Class Reunion
A Songfic inspired by "You Don't Know Me" by Ray Charles, which has been most recently so beautifully covered by Michael Bublé.
You give your hand to me
and then you say "Hello."
And I can hardly speak,
My heart is beating so.
And anyone can tell,
you think you know me well.
Well, you don't know me.
No you don't know the one
who dreams of you at night;
and longs to kiss your lips
and longs to hold you tight.
Oh, I am just a friend,
that's all I've ever been,
'cause you don't know me.
For I never knew the art of making love,
though my heart aches with love for you.
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by.
A chance, that you might love me too.
You give your hand to me,
and then you say "Goodbye".
I watched you walk away,
beside the lucky guy.
Oh, you'll never ever know
the one who loved you so.
Well, you don't know me.
"Welcome, Hogwarts Alumni!"
The huge banners, glittering in the four house colours, floated through the Great Hall, singing merrily the Hogwarts song, each to a different tune.
Argh, how trashy! One of Dumbledore's ideas, to be certain. The noise was intolerable! Disgusted, he leaned his back against the wall in the darkest corner of the hall, folding his arms in front of him. This would be a long night, indeed!
The band played a short flourish and the banners fell silent immediately. Albus Dumbledore climbed the stage.
„Dear Hogwarts alumni, it is a pleasure to welcome you here at Hogwarts, 10 years after your graduation. I think I can speak on behalf of the entire faculty if I say, that we are proud of this very special class!"
Loud cheers and applause rose.
Oh yeah, now we're back to „the-boy-who-saved-us-all-from-the-dark! ". Will we never get over this? Pathetic! Nauseous! He issued a low, derisive snort.
„However, my dear children, I don't want to bore you with the moronic babbling of an old man. You came here tonight to meet your old classmates and to have a good time, so I say play up! Let the feast begin! More cheers and applause surged and he gave a vague wave in the direction of the band. The wizarding world's present number one rock band, the Varsity Vampires , intoned their first song.
What an abhorrent noise. Why did I come here in the first place? Scowling, he stared at the guests.
Harry Potter, middle of first row, of course. And Neville Longbottom obviously was having a fit of epilepsy – no, he was dancing. Who was that witch in the dress that looked as though it was made from muggle shopping bags? Had to be Luna Lovegood. And Malfoy, the spoiled little brat, showing up with TWO witches, one on each arm. Bloody show-off!
„Hullo? Hi!"
Hearing a soft voice beside him, he looked down.
Hermione. She held out her hand, beaming.
„So nice, to see you again. How are you?"
His throat tied up. „I'm fine, thank you", he croaked tediously.
„'Mione! " Harry Potter grabbed her from behind around her waist, whirling her around. „How are you, Darling? Did you bring you husband?"
„Harry! Why yes! How nice to see you. You look fantastic, really. I guess you can barely hold back all those beautiful young witches. Guess, whom I met last week at Flourish & Blotts …" the two had obviously completely forgotten about him and were strolling to the bar, arm in arm, chatting merrily.
This was it, then. The moment he had been dreading for weeks, seeing Hermione again. Damn, it still hurts. His eyes fell shut and he swallowed fiercely.
You'll never know what I really feel for you. I never found the courage to talk to you, to tell you that I not saw the bushy-haired, buck-toothed schoolgirl anymore, but the beautiful young woman you have grown into.
No, I'm not the man for romantic speeches and declarations of eternal love, this has never been my field of excellence. Somehow I believed you knew, I believed that someday everything would fall in place by itself. But this was rubbish, of course. These things do not fall in place by themselves. And then the seventh year came and went and Hermione Granger left Hogwarts for good. And then the war came and went and everything got mixed up and we lost track of one another.
When I met you again, three years later, you were married. Happily, as it seemed. And I realised that I had been a pathetic idiot. I had missed my chance.
Giving a hushed sigh, he looked at the woman he had seen almost on a daily basis for seven years. Floating over the dance floor with Potter, smiling, beaming, fair and beautiful in hergreen velvet gown. Pictures from the past ascended in his mind.
