Another chapter, thanks to you, my lovely reviewers.
I'm having such a hard time choosing where to end my chapters. This was 12 pages before I decided to cut it off where I did (page 8). I feel like it's rather slow, but hopefully still interesting enough for you guys! I am itching for a kiss between Hermione and Draco, but that can't happen yet, unfortunately.
Please review! It will make me write more, I promise!
Anything you recognize is not mine.
Chapter Six
The entire room seemed to be buzzing when Hermione entered the Great Hall. Because she had been in the library so long she was one of the last to arrive and everyone had already discovered the new seating arrangement. About one hundred circular tables filled the room where the four, long ones had been, each with six chairs surrounding them. Students hovered around the edge of the room, unsure where to sit.
"Hermione!" Ginny called out, catching sight of her friend. Hermione looked up and saw Ron, Harry, Neville, and Ginny sitting at one of the few occupied tables. She smiled and walked over to join them, hoping that the other students would follow their example and take seats.
"Do you know what's with the new seating?" asked Ginny once Hermione had sat down. Around them students began to hesitantly sit down, separating themselves by House as always.
"It's one of the changes to encourage inter-House unity that we're promoting this year," replied Hermione, grabbing some food. She had barely eaten the night before, having been stressed over the upcoming changes and spending the night in the same dorm as Malfoy, and she was ravenous.
"You never came in last night," Ron accused as she began to eat. "Harry and I waited up all night."
"You did not, you went to bed before I did," said Ginny, placing some toast on her plate. "But yea, where were you?"
Hermione hesitated, not wanting Ron to make a scene at the news. "I was in the new Head dorms," she replied, sipping from her goblet to avoid having to explain further.
"Head dorms? Since when do they have those?" Harry asked. "And who's the Head Boy?"
"It's new this year," she replied, purposefully ignoring the second question. "Can I see your schedules?"
The other three took out their schedules and placed them on the table. Hermione looked at them, seeking a distraction. Malfoy had been right; the classes were separated by level, not House, this year. She had Herbology with Neville and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Harry and Ron. She had no classes with Ginny, since she was not yet taking NEWT classes, but Hermione noted that the girl had opted to take challenging classes. She also was scheduled for Muggle Studies, something Hermione was sure her father was pleased about, and she was taking it at the same time as Malfoy.
"You guys don't know?" asked Neville while Hermione scanned the schedules. "Malfoy made Head Boy."
Ron spit out the pumpkin juice he had been drinking, causing several students who had taken seats in tables nearby to look over at the group. He coughed, clearing his throat, before speaking. "Malfoy is Head Boy? How?"
Hermione sighed; this was exactly the reaction she had been trying to avoid. "Professor Dumbledore left instructions for us to be the Heads this year before he died," she explained. She refused to look up from the schedules, knowing that Ron would be glaring at her.
"Why didn't you tell us last night? You just went and slept in the same room as… him. He could've hexed you!"
"But he didn't. Besides, it's set up like the other dorms, it's not like we're in the same room. I was fine," she replied. She decided to leave out the fact that she had fallen asleep in the Common Room rather than her bedroom the night before, and that a blanket had mysteriously appeared over her during her sleep – something she had thought was the doing of a House Elf until she saw the stitching of a green serpent in the corner.
"Are you comfortable with that? Sharing a dorm with just him?" asked Ginny, genuinely concerned. Hermione sighed.
"Not really, but it's what Professor Dumbledore wanted. And it makes sense. We should be leading the way toward a united school, and it'll be easier if we're forced to speak to one another every once in a while."
"So why did you want to see their schedules?" asked Ginny, attempting to change the subject to calm her brother, whose face was quickly turning red. Neville and Harry had returned to eating their breakfast, preferring to leave Ron to his anger. "You're all seventh year Gryffindors; you'll have all of the same classes, except for electives, right? And the electives are the same as last year."
"Actually, no. I guess it's another one of the changes Professor Dumbledore wanted… the classes are going to be separated by level this year, not by House. I'm in Herbology with Neville, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with you two," she said, gesturing toward Harry and Ron, who had grabbed their schedules to see if this was true. "That's it."
Ginny nodded calmly. "That makes sense. I actually had wondered why they hadn't done that earlier. So I suppose you'll be in a lot of classes with Malfoy, then?"
"What?" asked Ron, his mouth full of sausage. "Why would she be with that prat?"
