Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor anything affiliated with it.

Draco's POV

The soft rustle of my parchment as I roll up my application essays is just loud enough to wake up Alister. He stretches his paws and arches his back before padding over to my desk and climbing up to sit on my coil of twine.

"Alister I need that!" He lazily licks his paw instead of moving.

I groan. Sometimes her can be such a bother but he's also really adorable.

I shove him off the twine and he has the nerve to glare at me. Somehow it's gotten tangled since I pulled it out just five minutes ago. After I finish untangling it I cut three small pieces to bind my essays. Being careful not to crush them, I place them in my messenger bag so that I can hand them in; Professor Flitwick will be collecting them during Charms.

I wonder how the others are doing for these essays. I'm sure Hermione has had hers finished for more than a week and the others probably finished theirs in the last two days or so. Ron probably finished his last night. Or maybe this morning in between grumbling about wanting to eat and get dressed.

I latch my bag shut and head to Charms. There are a few students wandering the halls but most of them are in the Great Hall, still finishing up their lunch. When I arrive at the classroom, Professor Flitwick is just walking in.

"Oh hello there Mr. Malfoy, is your application all ready?" He says while putting his keys away.

"Yes, thankfully." I reply.

"I'm sure you're glad to be rid of them. It's a rather arduous process, no?"

"For sure."

"Why don't you come on in so we aren't just talking in the middle of the hallway." He holds the door open for me and I step into his class.

I take a seat near the front as he continues preparing things for today's class.

"Have you given any thought to you end of year speech yet?" I'm only half listening to him when my brain processes the word 'speech'.

"Pardon me, I missed the beginning of that."

"Your valedictorian speech." He replies simply.

"My what?" I can barely keep the surprise from my voice.

"Oh, did McGonagall not tell you? Both the Head Boy and Girl must prepare an end of year speech for the graduation ceremony. You still have plenty of time to write it, of course, it's only the first of May. No need to worry. It doesn't have to be anything particularly formal or fancy either, just a few words to send you all off."

Upon seeing my expression he adds, "You'll be fine Mr. Malfoy, you have a very special way with people and you have a very unique set of experiences that could lend to a very good speech. Experiences that I think would be beneficial for us all to learn from."

"Uh, thanks professor."

He smiles kindly at me before going back to his work. Inside I'm panicking. I have just under two months to come up with a good speech and not a lot of free time. It's a good thing Professor Flitwick told me today, otherwise I'd have even less time to put it together. Something tells me though that Hermione has known about it all along and just assumed that I would know about it as well.

I pull out a notebook and begin a section titled, "Eighth Year Graduation Speech", before putting my pencil down and closing the book. There isn't really any time to start it and I don't feel like doing right now.

People start filling into class, just a few minutes to go before the bell rings. I pull my applications out and leave them very carefully placed on my desk. I notice a few students walk in, only to rush out in a panic, presumably because they forgot their applications. Just as the bell rings, they return out of breath, clutching rolls of parchment in their white-tipped fingers. I don't bother hiding my smile.

"I'll be coming around to collect your applications now. Please try not to worry too much over the next few weeks about getting accepted into your programs and positions. The next few years in particular, acceptance will definitely be the highest it's been since the last time Voldemort tried to take power." Professor Flitwick says as he walks around his desk to us.

When he reaches me, he reacts with surprise. "Two applications Mr. Malfoy?" Not even Hermione submitted two, though I wouldn't have been surprised if she had.

"I have a few options and not all of them are full time. There's also a backup in case I don't get accepted." I reply.

"Well I wish you the best of luck for both of them." He says as he adds my rolls to his rather large pile.

Once he walks away, I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders. At the same time though, I feel the anxiety about the results of my applications rise significantly. In an attempt to relax my mind and the whirlwind of thoughts in my head, I begin to quietly hum a song under my breath. Something to block out all the nose.

The first melody to come to mind is a song that I discovered last week, Pushing on a Pull Door by For King and Country.

It's become a bit of an anthem for me.

If hope is what you're after
I can take it and turn it into rain
Your tears become laughter
I will catch them and turn them back again
Yeah I will catch them and twist them back again

Hope, something I have more so these days than last year, but I still wish I had more.

When you're upside down,
Then you see it all
That you spend all your time

Pushing on a pull door

It's basically what I spent my life doing. Then with the war, my perspective flipped entirely. It's funny, because it's so easy to be stuck like that. Everyone has had a moment like that in their lives. When it comes down to it, everyone makes mistakes and often times the hardest problems just need a different perspective.

You made a plan
You think you're in control
Yeah you're flying
And you're way too high to fall

I had my whole life planned as an heir to the Malfoy family fortune. My plans set in stone, I let the thoughts and perspectives of my father and his friends carve them. Then when the dust settled after the war I was faced with a future that couldn't ever be what I though it would be.

And hey man
Check around the corner
Because it's coming
Here's your wakeup call
Don't hear me coming?
I'm your wakeup call

My wakeup call happened when I came back to Hogwarts. It took a while, but the continued efforts of Hermione, McGonagall, and all of my friends brought me out of a shell that I didn't even realize I was hiding in.

