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Struggling Through New Beginnings	By : HarryGinny4eva Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 31236 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Spoilers - I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter
6

The students of Hogwarts found yet another change when
they went to their house flats that evening after dinner. The common rooms had
been made larger, with more sofas, chairs and desks and the students were
astonished to see, a small kitchenette added to the room. It wasn�t big enough
for them to consider making full meals or stop going to the Great Hall, but
they would have snacks and drinks available at all times.

They also found two new sets of stairs leading up to the flats, marked for the
fifth through seventh year students. The original staircase had been extended
and now went to a new third floor where the first through fourth year students
would find their rooms. As the younger children hurried to their flats to see
what, if any, other changes had been made, or to see their rooms for the first
time, the older students stayed behind to read the note left for them by their
headmistress. Neville was the first to the table and read aloud to everyone.

�

Dear Students,

Welcome to your new dormitory. It is my hope that you will enjoy the benefits
being an older student has afforded you. As you are aware, a large portion of
the castle needed to be rebuilt after the events of last year. We, your
teachers and mentors, felt it was time for a change and looked at it as a
chance to bring the castle into this century. As your studies are going to be
more difficult this year with O.W.L.S, N.E.W.T.S., or preparation for them, we
felt you should have a more personal, quiet space in which to study.
Considering that, we have made your new dormitories more like flats.

- Fifth and sixth year students will
have four students to a flat; two to a bedroom and all four will share a
bathroom.

- Seventh year students will have
private bedrooms and will share a bathroom and study area with one other
student. The bedrooms and bathroom are on the second floor of the flats; the
study/common area below.

- The Head Girl and Boy will, as
expected, have their own rooms, as well as, their own bathrooms upstairs.
Downstairs they will also have their own common room, library and kitchenette
at their disposal.

Seventh year students are encouraged to continue to make use of their house
common room, as well as the new All-House
Common Room near the library in order to interact with the students from
other houses. Please bear in mind that we look to all of you to set an example
for the younger students about civility and new beginnings.

You will find your name on the plaque on the door of your new room. Once you
enter your room, you will need to touch your wands to the lock to set your
door�s password. You will need to do it together for the password to be
accepted on the outer doors.

I sincerely hope you are pleased with the changes and look forward to your
comments. Should you have any concerns about your flatmates,
or wish to switch rooms, please contact your head of house as soon as possible.
No changes will be accepted after the first week of school.

Thank you and welcome back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall

Everyone talked excitedly, as they hurried for the stairs. As they searched the
second floor for their rooms, cries of excitement echoed through the halls.

Ron and Harry smiled and laughed, as they found their shared flat, and hurried
back to the hall to see where everyone else�s rooms were. They were very happy
to find out that Seamus and Neville had been placed in the room next to theirs,
while Dean and his new flatmate, Andrew Kirke, were across the hall. When
they returned to their room, Ron teased Harry about how Dean and Andrew would
have loads to talk about, as they compared notes on their previous
relationships with Ginny.

They left their bedroom doors open, the bathroom between them, as they unpacked
in their new rooms and talked about all the changes to the school so far. When
Ron brought up Harry�s time with Pansy, Harry was glad there was space between
them, so his friend wouldn�t see his face. Most people thought Ron was the
mentally slower of the pair, because of his
quick-to-anger actions, but those who knew him well, knew he was as sharp as a
pin. And Ron could read his friends very easily; he would know Harry was
holding something back.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably before he called back, �It wasn�t anything
big. Just her needing to apologize, you know.�

�Oh, sorry about that, mate. I know you�re getting sick of all that. Gin was
pretty upset by the whole thing, too,� Ron answered. �Maybe you should go see
her.�

Harry put his broom in the closet and shut the door as he called back, �I might
just do that. What are you going to do?�

Ron was busy cramming his underwear into one of his drawers and slammed it shut
with a grunt before he answered, �I need to talk to Hermione.�

xxxxx

�Hermione, can you believe it?! Just you and me in
all this space!� Parvati laughed as she flopped back on her queen-sized
four-poster bed.

