It was quite a sight to see hundreds of Hogwarts students arriving
two or three at a time instead of in droves as all the older students had
become accustom to over the years. But the feast was the same as ever.
After the sorting ceremony Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.
"For those of you who have yet to figure out what is going on, we have separated you students a little bit differently this year…" he proceeded to repeat what he had told Draco and Ginny, adding in that special wards had been set up, as to keep the students from misbehaving, and that each cottage was had the ability to be in direct contact with him and a few others by something the muggle born students would find look unusually like a television set.
"And further more," Dumbledore continued, "Housing assignments will be posted outside the Great Hall shortly, so as you all can keep track of one another, and lastly classes will not begin for another two weeks so you can get to know your housemates." At this point his eyes twinkled. "Many of you think you are rooming with friends. At this point I challenge you to find out something new about your companions. I will be checking with each cottage personally at any point in time starting tomorrow, so I suggest you begin finding things out about each other. And on that note, eat up! I've kept you from our wonderful feast far far to long"
"THEY PUT GINNY AND MALFOY TOGETHER!" Roared Ron later as he, Harry, and Hermione (who were obviously all in one cottage) checked the rooming sheet. "How could they!" he continued, irate. "He'll kill her."
"Oh Ron!" sighed Hermione. "Be reasonable. Dumbledore would never put Ginny in danger. Now, lets get to work "learning about one another." This sounds like a homework assignment to me."
Ron nodded, but he did not speak until they got back to their cottage, and then all he did was sigh. "This would never have happened if I hadn't kicked her out of our compartment." He murmured, walking into the brightly lit living room and plopping down into an overstuffed chair.
"Well…No it wouldn't have." Hermione replied, not knowing what else to do but be honest.
Ron just glared at her, so Harry spoke up.
"Don't beat yourself up over it Ron. We can try to talk to Dumbledore on this thing here…" He tapped the TV like mechanism with his wand before continuing. "And I'm sure he'll let Ginny come over here instead." He grinned at Hermione. "I'm sure Hermione wouldn't mind having some company."
Ron nodded, but rather than join Harry and Hermione in front of the fire he bided them both goodnight (and even attempted to give Hermione an awkward one armed hug) and went directly to the door marked Ronald E. Weasley to brood on the subject, because as both Harry and Hermione knew, this was what Ron did when he was upset about something. It was best just to leave him alone, though for more than a few hours. (Or in this case a night)
After Ron left, Hermione, slightly red (for some odd reason) announced that since they didn't seem to be doing their assignment, (and she hoped that Dumbledore would not decide to check up on them tomorrow) she was going to go to bed and read. She then picked up a large tome entitled Advanced Dream Interpretation for the Sleep Deprived by Z.Z. Sleeapea, and went through the door marked Hermione N. Granger. This left Harry staring into the cheerfully roaring flames, wondering many things. Things like: What on earth were his friends middle names, and why didn't he know them yet? Was this whole Ginny ordeal the only thing bothering Ron? What was up with Hermione and her book? What(if anything) was up with Hermione and Ron? And of course, most pressing, what secret was he going to share with his friends, the people who knew him better than he had ever thought possible, and yet in some ways didn't know him at all? The flames had died to a pile of gleaming embers when he finally stumbled sleepily into his own room, and the very last of their light illuminated the plague that read Harold J. Potter.
The next morning when Ginny came out of her room, fully clothed but with wet red lockets tumbling down her back from her shower, she found to her embarrassment that Draco was already very awake, pale hair hanging just over his pale face, and looking much more put together than Ginny did. He was half laying on the couch, flipping through what looked suspiciously like a Play Wizard Magazine. He jumped about fifteen feet off the couch when Ginny stomped over to him, ripped it from his hands and through it in the fire.
"What do you think you're doing Weasel?" He demanded in a voice heavy with hate as the fire consumed the pages. "That's the only Magazine I've got up here-"
"Good." Ginny interjected. "I will not be getting into trouble because of you're vulgar moral standards Ferret boy."
"-And I expect you pay me for it Weasley…oh wait you couldn't afford the first page!"
