A/N: A new chapter, one that I am quite happy with, too. I must apologize for the long wait, however. I had fully planned to present you with the interview hinted at in prior chapters but found it quite challenging. Up to a certain point I liked it very much but from then on it got only worse. So after spending some time trying to work with that very uncooperative interview I focused on writing this chapter instead, which isn't as long as I would have liked it to be but that's only because I decided to leave out more 'pointless ramblings'.

Now read and enjoy and if you have any constructive criticism, please do share.

Insanely yours,

Pace

Publishing Date: May 5th, 2005

Chapter revised: 2005-12-01

Inspiration: 'Back to school' from Grease 2 OST

Matchmaker

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.
Find me a find; Catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, look through your book
and make me the perfect match.

- From "Fiddler on the Roof" (musical)

Chapter 4 – Back to school

The slate coloured eyes of Draco Malfoy never left the parchment in his hands as the compartment door slid open; neither did he acknowledge in any way the soft greeting of Pansy Parkinson as she settled into a seat across from him, her hands folded neatly in her lap. They sat in comfortable silence until a lurch and a long-drawn, hissing groan went through the train, letting the passengers know that the Hogwarts Express was now moving and on its way to its destination: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Draco carefully folded his parchment and pocketed it, then finally lifted his head to acknowledge his fellow prefect.

"Hello Pansy," he said quietly. "How was your summer?"

"The same as always; mother dragged me from one soirée to another while father was making sure I didn't get too friendly with any young wizards below his social aims. Spent some quality time with my fiancé and got to know my future in-laws," the black-haired girl replied. Pansy, he recalled, had been betrothed to an American wizard for several years now. He shot her a questioning look.

"They're tolerable," she stated. "He's tolerable, too. No Prince Charming but I'll live."

Draco nodded his head. It wasn't as if Pansy had any other choice at present, really.

"You'll grow on each other," he simply said and Pansy smiled weakly at him.

"And how was your summer? You never answered my letters," she said casually.

"I've been busy. Running the family takes up some time. Ministry kept us on our toes, too. I actually had to consult father's lawyers," he said, sounding annoyed. Pansy nodded her head; she was well aware of the fact that Draco Malfoy hated to admit he couldn't do something on his own, let alone ask someone (anyone, actually) for help.

"All in all I'm glad to be returning to Hogwarts, if you can believe that," he said with a smirk.

"Really? So… did you enjoy being in the spotlight," Pansy teased, holding up her issue of Teen Magic. Draco groaned. "I've read it. Cover to cover," she said with a slight smile.

"And?" her blond companion asked in a resigned tone of voice.

"And I think it was a brilliant move," she replied.

Draco was loath to admit it, but his friends' reactions to the interview had been worrying him to a certain degree. For some obscure reason he had hoped they wouldn't find out – although he was fully aware of the fact that this was just as likely as Potter handing him over his Firebolt with a velvet ribbon tied to the handle. Draco Malfoy giving an interview and saying the things he said, sounding tame and like a generally nice person? He'd be the laughing stock of Slytherin in no time!

He had a reputation, a certain image to maintain. No, he couldn't afford to lose face like that, but letting such a chance pass was equally impossible. Deciding not to dwell he changed the topic.

"Do you know who the new heads are?" he asked.

"The Ravenclaw Seeker actually made Head Girl – I really don't see how she made it. I don't recall her having been a prefect," Pansy said.

"No one would recall you being a prefect, either. You rarely show up at the meetings and you've patrolled only once and that was the day Dumbledore got sacked," Draco replied. Pansy smiled sweetly at him.

"Head Boy?" he added as an afterthought.

"You won't like that one. Will Spencer."

"The Hufflepuff?"

"Am afraid so," Pansy said.

