Tuesday, 1 September 1998
"Shhh, Crookshanks, only a few more minutes until we're on the train and then I'll release you."
Hermione sat in front of her trunk and the cage that held her large ginger-coloured cat. Crookshanks was very moody and meowed angrily at her every twenty seconds. Her comforting promises did nothing; he gave her one more angry meow before turning away from her, his aggressively wagging tail narrowly missing her eye. She sighed and shook her head in disapproving amusement. He really did not like being caged.
"Look, Hermione, your friend Ginny and her parents have arrived," her father observed as he looked into the distance.
She got up and searched for her red-haired friend in the crowd, finding her quickly. She scanned the crowd for a fourth face but was disappointed. Ron wasn't there.
Ginny arrived and quickly hurried towards her, embracing her tightly. "It's so good to see you again, Hermione! I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Ginny!" Hermione smiled, hugging her younger friend close. "Hello Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley," she greeted the two adults that halted behind Ginny, briefly embracing both of them as well.
When she stepped back and glanced at Ginny and saw that her younger friend had immediately noticed the sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hermione," Ginny told her softly, knowing she had hoped to see Ron. "He came downstairs briefly to say goodbye and then went back to his room immediately." She shook her head dejectedly. "He's not doing well, I wish there was something we could do..."
Mrs Weasley caught their conversation and reached out, touching Hermione's cheek with sympathy. "He'll get better, dear. It will just take time."
Hermione nodded and fought back her tears. She didn't want to break down now; not in front of her own parents and the Weasleys, who were so strong that she felt obligated to stay strong too. Mr and Mrs Weasley both looked as if they carried the weight of the entire world on their shoulders: exhausted and aged beyond their years. She could only imagine how they must be feeling. They really didn't deserve losing one of their children; it was unfair. She collected herself while her parents and the Weasleys chatted away and tried to focus on how happy she was that they got along so well.
"It's ten to eleven, we better get going before you two miss the train," Mr Weasley announced after a while, looking down at his wristwatch.
Hermione turned to her parents to say her goodbyes and then reached for her trunk while Ginny took her own, and Hermione noticed the little birdcage on top of Ginny's trunk that held Pigwidgeon. She felt a pang of sadness in her stomach at the thought that Ron was apparently so miserable that he couldn't even take care of his little owl. She forced a smile on her face and waved at her parents one last time before following the Weasleys through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten, and finding herself, a second later, standing on Platform 9¾.
The sight of the bright red Hogwarts Express calmed her down a bit, and for the first time Hermione finally felt genuine excitement to go back. She followed Ginny to the luggage compartment, left her trunk behind and carried Crookshank's cage to the entrance of the train, where Ginny was saying her goodbyes to Mr and Mrs Weasley. When a whistle echoed over the platform Hermione quickly hugged them goodbye and boarded the train, waving at the Weasleys until they were mere specs in the distance.
She followed Ginny to an empty compartment, closed the door behind her and released Crookshanks from his cage. Ginny did the same with Pigwidgeon, who immediately started to fly in circles above her head. Crookshanks stretched dramatically—as though he had been caged for days—and slowly settled down next to Hermione, continuously following the tiny owl with his alert green eyes. Hermione watched Pigwidgeon circle once more through the compartment before he finally calmed down again and landed on top of Ginny's head.
"I really don't know where that tiny thing gets all that energy," the redhead laughed, taking him from her head and putting him on top of his cage. "So," she said then, eyeing Hermione mysteriously. "Guess what?"
"What?" Hermione asked curiously, and the redhead proudly presented a little badge.
"I got the position of Quidditch captain!"
Hermione smiled brightly with genuine pride for her friend. "That's amazing, Ginny, congratulations! Of course, you were the only Gryffindor worthy of replacing Harry, he would agree to that."
Ginny grinned at her compliments. "That's right! I'm really happy. We both started the year with great honours, didn't we? Let's hope it will continue to be this great."
