We'll Always Have Paris

We'll Always Have Paris

Ch. 1

"Come in." Professor McGonagall rose to greet the second Hogwarts exchange student at the sound of his quick knocks on her door.Knowing the reaction his arrival would provoke, she tried to keep her tone as cheerful and nonchalant as possible, "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, I trust your trip back to school went smoothly."

"Yes, Professor, my father just dropped me off, actually. I am sorry I was unable to catch the Hogwarts Express, but my father's business detained us for longer than we anticipated." Ever since he'd received the letter from the deputy headmistress during summer break informing him that he had been selected for the Beauxbatons-Hogwarts exchange program, Draco could not wait for September 1^st to arrive. Two whole months in France at a different school and with different students, and, more importantly, away from that Harry Potter and his fan club. His parents were very proud. Hogwarts only sent its best all-around student for this exchange, and the fact that he was only a sixth year student made him feel even more exceptional. He could not wait to rub Potter's nose in the fact that a Malfoy had been chosen. But as he peered around Professor McGonagall, his eyes were met with a most unwelcome sight. "What's she doing here?"

Hermione Granger leapt from her chair the moment she heard Draco's drawling voice and whirled around, not believing her ears, "What do you mean, 'What's she doing here?' What are you doing here?" While they were waiting, Professor McGonagall told her that even though it was customary for only one student to go on the exchange, two students were selected this year in an effort to cultivate positive relationships between the wizarding schools. But her teacher never got around to telling Hermione the name of the second student. As realization dawned, she pleaded with Professor McGonagall, "Please, Professor, do not tell me that HE is the other student going on the exchange? Please tell me that this is some horrible nightmare, and I will not be subjected to two whole months of Malfoy every day?"

"Well that explains it," Draco retorted with an air of superiority, "you're delusional, Granger. I'm not the 'other' student. I'm the 'only' one. Only one student goes on the exchange, and since I am clearly the first choice, you're just the runner up." Knowing this obviously cleared the matter, he strolled over to the seat Hermione just vacated, plopped himself down in it, and placed his hat on the chair adjacent to him."Okay, professor, when do we leave?"

His audacity and arrogance reached new heights. Just as Hermione was about to tell Draco where he could stick his pointed hat, the deputy headmistress slammed her hand down on her desk causing them both to jump a little as the sound echoed around the room."That's enough," she said sternly, "I hope you will both show more decorum while we are at Beauxbatons, because you will BOTH be representing Hogwarts, and I will accept nothing less than your best behavior." Her eyes darted back and forth between the stunned expressions on the young faces in front of her. Satisfied that she now had their attention, she explained, "Ordinarily, each school only sends one representative for the exchange program; however, both of your applications were highly impressive, and we decided that you would both go to France."

Draco started to protest, but McGonagall held out her hand to silence him. "There will be no debate about this, Mr. Malfoy. The decision is final, and all the protests to your father will not alter it." She seemed to pale slightly as she continued, "And in light of recent events, it is more important than ever to maintain open lines of communication between all wizarding communities."

Hermione knew what she meant. It was no secret that Voldemort had been gaining power in the last year,since the truth surrounding the events of the Triward Tournament slowly filtered their way into the wizarding community.Arrangements like the student exchange program were necessary to keep the hand of goodwill extended. But why, oh why, did she have to go with Malfoy?

Taking their silence as a sign of acquiescence, Professor McGonagall began going over the details of their trip and the details of what was going to happen during the next two months. Classes, itineraries, schedules, and the like. Their head were swimming with disbelief at this recent development, and they barely heard a word of McGonagall's discussion.Both Draco and Hermione each felt they had received a raw deal.

* * * * *

"So, how does your last Draco-free meal for two months taste?"

"Please, Ron, I'm trying to eat," glared Hermione as she glanced over towards the Slytherin table. "I already feel sick enough. I don't need you to constantly remind me that he's going to Beauxbatons, too." Dropping her fork onto her lunch plate as a sign of surrender, Hermione sat back in her chair, "And to top it all off, McGonagall won't even let us use a portkey to get there. So in addition to two months with him, I have to endure a 6 hour train ride in the same compartment with him." For some reason Hermione couldn't even bring herself to speak HIS name out loud. It made her stomach queasy to think about how he'd wriggled his way into such a remarkable opportunity. She just knew he hadn't gotten it on merit alone. His family must have done something to guarantee his place in the exchange. Hermione was still staring over at the Slytherins when he picked his fork up and caught her eyes. He did not look away. Gray eyes locked on amber. Neither moved.

From far away, Harry's voice broke through to her, "Hermione, why is McGonagall making you take the train? I thought she liked you. This sounds more like a punishment than an opportunity."