"So not only has that old fool ruined our badges, he also has to appoint two absolutely unworthy midgets to fill the most important position a student can hold. And the ministry is counting on him to keep the Dark Lord at bay? That war's as good as over and won," Draco said, chuckling. The compartment fell into silence again as he reached over and took the magazine from Pansy to read his interview.

ooo

September 1st was like the soft, worn blanket a young Hermione had hidden under when thunderstorms had tormented her at nights (a habit that she still hadn't been able to let go off, much to her embarrassment – the blanket was tucked away at the bottom of her trunk, hidden from prying eyes) – it made her feel warm and completely safe. Even now, with the knowledge of a war approaching, sitting in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express while watching Harry and Ron play Exploding Snap, she felt safe and protected. A part of her marvelled at how safe she felt – the rest was very busy ignoring that part because it could mean to let go of her precious sense of safety to worry about all those things that might catch up on her too soon for her liking.

Safety, she recalled, had been one of the reasons her parents had been reluctant to let her go. If he could have, her father would have locked her up in the basement, as well, Hermione was positive of that. It had taken a lot of talking and arguing on Dumbledore's part to make her parents see that they could not keep her away from Hogwarts and the Magical Community so easily. On the subject of the order Hermione's father had been as understanding of her wishes as Filch was on the subject of dung bombs and portable swamps. She had reminded him that his own father had left his family to fight in World War II so his children could grow up in a better world (sans 'brown scum'), but Andrew Granger had countered that he wasn't his father and neither was she. In the end, she hadn't had many options left and so Hermione resorted to the one thing that would allow her to do what she believed was right: she lied.

She had never been much of a liar (her mother had always claimed that Hermione was as 'see-through as glass'), but given the right amount of pressure, Hermione would be even able to convince the Death Eaters that not the muggleborns were 'the enemy' but in fact the old pureblood families. She promised not to seek for trouble (she never had, she'd always been dragged along), she swore not to leave the school, not to get involved with the Order of the Phoenix, to stay away from anything and anyone connected to that war – with her fingers painfully crossed under the table, her heart thumping wildly in her chest so loud that she was sure they could hear it, shaking on the inside so much that her voice came out shaky and hoarse, feeling so dirty and bad that tears sprung to her eyes; tears of disgust that her parents mistook for anger.

And even after all of those oaths, promises and reassurances her parents hadn't wanted to let her go – as if they knew she was lying. They did let her go, but they made it clear that they didn't want to.

Dumbledore had escorted her to the new headquarters personally, an old Victorian mansion called 'The Cavendish Mansion' which, for some reason, made her think of candy, where she had met with the rest of the order. She had felt slightly queasy about it because she was breaking her word, intentionally even, but seeing Harry, Ron and Ginny again and how ecstatic they were when they greeted her, she managed to push those guilty feelings far, far away. Not to mention that she had her OWL results handed over to her by her Head of House in person – she hadn't dared to count exactly how many 'O's she had scored, and frankly, hadn't had a chance to because Harry and Ron had taken it on themselves to find a subject where she hadn't achieved a perfect mark, informing her after several hours that there simply was none.

Hermione's gaze drifted towards the window and the landscape speeding by in blurs of green. It was noon already but they wouldn't be arriving at Hogsmeade Main Station until the early evening. The food trolley had yet to come by their compartment and she started to feel slightly bored. She was about to pick up the first book she had ever read about the magical world (coincidentally also the book apparently no one else had ever bothered reading) when the compartment door slid open and Cho Chang stood in the doorway, her head girl badge catching the light quite nicely.

She didn't bother to greet anyone in the room and her voice was tense when she asked Hermione and Ron to patrol the train once from one end to another, starting in the back and then report to the head compartment. She added a sharp 'right now' when she caught the distasteful look Ginny gave her and slammed the door shut again, not waiting for an answer.

ooo

Patrolling the train turned out to be quite the task. They had been sitting in a compartment close to the back of the train, where it was relatively quiet (mostly because most of the compartments near by where empty) and so they hadn't bothered to check every compartment and instead started out towards the front immediately. On their way they broke up 3 food fights, a game of 'spin the vial' (obviously no bottle had been available), 2 ordinary fist fights - once the bully was a small, slender girl (a fifth year Slytherin that had to be related to Blaise Zabini if her looks were anything to go by) that looked like a china doll and seemed entirely too frail and delicate to have caused the black eye and broken nose that Morag MacDougal would be sporting for the remainder of the trip, despite of 13 witnesses giving testimony to just that – and a heated snogging session between a Hufflepuff and his Ravenclaw sweetheart (Ron advised them to try the empty compartments in the back of the train when Hermione wasn't paying attention).

