Chapter 6: The Heads of Hogwarts
Tap, tap. Tap, tap
Hermione woke up at the tapping sound and sleepily looked at the window. There was a barn owl sitting on her windowsill with the Hogwarts crest around its neck. She sat up in her bed staring at the owl. What was it doing here? She already got her list of supplies and books she needed for the year, she went to Diagon Ally last week. Unless…no, it couldn't be…not her?
She jumped out of bed and ran to open the window. The owl flew in and stood on her bed, holding out its leg. She untied the letter from its legs with shaking hands and opened it to read:
To Miss Hermione Jean Granger,
I am pleased to inform you that you have appointed Head Girl for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for this year as a reward for your hard work over the last six years. Congratulations!
You will be travelling in the Prefects Compartment on the Hogwarts Express and share a common room with the Head Boy. This role carries a lot of responsibility and should not be taken lightly. I am sure that you will wear your badge with pride and set a good example to the students.
See you at Hogwarts!
Yours sincerely,
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
"Oh Merlin, I'm Head Girl!" Hermione gasped, surprised and shocked.
She tipped the envelope over and a badge fell out. She picked it up, seeing the Hogwarts Crest with the words "Head Girl" written across it in curly gold writing.
She couldn't believe it, she was Head Girl. Well she shouldn't be too surprised, she was the smartest witch in the year and the Heads were usually picked because of their school academic results.
She wondered who the Head Boy could be.
Not Ron; he wasn't that bright to be honest, he copied Hermione's work.
Harry? Maybe. He was smarter than Ron, but yet he broke some rules…for good measure though.
Ernie from Hufflepuff? Justin? Malfoy?
She hoped to Merlin it wasn't Malfoy…but that didn't matter at the moment.
"I'M HEAD GIRL!" she screamed, jumping up and down in excitement.
"What are you yelling about?" Annabel entered the room, drying her hair with a towel. "Did you know that pool had salt water in it? My hair was all sticky, took me ages to get it right and I had to use a lot of sham - what's that in your hand?"
She grabbed the badge in Hermione's hand and looked at it, eyes amazed. "They made you Head of the students. I wonder why…"
Hermione snatched the badge back and ran downstairs. "Mum, Dad! Guess what?"
"What?" they both yelled back, their voices coming from the kitchen. Hermione ran into the room to see them sitting at the table, eating their breakfast.
"I've been made Head Girl!"
Her mum gasped in surprise. "Congratulations! Oh my gosh, my little Hermione is Head Girl!" She got up and ran to hug her daughter.
"Well, Hermione, you have a lot of responsibility now so don't take this role too lightly," her father said, a serious look on his face.
"As if I won't, Dad!" Hermione laughed.
"I know. Well done." He hugged her too.
"What's going on? Annabel said you got something shiny…"
Harry and Ron walked into the room, looking like they had just woken up. Hermione wedged herself out of her father's grip and turned to face her friends, a big smile upon her face.
"I've been made Head Girl," she whispered breathlessly.
Harry and Ron both uttered gasps of surprise.
"Well done, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, hugging her.
"Yeah, good work, Hermione!" said Ron, patting her on the back. "Do you know who the Head Boy is?"
"No, not yet. Did either of you get Head Boy?" she asked excitedly. "Ron?"
"Not me, no way in hell would I have gotten Head Boy! I'm not the smartest wizard in the year!"
"Well, it must have been Harry! Harry, did you get Head Boy?" Hermione asked, still holding onto him.
Harry paused for a second. "No, I didn't."
"What?" Hermione pulled away, looking at him in confusion.
"I didn't get Head Boy," he repeated, and stared down at the floor.
Hermione stood there, absolutely stunned. "But Dumbledore would have made you Head Boy, Harry, you of all people! Everyone looks up to you –"
"I know, but he didn't give me the badge, did he?" Harry mumbled coolly. He didn't seem to be angry about it or anything which really surprised Hermione. "And I'm not mad about it, I'm already Qudditch Captain."
"Oh, okay…" Hermione said slowly. "I wonder whose Head Boy then."
"Don't worry, Hermione, you'll find out in a couple of days," Ron assured her. "Show us the badge already!"
Hermione held it out for Harry, Ron and her parents to see. They all looked at it in awe, examining every inch of it.
