Here's chapter four! Not too much happens in this chapter, but I'm attempting to build up the relationships between the various characters and I hope you'll enjoy it. I have chapter five written already (seven pages, whereas this one is only five) so if you want it review like crazy and it'll go up faster - maybe even tonight! I've been MIA lately (I had my wisdom teeth out last week) but I'll be writing again now that I'm off my pain meds.
As always, anything you recognize is not mine.
Chapter Four
"I wish I were a seventh year too," grumbled Ginny as she slumped in her seat beside Harry on the train. The morning had been hectic as always, even with only four students going to school, and everyone in the group was cranky.
"Soon enough," replied Hermione, looking out the window at the fields rushing by. She knew that shortly she would be required to go to the compartment with the other prefects and the Head Boy, but she was putting it off as long as possible. She wanted to just stay with her friends without the stress of the job.
"Shouldn't you be in the prefect compartment?" asked Harry, reading her thoughts.
"Yea, you need to let us know who got Head Boy," added Ron through a mouth of chocolate frogs. He licked the chocolate off his fingers and Hermione cringed.
"I guess you're right. Oh, I really wish one of you had been made a prefect this year. It's going to be so strange not seeing you all the time."
"You have classes, and time in the common room," said Ginny consolingly, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Nothing's changing. Go on, you need to address the prefects before we reach the school."
Hermione reluctantly got up, fidgeting anxiously with her soft pink sweater, one that Ginny had picked out. "All right. I'll see you guys in the Great Hall, I suppose…"
"Bye," said the boys, their mouths stuffed with food. Ginny offered an encouraging smile and waved as Hermione stepped out of the compartment. She shut the door behind her, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to go to the prefects' compartment – bumping right into Malfoy.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed. Malfoy seemed to have a bad habit of sneaking up on her, and she hoped it wouldn't continue throughout the year; she was already stressed enough without getting a heart attack every five seconds. She looked up at the boy who was now a good foot taller than her, and for a moment was overwhelmed by his sweet-smelling cologne. A raise of his eyebrow snapped her out of her daze, and she quickly stepped back.
"You're late, Granger? I would have thought a goody-two-shoes like you would have been the first in the compartment."
"I was simply spending some time with my friends before greeting the new prefects," she replied coolly. Her mind flashed back to the letter she had sent him; it would be very difficult to remain civil if he insisted on insulting her every time they spoke.
Malfoy didn't reply, but stepped back to allow her through. She nodded at him curtly and turned to lead the way to the prefect compartment, lifting her chin and hoping she appeared more composed than she was feeling.
The compartment hushed when she entered with Malfoy hovering behind her. "Hello everyone," she said brightly, instantly deciding to ignore Malfoy and enjoy the position she had been so looking forward to. She quickly scanned the compartment, searching for a familiar face and settling on Neville Longbottom. "I'm Hermione Granger, the new Head Girl. I see that Professor McGonagall instated some new prefects this year, so why don't we go around and say our name and House?" She sat down next to Neville, a welcoming smile on her face, while Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Like I said, my name if Hermione, I'm a Gryffindor. Malfoy?"
Malfoy crossed his arms, scowling. "I think they know us already, Granger."
Most of the students in the compartment shuffled uncomfortably at Malfoy's obvious anger, while one boy whom Hermione recognized as Malfoy's friend Blaise Zabini smirked.
"Well, for those of you who don't know him, that is Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, and this year's Head Boy. All right, so we'll just go in a circle. Neville, can you start?" she asked, turning to the boy beside her. He had grown a lot over the summer, now much taller than she was, and his muscles were much more filled out. Hermione was glad; she didn't want to worry about protecting him from the Slytherin prefects all year.
"Yea, sure," he replied, turning his wand over in his fingers absentmindedly. "I'm Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor, seventh year." He looked pointedly at Malfoy. "I'm really glad to be a prefect this year, after the war and all. Our behavior will set the stage for many years to come."
Hermione smiled, thankful to have someone who supported her in the compartment. "Thank you Neville. And you?" she asked, turning to the wide-eyed girl with short brown hair sitting next to her whom she did not recognize.
"Sophie Jones, Hufflepuff. I'm a 5th year," she replied, smiling softly at Hermione's welcoming face.
The dark boy with sharp eyes next to her looked up as Hermione's attention turned to him, apparently having tuned out the conversation once the introductions had begun. "Blaise Zabini," he replied, a bored look on his face. "Slytherin, seventh year."
"I'm also a Slytherin," said the girl beside him. Her hair was pitch black with dark purple highlights throughout it, and she was rather chubby. "My name is Marissa Hale. I'm a sixth year."
"Luna Lovegood," said the blonde across the compartment from Marissa. She held an edition of The Quibbler upside down in her hands, and looked up at the group through a pair of sparkly pink eyeglasses. "I'm a Ravenclaw, and a seventh year."
"Matthew Derevill." The boy beside Luna was tall and muscular with dark brown hair. Hermione felt a blush creep on her cheeks as she realized that he was rather cute. Malfoy's impatient cough interrupted her thoughts, and she learned that the boy was also a seventh year, and a Ravenclaw.
"Dennis Chorley, a fifth year Hufflepuff," said a very short boy beside him. He had a large smile on his face despite the obvious tension added by the Slytherins surrounding him.
"Parvati Patil," added the girl beside him, the last in the room. "Also a seventh year, and a Gryffindor."
"Wow, we certainly have a lot of seventh years this time around! That's great!" Hermione said enthusiastically. Although she wasn't excited to have Blaise and Malfoy together, the others all seemed all right, and Neville and Luna would be nice companions.
