Hermione looked up from her Ancient Runes textbook as Harry and Ron took their seats across from her in the Great Hall, panting.
"Where have you two been?" she asked impatiently. "Professor McGonagall is just about to hand out course schedules and you two almost missed it."
"We wouldn't want that now would we?" Ron said to Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. Those two were so hopeless.
"Well what have you been up to? You left the common room ages ago."
"We've just been down in the dungeons. We left a little something for Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins to find when they come up to breakfast." Harry said with a smirk on his face.
Hermione looked over to the Slytherin table for the first time and realized that none of the Slytherins had come up for breakfast yet.
She sighed again, "What have you two done? For Godric's sake we're 6th years now. Don't you think it's about time you two stopped playing childish pranks. And Ron, you're a school Prefect. You're supposed to be setting an example. If Professor McGonagall finds out you were involved in any tomfoolery you're going to..."
"Did you hear," Ginny Weasley exclaimed, interrupting Hermione's lecture. "Someone's put a Portable Swamp down in the Dungeons. None of the Slytherins can get out of their common rooms! The whole school is talking about. I hear Snape is furious. He is asking all of the portraits in the dungeons if they've seen anything."
"A Portable Swamp!" Hermione rounded on Ron and Harry once more. "A Portable Swamp. Why? You two are going to lose us house points before term has even started!"
"We'll we had to get Malfoy back for what he did to Harry on the train! You didn't expect us to do nothing did you?"
"Wait, wait, The two of you did that?" Ginny asked impressed. "Wicked. And they're right Hermione, Malfoy deserves far worse than that for what he did to Harry. Lucky Tonks found him really, who knows how long it would have been before someone found him if she hadn't been watching for him."
Hermione considered this. On the one hand, Malfoy was an annoying git and the Portable Swamp was a little funny, but on the other hand she was a school Prefect and so was Ron and neither of them should be involved in something like this.
Before she had time to contemplate telling Professor McGonagall who was behind the swamp the doors of the Great Hall burst open and Snape walked in, his cloak billowing behind him. He was headed straight for the Gryffindor table with a murderous look in his eyes.
"Potter, Weasley, a word if you please." Snape barked, then promptly turned on his heel and walked back out of the Great Hall.
Hermione shot them an "I told you so" look as they slowly got up and followed Snape out of the Great Hall.
Ginny and Hermione were discussing how much trouble Harry and Ron would be in when the doors to the Great Hall opened once more, A group of angry Slytherins walking in dripping water from every inch of their bodies. Slowly more and more drenched Slytherins made their way into the Great Hall. No matter how much Hermione disapproved of the prank, she couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else at the sight of the Slytherin table. After a few minutes the room settled down once more and everyone went back to breakfast. The heads of houses, minus Snape who was still off somewhere lecturing Harry and Ron, had begun to pass out course schedules when the doors to the Great Hall opened a third time. Expecting to see Harry and Ron Hermione turned around ready to tell them off, only to see Draco Malfoy, robes completely dry, walk over to Slytherin table.
She turned to Ginny, "Hey, look at Malfoy, Why do you suppose he's dry when everyone else is wet?"
"Dunno, probably went and dried himself off I suppose." Ginny replied distractedly as she poured over the course schedule McGonagall had just handed her.
If he had gone to dry himself off why did he seem so surprised that everyone else was wet. She could see Crabbe and Goyle gesturing wildly and distinctly heard Goyle say "There was water everywhere, looked like the Portable Swamp the Weasel twins used last year before they took off."
If Draco didn't know about the swamp that means he wasn't in the Slytherin dorms and he definietly hadn't been in the Great Hall, she would have noticed. So where was he and why had he been out of bed so early?
Just then Harry and Ron came back in grinning when they caught sight of the Slytherin table. They sat down at the table and Hermione was just about to tell them her suspicions about Malfoy when McGonagall came over and handed the three of them their course schedules.
"Potter, Weasley, I've taken the liberty of placing you in Professor Slughorn's Advanced Potions class as he only requires an exceeds expectations on the O.W.L.s. I'm sure Professor Slughorn will be more than glad to lend the both of you some supplies seeing as you did not have time to buy your own." With that she walked away to pass out the rest of the course schedules.
"Well that's lucky isn't it" Hermione said. "Now you don't have so many pesky free periods. Well I'm off to Ancient Runes."
In all the excitement of seeing her course schedule she had completely forgotten about the mysteriously dry Malfoy.