Afraid to Love You (A Dramione Story)

Chapter 2

When Hermione woke the next morning, Ginny was gone. Hermione got up and started getting ready for the first day of class. Ginny came in as she was trying to tame her hair.

"Good morning 'Mione!" she said cheerfully.

"Morning!" Hermione replied. "Sleep okay?"

"Great, thanks to you." She sat down on the edge of her bed and watched Hermione struggle with her hair. "You need some help?"

"Yes please," Hermione said with a groan. "I wanted to wear it down but I'm thinking a ponytail might be a better option.

Ginny laughed and took the brush from Hermione. She did a couple of hair styling charms and stood back to admire her work. Hermione's hair, though still large and bushy, was shiny and all of the frizz was gone as it hung past her shoulders in big curls.

"Thanks Ginny!" Hermione said grabbing her bag. "Ready to head down?"

Ginny sighed and picked up her bag as well. "As ready as I'm going to be."

The great hall was buzzing with excitement as they all studied their class schedules. Ginny's first class wasn't an actual class as she had agreed to help teach flying to the first years with Madam Hooch. Hermione and Ginny's first class together was potions after lunch.

Luckily for Hermione, she had at least one friend in each class so she was in good spirits by the time they got to potions. The class was much smaller than many of the other classes Hermione was taking. She and Ginny greeted Professor Slughorn and took seats in the middle of the classroom. This was a concession to Ginny because Hermione had wanted to sit in the front row.

A few minutes before class began, Hermione felt Padma nudge her and gesture toward the door. Hermione turned and saw Draco Malfoy entering the room with Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott. They sat down at two tables near the back and Professor Slughorn called the class to order.

He droned on for a bit about how proud he was that they had all made the difficult decision to continue their education after the devastation of the war. The tension in the room was palpable as he spoke about the very sensitive subject. Eventually, he started discussing the structure of the class and what they should expect. They would start the term off with a partner project that would be due at the end of the first month of term.

They all groaned when he announced that he would be assigning the partners and that their partners would also be their seat partners for the remainder of the year. He began listing the pairs and they all moved around the room to take their new seats. Ginny gave Hermione a sad smile as she moved to sit next to Padma.

Professor Slughorn gave Hermione a serious look as he called her name. "Hermione Granger you are paired with Draco Malfoy."

Hermione sat stock still and stared back at the professor in disbelief.

"Miss Granger?" Professor Slughorn called her name again, shaking her out of her stillness. "Will you please take your seat next to Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione nodded dumbly and gathered her things, moving toward the seat next to Draco. She sat down and stared straight ahead, ignoring Draco's attempt to greet her. The rest of the class passed in a blur as Hermione tried to comprehend why on earth Professor Slughorn had done this to her.

The bell rang and Draco left without saying anything to her. Hermione remained in her seat as the classroom emptied, waving Ginny away when she came over to her. Ginny left with Parvati and Padma after casting a worried glance in Hermione's direction.

Once the room was empty, Hermione walked over to Professor Slughorn's desk.

"Professor? Might I have a word with you?"