A New Beginning (Sequel to A Different Beginning)

Chapter Five - A Return to School

Delilah looked around her new dorm and wrinkled her nose. She had moved up to share a dorm with the seventh year girls. Tracy and Daphne had the beds on either side of her but she was still a bit nervous. Pansy and her groupies were still in the dorm. It was only Mala Crofton, as Janice Langston and Avena Penn were sixth years, but it still didn't do much for her. Janice and Avena had always pissed her off when she had shared a dorm with them, but actually being in the same room night after night with a woman that wanted her dead changed a lot.

She unpacked her things and was just folding her clothes when Pansy walked over to her.

"Listen Knight, just because you're giving out sexual favours to skip a year doesn't mean that I'm going to put up with it. This is my dorm and what I say goes." Pansy replied, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder.

Delilah rolled her eyes. "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

"Delilah?" Draco said from the doorway, his eyes darting back between her and Pansy.

"What are you doing up here?" She asked, as she hurried over to him.

He grinned and slipped his arms around her waist. "It's only the stairs that give off the alarm. I just flew to the top." He pulled out the shrunken broom from his pocket and she laughed.

"Very resourceful, indeed." She pulled his lips down to hers as Pansy glared at them. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides and her eyes shot daggers.

Draco's hands wrapped around her waist and he pulled her closer. "I love you. Are you okay in here?"

Delilah nodded. "I'll be fine."

Draco brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. "You can come to me at any time."

She smiled and kissed him again. "I know. Good night, Draco."

He grinned. "Good night." He brought his lips back down to hers and she sighed against his lips.

He tasted so wonderful. He always did, soft and like mints. She could smell his cologne and she burrowed closer, he was what she wanted. Her nerves were humming because she would be sharing a dormitory with Pansy, but that's not what worried her. What worried her was how much she had come to depend on having Draco around the entire summer. She was going to miss everything about him, even though they would still see each other every day. It wasn't going to be the same. This time, they had Pansy to contend with.

She deepened the kiss, nibbling at his lips as his hands twitched at her hips. She grinned against his mouth and slid her hands down to pinch his bum. He retaliated by softly biting her bottom lip. She pulled away, her eyes fluttering open and when she looked into the pale grayish blue eyes grinning at her, she knew. She wondered if she had always known on some conscious level.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked her, running his hand over the small of her back. Both of them were completely oblivious to the way that Pansy's teeth were crunching together and how her wand twitched in her hand.

Delilah nodded; a smile on her face. "I am. I just realized something though."

He grinned at her. "Mm, what's that?"

She smiled and kissed him again and then she whispered it against his lips. "I'm in love with you."

Draco's eyes widened in surprise and he grinned at her. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Go on to bed now."

He laughed. "Now wait a minute, I think we should celebrate this realization a bit."

Daphne grinned from where she stood next to her bed. "Nice one, Draco, off to bed now, love."

Delilah laughed and kissed him softly. "Good night." Then she carefully nudged him out the door and closed it in his face.

Draco stood on the landing, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet and he grinned. It was the perfect way to start the new school year. When he climbed back onto his broom, he was whistling.

Delilah turned to face the room with a stupid grin on her face. "I feel wonderful!"

Tracy grinned at her. "You look wonderful. It's easy to see that the two of you are crazy in love with each other. I've never seen Malfoy so cheerful."

Delilah grinned. "He is cheerful, and wonderful. He loves me and I love him, and ... we're going to get married!"

Pansy snorted. "If you think that's true then I've got something to say."

"No one cares what you have to say, Pansy," Daphne replied. "So why don't you just shut that hole in your face."

Mala glared at her. "Did she ask you to speak, Greengrass?"

Delilah's eyes met Pansy's as she continued to unpack her trunk. "What do you have to say, Pansy? You lost, I'm marrying Draco."

She smirked. "You may believe that ... but things aren't always what they seem."

"Meaning what?" Delilah asked.

Pansy just grinned at her. "Oh, I'm sure you'll find out eventually. I can definitely say that this is going to be one hell of an interesting year."

She turned and headed into the bathroom with Mala behind her and a feeling of dread came over Delilah. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but all she knew was that Pansy was holding some type of secret, and she was afraid that when she found out it would ruin all of their lives.

