The Importance of inter-House Unity
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Once again I would have been lost without the generous support of my wonderful Beta-readers FlairVerona, Madame Tibbles and Noesnifunifa. There are no words to express just how much I cherish your help. You are the best:)
A/N #02: The formatting of the following chapters will be fixed soon!
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Chapter 01: The Spawn of Evil
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If anything, Hermione had always been a logical and methodical person, so it came as no surprise that her first reaction upon learning her 'partner's' identity was a trip to the library. It had to be good for something that the 'Death Eater-boy', as Ginny had so charmingly named him, came from an old and probably insane family. With hopefully enough of a reputation to be mentioned in books.
Hermione pushed back a few errant strands of her hair – bushy and untameable as ever – grabbed a dusty tome by the name of Notable Magical Names of Our Times as well as The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts for good measure and headed straight towards her favourite table. Said table was more or less hidden beneath a wall of books dealing with the History of Magic and thus ensuring perfect privacy for Hermione since no one in their right mind ever came near those dreaded things. Pulling out her quill and parchment, Hermione got ready to do the one thing she deemed herself best at: research.
Two hours and a missed lunch later, Hermione's mood had taken a considerable turn for the worse. The Nott family, she had learned, had a history of dabbling in the Dark Arts, with a little madness and every now and then a sociopath sprinkled in to spice things up. According to the books Hermione had consulted – and being the thorough person that she was, she had consulted every book that looked even remotely promising – Hermione would find herself facing pure evil. Or the son of pure evil. Whatever. The spawn of evil. She shuddered as she got up and made her way back to Gryffindor tower. She would make sure that she wasn't alone with him at any point. And brush up on some of her defensive spells, just in case.
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The aforementioned spawn of evil was currently occupied making soothing noises at a maple tree that grew just near the lake and served as the preferred hiding place of Millicent Bulstrode's cat, Mr. Renfield. Mr. Renfield however, an ill-tempered animal who chose his new alliances on a daily basis, felt that the friendship he had shared with Theo on the previous day had clearly taken up the complete amount of 'Nott-sympathy' for the rest of the week and refused to move.
"Come on, Ren, get back down." Theo carefully stepped a little closer, wondering once again why it was always him who had to coax the cat out of its hiding places. With a wince he remembered Millicent's rather…forceful way of asking for favours and quickly pushed that unpleasant thought far away. "Ren, I'm going to be late, so be a nice kitten and come down." The last plea definitely came out as a whine, Theo thought with a hint of disgust as he warily eyed the uncooperative feline.
Mr. Renfield, despite Theo's best efforts, still showed no intention of coming down and merely hissed in an annoyed sort of way.
"I'm warning you," Theo threatened darkly and glared up at the tree when a girlish giggle suddenly interrupted his carefully woven atmosphere of impending doom.
"I don't think glaring at the tree will work, Theo," Pansy Parkinson reminded her friend in a singsong voice.
Nott turned around and gave her an annoyed look. "I am not glaring at the tree. It's that mad cat!" He gesticulated vaguely at Mr. Renfield, who was hissing and spitting from above.
Pansy raised an eyebrow and approached the tree. "Renny, love?" she cooed in a sugary voice and held out her hands, "Come here, sweets." And, to Theo's complete and utter disgust, the traitorous animal promptly descended into Pansy's waiting arms, purring in a most satisfied way. "There's a good boy!" Pansy was obviously very proud of herself. Theo, however, threw a look of sheer and utter loathing at the cat.
"Scheming little traitor," he whispered, careful not to let Pansy overhear because he knew both from rumours and his own painful experience that the sharp claws of Mr. Renfield were nothing compared to those of the sweet Miss Parkinson. Sighing deeply at the injustice of the world Theo followed the pair back into the castle.
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Minerva McGonagall had never asked for the position of Headmistress of the prestigious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and if she had indeed once entertained the foolish notion of becoming Headmistress, she surely would not have chosen a time such as this one. Sighing, she massaged her temples against the impending headache that had become an almost constant companion of hers ever since the untimely death of the former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Fact was that she missed him. Not only his guidance and the semblance of security that it provided but also himself, in all his glorious Dumbledore-ness. Fact was also that she did not have the luxury of giving herself time to mourn for her friend. Half of the student population had not returned to Hogwarts for the current school year – in part because of fear, in part because they had been attacked and were no longer able to attend any school. Another deep sigh escaped the weary Headmistress.
