Chapter 1

The Project

It was two months into the school year and Draco was bored. Being seventh years, his classes seemed to just resume from the end of the last school year. Reviewing things learned in their previous year ended by their third week of classes, and sometimes quicker. Professor McGonagall had only allotted half of their first class to reviewing.

The teachers seemed excited about something. It was probably another plot that Dumbledore came up with for house unity. It wouldn't work of course. Draco wondered why no one saw the Headmaster for the old coot he was.

Draco was half way through his potions homework, but he pushed it aside anyway. He had learned to brew the potion he was writing about the summer after second year; this essay would be easy.

Draco decided that he would head up to the Great Hall for dinner. If he got there before the rest of the Slytherins, he could eat his fill then get out before the table got too crowded.

Draco walked absentmindedly through the twists and turns leading from the Slytherin common room to the stairs to the ground floor. He let his mind wander to his mother and father. His mother had looked much more drawn this summer than she usually did. He noticed her to be quiet and easily frightened as well. His father seemed thinner and (if possible) paler than usual. No doubt it had to do with Voldemort of course.

Contrary to popular belief, Draco was not a death eater. His father was, but was only serving Voldemort for fear of his family being killed.

Now on the ground level, Draco entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Slytherin table. The food had not yet appeared. He glanced about the room. Nearly seventy-five percent of the ever-eager Hufflepuff house was seated along their table already. No more than ten Ravenclaws of varying years were seated along their table with books or parchment and a quill. The Gryffindor table had groups scattered about including Potter, Granger, and the last two of the Weasley brood.

Draco was one of three at his table, the other two being first year boys from his house. Pansy walked in quite distracted by a letter in her hand. She walked over to the table without looking up and didn't notice Draco's presence until he reached out and grabbed her arm as she walked by.

"Who's it from?"

"My mum." Pansy said as she took a seat next to Draco. "My dad still isn't doing well. You-know-who isn't hearing it though. He says that my father and mother are just making excuses. If my father isn't at the meeting tonight, you-know-who said he'd take matters into his own hands. Mum told me not to go outside except for class until this is all resolved."

"This is getting out of hand. Some days I almost consider joining up with Potter." Draco admitted seriously. It was true, just a week before he walked half way to the Quidditich pitch where Harry was practicing before convincing himself that he didn't have enough evidence of his family's plight to convince Potter of his sincerity.

Draco and Pansy weren't the only ones having troubles. Nearly half of Slytherin's students were faced with similar ones. Voldemort killed Blaise's cousin when Mr. Zabini failed to launch an attack on a muggle city. Goyle and Crabbe had both been threatened and their families had been tortured for botched killings on their fathers' parts.

Pansy looked close to tears. Draco grabbed her hand under the table just as the food appeared. "Don't let them see you cry. You-know-who still has supporters here."

Pansy nodded and let go of Draco's hand. She steeled her face and forced a scowl onto it. She silently started shoveling food onto her plate as Draco did the same next to her.

They both ate slowly in silence. After a few minutes, Draco saw that the table had significantly filled up and Blaise sat on the other side of him while the other seventh year Slytherin girls filled in on the other side.

The food disappeared off the plates, but instead of treats and sweets filling their places, nothing came. A roar of outrage sounded from the vicinity of the Gryffindor table, or more particularly, near the golden trio and little Weasley. Snape stood from the half empty teacher's table and stood to address students. He looked annoyed.

"Sit down Weasley." Came Snape's voice clearly over the crowd. "You can stuff your face when I'm finished. The Headmaster has put me to the task of informing the seventh years of their new project. You will each be receiving a package in the morning and you'll receive further instructions when you finish breakfast. Your first and second class of the day will be canceled but I except to receive all of your essays at breakfast or you will receive no credit."

Snape stalked off again back to his seat and reached for a slice of the apple pie that had just appeared before his place.

Draco grabbed a handful of bat shaped cookies. He didn't feel like eating them, but he probably would later in the night.