********

Ron stepped inside of his bedroom and looked around. He had his own little common room in front of the fire and a huge double bed in the corner. It was a large room and even provided a desk for him to do homework, as well as a place for him to order food up from the house elves.

Patrolling the corridors as Head Boy hadn't been as bad as he expected. He wasn't sure what he had really been expecting, but getting the badge hadn't been it. He had thought for sure that it would have gone to Harry, or even Draco. Dumbledore obviously thought he deserved the title and he wasn't going to complain. He just hoped that he could live up to what the badge stood for.

His eyes traveled over to the bathroom and he stepped inside. There was a large bathtub as well as a stand-up shower. Two sinks and mirrors outlined the counter with matching cupboards. He pulled open the door on the other side of the bathroom and grinned at Hermione who was carefully placing her belongings around her room.

Ron leaned against the door jamb of the bathroom and just watched her.

She was so beautiful at moments like this when she didn't think anyone was aware. She had changed out of her school robes into silk boxer shorts with pink hearts and to his surprise, his old Canons jersey. It made him smile to see her wearing it. Her hair was down and a bit damp from her shower and her toes were painted a bright pink. He watched as she began to place books from her trunk onto the bookshelf. She was humming a little tune as she worked and Ron tilted his head to watch the sway of her behind as she walked.

"I think those shorts should be mandatory in the uniform," he replied making her jump.

"Ron! You scared me," Hermione exclaimed, holding a hand over her heart. "What are you doing in here?"

He shrugged and stepped into the room. "Nothing really. After you headed up to bed, I did one more sweep with the new prefects who were unsure of exactly their job, then I came up to see our rooms. Very nice, I like that they join together through the bathroom. And I really like that I'm standing here without alarms going off. It gives me all sorts of interesting ideas."

"The Head Boy and Girl are supposed to be able to communicate with each other easily, which is why our rooms are attached and why you can be in here." Hermione explained. "In Hogwarts: A History it states that the founders considered boys to be less trustworthy than girls, but by the time they reached seventh year they figured the Heads could - why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, her hands fluttering up to her hair.

Ron licked his lips and placed his hands on her hips. "Do you have any idea what it does to me when you start spewing out facts like that from this genius brain of yours?"

Hermione blushed. "Ron, that's hardly -," she gasped when he pulled her against him and she could feel exactly what she did to him.

"I don't know what turns me on more, getting you angry or hearing you spew knowledge like a know-it-all."

"I do not act like a know-it-all!" She exclaimed angrily, her eyes flashing.

Ron's body reacted as he leaned in to nibble at her ear. "Or maybe it's a little of both."

Hermione pushed him back a bit. "Ron! This is not the time or place! We're supposed to set a good example for the students! You sneaking into my bedroom at night is not doing that! I think that it would be a lot better if you - oh," she murmured as his hands slid up the Canons' jersey to stroke over breasts. "Well, just for a moment."

He grinned against her neck as he nibbled at her earlobe, trailing along the side and up her jaw to her lips. "Yeah, just a moment." He scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed.

"Ron, we can't ... we're ... supposed to ... example," she moaned as he trailed kisses down her neck. His calloused hands roamed over her legs and under her shirt, stroking and torturing. "Ron" stroke, "this is not", nibble, "appropriate... we must" soft kiss, "mmm, stop it!" He captured her lips again in another deep kiss. "You have to go back to your own room," she murmured.

Ron slipped the jersey up over her head and began to plant kisses over the exposed skin. "Tell me to leave, my Mione, tell me to go." He teased as he nibbled at her stomach, trailing his tongue along the waistband of her boxers.

Hermione arched under his mouth and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "If you leave this room you're a dead man."

He grinned against her stomach and slid up to capture her lips in his. "Good."

********

The next morning, Harry took a seat at the table next to Ginny, yawning. He wasn't really in the mood to be starting school. He had thought fondly of just curling back into bed and sleeping the day away. He felt a bit lazy for the day. He accepted the time table from Professor McGonagall and glanced down at it.

Monday
8:30-11:50 - Defence against the Dark Arts with Professor S. Black
Lunch
13:00-13:50 - Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid
14:00-16:50 - History of Magic with Professor Binns