September 1, 1998

It was a dreary day at Kings Cross.

Granted, it was quite appropriate for this would be the first year Hermione will have arrived since meeting her friends and they would not be joining her.

She usually enjoyed the train ride to Hogwarts. As a child, she envisioned it as a journey to a new place. Except, this place just happened to be her home away from home and she was departing for it for the very last time as a student. Her friends were dropping off and not coming along for the ride. It was very bittersweet and she felt like she should be sadder than she was. But she wasn't. When the letter from McGonagall showed up at her doorstep, she was elated. She had to reread the letter several times to make sure it wasn't a joke or some shrouded underlying threat. The letter was more than a chance for her to finish her education. It was a chance for her to safely go to school without a war lingering or some unknown threat out to get her best friend. She could finally be just like any other student attending school.

Needless to say, for reasons beyond academia, she was looking forward to the school year

The trio, along with Ginny, stood on the platform. The girls waited to board the train, unwilling to part ways too quickly. Hermione turned her attention to the clock.

10:54 AM.

"You're sure we can't change your mind, 'Mione?" she heard Ron ask.

She turned her head back to see him with a slight pout while staring at the floor. She felt her heart strings tug. Granted, this was the third time he asked on their way here although she had to admit, she missed this side of him. In this particular moment, he was her friend who was comfortable with her and not the timid, questionable boyfriend stepping on eggshells around her every second.

"Come on, Ron. You know there's no changing her mind. I'm happy for you, Hermione." Harry stated, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"Thank you." she kept her eye on Ron over his shoulder as Ginny hugged him goodbye.

"You and Ginny, look out for each other, alright? We'll miss you." he mumbled into her hair.

She gripped him tighter. "We will. I'll miss you, too."

Harry and Ginny walked off momentarily to bid their own farewells in private, leaving Ron and Hermione to themselves in the middle of the crowded station.

They watched each other with a keen eye. Over the past month, they developed a habit in which every movement was calculated carefully. The pair constantly made sure Harry was in the room with one of them and they were never alone. Hermione hated the tension that erupted. It was like they fell out of sync and could not anticipate each other's next move anymore. It was maddening.

There was so much left unsaid between them and she wanted to protest. As usual, she wanted to fight for them. She didn't want to leave things in such disarray. In the end, she knew he was right. Something more than mere jitters occurred since they took that final step in their relationship. Something had shifted more than just their physical intimacy, something that shouldn't have been tampered with. The unease remained and only strengthened as time progressed.

"I hope—"

"I'll—"

They stared at each other before sharing an awkward laugh.

Seriously, when would it stop being so weird? And tense? she thought. She gestured for him to speak first.

"I hope you have a great time, 'Mione. You deserve to have a year to focus on your studies. And—" he bit his lip, hoping he wouldn't regret his next words. "—and I hope you find what you're looking for." Hermione felt her heart break even further. They had told themselves they would talk about it when she came back but the way he phrased it seemed so...final.

She was lucky enough to have such a loyal best friend who also happened to be a genuine guy who was willing to give up his own happiness for her. She wanted to curse herself at the fact that she couldn't have made it easier for them and gone on with his plan from the beginning. Everything would have been significantly easier and their lives would be made.

But she wouldn't have been happy. And as he made explicitly clear for her when they last talked about it; as a consequence, neither would he.

"Thank you. Good luck with auror training. From what I hear, it will be intense."

"Yeah, to be honest, I'm not looking forward to it too much. I think I'd rather suffer through one of Snape's lectures again."

She let out a chuckle. "You don't have to lie to yourself."

"You're right. Could be worse, I suppose." he shrugged, smiling back at her for the first time in weeks. "You should get going. Don't want to miss your train. It's a bugger to catch up to." he admitted, speaking from personal experience.

He stood still as she confidently walked up to press a light kiss on his cheek.

"I'll miss you. Take care of yourself," she exhaled.

He nodded reassuringly. "You too."

