Title: Making Magic
Chapter One: The Black Out
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Genre: Romance (Draco/Hermione)
The Headmasters Office: 12:20 am
"But… that's not possible. It just couldn't have… "
"Minerva, I assure you, it was him."
"Albus, what does this mean?"
"This means that Hogwarts is no longer safe."
"Harry Potter…"
"Hogwarts is not safe for any student anymore."
"Albus, I don't understand. After all these years, how did he manage to break into the castle, now… with all those charms…?"
"It is as we feared. He is getting more powerful."
"This is the end of Hogwarts… oh bloody hell I'm getting emotional now. It's just that I've become quite attached to this place."
"Minerva, Hogwarts will not be shut down. We just need to relocate…"
"Albus, you know what that requires. The students wouldn't be able to use…"
"Minerva, get together the staff. We must act quickly."
Headquarters of the Order: 1:59 am
"There is no other choice, I am afraid."
"Why not send the students to their families," asked Molly. "I just don't understand."
"Well Molly, although I know you would rather the children be home, it's a very dangerous situation. They can be attacked at any moment and will be completely unarmed," replied Lupin.
"But, their parents…"
"Not all parents are as concerned with their children's well-being like you, Molly dear," interrupted Arthur.
"And what about the students whose parents are Muggles? It leaves them quite an easy target for him," said Tonks, the fear in her voice failing to remain hidden.
"I think the bigger concern is where to relocate Hogwarts to," added Professor Snape, seating himself around the large table and helping himself to a serving of Molly's famous pie.
"Ah Snape, how nice of you to join us," said Sirius sarcastically.
"Ah, Sirius, I have no need to explain my tardiness to you but since you insist, I was helping the Headmaster with some important issues at Hogwarts regarding the break-in."
"Sirius… Snape."
"Ah Kingley Shacklebolt. It's a shame that Sirius's name has been cleared. Must be quite boring at the Ministry now that you don't have to feed them lies on the whereabouts of Sirius, eh? He is finally able to take care of himself." Snape remarked.
"Well, I'm sure this situation here is enough to keep us all busy for the next three weeks," said Bill, grinning.
"So, what do you think of relocating to someplace warm…"
Professor McGonagall's Office- The next day.
"Come in." Professor McGonagall rose to greet the two Head Students, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. "I trust you both know you are here regarding the new program that the Headmaster just explained in the Great Hall. Please, take a seat." The Professor indicated the two chairs across from her desk and the students allowed themselves inside and sat down. Professor McGonagall was in charge of the two Head Students, making sure they kept up their grades and fulfilled their responsibilities. However, she never had a problem with them, with those matters.
If the fact that they had only been sitting near each other for only seconds and were already staring daggers at each other didn't give it a way, McGonagall knew the two head students didn't get along well, or at all for that matter. The constant bickering between the two was enough to make the meetings with the two of them rather stressful and Professor McGonagall was usually left in a rare state. Although she hated to reprimand them, she usually ended up doing so.
The Headmaster had just announced the new 'living without magic' program in the Great Hall and the partner situation was being announced that very second. Each student was being paired with someone from a different house, but Hermione and Draco left to meet with Professor McGonagall before that part was announced. They also left before the wands were collected. Dumbledore decided to try to cultivate positive relationships between the houses (to promote inter-house unity) and managed to tie it in with the program. Of course the staff knew that if it weren't for certain circumstances the students wouldn't be spending three weeks in a muggle hotel, without magic. The staff also knew what those circumstances were.
The students believed that this program was a new requirement by the Ministry of Magic and they were the first students to be participating, as a test to see whether or not the program would be a future requirement or be done away with. The way the program worked (as was explained to the students) was the students would all be staying in a muggle hotel in Paris. The hotel was filled with only students from Hogwarts. It was quite hard to find a muggle hotel that had all 400 rooms vacant and to explain why you were booking all those rooms for three weeks but, Fred and George tended to be quite convincing. The students would be living in the hotel for three weeks and without magic. They would have to behave as muggles because they would be permitted, after a week, to go outside the boundaries inside the hotel and actually mingle with other muggles. The staff knew that this couldn't be done right away. After all, some students would need an adjusting period to learn basic things, such as how to clean their robes, or in their case now, clothing without magic. Students would now need to remember that they came from a boarding school, not Hogwarts. Also, they would have to remember not to use words such as muggle, Ministry of Magic, magic, wand or spells. These students sure had a lot to learn in one week.
