** I apologize for the delay and what I Consider a shorter chapter. The last couple weeks of the year are very hectic in our house. Thank you so much for your patience! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! **
Obvious but needed bit where I tell you I do not own any part of the characters. the world they live in or any other references to said world. They belong to J.K Rowling.
Chapter 3:
Civility
Hermione stood awkwardly in Professor McGonagall's office beside her long-time adversary in utter shock. Her hands were sweaty and tightly clasped behind her back, unable to stand still, she began shifting her weight from foot to foot. She was looking around the office. It was pretty much the same as before, with different strange instruments and decorations that definitely had Professor McGonagall's touch. The perch Fawkes used was gone, as well as the bowl of candy she had seen last time. The differences, although many, were slight in the same way. The extensive library was the same, McGonagall hadn't moved or added any significant furniture that Hermione could see. She found herself looking around the walls for Professor Dumbledore's portrait, but she couldn't find it. Possibly, it was lost in the sea of old headmasters and headmistresses from old times. Hermione even gave a small smile as she spotted what was unmistakably a cat bed.
It was as if Hermione's head was on a swivel, taking in everything around her. Well, almost everything. She refused to look at Malfoy. She didn't even want to be in the same room as him. The thought of him sent a surge of so many emotions that Hermione couldn't pinpoint which one she felt most strongly. Out of nowhere, Hermione's breath suddenly started coming in short gasps. She surreptitiously turned her back to Malfoy and picked a spot on the wall. She forced herself to take a deep breath, even as she felt tremors starting to overwhelm her body. In…and out….breathe in….and out…. Hermione forced the air into her lungs as they burned in protest.
"Are you alright, Ms Granger?" came Professor McGonagall's voice. Hermione turned quickly to face her.
"Of course!" she lied smoothly. After months of anxiety, on top of the new skills she picked up during the war, it was no problem for her to put on a mask to achieve her tasks.
"I was just admiring your new office. I had been here a few times when Professor Dumbled-" she faltered momentarily. She cleared her throat. "When he had been here." McGonagall scrutinized her for a moment before accepting her answer and moving on.
"I am positive you both may have questions, but please wait until I've explained this delicate and unique situation." She paused here and gave them a stern look. "To be candid, the Ministry of Magic and I have agreed. Mr. Malfoy will be serving a probationary sentence here at Hogwarts. It has been agreed that under my watch, as well as the other teachers, and with certain restrictions, Mr. Malfoy would avoid spending time in Azkaban and be able to complete his education." She paused again. Hermione caught herself staring at McGonagall with her jaw slack and slightly open. He is, basically, a prisoner at Hogwarts. She is babysitting a criminal, a wizard who fought alongside Voldemort. But what does this have to do with me? Professor McGonagall closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if the next sentence would be hard to say. Hermione's heart started thumping hard in her chest as her anxiety rose.
"In another attempt to promote unity in the school, we have decided to room the two Heads together." She closed her eyes briefly as if to avoid the look of shock and contempt that crossed Hermione's face at these words. Determined to complete her explanation, Professor McGonagall continued. "This decision has not been made lightly. Considering the unique history and position you both had in the War, the Ministry feels this would be the best route to show comradery amongst the students of Hogwarts. You can influence others around you to put old differences aside. The dormitory itself will not be much different than what either of you are used to. You two shall share a common room like any other house and each have a private bedroom, decorated in your house colors. You will all also have to agree on a password before being able to gain access to your dorms." McGonagall paused here and finally looked up to see two pairs of eyes looking back at her, wide in shock. Her face and tone softened.
"I understand this is not an ideal situation and normally the Ministry would have no say in the runnings of Hogwarts, but these are unprecedented times. I did advocate for you both, raising questions your personal history as well. However, the Ministry felt this even more the reason to match you together in this social experiment." Professor McGonagall spit the last two words out with such distaste, Hermione did feel slightly better in knowing that her headmistress did at least see this idea as a complete waste of time. This arrangement was never going to work. She would never be able to look at Malfoy and feel anything but deep hatred and contempt.