Both women smiled at the sounds of laughter, squeals and pounding footsteps
coming from the hall. Hermione stood in the doorway of Parvati�s bedroom and
laughed with her new flatmate.

�I know what you mean.� She glanced back over the banister outside of the room
and down at their opulent new surroundings and sighed, �Can you just imagine
what Gin�s must look like if we get all of this?�

Parvati sat up and looked thoughtfully at Hermione. �Are you really not upset
about not getting Head Girl? I mean you�ve worked so hard for it for the entire
time we�ve been here.�

Hermione looked back at Parvati for a moment before she answered. She knew the
woman in front of her had grown up a lot in the last few months. They all had.
Gone was the giggling, flirtatious, girlish tramp, and in her place was a
quiet, more introspective woman.

�No, Vati. I am not upset. I was disappointed for a while, I won�t deny that.
But, in the grand scheme of things, the decision was the right one. Ginny
deserves it and she has worked just as hard. It�s her year. Besides, I wasn�t
even here last year.�

Parvati pushed off the bed and came to stand next to Hermione, as they both
leaned over the banister and looked down, �Well, good, I guess. And, Ginny will
do a good job if she can control her temper. I will tell you that I am glad I
got you for a flatmate. She would be simply tiring.�

Hermione laughed softly and nodded, �Tell me about it. I roomed with her most
of the summer.� Then Hermione turned her head to look at Parvati, �And, you?
You won�t miss Lavender and all your gossip sessions.�

�Oh, we�ll still have those,� Parvati smiled and laughed, �but, no, I won�t
miss rooming with her. Actually, I�m kind of hoping some of your study
techniques rub off on me. Time to get a little more serious, you know? And, you
never know, maybe I�ll rub off on you some, too.�

�What do you mean?�

Parvati shook her head and her face softened, �Hermione Jean Granger, this year
you will learn to have simple fun for no other reason than you can. You teach
me to be more studious and I�ll teach you how to be a teenager.�

Hermione didn�t bristle at her comments, as she knew who and what she was. She
knew what people thought of her. And, for the first time in her memory, she was
ready to change that perception.

�You know what, Parvati? You have deal.�

They giggled as they shook on it. Then Parvati headed back into her room and
said over her shoulder, �Sooooo?�

Hermione followed, �So what?�

Parvati grinned and began to fold her clothes, �You and Ron. I saw you guys on
the train. You guys looked so cute together!�

Hermione smiled, but didn�t make eye contact, �Thanks, I guess.�

�Don�t act so excited, Hermione. Really,� Parvati drawled jokingly.

�Sorry,� Hermione laughed. �I just��

She was relieved to hear a knock on the door which spared her from having to
think of an end to her sentence.

xxxxx

�Finish that sentence and I will make sure you live to regret it!�

Draco turned from the angry man in front of him to see Theo walking into the
room with his wand drawn.

�It�s okay, Theo�� Draco started tiredly.

�No, it is not!� Theo said as he roughly pushed Draco aside to continue his
advance on Draco�s flatmate, Malcolm Baddock, a halfblood. �You will
apologize!�

�I will not!� Malcolm spit back. �I see no reason why I should have to
apologize to this tosser! Him with all his pureblood
bullshit! Just because he never got the mark, doesn�t mean he�s any less a
Death Eat��

His voice was cutoff as he flew back across the room, the result of the hex
Theo had shouted at him.

Draco lunged forward to stop Theo from attacking again as Malcolm righted
himself.

�I will not room with this filth!� Malcolm shouted as he pushed past both men
and headed out the door.

Draco sighed and pushed his hair back off his face. Then, with a practiced
flick of his wand, set the couch back on its feet from Malcolm slamming into
it. Theo remained quiet as he took several deep breaths to calm himself. It was
not like him to lose control of his emotions, but being a creature of habit and
routine, all the sudden changes had taken their toll
on him and put him on edge.

He had been passing the room on his way to his own when he had heard Malcolm
calling Draco �Death Eater scum� from the open doorway. It had been the last
straw and he�d seen red and reacted. Now, with only the two of them there, he
wasn�t sure how to feel or what to say. They had never been close, but knowing
all that Draco had suffered and lost, he�d felt the need to protect the man who
seemed unwilling, or unable, to defend himself.

