A/N: Hello! This chapter is almost as long as my first one, which was around 3,600 words. This one is about 3,100 words. I hope you like this chapter. And please, review!
Chapter 3
(Hermione's POV:)
September 1:
I ran into the barrier and came through to students and parents bustling around, pushing trolleys holding books, robes, and pets. I pushed my trolley towards the front, competing to a stop near the doors.
Ginny appeared, leaning on her trolley and looking at the train. "Think about it, Hermione. This will be the last time we are ever going to board this train to go to Hogwarts. This our last year. One last year of madness and fun, then we are going to be adults."
"I know. And I can't wait!" I said, excited to see what this year brought us. First year was Quirrel. Second year was the Chamber of Secrets. Third, Sirius and Buckbeak. Fourth, Triwizard Tournament and Cedric Diggory. Fifth, Ministry of Magic and Umbridge. Sixth ... well, the Horcruxes, Malfoy, and Dumbledore's death. Seventh, well, since we didn't go, and this our make up year. So, there had to be something this year. I spoke my thoughts aloud to Ginny. "You know, we have had something exciting, and, why not say it, a little scary each year. I just wonder what Hogwarts will bring us now."
She scoffed. "Well, it is our last year. Maybe they will go easy on us." She sighed and then continued. "But knowing Hogwarts, that isn't going to happen."
I chuckled and said, "I agree with you partially. I mean, I don't want anything as major because almost all of the events had someone injured, whether mentally, emotionally, or physically, or killed. But I don't want this year to be boring, you know?"
"Yes. I see where you are coming from. But now that the war is over," Ginny said, having to speak up because most everybody was here, "people need cheering up. I couldn't well do it in sixth year because that would have been a little inappropriate, considering the circumstances. But this year," Ginny said with a glint in her eyes, "it is going to be fun. I am proudly carrying on the line of the Weasley jokers."
"Oh, no Ginny. Please don't tell m-"
I was cut off by a scolding female, red-head. "Live a little, would you? Anyway, George gave me a few of his new products from his shop. And some of the originals, of course. Those are the best!"
Just then, before I had time to respond, Mrs. Weasley hustled over, holding her arms out. I smiled immediately and hugged her back. "Oh, Hermione, it has been a while, hasn't it? You should have came for a week or two in summer."
"Mum, it's only been about a month. She came over for dinner a few months back, remember?" Ginny said, rolling her eyes.
Ah, yes. The dinner implied was ... interesting. Since Ronald was there, it was awkward. It could have gone better, but the only way that it could have been fixed, was if Ronald didn't bring his new girlfriend. Her name was Veronica, and Ronald was absolutely captivated by her. And, honestly, who could blame him? She had black hair, full curves, but was still petite. She was only 5'3, three inches shorter than me. The thing was, she wasn't smart at all.
But Ronald loved her. Harry said they had been going out about two weeks after we broke up. The only people who liked her were Ronald, Percy, and Charlie's new fiance, Victore. Victore was a sweetheart, and only three years older than I, and she is perfect for Charlie. But Victore liked Veronica. It is really too bad Ronald doesn't see her as she is - the snobby, stuck-up, manipulative bi-
My thoughts were interrupted just then as Mrs. Weasley kissed me on the cheek, said goodbye, and moved onto Harry, who had moved to come next to me.
I turned and realized that it was time to leave for Hogwarts.
After we boarded the train and finished waving good bye to everybody, we picked our compartment and put our luggage in the pockets above the seats.
"Aren't you going to stay, Hermione?" Ginny asked as I opened the compartment door.
"I'll be back soon. McGonagall put something in the letter about 'house unity'. I don't know. She didn't go into detail, but she said she wanted to meet me in what was the head's compartment."
"Aw, crap. House unity? Knowing Hogwarts, our amazing event this year is going to be you having your own table up front near the teachers' table, sharing it with somebody from bloody Slytherin's house. Good luck, Hermione."
"Great. You're probably right about that too. And thanks." We laughed and smiled at each other.
"Good luck Hermione. You are probably going to need it," Harry chuckled. He shook his head and waved in sync with his girlfriend.
I waved back and closed the compartment door. I walked to the head's compartment, in the way back. I walked in and saw nobody was here yet. So I picked one of the plush, red chairs, and pulled a book from my knapsack. I read for about five minutes, being about six pages ahead from where I started. McGonagall walked in with a tall white-blond hair behind her. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering why Malfoy Jr. was here.
"Ah, Miss. Granger, I see you are already here, so let us start." She pointed to a green chair. "Mr. Malfoy, please, sit. Now. I am sure you are wondering why I called you here today. Well, I would like to promote house unity. And Professor Dumbledore, in his portrait of course, told me that I need to take two students from two houses, one from Slytherin," she said, gesturing to Malfoy, "and one from Gryffindor," she gestured to me. "I would have picked Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, but Albus insisted it be you two. Now, I do not know the reason behind his decision, or even if he has a reason at all. The point is, you two will be sharing a dorm room. It is quite big, it has two bathrooms, a common room, a kitchen, a closet for storage, and a surprise for the both of you. I know you will like it, Miss. Granger, and Mr. Malfoy ... well, I know you will like it, too. But you may be surprised I know your secret hide-out. The best part is you each get to invite a friend to come with live with you."
