Disclaimer — J. K. Rowling is the second richest woman in England (actual fact, go check it out) and I am a lowly American college student. Who do you think owns Harry Potter? All I have are my two-bit ideas and odd writing technique. Cheers!
Chapter 4: Meeting of the Heads of House
The train ride was mostly uneventful, save for some first year loosing their weasel. Neville and Ginny had popped in to cabin Hermione, Harry, and Ron were sharing to see if anyone had seen it. They hadn't, but as they left Neville said, "Strange how times change, 'eh?"
And so it was. This was to be their last year at Hogwarts. After that, who knew. Hermione would, of course, apply to every wizarding college she'd ever heard of and probably get into most of them. As for her two friends, she really didn't know. Harry had spoken of becoming an auror, but had said nothing of college and Ron, well, Hermione wasn't quite convinced he knew that they wouldn't just be heading back to Hogwarts next year.
She continued to think quietly to herself, looking out the window at the passing countryside while the boys played Wizard Chess next to her. She might have stayed there until they reached the school too, had the blond head of Draco Malfoy not popped into their car.
"Oy, 'Mione! Heads of house meeting in the last car." He said, sounding somewhat out of breath as though he'd run all the way here. "Need to get changed too, the rest of them are looking quite official."
"Alright, I'll be there in a moment." She said, rising from her seat and digging around in the gigantic tote her aunt had bought her for Christmas for her uniform.
"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll wait. There's some drama between two Ravenclaws, one of which happens to be 'bffs' with the Ravenclaw head girl, and anyway, it looks like it's going to get nasty before it gets worse."
Hermione shrugged and ducked out of the cabin and into the bathroom across from it to change. When she emerged, she found Draco, Ron, and Harry laughing at something. As she entered the cabin to put away her clothes and grab her bag, she gave the boys a quizzical look. They said nothing and all covered their mouths. Hermione shrugged again and, having acquired her things, turned to Draco.
"You ready?" She asked.
"Yeah sure, just need to find Neville." He answered, moving out of her way so they could leave.
Exiting the car, Hermione said goodbye to her friends and lead the way down the isle until they reached the car Neville had been sharing with Ginny, Luna, and two first years. Luna and the first years, a pair of twin boys, were making what appeared to be collaged postcards, but there was no sigh of Ginny or Neville.
"Hey, Luna?" Hermione said, poking her head in. "Where's Neville? We've got a heads of house meeting in, oh, now, and I can't very well show up without the head boy."
Luna shrugged, but did not look up. "I think he's off doing naughty things with Ginny. She's been missing too.
Hermione looked horrified but before she could say anything Draco cut in, "Oh brilliant, more drama!"
Hermione gave him a look and the two continued down the isle looking for the missing two. As they walked down between rows of rooms, Hermione wondered aloud why Draco was being so friendly. "After all," she said "Hadn't we only agreed to be friends while we weren't at school?"
"I guess," Draco mused, "It just all seems so stupid now. I have a much better time with you lot then Crab and Goyle. They're both so thick it's like I'm talking to myself most of the time." He shrugged. "I don't know, if you want me to leave you and your friends alone I will, I just thought that being goody-goody Gryffindors you'd accept me as friends even though I'm a Slytherin."
Hermione nodded, thoughtfully. "Harry and Ron won't know what to make of it."
"Yeah, but at least their heads are partly full of brains!" Draco laughed.
Hermione smiled then checked her watch.
"Bugger," She said under her breath. "We're going to be late. Better hope Neville remembers something for once in his life."
Draco nodded and the two headed off for the last car of the train.
When they reached it they found two Hufflepuffs and a Slytherin girl looking decidedly awkward and uncomfortable. As Draco and Hermione entered the car, the Slytherin lifted her head and looked relieved Draco was there. The Hufflepuffs smiled to the two, but didn't break their conversation.
Suddenly there was a loud yell from one of the rooms in the last train car.
"What do you mean, you whore?!"
"Who's calling who a whore, you back stabbing, boyfriend stealing--"
"Oh shut it Mandy!"