"Because, like it or not, he is rather intelligent. He's one of the top in our class, and we're actually in almost all the same classes," she replied.
"This seems pretty intense. Can't you ask McGonagall to lighten up on the bonding?" asked Harry, looking up from his schedule. He and Ron had determined that they still were in all the same classes.
"I think it's a good thing," said Neville, defending Hermione. "We need to start getting to know other students. I mean, look at this table; all of us are Gryffindors, and other tables are separated by House as well. Hermione and I are supposed to be role models for the younger students, and you guys are too because of the war. We need to embrace the changes."
Ginny nodded. "I agree. How about at lunch we split up and sit with students from different Houses?"
Hermione knew that she should embrace the idea, but she was already getting so little time with her friends that she didn't really want to give up the little she had. "Maybe we should just aim to sit somewhere new at dinner each day," she suggested. "I'd like to still be able to have a few meals with you guys since I'll see you so rarely."
The others agreed, and they finished their meal rather quietly, with Ron and Harry discussing the upcoming Quidditch try-outs. Ginny whispered something in Harry's ear then stood up to take the empty seat next to Hermione. Neville was on her other side, studying his Herbology book, so the two had relative privacy.
"So how are you, really?" asked Ginny, her voice low. "Did Malfoy do anything last night?"
Hermione sighed, not sure how to explain the strange dynamic that had come out between the two Heads. "I'm not sure. He's been oddly civil to me lately, though there's definitely some malice beneath it all. I don't really know what to make of it. We should become friends; I'm sure that's what Professor Dumbledore would have wanted. But I just don't see that happening."
"Well, it sounds like you two will be spending a lot of time together. Maybe he'll grow on you," Ginny suggested half-heartedly. "And maybe the one-on-one time in the dorms will help, since neither of you will have to put on a show for anybody."
"I guess so. I'm going to miss spending so much time with you guys though. Especially you; it's been nice having a girl friend to talk to."
"Well of course I'm going to visit!" Ginny replied, grinning. "Where is the dorm? Maybe I can come tonight and we can talk about our first day.
Hermione grinned back, excited at the thought of not being alone with Malfoy that night. "That'd be great! It's in the dungeons, marked by a House Elf statue." Hermione quickly gave the girl directions, and they decided that she would stop by that evening in the free block before dinner to do homework and talk. Hermione was glad; she wouldn't have any classes with Harry or Ron that day, and she had long rounds with Malfoy that night. It would be a relief to spend some time with a friend.
"All right, we better get off to class. Bye boys," Ginny called, waving at the three boys who were still finishing their breakfasts. The girls stood up and headed out of the Hall. "I have Charms, what do you have?"
"Arithmancy," replied Hermione, sighing. Neither Harry nor Ron would be in the class with her, but Malfoy would be. In some ways she was glad, because having all advanced students would allow the teacher to give them more challenging work, but she was still wanted the security of her best friends.
"Is Malfoy in the class with you?"
"Yes. He's in all of my classes except for Herbology and History of Magic, so I'm free of him every morning except Mondays. Thank goodness; I don't know how long I can stand being around him. Sharing a dorm is enough." Ginny laughed at this, shaking her head at her friend. She did not envy Hermione of her job as Head Girl.
Their voices mingled with the students around them as they walked down the main hallway to their classes, which were directly across from one another. Hermione smiled at the sight of the first years walking around, drowning in their black cloaks with their noses in their schedules. Hogwarts was a large school, with plenty of tricks – it took her quite some time to learn her way around, even with studying the moving map that was contained in Hogwarts, A History. A few students timidly asked her for directions on her way to class, and she happily showed them the way, with Ginny standing beside her waiting to continue their conversation.
"I'm not surprised Professor Dumbledore chose you as Head Girl. You're so good at helping the younger students," Ginny commented after Hermione helped one particularly scrawny boy out of the trick stair that had caught his leg.
"I really enjoy helping them, especially when I remember how scary Hogwarts seemed when I first started. I just don't know how Malfoy will handle the job – I can't really imagine first years asking him for help." She laughed at the thought of Malfoy cowering over the scared child who had asked her for the nearest bathroom. While she had gently pointed him towards it and warned him to keep an eye out for Peeves, who tended to hover around that hallway in the mornings, Malfoy would probably have sent him to some forbidden closet.
"I definitely wouldn't have approached him my first year!" Ginny said laughing. They paused as they reached their classes. "All right, so I'll see you before dinner. Harry wants to go down to the fields at lunch to organize the Gryffindor robes and spare brooms, so I'm just going to grab something to bring with me."
