CHAPTER II
Stepping off the train, the three teenagers heard a friendly voice above the noise of the rest of the students. "Firs' years, firs' years, oh hullo Harry," Hagrid spotted them and greeted them all. He grinned at each of their faces, but when he looked at Ron he frowned, "wha' happened to you?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"Malfoy. That's what happened," Ron replied as though even mentioning the name brought a sour taste to his mouth.
After talking for a few moments, Hagrid continued to call out to the timid first-years who were looking up at the castle with a mixture of awe and anxiety in their eyes. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed their fellow seventh years towards the castle, but soon noticed that Ron was clutching his chest in rather a strange manner.
"Ron? Are you alright?" Hermione frowned as she inquired after her friend.
"I'll be alright. It's just, when we were fighting, whenever Malfoy leant into me, something sharp dug into my chest."
"Must have been some stupid necklace that that Parkinson girl probably gave him last year," Harry reasoned. Pansy Parkinson had, for as long as anyone could remember, idolised Malfoy; and in the fourth year, after attending the Yule Ball together, they had become an item. Personally, the Gryffindors hated her; finding her words and actions vulgar and her company not worth keeping. She was, however, undeniably perfect for Draco Malfoy; together they spent hours criticising people's slightest flaws, and spent nights in giggles over somebody else's misfortunes.
"You don't think …" started Hermione. She had just realised what she was about to say, and she suddenly went very pale.
"What Hermione?" prompted Harry before he, too, caught on, "no, he couldn't be the Head Boy … could he?" The remainder of their journey towards the castle, although slow because of Ron's discomfort, was spent discussing the possibility of Malfoy as Head Boy.
"It would certainly explain why he was acting so smug," offered Hermione. This was quickly contradicted by the reminder that Malfoy always acted smug about something. As they drew closer to the Entrance Hall, the conversation between the three teenagers ceased and Hermione said a silent prayer as they made their way towards the hospital wing on the way to the Great Hall.
After having his nose fixed by Madam Pomfrey, Ron led his two friends towards the Great Hall where the Sorting Ceremony was about to begin. Spotting three spare seats, Hermione, Harry and Ron walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors on the far right side of the Great Hall. Hermione heard a small chuckle coming from the right of her where Harry sat, and turned to look at what had caught his attention. Harry, instead of listening to Dumbledore's annual welcoming speech, was preoccupied looking at the new first-years. Hermione, following his gaze, looked at each of their faces and smiled warmly, remembering her first impressions of the castle.
Standing at the back of the Great Hall, were about eighty new students; all with robes that were far too long for them, and with frightened faces, not knowing what was about to happen. Scanning the sea of faces, Hermione saw a small boy with sandy hair whispering to his friend. The young boy had an expression on his face that Hermione recognised, yet couldn't place where she had seen it before.
Hermione returned her attention to the front of the Hall, where Professor McGonagall had begun to lead the first-years. The three-legged stool and the old patched wizard's hat had already been placed in front of the staff table. Hermione watched as the tear near the brim opened like a mouth and the hat broke into song.
Hermione, having already witnessed six Sorting Ceremonies allowed her eyes to wander to the staff table. All the teachers from last year had returned, and to her relief, she saw that Professor Lupin, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was still sitting at the very end of the table.
Lupin had first taught at Hogwarts when Hermione had been in her third year, but due to matters out of his control, he had been forced to resign for the following couple of years. He had returned last year, much to her and Harry's relief and Malfoy's discomfort. The rumour that the Defence Against the Dark Arts position was jinxed, it seemed, had been proven untrue.
Her eyes wandered along the line of teachers who sat at the table watching the first-years as they each, in turn, placed the Sorting Hat on their heads. Professor Flitwick, the tiny Charms teacher had placed a large pile of cushions on her chair, and was sitting next to the Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, as usual. On Professor Sprout's other side, at the centre of the table was Professor Dumbledore, wearing a dark maroon cloak sprinkled with stars. On his other side sat Professor Sinistra, who didn't look too happy with the seating arrangements. Hermione didn't blame her; to the Astrology teacher's right sat Professor Snape, the sallow-faced, greasy-haired Potions master.
As Hermione's gaze rested on this final teacher, she realised that he was the only one who was not looking at the group of new students in front of him. Instead, he was nervously scanning the Hall as though looking for someone or something.
"And now," Dumbledore got to his feet before continuing, "I will announce the names of the Head Boy and Girl." Hermione looked away from Snape and couldn't help but grin; a sense of pride overwhelming her.
"Firstly, the Head Boy – we had many worthy candidates for such a position this year, and we decided upon one who has shown his true colours throughout his time at Hogwarts." Hermione sighed silently relieved, that's good, it can't be Malfoy. "In his own house, he has shown great accomplishments, both in his attainment during lessons and his performance on the Quidditch pitch. He has shown himself as a worthy representative of the school, and I am honoured to present Draco Malfoy as this year's Head Boy."
Hermione froze. She watched as Malfoy made his way from the Slytherin table, amid cheers from his friends, and stopped before Dumbledore. He smirked in her direction before turning to whisper something to Snape. This couldn't be happening, Hermione thought, her face turning pale, Malfoy as Head Boy? But … he couldn't be.