Almost halfway through the train the food trolley passed them and Hermione had to literally drag Ron along, who stood rooted in place, looking at the bright candy wrappings with a look of (almost) heartbreaking longing.

"Food," the redhead moaned.

"Oh really, Ron! Waiting for the feast won't kill you!" Hermione said exasperatedly after telling him for the third time that he could buy something after they were done patrolling.

"How do you know? Maybe I'll drop dead this instance because you won't let me grab a cauldron cake and some liquorice wands. I'm starving! Please, Hermione, just a little snack," he pleaded, underlining his whining by dropping to his knees dramatically and reaching out to the slowly disappearing food trolley with one hand as if her were truly dying.

"Don't be silly. You can go up to 10 days and more without food and not starve. You've been without only for a couple of hours," the brunette answered. Then Ron gave her that look and she rolled her eyes, muttering for him to get lost already and she'd be waiting here for his return and he'd better remember to get her a cauldron cake, too, or she'd make sure he'd regret it. A couple of younger students giggled as Ron, no longer struggling with the metaphorical last breath jumped to his feet and raced after the trolley, yelling "Oh, admirable, wonderful Food-Trolley lady! Wait up!"

"Well, look at that. Seems we're not the only one's who aren't in the Head Girl's good graces. Don't worry about having been assigned the tedious task of babysitting the rest of the train, Granger, you're in good company. Although I can't really say the same about myself," a familiar voice drawled from behind her. Hermione spun around, coming face to face with Draco Malfoy and two other Slytherin prefects. Fifth years, she supposed.

"Where are your precious friends, mudblood? Did they finally decide that you're too filthy to keep them company?" he asked in that all-too-casual sneer. Hermione grit her teeth.

"None of your business, Malfoy. I see you no longer baby-sit Crabbe and Goyle exclusively," she said, then eyed the other two Slytherins warily.

"I'd be careful if I were you, mudblood. There's no Potty here to protect you and no Weasel King, either." Draco said casually, his hand drifting slowly towards his wand.

"Are you threatening my friend?" someone asked in a dangerously low voice from behind the Slytherins. Hermione craned her neck and Draco turned his head ever so slightly. She could have sworn that for a moment, the blond Slytherin had looked both, disgusted and worried.

"Not at all, Jordan, just stating the obvious. The train ride's long and," he paused, smirking evilly, "Granger here might not be … ah… entirely safe out all alone. A lot can happen to a girl if she's not careful, if you know what I mean. Dangerous times and all."

"Why thank you for your concern, Malfoy, I wasn't aware you cared," Hermione spat.

"I don't," Draco replied coldly. He shot his fellow Slytherins a look. "Come on, we've got work to do. Mudblood. Jordan," he said, nodding to each of them and then continued down the train. Hermione had the horrible feeling that he wasn't talking about patrol duties.

Lee Jordan frowned. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right, though. You're not supposed to patrol on your own, though. Where's your partner, Hermione?" he asked.

"Went to catch up with the food trolley to get us a snack," she replied dutifully. "You know Ron." Lee smirked and pushed a few dreadlocks out of his face.

"Want to join us while you wait for him?" he asked, gesturing at the compartment. "We've got pumpkin pasties."

ooo

The train pulled into Hogsmeade Main Station several hours after sunset. The early night sky – usually displaying a glorious red-golden-orange colour scheme at this time of year and day - had turned pitch black. Dark clouds were rolling towards Hogwarts, swallowing the twinkling stars and pale moonlight fighting its way through the last remaining rays of sunlight - there would be a thunderstorm tonight. Hermione wondered briefly whether it was still safe for the first years to approach the castle over the lake, as was customary, but her musings were cut short as she ran straight into the back of Neville Longbottom.