�I am sorry to have intruded,� Theo began with his back to Draco. �It was not
my place to��

�Thank you, Theo,� Draco interrupted quietly.

Both men remained quiet for a moment before Theo straightened and turned to
walk to the door, �Well then, I will just go see about switching to this room.�

Draco almost smiled when he saw Theo stop, but not turn, as he waited for Draco
to respond. �Professor Snape will most likely be available in his classroom.�

Theo nodded once and then left, shutting the door softly behind him. Draco sat
down heavily on the stairs to the bedrooms and frowned at the events of the
past few minutes. It wasn�t like him to be caught unawares. It wasn�t normal
for him to feel so disconnected, so unattached. He had been completely
blindsided by Malcolm�s refusal to room with him and harsh insults within
moments of setting his things down.

Draco hadn�t shown any emotions as the letter in the common room was read by a
loud, laughing Millicent. Most of the younger students had immediately stormed
the stairs to find their rooms. But, Draco and the rest of the older seventh years
had quietly gathered their belongings and in what they thought was a dignified
fashion, made their way up to the floor with their rooms. While shouting could
be heard from various corners of the flats, their area was relatively silent.
Even Millicent barely made a sound, as she pushed Pansy out of the way to get
up the stairs to their room.

He hadn�t shown any feelings, but the excitement Draco felt couldn�t be denied.
For the first time in his life, he would have a place of his own, where he
wasn�t watched or judged. He had assumed his flatmate
would be Gregory Goyle, but had been mildly surprised to see Malcolm�s name on
the door. In all the years he had shared a house with the boy, Draco had never
gotten to know him, as he was not a pureblood. But, along with all the other
changes in his life, he figured it was time. It had never occurred to him that
Malcolm wouldn�t want to get to know him.

Draco shook his head and pushed off the stairs. Taking up a plate of snacks
from their kitchenette, he turned and headed up the stairs to see his room.
After he closed his door and set his password he sat on the edge of the bed and
looked around.

�So much for new beginnings.�

xxxxx

�But, they didn�t say we have to be friends,� Blaise insisted as he sat
across from Ginny in their common room.

�No, Zabini, they didn�t,� Ginny conceded. With her teeth clenched she forced
herself to calm down and said, �But, as we are going to be sharing this space,
and we are going to want to have our friends in, I would think a little
civility and common courtesy wouldn�t be out of order.�

�I agree, okay, Mother?!� Blaise said loudly. �Can I just go get unpacked now?�

They had been going around and around on the same topic for a while, and he was
tired of talking about it. The excitable redhead across from him had basically
accosted him the moment he had stepped in the room. She had demanded that they
�come to agreement� on things, and they had been at it ever since. He didn�t
want to spend time getting to know her. He certainly didn�t want to get to know
her friends any better. And, he most definitely didn�t want to be working with
Potter�s woman as his co-Head. But, he knew after the last year, that you don�t
always get what you want, so he�d stopped his immediate response and let the
witch talk.

Now, twenty minutes later he was done. It was soon after he found himself
wondering how Potter put up with her and all her shrieking, that he finally
agreed, just to shut her up.

�Grow up!� Ginny huffed. �You act as if I want to spend my time with a loser
like you. I don�t know about you Zabini, but I do not intend to waste this
opportunity. Getting this head position wasn�t easy for me, you know. I had
quite a few hundred other things on my mind last year.�

�Yeah, waiting to see if Wonder Boy was coming back to you,� Blaise mumbled
irritably. Then he idly wondered if actual steam would come out of her ears
when her face could go no redder.

�You ass!� she finally shrieked. Before she could finish the short sentence her
wand was in her hand and pointed at his throat. It was the deadly quiet of her
next sentence that made him sit up a bit straighter and swallow
heavily.