A boiling sort of feeling filled Ginny, a feeling that made her want to hurt Malfoy, ruffle his composure…just do something….God she was tired of him. She'd been stuck with him for less than 48 hrs, and already she was tired of his constant presence, his constant insults and his freakishly pale appearance. Before Ginny knew what she was doing she had leapt on him, unseeing, hitting him with all the strength she could muster.
"I'm fed up with you Malfoy!" She shrieked, as she hit him, "if you were really as clever as you thought you were you could think of something more original than another one of those cracks! I believe I'm.. richer… than… you are ….whether you …know it…or n-not." Ginny stopped speaking, but continued her physical attack, even after she heard Malfoy cry out unwilling and realized he wasn't fighting her. Only when she heard a soft sound of disapproval from the corner did she leap off of him and end her attack as quickly as it had begun.
"Ahem!" It was Dumbledore who stood there, and there was no trace of amusement in his crystal blue eyes when he spoke. "Miss Weasley! Due to the amount of blood on Mister Malfoy's robes I am going to assume this was not merely a lovers quarrel?"
Draco had been sitting on the couch rather dazed, but he jumped (somewhat slowly) to his feet in disgust. "Professor Dumbledore if my father knew you had even suggested such a thing about this Muggle Loving Weasel and I—"
"He could do nothing about it." Finished Dumbledore. "At any rate, will you two please sit down? I came over here because our little security system was activated by the arguing, but this seems a prefect place to start finding out what you two know about each other."
Reluctantly, Draco and Ginny each took a seat, as far away from one another as possible. Sighing, Dumbledore pulled a small Every Flavor Bean out of his pocket and transfigured it into a floating chair. The chair was a warm brown color; evidently the bean had been chocolate.
Dumbledore looked at the two angry children below him. Ginny's normally milk white face was red with anger and exertion, but her dark eyes looked slightly guilty. A wisp of a curl on the very top of her head was sticking straight up, and due to it's wetness could not be made to lie down. Draco had the beginnings of a bruise under one cheek bone where Ginny's angry fist had made contact, and quite a bit of fresh blood stained the top of his robes. Despite this he had regained his normal pale insubordinate expression, his hair hanging just in his bored gray eyes.
"You may start Mister Malfoy." He said finally.
"Let's see…" drawled Draco out of the corner of his mouth, "Weasel over there is poorer than dirt, dumber than a hoe handle, thinks she's an angel, and has a surprisingly strong uppercut."
Ginny looked ready to explode again, and when Dumbledore didn't say anything she began, her words tumbling over one another. "Well Malfoy here is a selfish spoiled prat who doesn't care about anyone, he's his fathers little minion, he has the self respect of-I don't know what…, he's weaker than anything I've ever seen and he's as annoying as –"
"That will be enough Miss Weasley." Dumbledore told her sternly. "It's obvious to me that you and Mister Malfoy are finding the assignment unusually difficult, so until further notice it will become more than an assignment. The two of you will not join your classmates as planned, but will have class projects here instead. Infact, you two will not be able to leave this house at all. Now I would like to speak to each of you privately. "You first Miss Weasley. Mister Malfoy you may go to your room until I call for you."
At these words Draco walked off in a huff, and left Ginny looking disbelievingly at Dumbledore. After letting her gape for a few moments, he asked her, "Do you understand the new arrangements Miss Weasley?" Ginny nodded. "I will continue to check up on the two of you sporadically. There is no excuse for such behavior between classmates, and as headmaster I admit I should have stomped this out long ago." He paused, and his stern tone changed ever so slightly. "Try to see this as an adventure Ginny. You just might have fun. And do keep an eye on that boy…I do worry about him sometimes.
"Yes Professor Dumbledore." Said Ginny softly.
"Very good. Now if you please, retrieve Draco for me, and then go to your own room."
And within moments Dumbledore was speaking to a fair haired boy who would have been shocked to find out how much his dubious face resembled that of the red head who had been there moments before.
"Mister Malfoy," began Dumbledore, "Please be aware that 10 pts have been subtracted from each of your houses. Also please realize that if you and Miss Weasley do not complete this assignment to my satisfaction I can prevent you from leaving school at the start of this New Year."
"That's absurd!" exclaimed Draco furiously. "My father…"
"Will have no say in this matter either. Am I being clear Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes." Said Draco, and mumbled something under his breath.
