A/N1: (DOING SOME EDITING!) I cannot thank you enough for the amount of reviews I received in such a small space of time! But THANK YOU! I wish I had written this chapter sooner, but I had a bunch of stuff going on.

BTW: Refer to chapter 13 for Evelyn if you can't remember her. So the event may seem anticlimactic to you, but c'mon, it's her BEST FRIEND. Since diaper days! That's gotta hurt.

Disclaimer: I don't have any claim over Harry Potter. I only own my ideas and original characters.

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XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXHermione outside of the platformXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Hermione? I can send you over a little bit late; Dumbledore said he would understand completely." Hermione sighed in resignation.

"No thanks, Mum, I'll be fine. Besides, I have my responsibility as a head student to carry out. I don't want to miss my first job." Jane Granger looked at her daughter admiringly.

"Okay then. I will see you at the commencement ceremony! Don't forget to write whenever you need to!"

"Bye Mum!" Hermione waved her mother off and stepped through the barrier. After making an attempt to lift her heavy trunks without assistance, two pairs of hands took the trunks from her and easily stowed them into the luggage area.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron greeted her cheerfully.

"Hey guys. How were your summers?" She asked them curiously.

"Mine was decent...as decent as staying at the Dursleys' can be anyway. But for the last half of the summer I got to stay with Ron so that was pretty fun; we played so much Quidditch!" She grinned wryly, not expecting anything else from them. "That's enough about our summers, what about yours? Did you get all of your work done quickly?"

"Yeah, I finished it in the first week and then for the rest of the time I just hung out and exchanged letters." Hermione purposely left out the last part of her summer, the tragic part. She didn't want to talk about it for one thing, and the other, she didn't want Ron and Harry to send her the same looks of concern that she had been getting from her parents since that day.

"Listen, guys, I'm sorry to cut our conversation short but I really can't stick around. I have to go to the Heads' compartment. Okay? But find me in about an hour or so, and then I'll be done there." Harry and Ron nodded before giving Hermione quick hugs and departing.

Hermione did have to be in the Heads' compartment, that much she was sure of; but not immediately. She just wanted some time to be alone. The first empty compartment she found, she went in and didn't even make it to the seat before she burst out into sobs. It wasn't the first time she'd cried all summer. In fact to say that would practically be the understatement of the year. Ever since she heard the bad news about her friend Evelyn, she'd been crying nonstop, but only when there wasn't anybody around to hear her. She curled up into herself and just kept crying. How could this have happened?! She wasn't even 21 and she had so much more to life to live, so much to experience! She was coming to visit me! ME. She was going to see me to tell me the news of the proposal. And now she's gone. Evelyn, my best friend, gone because of a stupid and incompetent plane driver.

Hermione was crying loud enough that she couldn't hear the compartment door slide open. She only became aware that someone was there with her when she felt a strong set of hands and arms lift her up and place her gently on the seat. Through her hazy veil of tears she saw the one person that actually knew why she was so miserable, the only one she had told: Draco. He looked highly uncomfortable at the fact that she was crying, but he smiled tentatively at her; that only made Hermione cry harder. Despite the fact that he was now feeling very awkward in this situation, Draco pulled her hair back and rubbed circles on Hermione's back while she cried herself out. When her crying jag had finished—about a minute later—she flashed a grateful (and rather watery) smile at Malfoy.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." A tension and uncomfortable silence filled the air.

"I'm so sorry that you had to see me fall apart. I just couldn't take it much longer. But thanks again." Hermione groaned aloud. "I probably look atrocious right now." Draco smirked.

"Yeah, you're right about that. You look terrible." He laughed at the miffed but amused smile on Hermione's face.

"Gee, thank you. But that's not what you were supposed to say. You were supposed to tell me that I was talking crazy and that I looked absolutely fine."

"In other words I was supposed to lie?"

"Oh shut up!" They both burst into laughter, and Draco had to admit, he liked it much better when she was laughing as opposed to when she was crying. Hermione took a small compact out of her pocket and looked at her red and slightly puffy eyes. She murmured a spell and her eyes went back to their normal state.

"So then Draco, how was your summer?" She let out a laugh before he got a chance to answer and he looked worried for her sanity.

"Should I be worried about the preserving of your sanity...that is, if you had any to begin with?" She shot him a glare with no venom in it; she knew he was pretty much joking.

"No, I'm just laughing because that seems to be my question of the day." Draco raised an eyebrow.

"And that's funny how...?" She just sighed.

"Forget it. So seriously, how was your summer?"

"Well considering the fact that I was writing to you for basically the whole summer, I think you should know."

Hermione laughed again, "Okay, well I didn't think about that."

"Obviously."

Hermione slapped him playfully on the arm. "Fine Mr. Head Boy, be arrogant! See if that gets you any dates with Pansy!" Draco visibly shuddered.

"No. I'll pass thanks. I've had enough of Pansy's clingy habits to last a lifetime. I really don't see how she can be so thick as to not realize that nobody—especially me—likes her."

A wicked grin made its way across Hermione's face. "She's a Slytherin isn't she?"

