Lifelines (Draco X Hermione)

Chapter 1 PROLOGUE

HARRY POTTER sat in the compartment of the Hogwarts Express with his friends. The train whistled as it pulled into Kings Cross Station. It was a strange year; the usual gaggle of excitable students were absent. In its stead were sluggish movements and pale faces. It was the first time for many, if not most, that students would see the castle again since the war. "You write to me if you need anything," Molly told her troop before pressing kisses on the crown of each of their heads. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny took one final breath and boarded the train. There was a cloud of dread pipping out over the train, the thick smog of dread and worry. For all the students, this would be the first time they saw the castle since the war.

The whole trip, no one said a word.

Ginny and Harry had their hands clutched as they stared out into the distance. They had taken this train countless times, but Granger couldn't help but wonder if they were on the lookout out of habit, or if they were trying to familiarise themselves with getting on with their lives. Mr and Mrs Weasley had given their kids a long speech about not letting the war take any more of their childhoods away from them. There was no room for argument when they nodded and sipped their tea that evening. Hermione couldn't help but feel dread pile up in her stomach, in fact, she had tried reading the same sentence five times to no avail. The air in the carriage room was too thick and uncomfortable. "I am going to get some air" without another word she hurried out of the cart.

Something in her heart told her that Ronald would try to follow her, glancing back she noticed a mop of distinct Weasley red hair, and she ducked into the corner of the carriage quickly. "Watch where you are going" a voice sneered behind her. Hermione didn't care who it was, all that she didn't want to talk to Ron until she had figured out what to say to him. They had constantly been surrounded by people for the week leading up to the start of the school year. With an overflowing house, Ron had promised her that they would speak later. She knew him well enough to know that later had meant now.

"Please keep it down-"

Standing in front of her was Draco Malfoy. Her mouth sealed shut as she stared up at him with horror. She hadn't seen him since the days leading out of the war. Otherwise, she had seen his grim face on the newspapers as his family name had been dragged into countless scandals. His repeating movements from the Daily Prophet repeated in her eyes. His parents were locked up in prison, and he had undergone reconciliation trainings. Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him, as she noted his tiered eyes and pail skin. She chose not to say a word.

"Want to drag me down again, do you?" he sneered in irritation. Perhaps the training had not worked, Hermione thought. Regardless of that, she could hear steps approaching them. She pushed herself into the corner and held her breath as Ron passed and entered the next carriage. "Well, Weasley must be right rotten ogre if you prefer me" Draco mused at himself. She felt too tired to rebuttal his statement, and so took a deep breath instead.

"Shut it Malfoy" she mumbled after a lengthy pause. Hermione wasn't even sure if she was convinced by her own words but chose again to not say anything. With the coast clear, she walked briskly back into the carriage she had fled from. Interestingly she couldn't help but replay the scene in her head. Concluding that Malfoy's once bright eyes looked dull and lifeless, his usual neat and tidy look was replaced by a crumpled shirt and ill-fitting clothing. And yet he was still the same Draco Malfoy she had grown up detesting. If his former allegiance to Voldemort had not been enough, he was a right royal git. He had spent most of their childhood tormenting her and making her feel inadequate and horrible.

Ginny looked like she was about to say something, Hermione chose to intervene; "I know he is looking for me, and I do not want to speak to him or about any of it". The youngest Weasley closed her lips and looked over to Harry for help.

"You will have to talk to him eventually Hermione, you know that right?" he started. Eventually felt like a long way away. It sounded infinitely better than today. Besides she would be stupid to venture out of the carriage again in case she would bump into Malfoy. Pondering that she sat down neatened her skirt and picked up her book. The words looked like the alphabet soup pasta that her parents made her as a child. She gave up quickly.

"I know that, Harry." She added, bringing a wave of silence to their compartment.

It felt strange to embarking on a journey with no purpose. At first, her mission was to figure out the whole magic and being a witch, then she got tied to Harry Potter and every waking moment became about him and saving the whole wizarding world. Now it was all over. She felt empty at the thought of 'just' returning to Hogwarts, just walking down the hallways, and just attending classes. Hermione realised that she was not quite certain how to be just a normal student anymore.

"Hermione, I was looking everywhere for you" Ron's voice stated at the door. She found the pitch irritating to hear. But sucked in a breath and searched her brain for a lie.

"Oh, I was just in the loo," she stated quickly. Lying had never been her forte, for anyone who knew her, would notice her voice increase an octave, and her eyes fidget to avoid eye contact. Unfortunately for Hermione Granger, they all knew her too well, but even Ginny knew better to interject and question her motives. Her answer was loud and clear, Hermione did not want to talk to anyone.

"Oh, I can see I have interrupted something" Luna's voice broke the silence. It was like a gust of fresh air hit the room. Luna was the true hero of the room, Hermione concluded as she cleared a space for the girl to sit and join them.

"You haven't interrupted a thing, please come in Luna" Ginny almost pleaded, behind her stood Neville Longbottom "and you too Neville" Ginny added. The new additions made the last hour of the trip fly by, with Lunas non-stop chattering and Neville agreeing to everything anyone said, Hermione, put down her book and started out of the window. It felt clearer now why Harry and Ginny had been so focused, they were preparing their minds to step out of the carriage, ready to face whatever was outside the safety of the world. Hogwarts had always been an unpredictable place. Even though their fight was officially over, everyone's hearts knew that it would never be.

The last Death Eaters had gone into hiding, while some like Luscious Malfoy had been too proud to hide, others scurried into darkness. They had infiltrated the castle before, it was silly not to think that they would not do it again. Hate was such a strong feeling, that fuelled so many people and wizards alike to do horrible things. It was a cycle, around and around. Just like her muggle parents washing machine. It would stop for a moment, to allow them to remove the clean clothes and air them out, but eventually, the same clothes would be stuffed back in, the soap would go in, and the cycle would continue. Somehow returning to Hogwarts felt like that. That she was stuck in the drum of the matching, waiting for random articles of clothing to join her, only to be swished around and around and around.

"Make sure you are changed into your uniforms; we shall be arriving shortly" a voice repeated down the hall. The dark coloured uniform felt comfortable again, but Hermione couldn't help but notice how the fitting of the clothes had changed since she was a girl. She was grateful for tights to cover her legs and decided that she would take the topic of trousers to the headmistress's office for urgent attention.