This is my first story, hope you enjoy it. Betas are welcomed if you feel it is needed. I welcome healthy criticism, but no flaming, please. This is NOT femslash, K rated.
The war was over and the trio was back at Hogwarts to begin their missed seventh-year. Not much had changed during Hermiones forced year of absence, she was rewarded her Gryffindor prefect position and given head girl status. NEWT studying, classes, prefect duties, and head girl duties had taken their toll a bit, but nothing Hermione couldn't handle. Besides, this year was free of one annual stress - no Voldemort or Death Eaters to worry about.
Hermione walked into the seventh-floor prefects bathroom after a long-day of studying and duties, preparing to have a quick warm shower and call it a night. After a few minutes of showering someone else went in to occupy the neighboring shower. This part of the prefects bathroom was girls only, and the stalls went up to a certain height, around Hermiones neck, to allow a certain level of privacy, because of this Hermione couldn't help but look over and recognize the face of the girl who stepped into the next shower. She definitely saw her before, but couldn't really place a name, house, or year.
The girl had curly white-blonde shoulder-length hair, light blue eyes, and pale white skin. The girl was a bit shorter than Hermione, but the stall was short enough to come up to the girls neck.
"Shampoo?"
"huh?" asked Hermione after several minutes of silence. She had began letting herself drift off under the hot shower.
"I said, does your stall have shampoo? This one doesn't." said the girl.
"Oh, yes - here" handing her shampoo to the girl.
"Thanks, busy day, huh?" asked the girl as she began applying the shampoo. "I know, my day was pretty hectic too. Had to help Professor Sprout clean up a mess in the lab. Who knew some species of plant could go to the bathroom. Nasty mess."
"Yeah, I've got NEWTS this year, just awful." sighed Hermione.
"I don't have those till next year. Good luck, I've heard they're worse than the OWLS. I had to take that over the summer, it was canceled due to the battle last yea..."
The girl stopped mid-sentence after briefly looking sideways at the girl she was talking to. Up until now the girl hadn't really looked hard at Hermione, it was etiquette to "look ahead" while talking in the showers, even though due to the privacy stall nothing "private" could really be seen anyway.
"Oh... you're that Gryffindor girl. Harry Potters friend." said the girl in surprise.
"Yeah... I'm Hermione Granger."
"Astoria Greengrass."
Hermione gave the girl an equally surprised look, then looked forward again. "Oh..., I know your sister. She used to be in my year."
"You two were friends?"
"Well, not exactly no. I knew 'of' her. She hung around Parkinson and Bulstrode, right?"
"Yup, they were both nasty pieces of work. I hated having them visit during the summers."
"So, you're in Gryffindor, interesting house. I'm..." started Astoria, but she was cut-off.
"Yes, Slytherin. I know." Hermione continued conversationally, taking a bar of soup and trying to end the shower quickly.
Hermione decided to keep the conversation casual. She didn't know this girl after all, but decided to keep on her good side. The Greengrasses were your typical arrogant, prejudice, pureblood family after all and she was sure the girl wasn't anymore thrilled to be talking to a muggle-born friend of Harry Potters, than she was talking to the fiancee of Draco Malfoy.
Hermione thought quickly, "So, how is Daphne?"
"Oh, she's alright. Her and Zabini are planning to wed soon. Zabini is getting a job at some broom making factory in Bristol, he's always been great with charms. I'm sure his family wealth and his new job will be able to provide for her." said Astoria nonchalantly while continuing her shower.
"That's good..."
"Yeah..."
The conversation was getting awkward quickly, and Astorias tone didn't make it sound like she was that interested in continuing the conversation anyway. Maybe Hermione should just continue her shower and leave? Astoria interrupted her thoughts, though.
"What do you plan on doing when you get out next year? Let me guess, going to go vanquish another dark lord?" Astorias tone, luckily, was light-hearted.
"Heh, no, no. I'll probably try for a ministry position or something. I'm not really that sure yet... I was thinking about being a professor here someday, but the ministry sounds more interesting."
"What about family?"
"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm going out with Ronald Weasley, so, I guess we might start one someday. I'm not in a rush, though. I'd like a career first."
"Lucky" sighed Astoria. "Greengrass family women don't get careers. We just take care of our families."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be" Astoria quickly lightened her mood, "I don't mind it really. I'm really looking forward to kids, I want a big family. I've always wanted to be a mom. Besides, I'm looking forward to being a Malfoy. Draco proposed to me over the summer."
"Yes, I know. It's been big news." said Hermione, noticing Astoria was suddenly coming out of her shell and couldn't stop talking. Hermione didn't mind, though.
"Well, it came as a pretty big shock to my family and friends. Everyone thought Draco would marry Pansy, but with her outburst last year in the great hall against your friend, the entire Wizarding World has pretty much shunned the Parkinsons. The Malfoys don't want any of that, plus Draco and I have become very close over the last two years, what with all he's had to go through and everything. I'm the only one he's really been able to confide in, Parkinson would just tell him to stop feeling sorry for himself. She has no compassion, seriously."
Hermione was about to reply, but Astoria in her frenzied chatter cut her off.
"You're welcome to come to the wedding if you wish. It will be at Malfoy manor next summer, after I graduate. Draco has already begun working at the Ministry, of course, making a name for himself. Of course, the Malfoys don't really need to worry about that sort of thing, they are noble and ancient after all" spoke Astoria in a somewhat arrogant and elegant tone.
