Disclaimer: Yeah. I'm still broke. It's not mine. The idea, the characters (except Kalea), the copyrights, the movies and allllll the money are hers. Not mine. I get it. Thanks for rubbing it in. P
A/N: STOP! If you haven't gone back and reread chapter 12, do so now! I rewrote a huge portion of it, cos it sucked. A lot. It's much better now, I promise. ) Anyway, read that first. Then continue with this. Enjoy!
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Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron sat in silence, completely dumbstruck. Kalea had been put in Slytherin? But…but…what about… Each of them watched in horror as she stepped lightly from the platform and made her way to the Slytherin table, where a place had been cleared for her to sit. Ron felt the heat rise in his face as he watched Malfoy lean in and say something to her before turning and winking at him.
"That can't be right—Slytherin is for dark witches and wizards, not people like Kalea!" he said, banging his hand on the table and turning around.
Hermione, remembering her conversation with Blaise on the train, replied quietly, "Ron, just because that's the trend doesn't mean that's the rule… Slytherin is for students who are cunning and ambitious, and very intelligent—"
"Makes you wonder how goons like Crabbe and Goyle ever got in," Harry cut her off, watching Goyle shoveling whole meat pies into his mouth like they were muffins.
"Oh, I'm sure there's some great intelligence in there, somewhere…" she continued, following Harry's eyes.
"Yeah, right in there next to the six helpings of mashed potatoes he just ate." Ginny snorted, dishing some pasta onto her own plate. Everyone laughed and began helping themselves to the feast.
A good while later, after the plates had been cleared and desserts were being finished off, Hermione turned to Ron. "What's the matter? You hardly touched your food all night, and now you're passing up your favourite desserts as well?"
"Uhrm…" he glanced over his shoulder at Kalea, who seemed to be having a time ignoring Pansy Parkinson's yapping.
"Ron?" she asked again.
"What? What? I didn't…uhm…sorry, I didn't hear you." He answered, turning around quickly, ears red.
"I asked if you were ok…"
"Uhh, yeah. Yeah, of course. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? I'm completely fine. Really. Fine. I've never been finer. Why?" He stammered. Before Hermione could reply, Dumbledore's voice echoed across the hall.
"Well, now that you've all had your fill, it's time for some announcements. First off, I would like to introduce to you your Head Boy and Girl for this year. Blaise, Hermione, would you please stand where you are?" His eyes twinkled in their typical Dumbledore way as everyone applauded politely. Yes, this will be an interesting year… he thought, watching Hermione and Blaise sit back down.
"Every year, as you all know," he continued, once the noise had died down, "I tell you that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that—forbidden without the accompaniment of a professor or staff member. This year, however, due to some unfortunate circumstances involving the centaurs, even that will not be allowed. No one, student, teacher or staff member is to go within three meters of the forest's perimeter. Anyone who disregards this will suffer the consequences of their actions, for their safety in the forest is no longer something I can guarantee."
"He guaranteed it before?" Harry muttered to Ron, remembering the numerous times they'd been injured in the forest.
"Next, I would like to introduce you to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher—" he continued.
"But…but the chair's empty, there isn't anyone sitting there—who's he hired now, the invisible man?" Dean Thomas whispered down the table, perplexed.
"…Who's the invisible man?" Ron whispered back, intrigued.
"SShhh, I can't hear!" Ginny said before turning back to the platform.
"This year, our Defense of the Dark Arts position has been graciously filled by our dear Professor Snape." Dumbledore clapped politely as a hush fell over the student body.
"SNAPE? Snape is our DADA professor?" Neville stuttered, going very pale.
"Relax, Neville—remember we're all in NEWTS classes now—if you're going into Herbology, you won't even need DADA this year." Hermione patted his shoulder comfortingly.
"But…but I'm not going into Herbology! I thought…I…I thought I could…."
"What are you going into, then?" Harry asked.
"Will the Head Boy and Head Girl please come speak with me for a moment? The rest of you are dismissed; sleep soundly." Dumbledore smiled, knowing there would be little real sleeping done that night.