"It looks so much better than the prefects' badge," said Ron, transfixed.
"Ah, now you're looking at it." Annabel had just walked into the kitchen, getting herself some breakfast. "I'm school captain too, you know, but at my school, everyone votes for who they want…and they obviously wanted me."
Two hours later, Harry and Ron were heading back to The Burrow. Annabel had gone for another shower so they were able to use Floo Powder without her thinking anything of it.
"See you in two days then," said Ron. "I'll tell Mum and Dad the news." He hugged Hermione and tossed some powder into the fireplace shouting, "The Burrow!" and vanished.
"I'm sorry you didn't get Head Boy," said Hermione, hugging Harry. He shivered slightly, but she didn't notice.
"Don't worry about it, Hermione, at least you're the Head Girl. We could have had a worst person to be it."
"Like who?"
"Pansy Parkinson."
Hermione laughed. "Yeah, but do you think she would have been able to set by example?"
"No, not really. See on Platform Nine and Three Quarters then." Harry stepped away from Hermione, tossed powder into the fireplace saying, "The Burrow!" and disappeared.
At that moment, Annabel walked into the room and stopped in her tracks when she saw the green flames.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked her cousin, worried she might have seen Harry disappear in the flames.
"I could have sworn I just saw…" Annabel muttered, trailing off as she raised a shaky finger at the fireplace. She shook her head furiously, muttering, "Never mind, it's just in my head. I must be going crazy." And she walked off, still muttering to herself.
"Hurry up, Annabel! You're going to miss your train!"
"I'm coming, Hermione, hold your horses…"
Hermione waited by the front door with her parents, sitting on her trunk. As usual, Annabel was the one who took the longest to get ready. Finally, she came down the stairs, carrying her suitcase.
"I'm ready now," she panted, dropping her suitcase on the floor with a thump.
"I'll take these," Mr Granger said, holding Annabel's suitcase with one hand and dragging Hermione's trunk behind him.
"Oh, thanks so much, Uncle Mark," Annabel sighed, picking up her handbag as they all walked out the front door. "Why do you have a trunk as your suitcase?"
"Do I even have to answer that, Annabel?" asked Hermione, rolling her eyes as Mrs Granger locked the front door.
"I was just wondering. Hardly anyone has something like that…"
Twenty minutes later, they had arrived at Kings Cross Station, having just five minutes until Annabel's train left. Her eyes were filled with tears as she bided her aunt, uncle and cousin farewell.
"Don't worry, Annabel," said Mrs Granger as she hugged her niece. "We'll be coming up for your mum's birthday in November and we'll see each other at Christmas."
"But Hermione won't be there, she'll be at school!" sobbed Annabel.
I didn't think she would miss me that much…then again, I'll be missing her too. "Don't worry, Bel, I'll write to you, like I do every year," Hermione assured her.
"You promise?" Annabel asked.
"I promise."
Annabel hugged Hermione so tightly she winced, but nevertheless hugged her cousin back. She would miss Annabel and she'll write…when she had the time.
"Bye cus," Annabel whispered, and broke the hug to board the train.
A couple of minutes later, she found a seat next to a window where she could see her cousin and her aunt and uncle. They waved her goodbye and she waved back…then something caught her eye.
She saw a blonde haired boy with a pale pointed face walk behind Hermione and her parents at a fast pace.
He felt someone watching him and he turned to see Annabel looking at him. She waved at him, knowing it was Draco and he waved back with a confused look on his face.
She noticed Hermione look at her weirdly and turned round to see who she was waving at, seeing nothing. She gave Annabel a quizzed look, her eyebrows raised.
Annabel looked up to see that Draco was gone, nowhere to be seen on the platform…
That's strange, I could have sworn I saw him there just seconds ago…seems to just disappear out of thin air somehow…
She shrugged, not thinking of anything and took out her CD walkman and started listening to Spice Girls. The train horn sounded and pulled away from the platform. She waved at Hermione and her aunt and uncle until she could no longer see them.
How she was going to miss them all so much…especially Ron Weasley…
"Bye Mum, Dad," said Hermione as she hugged her parents in turn.
"Have a good term, Hermione," Mr Granger replied.
"Don't forget to write," sobbed Mrs Granger.
"I won't forget, Mum. Bye."
