Hi again, everyone! This has got to be some kind of record for me, churning out chapters at such a fast pace! I'm sorry to say this won't last long, though; school starts in a few weeks.

Anyway, I have decided to be un-cruel and not leave a cliffhanger this time, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of its characters. This work has been created for creative and enjoyment purposes only.

Chapter 2: The Encounter

Needless to say, Hermione had not been expecting this.

"Granger? What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Malfoy looked stunned. Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I could say the same to you, Malfoy," she said through gritted teeth, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere else to be."

With that, she bent down, swept up all the textbooks in one smooth movement and strode past him. When she was a good few feet away from him, Hermione stopped and turned around.

"Oh, and Malfoy?" she added. "It's Professor Granger to you."

She allowed herself to indulge in Draco's ghost-white expression for half a moment, before continuing on her way.

Hermione hesitated as she looked around at the three curious faces gathered around her, and clutched her mug of hot chocolate tighter.

"I ran into Malfoy."

"WHAT?" Ron was the first to exclaim, looking scandalised. "You've got to be kidding me! That git, a professor?"

"I couldn't agree more," Harry added. Ginny, on the other hand, frowned in thought.

"Why would someone like Draco Malfoy take up a position at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, screw that, Ginny," Ron interrupted, ignoring her glare, "this is all my fault. If I hadn't suggested a post there, this would never have happened. Why in Merlin's name didn't I think of something else?"

Hermione sighed in exasperation, and took a sip from the mug. "Well, it's too late now, anyway; I mean, I can't exactly go back now to McGonagall and say 'Oh, Professor! Sorry, but I've decided I'd rather go drown myself in a pot of toad-slime than work with Draco Malfoy, so I'm afraid you're going to have to find yourself a new professor of Transfiguration. I bid you goodnight!'"

It was true. To take up a position offered in the Daily Prophet by the Headmistress of Hogwarts, then to return and spontaneously reject it for what would be seen as a completely unprofessional reason, was simply not possible if Hermione wanted to uphold a reputation amongst the wizarding community.

At least, not with the tabloids keeping an eye on her every now and then, as had been going on ever since the downfall of Voldemort. No, it would be best if she left the matter to worry about tomorrow.

"Now," she told them in a tired voice, downing the last dregs in her mug as she did so, "I have some luggage and books to pack and move to my office tomorrow, so I'd best be off to bed now."

And with that, she stood up wearily, rinsed her mug clean in the kitchen and plodded upstairs to her room.

It was silent in the living room for a few moments after Hermione had gone, before a thought occurred to Harry. Slowly, he said:

"So, she would prefer working with Malfoy to toad-slime?"

Ron's expression was grim as he shook his head. "I really hope she didn't mean that," he muttered, giving Ginny a dead serious look.

Sunday morning found Hermione waving her wand at the wardrobe in her room and transferring her clothes into her trunk in neat stacks. Ginny watched on nearby.

"No, don't bother with that, it's not flattering in the slightest on you, I have no idea why you even bought it in the first place..." she would interrupt every few minutes or so (not that Hermione minded in the least), or sometimes tell her things like "Yeah, take the blue scarf, I think it rather suits you better than the orange one."

Within the space of an hour, including discussions with Ginny (who, thankfully, was fashion-savvy unlike Hermione), she had packed most necessary posessions. It was strange seeing the small room she had become accustomed to over the past month looking so threadbare and plain, and thanks to Ginny's criticism of her clothing choices, Hermione had packed less than half the robes she had originally intended to, although conversely she would end up staying at Hogwarts for longer.

"Ginny..." she started uncertainly, looking at the extension-charmed but still extremely small bag on the ground, "are you sure I won't wear my robes out by the end of the year?"

The redhead shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, it's not like it matters, does it? I mean, you can always just go and buy stuff if that happens, right?" Sighing, Hermione nodded. "Alright then," she said, before slinging the little bag onto her shoulder with great effort and heading downstairs.

The moment she arrived at the bottom of the staircase, she was greeted with the whole Weasley family, all gathered in the living room. Molly gave Hermione one of her customary warm, motherly hugs and reminded her to send letters regularly, while Arthur stood to the side awkwardly and bid her a fond goodbye. Ron was too busy sulking in the corner, muttering something about his own stupidity to join Harry and Ginny in the hugs and farewells. Percy, working overtime, and Charlie, who had just moved back to Romania late last night, were not there, but George patted her shoulder lightly as he held out the pot of Floo powder.