"All right. I'll see you then!" Hermione replied, then turned to walk into the first class of the year.
She quickly took a seat at the front of the room, smiling at Professor Vector who was standing behind her desk sorting papers. She was just pulling out her Arithmancy book, one she hadn't had time to begin yet and was planning on skimming before class began, when she heard the sound of Malfoy's voice in the back of the room. She turned around to see him entering the room with Theodore Nott. Hermione forced a smile onto her lips then turned back to her book. It was going to be a long class.
"So how were your classes with the ferret?" asked Ron at lunch later that day. Luna, Neville, and the two Patil twins were also sitting with them, filling all the seats since Harry and Ginny had already grabbed sandwiches to bring out to the Quidditch fields.
"Oh, you have classes with him too?" asked Parvati, giving Hermione a pitying look. "You must never be able to get away from him!"
"It wasn't too bad," Hermione said honestly. "I had Arithmancy and Transfiguration. The classes were really intense; I didn't really have time to notice many of the other students."
"How large were your classes? We had twice as many as last year in the general Transfiguration class this morning," added Neville. Although he excelled at Herbology, he took the regular level for his other classes, ones that aimed to simply help you pass the NEWT rather than receive an O.
"Only about ten students in each," replied Hermione. She had actually rather liked the change; the smaller class size had allowed the teachers to cover more material. "Fay Dunbar is the only other Gryffindor so far though. There haven't been any Hufflepuffs in my classes yet; most are from Ravenclaw."
"Well it is the House of wit," said Padma, grinning at the others. "I'm surprised you aren't in it, Hermione, though I suppose your performance in the war showed that you deserve your spot in Gryffindor as well."
Hermione laughed. "The Sorting Hat debated putting me in Ravenclaw, but decided against it. I'm glad; otherwise I would never have met Harry and Ron."
"And the war never would have ended – those two would never have gotten anything done without you around to nag them all the time," said Neville, grinning at her. She laughed.
"I suppose not. They are rather lazy; I shudder just thinking about how long Harry put off figuring out the tasks in the Triwizard Tournament fourth year!"
The table all laughed, with Ron reluctantly admitting the truth in her statement, and continued discussing the various tasks that Harry had had to do as a Hogwarts Champion in the Tournament and the upcoming Quidditch games.
After an extremely tiring class of double Potions, in which Hermione was surrounded by almost all Slytherins as Professor Snape had coincidentally passed mainly students from his own House, Hermione returned to her dorms. She felt the questioning glance of the other Slytherins, who were also returning to their dorms, as she walked down to the dungeons and wished that she could simply return to the tower with her friends.
"What's she doing down here?" Hermione ignored the whispers, walking as quickly as she could both to get away from the Slytherins and to warm her body. The dungeons weren't too bad when she was in Potions with her cauldron, but the hallways were unbearable.
"She's in the Head dorms down here, remember?" replied Malfoy. Hermione was surprised to hear that rather than mocking her, there was almost a warning in his voice, telling the other Slytherins to not continue the subject. After a few more minutes they split ways, Hermione and Malfoy going to the right while the others continued further down to the Slytherin dorms.
"Where were you today?" asked Malfoy after they entered their dorm and dropped their bags on the floor. He turned around to face her. "I was waiting by the statue for twenty minutes and you never showed."
"When?" asked Hermione, confused. She thought the first time she was supposed to meet him was after the last class.
"Before lunch," he replied. "And I didn't want to go to the Great Hall and let everyone know that we have to enter these stupid rooms together, so I ended up having to share Zabini's book in Potions."
"Oh! I'm really sorry Malfoy, I forgot that I was supposed to come back then too. Since I only had three classes today I just brought them all with me in the morning."
"Well don't forget tomorrow; McGonagall will kill me if I show up without a book. I've got rounds now; I'll meet you back here after dinner for long rounds." Hermione nodded and watched as he left the room, leaving his backpack on the ground by the entrance. She sighed, falling back on the couch. He hadn't been rude, but she could still feel the tension and anger from the last six years beneath his words.
Ten minutes later Hermione heard a knock at the door and jumped up, eager to see her friend. She quickly opened the door and let Ginny in, welcoming her with a hug.
"Wow, I should visit more often! I don't even get greeted this enthusiastically when I go to see Harry!" Ginny said, laughing at her friend's exuberance. She looked around, her eyes wide. "Wow! This place is really great. I can't believe you guys have a kitchen and everything!"
