A Lovers Muse

42 days, 6 weeks, 4 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin, what happens next?

Harry and the crew are back for their 7th year at Hogwarts. Things take a turn when Dumbledore introduces a Bonding Class, a class that students are randomly put into groups of 6 and have to live with each other for 42 days. When 4 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin are paired together, will they all survive the 6 weeks in such close quarters? Or will the tensions become too much?

NEED TO KNOW: Harry and the crew are back for their 7th year at Hogwarts. The war hasn't happened yet. Draco isn't a Death Eater, and wasn't assigned his task in 6th year. Cedric is still alive, the trio isn't hunting for Horcruxes because they don't know about them yet, and Dumbledore is still alive and in charge.

Characters: Hermione, Draco, Harry, Luna, Lavender, Seamus

Luna is in Harry's year for this story, as well as Cho Chang.

Rated M for future content

PS: When originally writing this I had a heavier themes in mind (I naturally write angst, you see) but I don't know if I will bring them up or not. Maybe I'll hint at them, but I want to keep this story as light as possible

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (if I did I'd be lying on a beach somewhere with a drink in hand, not hunkered down in my house surrounded by 3 feet of snow)

PSS: I apologize in advance for the the characters being OOC

"What do you think it's about then, this class?" Harry wondered aloud. The Great Hall was abuzz with lively conversation, most of it mainly focused around the mysterious 'new class' that all seventh years were being required to take.

"I don't know, Harry, though I do hope we get lots of homework. My mind has had far too much time to wander lately," Hermione didn't look up from her worn copy of Hogwarts: A History whilst saying these exact words. Beside her, Ron almost choked on his pumpkin pasty, and Hermione jumped back at the risk of him spewing crumbs over her precious book. "Watch it, Ronald!"

Ron, though still a slight shade of blue, sat there for a bit looking bewildered before he summoned his breath back again. "Lots of homework, you say? As if we don't have a load already! Honestly…" Harry, sensing that there was going to be an argument between his two best friends, turned to Seamus beside him.

"On a less biased standpoint, what say you?"

The Irish boy looked thoughtful for a few moments before shrugging. "I haven't got a clue. I wouldn't be stressing me pants off if I did, would I?" Harry rolled his eyes to himself, but nodded anyways. He wasn't about to get a better response from anyone at the Gryffindor table.

This new class was only briefly mentioned by Dumbledore the previous night during announcements at dinner. Harry found it a bit odd that the staff would wait for school to be in session for a few weeks before mentioning this. So far, the only information they knew was as followed: all seventh years (Harry's year) were required to take this class. It would not conflict with any of the Quidditch Schedules or practices, or any other clubs, much to the students' relief. After lunch, they were to go up to the North Tower to hear information on the class. No other questions were answered until then.

As one could imagine, this produced excitement and nerves for the seventh years. The sixth years were sneering of how they didn't have to take the class yet, and the Fifth Years were giggling at the Seventh's anxiety. What would this class be about? Would it be easy, would it provide the starvation for homework? Well, the last one was in Hermione's opinion only, but you get the point. Harry had even seen some of the Slytherins fiddling around anxiously while waiting for lunch to arrive. And now, it was here, and Harry was left wondering why he had wished it to come so quickly.

"Honestly, Harry, Dumbledore specifically stated that we would find out more later today. Why bother asking questions over what no one knows?"

Ron muttered something that sounded suspiciously about being hypocritical, but it was muffled out when Hermione shot him a glare scary enough to make Voldemort drop dead. Neville almost passed out on the other side of the Gryffindor table. Harry clapped his hands together in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Anyways! We should get going now if we want to make it in time, correct?"

Ron's mouth dropped open, and his half chewed pumpkin pasty dropped onto his plate. Lavender cringed in disgust, Seamus gave a bout of laughter, and Ginny face palmed at her brother's lack of social skills, and Hermione's eyes watered with fondness as she gazed at Harry. "I have taught you so well," she said emotionally, while Ron gave him the have-you-gone-mad look.

Reluctantly, Ron and Harry rushed to follow Hermione as she bounded out of the Great Hall and off towards the class awaiting them. The two boys had to push numerous unsuspecting students out of the way in order to catch up. When they finally did, Harry doubled over and Ron wheezed. "Slow down!"

Surprisingly, Hermione obliged. She slowed down to a brisk walk, which Harry's side starting cramping over, as they continued at a fast pace through the corridor. Ron graciously offered apologies to any of the younger students who didn't get out of the way in time.

As Hermione's shoes tapped along the floor nosily, she decided to ask, "Where is it anyways?" Harry frowned in slight confusion, and he and the Weasley exchanged a look.

"You mean you don't know?" That wasn't right. Hermione was always on top of things. Wasn't this the girl that had already completed the Potions essay that wasn't due for two more weeks?

