Love and Baby-Sitting

Love and Baby-Sitting

Chapter One: To the Dungeons with You

"Just wait until my father hears about this!" Draco stomped down the hallway, Hermione close at his heels.

"What are you going to tell him? 'Father, the professors have assigned a project but I don't want to do it. Go yell at them for treating me like all the other students until they let get my way with yet another thing because I'm a spoiled brat,'" Hermione remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I don't care about doing the project," Draco sneered. He stopped suddenly and whirled around so he was right in her face. "It's having to work with a Mudblood like you that disgusts me! Once he hears that that Muggle-lover Dumbledore and his pathetic excuse for a staff are forcing me to work with filth, he'll have me out of this situation so fast, no one's even going to know what happened. Maybe he'll finally realize that even if it does upset mother a bit, Durmstrang is really a much better school."

"Well, nobody would miss you if you were to leave. I think it would be better for all of us. Besides, who's going to listen to your father now that it's been officially announced in the Daily Prophet that he's a Death Eater?" Hermione hissed at him darkly. "Money can only get you so far. Sooner or later, your father's going to pay for siding with V-Voldemort."

"I think it's you who's going to pay, Granger. How dare you talk to me like that? Just you wait," he growled fiercely at her.

"Wait for what? For you to become better at hexing than I am? Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to wait a couple thousand years," she spat at him.

"You think you're smarter than everyone else just because the professors favor you, don't you?" Draco leered at her. "Well, I can't really say I'm sorry to break it to you, but you're not that great. Believe it or not, even after knowing you for so long, people still talk behind your back. 'Oh great, here comes that know-it-all Granger. Better watch out, she's only going to prove you wrong in every little thing you do, and then make a point to show you that she can do it the correct way.'"

"I am not a know-it-all! And I don't always prove people wrong!" Hermione's glare was strong enough that it was almost surprising that the force of it didn't knock him over.

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that. If it's that hard for you to live with the truth." Draco turned and continued striding down the hall.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with you!"

"Yeah? Well, I was finished with you."

"You can't just turn away from me like that!" Hermione sped up to close the space between them.

"I can, and I just did."

"Fine! If you're going to be immature, then I don't even want to bother!" Hermione shoved into Draco on purpose as she marched past him.

"I can't believe I'm being forced to work with you," Draco grumbled at her.

"Oh, but I thought you were getting your Daddy Death Eater to help you weasel your way out of this, so you wouldn't have to work with me," Hermione called sweetly over her shoulder.

"Granger, I'm warning you!" Draco growled threateningly to her.

"Oh my! Malfoy's giving me a warning. I'd better listen! I certainly don't want his daddy or his bodyguards to come after me! Who knows what might happen?" Hermione's voice was thick with mock horror as she led the way down a flight of stairs.

"Shut up, Granger."

The two of them made their way towards the dungeons. After a few moments' silence, Hermione opened her mouth to speak again.

"Why do we have to see both Professor McGonagall and Snape? I don't see the point of both of us going to see both of them."

"What are you asking me for? I don't know anything more than you do. All the parchment said was we were paired together and that we had to go see the heads of our houses, together. Believe me; I don't want to go see that old bat McGonagall any other time except class. If I had my way--"

"If you had your way, you wouldn't even be here and all of us could lead peaceful lives," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yes, I wouldn't be here. You all could live your pitiful, goody-two-shoe, perfect lives, and I could go somewhere that didn't reek of Mudblood," bit Draco.

"This is stupid. We're having practically the same argument we just had two minutes ago. Don't you ever get tired of all of this?" Hermione asked wearily as Snape's office door came into view.

"In case you forgot in this short amount of time, you're the one who just started it. Besides, I could never get tired of something that causes you misery," sneered Draco as he knocked loudly on the door. Hermione just sighed and he folded his arms over his chest arrogantly as they stood there waiting for Snape to answer. They didn't have to wait long.

They walked in when he called through the door to them and went to stand in front of his desk.

"So, you're both probably wondering what is going on with this project you've been assigned, and seeing how Miss Granger is one who has to know everything right away, I suppose I should get to the point lest she has a fit." Snape said all this without looking up from a stack of papers on his desk. Hermione opened and closed her mouth in indignation but bit her tongue and remained silent. Draco snickered silently.

"This morning, every sixth year student received a notice. On the notice were their name, their partner's name, and instructions to see both head of houses together. The students were chosen in random pairs. Who you were paired with is who you must work with. There will be no exceptions for any for the students."