"Good luck there, Hermione," he told her, grinning briefly. She returned the smile, took a handful of the green powder and threw it into the fire, watching as the flames turned a vibrant shade of emerald. Before they knew it, Hermione had stepped in with a resolute finality, commanded clearly, "Head of Gryffindor's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!", and was gone.

It was only for the first time when Hermione stepped out of the green flames in the fireplace of her new office that she actually noticed how clean and tidy it was; a desk with drawers and stationery stood facing a window; outside, Hermione could see a rather spectacular view of the training grounds below. The floors were tiled, and a curtain sectioned off an area she presumed was the sleeping quarters. What she noticed next, however, proceeded to scare her out of her wits.

In a corner of the room, Draco Malfoy was fast asleep in her armchair, his blond head resting on his left shoulder. He did not look in the least like he should be sleeping at all, she noted; he was fully dressed, as if he were waiting for someone.

In fact, Hermione would reallly have panicked, had he not awoken at that very moment to the sound of her arrival. He lifted his head slowly, grey eyes opening lethargically to see who the intruder was. She, on the other hand, only stood there frozen stiff, not knowing what to do. It didn't take long, of course, for Malfoy to realise that the person whom he had been sent to meet had arrived, and while he was asleep, too; he sprang up out of the chair in a flash, his pale face taking on a flustered pallor.

"Granger," he acknowledged somewhat awkwardly. Hermione couldn't surpress a smirk at his obvious embarrassment and dishevelled appearance.

"Malfoy," she replied back stiffly, albeit not without a hint of smugness; she never thought she would live to see the day Draco Lucius Malfoy appeared with anything less than perfectly orchestrated hair. His lip curled at her mocking undertone, and the moment she locked the door behind them he grabbed hold of her arm none-too gently, and dragged her down the stairs at a pace too fast for comfort. As they went, he began to speak in a low, extremely irritated voice.

"You're late. The staff meeting began fifteen minutes ago. I went up there at the request of McGonagall, but you never came until just then, and I haven't had the best morning either, so now we're both going to get in trouble, and it'll be all your fault.

"The Headmistress was going to get someone who can handle both Head of Gryffindor and Professor of Transfiguration; both positions have been empty since she was reinstated as Headmistress, but Merlin knows she could never refuse someone like you; not when you used to be her best pupil every single year—"

His hand was jerked back when Hermione suddenly stopped dead. "What now, Granger?" he asked exasperatedly.

She only looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What do you mean, 'someone like me'?" She expected him to say 'mudblood' again, like he had done throughout all seven years when they were students at Hogwarts.

So she was surprised when he only told her, "I only meant a huge-brained, rule-abiding goody two-shoes like you, Granger."

When it dawned upon her that Malfoy was nevertheless insulting her, Hermione jerked her arm roughly out of his grasp, muttered something along the lines of 'bloody ferret' as she passed him, and staunchly ignored him until they reached the staffroom door.

"Come in, Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy," said McGonagall, peering at them sternly through her rectangular glasses. As Hermione looked around at the occupants of the staffroom, she saw only familiar faces seated around the long table; Professors Sprout, Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey sat closest to the Headmistress; Binns, Slughorn and Trelawney were positioned further along, and Firenze and Hagrid stood on the far side of the room. Hermione also recognised her Arithmetics, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies Professors scattered amongst the seated. At the mention of Hermione's name, Hagrid perked up. With a loud exclamation of joy, the half-giant crashed towards where she was standing and lifted her clean off her feet in a bone-crushing hug.

"Hermione! How're yeh doin', 'eh? Are Harry an' Ron alrigh'?" He asked as he set her down again.

But before she could respond, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "As touching as this all is," she began, "it would be ideal if we could resume the reunion at a later time, in favour of more...pressing matters."

Blushing slightly, Hermione passed a glance at Hagrid and took the remaining seat, next to Madam Pomfrey. Draco, she noticed (much to her chagrin), was sitting opposite her.

"Now, as you all have undoubtedly noticed, our new Transfiguration Professor has arrived at last," McGonagall said. "Please welcome Miss Hermione Granger, who will be staying with us for the year. I am sure she will make a very kind and competent co-worker."

A small round of applause rang in the room as Hermione stood, still pink and looking more than a little mortified. She was sure all of the professors in the room recognised her, thanks to all the publicity she had gotten over her grades, and activism in the Ministry. As the applause died down, she sat again.

