Hello! For those of you who are not familiar with my work my name is Oliviaa Rose! I've been on this website for four, almost five, years now and I'll probably never grow tired of it! For those who DO know me, welcome to another story! I know, I KNOW, "Another story, Oliviaa, while you still have like five you haven't completed?" YES! I'm sorry, but I can't help myself! This is one I've been thinking of for a while and I just couldn't resist! I think for a while I'll be focusing on this story and It All Started with a Book (which if you haven't read PLEASE go read!). Not to say I've given up on my other stories, but at the moment I'm confident writing in these two. I've been thinking about this one because through the books the only life we really know COMPLETELY is Harry's. I wanted to play around with the other characters stories and show what COULD have possibly gone on behind the scenes. SO I hope you enjoy and PLEASE tell me what you think!

The students all looked at each other in wonder and confusion as they stood around in the big classroom. Earlier that week all of the eighth year students had gotten a letter from Headmistress McGonagall demanding their presence in the unused third floor classroom for a mandatory meeting. Failure to show would result in heavy punishing, and no one, not even the Slytherins, had been willing to risk being on the end of McGonagall's wrath. Especially after how this year had been going so far.

After the war had ended and Hogwarts had been repaired the Headmistress had sent out letters giving all of last years seventh years the chance to return to Hogwarts as 'eighth years' and finish their education. Most, if not all, had snagged the opportunity immediately for different reasons.

With the war finally over and the world free of Voldemort you'd think there'd be peace. You'd think people would have gotten over their past grudges and moved on. You'd think there'd be no more prejudices or fights.

You'd be wrong.

If anything fights got worse, grudges and hate towards one another increased, and people, especially the eighth years, just couldn't seem to move on. Almost all of the Slytherins had returned for their final year, some by choice and some by force, and no one had been happy about it. They were now the number one targets. Not one Slytherin could walk down the hallways without being shoved or having the word 'Death Eater' be spat at them. Some students tried to jinx them, while others just hit them with their words. But the Slytherins never just took it. They fought back with their own jinxes and their own words. And throughout the months things slowly got worse. Fights broke out in the halls, in the courtyard, and even in the Great Hall. A class couldn't go by without words being exchanged between two different houses and curses being thrown. Detentions were flying left and right and kids were in the hospital every day.

Four months into the new school year and it finally came to the breaking point when half the eighth years, and some of the seventh years, broke into a battle in the middle of the Great Hall, hurting some of the first and second years who were hit by the flying spells and couldn't defend themselves.

McGonagall had had ENOUGH.

When the Headmistress entered the classroom with a bang causing the students to jump, everyone could see the disgust and rage on her face. They were silent in fear as she made her way to the front of the room. As she looked at them she could see the clear divide as they all stood with their Houses in each corner of the room. She shook her head. This wouldn't do.

With a flick of her wand several seats filled the room. They were placed in a half circle so everyone was facing each other and could see the front of the room. Placed on each chair was a name tag.

"Find the chair with your name on it and have a seat," McGonagall practically growled.

"You're giving us assigned seats?" Pansy said incredulously. She coward slightly under the fierce glare McGonagall shot her.

"Act like children and I will treat you like children. Sit," she hissed. Everyone scrambled to find their seats, not wanting to test the Headmistress when she was in this mood.

As Hermione found her seat she looked at the names surrounding her and flinched. The name to her right made Hermione sigh in relief that she'd at least have someone by her side, but the names on either side of them made her worry a little.

"'Mione," Dean Thomas said warmly as he took his seat beside her. "So far so good, eh?" he said brightly and Hermione smiled widely. She was happy that if she had to go through what was sure to be a horrid meeting with anyone that it was with Dean.

A shadow passed over them and Hermione tensed as she felt someone take a seat beside her. Slowly she looked to her left and her light brown eyes met dark green eyes. Theodore Nott. Son to notorious and vicious Death Eater, Thaddeus Nott, who was known for killing more than thirty young muggle children in a school raid and his own wife when she was pregnant with a baby girl. The boy who never really spoke to anyone outside of his Slytherin friends. The boy who never really picked on her, but never stopped it either.

"Granger," he said simply.

"Nott," she responded in the same fashion before turning to face the front.