"Are we done with these cute little introductions?" asked Malfoy with a sneer.
Hermione closed her eyes, willing herself to be patient. "Yes, Malfoy. Did you have anything you wanted to add?"
"Only that we're about five minutes from the school, and since the prefects have to direct everyone around, we probably should change into our robes."
Hermione glanced out the window, realizing that he was right. "Oh – all right then. Go ahead and get changed. Inside McGonagall will tell you your House password, and you will lead your students to their rooms. Try to be friendly! We can meet tomorrow before breakfast to discuss rounds." The prefects all nodded and filed out of the compartment, Neville giving Hermione's hand a supportive squeeze before leaving. She stood up to leave as well before she noticed Luna had remained in the compartment.
"Are you going to get changed Luna?" she asked, attempting to be polite.
Luna looked out the window thoughtfully. "It's funny that Professor McGonagall would put you and Malfoy as Head Boy and Girl, isn't it?"
Hermione faltered, having thought the same thing herself. "I suppose she believes it will encourage inter-House unity."
"Yes, but if you two fail, it will only lead to an even larger gap between the Houses. I wouldn't want that pressure on me," Luna replied, before folding her magazine and standing up. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."
Hermione slumped back in the seat after Luna left, suddenly feeling like being Head Girl was going to be much harder than she had initially thought.
"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy," called out a familiar voice when Hermione entered Hogwarts, rounding up the last few children. She was soaking wet due to the rain outside, and all she could think about was the warm food that awaited her in the Great Hall. She sighed, knowing it would have to wait. "Could you come here please? Prefects, you too. In here."
The ten students filed into as small corridor off the side of the main corridor, forming a semi-circle around their aging headmistress. Water dripped off each of them, and they already looked ragged from their experience with the children.
"You all better learn how to hide that desperation," Professor McGonagall said humorously, waving her wand and clearing the water off the students. "They'll never behave if you show them how tired you truly are." The prefects all let out a forced laugh.
"I assume you're wondering why I called you in here?" she asked. The students nodded. "Well, first off, I wanted to alert you of some new changes within Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore's wish was for a united school, and we will be working towards that goal this year. Beginning tomorrow morning, the House tables will be removed. There will be a large common room in the school for all students to access, along with several more bonding activities to encourage students to interact with other Houses. Also, there will be no House Cup this year."
At this, several of the students complained, muttering about Quidditch competitions. Blaise even let out a shout of indignation.
"Relax, relax. The Quidditch Cup will still be available. But I want the competition to start and end on the field; in the classrooms, we should be united. Understood?" The crowd nodded reluctantly. "All right. Prefects, please enter the Great Hall and show the first years where to wait. You two wait here," she added, seeing Hermione and Malfoy starting to leave as well.
"Yes Professor McGonagall?" asked Hermione, attempting to remain polite and hold back her yawns.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, looking between the two teenagers. "Professor Dumbledore left special instructions before he died, especially regarding the Heads for this year," she began hesitantly. "He specifically requested that you two were selected. In addition, he has instructed that there be new rooming arrangements, to allow you both to better lead the school." She gave them directions to a location deep in the dungeons, close to the Slytherin rooms. "You are to report there immediately after dinner. Now you may join the feast." She gave a sympathetic look to Hermione, then swept out of the room, clearly uncomfortable with Professor Dumbledore's instructions.
Hermione stood in the dim room, her mouth open, dumb-struck. She turned to Malfoy to see what he thought of the situation, but he had already followed Professor McGonagall, leaving her alone in her confusion.
Once in the Great Hall, Hermione searched the Gryffindor table for Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Millions of lighted candles hovered above her, sheltering her from the dark mimicked sky and offering a warm glow to the room. She must have misunderstood Professor McGonagall; there was probably just a Head office she had never learned about before, and they were being given access to it for meetings. Either way she needed her friends to distract her. After finding them, she slipped onto a seat beside Ron, purposefully keeping her back to Malfoy. She greeted her friends with a weak smile.
"Attention, attention everyone," called out Professor McGonagall after the first years had been sorted into their respective Houses. The room fell silent, each student eager to hear what this new Headmistress would say.
Professor McGonagall looked out at the mass of black surrounding her, accentuated with four distinct colors. Before his death Professor Dumbledore had urged her to unite the Houses, to make Hogwarts one again. She knew that the job would be a difficult one: the war had killed so many and there were hundreds of hidden grudges remaining among the children. Even the seating arrangement, each child sitting at her own House table, led to the separation. Her eyes fell on Hermione and Malfoy, seated on opposite ends of the room, their backs to one another. Professor Dumbledore had specifically asked for them to be the first Head Boy and Girl after the war, but she didn't see how they could ever be anything but bitter enemies.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she began, opening her arms in a large gesture. "I'm Professor McGonagall, your new Headmistress. I am happy to see so many new faces this year. Things have changed since many of you attended Hogwarts just a few short months ago, and I ask that you to keep an open mind to the changes." She paused, looking over the Slytherin table, which was only half full compared to the others. Many had been kept home by parents or asked not to return due to alliances with Voldemort. "I wish to remind you that anyone who is attending this school deserves to be here," she continued slowly, stressing each word. "The events of last year have been carefully considered, and I do not want any student acting on them. Professor Dumbledore wished for inter-House unity, and I plan on upholding his beliefs. You will get a fresh start this year. Make the most of it."
She sat back down, her lips pursed, as food appeared in front of the students. The silence was immediately replaced by loud clangs of dishes and urgent gossip being spread. "I wonder if even Granger and Malfoy's friendship can make a difference here," she wondered to herself.