"You shut it, and stop siding with her. Who's side are you on anyway?"
Hermione looked at Draco who merely shrugged. She rolled here eyes and went to see what was going on.
"Yours of course but--" One of the Ravenclaw girls, Hermione assumed it was the head girl, appeared to be trying to keep peace between two other Ravenclaws who seemed out for blood over a boy.
"What what about me?" The "bff" interjected, cutter her so-called friend off. "You're supposed to be the head of our house, that means you're supposed to be impartial!"
"I am-- that's not--"
"Alright, shut it all of you!" Hermione yelled, silencing everyone in shock.
"Regardless of how a head girl is supposed to behave, she is supposed to take part in the heads of house meeting-- which, I would add it supposed to be going on right now."
The two rival Ravenclaws seemed about to speak but Hermione cut them off. "I don't bloody care! Take it somewhere else or drop it! We require the head girl no matter who stole who's prat boyfriend!"
They both glared at her but turned to leave. The Ravenclaw head girl turned to thank Hermione, but she didn't really want to hear it so said simply, "It was nothing. Now can we get this meeting started already?"
The girl nodded and retreated back into the last car. Hermione watched her go and heaved a heavy sigh.
"Wow 'Mione." Draco said, sounding almost stunned. "I've never seen you act. . ."
"So exceedingly goody-goody?" Hermione asked, completely exhausted and sick of everyone.
"I was actually going to say forceful, but I guess it was a pretty goody-goody thing to do, breaking up a fight for a meeting no one's even interested in." Draco said. With a look of mild concern on his face he added, "You okay? I'd think you'd like doing stuff like that but you look miserable?"
Before she could stop herself and do the "right" thing, Hermione found herself spilling all of her wants and desires for this year out to the unfamiliar ears of Draco Malfoy.
"And so," Hermione concluded after nearly five minutes of uninterrupted babel. "If I keep doing shit like that I'll never change! I'll always be the same boring old 'Mione who no one's interested in and no one wants to hang out with and then I'll end up along with fifty cats."
"So. . ." Draco said, obviously not sure what to say. "Do you. . . want to skip the meeting that no one but you seems to care about?"
"No!" Hermione cried, a look of horror on her face. "Of course not, we'd get in trouble!"
"Not if we can find Neville. The rules technically state that only one head of house needs to attend the meeting. That's why there are two, so that one can tell the other what they need to know."
"I guess. . ." Hermione said hesitantly. Surely she could never, never! Her was Hermione Granger, how could she just skip an important meeting like this?! And yet, she mused to herself, This is exactly what I wanted. To become someone free.
"Look," She said, turning to Draco. "I can't skip this meeting. I don't want to. Not just because of, you know, that it's me, but also because I really don't care to do any more searching for bloody Neville and Ginny – nor do I particularly want to see what they've been doing in their absence. So let's just go and get this over with quickly so I can get back to my chocolate frogs."
"As you wish." Draco said with a smile, holding the door to the carriage open.
Hermione smiled sheepishly but entered and took a seat next to the Hufflepuffs. Draco fallowed and took a seat as far away from the Ravenclaw head girl as possible.
"So," Hermione began, figuring that someone ought to start the meeting, as everyone who was going to show up had done so. Before she could finish her sentence, the door to the train car swung slowly open and the last person anyone but Hermione wanted to see strode into the meeting.
"Good afternoon, I will be running this meeting of the heads of house. Shall we begin?" Said the silken voice of Severus Snape.
...
"So, how was the meeting?" Harry asked once Hermione returned.
She rolled her eyes and heaved an overly exasperated sigh as she flopped down dramatically on the seat next to him. For added emphasis she fained death.
Ron hasn't seemed to realize that she was only playing and cried out in genuine concern, causing 'Mione to sit up and glare at him.
"It was brilliant, thank you for asking." She said, scowling.
"What?" Ron asked looking from Harry to Draco, finally catching on to his friends sour mood.
"The meeting was. . ." Draco began to explain.
"Abysmal? Unorganized? Poorly attended by complete immature morons?!" Hermione ranted.