It was for the above reasons that the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, did not first agree with the idea. But, Fred and George tend to be quite convincing. Well, it was mostly Dumbledore that got his permission. After Cornelius Fudge came to his senses, which he did do (even though it took him long enough), he immediately wanted to get on Dumbledore's 'good side.' Meaning even if Dumbledore asked him for permission to turn all his students into ferrets for an experiment, he probably would agree. (After all who wouldn't want to be on the most powerful wizard's good side, besides Voldemort… but since when did he count?) Also, Dumbledore reassured the Minister that this would help students learn how to deal with muggles. A skill that would prove worthy in the future war. The Minister was told just as much as the students were, meaning the Minister himself was left in the dark about a lot of things, just as the students were. For example, let's say, the real reason the students were going away for three weeks without magic?
Professor McGonagall took a deep breath before continuing. Knowing what the information she was about to share with the two students would provoke she tried to keep her tone as cheerful and nonchalant as possible. "I will make this meeting as brief as possible because I know you both have some packing to do."
"Since you both are Head Students we have volunteered you both to do a presentation at the end of the program. You will be presenting, in front of the Ministry of Magic, and the minister himself about your experiences and why you feel the program should be continued for future students."
"What if we don't think this program should be continued," thought Draco, but instead of saying the remark aloud he just smirked. Hermione meanwhile looked ecstatic at the news that she had to do extra work. "Well at least we are learning something educational from this," she thought. Draco, on the other hand looked at Hermione wanting to vomit. "Excited over extra work. It's a good thing I will be able to get away from the know-it-all, bushy haired, mudblood for three weeks…"
"…so you two will be rooming together."
I really do need some time off. I have mountains of homework… and wait. Did she just say room together? Bloody hell. She did not just say room with Granger? "WHAT," Draco bellowed. He shot a nasty look at Hermione, as if it were all her fault.
"I just said, Mr. Malfoy, that it would only be natural for you two to be rooming together. You are both head students and you will need to work on the presentation together."
Draco, after he found his voice again, asked, "Wait, together as in we each have to make speeches to some ministry officials about the program or."
Professor McGonagall shifted uncomfortable in her chair. "Not exactly. The two of you will be working together to give just one presentation." The Professor watched the color drain from Hermione's face. After the mounting tensions died down a little Hermione spoke.
"Oh that really isn't necessary Professor. We don't need to room together. We will have plenty of time to work on the presentation and it will most certainly meet your standards." Clearly she didn't want to be stuck with Draco anymore than he wanted to be stuck with her. "Never thought I'd see the day Granger questions a teacher," thought Draco.
"No, you won't have plenty of time to work on the presentation unless you are rooming together. This is because you will not be staying with the remainder of the students at the hotel." McGonagall took a moment to study the two students. Hermione was looking rather confused while Draco had steam billowing from his ears and his face was a deep shade of crimson. "Better start explaining," thought the Professor, "Before he kills me," she added as an afterthought.
"Well, what I mean is that you two have a more exciting trip. We, the staff and I, felt that as head students you were capable of more, and we are expecting you to be capable of more as well. You will not be staying at the muggle hotel with the rest of the students; you will be staying at a hotel nearby instead. The reason for this is so you can actually live amongst other muggles. As you know, the other students are in a hotel with students from Hogwarts only, and only after a week will they be allowed to chat amongst muggles outside the hotel. As head students you are most capable of handling things and since you are making a presentation, this will most definitely enhance your experiences. You are the only students we are allowing to do this. We are giving you a lot of freedom and with that will come responsibility," said the deputy headmistress sternly. Her eyes darted back and forth between the stunned expressions on the young faces in front of her.
"Oh lucky us," thought Draco, "I get to spend more time with muggles and the mudblood at the same time. Couldn't be luckier."
Professor McGonagall couldn't tell the students the real reason they were staying in a different hotel. Maybe it was the fact that the hotel they did find only had 400 rooms, exactly one room too short. The fact that they tried putting the two extra people with another pair but that would require two students to share a bed, and that was against school policy. Let alone the fact that the hotel wouldn't accommodate their needs by bringing in a cot and they didn't feel like arguing with the hotel after finally finding one to begin with. The staff couldn't just put any two random students together in a different hotel so they just decided on the two head students and explained to the other students that the reasoning was because of their presentation. Dumbledore actually look intrigued with the idea of Hermione and Draco staying together in a different hotel. McGonagall never failed to notice that twinkle in his eye when his mind drifts off…
"How will we get there, Professor?" Asked Hermione.
