Head to Head
Draco entered his father's study and stood in front of the large mahogany desk that his father was sitting behind. He clasped his hands behind his back and waited in silence as his father finished writing something on a piece of parchment. Lucius was writing furiously and his quill barely lifted off the parchment. His long gray hair was hanging loosely over his shoulder and his head was bent down over his desk. Draco shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited to be acknowledged.
Finally, Lucius put down his quill, leaned back in his chair slightly and looked up at his son. He folded his hands together on top of his desk and cocked his head to one side slightly as if he was considering something.
"You wanted to see me, Father?" Draco finally asked, becoming somewhat uncomfortable with the silence.
Lucius looked at him for a moment longer before saying anything. "Yes, Draco, there are a few things I would like to discuss with you." He said slowly and deliberately. "As you are aware, I am under house arrest for the next 5 years so that leaves you to uphold the Malfoy name in the meantime." He paused at the thought of his sentence. At his war criminal trial, his attorney had somehow convinced the judge to commute a 3 year Azkaban sentence to 5 years under house arrest. While he was thankful to not be spending any time within the walls of Azkaban again, 5 years inside a house was still punishment enough.
Draco nodded his head. "I am aware, sir." He answered, a little nervous at where this was going.
"As this is your last year at Hogwarts, I am informing you that you will be marrying Pansy Parkinson the summer after graduation." He said casually as if he was discussing business and not the rest of his son's life.
Draco's eyes widened. "Excuse me, sir? You want me to marry Pansy Parkinson?" He sputtered almost unable to believe what he was saying. "And you want me to marry her right after graduation?"
Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "You must be confused, son. I am not telling you what I want; I am telling you what you will do. She comes from a good pureblood family and an alliance with her family will be good for our family business, especially since I will be running it from the Manor during your schooling. After the wedding, you will take over the business and her father will become one of your partners. The influence Malfoy Enterprises will achieve will be vast."
"I thought you wanted me to be with the business for a few years before taking it over, Father." Draco started to rack his brain for anything to postpone his nuptials. "I thought you didn't want me to get married until after that."
Lucius gritted his teeth. "Yes, well, that was before I was sentenced to 5 bloody years under house arrest." He said as his voice rose with every word. He calmed himself down before continuing. He turned an icy glare upon his son as he laid out his demands. "You will uphold the Malfoy name, you will marry Pansy Parkinson and you will take over the family business. Is that clear?" He said, leaving no room for argument.
Draco's hands balled into fists for a moment and he took a deep breath. "Yes, Father. You are perfectly clear."
"Good, we shall be announcing your engagement at our Christmas Ball." He said with an air of finality.
Draco took that as his dismissal and started to make his way towards the door when his father stopped him.
"Oh, Draco?" Lucius said as Draco stopped and looked back at him. "Good work on making Head Boy." He said succinctly before picking up his quill and starting to write again.
Draco allowed a ghost of a smile to adorn his pale face and nodded slightly. "Thank you, Father." He said as he walked out the door and closed it behind him.
He walked quickly through the halls and finally reached his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and leaned his back against it. He knocked his head against the hard wood as he thought about the conversation he had just had with his father. He always knew Pansy was a potential bride for him but he didn't think he'd be married at 18. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He ran his hand through his pale blond hair and resisted the urge to scream. He closed his eyes and tried to accept his fate. After all, he was a Malfoy. And he would do what he was told.
o.o.o.o.o.o.o
Hermione felt her wavy brown hair sway as the horn of the Hogwarts Express blew. She was standing on Platform 9 ¾ and she was ready to start her final year at school. She looked at the morose faces of her two best friends and put on her best smile. "Oh, cheer up; I'm only going to Hogwarts not to another country or something." She said as she grabbed a hand of Harry's and a hand of Ron's.
"But we'll miss you, 'Mione. Are you sure you really need to go back? The Minister said it wasn't necessary for a position in the Ministry for us." Ron whined, his grip on her hand tightening.
"Oh Ron, you know how much my education means to me. I need to graduate." She said, shaking her head slightly at the red head in front of her. His red hair was now past his ears and had a shaggy quality to it. He had more freckles on his face that he did previously and she swore he grew even taller over the summer. She looked up at him and gave him a warm smile, hoping that he would see that this was important to her.
"But we won't be there to protect you." Harry chimed in, a look of concern gracing his face. He had a small frown tugging at his lips and he ran his free hand through his messy black hair. He seemed to be asking her to stay with them with his emerald green eyes.
