Old Rivalries, New Roles
Hermione paced the room. There was simply no way that Draco freaking Malfoy was going to be her coworker. She wouldn’t allow it. She would just have to explain to McGonagall that she couldn’t work with Malfoy. Yeah, that would be the right thing to do. She would just go back to McGonagall’s office and let her know.
Hermione opened her door to the landing, but as she did so, a blur of white-blonde hair passed by her and she quickly slammed the door shut again. Holy shit. Was that him? She couldn’t risk running into him now. She threw herself down on the small sofa and tried not to scream. She employed her breathing technique again, but it was no use.
She walked over to the cabinet in the bathroom. It was stocked with various healing potions, including a vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion. She sighed in relief. She would need this if she was going to get any sleep at all tonight.
—
Hermione awoke the next morning feeling a bit strange. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach, but she couldn’t remember why. Then it hit her. Malfoy…
There was no time to dwell on that though. She had her first staff meeting today and she wanted to make sure she was well prepared. She showered, wrestled her hair into a presentable braid and got dressed in her new professor’s robes. She wanted to look the part for her first day. So, even though she much preferred muggle clothing, she pulled on her more traditional robes.
She made herself a small breakfast of eggs and toast and sat down at the table to eat. As she was eating she reviewed the notes she had taken while talking to McGonagall last night, trying to anticipate the questions the other teachers might ask of her. It helped her feel less nervous about her new position. The more prepared she was the less likely she was to be caught off guard. The more she focused on her lesson plans and ideas for school improvement, the less she thought about Malfoy.
There was no way she was going to wait and walk down to the Great Hall with Malfoy. So, when she was ready, she slowly opened her door and peered into the corridor. It was thankfully void of bleach blonde hair this time. She was not going to take any chances though, and she disillusioned herself before sprinting out the door and down the staircase. Better safe than sorry.
Hermione made her way down towards the Great Hall for the staff meeting. It was exactly how she remembered it–the enchanted ceiling mimicking the August morning outside, floating candles illuminating the large space. The familiarity was welcoming as she walked to the group of tables set up for the meeting.
She nodded at a few familiar faces as she went to take her seat. Flitwick gave her an excited wave, Hagrid beamed, and Professor Sprout offered her a warm smile. McGonagall sat at the front of the tables, already deep in discussion with Professor Vector. Hermione let out a sigh of relief when she discovered that a certain blonde head was missing from the lineup. Maybe she had just hallucinated McGonagall mentioning Malfoy…
Hermione pulled out her parchment and quill, ready to get started and discuss the plans for the year. McGonagall stood, capturing everyone’s attention.
“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I am pleased to see that most of our staff has made it here on time.”
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened with a horrendously loud creak. Every head turned toward the sound.
Draco Malfoy swaggered his way into the Great Hall, seemingly not a care in the world that he was late to the meeting. Hermione couldn’t seem to look away.
He looked different from the last time she had seen him at his trial. Time seemed to have sharpened him–in a good way. His broad shoulders stood out even under his black teaching robes. His platinum hair was perfectly quaffed, but looked effortless somehow. His cold gray eyes were still cold and calculating with a hint of ‘I’m better than you’.
And they were focused on her.
A small, knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Thank you for joining us, Professor Malfoy. In the future, I expect you to be on time to our staff meetings. We don’t have time to wait for you to style your hair just so,” McGonagall said with a stern look on her face.
“Sorry, professor. It won’t happen again,” said Malfoy, looking slightly embarrassed that he had been called out like that.
“Please take your seat so that I may continue.”
Any trace of embarrassment vanished from his face as his eyes fell upon the only empty seat at the table. Of course it was next to Hermione.
Malfoy sauntered over to sit down next to Hermione as McGonagall got started going over the rules she had shared with Hermione yesterday evening.
“Well, if it isn’t Hogwarts’ brightest star,” said Malfoy silkily.
Hermione exhaled slowly, tightening her grip around the quill in her hand. She would not let him see that his presence unsettled her.
“Malfoy,” Hermione spat.
He scooted his chair slightly closer to hers as he leaned in to whisper, “Didn’t think you would be back here, Granger. I figured you would be busy running the Ministry by now.”
“And I thought you’d be hiding away in your manor, avoiding any real responsibilities and spending all of Dear Old Daddy’s money. Guess we are both full of surprises.”
Malfoy chuckled, a smirk once again playing at his lips. Gods, she wanted to wipe that smirk right off him.
“Well, this is certainly going to be fun. You are so easy to rile up, Granger.”
Hermione bristled, pressing her lips into a thin line, determined not to play his game. He was insufferable.
McGonagall cleared her throat sharply, silencing their exchange.
“If you two are quite finished?”
Draco leaned back in his chair, seemingly unbothered, while Hermione forced her attention back to the meeting. It was difficult to focus on McGonagall’s words with her skin prickling and heart beating just a tad too fast.
She tried to dismiss the feeling as first day nerves, but the truth was she was prepared for the meeting. What she wasn’t prepared for was Malfoy and the strange feeling she now had towards him. How was she going to get through this school year?