Hermione and Draco cautiously took their seats at the head table, both
sitting on either side of Professor Dumbledore, and next to McGonagall and
Snape, respectively. Hermione noticed something odd when they'd walked in.
Dumbledore immediately approached Draco and said something to him quietly.
Draco had blushed only slightly, bowed his head, and mumbled a response.
Dumbledore patted Draco on the shoulder, and went to sit down.
"Hello Miss Granger, pleasure to see you here this year!"
"Oh, thank you Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, "It's such an honor."
"Well, I trust that you and Mister Malfoy will be excellent models of the qualities a Hogwarts student possesses." He smiled at her, then stood up, and clear his throat. The Great Hall fell silent.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! I hope your journey here was enjoyable. I could stand up here talking, in fact, I have a lovely story about my journey to Amsterdam this summer.." he trailed off briefly glancing at McGonagall, "But, I believe we can save that for another time! Lets the Sorting commence!"
McGonagall, looking as stern as ever, took her list and began.
"Abbot, Sharon!" A girl who was quite obviously Hannah's younger sister stepped forward and put the hat on. "HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the hat.
"Bannister, Lucas!" "SLYTHERIN!"
"Bannister, Anthony!" "SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione noticed that Snape was leaning over, talking to Draco with a concerned look on his face. Draco, again, seemed to be mumbling in response. Hermione turned her attention back towards the Sorting.
"Hunt, Michaela!" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Jameson, Kieran!" "RAVENCLAW!"
Hermione couldn't help looking back over at Draco, who was now no longer talking to Snape, but staring off in to space. He looked abruptly at Hermione, and gave her a hurried half smile. 'What is up with him?' she wondered.
Hermione sat there, wondering for a while until "Zimmerman, Natalya!" "GRYFFINDOR!" broke her concentration.
Dumbledore stood up after the applause died down, and said, "As usual, I have a few final words before the feast. So, Leo Tolstoy's wife copied War and Peace for him seven times. Lets eat!" He sat down, and dug into the chipolatas on the platter in front of him.
Draco and Hermione exchanged bemused looks and shrugged. "Oh! Draco, Hermione, I'd like to have a brief meeting with the two of you after dinner, if that's convenient." They nodded, and returned to eating.
After the feast was over, Dumbledore instructed everyone to follow the prefects back to their houses to get settled in. He motioned for Draco and Hermione to follow him into the room off of the Great Hall. There was a desk in front of a large fireplace, with two chairs in front. He motioned for the two to sit down.
"Now," he began, "I assume that since there's been no blood shed yet, that you two have come to an agreement?"
"Yes, sir," came their response.
"Well! Good! Now, I'd like to list a few of your responsibilities for the year, if you don't mind. Now, let me see. First, you will be responsible for setting the proper example for all of the students of the school. Now fighting in public, always maintain order and maturity where it's needed, but, not too much," he said with a smile. "Secondly, you
will be responsible for planning the Yule Ball this year, with some assistance from Professors Snape and McGonagall. Thirdly, and this is a new addition to our program, you will be Hogwart's delegates at the Education Institutions of the Wizarding World Conference, which will be held this year in Venice, Italy."
Draco and Hermione both looked up at him in surprise. And then slowly looked at each other. 'Ohhhhhhh dear.'
Dumbledore, seeing their reactions, said, "I know that this comes as a surprise to you both, but you two are simply the best students we have to offer, although if you two wish to choose alternates."
"Oh no!" they both broke in, "Never Professor.." "It's a great honor." "I'd never dream of." "Please, that won't be necessary."
Dumbledore smiled, "Good, then, that's settled. You will be going for two weeks some time in January after the winter holiday. When the year progresses, I'll make sure to pass you along the details as they come. Do either of you have any questions?"
They both shook their heads. "Well, good then! I'll have Professor McGonagall show you to your quarters, then!"
"Our quarters?" Hermione asked. "Don't we just live with our houses?"
"Oh ho! Well, not quite, Miss Granger. The Head Boy and Girls rooms are bewitched. Not only are they connected to their own house, but also to each other through a sort of study room. It's quite nice!" He smiled, and showed them back out into the Great Hall where McGonagall was waiting.
If two people ever had the exact same thoughts running through their head at once, it was Draco and Hermione. 'Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod! I can't LIVE next to him/her!'
"Here we are!" McGonagall said, approaching a picture of two men and two women. The people in the picture seemed to be simply sitting around, chatting. A though suddenly flashed into Hermione's head.
"Are they." she began. "Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin!" Draco finished.
"Why, yes, they are," McGonagall replied. 'Finishing each other's sentences already are they?' She smiled a small smile to herself. "What would you like the password to be?"