Hermione pursed her lips. "Now Harry, I can take care of myself. I don't need you two around every second." She chastised him while giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
Harry had the grace to look down at the ground but Ron continued on. "Harry's right, it wouldn't be good for you to be without us. We need to stick together." He practically pleaded.
"Ronald Weasley, I will be fine." She said, her patience starting to run thin. She smiled a sweet smile as she thought of what she could say to end the conversation. "You know, you're always welcome to come back to school if you're that concerned."
Ron's crisp blue eyes went wide as he considered the thought of returning to classes and homework. For a moment it seemed like the thought caused him physical pain. "No no, you're right 'Mione, you'll be fine." He said hastily.
The train blew its horn again, signally the approaching time to leave. Harry came up and gave her a hug. "Well, you take care of yourself, Hermione. We'll come visit during Hogsmeade weekends when we can." He said as he let go. "You'll make a great Head Girl."
"Thanks Harry. Good luck in Auror Training. Please be careful." She said sincerely and gave him a hug for support.
Ron then came up and squeezed her tightly in a hug. "I'll miss you, 'Mione. You make sure to write often." Ron said as he let go and put his hands on her arms. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers softly. "I love you."
Hermione smiled as he pulled away. "I love you, too. I will certainly make sure to owl." She said, suddenly saddened to be leaving her best friends. She thought it wouldn't be too bad, but leaving them was turning out to be harder than anticipated. "I better go find Ginny." She said to keep her from having second thoughts. She grabbed her trunk hastily and turned around before she could change her mind.
She walked towards the train and someone grabbed her trunk to lift in onboard. She turned around and waved to her best friends and then boarded the train. She passed many first years who seemed confused on where to sit and a couple of returning 5th year Ravenclaws. She quickly found the compartment with Ginny, Luna, Neville and Dean Thomas.
Hogwarts had decided to give everyone a chance to repeat the previous year since the Death Eaters had made the last year intolerable. Of course, they found enrollment of higher level students to be smaller than usual, due to the students who chose not to come back or had lost their lives in the War.
Hermione came into the compartment and had her trunk lifted onto the luggage rack. She smiled at the occupants and they all welcomed enthusiastically.
"So, any idea who Head Boy is?" Ginny asked as she twirled a piece of her fiery red hair between her fingers.
"I imagine it would be Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot or Ernie Macmillan." Hermione answered as she sat down next to Neville. She had been pondering that question since she received her letter stating that she was Head Girl.
"Actually, this is the first year in quite a while that a Ravenclaw hasn't been one of the Heads." A dreamy voice piped up. "Perhaps the nargles were a bigger distraction than I previously thought." She said almost to herself.
Hermione looked at the blond witch, who seemed to be pondering her last statement. "Is it Ernie then?"
Luna looked over at Hermione with an almost surprised look. "What? Oh." She blinked a couple of times before answering again. "Draco Malfoy is Head Boy." She answered as if everyone knew.
"WHAT?!" Hermione yelled which caused Neville to jump a bit. "I have to work with Malfoy?!"
Ginny looked at her sympathetically. "Sorry Hermione. That's tough luck."
Dean looked up, an amused expression on his face. "Don't the heads share living quarters?"
Hermione's brown eyes went wide as she realized that he was right. She groaned and leaned her head against the wall. "Yes, we share a common room and bathroom. This is going to be insufferable." She lamented.
Dean chuckled. His light brown hair shook as the laughter came out of his mouth. Hermione glared at him in response. "Sorry Hermione, that really is tough luck but the thought of you and Malfoy having to share living quarters is quite amusing."
Hermione sighed. She shook her head thinking that maybe she should've taken the Minster up on his offer and skipped the year. "I'm glad it's entertaining to someone because I am certainly not amused."
Just then, the compartment door opened and a 5th year Hufflepuff came in. She looked around for a moment before her eyes rested on Hermione. "Um, Headmistress McGonagall would like to talk to you, Hermione." She said quietly.
Hermione nodded and rose from her seat. She followed the blond Hufflepuff down the aisle and she stopped in front of another compartment towards the front of the train. She pointed at the door before giving her a nod and sprinting away. Before she opened the compartment door, she could see the Headmistress already engaged in conversation with the platinum blond Head Boy. She took a deep breath and stepped into the compartment.
"Oh, Ms. Granger, glad you could join us." The Headmistress said, gesturing to the seat across from her and next to a certain blond.
