A/N:- Preciousblood - thank you for your kind reviews!! Now that I have more confidence in this story, I shall work extra hard to get the chapters up as soon as possible! Love, Kristin / Hedw1g

KrayzeeGlow88 – Thank you also for your review. I realize that Malfoy is being a tad nicer than he would normally be, I have plans for him later, though, watch this space! Love, Kristin / Hedw1g

This chapter is going to be a bit boring, but a bridge is needed. Sorry! (Don't throw rotten vegetables at me please!) Anyway, here goes.

Chapter 3

The early morning sun peeked through the curtains in the dorm room that Hermione shared with Lavender and Parvati, casting a beam of golden light on Hermione's face.
Sleepily, she rubbed her eyes and stretched as she awoke to the first day of the new term. Sitting up on her elbows, she looked blearily over at her sleeping comrades and smiled to herself. 'Finally! I get the bathroom first!' she thought happily.
She threw her covers off and jumped up, grabbing her towels and cosmetic bag and other necessities and as quietly as she could, she dashed out of the dorm room and into the bathroom, casting a locking charm on the door.
She showered, washing her hair with cherry scented shampoo. After she had finished, she dried off with the red towel, and wrapped her hair up in the gold.
Ten minutes later, she had expertly applied her make-up and cast a drying spell on her hair, followed by a charm to fix it into soft, glossy curls.
She then proceeded out of the bathroom in her bathrobe back to her dorm room and dressed in her school uniform and robes.
Hermione sprayed a little perfume on her self, then walked calmly out of the dorm room and went down the stairs into the Griffindor common room where she spotted her two best friends sitting on the sofa, each holding a schedule in their hands.
"Morning guys!" Hermione chirruped.
The two looked up, still slightly bleary eyed from sleep.
"Hey, Mione!" Ron bleated back.
"Morning." Mumbled Harry, who was still half asleep.
The trio made their way out of the portrait hall and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Sitting down in their usual spots at the Griffindor table with their fellow Griffindors, they proceeded to load their plates with bacon, eggs, sausages and toast and, since they were older students, they got coffee!
Ron started gobbling his breakfast down just Proffessor Snape walked over and handed them their class schedules.
The Potions Master looked at Ron with a disgusted expression on his pale face. "Mr Weasley, have you no manners!" he sneered. "close your mouth when you eat!"
Ron looked up at snape, his cheeks puffed out full of food. "sowwy pwofeffor!" he mumbled around the food.
Snape snorted with disgust and swept away, his black cloak billowing out behind him as he proceeded to the teacher's table to eat his breakfast.
Meanwhile, Harry had opened his class schedule and slumped into a depressed stupor immediately.
"Why so down Harry?" Hermione asked as she took a bite of her toast.
Harry handed her the class schedule. "We have double potions!! On our first day back!!" he cried indignantly. "I swear! McGonnagall must have been in one heck of a bad mood when she made these up! What did we ever do to drive her to do this?!"
Hermione studied the schedules. "It's not so bad," she offered "It's class of the day, so you get it over with. That way, you aren't dreading it when you are attending charms and transfiguration!"
Harry exchanged incredulous looks with Ron.
Not far down the table, they heard Neville Longbottom let out a cry of "No! This can't be!!!"
Poor Neville hated potions. Snape scared the magic out of the poor boy and he thoroughly enjoyed taunting Neville about his potions.
Neville took the news of double potions much worse than Harry. He stood up and came over to where the trio sat.
"I…I just wanted to say…. It..it's been nice knowing you all." He said by way of explanation and turned to walk off.
"Where are you going Neville?" Harry asked, confused.
"To drown myself in the lake." Came the anguished reply.
Ron mumbled something incoherent as he pointed at something behind Neville.
"No Ron!" Neville insisted "Don't try to stop me! I would rather die than spend two periods locked in the dungeons with Professor Snape!"
Ron shook his head and then froze.
Harry and Hermione sat and stared just past Neville, who was looking back at them.
"He's right behind me isn't he?" Neville said with acceptance.
Hermione nodded.
Harry suddenly found his bacon fascinating and poked at it with his fork.
Ron groaned and mumbled around the food stuffed in his mouth. "I twide to wawn ou!"
Turning slowly and wincing, as if facing something he knew would kill him and looked up into the glaring face of his Potions master.
"That dying you speak of can be arranged, Longbottom." Snape sneered. "What have you to say for yourself?"
"Sorry Professor." Neville mumbled humbly.
"Go finish your breakfast. I expect you on time in my class longbottom." Snape retorted and as usual, swept away in a cloud of billowing robes.
Ron swallowed the food in his mouth. "Cheerful bloke, that!" he said in a sarcastically cheerful tone. "I want to be just like him when I grow up!"
Neville sat back down and miserably ate his breakfast. "One Snape's enough thanks Ron!"
"It'll be alright Neville." Hermione said comfortingly. "I'll help you!"
Neville smiled gratefully at her. "Thank's Hermione!"
Hermione smiled back. She had plans for this year. She would help Neville, and if Snape didn't like it, too bad for him!
Soon, they were all finished their breakfast, and the trio, accompanied by Neville, made their way to their first class of the day. Double Potions with the Slytherins.
Putting Griffindor's and Slytherin's together was a disaster waiting to happen. Whoever thought up the idea that it would be a good idea to put them together in a potions class of all things, must have been either pure evil, or about as smart as a box of hair!
The Griffindor's settled into their seats and the Slytherins, glaring and sneering as they passed, made their way over to theirs.
Snape had other ideas. He had pondered the fact that Griffindor and Slytherin were like oil and water, not to mention fierce enemies, and he could use some entertainment. Yes, Snape liked his own ingenious yet evil plan!
"Today, I am going to change your seating positions!" He announced to the class.
The class stared at him waiting for him to continue.
"I am going to put you into pairs, Griffindor's with Slytherins!" Snape said in a bored voice, but inside he was laughing with glee!
On the Griffindor side, jaws dropped open, eyes bulged in disbelief and whispers of "evil git" erupted.
As for the Slytherin's, some of them seemed to like the idea of having two hours to be able to torment and 'accidently' maim the Griffindor's, where as some others were absolutely mortified at the idea! There were even a few whispers of "I knew it! He's finally gone off his rocker!"
Snape ignored the whispers and proceeded to pair them up as he had planned. He had taught this class for 5 years, he knew what students to pair for maximum entertainment.
Harry got stuck with Crabbe, Ron got landed with Pansy Parkinson and Poor Neville got paired with Goyle.
But worst off was Hermione. Snape had picked this pair to be the most entertaining, if past classes was anything to go by. Hermione had been paired with her worst nightmare, Draco Malfoy.