Ron nodded in agreement. "I know. I'd rather take a blast ended skrewt on a walk through the Forbidden Forest to meet Aragog than have to sit in a train compartment with Malfoy all day."

She shook her head, "I have no idea why she's doing this. She just said something about portkeys being unreliable over such long distances and with lots of luggage."

"Well, that sounds like a bunch of codswallop to me," Ron chimed in. "But look at the bright side, maybe you could use the time to ask McGonagall how to transfigure Malfoy into a ferret. That look suited him well." The memory brought the first smile of the day to Hermione's face.

The three of them laughed as Malfoy watched, still disbelieving that Hogwarts was sending a Muggle-born witch as a representative of the school. He knew that it was most likely an act of charity for her or else just for publicity in these dark days. A sort of we-love-Muggles attempt at saving face. Either that or Dumbledore's golden boy put the headmaster up to it. That would be just like Potter to ruin his chance of showing that Malfoys were the best Hogwarts had to offer. As he watched the Gryffindor Three laughing hysterically at something, Hermione tossing her thick, curly hair over her shoulder, he vaguely heard Goyle asking him something and was shaken from his reverie. "What did you say?"

"I asked what your father's letter said. Is there anything he can do to stop her from going?" Goyle mumbled, jerking his head towards the Gryffindor table.

Draco straightened up in his chair and went back to trying to eat his lunch, "No. Father said it is out of his hands now." Not wanting it to seem like his family had less power than before, Draco continued, "But that's only because it is so close to the trip. It's too late to cancel the arrangements now. Mark my words, he will be sending strongly worded letters to all of the school governors for this outrage." But Draco knew this would make no difference.

Even though Voldemort had been revived at the end of his fourth year, Draco's father did not go to the dark side like everyone assumed, like Potter had lied.His father was still well respected, of course, but people were still hesitant and apprehensive around him, as if he might take the slightest bit of information and go running to his former Master. Draco understood that people were afraid, but Voldemort's rebirth happened over a year ago. He knew deep in his heart that his father would never have willingly been a part of something as cold-hearted as the reckless murder of an innocent student like Cedric Diggory. He just couldn't be.

* * * * *

An anxious-looking Professor McGonagall and an arrogant-looking Malfoy were waiting for her in the Entrance Hall already. Hermione's good-byes had taken longer than she expected. She hugged Ron goodbye, and he teased her a bit more about being stuck with Malfoy. The teasing didn't bother her though. She knew it was just Ron's way of showing how much he was going to miss her not being there for two months. Then she hugged Harry, a little longer and a llittle tighter. His messy hair tickled her nose a bit, and she inhaled deeply not wanting to forget the sweet smell that was Harry. They both promised to owl her faithfully, but she had her doubts as to how long that declaration would last. She stepped back from Harry and stared at her two best friends, wishing desperately that one of them were the other exchange student. She was truly looking forward to the impending train trip even less than Malfoy.She couldn't wait to see France again and study at Beauxbatons, as this really was a great honor to have been selected for the program as a sixth year student. But there was something unnerving about the way Malfoy stared at her all during lunch. It was so intense she forgot there was a hall full of students there with them.

The journey started out quite bland, actually, with barely a word spoken in the compartment. Professor McGonagall reviewed their day's itinerary once more and then left the compartment to go speak with the conductor, leaving Hermione and Draco in the compartment. Alone.

While McGonagall spoke to them, Draco and Hermione sat side-by-side. The door to the compartment was barely shut before Hermione moved across and took the professor's seat. She was now sitting directly across from him. This was a big mistake. Draco had had his eyes shut for the last twenty minutes or so and Hermione found herself watching him as he slept, tranquil and unassuming. He looked so different and not just in the usual "he looks so peaceful when he sleeps" way either. Hermione could not stop herself from noticing how kind the summer had been to Malfoy. His nose had some freckles from the same sun that bleached his hair a strikingly pale blond. When they had been shouting in Professor McGonagall's office, she'd noticed he had grown about 3 inches more, and his voice had gotten considerably deeper. His body had become more developed, more mature. It matched well with his face that was no longer so pointed and sharp, but smoother and softer. As she watched his jaw clench and unclench itself, she couldn't help but notice how soft his lips seemed.Then again, she told herself, it's not like I've ever spent much time memorizing the details of Malfoy's face before.Thank God Harry and Ron aren't here to see this, she smiled.

"You know, just because you think someone's sleeping doesn't make it any less creepy when you gawk at them for 3 hours," Draco's eyes flew open as a knowing, pompous grin spread across his sun-kissed face.

Dammit, he caught me! Hermione scolded herself for letting her eyes linger too long where she knew they shouldn't. As her face flushed a deep crimson, she retorted with the first thing that popped into her mind, "It wasn't 3 hours." She looked guiltily away."It was only a few minutes." Her admission rolled off her lips before she could stop it, and she buried her face in her hands in a futile attempt to hide her face, which was quickly becoming an even deeper hue of red.