Hermione waved goodbye and walked towards the stone wall between Platforms Nine and Ten, walking right through it as if it wasn't there. She arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, steam bellowing from the scarlet train at the platform.
Hermione spotted Harry and Ron talking near the train and headed over to them. "Hey guys."
"Hey Hermione," they answered in unison.
"Ready for our last year?"
"You bet," said Harry. "I'm planning to not get into any trouble this year. We'll see how long it'll last."
Hermione and Ron laughed. Knowing Harry, trouble usually finds him.
"Coming to sit with us, Hermione?" Ron asked, leaning against the train.
"I can't, I'll be sitting at the Heads compartment for the whole trip," Hermione replied, and the boys' faces dropped in disappointment.
"At least sit with us until the train leaves," Ron pleaded.
Hermione sighed and nodded in defeat.
"Good. Come on then, me and Harry already got a compartment."
They boarded the train with Hermione pulling her trunk behind her and headed into the third compartment on the left. There were already two occupants; Ginny and Felicity who were chatting while Felicity had an acoustic guitar leaning against her leg.
"Who said you could be in here?" asked Ron, a little arrogantly than he meant to be.
"Oh please, we need somewhere to sit," Felicity answered in a very sarcastic tone. "Lovely to know we're welcome here."
"Yeah, but who said you could be in here?"
"Do we really need your permission, Ron?" Ginny asked furiously. "Harry said it was alright."
Ron shot Harry a dirty look while he looked slightly embarrassed, but didn't say anything about the matter. They both sat down while the girls continued their conversation as if they hadn't been interrupted. Hermione sat down next to the window opposite Felicity and gazed out the window to see the students on the platform, but then something else grabbed her attention.
Pansy was all over Malfoy as usual and just like the other times, he was trying to shake her off. Hermione leaned closer to the window and pressed her ear against it, interested to hear what the irritating Slytherin pug was saying for some reason.
"Aren't you coming to sit with us, Drakie-poo?" she cooed.
"No, I'm not. And stop calling me that! You know I hate that name!"
Pansy looked rather offended. "Why not? You always sit with us! I don't understand you, Draco…"
Malfoy glanced around quickly and then whispered something in Pansy's ear, showing her something that Hermione couldn't see. Pansy listened intently and smirked in satisfaction.
"Luc-key," she drawled, a satisfied smirk upon her pink lips. "See you later then." She walked away from him, her smirk widening.
Malfoy watched her go and once again got the feeling someone was watching him. He looked up to see Hermione staring at him through the window, eyebrows frowned in curiosity. He sneered at her and walked away, in the opposite direction of Pansy.
Hermione rubbed her chin thoughtfully, wondering what Malfoy had said to Pansy, not mention what he showed her. She intended to find out exactly what that was, no matter what.
"Want to play a quick game of Exploding Snap, Hermione?" Harry spoke up, jerking her attention back down to earth.
"Oh, alright." She turned away from the window and joined the small circle to play
In no time at all, the train whistle sounded and they were leaving Kings Cross for Hogwarts for the last time. For Harry, Ron and Hermione that is. As for Ginny and Felicity, it would be another year for them. Hermione glanced at her watch, realising she was going to be late to the Heads Compartment if she stayed here any longer.
"I've got to go to the Heads Compartment," Hermione announced, getting up from her seat. "I'll see you at the Start of Term fest, shall I? Look after Crookshakes for me."
They all nodded, saying goodbye and wishing Hermione luck as she left the compartment, closing the door behind her. She strolled down the corridor, bursting with excitement at who the Head Boy might be.
After what seemed like forever, she finally reached the door to the Heads Compartment. She quickly brushed her hair, which had been straightened by Annabel that morning, with a straightening iron of course and then checked to see she had nothing stuck in her teeth or anything on her.
She straightened herself up, looked at herself in the reflection of the window one more time before reaching out a hand to open the door.
The compartment was slightly larger than the other compartments, but it had two comfortable seats that you could lie across next to the window on the left and a table with two chairs on the other side. Somebody was already occupying one of the seats and was reading a book, but had looked up when the door was opened. Hermione then nearly jumped in horror as she realised who it was.
The person sitting there was no other than Draco Malfoy, stretching himself lazily across the seat he was occupying. Hermione stared at him for awhile, mainly to observe him. She had seen him at least twice before now, but she hadn't really had a good look at him and notice how much he had changed since the end of sixth year.
