Hermione kept a tight grip on Harry's hand as they came through the fireplace into the Headmistress' office. It was much harder being back in Hogwarts than either of them had expected. "Hello, Harry, Hermione, Ginny." Minerva smiled brightly at them, even though they could tell she was quite busy.

"Hi, Aunt Minerva. Did you miss me?"

"I did. I had to go down and visit Severus several times just so I could have the company of someone who missed you as much as I did." Minerva winked at him.

"I told you she'd miss me, Hermione. You didn't believe me." Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes. Sometimes Harry's family was a bit strange.

"You three had better go up to the tower and meet your new Head of House. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."The trio turned to leave. "Just because you have a new Head, however, does not mean that I will stop supporting Gryffindor Quidditch. After all, I can support my favorite great-nephew without being biased, can't I?"

Harry nodded. "I'll do my best, Aunt Minerva."

The three Gryffindors headed toward the tower with mixed anticipation and dread. Hermione knew it would be hard for Harry in his dorm. With Seamus' personality, he was liable to say something that would set Harry off. There wouldn't be anyone to wake him up if he had nightmares either. He would make sure they didn't know.

"Who do you think our new Head is? It's got to be someone that was in Gryffindor, doesn't it?" Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Typically, the Head of House is chosen by the Headmaster or Headmistress, along with their deputy. It doesn't necessarily matter what House the person was in, but you wouldn't put a former Slytherin as Head of Gryffindor. There's too much rivalry."

"Did you read that in Hogwarts, A History?" Harry knew it was her favorite book, and so he'd finally read it.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did."

The twins were waiting outside the portrait for them. "They've changed the password, and we weren't sure if you'd know what it was." For once, the twins were more subdued. "It's quite odd seeing you two without Ron. Never thought that would happen."

"I assure you that we wish Ron was still here," Harry sighed. "Who's the new Head of House?"

"Ariana Ravenwood. She looks a lot like your dad, though." Everyone turned to Hermione. She was the resident authority on Harry's family tree.

"The Ravenwood's are one of the oldest and most powerful wizarding families. Ariana was the only child of Aderyn and Tristan Ravenwood, thus she would have inherited several properties, loads of money, and the family titles. She married Abraxas Malfoy in 1950, and they had two children, Lucius and Gawain. It's rumored that she's quite beautiful and that, besides being on the International Board of Potions Makers, she's also quite good at Transfiguration. My guess is she's probably taken Professor McGonagall's place."

"Quite right, Ms. Granger."A tall, beautiful woman with long, reddish curls came up behind them. "I was also in Gryffindor when I was here. My, you do look like your father, don't you? Except for your beautiful eyes—those came from your mother. It's such a shame that Abraxas kept Gawain away from her. They were so in love."Ariana smiled. "It's lovely to finally see you, Harry. I'm your grandmother, Ariana Ravenwood. You can call me whatever you want, Harry, except professor. I'll not have family using titles. I expect that we'll get to know each other much better over the next few years. I'd like to, anyway. You seem like a much better representation of the Malfoy family than Abraxas, Lucius, or Draco."

"I certainly hope that I am. My Uncle Sirius would kill me if I started acting like Draco and spouted off how pure my blood is to everyone. That doesn't matter anyway. It's how pure your heart is that matters." Harry grinned at Hermione.

"I couldn't have put it better myself, son. You'll make us proud; I know you will. You two are my fifth year prefects, are you not?" Harry and Hermione nodded. "Then you better get inside the portrait before I'm forced to give you detention for spending too much time in the corridors talking to teachers." She smiled.

Harry smiled back. "Well, let's do what she says. Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of my grandmother, would you?" The happiness his grandmother seemed to exude put Harry's mind at ease.

As soon as they all went through the portrait hole, Ginny exclaimed, "How in the world does someone as nice as that lady seems to be end up with a son like Lucius? Tell me."