"You will be traveling by train."
"Will we be traveling with the rest of the students?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"I'm afraid not. You are traveling on a train with muggles and it would be too difficult to bring all the students to the train station, it would cause quite a scene. We don't want to attract any extra attention to ourselves." McGonagall was quite proud of herself and the staff, for such a short notice they got everything taken care of. It didn't matter that she hadn't slept in 34 hours. If only she realized they forgot to collect Hermione and Draco's wands. But, being deprived of sleep she assumed their wands were collected in the Great Hall and Dumbledore, having a lot on his mind didn't realize that their wands wouldn't be collected or he might have just assumed that Professor McGonagall would do so. Either way, the task wasn't completed.
"The students have been split up, into groups as well as pairs. Each group will have a professor as their chaperone, especially to monitor the younger students. Seeing as you both are 7th years and Head Students, and we don't have much staff, you will not have a chaperone. We will stop to visit at the end of each week to check up on you of course, and things will change if any problems happen. But, we aren't very far away and you can contact us by phone. We will be leaving you a list of nearby food places, and our contact information as well as everything you need to know."
"Thank you Professor," replied Hermione.
"When do we need to be ready by?" Asked Draco. Both students still seemed to be taking in all the information they just received.
"Tonight. You need to be in the Great Hall 6'o clock with all your possessions. Please don't bring too many suitcases. Then, you will receive your train tickets and the information for the hotel, as well as money. You will also receive a list of things that you need to be careful of such as proper attire, no robes, words that you can not mention. Nothing you two can't handle. You are dismissed."
If it weren't for the fact that they both had a lot on their mind, it might have struck them odd that the Professor asked them not to take too many suitcases. They would obviously just use a shrinking spell. Because they did have a wand to perform one and they were both intelligent young wizards. If only they realized what problems that would cause.
"Its already 4! So much for a brief meeting," muttered Hermione while reciting the password and entering the common room to pack. She assumed she would get to say her goodbyes to her friends in the Great Hall. Her mind was racing and she ended up throwing everything into her suitcase.
Draco wasn't having much luck concentrating as well. He decided that if he packed all his possessions he couldn't forget anything. After casting a simple shrinking spell he was all ready. Ready isn't the correct word, Draco would never be ready for the trip he had ahead of him.
6'o clock came quite fast and Hermione entered the Great Hall to find an anxious looking McGonagall, a worried Dumbledore, and an arrogant-looking Malfoy. And no one else. "Where is everyone," she asked.
"Well that's just it Granger. You're delusional. There is no everyone. It's just us here. Everyone else leaves in an hour."
"Oh," she replied softly. "Now I won't get to say goodbye to Harry, Ron, or even Ginny. This day can not get any worse."
"Granger, don't look so happy."
"Oh don't worry ferret I'm hiding my true emotions very well."
"I know I'm devilishly handsome but please refrain yourself from touching me. I wouldn't want to be contaminated by your filthy mudblood self."
"Oh don't flatter yourself. Your head is already big enough."
"I know you hiding your true emotions, Granger, so tell me how you truly feel…" Draco teased.
"Oh that's not what I meant. I meant that if I could have it my way I would turn you into a ferret and hex your arse straight to the forbidden forest."
"Granger, resorting to violence. Who would have thought? I know you must be sad about Potty-head and the Weasel King not being there with you for three whole weeks. In fact, I'm surprised they haven't come running into the Great Hall to say their goodbyes."
"Why Draco I didn't know you cared. But, don't be jealous that I actually have friends."
"I would never be jealous of Potter," he spat.
"You should be. He is twice the man you'll ever be."
"Oh does the mudblood have a crush?"
"No."
"Why not? Can't get the attention of the Golden Boy?"
"Ehem. Are you both ready to go?" McGonagall knew she interrupted what looked like a heated argument. She wondered how they were going to manage. But, Dumbledore convinced her that everything would be fine.
"Yes, Professor." They both muttered in unison.
"Good. Here is an envelope. It has your train tickets, hotel directions, a list of nearby restaurants, your money, a list of important things to remember, contact information, and everything else you need. You seem to be good to go... wearing muggle clothing... good."
The headmaster then spoke, "Hermione, Draco. You will be driving to the train station with Professor McGonagall and then you will be on your way. Is there anything you wish to discuss before you leave?"
