Chapter 1

It had been a year after Voldemort was defeated, Hogwarts had been rebuilt, and Harry and his friends were returning for their final year in Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall said they didn't need to and that they were qualified to begin their careers, but they insisted. There were also a few others in their year who were returning.

"Don't you think it'll be weird to sit with people a year younger than us in class?" Ron asked they searched for an empty booth on the Hogwarts Express.

"They're just for the subjects that are essential to your career choice, and the professors can't make a separate schedule for us eight years." Hermione explained.

As Harry reached out his hand to open the door to the booth, he felt another hand and his eyes widened to see Draco Malfoy. The two retracted their hands immediately and stared at each other. Harry hadn't seen Draco since his and his mother's trial where he testified how Draco refused to identify him when he was captured and how Narcissa lied about Harry being dead to Voldemort. The two thanked him afterwards, and not even the public had heard of them since.

A few minutes had passed and no one had uttered a word, not even an insult. Hermione and Ron stood at Harry's side while Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were at Draco's, and behind them was a slightly taller Slytherin with slightly pale skin, dark hair, and amber eyes which hid behind silver, rectangular glasses.

"Were you planning on taking this booth?" Draco finally asked. His tone was different; it didn't hold any of the arrogance or air of superiority to it as it did in the past years. Harry nodded in reply and Draco nodded before moving past the trio. Harry, Ron and Hermione were shocked; they had expected Draco to take the booth anyway, at least argue with them over it.

"Joseph, you're not staying at the prefects' compartment?" Hermione asked and the tallest Slytherin turned to her.

"No. I'll put away my stuff then head there for orientation" he replied in an even tone. "See you there, Head Girl."

"Hermione, who was that?" Ron asked as they got settled.

"Joseph Duskgem, Head Boy" the brunette replied, and stared at the confused boys. "Honestly? We've been having potions with him for over five years."

Harry was more surprised than confused. He thought he knew everyone Malfoy associated with. His mind then returned to the blonde and wondered why he had given them the booth, without a fight even. Maybe something had happened during the Malfoys' time out of the public eye. That was the only possibility Harry could think of at the moment, and that particular train of thought was disrupted by the arrival of Neville and Luna.

Hermione sat and sighed one of the seats, rubbing her face slightly. She was in the prefects' compartment and had just finished orientation. To say things weren't as she expected them to be would've been an understatement.

"I can feel you mentally crossing out 'professor' as a career choice." Joseph said as he handed her a cup of water.

"I guess I was just shocked." Hermione said as she sipped her drink. "I expected prefects to be proper and disciplined, not rowdy like children."

"Power will change people in different ways if they don't know how to handle it" was the Slytherin's cool reply and Hermione smiled. All it took was one glare from the Head Boy to silence the room.

"Is everything alright with Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "Him just letting us have the booth was extremely out of character."

Joseph looked at the brunette, not a single sign of emotion showed on his face or in his eyes. "We've all been through a lot. Draco's one of the few whose experiences were far worse than that of others'. It's changed him in many ways, both good and bad."

Hermione nodded and left it at that. Just as they were about to return to their friends, one of the staff handed them a letter from the headmistress. It read;

Mr. Duskgem, Ms. Granger,

Due to the size of the student body, old and new, and with repairs still ongoing, your regular dormitories cannot accommodate you. Given that not everyone from your year is returning, you will all be staying together in an improvised living space. Please pass the message along to your fellow eight-year students.

Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress

After reading the letter, Hermione's eyes were wide and Joseph was pinching the bridge of his nose, inhaling sharply. The two of them knew this could be disastrous, for several reasons.

"Well, there's no point in standing around." Joseph stated after downing a second cup of water. "Shall we let all hell break loose?"

"What?!" Harry, Ron, and Neville said in unison. Hermione had received the same reaction from the Hufflepuffs and her fellow Gryffindors, and she had no doubt that Joseph had the same experience with the Ravenclaws and his fellow Slytherins.

"McGonagall's gone mad." Ron exclaimed. "I'm telling you, one quarter of Hogwarts will be in ruins before the end of the first week."