"Draco, let's go back to the common room," came Pansy's voice. Draco and Pansy got up and started toward the door. Blaise gave a nod that said that he'd be down a minute behind them, so as not to arouse suspicion from Voldemort's supporters.

The next morning saw Draco and his friends in the same seats. Draco and the others had spent the remainder of the previous night finishing their Potions Essays before going to bed.

They were half way through eating when the post came. Draco received his Daily Prophet and a letter from his mother assuring him all was well (though he well knew it wasn't). About five minutes after, another group of owls came swooping in carrying boxes. Some boxes were thin and rectangular while others were shaped like cylinders.

A large brown barn owl dropped a package to Pansy. The box was rectangular, thin, and just slightly shorter that of a rapier's case. Draco's, dropped by a similar owl, was just shorter than Pansy's box, about four times as wide, and almost pancake flat. Blaise looked disappointed. His box was a perfect cube, and a rather small one at that.

Dumbledore stood and addressed the students. "Seventh years, if you would be so kind, please take your boxes and follow me to the library. Everyone else, you have classes to attend."

The seventh years were not pleased with the seating arrangements. Of Draco and Pansy, this was particularly true. Dumbledore had put the two at a table with none other than Granger and Potter.

"Now that we're all settled, you may open your boxes." Draco and Pansy eagerly dug into the brown paper packaging as Potter and Granger did the same across the table.

"Flowers?" Asked Granger's voice.

"I got a bunch of leaves!" Draco responded holding up his plant.

"That's a fern Draco." Pansy responded absently while examining her flower. It had a long dainty green stem and light pink petals around a yellow center, which was almost flowerlike in itself.

Hermione was showing Harry her flower. "Isn't it gorgeous?" She asked him.

"Yeah." Harry responded looking unsure. "What exactly is it?"

"That's an Almond Blossom." Pansy said glancing at the flower. "When we went on holiday when I was younger, there was an Almond Blossom tree in the yard. I used to sit under it instead of staying in the house." She added by way of explanation.

"Do you know what mine is?" Harry asked the two girls. He held up large cluster of small white flowers.

"No." Hermione said.

"I've never seen them before." Pansy said, suddenly interested in Harry's flowers.

"Why does everyone have flowers… and why did I get a fern?" Draco asked sounding slightly hysterical.

Dumbledore chose this point to speak up again. "If you would be so kind, please place your plant life in the vases that have been provided for you." Everyone complied, putting their vegetation in the glass vases set up in the middle of their groups. "Good. Now, this is your project. I need you all to learn the name of your plant, as I know some of you already have. Then learn everything you can about it. There is a reason why each of you received the plant you did, but that will wait until another time."

"Each group will be working together." Dumbledore paused to allow the groans of the students. "Each group will also be assigned a teacher to monitor their progress. You will be expected to meet as a full group at least an hour everyday. You, of course, can a lot extra time to your study as well, be it individual up to the full group. I'm afraid that with such a large group it is quite impossible for any of you to take out the books, so they must all stay in the library."

"Won't the flowers die?" Hannah Abbot asked at the table next to Draco's. "There isn't any water in the vases."

"No, they have a charm on them that will allow them to live… for a time. The charm will probably wear off eventually, but we will talk about that when the time comes." Dumbledore responded.

Dumbledore then proceeded to circle the room telling each group when their meeting times were and who their teacher was. Draco's table was the fifth he came to.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, Ms. Parkinson." Dumbledore said coming up to their table. "You four all have free periods right after lunch, do you not?" They all nodded the affirmative. "Very good. That is when you will be meeting. You do not have to meet over weekends however. Your teacher will be Professor Snape." Pansy and Draco were quite excited, but Potter and Granger both turned pale and looked rather sulky. "Any questions?"

"Why did I get a fern? It's not even a flower." Draco said.

"All in due time Mr. Malfoy. And count your blessings; Ms. Turpin from Ravenclaw got wheat."