NOTE: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, etc. It is all JK Rowling.

Also, thanks for the reviews!

…

Hermione stared up at the curtains of her four-poster bed. It just felt so weird to not be in Gryffindor tower. Now there were twelve girls sharing the same dorm, and two of them were Slytherins. She had thought herself above prejudice, but knowing that one of them was Pansy Parkinson did not make her more willing to be friendly. The other Slytherin had seemed nice enough, if a little aloof. Hermione knew very little about Daphne Greengrass except that she had a younger sister going into sixth year.

The common room had been great. The Hogwarts crest was hung over the fireplace, and there were four banners with each of the House's symbols on them. It had been neutrally decorated with brown leather chairs and sofas, as well as a smattering of each House color. The boys' dorms had led off to the right, the girls' to the left, and there were plenty of tables with comfy chairs to work at. Hermione knew she would eventually get used to it, but she missed her old space.

Hermione, Ron and Harry had all arrived on the last day of August. Several of their classmates were already there, and they enjoyed passing the time together. It felt odd to be in the castle while it was so empty, but she had ended up enjoying it. The Slytherins kept to themselves, while the other three Houses mingled freely. Hermione supposed it must have been hard to deal with all the animosity directed towards their House. No wonder so few of them had returned. They all had a slightly wary air about them, as if expecting to be attacked any minute. Even Malfoy, who was the master of the careless smirk, seemed to be giving everyone wide berth. She thought about that moment when he had come into the Great Hall. His face was the exact same, carefully blank face she had seen in Malfoy Manor when he had been so reluctant to identify Harry. Only his white-knuckled grip on his cane had given any indication that he was nervous.

She wondered how it was going in the boys' dorm. While Harry seemed willing to make peace with the Slytherins, Ron felt he had a personal vendetta to settle. She just hoped he didn't do anything stupid. Hermione blushed again when she remembered Malfoy catching her staring. She had only been wondering where he was when he came around the corner with Zabini. The old amused smirk had come back on his face when he looked at her. Sighing, she flipped onto her back and closed her eyes.

-O-O-O-O-

Hermione groaned and rolled onto her stomach. She looked at the clock she kept on her bedside table. It was five thirty in the morning. She groaned again, wondering if it was worth it to get up. After closing her eyes and not feeling the slightest inclination to go back to sleep, Hermione threw back the covers and got out of bed. It was no wonder she was getting up so early, though. Everyone had gone to bed early the night before, perhaps to avoid the awkwardness of living with totally new people. Grabbing some clothes to wear for the day, Hermione crept to the bathroom.

Once changed, Hermione crept down the stairs to the common room, making sure to keep quiet. It was barely six – too early for food to be out in the Great Hall, and she didn't feel like going to the kitchens. The common room had been tidied by the house elves during the night. Sitting on one of the couches, Hermione noticed the pillows on the other couch were askew, though she didn't see anyone else in the room. Obviously someone had been in the common room before she came down. But who? Hermione shrugged her shoulders and settled deeper into the couch. She scratched her arm and tapped her toe. What was she going to do until breakfast?

Glancing around, she saw a book on one of the tables. Looking for anything to cure her boredom, she walked over to look at it. It was the collection of potions essays she had gotten from Flourish and Blotts. Hermione frowned slightly. She didn't remember bringing it downstairs the night before, though it was possible. Oh well – at least it gave her something to do. She opened it up to the essay she had been reading – it was odd, but she could have sworn she'd marked her page. She soon, however, was engrossed in the book and dismissed the oddities.

Hermione's head snapped up when she heard the portrait entrance being opened. Malfoy stepped through, carrying a plate of food. Balancing both it and his cane, he closed the door and limped into the common room. Ignoring her, he went to the table where she had found her book and put his plate down. Then he frowned, looking around. She decided to break the silence – at least try to be civil with him.

"'Morning, Malfoy," she said from her seat by the fire. He jumped a little and whirled around, hand reaching into his pocket. When he saw it was her, he relaxed a little, but still kept his hand near his wand.