"Oho, touché! I will admit that she gives the Slytherin house a bad name." Just then Professor McGonagall walked in observed the two students with a slightly raised eyebrow and a knowing grin in place. The moment they looked up at her, the grin was gone and McGonagall looked her normal, strict self.

"As the two head students, you are expected to be a good example to the underclassmen. In other words: no fighting with each other in public, if you must do that, then save it for your head dorms. This is a great way to try and bolster inter house unity, especially between your two houses." She looked at them and Hermione and Draco nodded in understanding.

"You two may not abuse your privilege and ability to take away and give house points. Do not use them for your own benefit and especially at the expense of your partners. We do not want this to turn into a points war. After the feast, you are to wait together outside the Great Hall for Dumbledore. He will lead you to your dorm and explain the patrolling schedule. Any questions?" Both seven years shook their heads and Professor McGonagall left the compartment.

Hermione looked puzzled. "Why is she on the train? I thought that the Professors stayed at the school. Remember first year when McGonagall told us upon our entrance to the Great Hall about the sorting? I don't think she was on the train was she?"

"Yeah, she's always on the train. She explains to the Head students their jobs and then goes to her own compartment. You just never noticed I guess."

"Oh. Well that makes sense."

"Of course it does, I said it!"

Hermione laughed loudly and was about to reply to his statement when the compartment door burst open and Harry and Ron entered. They grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her out of the compartment. Only Ron stuck his head back in and addressed Draco.

"Stay away from her, Ferret!" He slammed the door and joined Harry and Hermione. Without her two friends noticing, Hermione looked back at Draco and shot him an apologetic look. He grinned internally noting how red her cheeks were from anger and he could just feel the sparks of anger out of her eyes at Ron and Harry. She was furious, he could tell. Not only that they took her so forcefully, but that they were too strong for her and she couldn't break away. As soon as she disappeared from sight, Draco heard her yell.

"What the hell was that about?!" Draco laughed, slightly disappointed that she was gone and that he couldn't see her explode at her friends. He'd just have to wait until after the feast to talk to her.

XXXXXXHermione's compartment with Harry and RonXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're sorry, 'Mione, but we were worried about you! You said find you in one hour but it had been two and we still had no idea where to find you. Then when we saw you with Malfoy, we panicked." Ron said, hoping that Hermione would understand.

"Obviously." She said coldly. "But that was no excuse to drag me out of there! I was perfectly fine. If he would have tried something I'm sure I could have thrown him off. You two are going to have to get used to me being with him anyway. So why not start now?"

Both boys looked extremely sheepish. It seemed as if they forgot about the soul mate ordeal.

"We are really sorry! Please don't be mad." Ron pleaded. Hermione was still angry at them, so instead of talking to them for the rest of the way, she stared out the window at the rolling hills in a stony silence. As far as Hermione was concerned, they couldn't get to Hogwarts fast enough. For a moment she considered sneaking off to find both Ginny and her other friends or go back to Draco, but sneaking is on the list of things that she is physically incapable of doing. So that was a definite no.

When the train finally pulled up at the Hogsmeade station, Hermione ran out of the compartment and rushed to the first carriage she could find. It wasn't so much as being angry with Harry and Ron anymore—she was over that—it was more of wanting to be alone. Watching the scenery out the window somehow reminded her of Evelyn. The littlest things would bring her back to some fond memory she had of spending time with Evelyn. The trees reminded her of the last time she'd been with Evelyn and they were sneaking out after dark.

Once in the carriage, she let a steady stream of tears fall, but when the door opened she hastily wiped them away not wanting whoever was joining her to see her cry.

"Well, we meet again." It was Draco. Hermione smiled, finding herself unusually happy to be in his presence.

"You know, I'm starting to get the impression that you're following me."

Draco snorted derisively, "And you tell me that I am arrogant?"

"You are arrogant." Hermione remarked in a tone that one would use to comment on the weather.

"And you're a smart ass." Hermione just rolled her eyes at his version of a comeback and looked out the window as the carriage started its journey to Hogwarts. It was a comfortable silence: not a stony and angry one like with Harry and Ron, not was it awkward where they couldn't think of anything to say to each other. They were just there together and that was good enough for the both of them.

It's rather odd how comfortable we are together now. It seems like we've been friends for a while, but we haven't. I wish we had though, that would have been fun. He's a good friend to have.

Yeah, and I'm sure he'd be a great boyfriend; probably and excellent kisser too! Why don't you find out?

Not going there. I'm happy we're even friends. He doesn't need me 'making a move' on him to complicate everything. We've barely became friends.

But I'm sure you'd like to be more.

We will be eventually...I mean we are soul mates after all. I'm content now though.

That's what you think.

No, that's what I know.

Hermione mentally cheered! She finally got one up on her inner voice: Me—1, inner voice—0.

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A/N2: If you didn't like the chapter then tell me why, but be polite about it or just do me a favor and don't review, but ONLY if you didn't like it!! But if you did like it, then review! The 400th reviewer gets a chapter of Bittersweet Lullabies dedicated to/written in honor of them!! C'mon, I KNOW you guys can do it!

Lovelove, Amanda