When you're upside down, then you see it all
Everything's the wrong way around but clearer than before
When you're upside down, then you see it all
That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door

I will shake you
I will make your shattered dreams unwind
Because it's only when it comes to pieces
Only then this time increases
You will find the piece that you've been dying for
You'll realize that all this time

You've been pushing on a pull door
You've been pushing on a pull door

As I begin to hum the chorus again, Professor Flitwick calls for our attention.

I don't really hear what he's saying though, because suddenly I've realized what I should make my valedictorian speech about.

Discreetly, I pull out a piece of paper and jot down some ideas and topics. I realize what Professor Flitwick had been hinting at this the whole time; use my past and testimony to inspire the other students at Hogwarts. The kind of story that I can tell is relatable to a lot of people and can change to fit the experiences of others. The Slytherins in particular don't have many good role models, and I have an excellent opportunity to be one for them. I just need to figure out how to articulate it all properly.

I've just written a rough outline when Professor Flitwick finishes his instructions. I may not know what we're doing in class today, but I do know what I'm speaking about to my class at our graduation.

Everyone stands up and begins to pair off. I'm a little confused but thankfully Hermione walks over to me.

"You ready to try Undetectable Extension Charms?" She asks me, a grin on her face.

"... did we never learn them in class?" I ask, a little confused.

"Nope, They're part of the seventh year curriculum but you and I shouldn't have a problem with it. It's just like we practised in the hall but this time on a cup. Simple."

"Oh okay. That's easier than I thought."

"Do you want to clear off the desk while I grab our cups?"

"Sure." I reply.

I move everything onto the benches. When Hermione returns, I've sat down. I've considered using the charm before on my bag, like Hermione's done, but I think I might actually try it today after the lesson.

"Okay, so do you want me to go first or should we try it together?" She asks.

"How about together?"

"That sounds fine to me."

Hermione places the two cups on either end of the table and reminds me of the incantation and wand movements.

Together we raise our arms and cast the charm.

"Capacious extremis"

We then grab our pitcher of water to start pouring it into the glasses.

"Should we do yours first?" Asks Hermione.

"If you want to." I reply.

She lifts the jug and carefully begins pouring. The cups are rather small so if the spell went wrong we don't want them to overflow as soon as we begin filling it. As the cup is being filled Professor Flitwick walks by.

"Marvellous job! Who's cup is this one?" He asks.

"Draco cast the charm on this one Professor." Replies Hermione with a smile.

"Thank you Ms. Granger, may I see yours as well?"

"Of course."

She then turns to fill her cup and like mine, it just keeps filling without overflowing.

"Excellent work, both of you. If you would like, for extra credit, could you write a joint essay about how to effectively cast the spell on a variety of objects and what some of the things you should look out for are? Feel free to use your previous experience in the essay. I know you two used it during the last few school events and I think that your knowledge on the subject would be quite useful and insightful for more advanced and curious students next year."

"Of course Professor, we'd love to!" Says Hermione, bubbling with excitement. I manage to turn my laughter into a cough without distracting Professor Flitwick. Of course she wants to write it.

"My dear, I admire your enthusiasm, but I haven't even told you the most exciting piece of information yet. Before I get there though, Mr. Malfoy, would you be interested in joining your fellow student on this essay?"

"I would be honoured to accept your proposal." I reply.

"Excellent. Well since you've both accepted I can now tell you that should your essay meet my standards, which I have no doubt it will, I am going to submit it on your behalf to the Wizarding International Charms Board as one that may be considered for a new academic journal. I must confess that I've never seen the charm used before on such a large area and I think that it could be quite useful for many in the wizarding community."

By the time professor Flitwick finishes talking, Hermione is practically buzzing with excitement.

"Thank you Professor, I'm not sure if Hermione is currently capable of communication at the but I'm sure she's delighted by your offer. When would you like it to be handed in?"

"Yes, Ms. Granger does appear to be quite excited. If you could submit it for me to review it in two weeks, I'll have enough time to look it over and suggest any revisions before submitting another 4 days after that."

"Alright, that sounds good. Thank you again for such an amazing opportunity."

"You're most welcome Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger. Now I must check on the rest of the class and their charms but you may both go to the library if you would prefer to begin your essay."

He then leaves and continues on to the next group.

"Draco, did we actually just get asked to write an essay for a Wizarding Research Journal?" Asks Hermione, still looking a little dazed.

I smirk at her. "Yes, we did, now should we head to the library and start working on it, or do you want another half hour to process this information?"

"Oh bugger off. Yes, let's go down."

We both grab our belongings and exit the classroom, to the confusion of the handful of students who were practising near the door.

When we get to the library, Madam Pince waves us in and explains that Professor Flitwick had already made her aware of what they were supposed to be doing.

"I've taken the liberty of collecting some books and journals that may pertain to your essay and writing you a slip to access the Restricted Section since I have no doubt that you would require at least one book from there." She says as she leads us over to a table in a quiet, back section of the library. There are several small stacks of books already there, organized by topic and relevance.