The Hogwarts Express had left the station five minutes ago and Hermione was already struggling to find an empty compartment to settle in. She had made it through the section that was normally meant for Gryffindor students, come to find it was filled with mostly Hufflepuff. When she made it to the section for Hufflepuff, come to find it filled with a mix of students catering red, blue and even green attire. It was strange to see the older students of varying houses intermingling with one another, especially members of Slytherin house. While it was unexpected, she found herself mildly enjoying it.

Given that she hadn't spotted Ginny yet, she assumed she was on another section of the train looking for her as well. She decided to remain in one place on the occasion she was coming from the other direction. Two carts later, she finally found an empty compartment to settle in.

As she was sitting and sorting through her books in her charmed bag, a knock came from the door to the compartment. Hermione had just grabbed the book she was looking for when the door opened and a young brunette with a Slytherin tie stuck her head in.

"Excuse me? Have you by chance seen—?" she cut herself off, eyes widening as recognition dawned on her face. "Blimey. Hermione Granger?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Yes?"

"You're going back to Hogwarts? I thought you were going to work for the Ministry with your friends?"

"No. Harry and Ron did and I was offered to do so but I wanted to do something different for myself. McGonagall offered me the chance to come back and finish my final year so—" she gestured to herself, "—here I am."

She couldn't help but feel judged by this girl's inquiry. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she was Slytherin and that was all she was used to experiencing from them.

Hermione was caught off guard when the brunette gave her a toothy grin. "That is fantastic. Merlin knows someone needs to show the boys how to sort their priorities, right." she responded while winking at her.

To say Hermione was surprised was an understatement.

Her brows were raised and curved. Before she could respond, another girl from Slytherin came up to whisper in the mystery brunette's ear. While she was occupied, Hermione tried to back track in her head if she could remember who this student was. She couldn't say she knew the entirety of Slytherin House. Not even close. Although she was sure she had seen her in passing before.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

She looked up to see Ginny standing behind the mystery girl with an expression of relief. She passed the mystery girl at the door, who then nodded to the other girl before she walked off. Mystery girl turned her attention back to Hermione.

"So sorry for bothering you. It would appear the person I was trying to find was hiding in plain sight. It was nice talking to you." she went to walk away.

Disregarding the confusion on Ginny's face, Hermione blurted out her next words before her brain could stop her.

"Wait! I feel awful about this but I'm afraid I never got your name."

Mystery girl looked back and smiled.

"Astoria. Astoria Greengrass. I'll see you around, Granger."

Hermione dwindled on that name. She knew that name; the last name, at least. She gave herself a moment to ponder on it, letting the rain battering against the windows of the train take her mind elsewhere while Ginny seated herself and her items on the seat across from her.

"What was that about?" she heard Ginny ask, extracting her from her thoughts.

"She was looking for someone. Did you get lost?"

"It took a while because not only were most of the sections full, but they are all out of sorts! Have you got a spare jumper, by chance? Mine are all packed away in my case."

"Sure. What colour? I have a lavender, navy, light grey and a black."

Ginny's jaw dropped slightly, "Oh! Erm, lavender is fine?"

Hermione reached into her charmed bag and shuffled for a second before pulling out a lavender cardigan and tossing it to Ginny.

"Bloody hell, that is incredible. You've spoiled the boys, no doubt." she exclaimed as she put on the cardigan.

Hermione let out a chuckle as she opened her book to the marked page, "Maybe so."

"I wonder how they'll get on without you."

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They're grown men now."

Ginny scoffed, "Hardly. Without Hermione Granger to drag them through the mud? They're back to being boys, dooming themselves every chance they get."

She supposed she had paid her contributions to their group in the past. On numerous occasions, she had saved them from a series of dangerous journeys and deadly endeavors. Now with the thought freshly placed in her mind, a look of horror overtook her features.

"Hey, I'm only teasing," Ginny reassured. "They'll get on fine, with or without you. They're going to have to learn what it's like to not have you around all the time. Besides, view it as a positive for yourself. It'll be refreshing, a year without the boys. You won't have to spend all your time being their babysitter. You're a free woman!"