She opened her bag and took out a magazine. The cover showed a determined-looking dark-skinned witch in yellow Quidditch robes that Hermione recognised as Gwenog Jones, the captain and beater of the all-female team the Holyhead Harpies. She had met Gwenog at one of the Slug Club meetings in her sixth year, but she hadn't been too impressed with the woman. Gwenog had been a bit full of herself, but Hermione knew that Ginny idolised her.
She checked her wristwatch and decided to get ready to attend the prefects' meeting that would be starting in about half an hour. After quickly changing into her robes and pinning her Head Girl badge onto them, Hermione left the compartment and made her way through the train. She stopped at several compartments to greet classmates and old friends and was quite cheerful when she neared the prefects' compartment. Moments later, however, that changed when a door slid open and she found herself facing none other than Draco Malfoy.
Hermione's eyes widened and she abruptly stopped moving. "You," she breathed.
Malfoy said nothing. He just stood there, merely staring down at her. She watched how his eyes fixed upon her Head Girl badge and then noticed a similar badge on his robes. Her breath hitched.
"You're Head Boy?" she questioned out loud, unable to hide the shock from her tone.
The blond Slytherin slowly nodded his head, and Hermione noticed with surprise how his expression stayed neutral. It was a stark contrast to their fifth year when he had worn an annoying smug smile when she and Ron had discovered that he had become the prefect for Slytherin. She hadn't been very happy about that, either.
"That's just great," she muttered, deflated, and she moved past him, not really knowing how to respond to this discovery. She was positively shocked. Disappointed. Angry, even. She was also surprised by his lack of vocal response, which seemed very un-Malfoy-like. Not allowing herself to wander on her thoughts she quickly made her way into the prefects' compartment, which was already packed with students. She waited for Malfoy to enter the compartment as well and then turned to the prefects.
"Good morning everyone, welcome back," she began, forcing herself to smile. "Let's keep this short and simple: all the sixth- and seventh-year prefects are on train patrol duty during the train ride. The schedule has been sent out to you over the summer, but just in case I've hung a copy of the schedule just outside this compartment on the bulletin board. Upon arrival in Hogsmeade, the seventh-years will check the train for students or forgotten luggage while the sixth-years will guide the students to either Professor Hagrid or the carriages. I trust you to make the even divide into two groups amongst yourselves."
The oldest students got to their feet to leave the compartment again. Pansy Parkinson took her time, hatefully glaring at Hermione as she stalked past her, but Hermione was not impressed. When the unpleasant girl had finally left Hermione briefly glanced up at Malfoy. He wasn't looking at her and instead glared out the window with a mostly expressionless face. She wasn't going to get any assistance from him, she concluded.
She turned back to the remaining prefects and introduced herself and Malfoy, and then went on to explain them their main duties, such as patrolling the hallways at Hogwarts and guiding the first-year students to their common rooms, as well as the rules they had to stick to. After about thirty minutes and no questions afterwards, she dismissed them. Only when everyone had left and they were the only ones left in the compartment did Malfoy find his voice again.
"You are probably feeling ecstatic right now, aren't you Granger?" he drawled. "Getting to boss people around, telling them what to do..."
Hermione frowned at Malfoy and saw a hint of his former smug countenance. "Save it, Malfoy. I'm not giving you the satisfaction of arguing with you, but please note that our duties are shared and I would appreciate it if you would contribute." She paused for a moment and glanced down at his badge again. "I can't believe that out of all students, you're the one Professor McGonagall picked for the position of Head Boy," she muttered.
"It's not like I'm joyous about having to share the majority of my time with you, Granger. It's not exactly an honour," came his cold reply.
"You might want to revise your opinion, Malfoy, because we both know this position is, in fact, an honour. And you don't deserve it," Hermione countered sharply. "You will not misuse your title again. Not on my watch," she added.
"Still the bossy Mudblood, I see," Malfoy drawled with a slight hint of anger in his voice.
