Chapter 2
Her body zeroed in on his touch. On his hand wrapped around her forearm to keep her from stumbling. “Granger” he said, snide mixed with surprise evident in his voice. But everything was twisting out of focus for her as his arm kept pressure on the word carved into her body. A word he had called her repeatedly over the years. A word his own aunt gave her. “Granger?” He said again, confused by her lack of response, scathing or otherwise. She finally snapped back into her body enough to rip her arm away before turning and running the other direction. She couldn’t get enough air in her lungs, couldn’t tell herself the memory she was thrusted into was just that, a memory. She stumbled into an empty classroom and collapsed against a desk as she tried to control her breathing, all the while pinching the skin around her humerus to try to ground her back to reality. Pain was the only thing she knew to get her out of these episodes, nothing else had worked so far.
Eventually she managed to stop the world from tilting around her and dropped down into the seat with her head in her hands. Why was he here? Last she had heard, he was on house arrest for his crimes during the war. She had to go and talk to professor McGonagall right away. As she stood up on shaky legs and headed towards the door, she heard the telltale sounds of trunks scraping along the corridor. She debated hiding in the classroom until they had passed, but realized she could hear the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood and the cheerful tones of Neville Longbottom. She forgot that Ginny had told her they would be rooming together this year. She didn’t want to scare them with the news or have them accidentally run into Malfoy before she had a chance to speak with Professor McGonagall, so she left the classroom and jogged around the corner to catch up to them where they had a nice and brief, if not slightly odd (but when was it ever not odd with Luna) interaction. Hermione was happy to hear they would be just one flat over from Harry and her, and invited them to come by later to see the place. As they wandered off towards their flat, she gazed after them to see if there were any tell tale signs of romance between them but couldn’t glean much. She turned away and headed towards the place Neville and Luna had said Professor McGonagall had left them as more people had arrived downstairs.
As she wandered down the staircases, she couldn’t help but feel wound up and nervous to run into Malfoy again. She didn’t know where he had gone after their interaction, and she was really wishing she had the Marauders map with her to keep track of him. She made it down to the entrance hall where she continued to keep her gaze towards the floor as much as possible without running into anything. She had to wait a few minutes for Professor McGonagall to return from seeing the newest round of students to their flats. After a few minutes she heard her heels clicking against the stones and looked up. “Hermione?” She said, looking surprised to see her downstairs so soon. “Professor McGonagall, I’m very sorry to bother you right now but I just had a very disturbing encounter and I need to discuss it with you urgently if you can spare a minute” Hermione rushed out.
“Of course, why don’t we step into an empty classroom to discuss whatever is bothering you. And I know you’re a student here again, but after everything we’ve been through these past few years I think it only fair for you to call me Minerva, at least when we’re outside of class.” She said, smiling over her shoulder at Hermione.
“Thank you profess- Minerva” Hermione amended. “I’m sorry to spring this on you but I was just heading towards the library and I quite literally ran into Draco Malfoy. I was under the impression he was on house arrest, and I’m worried he’s somehow found his way into the school illegally. Have the wards been checked? What about the vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement?”
“Hermione, I’m sure this was a shock and I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything to you, but I assumed you would have read the paper recently. Mr. Malfoy was cleared of his charges by the ministry and given permission to attend Hogwarts this year under a strict set of probationary rules. In addition, a few other select Slytherins such as Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise Zabini were all vetted and approved to return to Hogwarts as well. I assure you all of the wards are stronger than ever, and we have an eye on all of these individuals moving forward.” Minerva said gently, while patting Hermione on the shoulder.
“Oh.. I see. Well alright then, I guess I’ll just head back to my room” Hermione said faintly. ‘Am I going into shock?’ Was one of the last things she thought to herself as she turned to leave, and then everything blacked out.