All About the Ace
Hermione managed to have a shower earlier than usual the next day; she quickly dressed, gathered her things, and exited the common room without even having to glance once at Draco Malfoy.
She waited in the Great Hall for what felt like hours until breakfast was served; Harry and Ron appeared shortly after and Harry apologized for being so rude the previous day.
"It's fine." Hermione said. "Really. I can understand why you were angry, but at least we're back to being friends, right?"
"Right." Harry smiled.
"Great." Ron said, filling his plate with all sorts of different kinds of food. "So, are we having our first DA meeting tonight?"
"Yup." Harry said. "It's all set. I had to distribute about fifty more of those galleons, though. Ever since Voldemort's demise and ever since we've been able to go public with the DA, people are begging to be a part of it. Even people I don't know."
"And you're letting everyone join?" Hermione asked.
"Sure." Harry replied. "The more the merrier. Anyone who wants to come is welcome, and I've made that perfectly clear to the whole school. Of course, we're going to need to imagine a larger Room of Requirement, because the one we usually use is definitely too small. I was thinking this time we could have a stage, so everyone can see me and the spells I'm going to teach…"
Hermione allowed Harry to babble on about the DA; she was just as excited as he was, though. The DA had been a bright part of her life, and she was anxious to get started with it again. Even though Voldemort was gone, she still felt it was necessary that students be able to defend themselves against any form of the Dark Arts.
"Come on, Transfiguration first thing." Ron said, gathering his bag.
The trio made their way to Transfiguration where they unfortunately met up with the Slytherins. Malfoy was having a heavy make out session with a fellow Slytherin who Hermione could not identify; it disgusted her. After she had just told him not to use women to forget his problems, he stood in front of her grasping a girl and kissing her passionately. Luckily neither Pansy nor Emma Dobbs was around to see this, or Hermione had a feeling that they would have a fit.
"Repulsive." Harry said with disgust.
"Disgusting." Ron agreed.
"Rude!" Hermione cried.
"Mr Malfoy, I'd appreciate you not grope the opposite sex outside of my classroom." McGonagall appeared through the crowd of Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years, looking sternly at Malfoy and the girl he was with. "Same goes for you, Miss Baxter."
Malfoy once again smirked his legendary smirk and grabbed the girl's butt before following her into the classroom. She gave a small, startled and yet pleasurable yelp.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Hermione said, watching Malfoy and the girl. Why did it bother her so much that he would be fooling around with a girl? No, it wasn't just one girl. It was three so far. It was rude and degrading to the women at this school who wanted dignity, or for that matter it was degrading to all women because it just proved that Malfoy could get any woman he wants. Any woman.
"Settle down." McGonagall instructed. "I have a… er… surprise, if you will, to share with you all today. Now, my nephew has transferred here from Durmstrang."
"As a student?" Lavender Brown asked. She was obviously extremely interested in whether or not her nephew was good-looking or not.
"I didn't know McGonagall had any family." Harry whispered to Ron and Hermione.
"Me neither." Hermione replied.
Ron shrugged.
"No, not as a student Miss Brown. He wishes to take a break from school, so he's taking a year off of Durmstrang to come and visit his aunt, myself, at Hogwarts School. He will be taking the position as assistant to the Games Keeper, Professor Hagrid. I hope that you will all be kind to him and welcome him into our school with generosity and compassion."
"When do we get to meet him?" Parvati Patil asked eagerly.
"Now, as a matter of fact." McGonagall answered, surprising the entire class. "Acelio, please come forward."
A large shadow stood up from the corners where nobody had noticed it before; it walked forward until it had reached a spot right next to McGonagall, where everyone could take a closer look at him.
"Class, please welcome Acelio McGonagall to Hogwarts."
The glass rang with discussion of the new kid as they proceeded with their Transfiguring; some, like Parvati and Lavender, were giggling as though he were the hottest boy in the world. Others, like Draco Malfoy, sulked miserably at having competition with the ladies. Harry and Ron were not too thrilled, either.
"Look at him!" Ron cried, indicating Acelio sitting on a stool next to his aunt's desk. "Thinking he's all that because his aunt is head of the Transfiguration department-"
"I think he's rather charming." Hermione sighed. She stared at him with her chin in her palm, gazing into his eyes that were such a bright shade of blue that she could see them from all the way over where she was sitting. His hair was so different from the boys here; most used gel or other hair products to hold their hair up or slick it back, but Acelio's hair was long and wavy and very soft looking. It was brown, but streaked with vivid blond highlights that definitely accented his hair. Hermione felt like staring at him all day…
"Hermione?" Ron asked. He waved a hand in front of her face and shook it vigorously up and down. "Hermione! The bell rang! It's time to go! Charms, you know."
