Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter universe, all characters belong to J.K Rowling. Also, the title is taken from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest.

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

So I close my eyes to old ends,

And open my heart to new beginnings.

Hermione Granger carries the boxes filled to capacity with her things and heads over to her new dorm room. She's in one of the coveted single rooms and is slightly thankful she doesn't have a roommate but also wishes she had someone to bond with.

She starts setting up her things, places her laptop on the desk next to the printer, sorts through her vast book collection (everything from Homer to Milton to Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath) and puts them on the shelf. There are no pictures, she's left them at home, in that dark dark place she's left behind and never wants to remember.

Her desk looks obscenely empty but, she knows that it will soon be filled with her pre- law textbooks and her notes because Hermione wants to be a lawyer. She wants to advocate for human rights and stand up for the downtrodden and help them get the justice they deserve because while she may not have gotten the justice she deserved in her life, she can help others get it.

Next come her clothes, she's not much of a conscientious dresser, preferring the practicality of jeans and jumpers. The few dresses and skirts she owns, that are suitable for parties and dates go into the back of the closet because she doesn't know if she'll ever wear them. She's not the kind of girl that gets invited to parties or goes on a lot of dates.

The calendar sits on her desk, telling her that today's the first day of her new life. She's free to make her own choices and live by her own rules and carve her own path. She should be happy but happiness has always been an elusive feeling to her. She hopes hopes that she can remember what it feels like.

Draco Malfoy is a practical man. The room he's in, is sparse and uncluttered, no pictures or posters. Which says a lot about him, in his opinion. The tiny closet holds his pristine neutral colored shirts and trousers. His laptop sits on the desk along with a printer and a calendar. His expensive satin sheets are emerald green, serving as the only source of color in the entire room.

The room is set up within an hour. It's smaller than his room back at home, but it will have to do. At least he doesn't have to share a bathroom. His friends Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini are also here in dorm rooms 491 and 493 respectively.

Tomorrow is his first day of class. He's here to study and work hard, so that one day he can take over his father's company, make his father proud and finally be worthy of the Malfoy name. Not that he'd ever be worthy in his father's eyes, he thinks darkly.

He looks at his phone. A message from Theo, 'Meet us in the cafeteria'. He sighs, puts on his shoes and is out the door.

She decides to head to the cafeteria, since she's feeling a bit peaky. As she steps out of her room, she sees a pale boy with blonde hair. She wants to go and introduce herself, but the scowl on his face coupled with the intimidation oozing out of his body, make her think twice of it and she walks past him.

Walking down the hall, she meets two boys arguing about something. She paints a smile on her face and introduces herself. The boy with the dark hair and the glasses smiles at her.

"Hi, my name's Harry Potter and this is Ron Weasley. We were just heading to the cafeteria, would you like to join us?"

"Um if you don't mind," she replies tucking her hair behind her ear, trying not to look nervous.

She feels like she smiles genuinely, as Harry asks her questions about herself because he really wants to be her friend.

There's a girl in the hallway. Her hair is a riotous mass of curls and her eyes are the warm, inviting color of chocolate. She looks like she's going to say something to him. He bites back a curse and his scowl deepens.

She seems to take that as a sign and walks past him. He ignores the forewarning in his head. Because besides being a pretty girl with a nervous smile she is just a girl. And no girl has ever been significant enough to merit his attention, so he can't think of any reason why this one should.

How wrong he was.

A/n: Hi everyone! Here's a new story. Please review and let me know how I'm doing.