Hermione and Draco walked into breakfast, both knowing that they had a little secret. Dumbledore had secrets of his own.
Seated at the table were also Professors Snape and McGonagall. When they were all seated, Dumbledore said, "Let's eat," and the table filled with every possible breakfast food, pancakes, waffles, sausages, bacon, anything imaginable, look on the table and it was there.
When they had all had their fill, Dumbledore sat back with his tea and begin to speak.
"My children, there was a history, that is not taught in muggle schools, it is about a time of great cooperation and prosperity between the muggle and magic worlds. When there were not in fact two worlds, but one. Envy and jealousy, hated and mistrust, tore this world apart. And then it was two worlds, the magic versus the muggle. And there was struggle and strife. The magic world was forced to become a secret. We hid in passageways and dark allies until we were all but forgotten. This made some wizards and witches very angry. They cried out that we were the strong, that it was the survival of the fittest. Why should the wizards hide when we could wipe out the muggles with one swish of a wand? And still there were others who had muggle family and friends, and would do anything to protect the muggle way of life. This caused factions within the wizarding world. You can imagine where this is going. These differences drove us into a civil war, which as you know came to an end only a year ago. Now, is a time for healing. As I am sure you have noticed, the school is no longer divided into houses. We are Hogwart's and that is enough. Hermione, Draco, you may not realize it, but you are a catalyst for change. Draco, you symbolize everything that was the old way. As you know, your father was one of the advocates for the dark side. You are a pure blood; your family is as old as magic itself. You are strong willed and powerful. Hermione, dear, you are the new magic. Your family fought valiantly to protect you and your half-blood ancestors. Your magic comes as much from within your soul as from your blood. You are also strong willed and powerful. You two represent the new and the old, the dark and the light. I chose you to save our school and our way of life. I will not live to see the day when a wizard can walk down a muggle street with wand in hand without ridicule or fear. But maybe you will. Maybe your children will. But it has to start somewhere. And it has been foretold that it will start here and it will start now."
Those words caught in Draco's mind, "it has been foretold". The Prophecy! His mother's words rang in his ears. The weight of it all fell on him like a ton of bricks. He was the fulfillment of the Prophecy, he and the mudblood.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, "So with that being said, you have been brought here two weeks early for a multitude of reasons. First and most importantly, you must find a peace between yourselves. Do what you must, but when the other students arrive at Hogwart's you must greet them together as friends and as leaders of the school. Secondly, as Head Boy and Girl, you will be in charge of extracurricular activities for the school, you first task will be planning the fall banquet as you see fit. In addition to the regular activities of the previous years, Hogwart's will be hosting an invitational to all other wizarding schools. You will be called on to assist with preparation for these events also. Now, do you have any questions?"
All Hermione could do was shake her head. She didn't know what to think. On one hand, she was being forced to befriend her archrival of the last six years. This was Malfoy, who had teased and degraded her from the moment he met her. And to top it off, the fate of the wizarding world depended on her being able to do it. But, she thought, on the other hand, Malfoy has changed; there was a gentleness and unassuming nature to him that she had never seen before. She was sure that there could be worse people to be stuck with for two weeks. But right off the top of her head, she couldn't think of any one. Ron and Harry were just going to love this. If there was anyone who had disliked Malfoy more than Hermione, it was Ron and Harry. Ginny would have a field day with it too. Only Ginny had ever noticed the way that Hermione had looked at Draco when he wasn't looking back, and Ginny was the only one that had seen the way that Draco had stared back when he thought NO ONE was looking.
"Now," Professor McGonagall said, "We can't have two students just running the halls unsupervised all day. So, I have some errands that I would appreciate if you two could handle for me."
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