"No Mr. Malfoy that is incorrect. The correct term is- well never mind. It seems that Miss Weasley was quite angry with you earlier. I can heal those for you if you so wish."
"I can handle pain." Draco replied flatly, glaring at the professor.
"Be that as it may…" replied Dumbledore, pointing his wand first at Draco's face and then at his collar, "there is no need to face it if you mustn't."
And with that, Dumbledore retransfigured his chair into a Pudding 5000 broomstick and flew out the window with a grace and a precision that the Quidditch player in Draco had to admire greatly. He then turned and pounded on Ginny's door. There was no way out of this assignment, and there were times when one just had to hold his breath and face it.
"Ok Weasley." He drawled at her. "Let's get started.
Early that morning Ron tried to contact Dumbledore on his connection device, but when he did manage to get through to him, the headmaster had told him quite firmly that reassignment of rooms was not an issue that was up for grabs at this time.
"Well may I talk to my sister?" Ron asked.
"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley. You might say I have grounded your sister and Mister Malfoy. I will let you know as soon as communication is allowed. I assure you your sister is more than fine. She gave Mr. Malfoy a black eye this morning."
"Alright Ginny!" said Ron, glad he had allowed her to participate in the boxing lessons the twins had given him over the summer. At least one of them had profited from it.
"Yes Mr. Weasley, I'm sure you feel your sisters actions were of great merit, and for now I will not argue with you. At any rate, please do not torment yourself any longer. I see that your roommates have awakened," The Dumbledore on the screen smiled at a sleepy looking Harry and Hermione, "so I suggest you three begin your assignments. I will be in to check on you shortly." With that the picture snapped off, and as the sound faded away the trio could hear their headmaster muttering "Now what did I do with my Hershey ™ Kisses?"
The three shared a small laugh and got comfortable in a small circle.
"All right boys let's get started shall we?" suggested Hermione.
A/N Ok, I'm not really psyched about how this chapter turned out, but I guess its ok. If you guys have any suggestions, Let Me Know. Even more impotently, if there is anything you don't want to see in this fic, Let Me Know faster. I got four reviews on the last chapter, (thanks you four people!) And I want 10! Help me out here peeps!
"For those of you who have yet to figure out what is going on, we have separated you students a little bit differently this year…" he proceeded to repeat what he had told Draco and Ginny, adding in that special wards had been set up, as to keep the students from misbehaving, and that each cottage was had the ability to be in direct contact with him and a few others by something the muggle born students would find look unusually like a television set.
"And further more," Dumbledore continued, "Housing assignments will be posted outside the Great Hall shortly, so as you all can keep track of one another, and lastly classes will not begin for another two weeks so you can get to know your housemates." At this point his eyes twinkled. "Many of you think you are rooming with friends. At this point I challenge you to find out something new about your companions. I will be checking with each cottage personally at any point in time starting tomorrow, so I suggest you begin finding things out about each other. And on that note, eat up! I've kept you from our wonderful feast far far to long"
"THEY PUT GINNY AND MALFOY TOGETHER!" Roared Ron later as he, Harry, and Hermione (who were obviously all in one cottage) checked the rooming sheet. "How could they!" he continued, irate. "He'll kill her."
"Oh Ron!" sighed Hermione. "Be reasonable. Dumbledore would never put Ginny in danger. Now, lets get to work "learning about one another." This sounds like a homework assignment to me."
Ron nodded, but he did not speak until they got back to their cottage, and then all he did was sigh. "This would never have happened if I hadn't kicked her out of our compartment." He murmured, walking into the brightly lit living room and plopping down into an overstuffed chair.
"Well…No it wouldn't have." Hermione replied, not knowing what else to do but be honest.
Ron just glared at her, so Harry spoke up.
"Don't beat yourself up over it Ron. We can try to talk to Dumbledore on this thing here…" He tapped the TV like mechanism with his wand before continuing. "And I'm sure he'll let Ginny come over here instead." He grinned at Hermione. "I'm sure Hermione wouldn't mind having some company."