"Yea, it's pretty amazing," agreed Hermione. She had often had trouble in the Gryffindor Common Room finding time to stop at the Great Hall for food in the mornings, so being able to simply grab a granola bar would be a life-saver.
"Is it fully stocked?" asked Ginny, walking over to the kitchenette and peering around curiously. "Or do the House Elves just give you what you need?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't really had time to look around here yet; I've barely been in the room," she replied. "I guess this is the only time I'll really have to do so today, so we could look now?"
"Definitely!" replied Ginny, immediately opening cupboards. The shelves were fully stocked, with a mixture of Muggle food and Wizarding food. Microwave popcorn, chocolate frogs, and pastries filled the cabinets, offering tempting late-night snacks for the two Heads. Hermione made a mental note of the coffee, something not served at the Great Hall, knowing that she would need it after nights with late rounds.
"This is amazing," said Ginny when she had finished exploring the room. "I wonder if the previous Heads were treated this well!"
Hermione laughed. "Well, I know they had some privileges, but the dorms are new," she said. "I'm kind of worried that they're just making up for all the work they're going to have us do… with all the new inter-House unity activities, I have a feeling I won't have much free time, and I'll need to be able to get away if I have any hope of passing my NEWTs."
"You'll do great. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think – what's your schedule? When do you do rounds?"
Hermione sighed; she had spent a portion of lunch memorizing her schedule so she wouldn't forget any books and have to get Malfoy to come back to the dorms with her, and it was as bad as she thought. "On Mondays I have Arithmancy and Transfiguration in the morning, double Potions in the afternoon, then long rounds with Malfoy during free block from seven to ten, and late rounds from eleven to midnight with Blaise. Tuesdays I have double Herbology in the morning, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration in the afternoon, and early rounds from ten to eleven with the Slytherin prefect Marissa."
"Oh, I've seen Marissa around before. The chubby girl with the black hair?" Hermione nodded. "She's really insecure, but she seems nicer than most Slytherins."
"Well that's a relief," Hermione replied. "I'm paired with all of the Slytherins, I'm glad at least one is decent. Wednesdays I have a free morning, Potions and Transfiguration in the afternoon, and rounds with Malfoy during the free block before dinner. Thursdays I have History of Magic and Herbology in the morning, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms in the afternoon, and early rounds with Dennis, the Hufflepuff prefect. Do you know Dennis?"
"No, the only Dennis I know is Creevey, from Gryffindor," Ginny said apologetically.
"He's only a fifth year, so I haven't seen him around either. Fridays I have History of Magic and a free block in the morning, Arithmancy and Charms in the afternoon, and late rounds with Malfoy again from eleven to midnight. So basically, the only times I can escape him is during three of my rounds and in the mornings. I'm going to go insane!"
"That doesn't seem fair that you're doing so many rounds – you have at least one every day! Is Malfoy doing this much?"
"Malfoy actually has one more round than I do. All the prefects have three rounds a week, I have six, and he has seven. I guess it makes sense, since we are the Heads. Plus we don't really have to watch any Common Rooms like the House prefects do. But still… I don't think I'll be getting very much sleep this year."
"If you could handle school while fighting Voldemort, I'm sure you can handle being Head Girl," replied Ginny reasonably.
"I guess so. Look at me, I'm worried already and term has barely started! Tell me about your classes."
"It's pretty similar, I'm just a grade behind you in them," said Ginny. "Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Charms, and then Muggle Studies since I'm from a wizard family."
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention: you're in Muggle Studies with Malfoy." Hermione laughed at her friend's look of disgust. "Hey, don't complain! I have five classes with the ferret!"
"Yes, but not one in which he learns about those he hates most! He'll just learn more things to insult Muggles about."
"I'm not sure. I think much of his cruelty is based off ignorance; maybe once he sees that Muggles are people too he'll lose some of his prejudice."
"I suppose so," Ginny conceded.
"Well, we should start our homework. Professor McGonagall already assigned an essay, and I have some Arithmancy problems as well as a chapter to read for Potions."
Ginny sighed. "I thought fifth year was tough because of OWLs, but I'm already drowning in work! These teachers are bonkers."
Hermione laughed, agreeing with her friend. She pulled out her quill and a piece of parchment and began to write, hoping to finish the essay and possibly begin the Arithmancy problems before dinner.