AN: Thanks to my friend Bex for beta reading for me. And of course, thank you all for reading and for the reviews. Keep them coming!

Lost Souls of Nott Castle

Chapter Three - Announcement

Two days after their initial meeting with Malfoy's probation agent, all seventh year Hogwarts students were invited to Hogwarts to discuss their fate.

It was the beginning of July. Most of the rubble had been cleared away, though repairs were still being conducted on the castle.

Hermione walked through the front doors and felt a mix of nostalgia and nausea wash over her. She remembered the first day that she walked through those doors almost eight years earlier. She had been so excited, so optimistic that she would make friends and fit in with people just like her. And she remembered the last time she walked through them, surrounded by death and destruction.

Today she was neither excited nor optimistic. She was alone. She knew now that she would always be alone.

In the Great Hall her classmates had already started to assemble. She sat in her usual seat at the Gryffindor table. When Harry, Ron and Neville came in, they made it a point to sit much further down the table from her.

Around her, she could hear the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs whispering, and she could feel their eyes on her. From across the room she could feel the curious gazes from the Slytherin table. She raised her eyes from the table and locked her gaze on the dark silver eyes of Draco Malfoy. Next to him were Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott, Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass.

Malfoy raised his brow in question. She was shocked to see something akin to concern there instead of malice. No, not concern. Curiosity, maybe, with just a hint of anger? Their eyes locked for a long moment. She found herself mesmerized, frozen, unable to look away. It wasn't until McGonagall cleared her throat to get their attention that she was able to break the contact.

"Thank you all for coming," McGonagall stated in a clear, albeit tired voice. "I'm sure I don't need to remind any of you of the unusual circumstances surrounding your final year at Hogwarts. That is not why I've called you here today. We are here to discuss what comes next for each of you."

A low murmur spread through the hall.

"At the conclusion of your schooling, you are expected to pass a series of tests known as the NEWT's. Many professions rely heavily on these test scores. As such, we cannot send an entire class out into the world without having their NEWT's."

A collective groan rose throughout the Great Hall.

"Therefore," she continued. "In six weeks time, you will each sit for your NEWT examinations. In the meantime, you will be given study materials and access to the library at any time. There will not be formal instructions, but you may feel free to contact your professors for individual assistance on specific topics of study."

Hermione closed her eyes and mentally started calculating how much studying time she could fit in during the next six weeks. She had a major problem that she was going to have to resolve soon, though, and it simply could not be avoided for much longer.

A tear rolled down her cheek and she swiped at it angrily.

"I bet you're loving this, aren't you Hermione?" Ron's voice cut through her thoughts. The accusation in his tone took her by surprise. She didn't have anything to do with this decision. Why would he think she did?

"Why do you even care, Ron? I thought you two were joining the Aurors anyway."

She glanced around and realized that most of the students had dispersed already. Ron and Harry were standing across the table from her, glaring down their noses.

"I figured you'd be ecstatic," Harry said with a laugh. "You never turn down a chance to show how smart you are."

Any other time she would have thought it harmless teasing. They were always making fun of her study habits, never recognizing that the reason she studied so hard was to prove her worth to people like them.

She could tell that they weren't just teasing her, though. They were angry with her. Again. Still. Maybe both.

Well, fuck them.

"Whatever," she muttered as she turned away from them. Another traitorous tear slipped down her cheek as she stood from the table.

She wasn't prepared for someone to be standing directly behind her, so she was surprised when she took a step and ran right into someone.

Hands gripped her shoulders to steady her. She looked up into silvery blue eyes that took her breath away.

"These two idiots bothering you again?" He asked, his lip curled up into a sneer as he looked past her to where Harry and Ron still stood.

What did it say about how drastically her life had changed when she was actually relieved to have Malfoy standing there?

"Oh what, you need Malfoy to protect you now?" Harry snorted with laughter. "Seems like you traded down to me."

She took a deep breath before turning back around to face her former best friends. She crossed her arms over her chest protectively and narrowed her eyes at them.

"What do you want, Harry?"

There was a long pause while they fidgeted and cast furtive glances behind her.

"You can leave now, Malfoy. This doesn't concern you." Ron growled out.

"Anything you have to say to me, you can say it in front him." Hermione countered. Not that she wanted Malfoy to know anything about her personal business, particularly her current predicament. She knew it would rub Harry and Ron the wrong way, though, and she took a small bit of pleasure in the fact that it would piss them off.

Ron's brow furrowed in concentration for a moment, then his face drained of color. He leaned forward, placing both hands on the table that separated them.

"Mione, please tell me you aren't staying with this git?"

Her anger at his insinuation was palpable.

"Why in Merlin's name would she be staying with me?" Malfoy asked, obviously confused by the turn in the conversation.