"You are both intelligent and capable people. I am confident you can figure out a way to be tolerant of one another. " her tone snapped back to its usual sternness so abruptly, that Hermione gave a slight jump, "I will have a house elf show you to your new dormitory; your belongings are already there." McGonagall was gathering books and her wand and had the air of walking out of her office.
"Uhm, Professor," Hermione said, slightly desperately, as she followed Professor McGonagall out the door, "may I - erm - well, would it be possible-" With Malfoy right at her elbow, Hermione found herself unable to complete her thought before McGonagall stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around. The sight of the two of them chasing her down the stairs, looks of confusion and panic on their faces, must have seemed comical because Hermione was almost certain she had seen the Headmistress contain a small smile.
"I do plan on following up with each of you tomorrow. For any questions, you may have, Miss Granger, and the expectations of your stay here Mr. Malfoy. Until then, I do suggest the two of you follow Topley here," indicating the small house elf that seemed to appear from nowhere at her side, "to your dormitory so you can have the time to agree on your password and adjust to your new spaces." she turned on her heel and took a step but stopped. "Oh! I did forget one thing, you are still welcome to visit your house dormitory should you feel the need. Go to bed, and get some rest. I will speak with you both tomorrow after classes" And without another word, she left Hermione staring after her, in complete shock. What on earth was happening at Hogwarts?
She didn't know how long she had stared after Professor McGonagall, but it felt like ages. Hermione looked down at the house elf Topley, who was waiting patiently in front of her, her big round reflecting Hermione's baffled face at... She was looking up at Hermione with big, round dark eyes. She was smaller than Dobby had been and had a long straight nose. Her ears seemed small for a house elf, but Hermione couldn't tell too well, as they had been tied back with a bandana, as if to keep them from getting in her way while she cleaned. Hermione heard Malfoy clear his throat behind her, the first noise she had heard him make the entire time they were in McGonagall's office. Hermione ignored him and instead spoke to Topley.
"Whenever you're ready, Topley," she said with a smile. Topley grabbed Hermione's hand and began tugging her down the hallway. Hermione heard Malfoy following close behind.
"It isn't far from here, Miss and Sir. It's even close to the kitchens. I was so happy when they moves the portrait, you see? We have missed seeing our old master," Topley said sadly. Hermione looked down at her with a quizzical look.
"Moved the portrait? Topley, what do you mean? Are you talking about-" Hermione drifted off as the house elf finally stopped tugging on Hermione's arm and held up an arm to present the very portrait she had been searching for in Professor McGonagall's office. It was Professor Albus Dumbledore who was smiling back at her; his eyes gave their familiar twinkle.
"Professor!" she exclaimed excitedly. Dumbledore sat with his hands folded in his lap, his half-moon glasses resting on his crooked nose. Hermione could not help the smile that lit her face. It was so good to see him, to hear his voice.
"Miss Granger!" he said back, "The brightest witch of her age! How have you been?" Hermione felt her eyes well with tears and embarrassedly wiped them away before replying in a croaky voice.
"We have missed you so much! Professor McGonagall didn't mention you were the one guarding our dorms." Dumbledore gave a knowing smile. His eyes looked past her and onto Malfoy.
"Draco," he said quietly. Hermione turned and saw him give a curt nod in Dumbledore's direction. Malfoy was looking at a spot just above the portrait's frame, refusing to look Dumbledore in the face. Hermione felt her face harden because she knew the last meeting between the two had been Malfoy attempting to kill Dumbledore before Snape stepped in and did the deed himself. Hermione stood coldly to the side while Dumbledore continued.
"How was your summer?" he asked kindly. Malfoy gave a noncommittal shrug. After a few seconds of silence in which Dumbledore stared politely at Malfoy, awaiting his answer, he looked to his feet and murmured something about being happy to be out of the house. Dumbledore gave a satisfied nod and addressed Topley.