The sound of the Headmaster's warm voice interrupted her thoughts. "The Head Girl this year was chosen for her many outstanding qualities shown in her classroom activities. For many years now, Hogwarts has prided itself as being the best, both individually and in group tasks. Our Head Girl, in addition to receiving outstanding marks for all her lessons, has helped and encouraged others who have struggled with the work. It is with great pleasure that I invite Hermione Granger to join me here."
Hermione was suddenly aware of a loud roar as her name was announced. She stood and slowly made her way towards the front of the Great Hall. As she walked towards Professor Dumbledore, looking at the smiling faces of her fellow Gryffindors, Hermione almost forgot who she was joining as a partner.
At the front of the Great Hall, whilst Dumbledore shook her hand, Malfoy stood behind him sneering. After a short discussion with their Headmaster, both students returned to their seats.
"Can you believe they made Malfoy Head Boy?" Harry immediately asked as soon as she had turned to face him. "True colours?"
"Great accomplishments? Performance on the Quidditch pitch?" Ron joined in. "He only filled the Slytherin team captain position because his father buys them all new broomsticks each year!"
Hermione only half-listened as her friends continued to insult Malfoy. Dumbledore had told them to remain in the Hall after the feast so that he could give them some guidance. Malfoy would be there, she remembered, so much for seeing less of him this year.
It was noticeable to both Ron and Harry that Hermione was quieter than usual, and after filling themselves with as much food as they could manage, they wished her luck and made their way towards the Gryffindor common room.
Gradually, the students left the Great Hall, making their way towards their various dormitories, until only Draco and Hermione remained. Dumbledore had had to retreat to his office for a few moments and whilst waiting for him, the two seventh years stood in an awkward silence waiting for the other to speak first.
"So Granger; you've finally been noticed for all that you are, just a brain," Malfoy scorned, his lips curling into what Hermione assumed was a smile.
Not wanting to retaliate, Hermione pursed her lips and leant back against the table she was standing in front of us. If she was going to have to work with Malfoy this year, she had realised, it would not help to start a fight with him. Malfoy, disappointed by her lack of reaction, began to pace the width of the Hall never taking his eyes of Hermione.
He's just doing it to wind you up, Hermione thought. Every time she looked up, Malfoy was staring in her direction with his silver-blue eyes. Don't let him, she reminded herself. Daring to play along, Hermione raised her head and watched Malfoy as he prowled in front of her. As Malfoy realised what she was doing, a look of surprise crossed his face before almost instantly disappearing; if that's how she wants to play it, he thought.
When Professor Dumbledore returned to the Great Hall he found his two students, the new Head Boy and Head Girl, glaring into each other's eyes. Malfoy, by this time, had stopped pacing and was now standing about a metre from where Hermione was leaning against the table. Although both students were blinking, it was almost as though they were having a staring contest; the first to move would be the one to lose.
"Well," he chuckled, "you two are getting along better than I thought you would."
Hearing the arrival of their Headmaster, both Hermione and Malfoy jumped slightly, breaking eye contact. Hermione lowered her head and looked at her shoes feeling her cheeks turn a pale shade of pink. Draco, on the other hand, smirked in her direction, muttering something under his breath.
"Now I know you two haven't ever been the best of friends," Dumbledore paused, looking from the pink face to the pale one, "but I trust you can reconcile your differences in your final year so as to be of most benefit to the school." Hermione nodded while Malfoy avoided both her and Dumbledore's eyes.
They spent the next ten minutes or so discussing the various responsibilities that they would expect to take on. Helping the first-years, planning events such as the Yule Ball, organising various Quidditch matches; the list seemed endless. Hermione continued to nod while Dumbledore spoke. Malfoy stood, his face expressionless, and just listened.
When he had finished, the old wizard left the Great Hall, leaving the two seventh-years to talk for a few minutes before they had to return to their dormitories.
"So, when do you want to meet up and discuss our duties." Hermione had decided to act civilly to Draco; from what Dumbledore had been saying, they were going to be seeing a lot more of each other.
"Meet you at the Entrance Hall after breakfast tomorrow," Malfoy had begun to walk away, saying this to Hermione over his shoulder. Watching him saunter away, she sighed, this was going to be a long year.
An hour or so later, Hermione had begun her Head Girl duties; showing a new Slytherin student the way to their common rooms. Both her and Malfoy had been given the exact location of all the common rooms so that they could be of help to all students and not just those of their own House.
Having left the young girl inside the Slytherin common room, Hermione turned to make her way back to the Gryffindor area, but heard voices coming from a little farther along the corridor. Students shouldn't be wandering around the castle at this time, she thought. Intrigued, she began to make her way down the corridor. As she drew closer to the voices, she heard an unmistakably evil laugh which could only come from Draco Malfoy. Shortly after, a female voice could be heard; that voice almost undoubtedly belonged to Pansy Parkinson. What were these two up to now?
"Yes, you should do that," she heard Pansy say, excitement in her voice, "even that Granger girl wouldn't know what to do." Hermione jumped, having heard her own name, what were they talking about? It didn't take long before she realised that they were talking about her best friend, Ron.
"Weasley," she heard Malfoy say, as she turned away, an evil streak in his voice, "you have no idea what you have coming to you!" Hermione blinked as she heard an evil laugh, before disappearing down the corridor in the opposite direction.