Beside him Dean could also feel someone take a seat and Dean didn't need to look to see who it was. He had seen the name before he sat down, and despite the easy smile he had shot Hermione his body had remained tense, waiting for him to come. And as he felt the boy's presence beside him his body seemed to tense even more. It had been months since they'd last seen each other, fighting on opposite sides of the war, and a year since the 'incident'. At least that's what Dean referred to it as because if he called it anything else his mind would probably break down. There wasn't a day where Dean didn't think about what had happened. What this boy had done to him. The incident that changed Dean's life forever.

So as the boy sat beside him Dean continued to look at McGonagall standing at the front of the classroom. Their seats were in the middle of the semicircle, which put them right in front of the Headmistress and the screen that suddenly appeared with another flick of her wand.

"Thomas," the boy eventually greeted as people continued to search for their seats. Dean felt a chill go down his spine and tried his best not to show it. He determinedly kept his eyes trained on the Headmistress, refusing to look at the boy beside him. He couldn't look at him, As soon as he did every encounter they ever had that haunted his dreams and plagued his mind would come back, and Dean couldn't deal with that. Not now.

"Zabini," Dean said reluctantly.

Blaise Zabini sat beside him, studying the boy that refused to look at him. Though his face showed no emotion inside he was hurting. The two for some time had a bad past. For their first few years at Hogwarts they fought like Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. There wasn't a day that passed where the two wouldn't pass childish insults at one another. It wasn't about blood purity or social standing. To be completely honest Blaise couldn't remember what had caused such hatred between the two, they had just never clicked. And then one day things went too far and Blaise called Dean the one thing he swore on his father's grave he'd never say. Mudblood. His mother would have slapped the shit out of him then and there if she had been there. And sure, Draco was his best friend, but it didn't mean they shared the same beliefs.

From that day on things got worse between the two, at least in Blaise's opinion. They no longer fought, but Dean had started avoiding him like the plague. If they crossed paths Dean wouldn't look at him or even acknowledge he was there. In classrooms and in the Great Hall Dean sat so he couldn't see Blaise. There were no more dirty looks or spiteful words. There was just silence. Everyone expected Blaise to be happy to be rid of the boy, but instead it drove Blaise crazy. He couldn't stand the sudden silence and calm that came with Dean's absence. His life had always been filled with quiet calm and he realized that Dean brought the crazy unexpected that Blaise thrived for. That he needed. But for the next year the quiet calm was all he got until he couldn't take it anymore and apologized. Dean had been surprised and so had he, but they both knew it was what they needed. But the results were different from what Blaise had expected. They weren't enemies anymore, they were friends. It was tentative and awkward at first, but it soon blossomed into something greater than Blaise could imagine. They had become the kind of friends that did things together, like study, or play games, or joke, or fly on brooms, or just talk. They talked. Talked about their likes and dislikes, their lives, their families, their hopes, dreams, and their fears. They were the kind of friends that shot each other smiles in the hallways, and in the classrooms, and across the Great Hall. Sure, Blaise had friends, like Draco and Theo, and sure they were great, but Dean was different. He wasn't afraid to tell Blaise about his life or show Blaise his emotions. He urged Blaise to open up and show him the same. He didn't care if people saw him smiling at Blaise. Draco and Theo were great, but Dean had quickly become Blaise's best friend.

And then he had gone and royally fucked it up. He did the one thing that threw it all away. The one thing that effectively ruined Dean's life, ruined his future. The one thing that brought them back to square one and caused the boy beside him to hate Blaise all over again, maybe even more so than before. And because of this, it caused Blaise to hate himself. But what he had done he felt was right at the time. Something that needed to be done, and to this day he still thought it needed to be done. But it didn't make him feel any better for actually doing it and ruining the greatest friendship he'd ever had.

"How are you?" Blaise said hesitantly, his eyes not straying from the boy beside him.

Dean flinched, obviously unhappy with Blaise's attempt at a conversation. But Dean was anything but rude, so he responded with a quick, "Fine," and hoped that Blaise would catch the hint.

Blaise did, and with a sigh he looked forward. His expression remained impassive, but inside another piece of him broke.

"No way!" the shout of two different voices rang through the room, causing every head to swivel to the left. Standing in front of two seats facing one another were none other than Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Both boys were glaring heavily at one another as their faces started to heat up with anger.

Draco turned on the Headmistress, his eyes wide and nostrils flared. "There's no way i'm sitting next to the Boy-Who-Just-Doesn't-Know-How-To-Die! Are you out of your damn mind, woman?!"

"Don't you dare talk to her like that, Malfoy!" Harry shouted, stepping closer to the blond.

