Rewrite the past

Chapter 37

September 1st had come at last. Hermione stood there, looking at her opened suitcase, checking her mental checklist for things she would need this year. With a satisfied smile, she closed the lid and looked at the upside of the brown leather suitcase. It had her initials on it, HJM - Hermione Jean McGonagall. Even after this many years, it felt odd seeing an M instead of a G there, but strangely enough, it also almost felt right for her. 

Having finished packing her case, she then went on to packing her bag for the train ride. Obviously, she needed books, even though she doubted that she would be able to read anything. On top of those, she put her robes, the shiny little plaque twinkling up at her from the lapel of her robes; and lastly, she put her wand in there.

Checking everything for the last time, she felt an odd sense of finality. This would be her last year at Hogwarts. Anything that she would experience this year would be new and foreign for her. After all, she never made it to her seventh year when they were on the run. With this train ride today, a completely foreign and new chapter of her life would start, closing one behind her. Today, she would start her last year at Hogwarts, she would start her year as Head Girl, and she would start the year in her education that her childhood friends never got to witness. 

Her mind started to wander, it conjured memories to replay inside her head. Memories of her happy first years in the wizarding world, when everything still seemed fine. She saw Harry and Ronald waiting for her at the end of their second year, when she had woken up from being petrified. She remembered their wide smiles, Harry's warm hug and the awkward handshake she and Ron had. She saw Hagrid again as he entered the hall that same evening after having been set free from Azkaban after Errol had got lost with his papers. She saw Seamus setting his feather on fire during one of their first charms lessons, when they were supposed to just let them levitate, and she recalled he looked at the table in disbelief with just one eyebrow and soot all over his face.

"What are you thinking about?" asked a very familiar, deep voice from behind her.

She turned around to find Severus leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Oh, nothing, really. Just memories, that's all."

"Don't dwell too long, we have to leave very soon or otherwise Miss Head Girl is going to miss the train – and so would Mister Head Boy, coincidentally," he winked at her before picking up her suitcase and then leaving her standing in her room.

Hermione stood there just for a few more seconds, heaving a deep breath before straightening her shoulders and then walking out and down the flights of stairs. 

"Do the both of you have everything you need?" asked Minerva once Hermione had arrived.

"Yes," both of them unanimously replied, to which the elderly woman nodded curtly before revealing a small portkey for them to take. 

A few very uncomfortable moments later they all found themselves in a rather dark area at St Pancras Station, not far from platforms 9 and 10, which would lead them to the Hogwarts Express at platform 9 3/4, as usual.

Severus was already about to walk toward the very end of the train, where they usually found a compartment, but Hermione held him back. 

"You'll be joining the Prefects' compartment in the first carriage, Mister Headboy," she winked at him. 

"Oh, right, yeah," he mumbled a bit flustered, before entering the first carriage after Hermione and Minerva. 

They entered a big compartment, compartment A, right after entering the train, and Severus was astonished by how spacious this one seemed compared to the smaller ones he was used to riding in. Stashing their smaller bags with their robes away, they sat down, waiting for Minerva to come back from who-knows-where with their instructions. 

Just a few moments after they had sat down, she entered the compartment, a scroll of parchment in her hands.

"Now, I know that Hermione is familiar with the prefects'duty to stroll through the train and make sure that everything is well. However, as Head Boy and Girl, you do not have to do that, but of course you are welcome to. Your main duty today is to instruct the new prefects and remind the older ones of their privilege and their duties. And you should obviously help if needed. Now, this is the scroll containing all the prefects' names and their houses for you to check."

She handed Hermione the scroll, who was sitting closer to the entryway than Severus, who, in turn, sat at the window overlooking the busy and bustling platform.

Before long, Minerva left them to their own devices as the students said their goodbyes and began boarding the train. It was only a few minutes after the train had left the station that the other prefects had found their way to the head of the train and into their assigned compartment. 

Right after they had sent the prefects out to patrol the train, Professor Slughorn walked by their door and looked inside before stopping and knocking before stepping inside.

"Ah, there you are, my two most promising students. I hear that Professor Dumbledore made you Head Girl and Head Boy, and I have to admit that to me, it was only a question of when that would happen. As you might have heard, I do like to have the most promising students the school has to offer engage with each other in my own Slug-Club and I would be very happy if the two of you could join myself and a few fellow students for supper perhaps? That is if you can spare the time, of course. We will be in compartment C, should you decide to join us."

Without waiting for a reply, the old man with the enormous walrus beard left the compartment, leaving Hermione and Severus baffled.