Saving Each Other - Dramione

Common Room

After the feast is over I show the new Gryffindors to the common room and tell everyone the password before heading back down to the entrance hall where McGonagall and Malfoy are both waiting. They are talking about something in low voices but I can't hear what they're saying.

When McGonagall sees me she stops talking abruptly as if she doesn't want me to hear what they're talking about.

'Oh Miss Granger you're here. Well, we should go to the common room now, it's getting quite late.'

Malfoy and I follow her out of the hall up the marble staircase. McGonagall leads us along corridors and up more staircases. We are heading in the direction of the hospital wing but we walk straight past it and instead, McGonagall opens a door on our left to reveal a narrow spiral staircase.

'Your common room is at the top of this staircase,' McGonagall tells us. "You two can go up first if you like.'

She holds the door open for us and I take the lead with Malfoy just behind me. There is a torch up ahead of me that gives off a small glow. When McGonagall closes the door behind her, there is no other source of light, just the flickering of the small flame. Flame. Fire. Fire burns things. Fire, destroys, everything. Fire, destroyed, everything.

From behind me, McGonagall gives a small cough. 'Miss Granger.'

I look down and see my hand that is resting on the railing, it is shaking. It's ok I think. Just think about water. Water coming to put out the fire and make everything better again. I shakily start to walk up the staircase, gently spiralling upwards to my right. I'm glad it's dark and that the light flickers because hopefully, the two people behind me won't notice how unsteady I am.

It doesn't take long to get to the door. I'm not even out of breath but I can hear McGonagall breathing heavily from behind me.

'Knock... on... the door,' She says in between breaths.

Following her instructions, I raise my fist and rap my knuckles on the door. As soon as I have done this a hole opens in the door about where the letterbox would be. It speaks in a low voice.

'Password?'

'Phoenix,' says McGonagall and the door swings open.

Inside is a beautiful circular room. Opposite the door is a gorgeous marble fireplace in front of which is a large sofa and two armchairs. On either side of the fireplace are two huge bookcases that are curved to fit the edges of the room.

'Now there are just a few things I'd like to show you before I let you settle in.' Both Malfoy and I turn around to face McGonagall who is still standing in front of the door that we came in. That's when I notice that on either side of the door are two large blackboards. First McGonagall points to the one on the left. 'Firstly, this board can be for personal use: reminders for yourselves writing things when you have prefect meetings and things like that. The house elves will also pin up all notices that the rest of the school receives on this cork board. You will also be notified of all password changes including the passwords to this common room, all four house common rooms and my office.

'This board, however,' she says pointing to the board on the right, 'will act as a sort of communication tool between the teachers and yourselves. There is one of these boards in my office, in the staff room and in each of the house common rooms. Anything you write on here will appear on all of the boards but if, for example, you want to send something only to me you simply say "send to Headmistress" before you start writing. I will use this to request meetings with you, notify you of upcoming events you need to plan for and any other reason I may need to contact you. You should use this to send messages to me and the other teachers and to arrange prefect meetings.

'Secondly, you may change the colours and decorations in your own rooms but not in this room or in the bathroom. 

'If you need anything there is a house elf who will attend to you but you are not to call on him for everything.  His name is Hobney."

McGonagall says this last word in a louder, more commanding voice and not a second after she has said it there is a loud crack and a house elf appears by McGonagall's side.  I am slightly disgusted that this poor creature is being set to wait on me but I do not show this in front of Professor McGonagall.  However, I resolve that I should not call on Hobney unless it is absolutely necessary. 

'Hobney will also be in charge of cleaning your common room.  Now Hobney you may go,' and there is again a loud crack and Hobney vanishes. 

'But Lastly and most importantly,' McGonagall continues, 'you must not tell anyone the password to your common room and for now, that includes Mr Weasley and Mr Potter,' she says this looking at me.

'Yes, of course,' I assure her.

'You may have visitors and of course, the prefects will come here for meetings but you must let them in from the inside or I believe both of you know the muffliato spell so you could use that if you had to.' Malfoy and I nod.

'Now I should leave you two to settle in. I will be in contact with you soon.' And with that McGonagall left Malfoy and me alone in the common room.

I turn around back to look at the fireplace. Above it hangs a large, ornate clock. The time on it reads eleven thirty, no wonder I feel so tired.

'Well I don't know about you but I'm going to check out my bedroom,' Malfoy tells me.

'Okay,' I say absentmindedly, not really sure why he needs my permission. He leaves through an archway on the right. I decide that I may as well go and look at my bedroom, even if I don't intend to sleep there.

As I walk over to the left side of the common room I see that there is another archway like the one Malfoy left through. I walk through this and find another staircase that curves with the side of the tower. At the top of the stairs, I walk through a door and into the most beautiful room I have ever seen.

There is a queen-sized, four-poster bed in the middle of the room. There are two flat walls and one curves to make a quarter circle shape.  There are two other doors that lead away from the room. One of these is a giant walk-in wardrobe and the other is the bathroom. My trunk is sitting at the foot of my bed and Iris is sitting in her cage on my bed. I let her out and open the window so that she can spend the night in the owlery.

I go to close the window again but I pause to look out. I can see Gryffindor tower from here. When I was told I had to share a common room with Malfoy I had all intentions of simply taking my things back over to my old dormitory but now, I'm not so sure. It's late and I just want to go to bed. This room is simply lovely and the bed's much bigger. It's not like Malfoy's going to murder me in my sleep. In fact, I have spent a large proportion of my day in his company and not once did he call me a mudblood or otherwise do anything to insult me.

With my mind made up, I change into my pyjamas and crawl under the warm covers.