"I don't think there'll be a problem as long as everyone can behave like mature adults." Hermione replied, looking directly at her boyfriend.

"I think it will be splendid to live with everyone else." Luna said dreamily. "We can all work together to keep the nargles away."

While Ron and Hermione argued, Harry played out how this could all go wrong. But he had this strange fixation on Malfoy and why he had acted the way he did earlier. The train eventually arrived at the station in Hogsmeade, and the students began pouring out. Just like in their fifth year, Harry and his friends rode carriages being pulled by thestrals. Upon arriving at the castle, Harry realized how small the number of students there was in his year. There were three other Gryffindors, three more Slytherins, four Ravenclaws, and four Hufflepuffs. They began climbing up the grand staircase, heading for the Great Hall, but all of them stopped in shock at the sight in front of them.

"Well, well, look who we have here" a deep, monotonous voice said.

"P-Professor Snape?" Neville stuttered. "You're alive?"

"Of course I'm alive" Snape said as he rolled his eyes. "Would I be standing here if I were not?"

"But how?" Ron asked.

Snape shot his signature glare at everyone there. "I don't owe a single one of you an explanation. Now follow me."

Everyone was confused as to why they were not heading for the Great Hall, but none of them wished to argue with the Potions Master. Professor Snape led them to the fourth floor corridor and stopped in front of a portrait of two knights.

"Iunctus" Snape said and the portrait opened. They entered a large, circular room with a huge hearth at the middle, surrounded by couches and lounge chairs. There were also several tables and chairs, shelves filled with books, and across the room were the corridors leading to the bedrooms.

"Thank you Severus, please see to the first years" Professor McGonagall said as she entered, and Professor Snape left. "I assume you've all guessed that this will be your home for the year?"

All the students nodded in reply.

"Professor, why aren't we at the Great Hall?" Hannah Abbott asked.

"As you know my dear, students are only supposed to stay at Hogwarts for seven years before graduating" Minerval explained. "Since the last year was invalidated and a lot of students in your year returned, and with repairs still ongoing, there isn't enough space in your house dormitories to accommodate you. So, we've created this temporary eight-year common room and dormitory.

"As you can see, there is a dining table here. While you may have your meals in the Great Hall, I advise you have your meals here instead" the headmistress continued. "Another reason why we created this place for all of you is due to the unwanted attention you'll be receiving. Yes, all of you are not Harry Potter, but you were all here a year ago, fighting against Voldemort and his forces. You may not realise it yet, but your names will go down in history. It is also this very reason that Ms. Lovegood will be staying here instead of the seventh-year Ravenclaw dormitories. Throughout the year since Voldemort's defeat, she has been hounded by peers, neighbors, even news publications to talk about what happened. Please do your best to make her feel welcome and safe."

"We'll make it as though she's an eight-year students as well" Padma said, and the other students nodded.

"Thank you all" Luna said with a smile.

"Seeing as how you are all adults and have rather flexible schedules, we've decided to grant you special permission to visit Hogsmeade when you are done with all your classes for the day" Minerva announced, exciting the eight-years. "I will say that this is a privilege. If you are caught abusing it or break any of the school's rules, we will revoke this privilege. All announcements will be posted on the bulletin board. If you have any questions regarding extracurricular activities, please speak to Ms. Granger or Mr. Duskgem. Potter a word.

As the other students gathered around Hermione and Joseph as they explained some rules, Harry sat across the headmistress at the dining table.

"How have you been, Potter?" She asked.

"I've been well professor." Harry replied. "My biggest headache so far has been the press. Thankfully, the Weasleys let me stay at the Burrow with them. I'm sure it's none of my business, but how did Professor Snape survive?"

"He had drank a potion beforehand that counteracted any poison, and kept him from bleeding out" Minerva explained. "It also slowed his heartbeat enough to make it seem like he was dead, but kept him alive as well. I know it was quite a shock to hear that you'd be living with members from other houses, but even with repairs finished, Hogwarts has still not fully recovered."