Draco glared at Hermione disgustedly when Snape said this. Hermione ignored him in return.

"Now, about the project," Snape continued, now looking at them fully. "Professor McGonagall will cover different aspects about the project when you go to see her. What I am to tell you is the basic overall instructions.

"Each pair of sixth years will be sent to a different home not too far from here where they will assume the roles of watching over the children of the owners of their new home." Snape watched them give him unbelieving looks.

"The pairs will live there for three months," he continued. "Set dates of when you two start the project, and your assigned location, will be given by to you by Professor McGonagall. During the three months, you will get four days off a month. The owners of the house you will be staying at decide if you get any additional days off. Of course, they aren't required to give you any extra days off."

Snape paused a moment but not long enough for Hermione or Draco to say anything.

"There are a few...rules, of course, though," said Snape, choosing his words carefully. A look of disgust came onto his face that clearly said he disagreed with these rules. "The people of the houses are not...accustomed to certain methods you have grown to use. Therefore, while you will be able to keep your wand with you, magic will be strictly forbidden unless there is an emergency."

Both Hermione and Draco froze as the information they had just heard sunk in. Then, all chaos broke loose.

"No magic? Are you completely insane?" Draco shouted incredulously.

"So basically we're just going to be getting a three month job as Muggle NANNIES!" Hermione looked at Snape as if he grew a second head.

"What are you thinking? Looking after a bunch of brats without any magic at all?"

"What about the whole V-Voldemort danger? We can't just go baby-sit while the wizarding world is going into war!"

"This is ridiculous! You can't do th--"

"What about our studies? You have got to be kid--"

"SILENCE!"

Draco and Hermione halted their exchange of raging shouts as Snape stood up so quickly that his chair toppled over.

"One more outburst out of either of you and you will lose house points. Yes, including you, Mr. Malfoy, as much as it would disappoint me to have to take away points from my own house." Snape glared at them. "I've told you what I was assigned to tell you. If you have questions, ask Professor McGonagall when you go to see her. Now, leave before I find a reason to take points from you."

Hermione spun around and stomped away. Draco paused a moment as if to see if he might be able to argue some more information out of Snape, but the potions professor had already turned away from them to right his chair. Draco turned and followed Hermione out the door. He trailed her from a distance in the direction of Professor McGonagall's office, silently fuming. He knew better than to talk back to Snape after a warning but that didn't mean he had to make this easy for Hermione or McGonagall. They were both going to hear exactly what he thought about this whole situation, whether they liked it or not.

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Chapter Two: Into the Lion's Den

Hermione spun around impatiently. Draco strolled up the hall towards her.

"Could you possibly walk any slower?" Hermione demanded. She wanted to get to McGonagall and find out what was going on. Unfortunately, Draco's presence was necessary since they were partners for the project. Hermione made sure to keep an eye on him. She would check behind her every two hallways to make sure he hadn't ditched her to go cause mayhem for a younger student. They were now a hallway away from Professor McGonagall's office and Draco was making a point that he rushed to see no one unless there was something in it for him.

"Why, yes, I believe I can." And as if to prove this, Draco stepped forward one inch at a time, smirking at Hermione as her brow furrowed in frustration.

"Don't you want to know the details about this project? Aren't you upset that you have to live as a Muggle for three months? I would have thought that you'd be marching off to demand that Professor McGonagall exempts you from the project." Hermione placed her hands on her hips. Draco scowled and took another tiny step forward.

"Believe me; there is no way that I'm going to take care of snotty little brats for three months like a pathetic Muggle, especially along side a Mudblood. I don't see the point, however, of running to tell a professor off for being insane right this minute when I'm having such a wonderful time making you furious." At this Draco paused, took two giant step backwards, and then continued the process of moving forward, step by tiny step.

Students passing by looked curiously at Draco but hurried off when he sent them a dark glare. Hermione marched towards him and he stopped inching forward.

"Pick up your feet and move, now, before I do something both of us are going to regret." Hermione whipped out her wand. Draco pulled his out at the same moment.

"I dare you," he whispered dangerously.

Hermione huffed, extremely annoyed. She stuffed her wand into her pocket and Draco smirked. His expression changed to slight confusion though, when she walked behind him. Before he could even fully turn around to see where she was going, Hermione lifted her hands up and shoved him forcefully in the back.