Both students shook their heads. "Good, now hurry along you don't want to be late, muggle timing is quite precise."
The car trip to the train was rather uneventful. No words or even glances were exchanged between the two wizards. Finally, they arrived at their destination. Professor McGonagall said goodbye, gave them a last warning to behave, and they were off, on their own, alone.
"So Granger, where is my ticket?"
Hermione handed him his ticket and they entered the train. She found an open compartment and turned expectantly to Malfoy. Instead of joining her he said, "Sorry to disappoint you but I wouldn't share a train compartment with you even if all the other ones were full. Just because we are staying in the same room doesn't mean we will be spending time with one another."
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
"Good. We agree on something. Always agree with your superior's mudblood."
Hermione watched as he left the compartment. His name calling no longer had an effect on her. She was too good a wizard to allow him to belittle her. She was quite glad she was alone in a compartment, although she would prefer Harry and Ron with her, at least she would have some peace and quiet to read. Just as she was getting comfortable, with her book out, the compartment door slid open. Hermione glanced up to see Malfoy standing there.
"What seems to be the problem."
"The compartments are all full."
"Surely not all of them are full."
"But they are sitting in them."
"They? Oh don't tell me you mean muggles. I never thought I would see the day when Draco Malfoy was scared of something."
"I am not."
"Well who am I, to argue with you?"
"Exactly. Glad to know you know your place."
Hermione sighed as Draco sat down across from her. It was going to be a long trip. She put away her book and closed her eyes the slightest bit and drifted off to sleep within seconds. She was awoken abruptly by her suitcase being flung at her. "Come on Granger."
After they got out of the train station Draco looked around at the scenery. Paris was beautiful, no denying that. And the scenery was not the only beautiful thing around. He spotted a group of very attractive muggles and thought, "Who is Granger to think that I am scared of anything? I'll show her."
Draco flashed his classic smile in their direction and made eye contact. That's all it took for the girls to melt. Only, wait a minute, that wasn't the reaction he was getting. The girls were looking disgusted in his direction and yelled out, "Creep." They walked off. What is wrong with muggles?
"Pity. The girls don't have to like you here because they are frightened of your father and scared your family will curse them."
"Don't you dare speak of my father," Draco yelled irritated. She pushed just the right button this time.
"Rejection hurts, doesn't it?"
"I wouldn't know."
"You will soon enough."
"I'm sure you know exactly what it feels like. How many times did Potty reject you Granger?"
"For Merlin's Sake come off it already."
"Granger, did you just say curse out load before?" Hermione's silence was enough to tell him she realized she made a mistake. "Not so perfect anymore?"
"Glad you think of me as perfect."
"Far from that actually."
"Well, I'm going to the hotel." Hermione pulled out the directions to the hotel and handed Draco a copy. She started walking in the opposite direction towards the hotel. After walking only a few feet she felt the icy breath of someone right behind her. She spun around, "MALFOY!"
"Yes?"
"Are you following me?"
"How else am I supposed to get there?"
"It's called a map."
"You expect me to read that thing."
"No, of course not. That would actually require brains."
"That's what you're for Granger."
"Glad I have a purpose in life."
"To serve your superiors, yes."
"Why you arrogant, self-centered prat!"
"Granger, don't get your knickers in a twist. You're causing a scene. We are trying to get by unnoticed."
"Granger, we've been walking around for hours. I've seen this building about 3 times. Wait, you've been taking us in circles, haven't you?"
"But according to the map…"
"Granger who wrote the map?"
Lowering her voice first she spoke softly, "Muggles."
Draco grabbed the map from her and threw it in the trash. "No wonder."
"Great! Now we will never get there. You just ruined our one way to get to the hotel."
"Why don't we just ask someone for directions?"
"Ask a muggle? No. That's not reliable."
"Granger, just do it."
"Do it yourself."
"Fine!" Draco stormed off and stopped random muggle women holding hands with a younger version of herself. The little girl looked no older than seven. "Pardon me, Madam but we seem to be lost. Do you happen to know where to find the Maragot Hotel?"
"Yes, straight down there. You should see it to your left," she replied pointing them in the right direction.
"Thank you for your assistance."
"Manners. Who would have thought?" Hermione wondered.
