"WHAT?!?" they both shouted, their eyes wide as they stared at Dumbledore. Sure, they were secretly getting along better than they had in the past six years, but Dumbledore forcing them to become a couple? How strange was that?
"You both heard what I said," Dumbledore said, still smiling. There had to be a reason he was doing this to them.
"But... but why?" Hermione said, staring at him.
His smile widened. "Oh, you'll figure that out yourselves. You'll see. Now, I expect to see the two of you together for most of the day." And with that, Dumbledore winked at the two and left his own office.
They stood in his office, frozen to the spots they were standing on. Never, not even in one million years, had they expected Dumbledore to do something like this. They knew he was always keeping people guessing and things like that, but this was definitely pushing the limits. And what would their classmates think? Especially Harry and Ron in Hermione's case.
"I... I don't believe this... maybe he really has cracked..." Hermione said quietly.
"Yeah... and what do you suggest we do about our friends? Especially yours?" Draco asked. Hermione turned her head to look at him.
She sighed. "I don't know. I mean, Ginny and her friend Whitney will understand, and maybe Lavender and Parvati will, but Harry and Ron... they're going to go crazy! And I don't know enough about Sapphire or Chairee yet... God, this is going to be the most confusing school year..." Draco nodded in agreement. It definitely wasn't going to be easy, if one thing was for sure.
"Yeah... um, just to let you know, Samantha and Brianna are actually my friends..." Draco hesitated as he spoke.
Hermione smiled. "I know. I kind of figured that out on my own. I mean, no one actually hates being in Slytherin. So, um, we better get going, huh?" Draco nodded.
They walked out of Dumbledore's office together, causing many heads to turn as they walked down the corridors. Unfortunately for them, Harry, Ron, Chairee, Sapphire, Ginny, and Whitney were waiting right outside for them.
"So, Hermione, care to explain what's going on?" Ron said coldly, glaring at Draco.
"Um... well, you see..." Hermione started, uncomfortable at the way Ron and Harry were glaring at her. No one else seemed to mind, however.
"See what?" Ron insisted.
Hermione sighed. "Draco, should we tell them?" She looked up at him. He nodded, and she took a deep breath, hoping her friends wouldn't take her news in the wrong way.
"Draco and I are... dating," Hermione said simply. Ron's mouth nearly dropped to the floor.
"You're WHAT?" he shouted, loud enough to stop everyone passing by in the corridors. He looked angrier than Draco had ever seen him get. And, come to think of it, so did the other Gryffindors surrounding them.
Ron suddenly pushed Draco into the wall. "What do you think you're doing, Malfoy? Trying to get Hermione to join you and your Slytherin friends?" Ginny and Chairee attempted to pull Ron off of Draco, but it was no use. He was holding Draco's shoulders so hard it was starting to become painful.
"No, I'm not... just let me go..." Draco said weakly. Ron glared at him, but released his strong grip.
"This is stupid... Ron, stop being an idiot and let's go. I don't want to watch you get into a fight with someone," Chairee said from behind him. He turned around to face her, and then began walking away with her.
Everyone else, however, continued to stare at Hermione and Draco. None of them could believe this was actually happening. All they did for about five minutes was stare at the two, creating a very uncomfortable silence.
"So, um... can I ask you guys why?" Ginny asked suddenly as Whitney nodded beside her.
"Well... it's kind of complicated. We'll explain later, okay?" Hermione asked her. Ginny nodded.
"Hey, why is everyone standing around here?" the voice of Rachel, Professor Elaine's daughter, said as she approached them.
"It's complicated. Or at least that's what they say," Whitney replied, pointing at Draco and Hermione.
"Oh... I see..." Rachel said, eyeing Draco and Hermione. It really wasn't that big of a deal, if you really looked at it. So why did everyone have to make it out to be one?
"Um, well, we really have to get going... I still have to tell Samantha and Brianna about this," Draco said awkwardly, walking away from Harry, Ginny, Whitney, Sapphire, and Rachel. Hermione followed him as everyone stared at them as they left.
Once they were away from everyone else, Hermione sighed. "That didn't go too well... it has to get better, doesn't it?" She asked, grabbing Draco's arm. Draco did all he could to resist from blushing as he nodded, not looking at her.
They continued walking, looking for Samantha and Brianna, who seemed to be nowhere in sight. Where could they have gotten themselves into? This was really starting to annoy Draco and Hermione both.
"Where did they go?" Draco said in an annoyed voice as he came out of the Slytherin common room. Still no luck in finding his two friends.
Hermione shrugged. "Maybe they're in a classroom? You never know." Draco began walking towards the classrooms, looking in each empty one. He just had to make two new friends who could somehow figure out a way to get themselves completely separated from him, didn't he? Even Crabbe and Goyle would be easier to hang out with, although Samantha and Brianna were much more interesting.
And finally, they found them, sitting in an empty classroom looking at something. Draco tapped them both on the shoulder.
"Ah!" They both jumped, quickly spinning around to face him. When they noticed Hermione next to him, their expressions turned into completely confused looks.
"What are you two doing?" Draco asked, smirking.
"Um... nothing?" Brianna said, hiding whatever it was they'd been looking at behind her back.
"Draco, the real question is... what are you doing?" Samantha asked, looking directly at Hermione, who grinned.