Ron nodded, but rather than join Harry and Hermione in front of the fire he bided them both goodnight (and even attempted to give Hermione an awkward one armed hug) and went directly to the door marked Ronald E. Weasley to brood on the subject, because as both Harry and Hermione knew, this was what Ron did when he was upset about something. It was best just to leave him alone, though for more than a few hours. (Or in this case a night)
After Ron left, Hermione, slightly red (for some odd reason) announced that since they didn't seem to be doing their assignment, (and she hoped that Dumbledore would not decide to check up on them tomorrow) she was going to go to bed and read. She then picked up a large tome entitled Advanced Dream Interpretation for the Sleep Deprived by Z.Z. Sleeapea, and went through the door marked Hermione N. Granger. This left Harry staring into the cheerfully roaring flames, wondering many things. Things like: What on earth were his friends middle names, and why didn't he know them yet? Was this whole Ginny ordeal the only thing bothering Ron? What was up with Hermione and her book? What(if anything) was up with Hermione and Ron? And of course, most pressing, what secret was he going to share with his friends, the people who knew him better than he had ever thought possible, and yet in some ways didn't know him at all? The flames had died to a pile of gleaming embers when he finally stumbled sleepily into his own room, and the very last of their light illuminated the plague that read Harold J. Potter.
The next morning when Ginny came out of her room, fully clothed but with wet red lockets tumbling down her back from her shower, she found to her embarrassment that Draco was already very awake, pale hair hanging just over his pale face, and looking much more put together than Ginny did. He was half laying on the couch, flipping through what looked suspiciously like a Play Wizard Magazine. He jumped about fifteen feet off the couch when Ginny stomped over to him, ripped it from his hands and through it in the fire.
"What do you think you're doing Weasel?" He demanded in a voice heavy with hate as the fire consumed the pages. "That's the only Magazine I've got up here-"
"Good." Ginny interjected. "I will not be getting into trouble because of you're vulgar moral standards Ferret boy."
"-And I expect you pay me for it Weasley…oh wait you couldn't afford the first page!"
A boiling sort of feeling filled Ginny, a feeling that made her want to hurt Malfoy, ruffle his composure…just do something….God she was tired of him. She'd been stuck with him for less than 48 hrs, and already she was tired of his constant presence, his constant insults and his freakishly pale appearance. Before Ginny knew what she was doing she had leapt on him, unseeing, hitting him with all the strength she could muster.
"I'm fed up with you Malfoy!" She shrieked, as she hit him, "if you were really as clever as you thought you were you could think of something more original than another one of those cracks! I believe I'm.. richer… than… you are ….whether you …know it…or n-not." Ginny stopped speaking, but continued her physical attack, even after she heard Malfoy cry out unwilling and realized he wasn't fighting her. Only when she heard a soft sound of disapproval from the corner did she leap off of him and end her attack as quickly as it had begun.
"Ahem!" It was Dumbledore who stood there, and there was no trace of amusement in his crystal blue eyes when he spoke. "Miss Weasley! Due to the amount of blood on Mister Malfoy's robes I am going to assume this was not merely a lovers quarrel?"
Draco had been sitting on the couch rather dazed, but he jumped (somewhat slowly) to his feet in disgust. "Professor Dumbledore if my father knew you had even suggested such a thing about this Muggle Loving Weasel and I—"
"He could do nothing about it." Finished Dumbledore. "At any rate, will you two please sit down? I came over here because our little security system was activated by the arguing, but this seems a prefect place to start finding out what you two know about each other."
Reluctantly, Draco and Ginny each took a seat, as far away from one another as possible. Sighing, Dumbledore pulled a small Every Flavor Bean out of his pocket and transfigured it into a floating chair. The chair was a warm brown color; evidently the bean had been chocolate.
Dumbledore looked at the two angry children below him. Ginny's normally milk white face was red with anger and exertion, but her dark eyes looked slightly guilty. A wisp of a curl on the very top of her head was sticking straight up, and due to it's wetness could not be made to lie down. Draco had the beginnings of a bruise under one cheek bone where Ginny's angry fist had made contact, and quite a bit of fresh blood stained the top of his robes. Despite this he had regained his normal pale insubordinate expression, his hair hanging just in his bored gray eyes.
"You may start Mister Malfoy." He said finally.
