Hi! It's me again (obviously). This chapter's a bit longer than the last one was. I will most likely have time to post chapter three, maybe even chapter four, but that's it. I'll let you know which is my last post for a while. Anyway, on with the fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm just a fifteen year old girl who's so obsessed that I'm compelled to write fanfics about it.
"Speech"
'Thought'
XXXXXXXX- scene change
When they reached the Entrance Hall, the Trio split up. Ginny (much to her dismay) headed into the dungeons for Potions while Harry and Hermione went to Transfiguration. When they reached the first floor corridor, they heard a voice call out below them. They looked over the edge and saw none other than Draco Malfoy walking up the stairs. Hermione turned to leave, but Harry grabbed her arm and shook his head.
"Well, would you look at who I've stumbled upon? Potter and the Mudblood. Where's the Weasel? Did he finally come to his senses?" Draco drawled, smirking smugly. There was, by now, a fairly large group gathered around. Everyone felt they deserved some amusement after Dumbledore's announcement.
Harry returned the blonde's smirk with a Slytherin-worthy one of his own, startling both the spectators and his rival.
"Why, hello Malfoy. Wonderful day, isn't it? Don't worry; Ron and I are just having a minor… disagreement. He'll come around in about a week."
Draco was stunned. Normally, he would be chuckling as Potter went into a rage. Not this time, though.
"Continue to delude yourself, Potter. Did you have a good summer with your Muggle relatives?"
"No better or worse than usual. How was the Manor in your father's absence? Not coping too badly, I hope?"
"To use your words, no better or worse than usual."
Most of the crowd looked at each other in confusion. This almost sounded like a civil conversation, not the brawl they'd expected. Only the Slytherins, a few Ravenclaws, and Hermione noticed the thinly veiled insults within the banter.
"Where was that black dog that was with you at King's Cross with you last year, Potter? I didn't see it when we were leaving?"
Harry's eyes flashed in rage. This, however, was his only sign of anger.
"I think we could all do with some amusement. What do you say to a repeat performance of fourth year, Ferret?"
"Is that a threat, Potter?" Draco snarled, withdrawing his wand. He stepped toward Harry, who had recovered his smirk.
"Interpret it as you will." As he walked away, the Boy-Who-Lived paused and looked over his shoulder. "By the way, there's a D.A meeting next Wednesday. You should come, Malfoy."
Said boy blinked in shock at this invitation before sneering. "Why would I waste my time on that?"
Harry shrugged. "Just putting the offer on the table. Owl me if you're interested or have questions. Oh, and feel free to bring friends."
With that, Harry left the scene. Hermione glanced at Malfoy, who was still gob-smacked by Harry's offer. She briefly wondered what her friend was up to, then followed him to Transfiguration.
XXXXXXXX
Saying that Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased that all but three students were tardy was an understatement. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin lost five points per person who was late. After the shock of this wore off, Harry noticed the familiar tattered hat sitting on its customary stool at the front of the room. If the curious mutters were anything to go by, everyone else had noticed as well.
"Even though the actual activities Professor Dumbledore described will not begin until next Monday, it was agreed to get the main detail sorted out now. Every lesson and project will involve working with a member of the opposite house. However, neither we teachers nor you students will decide who you work with. That job falls to the Sorting Hat."
Every Slytherin in this room will put the Hat on first. This is so that it can analyze your personalities. Each Gryffindor will then put on the Hat, and the name of their partner will be called out. You will be paired with whoever compliments you most, and all pairings are final, so no complaining. Also, don't try to convince the Sorting Hat to change its mind."
McGonagall had looked directly at Harry when she made this last statement. He blushed lightly, knowing to what she was referring.
Having every single Slytherin in the class put on the Sorting Hat was a long process. It took about five minutes per student, a long time when there were twenty Slytherins in the class. Over an hour later, they finally finished.
"Brown, Lavender."
The girl slowly stood up and approached the stool. She distastefully placed the rugged hat on her head. After a few minutes, it made its decision.
"MILLICENT BULSTRODE!"
"Miss Brown, if you would be so kind as to sit next to Miss Bulstrode?" McGonagall asked as Lavender removed the hat. Nodding numbly, the girl grabbed her stuff from her own desk and slid into a seat next to the large Slytherin girl.
This process continued until it was just about Hermione's turn. It was obvious to everyone that she was worried about being paired with someone like Crabbe or Goyle.
"Granger, Hermione."
