Dumbledore stood at the head of the Great Hall, his mouth set tight and his eyes without their normal twinkle. The professors beside him seemed to have the same expressions and there was quite an unusually serious mood in the air.
Dumbledore sighed. "As headmaster, I pride myself on the success of our students. Hogwarts houses some of the brightest witches and wizards who go on to do amazing things. But some areas need to be greatly improved. We have always encouraged friendly competition between the houses. However...lately there have been events that have shown us a lack of respect and friendliness that is inexcusable. You don't need to like everyone, but there will be no more tormenting or harassing each other. So, your professors and I have come up with a solution to help everyone understand each other a little bit more and hopefully get rid of some of the ugliness between the houses. Everyone will be assigned a partner, a partner from a different house, for the rest of this term."
Murmurs and groans started spreading through the Hall. Eye rolls and sighs were a chorus among the students.
"Excuse me! You will give your headmaster your attention." Professor McGonagall firmly stated.
"Thank you, Minerva. Now at the end of the term, you and your partner will discuss with a professor some qualities or talents that you have learned about each other. Attributes that you can respect and admire. You will find things about each other's houses that you can relate to."
More grumbles echoed throughout the room.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat."You may not be happy about this, but there is no getting out of it. You cannot simply avoid your partner. You will spend every study hall with them and will be required to spend an additional 2 hours with them outside of school hours."
"It is not just you. Do not think that we are putting it all on you." Professor Sprout said. "Us professors will be doing the same thing."
Dumbledore nodded. "I am disappointed. Disappointed in you the students, but also the professors. Should this 'experiment' have a positive outcome, you will all be rewarded. Now, listen up for your name. We will be listing off all of the partnerships before your classes start."
The students shared glances as Professor McGonagall unfurled a scroll of parchment paper. "As I read your names, please gather your things and meet your partner. Your first class of the day has been canceled so you can get acquainted with each other. Okay now, the first two students are...Lavender Brown and Ernie MacMillan."
Names continued being read for what seemed like hours. Certain pairs seemed delighted but others looked like they wouldn't make it through the day together.
"Hermione Granger. And Draco Malfoy."
Hermione felt her stomach drop and her heart instantly sped up. She glanced at her friends, who were sharing sympathetic looks. With heavy feet, she gathered her things and met Draco at the entrance to the Great Hall.
"Hello, Malfoy." SHe muttered stiffly.
He gave a short nod and motioned for her to follow him. She glanced back at her friends one more time before reluctantly following the blonde-haired boy down the corridors.
"Where are we going?"
Draco half glanced behind him. "Away from everything."
She felt her palms start to get clammy. Why of all people was she paired with him?
They arrived in an empty corridor. She glanced around and saw no other students, no doors, nothing. Was he going to attack her?
"Calm down Granger. Give me a minute."
A door suddenly appeared in the wall.
"The room of requirement." She whispered.
He nodded and headed in, Hermione quickly following behind him.
The room was very casual. There was a fireplace with two overstuffed, plush couches placed around it. Behind the couches was a simple desk with some pumpkin juice and sweets. Hermione sat on one of the couches and fiddled with her bags.
They sat in silence for a while, just staring at the fire. It was Draco who finally broke the silence.
"Hermione..."
The girl almost choked. He had never used her first name before. She almost thought she was hearing things.
His silver eyes looked full of fear and desperation. "Hermione I need help."
"Draco.."
"I can't do it anymore." He choked out. "I don't want this to be my life. I don't want to be...like him. Like my father. I'm getting in too deep."
Hermione felt her body shake. "What do you mean in too deep? What's going on?"
"At first I was intrigued by my father and I wanted to make him proud. But it quickly turned into doing what he wanted out of fear. But now it's too bloody much!"
His voice was barely above a whisper, but there was so much terror.
Hermione was shocked. She wasn't sure what to make of any of this. "What is too much? What is he trying to make you do?"
"Lord Voldemort and my father...they... I've been ordered to kill..."
She stopped him. "Why me? Draco you need to go to Dumbledore!"
"And if he doesn't believe me?"
She scoffed. "And you thought I would?"
"Yes. I don't know. When our names were called... I just...i felt like you were the person to tell." He muttered.
She sighed. "You still need to tell Dumbledore. I can't do anything by myself. But... Uhm... I'll go with you. But Dumbledore has a way of knowing things. He will know if you're lying or telling the truth."
"Things don't look good for me."
She studied him. "Trying to find a hint of whether he was lying, but he looked so genuinely afraid. "Your past actions and thoughts are not good. But that doesn't mean you can't get help."
"You don't understand!" He shouted.
He yanked up his sleeve and threw his arm out.
"The Dark Mark..." Her voice was shaky. "When?"
He traced the mark with his finger. "Right before this term. I had no choice. It was at that moment that I knew I needed a way out. But now I don't know if it's too late."
There was another long silence before Hermione finally spoke up. "I believe you. And I will take you to Dumbledore. But if you're lying Draco, you will wish it was the Death Eaters after you and not me. Now let's go."
"Now?" He startled.
She sighed. "Yes now. This cannot wait. If you are serious about getting out...it needs to be now."
He sat still for a moment, glancing at her and glancing at his bags. He shook his head and grabbed his bags. He followed her through the hallways to the headmasters' office. They were almost there when they ran into Crabb and an annoyed looking Ravenclaw.
"Malfoy! I still can't believe you got stuck with the mudblood. Hah!"
Hermione saw Draco tense at the word. Something was going on and she wasn't sure what. Something was different about Malfoy this year.
"Shut up Crabb." The Ravenclaw girl snapped. "Merlin, your such a bloody git. Filth"
She stormed away.
Crabb scoffed. "I'm not any better off. She may not be a mudblood but she's just as bad."
"I gotta go Crabb." Draco said lowly.
He stalked off and Hermione quickly followed. She was prepared for the worst this year. Voldemort was back and was quickly gaining power and followers. But this? This was something that she never would have ever expected.