"Seems like this speech gets longer every year," Harry complained.
Ron nodded his agreement, eyes fixed hungrily on the feast before them. Hermione let out a soft 'tut' of admonishment, keeping her gaze on the aging Headmaster standing at the front of the Great Hall.
To Hermione, listening to Dumbledore's speeches every September was like coming home. She found that summers with her parents got more awkward every year, almost as though she was living a fake life, outside of the magical world. This was her seventh year and the last Welcoming Feast she would attend. The thought made her slightly nostalgic. She knew she would never tire of hearing the Hogwarts Headmaster speak to herself and her classmates, but after glancing at her two best friends, Hermione had to suppress a laugh. They were so obviously ravenous, they were practically drooling.
At the ringing silence that followed Dumbledore's last word, Ron dove into the nearest platter of food, ending up elbow deep in chicken wings. He started shoving food into his mouth with one hand and piling more onto his plate with the other. Harry followed suit, albeit with slightly more manners.
Drawing her eyes from Ron's disgusting eating habits, the Head Girl of Hogwarts scanned the crowd of students that filled the Great Hall and was startled to find a pair of steely grey eyes staring back at her. Draco Malfoy had been named Head Boy, much to Hermione's dismay. Ron and Harry were indignant about Draco having actually earned the position, insisting that his father must have bought it for him, but Hermione knew that despite his bad boy image, Draco was actually a very good student, and besides that, Dumbledore could never be bought.
Hermione held Draco's gaze, brown eyes staring stubbornly back at grey, not willing to back down, when a sudden clatter at her elbow caught her attention. Ron had leaned over the table to reach for a dish of lasagna and losing his balance, fell into the dishes on the table. Sitting back in his seat with a sheepish grin, he looked down and saw that his robes were strewn with food. Rolling her eyes, Hermione cast a quick cleaning spell on Ron and glanced back over to the Slytherin table. The grey eyes were no longer looking her way; instead they were laughing mirthlessly at whatever Slytherins laughed about, poor people or muggle-borns, she assumed.
The plates cleared and Hermione stifled a giggle at the sight of Ron and Harry patting their over-stuffed stomachs happily. The three friends stood up and started towards the doors of the Great Hall with all the other students when Hermione felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she found herself face to face with her Head of House.
"Professor McGonagall, hello." Hermione smiled at the older woman.
"I'll just be needing you for a moment, Hermione. A brief meeting with the Head Girl and Boy." The Transfiguration professor was infamous for being expressionless but Hermione could see a smile threatening to creep up on her face. "We're very proud of you, Hermione."
Blushing, Hermione ducked her head slightly. "Thank you, professor."
Detaching herself from Ron and Harry, Hermione followed Professor McGonagall out of the Great Hall and through a series of doors and hallways she had never been through before. She was unsurprised, as Hogwarts was a tremendously big place, and always changing.
"Here we are, Miss Granger. Your apartments." McGonagall said the password and ushered Hermione in to the rooms.
Upon walking in she was, however, surprised to find Draco Malfoy lazily draped over an armchair and Professor Snape standing rigidly next to him.
"What are you doing in my rooms?" She asked slowly, the hint of an idea starting to coalesce in her mind.
Draco let out a snort. "Don't tell me you don't know, Granger? I'd have thought you would have spent the summer dreaming of sharing rooms with me."
"Sharing rooms with you…" Hermione's voiced trailed off as she turned to face Professor McGonagall.
"Ah, yes, Miss Granger. That's why I brought you here. These are the Head Girl and Boy apartments. You will share a common area, and your private rooms and bathrooms are through the doors on either side of the fireplace." Seeing a look of indignation growing on Hermione's face, she added, "These are the only available housing options, Miss Granger, and though the circumstances may be less than desirable, the decision is final."
Hermione closed her mouth and turned back to the two men in the room. Professor Snape leaned towards Draco and said something in a low voice and then walked briskly out of the room. Professor McGonagall gave Hermione one more stern look and followed him out.
At the click of the door, Draco stood up from his chair and ran a hand through his white-blond hair.
"So, just me and you, Granger. Interesting turn of events." He smirked.
"Oh, shove off, Malfoy. Just because we have to share a common area doesn't mean I'm spending any time with you Malfoy. If you think I'm going to fall at your well-polished feet, you can think again. I know you're awfully impressed with yourself, but I'm not." Hermione stomped off to the door leading to the Head Girl's private rooms, wrenched open the door and slammed it behind her.
Her anger almost melted away at what she found inside. The room was decorated in light-colored wood with burgundy and gold materials. A large poster bed stood in the center with shimmering gold curtains and the Gryffindor crest emblazoned on the bedspread. A wonderfully carved wooden desk stood in one corner, next to a wall lined with bookshelves, while a small fireplace with overstuffed armchairs was positioned on the other side of the room. A door to the right of the bed led to a large bathroom, tiled in gold and red, with gold fixtures and a deep porcelain claw footed bathtub.
After a quick look around, Hermione flopped backwards onto her plushy bed and sighed loudly.
"A year with Malfoy," she muttered. "What am I going to do?" She rolled over and smirked to herself as she pictured the looks on Ron and Harry's faces when she told them about her new roommate. Kicking off her shoes and slipping beneath the covers, Hermione decided she'd had enough excitement for one day and let herself be lulled into dreams.