"Better question," Hermione ground out. "Why in Merlin's name would you care?"

"Oh Mione! Come on!" Ron's voice echoed across the Great Hall. "You can't be serious!"

Her fist came down hard on the table, making all of them jump at the sudden noise.

"You kicked me out, Ron, remember? No money. No food. You didn't even let me collect my things before you threw me out in the rain in the middle of the night." Her voice was quiet, but it was hard. "You knew I didn't have anywhere to go, and you didn't care. It's been a week, you haven't even checked on me to see if I found some place to stay. And now...now all of a sudden you care whether or not I'm staying with Malfoy? Why would you give a fuck now? In fact, why are you even talking to me right now? What is it that you want?"

The silence in the hall following her rant was all encompassing. She glared at Ron, then at Harry. Waiting for them to respond. Daring them to ask for whatever they were planning on asking for.

Malfoy stood behind her, not believing what he had just heard. They had completely cut her off. Thrown her out with nothing. All because she had testified on his behalf. It was funny when he thought they were arguing amongst themselves because of him. This was a whole other level, though, that was anything but funny. With friends like these, she didn't need enemies.

Her final question still hung in the air around them. Understanding dawned on him first and he allowed an evil smirk to spread across his face.

"Don't you see, Granger?" He drawled, once again diverting Potter and Weasley's attention to himself rather than her. "They still have to pass their NEWT'S to actually become Aurors. They know they'll never be able to do it without you. You always were the brains of the operation."

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder. Her narrowed eyes met his and he could see the glint in them as soon as she realized the connection.

"Of course," she barked out a sharp laugh. "It's so obvious."

She shook her head in disbelief, waited at least ten seconds for either of them to deny it as her eyes bounced back and forth from Harry to Ron, then back again. With one final huff of air, she turned and stormed away. She paused before opening the door and turned back.

"I would like to at least come and pick up my things," she said in a quiet voice that carried across the empty room. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively and jutted her hip out to one side as her eyes once again flicked back and forth between the two men that had been her friends for the past seven years.

Harry averted his eyes and Ron suddenly found the table in front of him very interesting. A pit formed in her stomach as she watched them.

"Ginny, well you know she has a bit of a temper." Harry stuttered. He rubbed at the back of his neck, still avoiding her gaze.

"And she was quite upset," Ron shrugged his shoulders as though that explained everything.

"What did she do?" Hermione felt the color draining out of her face. She was afraid to find out, but needed to know all the same.

"She, uh, well, she burned most of it." Harry finally admitted.

All of the air left her lungs. She couldn't breathe. This couldn't be happening. She leaned over, putting her hands on her knees as her vision swam before her eyes.

"And the rest of it?" Malfoy interjected. His voice was no longer mocking. It was cold, angry.

Neither one of them answered. Suddenly she knew. It was all gone. Her clothes. Her books. Her pictures. Everything she owned. Gone.

Malfoy came to the same conclusion. He wasn't quite prepared for his own reaction, though. He wanted to beat Potter and Weasley to a bloody pulp. Merlin help him, he was offended on Granger's behalf. After everything she had done for them over the years. She had saved Harry's arse over and over. She had been tortured. She had helped him defeat the Dark Lord.

And as soon as she does something he doesn't agree with, she's thrown out like yesterday's rubbish.

Until they need her yet again.

Malfoy was not exactly Granger's biggest fan on most days. He was undoubtedly thankful that she had saved him from Azkaban, but he could admit that he was conflicted. He didn't ask her to do what she did, and now her fate was tied to his. He didn't like that at all.

But a part of him had to admire her convictions. She stood up for what was right, even if it wasn't the popular opinion. Even if it could land her in Azkaban. Or homeless.

"I'll give you credit. You two are the dumbest blokes in the world." He laughed at them mockingly before walking away.

He was halfway to where she was still standing when he heard movement behind him. Potter grabbed him by the arm and turned him around.

"Stay the hell away from her, Malfoy," Potter growled, low enough that only Draco could hear him. "Hermione's heart is bigger than her brain sometimes. She doesn't need you taking advantage of that."

Draco had to keep himself from punching the scarred menace. He squeezed his hand into a fist and took a deep breath.

"No, she doesn't." He growled back. "She already has you for that."

He pulled his arm out of Potter's grasp and walked away. When he got to where Hermione was standing, still bent at the waist trying to fend off a panic attack, he stopped.

"Come on, Granger. Let's get out of here. I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."

She straightened up and took a deep breath. Slowly her eyes focused on him and she nodded. She looked over his shoulder at the two people she had come to think of as her family. Slowly, deliberately, she turned her back on them. Then she let Malfoy, the one person that had never once treated her with kindness before that very moment, lead her out of the Great Hall with his hand on the small of her back.