Dare

Blaise's Point of View

*****

I had been quite thrilled to find out that I had been chosen Head Boy for my last year at Hogwarts. I had been almost as excited to find out that Hermione Granger had been selected as Head Girl. Despite the hostile relations that tended to exist between my House and hers, I had always been intrigued by the Muggle-born witch.

The two of us had always been on relatively friendly terms. Relative being the key word. I was the only Slytherin who didn't regularly insult her for her parentage. In fact, the two of us had spoken less than ten times in our previous six years at Hogwarts, even though we had shared the bulk of our classes. In return for the lack of insults from me, Hermione had kept her friends from picking on me as I played the part of the lone, quiet Slytherin. Instead, we adopted a live and let live attitude. This was likely at least in part because the Gryffindors didn't realize that while I didn't pal around with Malfoy outside of the common room, Draco and I had been best friends since childhood.

I had always known that my best friend didn't share my rather liberal views about blood purity, but I had sincerely hoped that the fall of Voldemort this summer would have mellowed his prejudice. So far, though, I hoped in vain.

When I had first learned of her appointment aboard the Hogwarts Express, I managed to keep my enthusiasm to myself.

The door had opened, admitting the fuzzy-haired witch. Looking up, she shot me a grin, which I returned, although without her zeal.

"So, Zabini, it seems we are to be working together this year."

"So it does, Granger."

"Well, did you have a good summer?" she asked. I had always felt one of her most endearing qualities was her naivety.

"Passable. I spent the summer with family in Italy. You?"

She hesitated a moment, "I, ah, spent the summer working with Harry... you know... ah... fighting."

I could have smacked myself for having forgotten. I honestly didn't know how I had managed to forget! Of course she had been fighting in the war over the summer. She was best friends with St. Potter, savior extraordinaire. It had been all over the Prophet, even in Italy, that the 17 year old witch had managed to kill several of the Dark Lord's top flunkies. Granger had single-handedly taken out Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy, just as the boy-who-still-lived took out Voldemort. The third member of the trio had managed to kill Peter Pettigrew, his one time pet, although Peter's body had been still twitching like the rat he was when the Dark Lord had turned his wand on the youngest male Weasley and ended his life in a jet of green light. It had been said that the death of the red-head had been what had spurred Potter to manage to slay Voldemort. There had been a number of articles over the summer about how the trio-turned -duo had coped with the loss.

Thinking about my summer I remembered how Draco had been less upset than expected by the loss of his father. It was while he was spending the summer with me in Italy that I learned that his father had been quite abusive to Draco and his mother since the Dark Lord's return at the end of our fifth year. I don't pretend to understand that family and their politics. Frankly, I don't think Draco understood it, either. Which is why, other than parroting his father's viewpoints on blood, he had spent the vast majority of any time away from school with me and my family. We were the stereotypical loud, large, and close Italian family. A complete reversal from the Malfoys.

"Granger, I knew that. Hell, everyone knows that. It was all over the papers, even in Italy."

"Oh, ah, right." She seemed a bit flustered. "Well, I'm going to leave my trunk here and go make a round. Make sure all the first years are settled in."

"All right. I'll see you in a bit."

And with that, she left me alone in the Head Compartment with all her stuff. Seriously, how trusting can you get?

*******

It wasn't much later when Draco sauntered in, followed, as usual, by the two large goons he calls friends. AT the end of our sixth year, none of us had thought Draco would ever be allowed back at Hogwarts. After all, he had been responsible for allowing an attack on the school and sort-of responsible for the death of Dumbledore. But apparently Malfoy money spends as well after the fall of Voldemort as it did before. For whatever reason, he had gotten off. And while he was still avoided, his name had been cleared. None of us in Slytherin were terribly surprised by this. Although it did mean he had a tough year ahead of him. His prefect badge had been revoked and given to me, and while that could, and usually would, have caused some major resentment, in this case, I think he was just relieved.

