The dancing came to a halt when Headmistress McGonagall's voice was suddenly amplified throughout the Great Hall. Hermione wasn’t paying much attention to what she was speaking about. There were a few inspirational cliché phrases such as "unity," "perseverance," and "new beginnings," but she wasn’t truly tuned into the speech. As she sipped on the cider, her mind flitted to Malfoy. If only he didn’t have to leave. What if something happened to him between Hogwarts and the Manor? The urgent warning bell in her head was drowning out the surrounding voices of the students and McGonagall. Everything was muffled, as if she were trying to hear underwater. 