"Secondly," McGonagall continued, "I am disappointed to say that although Miss Granger was once a member of Gryffindor House, she has not been here for a long enough period of time to qualify as a Head. So unfortunately this year the position of Head of Gryffindor is vacant until further notice.

"However, we still have Heads for all other Houses, although this year there will be some changes made; Professor Sprout will continue to sustain her role as Head of Hufflepuff House, as will Professor Flitwick for Ravenclaw; and while as of the end of last year Professor Slughorn has stepped down as Head of Slytherin, we have an equally worthy contender amongst us." At this, McGonagall looked at Draco, and Hermione's eyes widened in horror.

"Professor Malfoy has agreed to take up the role of Head of Slytherin; we trust you will do a fine job of it." Draco nodded once only as the staff applauded his new position.

Meanwhile, Hermione's mind was whirling with a hurricane of thoughts. Malfoy? Head of Slytherin? Even though he had made it clear his dark, manipulative nature, she certainly hadn't been expecting this sudden turn of events. There was just something about Malfoy that didn't fit the title; perhaps it was the general assumption that Malfoys did not take up occupations in places such as Hogwart, let alone become Head of Slytherin. Or it could be the fact that Malfoy was just too freaking slimy, even for a Slytherin. Hermione was more inclined to go with a mixture of both reasons.

"As term is starting tomorrow, it is essential for me to make sure that you have all your required textbooks for teaching and reference with you. If you do not, then it is of the utmost importance that you obtain them by the end of today. If travelling at this current time is inconvenient for you, I may have some spare copies of old textbooks in the book cupboard; however, their quality will likely be dubious.

"Should you require my assistance at any time today, you will find me in my office. Please head back to your planned activities, or otherwise return to your respective offices. This meeting is now closed. I bid you good day." With that, Professor McGonagall stood and exited the room. The screeching of chairs dragging along the floor followed soon thereafter, as the staff filed out after her.

Hermione passed a glance at Hagrid that told him she would find him later, then turned around and headed back up the staircases. When she reached the first floor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower, she searched in the bag for her key (strangely enough, Minerva McGonagall's former office did not open to the 'Alohamora' charm), turning around subconsciously as she did so—

And came face to face with the person she least wanted to see, less than a foot away from her. "Malfoy?" she exclaimed, startled. She could not comprehend how she had not noticed his presence...had she really become so off-guard over the past few years? "What do you want?"

He only held up a hand, the very same set of keys she had been looking for dangling off a long forefinger. "Looking for these, Granger?" he mocked, one eyebrow raised in that very annoying manner of his.

"Oh, give that back," she snapped, as she swatted at them and he pulled his hand out of reach, smirking. "Are you a witch or not, Granger?" he teased. "Or do you only ever use mundane methods of obtaining what you want?"

Furiously, Hermione pulled out her wand in a flash, and suddenly the keys were in her hands once more. Draco's malicious grin disappeared as he realised he had given away the game. "Can't say you're the brightest witch I've ever met, Granger; no matter what everybody else says," he told her.

Hermione was practically bristling. How dare that slimy git insult her intelligence in such a manner, when he could never best her in any subject throughout all their school years?

"Not that you would know, Malfoy. If you ask me, any woman, muggle or magical, who has sense enough not to end up getting shagged by someone like you is bright enough already."

His eyes narrowed in anger, and, whipping out something from the leather bag he was carrying, shoved a few sheets of parchment at her. "Remind me to tell McGonagall never to do a favour for you again," he told her coldly, before disappearing so fast Hermione didn't even notice he was gone until she looked up from the writing on the parchment clutched in her hands, and saw that she was once again alone, save for the sound of fading footsteps.

So, how was it?

I don't really have much to say here, except that after writing this i felt really awkward. I was a late starter in society (being the resident loner/bookworm of the school) and things are a little hard to write every now and then, when I hit blank spots.

Well, at least it's good to see I'm faring better than my previous ficcies, anyway. This would have been a load of absolute batshit, had there not been my two faithful friends and loyal voice-of-reasons Midnight Feather and Mandy. If you know Maximum Ride, go search up the name! She's a brilliant, talented writer and I'm glad to have her by my side here.

Also, thanks to Caroo, who was my very first reviewer! I cannot express how OVER THE MOON I was when I got my first review so soon! Thank you SO MUCH, you have my eternal gratitude. :D

That's all, folks!

Until next time,

ScarletInk314

P.S. I hope I get more stuff down here soon, but no guarantees. ;)