Author's note: Thank you all who reviewed! You really make writing that much more of a joy. On with chapter 2. Things are about to get pretty crazy.

Oh, yes, as promised, here is the first character's theme song:

Ron Best of You, by the Foo Fighters

I probably should have started with Harry, but as he hasn't actually made an appearance yet, we'll start with our boy.

Disclaimer: still don't own any of this…

Hermione was quiet throughout the train ride. At first, Percy had tried to make light conversation: telling amusing stories, talking about the weather, that sort of thing. But the closer they got to the school, the more withdrawn she became. She spent the last half hour silently staring out the window with a grim look on her face that was much too old for her seventeen years.

Percy didn't press her. He had assumed that this would be a difficult trip for her; that's why he had volunteered to take her himself. None of the other Ministry operatives would have understood. They hadn't known her since she was eleven. They hadn't been as close to Dumbledore. They weren't practically family.

He was curious about one thing, however.

"Hermione, may I ask you what may be a difficult question?" She huffed a bit at that but looked toward him anyway.

"Go ahead."

"When I arrived at your house two weeks ago, you seemed very happy to see me…"

"I was."

"Why is that?" Hermione stared at him in disbelief.

"It isn't every day I find a Weasley on my doorstep," she replied with a sad smile on her face.

"I've said some very mean things about you…"

"So you have," she looked away from him again.

"Then why the smile and the attempt to drag me in the house?" She faced him again.

"You just don't get it, do you? Do you think that just because I don't have red hair and freckles means that I don't love your family as though it were my own? Did you think that your leaving and hurting them didn't hurt me?"

"Of course not. But you were much nicer to me than some of them were."

"The boys took what you did harder than your mum and Ginny. It hurt them twice: once for themselves and again for how much pain they saw your mum going through. Sometimes it's difficult to find forgiveness in our hearts."

"But you miraculously did?"

"I'm kind of a non-entity as far as the whole thing is concerned. As much as I may think of your family as being my own, the fact of the matter is that it's not. I'm a bit of a neutral party. It would make sense that if you were going to try for reconciliation, that you would approach someone just outside the inner circle. I wasn't going to huff and turn you away because of something that had happened in the past. I was willing to give you a chance. Although, if I had known what you had been up to, I might not have acted the same way." His eyebrows shot up at that.

"Regrets about returning to school?"

"More like worries that we are wasting time that we don't have." What could be said to that? They spent the rest of the ride in silence.

When they disembarked, Hermione wrapped her arms around her stomach. It was hot, but overcast, seeming to match her mood. They finally reached the gates to Hogwarts. The castle looked so solemn, so silent. Hermione realized she had never seen it thus. Perhaps the death of headmaster had put the very building into mourning.

"Shall I go with you?" Percy asked. Hermione shook her head, gathering her courage.

"No, that's all right," she turned her head to look at him, "it's just school. I'll be fine."

"Alright. I'll be waiting for you in Hogsmeade. Just page me when you are ready." He turned to leave and she caught his wrist.

"Thank you, Percy. I'm glad you were my chaperone today." They exchanged weak smiles.

"Well, see you later." He continued on his way back down the hill. Hermione gripped the gate with both hands, took a deep breath, and gently pushed it open.

She felt as though she were sleepwalking. Her feet plodded their course to the headmaster's office with no instruction from her brain. Her mind, meanwhile, took in everything around her. The place barely looked as though it had changed. No one who didn't know better would realize that a battle had taken place here just three weeks before. She climbed the magic stairwell after giving the gargoyle guarding the door the password. Even though she had been preparing herself for it, it was still a shock to see Professor McGonagall sitting in what had just recently been Dumbledore's chair. Her favorite professor looked up when she heard her enter. She smiled sadly.

"Ah, Miss Granger," McGonagall said while rising from her seat, "here you are. Now let's get down to business." Hermione was surprised. She knew that she was here for a meeting because she had been chosen as Head Girl. She had not been told who her male counterpart would be; she had assumed it would be Harry. But since he had not mentioned it in any of his letters, neither had she. The young woman still held out hope that he had not said anything to surprise her. She walked forward, feeling a genuine smile spread on her face as she approached the matching chairs set before the desk. Obviously, he (whoever HE was) had already arrived.

Expecting to see one of her most beloved friends, she thought that someone had thrust a knife into her stomach when who should she see in the chair but Draco Malfoy.

