Chapter 5, Book 1, After a War

Eventually Hermione had found her dorm she shared with two other girls. There were two extra beds. People were showing up late and such so not all the beds were taken up yet. Plus several kids hadn't even come back to the school after what had happened.

Hermione unpacked her bags silently as the other two girls unpacked.

The girl who had the bed right next to Hermione's had golden blonde hair that could only be compared to a princesses. She had fake skin and blue eyes, a perfect build in the eyes of a woman; not too thin but also not overweight. The only flaw Hermione saw in the girl was the fact that she was about six inches shorter then Hermione, who was an average height for her age. The girl had a serious look to her, like she had a past that she had locked away.

The other girl reminded Hermione scarily of Bellatrix. She had busily black curly hair, pale skin, and brown eyes, nearly black. She was a good weight but her face was slightly sunken in, and her hands were frail, her fingers narrow. She definitely gave Hermione a Bellatrix vibe.

Hermione changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed. The blonde girl was still folding clothes and the girl with the black hair had just climbed into bed without changing and was already asleep, snoring softly but not in a bothersome way.

"My name is Maya by the way," the girl win the blonde hair introduced herself quietly, careful not to wake the girl with black hair. Hermione seemed a little surprised she had spoken.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione introduced herself. Maya smiled as though it was amusing that she had introduced herself.

"I know who you are, everyone knows who you are Granger. But anyhow, that's Bella." Maya said as she nodded her head over to the sleeping girl. Hermione looked confused. Bella? As in Bellatrix? Alright this was scaring her now. She gently gripped the arm her scar was on, as though Bella would come trace it with a knife. "And no, we aren't the evil girls you think we are, we're just normal people." Maya finished putting away her clothes and undressed, changing into her pajamas. Clearly she wasn't worried about Hermione seeing her change. She seemed comfortable with her body.

"You were the one that said Malfoy had a crush on me," Hermione stated. Maya nodded as though it was nothing.

"Yeah, well we both know he doesn't. Look, me and Bella act like queens while we're out there. But we aren't monsters. Until you prove yourself worthy of being in the Slytherin house, you're going to be treated like trash," Maya warned her. The blonde sat on her bed and then laid down.

"Alright.. so, can I tell my friends that you guys aren't going to make my life a living hell? They're worried." Hermione tucked herself into her blankets and yawned softly.

"Only your Slytherin friends, we don't need the Gryffindors breaking our reputation." Maya finished as she too yawned and then closed her eyes.

~

Hermione stepped out of her dorm that morning to see Malfoy sitting on the couch in front of the fire, Pansy had her head in his lap and was asleep. He glanced up as she stepped over to the back side of the couch.

"Did they hurt you?" He asked her, not lowering his voice as he didn't care if Pansy woke up or not. He probably wanted her to wake up. Hermione shook her head.

"No, and they don't plan to, they told me I could tell you. I'm fine. Thank you though. It's clear to see that you've changed Malfoy," she told him quietly. His gaze changed to a glare as he scoffed.

"Don't make it more then it needs to be Granger." He grumbled. His eyes moved to look at he fire again. She flicked the back of his head before walking away. "Hey!" He yelped. She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk.

~

The great hall was buzzing with excited students. Apparently not everyone hated the house switch. Many people actually loved it. Hermione had seen Maya and Bella at the tables but she wasn't supposed to talk to them out in the open. Bella had made sure she knew that before they left the dorm. She saw Malfoy sitting with Theodore and Pansy like usual, and finally she saw Harry and Ronald sitting at the Gryffindor table chatting away with Dean and Seamus.

Hermione sat down at the Slytherin table calmly and ignored the many comments she got. She just ate her breakfast like a normal person. McGonagall announced that Classes wouldn't be starting until the next day due to the late arrivals, speaking of them, they were supposed to arrive after breakfast. She was excited to get to see Ginny and her other friends.

About halfway through breakfast someone tapped on Hermione's shoulder, nearly giving her a heart attack. She turned around to see Blaise Zabini standing there.

"Can I help you?" She asked him.

"Switch back. I talked to the Headmistress and she said that you took my place in Slytherin and I took your place in Gryffindor. Switch back," he said harshly. She could see in his eyes he was nowhere near kidding.

"I don't think we can do that," she told him carefully, trying not to upset him or gain the attention of the other students around them. He glared at her, but he knew it was true.

"I can't stand them. Your friends are so, so annoying. And Pansy is back to being all over Draco and I had finally gotten close to her. It's like there's no point. She's mad at me because I switched houses." He sat down next to her, kind of taking her by surprise. Here was a Slytherin who would usually bully her, just talking to her like she was one of his friends or something.

"Well, I don't know why she's all over Malfoy, because I used to think she did it because he was the most popular guy in Slytherin, and at the moment, it seems like he's the least popular, maybe she just hadn't realized it yet. I didn't know you liked her," Hermione said. She finished up her food and glanced down the table at where Pansy had her head on Malfoy's shoulder. He seemed to be ignoring her as he just talked to Theodore.

"Why isn't Draco popular anymore?" Blaise asked, apparently oblivious to absolutely everything.

"He almost went to Azkaban. He would have if Harry hadn't helped him out in his trial. Plus he defended me last night from a bunch of bullies." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Oh. Potter helped him? Well. I suppose I'll talk to him later today. Draco not Potter. I don't care how generous Potter is I'm not talking to him." Blaise stood back up. He got a few glared from other Slytherins at the table as they called him a traitor. Blaise looked like he would have given them the middle finger if it wasn't for the whole table of teachers at the front.

Hermione glanced at the doors as they opened and a whole flood of students entered. Time for the late arrivals to be sorted. Amongst the crowd she could see Luna, Neville, Ginny, and wait, George? He was definitely too old to be coming to the school, but she supposed he hadn't finished his education. She watched as they walked to the front.

Luna got sorted back into Ravenclaw, Ginny returned to Gryffindor and sat next to Harry and Ron, Neville was sorted back into Gryffindor, and George went back to- wait. The hat didn't shout Gryffindor.

Hermione looked at her friends as George walked to the Slytherin table and sat next to Hermione. Ronald looked heartbroken.

"Hey George," Hermione greeted, trying to hide the surprise in her tone. She didn't want him to feel bad. She gently hugged him.

"How did you end up in Slytherin!? You're like the most Gryffindor girl I know!" George exclaimed as he looked at her. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know, but to be honest, I'm glad you ended up here too. It's nice to have someone I know and trust with me over here. I was worried that the only person I'd ever be able to talk to was Malfoy." She smiled at him, he smiled back. She hadn't seen him smile in so long that it was nice to see it. She hugged him again. "How are you doing?" She questioned softly, referring to Fred.

George didn't answer for a moment, as though considering the consequences of saying certain things. He let out a deep sigh. "It'll get better." He said. It sounded like he was reassuring himself more then he was reassuring her.

"It will. I promise." Hermione watched the rest of the sorting in silence.