Harry just wanted this year to be uneventful. After seven years of a genocidal maniac trying to kill him, he thought this to be a very reasonable hope to have.
The Hogwarts letter had come a month after the Battle of Hogwarts. It had taken Harry till the last week before term started to decide whether he should return.
In the end, Hermione was the one who convinced him to return.
"Harry, if you want to be an Auror, you have to have at least 5 NEWTs," Hermione said.
"Kingsley gave me the all clear, Hermione. I can start Auror training next week if I wanted to, you know."
"Regardless, this is the last year we can do whatever we want to, the last year we have at Hogwarts, which if you remember correctly, last year we thought we would never have," Hermione huffed.
"Yeah, Hermione, I kn-"
"NO, we are going, that's it."
And that was it.
---
The 1st of September saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express.
With them sat Neville, stroking Trevor's back while Luna chattered about Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and whatnot.
"The Crumple-Horned Snorkacks can't fly, Neville," Luna mused.
Harry tuned out all of the several conversations happening around him, preferring to look out the window, gazing at the rolling green hills of the Scottish countryside, hoping and hoping for this year to be wholly uneventful and boring.
---
"Look," Ron pointed at the skeletal horses pulling the carriages. "That's new."
"No, it's not, Ron."
"What do you mean it's not, Harry?"
"They're Thestrals. You can only see them when you've seen someone die. We couldn't see them before. This year, well, I don't think that many people won't be able to see them..." Hermione explained.
All of them piled into the carriage after that depressing explanation.
Once again, Harry's attention was stolen by the view out of the window.
Hogwarts loomed into view after a couple of minutes, as grand, beautiful, and magnificent as always.
Harry felt the way he had ever since he was eleven.
Home. He was home again.
---
The sorting went like it always did.
Harry counted four Gryffindors, three Slytherins, five Ravenclaws, and a whopping seven Hufflepuffs.
After that, the tables filled up with food, and everyone started eating.
Harry was on his second helping of treacle tart when McGonagall started speaking.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I start this speech by thanking everyone whose efforts were seen in the rebuilding of Hogwarts," McGonagall's voice was magically amplified.
"I welcome the new professor for Defense Against The Dark Arts, Professor Mary-Anne Cooke. The new students as well as the old. And finally, I welcome the eighth-year students who have returned to complete their interrupted school year to give their NEWTs."
"Lastly, I would like to once again warn all students that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students."
"I would like to speak to all the eighth-year students, please present yourselves in the ante-chamber of the Great Hall after this."
"Once again, welcome all!"
---
"I will get right into it," McGonagall started. "I want to promote inter-house unity this year, and you all are going to help me."
"I have arranged for a dormitory for all of you; you will share a common room, and you will have one room between two of you, and you will be roommates with someone from a house other than yours."
"In exchange, I have relaxed some of the rules for eighth-years."
Someone cheered from the back of the room.
"That will be all." McGonagall dismissed them.
---
"I can't believe we won't be roommates this year, Harry," Ron said.
"Yeah, me too. I've gotten used to your ugly mug," Harry joked. "Whatever will I do without you."
"Har-Har, you're too funny, Harry."
"Imagine if I have to room with a Slytherin," Ron groaned.
Then shuddered. "Imagine if I have to room with Malfoy."
Harry had seen Malfoy's head of platinum blonde several times today and had steered far away from him as well.
Harry shuddered as well.
They reached a wooden door, following McGonagall's instructions.
"This is weird," Hermione said. "There are not a lot of places in Hogwarts that are not guarded by portraits."
"I am perfectly capable of protecting my wards, young lady!" A disembodied voice exclaimed.
Everyone stumbled back.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Hermione apologized.
"I am Ramos of the first tier of protectors. I have been chosen to guard the eighth-year students' dormitory."
The door slammed open.
---
Harry was honestly surprised by the number of his classmates who had decided to come back. There were a lot of Slytherins.
They entered through the entrance and ended up in the common room, which was round with a high ceiling and a lot of comfortable-looking chairs.
Two stairways were rounding up out of the common room. Harry assumed one led to the girls' room and one to the boys'.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Hannah Abbott was dragging Susan Bones up the stairs.
Which in turn jarred all of the others and little by little everyone started trudging up the stairs.
"Harry! Harry!"
"What, Ron?" Harry shouted from the bottom of the stairs; Ron had gone up ahead of him.
"You're gonna wanna see this."
Harry started up the stairs and stopped when he saw Ron and another person with him in front of a door.
"Malfoy."
"Potter." Malfoy turned around.
"He's your roommate!!" Ron exclaimed.
"What."
"Malfoy's your roommate, Harry." Ron moved to the side.
There were two names written on the wooden door in gold and silver lettering.
Draco Malfoy
Harry Potter.
---