"See you later, then…" Hermione nodded to the others and headed towards the platform.
"As you know, you two will be sharing the Head chambers this year. I trust there will not be any problems with this?" Dumbledore asked as Blaise approached.
"No sir, no problems at all." Blaise stated, Hermione nodding in agreement.
"Good. In that case, Professor McGonnagal will escort you to your chambers. Goodnight." With that, he turned and swept out of the room. McGonnagal appeared promptly in front of them and, with the smallest hint of a smile, nodded at them to follow her.
The majority of the students, by this time, had gone off in their four separate directions. McGonnagal walked briskly ahead of the pair, stepping smoothly around the few stragglers making their way to their house chambers. Crossing a hall down which the Hufflepuffs were disappearing, it occurred to Hermione that she had absolutely no idea where they were going. She had long suspected the Head Boy and Girl to live in a distant tower or something, but considering how many steps they seemed to be going down, that couldn't possibly be the case. Unlike the dark and cold halls by the Slytherin house, however, these halls were warm and cozy, with brightly lit torches crackling merrily along the walls. Great woven tapestries hung on either side of them, and every now and then, a beautiful marble statue would appear out of the darkness. Finally, just as Hermione was giving up hope ever finding her way out, McGonnagal stopped.
"Now, the password is sophia, the Greek word for Wisdom, with which, I trust, you will serve as Head Boy and Head Girl. This is an immense privilege, one you have both worked very hard to achieve. Dumbledore, the staff and myself have great confidence that you both will rise to the occasion for which you were chosen."
Blaise and Hermione looked at each other, unsure of how to respond to this short speech. After a moment of slightly awkward silence, McGonnagal turned to a particularly beautiful black and silver tapestry and said, "Sophia." With that, the floor began to sink beneath them. Hermione watched, fascinated, as the steps rose up past their heads, and an opening appeared at their feet, slowly rising as they continued to descend. This sort of entrance seemed mildly familiar…she couldn't place it, but…ah, yes. She had gone with her father and Mr. Weasley last Christmas holiday to the Ministry of Magic for some sort of registration—it was the muggle entrance this reminded her of. What was it? A telephone booth, right—sank right into the ground. Suddenly the floor shuddered to a stop and they found themselves face to face with a large, blue door, some seven feet under the corridor floor. Obviously ancient, the door was covered with a number of elaborate carvings, all seeming to depict some sort of underwater scene. Before Hermione could make out what any of the inscriptions were, McGonnagal opened the door and led them inside.
"Bloody…" Blaise trailed off, speechless. Eyes wide, Hermione gazed around the large common room. Books in elaborate black shelves lined the walls, from floor to ceiling. On both sides was a tall staircase, which met in the middle as a sort of balcony, overlooking the rest of the room. Enormous windows covered the walls, opening the room to sparkling, dancing light like she'd never seen before. A large, ornately decorated, circular fireplace sat directly in the middle of the room, surrounded by large plushy couches. There was a wide assortment of potted plants and growing things, making the room seem wild and lush. The mahogany writing desk in the corner even seemed to have ivy growing up its sides…but the thing Hermione couldn't understand was the lighting. The entire room was flooded with a pale blue-green glow, and light rays danced on the walls. Looking out the windows again—surely they were enchanted—Hermione's jaw dropped. A large, crimson spotted fish just swam by. Scrunching her eyes shut and opening them again, she heard McGonnagal say, "This is your shared common room. Head chambers are located at the bottom of the south tower and are, therefore, under the surface of the lake. The door at the top of the stairs to the left is yours, Mr. Zabini. Miss Granger, your room is at the top of the stairs to the right. Your bathroom is in the back left corner, over there," she motioned toward another blue door behind the stairs. "As for everything else, well, you'll figure it out. Goodnight." With a swish of her robes, she turned around and left, closing the door behind her.
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"Do you think Hermione will be alright? She's always lived in the Gryffindor dormitory, with all of her friends, and now she's suddenly off somewhere else in the castle, by herself…Worse, with that Slytherin, Blaise…" Ginny trailed off, a dark look in her eyes.
