Welcome to my newest story! I will try to update as often as possible, please subscribe if you would like to receive a notice when new chapters are posted. I am thankful for any and all reviews. -RoseRed
*NOTE: I do not own anything, I owe everything to the fabulous J.K. Rowling.
A little background on the story:
This story is a reimagining of the summer between 5th year and 6th year. For the most part, I intend for it to remain within canon of the original series, though I may alter small details here and there.
Hermione poked nervously at her eggs with her fork until she finally snagged the yolk and it leaked over the edge of her plate and into Ron's elbow.
"Bugger Hermione! You got it all over me!" he cried.
She pointed her wand at his sleeve lazily and said, "Scourgify. There, all better now Cranky?"
"Much. 'Fanks' 'Mione'" he replied, as he stuffed his mouth full of food.
"Hermione, why aren't you eating anything? You haven't touched your breakfast except to spill it on Ron, and you've barely said a word to any of us." Harry looked at her questioningly.
"Its nothing", she replied. "I'm just anxious for the letters to get here. I'm really worried about my internship, the Professors all thought I should have no problem getting it, but it is the most notoriously difficult internship to get. And I heard that there was a lot of competition this year." She frowned and resumed poking at her eggs.
Ron answered, "Aw c'mon 'Mione. The only person in this school who's gonna get that St. Mungo's internship is you. You're the best!" And Harry added, "yea, Ron's right, who else could they possibly choose over you? You're loads smarter than any of the 6th or 7th years."
Right at that moment, the owls began to pour into the Great Hall, flying low and perilously over the tables. Letters rained down into the hands of excited students eager to discover where they had been placed for summer wizarding internships. They had sent in their applications months ago to all of their top choices, and were informed only yesterday that the decision letters would be arriving this morning during breakfast. The Hall hadn't been so crowded since the Yule Ball during 4th year.
Most students had applied to internships that promised to be fun or exciting, or they sent in applications with the intention of getting matched up with friends. Popular options included a group internship in "Magical Forestry", which basically became a summer-long camping trip with friends, "Wizarding Around the World", which involved observing and experiencing different wizarding cultures internationally, and "Gringotts Vault Keeping", which was considered easy, because the goblins permitted students to do very little, maximizing one's free time. The more morbidly fascinated students could apply for the "Azkaban Prison Guard" internship, which was also quite popular, but students that did that internship never returned quite the same after a summers' exposure to the Dementors. Ron and Harry had both applied for "Dragon Training" in Romania, with Ron's brother Charlie. They were counting on having the adventure of a lifetime this summer, despite Mrs. Weasley's protests that they were "much too young to go about working with dangerous animals!" As predicted, instead of choosing something fun or exciting, Hermione went the academic route. She chose the internship in "Intro to Magical Maladies, St. Mungo's". It was intended for young witches or wizards who wanted to pursue a career as a Healer. It was a brutal internship; the hours were grueling, the work demanding, and the competition was cutthroat. Only one student was chosen from each of the wizarding schools, and the three students selected spent the entire summer aggressively trying to outdo each other. But the payoffs were huge; students who successfully completed the internship would be granted full acceptance to St. Mungo's Academy of Healing after graduation, no applications or interviews necessary. Hermione wanted this for herself more than anything in the world. She wanted it so badly in fact, that she devoted all of her time to making her application perfect and completely forgot to apply for back-ups. At the last minute she submitted an application to "The Joy of Editing the Quibbler". She figured if she couldn't get the coveted St. Mungo's internship, she might as well find some amusement this summer listening to Luna Lovegood's father ramble on and on about Crumple-horned Snorkacks and Gnargles and other completely bogus and outrageously fantastic beasts.
"Look out 'Mione, he's comin' right for ya!" Ron shouted, and Hermione glanced up just as an old, ratty, school owl nearly crashed, talons-first, into her head. The owl pulled up just in time and neatly deposited a crisp, white envelope into her waiting hands. Without hesitating, she began to shred the package, not caring about the ripped paper debris she was showering her eggs with. She had her letter open in record time and began to read impatiently.
"Harry! We got it! We're going to spend the summer with Charlie training dragons!" Ron hollered animatedly to Harry. "Your brother came through! I always knew I liked Charlie!" Harry replied. One table down, Fred and George began whooping excitedly to each other and then directed their excitement back up to Harry and Ron, "Oy' you gits! Its gonna be a boys' summer! Charlie got us in too!" Harry smiled happily; this was going to be a summer he'd never forget. He was going to spend it with three of best blokes he knew, there would be no cupboard under the stairs for him this time, no 'Ickle Duddykins' to ruin his fun, no horrible Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to tell him what to do. Life was good.
Meanwhile, Hermione reread her letter frantically. "How could this be?" she thought, desperately trying to understand. She read it again. It began:
"Dear Miss Granger,
We are pleased to offer you a position in "Magical Maladies; St. Mungo's" internship program. This year's applicant pool was particularly strong, and our deliberations were quite difficult. We were very impressed with your achievements and future potential, and our Healers are looking forward to working with you…"
It all made sense up to this point, but then it became confusing:
"…Please be advised: due to the fierce competitiveness of the applications, the staff was unable to come to an agreement on a single candidate from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and therefore, two students have been selected…"
This had never been done before. Hermione couldn't believe it, she got her coveted internship and now she would have to share it! But that wasn't the worst of it. Hermione stared in shock and disbelief at the name of the other student in her letter. She shook her head violently as if to erase the words from her memory, and proceeded to fold her letter determinedly, and placed it down next to her plate, the side that wasn't oozing with egg yokes. She began to stand up from the table and pack her things when Harry noticed her crestfallen expression. He paused in the midst of his cheering and gloating and asked her apprehensively, "Hermione? How did it go? Did you get it?" He and Ron grew silent and looked at Hermione soberly.
"Yes, I got it." She answered.
"That's fantastic!" Ron shouted, nearly bowling her over with a bear hug. "Well what's the matter then? You look miserable!"
She gingerly unfolded the letter again, scanning once more to reconfirm her nightmare.
"It is fantastic. Except, this year they took two students from Hogwarts, not one. They said they couldn't choose between us." She remarked bitterly.
"Well, who's the other person?" Harry asked.
Hermione began to read the final portion of the letter out loud to the boys:
"…We expect you to view the other student from Hogwarts not as your ally, but as your direct competition. ("No problem there!" she thought) However, we are certain that since you both share pride for your school and your educations, you will be able to collaborate as a team when assigned. ("Fat chance!" she whined in her head). The name of your fellow Hogwarts intern is…"
"Well, go on then! Who is it?" Ron questioned. She hesitated before biting out the last words, pausing to swallow thickly:
"…Draco Malfoy."
It was going to be a long summer.
