Chapter 2: The Dungeons
"Ron, your food isn't running away from you, you can slow down and chew before you swallow," Harry urged his friend, fearful that the boy might choke soon.
"I'm starvin' 'arry," Ron mumbled in between bites, finally taking a moment to swallow his food. "I feel like I haven't had a good meal in weeks!"
"The welcome feast was yesterday," Ginny reminded, looked upon her brother with disgust. Ron shrugged and continued eating ravenously, stopping only to quickly wave at Hermione as she took a seat by him.
"Where were you last night?" Ginny asked her friend, grabbing a few fruits and pastries to put on her plate. "You missed our 'Welcome Back to Hogwarts' party in the Gryff common room."
"Yeah, I didn't see you all night," Harry added, putting his arm around Ginny and grabbing a few grapes from off of her plate. Ron grimaced at them, but ignored their public display of affection and turned to look at Hermione.
"McGonogall showed me to the Heads' chambers last night and I spent the entire time unpacking and relaxing in my room," she replied, remembering how calm last night had been after Draco left. Seeing how starved Ron was and the bags under Harry and Ginny's eyes, she could guess that the party last night was anything but relaxing.
"You've your own room?" Ron repeated, accidentally spitting flecks of food across the table.
Hermione backed away from him, scooting slightly further down the bench. "Yes, and it's lovely! Well, it's not quite mine, Malfoy and I have to share the common spaces and the bathroom, but it's so much room I don't even mind it," she gushed, describing the beauty of the rooms to Ginny in great deal.
Harry and Ron looked between each other in disbelief. Don't even mind it?, Harry mouthed to his friend incredulously. Ron furrowed his brow and shrugged, glancing over at the blonde at the other end of the Hall. Draco was sitting with Blaise and Theo as usual, with Pansy and Daphne nearby. He looked at Hermione again, a soft pang in his heart recurring. He shook his head roughly, pushing aside his feelings and rejoined the conversation.
"And the walk-in closet is gorgeous too, although I don't have nearly enough clothing to fill it up," Hermione finished, Ginny looking at her jealously.
"So where is it? And what's the password?" Harry asked, seeing that Hermione's room would be a much better hangout spot than the overrun Gryffindor common room.
"I'm not telling you," Hermione responded, looking between her friends.
"Why not?" Ron asked, reaching the same conclusion as Harry. "You know we'll find out anyway so you might as well tell us." He smiled at her with mock innocence, which would have been much more convincing if he didn't have food stuck in his teeth.
Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed, punching him lightly on the arm. "No way. That's my space, and it's going to stay that way."
"You know Malfoy is going to give his friends the password," Harry retorted, smiling at the pouty face Hermione responded with.
Ron and Ginny smiled as well, knowing that soon enough, Hermione would allow them access to the luxuries of the Heads' quarters. Content, Ginny changed the subject abruptly.
"So what do you think about the Opening Ball?" she asked Hermione expectantly.
Hermione sighed, smiling at her friend's excitement over such a trivial event. The Opening Ball was to be a new Hogwarts tradition, a night to celebrate their triumph over the Dark Lord and the school and its supporters' strength and courage to rebuild the castle brick by brick. Though Harry would have an important role in the event, much to his dismay, as the Head Girl and Head Boy, Hermione and Draco were expected to start the festivities, sharing the first dance of the night. Hermione was oddly nervous about the prospect of being in such close proximity to Draco, although unsure why.
"It should be interesting," she said vaguely, looking at Harry. Harry looked away, still sore with McGonogall for making him the Guest of Honor without his consent.
"Who will you be taking then?" Ginny asked bluntly. Hermione snapped back to her, and saw a hint of mischief in her eyes before it was gone, and Ginny donned a shocked and embarrassed look.
The four friends tensed, not knowing what to say to in the awkward situation. Ron pointedly stared at his food, dreading to hear what Hermione's response would be. Harry looked at his friend sympathetically, pinching his girlfriend under the table for her callousness. He glanced around, looking for anything to break the tension.
