Hey guys, I know it has been a minute but crazy life blah blah blah. Anyway guys, here is the next chapter and I hope that you guys enjoyed the last chapter! Please don't forget to review and tell me what you guys think. Alright, on to the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, *sad face*
Chapter 2
Slowly, with her head down, the bushy haired girl treks through the semi-empty hallways on her way to the double potions class with the Slytherins. Her arms are wrapped tightly around a bundle of books that are threatening to flow over her arms and crash to the floor. Chocolate and honey eyes stare unseeing at the ground as she watches her feet unconsciously lead her to the dungeons, her mind blanking and pushing away the thoughts that were clouding her mind moments before. A few minutes of silent walking and more than half way to the dungeons, a sharp, cruel laugh breaks through her monotone aura as she quickly retreats her most treasured thoughts and emotions to the back of her mind. The brown haired Gryffindor slows her steps, lifting her head and tightening her grip on the books in her arms as her eyes turn to a dark mask of indifference.
"Why hello, Mudblood. Where are your dimwitted duo bodyguards?" The sharp tone of Pansy Parkinson cuts through Hermione's heart at the mention of her two best friends. A pang hits her heart at the mention of the two boys and the coldness in her eyes grows icy as they turn on the Slytherin girl.
"Why hello Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy." Her tone is smooth and soft but daggers shoot through her eyes at the Slytherins. " Taking the 2 trolls out for a midnight stroll, I see." Parkinson stares at the Griffin door with a very well trained hatred that turns her eyes into ice.
"Watch your tone Mudblood, you don't have any authority to talk to me like that!" the Slytherin girls voice is a hiss of extremely controlled hatred and Hermione just shrugs her shoulders as she side swipes the group and continues on to her next class. Pansy shrieks in outrage and bounds of after her with Crabbe and Goyle following shortly after. However, Draco keeps his mask off indifference as he trails after the group, seemingly bored with the whole situation.
Inside the Potions classroom, Draco sits on the left side of the class, his head turned to the left to stare out of the window next to him as he observes the beautiful autumn atmosphere that has been surrounding the castle. His left arm comes up to rest his elbow on the table, his chin resting in his open palm as the other wraps around his left arm. He blankly watches a few first years roll around on the grass outside as he let's his mind drift off to where it may, completely ignoring, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise.
Hermione sits on the opposite side of the classroom, her posture almost identical to that of Draco as she to looks put of the window next to her. Her best friends, Harry and Ron, were killed in a raid to try to round up the remaining death eaters that had gone into hiding after the fall of Voldemort. Hermione had sobbed herself to sleep at the loss of her two best friends and resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't ever see their smiles again or hear their voices. She sits alone at her table as everyone else were in groups and she let her mind drift as she stared out onto the ground of the school.
After a few seconds or a few minutes, Shape's voice breaks through the dull fog surrounding Hermione and Draco.
"Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, would you two please turn your attention back to the front of the class. Feeling embarrassed for having spaced out, Hermione turns her gaze to the front while Draco merely leans back in his seat and laces his fingers behind his head. "I was just telling the rest of the class that we will be doing a project in pairs and I would like for you and Mr. Malfoy to sit next to each other, the rest of the class has already moved." Turning to look, Hermione notices that indeed the rest of the class has switched around. She catches Pansy's eyes and the Slytherin sneers cruelly at her before the Gryffindor turns her head away and gathers her stuff before moving to sit in the open seat next to Malfoy. He doesn't even flinch as she drops her book bag to the ground and slumps pitifully in her seat.
"Thank you. Now that everyone is sitting by their partners, this will be your partner for the duration of the year." Murmurs of dislike go around the classroom but a cruel glare from Snape has an eerie hush settling over the room not even moments later. "Per a new law that has been set by the Ministry in the wake of the last war, there will be a lot of House Unity going on in the school. The person you are sitting next to are going to be your partner in all common classes and you will be expected to sit next to them everyday." Another quiet sea of murmurs spread through the students and Hermione looks down at her desk in horror.
Great, just great. Me and Malfoy have all the same classes this year, so that means that I will have to sit next to him and be his partner in every class! Thank Merlin at least Harry and Ron aren't here because they would have a cow if they knew I would have to be teamed up with Malfoy for every class all year. The thought of Harry and Ron causes the familiar sting of tears on the inside of her eyes as she closes them to keep the tears from falling. It was none other than Hermione who had found the boys that night. Harry had sent her a vague message that told her that he and Ron were going on a mission to try to catch some hidden death eaters and that she shouldn't worry. But something about the mission had Hermione's stomach turning in knots and she had decided to track the boys down in case they needed help. However, when she had gotten there, Harry and Ron lay still in the middle of a muggle home, the family they had tried to save from the death eaters but the price was their life. The boys didn't realize that the plea for help had been a trap and they were ambushed by no more than ten death eaters. Trying to shield the muggle family and fight at the same time had proved to be too much for the two boys and in the end, the death eaters had gotten the upper hand. Hermione remembers dropping to her knees, her eyes unseeing as she started and the startled expressions on her best friend's face, the expression frozen in time in their death and the dead bodies of the muggle family lay still behind them. For months after, Hermione was never the same, the loss of the boys hitting her harder than even the death of her parents, who were killed in Australia a couple of days after they had been moved.
She feels a gentle poke to her side that startles her out of her thoughts, her eyes shooting open as one lone tears trails down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away as she turns her gaze to look up at Malfoy. His expression is impassive but his words hold a kind of warmth that has the bushy haired Gryffindor arching her eyebrow in surprise.