"I have been busy," she responded, aloof. If there was one word that Harry had never dreamed he would have used to describe Hermione was 'aloof'. Ron was slightly dazed at this new change of personality.

"With what?"

Now, Harry had to whack himself on the forehead, along with Hermione, at Ron's question. Hermione's course load was immense, as much as if could be without a Time Turner handy. Not to mention the numerous hours she spent huddled up in the library.

"Homework?" she asked dully. Harry granted her the use of her tone. Ron turned a little pink and mumbled something unintelligible as the Trio rounded a corner and proceeded walking. "It keeps me distracted,"

"But I thought you said you had it all under control? You know you shouldn't take on what you can't handle. It's bad for you to be stressed out all the time," Harry said worryingly. Hermione gave him an affectionate smile and patted his arm.

"Oh, I do, I've just been distracted lately,"

Harry gave Ron a sideways glance. "You know, Ron, the mind is often clouded when there are more important things occupying it,"

"Oh yes, and what might that be," Ron asked, wondering why there was a somewhat mischievous glint in the raven headed boy's eyes.

"Love,"

Ron stared at him for a moment, before repeating dumbly. "Love?"

"Love,"

"Love?!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, earning a few snickers from a group of Slytherins that had just passed by. Glaring at their backs for a bit, Hermione then turned back to the boys, who were going farther into Harry's conclusion.

"That's right," Harry stated proudly.

"Merlin's pants, so Hermione's in love,"

"I think we're jumping to conclusions here…" Hermione squeaked from the side, desperately trying to get a say in the conversation. She argued, "I'm not in love!"

"She's not in love!" Ron said, the tips of his ears turning a shade of red that rivaled his hair. Harry gave his friend a curious and teasing look, causing Ron to go a few shades darker.

"Stop being so defensive Ron and face the facts," said Harry smoothly.

Hermione tried to laugh it off. "Boys, you are being ridiculous…"

Her actions failed. "Oh really, then how do you explain-" before Harry could launch into a well-thought explanation, she stepped in.

"Where is this class anyways, I would quite like to know where I am going," Hermione interrupted smartly. Luckily, her blatant change of subject succeeded, because Harry forgot his train of thought and said absently,

"North Tower...Hey, why did you stop walking?" Harry stopped too, and glanced back over his shoulder. The curly brunette had frozen on the spot. Ron and Harry, including many passing students watched her curiously and quite oddly.

"The North Tower?" she breathed. Ron gave Harry the I-Told-You-She-Was-Mental look.

"Er, yes?"

"You don't say,"

"Well, I did just say-" Harry was starting to debate whether or not he should take her to the Hospital Wing when he was rudely cut off by a screech.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!"

Yup, the Hospital Wing was a definite go.

"Sweet Merlin where's the banshee?!" Ron cried in alarm, ducking for cover underneath his book bag.

"Hermione?!"

"NEVER!" there was a stubborn glint in Hermione's eyes that scared Harry a bit.

"I think you're being a bit…ridiculous," Harry was searching for a word that would not upset his apparently mentally unstable friend before him. Darn it, Ron, why did he always leave the talking to Harry to deal with?

"I AM NOT!"

"Come on Hermione, we'll be late,"

"Yeah, what's so bad about the North Tower anyways?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NEAR WHERE THE DIVINATION CLASS ROOM IS!"

Ron's brow wrinkled in confusion. "So…?" It suddenly clicked in Harry head. His suspicions were confirmed when she shouted,

"THAT'S WHERE TRELAWNEY IS!"

"Come on Hermione," Harry sighed, already tired. He knew that it was a near impossible task to sway Hermione Granger. She was as stubborn as an ox, and as if to prove his point of not budging, Hermione latched herself onto a nearby statue and held on for dear life.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!"

"Don't mind us folks, carry on with your life or whatever is it you're doing. Pay no attention to the crazed girl beside me," Ron said tactlessly to the innocent students walking by the scene. It was quite a scene too. Harry was standing next to Hermione, his hand on her arm trying to pull her off while she continuously shouted 'NO' at the top of her lungs, as she clung onto a statue of a famous member of the Order of Merlin, all while Ron was carefully keeping a safe distance, only stepping in when commentary was needed.

"I am not CRAZED!"

"Haha, Hermione, you look funny when you say that with your eyes all bulgy and…Please don't glare at us like that, it's scary," Ron whimpered as he stepped back even further. "Thank you!" Ron piped up gloriously when she released her stare.

"You can't make me go!"

