Disclaimer: all characters and the wider wizarding world belong to J. K. Rowling.

Platform 9 ¾ was busy and noisy as per usual, but the chatter all but stopped at the apparition crack of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and the Weasleys. Harry ran his hand through his hair as people stared and the stunned silence continued awkwardly.

Neville looked up when the crowd became still and saw his housemates at the far end of the platform, everyone around them stunned into silence. He always thought the people who stared at Harry were rude, but this was unbearable.

"Harry! Ron, Hermione! Over here!" He yelled as he pushed his way through the crowds. "We're thinking of sitting at the front so we're close to the Prefects carriage for Hermione, hope that's ok."

Hermione smiled and gave him a massive hug as he reached them.

"Thanks Neville, that was very thoughtful."

At the sound of the banal conversation (even if it was the Golden Trio talking!) the platform returned to normal and the chatter returned, with only the occasional pointing and whispering as the group made their way, trunks in tow, to the front of the train.

No sooner had they got the trunks stowed than the platform stilled for a second time. They looked over, Ron and Neville having the best view of the far end of the platform where the apparition point was.

"What's going on?" Mrs Weasley asked.

Ron screwed up his nose.

"It's Malfoy."

Mr and Mrs Weasley made eye contact and started to make their way to the far end of the platform, their children in tow. After hearing about the incident in Diagon Alley Kingsley had asked them to keep an eye on the situation, he couldn't afford to spare an Auror, and besides, it would look like Ministry protection for a former Death Eater and, politically minded as he was, even he couldn't spin that one. The press would have a field day.

Molly reached the front of the crowd first, just as the whispers began.

"Death Eater scum."

"Shouldn't be allowed - he should be locked up!"

"She had you-know-who as a houseguest and here she is walking round like she owns the place still!"

"Can't believe they're letting him back in the school - if my child were in Slytherin I'd never let them come back with him sleeping down the corridor."

Molly stepped forward, hand on her wand in her pocket in case it was needed. Narcissa still had the same look of someone with an unpleasant smell under her nose. Molly briefly thought she could have toned it down a bit, with a husband in Azkaban and a son with the dark mark, she could look humble, relieved, anything really, except her usual haughty self, but apparently that would be too much to ask for.

The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were now basically stood between the crowd and Draco and Narcissa.

Narcissa had known it was going to be bad, she'd known it from that day in Diagon Alley when Harry had stepped in before things had turned nasty but she hadn't expected the fear and loathing she saw in the faces of children - children! - all directed at her son.

It was then that Molly decided to throw the second lifeline the Malfoys had received since their trial.

"Narcissa," Molly began, extending a hand toward the immaculately dressed woman in front of her. "So good to see you again. Did you manage to get everything you needed in Diagon Alley the other day?"

Even with the noise of the train and the muggle station around them the silence of the crowd was deafening.

"Why yes, Molly," Narcissa countered, grateful for the intervention and reminding herself to write to the woman on her return to the manor. She was reminded suddenly that this woman had also grown up in one of the most respected pureblood families, so she knew a thing or two about etiquette and manners. Narcissa moved forward to take the woman's hand. "Draco had a few items delivered from his school list but the most important thing was getting our new wands. But thank you so much for thinking of us."

"What you lookin' at?" Ron questioned to nobody in particular. "Come on, move along you lot, train to catch, sweets to buy, toads to lose, get on with it!"

The crowd began to move away and the chatter returned as the scene before them proved to be more banal than they'd hoped.

Draco turned from the parents who were now standing side-by-side awkwardly.

"Potter, Weasley, Granger," he paused, taking in Ginny, gripping Harry's hand tightly. "Weaselette."

He nodded to the 4 of them, before kissing his mother on the cheek and walked off, trunk in tow. Two steps later, he heard someone walking briskly to catch up with him.

"Don't forget your owl!"

Draco turned to see Hermione Granger holding the cage of his Eagle Owl. It was a bit too big for her to carry, he wasn't sure why she didn't just levitate it, but then he'd noticed she did a lot of things the muggle way. Noticed it and mocked her for it, over the years.

