A/N Here we are! The first Adjustments class! Thanks to everyone who has read and supported, please let me know if you have any suggestions!
~All JK's
After a tense Griffyndor-Slytherin potions class and lunch, the Golden Trio and Ginny found themselves making their way to their first "Adjustments" class. Much to Hermione's chagrin, they were running late.
"Hurry up you three!" she hissed at her best friends. "What a horrible way to start off this new course!"
"Sorry Mione, but I don't make it a point to run to my doom." Ron snapped back.
When they finally arrived, they saw that all of their classmates were still waiting in the hall.
"Oh thank goodness," Hermione sighed in relief.
"Hallelujah," Ron grumbled.
"The old bat is late," Blaise Zabini smirked. "Guess this course is not as important as she made it out to be."
"I think I'll take this time to make one thing very clear," Pansy Parkinson simpered in her incredibly grating voice, her pug-like face screwed up in a revolting smirk. "I don't care what anyone says. War or not, I am never willingly going to waste my time with any of you, especially the gryffindorks."
Hermione noted that Malfoy still had not said anything. Catching his eye, she nodded at Pansy and raised her eyebrows in exasperation. To her horror, his face once again rearranged itself into that horrible sneer. Stepping forward next to Pansy he leaned forward and said coldly,
"I agree Pans. Pureblood or not, they're still disgusting." Gesturing to Hermione he added, "Take this one here. Putting aside the question of her blood, she's still a bloody annoying, bushy haired, busybody."
Pansy cackled in delight, both at the insult and his endearment of her. Maybe her Drakeypoo finally wanted to take her back!
Hermione was reeling. Sure his words were not as cruel as they might have been, but he had purposely humiliated her. Clearly, nothing had changed! Apparently they were cruel enough for Harry and Ron as well, who had both sprung forward with wands pointed at Malfoy. Before they could react any further however, a stern voice cut through the tension.
"Now really, you all had to go and prove me right?" McGonagall sighed in exasperation. "Congratulations all of you—you've just failed your first assignment!"
As she lead them into the class, grumbling could be heard amongst the students. Was she going to fail them before she'd even assigned them their task? Did rules simply not apply in this course?
"The old bat shows up late and fails us!?" Ron grumbled to Harry.
"Mr. Weasley, surely you must know by now that I am never late?" McGonagall called from the front of the classroom. "Or that I have impeccable hearing?" she added slyly.
"Clearly, there's an exception to every rule," Blaise whispered to Draco who smirked.
"Yes indeed there is, Mr. Zabini," McGonagall called out sharply. Blaise looked shocked. He was never caught! He should have known not to underestimate McGonagall.
"I was intentionally late," the clever teacher explained to the dumbfounded class, "in order to give you all time to complete your first assignment, which you so clearly failed. If you cannot all remain civil for five minutes in the hallway, then maybe it is now clear to you all that we have our work cut out for us."
Complete silence followed her statement as the students glanced around at each other nervously, and in some cases guiltily. The Slytherins merely looked bored. Privately, Draco Malfoy was not as calm as he appeared. Why did that know-it-all Granger force him into these situations? Here he was, not joining in the Slytherin fun, remaining neutral when she had to cast him a glance trying to mock his own house. Sure Parkinson was revolting, but he certainly was not going to side with the Gryffindorks! Clearly he had sent an unintentional message those days in Diagon Alley that had not been remedied by his sneer at dinner last night. He was forced to send a more severe message this time. Her expression when he had done so sent a flash of guilt through him. It was as though he had cursed her or called her Mudblood. Why did she deserve this? All she had done was rid him of the Dark Lord's reign and in return he had hurt her. Draco angrily pushed those thoughts aside. She was still a Gryffindor, and whether or not he called her it to her face, a Mudblood. Blaise nudged him suddenly and Draco focused on the front of the class where McGonagall was speaking. They'd never admit it to anyone, but the old bat intimidated them.
"Now this will be a course in which a seating arrangement will be employed. Ravenclaws with Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors with Slytherins since you two houses are clearly the ones who need the most work. The person with whom I seat you will be your partner for the duration of this course, so do try and get along will you?" she added dryly.
Hermione's stomach was in knots. There really was no win in any scenario in which she had to sit with a Slytherin. There were only scenarios that were worse than others, she thought as she glanced at Malfoy.