"I have no idea, but I have a feeling that none of my family members are going to go easy on me this year. " Harry sunk into his favorite chair by the fireplace. He set his bag, which held the few belongings he'd taken with him that night they'd escaped, on his lap. The twins went back over to where Lee Jordan was frantically writing something in the corner and Hermione and Ginny took up the two chairs near Harry.

"So, it is true. Weasley finally got what he deserved for hanging around with you. It was all over the papers. I always knew that one of you would end up dead."

Harry and the Weasley twins looked ready to kill. They probably would have, had Angelina, Katie, and Alicia not been holding them back. Hermione was twirling her wand dangerously. "Finnegan, I suggest that you leave us alone, right now, or Harry and I will not hesitate to use you as the first test subject for the new spell we're developing."

"I also heard that the two of you killed him off, just so you two could get together, and that you two were on trial for murdering Dumbledore but got off because of your family connections." That was it for Harry. He broke away from Katie and slammed Seamus square in the nose. It turned into an all-out scuffle.

"You have five minutes to explain what's going on here before I start handing out detentions with Professor Snape."She took one look at Harry, who was being pulled back by Fred and George, and Seamus, who was glaring at Harry. "Well…who's going to go first? We don't want anyone to die of blood loss."

"I was merely commenting on the truth. Weasley got killed because Malfoy and his family are nothing but a bunch of no good Death Eaters and mass murderers."

Ariana's blue eyes turned cold. "Do not ever accuse me of being a follower of that horrible man. I've seen enough death to last a lifetime. Just because one of my sons and my husband decided to worship that evil man doesn't make us all Death Eaters. I never want to hear you insult my family like that again, Mr. Finnegan, nor do I want to take points from my own House, or my own grandson. You have left me no choice." She looked at Harry. "Did you throw the first punch, Harry?"

"I did, ma'am. I'm sorry. I didn't give a very good representation of my family values today."Harry didn't look her in the eyes.

She lifted up his chin. "No, you didn't, but you don't have to be sorry for defending your family. Nevertheless, I am going to take ten points from each of you for being a disgrace to Gryffindor and I'm giving you both two days of detention with Professor Snape."

"Why bother, he'll let Malfoy off easy," Seamus muttered.

"Would you like twenty points taken the next time, Mr. Finnegan? I'm already considering adding to your detention."Ariana glared.

"No, Professor."

"Go to the Hospital Wing and get your nose examined. It appears that it might be broken. Harry, if you don't need to go to the Hospital Wing right away, I want to see you and Ms. Granger in my office." Ariana looked at everyone else. "Let this be a lesson, Gryffindors. Headmistress McGonagall did not tolerate any foolishness while she was Head of Gryffindor and I will not either." She followed Hermione and Harry into her office. It didn't look that much different from the way Minerva had set it up—except that the chairs looked more comfortable. She sat behind the desk and motioned for the two of them to sit as well. "You reminded me a lot of your father when you were fighting. He too only fought to defend his family's honor. The other Slytherins were terrible toward him and Severus, just because they were friends with Gryffindors. You have no idea how many letters I received about Gawain getting detention for this or that, usually with the other Marauders. I have no doubts that you will undergo the same trials that he did, just because you're a Malfoy in Gryffindor. For that, I'm sorry. By the time I learned that Abraxas and Lucius were following Voldemort, it was too late to stop them—not that I could have if I tried. I would've been killed. I want you two to know that I will be here if you need a safe haven from the rest of the House, and my door will always be open if you need to sleep somewhere other than your dorm. Minerva won't mind…she suggested it. Hermione, I know, from what Minerva's told me and what I've witnessed already, that you and Harry are very close. Make sure you remain that way. It's the only thing that will prevent them from winning." She didn't quite grasp something about their relationship. They were very close for only knowing each other five years.

"We know. We've always known that. Nearly getting killed by a mountain troll, giant movable chess pieces, dragons, basilisks, Voldemort, and a werewolf makes you realize that you need to keep your friends very close." Harry took Hermione's hand.

"You two have had quite the experience, haven't you?"

Hermione smiled. "And that was just at Hogwarts."