Pre-Author's Note:
Quick disclaimer that Umbridge's speech and a bit of Dumbledore's is referenced from the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in this chapter for the dialogue, and I do not work for either Warner Bros. company or the Wizarding World (as cool as I think it would be, though)! Anyways, hope y'all enjoy!
Smoothing down the last few wrinkles in her robes, Hermione delicately clipped her badge to the front pocket of her robe as the train came to a final halt. Already, students began filing into the corridor and out onto the platform. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Hermione bent down and gathered Crookshanks into her arms again to which he had no objections.
Sliding the compartment door open, Hermione made sure the rest of their group was following before joining the waves of students and stepping out into the fresh air. A cool breeze bit at her cheeks as she moved with the crowd beside Ron and Harry; Ginny, Neville, and Luna were quickly following in toe.
She could already see students piling onto the magically drawn carriages, their fronts bare but a strong spell carrying them up to the castle as usual.
The trio remained silent for most of the wait for a free carriage, and Hermione's attention was only caught momentarily by the group of Slytherins that had loaded onto the most recent one. Daphne sat on the outside beside Blaise, and Hermione couldn't help but smile as she caught sight of their hands intertwined beneath the sleeve of Daphne's robe.
As if sensing someone was watching, the blonde witch's eyes moved out over the crowd and almost instantly found Hermione. A wide grin spread out across her face and she waved with her free hand. Hermione hadn't noticed the other blonde sitting across from her, and it was only when Draco's gaze followed Daphne's that Hermione was caught again by a stunning silver.
A smirk appeared across his lips as the carriage jolted forward and they were pulled away towards the castle. Hermione knew she stared back at him longer than she meant, and although he was the first to look away by something Theo had said, Daphne's eyes remained locked on her, a slight lift in her brow and a teasing smile on her lips.
Hermione lightly shook her head even as a quiet blush crept onto her cheeks and stained them pink. She looked back down at the creature in her arms and was glad she didn't see the mischievous glint in Daphne's eyes.
The next carriage to come by was swarmed by a group of Ravenclaw girls. This time, Hermione took note that it was Harry's attention that was captured by the group. She followed his gaze to the girl sitting between two of her giggling friends, a shy smile adorning her face when she caught Harry staring. Hermione couldn't say much in defense of herself when Harry's face broke into a heated blush before he found his shoes incredibly interesting, and that same mischievous smile Daphne had put on was now directed towards her best friend.
"She seems like a lovely girl," Hermione exclaimed quietly as Cho turned back to her friends.
Harry dutifully ignored her statement and scowled to himself, rather eager to get going when the next carriage pulled in, ready for its next group of passengers. Just as he put his foot on the step, Hermione nearly ran into him from behind as he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes glued to the front of the carriage.
"What is it?" he asked suddenly, completely stunned. Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion as she looked to the front of the carriage again where there was nothing but empty space.
She glanced back at Ron who wore the same confused expression.
"What's what?" he countered, looking between Harry and back to Hermione.
"That," Harry replied, pointing to nothing but empty space. "Pulling the carriage. It's right there, how do you not see it?"
"Nothing's pulling the carriage, Harry," Hermione started slowly. "It's being pulled with magic, like it's always been."
Harry didn't take his eyes off the empty space at the front of the carriage and resorted to picking the seat farthest from it. Hermione followed him up and sat beside him, genuine concern adorning her face. What in Merlin's name was happening to him?
As Ron settled in on the other side of Harry and Ginny and Neville took their seats across from them, Luna made her way up the steps, but paused at her seat as she looked out over the front of the carriage. Her head slightly tilted to the side, seemingly studying something that wasn't there.
"You're not going mad, Harry," she answered in that same dreamy and wistful tone as always. "I can see them, too. You're just as sane as I am."
Shrugging her shoulders, Luna plopped down into her seat and pulled out a copy of the Quibbler from her bag. She immediately flipped it upside down and lost herself in the pages as the carriage lurched forward. No one spoke for most of the trip, most glances passing between Harry and Luna, wondering what on earth had just happened.
Hermione watched again with a hint of disgust as Ron shoved a turkey leg into his mouth, moaning as a dribble of grease slid down his chin and onto his plate. She genuinely wondered at times if he took a breath between bites or hoped for the best.
Shaking her head and not bothering to comment (much to Ron's delight), Hermione carefully took another spoonful of potatoes and nearly got them to her mouth. Before she could take a single bite, Dumbledore's voice rang out around them.
"Good evening students!" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls as he took his place at the podium at the front of the Hall.
Almost instantly, the conversation and chatter swirling around the room was extinguished to nothing but a few mutters or whispers. A small smile shone behind Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles as he looked out over the students. Still, Hermione couldn't help but feel that something was off.
And it could start by the fact that Hagrid was nowhere to be seen, and a stranger in the most atrocious shade of pink she had ever seen was sitting at the end of the staff table with a smile so sickeningly sweet it could have rotted a tooth.
"Now that we have all been sorted, I would like to make an announcement," Dumbledore began, folding his hands delicately in front of him. "We have two changes in staffing this year. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank -" Dumbledore turned and acknowledged their previous professor. "- who will be taking over the position of Care of Magical Creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporary leave. We wish you warm welcomes back, professor!"
The entire Hall had erupted in quiet murmurs the second Dumbledore had said those words. Hermione swivelled around to look at Harry and Ron who looked just as shocked and confused as she felt. Temporary leave?
Before she had time to acknowledge the rest of her thought, the Headmaster continued as the mutterings died back down into silence. "As well as this humble return to staff, we also wish to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. And I am sure all of you will join me in wishing our new professor the best of luck."
Hermione followed Dumbledore's gesture over to the woman in pink. Her mouth nearly fell into a small "o", but she refrained from letting her jaw fall like a codfish out of water.
