Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing except the plot :)

The 7th of November was a day unlike any other Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had ever seen. Were one to wander the grounds of the castle, and the halls themselves they would find a notable lack of presence. The corridors were deserted, and dormitories were empty because all the pupils had been gathered in the Great Hall and were awaiting the headmaster Albus Dumbledore to address them. The hall was filled with the quiet murmurs of students trying to guess why the headmaster had gathered them together, and in a corner of the Gryffindor table five girls sat huddled together whispering their own suggestions.

"My guess is everyone gets reprimanded about inter-house unity then we all get to leave" whispered 7th year Katie Bell as she took a sip of the pumpkin juice in front of her. Katie was seated with her fellow 7th year chasers Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, 6th year Hermione Granger, and 5th year Ginny Weasley. Being opinionated Gryffindor girls and having all had to deal with grief from Weasley men at some point, the five had formed a bond and quickly became as close as sisters.

"No way Katie!" Angelina exclaimed attracting the attention of some other students sitting close by. She smiled apologetically at them and turned back to her friends. "This is the seventh house related fight in the last two months. There's no way Dumbledore's gonna let us get away with another warning."

"She's right" Ginny chimed in. "He's already given us three warnings about fighting with other houses. What's that thing muggles like to say? Three swings and you're out?"

"I think you mean three strikes and you're out" interjected Hermione with a laugh. Before the girls could continue their conversation, Dumbledore walked up to the podium and cleared his throat to gain the attention of his pupils. The room immediately lapsed into silence and everyone had turned to face their headmaster.

"Good evening students" Dumbledore began with a small smile. "I believe you all have some idea as to why I've gathered you here today. The altercation that happened today between Gryffindor and Slytherin pupils is the 7th of such that has occurred in the last two months, and as you should all understand this is unacceptable. Though you may be sorted into separate houses at the end of the day you are all Hogwarts students, and it's time you started acting as such. Your Heads of Houses and I have spent the last few hours trying to come up with a solution to this issue and after much deliberation we've come up with what I like to call, The Partner Project." Dumbledore paused for a minute and the hall was immediately filled with whispers between students.

"What the hell is the Partner Project" Alicia Spinnet asked looking confused. It seemed she wasn't the only one with this question as most students in the Great Hall looked confused or worried. Even the Slytherins, who had mastered the art of looking apathetic and uninterested, were alert and paying attention. As the noise in the hall increased, Dumbledore tapped his wand against his throat twice before putting it on the stand and facing his pupils.

"Silence" he boomed, capturing everyone's attention once again. "The Partner Project is something your professors and I designed to strengthen inter-house unity and create a collective sense of Hogwarts student identity, rather than enforce the boundaries between houses. Your Heads of Houses and I have devised a list of the name of every pupil in the 5th, 6th and 7th years and as of tomorrow we will pair you with a pupil of the same year from a different house. This pupil will become your partner for the next 3 months and you will be required to spend time with them every day. Your schedules will change to accommodate your partner, and every pair will be taking all their classes together including any spare periods. Pairs that excel together will be rewarded with house points, while those who fail to cooperate will be punished accordingly." As soon as Dumbledore finished talking and sat down at the Head Table, the Great Hall was filled with angry protests from students.

"Why've we got to share our spares with them?" shouted Fred Weasley angrily standing up.

"Just wait till my father hears about this!" huffed Draco Malfoy from his spot at the Slytherin table. At the Gryffindor table, Angelina, Katie, Hermione, and Ginny were all complaining about the implications of Dumbledore's new project, but Alicia was looking at it from a different angle.

"Girls! Do you know what this means?" Alicia asked excitedly slamming her hands down on the table to get her friends attention.

"Hell yes I do" said Angelina frowning while observing the other tables. "It means were either gonna get stuck with a pushover Hufflepuff, a nerdy Ravenclaw, or God forbid a Slytherin."

"Well yes" said Alicia hesitantly, seeming to deflate for a second "But it also means that I could spend the next three months attached at the hip to Cedric Diggory!" Alicia squealed, perking up instantly. "Can you imagine spending all your time with someone as good looking as Cedric? I can't imagine anyone considering that a punishment." The other girls stared at her incredulously for a moment before Katie snorted and they all burst into laughter.

"Only you would come to that conclusion Leesh" said Hermione lightly bumping her shoulder against Alicia's.

"I can't help it" said Alicia with a grin. "I'm an optimist."

"More like desperate for a man" said Ginny still giggling. "Hopefully we'll all get someone decent" she said still smiling at her friends.

"Here's to getting a good partner and not getting a Slytherin" Katie said raising her glass to which the other girls all clinked their glasses against hers. Professor McGonagall stepped forward to announce that all students were dismissed, and that the lists of partners would be posted in each common room the following morning. The girls got up and followed the crowd of students back to the Gryffindor common room. When they gave the Fat Lady the password and entered, they were met with pandemonium. Most Gryffindor's were gathered in the common room and were still loudly protesting The Partner Project.

"I'm going to head up to the dorm, is anyone else coming?" Hermione asked, frowning at her housemates poor attitudes.

"Yeah I think I'll come too" said Ginny stretching out her back "It's been a long day". The other girls agreed, and the five quickly made their way up the stairs and into their dorm to get ready for bed. After the lights were turned off, and the girls were in their beds the room was filled with a nervous silence as they were all lost in their thoughts about the Partner Project.

"Cheer up girls" Angelina said into the dark. "How bad could it possibly be?" Her question was met with silence and the girls quickly fell asleep lost in their own thoughts.

At precisely 7:21am on Saturday November 8th, the entire Gryffindor House was woken up by Ginny Weasley's scream of anger.

Alright so that's the first chapter! Let me know if you like it and want me to continue, or think I should scrap the idea all together. If I do continue, the next chapter will be in the Slytherin POV. I should note that the pairings in this story are going to be Angelina/Adrian, Alicia/Terence, Katie/Marcus, Hermione/Draco, and Ginny/Blaise. Thanks for reading!