They looked at each other, and the professor said "Well, what do you have in common?" They looked at each other again, and each began to laugh. Then, at the same time, they said, "We both breathe oxygen?!"
Startled, they looked up at each other. "Oxygen it is, then!" McGonagall announced with a wry smile. The portrait swung open, and Hermione stepped in and gasped.
"Wow! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. There were two matching arm chairs in front of a fire, with a D embroidered on one and an H on the other. Two desks, two shelves full of books. Hermione almost started salivating at the very sight.
Draco, too, was quite enraptured with his new surroundings. He walked in to his bedroom, which was furnished similarly to his old Slytherin rooms, in a dark forest green, with silver accents. He saw another door in the corner, and opened it. He peered out into the Slytherin Common Room, and gave a smile to a group of third years he saw playing Wizarding Chess in the corner.
Hermione opened the door in her room, and went to her Common Room door. She opened it, and saw Ron and Harry sitting in front of the fire.
"Harry! Ron! Come here!" she shouted to them.
They looked up to see where Hermione's voice was coming from, and saw her sticking her head out from behind a picture of Godric Gryffindor.
"Mione, what are you doing?" Ron asked.
"This is my ROOM! Come look, it's fabulous! Malfoy and I have a study and everything. And I have my own desk and a full bookshelf!"
She showed Harry and Ron around in the study. Draco came out of his room, and looked apprehensively at the trio.
"Er, Hermione, I'm going to get in to the shower, if that's ok with you. I mean, we each have our own, but they're right next to each other and all." he said embarrassedly.
"Oh, that's fine, Draco, I was just showing Harry and Ron around. Is that ok with you?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Draco turned and walked back in to his room.
"Did he just call you HERMIONE?" Harry asked, aghast.
"Well, I was either going to have him call me that or Winston, but I opted for Hermione, I respond more quickly to that." Hermione laughed. "I honestly think that Draco and I will get along this year."
'Did she just call him Draco?' Harry thought. 'That's no good.'
"Oh, well, boys, I need to go to sleep, it's a big day tomorrow!" Hermione said as she ushered them out.
Harry turned around and looked at her. "Night Mione," he said, smiling at her. 'Malfoy will not steal her away from me and Ron, she's OUR friend, not HIS!'
After Harry and Ron left, Hermione changed into a pair of grey pants and a tank top. She went out in to the study, she heard the water running in the shower. She gazed up at her bookshelf. She picked out a copy of Hogwarts: A History, and sat down in her chair and began reading. After a few minutes, she heard Draco shut the water off.
"Ohhhh, bollox!!" came a voice from the bathroom. "Er, Hermione?" Draco called.
"Yeah, Draco?"
"Um. do you think you could go into my room and grab my bath robe for me? It's just hanging in the bedpost."
Stifling a giggle, Hermione said, "Sure, Draco, no problem."
She walked in to his room and looked around. It smelled like cologne already. Hermione thought how good it smelled in there. She walked over to his bed and grabbed his robe. She noticed on the nightstand that there was a picture of Draco, his mother, and a young girl with very light, curly blonde hair. It looked as though it had been taken a few years ago. Draco was smiling very brightly, holding the young girl, she was waving. Realizing Draco might get suspicious, Hermione snapped back to reality, and walked out of the room.
She knocked on the door of the bathroom, and Draco stuck his arm out. Hermione handed him the robe, but gasped when she saw that his arm was bleeding again.
"Draco, are you ok?"
"Yeah, don't worry Gran- Hermione, it just opened up again. It's fine." Thanks for the robe."
Hermione sat down with her book again, and began to read. She heard Draco leave the bathroom and go to his room. Ten minutes later, Draco came out wearing flannel pants and a green t shirt, he had glasses on.
"I didn't know you wore glasses, Draco." Hermione said.
"Oh, well, only for reading, I never bothered to get it corrected by a optometrist wizard, too much of a hassle."
They fell in to silence, reading. Hermione's thoughts began to wander. 'Hmm. I wonder why Harry's being so nice. Not that he usually isn't nice, but. oh, I'm probably imagining it.I just WANT him to notice me more. Oh, I can't believe I like Harry! He's my best friend! Oh, this is going to be complicated, I just know it. and Draco. Who was that girl? I didn't think he had a sister. I don't know his personal history, but. and why is he acting so strangely? He's being more than civil, he's almost being nice!'
"Granger, stop staring at me would you??? I mean, I know that I look good, but, please, not so much fawning." Draco snidely remarked to her.
Hermione hadn't even noticed that she'd been staring at him. "Hmph. Fine!" she said, "If you want to start, I'm just going to bed. Good night Malfoy." She stomped towards her room.
"Goodnight Hermione," he said softly.