He no longer slicked his white blonde hair back, but instead let it hung down naturally, which seemed to suit him much better. He looked as though he had grown a little taller and lost a little bit of weight in a short time. His eyes were still a light blue grey, but were a little less cold as he looked at her now…which lasted for a split second.
He sneered at her and went back to reading his book. "Aren't you going to sit down, Granger, or are you going to stand there and stare at me all day? I know I'm good looking and all, but really, staring at me all day won't get you anywhere."
Hermione frowned at him. "Malfoy, what are you doing here?"
"I would think it would be obvious by now, Granger," he replied, still reading his book and not bothering to meet her eyes. Hermione didn't know him as the type to just sit there and read a book all day.
"I don't know what you are talking about, but this compartment is reserved for the Head Girl and Boy only so get out!"
Malfoy sighed heavily, marking his place in the book before closing it with snap. He then placed it on the table and leaned back in his seat with his hands behind his head as he looked at Hermione in the eye.
"Well, it just so happens that I'm Head Boy, whether you like it or not," he answered, his trademark smirk etching onto his face. "And I take it that you're the Head Girl. I'm not surprised to be perfectly honest, but I'm guessing you didn't expect to see me as Head Boy. You probably thought Saint Potter would get it, didn't you?"
Hermione suddenly realised what Malfoy had whispered in Pansy's ear and what he showed her, his new badge. And sure enough, there it was, a badge identical to Hermione's was gleaming on Malfoy's chest bearing the words "Head Boy". The proof that Malfoy was telling the truth.
She sighed and sat down in the seat next to the window, opposite Malfoy. She decided to ignore him and gaze out the window instead. She could feel his eyes on her, though, and after awhile, it started to bug her a lot.
"What are you staring at, Malfoy?" she snapped at him.
"Nothing. I just noticed that your hair is different."
"Oh." She ran her fingers through her hair and turned back to the window.
"Did your cousin do something to it?"
"Yes, she used a hair straighter and I can't be bothered to tell you what that is."
Malfoy paused, still staring at Hermione's hair. "It looks nice, that's all," he mumbled quietly, under the impression Hermione wasn't listening to him anymore and therefore didn't hear him.
She did though and looked at him, utterly surprised. Did he just compliment me?
His cheeks turned slightly pink and he looked away from her, staring out the window. There was an awkward silence for awhile.
Hermione glanced at her watch, wondering when it would be lunch time and whether she should go and visit Harry and Ron. But she knew she probably shouldn't leave the Heads Compartment.
"Hey, was your cousin at the train station today?" Malfoy asked, breaking the silence, but still looking out the window to watch the countryside pass by.
Hermione looked at him, again surprised. "Yeah, she was going home today, just before I went to Platform Nine and Three Quarters Was she waving at you by any chance?"
"Um, yeah, she was," Malfoy answered, still not looking at Hermione.
She frowned at him. "She talks about you a lot, you know. She seems to think you're charming or something. But I wouldn't go thinking she really likes you or anything because she has a boyfriend."
Malfoy glanced at Hermione, making a disgusted face. "I wouldn't think that either, Granger. I don't want that Muggle after me. Especially since she's related to a Mudblood."
Hermione felt very offended when he said that disgusting word and folded her arms, turning away from him. She wasn't going to talk to someone who offended her like that, especially Malfoy. Although, what did she expect from him? He insulted her all the time and she could see already that this year it would be even worse. She knew he would never change
The train ride passed by very quickly and soon enough, Hermione was able to get away from the obnoxious Head Boy and went to look for Harry and Ron. She spotted them near the carriages and saw that Harry was patting something that was invisible. She wondered what insane person pats something that they couldn't see. Then she suddenly remembered that the invisible horses were Thestrals and that Harry could see them.
"Hey guys."
Harry jumped and turned around to see Hermione. "There you are! We were wondering where you were." He blushed slightly, but no one noticed.
"I was at the Heads Carriage all this time –"
"Hey, who's the Head Boy?" asked Ron, looking eager to hear who it was.
Hermione froze, wondering how she was going to put it. "Um, I don't know how to tell you, but –"
"Oh come on, don't delay it, just tell us who it is!"
