There's a Place For Us
In this Chapter- We have an interesting potions class with the inevitable cliché plot devices, enjoy
"Hey!" Hermione said as she slid into her usual seat beside Harry. "Sleep well?"
"Fantastic," Harry said with a happy smile. "I love sleep."
Hermione and Ron giggled at their friend. "And I'm sure sleep loves you too, mate," Ron replied with a grin.
"Hey now." Harry said with a fake hurt expression. "You would love sleep too if you didn't have to worry about nightmares. I'm so glad I don't have those anymore."
"Me too," Ron said. "It used to cut into my sleep time as well!"
"Ha, ha," Harry threw a piece of toast at him. "I'm sure you are very amusing, but it is too early.
"Oh, and we have potions this morning too, by the way," Hermione said brightly. "I'm sure that made your morning better, didn't it?"
She was answered by a chorus of moans coming from her two best friends, as she helped herself to a strawberry croissant.
The were still moaning fifteen minutes later as Hermione dragged them down to the potions dungeon.
"Oh come on!" She said in exasperation. "Enjoy this year! Then you'll never have to see Snape again!"
The moaning stopped abruptly and Hermione grinned. "Good, now let's get going!"
~
"You must pay careful attention to this," Professor Snape was writing notes on the blackboard with his wand. The scratching of quills on parchment echoed through the dark and dreary dungeon.
"In light or recent…restrictions, placed on your homework, we will be conducting an in-class project that will be worth more than you can afford to mess up," He was now finished writing and addressing the class.
"This project will be consisting of many, many, old spells and potions, something that has never been attempted in this class. For the next few months, we will be creating ages."
At the last sentence, a sharp intake of breath rang throughout the classroom; Snape looked around, a smug expression on his pointed face.
"Yes," He said. "And of course, for those of you who are not educated with this sort of thing, I will give you a brief history."
"There was once a civilization, deep underground. A great city called D'ni. The people of D'ni were so advanced, so cultured, that they surpassed even our own knowledge of magic's and structure. They were experts at all things muggle, and although they held no magical blood themselves, they were far more advanced in practical magic than whatever we can do today. The people of D'ni were not muggles, yet they lived several hundred years. They were not wizards, but they had the power to create entire worlds, called ages, by simply writing them from imagination. There world were created using a special language that only few could ever master. These worlds were created through words and symbols, but we, as wizards, can create them with potions and spells. It is a very long and extremely difficult process, but think of what the result can be! And entire world, made entirely from your mind."
Snape had an air of cool excitement, but Hermione could see that he was very interested in the subject, and as for her, she couldn't wait to get started.
"I need you all to pick partners, and settle yourselves at a large cauldron, we will begin immediately," Snape was saying.
Hermione groaned inwardly as she watched Harry and Ron throw her apologetic looks from Harry's cauldron. They all took turned being the one left out on partner assignments, this time it was Hermione's turn.
Hermione looked around the room. Dean and Seamus paired together, Lavender and Parvati. Hermione looked for Neville, but realized with a pang in her heart that he wasn't with them. She took another desperate glance around the room for a friendly face but was met with nothing.
She sighed but wasn't too disappointed. Doing this project alone mend she wouldn't have to worry about someone else messing up her grade, she felt confident she could pull it off without a hitch.
"Who does not have a partner?" Snapes voice rang out.
Hermione timidly put up a hand. "I don't sir." She said.
"Go over and work with Malfoy then." Snape said in a voice that revealed nothing.
Hermione looked over at her new partner and studied him as she moved her books. Draco Malfoy was lazily gazing around the room, his chair tilted back and his feet propped up on the enormous cauldron.
"Granger," Draco said with a slight incline of his head.
Draco's odd attitude towards Hermione set her a bit on edge, and she didn't understand why. Draco's entire aura had changed somehow, and she wasn't sure if it was for better or for worse.
"Morning," Hermione said with an unreadable expression on her face. "Well, what do you want to put in the age?"
Draco put his feet on the ground and looked around the room with a bored expression. "I really don't care," He said. "It's just a potion."
Hermione was expecting something like this and sighed. "You know," She said, "This could be the most fantastic thing we ever create. Think of it! An entire world, something we completely create, something that doesn't exist until to want it to! I'm impressed, even if you're not."
Just then a thousand thoughts ran through Draco's mind. Some not so nice, and some half way decent. He sighed and said. "Alright, what do we need?"
Hermione grinned and pointed to the black board. "We just need to do the base today, you know, to tie in the four elements? We don't start to personalize until next week."
Draco merely looked at her with emotionless eyes, and Hermione began to fidget uncomfortably.
"I'm going to go get the supplies we need today."
"Alright," Draco replied, and set about to set up the fire.
They worked in strained cooperation like this the rest of the class, and surprisingly (well, not really) achieved perfect results.
"This will be fantastic!" Hermione clapped her hands together in excitement. Draco, who was not used to Hermione's enthusiasm for school, just looked at her with a mix of amusement and confusion in his solemn eyes.
"Right," He said. "Next time we're going to be making the linking books."
"Great," Hermione said, as she picked up her books and walked out of the room. Draco's eyes lingered on her retreating form for a moment before collecting his own things and leaving the cool potions room.
