The Golden Trio have headed back to Hogwarts for a final year alongside a select few of their former year group. Post Battle and Post Voldemort how will they fare as they attempt to rebuild their lives and finish school. And why is Malfoy head boy?
"The castle." Ginny announced to the carriage. The words no longer held the excitement they usually did, as the haven they'd all called home for six years had spent the last year a terrible place.
Hermione looked to the window, as did Ron and Harry.
What was it going to look like? The last time they'd seen the castle it'd been in disarray, savaged by the last battle. Hermione cast her mind back to the train ride home, a week after the battle, the culmination of the second, and hopefully last, wizarding war. It'd been in ruins, chunks out of the walls, the hallways they'd traipsed through for six years covered in debris.
"We're coming up to it, look!" Neville's voice broke the silence, and Hermione craned her neck.
There it was. She was surprised, a little, to see it look how it did every other time she'd approached it on this very train. From this distance, it looked.. like nothing had ever happened.
"Thought it'd look more roughed up." Ron sat back, and Hermione nodded, feeling he'd voiced, however ineloquently, how they'd all felt. She studied Ron. He'd made no secret of how he felt about her over the past year, perhaps longer. She'd been wrong, really, to let herself get caught up in the heat of the moment, the desperation they'd both felt to have someone with the stronger bond than friendship. So of course she'd let herself think Ron was the one, that they were meant to be together. But as she'd told him after the war, she didn't want anything but friendship from Ron and Harry, the makeshift brothers of an only child.
"You wondered about who's going to be Head Boy, then, Mione?" Ron questioned her, and she grinned at him. Despite the banter that had gone on between the three of them since the Head's badge had arrived in Hermione's letter, she hadn't actually thought of who was going to be Head Boy. She'd actually forgotten that the badge would go to one of them this year, let alone wanted it for herself. Naturally, she'd dreamed of it in her younger years, but she'd assumed that the black mark of leaving school early would discredit her.
"Who was it, last year, Gin?" She questioned, and the redhead looked up from the book her and Harry had been perusing, shaking her head.
"There wasn't one last year, otherwise they'd probably have kept the same Head Girl, too." She replied, her eyes falling to the badge that Hermione had pinned to her chest.
"You'll find out soon enough, Mione..." Harry said abruptly, standing up. It was clear then that he'd been watching for what the others had forgotten to, their arrival at the station.
"We've got to meet McGonagall, so see you three at the feast, okay?" Ron said to his sister, who nodded at him as they disembarked, leaving Ron and Hermione alone on the platform.
"I'm surprised Ginny didn't get prefect, you know." Hermione said conversationally, as they trundled down the platform, in search of any of their fellow prefects. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, I don't think she was too put out though. Luna did though. Wonder where she got to on the train?" Hermione smiled. Having spent a lot of time avoiding his own relationship, it wouldn't have occured to Ron that Luna wanted to spend time with Dean. She was saved from explaining this, though, as they spotted Ernie, Hannah, Anthony and Padma all together in a group, and made towards them.
"Ron, Hermione!" Ernie greeted them cordially, and Hermione was reminded somewhat unfortunately of the pompous manner in which their friend carried himself. She held in a giggle as Ernie held his hand out to Ron, who looked slightly flustered.
"Yeah, how you doin' mate?" Ron said, and gave Anthony a brief wave. Hermione scanned Anthony's chest, having checked Ernie. Neither of them were Head Boy... A sense of dread was filling her as she voiced her concerns.
"If you two aren't Head Boy, then who is?" Ron came to t
he same judgement as her quite quickly, she surmounted, as he swore.
"Not Malfoy?" Hannah looked shocked.
Could it be Malfoy? Hermione wondered. They all thought of him as a death eater's son, only a select few would colour him any differently, and whether she was one of them or not, this was hardly the time to put him in a position of authority over a school that detested him. Head Boy was a coveted position over the more intelligent of the school, a stereotype she happily placed herself in. Not exactly the place for the bad boy of Hogwarts.
"How was your summer, Hermione?" Hannah asked, clearly trying to take her mind off it. Hermione smiled at her.
"I went to Australia for a lot of it, I left my parents there during the war. They've decided to emigrate out there permenantly." Hannah opened her mouth to respond but Ernie interrupted.
"Because you worried they'd be targeted?" Hermione nodded.
"Ron and I took precautions before we went with Harry. My parents weren't touched, though obviously the Weasley's weren't as lucky." She said this in a straightforward way, Ron lowering his head regretfully. The loss of Fred had changed everything for them all. George had withdrawn into himself for a while, and everything had been quieter. But gradually, they'd started to build up their lives again. Fred would never be forgotten, but as he'd have wished, they hadn't stopped their lives in rememberance, either.
"I was very sorry to hear about your brother, Ron." Padma said, and the others all nodded. Ron smiled at her.
