The Aftermath

01

DRACO MALFOY HAD not expected this when the owl showed up on his window with the Hogwarts invitation letter arrived. He had not expected the headmistress to be handing him the head boy badge at all.

Had he not become a death eater, the possibility of becoming a head boy was plausible. But now, after everything, the headmistress still gives him the responsibility? He was suspicious that there was an ulterior motive towards the headmistress' actions.

Maybe it was to keep Draco under a watchful eye; you know, like keep your friends close and your enemies closer sort of thing. But thing is, if the headmistress does want to do so, why would she pair him with none other than the insufferable brain of the golden trio herself.

If she wanted Hogwarts to explode into smithereens, it would be quite right pairing both Draco and Hermione as the heads. He knew that the headmistress knows what they are both capable of, and their tendencies to explode on each other and break rules — well, the beaver would probably break rules to save the world while him, the opposite.

Bottomline is, pairing Draco and Hermione together would not end well, in Draco's opinion.

"Professor," the brunette had croaked. "Are you sure pairing Malfoy and I together is a good idea?" She asked with her eyes wide and her hand twitching with disbelief. Minerva McGonagall sighed, pulling off her glasses and started to massage her temples.

"Yes, Miss Granger, I believe so," The headmistress answered. As both Hermione and Draco were about to protest, the old witch cut them off, "Both of you are my brightest pupils. Yes, I get that you fought in opposite sides of the war but you must remember that the war is over. I expect your views must've also changed. I do believe the both of you will move on and do great things."

Draco and Hermione both fell into silence, their opinions still differing from the headmistress'. "Now, you are not allowed to speak a word of this to anyone else, you hear me?" The professor warned.

Hermione's eyebrows scrunched together as she narrowed her eyes slightly — all in confusion. "That we are heads, professor?" She asked. "I don't see why we can't tell our friends!" She continued to say.

McGonagall shook her head. "No, Miss Granger," the professor sighed sadly. "I'm sure that being the clever teenagers you are, knows what war does to people and communities."

Draco nods hesitantly. "You also know the aftermath of war. What war tends to leave behind to the survivors. It is not pretty, as you can see for yourself. Because of this and the immense loss of magical population all over the world, the International Confederation of Wizards had decided to make a law," the old witch informed.

"Mind you, I do not fully support this law but there's really nothing that we can do about it. Trust me, I've weighed out our options," she hesitantly shared. "It is a marriage law," she sighs.

Hermione gasped in horror, unconsciously clutching her wand tighter. "What?" She cried out. "Yes, yes. The pairings are decided by the Goblet of Fire. All of the available applicants' names are inserted inside and the goblet would decide the pairings. In fact, the ministry has the official list of pairings already."

"They can't do this to us. I'm sure they can't! It is a violation of our human rights, professor!" Hermione reasoned. "When this law is passed and explained to the world, there would be riots, professor. Another war, even!" The brunette explains, disbelief lacing her tone.

"Yes, well — the International Confederation of Wizards, i'm sure has thought everything through," The professor informed. "One of the lighter sentences that I've heard is Azkaban for a minimum of 25 years," She continued with a small frown.

Hermione and Draco widened their eyes. "25 years, professor?!" Hermione cried out. "That's almost as long as the lighter sentences for the death eaters," Draco trailed off. Hermione gaped, unknowing what to say.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," The professor said grimly. "But they surely can't stop rioting communities, professor?" Hermione told her. "I'm afraid they can, Miss Granger. Do you often read the Daily Prophet, may I ask?" asked the older witch to her two pupils.

Hermione and Draco shared a look of malice in the mention of the Daily Prophet. "No," Hermione paused. "It's mostly made up of lies and misinformation now," she quietly continued. "And the information there are usually twisted, professor," Draco hissed, his distaste for the wizarding newspaper clear as day.

"The Daily Prophet had reported of a new spell in the works from the new department of spell and curse development! It was a collaboration of various countries' ministry but for the most part, the spell is being developed there. I've heard that the spell is for this law," McGonagall tells them with disappointment. "If my suspicions are correct, there's really no way out of this law without risking imprisonment or worse," she says.

"Why are you telling us this, Professor?" Draco asked skeptically. The old witch gave him a pointed look but answers anyway, "I don't want you nor your friends to fight a losing battle."

After a moment of silence, Hermione looked at Draco then to the headmistress. "What is it that you wanted to tell us, professor? Aside from this law and the heads position?" Hermione asked curiously, trying her best to be calm and to think rationally.

"Another reason why I've picked the both of you as heads is that it would be easier for you once this law goes to effect," McGonagall spoke. Draco raised his eyebrows unsure where this is going. "The goblet of fire had paired the both of you together."

Draco froze while Hermione's jaw dropped. They were horrified.

"What?" Draco sputtered. "Granger and I — together?!"

"Professor," Hermione cried. "We'll kill each other!"

"—there must be a mistake—"

"—no, no. This can't be happening—"

"—we'll hex each other to death—"

"—you are joking, aren't you—"

"—can't we try the goblet again—"

Hermione and Draco fired their opposition towards this continuously, overlapping each other. Minerva sighed once again.

"Silence!" McGonagall demanded. Hermione blanched while Draco pursed his lips. "The goblet is enchanted to pick which pair would most likely be happiest together; which pair would work together amazingly. I do not have any doubts about the goblet's pairings. I do think you would work marvelously together!"

"Now, if there's no other questions, please do change into your robes. We'll be arriving soon," McGonagall asked.

As the two teenagers are making their way out, Draco froze when we saw a glint of a familiar gold amulet from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and stared at the amulet hanging from the brunette witch's neck and gaped, feeling the blood rush out of his face.

Bloody hell.

"Where did you get that?" Draco asked, demanding. His eyes glaring at both the witch and the amulet.

Hermione frowned and glared back. "None of your business, Malfoy!" She spat with her arms crossed. Without a second thought, Hermione walked away leaving a seething Draco in the hall.