"Hermione Granger."

Chapter 4

Hermione looked up and stared blankly at Draco for a few seconds. Suddenly, she shook her head violently and shouted at him, "No! N-no! This is not funny, Malfoy. Just say her name out loud and leave, okay?" She gave a nervous laugh, waiting for him to give his signature smirk.

Draco's hand shook as he turned the parchment around and showed her name written on it in bright blue ink. Her eyes broadened in horror, and extreme anger. She looked at Kingsley and yelled at him, "Y-You're kidding me, right? This is not possible. M-Malfoy and I can never be together! Never!" Tears threatened to spill as she swiveled her head around to look at McGonnagal, who was trying to make sense of this herself.

Kingsley blinked his eyes a few times. "Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy, the Goblet never makes a mistake. According to it, you two are highly compatible, and will succeed in raising a child together," he said. Through it all, Draco stood rooted to his spot and stared at the piece of parchment, trying to make sense out of it all. He cleared his throat, and slowly trudged out of the Great Hall. Hermione looked at his back and silently followed him out, making sure to keep a distance of at least 5 feet between them.

As they reached the Entrance Hall, Draco looked around to see that everyone was trying their best to get along with their partners. Well, almost everyone. Some couples, like Dean and Hannah, and Ernie and Susan, were getting along quite well. Others, like Padma and Theodore, and Seamus and Daphne, were trying their best to start a conversation without jumping down each other's throat. Pansy was refusing to even look at Neville, and Blaise was staring at Luna in disbelief as she stood in a corner with a glazed look on her face. Lavender was trying desperately to snuggle into Ron's arms and get him to kiss her but to no avail. He looked at her in disgust as he tried to push her off. Harry and Ginny, as expected, were sitting on a ledge, their arms around each other.

When everyone noticed Draco and Hermione, the two most unlikely people to be paired, everyone went mum. They stared at them as if they were seeing them for the first time. McGonnagal gathered everyone's attention, trying to spare them of the stares.

"So, now that all of you have been successfully been paired, I will now lead you all to your new quarters. All couples will have separate dormitories, but you will all share the same common rooms. The dormitories will be comprised of a living room, one bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchenette, and an extra room that may be used if any of you decide to have a child before the end of the year." she said, looking directly at Harry and Ginny, making them blush a little.

"Follow me," she said as she began walking up the stairs. "Your living area is on the eighth floor." Ginny looked at her, confused, and said, "Um, there is no eighth floor." McGonagall smiled at her and sai, "There is now, Ms. Weasley. We have added a magical eighth floor in for you lot."

Ginny nodded her head and slowed down a little until she was right next to Hermione. "Why did you walk in with that slimy ferret?" she asked her in a whisper, taking her hand in a comforting gesture. "That stupid law paired me with him," Hermione replied, still trying to soak this major piece of information in. "Y-Are you serious? There has to be some kind of mistake! I mean, you and that bloody git? No way!" she said, her ager increasing. She called Harry and repeated what Hermione just told her. "No. There's no way I'm letting you marry that twitchy, biased ferret!" he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around his best friend. Hermione breathed into his shoulders as she noticed the ferret in mention staring at her from a great distance.

Draco quickly looked away when he saw that he had been caught staring at Hermione. He turned to look at Blaise as he muttered stuff like "Bloody mental..." and "Staring at absolutely nothing". He shook his head in pity at his best friend and tried to figure out a way out of this Marriage Law.

"Now, this is where you will be living this year. Inside, you will find your names written on the door of your respective dormitories," she said as she stopped in front of a portrait of two very familiar people. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron stopped dead as they saw Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks beaming brightly at them from their portraits. "L-Lupin? Tonks?" Hermione breathed as tears immediately started pouring out her eyes. "Wotcher, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny!" said Tonks softly as she winked at them. Harry reached out to touch his father's best friend's portrait and smiled slightly.

"Now, now, Hermione, don't cry. There's no use crying over split milk," Lupin said and winked at them. McGonagall asked them to step in and go to bed as soon as possible. Hermione looked at them one more time before she went inside. As Draco walked in, he stole a glance at Tonks. She was his cousin, and he never got to meet her.

