Authors note/ Disclaimer: So I've kind of been toying with the idea of this fanfic for a while, and I've finally decided to just get it into writing. It is my first, so please be patient with me on it, but at the same time I really do appreciate constructive criticism, and feel that any input would be very beneficial for me. Also I am only going to put this in here once, as I don't see a need for it in EVERY chapter: I claim no ownership over any characters/places/terms in general that belong to JK Rowling, this is strictly for entertainment purposes. Thank you
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It had only been six months since the battle of Hogwarts, and already the wizarding world was well on its way to recovery. Many prime Voldemort supporters had been rounded up and either held in custody or put under house arrest, while trials had been going on since mid June. The process was a slow one, as newly appointed Minster Of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt had vowed never to have another Sirius Black incident again, and was insisting on individual and comprehensive trials for each suspect. Of the original death eaters captured, only about twelve trials were left to be scheduled. During this time any suspects were also required to complete a six week "Muggle Acceptance and Education" class that forced attendees to become familiar with muggle culture, technology, and advances, as well as stressed the importance of accepting and coexisting with their muggle counterparts.
In addition to the developments in the ministry, repairs all through the British Wizarding world were well underway. Diagon Alley had been fully restored to its former glory, and Hogsmeade was undergoing many improvements, as well as housing developments for those who lost their homes. The greatest of all were the efforts put into Hogwarts; over the summer Witches and Wizards not only from Britain, but also from France and Bulgaria had come to restore the old castle. On this crisp November afternoon the castle was just as grand as ever, complete with a soft blanket of snow and the laughter of students in the corridors. Students that had been unable to attend the previous year had been invited back to the school and placed in whatever year they had missed, and the entire seventh year class had been requested to return whether they attended or not as their education the previous year had not been at the NEWT standard.
Weaving through the crowds Hermione Granger marched at a determined pace for her last lesson of the day, her two friends Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley walked hand in hand close behind.
"Honestly!" Hermione exclaimed as a second year Hufflepuff crashed into her while running around with their friends. "Class starts in five minutes, and they are running around like a bunch of wild monkeys! What part of 'no running in the corridors' is it that they don't understand?" She was about to continue her tirade when a shout made her turn back to witness the same boy slam into someone else while chasing his friends.
Seeing one of the Hufflepuff prefects standing near a classroom she hollered down to him " Cauldwell! Settle that lot down before I have to deduct points!", getting a nod in return she turned back around and continued on her way.
"Oh come on Hermione," Harry said as that walked down the stairs leading to the dungeons, "they've probably just finished their last class, and it is Friday, you really should let them have some fun. After all, I believe we've had our share of running in the corridors" He gave a little smirk at her as he passed and open the door for her and Ginny.
"That" She said giving him a sharp look as she stepped through the door, "Was a completely different circumstance and you know it. I highly doubt that they are running around because of some sort of danger." Harry rolled his eyes and Ginny gave a small giggle as the three continued their way down the corridor to the classroom at the end.
"Someone is a little snippy today hmmm?" Harry loudly whispered to Ginny, who smacked him playfully on the arm and came back with "Oh don't give her such a hard time, you'd be snippy too if you had her partner for this class"
"Ugh" Hermione groaned in front of them as they got closer to the classroom "Please don't ruin my last few moments of peace by bringing that up, it's bad enough sitting beside him in the actual class, I don't need to think about him out here too. And come to think of it we have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, bugger." She whispered the last part before turning the handle of the door to open it.
"Well have a good lesson then, do try to pay some attention today Harry, Ginny won't be there for the exam you know." A laugh from Ginny and insulted frown from Harry were her only responses and she entered the room and went to sit beside the Head Boy.
"Afternoon Malfoy" She said in her usual strained civil voice, placing her books on the table she shared with the tall blond.
"Granger" He said just as civil with a nod, before turning back to Zabini who sat across from him. No insults were traded, no sneers or rude comments, they were always polite and kept words to a minimum, presenting a "united front" as they had been instructed. At least in public, behind the closed doors of the heads office, or during patrols when nobody was around was a different story completely. No politeness was required when no one was there to see, and insults could flow as freely as they pleased.
Sliding into her seat, she thought back on that first day in McGonagall's office when she found out who her partner would be.
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"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? You're telling me that you think the best choice for the HEAD BOY is THAT inbred, pompous, waste of space DEATH EATER?"
"You CAN NOT honestly be expecting me to actually work with this filthy, control freak, know it all BITCH! There is no way that is-"
"EXCUSE ME FERRET FACE? Why don't you take a look at yourself before you start looking down your nose at everyone else! You are right that there is no way this is happening! I would rather die that have to spend time with your pathetic cowardly arse!"
"COWARDLY! Please princess, go hide behind your little boyfriends and then tell me about cowardly!"
"Oh I can already tell you all about being cowardly, I think a perfect example would be you and your pathetic family, kissing the feet of whoever has the most power at the time. A PRIME sample would be your death eater father, hopefully after his trial he will rot in Azkaban"
" YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU FILTHY, UGLY, LITTLE MUDBLO-"
"ENOUGH!"
