Chapter 1

A/N : Just wanted to say that I've changed this around for my own fic uses. It's not strictly DH compliant but bits are. If you've not read HP+DH pleeeease do not read it. It CONTAINS BOOK 7 SPOILERS! Any ways, on with the show.

Chapter 1

Hermione woke as her alarm clock rang, opening her eyes wearily. It was with a sudden jolt and the return of a dozen butterflies waking within her stomach that she remembered what day it was. She looked at the clock, and her eyes widened in horror: She had fallen asleep before resetting the alarm. Her swearing filled her room, as she leapt from her bed and began to pull on clothes. It was the first day of her seventh year and Hermione Granger, newly appointed Head Girl, was going to be late.

As she pulled a brush through her hair with a piece of toast between her teeth, she cursed herself for staying up to read the end of the chapter in her potions book. She looked out the window for her taxi to the station. 'Where the hell was it?'

Her parents had been in France for the past two days celebrating their wedding anniversary, giving Hermione time to herself before rejoining the hustle and bustle of school. That was, if she ever got there.

Her trunk was at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her and her robe tucked away in the bag she had over her shoulder. She hurriedly put her hair up into a messy bun as the taxi beeped its horn outside. She let out a small cry of alarm as she realized how late she was, and how much of a mess she looked.

Some short time later Hermione rushed to platform ten, hindered by her heavy trunk and commuters on the platform.

"Excuse me, please," she cried repeatedly as she rushed over to the point between platform nine and ten that worked as a gate way to platform nine and three quarters. She didn't have time to take the usual steadying breath that she normally did before standing in front of the Hogwarts Express. She had only three minutes to spare before the train left.

She ran through the gate, and didn't stop when she reached the other side. Horror stricken by the lack of students left on the platform, she ran forwards through the crowd of parents remaining. 'I'm so late!' She screamed in her head.

Suddenly, she bumped headlong into someone in dark clothing. She was knocked to the floor before she could see who it was.

"I'm so sor…" She began, but as she looked up her voice failed her and her blood ran cold.

"Miss Granger," Lucius Malfoy's cold, curt voice reached her ears before her brain had returned to functioning properly. 'Wasn't he meant to be in Azkaban?'
"If I were you I would not make my presence so pronounced, especially considering your parenting." He growled down at her. "Nor would I disrespect someone such as myself by running headlong into them like a bull in a china shop. Tell me, are all muggleborns as lacking in female qualities as you or are you alone in that deficiency?" He sneered as he looked her up and down.

No one around them seemed to have noticed their tense transaction; the remaining parents were too busy waving goodbye to their children.

"Tell me, how was Azkaban?" Hermione asked him, heated by his blatant prejudice and bias. She looked him up and down, noting that he was paler than usual if that were even possible, and he had dark bags under his eyes. "Who did you pay to get you out this time? Or did you black mail your way out?"

He was sneering down at her as her heart beat faster knowing that if it wasn't for the mass of people still on the platform, she would have been in a lot of trouble.

"Oh don't worry about that, mudblood," he whispered. "I'd worry more about your precious little neck, because when I get a hold of it I'm going to snap it in two…
And just to bestow you with the only little honor you deserve, I'll do it the muggle way."

Hermione's heart was racing as she shivered slightly in fear. She swallowed, begging her feet to move. Suddenly the clock began to strike eleven and she leapt into action.

"As much as I've enjoyed our little chat, I have to go now. Do give Azkaban my love when they send you back." At this Lucius growled, but Hermione was already moving away. She pushed her way through the last of the crowd and jumped onto the train just as the whistle blew. She heaved the trunk on behind her, and shut the door just as the train began to move.

Hermione turned, leaning her back on the wall of the compartment and took a deep breath. She felt her heartbeat returning to normal and began to heave her trunk along the train to the Head Boy and Girl compartment.

As Hermione made her way down the train she noted many forlorn faces, and as the adrenaline that had been coursing through her body began to wear off, she too felt depressed about the loss of Dumbledore. This year would be a strange one without him.

"M'ione!" She turned quickly, a smile returning to her face. There, at a compartment door, was Ginny with a beaming smile on her face.

"Hi Gin," Hermione replied. "Where are Harry and Ron? Have you seen them?" Hermione looked around eagerly awaiting their appearance. Ginny's smile fell almost at once and Hermione's heart began beating extraordinarily fast again.

"M'ione, didn't they tell you?"

"Tell me what?" She asked in confusion.

"M'ione, they went to find the horcruxes," Ginny whispered, pulling her aside.

"What!" Hermione let out a little shriek, before demanding, "When?"

"They left a week ago. I thought they'd told you…" Ginny looked guilty, but she continued to explain what happened to the boys over the summer, and their decision to leave Hogwarts.

As far as Hermione had been told, Ginny wasn't even meant to know about the horcruxes. Why hadn't they told her they were going? What if they needed her? Why didn't they want her there? She'd thought that the three of them had been best friends. Why had they kept this a secret?

Finishing her conversation with Ginny, she exchanged a few words with Neville and Luna before continuing her way along to the Head's compartment. She had been so certain that Harry would have been Head Boy alongside her. And she had been more certain that Ron would have told her if they had decided to leave Hogwarts. As she slid open the door to the compartment she reassured herself that it really couldn't get any worse.

"Hello Granger."

A/N: Well there you go ^_^ Please comment as all comments help to aid my writing. Let me know what you think... **Hides** be gentle?