"Yes, yes, you said that already. Come on, we'll be late, then we'll lose house points, and McGonagall will be mad," Harry reasoned. Hermione relented for a millisecond at the thought of angering her Head of House, and Harry took that to his advantage. He swung her over his shoulder and stepped lightly to the floor as he began to half carry have drag Hermione down the hallway. Her heels scuffed the ground occasionally, littering the fine oak floors with black marks.

Hermione shrieked unhappily from Harry's shoulder. "Hey! Harry James Potter, put me down!" she pounded on his back, and Harry struggled to hold her. She wasn't a big girl but she certainly wasn't small.

"That's quite the suggestive position…" Ron said unhelpfully from the side.

"If words do me no good then my actions must be turned to force, as it is only effective to force force upon you peacefully," Harry said with an air of importance in his tone. Hermione rolled her eyes and 'harumphed' and gave up.

Ron's eyes had widened in awe. "Wow, that was deep mate, who said that?"

"Me,"

"BOYS!"

"Alright alright! Come on Hermione…"

The next ten minutes consisted of Harry lugging Hermione across the castle and up a hundred steps to the North Tower. Once at the top, Harry collapsed onto the ground mercilessly as Hermione jumped lightly off his back and onto the floor with a newfound enthusiasm.

"Come on Harry, we'll be late!" Hermione squealed and ran past him, stepping on him in the process of rushing through the classroom door. Harry continued to lie on the floor, and Ron had to kick him to make sure he was still alive.

"Merlin, mate, are you that out of shape? Those stairs didn't wind me," Ron said once he saw Harry twitch after a few nudges with his foot. Harry didn't even bother sitting up. He huffed from the floor,

"You try carrying Hermione up a hundred steps, she's-"

Hermione suddenly appeared in the doorway looking murderous. Her hair seemed to crackle with electricity and her eyes were sparking. "I'm what, exactly?"

"As light as a feather," Harry squeaked, his eyes bulging.

"Good." And with that she disappeared through the door, leaving Harry and Ron to exchanged frightened looks and follow her in.

The usually lofty room had been transformed. Rows of desks lined the room, one for each student of the Seventh Year, and a platform was set up at the front of the room. The heavy curtains were pulled back to allow sunlight to stream in. Overall, Harry got a happier vibe than he had gotten from the classroom than he had ever in his entire Hogwarts Career. Hermione shuddered involuntarily beside him, but she grabbed his elbow none the less and pulled him up to the front row of the desks. Ron was less agreeable with sitting near the front until Harry grabbed ahold of him and towed him along as well.

Many students in his year were already sitting down. Cho Chang, Harry noted, was in the corner talking with her friends, uncomfortably close, for his liking, to Draco Malfoy and his group of cronies. The majority of the Gryffindors were on the left side of the room, and the Hufflepuffs were scattered throughout. Reluctantly, Harry took a seat at the front of the room and waited for the rest of his classmates to file in.

To his surprise, Professor McGonagall stepped through the door of the classroom in the stern manner that only she could manage, made her way to the front of the room and onto the platform, where she cleared her throat for attention. Silence was achieved almost instantly.

"As you know, you have been gathered here today for the announcement of the new class you are to be enrolled in," Harry's, along with everyone else, curiosity piqued. "The school staff and I have had multiple discussions about House Unity. We have found that there is a particular amount of house rivalry in your year. You have begun to influence the younger students," Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably and shot a glare over his shoulder to Malfoy, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Due to a recent fight that has taken place, please no side comments," everyone knew about the fist fight that had broken out between Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin in their year. It ended up with both students being hospitalized for a few days. "Us teachers have decided to draw the line. This is why we have created this class."

"This 'Bonding' class, is made for you all to connect with each other, to see past your rivalry for each other and make amends," there were several groans, Harry included. This was another one of the teacher's lame attempts to get them all to make friends. He snorted to himself, the day he had a civil conversation with a Slytherin was the day that, God forbid, Hermione fell and confessed her love for Malfoy. And that would never happen.

As expected, Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Yes, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall called.

"I was wondering what the specifics of this class are. Materials, homework load-"

"I was getting there," McGonagall said amusedly. Several students snickered and Hermione went red in the face. "No materials except for yourself. You will have no homework, and will receive a grade at the end of this class based on your progress and effort on this project. In fact, today and tomorrow are the only times you will be in this classroom," several kids exchanged confused glances.

"Each of you will be put into groups of six people, all from mixed houses," a frown crept onto Harry's face at this. "Each group will receive a common room and dormitory, or 'home', in which you will live in for the time of the project. As you may be wondering, in this project, you and your group will be bonding. This project will last for six weeks. During each of those days, you will still be required to attend all of your classes and meals except for dinner. During the evening of each day, and this counts as part of your grade, you and your group will stay in your 'home' and eat dinner together. You will receive a set of cards on which are questions for each day of the project. Also during each evening, you and your group will pull out one card at random and tell the answer to your group. This is to help you to get to know each other better. To ensure that you are telling the truth, there has been a spell placed on the cards that forces you to tell the truth."

