Hi everyone. Thank you so much for all the lovely feedback I've received on this so far! I didn't think anyone would read it but the feedback and support you've given me has been wonderful. It seems the majority of you wanted to hear about Draco and Hermione, so I've done that in this chapter. I apologize for their section being so short but I promise that they'll be much more about them in the chapters to come. I also focused on Katie and Marcus, so the next chapter will be about Angelina, Alicia, and Ginny and their partners.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot :)
[Hermione and Draco]
Hermione Jane Granger had never been one to break rules, but desperate times called for desperate measures. After having spent the majority of the day listening to Draco Malfoy list off his family's accomplishments and explain how he was superior to all the other students at Hogwarts, Hermione had lost her patience and informed Draco that she was leaving to go to the washroom. She used the temporary absence to escape his boasting and had instead taken refuge in the restricted section of the library. As Hermione absentmindedly traced the spines of the books on the shelves around her she couldn't help but think about how she wished Dumbledore had never came up with the Partner Project at all. Hermione was a rational girl and appreciated the idea of inter house unity just as much as the next person, but what she didn't appreciate was the fact that Dumbledore had paired her with the least tolerant person in the whole school. In her six years at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy had done nothing but make her feel less than worthy and almost ashamed of her Muggle heritage. Hermione sighed as she plopped down on to the floor and watched a spider quickly scuttle underneath the dusty shelf. As much as she tried to be tolerant of him, everything about him seemed to irritate her recently especially the way he said -
"Mudblood!" Draco called gleefully interrupting Hermione's train of thought. "I thought I'd find you here" he said, walking over to stand in front of her.
"What do you want now? I've already listened to the Malfoy family history 64 times today" Hermione muttered weakly, resting her head down on her knees.
"Dumbledore said we have to spend time together. I didn't take you for a rule breaker Granger" Draco said dusting off his robes and staring down at Hermione with disdain.
"I'm not" Hermione said quickly lifting her head to look at Draco. "Dumbledore created the Partner Project, not the Draco Malfoy project! We're supposed to be getting to know each other, and in case you didn't get the message that means it's two- sided Malfoy!"
"I don't need to hear your life story. I already know you Mudblood" Draco sneered looking down at Hermione. Hermione's face flushed red with anger and she stood up and glared at him.
"You don't know anything about me" Hermione hissed angrily, her fists balling up unconsciously.
"Sure I do" Draco said taking a step closer to her so that their chests were almost touching. "I know you're a poor, Mudblood know-it-all who only scores top marks by sucking up to every professor in the entire school. Everyone knows that people only keep you around so that you can do their coursework for them. You think your pureblood friends would willingly associate with a dirty Mudblood if they weren't getting anything out of it?" Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she took a step back from Draco. She knew that she shouldn't let his words affect her, but his voice was filled with so much hate that she couldn't help but take his words to heart. Rather than lose face and cry in front of him, Hermione turned on heel and ran from the library, past students who looked at her with concern, until she reached her dormitory where she cast a silencing charm on her bed, drew her curtains closed and cried herself to sleep.
[Katie and Marcus]
If one were to walk past the Great Lake, they would stumble upon a very content Katie Bell, and a very disappointed Marcus Flint. Marcus had spent the better part of the morning trying everything he could think of to provoke Katie, but his efforts were proving to be useless. Katie refused to take any bait and was a surprisingly good sport about all his insults, giving just as good as she got. By the time they ended up at the Great Lake, Marcus had given up trying to start a fight with her and instead dejectedly lay down on the grass beside her to stare at the cloudy sky.
"Why are we even out here? It's freezing" Marcus complained loudly after several minutes of silence, the November cold forcing him to stuff his hands into his pockets in an effort to retain heat.
"Because we're waiting" Katie replied, eyes trained on the sky.
"Waiting for who you daft witch?" Marcus asked sitting up and looking around." There isn't a person out here except us". Katie laughed loudly and while Marcus was momentarily surprised by how nice it sounded, he hid his appreciation by shooting a glare at the giggling blonde.
"We're not waiting for a person. We're waiting for it to rain".
"To rain?!" Marcus shouted incredulously. "Have you lost your mind? I don't know or care about your reasons, but I'm not spending the next three weeks in the infirmary with pneumonia because some daft with wanted to lie in the rain!" Marcus started to stand up but was stopped by Katie placing her arm on his bicep.
"Wait!" she said holding him in place. "Dumbledore said we have to get to know each other, and that's what I'm trying to do".
"By getting me ill?" Marcus huffed, crossing his arms in irritation.
"Just trust me" Katie said pulling him back down so that he was once again lying beside her. "I do this all the time". As the first few drops of rain started to fall Katie pulled out her wand and pointed it at Marcus muttering something under her breath. He immediately felt the biting November chill become replaced by a warming sensation that he quickly recognized as a heating spell. Katie then pointed her wand at the sky and he noticed she must have cast some sort of invisible bubble around them because the rain was coming down but nothing was hitting them. Marcus was so caught up in watching the rain come down in torrents that he didn't notice Katie had turned on her side to face him. "I like laying out here when it rains, it helps me think. No one knows that but you, so you better come up with something good to tell me about yourself" Katie said offering Marcus a rare smile. Despite being somewhat touched by the gesture, Marcus couldn't let his Slytherin reputation fail him so he responded to Katie's friendly smile with a sneer.
"What makes you think I'll tell you anything about myself?" Marcus asked turning away from Katie and looking back at the sky.
"Because I don't think you're as bad as people say you are" Katie said matter of factly.
"Well you're in for a rude awakening Bell" Marcus said closing his eyes, and putting his hands behind his head.
"So you're not gonna cooperate?" Katie asked quietly sitting up and staring at Marcus.
"Nope" he replied smugly relaxing back into the grass.
"Suit yourself" Katie responded laying back down. As soon as he heard her lay down Marcus found himself surrounded by cold and soaked by the pouring rain. He sprang up in shock and turned to face the woman beside him.
'Bell!" Marcus screamed in anger trying and failing to touch her through the shield she had placed around herself. "Let me back in you stupid witch!"
"Are you going to cooperate?" she asked looking at him from her spot on the grass.
"Let me back in" Marcus hissed, his face turning red.
"Goodbye Marcus. I'll see you tomorrow" Katie said closing her eyes and effectively ignoring Marcus who glared at her before quickly running back to the castle for shelter.
Alright gang, that's all for this chapter. Let me know your thoughts and feel free to leave any plot suggestion or things you wanna see in the reviews : ) xo Illie