Something had changed, thought Harry as he wandered the corridors of Hogwarts.
After the war, the castle had essentially rebuilt itself with little help. It looked as though the castle had never even been attacked by Death Eaters, acromantualas, or giants. But Harry could still hear the battle cries, the spells rebounding off the stones, and the sound of loved ones grieving the dead. His home felt a little haunted, it was hard to forget the battle that had happened. Harry himself had changed; everyone had during and after the war. While the Wizarding world was at peace now, old prejudices and rivalries still remained. At least some; though Gryffindors and Slytherins no longer jinxed each other openly in the hallways, the glares were still present; though much softer. And not all students had returned for the "eighth" year of school.
Draco Malfoy had returned for the eight year of Hogwarts, Crabbe was dead now and Goyle hadn't returned. Pansy and Blaise had returned as well though they each kept to themselves more. They didn't have the dark mark burned on their skin nor had they been hugged by Voldemort during the final battle. It didn't matter that Draco hadn't wanted the dark mark; he was still the pariah of Hogwarts. In the corridors he constantly had to be on the lookout for stinging hexes and trip jinxes. He had stopped counting how often his bag had split mysteriously over the past 5 months. The pride and confidence were gone but the haughty exterior remained, as a kind of shield. A Malfoy wasn't allowed to appear weak, ever. He still walked with his head high but he had lost weight and was even paler than before. Shunned even by his own house, they had always been bloody cowards, Draco spent most of his time wandering the castle or hiding in empty corridors. Only a few more months and then he would be able to leave Hogwarts and start a career.
Harry, lost in thoughts, entered the eight year common room; since there were many extra students this year; McGonagall had decided that all the eight years were to share a common room in one of the many towers of Hogwarts. The tower had four turrets; each was a dormitory for a different house.
"Harry! I was looking all over for you! There's a Hogsmeade visit this weekend and I was wondering if we would go together." Red hair flashed in his face as Ginny cornered him against the portrait door.
"Oh right…." Harry's voice trailed off. Before the war, Harry would have gladly spent the rest of his life with Ginny; had a family and settled down. But something had happened during the war. Harry still liked Ginny but somehow he had realized how different they were and how young. Many people had died in the war and though everyone kept telling him it hadn't been his fault, he couldn't help but feel that they had died for him and he hadn't wanted anyone to die. Well besides Voldemort of course. "Yes, I-yeah….we can go together." Harry replied uselessly, he had always been hopeless in all manners of romance. And what was she doing here anyway, seventh years weren't really allowed in the eighth year common room so he hadn't seen her often since the school year started.
"Honeydukes has some new candy and Zonko's opened up again and-" Ginny broke off, looking at something over Harry's shoulder.
Someone tall pushed past Harry and Ginny and made his way through the crowded common room towards the door that led to the Slytherin dormitory. Before the war, Draco would have jinxed Harry or said something rude about his hair, scar, or pathetic attempt at romance with Ginny. Harry couldn't help but miss the old Malfoy, he had been annoying as hell but this sullen, quiet Malfoy was strange to him.
"Harry are you even listening to me?!" A hand was waved in front of his face by an obviously annoyed Ginny.
"What-yeah of course I am." Harry replied, his eyes still on Malfoys lean figure just as a stout Hufflepuff boy crashed into Malfoy.
The Hufflepuff didn't even reach Malfoy's chin but sneered up at him; "Move it Death Eater!"
Three years ago Malfoy would have cursed the boy or smirked and pushed him back but now he just lowered his eyes and sped away.
AN: Please review and tell me how I'm doing so far!