Chapter Four

The Great Hall was already packed with people by the time Hermione walked through the large wooden doors with flushed cheeks. She was one of the last people to arrive up to the castle because she had stayed behind on the platform in yet another futile attempt to catch up with Harry and Ron. The boys had been nowhere to be found and Hermione had resigned herself to take one of the carriages up to the castle on her own when Blaise and Draco had showed up as her saviours in need once again.

Both boys had jumped into her carriage just as it was about to take off, scaring the living daylights out of her.

"Did you really think you could get rid of us that easily Granger?" Draco teased her as he jumped into the carriage, followed closely by Blaise.

"No!" was that giggle really hers? "I was just looking for Harry and Ron."

"You couldn't find them?" Blaise looked at her with kind eyes and a frown.

"No. They must have gone up to the castle already."

"Without you? That's not very nice!"

"It's not like we are attached at the hip Blaise." she defended her friends as something in Blaise's voice told her she was supposed to.

"Still, they are your friends."

There was that hint of irritation again that he did his best to mask. It confused her, because why would Blaise be irritated with Harry and Ron on her behalf? They hardly knew each other and when she looked over at Draco he was sporting the same scowl as Blaise. Why would these wizards suddenly be concerned for her emotional well-being?

She didn't get any time to ponder it because they had arrived at the front doors of the castle and the carriage was coming to a halt. The boys jumped out first and when she moved to follow them out her mind was so distracted that she missed the last step.

The crisp autumn air hit her face and Hermione held her breath as she waited for the ground to come and kiss her hello. But it never happened. Instead, two strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pressed her up against something solid. When she opened her eyes again, she was faced the stormy grey eyes that were a trademark amongst the Malfoy men.

"You okay there, Granger?" he asked as he drew circles with his thumbs on her hips.

He had yet to let her go or back away and their close proximity had her at a loss for words. Had he always been this attractive and why had she not noticed it before? Sure, she had not been blind to what the other girls had seen in him over the years, but he had never affected her the way he was now.

"Granger? Are you okay?" Hermione cleared her throat and backed out slowly from his arms.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you!"

Hermione could still feel his hands on her hips as she made her way across the room to the part of the Gryffindor table where her friends sat, without looking over at the neighbouring table, and she had a feeling that she would not forget about it any time soon.

The Great Hall had been restored to its former comforting glory, it looked exactly like it had during all of her previous years at Hogwarts. The enchanted ceiling that displayed the sky outside, the glimmering chandeliers and torches illuminated the room and gave it a cosy feel, the five long tables filled with students and staff members who were eagerly waiting for the feast to begin as the ghost swooped back and forth over their heads, it was all the same.

When she looked over at the head table and all of the professors, she noticed the familiar frame of their favourite gamekeeper. She gave the kind man a smile and looked away before she did a double take. In the middle of the head table sat another familiar frame, but one she never thought they would ever see here again. Professor, no Headmaster Snape was sitting in the throne that belonged to the headmaster of the school.

After Voldemort had been defeated Hermione had personally dragged Professor McGonagall down to the Shack where they found Professor Snape unconscious in a pool of his own blood. His pulse had been weak and his skin had taken on ghostly white shade, at first glance you were sure that the man was dead, but they had managed to stabilize him together and bring him up to the castle. Two weeks later he had woken up in a ward at St. Mungos and was on the mend.

Hermione had heard talk about him returning to Hogwarts when it was time during her time at the burrow, but she had assumed that he would retake his old position as Potions professor or to maybe take over the Defence Against the Dark Arts. It had not even occurred to her that he might take over the position as Headmaster again. From what she had been told, the man had loathed the position and had only taken it to protect the students as much as he could from the wrath of the Carrow siblings.

Harry immediately slung his arm around her shoulders as she took the empty seat next to him. He was laughing and acting completely carefree, it was obvious that he was high as well from the excitement of being back at Hogwarts. There was something so breathtakingly magical about this place and the way it made you feel.

"Where did you go, Mione?" Harry asked as Neville was done telling them about his summer with Luna. Apparently, they had spent their down time looking for another none-existing creature of Luna's imagination. "We couldn't find you anywhere on the train."

"Yeah, where were you?" Ron asked.

"I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you so when Blaise offered for me to sit with him and Malfoy, I did."

Harry took the information just as Hermione had expected him to. He stayed calm and there were no angry words, he barley batted an eyelash. But Ron on the other hand actually surprised her when he just shrugged it off before he turned towards Seamus to discuss the start of Quidditch after the war.