"Hey, Blaise."

"Draco." I nodded at the seats around the compartment, indicating for them to make themselves comfortable.

"Where's the Head Girl? For that matter, who's the head girl?" Draco was looking curiously at the second trunk stored in the compartment, noticing the lack of a body to go with it.

"Doing a round, and Hermione Granger," I answered.

"Don't know why I even bothered to ask," was Draco's reply.

Crabbe and Goyle just snorted in response.

"It was pretty much a given," I said with a nod.

"So she just came in and dropped off her stuff? With a Slytherin?"

I didn't even bother to answer.

Draco couldn't control the snort that was his response.

And that's how she found us. Chuckling over her faith and trust in her fellow students.

"What are they doing in here?" Granger asked, returning to the compartment from her round of the train.

I hadn't noticed her come in. "Sitting. Is that a problem?" I asked her.

She looked at the three Slytherins who had made her school life miserable for the last six years and shrugged. All she said was, "I guess not."

Opening her trunk, she removed a copy of one of our text books for the year and sat down in the last empty seat to read, completely ignoring us.

"That's it, Granger? Not even going to say hello?" Malfoy asked, baiting her.

She glanced up, meeting his eye. Sighing, she closed her book after carefully marking her place and laid it next to her on the seat.

"Hello, Malfoy. Crabbe, Goyle. I hope you had a pleasant summer." It was funny to watch her making insipid conversation with my friend and his cronies.

"Indeed. It was an enjoyable break from the tedium of Hogwarts. And you?" Draco asked.

"My summer was memorable, though less than pleasant, thank you for asking. Can we consider the polite conversation requirements met now so that I may return to my reading?"

Malfoy gravely nodded his head in acquiescence, so Granger returned to her book. Dipping her head, she completely missed the smirk Malfoy sent her way, although the rest of us caught it and were hard pressed to keep from laughing.

Silence reigned for several minutes before I rose to excuse myself. It was time for me to go on a round. I hesitated, trying to decide if I should kick my friends out and leave Granger to her own devices, or just leave them in there alone with her. In the past, I would have worried for her safety, but I realized that any witch who could take out Draco's father and Bellatrix Lestrange could handle anything Draco and Company could throw at her.

"Your pardon, friends, but I must away to my rounds," I announced, bowing in my most florid style. Granger again looked up from her book and nodded at me, before quickly becoming lost again in its pages.

I opened the door and stepped through, glancing at Draco, but he shook his head no, that he would prefer to stay where he was. Deciding to make my round a short one, I closed the door behind me and left.

******

******

Hermione's Point of View

*****

After a completely trying summer, I was glad to be heading back to school. It was strange, since at the end of last year my friends and I had resolved to skip our last year so as to take out Voldemort, but somehow things had worked out very differently. Instead of spending a year looking for Horcruxes, we had some inside help from Snape. It allowed us to deal with things much faster than we had anticipated, culminating in a battle in on Harry's birthday. The results of that battle had shocked the wizarding world as Harry had managed to defeat, yet again, and in a very final way, the self-styled Lord Voldemort.

It wasn't without casualties, though. We had lost Ron in the process, and had spent the rest of the summer grieving.

Snape had been acquitted, thanks to Dumbledore's forethought, and had been allowed to return to teach at Hogwarts.

It almost felt like I was trying to squeeze into something I had outgrown, returning to school after this summer. But I had decided that I was going to go back and finish my education, enjoying a year that should hopefully be free from stress.

I mean, after you take out a Dark Lord, how stressful can NEWTs really be?

Harry was looking forward to Quidditch, and I was looking forward to having a fun year.

We were dedicating it to the memory of Ron. It's what he would have wanted us to do. I think Harry had decided to try and give the twins a run for their money in the mischief department. After all, the general goodwill towards him gave him a lot of lee-way. I think he was particularly looking forward to tormenting Snape.

