Chapter Seven: Someday You'll Understand

Draco could not believe it. The entire class seemed like a blur. He had walked in,

and seeing several Gryffindors seated oddly, went to sit as far from them as possible. One

of them, Finnigan, directed his attention to the blackboard, where a seating chart was

drawn out. He went to find where his seat would be, and on closer examination, he realized

that he would be sitting next to Herm— err... Granger. He looked again, and noticed that

the arrangement was done deliberately, each Slytherin with a Gryffindor. Who would be

crazy enough to...? The handwriting had seemed familiar, though. Where had he seen it?

Potter and Weasley had come in shortly thereafter, talking about saving a seat for

Granger, and then he had cleared his throat. "Look on the board."

Potter looked, and cocked his head to the side, with a somewhat amused look, which

quickly turned to horror; he was sitting next to Pansy. Weasley was wide-eyed, and then

enraged. He would be sitting next to Millicent. Draco, of course, took delight in this.

"Split up the Dream Team, I see."

Weasley had started towards him, but Potter held him back, and muttered something

to him, after which they both sat down.

The students continued to filter in, until she came. Granger was the last one in,

again. He examined her from head to toe as she walked in, and then looked around,

shooting daggers at Potter and Weasley. Subsequently she looked confused, as they were

seated apart. One of them had obviously pointed to the board, and her eyes followed.

Granger's eyebrows furrowed, but then a smile nearly crept across her lips. Nearly. She

had looked at him and, realizing people were watching her, blushed and looked down.

After she sat down, they had remarked about the seats, and then the door had

opened. Silence engulfed the room, and he heard steps that sounded all too familiar. The

click-clack against the floor reminded him of someone, and when he looked up he gaped in

shock. His mother would be teaching the class. His mother! Narcissa Malfoy! How was

that possible? He would talk to her later.

She had introduced herself, and taken five points from Slytherin for Pansy's

interruption. He had nearly laughed. True, it was his House, too, but the look on her face

had been priceless. If there was one thing his mother had taught him well was not to

interrupt others. She found it intolerable, and Pansy had just lost mega brownie points. He

grinned. And she thought of herself as the likely future Mrs. Draco Malfoy. Not now. Not if

his mother had anything to do with it... Not if he had anything to do with it... He glanced

to the side. Hermione smiled... Errr... Granger. She had smiled! But was it at him? No.

Probably the fact that Pansy had been mortified. That would be it.

The rest of the sixth years' first Defense Against the Dark Arts class went quite

smoothly, at least as well as could be expected. Professor Malfoy reviewed what they had

learned in years previous, and explained that they would be further reviewing counterjinxes

and defensive spells and eventually working towards mastery of the Patronus charm near

Christmas.

Hermione could not believe her ears when the bell rang to dismiss them, as it

seemed the class had been far too short. She gathered her things to leave, and was getting

up from her seat, when Draco grabbed her wrist. She looked at him, perplexed, and he

said, "Meet me for lunch, okay?" and winked.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and she felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach.

She regained her composure and nodded, then headed out the door, completely befuddled

by the exchange that had just taken place.

Draco stayed behind after class. He had to talk to his mother. What had happened?

When had she made the decision to become a Professor? She certainly knew enough about

the Dark Arts, being from the Black family and all. But why hadn't she said anything? Had

Dumbledore asked her? Did his father know? What else wasn't she telling him? Her voice

took him from his thoughts.

"Yes, Draco?"

"Mother... I... You... Here..." he stuttered.

She smiled. "Yes, I know, Draco, it's a change, but it's for the best, I promise."

He was numb. "When? Why? How?"

"Hogwarts needed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Dumbledore

asked me if I would be interested. I ad been looking for a way to get out of the house. It's

just not the same now..." Her voice trailed off.

"Mother, it's alright. I'm here for you." He hugged her tightly. "I'll always be,

okay?"

She sighed. "I want to do my part, Draco. I want to make sure that you're safe.

You may not understand everything now, but someday you will."

After leaving Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hermione walked gracefully downstairs,

into the Great Hall. Harry waved at her to come sit with Ron, Ginny, and himself, but she

did not see him, or rather, seemed unable to find what, or who, she was looking for,

because she glanced around quickly, and left, as swiftly as she'd come.

"Wonder where she's off to," said Harry.

"Probably looking for Malfoy," replied Ron, his voice filled with disgust and contempt.

Ginny laughed. "Jealous, Ron?" she teased.

"No," he lied. "It's just… I guess I just don't want her to get involved with scum like

Malfoy. She's too good for him."

Harry bit his lip. He was considering the harsh words they had exchanged the year

before still had not been forgotten, as Draco's sworn revenge seemed to be taking shape.

Ginny then interrupted his thoughts. "Listen, you guys, if she wants to hang around

him, that's her decision. She's smart. Really, she'll figure it out eventually. He'll slip with

her and then she'll set him straight. Remember what he said to you on the last day last

year, Harry?"

The words rang through his ears as though it had been only yesterday. 'You're going

to pay. I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to my father.'

'That's what I'm afraid of,' he thought as a chill ran down his spine.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter... It starts off from Draco's point of view, sort of

repeating what happened from his perspective, if you got a little confused. I thought it

would be... interesting... to let you see what was going through his mind when he saw

Narcissa teaching DADA. Hope that clears that up.

And... To all my lovely reviewers: Crystalline Lily, Anaita, Jessica, phantasm, Midnight

Raven, DemonQween, Daline, SlytherinPrincess... You guys made my day! Wow. What an

inspiration. I went to see the reviews and as I read them, I thought, 'oh my God. They like

it!' It was such a great feeling : ) Put a smile on my face. Thanks so much!!Thanks to

everyone else who's reading... I hope you guys like it : ) Please R&R...

E. Caddy Compson (persephoneia)