"Thank you so much, Topley! I can take it from here. Wish everyone in the kitchens a goodnight for me, would you?" he asked her, smiling slightly at her excited little jump at being addressed. Her eyes shone as she gazed up at him, assuring she would personally pass on the message to every single house elf, and with a loud crack, she disapperated.
Hermione and Malfoy stood awkwardly next to one another as Dumbledore surveyed them. Hermione felt her heart skip a beat and almost ended the silence herself but Dumbledore spoke suddenly without preamble.
"Your next task as Heads of Hogwarts will be to work together to create a password to gain access to your common room. Beyond, you will find various rooms to make your stay in the new arrangement as comfortable as possible. When creating your common rooms, the great Professors of Hogwarts have created a replica of the Room of Requirement's capabilities," he gave a small smile, "within reason, of course. Anything you may want or need should be provided by the room itself, however, should you find yourself missing something or have suggestions for future generations that come through, please share them with me and I can pass them on to your new Headmistress. Now," he looked at each of them in turn, " what would you like to use as your password?"
Hermione stood silently with her lips pursed, rocking on her toes, stealing glances at Malfoy. She did not want to be the one to break the tension and silence between the two. After a solid thirty seconds of Malfoy also ignoring her, she was hyping herself up and trying to think of a sound question when his voice rang through the empty hall.
"We might as well get this over with, what is something you can easily remember?" Malfoy asked her. Just like with DUmbledore, Malfoy wasn't looking directly at her, his gaze fell just above her forehead. This irritated her, as if he had any right to treat her as though she didn't exist, as if her existence here was an annoyance, which she could easily believe seeing how it was his family that tried to kill her. She set her jaw and her tone was much colder answering him than it had been for Dumbledore.
"Seeing as I am the more affable of the two of us, you choose one so I can agree and be done with you." she snapped at him. She crossed her arms and stared him dead in the face as his expression went from genuine shock to its signature sneer.
"I can think of a couple of suggestions you may not be so affable about," the sight of his smirk creeping up his face made Hermione want to hex him. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was watching the exchange and expulsion was not on her list of things to experience this year. She smiled sarcastically back at him.
"We could use something a little more personal to you. Mustelidae would be a logical option," she replied sweetly. Malfoy gave her a quizzical look and Hermione gave a humorless laugh. "It's the category of mammal ferrets fall into," she answered his silent question and the sudden flush that filled Malfoy's cheeks almost made her giggle. He looked her directly in the eye now with such fury and Hermione saw muscle in his jaw flexing. Fear shot through her and she instinctively gripped her wand under her robes. As quickly as the anger came, Malfoy's face became emotionless and all the fight seemed to leave his body as his shoulders sank with a heavy sigh.
"Just pick what you want, Granger," he turned to face the portrait again," I'm not going to argue with you out here all night," and with that he became silent. Hermione stood still for a moment, feeling strangely guilty for her behavior. She shook her head, ridding herself of the feeling. He doesn't deserve my empathy, Hermione thought, anger returning to her. Everything he did, everything he is is pure evil. Nevertheless, it made her stomach hurt to think about saying something to purposely humiliate them, on top of making them say it just to get into their room. He didn't deserve her empathy, but he doesn't deserve that either. Slightly shamefully, Hermione turned to look at Professor Dumbledore's portrait again, unable to look him directly in his eyes. She cleared her throat before addressing him.
"I think 'civility' may be an agreeable password." Dumbledore looked down at Malfoy.
"Do you accept 'civility'?"
For some reason, Hermione felt nervous. It was a last-minute decision, but it was a way for her to offer an olive branch, in her way. From her peripherals, she saw give a small jerk of approval to Dumbledore, and with that, the frame swung inwards. Before Hermione could move, Malfoy had stalked by her and bent down through the portrait hold without a word. She gave a deep sigh and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure if staying here would be feasible, but she would be damned if she was the one who gave up. She opened her eyes with renewed motivation and followed Malfoy through the entrance and into her brand new home, at least for the next ten months.