"Ouch... Neville, don't just stand rooted in place. You're keeping up the traffic you know," she muttered slightly irritated, but Neville didn't seem to hear her. In fact, it seemed as if he didn't even notice her presence. His eyes were opened wide and his jaw was hanging slack in shock. Under different circumstances, his expression might have been considered somewhat comical.

Realization dawned on Hermione as she noticed Harry stalking towards them stiffly, passing a carriage. Of course. Thestrals. Neville had seen Sirius Black die, too.

"Neville," she said more softly, tugging on the boy's sleeve, but Neville wouldn't budge. Harry came to a halt next to them.

"They're hideous, aren't they?" he asked Neville in as casual a tone as he could muster. Neville made a choking sound.

"I know; I'd rather not be able to see them, either. I think the only one who remotely enjoys seeing them is Luna, but she's had plenty of time getting used to them. She's been able to see them since her first year," Harry added. No response from Neville. Hermione watched both boys carefully, too anxious and worried to just turn away, although something in Neville's eyes seemed to beg her to do so.

"Ron's saving us a carriage. Wanna ride with us?" the boy who lived finally asked. Neville's shaking faded into slight tremors and Harry took that as a yes. "Well come on then," he said and grabbed Neville's wrist to drag him off. "You coming, 'Mione?"

ooo

"So how do you know her?" Lilaea asked casually as Severus Snape dressed for the welcoming feast. It was approximately the 10th time that she had asked him that very same question in the hopes of catching him unaware enough to actually receive an answer. However, just as the previous 9 times, the nymph's effort wasn't crowned by success this time, either.

Severus knew of Lilaea's notorious curiosity, of course. It was, after all, in her very nature, as she had pointed out on several occasions (never mind that curiosity killed the cat, what it did to the nymph was even worse). Years of a spy had left their mark on him, however, who had never been a very communicative person to begin with. Therefore, Lilaea's questions didn't meet deaf, but definitely tight-lipped ears.

Of course, had the nymph really wanted to find out more about Professor Bontemps, she very well could have: there were other means at her disposal that would help her obtain the desired information. All she had to do was ask one of the many portraits or tapestries lining the walls of Hogwarts and do a little spying. Such measures, however, were below the nymph (sometimes Severus wished the same would apply to the headmaster) and she had made it clear at one point that she preferred to receive such information from him.

Severus, on the other hand, had no plans of ever discussing Genevieve Bontemps with anyone, least of all a portrait Albus Dumbledore had assigned him. If he did, he would have to confess that besides having been taken with surprise the day Vivi (he wasn't sure whether he was still allowed to call her that) had joined the staff for dinner the first time, he would also have to admit that he was quite happy with her taking over the position he had always wanted for himself. It was a bittersweet, pleasantly unpleasant surprise, something he didn't want to have to explain to anyone but himself.

Bittersweet, because he hadn't seen Genevieve Bontemps ever since matriculating from Snowdon Elite Academy of Magic and Sorcery (a welsh university carved directly into the mountain that also lent it its name, often abbreviated SEAMS) and gaining his title as Potions Master under the tutelage of Professor Magnus Skewered, who was her uncle and godfather. Although Snape hadn't been exactly happy during that time he still held many fond memories of evenings spent scrubbing cauldrons and discussing Theory of Dark Magic with her under her uncle's close watch.

A pleasant surprise because the brunette, who had been his minor by 2 years when still attending Hogwarts, was a Slytherin like himself and it was about time that some more 'green' was added to the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff dominated staff. Pleasant also because Vivi was actually quite competent in her chosen field of expertise and could hold decent conversation for hours to no end without using the same argument twice or having to resort to off-topic means (such as shameless display of her female charms as seen on the one or other female student trying to worm their way out of detention) to get her point across.

