Back at Hogwarts

The Great Hall is filled with 300 young witches and wizards as they share a quiet breakfast. A low rumble of chatter and the soft clinking of plates and cutlery are the only sounds that rustle the air during this uneventful period. The rich buttery smells of bread, bacon, eggs, and muffins waft around the four long House tables.

Soon, a huge flutter of birds clamored in in a flurry of feathers, feet, beaks, and paper. However, it is a quite usual occurance to the students of Hogwarts, and they calmly resumed their eating, stopping occasionally to receive letters.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry sit in a row at their usual spot on the Gryffindor table.

"Any letters?" Ron asked, slurping up waffles slopped with dark syrup.

"Eww… Ron, close your mouth." Hermione remarked in disgust. Harry shook his head in his response to Ron's question. Ron nodded slowly, as if he were going back to sleep.

Hermione sighed at them, and asked, "Did you guys study?"

"For what?" asked Harry and Ron simultaneously.

"Potions!? Didn't you guys remember?" Hermione exclaimed, alarmed.

But Harry and Ron didn't get a chance to answer as Lavender tapped on Harry's shoulder to talk. Hermione tried to get their attention back, but they ignored her. She slumped in her seat and chewed a biscuit, swiveling around to look at the other tables.

Ravenclaw's students were all eating up their Potions books. Obviously they knew how to study, very unlike some people she knew.

Hufflepuff were all eating together, talking over their food enthusiastically.

Slytherin's students were all laughing and discussing Quidditch quite intensely. All except one.

Draco Malfoy was sitting rigidly in his chair, looking straight ahead with wide, numb eyes. His skin seemed tighter and paler than before, and seemed to not notice that the world was there. He allowed himself to get nudged around by his friends and joked on by, but he just sat still.

Odd. Hermione wondered why he was acting so differently than his arrogant, obnoxious, greedy, selfish, self-centered, cruel…

"Hermione!" Ron shouted into her ear, yanking her back to her own Gryffindor table. "Gosh, I must've called you like six times! We have to go to class now!"

With slightly shaking hands, she hurriedly clean herself up, got her books, and pushed her chair in to make up for looking at Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy? Hermione scoffed at herself. There's no one in the world that I'd care less about than Draco Malfoy.