Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all it's characters belongs to J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for my minds play.
This story is canon from book one to five. This starts out in the trio's year six, and it would stray from there.
The rating may or may not change. But it will eventually be HGSS.
IT CAN ONLY GET BETTER
001 : The Fight
The great hall was once more filled with students and merry chatter. Severus scanned the hall and eyed the students in displeasure. Those who met his gaze looked away quickly, terrified. It wasn't long before Dumbledore broke the merriment. Thank God. The old wizard stood up and said his words of, what he likes people to think of, wisdom and philosophy. When all that's said and done, the headmaster then proceeded to announce the arrival of the newest professor- Slughorn. Then to everyone's shock, he declared Snape the new Defense teacher.
Silence.
Potter's outburst was buried amongst the rest of the students cries and the cheers and clapping of his Slytherins.
He smirked and lazily waved his hand in the general direction of his house. At the far end of the table, he spotted young Draco. The boy looked pensive, oddly mature. He was looking more and more like his father. Severus' thoughts wheeled around Potter. And he sneered, remembering that he had to pick him up, all bloody and stubborn, earlier that evening.
Potter met his gaze. The arrogant boy's face was twisted with loathing.
"Well, there's one good thing." Harry said savagely. "Snape'll be gone by the end of the year."
"What do you mean?" asked Ron.
"That job's jinxed. No one lasted more than a year... Quirrell actually died doing it... Personally, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed for another death..."
"Harry!" said Hermione, shocked and reproachful, she almost choked on her pumpkin juice.
Ron was a bit uneasy, too. "He might just go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year," he said reasonably, "that Slughorn bloke might not want to stay long-term. Moody didn't."
Hermione sat a bit uncomfortably, chewing on her food slowly. Harry had gone off to babbling about Malfoy to Ron, ignoring her. He could be seriously be single-minded. But what he said bothered her big time. Snape might be a bastard but he didn't deserve that one. He didn't deserve to die. No one did. Maybe Voldemort...
After the meal, Hermione was pulled aside by an eager Harry.
"What are you doing?"
"We need to talk."
"I'm a prefect, Harry." She turned slightly to Ron, "And so are you. We need to be up there." she told him sternly while glancing quickly at the herd of first years climbing the stairs.
"There are others. This is important." he replied pointedly. "Come on."
Hermione gave Ron a peeved look before following Harry to a deserted corridor. The three settled in moments later in an empty classroom, and as a precaution, Hermione threw a silencing charm around them.
Harry told them about the incident in the train.
"You know mate, he might just be trying to show off to Parkinson." Ron looked unimpressed. And so did Hermione.
"He's right. Think about it, Harry. What could You-know-who possibly order Malfoy to do?"
Harry started pacing. "I just know it, alright? He's up to something..."
"So maybe he is." Said Hermione. "We all are up to something, in one way or another."
Ron snorted.
"You think this is a joke?" Harry turned sharply at Ron. His eyes glinted murderously at the dark.
The red-head clumsily held up his hands in a placating manner. "Ease up, Harry. I never thought of it as a joke. But maybe you just..."
"Just?" Demanded Harry.
"Just...rush in things again."
"I'm not rushing into things, Ron! I'm planning!"
"Then plan with Dumbledore, Harry. Before things go wrong and we end up with someone dead."
Silence.
Harry went oddly still.
No one dare moved.
"Harry," Hermione interjected calmly. "why don't we just call it a night. We're all tired."
"Tired, Hermione?" He looked at her incredulously. "This," He spread out his arms and began beating his chest wildly. "THIS, is tired! I'm tired of all this!"
"You're not alone in this, Harry! We're at war! And you aren't helping by feeling sulky about it!"
Hermione didn't care if they were shouting now. She'd had enough of Harry's emotional outburst. He'd always been peaky after Sirius' death.
"Well, I can't help but be 'sulky' when all you two ever do is bring up Sirius into this!"
