As the ripples in the puddle continued to swirl around the image that had been formed, the two head students stared at each other in complete and utter shock. Eyes progressively widening, they both looked down, then back up at each other in synch.
"That can't be...what the..." Hermione said shakily.
The pool of shimmering liquid was very much like a pensieve; an image could be seen on the surface, and it was certainly not what either of the students had been expecting. The two of them watched with bated breath, their hate for each other seemingly forgotten in the moment, as a scene began to play out in front of them...
A middle-aged Hermione walked into view. She carried a baby boy, and was apparently trying to calm his crying. Then, a just-as-old Draco walked into the room, and leaned down and kissed Hermione. He said in a faint, distant-sounding voice, "Is Nathan asleep yet, love?"
"He's still crying," Hermione replied in an equally far off voice. She smiled wearily up at Draco. "The poor tyke...the nanny forgot to feed him tonight, and he wants attention as well as food."
"You should go to sleep," he commented, placing a hand lightly on Hermione's arm and smiling gently down at her. "You haven't gotten much rest these past few days...what with Voldemort roaming around, you will need your full strength to fight him if the time comes."
"I know..." Hermione responded, her voice trailing off. "It's just that...oh, I'm so worried about our family, Draco. You know perfectly well that they will come after you first; you were the one that betrayed them and ruined their plans. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Nothing will, darling," he said in a soothing voice. "After all," he added, "I couldn't leave you and Nathan alone now could I?" His attempt to lighten up the conversation apparently failed as Hermione turned to look at him, her lip quivering.
"I'm serious, Draco. I'm so scared...if anything were to happen to us, where would Nath-"
She was cut off by the loud sound of shattering glass as a window behind them exploded. Whipping around, Draco and Hermione found themselves face-to-face with two tall men dressed in coarse, black cloaks.
"What do you want?" Draco said in a cold, hard voice, stepping slightly over to the left as if to shield Hermione from their view. "If you want me, take me."
"We have to reason to bother with you," the first cloaked figure responded in a low, gravelly voice. "However, we have been sent here on orders from Him to get rid of you. We cannot have you meddling with our plans again. You have done far too much damage already, Draco Malfoy."
With that, the second cloaked figure raised his right arm and pointed his wand at Draco. Opening his mouth, he....
The image disappeared in a splash as Draco's hand flew into it, destroying the puddle. Hermione, who was pale with fright, looked at the other wizard and saw that his mouth was set into a deep frown, and he was shaking.
"That's enough," he said sharply and icily, although his voice quavered slightly.
After several attempts to try and find her voice, Hermione finallly said in a whisper, "What was that, Malfoy?"
"That wasn't funny, mudblood," replied Draco as he glared at the Gryffindor.
"I didn't do that."
"I refuse to believe that."
"I'm serious. Can you please just try to be civil? What do you think that was?" Hermione asked, her eyes begging Draco to listen to her.
"I don't know. But whatever it was, it was bull," he replied.
"Were we...were we married?"
"This is some sick trick," Draco said, more to himself than to his companion.
"It's not. I think this is some kind of device that allows us to see the future. Please just listen to me...I think this is for real. This is our future."
Before Draco could respond, their conversation was brought to an abrupt halt as their carriage came to a stop in front of the Hogwarts castle. Without another word or glance back, he climbed out of the carriage and headed inside, alone.
Hermione slowly followed him in getting out of the carriage. Upon reaching the main entrance, she met up with Harry and Ron, who had been waiting for her there.
"Hey guys," she said quietly.
"Hey Hermione," they chorused. "Is anything wrong?" Harry added with a worried look at Hermione. He knew his best friend, and could tell right off the hook that something was bothering her.
"I'll tell you guys when we get inside," Hermione muttered. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Lavender Brown was standing off to the side, trying to listen in on their conversation, and she'd rather that no one else heard about what she and Draco had seen.
As the trio passed through the main doors and into the Great Hall, Hermione's heart warmed at the familiar surroundings. After what she had experienced on her ride to Hogwarts, she was more than welcome to anything that she could depend on to always remain the same, and the Great Hall fitted that perfectly.
The ceiling, enchanted to show the sky, was a a turmoil of rain, wind, and clouds. Kind of reflects my thoughts right now, Hermione thought wryly as she seated herself at the Gryffindor table.
Looking to the front of the room, she saw the regular teachers, as well as a new one - a kind-looking man in his mid-fourties. He wore his robes casually, and had what looked like a golden mist hovering above his head. Everytime he moved, the mist followed him. Obviously, this was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Hermione averted her gaze from the staff table, and without thinking, let it drift towards the Slytherin table. There, it came to rest on Draco. As if he could feel her eyes on her, Draco lifted his face up and looked around. He saw Hermione looking at him, and gave her a sneer. Although they sat on opposite sides of the huge room, she could still tell that it wasn't as heartfelt and cold as usual. There was something behind it - could it be worry?
Shrugging, she turned back to her book and resumed her reading. Soon, the low buzz of students chatting and catching up with their friends after the summer break died down as Dumbledore stood up.
"Welcome, students, to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
Hearty applause and whistles followed this statement.
"I trust that you all have had a safe and exciting summer break, and are prepared to take on a near year of classes. Before we begin, however, there are a few things I must let everyone know of. First, allow me to introduce you to Professor Haymen. He will be filling in the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Polite applause resonated within the Great Hall, and the teacher whom Dumbledore had acknowledged stood up and nodded his head with a slight smile on his face.
Dumbledore continued his speech with the basic rules of the school, and at last, finished with an update on how many new items had been added to the banned items list. With one last smile at the silent students before him, the sorting began. As Hermione watched "Anderson, Hailey" being sorted into Ravenclaw, her mind fell back to trying to figure out what had happened with the wrapper.
I know for sure that I have seen something like that in a book before, she thought with some frusteration. I suppose I'll go check the library tomorrow. I must find out what that was.
With this decision made, she settled back in her chair to watch the rest of the sortings.