"Tea, Minerva?" A chubby hand holding a delicate porcelain cup came into view.
"Thank you, Horace," she smiled at the small man to whom the hand belonged.
"Ah, my pleasure, my pleasure." Horace Slughorn, newly appointed Head of Slytherin House, took a sip of his own tea and closed his eyes in apparent satisfaction. "Very good flavour, if I may say so. A friend of mine sent it to me from India. Walburga Fairfax, a former favourite of mine. Always had a great taste for flavour that girl."
Minerva nodded politely. Despite his obvious good intentions, she had never really found herself warming up to her colleague's irritating habit of collecting favourites. It was just so…so Slytherin of him. She closed her eyes and for a second merely tasted the tea. It was very good indeed.
Horace however, misinterpreting her gesture, awkwardly patted her arm. "This will work, Minerva. In the end I'm sure that this is the safest way." The small man looked pensive for a while before he continued in a subdued voice. "I just hope it'll be enough to make them realise that –" he gulped, "that they don't have to follow him." None of them felt the need to mention that this was particularly important for Slughorn's own House.
Minerva straightened her shoulders and nodded briskly. "Hogwarts will stay strong from within. It will." And with a determined look, she picked up her bag and confidently strode out of the staff room. "I believe we have an appointment with the seventh years, Horace."
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"Pansy Parkinson."
The name was spoken like it referred to something disgusting one had found under ones shoes. "I mean seriously – Pansy Parkinson!"
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly, Ron, stop making such a drama of it. You're going to talk to her – not marry her, for goodness sake!"
Ron made a strange strangled sound. "But Hermione, she's –"
"Pansy Parkinson, we know." Harry and Hermione replied together as Ron turned purple at the mere thought.
"She has a face like a pug!" Ron whined.
"Ron!" Hermione stopped in mid-stride, "You can't seriously judge a person based merely on their outward appearance! Perhaps deep down she's a nice girl?"
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Get real. We're talking about Pansy Parkinson here, Hermione."
Hermione considered this for a moment then sighed. "All right. She's horrible. And she did not deserve to become a Prefect!"
Content that all was well again in their world, Harry and Ron nodded sagely. "So," Ron asked while running a hand through his messy hair, "what do you reckon they've got planned for us in the Great Hall?"
Harry grinned. "Interviewing our 'partner,' perhaps?"
Ron pulled a face. "I'm aware of that. I'm just wondering about the how."
"I suppose speaking will be involved, Ron," Hermione gave him a stern look but something else had already caught the tall redhead's attention.
"Bloody hell, what did they do to the Great Hall?"
"Will you stop talking like that? You're a…Bloody hell!" Hermione's jaw dropped as she peered around her friend into the Great Hall. "Where are the House tables?"
Illuminated by thousands of hovering candles, the infamous Trio found itself facing a drastically changed Great Hall. The four House tables which had previously separated the Houses of Hogwarts from each other during meal times had vanished. In their place there were dozens and dozens of smaller tables, made to hold four to six people, strewn in no apparent order throughout the Great Hall. There were no longer any banners depicting the crests of the Houses to be found, and merely the long teachers' table remained untouched by the changes.
"This is bloody ridiculous," Ron's voice brought Hermione out of her reverie. "How are we supposed to discuss Quidditch strategies with these small tables? The team will never fit on one of these!"
Harry shook his head in wonder. "I doubt that this is permanent, Ron."
"Oh, but it is," the cheerful voice of Professor Slughorn who had overheard them interrupted. "Now shoo and find a place! It's going to start!" He waved cheerfully at them and ushered them over to a small table which they shared with a couple of excited Hufflepuffs.
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Professor McGonagall would have never admitted it out loud, but right here and now – she was nervous. A careful glance to the right brought into view the smiling face of Pomona Sprout, who gave her an encouraging nod. Next to her tiny Professor Flitwick was jumping up and down in excitement and waved his short arms enthusiastically at her. Minerva blinked. For a short moment she thought that she had seen the words "Go Minnie!" appear in sparkly letters. She shook her head and decided that she must have had a liquor toffee too many in the staff room. Dismissing that thought, the Headmistress strode forwards and raised her arms. "Quiet please."