She considered the redhead's words. It was all accurate and Hermione had never thought of it that way. She was not only free of any underlying threat out to kill her kind but she was fortuitously granted the freedom from having to stress over the reckless shenanigans Harry and Ron had often put themselves in. This was a year she could focus on herself and her studies and her future afterwards.

She felt the beginnings of a smile creeping on her face.

The rain decided to stop by the time the train stopped next.

Hermione had made it to the dormitories to find her items already unpacked for her. She dropped off her remaining items before proceeding to the Headmaster's Office. After she got off the train, she was warmly welcomed by Hagrid who had informed her the new Headmaster wished to speak with her in the Headmaster's Office prior to the banquet in the Great Hall.

Muttering the provided password, the Gargoyle began its motion upwards and she was suddenly standing in the middle of what used to be Snape's office. And before that, Dumbledore's. Hermione found herself appreciating the slight adjustments in the large, circular room. Gone were the random little noises from the silver trinkets. The only thing filling the silence of the room was the chatter of the portraits. The walls were still covered with portraits of the old headmasters and headmistresses who were chatting among each other within their frames. The enormous, claw-footed desk was replaced with a slightly smaller and modest wooden desk. The shelf behind it contained different books and displayed the same tainted wizard's hat; the Sorting Hat. He appeared to be in a deep slumber. Likely in preparation for the banquet in a few moments.

Glancing at the clock, Hermione realized the Welcoming Feast was sooner than she anticipated and the Headmaster, or Headmistress, was nowhere to be found.

"Professor McGonagall?" She called out. Then she heard the shift of the statue behind her.

"My sincerest apologies, Miss Granger," she walked past the curly haired brunette briskly to set several scrolls of parchment on her desk. "I know it's not commonplace for me to be late but there were other matters I needed to attend to before our meeting."

"No worries at all. Could I provide assistance?" it was baffling for Hermione to see the previous head of her house to be in such a state of dishevelment.

The Headmistress adjusted her slightly crooked glasses. "Not to worry, dear. I will address these issues tomorrow. We need to get through the feast and sort the new students first and foremost. Followed by setting some ground rules at this school. I will not have a repeat of previous years." She took a brief moment to sort the scrolls of parchment appropriately before addressing Hermione formally. She sat in the large chair, resting her elbows on the desk and provided her student with a small smile.

"Thank you for coming to see me. I wanted to see how you were fairing once the trials ended. It was to my knowledge you had taken part in several of those who were accused."

"I'm doing fine. I'm thankful to have done my part and saw the guilty be sentenced and the innocent were spared. It was the least I could do." her smile was genuine. "I also wanted to thank you for the letter, Professor McGonagall. I can't tell you what it means to come back and have the chance to finish my education appropriately."

"Fret not, my dear. It was an easy decision. And speaking of, I also hope you respect my decision of not asking you to be Head Girl this year. I know you missed your chance last year but it would only be unfair for the current seventh year at the top of their class."

"I understand completely, Professor. I don't think I want the special treatment, either way. I am simply here to complete my education and be just like any other person. An average student, if you will."

"You were never just an average student, Miss Granger. In fact, most might even call you the best. Even if the term others used was a little more...crude." she smiled knowingly.

Hermione responded wryly, "Thank you, Professor."

She nodded before her expression grew serious. "I need your help, Miss Granger. I'm afraid I must admit the request of your return will indeed require more of you. While those who contributed to the war were rightfully prosecuted and dealt with, I'm afraid the damage was more significant than merely penetrating our walls. The spirits of the students have...changed. You may have noticed on your journey here students from differing houses were intermingling. This was encouraged by myself and the faculty, more so as a method of integrating all the houses. As you know, the houses were initially a way to provide young witches and wizards an easy method to make connections, to group them in making learning magic more efficient depending on their respective qualities. However, over the years those ideals have been severely corrupted and rivalries between them have surpassed the ones that lay with competitive sporting."

