Lost Image | dramione

11 | the common enemy

The next day, she had exactly two classes with Draco Malfoy, but at least one of those classes included Harry and Ron. With her two friends beside her in Transfiguration class, she could pretend that she barely noticed the blond boy sitting next to his Slytherin friends. She imagined he would do the same, but on the rare occasion that she did look across the room at him, she found him looking at her. Once, their eyes met, and all at once she was filled with an irrational embarrassment, her cheeks reddening and her body slumping down to hide behind Harry.

Her friend frowned at her, whispering, "What's wrong?"

Ron, unfortunately, had also noticed. He leaned over from across Harry. "Want us to go hex him, Hermione? Just give us a reason."

She didn't know if the idea was funny or mortifying, but the fact that their whispering called attention to their new Professor, Bartholomew Bunson, was certainly reason to make Hermione groan.

"Is there something you would care to share with the class, Mr. Potter? Weasley? Granger? Something more important than the delicate and precise movements needed for proper Conjurations at a N.E.W.T level?"

All eyes were on them, now.

"Malfoy," Nott called up from his place in the front row, and Professor Bunson's head snapped to him.

"What was that?" he asked, as confused as the rest of the class.

Nott's lips curled into an unpleasant smile. "You called them Potter, Weasley, and Granger. It's Potter, Weasley, and Malfoy, now."

A very eerie silence descended on the room, broken only by the clearing of the Professor's throat. Hermione looked over at Draco, expecting him to be giving her a horrified gaze, but instead found him glaring down at Nott, his hand in his robes where she knew he kept his wand. "Right. Well, anyways, try to focus on the lesson you three."

The Professors where fully aware of how thorny the whole Marriage Law situation was among the student body. There were many students affected by the Law- both the actual seventh years like Ginny and the returning students like herself. The horrifying education received at Hogwarts last year was voided, and in order to take NEWTS most students had chosen to return. She was certain the Professors had all grown quite sick of teaching their seventh year and technicality-seventh year students, and dealing with the gossip and sudden silences. Although this was the only case so far she had noticed where the issue had been thrown in anyone's face like this. She mirrored Draco, sending Nott a scathing look.

Just because her last name had changed, didn't mean she necessarily had to be called Malfoy the rest of the year, right? Couldn't she have the few remaining months of her school career with the name "Granger" associated with praise on her Professor's lips?

"We could change that hexing offer to include Nott," Ron mumbled, quietly as he could, and Hermione rolled her eyes in the most affectionate way possible.

...

She had one more class with Draco: Potions. As with Monday, she sat in the back, avoiding the blond boy in front. She noticed that Nott sat a little a ways from Draco... or perhaps that was visavera?

Draco looked back, noticing her setting up her book and cauldron, and, much to her confusion, he moved to stand up, his bag in tow.

She watched him, hoping she could ward him off with her eyes, but no such luck. Either he didn't notice the look of venom she shot at him, or he didn't care. He put his things down directly next to her, setting up his own cauldron for class.

"Just what are you doing?" she hissed, looking around her. Sure enough, just about everyone was sneaking peaks at the two of them, heads bent in quiet conversation. What on earth could they be saying? What rumors were flying about the room at that moment?