Arriving on the Hogwarts Express after the Summer from Hell, I was a bit shocked to find Zabini in the Head Compartment with the shiny Head Boy badge pinned to his robes. He didn't seem anywhere near as surprised to see me.

"So, Zabini, it seems we are to be working together this year," I said, trying to cover my astonishment.

"So it does, Granger," was his only reply.

"Well, did you have a good summer?" I asked him. I had hardly ever spoken to Zabini, and knew absolutely nothing about him, other than that he was a Slytherin in my year.

"Passable. I spent the summer with family in Italy. You?"

I hadn't even known his family still lived in Italy. Or which part of it. And I had no idea how to answer his question, also having no idea about his political leanings. I mean, he had never insulted me, at least to my face, but who the hell knew what he said in his Common Room. "I, ah, spent the summer working with Harry... you know... ah... fighting."

He didn't seem at all surprised by my answer. "Granger, I knew that. Hell, everyone knows that. It was all over the papers, even in Italy."

"Oh, ah, right." I decided I needed to get out of there; I so badly wanted to see that Harry was OK, and where my friends were sitting. It would be a hard trip for Harry. His first time on the train without Ron. Hell, it's where he met Ron and gained his very first friend. "Well, I'm going to leave my trunk here and go make a round. Make sure all the first years are settled in."

"All right. I'll see you in a bit," he acknowledged.

I quickly left the compartment to go find Harry and Ginny.

It didn't take long. Harry was brooding, which was to be expected, when I found them in a compartment not far from my own.

"So, who's the new Head Boy?" Ginny asked as soon as I entered. Harry and Neville looked up at her question.

"Zabini," I answered her.

She had a puzzled look for a minute, trying to place the name. "Sorry, drawing a blank," she finally admitted.

"Tall, dark, and handsome Slytherin who never says much, pretty much keeps to himself. Shouldn't be too bad. Gods know there are worse options they could have paired me with."

"Malfoy being top of that list," Neville added.

We all just nodded at that.

"Well, I am going to make a round and then try and get some work done. Come to the Head Compartment if you need me for anything. I'll stop back by later, regardless," I informed them.

"Have fun with the Slytherin," Harry said.

We all just shuddered, and I left.

There wasn't much happening on the train, we had just gotten underway. The aisle was clear, and I didn't hear any screaming from any of the compartments I passed, so I decided to head back to my compartment and get some work done.

I noticed I didn't see Draco or his bodyguards in any of the compartments. I could only hope that meant that with their fathers dead as known supporters of Voldemort, they wouldn't be coming back to school this year. I did see Pansy and her clique of Slytherin girls, but they were alone in their compartment.

Finally, I reached my destination, the Head Compartment, and quietly opened the door to re-enter. I didn't want to disturb Zabini if he was studying.

I was therefore quite shocked to walk in and find Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle in MY compartment. And not at all happy about it. I had never realized they were friends with Zabini. Maybe this year wouldn't be as easy as I'd hoped.

They seemed to be laughing about something, but whatever it was, I had missed the joke.

"What are they doing in here?" I asked.

Apparently, the boys hadn't noticed my return.

"Sitting. Is that a problem?" Zabini asked me.

I looked at them, slowly, coolly appraising them and trying to decide if they were a threat to me the way I had been taught. Deciding there was no real threat present, I answered him. "I guess not."

I dug a book out of my trunk and took the remaining seat, quickly becoming engrossed in my new Potions book.

"That's it, Granger? Not even going to say hello?" Malfoy asked.

I looked at him and realized he was going to try and push my buttons, so I slowly closed the book after marking my place and laid it next to me on the seat.

"Hello, Malfoy. Crabbe, Goyle. I hope you had a pleasant summer." I decided to be polite, even though I could guess that their summers had been less than pleasant. After all, I had killed one's father, and the other two had lost their fathers to the wands of aurors.