"Oh, it's just you, Granger." His eyes moved from her face down to the book she was holding. The frown on his face deepened when he saw it, but his voice was polite enough when he said, "May I ask what you are doing with my book?"

"This is your book?" Hermione replied incredulously.

"Yes, it's my book. Why else would it have my name on it?" he snapped back. Hermione flipped open the front cover, and sure enough, there it was. Penned in neat, elegant script. Draco A. Malfoy.

"I'm sorry. I thought it was mine. I have a copy of this book too – it's fascinating." Draco just grunted in reply and sat down to eat his breakfast. He was faced away from her, but Hermione could sill see the way his clothes hung on him. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing robes – just jeans and a long sleeved tee. She looked his arm – well, the back of it – and realized what he was covering up. She remembered what he had done to her over the years. Yet even with the memories, she couldn't bring herself to totally hat him like she used to. It just took too much energy to hate, and both of them were too worn down.

Malfoy pushed his chair away from the table. There wasn't much food missing from the previously full plate, but he pushed it away and made his way out of the common room. Hermione sat, somewhat confused. She was still holding his copy of the potions essays. Since he hadn't asked for it back, she decided to read it until breakfast and then put it back where he could find it. Turning the page, she noticed neat notes in some of the margins. She read them as she went through the book. Some – actually, all – were insightful and she wondered why she hadn't thought of some of them. She knew Malfoy was good at potions – he did just as well as she did – but he could have just been good at following directions. But this showed not just innovation but brilliance. She grinned to herself – never had she thought a day would come when she would actually compliment Malfoy. Still, she was so fascinated by his notes that she quite forgot to put the book back on the table.

-O-O-O-O-

The water of the lake was cold, but they still managed to dip their feet in. Now, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville watched the sun play on the rippling water. Breakfast had been quiet, seeing as there were so few students. The Slytherins had once again kept to themselves while the rest of the Houses sat together. The day, too, had been quiet. School didn't officially open for another two days, and there was not much to do. Even Hermione couldn't get started on the homework because none of the teachers had assigned anything. It was Harry who decided to come out to the lake for a picnic. The others had agreed, and they had gone down to the kitchens to get some food.

It had been strange not to be greeted by Dobby, but Winky was doing much better. She was one of the elves who still refused wages from Hogwarts, but had accepted clothes. She also had pressed them with more food than they could eat in a week. And now they were lounging on the banks of the lake and occasionally tossing in leftovers for the giant squid to eat.

"So, how were the dorms last night?" Hermione had been dying to ask this. The boys made faces, and Neville spoke up.

"It was fine, just really awkward. We all went to bed really early." Hermione giggled.

"We did the same thing. It's so hard to get used to being with people you barely know. Did the Slytherins behave?" she couldn't help but ask. Harry chuckled and responded, while Ron grimaced.

"They were fine. I got the feeling they all just want to make it through the year." Neville nodded in agreement. Ron, however, shook his head.

"I still don't trust them. I mean, tell me where Malfoy was this morning. How do we know he's not finding another Vanishing Cabinet or something?"

"Ron, I know you don't trust him. I don't really either," Harry tried to reason with his friend. "But I don't think he – or any of them, for that matter – can or want to do much damage. From what I heard, he was pretty shaken up after Azkaban." Ron still frowned.

"Do you know when the Hogsmeade visits are?" Neville asked in an attempt to lighten the conversation. Hermione had asked McGonagall the same question, so she had an answer for him.

"We're allowed in every weekend as long as we check out with one of the Heads. Obviously, it's a privilege they can take away, and some weekends we might not be allowed to go down if there's something going on in the castle. I think Professor McGonagall is going to tell us more later, maybe at the Opening Feast." At the mention of feast, Ron smiled dreamily. The other three laughed at him and he opened his eyes in confusion.

"What? I'm a growing boy!" he defended himself.

"Yeah – growing sideways," Harry muttered while Neville and Hermione looked on, helpless with laughter.