"Um, excuse me, Professor, but how many bedrooms are there?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably in my chair.
"Four, of course."
I sighed in relief. I looked over at Malfoy after a moment of silence. "So, nice to see you again," I said, sarcasm dripping like sweet honey. "How's your foot?"
"Fine, thank you." He nodded his head in thanks.
"Have you guys met previously, but after the war?"
"Um, yes," I said, exchanging glances with Malfoy. "It's quite complicated."
"Ok. Now, have you decided on who to pick to live with you?"
"Ginny," I said instantly.
"Blaise."
"Would you like me to go get them? I know where Ginny is and I can probably find Zabini somewhere ..." I said, trailing off.
"That would be wonderful. Thank you. And besides, I need to have a little talk with Malfoy."
I saw curiosity spring onto Malfoy's face, and he snapped his gaze to the professor. "Excuse me? You want to speak to me?" he asked.
"Yes. You." McGonagall smiled a bit.
"Trust me. The one and only," I said.
"Why thank you." He put his infamous smirk, turning his head slightly to look at me and lifting his foot so that it was resting on the chair. He interlaced his fingers on one hand with the other, putting them right below his leg. His stance described 'relaxed' perfectly.
I walked over so that I could reach his head and slapped him on the back of it. "It wasn't meant as a compliment.
He instantly grabbed the back of his head. "What was that for, woman?"
I shrugged and put on a smirk.
"Professor, aren't you going to do anything?"
She smiled and said, "No. I trust you can handle the rest, Miss. Granger?"
I smirked again at Malfoy. "Yes. We will explain it to them and it will be fine."
"Great. Now, you can go fetch your friends. I will have that talk with Mr. Mlafoy. I will most likely be gone by then, so good bye, and good luck."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I heard as I left the room.
I shook my head and chuckled, heading back to where I knew I would find Ginny. I found the right one and saw two new people in our compattemant.
"Hello, Ronald, Veronica. Hi, Harry, Ginny. Hey, you know how we were speaking about house unity before I left? Well you guys seem to be mind-readers. Because it is something very similar to that. But Ginny, can you come with me? We'll be back, guys."
We walked out of the compartment. Ginny sighed. "Thank you Merlin for getting me out of there. Ronald and Veronica were driving me mental! Anywho, what did you need me for?"
"You'll find out when we get there. But first, we need to find Blaise Zabini."
"Bla- Why the hell do we need to find Zabini?" Ginny asked, a look of curiosity and confusion on her freckled face.
"I told you, I will explain when we get there. But for now, please just look!"
"Ok, ok!"
We looked for the next five minutes when we found him near the front with some fellow Slytherins. I opened the compartment door and peeked my head in. "Zabini? Come here."
He snapped his head up, looking at me. "Excuse me? You want me to come with you?"
"Merlin, you're just like Malfoy," I mumbled. In a louder voice, I said, "Yes, you. Come on."
"Why do you n-"
"Listen, Zabini. It is a complicated matter, so come with us. Hermione was sent by McGonagall. So stop complaining, or I'll hex you. You do remember my bat-bogey hex, don't you?" Ginny asked, whipping out her wand.
His face became of pure horror. He got up quickly, turned to his friends, waved and came with Ginny and I. I turned and headed to the head's compartment.
Draco's POV:
(Meanwhile)
I looked at McGonagall, wondering why she wanted to speak to me.
"Mr. Malfoy, I am sure you are wondering why I wanted to speak to you. Well, first, I wanted to say, I am sorry about your father."
I snorted. "Trust me, it wasn't much of a loss."
"I know. I was just trying to be polite." She smiled.
I smiled. McGonagall was a lot nicer this year than last. "Thanks."
She nodded. "The other thing is something that if you accept, you will be working with Miss. Granger, Miss. Weasley, and Mr. Zabini. I am proposing the idea of a ball for Hogwarts. It will be outside if in spring, and in the Room of Requirement if in winter. Yes, I know about that room. You would be in charge of it, along with Miss. Granger. This is sorely up to you. The basic thing is, there is one condition. There must be a dance where everybody has to pick somebody from a different house to dance with. Now, you don't have to accept. Tell me your decision when you are ready."
With that, she stood, walked to the door and opened it. "Goodbye. Come to my office when you decide. The password - for now - is House Unity." She smiled and exited the compartment.
I sat back, thinking, pondering over my decision. House unity? Wasn't it enough that Granger, Weaslette, Blaise and I are sharing a dorm? I guess the ball is just to encourage the suggestion further. It was a good idea, I had to admit.
But there is so much to do for a dance. But I would have help.
I thought about it for a few more moments. I decided then relaxed, going back to the position I had before Granger left.