"Merlin's balls, we've got Potions first?" he groaned, looking over his class list. Hermione looked at him, a mixture of gratitude and relief on her face.
"Yeah I hear we have to choose partners that we keep for the entire year," Ron said, echoing Harry's groan. "We're off to a great start."
The three slung their bags over their shoulders, Harry leaning down to give Ginny a quick peck on the cheek. Hermione sighed resignedly. "To the dungeons," she groaned, leading the way to the dark, dank Potions classroom.
…
Professor Slughorn greeted his students jovially as they piled in, a mixture of excitement and discontent amongst the seventh years at the start of their final year of schooling.
"Good morning all! Welcome to the first Potions class of the new Hogwarts year!" Slughorn exclaimed brightly.
Draco exchanged glances with Blaise, whose eyes rolled to the back of his head as he feigned throwing up. Smirking, the Head Boy turned back to his Professor, who was rambling on about how strong his students were, to come back to their magnificent school after the hardships they faced. He continued his "inspirational" opening for a while and Draco grew bored instantly.
Get on with it old man, he thought impatiently, tired from the antics of the previous night. We all know of the hardships we faced, we were there.
"Now as you know, this year in Potions is unlike your previous years. There will be a greater deal of potion brewing and far less potion studying," Slughorn explained, amidst cheers from a large portion of the students.
"I'm glad you're as excited as I am," he beamed. "A harsh reality of the situation is that we do not have the space or supplies for all of you to brew your own potions, thus we will be assigning partnerships that will continue until the N.E.W.T. exams in the spring."
"Assigning?" Seamus Finnigan interrupted, looking around the room and seeing faces of many students who he would not fancy working with and who shared his opinion, not fancying losing their eyebrows for the next year.
"Assigning, Mr. Finnigan," Slughorn repeated. "The assignments will be based according to academic standings, with the number one and number two ranked students as partners, the number three and number four ranked students as partners, and so on and so forth."
Hermione turned around in her seat at the front of the classroom, glancing back at Draco in the last row. Draco smirked back at her, blowing her a kiss mockingly. She glared at him and looked back at the professor, raising her hand but not waiting to be called on.
"Professor, wouldn't it be more educational for the top students to be paired with students lower in the academic standings?" she asked desperately.
"And have the top students carry all of the workload while their partners coast along on their skills? No Miss Granger, this way all students will be forced to challenge themselves and become brilliant Potions masters!" Slughorn cried out excitedly.
"Now there will be no more discussion," he said as more hands shot up with protestations. He pulled out a scroll from the pocket of his robes and began reading off names.
"Miss Hermione Granger and Mr. Draco Malfoy," he called out, looking up from his scroll at the Head Boy and Girl.
Saw that coming a mile away, Hermione groaned inwardly. She looked back at Draco again, and realizing there was no chance he would move to the front with her, she picked up her books and reluctantly joined him in the back of the classroom.
"Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Blaise Zabini," Slughorn continued, and students began to switch seats to join their appointed partners.
"So good of you to join me, Granger," Draco whispered, leaning in a little too close for Hermione's comfort.
She stuck a finger in the middle of his chest and pushed him back towards his seat. "It's not as though I had much of a choice," she said, turning away from him to face the front of the classroom.
"I think we're going to have a lot of fun together this year, don't you agree?" he continued whispering. Hermione didn't fail to catch his double entendre. She tried to ignore him, instead opening her Potions book and immersing herself in it.
"Oh please, Granger. Even you can't pretend you're too busy with studies already," he groaned, sliding the book out of her hands. "Are you not even going to talk to me?" he asked, pouting dramatically.
Hermione rolled her eyes, biting her lip to hold back a smile that threatened to escape. He looks remarkably adorable when he does that, her mind betrayed her. "Give me my book back Malfoy. There, I'm talking to you. Happy?" she asked sarcastically, holding out her hand.