�I can take whatever you can throw at me, Zabini, about me, my family, my allegiances, whatever. I will even allow you your stupid
Slytherin pride in the halls of this school and not speak to you unless there
is a death at stake. But, if you EVER malign Harry near me,
make no mistake, you will not have the chance or tongue to do so again.�

He didn�t get to respond as she lowered her wand and stepped to the portrait.
With one last glare of contempt she left the room and slammed the portrait hard
enough to make the windows rattle.

With the immediate threat of death now removed, Blaise breathed out a slow
breath and walked to the window of their common room. Nothing about this year
was turning out as he had expected. Twice in one night he had underestimated
the Gryffindor women he thought he knew. Hermione had been entirely different
close up than he had thought she would be. He had expected arrogance, snobbery,
put downs, and rudeness. He had expected her to be the know-it-all bookworm he
remembered. He had expected her to gloat over their win. He had not expected to
sit through dinner and find out that she was patient, kind, had a bad girl
streak, and would offer a supporting hand to someone who would have, only a
year ago, have hexed said hand. �Stupid bitch,� he mumbled.

And, Ginny. He hadn�t known that much about her. He
had been aware of the fact that she was Potter�s girlfriend, the Weasel�s
sister, Granger�s best girl friend, fairly good at Quidditch, not completely
stupid, and not as rash as her brother, but often just as loud. He�d also
acknowledged that she had a nice body. What he hadn�t known was how much rage
was contained in that tiny, well-shaped body. He hadn�t known how quick-to-anger
she could be, or how scary when pressed. He hadn�t known she would turn on her
own house for something as innocent as a perceived injustice against a fellow
student. He hadn�t known a simple murmur from Potter could shut her down.

In his mind, and the minds of most Slytherins, Gryffindors were happy beings.
They were relatively smart, loyal, and brave to the point of stupidity; but
they were also rash, prone to easy forgiveness, and soft. The war had proven
the first half, but completely disproved the second. And his first encounters
with them tonight had shown him how wrong many of his assumptions had been. He
shook his head as he got up and headed up to his room. It was disconcerting to
know that he didn�t know all he thought he did. His anger escalated in his
confusion and he slammed his bedroom door behind him. He and his mother had
only been back in the English wizarding world for a few weeks. The changes had
been so drastic they had left him shaken and her dazed. But while he had chosen
to ignore it all, she had tried to embrace it. Neither had succeeded.

AUTHOR�S NOTE � Thanks and hugs to
each of you who read the story.

Hey Jullsy, I am glad you were pleased with
the updates. But, I also hope you are feeling loads better! I know the
Hermione/Draco meeting took a bit, but it needed to be that way. To answer your
question, the whole story is about 42 � 44 chapters. Yes, he did want to call
her �that name�, but he�s come to realize it doesn�t have any power and that
she�s more than her blood. ;-) No worries, they will grow and change together. We
can�t stay canon and have them fall in love, now can we? lol
Sorry if you were confused, but yes, Pansy and Harry had talked for a while
before she blurted out her love of Ron. So, it should be assumed that she
apologized profusely and explained that she was just really scared and reacted.
Funny that you mention Molly, as she has a couple of good
scenes coming down the road. :-) Last, I will see what I can do for Sev in the sequel just for you. Thanks hon!!

Dreamweaver my dear, I am going to
steal your line, �I have an over-developed mother hen instinct I'm afraid,� as
it soooo applies to me, as well!! I loved how
you put that. THANK YOU! You have no idea how long it took for me to figure out
the best two to be Heads. I wanted 1 from each year, 1 from Gryffindor and 1
from Slytherin. I didn�t want Draco or Hermione to be them. And, I needed it to
be people who were intelligent, possible, and could act as examples to the rest
of the school. I have to say, I felt very much like McGonagall as I pondered my
choices. Ha ha ha �Blaise is a
character that changes as we go, and that�s all I�m saying. Lol And, the sequel is another Dramione,
but more focused solely on them. This one has a wide focus on the changes of
all of them, with the Dramione romance thrown in
there. Lol Last, Pansy�yes, I see her as someone who would poor out her heart
and soul if only given the chance. And, Harry gave her the chance. lol She just had a little bit of bad timing�

Thanks, hon!
- 5
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Struggling Through New Beginnings