I waited a few more moments and Granger, Weaslette, and Blaise walked in, the two latter looking confused.
"What is going on? Hermione, why is Malfoy here?" Weaslette asked, gripping her wand tighter.
I sighed. This was going to take a while.
Hermione's POV:
"What is going on? Hermione, why is Malfoy here?" Ginny asked, holding her wand tighter until her knuckles turned white.
"Sit down, both of you." Malfoy gestured to the chairs and sat back once again in his. I sat across from him, taking the same seat I had before I left. Ginny sat next to me while Zabini sat next to Malfoy. They didn't relax, despite the calm air around us.
"Hermione, you said something about Harry and I practically mind readers, only worse? What is it?" Ginny asked me, ignoring the two Slytherins across from us.
I glanced between her and Zabini a few times, and then to Malfoy. I sighed and started to explain. "Well, Ginny, you were partially correct. For house unity, Malfoy and I have to share something. But it is much worse than sharing a table. We have to share a dorm room. It has a common room, two bathrooms, four bedrooms, it's own kitchen, a small closet for storage, and a surprise, so it is quite big. My point is, McGonagall said we could each pick a friend to live with us, as there are four bedrooms. So I picked you, Ginny, and Malfoy picked Zabini. You don't have to do it, but it would be much better if you stayed with me, seeing as if I don't pick you, I have to pick Harry. And I don't feel like spending my whole year living with three boys, two Slytherins. So, what do you say?"
"Okay. This will be fun. Living with two Slytherin boys. We will have privacy, which means we can hex them as much as we want." Ginny said. She leaned closer to me and whispered in my year, "And, we will be able to play pranks on them without anyone interfering." She leaned back again and we laughed.
"Okay, if you people stop laughing as of you are planning something, I will," Blaise said. We instantly stopped laughing, not wanting to ruin our chance. "Thank you. Yes, I will do it."
I arched my eyebrows and said, "Slytherins seem to be a lot nicer this year than last."
"How would you know, Hermione? What other Slytherins have you run into this past year?"
I gestured to Malfoy with my chin. "Him. Remember how after the trial, I took a walk? Well, he came along and decided to annoy the hell out of me. Then, he followed me without me knowing-"
"He followed you? Stalker," Ginny mumbled.
"and tripped over a tree root. He injured his foot, so I took him back to my house. I cleaned and treated his foot, we had another fight about m blood status, and after that, he said I was right and he was wrong. But on the way to my house, he said he was thankful for what I did back at the trial. So he said thank you. And he is a Slytherin. I am just a bit surprised is all."
"Wow. You are right. And not the only one surprised," Ginny said, raising her eyebrows.
Malfoy rolled his eyes, stood up and walked to the window. "Holy- We're almost there. We need to get back to our compartments and change. Granger, has McGonagall told you where our dorm is?"
"No. I think she will tell us after the feast. See you then." He nodded and headed back to his compartment. I walked into my compartment and took my robes out.
"Where did you guys disappear to?" Harry asked, looking over at Ronald and Veronica.
"Oh. Right. McGonagall told us that Malfoy, Zabini, Ginny and I are going to share a dorm. This is going to be fun, isn't it?"
"For the whole year?" Harry asked, looking up from his trunk.
"Sadly yes. Ugh! I have to share a dorm with a Slytherin! I am nervous."
"Why? You can take him down with one hex. What are you worried about?"
"That, exactly! What if he gets me mad? I'll hex him into oblivion! And then I might get in trouble." I took a few deep breaths.
"Hey, don't worry, 'Mione. I'll be there. I will stop you from doing anything you may regret," Ginny said, putting an arm around my shoulders.
I smiled. "Thank you, guys." They nodded and smiled back. The train stopped and we looked outside to see that we were next to the carriages. We got out and there was a sharp intake of breath as almost everybody saw the black skeletal horses strapped to the carriages. I shook my head and walked over to them. I saw them ever since we got back from the Ministry in fifth year. I patted one of their heads'. I saw Hagrid and called him over.
"Do you have a piece of meat for the Thestral? I like this one especially," I said after I hugged the big man. I was able to tell this one from the others because he had green marks around his eyes. He also had white strokes in his wings. He seemed more alive than the others.
"O' course, 'Mione. Nice ta see ya again." He gave me a big slab of rotten meat and walked away to greet Harry. I gave it to the Thestral and got into the carriage he was leading.
I felt the cushion on the seating cave, so I knew somebody else climbed in with me. I opened my eyes and saw Ginny, Zabini, and Malfoy in the carriage. "What are you two doing here?"
Malfoy answered. "Well, we decided to start House Unity a little early. I hope you don't mind." He smirked.
I shook my head and looked over at the big, beautiful castle. It was just as it had been before. The carriage ride ended soon, and I jumped down. Looking at the looming castle, I got ready to face the castle that held my fears and nightmares.
A/N: I hope you like this chapter! And I think this is the fastest update I had for any of my stories. Anyway, please review!
