Chapter One
Hermione levitated her trunk before her as she slipped quietly along the corridor towards the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw. Not wishing to be surrounded by people keen to question her on the war she had chosen to apparate to Hogwarts rather than take the train. Everyone was in the Great Hall for the welcome feast and she had no intention of joining them, crowds were a problem for her these days. No, her plan was to have a look around her new quarters then a long soak in the bath before going to bed with a good book. She couldn't remember the last time she had had any privacy, after almost a year of sharing a tent with the boys followed by a summer bunking in with Ginny at The Burrow she was more than ready to sleep in a proper bed of her own with no one else nearby. Bliss.
'Good evening dear, password?' The elegant Ravenclaw greeted her.
'Novis initiis,' Hermione replied with a smile. 'New beginnings' seemed rather apt, McGonagall had chosen well she thought.
She ushered the trunk in ahead of her then stepped through into her new common room. A moment later the trunk fell to the stone floor with a loud thump and three young men turned to stare at her. Hermione stood like the proverbial deer caught in headlights, her quick mind momentarily deserting her.
Theodore Nott broke the silence. 'Hello Granger, skiving the feast too?' She nodded dumbly.
'Cat got your tongue, Granger?' Malfoy drawled, looking amused.
'So rude,' Blaise Zabini tutted at his friends then moved towards Hermione, hand outstretched. 'Good evening bella signora,' he said courteously. She automatically took his hand but was shaken out of her daze when he raised it to his lips and swept them across her knuckles.
'I'm going to fucking murder Snape. He'll wish he'd died from the snakebite when I'm through with him,' she muttered, snatching her hand back and turning to leave in a flurry of curls.
'Woah, woah, slow down there Granger,' this from Theo. 'No one told you who you'd be sharing with?' He asked, looking quickly between Malfoy and Zabini.
'No, it must have slipped McGonagall's mind when she wrote to me,' she ground out. 'She said that only four of us were returning from our year and that Snape wanted us housed together. Why can't you three go to the Slytherin dungeons?' What had McGonagall been thinking of, suggesting this? What was Snape thinking of, for that matter? She started swearing long and hard under her breath.
'Impressive, Granger. Now come and sit by the fire, it's our first night tradition to share a drink,' Malfoy said. Zabini took hold of her hand again and walked her over to the armchairs while Nott poured her what must have been at least a triple measure of firewhisky. Hermione removed her jacket and shoes, curled her legs up underneath her in the comfy seat and taking the glass with a nod of thanks she swallowed the contents in one go and held it out for a refill.
'Well, you're just full of surprises tonight, Princess,' Malfoy murmured, looking mildly impressed. Hermione sent him a withering glare.
'If I'm seriously expected to live with three snakes for a year you're going to be seeing a lot more of this. It's lucky that you can afford to keep me in firewhisky,' she spat. Instead of the snarky response she expected, Malfoy laughed and the others joined him.
'Not a problem, Princess. At least you didn't ask me to keep you in books, my Gringotts vaults might have taken a serious hit then,' he grinned. Her glare lessened a little, he actually looked quite pleasant when he did that.
'Don't call me princess,' she snapped.
'Why not? Everyone in wizarding Britain is calling you Gryffindor's Princess, one third of the Golden Trio, saviour of the world and best friend of Harry Potter,' he mocked. Malfoy tilted his head to the side and regarded Hermione as she grimaced at his words. She was thin, but not as gaunt as she had been the day of the battle or the day she had been tortured in his home. Lilac shadows under her eyes showed a lack of sleep and he wondered if she had nightmares like he did.
Nott broke his concentration, 'Granger, I mean Hermione, I'd really like to make the best of this and get through my last year here, maybe even enjoy it a bit if that's possible. To answer your question, we can't stay in the Slytherin dungeons due to lack of space, that's the official reason anyway. I suspect it has more to do with protecting the younger ones from our 'evil influence' or some such. Whatever, I want to do well in my NEWTS and everyone knows you're the top student. I was hoping you might be my study partner for Arithmancy? It's always been my trickiest subject,' he gave her a small smile and looked slightly embarrassed at the admission.
Hermione forgot her surreal living situation for a moment and nodded enthusiastically, 'yes of course, Theodore, I'd be happy to. It's such an interesting subject and Professor Vector really makes it come alive, don't you think?'
Malfoy rolled his eyes and Zabini hid his smirk behind his hand. 'Before you two start boring the pants off me I'd like to offer my own hopes for a peaceful year, dolcezza. We barely know each other and I'd like to change that. It's going to be unpleasant if we're not on speaking terms and honestly, I've never had a female friend before. Would you please do me the honour of accepting my friendship?' Blaise moved to kneel in front of her as he said these last words, ignoring the scoffing and eye rolling of his fellow Slytherins. Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. Talk about going on a charm offensive!
'Fine, I can be friendly,' she sighed in resignation then blushed at the expression on Zabini's face. 'Friendly as in civil, nothing else!' She hastily qualified as Malfoy coughed on his firewhisky and Theo sniggered in the corner. Blaise took the opportunity to refill her glass in a placatory gesture.
'Well Granger, it's just me left to pledge my troth,' Malfoy murmured, leaning towards her. This is going to be good, she thought sardonically. 'I'd prefer to speak with you privately, so for the moment I shall merely say that I would like us to have a fresh start. I have set aside my old prejudices, or to put it another way, I no longer believe the crap my parents told me. Purebloods, half-bloods, blood traitors, mudbloods – our blood looks the same whoever we are,' he paused and she knew he was remembering Bellatrix cutting her arm. 'Parentage has no bearing on magical ability, I see that now. It's a big ask Gr- Hermione, but can you give me another chance? I want to prove to you that I can be a semi-decent human being,' his tone was serious, his eyes sincere.
Hermione looked at him for a long moment. He had been horrid to her for six years at school, taken the Dark Mark, let Death Eaters into the school and generally been as unpleasant a person as possible. A lot of these things could be explained through his upbringing and the situation his family put themselves in with Voldemort, she could see that, and he had redeemed himself a little in her eyes when he chose not to identify Harry that horrid day at the Manor. She sighed inwardly, she was sick of the war, weary of fighting and worn down by grieving. She would give him a chance, she decided, one chance.
'Only semi-decent?' She asked teasingly.
'Just keeping it real, Princess,' he smirked then broke into a grin when she smiled and nodded.
'Here's to fresh starts,' she raised her glass.
'Being friendly,' added Blaise, winking.
'Fresh starts,' agreed Theo.
'Being semi-decent,' Malfoy smiled at her and they all drained their glasses.
'Excellent,' said Blaise, rubbing his hands together. 'Theo, pour another round. Let's have a game of 'I have never' to cement our new friendship,' he grinned wolfishly.
'Not a chance,' Hermione laughed. 'Do you really think I'm daft enough to play that with a roomful of snakes? I need to unpack and I could use an early night.' She made to get up but Malfoy put his hand on her arm to stop her.
'Come on Granger, live a little,' he said.
'I'm going to end up regretting this,' she groaned, completely missing the look exchanged by the three Slytherins.
A/N: don't worry, I'm not abandoning The Girl with Pink Hair, I just had to get started on this story because it wasn't leaving me alone! Let me know what you think of it.