Blood Bound

Chapter 1 - Prima

Sitting alone in her train compartment, Hermione stared out the window at the Scottish landscape absentmindedly while she dragged her thumb across the fore-edge of the book in her hands. Truthfully, she hadn't read the book the entire ride or in the two weeks prior to her trip when she picked it up from Flourish and Blotts. If someone were to ask her what it was about, she wouldn't be able to tell them. She hadn't even read the blurb on the back before she purchased it, but the sound the pages had made when she dragged her thumb across them, had produced the first ounce of genuine comfort she had felt since the day after the final battle.

A soft knock on her compartment door brought her out of her thoughts and she took a deep breath as the door rolled open to reveal a young boy -who looked to be probably in his third year- nervously bouncing on his toes as he informed her the Head's meeting was happening now before the train was to arrive in half an hour.

With a quick thank you and a forced smile, she dismissed the boy and turned away as he left running down the narrow hall to go tell his friends about how he met war heroine Hermione Granger and it was SO fun she's SO nice. Once the door to her compartment was safely shut and locked, she shucked off her woolen Weasley jumper and tucked it into her trunk with her denims before she donned her uniform and of Hogwarts robes. Fastening her tie and pinning her head girl badge to the front, she downed a numbing potion and chased it with a few generous sips from the small flask she kept tucked into her bra before braving the world beyond the compartment door.

"Ah Miss Granger, punctual as always" greeted professor McGonagall when she slipped into the Headmistress' office in the first train car. "So nice to see you've chosen to return this year, it is a shame Mister Weasley and Mister Potter did not choose to return with you". The professor offered Hermione a warm but tight smile and gestured with the slightest of nods for her to take her seat in one of the two chairs opposite her at her desk.

"You as well Headmistress, Harry and Ron send their regards" was all she gave in response, conversation was tedious for her nowadays since she knows everything everybody says before the words come out of their mouth.

"Of course" the headmistress nodded in acknowledgement, pursing her lips in at her short reply which really wasn't necessary since her disappointment was rolling off her in waves. "Well the head boy should be arriving momentarily and then we can begin our portion of the meeting before we call in the prefects". As the words left McGonagall's lips, the door to the compartment slid open with an obnoxious squeak that grated on every one of Hermione's remaining nerves.

She instantly confused when Ernie didn't immediately commence his usually babbling, so she turned herself in her chair to see if he had actually walked into the compartment or if someone had just opened the door in passing. She barely managed to keep her jaw from falling open in confusion when her gaze met a pair of cold steel coloured eyes instead of the warm chocolate ones she had anticipated.

"Mister Malfoy thank you for joining us to promptly, as I'm sure Mister Weedly informed you our previous candidate for head boy Mister Macmillan last minute decided to withdraw himself from the Head position for personal reasons." The headmistress surprisingly greeted Malfoy just as warmly as she had greeted the Golden Girl herself moments earlier, at which Hermione's jaw did fall open in shock. The professor didn't even like Malfoy before he almost killed Dumbledore and let death eaters into the school -not that she held it against him- so seeing the headmistress be so nice was flooring.

Trying her best to reign in her emotions and put an end to what she is confident was a very impressive impersonation of a goldfish, she turned back to face the headmistress as Malfoy took the seat next to her without a word. As he sat, Malfoy nodded once to Hermione in greeting meeting her eyes so briefly it might have not even happened, then turned his attention to the headmistress.