Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.
Hermione's POV
A week has passed since we began school. Draco and I have managed to avoid each other as much as possible. During meals, we sit on opposite ends of the table. For patrols, I take the shifts on the odd days of the month while Malfoy takes the even days. Even though most of our classes are together, we haven't been partnered for anything yet, so it hasn't been a problem. Thankfully, using the bathroom hasn't been an issue, as Malfoy prefers to wake up early and shower in the morning. I, on the other hand, prefer to shower just before I go to bed and I wake up at 7:30 am.
We're in the Great Hall eating breakfast on the Monday of our second week when the Headmistress gets up to make an announcement.
"Students, if I may have your attention for a few minutes. At the end of last week, the teachers and I decided on something very important for this school. To promote house unity, and attempt to put a stop to discrimination against students for their bloodlines, it is now mandatory for all students to take Muggle Studies each year. Your timetables have been updated and if you have any questions, you can ask your teachers or Head of House. We apologize for the disruption to your courses that this may cause, but we will do our best to re-adjust your timetables if there are conflicts. Thank you for your patience, you may return to your breakfast now."
As soon as she finishes, everyone rushes to check their timetable to see what course was replaced by Muggle Studies. In my case, Muggle Studies replaced Ancient Runes. Thankfully, I already know most of the material that would have been taught this year, and I can ask for supplementary work if I want it.
However, many students around me are complaining about the decision, particularly the Slytherins. The muggleborns, on the other hand, are confused as to why they have to take the course.
"It's all a load of bloody nonsense," I hear Blaise mutter under his breath from across the table and Millicent and Pansy nod in agreement. I struggle to not roll my eyes at them. It's honestly not the end of the world. Besides, the Headmistress would have had a good reason to do this, and she would have also had to convince the staff to agree.
My first class would have been Ancient Runes, which means that I now have Muggle Studies in a few minutes. I finish my plate and leave early to drop off my Ancient Runes textbook in my room. When I eventually reach the class, I see that Malfoy is in my class as well. That leaves just one class that we aren't together for during this semester.
Five minutes before the beginning of class, Professor Carrington, the newly appointed Muggle Studies professor, invites us all in to get settled. The room is set up with large group tables and many of us sit our house groups. Unlike many of the classes in Hogwarts, we're seated on plastic chairs as opposed to wooden benches. Scattered around the classroom are many different pieces of muggle tech including a toaster, fridge, desktop computer and monitor, boombox, tv, landline phone, game consoles, dishwashers, irons, DVD and VCR players, and a smartboard.
Professor Carrington was a moderately short, young, blonde woman. Based on her accent, she must have been from Southern England. Her hair was tied back into a tight bun, with a light blue ribbon that matched her robes. She stands up at the front of the class and claps to get our attention.
"Hello, students. I know many of you are very confused about what is going on with this class so do my best to explain everything. My original class has already started some work, but since I knew there might have been some changes, it was just some get to know you activities and not much of the course material."
"This class will be completed primarily through partner activities. A muggleborn will be partnered with a pureblood from a different house from your own, the muggleborn will act as a kind of tutor or point of reference and insight into the muggle world. For the half-bloods, you will be partnered with another half-blood, but depending on your understanding of each world, you will choose which one you want to study. Each lesson will have an "umbrella" topic, and you will conduct a personalized study of it. For example, if we were doing a unit on communication and the lesson was on sending lengthy messages, you might study how electronic mail works, or how owls understand your instructions and send your mail without getting lost."
"Now, I need to sort out your groupings. These will be permanent for the semester and cannot be changed. Since I'm a new teacher, I don't know you very well. If you hate your partner, you'll have to learn how to deal with it. I'm going to read out the list first, and then you'll go to join your partner and find a seat at a table. Mr. Longbottom and Ms. Davis. Ms. Parkinson and Mr. MacMillan. Ms. Patil and Mr. Smith. and Ms. Abbott. Mr. Boot and Ms. Greengrass. Mr. Zabini and Mr. Finch-Fletchley. Mr. Thomas and Ms. Bulstrode. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger."
Of course, I was paired with the ferret. Honestly, I should have seen it coming. I can't help but notice, however, that the list was organized such that the pureblood was listed first and then the muggleborn. That means that not all of the Slytherins are purebloods.
"You may go find your partner now, just make sure that there are two pairings at each table."
I pick up my stuff and move to where Malfoy is sitting as I know he won't get up to move next to me. When I sit down, he doesn't even look at me. He just continues writing something in a notebook. I lean over a little bit, to get a glimpse of what he's writing, and he immediately snaps the book shut. He glares at me and pulls out his textbook and folder for the class, making me realize that he's had Muggle Studies from the beginning of the year.
"We'll start with something simple today. I will pick up or point to an object in this room and ask a student to name it. You can ask for help from your partner one time and that is it."
"The first student will be Malfoy, what is this?" she says, pointing to something I can't quite see from where I'm sitting.
"A laptop?" he replies.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, well done." I feel happy that he got it right, and a sense of pride as I taught him what it was last week on the train.
"And this?"
"Earbuds."
"Correct," she replies. I'm surprised that he's remembered everything, but I suppose that's a good thing.
"What about this?" she says as she points at a wall socket, and I stifle a laugh. Malfoy kicks me, sharply, under the table, and I suppress a yelp. With a slight blush, he answers.
"A wall socket."
"Well done Malfoy, the rest of you will have to see if you can as well as him."
Two other purebloods get it all right, but the rest only get one or two right answers. She then hands out a sheet with the names of different objects on the sheet. Next to it are some lines to write definitions on.
"For homework, I want you to look up the definitions of the items on the vocabulary sheet using a computer. Many of the muggleborns and half-bloods brought laptops from home or have had their parents send them by owl, but anyone who does not have one can see me after class to either borrow or purchase one from the school. Much of our homework this year will be completed through the laptops, so it is mandatory to have one, or at least access to one. The lesson is finished for today, but feel free to explore the stuff in the room."
Many of the purebloods line up to procure a laptop, but Malfoy stays behind. I turn to him and ask him why he isn't getting up.
"Well, many of them will take a while and I don't want to wait around for the next 20 minutes in line. I'll wait till most of them are done and then get one. Don't worry Granger, I won't be borrowing your filthy computer to finish my homework. Speaking of which, you're going to have to show me how to "search" this information on the laptop." I find it funny how he didn't ask if I could help him. Instead, he turned it into a statement, or rather, a command. I ignore the obvious disrespect he's showing me since I don't want to get in a fight with him again.
"I can show you tonight after dinner, but just know that the more you insult me, the less I'm going to help you. I may lose marks for not being a good 'tutor', but I don't tolerate insults," I reply.
"Fine. It's a deal then." By this point the line had almost completely cleared. Malfoy got up and went to get a laptop. When he came back I see it's a simple Chromebook. I guess we'll be using Google apps this year.
Soon after, the class is dismissed, so I head over to Potions.
Author's Note: In case it wasn't clear, the muggleborns are Cho, Ernie, Zacharias, Tracy, Amalie, Justin, and Hermione. The purebloods are Neville, Pansy, Padma, Michael, Terry, Blaise, and Draco. The half-bloods are Anthony, Hannah, Dean, Millicent. This is based on a list that J.K. Rowling published. Please review, and thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week, till next time.