And unpleasant because she happened to know him as the eager, studious Potions apprentice, nicknamed 'Snap' by aforementioned Potions Master and uncle, who had been best friends with his cauldrons and books in the first place and only in the second place with a few chosen students of SEAMS.

Unpleasant, too, because then he would have to convey his suspicions regarding a certain book and its main character as well.

No, Severus Snape definitely wasn't ready to discuss one Vivi Bontemps with anyone but the tiny voice in his head. His gaze met the clock, one hand pointing at '1 hour left until beginning of feast', while the other clearly stated 'avoids talking about uncomfortable topic', much to his dismay.

ooo

Draco had watched Neville Longbottom's peculiar behavior with interest. He was well aware that Neville had been one of those fighting against his father and the Dark Lord at the Department of Mysteries shortly before the last term ended, but he didn't know what events exactly had taken place there. No one, neither his father nor Snape, had told him the whole story (although they most certainly knew) and the snippets of information the Daily Prophet had published were petty at best. He knew for sure, that his mother's cousin, Sirius Black, was dead and that his aunt, Bellatrix, was the one that received both, praise from the Dark Lord and blame from Potter, for this, but that was the only thing he was certain of.

And that although Draco hungered for details, for more information, like a man short of starving! It was unfair, at the very least, and decidedly frustrating. Here he was, in a position not only to gather information but to also apply some to a good cause (tormenting his favourite Gryffindors and putting Potter's petty army in their place did qualify as a good cause, didn't it?), willing, eager and able to do all that stood in his powers to do and he did - nothing; held back by his father's parting words and his mother initial warning to behave himself and to make sure not to get on the bad side of any of his teacher or the headmaster he did absolutely nothing. It was just as frustrating as the fact that the accursed ministry wouldn't back off.

It appeared that a few months ago, when Draco had been a member of the Inquisitional Squad supporting the Hogwarts High Inquisitor he had been good enough for the Minister to praise him to his father's face (he still wasn't sure what exactly Granger had done to Umbridge but fact was that she was currently in no state of mind that would permit her to stay anywhere else but the closed ward of St. Mungo's), but as of lately, Draco was treated as if he were a petty criminal. Granted, Draco hadn't sided with Umbridge for any misguided altruistic reasons on his part or for honest support of the ministry - the lure of power and the chance to watch that woman get rid of his least favourite teachers had been by far more persuasive reasons - but he sincerely doubted that Cornelius Fudge was aware of that. In fact, he doubted that the minister had the mental capacities to even contemplate the possibility (his mother had been as good as a squib, that said it all).

For a fleeting moment Draco regretted that the Dark Lord had chosen to appear at the Department of Mysteries; after parting ways with Dumbledore Fudge had been more than open to most of Lucius' suggestions and often he had owled Lucius for advice on important decisions just as he had done before with Dumbledore. They might have just as well declared Lucius Malfoy the new Minister of Magic.

Still it was a mind-boggling concept that Fudge should have somehow gained the ability to be wary of a 16, almost 17, years old boy who still attended school and who had a charming smile such as Draco. He knew for a fact that the ministry didn't keep such close taps on other Death Eater families - families like the Goyles or the Crabbes, who had 6, that is 9 sons each that could (and for a fact had) decide(d) to join the Dark Lord.

The Flint family consisted of 15 Death Eaters (not including Marcus, who was still stuck in 7th year) and after they had pledged their 'allegiance' to 'the right and honorable cause of defending our most valuable' (Draco found it quite amusing how the ministry played into their hands like that), they hadn't been bothered again.

He, on the other hand, had to allow the ministry to go over their accounts and answer questions about supposedly 'suspicious money transfers' about which he knew just as much as the Ministry official who had 'discovered' them. He was forced to stand back and watch the Aurors as they literally tore Malfoy Manor apart in search of illegal artefacts, dangerous potions and traces of Dark Magic. They questioned and insulted him, threatening him with a cell in Azkaban if he didn't pledge allegiance with the Ministry on behalf of his family right now.