She took two steps back and pulled her wand out.

"What are you doing here?" she asked forcefully, her eyes scanning the room for any place a Death Eater could be hiding. How could she have been so stupid?! To have walked right into the trap!

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy is here because he is Head Boy. I would like you to sit down, please." McGonagall stood still, hands folded in front of her.

"This has to be a mistake. Either this is a trap, or a nightmare, or a really enormous mistake!"

"Oh, you aren't sleeping, darling. I can assure you of that," drawled Draco from his chair.

"I would be very quiet if I were you," Hermione warned him.

"You should heed her advice, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall came around the desk and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Hermione, please, sit down and I will explain everything."

"But, Professor, he…he CAN'T be Head Boy! It just isn't possible."

"It was Dumbledore's choice." That knocked the wind out of her. She sat, defeated, in the chair, until her brain came to another conclusion.

"But, surely, that was before….with all that's happened, surely, this must be changed."

"Hermione, Dumbledore made his decisions before the end of last term, yes. But he reiterated them this morning." McGonagall's eyes looked up to where the portrait of Albus Dumbledore hung on the wall. He looked down at Hermione and smiled that knowing smile of his. It was almost too much to take, and Hermione looked away quickly. She sat back in her chair and tried to blink away tears. However, always curious, she pushed her head forward a little bit and slid a look at Draco. She was amazed at what she saw.

Her nemesis sat quietly, with his head down. His shoulders sagged and he actually looked sad. She couldn't believe it. She had never seen Draco Malfoy look anything but arrogant. Okay, maybe scared on two or three occasions, but she assumed that that was the extent of his emotional range. She couldn't help herself and openly turned her whole face to stare at him.

He looked different physically, too. He was thinner, his hair was cut much shorter, and his skin didn't look as creamy as it once had. He wasn't radiating beauty like he normally did. And tired. He looked exhausted. He finally turned to meet her eyes.

"Have you finished staring at me?" he asked, with none of the spirit he normally had.

"What's happened to you?" she replied, shocked.

"All of that will be answered in a few moments," McGonagall interrupted, "We need to get down to business. You have both been chosen to be Head of the school due to your academic and social prominence. This is a great responsibility. You are to be the professors' aides in whatever capacity they need you. However, with great responsibility comes great reward. The two of you will share a dorm suite that is equipped with a common area and a bedroom and bathroom for each of you. It is separate from the other dorms. Miss Granger, due to your Muggle background, we have provided electrical power so that you may bring whatever things you need from home. Mr. Malfoy, we have outfitted your room in the style to which you are accustomed. If either of you wish to make changes to the rooms, simply speak with me and we reach a conclusion together.

"We are meeting here today because I would like to discuss the added security measures that the other professors and I have taken to provide for the safety of the students. If anything should happen…" McGonagall had to stop there, but caught herself and hurried on, "if anything should happen, and the teachers are not able to properly care for the students, you two are to be the next line of defense. In that vein, you will be taking special classes from me…"

McGonagall continued on for several more minutes, outlining her plan to protect the school. After that she took them up to their new dorms. The rooms were spacious and bright. The common area and each of the bedrooms had a fireplace. There were also walk in closets and some storage space, as well as the typical furniture. Before the hearth in the common area was a lovely old, well-used couch. Hermione already knew where she wanted to put her stereo and Playstation.

After the grand tour of their new "digs," the two teenagers dutifully followed McGonagall back to what was now her office.

"Well, that's about all I have to say to you," she was wrapping up, "unless you two have some questions?"

"Actually, Professor, I do have a question," Hermione slowly replied, "why us? Why would Dumbledore choose the two of us," she pointed at herself and Draco, "to be Head? It doesn't make any sense."

"Doesn't it?" asked McGonagall, looking hard at Hermione, "Miss Granger, you are both top of your class, academically. And you, specifically, are a member of the most popular clique at Hogwarts. You have a great deal of influence in that role. And you are the only member of that group who would be able to handle all these added responsibilities right now. Mr. Malfoy also exudes a great deal of influence over his peers and the younger students. Added to that is the fact that we are at war. Families and communities will be divided. But if the two of you can figure out a way of working together productively it will demonstrate to the students and the world at large that all is not lost."