He noticed that shame was not the most comfortable of feelings, and wondered if being rich in honesty would also mean being rich in shame and if so perhaps he might like the life of a pauper. He sighed, knowing he was kidding himself, resigning himself to the reality that his trip to Diagon had foisted upon him.

"I hadn't forgotten him, Granger. I was merely going to collect him from my mother last, once my trunk was settled. He doesn't like to move too many times and I suspect I may struggle to find a compartment this year."

"Won't you sit with the other returning Slytherins?"

He looked at his shoes and shuffled his feet, as her eyes went wide with realisation.

"Oh. Well, you're still a prefect so you're welcome to use the prefect compartment. We only have a short meeting in it and then it's usually free. I can carry your trunk if you'd like to take your owl instead?"

Draco looked up at the witch in front of him. Over her shoulder he could see Potter and Weasley watching them, Weasley had a bright red face and a look that could sour milk, but girl Weasley was pulling on his sleeve so he suspected he wasn't a threat right now. He surveyed her face for any sign of trickery, like a desire to make his trunk disappear so he had no clothes when he arrived at Hogwarts, or putting him in a compartment full of people who wanted him dead but there was nothing. She was being genuine. It was so refreshing he almost laughed in her face.

He set his trunk down with a flick of his wand and held out his hand for the cage.

"Is that Malfoy for 'Yes please, Hermione, and thank you. Oh and thank you Head Girl for the offer to use the prefect's compartment'?"

His eyes bulged, so briefly she almost missed it before he schooled his features into his customary smirk again and raised an eyebrow.

He was working out which of the half a dozen or so excellent retorts to use when he caught sight of his mother over the top of the bushy head of hair in front of him. She was looking more fragile than he had seen her in a long time, surrounded by people who until recently would have been classed as mortal enemies, but today were the only people who had shown her anything approaching kindness. He'd been brought up to think kindness was a weakness, for Gryffindors, muggles and idiots alike, but he'd seen what a complete lack of compassion looked like and he didn't think he wanted to see it again. Besides wasn't it love that had defeated old snake face after all? Maybe, just maybe, a little kindness wouldn't kill him. After all, his mother had told him to just be the best person he could be. He sighed again.

"You're right, that was rude, I apologise. Congratulations on getting Head Girl. Not that it was ever in doubt."

He continued to stand there with his hand out while she stood, open mouthed and stared at him. He could see Potter physically restraining the Weasel now, if she continued to look offended he would be in for a nasty hex or a black eye any minute now.

"My governess always told me I'd catch flies with a face like that." She looked at him quizzically and he pointed at her still open mouth, so she promptly slammed it shut and blushed furiously.

"I think your boyfriend is itching to defend your honour, Granger, so please accept my apology so we can get on the train and I can avoid a black eye."

He took the cage from her and proceeded to gesture over her shoulder with a tip of his head. She groaned audibly when she caught sight of Ron.

"That would be ex-boyfriend," she grumbled. "Thank Merlin Harry and Ginny are there."

She waved them away, Ginny and Harry dragging a very reluctant Ron onto the train. Draco was surprised at her correction, but then she wasn't a Slytherin and thought nothing of sharing personal details with people. He just stored that piece of information in case it came in handy again later.

She flicked her wand at the now abandoned trunk and followed after the tall blond as fast as she could with the crowds on the platform. His legs were significantly longer than hers so it took him no time at all to make his way, cage in hand, to the front of the train, where he stood, waiting, holding the carriage door open for her.

She helped him settle in and moved to leave, but a small cough stopped her in the door of the carriage.

"Thank you, Granger."

He looked so uncomfortable, as tempting as it was to toy with him she just didn't have the heart.

"It was just a trunk, Malfoy, it's hardly a huge achievement."

He looked at her with such vulnerability then, she almost wanted to hug him - almost. He shook his head and smiled a small smile.

