A/N Well, here's another chapter for you all to enjoy. Oh, and to herovillain: I'm still not completely sure of how I'm going to bring them together lol. I definately don't want them to have crazy sex all of a sudden! (as you said, that's not Hermione's style).
"So we have to work in partners?" Hermione asked in disbelief as she, Harry, and Ron made their way back to the castle.
"Yup," said Ron. "I get to be with Goyle," he made a face, "and Harry here gets to work with Crabbe. You," he laughed, "are partners with Pansy."
"What!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, and apparently we have to do this partner thing for every class," said Harry.
"That's just not fair. We should at least get to choose our partners; I want someone with intellect," Hermione said as they arrived in the cold dungeons.
"Since when do any of the Slytherins have intellect?" Ron asked.
"Some have it more than others," she replied as the three of them entered the Potions classroom and sat down at the front three desks.
"Wh--" Ron started, but he was interrupted.
"Settle down, settle down," Professor Snape said drearily. "I must first tell you all that you will be working with partners that I had the delight," the word leaked with sarcasm, "of choosing. As incompetent as some of you may be, I'm sure you all understood Professor Dumbledore's speech about school unity. Therefore, there will be one Gryffindor and one Slytherin for each pair. You will be partners with for the entire year. No exceptions. The list of partners are on the board," he flicked his wand and a list of students' names and their partners appeared on the front board.
Hermione scanned the list until she found her name. She looked to see who her partner was. Great, she thought as she got up and went over to the Slytherin side to find Millicent Bulstrode. Well I guess she's better than Pansy. Hermione sat down beside her and looked around to see who Ron and Harry's partners were. Harry was paired up with a dark-haired boy Hermione thought was Blaise Zabini and Ron was paired up with --she almost laughed out loud-- Malfoy. She noticed Neville looked terrified to be partners with Goyle, Dean Thomas was partnered with Crabbe, and Seamus Finnigan was partners with a sandy blond haired boy she didn't know. Before she could see who else was partnered with whom, Snape began to speak again. Hermione automatically leaned forward.
"As I said, the person sitting next to you will be your partner for the rest of the year. Where you are seated now will be your permanent seat from now on. You will work together for most assignments and you will be marked accordingly. That is to say, if one of you fails to complete a task, the other shall suffer as well," Snape eyed the classroom.
"Today, you and your partner will produce Veritaserum. Veritaserum is a potion that will force the drinker to speak only the truth. However, Veritaserum has the best effect when it is administered without the drinker's knowledge as many witches and wizards are able develop immunity upon this awareness. There is more information on Veritaserum on page 176 of your textbook. Instructions are on the board," Snape waived his wand and the names disappeared only to be replaced by the directions.
Being partnered with Millicent wasn't as bad as Hermione had originally thought; she really didn't say much and she definitely did her share of work. By the end of class, they had produced a perfect vial of Veritaserum that Hermione handed in.
Hermione was exhausted by the end of the day. She was partnered twice again that day; she was to work with Arabella Sleet for Arithmancy and Daphne Flannery for Charms. She had quickly eaten her supper and returned to the dormitory she and Malfoy shared to complete her homework.
It was nearing midnight when Hermione was distracted by loud screaming. Grabbing her wand from her bedside, she jumped up from her bed to locate the source; it was coming from Malfoy's bedroom. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. "Are you okay?" No one answered, but the screaming continued.
"Oh, God!" she heard. Hermione tried the door, but it was locked. "Alohomora," she whispered, pointing her wand at the door. Hearing the door unlock with a click, Hermione reached for the handle and pushed the door open.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed after a few seconds, finally comprehending what she was seeing in front of her. There on the bed was a naked Malfoy thrusting. Below him was a screaming Pansy, her eyes closed and her face scrunched up. Neither of them seemed to realize Hermione was there, so she quickly turned around and left the room, locking the door behind her.
Hermione couldn't get Malfoy's image out of her head. How the hell could I have been so stupid? she thought, making her way back to her bedroom. Hearing the screams now, she wondered why she had first thought someone was being hurt. It was obvious that they were cries of pleasure.
She suddenly felt very tired. Hermione gathered her books, quills, and parchment together and carefully put them into her backpack. She set her backpack on the burgundy chair across from her bed and made her way to the drawer to get her pyjamas. She quickly changed into her night clothes, extinguished the candles that lit the room, and climbed in her bed, underneath the warm covers. Within a few minutes, Hermione had drifted to sleep, Malfoy's image never completely leaving her mind.