Hermione's Opportunity

It was not easy for Hermione having Malfoy as Head Boy. Although she remained in the Gryffindor common room and Malfoy remained in Slytherin, Hermione still saw much more of him than she'd have fancied to. There was more to being Head Girl then she would have thought; constant meetings with the staff, surveying student meals, inspecting the corridors after hours, and all the while doing all of this in Malfoy's company. Had it been Harry or Ron, Hermione would have had nothing to complain about. However, it was not Harry or Ron; it was Malfoy who had somehow been chosen. So, Hermione's Head Girl duties did not result in the fun that Hermione had expected it to be.

Somehow, though, Malfoy did not seem like the same, ignorant boy who Hermione had grown to know and loathe. He was slightly more subdued, as though he had encountered some tragedy during the previous year and had still not come out of the shock. This did not surprise Hermione, though. After all, Malfoy's father had been chucked into Azkaban, the wizarding prison, for the second time over a period of two years. The first time was after Lord Voldemort's resurfacing; once the Ministry of Magic had realized that Voldemort had indeed returned from the dead, they had thrown every known Death Eater into Azkaban that they could, including Malfoy's father, Lucius. Once Voldemort had reached his full power, however, he had called among the Dementors, thereby releasing all of his loyal Death Eaters from prison. They had pranced around for a year, sometimes killing innocent people, sometimes keeping to themselves so that they could concoct plans to take over the wizarding world, but never coming face-to-face with Harry Potter again. At least, not until the end of his sixth year, when Voldemort had cornered Harry during his final visit to Hogsmeade; however, even with all the extra security measures, Lord Voldemort had managed to get Harry in the palm of his gaunt, skeletal hands. Needless to say, Harry had fulfilled his prophecy and single-handedly diminished what was once Lord Voldemort, much to the excitement of the entire wizarding world. Death Eaters were once again chucked back into Azkaban, including Lucius Malfoy, and wizards and witches around the globe were finally able to sleep soundly at night. Except, of course, those of the families of the Death Eaters who had been imprisoned. It was a life sentence, meaning that Lucius would rot in his cold, dark cell in Azkaban until the Dementors, who had returned to the good side, had taken effect on him. Yes, this would certainly explain Malfoy's new, passive attitude; it was only a matter of time before the taunts and leers of his fellow schoolmates would begin to take a toll on him.

Hermione, however, did not seem to care about Malfoy's current state of affairs; her lessons were going quite smoothly so there was no reason to fret. She had passed each and every one of her exams with a grade of Outstanding, with the exception of Defense Against the Dark Arts (where she had only received Exceeds Expectations, much to her dismay). This opened the door to a wide array of possibilities regarding her courses for her seventh year. Over the summer, she had finally decided to pursue a career as an Auror alongside Harry and Ron, which meant that a few of the compulsory courses were Charms, Potions, and of course Defense Against the Dark Arts. So far, lessons had been an excitable challenge; however, it had only been a week since the start of term. Surely classes would grow to be more difficult considering this was their N.E.W.T year. This caused Hermione to become very stressed and tense when the topic of conversation switched over to academics. She would start ranting about work that she either had to do for a class that would be taking place in a couple of days, otherwise she would be frantic about an essay that she did not think would be sufficient for the course ('I know Professor Snape asked for ten inches, but I've already done fifteen! Do you think he'll accept it?').

However, all-in-all, Hermione's seventh year was shaping up to be somewhat enjoyable, with the exception of Malfoy as Head Boy. Really, Hermione hadn't had to deal with Malfoy as much as she might have had to, and due to his new change in attitude, being in his company was not as unlikable as she would have expected. She reckoned she could handle Malfoy for the remainder of the year, so long as she did not have to spend anymore time with him than she was already spending. This, of course, seemed to be too much to ask, for McGonagall had called a meeting with the Head Boy and Girl two weeks into the beginning of term.

"You called, Professor?" Hermione asked as she entered Professor McGonagall's office at seven o' clock sharp, as requested. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

"Yes, hello Miss Granger." McGonagall greeted. She extended her arm towards a chair seated across from her desk. "Please, take a seat. We're still waiting on Mr Malfoy."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she seated herself in the rather comfortable armchair. Of course they were waiting on Malfoy. He always wanted to cause trouble, always wanted to make a grand –

"Well hello Mr Malfoy." McGonagall welcomed as Malfoy strutted into the office, looking as though he did not have a care in the world.

"Hello, Professor." Malfoy replied with a tinge of sarcasm on the last word. He plopped himself in the seat next to Hermione, much to his obvious hostility and objection.

As McGonagall swiftly glided past them to take a seat behind her desk, Malfoy mouthed "Mudblood" to Hermione.

Hermione dropped her mouth in anger and her eyes turned to slits as she glared at Malfoy; however, before she could retaliate, McGonagall was comfortably seated and prepared to discuss what she had brought the Head Boy and Girl to her office for. Malfoy smirked, pleased that he had gotten the last "say" in their little battle.

"I suppose you are both curious as to why I have requested your presence." McGonagall began, eyeing both of them to catch their reactions. "Professor Gellar, your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, is only temporary. He has indeed only agreed to teach for one year, due to a job opening in the Ministry next year. This once again leaves Hogwarts without a professor, something of which we are growing quite accustomed to."

"What does this have to do with us?" Malfoy asked, looking quite bored as he examined his fingernails.

"I am getting there, Mr Malfoy." McGonagall retorted, impatiently. "Professor Dumbledore has an excellent candidate in mind for the position; however, this man is rather – er, hesitant – to teach at Hogwarts. He seems to be under the impression that something terrible will happen to him under the possible chance that he accepts the position. Professor Dumbledore has repeatedly reassured him that he will have the best protection at Hogwarts, but he is very adamant about refusing to accept Dumbledore's request due to his own personal safety."