"So, after everything that has happened, I am just supposed to put it behind me and trust him? No offense," this last was said dripping with sarcasm as Hermione sneered at Draco.

"None taken," he quietly replied, not rising to her barbs.

"No, you aren't supposed to automatically trust him. He is supposed to gain your trust." McGonagall shot Draco a pointed look. He slouched lower in his seat. "If we are through here, I will thank you very much for coming and I look forward to seeing you again in another few weeks." She rose and her two students followed. As Hermione walked toward the door, she found Draco falling into step beside her. She didn't say anything to him at all; didn't even look at him. When she reached the main entrance to the school, he cleared his throat. She turned, one hand still on the door handle. He pushed his hand through his hair and continued it down the back of his head to rub his neck.

"You want to go get some lunch?" Hermione turned and looked behind her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Are you speaking to me?" she asked.

"Who else is here?" he replied edgily.

"I don't know, that's why I turned around," Hermione took a deep breath to try to stifle some of her anger, "why are you asking me if I want some lunch?"

"I'm sure that on a better day I would be able to bicker with you, but I just don't have it in me right now. I can tell by the look on your face that you are riddled with questions. I figured you wouldn't dare pass up an opportunity to find out what's going on. Besides," he finished, turning away from her, "I have some explaining to do." He walked out the door. Flabbergasted, she hurried along to follow him.

The sun had finally come out, and the day appeared quite cheerful as the two sat at a table at a sidewalk café in Hogsmeade. Hermione dug into her salad and listened while Draco's chicken sandwich lay mostly uneaten on his plate. In his defense, though, he hadn't had much time to eat with all the talking.

"So why didn't you do it?" she asked him.

"Are you kidding? This is Dumbledore we're talking about here…I thought I could. I kept telling myself that I could do it. That I would prove to everybody that I was worthy. But I was wrong. There was all this noise all around me. I had my wand out. He was weak and on the ground. But I just couldn't do it. This was Dumbledore. He was my Head Master. He was one of the few people I have ever met who didn't worship me just because I was a Malfoy. I respected him."

"So Snape…"

"My mother and aunt had forced him to make an 'unbreakable vow' that he would do it if I showed weakness."

"So what have you been doing since then? I'm really very surprised to see you at school. I figured you would be hiding out in the south of France or something by now." Hermione forked another bite of lettuce into her mouth.

"Not likely. I have basically been ousted from the family. My father decreed from Azkabhan that I was dead to him and the rest of the family pretty much followed suite. I had been trying desperately to stay away from any Death Eaters I could think of. They would immediately hand me over to Voldermort. So there I was: homeless, alone, and with no money. That's when the Ministry picked me up."

"Oh?" said Hermione through a mouth full of salad.

"Yes, I was charged with destruction of private property, public endangerment, disorderly conduct, terrorism, and accessory to murder."

"You're kidding!" He made a face at her.

"Thankfully, I am still considered a minor, so I was only sent to the juvenile hall. Otherwise, I would be sharing a cellblock with my 'father.' It's not really that much better. You still have to be pretty fast on your feet, or …well…I'm sure you've heard of what happens in prisons, so I won't go into details. Suffice it to say that once all my new schoolmates saw how pretty I am, life got a lot tougher."

"Wow. At least you are starting to sound a little like your old self."

"Well, Granger, you surprise me. I had no idea that you had fallen victim to my charms, too."

"Oh don't flatter yourself," she replied, disgusted, "I just have a good deal of experience dealing with 'wanker Draco,' I don't really know what to do with 'morose and repentant Draco.'"

"'Morose and repentant.' Swell."

"So they are letting you go back to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, and I have to behave myself to the letter or I get cast back down with the ingrates."

"So this is where you gaining my trust comes into play."

"Yes, and I hate it. I've never trusted anyone. I don't really know what to do."

"How very pitiful your life sounds."

"Thanks," he replied dryly.

"Since I am supposed to be meeting my chaperone in about 10 minutes and I still want to get some treats for the boys, I will leave you now with a bit of advice. Whatever your instinct tells you to do, do the opposite." She stood to leave. He stood as well.

"So I guess this is goodbye, for now."

"For now, yes," she replied. He held out his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, you told me to not follow my instinct," he answered.

"And that told you to what? Punch me in the face?" she eyed him warily.

"Not exactly." She gripped his hand and shook it once. Then turned and left. This was going to be a VERY interesting year.