She glared up at him. "This is getting really old, Malfoy. You don't have to remind me of my blood status on every occasion. I am well aware, as you may remember that I have it carved in my arm." She tapped her wand on her left arm, where the scars were carefully hidden beneath the fabric of her clothes, just like they had been all summer.
Malfoy briefly looked down at her arm and Hermione noticed how his smug expression disappeared completely. He looked back up, his cold, grey eyes meeting hers for just a second, and then he abruptly turned around and walked away from the compartment. Hermione took a deep breath and followed him into the corridor. Luckily, he had already disappeared.
While walking back to her own compartment, Hermione noticed how disappointed she felt. This partnership wasn't at all what she had hoped for, and it was quite a stain on her Head Girl position. She had never truly hated Malfoy, but she had always felt a distinctive dislike for him. Though he had never bullied her the way he had always bullied Harry and Ron—simply because, unlike them, she refused to acknowledge his bullying—he had been very nasty to her through the years.
Beyond the bullying Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about him. There was definitely anger for the things he had done during their sixth year, which had harmed many people, including Ron. At the same time she realised that it had not entirely been his fault. Malfoy had been in an awful position, under ridiculously high amounts of pressure, and Hermione wasn't sure she would have handled the situation better, had she been in his shoes. She had done drastic things to ensure her parents' safety too, but she had been given opportunities he never had, so she never had to resort to hurting innocent people to protect her loved ones.
Malfoy had definitely suffered a lot during the War, too, just like everyone else, and Hermione was certain that he wasn't purely evil like Harry and Ron always accused him of being. Still, she wasn't at all happy with the fact that he was appointed Head Boy, and she would make sure to tell Professor McGonagall, hoping the Headmistress had good and comprehensible reasons for this decision.
Hermione arrived back at her compartment and was happy to see that Luna was with Ginny. Crookshanks had settled on Luna's lap, and the blonde girl was scratching him behind his ears, something he enjoyed immensely. Hermione opened the door and was greeted with two bright smiles. She sat down and greeted Luna warmly. "Luna! How have you been? And how's your father?"
"Hello, Hermione. I'm well, thank you. Dad is getting better, though he is not quite yet back to his old self," Luna answered airily before frowning a little. "Azkaban was really tough on him. We travelled through Scandinavia for a few weeks this summer and that seemed to do him well," she continued, sounding a bit more cheerful, after which she paused briefly and smiled down at the purring cat on her lap. "He is mostly just happy that I was unharmed. Oh, and Neville visited me over the summer," she then added absentmindedly, as a mere afterthought.
Ginny grinned at that. "Did he now?" She smiled knowingly at Hermione, who had been informed that Neville had confessed to Ginny and Harry, in the midst of the Battle, to be mad about Luna.
"Yes, it was quite lovely. I like Neville. I'll miss him this year."
Hermione and Ginny nodded in agreement, knowing that he had decided to help Harry and Ron at the Auror department. They all remained silent for a while. Ginny was petting Pigwidgeon with one finger, making the little owl hoot affectionately, while Luna cuddled Crookshanks. Gathering her courage, Hermione decided to break the bad news.
"Malfoy is Head Boy."
Ginny's eyes widened with shock while Luna simply continued to scratch behind Crookshank's ears, seemingly unaffected by the fact that a member of the family in whose basement she had been imprisoned for a few months was now in the highest position of authority available to students.
"I don't believe this," Ginny spat accusingly. "These students are chosen because of their academic achievements, outstanding reputation as a student, and an honest, good, and hard-working personality. We are talking about the same Malfoy, aren't we? Where has he hidden his outstanding reputation and honest, good and hard-working personality? Because I've never seen them."
Hermione couldn't help but smile a little at Ginny's rant, though she felt her friend was absolutely right. It was one thing to be intelligent and to perform well in classes, but they were also supposed to be an example to the entire student body. She had expected Anthony Goldstein to receive the honour; he had always been the embodiment of what the Head Boy was supposed to be like.