Both of the teens turned to see Professor McGonagall staring at them in rage.
"You will both sit back DOWN and listen. Despite this war being behind us, these are still trying times, right now Hogwarts' top priority is house unity. I chose the two of you because I thought that I was going to be dealing with level headed young adults capable of handling this with maturity, NOT the couple of squabbling first years that I seem to have in front of me now!"
Once the three of them had resumed their seats and had calmed their breathing professor McGonagall continued.
"Now, as I was saying, I chose the two of you for this because I truly believe that you are the best for the job, if the two of you can present a united front, then surely the rest of the school can follow. Ms Granger, You have always been an exceptional student with a level head and an understanding of what needs to be done. Surely you can see how influential a Slytherin and Gryffindor pair as the heads working together would be for the school." She said trying to speak to Hermione's rational side.
Turning to Malfoy she continued, "As for you Mr. Malfoy, despite your… disappointing background, I do believe, as did Albus and Severus, that given the opportunity you could make something more of yourself. This is your opportunity and I don't think that you should be wasting it. Professor Tonks has also assured me that she believes you to be more than capable-"
"Professor Tonks?" Hermione cut in, a confused look on her face. " Do you mean Andromeda Tonks?"
"Yes, Andromeda Tonks has agreed to come on staff as our new Muggle Studies Professor, a formal announcement will be made at the opening feast." McGonagall answered her before continuing on.
"As I had been saying Mr. Malfoy, this is an opportunity that you should not be throwing away, another might not present itself to you." She finished with a stern look at Malfoy, who had been staring at her desk with a stormy expression the whole time.
"Now, as I said, I expect the two of you to act MATURELY and RESPONSIBLY this year. You will be at least polite to one another in front of others, I can't make you like one another, but I do demand that you put forth the image of a united team to ALL other students, including your friends. If you feel unable to do this, tell me now and I will find someone else for the position, it is a great honor that I'm sure many other students would covet. If I catch wind of anything less than civility being seen between you, I will immediately dismiss you from your position and find a better candidate. Understood?" She said, sizing up both of the teens sitting across from her desk.
"Yes Professor"
"Good. Now I sugest you go unpack your things and get settled, you both have your own rooms off of your respective common rooms. After dinner I will show you to the head's office, and next week you will floo to Kings Cross station to take the train with the rest of the students." She then stood and walked them to the door, not noticing the death glares that they we shooting each other behind her back.
Hermione went down the staircase first, and Malfoy followed after. Just as they were almost out of sight Professor McGonagall called down to them "Oh and Mr. Malfoy, should I EVER hear the word "Mudblood" come from your lips again, you will be expelled immediately. I advise you to pass this on to your housemates, that word is NOT to be tolerated at Hogwarts." And with that she shut the office door.
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/i
Professor Slughorn entering the room jarred Hermione from her thoughts and she quickly pulled out a blank sheet of parchment and prepared to take notes.
"As I'm sure you are all well aware" Slughorn began, rocking back and forth on his feet at the front of the class " We have just four potions left for you to brew before the winter break"
He paused for a moment as the class cheered before continuing "Today we will begin covering the Wolfsbane Potion, next week the Alihotsy Draught, the week after the Muffling Drought, and finally Amortentia the week before the break. The Wolfsbane potion was first invented in the mid 1970's…"
Hermione immediately set to writing down every word that came out of the professor's mouth, despite already knowing a great deal about the potion she wanted to make sure that her notes had everything he said, just in case something not in the textbook was mentioned.
Although while doing so she couldn't help a few sideways glances at Malfoy through the lesson. Ever since Professor Slughorn had assigned them as partners, he wanted his "best and brightest" to be working together, she had grudgingly come to admit that Malfoy wasn't quite the slacker she had always pegged him for.
Yes, he did complain about the workload fairly often, but he did always do his share of the work, generally just as carefully as she herself. She had also gone into the head's office on more than one occasion and found him at his desk studying or doing homework. When she had first heard that he was second to her in grades she hadn't believed it, but these past few months had shown her that he was dedicated to his studies, though not as open about it as her.
He had grown up quite a bit too she had noticed, both physically and mentally. He was much taller now than she had remembered him being, and more muscular too, although part of that could be the lack of Crabbe and Goyle at his side she reasoned. His skin had taken on a bit of colour over the summer, still pale by normal standards, but he did look much healthier. She recalled how drawn and sickly he had looked when she had last seen him before the summer; the toll the war had taken on him had been very visible then.
She also knew that even though he hated sharing them with her, he did seem to take his Head duties seriously. She rarely had to fight with him about patrols, and his share of the work was always completely perfectly and on time. He may still be a prick, but he wasn't the same little boy he once was. Not surprising though she thought, war did have a way of forcing people to grow up faster.
