Chapter 1

Hermione stepped onto Platform 3 1/2 only a few minutes before the Hogwarts Express left. The platform was crowded and bustling with kids and their parents saying farewell.

Her parents didn't come this year and she didn't ask them to. In fact, she was kind of surprised she was here herself. She didn't really believe she would make it back to her seventh year. There were times when she wasn't sure she would survive the war, let alone get back to the normal world of academia.

She didn't mind. She had nothing else to do. It was true that she had lost something during the war, some innocence she had and now it was hard to care. Everything seemed mundane and pointless. What did NEWTs matter when you were likely experiencing your very last minutes in this world. Even when the war ended and once the celebrations faded, it was hard to find enthusiasm for things that didn't really matter. She knew what mattered now.

Harry and Ron were already on the platform, surrounded by the Gryffindor housemates. There were both back for their final year. Hermione was sure that according to their reasoning, what was the point of being a war hero if there wasn't an adoring audience, and the audience they actually cared about were on this platform. Plus Ginny. Harry would go wherever Ginny went and she had no choice but to be here.

Hermione took a moment to actually wonder if she had made the right decision coming back. What if there wasn't a way back. What if you can't go back to your previous life after a war? Pretend nothing happened.

She looked over to where the Slytherins were congregating. That blob of black that signified the Slytherins' turf. She saw a glimpse of blond hair and her eyes narrowed. The nerve of him to show his face here after what he'd done. He had singlehandedly brought the war into the school and gotten the headmaster killed in the process. Pretty rich trying to ingratiate himself back into it.

Somehow Harry had buried the hatchet with Malfoy somewhere in the burnt out shell of the room of requirement. She had not. They had all lived, the Malfoys, like the cockroaches they were, survived through everything.

She indulged in a little fantasy of Draco being squashed under someone's foot and his innards squirting out like a yellow goo. It made her smile actually.

Through it all, she hated Malfoy most. Crabbe and Goyle were just stupid. The older Death Eaters were simply mental, but Draco Malfoy, he was their age and he should have been smart enough to not buy into the insanity. The fact that he had made her lose all respect she had for him. Not that there was a whole lot to start with, but she had set him apart from Crabbe and Goyle, but he was on their level now.

Although Crabbe was dead. Hermione felt nothing about it. She had watched Crabbe's mother sobbing away through the Inquiry and still she had felt nothing. He brought it on herself and that woman was stupid enough to encourage him. Well she got what she paid for.

Hermione knew that there was a part of her that had grown cold. She had trouble empathising with the suffering of those who had brought so much to others who had done nothing to bring this on.

There wasn't any room in Harry and Ron's compartment for her, it was so full of their admirers. People weren't ignoring her, she just wasn't in the mood to talk. In the end, she ended up sitting with Luna, who seemed to get that she didn't want to talk about it. Otherwise it was an uneventful train ride.

The same happened in the great hall, Harry was sitting next to Ginny with Ron across from them, surrounded by people interested in every word they said.

Ms. McGonagall stood up and took the podium. It was the first time she had seen anyone other than Dumbledore take the podium to welcome the students back. It almost made her tear up.

"Welcome back." Ms. McGonagall started. "We are all glad to return this year after the difficulties of last year. Extensive repair work has been conducted throughout the structure, but there are a few areas that are still off limits due to ongoing reparations work. This includes the third floor, the Herbology green houses and the bridge which I am told is not fully co-operating yet. I am afraid anyone heading down that way is just going to have to go the long way."

Ms. McGonagall went onto an extensive welcome and an introduction of new staff members including some strangers in the Arithmancy and Defence of the Dark Arts disciplines. Hermione actually tuned out for a while and looked around the room. Most students were listening, some were whispering to each others. First years looked starry eyed and terrified.

She met with Draco Malfoy's cold gray eyes as she scanned the room and her eyes narrowed. He didn't back down. She would have expected him to, out of embarrassment and shame if nothing else. They stared at each other for a moment while Hermione tried to communicate to him that he had forfeited his right to be here.

Eventually he smirked and looked away, but it looked a little put on which pleased her immensely. She wasn't going to take any grief from him this year, she decided. If he pulled his usual stuff, she would actually hex him and she didn't really care if it bothered anyone. He didn't belong here anymore, after all. All those years of him telling her she didn't belong here, now it was actually him that didn't. How ironic.

"...student wellbeing after such a difficult period, we have decided that a competition would do wonders for bolstering school spirit. Now it is too short notice to organise a Triwizard tournament and we are not due to host the next one, but instead we have designed a school wide tournament of a more academic nature." Ms McGonagall prattled on. "Each school will choose three competitors for their team, which can be any student belonging to that house, to compete in a tournament that will run throughout the year."