Perhaps the ministry believed that putting enough pressure on the Malfoys would ensure that other Death Eaters wouldn't attempt to join with the Dark Lord, but that assumption was false. The pure-blooded families had nothing to lose and everything to gain, after all.

ooo

As usual Severus Snape found his attention wavering from the Sorting Ceremony. However, instead of mentally cursing about a new generation of little monsters, that would undoubtedly attempt to drive him insane sooner rather than later, he found his mind drifting off to the task at hand. Sitting tall and proud under Slytherin's green and silver banner, Draco seemed every inch of Slytherin royalty some people made him out to be. His face was calm and fairly neutral. But Severus, who knew the Malfoys like no other, could tell that Draco was tense and boiling with rage just under the surface. He made a mental note to keep him behind after next potions class to see what was wrong. He couldn't have outside forces interfering with what he was about to unleash onto the boy.

Alex Zabini caught Snape's eye just as he was about to examine the Gryffindor table. They said that children should be seen and not heard, but whoever 'they' were, 'they' surely didn't know little Miss Zabini or else they would agree that the girl's every movement should be accompanied by some sort of warning sound (such as the howl of a siren) as to alert her possible victims. He had received word that she handled a 6th year quite rough on the train and he really wasn't looking forward to meeting with the boy's Head of House to discuss punishment. He gave the girl the tiniest of nods then turned his gaze towards the Gryffindor table, decorated in scarlet and gold.

In the sea of pointed black hats he only barely found Hermione Granger's face, turned attentively towards the front to watch the sorting. He leaned a little closer – it was much harder to read her expressive face in the dim light of the Great Hall, especially at this distance. Severus wished, not for the first time, for a better lighting of the student's tables. He tried to read her stance but a sudden yap into his side forced his attention onto the woman sitting next to him.

"I said, do you even plan on somehow acknowledging the students sorted into your house," Vivi Bontemps hissed into his ear and Severus offered her a glare in return.

ooo

A/N 2: There really isn't much more to say about this chapter with the exception that I didn't jump right into the new term as I had originally intended to. The reason for that is simple: I got bitten by the muse. Baaad bites, really. I found myself forced to scribble all the stuff down that came into my head before I forgot it again. The result should be somewhat entertaining (I think it's bloody hilarious but that might be because I'm weird anyways).

I've heard through the grapevine that authors are not supposed to interact with their readers through Author Notes, so I won't be commenting on your individual reviews until I find out whether this is true (hope not) or not (hope hope hope).

In general, though, I can say that most of you were right with the separator thingy. Yes, I admit my scene jumps are more than just a little confusing, but I did try to build in separators. The original document I uploaded even has them in place (I used + five times) but for some reason they didn't show. I've tried a new variation this time and if those don't show, either, I will have to come up with something else.

I was very happy about all of your reviews and I literally itch to respond to them. All in all I can only say that your criticism and praise had me working on this chapter really hard to make it worth your effort of sharing your opinion again. I hope I did succeed somewhat.

So thank you Sunny June 46 (an incredibly talented author who gave us 'The Masquerade' and if you haven't read it yet you'd better go and do it now before the authorities decide to tear it down, i. e. delete it), xOxO (no thanks I don't kiss there), Anwen, DracoDraconis, Crayola, solfire, FarDeep, Vor Tirla Laime, future movie maker, Tree of Life, Bethany and Silver Eyes Bright for your wonderful reviews and also thank you to my 23 Author-Alert-Angels jessebell, Lady Moofin, FlairVerona, Rose Mitzkah, Crayola, Mersang, sad-soulz, alia-harkonnen, foxeran, dimondcrystal124, BrennaM, aicila, darklighttogether, Beatlesluver91 (love the Fab Four, my current fav is 'Lovely Rita' – thought of making a songfic of it but the only Rita I can come up with is Rita Skeeter and I refuse to have someone serenade to her lol), NicoleFelton, sharp hint of new tears, Vor Tirla Laime, flamephoenix, DracoDraconis, Slyswn, solfire, future movie maker and CareBearErin!

Note: the following chapter is just a little treat…