"Ok, well it's –"
"You haven't told them who's Head Boy, Granger?" Malfoy and his Slytherin gang walked by, smirking at the 'Golden Trio'. "I'll save you the trouble then and afterwards, they shall thank me."
"What is he talking about?" asked Harry, ignoring Malfoy and addressing Hermione instead.
"I'm Head Boy, Potter," Malfoy sneered, looking right at him. "So you better respect me or I'll take points from you. Finally, I really am above you all." He walked away from the trio, Pansy attached to his arm and his cronies Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise following them.
Harry and Ron glared after him. "I can't believe that slimy ferret git is Head Boy," Ron muttered, curling up his fists threatening as they got into the carriage. "He better not hurt you, Hermione."
"Who's hurting Hermione?" Ginny and Felicity had climbed into the carriage. Ginny looked from Ron to Hermione. "So?"
"Malfoy," Ron answered through gritted teeth.
"Nothing new there, but why are you talking about him hurting Hermione?"
"He's been made Head Boy this year," Harry informed them unhappily.
"Shit," swore Felicity, making a disgusted face. "This school has gone to the dogs, honestly! What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?"
"He was thinking that me and Malfoy were the smartest students in our year," replied Hermione. "That's what the Heads are chosen by." She groaned all of a sudden. "You know what's worse?"
"What?" asked Ginny, bracing herself for something bad.
"You know how the Heads have a common room and their own dormitories?"
"Yeah?"
"Well me and Malfoy have to live together in those quarters."
"Bloody hell!" cried Felicity, shaking her head.
"Bummer," Ginny mumbled, feeling sorry for Hermione. "I wonder how long that will last."
"Probably five minutes," Hermione replied, shrugging her shoulders. "He won't want to be in the same room as me, rather be with his cronies. And I don't want to be in the same room as him either, but we've got no choice."
"How are you going to cope with working with him all year?" asked Harry, looking concerned for Hermione.
Hermione sighed. "To be honest, Harry, I don't know."
Meanwhile Draco was sitting in another carriage with Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise. Pansy was leaning against his chest, her hands on his knees, but slowly creeping up to his thigh. He felt very uncomfortable and wanted her to get off him, but at the moment, he couldn't be bothered. They were also talking about the year ahead and Draco's misfortune at who was Head Girl.
"This school has gone to the dogs! Why the hell is Granger Head Girl?" grumbled Blaise, leaning back in his seat.
"Because she's smart and responsible that's why," Draco replied, trying to get in a comfortable position, but it was hard to do so while Pansy was hanging onto him. "Pansy, can you lay off me please? I'm getting squashed here."
Pansy groaned in disappointment and sat up straight in her seat, shaking her head. "I'm worried about you, Drakie. I really am."
Draco laughed bitterly. "What's new, Pansy? Aren't you always worried about me?"
"Yes, I am always worried about you, but this time it's different. How are you going to cope with being around the Mudblood Granger?"
"Pansy, don't worry. It's nothing to go psycho about; I know how to handle her. It's actually better because I get to torture her more often."
"No, it's not that," Pansy said, a worrying look on her pug-face. "Draco, the Heads have their own common rooms? Do you know what that means?"
"What?" asked Draco, very confused. Blaise seemed to catch on what Pansy was saying and had a look of horror written on his face.
"You're not serious, are you, Pansy?" he asked her in shock. Pansy nodded.
"Ok, what the hell are you on about?" Draco demanded, sick of being in the dark.
Pansy looked at him and gently touched his arm, sorrow and sympathy written on her face.
"Draco, you have to live in the same common room with the Mudblood."
Draco thought she was joking for a second, until he remembered what was written in the letter about being Head Boy. He froze in shock, trying to come to terms with his unfortunate situation. "You've got to be joking," he said, looking at Pansy in shock.
She shook her head.
Draco groaned and jerked Pansy's hand off his arm and buried his face in his hands, muttering a mixture of insults and swear words under his breath.
"He's taking it better than I thought he would," said Blaise, observing his best friend.
"What do you mean?" snapped Pansy. "This is the worst thing that has ever happened to him! How worse could he have taken the news?"
"I would have thought he would be breaking down the walls and jinxing the next first year he sees."
"Oh, I'm just getting started," Draco interrupted, glancing up at Blaise. "Pansy's right, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me and I'm bloody angry about it. You don't know what I do when I'm this upset and angry so watch out." He put his face back in his hands.