Draco swiveled back to face him. "Oh, and what are you going to do about it Scarhead? Huh? Get some more of your mummies love to help you survive as you try to fight me? Bad news, your mummy isn't here to sacrifice her pathetic life for you again, Pothead!"

"And your daddy isn't around for you to go tattle to so he can take care of your pathetic problems! Tell me, ferret, if your daddy is rotting in Azkaban and your mummy is locked up in her own home who's going to help you wipe your ass?!" Harry yelled, his face turning red.

"Why you little-" Draco started, advancing towards Harry.

"ENOUGH!" McGonagall screeched, and all movement and sound stopped. No one had ever heard McGonagall scream in such a way, not even during the war. The two boys froze, their eyes wide as they looked at their professor. "You have two seconds to sit down before I expell you both."

"Expel?!" Both boy exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes, EXPEL! Now SIT!"

Both boys jumped and, slightly scared, reluctantly took their seats.

McGonagall looked around the room, taking in the wary and scared face of her students. "Welcome, to United 101," she began, her voice harsh. "This is a new class that you will be taking for the next few weeks. Actually, it is the only class you will be taking the next few weeks. This class was designed by Dumbledore many years ago as a last resort. He designed it in case there came a day where the rivalries between Houses became too much, too dangerous. And let me tell you, no one ever expected this school to have to use it. And I never expected to have to use it with this class generation." Some of the students looked down, ashamed. "Let me begin by saying that I am not disappointed with you lot. I am disgusted. Completely and utterly disgusted with every single one of you. I look around and for the past seven years I have seen nothing but great potential in all of you. There's not a single person in this room that I ever expected less of when it came to going somewhere in their future and doing big things. But, Merlin, did all of you let me down. We went through a war… a WAR! I expected all these childish grudges and prejudices to end along with the war. I expected you all to come back here and act like the adults you're supposed to be and set an example. But instead I got a childish pack of animals! Fighting in the hallways and classrooms! Bullying the younger years of other Houses! I didn't survive a war for you all to begin another one because you can't grow up!" At this point McGonagall was yelling, her face turning bright red in her anger.

Silence rang through the room. No one dared to make a sound, hardly even breathing. Half the room couldn't look at her while the others couldn't look away.

McGonagall took a deep breath, calming herself down a little before continuing. "As I said in the beginning, United 101 was a last resort. A plan Z. It was never supposed to be used. But it's come to the point where I have no other option." Everyone looked at her, wary of what this new class consisted of. "Behind me you see a screen," she continued, motioning to the floating, white, smoaky screen a few feet behind her. "Since the day you entered Hogwarts this castle has been collecting your memories. Every memory of every moment of your life seeped into the castle walls." Gasps echoed around the room. Most paled at this news, some looked angry, and others just looked curious. "Dumbledore created and cast the spell himself for the specific use of this class. He never looked at them, no one ever did. He just stored them all in the castle walls. And even when the castle was destroyed your memories stayed in it's roots." She paused, looking around the room and taking in everyone's shocked expressions. "We hoped that we would never have to use them, but you leave me no choice." She waved her wand and a bag appeared in her other hand. "In this bag is the name of every single student in this room. Engraved in your name are your memories. Today I will pick a student's name from the bag and play their memories for you all to see." Everyone gasped and gaped at her. "And after you've finished with that student you will move onto the next one, and the next one, and the next one until you have viewed the memories of every single person in this room!"

An uproar went up in the room immediately as everyone cried out and started shouting.

"You can't do that!" Draco yelled

"This is so unfair!" Parvati shouted.

"Is this even legal?!" Justin exclaimed.

"This is an invasion of privacy!" Seamus yelled.

"SILENCE!" McGonagall yelled, and everyone immediately quieted. "You think I give a damn about your rights? The moment you came into this castle and started acting like a pack of wild animals instead of human beings is when you lost your human rights!" Everyone was silent, no one knowing what to do or say. Some were shaking in anger, others were shaking in fear, a few looked ready to cry, and the rest just looked shocked. McGonagall took a deep breath. "So here are the rules. Everyday you will meet in this classroom at eight o'clock sharp. If you are late you will have a week's detention. Miss a class and I will expel you." Everyone gasped once again at the harsh punishments, but knew she was completely serious. "When you crossed through that door today a tongue twister spell was placed on you. It prevents you from talking about any of the memories you see in this room to anyone besides each other without that person's consent. Everyday when you cross that threshold your wands will immediately leave your person and appear in a chest in my office. They will reappear when you leave the room. You will only be allowed to leave this room once for lunch and then you are required to stay until dinner time. Snacks will appear periodically. If you leave this room without permission you will receive a week's detention and fifty points will be taken away from your house. I understand that some memories will be hard to watch, especially for those who already lived through them so," she waved her wand and two doors appeared in the back of the room, "the door on the right is a privacy room to get away for a few minutes, and the door on the left is a bathroom."