"It's alright professor" Harry said. "We all understand the situation."

Minerva nodded and stood, moving to talk to Hermione and Joseph before leaving.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Hermione.

"It's to give us the routes for the prefects' rounds, tell us which areas are off limits, and to discuss any special cases, if there are any" Hermione replied before giving Harry his schedule. "Oh, there are also only two beds per room, so go and see who'll be your roommate."

Harry gave a quick glance at his schedule and was happy that he didn't have any classes early in the morning, but dreaded that he had double potions three times a week.

"Hey Ron, found a roommate yet?" Harry asked and to his surprise, Ron actually nodded.

"Neville asked me first and I was going to say that you and I would be roommates, but he was hoping I could give him some advice…on girls" Ron explained quietly. "If it's not alright with you, then I can tell him so."

"No it's alright, really" Harry assured his friend. "Seamus, found a roommate yet?"

"I thought you and Ron would be rooming together?" Seamus asked.

"He and Ron have already agreed to room with each other" Harry explained.

Seamus agreed and Harry began walking around the common room when he overheard a conversation.

"Draco, I'm going to be back by eleven every night" Joseph said. "Until then, Blaise and Theo can stay with you."

"Can't I just come with you when you do your rounds?" Draco asked.

"I'll be walking around a lot. It's better if you stay here" the taller male said before looking at his other two housemates.

"Yeah, Dray, we'll have loads of fun" Blaise chimed in.

"We'll do whatever you want." Theo added.

Draco didn't look happy but he nodded. The Slytherins then went to fix their rooms, not noticing or acknowledging Harry, and the Gryffindor just stood there, dumbfounded by what he saw. Malfoy wasn't himself anymore. He didn't want his friend to leave, even though he knew he was head boy. And when he asked if he could come with him, he sounded fragile.

'What was going on?' Harry wondered.

"Here are the routes for each of the prefects' rounds, as well as the restricted areas." Professor McGongall said as she handed some papers to Hermione and Joseph. "Now Mr. Duskgem, I understand you have something to share about Mr. Malfoy." Hermione looked at the Slytherin, who simply nodded. "You may speak freely; we will not divulge any information to anyone."

"Unbeknownst to anyone other than our close friends, Draco has been living with my family for nearly half a year" Joseph explained. "A few weeks after their trial, Lady Narcissa left without a word to anyone, and it devastated Draco. He blames himself for her leaving, and has resulted in his drastic change of personality. My father, a healer at St. Mungo's, has diagnosed that Draco now has a fear of abandonment. Even if it's for a short time, separation from myself causes him to panic, but it's slightly mitigated if he is with any of our friends."

"I will have to inform the staff of Mr. Malfoy's condition" Minerva said and Joseph agreed. "What about your schedules?"

"Blaise, Theo, Draco and I all have pretty similar schedules, so there will be at least one of us with him in every class" Joseph replied.

"Has his mother tried contacting him, or you or your family?" Hermione asked and the Slytherin shook his head.

"My mother has sent letters, but they are returned unopened" Joseph explained. "She's tried to find her, but all efforts have been in vain."

There was silence for a short while. They all hated it because it was like accepting that there was nothing they could do.

"Well, I'll have Madame Pomfrey contact your father about any potions we need to have on hand, just in case" the headmistress finally said after a few minutes. "You are both excused."

"I'm sorry about Malfo… I mean Draco" Hermione said as the two were walking back to their dorms.

"You have nothing to be sorry about" Joseph stated.

"I know it's none of my business, and that I'm one of the last people you'd be expecting this from" Hermione began. "But if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."

The Slytherin looked at the brunette for a while before nodding and muttering a quiet "thank you."

AN: The students living in the 8th-year dorm;

Gryffindor: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Parvati, Dean, Seamus

Slytherin: Draco, Blaise, Theo, Pansy, Millicent, Daphne, Joseph (OMC)

Hufflepuff: Hannah, Susan, Justine, Ernie

Ravenclaw: Anthony, Michael, Lisa, Padma, Luna (special permission)