Though she was in the process of slamming her door, she heard him say goodnight. As she crawled in to bed, she sighed and thought 'This year will certainly be interesting. I just hope I make it out alive. I hope I make it out not having killed anyone either!' Hermione drifted off to sleep still thinking of Harry and the little girl in Draco's arms.
"Hello Miss Granger, pleasure to see you here this year!"
"Oh, thank you Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, "It's such an honor."
"Well, I trust that you and Mister Malfoy will be excellent models of the qualities a Hogwarts student possesses." He smiled at her, then stood up, and clear his throat. The Great Hall fell silent.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! I hope your journey here was enjoyable. I could stand up here talking, in fact, I have a lovely story about my journey to Amsterdam this summer.." he trailed off briefly glancing at McGonagall, "But, I believe we can save that for another time! Lets the Sorting commence!"
McGonagall, looking as stern as ever, took her list and began.
"Abbot, Sharon!" A girl who was quite obviously Hannah's younger sister stepped forward and put the hat on. "HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the hat.
"Bannister, Lucas!" "SLYTHERIN!"
"Bannister, Anthony!" "SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione noticed that Snape was leaning over, talking to Draco with a concerned look on his face. Draco, again, seemed to be mumbling in response. Hermione turned her attention back towards the Sorting.
"Hunt, Michaela!" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Jameson, Kieran!" "RAVENCLAW!"
Hermione couldn't help looking back over at Draco, who was now no longer talking to Snape, but staring off in to space. He looked abruptly at Hermione, and gave her a hurried half smile. 'What is up with him?' she wondered.
Hermione sat there, wondering for a while until "Zimmerman, Natalya!" "GRYFFINDOR!" broke her concentration.
Dumbledore stood up after the applause died down, and said, "As usual, I have a few final words before the feast. So, Leo Tolstoy's wife copied War and Peace for him seven times. Lets eat!" He sat down, and dug into the chipolatas on the platter in front of him.
Draco and Hermione exchanged bemused looks and shrugged. "Oh! Draco, Hermione, I'd like to have a brief meeting with the two of you after dinner, if that's convenient." They nodded, and returned to eating.
After the feast was over, Dumbledore instructed everyone to follow the prefects back to their houses to get settled in. He motioned for Draco and Hermione to follow him into the room off of the Great Hall. There was a desk in front of a large fireplace, with two chairs in front. He motioned for the two to sit down.
"Now," he began, "I assume that since there's been no blood shed yet, that you two have come to an agreement?"
"Yes, sir," came their response.
"Well! Good! Now, I'd like to list a few of your responsibilities for the year, if you don't mind. Now, let me see. First, you will be responsible for setting the proper example for all of the students of the school. Now fighting in public, always maintain order and maturity where it's needed, but, not too much," he said with a smile. "Secondly, you
will be responsible for planning the Yule Ball this year, with some assistance from Professors Snape and McGonagall. Thirdly, and this is a new addition to our program, you will be Hogwart's delegates at the Education Institutions of the Wizarding World Conference, which will be held this year in Venice, Italy."
Draco and Hermione both looked up at him in surprise. And then slowly looked at each other. 'Ohhhhhhh dear.'
Dumbledore, seeing their reactions, said, "I know that this comes as a surprise to you both, but you two are simply the best students we have to offer, although if you two wish to choose alternates."
"Oh no!" they both broke in, "Never Professor.." "It's a great honor." "I'd never dream of." "Please, that won't be necessary."
Dumbledore smiled, "Good, then, that's settled. You will be going for two weeks some time in January after the winter holiday. When the year progresses, I'll make sure to pass you along the details as they come. Do either of you have any questions?"
They both shook their heads. "Well, good then! I'll have Professor McGonagall show you to your quarters, then!"
"Our quarters?" Hermione asked. "Don't we just live with our houses?"
"Oh ho! Well, not quite, Miss Granger. The Head Boy and Girls rooms are bewitched. Not only are they connected to their own house, but also to each other through a sort of study room. It's quite nice!" He smiled, and showed them back out into the Great Hall where McGonagall was waiting.
If two people ever had the exact same thoughts running through their head at once, it was Draco and Hermione. 'Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod! I can't LIVE next to him/her!'
"Here we are!" McGonagall said, approaching a picture of two men and two women. The people in the picture seemed to be simply sitting around, chatting. A though suddenly flashed into Hermione's head.
"Are they." she began. "Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin!" Draco finished.
"Why, yes, they are," McGonagall replied. 'Finishing each other's sentences already are they?' She smiled a small smile to herself. "What would you like the password to be?"
They looked at each other, and the professor said "Well, what do you have in common?" They looked at each other again, and each began to laugh. Then, at the same time, they said, "We both breathe oxygen?!"
Startled, they looked up at each other. "Oxygen it is, then!" McGonagall announced with a wry smile. The portrait swung open, and Hermione stepped in and gasped.