"Unbelievable." Ron muttered. "Is that what we all did? We went with you, mate! We're with you through thick and thin-"
"The triwizard tournament?"
"Don't you bring that up!" Cried Ron, all red in the face.
"Stop it! Both of you!"
The two ignored Hermione's attempt.
"Well you brought up Sirius!"
"STOP! Please."
The three of them were panting, and the boys looked at Hermione when she sighed.
"Ron, you did had a falling with Harry during fourth year. And Harry, if you'd just listen to Snape..."
And that was the wrong thing to say for Harry just exploded, "SNAPE GOT SIRIUS KILLED!"
Suddenly, Ron lunged forward, Hermione stepped back with a gasp, and with a blur of robes, Harry found himself flat on the ground and his jaw was tingling. From the weight on his stomach, he could see that Ron was on top of him, straddling him on either side. The expression on his face was fierce and he was red up to his ears, breathing hard.
"Are you mental? Even I could see that Snape wasn't at fault there!" Ron dug his hands on Harry's shoulders, leaning down his weight on him. "Sirius died-" Ron's words were cut off by something sharp poking on the side of his neck.
"BECAUSE HE TRICKED ME!" Harry shouted, each word dripping with venom, and pushed Ron off him with all his might.
Ron stumbled back and fumbled with his wand, but before he could even point it-
"Expelliarmus!"
His wand flew to the side of the room.
"Harry, stop!" Hermione squeezed her way in between the two boys, wand also at hand, pointed straight at Harry.
"Going to hex me, Hermione?"
"You leave me no choice, Harry."
A shrill un-Harry like laugh erupted from her friend's throat. It made the hair at the back of Hermione's neck stand, and she took a step back unconsciously.
"Go on, then. You were never good at Defense." said Harry. His wand pointed at her, then to Ron, and back at her again. "You and him."
"I'm not taking sides, Harry."
Harry was so focused on Hermione that he didn't notice that Ron managed to crawl away to get his wand back. The next thing he knew, Ron was shouting Expelliarmus and he was slammed on the wall behind him.
"No, Ron!"
Harry recovered and got back to his feet. "Incarcerous!"
Ropes began to wrap around Ron, but it hadn't stopped him from casting, "Petrificus totalus!"
"Petrificus totalus!"
Just then, the door opened and Professor McGonagall entered the room looking displeased.
"What is going on here?"
Their Head of House took in the scene before her. Miss Granger had her wand up pointed at an immobile Potter. Weasley was tied down the floor, and from what she could see, immobile as well.
Snape sat down in the chair across the desk from Dumbledore. The old wizard was cradling his blackened hand.
"Not even the start of the term and your Golden Boy has managed to make a mess of himself."
"Severus." Dumbledore shook his head.
The tension in the air was thick. One could feel it clouding the room, stifling. Ever since the vow, the order...Dumbledore refused to tell him more about what was happening. Even the Dark Lord was keeping silent after Lucius' blunder. Everything was complicated before. Everything is complicated now.
"Severus..." the Headmaster pulled out a handsome looking parchment. And by sight, Severus knew at once that it was from the ministry. "I have business to attend to the next few...months. I want you to keep close watch on Draco."
"I always would, Headmaster."
"It's a difficult year ahead."
"Whenever did it get easier?" The Potion Master spat.
"Don't make this even more difficult, Severus. We had this discussion over and done with." Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed. "I'd have expected better of you."
From the disappointed expression on the Headmaster, Severus felt like the eleven year old boy that was being berated by this wizard. He could never make this man proud of him.
The stone from the gargoyles below resonated within the office. Fawkes who sat happily near Dumbledore, now flew in circles near the fireplace. Moments later, the Head of Gryffindor came in, behind her were Dumbledore's Dream Team.
"Why, Minerva. What brings... Miss Granger? Harry and young Mister Weasley as well." The headmaster glanced curiously at the two petrified boys in the air. "Maybe you could let them down, Minerva?"