"Hey, Snape has given us our assignment, I copied down the directions if you want to look them over while I go and grab the ingredients we will need for the potion." Without waiting for a reply, he gently pushes the paper towards her and stands from his chair, moving to the back of the classroom to start rifling through them for the ones they will need for the potion. Hermione mentally slaps herself for her lack of attention and getting lost in her thoughts before she trains her eyes to the paper in front of her. Draco returns a few minutes later, his arms full of ingredients and Hermione helps him place them on the desk in order before they start to make their potion. At the end of class, Hermione bottles the finished potion in an empty flask, Draco taking the unused ingredients back to the cupboard and she weaves her way to the front of the class to set their finished potion on Snape's desk. He sneers at her but takes the finished potion and sets it to the side to grade along with the rest, waiting on the few other students that weren't finished yet. After the desk was clean, Hermione and Draco sit in silence as they wait for the bell to ring, and when it does, they dart out of the class room, both taking different ways to get to their next class.
The rest of the day passes in a blur for Hermione, her thoughts in a whirlwind as she slowly makes her way to the great hall for dinner. Professor McGonagall had said earlier that morning that there was a big announcement she would be making tonight at dinner and it has Hermione's nerves set on edge. As the Gryffindor steps into the Great Hall, Ginny waves her friend over and the two girls settle onto the bench, digging into the wonderful feast provided. The Gryffindor table is alive with chatter as everyone talks about the announcement that McGonagall is going to make, some speculating about what it will be about. Hermione decides to tune out the lively chatter as she pokes at her food, not particularly feeling hungry and before too long, the Headmistress stands up and walks to the podium, her hands coming up into the air to bring a silence among the students.
"Hello students, I hope everyone enjoyed the feast. Now, as per usual, the Dark Forest is off limits to all students and I ask that everyone refrains from using any product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in the halls or during class." At this, the older witch pauses. George took over the Joke Shop after Fred's death, the Weasley's taking the loss of the twin hard, but none taking it harder than Ginny. Fred had died in the battle for Hogwarts, protecting Ginny's life from a couple of death eaters as they had come across her as she was trying to find one of the people she knew. The death eaters had raised their wands, the killing curse falling from the leaders mouth but just before the spell hit, Fred had popped out of nowhere and stood in front of his sister, taking the curse for her instead. Ginny has never quite been the same since and now with the loss of Ron, the Weasley family is closer then ever, nursing the wounds the two brothers death had caused.
"Now, onto the main announcement of the evening. As we all know, there were many casualties in the war and it decreased our number to a dangerous level. To right this, the Ministry is enforcing a new law that effects all of those of seventeen years of age or older. This law is known as the new marriage law." A loud outburst of rage fills the Great Hall as the students shout their displeasure of the new law. The Headmistress lets this go on for a few moments longer before she magnifies her voice to speak over the roar of noise.
"Silence! This law is necessary to ensure our survival and while I do not like that it is pulling you into an arranged marriage, this is not the end of the world. Your chosen partner will be chose by the sorting hat and they will be the ones that best match your personality and your life style. I am going to call all the females up in order and place the sorting hat on your head. It will then choose your ideal partner and they will have to come up to meet you on the stage. After that, you can go to sit back with your house and your friends and in about a week, you and your partner will receive a letter in the mail, detailing future dates." After her speech, the older witch steps down from the podium and leaves to fetch the sorting hat and stool from the Headmaster's office. Hermione and Ginny turn to each other with terrified looks in their eyes as a dull roar of noise rises up around them. After only a few minutes the Headmistress reappears with the sorting hat and stool, setting them down and pulling a scroll out of her robes. With a deep breath, she starts to call the females up to the front and Hermione tunes out until Ginny is called forth. The chocolate brown haired girl sits up a little straighter in her seat as Ginny slowly takes a seat on the stool and the hat is placed on her head. A few heart beats pass before it calls out "Blaise Zabini!" The redhead bursts into tears and covers her face with her hands as the Italian carefully walks onto the stage and wraps his arms around her. He says something into her ear and she calms down, looking up to him with a hopeful expression before the two part ways to their respective tables.
Finally, Hermione is called to the stage and the young witch takes her seat on the stool, the hat descending onto her head as she waits with baited breath. It takes the hat a few minutes of contemplation before he finally bellows out, "Draco Malfoy!" There is complete silence in the Hall, everyone staring in shock and disbelief as the hat is removed and Hermione stands slowly, waiting as the Slytherin makes his way to the stage. As he reaches her, she expects a sling of curses or string of hurtful words but as he moves to stand directly in front of her, he gently takes her hands, staring into her eyes with sincerity.
"Look Granger, I know I have done horrible things to you in the past but the war changed me for the better and I would really like to try to make this marriage work." Surprised by his words, Hermione stares into his warm grey eyes before she lets out her breath and graces him with an angelic smile.
"I would really like to try to make this work as well Draco and I forgive you for the way you acted before the war. I know you helped the side of the light during the war and saved my life along with the boys lives. Thank you and we will do our best to get this right." He smiles gently, a real genuine smile before he softly touches his lips to hers in a breath taking embrace. They pull back moments later and he gives her his trade mark smirk, only this time it lacks the venom it used to hold.
"I guess I will see you later then," and with those words, the two parts ways, heading back to their tables and barely notice that the entire hall is still deadly silent.
Well, another chapter up! I had to think on this one for a minute before I was finally satisfied but here we are! I hope you guys enjoyed it and if any of you have suggestions for what you would like to see in coming chapters, please let me know. Please don't forget to review, they really make my day and help me to get chapters out faster when I know there are actually people reading the story! Thank you my lovies!
Until next time,
CrazylittleSlytherin