"Yeah, well," Harry said, dealing out Exploding Snap cards, "I think she'll enjoy being away from all the noise and mess—she'll be able to get her homework done in peace, finally."
"But…but how are we going to do our homework now, without her help?" Ron asked.
"You mean, how are you going to do it without her to copy from?" Ginny corrected, eyebrow raised.
"Hey guys—what are you doing? Can I play too?" Colin sat down, squeezing in between Harry and Ginny and grabbing a handful of cards which promptly blew up in his face.
"Colin—" Ron laughed, licking his fingertips and putting out the flame on the boy's eyebrows, "If you keep that up, you can play anytime."
Soon enough, Dennis and Pete (the youngest of the Creevey three) appeared to join the game as well. After five minutes of their incessant chattering about Harry's brilliance in the final battle between Slytherin and Gryffindor on the Quidditch pitch last term, Harry stood. "Well, I'm just about tired out—you all are too good for me to keep up. I'm going to go talk to the Fat Lady for a second, and then I'm going to bed. Goodnight, all." With a meaningful look at Ginny, he stood and stepped outside the portrait hole. Though he hadn't really intended to speak to the Fat Lady at all, he was surprised to see that she was not in her painting. Before he could really look around to find her, though, the portrait swung open again, and Ginny stepped out.
"Sorry—I just couldn't take much more of 'And then Harry this,' and 'No, no, this is better—THEN Harry that…'" He smiled at her, ruffling her hair. "Though I did rather enjoy the retelling of Draco's magnificent fall from his broom." At that, she laughed and looked up into his dark green eyes.
"How are you?" she asked.
"Fine, I'm fine. How are you?" he answered, pulling her into a tight hug. "Have I mentioned today how beautiful you are?"
"No…" she smiled, breathing in his warm, woodsy smell.
He tilted her chin up towards him and looked down into her face, completely serious. "Well, in that case…" he frowned.
"What?"
"You look gorgeous. Too gorgeous. I don't know if it should be allowed. Yeah, so I battled Voldemort, but it appears I'll have to fight much harder to keep the guys off your back this year."
"Isn't that Ron's job? Besides, it's not them being on my back that should worry you."
He laughed and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Come on—let's go to the kitchens or something."
"Shouldn't we take your invisibility cloak?"
"Nah—Filch is probably still on that doctor-ordered vacation he went on," he laughed, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs. The castle seemed cooler than usual, Harry noted, their footsteps echoing down the empty halls. Still, it felt good to be home—especially without all the murder plots and evil villains breathing down his neck. That dream, though… that dream was… He looked up to find himself in a dark, empty classroom, Ginny smiling wickedly.
"What are we doing in here?" he asked, though the look in her eyes clearly answered him.
"Oh…I dunno…I think we got a little lost on our way to the kitchens," she replied innocently, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"That's…that's too bad…" he leaned down and kissed her softly. He pulled her closer, feeling her heart beat against his chest. She opened her mouth slightly, begging entrance. He complied and, running his fingers through her hair, tasted her luscious lips and sweet mouth. Ginny smiled to herself—he was so strong, but yet so soft and gentle…she had just hoisted herself onto a desk when, suddenly, the lights turned on. Blinking and quickly pulling apart, they turned to see Professor Snape standing in the doorway, a particularly disgusted look on his face.
"Potter—Weasley," he spat.
"Pr…professor…" Ginny stammered, going completely red.
"No. I don't want to hear it. Twenty-five points from each of you for disgusting me with your display, and two nights of detention for irresponsibly wandering the castle in the middle of the night. And that's only because I'm in a good mood!" he glared at them and turned back into the hall, disappearing into the darkness.
"That was him in a good mood?" Harry asked, incredulously.
"Sure, didn't you see that great big smile?"
The two kissed one last time and, snickering, headed back to their chambers.
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There you have it. I hope you're happy! Hehehe. Anyway… sorry to keep you waiting so long for this one! PLEASE review if you want me to keep at it!