"It's a strange decision," Luna said after a short silence. "He wasn't a very fair prefect. He used to dock points when he caught me sleepwalking through the corridors during his patrol rounds. But maybe Professor McGonagall has a good reason for believing he won't be like that anymore. She is very wise, isn't she?"
After a short silence, in which Hermione pondered over Luna's words, they moved on to more cheerful subjects at Ginny's initiative and caught up on each other's summers. They had a good laugh when Crookshanks started to hunt after a chocolate frog and somehow managed to completely cover himself in chocolate. After Hermione finally got the last bits of chocolate out of his fur the train began to slow down: a sign they were almost there and that her Head Girl duties would resume.
Luna offered to take Crookshanks, an offer Hermione gratefully accepted. She left the compartment and stationed a prefect at every door. When she noticed that Malfoy was actually doing what he was supposed to do—albeit in a slightly rude manner—she had a little hope that maybe this was going to work out after all. The train came to a halt and the prefects opened the doors, letting the students off the train and guiding them towards their destination. Hagrid waved enthusiastically at her from the beginning of the platform, where he was already surrounded by tiny and timid first-year students. Hermione briefly waved back, smiling fondly.
When all the students seemed to have made their way to the carriages, and the seventh-year prefects had checked the train and reported that it was empty, Hermione motioned them towards the carriages as well. Malfoy was walking beside Parkinson and she noticed vaguely that they both had glum expressions on their faces, but she didn't pay too much attention to them as Padma Patil greeted her. They had a friendly and light-hearted conversation as they walked along the platform. When they reached the carriages the atmosphere changed drastically.
Hannah Abbott gasped and grabbed Ernie Macmillan's arm, who was visibly upset as well, though he tried to comfort Hannah. Padma inhaled sharply; Anthony Goldstein looked away and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks, causing Parkinson to crash into him. She cursed loudly but fell silent when she saw Malfoy's facial expression. She looked around, seemingly confused. "What's wrong with all of you?"
Malfoy turned around, frowning at her with his own confusion. "You don't see it?"
"See what?" Parkinson asked, obviously annoyed.
Anthony Goldstein frowned at her as well. "There is a Thestral right in front of you, Parkinson."
"A what?"
"Really, Parkinson? I know you take Care of Magical Creatures and this is fifth-year material," Hermione groaned impatiently. "A breed of winged horses with a skeletal body, a face with reptilian features and bat-like, leathery wings. They are visible only to people who have witnessed and accepted the death of another person."
"I have not accepted anything," Hannah sobbed quietly, presumably referring to the death of her mother at the hands of Death Eaters. Ernie hugged her close and stroked her hair, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Padma stared at the Thestral with a pained expression on her face. "Are... are they safe?" she asked Hermione quietly, who gave a confirming nod.
"They are just... misunderstood."
During their exchange Parkinson had grown even more annoyed, apparently unable to accept that she wasn't able to see something that everyone else did see. She mimicked Hermione's explanation in a childish high-pitched voice and then angrily folded her arms across her chest. Hermione glared at her, annoyed with the girl's childish behaviour, but then noticed that Malfoy was shooting Parkinson a warning glare of his own, which the girl seemed to challenge for a moment. Then she seemed to realise something and suddenly looked quite regretful.
"Let's get moving, guys, we don't want to be late for the feast," Anthony suggested diplomatically, gently pushing Padma and Hermione towards the closest carriage. Malfoy and Parkinson made their way to the other carriage, followed by Ernie and Hannah. The latter seemed to have calmed down, though her eyes were still red.
Hermione climbed into the musty interior of the carriage after Padma, and when Anthony sat down next to her the carriage began to move. "For all these years I honestly believed that these carriages were magically guided," Padma mused aloud.
Anthony nodded thoughtfully and then glanced at Hermione—who had remained silent—with a questioning look on his face. "Harry saw them first in our fifth year," she told them. "We thought he had gone mad... Then later that year they were discussed during Care of Magical Creatures. I couldn't see them, though, not until now."
