Authors Notes: Hi all! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback on the first chapter! It's great to know you seem to be enjoying it so far, so I'll definitely keep going. I wanted to especially thank "Bec PotterYOLO" for noticing an error I completely missed with Ginny and Blaise's ages, so for continuities sake let's just say that Angelina, Alicia, Katie, Marcus, Terence and Adrian are in 7th year, Hermione and Draco are in 6th year, and Blaise and Ginny are in 5th year. I really enjoy seeing feedback in the reviews so I may hold off on posting chapter 3 until I get a bit more input.
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except the plot :)
When Adrian Pucey woke up, it was not because of the screams of Ginerva Weasley, but rather the rays of sunlight that had filtered in through his dormitory's windows. Unable to force himself to get up, he kept his eyes closed and listened to the sounds that filled the room he shared with his four best friends: the soft sound of Marcus' snores, and the rustling of Terence's sheets that came from his inability to sleep in one spot for more than five minutes. When the rumbling in his stomach became impossible to ignore, Adrian sat up and looked around the room. Blaise had always been an early riser, and so it came as no surprise that his bed was already made and empty but he couldn't say the same for the rest of the boys as they were all still fast asleep. Sometime during the night, Draco had kicked his bed sheets off, and they were dangling precariously close to the edge. Adrian sighed before grabbing them and throwing them on top of Draco's sleeping form as he left the room. When he reached the stairs to the common room, he noticed there were a number of Slytherin's clustered around the wall closest to the entrance reading something. Adrian approached and quickly realized it was the list of partners that Dumbledore had mentioned the night before. As the group surrounding the list was mostly 6th year Slytherin girls Adrian thought his best bet to see the list anytime soon would be charm rather than force.
"Excuse me ladies" Adrian said smiling at the girls who were crowded in front of him. They immediately lapsed into giggles, with more than one turning bright red from the power of his smile alone before parting like the Red Sea so he was free to scan the list. The first thing Adrian noticed was that Dumbledore seemed to have made it a priority to pair Gryffindors and Slytherins together, while Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were paired. His eyes drifted to the 7th year pairs and he leisurely scanned for his own name, while looking at some of the other pairings. When he found Marcus' name beside Katie Bell's he scoffed at the thought of how excited Marcus would at the prospect tormenting the tiny blonde for three months. A couple of spaces down, Adrian finally found his own name neatly written alongside his partners.
Adrian Pucey & Angelina Johnson
By noon, word had got out that Dumbledore had called another mandatory assembly, and the students were once again seated at their tables awaiting his address. The Hall was filled with noisy chatter as most people had already figured out who their partners were and were discussing the new information with their friends. At the Slytherin table, the boys had mixed reactions about the program. As Adrian had earlier predicted, Marcus was ecstatic at the fact that Katie was his partner, and spent most of the morning grinning wolfishly at her whenever they would make eye contact. Marcus had gotten his teeth fixed over the summer, so his grin was nowhere near as frightening as it had once been, but Katie still looked visibly unsettled.
"A Weasley!" Blaise exclaimed slamming his goblet down on the table. "Can you believe they stuck me with a Weasley?"
"Better a Weasley than a mudblood" Draco hissed glaring at the back of Hermione's head. "Weaselette may be the lowest of the low, but at least she's a pureblood."
"Cheer up lads" Adrian said ruffling Draco's hair from his spot beside him at the table. "It's not all bad".
"He's right" chimed in Marcus breaking his staring contest with the back of Bell's head. "We could have been stuck with Puffs or Ravenclaws."
"Easy for you to say" hissed Blaise still fuming about his partner. "At least you've got lookers. We all know there are a hundred men here who would be thrilled to have Bell or Johnson as partners".
"Can someone PLEASE tell me who Alicia Spinnet is?" Terence asked exasperatedly for at least the 20th time that morning.
"For fuck sake!" Marcus exclaimed irritated. "Only a daft twit like you would fail to notice someone we've played Quidditch against a hundred times. She's right there between Bell and Weasley" Marcus huffed turning Terence's head to look in the right direction.
"Ohhhhhh. You meant Alicia Spinnet!" Terence said grinning at the thought of spending three months with the beautiful brunette. Granted, she was another high and mighty Gryffindor and her friends did treat Slytherins as though they were no better than the dirt under their shoes, but Terence figured if he could get her to stay quiet for as long as possible, the experience might not be so bad.
"Good morning students" Dumbledore said as he approached the podium and faced his pupils. "I understand that by now most of you will have had the opportunity to figure out who your new partners are. I called you here today to distribute your new schedules and remind you that despite any personal feelings about your partners, this program is mandatory and you will be required to participate". Dumbledore flicked his wand and every 5th, 6th, and 7th year student was instantly presented with a copy of their schedule that had their name and their partners name written together in the top left corner. Dumbledore gave the students a moment to look at their revised schedules before continuing his speech. "I hope you all understand that this program is not simply a way to strengthen inter-house unity, but also to help you form new friendships and understandings of people you may never have spoken with under regular circumstances". He stopped for a moment and smiled at his students before continuing with a noticeable twinkle in his eyes. "Perhaps this may also be an opportunity for some of you to find more than friendship." The hall immediately filled with the whispers of students, some excited and some still angry that they were being forced to participate. As soon as Dumbledore announced that the assembly was over, and students were free to find their partners, the hall was lively with commotion as students made their way, some begrudgingly, to other house tables.
"Well" Adrian began standing up and stretching out his back, "we should probably go find our partners". The boys made their way past the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables and it didn't take long to spot their partners huddled together in deep conversation at the Gryffindor table.
"Oi, Bell!" shouted Marcus, interrupting the girls conversation which resulted in them turning to notice the presence of their partners. "Let's go get to know each other." Marcus presented Katie with what could only be described as a leer, which turned into a full blown grin when she sighed wearily and got up from the table before following him out of the hall. Adrian decided to stay true to his Casanova reputation, and decided charm would be a better way to win his partner over and make the whole process easier.
"Angelina" he said with a smooth grin that seemed to have an effect on every girl in the immediate vicinity except its intended target who merely arched an eyebrow and took his offered hand.
"At least you're not Montague" she muttered as she got up and followed Adrian's lead out of the Great Hall. The looks Alicia and Terence were sending each other were almost embarrassing, and their friends were soon staring at them uncomfortably. Alicia came to her senses when she felt Ginny kick her roughly underneath the table and she interrupted her "eye sex" with Terence to briefly turn back to her younger friends.
"Are you girls gonna be okay?" Alicia asked pathetically attempting to sound concerned before immediately resuming eye contact with Terence.
"Honestly Alicia! Just go already" Hermione huffed amusedly as Alicia and Terence were quickly away from the table leaving only Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise.
"Mudblood" Draco spat in greeting, smirking at Hermione.
"Ferret" she replied immediately not missing a beat.
Blaise and Ginny remained silent, and the quartet continued to glare at each other for a few seconds before Hermione and Ginny stomped off in one direction while Blaise and Draco headed back towards the Slytherin common room. Dumbledore sighed as he watched them from his spot at the head table. Their stubbornness would make the process more difficult than it needed to be for them, but since it was only the first day he hoped that they would follow the lead of their older friends and make some effort to engage with each other.
That's all for chapter two! Hopefully you all like it, and I'll try to get chapter three out as soon as I have time to write it. On a side note, I'd love if you all would tell me which partnerships you want me to focus chapter three on. I intended to focus on two partnerships in the 3rd chapter and do the last three in the fourth chapter, so whoever the majority of you want to hear about first will show up in chapter three. Thanks for reading! xo Illie