Draco's Cheshire grin spread even wider as he couldn't resist the opportunity. "Don't worry, Granger," he assured her, not even trying to hide his smugness, "I'd be the last person to tell anyone that you fancy me. After all, I do have a reputation to consider." He was on a roll. "I must admit though, I am a bit surprised. I mean, I am devilishly handsome and all that," he leaned forward and pulled Hermione's hands away so he could look directly into her horrified face, "but I don't even have a nasty looking scar on my forehead to impress you." From her reaction, he knew he hit just the right button.

Actually, he didn't expect to provoke her so quickly. Weasley was always easy to push, but Hermione was usually much tougher to crack. I must have really touched a nerve, he thought as this revelation sent a sharp pang through him.She likes Potter, he realized, and for some reason this bothered him. Perhaps it was because Hermione wasn't the only one doing the staring that afternoon. In fact, the only reason his eyes were closed earlier was because it was the only way he knew to stop himself from watching her. It was warm on the train and Hermione had removed her school robe while Professor McGonagall was speaking with them. Hermione was wearing a short khaki skirt and a white cotton blouse. It was the blouse that did it. Draco always found these surprisingly simple garments extremely sexy on women, and he could not take his eyes off her. As the professor was going over their plans for what seemed the millionth time, Hermione kept absentmindedly crossing and uncrossing her legs as she sat next to him. She kept bobbing her right foot up and down, her leg swung leisurely over her left knee. Her legs were so long and toned. It was hypnotic. And then her arm in her white cotton blouse had brushed up against his shoulder, and it was just too much. He closed his eyes so he couldn't watch.He had felt her jump from her seat and move away to the opposite seat. The compartment had seemed chillier after that. When he had realized she was staring at him, his stomach flipped over a few times. Finally, after scolding himself for getting so worked up over Hermione Granger, he shifted back to their tried and true relationship of hostility. He couldn't help it. Damn, why do her eyes have to be so bright?

Hermione tore her hands from his grasp and leaned forward so that they were only inches apart and with steely determination retorted, "Harry doesn't need anything to impress people. And he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, because, scar or no scar, he will always be better man than you. And you know it." Seeing Malfoy's face pale she added one last comment to drive her point home. "No matter how many people you or your precious father try to bribe or bully into thinking otherwise."

Professor McGonagall pulled back the door to the compartment and was furious with the sight which greeted her, the two students picked to represent Hogwarts' excellence and pride staring daggers at each other.It was the last straw. "That's it!" she exclaimed."I've had enough of your petty bickering and it will stop before we step foot off this train." Taking a deep breath she added, "I was not completely forthright when I stated that portkeys do not work over such long distances, because they do. I said that because I hoped that the long train trip might allow you both to work out your differences without my intervention. As neither of you is willing to make the slightest effort, I suppose more immediate action must be taken." She started pacing around the compartment. "At the next train stop you will both be sent back to Hogwarts with the portkey I brought with me just in case the need arrived. I hoped it would not come to this end and am saddened that you fail to see the opportunities this program offers and instead choose to argue and goad one another incessantly. Well no more.Two alternates will be sent in your place, and they will meet me in France.You will both return to Hogwarts." This announcement got just the response she had hoped for as there was no portkey or alternates or any back up plan whatsoever.

In unison, both Draco and Hermione were on their feet pleading their cases, as neither wanted to face the humiliation of being reprimanded and returned after only a few short hours. Professor McGonagall could see the desperation in their eyes. Their needs to achieve overpowering their detest for one another. Draco and Hermione were two of the brightest students she ever taught. The exchange program was a challenging two month experience, and Professor McGonagall knew that great things would happen if they would only work together instead of against one another. Their working together went beyond gaining more praise for Hogwarts. If a pure-blood wizard (and a Malfoy at that) could work alongside a muggle-born witch and present a united front for their school, then Professor McGonagall knew there was hope for the future.

After promising to behave, swearing to not argue, and offering a brand new set of quills (courtesy of Malfoy), McGonagall pretended their arguments swayed her. But secretly she thanked her lucky stars. She finally got them calmed down and seated in the chairs, and then she put on the sternest face she could muster. "All right. You can both stay." Both students breathed a sigh of relief as Professor McGonagall privately did the same.They glanced warily at each other and then quickly looked away. Hermione dug in her bag and pulled out a large book on the magical history of France, and shortly thereafter buried her head in it not daring to look up while Draco stared pointedly out the train window not once chancing to glance at his fellow traveler. Professor McGonagall knew that the next two months were going to be such an adventure for her two young students and that great strides could be made towards forming an alliance, and then she sighed quietly, As long as they don't kill each other first.