He found Hermione standing dumbfounded outside a door, and was about to ask her if she was okay when he saw what she was staring at. His jaw dropped to the floor as he read a plaque saying "The Malfoys" on the door to their dorm. He quickly removed it and held the door open for Hermione to enter.

As soon as she entered, Hermione started pacing around the room, muttering under her breath. "There has to be some way out. They can't do this! They just can't! They are taking away our rights." she said, her voice steadily growing louder. Draco, getting annoyed, slumped onto the not-to-subtle green and red couch and began scratching his neck. "They honestly couldn't find anyone else? Anyone but him!" Hermione shouted, which caused him to completely lose his temper.

"Honestly, Granger! Is it that bad that you got paired with me?" he asked, exasperated. Hermione looked at him and burst into tears. "Yes! Yes, Malfoy, it is that bad!" she said, trying to wipe off her tears, but they just kept flowing. "You have hated me ever since my first day at school! You teased me and bullied me for 7 years. You- you insulted me, my parents, my lineage, my blood; you hated everything about me. You called me 'Mudblood' every time you spoke to me, Malfoy. And, now I'm supposed to marry you? We will never be able to love each other. We will never get along." Hermione yelled at him furiously, and walked into the bathroom, leaving him alone to sulk at the words that toppled out of her mouth.

Draco sat in silence as he remembered every time he had insulted her and had made her was thinking about the day she had punched him in the face and broke his nose when he heard her scream. He jumped up and ran to the bedroom with his wand out, ready to fire curses. He halted and looked around, only to find Hermione standing alone, perfectly fine and in one piece, but with a look of horror on her face. He followed his eyes and saw what she was staring at.

One bed. There were two of them, one bed, and no way that they would share a bed. Hermione's head suddenly shot up, and she turned to face him with a mischievous smile on her face. she grabbed a pillow and a blanket and threw them at Draco. "You are sleeping on the couch," she said to him. "Excuse me?" he asked, quite shocked. "I said, that you are sleeping on the couch," she said, slowly and with signs as if he was deaf. He looked at her and was about to open his mouth to argue, but then nodded his head. "Fine. But I need to use the shower," he said. He had been taught to respect women. But, he had also been taught that Muggle-borns were scum. Hence the insults.

Hermione looked at him, shocked that he agreed to her, and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, sure, of course," she said and turned to grab her pajamas from her trunk. She waited for him to lock the door to the bathroom and then proceeded to change her clothes. Halfway through pulling on a tank top, she heard him call her. "What is it?" she shouted back as she brushed her brown curls, her brows furrowed. "Grab me a pair of pajamas, will ya, Granger?" he asked her. Hermione scoffed. "Who, me? You're willing to let a Mudblood touch your clothes?" she asked him skeptically. "Don't say that," he said.

"What? Mudblood? As far as I remember, that was your favorite world."

"Just-just give me my pajamas," he said.

She walked to his trunk and grabbed his pajamas. Standing outside the bathroom, she knocked on his door and waited. "Come inside and hang it on the door," he said. "As much as I would love to step into the shower with you, Malfoy, I'm not feeling it," she said, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Like I'm gonna let you see me." he teased. Hermione shut her eyes tightly and stepped in. She quickly hung his clothes on the hook and ran out.

Draco walked in to see Hermione on the bed reading his favorite book, Hogwarts, A History. He cleared his throat to make his presence known. "Goodnight Granger," he said, and smirked when he saw the stunned look on her face. "Goodnight Malfoy," she said and looked at his back as he walked out.

Auntie Bees: What do you mean by why?

ScoutGinera: So, I updated, just for you. I was planning to hold it off for a few days, but anyway... Hope you enjoyed it

guest: Thank you for reviewing. I had to think for a long time before I decided to pair Neville and Pansy. Hope you like Hermione's reaction.

Leazzyy: Here's a little treat for you in the form of an update. I'm excited too.

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