Disclaimer: Nothing is mine; everything belongs to the lovely J. K. Rowling.
"Is it me, or has Snape seriously changed?" asked Harry as he took a seat at the Gryffindor table for lunch.
Hermione stole a glance at Snape and frowned. He seemed to be chatting animatedly with Professor McGonagall. There was no sneer, smirk or frown on his face. The cheerful look on his face looked very unnatural.
"It's strange," she said, "And have you noticed that Dumbledore's actions have changed too?"
"Yeah," said Ron while chewing his bite of chicken, "It's really creepy. Can you believe Snape actually smiled at me today while I was taking notes?"
"Are you kidding? He hasn't insulted Neville not once! And when I tried talking to Dumbledore on Wednesday, he told me he was too busy and practically kicked me out of his office. When Snape saw me, he asked me to have tea with him." said Harry, staring at Snape as though he were insane.
"Maybe Dumbledore's just tired; Voldemort and his Death Eaters are out of control. There was a series of deaths in a small Muggle town that happened some weeks ago. Of course they have no idea how or who was doing it because nearly all of them were killed by the Killing Curse," said Hermione, looking sad but angry at the same time.
"That still doesn't explain Dumbledore's behaviour," said Ron, looking puzzled, "He's been under pressure loads of times but he's never lost his grip."
"Well," said Hermione, rising to her feet, "Whatever the problem is, it had better be solved soon."
Harry looked up at her. "Where are you going?"
"I have to arrange a meeting with Malfoy."
Ron choked on his bacon and looked scandalized. Harry poured him a glass of juice and he sipped it at once.
"Why the hell are you arranging meetings with him?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "He's Head Boy," she reminded her friend then swung her bag over her shoulder and headed out the Great Hall. She took the stairs up to the library. It was empty with only Malfoy sitting at a desk taking notes and Madam Pince roaming between the shelves. She walked towards Malfoy and took a seat opposite him.
"Finally," he mumbled. He looked a lot more sinister than usual. Hermione frowned and took out a quill and parchment.
"You'd better hurry this up, Granger," said Malfoy, "I've got things to do."
"And so do I, Malfoy. So first we'll start with the patrolling of the school grounds. Sixth years must be accompanied by a professor but the seventh years can be paired with other prefects."
"There are two prefects from each house so the seventh year students can just partner each other."
"No," said Hermione, "Dumbledore said he'd rather have the prefects partnered with others from different houses."
"Dumbledore?" sneered Malfoy, "The man's lost his charm. He's probably realized his death is coming so he's feeling too crappy for anything. Don't you think?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "There's nothing wrong with Dumbledore; I would say differently about Snape."
Malfoy leaned closer to Hermione. "Maybe Professor Snape is feeling cheerful because he too is feeling death circulating around Dumbledore?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?" said Hermione suspiciously.
He sat back on his chair and smirked. "Whatever you want it to mean. Now, you can pair whoever you want but Pansy and Blaise will be together."
"Don't expect me to do all the work, Malfoy," she warned.
Hermione found Malfoy's company unsettling but she had no choice but to fulfill her duties with him. The fact that Harry and Ron were so convinced that he was a Death Eater only made things worse. Hermione knew his father was a prominent member of Voldemort's Death Eaters but she doubted that Malfoy would actually be one as he was still young.
He shrugged and returned to taking notes off a large book he was reading.
"Alright," said Hermione thirty minutes later, "I've organized everything. You can take this and stick it on the notice boards of your common and please give this to Anthony -- the Ravenclaw prefect," said Hermione as she handed him two parchments.
Malfoy took them; he placed Ravenclaws' one in his bag and looked over the Slytherins'. He read over it then looked up with a frown on his face.
"I won't patrol the grounds with you," he said, with a disgusted look on his face.
Hermione began packing her belongings.
"Did you not hear me? I will not be spending my nights with you," he spat.
"If I had any other option, I would gladly take it. Unfortunately, the Heads must patrol the grounds together," she replied, trying to keep her cool.
Malfoy scowled.
"The prefects' meeting will be held tomorrow in Professor Flitwick's classroom," said Hermione, "Anything else?"
He gave her one last filthy look and walked out of the library. Hermione glanced at the library clock and smiled a little. She had about an hour before her first class so she began strolling through the bookshelves until she found a heavy, dusty book that captured her interest. She sat back comfortably at a desk near the window and began reading.
It was forty minutes later when Hermione heard screams and footsteps vibrating through the castle's walls. Hermione shot to her feet as her eyes grew wide. She looked around the library and Madam Pince seemed to have strangely disappeared. Leaving her belongings on the table, she hurried out of the library. The corridor was empty but Hermione heard a loud buzz that was vibrating through the stone ground at her feet. It was coming from the Great Hall. She ran downstairs as fast as her feet could take her.
Every single person in the school seemed to be inside the Hall. Hermione looked around, worried. Finally she got to the middle of the circle and her jaw dropped to the floor. Everyone was staring at the figure sprawled on the floor. She gazed around to find Harry and Ron. They were standing nearby, their faces overcome by fear, worry and confusion.
Hermione stared back at the figure.
"W - what happened?" she asked Hannah Abott, who was standing beside her.
"I don't know," the girl replied, her voice shaking.
Suddenly, silence fell over the Great Hall as Professor Dumbledore made his way through the crowd. He didn't look surprised as he stared down at Snape's motionless body.
"Is he dead?" asked someone.
Dumbledore looked up and gazed around the room.
"Yes," he replied sharply.
Hermione glanced at the left where most of the Slytherins were standing. Her eyes narrowed as she realized Malfoy was no where to be seen. But then he suddenly emerged out of the crowd with his wand in his hand and a triumphant look on his face.
Students began screaming as Malfoy's form began to change right before there eyes. Within seconds, a slim figure was standing exactly where Malfoy had stood.
"Finally, you're dead, you filthy traitor," spat Bellatrix Lestrange as she gazed down at Snape in disgust.
But the screams did not stop.
"Hermione, behind you!" yelled someone.
She spun around as her hand shot to underneath her robe for her wand. Before her hand could reach it, someone gripped her arm and then suddenly, her world faded away.