"Ok, now I'm really worried," said Blaise, not finding this funny at all. "What the hell does that Headmaster think? If Snape was in charge, he wouldn't do this to any of his students at all, it's a breach to the Slytherin name to share a room with a Gryffindor let alone a Mudblood. What are you going to do, Draco?"
Draco sighed into his hands as he thought hard about the issue at hand. "I'm going to stay in the Heads Common Room," he finally muffled into his hands.
"What was that? We didn't hear you."
"I said, "I'm going to stay in the Heads Common Room", dunderheads," Draco repeated, removing his hands from his face and looking up at his 'friends'.
Pansy looked at him in disapproval. "Draco! You can't do that! Why would you even think of staying in the same room as her?"
"I'm Head Boy and she's Head Girl. I have to work with her anyway."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to sleep in the same room as her!"
Draco snorted at that comment. "Do you think they're that stupid, Pansy? Of course I won't be sleeping in the same room as her; we'll have separate bedrooms, thank goodness. I don't want to sleep in the same room as her and I never will."
"Still," huffed Pansy, frowning.
"Look, I don't want to give her the satisfaction that I'm not game enough to take her head on. And I don't want the Headmaster to think I'm stubborn or something. I've got to give it a try. But I swear, I will make her think she should think twice before she bosses me around and I'll show her that I'm the one in charge."
"Good luck with that," muttered Blaise, shaking his head.
Hermione entered the Great Hall and collapsed into a seat next to Neville Longbottom, feeling utterly exhausted.
He jumped round to see who had sat next to him. "Oh hi, Hermione, I didn't see you there! How was your summer?"
"My summer? It was great, Neville, just great. My cousin Annabel came to stay, Harry had his seventeenth and I had an early eighteenth party. How was your summer?"
"It was good. I'm sorry I couldn't come to your party, me and Gran were over in Germany visiting some relatives."
"That's alright, Neville. How was your seventeenth birthday?"
"It was alright, we spent the day at St Mungos visiting Mum and Dad. I didn't want anything too big. Hey you're Head Girl!" he exclaimed, suddenly noticing the badge pinned to her robes. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you, Neville," said Hermione, smiling.
"I always knew you would get it," said Neville, grinning. "So is Harry Head Boy?" Hermione shook her head. "No? Who's Head Boy then?"
Hermione didn't say anything, but stared straight ahead, looking at a certain someone.
Neville followed her gaze and his mouth dropped open in shock. "Malfoy's Head Boy?" he gasped, noticing the shiny badge attached to Malfoy's robes.
"Unfortunately," Ginny spoke up as she sat down at the table opposite Hermione.
"What on earth was Dumbledore thinking? He's allowed the son of a death eater to represent the students? He's crazy!"
"That's exactly what I thought," Felicity agreed, sitting down next to Ginny and opposite Neville.
He glanced at her and tried to say something, but he couldn't get the words out, all that came out was a faint gurgle. He shrugged and turned to Dean and Seamus, joining in their conversation of Qudditch, his face slightly red.
Felicity glanced at Ginny with a confused expression, as if to ask why Neville was suddenly nervous around her.
"I'll tell you later," she mumbled, as Harry sat down next to her and Ron settled down on the other side of Hermione.
"What are you two on about now?" Harry asked wearily, looking at the pair of them.
"Nothing," they both answered innocently.
"I wish the first years would hurry up," Ron grumbled, rubbing his stomach. "I'm getting extremely hungry."
"Is food the only thing you ever think about?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes.
"No! But I am really hungry!"
About half an hour later, Ron was stuffing his face with steak, pork chops, chicken legs, meat pie…basically anything he could reach. Hermione had her head down, not daring to make conversation with him as he would speak while food was still in his mouth and spray everyone with food scrapes. It was an incredibly disgusting sight to watch.
"Slow down, Ron," said Harry, after finishing a mouthful. "You'll give yourself a heart attack."
"I don't care! I've been staving since two o'clock!"
Hermione rolled her eyes once again. She was feeling a little thankful she wasn't going to be in the common room with him all year if he was going to eat like that during snack time there.