Hermione snapped out of her trance and immediately gathered her things, then followed her two best friends to the Charms classroom, where she spent a great deal of the class daydreaming about Acelio McGonagall.
"Yay, first DA meeting starts in fifteen minutes!" Harry exclaimed. He was almost shaking with anticipation. The DA was like his baby; he treasured it and longed for it when it was gone.
"We finally get to see how many new people actually decided to come." Hermione smiled. She sipped at a glass of Butterbeer, but accidentally slopped it down her front. "Shit!" She muttered several charms to clean up the mess, however the charms only caused her shirt to dry; none of them managed to remove the new stain all over her brand new robes. "I'll be right back, I need to change!" she cried.
So, she sprinted out of the Room of Requirement and up the several flights of stairs to her common room. She quickly uttered the password to the mermaids and gained entrance into the vast room. She immediately spotted a nice, clean outfit waiting for her on the couch as though it had been placed there by magic. She hurriedly stripped down to nothing but her under garments.
"I never thought I'd see the day when Granger would where a thong." A voice smirked from the shadows.
"Malfoy!" Hermione cried. She grabbed at the clean clothes to cover herself up with, feeling extremely embarrassed.
"Please, don't stop on my account. I was actually enjoying myself." Draco sneered.
"Eat slugs, Malfoy!" Hermione yelled. She did not want to have an argument with him when she was standing in the open common room half naked.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Malfoy asked.
"None of your business." Hermione replied, trying to dress herself behind the robes that she held up to cover herself. "But I am in a hurry and I'd appreciate it if you would go away."
"Fine." Malfoy said. Hermione was shocked. He usually put up a more difficult fight than this. "But make no mistake, I will find out where you're going. Good night."
Hermione paid no attention to Malfoy's last statement; she was in too much of a rush. Instead she threw her robes over her and hurried out of the portrait hole and back down the flights of stairs until she reached the Room of Requirement.
"Sorry I'm late." She panted, out of breath from running the stairs. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A flicker of soft brown and golden hair shone from a corner in the packed room. Acelio McGonagall was leaning against the wall, arms crossed and looking incredibly bored. He is so good looking! Hermione thought, allowing herself one small daydream about him before taking her place on a cushion next to Ron.
"Okay, as I was saying we are going to learn Uforia spell, because it can definitely come in handy in the future." Harry instructed the room full of students. He winked at Ron who laughed silently; he was reminiscing about the time Harry had used the spell on Malfoy.
Harry demonstrated how the spell was to be used, and the room full of students divided into pairs. Harry and Ron immediately stood next to each other, leaving Hermione alone like she was most of the time. She looked around anxiously for a partner before a tall, dark figure stood before her.
"Mind if I work with you?" the voice was deep and alluring.
"Acelio!" Hermione cried.
He gave a hearty laugh. "Call me Ace. Only my aunt calls me Acelio."
"Oh." Hermione blushed. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"Nice to meet you, Hermione. So, do you want to be partners?"
"Sure!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Ready?" Ace asked.
"Ready." She confirmed.
"Uforia!" Ace cried. A jet of yellow light emerged from the tip of his wand directly towards Hermione, who unwillingly imitated the position that Malfoy had been placed in the night before. Ace released her, grinning with pride.
"That was amazing." Hermione complimented, impressed. "Shall I try?"
"Be my guest." Ace invited.
"Uforia!" Hermione cried. A poof of yellow light exploded from her wand, but it was definitely not powerful enough to cause any damage to Ace.
He chuckled to himself.
"What?" Hermione asked resentfully. She had always mastered everything, so why was Ace better at this then she was?
"It's all about the experience, Hermione. Age counts for everything. You're younger and less experienced then me, so it's only natural that I'm better." Ace said.
"Oh?" Hermione raised her eyebrow. "And exactly how old are you?"
"I'm turning nineteen in six months." Ace replied, buffing his chest.
"Ooh, a whole year and a half older than me!" Hermione said, trying to stifle a smile.
"A year and a half is a lot of time, young Hermione." Ace said, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, by the time you reach my age you'll be as wonderful as I am, guaranteed."
Hermione laughed. "Wow, you're really full of yourself, you know that?"
"Yup, I know. It's what makes me so great. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
Hermione laughed once more before the two carried on with the Uforia charm, chortling and joking the whole time.