any sign of being hurt by that insult, even though Harry knew it would. She just repeated her question slowly, as if talking to a very small child.

Malfoy looked at her with distain, as if an insect had landed on him and he just could not shake it off.

"Power. Of course, magical power comes with purity of blood, but you don't know that, do you?"

Hermione smiled.

"I challenge you to a public honour duel. If I win, you accept that I am worth my magic, and you accept my acquaintance with Harry. If I lose, I will leave Hogwarts."

Harry whipped around, looking at her as if she had lost her mind. Hermione just contently kept smiling.

"And to make this more than clear for you. I won't use my wand."

Draco looked at her for a few long seconds, then he burst out laughing.

"Hahaha…you…are insane! The mudblood has gone crazy!" Malfoy doubled over in laughter. "Did you hear that Goyle? She wants to beat me without a wand. What are you going to do, throw stones at me?"

Hermione's smile receded, and her expression grew cold again.

"Well, do you accept, Malfoy?"

Malfoy had finally stopped laughing. "Yes, Granger, was it? I accept. Hogwarts will be thankful for me removing one of the mudbloods tainting its halls."

In the meantime, Snape had arrived at the scene, glaring angrily at them. Behind him, Flitwick followed looking concerned.

"What is the meaning of this?" Snape asked, looking at Draco for an explanation.

"Granger challenged me to an honour duel. I accepted." Snape just rose an eyebrow, while Flitwick's concerned face turned very serious.

"Mrs. Granger, do you know what an honour duel entails? What are the terms?"

Hermione looked at the small professor, her face just as serious as his.

"Yes, Sir, I know. If I win, Malfoy must publicly accept me worthy of my magic and my friendship with Harry. If I lose, I will leave Hogwarts. I am also forbidden of using my wand."

Flitwick's face had turned white as ash, as he tried to stammer out something inaudible. Snape however, just looked blankly at Draco. "Which time, Mr. Malfoy?" he drawled.

"Tomorrow at eight, so she can enjoy one day of classes before she leaves to where she came from." Draco grinned like Christmas had come early, and retreated back to the Slytherin table.