She glanced over at the Slytherin table where Malfoy was sitting among his company, taking small reasonable mouthfuls of food and not saying anything until he had finished. Well, at least he wasn't as disgusting as Ron and knew table manners. That still didn't account for her misfortune of having to live with him.
Before long, the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up to make some announcements. "Welcome everyone to a new year at Hogwarts! I would like to firstly remind you that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden as well as the third floor. Mr Flitch has asked me to remind you not to use jinxes in the corridors between classes –"
"Damn it," Draco muttered under his breath. Oh well, he didn't really care anyway. Since when did he follow the rules? Never. That's why he was the Hogwarts bad boy.
"The Qudditch season will start on the first of November with the trials being held next week. If you are interested please see the Madam Hooch or the captain of the team for your house. It gives me great pleasure in welcoming back Mr Remus Lupin who will be taking Defence Against the Dark Arts this year."
Everyone except the Slytherins clapped and cheered when they heard the news.
"Yes!" Harry and Ron exclaimed, high fiving each other.
"And finally, I would like to announce that this year's Head Girl and Boy are Miss Hermione Granger and Mr Draco Malfoy and I need to see the both of them now. The rest of you should head off to bed to rest your minds for class tomorrow. Nighty night!"
"Good luck, Hermione," said Ron, clapping her on the back before turning to leave. "Coming, Harry?"
"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses, Ron! Night, Hermione, I hope you survive the night."
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione replied sarcastically. "I'll see you in the morning if Malfoy doesn't murder me."
"That's not funny you know," said Ron, a serious expression on his face.
"I know, Ron, I was only joking."
"Well, when you're talking about Malfoy, nothing's a joke with him. Goodnight." Ron and Harry walked away, blending into the mass of students.
"See you, Hermione," said Ginny, following the boys into the crowd.
"Bye Ginny."
"Nighty night, Hermione," said Felicity, waving at her. "I really do feel sorry for you. I hope he doesn't give a hard time. If he does, just let us know and we'll show him a thing or two."
Hermione smiled weakly. "Thanks, Flick, but that won't be necessary."
"Hey, it's the least we can do," she replied, taking a glance towards the Slytherins. "Just tell us if he's bothering you and we'll sort it out."
"Well do. Night, Flick."
"Night, Hermione." Felicity disappeared into the crowd, in pursuit of Ginny.
Hermione sighed and made her way over to the High Table where Dumbledore and Malfoy were already waiting for her. Malfoy smirked at her as she approached them but she deliberately ignored him as she didn't have to acknowledge him just yet.
"Now, I have chosen you as heads not just because you are both the brightest in your year, but to also try and solve the feud between the houses, in other words, create house unity. I know that you two have not been on the best of terms over your time at Hogwarts, but I'm asking you to put all that aside and work together."
Malfoy eyed the professor in disgust. "You can't expect me to work with her. There's no way we're ever going to get along."
Hermione scowled at him. He sneered at her in return and folded his arms moodily. "See? She doesn't want to work with me either."
"Mr Malfoy, you and Miss Granger are not little kids anymore, but responsible adults. You should be able to figure out your differences and at least try to get along. You will be sharing quarters after all so you do have to live together.
"Now then, you will have various events to organise during the year including the Graduation Ball and the Valentine's Day dance. But at the moment, you will only be doing patrols from nine to eleven weekdays and ten till midnight on weekends and having meetings with the prefects once a fortnight. Any questions?"
Hermione didn't have any questions and Malfoy looked as though he had nothing to say at all. He frowned at the professor with his arms folded and looking extremely bored.
Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands together. "Good! Now then, I shall show you to your new dorms. Follow me."
He walked in the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables and out of the Great Hall, Hermione and Malfoy following close behind. It was about ten minutes before Dumbledore reached the end of a corridor on the fifth floor and stopped in front of a portrait. Hermione and Malfoy both stepped forwards to take a loo at the portrait for the first time.
It was spilt in two with one side being a picture of Hermione with the Gryffindor emblem in the background and a picture of Malfoy with the Slytherin emblem on the other side. They weren't moving pictures though and looked like they were taken in the first year because Hermione's hair wasn't as curly and Malfoy's hair was slicked back and they were both shorter.
"My, my, that's an awful picture of me," Malfoy muttered under his breath.
Hermione smirked at Malfoy before turning to look at the Professor, confused. "Why are there pictures of us from first year?"
