Chapter 1 – A Sleepless Night

Hermione's POV

We'd returned to Hogwarts to complete our education; get our NEWTs. After the final battle we'd stayed to help with the clear up; helping to rebuild the old school. As much as the school looked mostly the same nothing was ever going to be the same again. For one thing there was a whole extra tower that had been dedicated to the eighth year students. As there would be eight year groups at Hogwarts for the next few years to make up for the missed opportunities of a wartime education, or at least that's what the teachers have been saying. Another thing that's changed is the way people look at us. We're the heroes; the golden trio and everybody smiles at us, laughing at our jokes, patting our backs in gratitude and high fiving us in the halls. It's completely absurd. Ron loves it. That's another thing that's changed; Ron. He's different... Everywhere he goes a gaggle of girls follows. He doesn't mind in the slightest. He happily lets them drape themselves over him. I've even seen him make out with a few of them. I know... I know... you're wondering what happened... you thought we'd get together – that's what everybody thought but everything's different now.

Harry is nothing like Ron. He is quiet, gentle, kind. He's my best friend. He doesn't walk around the castle like he owns it or something. He's back with Ginny again and he told me last night that he's thinking that he might propose at some point. He loves her. I'm so happy for him. He deserves to be happy. Harry is hardly around at the moment. He wanted to come back to school and have just one normal teenage experience – one year of school without a dark wizard attacking but unfortunately the ministry are constantly asking for his help with catching and trying the ex-death eaters.

Talking about ex-death eaters, there's someone else who's different; Draco Malfoy. Don't get me wrong he's still a complete arse but he's more humble or something. I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. Perhaps its living with the other eighth years but something has definitely changed. He's almost nice.

Hermione put down her journal and quill on the table next to her arm chair. She was sat in the eighth year common room. It was pretty late and the rest of the students had already gone to bed. Hermione frowned. She really didn't want to go to bed. She had been having nightmares ever since the final battle and she didn't want to wake the Gryffindor girls up with her screaming. She decided to close her eyes for a few minutes before going up the stairs to bed.

Draco's POV

Draco sighed, it's bloody not fair. I'm exhausted and I can't bloody sleep. He looked around the Slytherin boys' eighth year dorm. It was a bit messy. The other Slytherin boys; Theo, Blaise and Greg were all fast asleep. Draco decided to go downstairs for a glass of water. He was surprised to find the common room's lamps were still lit. He wondered idly for a moment who would still be awake at such a late hour but as he looked around the room he couldn't see anyone. He grabbed a glass of water from the small kitchen area before going to sit on the sofa in front of the fire. He wasn't really watching where he was sitting and so was incredibly surprised when something underneath him screamed, "MALFOY GET OFF ME!"

Draco jumped up in shock, "fuck! Sorry Granger! I didn't see you there."

Hermione huffed, "don't worry about it."

Draco frowned slightly as he made his way over to a nearby armchair. "So why are you still up Granger?"

"Couldn't sleep," Hermione replied.

Draco looked sceptical, "you've still got your uniform on..."

"Fine! I haven't tried to sleep but I know I won't be able to sleep."

Draco couldn't help himself, he had to smirk, "why don't you think you'll be able to sleep?"

"Huh?"

"Why won't you be able to sleep?" Draco repeated.

"No, I heard you... I just don't know why you'd care."

"Because everything's different now," Draco replied honestly, "I'm allowed to care, if I want to care."

Hermione almost smiled, "I get nightmares."

"Me too," Draco admitted sadly, "If I'm honest I think everyone who fought in that battle has nightmares."

"But that's not what mine are about," Hermione whispered.

Draco looked suddenly distraught, "no I don't imagine it is."

Hermione looked passed Draco out the window, "what do you dream about Malfoy?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I'm not so sure about that... like you said everything's different now."

Draco looked into Hermione Granger's eyes considering what she had just told him. "I dream about Crabbe. I often wonder if I could have changed what happened, if perhaps I'd done something different. I dream about what would have happened if my parents had died in the final battle." He looked away from her, towards the fire, "I dream about all the ways I could have saved you from my aunt," he said it so quietly that Hermione almost questioned whether he'd actually said it or not. "And I also have nightmares about marrying Astoria Greengrass. My parents are trying to push my hand but I really don't want to marry her. She's... she's not what I want."

Hermione looked shocked at Draco's admission. Draco sighed, "I really hope you get some sleep, Granger. See you tomorrow." Draco took the steps two at a time. He desperately needed to escape. He didn't know what made him do it. Why did I tell her all those things? Draco asked himself as he entered his room

Harry's POV

If Hermione and Draco thought they were the only ones still awake, they were wrong. Harry was sat on his bed with his curtains drawn writing a letter to the Minister For Magic concerning an auror mission he had been asked to join.

Kingsley,

Of course, I'll help. I'll be at the ministry at 11am on Friday morning.

I will speak to Headmistress McGonagal tomorrow.

See you soon.

Harry.

He put the letter down on his bedside table ready to be taken to the owlery in the morning. He glanced over to Ron's empty bed and shook his head. Ron had been behaving badly ever since the end of the war. Harry had been sure that Ron and Hermione would have gotten together but instead Ron was going after every other girl around. They had only been back at school for a month but Ron had already dated Parvati Patil, Megan Jones from Hufflepuff and Sue Li from Ravenclaw and that was only the girls in the eighth year. Harry had lost count of the number of seventh year girls' Ron had been caught making out with. Hermione had been upset in the beginning but she now seemed completely unfazed by the whole thing. Ginny had put it down to grief, after all they had just lost a brother and Ron had also lost Lavender Brown in the final battle, but Harry wasn't comfortable giving Ron an excuse for his behaviour. It had caused several arguments between Harry and Ginny.

Pansy's POV

"Oh Weasley," Pansy smirked, "What are you doing out of the tower after curfew? Meeting up with one of your skanks?"

Ron's face went bright red, "don't tell me you want all the details Parkinson. Do you want to know who it was? Or perhaps how she moaned when I kissed her? Or do you want to know that I fingered her?" Ron pushed her up against the wall, "the thing is Parkinson, you call them skanks but the truth is you want me just as much as they do so what does that make you?"

"Fuck off Weasley," Pansy tried to escape.

"Gladly," Ron grinned, "that Millicent Bulstrode might look like a dog but she sure is good in a broom closet."

"Yuk," Parkinson frowned, feeling somewhat disappointed in her friend. Millie knew that she liked Weasley.

"That could have been you Parkinson," Ron laughed, "but you don't want me apparently."

Pansy shook her head, "nobody would actually want you... if you keep shagging half the school, you'll never find someone who actually cares about you."

"That's not true... there are plenty of girls who actually care about me."

"Like who?" Pansy countered.

"Hermione..."

"You broke her heart. She'll never date you."

"Luna..."

"Right, because you want to date Looney," Pansy smirked, "besides you laugh at her too much. She wouldn't date you."

"Erm..."

"And your sister doesn't count..."

"You care," Ron grinned.

"Yeah right! I'd never be stupid enough to date you," with that Pansy turned and walked back to the eighth year tower leaving a confused Gryffindor in her wake. She couldn't help but smile at herself.

Daphne was still awake when Pansy walked into their dorm, "hey where have you been?"

"Just walking," Pansy replied as she put on her pyjamas, "I ran into Weasley..." Pansy told Daphne all about her conversation with the ginger haired boy.

"I don't know why you like him," Daphne frowned.

"I don't know why you fancy Potter," Pansy retorted.

"Touché, it's so strange. Last year we'd never have even considered having crushes on Gryffindors."

"I know... what would my grandma say if she knew," Pansy giggled.