"Yes, Headmaster." Gryffindor's Head of House waved her wand at the two and released them from the petrificus.
Severus eyed them disdainfully. Potter and Weasley stumbled a bit and it was interesting to see that they moved away from each other at a safe distance. Granger was behind Minerva with her head bowed down.
Curious.
"I think," Minerva cleared her throat. "I'll leave these three to you, Headmaster. I would give them detention. A month. Each."
Dumbledore's fuzzy eyebrows rose in surprise. "A month? Minerva..."
"I'd give them a year." Snape snorted.
With a sharp look aimed at the Potions Master, Dumbledore listened as the Transfigurations Professor told them what had ensued between the three.
"I think," The Headmaster said after a while. "that a months worth detention would be in order."
"But Professor!"
"No, Harry. Fighting in the hallways is against the rules. And hexing a fellow student." He gave the three of them a disappointed look. "Let's see... fifteen points from Gryffindor. I expected better from the two of you, Miss Granger. Mister Weasley."
Hermione wanted to run away in shame. Disappointment. From both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. Never mind her gruff Potions Professor, he looked quite amused. How could she act so...childish? A glance to her right showed Harry glaring daggers at Ron and herself.
Sigh.
Detention. Hurray.
Jeez, the day sure could go on forever. Hermione felt like someone just dropped off a hippogriff on her shoulders. So heavy that she had to slouch and drag herself all through out the day. Literally.
She was so tired that she decided to skip dinner and go ahead and sleep. She wasn't looking forward to another mess in the Great Hall.
She winced as she remembered the fiasco at lunch. Ron and Harry were at each others necks. Being a peace maker, naturally she'd stop them both. But in turn, the two of them decided to attack her and another shouting and near hexing happened.
"Hermione."
Ron was running towards her. She glared at him and he glared back.
"I can't make it at the prefect meeting tomorrow."
"But I'm not going tomorrow." said Hermione.
Not far from them, Harry decided to butt in. "It's Quidditch practice tomorrow." he scowled.
"Well said, Harry." said Hermione in her most bossy tone. "But we've got detention tomorrow."
Ron sweared loudly and scratched his head. "Practice, meeting, and detention?"
"Leave Hermione to the meeting."
"Don't put this all on me. I'm busy, too."
"But I've got detention!"
"Haven't you heard, Harry?" She all but shrieked. "I've got detention, too!"
And she stormed off the other way.
Ugh, it's maddening! What the hell is wrong with this day? It can't get wronger than this.
Can it?
Apparently, it can.
Less than ten feet away, Malfoy and his beefy compadres paraded the halls like they owned it. Malfoy with his bored and smug look plastered across that detestable face of his changed to smug and mildly interested at the sight of her.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Granger."
"Malfoy."
"Your in a foul mood." He snickered. The two beef men followed suit.
"Anyone would." Hermione retorted. "If they had the disaster of bumping into you."
Malfoy sneered. "Funny."
"Do you see me laughing?"
The Slytherins came to a halt, blocking off the hall.
"Move."
"Make me."
Hermione fumbled with her robe pockets to get to her wand. Wand on hand, she pointed it to the blonde's face. "I've no time for games, Malfoy. Let me pass."
"Why, Granger." Malfoy smiled disparagingly. "Who said we were playing?"
Stupefy after stupefy, Hermione blocked them all. She managed to disarm Goyle but the other two were proving hard to take on together.
"Can't fight me alone can you? Three against one, Malfoy?" She laughed. "Incompetent just like your father."
It happened so fast and Hermione had no time to react, much less defend herself.
Malfoy's face was contorted with rage and he opened his mouth and began chanting. A surge of yellow light shot from his wand and it was headed straight for her. She was thrown on her back, her wand was catapulted somewhere far and next she was aware of...
Nothing.
A/N:
Uhm... Well, this is my first fanfic guys. Go easy on me. Oh, and Happy New Year to all!
I'll have the 2nd chapter sometime this January. Gee, 2012.