A Thin Line Between Love & Hate: Rewritten
... Silence
Disclaimer: I started school just today so I didn't get in to Hogwarts. J.K Rowling would have gotten in…

I am now 'riding solo' without a beta so if you're interested let me know :) Also I apologise for the late update but I have the outline of the next few chapters done so expect longer and quicker updates. Which has to be a good thing, right?

…

The sky bleeds from a pale grey to darker ebony and the temperature drops considerably in the already cool compartment.

Silence surrounds the pair, uninterrupted until a sharp whimper escapes and hangs in the air. The sleeping occupant struggles against the seat for a split second, her face twisting in to a look of anguish but no movement is made to awaken her and face soon relaxes.

He takes no notice of her, choosing to consider his overwhelming situation and letting his mind wander, wondering how on earth he's going to handle the year.

He hadn't always enjoyed silence. Although it did give him time to think, calculate and predict others actions so he was never left unguarded. Silence became a regular occurrence from his childhood and over time he came to accept it, so much that he came to relish the silence he got later in life. His eyelids flicker shut to calm his overactive memories.

He wishes he had asked more about his genes, loathing the concept of uncertainty and the unknown. He realises he didn't ask much at all, preferring to reassure his mother with the little time he had with her before the school year started and not having her scare herself with research which he could accomplish himself.

He brings himself back to the silence and finds comfort in it, mere seconds before screams suddenly and unexpectedly echo in his mind, he can't comprehend anything else while he stumbles to his feet, alert. Breathing short and fast, he pierces the barrier of silence and his eyes fall on her, confused.

She's still sleeping; mumbling in her sleep, brow furrowed and her bottom lip tugged unconsciously between her teeth but sleeping none the less. She's almost curled up on herself by this point, back pressed firmly against the seat.

He hears them again, louder as she squirms. Terrifyingly vivid screams. He keeps thinking they could be her screams but her lips haven't moved. He slowly sits back down as they quieten for a moment, thinking they'll just go away but they get louder and louder, almost deafening. He can't think and giving up, he strides and yanks open the door, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. His head falls back against the closed door, separating him from the compartment.

What the hell just happened?

Making his way cautiously back in to the room, he grabs his things thinking he might as well get changed while she's asleep.

He passes the compartments in confident strides, hoping to remain unnoticed but he can hear the hushed whispers coming from inside

"Is that Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy?"

"He actually came back? I thought they were just rumours that he was seen on the platform"

"He got the position of head boy? Is McGonagall mad?"

He has to smirk just a little at the last voice as he himself had thought the exact same. Glancing down at the badge gleaming in his hand, he's in shock himself. When the letter arrived, inviting all students the opportunity to repeat their previous year, he wasn't even sure he was attend at all. Much less receive a Head Boy badge. Although the letter offered to let him give up the badge and return regardless, he felt shocked that the thought of giving up the badge hadn't crossed his mind beforehand.

He does still wish he never had thought of returning because hadn't considered a future that school involved and now it's all he can think about, wishes he could attend the classes and not the school itself. If you could even still call it a school, reports claimed that the rebuilding of the castle was going well but it would still be a shell of its former self. Would always have the stains of tortured memories that he had no desire whatsoever to relive but it was a show of strength, going back.

Reopening the school showed an act of strength.

…

Hermione startles awake, blinking a few time to clear her sleep fogged mind. She sits up and stretches, slowly feeling the tension start to leave her body. The rapidly decreasing daylight draws her attention to the window and with a startled gasp she realises how long she must have slept as she should be changed and gathering her things right about now.

She hurries to get changed and in her haste, she collides with the last person she wants to see. Truthfully, she had forgotten he was supposed to be sitting in their compartment and she glares as she realises he's already gotten changed; she's going to be so late to brief the latest prefects.

"Watch where you're going"

"I wouldn't have to if you had woken me up" she hisses.

"Oh sorry, did I miss the conversation where I was responsible for how long you go in to dreamland?" he sneers.

"No but it would've been decent" she almost growls, still annoyed and slightly embarrassed with herself for falling asleep in the first place. He looks taken back for a moment before but his trademark sneer slips back in to place.