Draco stumbled forward but caught himself. Whirling around angrily, he lifted his wand and shouted at her.

"What do you think you're doing? I don't want your filthy Mudblood hands touching me! I'm going to have to burn these robes now to get rid of the dirt you put on them." Draco pointed his wand at her. "Try that again and I'll hex you before you can even blink."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring his threat.

"Stop wasting time, Malfoy, and get up to McGonagall's office."

"I don't take orders from a low-life Mudblood," Draco spat.

"You know what? FINE. I don't care! I'll go to McGonagall and tell her that you are much too high and mighty to waste your time with such trivial matters as this project. Because obviously, this situation doesn't concern you too much, otherwise you'd want to know why the sixth years were assigned this stupid project during these times when the wizarding world is so unstable!"

It was the first time Hermione had said straight out that the professors were doing something stupid. Normally, she would have given them a chance to explain the benefit of such a project. Clearly, she did not like the assignment at all.

"Let's see how many points you lose your house for being immature and not going to see Professor McGonagall like we were instructed to!" With that, Hermione stormed away towards McGonagall's office.

Draco, not wanting to lose house points and thus giving Gryffindor the upper hand in the competition for the house cup, strode forward to catch up with her.

"Me being immature?" Draco called out to her incredulously. "Who's the one here shoving and shouting like a two year old having a tantrum? Not me, I can tell you that!"

Both continued on their way to see McGonagall, silent and in foul moods.

They reached the door, knocked, and entered. Professor McGonagall was at her desk grading tests. She looked up when they came in.

"Ah, well I'm glad you're here. I was hoping you weren't going to wait until the end of the week to come see me. From the looks on your faces, I can tell that Professor Snape has already told you the assignment and that you're not very happy."

"You're bloody right we're not happy!" Draco said angrily.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'll thank you not to use that tone of voice with me again," McGonagall replied calmly but with force behind her words.

"Now, I understand that you're upset and maybe a bit confused--"

"More than a bit," grumbled Draco quietly. Hermione glared at him for interrupting again. He in turn sneered at her.

"--but I assure you that this is not just a pointless project to keep you busy," McGonagall continued as if she hadn't heard Draco interrupt her. "You only have two years of school left before you begin you're life in the real world. Last year we discussed your career choices, this year we will be focusing on what you should expect to be facing out in the world. Professor Dumbledore and most of the staff have agreed that a hands-on experience would be a very enlightening opportunity for you.

"Professor Snape has already told you the basics, so there is no need for me to repeat them. I will be telling you the dates of your project, the family you will be staying with, and you can ask me any questions you have." Professor McGonagall opened a desk drawer, shuffled through a few papers, and pulled a piece of parchment about a foot and a half in length.

"Here you are," she said, skimming through the lists of names and information on the sheet. "Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. Your project will begin on January first and will end on March thirty-first.

"You will be working for Mr. and Mrs. Kashton. They have a boy of nine years named Joshua, a girl of seven years named Ashley, and a girl of four years named Tillie." McGonagall slipped the parchment back into her desk. She looked up at the two students in front of her.

Hermione and Draco gaped at her but neither dared to interrupt her again.

"Now, you have a lot on your hands for this project. I expect you both to be very mature. That means that you can't go around fighting every minute you're together. You have to learn to work with each other. There is no doubt that sometime in your life you will be in a situation where you'll be forced to work with some you dislike and where you will have the lives of others in your hands. This project is to introduce you to the responsibilities of life.

"You will be taking the Knight Bus from Hogsmeade to the Kashton's home on the evening of December thirtieth. Do you have any questions so far?"

Draco and Hermione just stared at her, at a lost for words. Draco finally found his voice and spoke up first.

"Three children? THREE? Are you out of your mind? That's completely insane! I've never looked after a kid in my entire life, and now you're giving me three? What are you thinking? It's bad enough having to do this project with Granger, but now we have to look after three little kids? Do you know how much trouble little kids get into? They need to be looked after practically twenty-four seven! What if one of them gets hurt while we're watching them? Do you know how much trouble we'll be in then? This is mad! Mad, I tell you! Mad!"

Professor McGonagall folded her hands on her desk.

"Are you quite finished?" she asked giving him a stern look.

"No! I am not quite finished! I refuse to watch over three little kids!"