Hermione in her first potions lesson, arm upraised eagerly, Hermione brewing polyjuice potion with nicked ingredients in Myrtle's bathroom, Hermione petrified in the Hospital Wing, Hermione on the arm of Viktor Krum at the Yule-Ball, Hermione watching a game of Quidditch, Hermione hexing Malfoy in the stairway … he closed his eyes again and gave in to his dreams completely.
A soft touch on his right arm brought him back to reality.
„Um, hi there again. I'm so sorry that I ran off with Harry a little while ago." There she stood, smiling, looking slightly embarrassed.
„Yeah, hi", he said awkwardly.
„We never had a chance to talkfor the whole evening and now it'sso late already…"
„Hermione? " a deep, silky voice interrupted her.
Her bloody husband! The last person he wanted to see right now!
Hermione's eyes started to shine and she beamed up to the tall dark wizard who had approached her and put an arm around her shoulder.
„Hermione, it's getting late. We shouldn't overstrain on our babysitter's patience..."
„Oh, sure, you so right, Severus, the little brats will have reduced poor Minerva to utter despair by now. Let me say goodbye here properly and I'll be with you in a minute."
She turned around.
„Ron, I'm so sorry I didn't have any time for you at all tonight. Please let's have lunch some time soon, ok?" She put forth her hand, smiling apologetically. „Take care".
„Take care, Hermione", he said softly and watched the pair leaving the Great Hall, hand in hand.
There she goes. How her face lit up when the old bat was talking to her! Looks like she really loves him, though. Maybe things could have been differently if only he had …
He grinded his teeth. No, Ron Weasley, stop it! What's over is over. She will never know about your dreams, and it's probably all for the better like this.
„Ron? Ron Weasley, what do you think your doing, lingering in this draughty corner all night? Come on, let's party! "
Startling, he looked up. In front of him were Harry, Neville and – Draco Malfoy of all people. A large bottle of Ogden's Old and five glasses were hovering in the air. He pulled himself together and grinned.
„Boys, that's by far the best idea somebody had tonight!"
„Yeah, come on Weasel-King you better hump yourself. We've already got a considerable head start!" Malfoys pronunciation was already slightly inarticulate and he smirked lopsidedly.
„Do you, Malfoy? Think you can outpace me, do you? Better start practising, then, ferret boy!"
Malfoy planted a mock blow on his chin and poured him a glass of Firewhiskey.
„Peace, Ron! Today is not a night for fighting. "– „Right you are, Draco", Ron admitted grudgingly and raised his glass. „Gentlemen, here's to us!" „Here's to us!" his friends replied solemnly and emptied their glasses with pleasure. Perhaps life was not so bad after all.
-----
Deep down in the dungeons of patriarchal Hogwarts, Severus Snape suddenly stood rooted on the spot.
„Severus, what's the matter?" Hermione looked at him anxiously.
He grabbed her wrist, pulled her into his arms and looked deeply into her golden eyes.
„I love you, Hermione."
She gave a sigh of relief and smirked. „Oh well, glad to hear that. I thought for a moment you might be short of breath. You know, taking into account those endless stairs and your considerable age …"
„Miss Granger! Impertinent behaviour! I think a detention would be appropriate!"
Hermione stared at her husband in mock horror. „Professor! Unfair!"
„In my rooms, Miss Granger. Now!"
„In your rooms, hmm? Last time I checked, these were OUR rooms! And those two little brats, which you keep spoiling so shamelessly will not give us time for anything anyway!"
He leaned down and whispered in her ear "They're not here, Hermione. Minerva has volunteered to take care of the children until tomorrow evening", before he straightened up again and said in a louder voice
„Do you have a hearing problem, Miss Granger? I will not have to deduct points from Gryffindor, will I?
She cast down her eyes demurely. "No, Professor, of course not. "
„Well, then, what are you waiting for?"
Hermione Granger-Snape, Hogwarts' professor for arithmancy, smiled sweetly and followed her husband to the bedroom. Indeed, life was not so bad, after all.
END