Something to Remember

Chapter 3 Sorry

**

Hermione and Ron together walked to the Prefect Carriage to meet with the other prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl who would give them instructions. Hermione was very excited to get her new duties, and Ron, too, was mildly excited. They both felt bad leaving Harry and Ginny alone, but at least they would probably be back before the end of the ride, depending on the circumstances.

Hermione and Ron took seats together in the Prefect Carriage. No one else was there yet. They were pretty early actually, because Hermione thought it would make a good impression on the Head Boy and Head Girl. Hermione sat gracefully awaiting the arrival of others, while Ron began eating chocolate frogs.

"Train should be leaving any minute now," noted Ron casually after a few moments. Hermione nodded, then, right on cue, the horn blew, and the train alas began its ride. Within five minutes the expected prefects would begin entering, but first, as though in prelude of the rest, the initial to arrive quite specially left Ron and Hermione abruptly blindsided; indeed, by pure wicked coincidence it was none other than their least favorite person in the world (except for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, perhaps) who became the very first to join them in the compartment:

Draco Malfoy entered the compartment in a pronounced strut. Vaunted by his usual weight of smugness, Malfoy surveyed the surroundings distrustfully. He immediately glared at Ron upon notice, and Ron forcefully glared back. Neither spoke though, perhaps out of respect for their new badge. Hermione looked at Ron warningly. Draco sat as far from Ron and Hermione as possible. Ron tried his best to simply look away, and Hermione was quite glad, as she was not particularly in the mood for any confrontations - especially in their current environment.

The rest of the prefects finally arrived over about ten minutes. The Head Boy and Head Girl were last to arrive - apparently it wasn't necessary for the two most important people to arrive on time, but ten minutes late, rather. Hermione recognized both of them - Sandy Joan and Lucas Reye, and if she remembered correctly, they were both popular, stuck up, unlikable, and to top it off, dating each other.

"Good holiday?" said Sandy dully, rhetorically and with no real sense of caring. Without waiting for a response, she continued. "As prefects, you hold a duty to your school to make sure it's safe for all students and to uphold the rules and procedures of the educational environment in a healthy, professional manner..." As she dragged on, it all seemed so rehearsed and passionless. Nonetheless, Hermione took in every word, not surprisingly, while Ron focused on looking the girl up and down. Malfoy, on the other hand, was like Hermione - actually paying attention. Imagine.

Once Sandy Joan finished speaking, the Head Boy spoke about the procedures they'd go through tonight, which mainly involved helping the first years (such as getting them to their dormitories and such). It didn't seem difficult at all. The Head Boy also mentioned how they were only allowed to take points from their own houses, and not from others. Dismay followed this clarification, but the new prefects were shortly rekindled to joy when he next noted that they also had their own special bathrooms, and that they could be out much later.

Eventually, the Head Boy and Head Girl told them to patrol the corridors in pairs, and they ended up splitting up the houses too. "Granger, is it?" checked Lucas authoritatively. "You go with Malfoy to Compartment E."

Hermione took a very deep breath, and tried not to show any signs of weakness. She could deal with working with Draco in a professional manner ... right?! She would try her best to cooperate with him. Whether she cared to or not, they were going to have to see much more of each other these days, after all...

**

Draco was utterly shocked at his luck! I have to work with Granger? Oh, joy! Only cynical thoughts like this could follow such an unfortunate assignment, naturally. She hated him. It would never work out - they would argue and fight the entire time, and accomplish nothing. But Draco couldn't protest the decision - it would mark a very bad impression. He did not know either the Head Boy or Head Girl - he had seen them, he was nearly positive the Head Boy was a Ravenclaw and the Head Girl, Hufflepuff. But he had never associated much with either House, therefore not knowing them. They most likely knew who he was because he was a Malfoy, though.

The Head Boy and Head Girl quickly gave instructions to the other students and Hermione led the way, not even looking at him. It was very awkward. When they reached Compartment E, it was very quiet, only a few people in the area, probably because it was the back of the train. Then, for the first time, Hermione looked right at him. "So I suppose we should just monitor the hallways occasionally?" she said uncertainly, and Draco could tell there was a forced kindness in her voice, as though she was meeting a quite odd person for the first time.

Draco was about to tell her he didn't speak to filthy Mudbloods like herself, but he hesitated for a moment. What was the point? No one was around. It wouldn't kill to try to get along, would it? He wouldn't be embarrassing himself, and honestly, Granger wasn't that terrible of a person, really. Granger and Weasley would probably die for Potter.

"Err ... yeah. No one much around," said Draco breezily, feeling strange. All the sudden he realized how very uncomfortable he was feeling, and went red as ever. Mortified, Draco glanced sharply at Hermione for a quick second and saw that she looked beyond shock that he was actually talking to her as though she was ... human. At first Draco said nothing more, but then surprisingly found himself talking again, saying without thinking, "So, err, how was your summer?"

Hermione did not immediately respond, but looked at him, quite puzzled, then said, "Oh, you know, it was fine." She gave him a faint smile. Draco studied her for a moment. She was much prettier these days - truth be told, she had been quite stunning at the Yule Ball -- but now that she actually had grown up a little, she was looking very pretty. And it helped that her skirt would be better labeled as a belt.