It was not a secret anymore that Lucius Malfoy had been a spy alongside Professor Snape, but that fact did not automatically erase all of the bad blood between the Weasleys and the Malfoys. Hermione had certainly not forgiven the Malfoys for all the things they had done to her, that's why she got so surprised that Ron managed to keep his cool. She had expected him to throw a gasket at her for even being in the same air space as Draco.

"Really?" Harry asked and caught the attention of Ginny, who immediately turned towards them and leaned in closer to them over the table.

"Really what?"

"Hermione sat with Malfoy and Zabini on the train."

"Oh really, did she now?" Ginny smiled with a wicked glint in her eye that had Hermione swallow twice.

"I met Blaise in the bookstore the other day and he was actually kind, so when he asked I didn't want to be rude. It was actually pretty fun."

"How kind of you!" the sarcasm dripped from Ginny's voice and Hermione really didn't want to know what was moving through her friend's head right now. If there was one thing Ginny loved it was matchmaking and scarily enough, she seemed to have a knack for seeing and knowing things that others didn't.

She watched as her friend turned towards Paravati, clearly letting Hermione know that she would not let her in on what that smile meant. But Hermione didn't have time to dwell on it for too long, because in that moment Professor McGonagall came through the doors to the Great Hall followed by the first years. They all looked just as nervous as she remembered feeling that first day. There had been so much to take in and everyone was watching you and wondering if you had what it took to get sorted into their house.

One by one the young ones put on the hat that was way too big for their tiny heads and then scurried over to join their new house. This year everyone clapped, no matter what house the first years got sorted into. Even the Slytherins joined in.

As soon as the sorting was over and Professor McGonagall took her seat up at the heads table, the entire hall quietened down. The dark-haired man in the middle had risen from his throne. Though he still wore the same scowl on his face and the all black, billowing robes, his voice was not what it had once been. It had gotten deeper and possibly more relaxed now that he didn't have literally the weight of the world on his shoulders. His speech was short and to the point, unlike Dumbledore he didn't make them wait for the feast to appear in front of them.

"It looks like you have an admirer." Ginny's eyes glittered as she nodded at something over Hermione's shoulder.

She tried to turn around as discreetly towards the Slytherin table as she could, but by the snort Ginny let out she wasn't doing a very good job. It had been deliberate of her to sit with her back facing the Slytherin table. She didn't want to risk meeting Draco's eyes from across the room, because she was sure that she would either get caught up in his eyes again or blush at the memory of his hands on her and that naughty smirk he wore when he had caught on to her thoughts. And much to her charging Ginny had been right.

Looking right at her was Draco and when he noticed her turning around he smiled and she had to turn back around again to hide the blush that was slowly spreading across her face. What was happening? This was so unlike them, this was so unlike her.

"Told you!" Ginny winked.

The rest of the dinner went by in a blur for Hermione. She was hardly aware of the things that were happening around her. Food entered her mouth and she chewed, but she didn't register what or how it tasted. It was first when people started to stir around her and Snape's deep voice carried through the hall once more.

"Now, if the Prefects would show the first years up to their common rooms while the eight years stay behind, I will show them up myself to their new dormitory." It was with surprise that the older students stayed behind and watched the younger ones go and gathered in a group by the doors.

"So it looks like you won't be able to escape me after all, Granger." came a low whispered voice in her ear and Hermione knew exactly who it belonged to. It sent slow shivers down her spine. Why did he have this effect on her?

They followed Snape through the castle and to a new corridor up on the second floor that they had never been in before until they stopped in front of a big portrait at the end of the hall. The portrait pictured the four original founders of Hogwarts. Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Huffelpuff, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor.

"Sugar quill."

The portrait swung away to let them enter the newly revealed entrance to their new dormitory. Hermione could hear the excited and awed murmurs long before she walked through the entrance, but once she did she could understand what all the fuss was about. The room they walked into was light and bright with large gold painted windows that looked out over the Great Lake and dark wooden floors. A large fireplace was surrounded by couches and armchairs in different shades of silver and gold, underneath their feet was the most inviting cream coloured fluffy rug.

Everyone in that room agreed on that this was one place they could see themselves spend a lot of time in. It was so shockingly different from the rest of the castle and its dark and mysterious common rooms. This was simply beautiful. This was home.