". . . Not what 'Mione expected." Draco finished, looking pointedly at Harry.
Harry said nothing, only nodded and attempted to change the subject. Hermione would have none of it though and continued. "If it wasn't bad enough that the idiot head girl of Ravenclaw has no spine whatsoever, Neville never even bothered to show up! And that Slytherin girl spent the entire meeting glaring at me, for no better reason then A) Draco would rather sit on an empty seat instead of her LAP and B) I was the only person who apparently cared enough to take charge and attempt to start the meeting since no one else there had any idea what we were supposed to be doing!" She paused to catch her breath. She tended to talk faster then her lungs could support when she was lying, and she had to keep lying to hide just how upset she really was.
"You're lap?" Harry asked Draco, not even trying to hide his amusement.
Draco shrugged and smirked, leaning back in the seat next to Ron that he'd appropriated once Hermione started her rant. "What can I say?" He said, looking overly smug. "Those Slytherin girls see a pure blood and want to have its babies, regardless of the kind of person they might be."
Hermione groaned in annoyance, and the three turned to stare at her. Without thinking she spoke, "I just wish. . ." Cutting herself short as she stared into the faces of her friends. How could she tell them what she really happened? That, instead of her taking the lead in the meeting as expected, that instead Professor Giant Bat had shown up and taken every single opportunity to make the meeting miserable for her. Surely they could understand Snape being an arse, but how was she supposed to explain just why she was so upset by it? He'd always been an arse, they'd say, what's the big surprise?
Because he isn't! she screamed internally. He wasn't. . . he was so. . .
"You wish what, 'Mione?" Ron asked, shocking her back into reality.
"Oh," she said, trying not to sound as flustered and hurt as she felt. "Nothing. I guess I just wish that I wasn't the only person at this school who cared about important things like the meetings of the heads of house. That's all."
Ron nodded, but Harry seemed to have picked up on something in Hermione's voice. "You know 'Mione," he said, looking at her, "You don't have to take charge of every meeting. Why not try holding your tongue and see if anyone else takes the reins? It would be quite the learning experience, for them as well as yourself."
"Geez Harry!" Ron laughed, breaking the silence. "You sound like some kind of therapist. Or Dumbledore!"
Harry said nothing, only chuckled, looking away from Hermione. Draco joined him in a soft giggle, but not before giving Hermione a look that she knew meant he was there if she wanted someone to talk to who wasn't Harry or Ron. Hermione met his gaze, but looked away and stayed silent. Plastering a smile on her face for Harry's sake, she simply nodded and turned to stare on the window. Oh I wish we were there. I just want to get to my head girl suite, and take a long hot shower, she begged silently to the passing countryside.
Notes from the author
Alright, there's a question as to what the hell I'm on about regarding this "Heads of House" business, which I am fully willing to admit, is probably a figment of my imagination. I think for now we'll just run with "creative interpretation" and say that there are two heads of each house, a head boy and a head girl. These are also Prefects, and will be refereed to as such (probably), in addition to being called head boy or head girl.
I sort of just went with this idea without really thinking about it or looking it up because I remembered in OOTP or HBP, one of the two, the bit where Hermione and Ron are head boy and girl (or Prefects, or whatever), and Harry getting his knickers in a huge twist because he thought he should have got it, not Ron. Angst, but whatever, that's where the idea came from. (Though it also probably got there from reading some fic or another here as well, now that I think about it.) Deal with it. ;-P
Notes to YOU!
Flame - Thanks for your input, I hope the aforementioned explanation helps to clear things up a bit. Keep up the awesome con crit, it's always welcome!
eac-dudette, omateido - Thanks, really glad to hear it!
ubersnape - Thanks! I think that's where I'm going with it, glad to have some encouragement there!
Southernswimmer - blushes Thank you so much! It's really wonderful to hear things like that! I'll be sure to keep writing!
Dragons Quill - Thanks! If you have any ideas or suggestions you'd like to put forward, I'd be happy to listen, though I make no promises that I will reveal my secret plots and schemes. ;P