"Mine was the same as usual," said Draco dryly, as he could not honestly say he had a good summer. Hermione nodded a little, and as the silence between them was so awkward, she peered out into the other corridors to just see mainly underclassmen talking. Their assistance was not much needed. Hermione and Draco sat down in an empty compartment.

Hermione then genuinely looked at him and smiled. Draco almost thought she was checking him out...

"Draco, we're going to have to work together a lot this year with our prefect duties. It is ridiculous for us to be constantly on edge because of all our divisiveness in the past. I honestly barely know you, Draco, but I'd love the chance to get to know you better. Can we have a truce?" she integrally compelled him, speaking these mollifying words very suddenly, very seriously, and very fast.

Draco looked deep into her eyes. She really was sincere. "Yeah well, I reckon that, uh...oh fine, maybe we should be professional and cooperate. But just don't expect me to be best friends with you all the sudden, Granger, you hear?! We'll work together because we're prefects and get along, but trust me, it stops there," forewarned the very guarded Slytherin boy in front of her. This, Draco knew, must've come off a little harsh, but nevertheless he couldn't just all the sudden open the door to becoming best mates with her, could he? No, bloody not! he thought disgustedly to himself.

Hermione didn't look surprised. "Okay, well, you don't have to call me Granger. I have a first name."

"Okay, Hermione. And if Potty and the Weasel mess with me, it'd be nice if you would just stay out of it if you want things to remain civil between us," said Draco gruffly, trying not to sound too polite.

"You mean Harry and Ron. They're my friends; please don't disrespect them in front of me. And please do not call me a Mudblood any longer," said Hermione sternly, still very sincere. Draco did not respond to this, instead gave an acknowledging nod.

Then Hermione spoke again, the words coming off quite as the biggest surprise yet. "I'm sorry we've been so hostile towards each others for four years." She did not look at him, but instead looked down at her shoes, as though quite fascinated by them.

Draco looked at her thoughtfully. You know, she really is trying. She's really mature. Way better than Potty and the Weasel, after all. Cut her some slack,' said a first little voice in his head; following it up, however, came a second little voice across his ambivalent mind, this one frightful and thundery. UGH! What would your father say about this, Draco? What would he think if he found out you were suddenly making truces with a Mudblood? And my God, what this could do to your reputation!! But even yet, somehow nevertheless Draco's mature side came out in the form of a most stunning, 'till-now-uncharacteristic response. "...Yeah, I am too."

Neither of them spoke much after this, just separately patrolled the corridors every once in a while in silence.

**

Hermione sat with Ron and Harry at the Gryffindor table once they entered the Great Hall. Ron and Harry were desperate to hear if Draco had done anything to her. "Did that fucker give you a hard time?" demanded Ron.

"Yeah, that filthy piece of shit better not give you a hard time when you have duty!" said Harry, utmost threatening in his inflection.

"Oh, don't worry, if he even looks at me the wrong way, he'll regret it," assured Hermione, not even directly answering the question. She actually had enjoyed seeing Draco as a real person. He even looked quite good-looking these days - though she would take that thought with her to the grave.

"People have been staring at me since I got on the train," said Harry. "They don't believe my story thanks to our most wonderful minister." Harry actually sounded angry. Hermione understood. He had gone to hell and back to warn them of Voldemort's return and they now treated him as though he had told them a crock of shit.

"They'll know soon enough. Voldemort won't stay hiding long, we know that," said Hermione darkly, and Ron shuddered. "Honestly, Ron!"

The Sorting Hat began with a bolt of suspense seizing the room. There seemed to be a huge abundance of first years this time around, which angered everyone around them (especially Ron) as they all wanted to get to the feast as soon as possible. At last the Sorting Hat replied to McGonagall's final first-year (Zabini, Celeste), adamantly bellowing, "Slytherin!" almost immediately once on top of the tiny brown-haired girl's head. Finally, after what had felt like ages (at least to Ron, anyway), without wasting another moment Dumbledore promptly stood up and told them to 'tuck in'. (Needlessly said, Ronald Weasley would not speak again for a while following this juncture, for of course he was all at once stuffing his face like an animal but a half-instant later.)

"I think that Celeste Girl is Blaze Zabini's sister," mentioned Hermione casually to Harry.

"Ooh, Blaze, that weird Slytherin girl who never talks?" asked Harry.

"She's like a fourth cousin of mine twice removed," said Ron, finally, as he swallowed down his lamb chops. "Since the pure-bloods have nearly died out, a lot of the families are interrelated."

"Interesting. I saw Celeste in the train with some first years - she seems to be the opposite of her sister, very outgoing," said Hermione, who had seen Celeste while with Draco. He hadn't seemed to know her - then again, she had never seen Draco and Blaze associate much. On the thought of Draco, she glanced over at him, and saw him at the Slytherin Table. Though he was filled with friends all around him, Draco seemed so alone, so out of place now. Because now she knew he wasn't like the rest of them. There was good in him, she knew this for sure, even though she had only been with him for a few hours. She didn't know how she knew this, but she had a gut feeling - and her gut feelings were usually right.

Hermione saw Draco glance over at her, and she gave him a very tiny smile that she could have sworn he'd returned.

**