"Oh I just thought it would bring back memories of when you first stepped in," smiled Dumbledore. "Of course you're the only ones who can see the pictures of yourselves. Everyone will just see a picture of the Hogwarts Castle. They will change every now and then so it won't be the same. The password is Carpe Diem. Have a good night."
With a smile and a little wave, Dumbledore walked down the corridor, leaving the two bemused Heads behind.
"Carpe diem? What does that mean?" Malfoy asked, turning to Hermione.
"It means 'seize the day' in Latin," she answered curtly, with a big smirk on her face. She was glad she knew something that Malfoy didn't know.
"And how do you know Latin?"
"I learnt it in primary school and that expression was in a movie called "Dead Poet's Society" a few years ago. I would have thought you would know Latin yourself."
"I do know Latin for your information, Miss Know-it-all. I just didn't remember the expression. What is "Dead Poet's Society" anyway?"
"I can't be bothered to tell you right now as I would like to get inside. Carpe diem."
The portrait swing open and Hermione hurried inside, eager to see what her new common room looked like. She gasped in awe as she entered the Heads Common Room.
It was a beautiful room with the walls decorated in the four house colours, two armchairs and a sofa that was black and a handsome fireplace that was dark brown with a fire already burning, brightly lighting up the room. Over the fireplace were two banners, a scarlet banner bearing the gold Gryffindor emblem and a dark green banner bearing the silver Slytherin crest.
There was a door on either side of the room where Hermione guessed lead to their separate bedrooms. They weren't sharing a bathroom, thank god.
"My, my, it's better than the Slytherin common room." She turned round to see Malfoy looking around the room with an amazed look on his face.
At least he isn't being snobby for once, Hermione thought.
But as soon as that crossed her mind, a smug look crossed his face and he smirked. "If they could see me now…they'll be so jealous!"
Hermione shook her head dismissingly. No of course not, he's always snobby, just like Annabel. Malfoy was never going to change, she had already decided that. she was then jerked rudely out of her thoughts as Malfoy stepped in front of her, frowning darkly at her.
"So, where's my room?" he demanded arrogantly as he folded his arms.
Hermione sighed and looked over to the door to the left of the fireplace to see a gold plaque bearing the words "Head Girl: Hermione Granger." in curly red letters.
"Yours is over there," she said, pointing to the door on the right where a silver plaque read the words "Head Boy: Draco Malfoy" in green letters.
"Good, I'm off to bed. If you have anything to say, Granger, it can wait till morning. I'll deal with you then." He stalked off to his room and shut the door behind him.
Hermione sighed and went into her own room, in the prospect of unpacking her things and getting ready for bed herself. She looked around at her room in awe, not yet ready to believe she had her own room.
There was a queen size bed that had red and gold pillows and covers on it and a red bed curtain hanging above it so she could draw them back if she wanted. There was a small desk where she could do her homework, a bookcase where she could put all her books and photo albums and, to her surprise, a stereo system with a wide selection of music to chose from.
There was also a fireplace with a portrait of herself hanging above it, a door that lead to her bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe. She squealed in excitement and opened the door, exploring the room, imagining what it would be like when all of her clothes would be in it.
If only Annabel could see me now, she would be so jealous! I bet her school doesn't even give the school captain their own dormitories with their own bathroom, fireplace, queen size bed and walk-in wardrobe.
She smirked to herself, imagining Annabel's look of rage when she would hear about the special living arrangements, especially the part about the walk-in wardrobe. She would love to have to put all of her clothes on. Hermione's smirk widened and then suddenly realised with a sickening thought that she was acting just like Malfoy.
Oh my god, did I just think just like him? That is so sick!
She felt so disgusted with herself for letting herself go that low. She shook her head, disappointed in herself and took her pyjamas and toiletries out of her trunk to get ready for bed. The bathroom's walls were painted white with red tiles on the floor. She placed her things on the bathroom bench and started to brush her teeth.
Well at least I'll be able to get to sleep really quickly. I won't have Lavender and Parvati gossipping until one in the morning.
She then put on her pyjamas and got into bed, falling asleep immediately, and thinking of how comfortable her new bed was.
Author's Note: Wow, that was a long chapter. That's the length that most of the chapters will be from now on so I hope you're okay with that. Please review to let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!