"Indeed. It was an enjoyable break from the tedium of Hogwarts. And you?" Malfoy asked me, trying to irritate me by continuing this insane conversation.

"My summer was memorable, though less than pleasant, thank you for asking. Can we consider the polite conversation requirements met now so that I may return to my reading?" I honestly didn't think I could say anything more to Malfoy without vomiting. He looked too much like his father, and my interactions with Malfoy senior this summer had been some of the most unpleasant experiences of my short life.

Malfoy nodded, so I returned to my book.

There was quiet in the compartment, and I reflected that it wasn't so bad to be sitting with these Slytherins. It was certainly easier to study here than with my friends, who by now were likely playing a loud game of exploding snap or arguing, I mean talking, about Quidditch.

Shortly, Zabini announced he was going to make his own rounds of the train, and I felt a moment of trepidation, since the others seemed to be staying in my compartment. But so far, they had hardly said a word to me, so I decided to continue to ignore them. I did loosen my wand though. Just in case. Moody would have been proud.

As soon as Zabini left, Draco got up and began to read over my shoulder. I would like to point out that I HATE people reading over my shoulder.

"So, Granger, are you ready for you NEWTs?" he asked, seeing that I was absorbed in my text book.

"I am confident that I will be prepared when the time comes," I didn't even look up.

He made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat. My neck was beginning to prickle from the way he was watching me over my shoulder. I was determined not to let my discomfort show, though.

"I see McGonagall rewarded you for being a puppet over the summer. Scarhead, too. Noticed he was wearing a prefect badge this year. But then, I guess someone had to replace the Weasel. Tell me, Granger, did he replace the Weasel in your bed, too? You sharing him with Ginny?"

In that moment, I couldn't think of a time I was more furious, but I still didn't want to rise to Malfoy's bait. I was trying my best to control the blood pounding in my temples and reddening my checks, but it was a losing battle.

"Malfoy, you are truly a disgusting person," was all I said.

"Well, Granger, that's a given, at least as far as you're concerned, right? You would expect nothing less from a Slytherin."

"Malfoy, I'm not the one afflicted with prejudicial political views, so I would appreciate you not even attempting to understand me and my motivations."

"Please, Granger, spare me the high-handed load of crap. I heard Potter at the Sorting Feast first year chanting 'not Slytherin,' so you can spare me your holier-than-thou Gryffindor attitude."

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not Harry. Although I was never in any danger of being put in Slytherin, given my heritage."

"True."

"Is there a reason you are staying in this compartment, given that your friend is not currently here?"

"Of course there is. Several reasons, actually. First, he'll be back soon. Second, we get to torture you. Third, we get to avoid being tortured by Pansy. And most important, we can avoid the rest of the idiots a bit longer."

I looked up again, having noticed a slight catch in his voice at the mention of the idiots out there. I realized in that moment that Malfoy was deathly afraid of the impact the events of the summer were going to have on him at school. I doubted that he would want pity, but he probably also feared the looks of scorn and hatred he'd be receiving from the other students that had lost family to his father and his father's friends.

He was seeking a refuge.

"Malfoy, I'll make you a deal. Sit down and leave me the hell alone, and I won't kick you out of my compartment and make you face them."

He looked at me, his eyes going wide as he realized I had guessed his real feelings. Quietly, he backed away from me and joined the giant lumps on the other side of the compartment where they had been stuffing their faces the entire time on sweets and making quiet, contented grunts.

I nodded to him and went back to my book.

About half an hour later, Zabini returned, looking a little flustered. He seemed surprised to see us sitting quietly, reading. And I mean a good kind of surprise, like someone remembering your birthday that you haven't talked to in months, not a bad kind of surprise like Hagrid getting a new pet...

The rest of the ride to school passed in relative silence and calm. Zabini and I each made rounds a couple more times, but nothing much had come up. Finally, we could feel the train slowing on its final approach to good old Hogwarts.

A new year was beginning, and it was off to such an... interesting start.