He had forgotten how amusing she was when he managed to get under her skin. He moves closer and she angrily matched his step which leaves them closer that he thought.

"Don't confuse me with your little friends, if you want decency go fall asleep around them. I'm sure Weasley would be more than happy to try and wake you up"

"You're insufferable; it just would have been nice off you wake me up okay?"

"Why Granger, are we still that naïve to believe that everyone wants to help a third of the golden trio?" he mocks, staring down at her.

She scowls in frustration and touches her hair self-consciously "I'm not naïve, it's just… Oh I don't have time for this"

He feels quite pleased with himself when she storms away from him.

Infuriating little toad!

"Can't wait to share a dorm with that" she mutters sarcastically.

Shared dorm. She feels like screaming why me? as the thought hits her. Clearly when someone thought a shared dorm would be beneficial to both heads they must not have taken the possibility that the two heads would loathe each other in to consideration, or maybe they just assumed that they could at least be civil towards one another.

Although maybe they could learn to be civil, they would be working closely and it would make everything more difficult, after all they did have a job to do and things couldn't be worse than previous years.

She can feel the eyes of curiosity on her as she passes by the returning student's compartments. She sighs in frustration; she never liked being the centre of attention, preferring to stay in the background. The only time she had really appreciated the attention was the stares she got from attending the Yule Ball, after the effort she went through.

Choosing to look at the ground than acknowledge the passengers, she quickens her steps to the bathroom to get changed.

As she slips her robes through her arms and over her head, she feels immediately better, safer and feeling like the confident Hermione Granger again. She finally feels that returning was a good idea.

Her pace to the prefect's dorm speeds up as she realises how late she seems to be. Even though the talk isn't going to take long, she'd rather have the ability to leave time at the end for questions or queries.

She's surprised to find him waiting on her outside the compartment door,

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, Granger? Waiting on you" he states simply and she's stunned for a moment, having expected him to either started without her or shown up impossibly late.

He raises an eyebrow in curiosity "Well shall we?"

He opens the door for her.

…

Their presence isn't acknowledged at first; the house prefects' deep in conversation and he can pick up clearly on their muffled speculation 'who the heads could be'. The Slytherin's aren't included, which he can hardly find surprising; the girl inspecting her nails and the boy next to her reading a quidditch magazine.

Draco's quite thankful not to recognise any of the prefects- all except one but from the warm smile Hermione directs at the Gryffindor students, he assumes she knows them.

He honestly can't remember seeing any of the faces and having a list of names to go with the faces doesn't help either.

Dennis Creevey, Natalie MacDonald- Gryffindor

Stewart Ackerley, Orla Quirke- Ravenclaw

Kevin Whitby, Laura Madley- Hufflepuff

Astoria Greengrass, Malcolm Baddock- Slytherin

Well Astoria is the exception, he recognises her name but he can't picture spending time with the girl in front of him, she seems to have grown up over the summer, a lot. He still manages a smirk as her eyelashes flutter flirtatiously in his direction.

Hermione states a polite cough and she has captured everyone's attention, as he moves to stand a little bit closer. Well she had everyone's attention as he seems to have acquired the attention of the female occupants in the room. At first he thinks its shock but after a moment of the blatant stares and smiles, he thinks it could be them vying for his attention, so he plasters on one of his most charming smiles as Hermione tries half-successfully to bring their attention to her.

"Now" she starts confidently "Hello, thank you for waiting, as our latest prefects in the school you will be under the direction of the older prefects whom I'm sure you all know?"

Their heads nodded in agreement and she continued "I'm sure your duties were stated in your letter but just a recap, prefects are allowed to take House points away from other students in their own house as a penalty for rule-breaking, but you're not allowed to take points from other prefects or students in other houses, although you can give detentions as a form of punishment. Your duties are to patrol the corridors of the train, which the older prefects have been doing and you will be requested to patrol the train if you return home on holidays.

