A Marriage Law (Dramione)

4.

Hermione did not go to the Gryffindor dorm. She went straight to McGonagall's office. She needed to speak with her immediately. She was hurting and confused. Not to mention angry. She didn't know what to do and that was a new feeling for her. 

She knocked twice before hearing McGonagall say she could enter. She made her way over to the chair that sat across the desk from her headmistress. As she sat down she started to cry.

"What is wrong Hermione?"

"They put me with Malfoy!" It was the first time that she had said it out loud and when she did she started to panic even more. Hermione looked at the woman in front of her and waited for answers. McGonagall sat there shocked. She had no idea what to say to Hermione. 

"Professor why would they do this to me? Haven't I been through enough? Why would they think putting me with the person whose family tortured me and thinks I'm nothing would result in anything but misery?"

"Perhaps they know that you are both brilliant, and they wanted your minds together." McGonagall knew this was a feeble attempt at making the situation better, but she had to say something. 

"I am meant to be with Ron!" Hermione hadn't meant to shout so loudly, but she missed Ron and now they were ripped apart and it had nothing to do with either of them. They still wanted to be with one another and that was making all of this worse. 

"Hermione, you are going to have to try and make the best of this. You are going to have to try and find small things you have in common with Mr. Malfoy. Even if it is just the fact that you both like Ancient Runes or Charms. You are going to have to start over and get to know one another. Forget about what he has done to you in the past, and start to forgive him. I know that is terribly unfair for anyone to ask of you. You deserved to be able to come here and have one final year at Hogwart's that was crazy, but that isn't what is happening and you are going to have to adapt to survive once again. I know you can do it, however unfair it is."

Hermione had spent most of the day crying now and felt utterly helpless. She was stronger than this, but she loved Ron Weasley and thought that he was her future, and now everything was turned around. She was only a child. She didn't want to be the bigger person. She wanted to be able to have fun and go to school without all of this worry. 

"Hermione, I know I said that you should speak to your partner as soon as possible, but you should take all the time you need to process through this first. You need to come to terms with what has happened before you speak. Because whether you choose to believe me or not, this is not Draco's fault. And I don't want you blaming him and getting off on the wrong foot."

Hermione nodded and got up from the chair she was sitting in. Thanked McGonagall before she left and headed to her dorm. She was more exhausted than she had been in a long time, and she needed to rest. She wanted to forget all this had happened. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare and find Ron waiting for her at the table in the Burrow. She wished she hadn't come back to Hogwart's at all. 

When Hermione got up in the morning and saw the scarlet curtains around her bed she sighed at once. She wasn't in one of her nightmares. This was really happening to her, and McGonagall was right, she had to find a way to get through this. 

She sat up in bed and decided that each morning she would think of one good thing about Draco and use that to help get her through. She figured eventually the list would become long enough that she might actually enjoy being with him. But at this exact moment, she couldn't think of one thing. 

She thought long and hard to come up with something about her partner that was good. She hardly knew him the more she thought about it. Everything she really knew about him was from the war, or him tormenting her and her friends.