Hermione swallowed nervously before standing and walking towards the stool. She gingerly placed the Sorting Hat on her head and waited, twitching slightly. Slowly, the hat opened its mouth.
"PANSY PARKINSON!"
Both girls gasped; they didn't believe they would be able to get along at all.
"Miss Granger, if you would please remove yourself from the stool?"
Hermione flushed with embarrassment from being admonished in front of the entire class. She jumped down and all but ran to remove her stuff from her old seat.
After that, Harry stopped paying attention. He did tune back in long enough to watch Neville be paired with Goyle. For some reason, Harry thought that the bodyguard wasn't as stupid as he acted. When Parvati went up to be paired off, he began gathering his belongings.
"Potter, Harry."
Harry stood up with his bag. Rather than head to the front of the room, he instead walked to the seat to the right of Malfoy. The blonde quirked an eyebrow at this, a gesture which Harry returned.
"Mr. Potter, just what are you doing?"
Harry turned towards her. Her lips were pressed into a thin line for the second time that morning.
"Just going ahead and moving my stuff, Professor."
Before being asked to elaborate, the Boy-Who-Lived swept over and sat on the bench. McGonagall picked up the Hat and began lowering it onto his head. Six inches away from its target, however, the seam that was its mouth ripped open.
"DRACO MALFOY!"
The gasp that followed seemed to absorb all of the oxygen from the room. The two Houses waited with baited breath, wondering what the Gryffindor Golden Boy would do. Harry chucked and stood up, then went to where he'd deposited his bag. He sighed when he saw his classmates' faces.
"Don't tell me that none of you have noticed that Malfoy and I always get paired up in this sort of thing," he groaned. Everyone shook his or her head while Draco seemed to be in thought.
"You know what, Potter?" Draco whispered after the grouping had continued. "You're actually right about something for once."
Harry grinned. "I'm just surprised no one else ever thought about it."
XXXXXXXX
"Why did I have to be paired with Zabini?" Ron whined, forgetting that he wasn't talking to Harry at the moment.
Harry rolled his eyes. The conversation had been going in the same circle since Transfiguration had ended.
"Honestly, Ron! It's not that bad," Hermione attempted to say this soothingly, though her irritation was evident.
"Yeah, says the girl not paired with Zabini."
"Look on the bright side, Ron; you're not paired with Malfoy." Harry tried.
Ron's eyes lit up after a moment of thought. "Good point."
Now that their redheaded friend was finished complaining, Hermione felt that it was safe to ask the question that had been festering in her mind all morning.
"Um, Harry? Why'd you invite Malfoy to the next D.A meeting?"
"Lots of reasons," Harry answered vaguely.
"Like what?"
"He's scared." Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Harry cut him off. "Think about it. His father is Voldemort's right-hand man. Chances are that he'll be forced to become a Death Eater. If that happens, he should at lease be able to defend himself if need be."
Hermione frowned. "What about telling him to bring friends?"
"The rest of Slytherin is in the same predicament. This offers him a way to protect them without asking for help outright."
As Harry finished this sentence, a black eagle owl landed in front of him. He untied the parchment from its leg and pushed his plate to the side, letting the owl choose what it wanted. A few bites of ham later and the bird took wing. Harry unfolded the letter and read its contents, grinning when he was finished.
"Well, what does it say?" Ron asked impatiently. Harry handed the note to his friends and returned his attention to his neglected lunch. Ron and Hermione leaned into each other to read, eyes widening in surprise when they finished.
Potter,
Where and when should we meet?
-D
P.S. I will not come alone, so don't ask.
Author's Notes: Done with the second chapter! To anyone wondering, I do realize that they use the metric system in Britain, but I was too lazy to convert. I'm still taking animagus suggestions for the Trio and Draco, and I'm adding Blaise and Pansy to the list. Just include your suggestion and reasoning in the review. Here's what we've got so far:
Harry: panther, tiger, lion (2x), snake (3x)
Ron: snake, worm, rat, rabbit, weasel (2x)
Hermione: otter, eagle, cat (2x), owl (2x)
Draco: white Bengal tiger, snow leopard, dragon, snake, bear, skunk, panther
Thanks to the following people for their suggestions:
nezitsuki
koorimechick
SwarmOfFanGirls
njferrell
I appreciate the many responses I've gotten so far. I hadn't even thought of some of these as possibilities. Feel free to suggest magical creatures, insects, or anything else. See ya next chapter!