"Well, I'm afraid that that is not your choice Mr. Malfoy. You and Ms. Granger have been assigned to look after three children, as opposed to two, because you are prefects, and as prefects, you should very well be able to handle them. It's not as if you alone, either, Mr. Malfoy. Ms. Granger will be there and you will assist each other in everything. There is no way out of this project. If you do not do it, you may very well be suspended." McGonagall gave both of them a look that dared them to speak. "Not only that, Mr. Malfoy, but your father has already been contacted about the project. He has no power to remove you from it."

Draco lost his voice again. He was trapped in this project and there was no way out without being suspended. He didn't want that to go on his record, so he had no other choice except to go along with it. This made him furious but he said nothing.

Hermione, who had remained remarkably silent during Draco's rant, now spoke up.

"You know Professor, three children are quite a lot to handle. Accidents do happen. Are you sure you want to trust us with that much responsibility?"

"Ms. Granger, I have no doubt in either your or Mr. Malfoy's ability to take care of a couple of children. If I did, then I would not have trusted you to be made prefects. Besides, the information we received on this family states that these children have had a caretaker before, so this is nothing new for them."

"Then, won't the parents think it odd having two people to watch over them?" Hermione asked.

"Not at all. They understand that this is a school project and that you need to do the assignment for credit."

"What about rooms? People don't usually have two guest bedrooms, let alone one."

"Well, this is a considerably wealthy family and they find themselves in the company of guests quite often. We made sure that the families the students are going to live with have enough room to house them."

"Well, at least we aren't going to some poor family," Draco mumbled.

Hermione ignored him and continued with the list of questions spinning around in her head.

"What about the danger that the wizarding world is going through? Surely, it isn't wise to have all the sixth years away from the school, especially since we are much more advanced in magic than the younger classes. Should an attack at school happen--"

"We will not be sending all the sixth years out at once. A few pairs will go to complete the assignment throughout the year at different times. That way, we will not lose the entire sixth year class at once. And there is no need to worry about an attack at school. Professor Dumbledore has everything under control. Also, the students will be under protection at the houses they are going to, so there is no need to fear an attack during the assignment, either."

"How come this is the first time this project has ever been introduced to the school?"

"It was Professor Dumbledore's idea to start this program this year. He feels that students aren't always prepared for what life can really be like, and while this doesn't prepare you for everything, it certainly gives you a better outlook on things. He also says that is never too late to try something new."

"Oh. Umm, Professor? Why was it necessary for Malfoy and me to see both you and Professor Snape? Couldn't we have just seen our own head of house separately?"

"We want to involve both heads of house for each pair. We wanted both heads of each pair a chance to talk to both students before their project began. In case one of us is unavailable and you need to speak to us, the other will be there to help you."

"Oh, I see. Once we are finished with our family, will other students replace us to complete their assignment?"

"No. Every pair of students has been assigned their own family. We made sure, before informing everyone about this project, that there would be enough families so that for every one family, there is one set of students. This is to prevent suspicions from any Muggles."

"Why, Professor, do we have to watch over Muggle children? Why not wizard children so we can use magic?"

"In life, there are no guarantees that your magic will always be accessible to you. This is to give you a feel for what it is like to live without magic, and though many students come from a background where they know what it is like to live in Muggle surroundings, some do not. We didn't want to make separate projects for each student depending on their background. Besides, this project is beneficial to all students from any background because it allows the students to see what it is like to work on their own without any help from a professor or from magic."

"Oh. That's all the questions I have."

"Very well. Mr. Malfoy? Do you have anything you'd like to ask?"

"Can I do a different assignment to replace this one?"

"No, you may not."

"Then no, I don't have any other questions."

"Good. An owl will arrive at the house you will be staying at on January thirtieth, February twenty-seventh, and March twenty-eighth so you can deliver a foot-long parchment with notes from both of you telling about your progress in the project. The goal of this project is to take care of your assigned children successfully for the entire three months. It will be marked against you if the parents release you for doing a poor job before your assignment is over. The length of time remaining for the assignment, should you be released early, will determine how severe your grade is lowered. Make sure your located in a place so the owls coming for your monthly report aren't seen by Muggles. Are you clear on everything?"

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said, nodding.

"Yes," Draco grumbled, still upset about having to do the project.

"Very good. Now, I expect you to know what you're to be packing. January first is only a month away and I don't want you coming back from winter break with three months worth of packing to do. You are dismissed." Professor McGonagall watched them walk away, not any happier than when they had come in. Sighing, she went back to grading the tests on her desk.