She focused on the front again as McGonagall started pairing people, sentencing them to their doom, Hermione thought morosely.
"Ron Weasley and Daphne Greengrass." McGonagall called out.
"Of course Ron lucks out and gets the one Slytherin who tends to keep her mouth shut!" Ginny hissed at Hermione who nodded fervently in agreement.
"Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini."
"Ouuu I wonder how that one will play out!" Ginny whispered. "I guess it could have been worse, he could have been paired with Malfoy. I wonder who'll get placed with him anyway. If I did, I'd die," she finished in her dramatic way.
"You think you would," Hermione thought.
"Ginny Weasley and Pansy Parkinson."
Ginny gasped in dismay. "Ohmygosh I take that back, I'll go with Malfoy!" Ginny whispered to Hermione in dismay. "Just save me from that she-devil!"
Hermione felt sympathetic for her friend, but she couldn't help her thoughts straying to the fact that as more and more people got paired up, her chances of getting doomed to Malfoy were increasing drastically.
Then it happened. The moment everyone had been waiting for. Draco Malfoy got assigned his partner.
"Draco Malfoy and—"
The hubbub and snarky remarks between the already paired Slytherins and Gryffindors ceased as everyone watched with baited breath.
"—Hermione Granger."
There was an audible gasp. What was McGonagall thinking!? Hermione slumped down in her seat as across the room, Draco Malfoy shot her a sneer.
xxxxxxx
Resignedly, Hermione sat down next to Malfoy. She vowed not to let him get to her. Despite this setback, she still believed in the course and what it was trying to achieve. She had decided to look at her pairing as a major challenge the course offered, and Hermione always rose to meet challenges, especially where her marks were involved. Her resolve was immediately tested however.
With the sneer that she was coming to expect, Malfoy immediately said, "How typical of this stupid school, to assign us some bogus task designed to make my life a living nightmare."
Immediately she felt anger course through her. How dare this boy speak of living nightmares, after what she had gone through last year. And to call being partnered with her a living nightmare after he had served Voldemort! How dare he show up with his stupid sneer and his arrogance and try and mess up the first true chance at happiness she had had in a very long time.
"How dare you! You think being partnered with me is a nightmare? My life was a nightmare last year, when I spent it hunting down horcruxes, living in the middle of nowhere in a tent with no food and a bunch of death eaters on my tail! Clearly you need this course as you are incredibly biased!"
"I'm biased!?" Malfoy replied evenly. "Do you think that I was living the dream last year? Do you think that I wanted the Dark Lord living in my home?"
Hermione was silent, as she considered both her words and his. She didn't know how to reply. Malfoy said nothing either, as he was also contemplating her words. He had always known however that she had sacrificed a great deal. He simply didn't see how it could change anything. They were interrupted by Professor McGonagall.
"Your next assignment is to have a simple conversation with your partner in which you will ask each other questions about things that interest you to know. Easier said than done I'm sure." She said wryly.
"Go ahead Granger. I'm sure you're dying to start being the keener that you are," Draco shot out.
"Fine. Um..what's your favourite colour?"
Draco snorted. "Really Granger? Are we going to be that elementary?"
"For your information a person's favourite colour can tell a lot about them! But fine if you know best go ahead!"
"Hmm…since we're on the subject of colour, tell me…what colour panties are you wearing?" Draco sniggered.
"How dare you! Do you have no sense of class?" Hermione asked in outrage.
"She said ask about things that interest us…well," Draco waggled his eyebrows, "this interests me. And besides, didn't you know? A person's panty colour can tell a lot about them!"
"You just forfeited your turn! What's your favourite book?"
"History of the Dark Arts." Draco answered immediately.
It was Hermione's turn to snigger. "How typical!"
Draco frowned. "You sure I'm the only one that's biased Granger?"
Hermione stopped short. Maybe she wasn't as innocent as she had thought. Maybe she did need this class.
Draco sighed. "What's your favourite book?"
"Hogwarts a History." Hermione replied immediately.
Draco was genuinely curious. "Why?"
Minerva McGonagall observed the pair before her. She had great hopes for them. Sure they weren't exactly getting along, but they were having something that resembled a conversation. Unbeknownst to everyone else due to their bias and judgment, they did not see the potential for redemption and forgiveness between Hermione and Draco that McGonagall saw existed. She had paired them purposely because of it, and—dare she say it?—because of the chemistry that existed between them.