"Let's see…" drawled Draco out of the corner of his mouth, "Weasel over there is poorer than dirt, dumber than a hoe handle, thinks she's an angel, and has a surprisingly strong uppercut."
Ginny looked ready to explode again, and when Dumbledore didn't say anything she began, her words tumbling over one another. "Well Malfoy here is a selfish spoiled prat who doesn't care about anyone, he's his fathers little minion, he has the self respect of-I don't know what…, he's weaker than anything I've ever seen and he's as annoying as –"
"That will be enough Miss Weasley." Dumbledore told her sternly. "It's obvious to me that you and Mister Malfoy are finding the assignment unusually difficult, so until further notice it will become more than an assignment. The two of you will not join your classmates as planned, but will have class projects here instead. Infact, you two will not be able to leave this house at all. Now I would like to speak to each of you privately. "You first Miss Weasley. Mister Malfoy you may go to your room until I call for you."
At these words Draco walked off in a huff, and left Ginny looking disbelievingly at Dumbledore. After letting her gape for a few moments, he asked her, "Do you understand the new arrangements Miss Weasley?" Ginny nodded. "I will continue to check up on the two of you sporadically. There is no excuse for such behavior between classmates, and as headmaster I admit I should have stomped this out long ago." He paused, and his stern tone changed ever so slightly. "Try to see this as an adventure Ginny. You just might have fun. And do keep an eye on that boy…I do worry about him sometimes.
"Yes Professor Dumbledore." Said Ginny softly.
"Very good. Now if you please, retrieve Draco for me, and then go to your own room."
And within moments Dumbledore was speaking to a fair haired boy who would have been shocked to find out how much his dubious face resembled that of the red head who had been there moments before.
"Mister Malfoy," began Dumbledore, "Please be aware that 10 pts have been subtracted from each of your houses. Also please realize that if you and Miss Weasley do not complete this assignment to my satisfaction I can prevent you from leaving school at the start of this New Year."
"That's absurd!" exclaimed Draco furiously. "My father…"
"Will have no say in this matter either. Am I being clear Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes." Said Draco, and mumbled something under his breath.
"No Mr. Malfoy that is incorrect. The correct term is- well never mind. It seems that Miss Weasley was quite angry with you earlier. I can heal those for you if you so wish."
"I can handle pain." Draco replied flatly, glaring at the professor.
"Be that as it may…" replied Dumbledore, pointing his wand first at Draco's face and then at his collar, "there is no need to face it if you mustn't."
And with that, Dumbledore retransfigured his chair into a Pudding 5000 broomstick and flew out the window with a grace and a precision that the Quidditch player in Draco had to admire greatly. He then turned and pounded on Ginny's door. There was no way out of this assignment, and there were times when one just had to hold his breath and face it.
"Ok Weasley." He drawled at her. "Let's get started.
Early that morning Ron tried to contact Dumbledore on his connection device, but when he did manage to get through to him, the headmaster had told him quite firmly that reassignment of rooms was not an issue that was up for grabs at this time.
"Well may I talk to my sister?" Ron asked.
"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley. You might say I have grounded your sister and Mister Malfoy. I will let you know as soon as communication is allowed. I assure you your sister is more than fine. She gave Mr. Malfoy a black eye this morning."
"Alright Ginny!" said Ron, glad he had allowed her to participate in the boxing lessons the twins had given him over the summer. At least one of them had profited from it.
"Yes Mr. Weasley, I'm sure you feel your sisters actions were of great merit, and for now I will not argue with you. At any rate, please do not torment yourself any longer. I see that your roommates have awakened," The Dumbledore on the screen smiled at a sleepy looking Harry and Hermione, "so I suggest you three begin your assignments. I will be in to check on you shortly." With that the picture snapped off, and as the sound faded away the trio could hear their headmaster muttering "Now what did I do with my Hershey ™ Kisses?"
The three shared a small laugh and got comfortable in a small circle.
"All right boys let's get started shall we?" suggested Hermione.
A/N Ok, I'm not really psyched about how this chapter turned out, but I guess its ok. If you guys have any suggestions, Let Me Know. Even more impotently, if there is anything you don't want to see in this fic, Let Me Know faster. I got four reviews on the last chapter, (thanks you four people!) And I want 10! Help me out here peeps!