After she was finished she paused once again and met every eye in the room. "I understand this is very harsh and maybe even a little cruel, but I've run out of options. You all seem to think you know each other enough to judge and label each other. Mister Malfoy and Mister Potter, you both seem to think the other lives this grand life, when you both actually have no idea that you're both quite the same." Both boys scoffed, not believing that they could possibly have anything in common, especially when it came to the lives they lived. "Or even you, Mister Weasley," she said turning on Ron, who jumped. "I've even heard you go at your own best friend, Miss Granger, about how she believes she's 'Miss Perfect' and lives this perfect life with a perfect family, a sentiment you seem to share with Miss Parkinson, and quite a few other classmates. Are you all sure this is so true?" Hermione paled as she was put on the spot by her favorite professor and shrunk down in her seat, shaking slightly as everyone turned to look at her. "Or how about Mister Longbottom, who most of you laughed at for being clumsy and 'dumb', but none of you have any idea what his story is, what he may have gone through at home, what made him who he was." Neville blushed bright red and looked down at his lap. "It's time for you all to wake up and face the facts. None of you know a damn thing about one another. Not the lives they live, not the families they live or don't live with, and certainly nothing about them personally or what's going on in their heads. I'm done seeing you all tear my school apart. So if exposing your lives to one another is what I have to do to open all of your eyes and make you finally wake up, then that's what I'll do."

Though no one was willing to say it, they all knew she was right. No one actually knew each other in this room, not even the closest of friends like the Golden Trio. They all had their deep, dark secrets they left outside of the Hogwarts walls, and they were all terrified to have them revealed.

"With that said, I will now pick a name," McGonagall said. Everyone watched with bated breaths as she opened the bag and reached inside. After some ruffling around she finally seemed to latch onto one and pulled it out. Everyone's eyes latched onto the simple piece of parchment paper that held the name of the unfortunate person that would get to have all their secrets spilled first. As she unfolded the parchment and read the name everyone could see the flash of pity that crossed her eyes.

"Hermione Granger," she said, turning the paper for the room to see.

The room was silent as everyone turned to stare at the golden girl. She sat, completely frozen, her eyes not moving from the neat script of her name on that tiny piece of parchment. The tiny piece of parchment that was about to exploit all of the secrets she worked so hard to keep away from Hogwarts. On the outside she looked calm, but on the inside she screaming and panicking. She couldn't find it in her to breathe, to move, to do anything. All she could do was stare at that blasted piece of parchment.

"And unfortunately because you are tied so closely, Miss Granger, to another student that your lives are basically one, there is another name I feel I might as well add to yours."

At that everyone looked confused. Everyone besides four people. Hermione watched as the professor waved her hand over the bag and another piece of parchment flew out into her hand. And as she used magic to infuse the two papers together and turn it so the class could see she didn't need to look up to know who's name it was.

"Dean Thomas."

Gasps of surprise echoed around the room. If her classmates had to guess they would have guessed Harry or Ron, but Dean? What did he have to do with Hermione?

Everyone's head twisted to look at the boy, who surprisingly sat there with a calm smile on his face.

"Seven years," he said, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it. "Seven years we managed to keep it a secret, 'Mione. I didn't think we'd manage to keep it from getting out for this long." He turned to look at the girl beside him, who was staring at her feet. "Are you ready for it to come out?"

Hermione stayed silent for a moment, keeping her eyes trained on her feet. Then she slowly raised her eyes to look at him and a small smile came to her face. "Now that war is over? Yes, Dean, I think I am."

With that said, as everyone watched confused and shocked, the two clasped hands, ready to face their truths together.

Sooooo whatcha think? PLEASE leave reviews! I need to get feedback to know how to continue successfully with the story. I've got 90% of Hermione's story mapped out, things may change as I write you never know. I do not however have a pairing set in stone for her yet, so ideas are welcome. But heads up, i'm not planning on Dramione. I love Dramione as much as the next person but I think it'd be too expected and I want to do something different. So please let me know! And any other pairings as well!

Can't wait to hear from you all!

Oliviaa Rose