"Now, as always, our caretaker Mr. Filch, has - "
"Hem, hem."
The silence that followed the near childish throat clearing was unlike anything Hermione had ever heard before. In any speech given by the staff, there was always a light mutter, or soft murmur, or even a hushed whisper somewhere in the Great Hall.
A pin could have dropped, and the echo would have sounded throughout the entire castle as Dumbledore turned to acknowledge the woman in pink. Many of the staff followed, and Hermione could see she wasn't the only one slightly amused by the fact Professor McGonagall looked ready to hex the woman getting to her feet at any given moment.
Hermione hadn't managed a close look before, but the look she exchanged with Ron and Harry said they agreed as much.
She could only be described as that of similar to a toad. She was a round, plump woman with a large, wide mouth. And everything - everything - was pink. Pink hat, pink skirt, pink shoes, pink sweater, pink blush, pink bag. Hermione had never seen such a simple color used in such a disharboring way.
"She was at my hearing!" Harry hissed in her ear. "She works for Fudge and the Ministry!"
Hermione's eyes widened, but upon seeing the woman in full view in front of the podium, she found she couldn't look away. It was obvious now that no one else could either.
"Thank you, professor, for those kind words of welcome," Umbridge started, clicking her heels together as she cupped her hands in front of her dress. "And how lovely to see all your bright and happy faces smiling up at me."
Hermione caught Ron ducking his head out of the corner of her eye to hold back a snort. She didn't have to look to know no one in the room was. Quite frankly, from what she could see out of the students ahead of her, a few exchanged annoyed glances with one another. It wasn't common for a professor to talk to them like they were three-year-olds.
"I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends," she exclaimed, her smile widening as her piercing, cat-like eyes roamed over the heads of students around the hall. She took a moment to pause as if readying herself for the most important speech of her life. "The Ministry of Magic has and always will consider the education of young witches and wizards to be a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new or enlightening to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged."
Hermione bit the inside of her cheek. She hadn't realized how hard her teeth had bit down until she felt a small taste of blood slip onto her tongue.
"Let us preserve what must be preserved. Perfect what can be perfected. But above all, prune practices that ought to be prohibited." On her last word, a high-pitched chuckle escaped as her wide smile took over again. Lightly bowing her head, Umbridge slowly turned to return to her seat, and it wasn't until she reached the table that Dumbledore finally broke into a quiet applause. A few students around the Great Hall joined in, but even they seemed bemused by what had just been said.
"Thank you, Professor," Dumbledore exclaimed, a small grin pulling on his lips behind his spectacles. "Now, as I was saying…"
Hermione didn't hear the rest of Dumbledore's speech. Her mind was reeling with every possible thought imaginable. The Ministry had sent someone in as what could have been equivalent to a spy. Either they expected Dumbledore was up to something (which was a load of rubbish to begin with) or, Merlin forbid, they were here for Harry's behalf.
Thought after thought raced through her mind, and it wasn't until Harry gave her shoulder a light shake that she looked back at him wearing a confused expression.
"What's this all mean?" he asked warily, gesturing with his head to Umbridge's seat at the staff table. Hermione slightly shook her head and looked down at her plate of food, her appetite suddenly and completely gone.
"It means Fudge has gone completely mad," she whispered. "And it means that the Ministry is now interfering at Hogwarts."
Hermione barely registered a sudden clatter around the Great Hall. Looking up, she realized the students were finally parting ways for the evening, and it was only then that it clicked in her mind.
"Oh my goodness, Ron, we've got to show the first years to the dormitories!" she cried, springing up from her seat and rushing towards the front of the Gryffindor table where the majority of the first years sat, most looking around confused and some down-right terrified.
"All first-years, please follow me!" she shouted above the clatter of plates and voices. A few led the rest into rising from the table and shyly making their way down the middle row between the tables. Hermione scowled when she passed Ron, still trying to shovel his last bite of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
"Alright you little lot, follow us!" he shouted, gesturing for them to pick up the pace. Hermione shot him a glare to which he ultimately stopped trying to shove a few of the lingering first years forward. Getting the message, Ron ran ahead of her and began leading the students up the staircase.
Checking to make sure everyone had been accounted for, Hermione took one last glance over the Hall. But rather than find any lingering first years, she locked eyes with a blonde wizard two tables over from hers. His head rested in his hand as he leaned against the table, and if she hadn't let herself imagine, or even hope, she would have guessed he had been watching her.
Upon getting caught, she watched Draco's lips pull back into a smirk. On any other occasion, she would have blushed or rolled her eyes, or even shot him a smirk in return. Instead, Hermione let her lips pull back into a weak smile, one she already knew he could already see right through.
She wasn't mistaken when a moment later Draco's smirk fell away into a concerned frown, his head rising up from his hand as he let his arm fall back to the table. He tried to meet her eyes again, but Hermione knew she was already behind the group. Turning away from him, she rushed out of the Great Hall and dashed up the stairs, relieved to find she hadn't completely lost track of the group of Gryffindors.
As they arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait, and the young Gryffindors were awed to see an entire common room behind it as it swung open, Hermione couldn't help but flop down onto the couch as they ran off in exploration of their dormitories.
Gazing into the crackling fire, Hermione let herself release a long sigh, the sudden events of the evening catching up with her.
So much for a quiet, calm year.
Hey y'all!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though i do apologize if it's a bit short. Fingers crossed I'll be able to update ASAP, but I just want to warn before hand that my schedule is about to get a little hectic. However, I will do my best to keep up with the chapters and get more Dramione content out as soon as I can. Thank you guys so much for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoyed! :)
And, as always, I hope y'all have an incredible morning, afternoon, evening, or night!