He lifted his head and ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly while watching the professor intently. Hermione quickly averted her eyes and went back to watching Slughorn, it wouldn't do to be caught looking at him. Over the past couple months they had done quite well, outstanding really in Hermione's opinion, at maintaining a polite partnership while in public (again in private was a very different story), and contributing to that was them ignoring each other when able. So Hermione went back to pretending that he wasn't there and focused on her notes.
ooo
"Finally! I didn't think you lot would ever get down here!" Ron exclaimed as Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all joined him at the Gryffindor table, where his plate was already almost over flowing with dinner foods.
"Well some of us actually have a full course load this year Ron" Hermione replied while putting a piece of shepherds pie on to her plate, "Not everyone has a job already waiting for them, we actually have to take more than the bare minimum" It was by Mrs. Weaselys insistence that Ron had agreed to return for this year, George had already promised him a position at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes as his right hand man, so his NEWTs weren't really necessary.
Ron scoffed at her through his mouth full of mashed potatoes before swallowing, "If you wanted a job at the shop Hermione all you had to do was ask, I'm sure George would be more than happy to have you on board… though then again, pranks aren't really your thing."
Hermione rolled her eyes before a more compassionate look took over her features "Speaking of George, how is he doing? Have you heard much from him?". Ever since losing Fred George hadn't been the same, he still joked around and was very focused on his creations, but his laugh wasn't quite the same, and his smile didn't seem to reach his eyes. After the funeral he locked himself in his apartment for three weeks before Bill and Charlie finally broke down the door.
"He seems alright" Ron said, glancing over at Ginny who had gone very quiet, "He's still not quite… George, but I think he's working his way through it. Mum has him over a lot and she says he's really improving, but Bill wrote me last week and said he still wasn't the same. I don't know if he ever will be."
"Don't say that!" Ginny snapped from across the table, her fork was in her hand but it was clear that she was only using it to push her food around, her appetite clearly gone. Fred's passing was the hardest on George, but both Ginny and Ron were also very affected by it.
"So how are the graduation plans coming Hermione? Any big decisions made yet?" Harry asked from across the table, clearly trying to steer the conversation away from such sensitive subjects.
"Not really," She sighed " Malfoy and I have a meeting tomorrow with McGonagall to discuss it, but we haven't really made any plans. Kingsley has had the ministry donate to our budget, he said he wants it to be a big celebration as it's the first graduation since the restoration of the castle, so it sounds like it will be quite the affair."
"Has the Ferret been pulling his weight?" Ron asked, casting a dark look over at the Slytherin table "Because if he's leaving you with everything then I wouldn't mind giving him some motivation to work harder" he cracked his knuckles to show just what kind of motivation he meant.
"Yes Ron" Hermione sighed "Malfoy has been doing just fine surprisingly enough. Don't even think about trying to go start a fight with him, I will deduct points if you do. Try to keep in mind that the goal is house unity right now"
"Oh I know full well that the goal is 'house unity', that's what I would be practicing, my fist uniting with his face" He said with a smirk earning a laugh from Harry and rolled eyes from Hermione and Ginny.
"Don't encourage him Harry" Ginny warned "Or my lips won't be 'uniting' with yours" Harry gave her a sheepish grin before taking a bite of his stew. Ron on the other hand looked thoroughly pleased with that idea.
"Now THAT'S a plan I like! Go on mate! Encourage me!" Ron taunted from across Harry, who gave him a rude gesture before going back to his dinner.
Hermione cleaned her plate and then stood up and threw her satchel over her shoulder "Well as much as I love watching you eat Ron, I have to go to the library. I want to take some notes on the last four potions of the term so I can have them in class for reference. I heard professor Slughorn may have us try one of them in class so I want to make sure mine is perfect."
"Well with Malfoy as a partner you'll need every extra precaution you can get" Ginny said while eyeing Ron's plate with disgust as he loaded it up with seconds. "I'll see you later tonight?"
"Maybe," Hermione replied stepping over the bench and straightening her skirt "I don't know how late I'll be, it will depend on if I find anything useful. Have a good night" She waved before walking towards the doors.
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Hermione had barely made it into the entrance hall when she heard a high pitched giggle and the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned around to see none other than the head boy with a Ravenclaw girl glued to his side. Malfoy may have matured enough not to start fights in public, but he also held the title of "sex god" among the girls, which in Hermione's opinion meant the same as "man-slut", he seemed to have a new girl every time you turned around.
"Your own room?" she giggled while fluttering her lashes "My how wonderful it must be to be the head boy"
Malfoy smirked down at her while leading her in the direction of the Slytherin common room "Yes, the privacy is definitely my favourite little perk, its very good for… studying… without being disturbed" he said with a wink.
Hermione rolled her eyes as she saw his hand make its way down to rest on the girl's bottom. 'What a pig' she thought, and then continued on her way to the library.
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AN Ok, I know this is a slow start, but these first few chapters are really just for giving you guys all the background on what's been going on so far. I promise we will start building up to some serious D/Hr interaction soon. R&R please :D