"Thank you." The silence that followed wasn't awkward, or uncomfortable, simply respectful, as the six of them thought about who had given their lives in the war. Fred had been a loss, but not the only one. The loss of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin had affected everyone too. Two bright sparks, put out, and their baby son to be left behind was painstakingly symbolic of the start of the war. The life of Teddy Lupin would never be as unhappy as Harry's had been before him, but the baby was left parentless. Fortunately, Harry hadn't been arrested, and had made a point of spending a lot of time with his godson. Hermione secretly suspected that Harry would take him in when he left school the following year.
The teenagers chatted amongst themselves aimiably as they headed up to the castle, sharing a carriage. Nobody talked of where the missing Draco and Pansy were, and as the conversation turned to the lighter topic of quidditch, Hermione had time to think to herself about the possibility of Draco taking Head Boy. There was no other logical choice, unless one who wasn't a prefect had been selected. Ernie for one, had seemed put out not to have it. Why would the position have fallen to Draco?
"We've stopped, Mione." Ron said this to her, grinning, as he and Padma got off the carriage, leaving Hermione sat alone. Hermione laughed, realising she'd been carried away in her thoughts, and got up, carrying her bag.
"Good Evening. Prefects, Miss Granger." Hermione flushed at this separate acknowledgement, and looked up to smile at Professor McGonagall. The older woman smiled at them all, and beckoned behind her.
"Welcome back. As you know, the events of the past year have affected us all, and maybe now, more than before, we will need our authority figures." She looked to Hermione.
"Miss Granger, as i'm sure you have surmised, Mr Malfoy will be your co-Head this year." She allowed for a small amount of gasps and looks between the six teenagers before continuing.
"We have our reasons for this decision, and i've asked you to gather alone so that I can ask you all to treat your Slytherin counterparts with the same respect you treat one another. Unfortunately..." She sounded as if she did not mean this last word atall, and Hermione knew what was coming.
"Miss Parkinson will not be rejoining us this school year, having chosen to complete her schooling at Beauxbatons, in France." Hermione couldn't help but feel relieved at this, despite herself.
"Who's the new Slytherin prefect, then?" Padma enquired. Hermione glanced over to her and couldn't help noticing she was standing a little closer to Ron than was perhaps usual. Interesting.
"Me." Hermione strained her eyes to see the blonde figure of Daphne Greengrass come from the darkness. McGonagall nodded abruptly, and Hermione wondered if the Slytherin's had some ground to make up, particularly in the teacher's direction. She smiled at the girl tentatively, and was shocked to recieve one back. It was practically unheard of for Slytherin's to smile, but here she was, clad in green and silver, smiling back.
"Maybe the war did change things..." She said under her breath, thinking nobody could hear.
"It did, Granger." She jumped at the quick noise, and turned to meet the grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.
'Damn him' she thought, angry with herself for being flustered as he stood over her, cool and collected. His Head Boy badge gleamed on his chest, but there was something missing. She studied him for a few seconds, as they looked at each other. She was thinking about how they'd probably never held eye contact for this long at school before without him insulting her. God knows what he was thinking.
He sidestepped her and gave the teacher a mock salute.
"Evening Professor." Hermione watched McGonagall's reaction, and was surprised to see no hostility there.
"Here are your passwords." Professor McGonagall started to hand out slips of paper to each of the prefects, stopping at Draco and Hermione.
"And Mr Malfoy, here are the directions to the Head's dormitory. Miss Granger, this is everything the two of you should need." She handed a slip to Malfoy, and a sheaf of papers to Hermione.
"Good evening, students." She bowed her head at them all, and they all started to walk back towards the castle. Malfoy looked slightly awkward, and Hermione pondered over whether to speak to him. They hated each other. They really did, and she had no idea how to act. She looked around at the others, who were all examining their passwords, and had grouped off together into their housing groups. Ron seemed to be talking to Padma, and Hermione was unwilling to invade there, the sooner Ron joined up with someone new, the sooner she'd stop feeling guilty.
She fell into step with Malfoy, realising they'd have to go to their common room together anyway. He acknowledged her with a slight nod, but nothing more. Normal conversation seemed ridiculous, she had no idea how Malfoy spent his holidays, but no doubt his had been filled with enquiries, house searches... She knew Harry had vouched valiantly for Narcissa Malfoy, and she supposed Draco had escaped Azkaban under that, who would deny the boy who lived?
"We're on the second floor." Malfoy said to her, turning to face her as they reached the doors. She nodded.
"Convenient." She managed. They walked in silence, and Draco stopped at a door. She waited for a password, but instead he turned to her.
"Look Granger. I'm here for my own reasons, and I'm not looking for friendship." She was a little taken aback, but realised he meant to go on.
"War's changed everything, like you said, like I agreed." He met her eyes again.
"I've changed. I think we can be civil, we can work together." He held out his hand. Hermione stared at it. In all her years, if anyone had told her Draco Malfoy would offer her his hand, she'd have told them they were mistaken. But he was right. Everything had changed. She held out her own hand, and grasped his.
"Okay."