"Not for that. Well, thank you for that as well, I just meant for everything. Thank you for defeating You-Know-Who. Thank you for putting in a good word for me with McGonagall", he raised a hand to stop her predictable interruption. "And before you say anything, Potter told me. Thank you for the other day in Diagon Alley when you accepted my mother's apology. You have no idea how much that meant to her."

She stood dumbstruck. He looked at her like he was willing her to say something. She gathered all her strength and cleared her throat.

"You're welcome, both of you."

When he moved to say something more, she opened the compartment door and plastered on a big smile.

"We'll have the prefects meeting in about an hour. I'll try and get here early so you're not here with anyone who might not understand. Last thing we want is a misunderstanding on day one, right?" she said, laughing just a little too brightly to be genuine. "Bye Malfoy!"

She practically ran from him all the way to her friends in the next carriage.

"Well, mother," he mumbled to himself as he located his robes, "I try to be nice and people run from my presence, but I suppose it didn't kill me so that's a plus."


When Hermione made it back to the compartment with her friends she must have looked flustered because no sooner had she shut the door, Ron was stood in front of her, gripping her shoulders almost trying to steady her.

"What did he do? Tell me, what did he say that upset you so much? We'll get him back whatever it is, won't we Harry?"

Harry caught the warning looks Ginny and Hermione were giving him and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Well, hold up mate, let's find out what happened first - if anything did happen, eh? I mean, when I spoke to him, he was keen to make a fresh start, can't imagine he'd want to ruin that before he even got to school."

Hermione mouthed her thanks to him while Ron stared at him incredulously.

"Quite right, Harry. As it happens he was perfectly polite. Even thanked me for my help, and congratulated me on getting head girl."

"He congratulated you? Blimey, he really has changed his tune!" Ginny added as she pulled her brother back to his seat. Neville had gone in search of Hannah Abbott and Dean was chasing whatever girl would give him the time of day so the four of them were left in the compartment alone.

"We should probably talk about McGonagall's plans before the prefects meeting. We'll need to make sure at least some of them are on board with the plan."

"Which plan?" Ron mumbled between mouthfuls of his sandwiches.

"Honestly, Ronald, the house unity plan. The fact that the tables in the great hall won't be house tables any more and all classes will be mixed, with mixed-house partners where possible. And aren't those sandwiches for your lunch? We've only just left King's Cross!"

Ron blushed as Hermione finished her tirade, but continued to eat the sandwich. He had galleons to spare following the war, he could afford something from the trolley for lunch for once. He was a growing lad, he needed his strength.

They agreed the best way was to be the ones to initiate the integration at the tables by each sitting at a different table. That was the easy bit. Deciding who was to sit at which table was where the arguments began.

"Well, obviously, I should be the one to sit at the Slytherin table," Ron announced. "Much as I don't want to and they'll probably try to hex me, or ignore or insult me, I'm the obvious choice."

"Oh really, Ronald. Please enlighten us why you're the obvious choice."

Hermione could not wait to hear this one. Ron sat up straighter to deliver what he considered to be his knock-out logic.

"Well, I'm pureblood, so they can't all hate me. Plus, Ginny and Harry will want to sit together so they should probably have a less hostile table for that and you, Hermione, well, you're, you know, not their particular favourite, er, I mean, you don't meet their, well, exacting requirements."

"You mean I shouldn't sit there because I'm a muggleborn?"

Hermione's icy tone was a clear enough signal of the danger he was walking into. Ron looked to Harry for help but he held his hands up in a gesture that clearly indicated he was on his own in this one.

"Well, yeah, if you have to be so blunt about it."

"That's exactly the reason why I think it should be me."

Ron's eyes bulged out of his head and he spluttered for a moment trying to form words to disagree.

"No, I mean, well, you can't, can you? Malfoy's already been an arse to you today, and besides, you can't go into the snake's territory, they'll eat you alive, conniving lot will probably try to poison your pumpkin juice, won't they? It's just not safe. Much better my way."

The only sound in the compartment was Ginny's palm hitting her forehead. Her brother was hopeless.

Before Hermione had a chance to respond Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder to push him back into his seat.