"We're so sorry Hermione!" Ron said as they walked to their next class. "I hope Malfoy doesn't give you a hard time."
"Ron," Hermione said patiently. "The war has changed everyone, including Malfoy. He's seventeen now and no longer a spoilt child. We get along now, for the most part, and you don't have to be sorry, it's all in our arrangement anyway."
Harry looked on as his two friends bickered back and fourth about the blonde haired boy. It was ironic though that he had noticed slight, subtle changes in the boy he once called an enemy. Harry was sure that he did not hate Draco Malfoy with the same passion he once had. After all the killing of the past years, hate seemed like a terrible force that should never need to be dealt with. He killed Voldemort, and in the moment before the life left his parents murderer, Harry had felt a peace within himself that he never was able to feel before. It felt like the complete opposite effect of that of dementors. When he explained it Hermione and Ron, Hermione suggested that what Harry felt was all the years of happiness Voldemort stole away from him, all coming through him at once. Ever since Harry had a better outlook on life, and a more positive approach to people in general. Maybe something like that happened to Dumbledore, because Harry felt like he related to the wise old man better than he ever could have hoped for when he was younger.
Transfiguration went about the same as usual. Professor McGonagall walked around the room with a cane, but her posture was that of a very proud and very powerful being, knowing all yet revealing nothing.
"I'm really beginning to enjoy this light homework deal," Ron said with a wide grin. "Did you see the look on McGonagall's face when she said there would be no assignment? I wish I had a camera."
Hermione smiled at her friend. Although she would never admit it, being able to do all the extra studying she wanted without having to worry about the regular assignments was a weight off her shoulders as well.
The rest of the day went on without anything out of the ordinary happening, and as odd as it sounds, they were ecstatic for that simple pleasure.
"We have our first rehearsal tomorrow," Harry said at dinner, "I wonder who else is a part of it."
"It's being kept rather quiet," Hermione replied. "I don't know what roles the Slytherin got."
They talked about all the possibilities all the way through dinner, and ending their conversation outside Hermione's dorm room.
"Oh, here's the painting, see you guys later," Hermione nodded to the painting of the old head boy and girl.
Hermione watched her friends retreating backs after their goodbye.
"Fine men," Phillip said in approval as Hermione turned to face himself and Estella.
"They are," Hermione said with a smile. "I am lucky, aren't I?"
"Very lucky," Estella said as she swung the portrait open, not bothering for the password.
Hermione waltzed into the common room, humming to herself, completely oblivious to anything around her. Soon she felt a sharp breeze, like a window was open somewhere.
She investigated, looking around the room for a sign of the disturbance, and her eyes soon settled on the doors leading out to one of balconies.
She walked closer, but stopped when she heard a voice. Correction, when she heard singing. A sweet tenor voice was being carried with the wind towards her, and Hermione sucked in a breath when she saw that the voice belonged to Draco Malfoy.
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of
light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hermione trembled. She wasn't sure if it was because it was a chilly night, or Draco. Draco staring out into the grounds of Hogwarts, looking farther past the Forbidden Forest, and past the torment Hogwarts has faced in the last years. He was leaning against the thick stone railing, still dressed in his Hogwarts uniform. His black slacks and starched white button up shirt looked like they were not keeping the autumn air out, and his green and silver Slytherin tie was undone. Draco seemed to be at peace with the world, and continued singing.
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah…Hallelujah…
Hermione felt like she couldn't bear it anymore. She saw this man in front of her, singing his soul out to the open air, and she felt as though she was an outsider, looking in on someone's inner peace. She felt like she needed to be a part of that peace, to find some peace within herself, so just be able to rest after a lifetime of fighting. She stepped out behind him and came up to his side.
"That was beautiful," She said quietly, leaning against the stone beside him.
Draco didn't seem to be startled that Hermione had just walked into a very personal moment, and replied. "It's one of my favorite songs; it's something I sing when I need someone to listen,"
"I was listening," Hermione said.
"I know," He replied. "I heard you come into the common room, you didn't get to hear the beginning,"
"Maybe some other time," Hermione said vaguely, staring off to the distance Draco was looking at. "What were you thinking about out here?"
Draco turned and looked at her profile. "What wasn't I thinking about?" He retorted. "There's so much to think about, and so much pain still in the world, it's enough to make anyone's head hurt with the mere thought of it,"
Hermione stayed quiet a long time. It hurt to be in the presence of him. To know that you cause someone to become an orphan killed Hermione.
"It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah," Hermione finally said. "My hallelujah's all come out broken anymore, is it ever going to get better?"
Draco turned around and faced her and whispered, "Somehow, somewhere, there will be a place for it,"
(A/N)
Some of you are confused- Draco DOESN'T know about Hermione killing his father, I said that in the 1st chapter. Hermione was upset, so Harry covered for her- everyone thinks Harry was the one who brought down Lucius, except for the trio, and of course, Dumbledore.
Anywho, I suppose you all know who Tony is, and if you don't….shame on you! Is this a D/Hr story or not?!? Lol.. Im sorry about the delay, and the chapter being so short, I've got some blockage in my writing, lol, so until next time!
xoxoariel