"The Reunion" by Quidditch, Anyone?
Gone From Hogwarts and Back Again
Having nothing better to do in my third year out of Hogwarts, I have decided to attend this formidable excuse for a party. Oh, sure, I loved the school. Loved it to death, actually, and that's exactly the problem. I graduated top of my class, still close to my two best friends in the world, Ron and Harry, and ready to take on the world from a witch's perspective. So the problem? Well, I'm not so sure, exactly. Maybe it's my job, I job I am underpaid and overworked at, when I could be doing so much more. Or perhaps it's my lack of friends, they having all moved up the sorcery ladder to bigger and better things and leaving me in the dust of confusion. Or my lack of social life, or appalling appearance... or a combination of these things. Maybe leaving the best school in both the wizarding and muggle world has left me to believe that my adulthood in comparison is a living hell. At least in hell they have fire, though. All I have is a bloody subscription to Witch Weekly and barely a few dozen Galleons in the bank...
Hmmm. Perhaps life isn't that bad. Maybe I have just become a cynical, bitter person having left a better life behind. Well, no time to broad on this now; the Portkey is in sight.
"Hermione? Hermione, is that you?"
Oh, dear God. It's none other than my dear old roommate from school, Lavender. Wonder what she's up to. Probably married with hills of gold and everything I don't have. Oh, good, she got fat.
"Oh, Hermione, darling, how are you?" she squealed. And planted an obnoxious, sopping kiss on my cheek.
"Oh, fine, just fine," I responded shiftily. One old friend down... thousands to go...
"I can't believe how good you look! Finally got the right tools to tame that hair, I see?" she winked. I seem to hate it when people do that recently.
I gave a false half-chuckle. "Oh, yes. I-I've finally got it all tamed and figured out." I think I'll just 'leave out' the mentioning of my 3-hour scalp torture to get my hair look halfway decent. She doesn't need to know all that.
"Bloody, I can't wait for this, can you? I've been looking forward to it for weeks! I must say, seeing all our old friends from school... this is just the best, isn't it the truth?"
"Mmm," I 'mmm'ed as I check the time. Four minutes and 17 seconds to go...
I know she's talking. I mean, I can see her mouth moving, and her facial expressions all illuminated, or whatever. But for some reason I don't hear what she's blabbing on about. Maybe this has something to do with me not caring.
"Almost time," I cut into one of her ramblings. Something about 'Seamus', 'Forgive him... always late', and 'never does housework'. Hmmm... that's all just quite dandy, really, Lavvy.
"Three... two..." I pay close attention to my watch so I don't have to focus on her excited squeals. Then suddenly we are jerked forward and the town on London disappears as we are heading back to where everything worth telling started... Hogwarts.
A bit pessimistic, I know. Hermione would never be this unhappy. It's just kind of a spoof on that scene from Bridget Jones... the one with the "Do you know... where the toilets are?". It'll get better, I promise. Right now it's just the result of not having to go to school tomorrow (yay for me), not being sleepy, and still having to read Oliver Twist so I can start on a much better fic.