An hour later, they arrived at the hotel, checked in and finally were in their room. It was a fairly decent size with two double beds and two sets of drawers. The décor of the hotel was rather elegant and Hermione couldn't wait to go look around later on. She just needed to freshen up a bit and unpack her belongings. She went to the bathroom to examine her appearance and wash her face when she heard a loud scream.
"BLOODY HELL!"
Hermione rushed out of the bathroom to find a very tempered Draco throwing his suitcase to the floor.
"THE SUITCASE WON'T OPEN!"
"Didn't you perform a shrinking spell?"
"Yes."
"Me too. All you have to do is…"
"Granger. I know what to do! This bloody wand is working."
"What do you mean Malfoy, wands work. You just aren't working the spell properly. Oh Merlin… I don't believe I used a shrinking spell. We aren't supposed to use magic!"
"It doesn't matter. Even if we wanted to, we can't. The wands don't work!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Your wand is working. They don't just stop working! Here I'll show you." Hermione took out her wand, flicked her hand, muttered the spell and nothing happened.
"What?" She wondered aloud in disbelief.
"I TOLD YOU!"
Hermione did a basic spell. Nothing. She tried to hex Malfoy just for the fun of it. Nothing. "Our wands don't work."
"Good observation Granger. Bloody Brilliant."
"Our wands don't work."
"Granger, I'm not deaf."
"I don't understand…"
"MY CLOTHES!"
"My books!"
"I am stuck living with a mudblood with no magic!"
"We weren't supposed to use magic anyways."
"Granger, no one listens to rules!"
"I don't know how you became Head Boy."
"MY STUFF!" Draco wailed.
"I can't get my stuff out either you know."
"My stuff is expensive Granger."
"We don't have much money to spend."
"I have no stuff and I'm poor!"
"Merlin forbid."
"And I'm stuck with you."
"I'm stuck with you!" she retorted.
"Do you know how many girls would kill to be stuck with me?"
"Of course. Just like those girls outside the train station?"
"I have no wand! I am poor. And I'm stuck with the know-it-all!"
"But I don't understand."
"What's not to understand? You're the know-it-all! We have no money. And I can't use magic!
"Not that!"
"Ahhh!"
"Calm down. I'm trying to think."
"I thought you were smart."
"Smart people think. They use their brain."
"Bloody Hell. I would rather be trapped with one of the giant-Hagrid's creatures in the middle of the Forbidden Forest!"
"I wonder if it's just us."
"Yes Granger. It's just us here. Unfortunately."
"No I mean without magic."
"I'm not sure, let's go ask the muggles outside," he replied sarcastically.
"The chances aren't high that both our wands just aren't working."
"I thought wands just can't not work," Draco said smirking.
"This means that magic isn't working."
"My life has ended."
"Magic was working on the train."
"Granger, you used magic, on a train? With muggles present? And I thought you played by the rules?"
"The compartment was shut and if you would just listen you wound understand what I am trying to tell you!"
"Well?"
"I was able to take out my book and put it back in the suitcase. I had to re-shrink the book."
"Why isn't it working now then?"
"I… I don't know."
"AHH!"
"We just need to do things the muggle way and open the suitcase."
"Granger are you really as dense as you look. Has your brain stopped working? The wands don't work."
"Malfoy you should ask yourself the same thing. Muggles open there suitcases manually."
"With a car?"
"A car? No, by hand." Hermione snapped open the two suitcases.
"My stuff."
"Malfoy how much did you pack?"
"Well I didn't know what muggles had, so everything."
"For Merlin's Sake, I thought I packed a lot."
"Not that it does me any good. This stuff is all the size of my fingernail."
"And we can't do anything about it."
"Granger don't remind me."
"We will definitely have a good presentation at least."
"Is that all you can think about? I am stuck with you."
"Malfoy, DON'T remind me."
"I am stuck with the one person I hate the most, without the one thing I use the most, or the one thing I love the most."
"And I have to deal you and all your problems."
"Exactly Granger."
"Kill me now."
"If only I could."
A/N: I know some parts were rather uneventful but I wanted to get all the information out of the way in this chapter so the rest can be more Hr/Dr. If you didn't understand everything (especially in the beginning) its okay you aren't supposed to right away, everything will eventually fall into place.
This is my first fanfic so any reviews would be greatly appreciated. This chapter only took a billion hours to write. I know my spelling/grammar isn't perfect, (I still might get a BETA so if you could Beta for me just mention it in your review with your email address.) Thanks for reading Chapter One. I will update soon! Happy new years to everyone as well )
- Rebecca