Hermione was getting a little frustrated. She had no intention of going to Draco Malfoys wedding, and she certainly wasn't going back to the place where, just months prior, she was tortured and held captive. Looking back on it, Hermione shouldn't have taken it out on Astoria, she probably didn't know about the bad blooded history between the trio and the Malfoys, but at the time Hermione was too taken in by emotion.
"The Malfoys aren't so great, you know. Besides, I never understood what is with you purebloods and your constant boasting. You should be proud of what you have achieved, not what members of your family, complete strangers, from centuries ago have!" barked Hermione angrily, this time not bothering to look forward and looking sideways hardly at Astoria.
The expression on Astoria was shock.
"You know Hermione, there is nothing wrong with having some pride in where someone comes from - someones background. You should try it sometime. So what if I'm proud of what my family has accomplished? And for your information, I don't just take pride in what others have achieved, I have hopes that Draco and I, as well as our children and grandchildren can help to continue the Greengrass legacy. It's something to both take pride in, and believe in. Don't you take any pride in what your family accomplished?" asked Astoria in frustration.
"My family are muggles."
"So? Surely the Grangers have done things in the muggle world."
"Well... I don't know. I mean, I only really know my parents and grandparents. I think I met my great-grandmother once when I was little. She died years later, though."
"Do you remember her name?"
"Well... no, I guess I can't. I should ask my mother when I get home... I guess it would be good to know." said Hermione contemplatively.
"Why? Like you said, they're just strangers, right? Who cares." mocked Astoria.
Hermione had to admit that Astoria did have a point. Hermione had always wondered about her family - the Grangers never kept any records and she knew absolutely nothing about their past, heritage, personalities, names, or anything.
"Do you really know every Greengrass from centuries ago?" asked Hermione in skepticism.
"Yes, not necessarily by heart, of course. But I did learn about them as a child. We have a family tree at home that dates back to Duke Edmond Greengrass of Lorraine, in the fifth century. He is believed to be the first Greengrass. We came from the Malfoys and Rosiers, looking at their family tree we can see Edmonds ancestors all the way back to around 400 B.C."
Astoria turned her shower off, Hermione did the same already having been done washing for minutes now. They both began to get dressed in their stalls.
"So you're related to your fiancee?" questioned Hermione with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes, but most pureblood families are related in some way. Besides, that connection is centuries old, I'm sure muggles are related distantly somewhat. I mean, we all had to come from some origin, after all."
"You know" continued Astoria," I think you are victim to the same things you criticize purebloods for. I think you don't even realize that you stereotype and judge people based on their families and house, just like some purebloods criticize you for being muggle-born."
"Is that a fact?" asked Hermione, taking some offense, "Just how do you figure that?"
"Well, remember when I was about to tell you the house I was in and you said that you already knew I was in Slytherin."
Hermione left her shower stall, now fully dressed in her uniform.
"Yeah..."
"Well, you were wrong, I'm in Ravenclaw." said Astoria as she walked out of her stall. Sure enough, she was wearing a Ravenclaw uniform. "Don't assume you know everything. Hope to see you at the wedding this summer." smiled Astoria as she left an awestruck Hermione standing in the shower room.
Why did I assume she was in Slytherin? I thought for sure... the thought struck Hermione that she had no real basis for assuming Astoria was a Slytherin. She never really paid any great detail or attention to the girl before. Hermione had to admit it was the name - Greengrass was Slytherin, period. Just like Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were Slytherin. Maybe Hermione wasn't as free from stereotypes and biases as she thought she was.
The year came and went, Hermione never talked to Astoria again, although there were a few times in the hall that Astoria would nod curtly to her and she would return the nod. Hermione fought herself over-and-over about whether or not to go to Draco and Astorias wedding that summer. Ron told her flat out that he wouldn't go, and that he didn't want her to go. Hermione didn't know how Draco would react to her showing up - probably not favorably, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder how the others would react. Hermione couldn't go there alone having to face down the Malfoy clan, along with the likes of Parkinson, Goyle, Daphne, or the others. In the end, Hermione didn't go to Astorias wedding.
Years passed, Astoria never got the huge family she wanted. Healers said she would be unable to produce children, because she had ovarian cancer which was in remission. Astoria proved the healers wrong and received a miracle in Scorpious Malfoy one year later. Scorpious went to school the same year as Hermiones little Rose, giving Hermione the first chance in many years to see Astoria again.
Hermione hoped Astoria wasn't too upset with her not going to the wedding many years ago - unfortunately it's just the way things were. There was too much history and prejudice between the families for Hermione to make an appearance. Luckily, Astoria didn't seem phased. She smiled and nodded to Hermione at the train station, and as both mothers watched their children board the Hogwarts Express they couldn't help but hope that they would get along and learn from the mistakes their parents made.
That would be the last time Hermione would see Astoria, a few years later Astorias ovarian cancer came out of remission and took her life. Although she didn't go to her wedding, Hermione demanded that she would go to Astorias funeral, despite Rons warnings. Ron gave in and went with her, to keep her safe. Hermione was surprised to see that Draco was pleased to see them there and he talked long hours with Hermione and Ron about Astoria, Scorpious, and old times. Apparently Astoria had taught Draco a few lessons too.