You also patrol hallways to ensure that other students are not breaking curfew and there is a bathroom with a large, pool-like bath on the fifth floor that is reserved for prefects and Quidditch captains. It is located at the fifth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered and you are free to use it within curfew. One of the older prefects is normally chosen to show first years to their common room so that won't be an issue for you. There will be monthly meetings to produce patrol schedules and express any non-threatening concerns you may have, they are compulsory by the way and abuse of the power of being a prefect could result in your dismissal as a prefect, which is a huge honour"

She smiles reassuringly as the other students seem quite overwhelmed and turns to Draco to raise an eyebrow which asks anything to add? She's a lot closer than he remembers her being and he can't help but notice that her eyes aren't quite brown, the brown he used to associate with her mud-blood status, they're actually a honey colour near the pupil with flecks of gold, they're mesmerising. He's drawn in, like a moth to a flame.

Enticed almost.

"Malfoy?"

He yanks his head back as if burned and sees something flash in her eyes he doesn't quite understand and shakes his head quickly which brings the attention back to him. Giving him a strange look, she rambles on but he's long tuned out since then. He's trying to figure everything out but things just won't add up, it's so frustrating but before he knows what so do, they're getting up to leave and she's still looking at him suspiciously as the girls go out of their way to "brush" past him- Astoria included but she's the only one expected.

The train should be arriving at Hogsmeade Station any moment so they make their way back to their Head compartment in silence.

…

With the thestral-pulled carriage bringing them ever closer, the castle towers precariously over them. It's fully restored but the cracks, only dark magic can form, stay. Hermione appreciates the fact that they can't be removed, they almost feel like battle scars, a reminder of what was gained and what was lost. Drawing closer to the building, she referred to so many times as a second home, doesn't seem to affect quite so much this time but she can still feel her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Walking in to the great hall she feels like a ghost drifting through the battle and she notices Harry hug Ginny that little but tighter. She's grateful for Ron having lifted her spirits on the train but she knows that being back here must be slowly killing him. She's glad nonetheless that he's focusing on keeping a smile on everyone's face, she admires that. Well that and the fact he's really matured, he grew up when everyone wasn't looking.

"Could I have you attention please?" a weathered but happier looking Minerva McGonagall raises from her chair as Headmistress "Before we let the feast begin, I have a few starts of term announcements. First of all, the dark forest on the edge of the grounds is, as always, out of bounds to all students. Also, Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that products from the joke shop "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" are strictly prohibited, along with other excluded items, a list of which you may find attached to Mr Filch's door. Finally, it is my dearest hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable year at Hogwarts. You have all been through so many troubles, and you have overcome each of them in turn.

You have suffered the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, the sometimes questionable reign of the ministry and teachers who may not have had your best interests at heart, the death of Professor Dumbledore, and the horrors of the Carrows, but here now after the storm is where our future can finally start, the war has ended, Voldemort is dead, and there is peace once more. I could not be more proud of any of you. Yes, you have suffered heavy losses, but you have risen from them and now it's time to put the past behind us and look to the future. It's up to you to build a future for yourselves and for your children to come. You have seen the mistakes others have made, and you have learned from them. Bare this in mind while you study with us this year; you all have the power to shape the future and raise the wizarding world from its own ashes but for now I suggest you enjoy" and with a flourish, each table in turn was laden with food

She feast is just how she remembers it and she remembers to clap when appropriate, even to nod along to something she isn't quite sure she's being asked, although she thinks it could be are you okay? And she is okay, really. She just feels a little dazed, like she's in a dream and she isn't sure if she wants to wake up or not.

She feels emotionally exhausted and despite her earlier nap on the train, really just want so crawl in to bed so she's grateful when the last of the desserts have vanished and McGonagall rises once more

"Now, your beds await you, good night to you all and good luck with you studies this year"

Everyone leaves the hall, shambled together. As they reach the entrance, Ron pulls her in to a hug before they go their separate ways and she waits for a few moments on the outskirts to make sure the first years are being guided to their rightful common rooms and to watch her friends return together before she trails her way through the maze of staircases feeling slightly alone … "meus semper" she whispers to a curiously blank painting with a silver star etched in to the corner and it opens, leading her in to a spacious living room and kitchen area, neutrally coloured.