"Did Potter see them because of Diggory?" Anthony asked quietly, and Hermione nodded in confirmation.
They sat in silence as they neared Hogwarts. Upon arriving on the school grounds they quickly jumped out of the carriage, and Hermione noticed a giant silhouette making its way towards them. "Hagrid!" she called out, smiling happily. The Ravenclaws were less enthusiastic, but both smiled politely up at him. Hannah and Ernie made their way to them as well, while Malfoy and Parkinson lingered near their carriage, both with sour looks on their face.
"Hey Hermione, hey guys, how 're yeh all?" smiled Hagrid, his eyes glinting. "I'll be needin' the Head Boy an' Girl for sealing the gate," he continued, looking from Hermione to Anthony, obviously assuming the Ravenclaw boy had gotten the title.
Hermione gave him a nervous smile. "He's not the Head Boy, Hagrid. Malfoy is."
Hagrid's eyes became dark and he stared down at her for a moment. "Are yeh kiddin' me?" he growled. He turned around to glare at Malfoy and then turned back to Hermione. "That kid's Head Boy?"
Malfoy was clearly struggling to refrain from snapping a response, and Hermione was surprised that he actually remained quiet as he walked up to them. Hagrid begrudgingly informed them of the spells they had to use, and after a few minutes the gate was properly sealed and they all made their way to the castle.
The grounds looked just as they always had, and for a fleeting moment it was almost like the Battle had never happened. The castle itself had suffered a great deal of damage during the last moments of the Second Wizarding War, but thankfully it had been fully restored to its former glory. Hermione found it to be very comforting that there were no visible traces of the War, and that Hogwarts finally seemed to be their safe haven again.
They entered the Entrance Hall through the huge oak front doors and crossed it to enter the Great Hall. Most students had already settled down, and the prefects all made their way to their own House table. Hagrid waved goodbye to Hermione and walked up to the staff table. Professor McGonagall was seated in the chair that had once belonged to Albus Dumbledore, and while it was a little strange to see someone else in his place, Hermione was glad that it was Professor McGonagall and not someone else. She spotted Ginny's red hair at the Gryffindor table and started making her way towards her friend when Lavender Brown was suddenly standing beside her.
The girl had a tired expression on her face and she was very pale, but otherwise looked healthy enough. She had a scarf wrapped around her neck that covered her from shoulders to chin, and Hermione briefly wondered if it was to protect the scars that were undoubtedly there from the cold, or because of vanity and insecurity. Without saying a single word Lavender wrapped her arms around Hermione and hugged her dorm mate close. Hermione gasped slightly and hesitantly put her arms around the blonde, patting her on her back when she realised the girl was crying. They had never been more than just dorm mates, and while Hermione was immensely relieved to see that Lavender was alive, she felt uncomfortable.
"You saved me..." Lavender sobbed into Hermione's shoulder, and the tears and gratefulness could not mask the wonder and surprise in her voice.
"Of course I did," Hermione answered softly, remembering how she blasted Fenrir Greyback away before he had the chance to fully sink his teeth into Lavender's neck as he had intended.
After a lengthy embrace they let go of each other and Lavender stared at her with tearful eyes. "Thank you," she uttered, her voice thick with emotion, and then repeated it again in a hoarse whisper. Parvati helped her back in her seat and smiled gratefully up at Hermione, who smiled back and started moving again.
She walked a bit further along the Gryffindor table and sat herself down next to Ginny, who was sitting with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan and two of her dorm mates that Hermione knew as well, Jennifer Dawn and sixth-year prefect Jada Angela. As she sat down, Hermione greeted Dean and Seamus enthusiastically, happy to see them again. They were the only two boys of her year to return for their seventh year, and while they weren't Harry and Ron, Hermione had always liked them.
The doors of the Great Hall opened and a female Professor they didn't know walked in, followed by a long queue of tiny, nervous-looking soon-to-be-first-years. The Sorting Ceremony was about to begin.