"But Professor, the houses as a whole got on fairly well. I would say my closest friends aside for the ones from my own house are from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

"And from Slytherin?"

Hermione remained silent and McGonagall nodded knowingly.

"—though I'm sure you could name a few enemies from them, couldn't you?"

"Several."

"Gryffindor and Slytherin houses have always had a complicated history. The war only worsened those conditions, I'm afraid."

"But everyone seemed to get on for the most part on the way here, Slytherin students included."

"Make no mistake, Miss Granger. From the outside, most appear to get along swimmingly. Though I know a good few whose families suffered a great deal by the hands of some of our very own Slytherin students and their elders. Some may not take kindly to sharing a class or a corridor with each other and may seek retaliation by drastic measure. Given what you just told me about the trials and what you are capable of, I feel it is safe to trust your judgement and would like you to keep a close eye if you are able. Many are still suffering as an aftereffect of the war and I want no accidents."

"I understand, Professor. I'll do my best." Her professor stood before walking towards the entrance to the office.

"I know you will. I expect you will be making the most of your return. You should hurry along now. You wouldn't want to be late for the opening feast." she gestured to the statue.

"Certainly not. It really is good to be back." She walked up to the headmistress, holding her hand out for her to shake. She was shocked when the elder pulled her into a warm hug instead which she gracefully returned.

"Welcome home, Hermione."

She briskly made her way to the Great Hall where she found most of the students had gathered. It was surprising to see how full it had become. At least the seating wasn't out of sorts and Hermione easily spotted the Gryffindor table. Within seconds, she spotted the seat Ginny saved her and made her way over.

"Where have you been? The first years have already been sorted." Ginny asked as Hermione sat down.

"Professor McGonagall wanted to chat with me."

"I'm assuming it wasn't for you being in trouble this time."

"No, no. Nothing like that. She just—" she was cut off when McGonagall briskly walked through the doors towards the podium. She looked far more put together compared to when Hermione saw her moments prior.

"I'll tell you later," Hermione whispered to Ginny as McGonagall prepared to speak.

"Good evening. I'd like to provide a warm welcome to our new first years joining us this year. As for those who return to us, welcome back. I look forward to being your headmistress this year and would like to take a moment to mention those who preceded me; Professor Albus Dumbledore and Professor Severus Snape. These brave wizards spent the majority of their lives putting forth the utmost effort and passion to see their students succeed. They, like most who fell last year, were students like yourself at one point and I know each and every one of you will do your best to make them proud."

An ominous aura covered the Great Hall like a veil. Even the first years who were too young to really understand grasped the severity of her words.

"I would also like to welcome some special guests of ours. As you know, there were necessary plots that took place before the war occurred and as a result, there were students who were unable to partake in their last year at Hogwarts. Therefore, I have taken the liberty of sending letters to a select few students who were invited to return and complete their seventh year. I expect you to treat them like any other student and no differently. We are all victims of the war and should not be judged for how things were before–"

Hermione scrunched her face up in confusion. There were others? She took a quick glance around the room without seeming conspicuous. She spotted a few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students from her year. She wasn't even going to bother checking the Slytherin table until she saw it was the most crowded table. It all made sense why McGonagall had spoken with her. Some of the students she asked to come back participated on the other side of the war; alongside the Dark Lord as a loyal follower. She scanned through the cluster of faces and found Zabini and Nott at the end of the table.

She didn't have time to acknowledge the gap between the two before she turned her attention back to their new headmaster as she continued her speech.

"—this is a new era now and being that is the case, there will be some changes to Hogwarts starting this year—"

"It's strange, isn't it?" Ginny inquired.

"What is?"

"Seeing all the houses being so...open with each other."

"You mean seeing all the houses AND Slytherin doing more than coexisting."

"Well, yes. It's just...weird."

"We've seen weirder things."

"Have we?" she asked, almost mockingly.

Hermione pretended to ponder. "No, now that I think about it, you're right. It is the weirdest thing I've seen yet."