Here's chapter 2.

Chapter 2 – The Head's Dormitory

I climbed into the thestral-pulled carriage. Harry and Ginny were seated across from me with Ron, red ears and stony face, seated next to me. I glared at him but it would have had the same effect as me glaring at the door since his whole body was inclined towards his window.

"Oh I can't wait for this year!" gushed Ginny. "It's going to be amazing without Voldemort. We can actually focus on what's important for once." She said with a classic eye roll.

I laughed as Harry gave her an incredulous look.

"Yes because defeating Voldemort was not important at all was it?" He raised a challenging brow at her waiting for her response.

I tuned them out then turned towards Ron.

"Ronald?" No answer.

"Ron!" I called jerking his arm.

"What?" he hissed turning towards me.

I was surprised for a second but pursued anyway. Well I would have if he hadn't spoken.

"Hermione, I think it's best if we took a break from this whole relationship thing for a while." He murmured before turning away again.

I was shocked to say the least. It wasn't something I expected to hear from Ron of all people.

Before I could respond, the carriage came to a halt before the doors to the entrance hall and Ron sprang out. Harry and Ginny had missed the entire exchange and were jumping off themselves.

Slightly dazed, I let Harry help me out before falling behind them. Students rushed passed me, all eager to enjoy the welcome feast. My anger had ebbed away and confusion was taking over. Why was I feeling so sullen? Isn't a breakup exactly what I had been hoping for? Perhaps it was because Ron had broken up with me that had me feeling so morose.

I eventually reached the Great Hall and took a seat between Neville and Harry. Ron was sitting with Dean and Seamus and had his back towards me.

"Hermione, you look upset. What happened?" Harry asked as Ginny turned away from her chat with Parvati to listen.

"Err, Ron and I broke up," I whispered fingering my fork.

Harry and Ginny shared a glance that made me realize they had spoken about our relationship between themselves. Oh great! Just perfect isn't it!

I was about to respond when the sorting finished and McGonagall had stood up to speak to us.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts. I trust you all had a restful vacation. Even though the Light side has won the war against Voldemort and his Death Eaters, the road to rebuilding our lives will be a long and windy one. Inter house relations will be greater enforced than ever before to break down the barriers that separate us from one another."

There were murmurs at this throughout the Great Hall and most seemed to agree with this sentiment except for the Slytherins of course. I rolled my eyes at their frowns and head shaking and turned back to McGonagall.

"On a lighter note, I would like to congratulate the Head Boy and Head Girl this year, Mr. Draco Malfoy and Miss Hermione Granger." There was a groan when Malfoy's name was announced from the rest of the school as the Slytherins celebrated but a roar of approval when my name was announced from everyone but the Slytherins. I blushed scarlet and ducked my head until the table banging and cheers had subsided.

After a few more notices McGonagall declared the feast to begin and Hogwart's usual splendor was laid out across the table.

"Hermione, do you think you and Ron will be friends after this? I mean you can't just ignore all that you've been through together can you?" Harry asked as he helped himself to steak and potatoes.

I considered for a moment before answering, "I know Harry but this relationship thing was a really bad idea for us. I mean he and I are on completely different levels of maturity. I'm going to right things between us though." I answered, and began eating.

Harry simply nodded and let the subject drop. I was glad he did. I didn't really want to think about Ron right now.

After an amazing as usual feast, we were all dismissed and the prefects led the houses back to their dormitories. I walked over to McGonagall who had summoned Malfoy and me there.

"You have special privileges as you are aware and will be sharing a dormitory that is located behind the portrait of the sleeping dragon. To enter you will have no password except you must tickle the dragon exactly on its belly. Have a good evening." She said before dismissing us.

Malfoy and I walked in silence for most of the way until, "Don't you think it's ironic, Granger?" Malfoy began.

"That the entrance to our dormitory goes against the motto of the school?" I finished musing at the thought.

He gave me a weird look before agreeing. I was surprised at the civility of our conversation. It was slightly unnerving to be able to speak to the Slytherin Prince without any insults being thrown back and forth. We walked in comfortable silence for the rest of the way.

The dormitory was amazing. The common room was decorated in blue and bronze. Comfy armchairs were positioned on a large ancient looking rug around the fireplace. The walls were decorated with portraits of historical figures of the wizarding world.

However, the farthest wall had an amazing bookshelf. The common room ceiling was three stories high and the shelf ran all the way from floor to ceiling and right across the long wall. This room was heaven.

"Awesome!" I heard Malfoy call from a room through an archway.

"What is?" I asked walking towards the arch.

When I walked in, a bright cheery yellow greeted me from the kitchen cabinets. The tabletops were black granite and immaculate. I looked over at Malfoy who was raiding a cabinet.

"This is certainly awesome," I agreed, opening the other cabinets.

The kitchen was completely stocked with everything we would need if we didn't feel like eating in the Great Hall.

I left the blonde and his newly acquired cookies and made my way over to the staircase with the elaborate gold railing. The door at the top read 'Head Girl – Hermione Granger.' My room was decorated in red and gold with a large canopy bed, a dresser, wardrobe, study desk and my trunk in the corner.