With a certain amount of satisfaction Minerva noticed that her authority had not diminished and that the buzzing sound of agitated chatter of students was quickly replaced by curious silence. She cleared her throat.
"There is no need to stress the fact that this year in Hogwarts – as well as the Wizarding World – is drastically different from what we have ever known. The threat of Voldemort –" The room gave a collective audible gasp at that, and several shocked cries could be heard. McGonagall raised her hands once more in order to restore the silence. "The threat of Voldemort is very real. The Wizarding World is at war, and although Hogwarts has managed to remain somewhat of a safe haven in these troubled times, it has-," Minerva quickly blinked back a few tears that came to her eyes at the painful memory of the loss of Dumbledore, "It has had its own tragic losses which may have hurt it but did not break it. We – that is the governors and teachers of this school – decided to reopen Hogwarts this year in order to provide a safe place for the students and as a sign of hope. Hogwarts has suffered through times like this before and it will prevail once more if-" McGonagall made a pause in order emphasise her next words, "If we stand united and do not let mistrust rip us apart from the inside. I…we all have watched for too long and let prejudices and rivalry put mistrust and animosity between our Houses. This is why we need to communicate again. Hogwarts needs to be reunited."
Stunned silence greeted that announcement; then a hectic murmur filled the room. McGonagall stepped forward once more.
"Don't worry; no one is planning to dissolve the Houses. What I'm saying is simply that inter-House communication will be encouraged." Several sighs of relief could be heard, making Minerva smile. "In order to achieve this means that each of you has been assigned to a 'partner' from another House. You'll be doing different tasks together throughout the year in order to gain some insight into the other Houses. And perhaps – you'll even gain new friends."
"For now, all you have to do is find your partner and talk. And by 'talk' I mean a real, civil conversation," Minerva shot a stern look at Pansy who had pulled a face at the prospect. "And I want you to listen to your partner. I expect a short essay on each partner to be handed in on Friday." Collective groaning followed that announcement, and slowly but surely the sound of chairs being pushed back and forth and students calling for their partners filled the Great Hall. Minerva took a few steps back and oversaw the whole scene with a determined look on her face. "Let the games begin," she whispered under her breath.
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A/N #1: In case that anybody missed it – which I sincerely doubt – the title was heavily inspired by Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest". However, the plot isn't even remotely similar.
A/N #2: Please allow me a fangirlish SQUEAL!
Thank you all for the wonderful, fabulous, fantastic feedback. I really, really appreciate the fact that you took the time to review and tell me what you think. I really hope that the story continues to live up to your expectations. Thank you all so much for your support. Virtual hugs all around!
Evilez: Thank you! I will!
FinestWinterCold: Thank you for the encouragement hugs. Of course this will be continued, especially since I'm having so much fun with it and the wonderful feedback is so inspiring. Actually, I'm rather surprised that a story with unconventional pairings gets attention at all. You get a double 'Thank you' for that :)
FlairVerona: Is there another fan of Theo Nott here? Oooh! I thought that our poor neglected Theo was completely overshadowed by Blaise (who admittedly is a fascinating character). Anyway, I'm planning a romance between them but will only do it if it seems plausible in the course of the story. If there will be a Hr/T-romance it'll need time to develop more or less realistically. Thank you for your nice comment :)
Mage-Aurian: Thank you for the great review! Ginny is pretty amazing, isn't she? Originally I hadn't planned on giving her a prominent role but she kind of wormed her way into my heart. Just like Pansy. These two have seemingly developed a life of their own ;)
Qohelet: You have no idea how relieved I was to read your wonderfully kind review. I feared that this sounded like just another clichéd story (which are fun in their own way ;) ). I am trying to keep this plot-driven and plausible but please feel free to tell me when I get a bit overboard, ok:)
SamanthaBrookes: Thank you for your kind feedback. I'm very glad that you enjoyed reading it :)
The Angel of Doom: Oh, I definitely will. I have already planned most of the story and it's a joy to write it down. Thank you for your encouragement :)
Themysticalvoicefromupabove: First of all thank you so very much for the kind feedback. Being a fan of obscure romantic pairings I guess you can expect some unconventional stuff here. I just hope you'll like it :)
Yeoldecrazy1: Thank you. More you shall get:)