A murmur broke out amongst the students, which got Hermione's attention. She looked around and everyone looked confused, whispering amongst each other. She asked the third year sitting next to her to fill her in on what she'd missed.

The news didn't please her. An academic competition. That was her territory. This meant everyone would expect her to compete and she didn't want to. She was not up for something like the Triwizard tournament. It almost killed Harry.

Although being an academic tournament probably meant it was more sedate, but really, she didn't want to muster the energy to care about a competition. She wondered if there was any chance she could escape without being included.

The fact that everyone at the table was obviously talking about her indicated that the chances might be low.

"Each house must have their teams in place by the end of the week." Ms. Gonagall said with a great smile, which frankly looked odd on the woman. "With that, I sincerely welcome you all back. I am so very pleased to see you all. Now onto the sorting ceremony."

Hermione wondered if it was rude to leave during the sorting ceremony. It obviously was, but she just wanted to go to bed. However, she did as her upbringing required and sat through the ceremony, clapping every time a student got sorted.

There was intense excitement in the common room after they were let go. Apparently the Gryffindor team had already been selected, it was her, Parvati and Vicky Frobisher. It was treated as settled.

"You're going to be clean them out, Hermione." Harry said as he came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"I don't want to be in a competition, Harry."

"I know they suck, but you just have to. I did it. Now its your turn. You're our ace, Mione, you simply cannot turn this down. This is about house pride." Harry said and Hermione had trouble arguing a logical point in contention. The house pride thing didn't resonate like it used to, but she knew it meant a lot to Harry. How could she argue?

So she was on the team, she just had to accept it.

"Finally something happening in this school that I am not in any way involved with." Harry said with a proud sigh.

Hermione could only nod. She let Harry have his moment. He deserved a moment.

Just before lunchtime of Friday, the elected teams had to meet in the Headmistresses office. The Ravenclaws were already there when Hermione, Parvati and Vicky arrived. Michael Corner, Terry Boot and Su Li.

Tough competition, Hermione acknowledged. The Hufflepuffs arrived next, Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley. No surprises there. Now they were just waiting for the Slimies.

They arrived late, as per usual. Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy.

You have got to be kidding, Hermione said to herself. Malfoy? They chose him? Theo she could understand, she didn't know Blaise, but serious, Malfoy, his head was too far stuck up his own backside to be of any use, surely.

"Now." McGonagall said. "There will be a series of five competitive sessions, where you will be expected to achieve a number of tasks and solve some difficult problems. The people of Hogsmead have kindly lent us the village and its surrounds for the tournament, so you will have access to all of Hogsmead and its contents for the competition."

"Each session will run for three days and you will be expected to stay within the competitive area during that time. When a session is running, you may not leave the area, you may not consult the library or have any contact with any student not in the competition. Equally you may not discuss the competition or conduct any activity related to the competition outside of your house team when back in the school. Breach of these rules will mean disqualification."

"The first team to achieve the tasks the competition sets out, will win the tournament as well as the house cup. The whole student body will know of the achievements of each team after each session. I expect a fair competition. It will not be supervised, but there will a tribunal available in the event of any disputes or disciplinary action."

"The first session is in two weeks time. The second is in November. The third in January. The fourth in March, and the final session is in April. I wish you all the best of luck and have great expectations from you all. I know this will be a fun competition and will rally the students of this school."

"What will the others be doing during this time?" Terry Boot asked.

"There will not be classes on while the sessions are running." McGonagall said. "But do not mistake me, Mr. Boot, this is a great privilege, competing for your house. Now off you go."

The teams all dispersed after a final eyeing over of each other.

"I don't mind being in a competition with Michael Corner." Parvati said as they walked back to their common room. "Not at all. He is looking so ... grown up."

Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. Since her and Ron's relationship fizzled out just after the war ended, she had no interest in boys.

"There are no girls on the Slytherin team." Vicky said.

"That's because they are all thick as planks." Parvati said.

"The Ravenclaw team will be the worry." Hermione said. "I imagine the Slytherins will be too lazy. The Hufflepuffs, maybe."

"But they may have an advantage with their knowledge of the darker magic." Vicky said.

"I hardly think they will design a competition that will use dark magic." Hermione responded.

"We'll just have to put some mirrors up, that would get at least Blaise and Malfoy stuck." Parvati said and they all could stop having a laugh at the Slytherins' expense.

It felt really good to laugh. It had been a while.