There was another door that led to my personal bathroom. This all felt like some sort of private resort and I couldn't have been more thrilled. My bathroom was white and grey with a tub in the centre and a shower in the corner. I could really get used to these luxuries.

After unpacking my trunk and taking a shower, I made my way out of the dormitory and towards the Gryffindor tower. Signs of the war were still lingering on the corridors. Parts of the ceiling that hadn't been rebuilt yet, walls that still had blasted holes.

The worst kinds of impressions were the ones that were left in our minds though. The horrors of the war had taken its toll on everyone. After the war the Weasley family wasn't the same without Fred around. And George had lost his panache as well, but he was trying, we all were.

My plan had worked and my parents were home safely. The part that hurt though was the fact that their trust in me had deflated a little because of the obliviation. So from then on I had decided never to leave them out of the loop of anything.

When Ron and I began our relationship, I thought that it would be a very positive thing after so much negativity. It was always awkward though, but I refuse to allow our break up to get in the way of such a long and wonderful friendship.

Determined to set things right, I muttered the Gryffindor password and climbed through the hole. Harry and Ron were playing wizard's chess on one of the little tables and Ginny was watching from the arm of Harry's chair.

"Hey guys," I called, walking over to them.

"Hey Mione," Harry and Ginny replied smiling at me.

"Hey," Ron mumbled looking slightly embarrassed. That was a dead giveaway that he had been admonished and I saw Ginny smirk slightly.

"How's the dorm, Mione? Malfoy being a prat as usual?" Harry asked, cringing as one of his pieces were smashed off the board.

"The dorm is amazing!" I gushed, "And no, Malfoy seems err tamed? Well better than he was on the train anyway." I said shaking my head at the thought.

Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline and Ginny was looking deep in thought.

"No mudblood calling and sneering?" Harry asked incredulously.

"No, actually," I responded, thoughtful myself.

"That's really quite strange Mione. I'd keep a close distance if I were you," Harry advised. I watched their game for a few minutes and when Harry's king succumbed, I looked over at Ron who was suddenly looking very nervous. Ginny was glaring at him pointedly and Harry seemed to take a sudden keen interest in one of the smashed chess pieces.

"Well, Harry and I have some, err, work!" Ginny announced, springing upright and grabbing Harry. Harry was shuffling nervously as he glanced between Ron and me from above his glasses. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Ginny was dragging him toward the portrait hole. He relented and followed her out with an anxious backwards glance at the two of us.

I looked over at Ron, ears blazing and cheeks flaming. His eyes were trained on the woodwork patterns of the table. I cleared my throat, successfully getting his attention and raised a quizzical brow at him.

Ron sighed, gesturing me to sit across from him. I refused to start this conversation and waited less than patiently for him to get on with it. Eventually, he did.

"Look, Mione, I'm sorry if I've hurt you when we were dating and I'm sorry that I've been a right arse these past couple a weeks." He stopped, glancing at me with a slightly pleading look in his eyes. My expression was still hard and he grew more anxious, waiting for me to soften.

"Ginny got to you didn't she?"

Ron blushed and dropped his gaze, "She might have just told me the truth about how I've been acting recently."

Reaching over, I placed my hand on his arm. He looked up hopefully as a small smile crept onto my face. His answering grin made me laugh a little.

"Of course you're forgiven, Ron. You're my best friend. But you need to figure out a way to deal with the aftermath," I carefully explained. I didn't want to push it or mention Fred's name in case he didn't take to that too calmly.

Ron smiled sadly and stood up to hug me.

"Thanks, Mione. You'll always be my best friend too. I'll try." He murmured against my shoulder.

"That's all we're asking, Ron."

After a game of chess, in which I was pummeled, I bid Ron good night and made my way back to my common room with a slight spring in my step. The hallways were empty since it was just five minutes to curfew. A floor away from the Head's dorm, a sudden crunch of shoe against gravel and a menacing cuss stopped me in my tracks. Wand in hand, I pressed up against the wall and inched forward carefully. The door across the hallway from where I hid was slightly ajar and there was a strange red light emitting from the corner of the room.

The footsteps drew closer and my breathing sped up. Suddenly, a hooded figure came into view and slipped quickly into the room, shutting the door behind him. Treading carefully, I walked closer to the door, and listened for any sounds. A low muttering was coming from the inside of the room. The spell was unfamiliar to me and I listened harder trying to commit the words to memory.

A few moments later, the voice was silent and the slight red glow that was visible through the keyhole vanished. Everything was dark and silent. Fearing that the mysterious person would re-emerge soon, I quickly headed over to the staircase and bolted for the dorm. As the portrait shut behind me, I leaned against it for a second trying to catch my breath and calm my heart rate.

"Everything alright, Granger?"

"Agh!" I yelled, jumping out of my skin.

Malfoy's eyes widened and he stepped back in surprise.

"Uhm, sorry for scaring you?" he was looking at me strangely, as if wondering whether all my bolts were tight.

I regained my composure and breezed past him towards my staircase.

"Night Malfoy," I said shutting my door.

Hope you all enjoyed this one and please review - Draconis