She notices a Gryffindor symbol emblazed on the door closest to the kitchen, which she rightly assumes to be her room. Her eyes flicker to the matching door opposite her own, right next door to the bathroom she notes in irritation as she was really hoping to have the least amount of contact possible or as little as sharing a dorm would allow.

Knowing she'll need to be perfectly rested for what awaits her in the morning, she climbs in to her bed, the sheets welcoming her back like an old friend and at last she feels at home.

…

The feast is a blur of colour and strange looks being cast his way, blocking them out and focusing on McGonagall seems like that best plan. He can't remember the speech ending or how he found his way to be standing in front of the long blank painting but he remembers the feast and the reassuring babble of conversation going on around him, he feels safe. Something he hasn't felt in a while.

Entering their common room, he feels relieved that she's already asleep. Hearing the faint sounds of blankets tossing and turning, he realises she must move around a lot in her sleep.

Changing in to a pair of pyjama bottoms, he moves to the small kitchen area to find the overhead cupboards stocked with a range of beverages and recognises a muggle appliance he remembers using to make tea while when in hiding, a kettle he remembers it being called and so manages to make a cup of earl grey, too exhausted to preform even a simple heating spell.

He settles on to the sofa, the rustling of pages and the even breathing coming from the opposite room entwine well in to the little hours of the morning, the pale flicker of the shrinking candle providing little light but he can't bring himself to move and change it. He's been like this for hours, scanning the pages of the few books he managed to borrow from his library before he left.

He growls in frustration as another book adds to the ever-growing pile of being infuriatingly useless. Clearly from the information in the books, their writers haven't been near a veela before in their entire lives or are just utterly stupid. Most of the 'so-called information' is just ridiculous

'They sometimes appear as swans, snakes, horses, falcons, or wolves that they can shape-shift into?'

'…are believed to be female fairy-like spirits or nymphs who live in the wilderness and sometimes in the clouds?'

'Muggle Mythology' he sneers, not even sure why he bothered to even flick through it. He knew it would be absolute rubbish. What on earth could muggles know about veelas and why would a wizard bother to research what muggles thought constituted as myths?

He sighs even with the limited lines in each book he manages to slowly gather the basics,

Veela come of age between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. –They are very beautiful and enchant the opposite sex. –They have very sensitive senses. –Veela have to find a mate and will stop at nothing to have them, they are also very possessive. –When angry, scared, threatened or their mate is in danger, full-blooded veela transform to great half-bird creatures and will kill to protect themselves or their mate. –Their previous personality is heightened or in some cases, changes dramatically.

'Veela are a race of semi-human, semi-magical hominids reminiscent of the Sirens of Greek mythology' he reads before the paragraph ends and the book moves on to several detailed chapters on werewolves.

The last book in the pile is a battered and well-worn copy of The Travel Trilogy- Gilderoy Lockhart. He isn't really sure what he expected when he opened up the chapter, it starts a long winded tale of how he met a veela along a dark forest at twilight, enchanting him and then fleeing with his soul which he had to battle with a water nymph to get back. He snorts derisively of the ridiculous speech, which quickly turns in to a scowl upon reading the next paragraph which expressed with people's opinion on veela.

He realised early on in his research that veela aren't well liked and most cases aren't trusted but he hadn't realised wizards still thought they deserved to be placed in captivity with the rest of their kind, the extremes of some people's prejudice stated 'Veela are often underestimated for being the dark creatures that they rightfully are. Although having the title of dark creature unjustifiably removed they are still armed with manipulation abilities far greater than those of the imperious curse and their unstable fiery emotions leading to dangerous situations and..'

He threw down the book in disgust, refusing to let his mind to spend another second on that drivel. Fuming, he gives up on his research for the night. It's just so overwhelming; he just wanted a quiet year. Just one year and he could've started life the way he wanted to from first year, the plan that become horribly misguided over the years. The years of deceit, revenge and lies which he became so entangled in. He had his life planned, the way he wanted to grow up, what kind of person he wanted to be and not his fathers. He wanted his life back and Hogwarts, he decided was going to be the start.

He could do this; he wouldn't die without her, whoever she was.

…