Hermione sat looking at the picture. And not surprisingly, nothing changed. Malfoy had receded to some dark corner to sulk, and Hermione simply sat where she was, staring at the portrait. She wasn't sure how much time had gone by, but it couldn't have been that long, because it was still slightly light outside. Her eyes had become so used to nothing moving, that when a small line started to file onto the table cloth of the painting, her attention snapped to it. Getting excited, she got on her knees and slowly made her way over the stone to get closer. She could sense Malfoy coming towards her, probably wondering what she was moving for. As she got closer, she could start to define the shape. It wasn’t just one long line, but a lot of tiny, moving ants.
‘Wonderful!’ she thought. ‘Well, there goes all my excitement.’ Slouching back down into a sitting position, she took a deep breath, and looked at Malfoy. All she could see was disappointment and disgust. "Well, we might as well make a password while we are trying to figure this out." Looking back at him, he was sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. "What about gnome?" Hermione mentally slapped herself. 'Gnome?!' Malfoy apparently thought the same thing, judging by the looking he was giving her. "Well, you think of a better one then!" she said, getting defensive.
"I will." He said. His voice surprised her. And it must have shown, because he smirked. His voice wasn't up-tight, and cold like earlier, but calm. Almost soft. Not like him at all.
"Snorgof."
Hermione's head snapped up. "What?! That's not even a word!"
"You would know, wouldn't you, Granger. You read dictionaries for fun! But that's not that point. No one will think of that. Yes, it's made up, but at least no one will figure it out!"
He had a point. Hermione gave in and nodded. "Snorgof, then..." she grumbled. The painting swung open to reveal a door behind it. The confusion showed on both faces. Hermione got up and walked slowly to the door. Reaching for the knob, she grasped the cold metal and twisted. The door opened easily, and she walked inside, followed by Malfoy. Inside, the common room was full of colors from all four houses in Hogwarts. They were all mixed together to create a beautiful, colorful room. There was a small living area with couches and a table, a place to study in the corner, and the doors to the two bedrooms. Spotting hers, Hermione walked over and opened the door.
The room was painted gold and red, and the green and silver of Slytherin was mixed in as well, but those were the only colors. She guessed that his was the same. Her trunk was at the end of a double bed, draped in silk sheets and blankets. There was a desk in her bedroom too, and two window on either side of the bed. A wardrobe stood next the door leading to what she guessed was the bathroom.
Inside stood your basic bathroom. One shower, a toilet, and two sinks. It was a neutral color, but towels and soaps were the house colors. Walking back into her room, Hermione got dressed for bed and slipped underneath the silk sheets. Sinking into the mattress, she fell into a peaceful sleep right away.
The morning was quite when Hermione got up. The sun shone through her curtains into soft lines on the floor, giving a sense of familiarity. Standing up, she padded over to the bathroom. She didn't think to knock because of the quiet, so she opened the door and was met with a half-dressed Malfoy. His hair was shaggy from just being towel dried. Hermione's could feel her face getting hot from embarrassment. She stuttered, trying to form some sort of apology, but none came out. Malfoy arched an eyebrow at her. Grabbing the door handle, she finally managed to say sorry and back out of the room, but not before seeing Malfoy smirk. As she clicked the door shut, a shudder ran through her body. 'Ew.' was her immediate thought. 'I never want to see that again.' Deciding to take a shower later, when she had free time, she dressed and went into the commons area to pick up her bag. Trying to get out of that room as fast as she could, she rushed out the door, not wanting to see him again.
Classes passed by quickly with the introductions, and first notes. Hermione ended up with a few essays to complete within a day, and some lengthy notes to take.
Finally, lunch rolled around, and she met up with Ron and Harry outside the doors to the Great Hall. "How are your classes?" she asked them. Ron gave her a look that implied 'Kill Me'. Harry looked at Ron and then said "Our classes aren't that difficult. We took some notes, and we have an essay due in two days. I don’t know if Ron can make it through the year without you Hermione." Ron glared at Harry, and said “I can too. I’m just not a morning person, and plus, the first days of school are supposed to be easy.” Hermione smiled at Ron when his stomach growled. “And you both know I can’t work when I’m hungry. I forgot to have breakfast this morning.”
“Ronald, you never forget to have breakfast. Your stomach is like your alarm clock!” Hermione added.
“If we want the noise to stop, then we have to go eat lunch. I don’t think even I could make it through the rest of the day without food.”
The trio entered the Great Hall to have their noses assaulted by the delicious smell of food. Ron's stomach growled again. The three took seats near their friends and loaded their plates with food. Ron and Harry immediately started a conversation about quidditch with Ginny. Neville was quietly eating his food and occasionally glancing over to the Ravenclaw table, probably looking at Luna. And to say the least, Hermione actually missed having the twins at school. They always had time to talk to her, but now she had to eat her lunch in silence. Hermione's eyes wandered around the hall, glancing at faces that she knew and the new ones. Her eyes seemed to constantly flicker over to the Slytherin table. She tried her best not to look over there too often in case any one of them caught her. Giving in, she looked for Malfoy. She spotted him almost instantly. Of course, he wasn’t that hard to spot any one when they had Pansy Parkinson hanging all over them. He was talking to Zambini when he caught her eye. Instead of looking away, like any normal person would do, Hermione continued to look at him. That is when she started to change. Looking at his face, she noticed how pale he was and how it actually didn’t look bad. It fit him well. His eyes were still an icy blue, but they were softer. The two didn't break until Zambini tapped on Malfoy's shoulder. Shaking her head a little, she stood up. Grabbing her bag, she headed for the great doors at the end of the hall. She didn’t even get two steps before she heard Neville say “Where are you going Hermione?” Sighing she turned around and said “I’m just going to go to the library to start on my potions essay.” Neville wasn’t surprised. It was like this a lot and was most likely used to her disappearing at random times. Walking out of the Great Hall, she sighed and made her way to the library.
She didn't really need to work on her essay, but it got her more time away from Malfoy. Pushing open the door to the library, she sat her things at a table and went into one of the many isles to look for a book on potion making. It didn't take long to find one, and she went to go start her essay. Opening the book to a random page, she flipped through the pages aimlessly. Her thoughts were nowhere near what she was supposed to be doing.
Note: I didn't want to spend too much time on what the common room looked like, but I hope its enough for your imagination. I am having some difficulty filling time and space with things until i get to the part where I already have ideas for. So if any one has any ideas, PLEASE TELL ME!!!!!!!! Thanks!
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Subject: A Second Chance: Chapter Three 
Wed 10 Sep 2008, 5:56 pm