"Of course, Headmistress." Hermione said politely before taking her seat, making sure there was as much space between her and Draco as humanly possible. She saw the headmistress look at her and incline her head towards her neighbor and she begrudgingly complied. "Hello Malfoy."
"Granger." Draco said curtly. He was appalled that he even had to acknowledge her existence but he didn't miss the woman's actions across from him. He slid over until he was practically pressed against the wall, making sure even his robes were as far away from her as possible.
"Well, as you both are aware, you are our two Heads this year. Congratulations." The Headmistress continued as if she didn't notice the two treating each other as if the other had the plague. "I expect the two of you to take your roles seriously and become model students for the rest of the students to look up to. The war is over and I expect the two of you to treat each other civilly and to work together when necessary." She saw both Hermione and Draco frown at that statement and she pursed her lips together before continuing. "Which, as heads, you should be aware will happen quite frequently."
Hermione was the first to speak. "In what capacity will we be working together, Headmistress?" She asked politely but hesitantly, somewhat dreading the answer.
"Well, obviously, the two of you will have to cooperate on the prefects schedule and arrange the tutoring schedules. You both will be responsible for the Yule Ball this year and for scheduling Hogsmeade weekends. Also, you will both become potions partners for the year as to be able to efficiently finish your work and have time to help others with their potions work, especially since that seems to be the subject most have trouble with." McGonagall paused for a moment letting the horrified expressions on the two people across from her start to thaw. "Oh yes, and we shall be promoting interhouse unity this year and I expect the two of you to be a shining example of such by planning events and partnerships to display the intolerance of prejudice and bigotry. Of course, the two of you shall be partners in all those to be an example of the policy."
This time Draco couldn't hold it in. "Excuse me, Headmistress, but you expect us to be an example of interhouse unity and to plan events displaying that we're grand old friends? I'm sorry, but you must have gone mad!" He burst out, unable to keep the incredulousness from his voice.
"Draco! That is an unacceptable way to talk to your Headmistress." McGonagall chastised. "And I absolutely expect that from my two Heads. If you do not believe you are up to the task, may I suggest you hand in your badge and I will find someone else more amenable to my plans."
Hermione's mouth was still hanging open but after that threat, she wisely decided to keep it shut. Draco scowled but didn't say anything else. He crossed his arms in front of him and then glared hard at the muggle born witch next to him as if it was somehow her fault.
McGonagall watched the two across from her silently for a moment before moving on. "Good, now that we have that settled, I will announce the two of you at the feast today and then will show you up to your rooms. This is a difficult year for many students as a lot of them lost family on Hogwarts ground. Please be respectful of that."
Both students cast their eyes to the ground at them mention of the Battle at Hogwarts. Both of them remembered it vividly. The memories played back through Hermione's mind and she felt her ire rising as she turned and looked at the Head Boy.
"Prof – I mean, Headmistress, I'm afraid I don't understand how having a Death Eater as Head Boy will be good for anyone in this school." She said scathingly, the flood of memories reminding her of why she hated the boy next to her so much.
Draco's eyes narrowed at her and was about to respond when McGonagall responded first.
"Let's make a few things clear right now. We will not be mentioning any reference to Death Eaters during the school year; the students don't need to be reminded." She said calmly, looking at Hermione. She then turned her gaze to Draco. "And we will not be mentioning any derogatory terms for muggle borns as well. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Headmistress." They grumbled in unison.
"Good. The two of you have a grand opportunity to show that the war does not have to rip people and lives apart. Please keep that in mind as you go through your year." McGonagall said as she stood up. "I will see you both at the end of the feast." She said as she walked out the door, ending the discussion.
It was silent for a moment before Draco stood up to leave as well. "Listen mudblood, I might have to act civilly to you in public, but that does not mean I have to when we're alone." He sneered before heading to the door.
"Oh, I expect nothing less from you, Malfoy. Besides, everyone always knew you were a sore loser." She shot back.
Draco stopped for a moment but decided it wasn't worth his time. He opened the compartment door and left, letting the door slam behind him.
Hermione leaned her head back against the seat and balled her fists. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Maybe Harry and Ron had been right afterall.
A/N: Welcome! This is my first Hogwarts fic, so lets see how it goes. I hope you have enjoyed the first part so far. As most who have read my stories previously, you all know that these are eventual Hermione/Draco plot lines. If you expect an instant falling for one another, you're in the wrong story. :-) Well, ENJOY the story and please REVIEW! It really helps me figure out how I'm doing. ~Chrissy