"Ron, mate, I agree with Hermione on this one. We need to challenge the blood status thing head-on. Besides, Malfoy was fine today, nice even, which is a bit weird, but I don't think it's going to encourage house unity if you keep calling them conniving snakes."

Hermione stood and grabbed her robes from the luggage rack.

"Well, now that's decided, I'll leave you to decide who sits on Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables while I get into my robes. I'll see you both at the prefect meeting in half an hour."

The prefect meeting went remarkably well, Hermione was pleasantly surprised with how well everyone reacted when they arrived to see Hermione Granger, head girl, Gryffindor princess and one third of the golden trio having a conversation with Draco Malfoy, Slytherin and former Death Eater, about whether or not the quidditch World Cup would return to England in their lifetime, given the political situation.

Hermione filled everyone in on the plan and encouraged anyone with friends in other houses to feel free to sit with them once the headmistress had made her announcement. There was a bit of grumbling, especially from the Slytherin students but everyone agreed at least one prefect from each house, in addition to the golden trio, would sit at a different table tonight and every day this week to get it started.

Having covered all the points on her list and checked with Michael Corner, the head boy, that there was nothing she'd missed (there wasn't), Hermione asked if there was any other business.

"Yeah," piped a sixth year Ravenclaw boy. "What's he doing here?"

His finger was pointed accusingly at Draco, who was sat to one side of the compartment, with Harry sitting next to him. He'd tried to make it so he was present but not noticeable, but had apparently failed.

Michael and Hermione looked at one another and he gestured that she ought to take this one as she'd been the one to talk to him.

"Draco Malfoy is a Slytherin prefect," she stated simply.

Everyone looked at her in silence. Clearly that wasn't going to be enough to close the matter.

"He was also a Death Eater. He let them into the castle, he fought for You-Know-Who, he murdered Dumbledore-"

"Enough!" Hermione's voice cut him off, the shock of hearing the head girl shout enough to quiet any other grumbles. "Draco Malfoy did not murder Professor Dumbledore - he was killed by Professor Snape under his own orders, and I'll be very disappointed should I hear that any of the prefects were spreading such drivel. It's an insult to both of their memories."

Hermione let that sink in in the silence that followed. The sixth year Ravenclaw had the decency to look sheepish.

"He has been cleared of all his crimes and he is back to do what we are all here for - to finish our education and put the war behind us. Michael and I have assigned him the same duties as everyone else and I trust he will carry them out as well as any of you, if not better, given that he is one of the most experienced wizards in the school. Now, if anyone has a problem with that you can come and see me after, but the topic is closed for now."

A few heads nodded in agreement and after checking there was nothing more, she dismissed them. Michael thanked her for all her hard work so far and promised to pull his weight as head boy, which made her chuckle. Eventually she was the only one left and she sighed loudly.

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

She spun round at the sound of the voice, wand drawn and her heart beating double time.

"Nice reflexes."

Draco stood from his spot at the side of the compartment and raised his hands in mock surrender. She lowered her wand and blushed.

"Sorry, you just scared me, I thought everyone had gone."

"Nowhere to go, remember?"

She smiled sadly at him.

"I'd offer you a spot in our compartment but I think Ron would have some kind of fit," she explained. "Sorry. Harry and I are working on him, but he always was the last to change his mind on anything. Although Rupert, that Ravenclaw kid, seems to be right alongside him. We've got our work cut out for us if we're going to change everyone's minds."

"We?" he asked, quite taken aback by her statement. He thought she had only said those things because she was head girl and it was the right thing to do, but there was no audience now and she was still on his side.

"Yes, we. Harry and I have discussed it and if you're serious about turning over a new leaf then we'll do the same. Seems only fair. Besides, what Rupert said was not only factually incorrect but downright insulting. Snape and Dumbledore cooked up the perfect plan, protecting you and maintaining Snape's cover in the process. To deny it is to deny their genius and their sacrifice. I won't stand for it."

He nodded in agreement, there seemed little else he could do, faced with such forceful argument. She nodded in return and left the compartment.

He settled down to think about the curious girl - or rather, young woman - who had come to his aid twice today.