"But what does this–" Malfoy began.

"Professor, who is this man?" Hermione inquired, interrupting Malfoy's recurring question.

"His name is Morris Everett." McGonagall answered. "You may have heard of him during–"

"During History of Magic!" Hermione exclaimed, excitedly. "He invented the Ronvunctus Curse over fifty years ago!"

McGonagall smiled. "Yes, he is getting on in years. But, thankfully, he is not so aged that he would be incapable of teaching; in fact, he could probably hold the position for a few years before deciding to retire."

"What is it that you would like us to do, Professor?" Hermione asked, anxiously. She was now sitting straighter in her chair and her eyes burned into McGonagall's. Obviously she was excited to be getting a real task, one that could possible prove her to be the best choice for Head Girl.

"I would like you and Mr Malfoy to travel to Serenity, the small town in which Everett lives, this upcoming weekend. Professor Dumbledore and I think that perhaps if Hogwarts Head Boy and Head Girl pay a visit to Everett with gifts and tales of Hogwarts splendor, then maybe, just maybe, Everett will consider the position. We want you to – er, butter him up – as some may say. Let him know what a magnificent opportunity he is passing up. Get him to realize that there is no better place to be then right here at Hogwarts."

"So you want us to go to some loony old man's town for an entire weekend to try and get him to do something that he obviously doesn't want to do?" Malfoy said, his face contorted into an expression that clearly said he'd much rather spend his time with his goofy cronies instead of going away for an entire weekend with a mudblood.

Hermione cast Malfoy a menacing glare. To cover up the awkwardness of his rude, insolent attitude, she asked, "Where is Serenity?"

"Well, it's a very small town." McGonagall replied, intentionally ignoring Malfoy's question. "Just off the coast of the North Sea."

Hermione gasped. "The North Sea … isn't that where Azkaban is?"

"It is indeed, Miss Granger." McGonagall said, smiling dismally.

"And Serenity … Serenity is really the only town in any close range of Azkaban. I've heard about it before! It's mostly made up of witches and wizards, but the population is so low because many fear the Dementors and criminals in Azkaban!" Hermione cried, thrilled at her sudden stroke of genius.

Malfoy, who had been looking in any direction other than McGonagall as though stating his defiance, now looked directly at her, listening intently to her every word.

"Quite right you are." McGonagall agreed. "However, you and Mr Malfoy would be in no danger whatsoever. Although Serenity is indeed the closest town to Azkaban, it is still quite a distance, thus putting neither of you in any harm. I assure you that while visiting the town, you will be safe."

"And you wish us to go this upcoming weekend?" Malfoy asked, looking genuinely interested.

McGonagall nodded. "You will introduce yourselves to Everett on Saturday, bearing a gift provided by Dumbledore. This visit will be quick and to the point; afterwards, you will head back to the hotel that you will be staying at overnight. The next day, you will pay one last visit to Everett, telling him about the brilliance of Hogwarts. Then you shall return to Hogsmeade by means of Apparition. I trust that you both passed your Apparition tests?"

"Yes, Professor." Hermione and Malfoy replied in unison. Hermione glared at him for daring to mimic her, even if it was by fault; then she suddenly realized how odd Malfoy's evident change in attitude was. He seemed on the alert, prepared to do whatever McGonagall asked him to do. Very odd, indeed.

"Excellent. You will return here at eleven o' clock on Saturday morning to retrieve the gift that Dumbledore will have prepared for Everett. Understood?" McGonagall concluded, staring at both Hermione and Malfoy.

They nodded to show that they understood the task that they were being set.

McGonagall smiled. "Dismissed. Good night, Miss Granger. Mr Malfoy."

Hermione grinned, exceedingly ecstatic at the opportunity that was being presented to her. This was her chance. Her chance to prove to the rest of the school that she had not only received the Head Girl badge because of her incredible knowledge of magic and all of its components. This was her chance to prove herself. Just the thought alone of such an important duty that the Headmaster himself had assigned her sent goose bumps down her spine.

Hermione and Malfoy both exited McGonagall's office together, but Malfoy made to take off down the opposite corridor towards the Slytherin common room without even a single word to Hermione.

"What's with the sudden change?" Hermione asked as Malfoy was already halfway down the corridor.

He turned on the spot, staring right into Hermione's eyes. Hermione was taken aback; he looked as though he were about to curse her. Then, without warning, he sneered at her. "I don't need a mudblood questioning anything that I say or do."

"Don't start, Malfoy." Hermione said in an authorized tone. "I won't tolerate being called that from you. Not anymore."

Malfoy sneered once more. "Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots." He replied sarcastically.

"Well? Are you going to answer me?" Hermione asked, placing both hands on her hips. "What was with the sudden change?"

Instead of retorting with a sardonic remark, Malfoy said, "What sudden change?"

"You were being a spoiled, insubordinate little prat throughout the entire meeting!" Hermione cried, as though this were obvious. "And then you suddenly get involved in what's going on. Interested in what the task was. Why?"

Malfoy glared at her, his face once more returning to the mutinous stare that it had been when Hermione first asked him the question. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, coldly. "Stop sticking your crooked noise into places that it shouldn't be, mudblood, or you will regret it."

Hermione returned his glare as her hand swiftly brushed against the wand that was securely in her robes. "Are you threatening me, Malfoy?"

Malfoy smirked. "Something as repulsive as you? I wouldn't waste my time."

And with that, Malfoy turned once more and swaggered down the corridor until he turned the corner out of sight, leaving Hermione to fume outside of McGonagall's office until Peeves came along and chased her in the opposite direction.