Hermione Granger was steadying herself after he'd apparently just knocked the door into her. He looked away instantly and cursed silently for already causing a scene. Painfully aware of the eyes boring holes through his back, he made his way back through the carriage. All chances of him helping to deliver a beginning-of-the-year address in the prefect's carriage were now gone. He glanced up briefly in an attempt to find a place to hide when, to his great relief, he spotted Daphne Greengrass. At last, a familiar face.
Somehow, he had forgotten about her in the weeks he'd spent worrying about the coming year. Granted, they had never taken much interest in each other during their years in Slytherin house but he couldn't recall anything particularly negative about her. She was one of the few Slytherins he knew whose family didn't have strong ties with the dark arts.
In their younger years, Daphne was often seen hanging around with the other Slytherin girls of his year, like Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode. In their years there, though, he had noticed that a fair amount of the time she would also just keep to herself. She was pretty enough, with dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes, but for whatever reason had never stood out to Draco.
He took the seat between her and the window and cautiously looked around the carriage. The only Slytherin prefects sat before him. Daphne and her sister were the most familiar to him. He racked his brain. The stocky boy, with close-cropped brown hair… that was… that was… uh, Jasper….. Willis. And the girl's name was Ivy. Ivy Bracksley. Ivy was a year below him and Jasper two. He vaguely remembered that both had been selected as prefects in their respective fifth years.
Since that meant Jasper had only been selected the year previous, technically speaking, this was his first year as prefect. Their last year had been messy and incomplete in nearly all aspects and the whole prefect business had scarcely lasted a week after they had stepped off the Hogwarts Express. He recalled hazily that Snape hadn't, in fact, even bothered to choose a head boy and girl in Draco's would-have-been final year.
Four prefects- things looked bleak. He had wondered if any Slytherins would bother to show up this year. Warm invitation from McGonagall or not, many death eaters had been imprisoned and who knew what family life was like in other Slytherin households. An unpleasant thought came to him. Maybe that was why McGonagall had chosen him. To make up for the lack of Slytherin prefects and as her own personal charity project to flaunt. Look how the school has changed, a Slytherin head boy! So progressive! There must have been at least ten other candidates he could think of that were more qualified than himself. His worst fears had been confirmed. He was only there as an example. McGonagall held no faith in him.
At the front, Hermione cleared her throat. "Welcome back to another school year everybody. I don't know about the rest you, but personally, I'm glad to be back!" At that moment he noticed the head girl badge pinned on her shirt. That tore it. The headmistress was obviously trying to ruin him. He was hurtling at top speeds towards his most miserable year at Hogwarts to date, an astounding feat given that the dark lord had been defeated and his long-time rival Potter wouldn't even be in attendance. How was he supposed to work amicably with little-miss-perfect Gryffindor? Know-it-all Granger? Had McGonagall actually thought it through at all?
The woman has gone mad, he thought bitterly to himself.
He watched through the window as forest flickered to countryside and then back again. He tapped his foot, drummed his fingers, and shifted about uncomfortably until the meeting was called to close. Finally, the telltale shuffling of the prefects exiting the carriage came to his ears and he and the brunette were left alone.
After a few moments of silence she addressed him. "You know, you'll have to do better than that or you'll lose your head boy badge."
He turned to look at her. That was the best news he'd heard in a while.
"Bet you'd like that, wouldn't you Granger?" he sneered. Why would she pretend like she cared if he lost his badge or not? They both knew this wasn't going to work.
She confirmed his suspicions with her reply. "Maybe I would!"
He grumbled and turned his interest back to the window. A few moments later, he watched from the corner of his eye as she exited the carriage. McGonagall's sappy speech about unity and harmony surfaced in his memory. Some things don't change so easily, he thought to himself.
In a few hours, he would have the opportunity to talk to the headmistress himself, and he would tell her that she'd made a mistake. He was no head boy, a fact, he assumed, she very well knew for herself.
He glanced around the empty car as it rocked gently. Alone again.
It was turning out to be a common state for him.
A/N: Thanks for reading! To those of you who are continuing to read, even after those long first two chapters, ILY. (Truthfully, I'm not crazy about them, but they include some crucial points for our story going forward. I simply couldn't omit them.) Since you've read this far, if you haven't already, or if you have and you want to be extra awesome, go ahead and let me know what you think by leaving a review! It means a lot to me, and I can't stress enough how very interested I am in hearing what you have to say.
p.s. Going forward, I will always include a note to inform you if I've posted 2 chapters at once (though I don't intend to make this a frequent occasion) and will probably take them down at the time of the next update. In this way, I hope to avoid any confusion and allow you the greatest possible chance to read the story in its intended order.
p.p.s In response to a review: There will be very few, if any, chapters from here on out where two chapters will cover the same scene or plot development from both POVs. This one is an exception, and I had very specific reasons for writing this particular event in both Draco and Hermione's perspective. Bear with me, this is pretty much a one time thing. :)