"That seems rough," Ron muttered.

"What if I don't get a good group?"

"Six weeks? That's a long time?"

"What kind of questions are there, do you think?"

McGonagall held up her hand for silence. "There will be other activities you will be required to do to get a complete in this class. As for some of your questions; your groups have been selected at random. We have chosen six weeks so that you can all learn and grow from this experience. As for the questions listed, you'll just have to wait and see," McGonagall said the last part with an amused and mischievous smile, which scared most of the students. Harry shuddered.

Lavender Brown raised her hand. "When will we find out who is in our groups?"

"Tomorrow, you will meet here again after lunch, where I will give you your groups and set of questions. You will go straight to your 'home's' after, and will have no more classes for the rest of the day so that you can settle in. And there are no changing groups. If you have any more questions you can visit me in my office or they will be answered tomorrow. You are dismissed,"

The room immediately filled with excited chatter. Ron was less optimistic. "Off to Potions then?"

"I cannot believe it! This day is going to the dogs. First that project then Snape takes twenty points off Gryffindor because Ron sneezed! This is absurd!" Seamus complained as he stabbed his chicken with his fork menacingly.

The rest of the day hadn't gone well for the Gryffindors. By dinner, Harry had a piercing headache, and clanking of goblets and the bright candles floating above did nothing to cease it. "I bet you Snape planned out this whole thing, he's plotting to make our lives miserable for the next six weeks. I can just see it in Malfoy's smirk," Ron said darkly. He wasn't even eating, which was a bad sign. All he had done all dinnertime was stare evilly at Malfoy, who either took no notice of Ron's creepy gaze or didn't care.

"Er, Ron? For once, I've got to say that this isn't Snape's fault," Harry supplied, but it did nothing to cease Ron's glare. "Well, except for the docking points thing, but the project doesn't have much to do with him,"

"I still bet you he's twisting it in some spooky way that will end up with us all failing or dying," Ron shrugged, picking up his knife and twirling it in his fingers.

"Oh no! Failing?" Hermione squeaked.

Seamus withdrew his fork from his chicken and slammed it down on the table. "I bet you Malfoy has something up his sleeve to make this all go in his favor. I mean, look at him,"

"Gladly," a soft voice cooed from beside Hermione. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Seamus, and basically anyone else in the area snapped their attention to the red headed girl.

"What!" Ron cried in bewilderment. Ginny shrugged lightly.

"I'm just saying, he's quite a looker,"

"This can't be happening," Ron moaned.

Lavender spoke up. "She's right, you know. I'm not saying he's not a jerk, because he is, but he is certainly easy on the eyes," she threw a look at Malfoy before turning back to the Gryffindor table.

"I hear he has a six-pack," Ginny grinned toothily. Lavender squealed and the two girls erupted into giggles.

"Those two are destined to be best friends or something," Seamus watched in alarm as the red head and Lavender discussed Malfoy's 'hotness'.

"I'd rather you date Harry," Ron was melting in a puddle of misery. He mumbled something like "What would mum think?"

Hermione frowned at the two girls, and Lavender caught her eye. "Oh come on, Hermione, I know you're stubborn but you've got to admit that Malfoy's attractive," Lavender raised an eyebrow at Hermione as she shook her head furiously. "You just keep telling yourself that," Lavender smirked and turned back to her meal.

"I hope you get paired with him so you can see how wrong you are. Imagine, what if you got to see him with his shirt off?" Ginny mused happily, and she turned back to her food humming to herself. Hermione's jaw dropped. How old was Ginny again? Was that even appropriate for her to be talking of such things? Hermione shuddered, Malfoy with his shirt off, ugh. She didn't care what other people thought, he was never going to be attractive in her book.

"Oh, really? Then why have you been staring at him for the past minute or so?" Ginny's voice crept into her ear, and Hermione jumped. Shaking herself out of her daze, she realized that she had said her thoughts aloud, and that she had indeed been staring at Malfoy. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she realized that he was staring back. He quirked an eyebrow, making her stomach squirm, and he turned back to his friend Zabini and said something to him which made him laugh. Ginny laughed as well. "Don't worry, it was just me who noticed," Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to explain herself to her friends.

"But then again, it was me who noticed, and that's not necessarily a good thing."

I know I had a note at the top, but I had to set this straight. When I first uploaded this story I understand that some of you were confused about what year everyone is in, mainly due to me switching between seventh and fifth. Sorry about that! They are in their seventh year. I went through and edited the story to fix any errors I made (originally I had them all in fifth year, you see) so I hope thats fixed. Thanks to those who gave me the heads up, or I wouldn't have noticed!