Hogwarts' large oak doors creaked as they swung open. Hermione stopped to take a deep breath, and walked through into the castle. She paused for a moment to let a group of Hufflepuffs pass her, and took the time to look around the stone chamber. She smiled slightly as she recalled memory upon memory that had taken place in the hall where she stood. After the group passed, she made her way up the the marble stairs and on to the changing staircases.
While she could have flooed, she had decided to face the castle before she met with McGonagall. She had to do it sometime, Hermione figured. She had debated with herself fiercely about whether or not she would even come. Though she greatly admired the venerable old professor, Hermione could not quite feel at ease with returning so quickly to a place that had hosted such great tragedy. Her heart ached as darker memories than those earlier, happier ones rose unbidden to her mind. Stopping on the stair and shutting her eyes tightly, she tried to force herself to push away those awful flashbacks.
Lost in her own mind, she didn't notice the small group of students behind her, looking at her curiously.
"Excuse me, can we get through?"
Hermione jolted out of her retrospection and turned, surprised, to let the students pass.
"Miss? Um...are you...okay?"
Hermione started, and then she spotted the youth that had inquired after her well-being.
"Yes, I'm fine," she replied rather harshly. The boy stiffened with recognition of the war hero, and hurt that she would brush him off so brusquely. Noticing the hurt in the boy's wide, innocent eyes, she asked, "What year are you?"
"This is my first year," the boy said somewhat nervously. Hermione felt a twinge of sympathy for the small newcomer and smiled at him.
"That's great! First year was one of the best years I had at Hogwarts," she said, attempting to assuage whatever fears he might have about starting at Hogwarts.
"I'm sure you'll have a great time."
The first year looked at her gratefully. "My name's Jasper. I-I'm a Slytherin." He almost whispered the last part, clearly fearing that she would hate him for his house, the house that had caused her so much pain. Hermione frowned. She didn't like to see someone as caring as Jasper fearing rejection for something he couldn't help. Not to mention the fact that she had never held much with house rivalries, advocating more for inter-house cooperation.
"Well, Jasper, my name is Hermione. I hear they put people in Slytherin who are smart and know what they want to do in life." Hermione hesitated, then came to a decision. "Can I tell you a secret?"
Jasper's eyes widened as he nodded quickly. Hermione leaned down to his level and whispered, "The Sorting Hat very nearly put me in Slytherin, so I have a soft spot when it comes to others sorted there."
Jasper looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected to find a sympathetic ally in someone he'd expected would hate him. Hermione straightened and looked surreptitiously at her watch. She would be late for her meeting. Turning back to Jasper, she said, "I have to go, I have a meeting with Professor McGonagall. It was nice to meet you, Jasper! I hope you enjoy your time at Hogwarts." Jasper started back up the stairs. Hermione hesitated again. "And Jasper," she called. The boy turned back. "Thank you. For...for asking." Jasper gave a small smile and then ran back up the steps.
Hermione breathed deeply and started towards her professor's office. She had barely taken a step towards her destination, however, when she heard a low, familiar voice sneer, "What have we here? Hermione Granger, the great war hero, associating with Slytherins. How low you have sunk."