He looked at her for a moment then held out her book towards her, letting go a moment too soon. The book fell to the floor behind them. Hermione shot him a glare, hopping off of her seat to bend over and pick up the book.
As he watched her from behind, Draco muttered suggestively, "Yes Granger, now I'm happy."
Hermione shot up, smoothing her skirt down self-consciously and punching Draco in the arm. Am I going to have to put up with this all year? she thought frustratedly, wondering if she would in fact be able to handle Draco and his antics.
As Slughorn began to go over the potion they were assigned to brew this class period, Hermione opened her notebooks and began furiously taking notes. She glanced over at Draco, who was quickly jotting down the professor's advice in his book, a look of concentration gracing his features.
Odd. One minute he's a randy teenage boy, the next he's as studious as I am, she thought to herself with a small smile. Draco suddenly looked up, catching her staring at him. Hermione looked away quickly, a tinge of red brightening her cheeks. She didn't even have to look at him to know he was smirking. Git.
…
Draco concentrated, staring hard in front of him without blinking so as not to miss a beat. He was getting much better at this, he could feel it. He just needed to keep his eye on the ball and react as quickly as possible.
"Gahhh, I'm so boorredddddd…" Blaise groaned, sprawled across the couch in the Slytherin common rooms.
Draco blinked, and the fireball he had been bouncing on his wand fell, lighting the carpet by his feet on fire. He put it out quickly, glancing at Blaise reproachfully.
"It's only the first day mate, how can you be bored already?" Theo asked, though he too was sitting idly about the dungeons looking for something to do.
"Why don't we go to your room, Draco? We can have some fun pissing off Granger," he said with a devilish smirk.
"I figured I might give her a week's peace before I start any tormenting," Draco replied, mirroring his friends' smirk. "You know, lull her into a false sense of security and the like."
Just then Pansy and a group of her friends walked into the room, heading towards the girls' chambers.
"Hello Drakie," she mewled in a voice she thought was seductive. Her friends giggled around her as the horde headed up the stairs.
Draco feigned a gag, shuddering involuntarily. "I can't believe I once shagged her. What was I thinking? And what kind of friends are you letting me do that?" he growled, punching Blaise in the leg.
"So I take it you're not asking her to the Opening Ball then?" he asked sitting up, bringing his leg out of his friend's reach.
"Are you mad?! Not if hell froze over," he replied, curling his lip up in distaste.
Theo looked at the stairs leading up to the girls' chambers. "Well we all know who I'm going with, so I'm off to pay her a visit," he sighed, heading to his girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass's room.
"If not Pans, who are you planning to ask?" Blaise continued, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
"What are you playing at?" Draco asked cautiously.
"Granger perhaps?" Blaise suggested, looking up at him with a cheeky smile, a knowing look in his eyes.
"Sod off, Zabini," Draco said icily, letting his friend know that was the end of the conversation.
Blaise shrugged indifferently, getting up and heading to the boys' chambers. "I'm gonna head to sleep then. I'll see you in class tomorrow."
Draco nodded, not looking at him but staring into the fire. The fact that Blaise could see something was up between him and Hermione didn't surprise him; they were practically brothers and Blaise could always read him like a book. He just didn't like the feeling knowing Blaise had something to hold over him. Brothers though they may be, they were still Slytherins, still able to play cruel tricks on each other without remorse.
He got up from his chair, heading towards the portrait door. As he turned, he saw someone descending the stairs leading from the boys' chambers.
"Weasley?" he asked incredulously, as he recognized the red haired girl. "What the bloody hell are you doing in the dungeons at this time of the night?"
Her tousled hair and disheveled clothing was answer enough for him, though she didn't seem shocked or scared having been caught in the act.
"None of your business, Malfoy," she said coolly, an edge to her voice. She brushed past him, heading towards the portrait door. When she reached the door, she paused and turned around, her eyes dark with wrath. "And it's none of Hermione's either," she seethed, arching an eyebrow in threat.
…
Sorry for those of you who like Ginny. I don't. Please review!