Everything had changed. Voldemort was exposed as being back, there had been so much more death than Hermione had expected, and she just knew that she needed to be strong and help to defeat Voldemort. There would no longer be any calling him You-Know-Who, or He Who Shall Not Be Named. His name was Voldemort, and she was going to do everything in her power to help Harry Potter to defeat him.
The summer had been surprisingly uneventful. There were missing people, presumed dead, and there were plans being made by the Order but other than receiving their O.W.Ls and Hogwarts letters, Hermione, Ron, and Harry hadn't done much. It was infuriating but also slightly peaceful. It had given her a chance to spend some time with her parents, research as much as she could about what may come up during the start of their N.E.W.T. level classes, and she'd also had a chance to spend some time with Harry and Ron. Although, being around Fleur the entire summer had also been infuriating for its own reasons.
Getting to the Gryffindor table, Hermiones eyes continued scanning for Harry. He'd inexplicably left the compartment and she was worried about him. He'd always had an issue with Malfoy and now that he thought Malfoy was a Death Eater it was just worse. There wasn't a way though, they were only sixteen. Even Voldemort couldn't be that insane.
Biting her lip, the brunette tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Her chocolate brown eyes continued scanning even as Ron shoved food in his mouth and Ginny helped her to look while only keeping her conversation partially on Dean, her boyfriend.
There he is! Ginny exclaimed as she nodded her head towards the entrance to the Great Hall. Then her face fell.
Why is he always covered in blood? She asked in a murmur that Hermione thought she was the only one who'd heard.
Hermione just shook her head as Harry came up to them. What happened? Hermione demanded as she took a napkin and started cleaning off his face.
Later, Harry said as he glared at Malfoy who was sneering from the Slytherin table.
Hermione glared. Fine, but you will be explaining. She told him in a stern voice, rolling her eyes when Ron and Harry exchanged meaningful glances at one another. She knew that she really shouldn't talk that way to them, it made her come off as snobby a bit and commanding but she also knew that Ron and Harry would enjoy breaking the rules or not telling her way too much just so that they wouldn't get a lecture. It was obvious from his nose that hed done something that he shouldn't after all.
Just then Dumbledore rose to speak and the Great Hall was silent within moments as they looked at the man with white hair and half-moon spectacles.
"Now that we are all fed and warm," he began in his kind voice, "I do have a few start-of-term notices." First, I would like to welcome back Professor Slughorn, who has agreed to resume his old position as Potions teacher.
Potions?!" Hermione and Ron exclaimed simultaneously, swiveling their heads and staring at their black-haired friend.
"I just assumed Harry had already told you," Dumbledore said, trailing off.
Meanwhile, Professor Snape has agreed to take the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Dumbledore then paused as there was suddenly quite a bit of chatter. Raising a hand, it only took a few minutes for the Great Hall to again go silent and Dumbledore looked a bit more serious.
As you all know, Voldemort has risen to power. As such, it is more important now than ever that we make lasting friendships and remain safe while here at Hogwarts. This is why this year we are implementing a new program. Each of you will be paired with someone from your own year, but in a different house. You will work together on classwork, have bonding activities you need to do outside of class, and you will be spending time with one another every other weekend. The goal of this is to promote inter-house unity. He continued speaking as his voice rose over the loud chatter.
This project is run by Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. Any questions can be brought to them, however, there is no switching of partners. Waving his wand, parchment appeared before each of them.
Hermione looked at Harry nervously before unrolling the parchment in front of her.
Partner: Draco Malfoy, Slytherin
Rules of this Program:
1. All classes together you will be partners.
2. Every day at least one meal has to be shared with one another
3. Every other weekend a special dorm has been set aside to let you get to know one another better and focus on partner building activities.
4. No fighting or violence of any kind will be tolerated.
Now, will the older of the two please go sit with the younger. The curfew has been extended thirty minutes for the two of you to acquaint yourselves slightly with one another before bed. Dumbledore clapped then as the plates all disappeared and people started standing and moving around.
Hermione was not happy with this. But she really had no choice. Getting up, she made her way over to the blonde Slytherin. This was going to suck. Sure, she found him attractive but that didn't mean she was able to act on it. After all, she was a Muggle-born witch.<|im_end|>
Draco lifted his gaze as Hermione approached after he read his own parchment. "Does rule 4 mean I have to stop calling you Mudblood?" He asked out loud, partially hoping Dumbledore would hear his insult to the girl. He kept his gaze lingering on the brunette. He too found her attractive, but he would never tell anyone, he was a Slytherin after all and had a reputation to uphold.
He watched Hermione silently for a moment before finally speaking. "We might as well make the most of this, I guess.." He said, trying to make conversation and be as polite as he knew how to be. "I wonder who your besties got."<|im_end|>