"Wow! It's beautiful!" she exclaimed. There were two matching arm chairs in front of a fire, with a D embroidered on one and an H on the other. Two desks, two shelves full of books. Hermione almost started salivating at the very sight.
Draco, too, was quite enraptured with his new surroundings. He walked in to his bedroom, which was furnished similarly to his old Slytherin rooms, in a dark forest green, with silver accents. He saw another door in the corner, and opened it. He peered out into the Slytherin Common Room, and gave a smile to a group of third years he saw playing Wizarding Chess in the corner.
Hermione opened the door in her room, and went to her Common Room door. She opened it, and saw Ron and Harry sitting in front of the fire.
"Harry! Ron! Come here!" she shouted to them.
They looked up to see where Hermione's voice was coming from, and saw her sticking her head out from behind a picture of Godric Gryffindor.
"Mione, what are you doing?" Ron asked.
"This is my ROOM! Come look, it's fabulous! Malfoy and I have a study and everything. And I have my own desk and a full bookshelf!"
She showed Harry and Ron around in the study. Draco came out of his room, and looked apprehensively at the trio.
"Er, Hermione, I'm going to get in to the shower, if that's ok with you. I mean, we each have our own, but they're right next to each other and all." he said embarrassedly.
"Oh, that's fine, Draco, I was just showing Harry and Ron around. Is that ok with you?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Draco turned and walked back in to his room.
"Did he just call you HERMIONE?" Harry asked, aghast.
"Well, I was either going to have him call me that or Winston, but I opted for Hermione, I respond more quickly to that." Hermione laughed. "I honestly think that Draco and I will get along this year."
'Did she just call him Draco?' Harry thought. 'That's no good.'
"Oh, well, boys, I need to go to sleep, it's a big day tomorrow!" Hermione said as she ushered them out.
Harry turned around and looked at her. "Night Mione," he said, smiling at her. 'Malfoy will not steal her away from me and Ron, she's OUR friend, not HIS!'
After Harry and Ron left, Hermione changed into a pair of grey pants and a tank top. She went out in to the study, she heard the water running in the shower. She gazed up at her bookshelf. She picked out a copy of Hogwarts: A History, and sat down in her chair and began reading. After a few minutes, she heard Draco shut the water off.
"Ohhhh, bollox!!" came a voice from the bathroom. "Er, Hermione?" Draco called.
"Yeah, Draco?"
"Um. do you think you could go into my room and grab my bath robe for me? It's just hanging in the bedpost."
Stifling a giggle, Hermione said, "Sure, Draco, no problem."
She walked in to his room and looked around. It smelled like cologne already. Hermione thought how good it smelled in there. She walked over to his bed and grabbed his robe. She noticed on the nightstand that there was a picture of Draco, his mother, and a young girl with very light, curly blonde hair. It looked as though it had been taken a few years ago. Draco was smiling very brightly, holding the young girl, she was waving. Realizing Draco might get suspicious, Hermione snapped back to reality, and walked out of the room.
She knocked on the door of the bathroom, and Draco stuck his arm out. Hermione handed him the robe, but gasped when she saw that his arm was bleeding again.
"Draco, are you ok?"
"Yeah, don't worry Gran- Hermione, it just opened up again. It's fine." Thanks for the robe."
Hermione sat down with her book again, and began to read. She heard Draco leave the bathroom and go to his room. Ten minutes later, Draco came out wearing flannel pants and a green t shirt, he had glasses on.
"I didn't know you wore glasses, Draco." Hermione said.
"Oh, well, only for reading, I never bothered to get it corrected by a optometrist wizard, too much of a hassle."
They fell in to silence, reading. Hermione's thoughts began to wander. 'Hmm. I wonder why Harry's being so nice. Not that he usually isn't nice, but. oh, I'm probably imagining it.I just WANT him to notice me more. Oh, I can't believe I like Harry! He's my best friend! Oh, this is going to be complicated, I just know it. and Draco. Who was that girl? I didn't think he had a sister. I don't know his personal history, but. and why is he acting so strangely? He's being more than civil, he's almost being nice!'
"Granger, stop staring at me would you??? I mean, I know that I look good, but, please, not so much fawning." Draco snidely remarked to her.
Hermione hadn't even noticed that she'd been staring at him. "Hmph. Fine!" she said, "If you want to start, I'm just going to bed. Good night Malfoy." She stomped towards her room.
"Goodnight Hermione," he said softly.
Though she was in the process of slamming her door, she heard him say goodnight. As she crawled in to bed, she sighed and thought 'This year will certainly be interesting. I just hope I make it out alive. I hope I make it out not having killed anyone either!' Hermione drifted off to sleep still thinking of Harry and the little girl in Draco's arms.