"Your access to the Restricted Section is limited to opening times of the library and only until your essay is due. After that if you would like to access it again you would have to produce another slip, signed by a teacher."

"Thank you Madam Pince." Says Hermione.

"Always a pleasure Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy." She replies with a hint of a smile before she turns stern again once more. "And remember, no eating food in here and keep you voices to a whisper."

I laugh internally; there's the Madam Pince we all know and love.

She leaves us alone and we both take a seat. Up close the stacks of books are even larger and I realize that we're going to have to sift through all of this for information relevant to our essay.

"Hermione, how long do we have again till this is due?"

"Huh? Oh! Two weeks from now I believe."

"Okay that's what I thought, and how are we completing all of this on top of our schoolwork and head student duties?" She looks at me like the answer is obvious.

"We create a reading schedule of course and we spend as much time as possible on this. If we can have all of our research gathered by next week, we'll have a week to write it and revise. It's not like this is independant, it's two of us working together to write an essay about something that we both know a lot about."

"Right okay, perhaps I should ask give the house elves a heads up that we will be requiring a lot of tea and snacks over the next few nights and Saturday afternoons?"

Hermione looks thoughtful for a moment. "Yes, I think so, and maybe tell them that we may require a few meals to be brought up to our quarters for a few evenings so we can work faster."

"Alright then, chai tea, blueberry crumble, and biscuits?"

"Perfect." She replies, going straight back to reading, a quill and parchment right next to her. Of course she's already started writing notes and cataloguing relevant information.

I step out into the hallway and head down to the kitchens. Since the hallway is fairly quiet it doesn't take very long at all. Once I walk in, the steam and heat from the room hits me full blast. One of the house elves notices and rushes over.

"How can Mopsy help Master today?"

"Hello there Mopsy, I was wondering if I might convey a message and request to the house elves with regards to snacks and food being sent up to the Head's quarters within the next two weeks?"

"Ah, Mopsy shall call Barty over to talk to Master." She bows her head and scurries off to find Barty.

He arrives within seconds with a small pop, right in front of me.

"Master, Mopsy tells me you require our services for the next week. How may we best serve Master?"

"Hello Barty, we were wondering if we might be able to order some chai tea, blueberry crumble, biscuits brought up to the head student dorm rooms every weeknight and Saturday afternoon and dinner brought up every other weeknight for the next two weeks?"

"Of course, Master and Madam have been very kind to the house elves here and give us many good challenges. Barty will make sure your requests are followed. If you have any other requests please let Barty know."

I smile to myself, the house elves are honestly so adorable and eager to please. Looking back, I don't know how I used to think that they were inferior beings.

"Thank you Barty, have a good day."

"If Master wishes it, Barty shall."

I have to bite my tongue to prevent myself from laughing, if Hermione were here she would either punch me in the face again or arrange a meeting with McGonagall to discuss what we we're doing to the poor things. Or perhaps both.

When I get back to the library, Hermione has already gone through more than half the books on the table; quite a feat considering there are at least 40 books there.

"Hermione, you do know that you can relax a bit, right?"

"Draco! You're back! Well see, I began looking through the first book and I found something that I never knew about these kinds of spells so I looked up that principle in another book and I've just been going from one book to the next, picking up all sorts of information as I'm going along. I can barely stop to make notes on all of it. Did you know, for example, that if one were cast the undetectable extension charm while under a full moon in front of a lake, the spell will extend the water magically so that it connects to the body of water on the opposite side of the world. It's a very complex and tiring spell, but wizards from the medieval age used to use it pretty much teleport from one end of the world to the other. It made it a lot easier to escape from witch burnings and similar activities because they could fake drowning and escape to the other side of the world, and no one would suspect a thing."

Her face is lit up entirely and I can see that she's very excited to make this discovery. Her expression reminds me of why I fell in love with her in the first place, her excitement, her energy, her enthusiasm, her love of research and information, it's all so Hermione. I wish she was still mine.

"Yeah so anyway, here's the list so far of what we could use for our essay and I have the references all written on this sheet so that it's easier to find the sections and list our sources at the end of the essay." She hands me the list and I begin to skim it, trying to listen and read at the same time.

"Hermione, class is going to end in about a minute, perhaps we should call it quits for now and return to this later?"

"Already? But I just start- oh wait, you're right. Oops. I guess I got carried away with the reading."

"That's okay Hermione, you had fun doing it so I think it's alright. Here, let's leave this on the table and we'll tell Madam Pince that we're done here today, unless you want to come back again tonight." I say.

"No it's alright, I didn't know we were going to be doing this today so I planned to finish off another essay and two assignments tonight. How about we meet again tomorrow after our last period? I think you have History of Magic and I have Ancient Studies. We can get dinner at the Great Hall and then head here to pick up a few books and then take our work back to the dorms. It'll make it easier to break the work up and it'll be quieter, or rather less busy."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Alright then, I'll make a note of it."

By this point we've finished packing up and we head out into the hall to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Author's Note: Again, sorry for the late updates, but it's just a few more chapters to go. Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope that you all have a great week!

The incantation was actually taken from the Harry Potter Wikia site, I didn't translate or write it myself.