George Weasley was lounging at his kitchen table in a white cotton t-shirt and striped flannel pajama pants thoroughly enjoying a piece of syrup-drenched French toast and a warm cup of coffee when a tawny brown owl carrying the morning edition of the Daily Prophet began rambunctiously tapping on the window.
"Uhh, alright. Give me a minute, will ya? It's much too early for that noise!" With a groan he hoisted himself up from his chair and staggered to the window, pulling it open and letting the small owl in. The owl haphazardly fluttered over to the table knocking into George's bowl and hooted, clearly begging for a tasty morsel.
"Here, take this, and be gone with ya!" George hissed after removing the paper and tossing the owl a slice of ham. He plopped back into his chair and kicked his feet up on the table before lazily removing the string and unfolding the owl's delivery to read what Rita Skeeter would consider news for the day.
Glancing down at the paper his eyes went wide and coffee spurted from his lips as he cracked up, deep full laughter bubbling up from his belly. "Oh man, 'Mione's gonna love this," he whispered to himself before calling out up the stairs to his flat mate. "Oy! 'Mione! Get down here for breakfast before I eat all the toast again!"
Hermione Granger was already walking down the stairs fully dressed in dark slacks and a blue button down shirt ready for her day at work at the Ministry of Magic as the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It had been five years since her graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and it hadn't taken her long to climb the ranks at the ministry with her brilliant crusade for magical creature equality.
"I swear George, you eat my breakfast again and you can find a new best friend… and a new flat mate!" While Hermione had remained close to both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, she had become even closer to Ron's older brother George. His prankster personality and her sharp wit balanced each other out and allowed them to become fast friends. They had moved into a London flat together three years ago a few miles from Diagon Alley and had been living together ever since.
George picked up the paper and tossed it over to her side of the table as she sat down with a cup of tea, a slice of French toast, and a bowl of fruit. "You should check out the front page. I reckon your friend Rita finally got something right!" he chuckled.
Hermione set down her cup after taking a long sip of warm tea, unfolded the Daily Prophet, and promptly screamed, "You've got to be kidding me!" There, on the front page, was an enlarged picture of none other than the bushy haired witch herself just beneath the headline: Hermione Granger - Year's Most Eligible Witch!
"Gin, honey, is everything ready?" Harry Potter called out to his wife from the living room. It was ten till six and everyone would be arriving is forty minutes for the surprise party that they were throwing Hermione. After five years of hard work his friend's bill to grant all house elves the right to pay, vacation, and benefits had finally been passed. What had started out as S.P.E.W. when they were just students had become her passion and he couldn't have been more proud of her for what she had accomplished. At twenty two his friend was the youngest department head in history.
Ginny Weasley was just putting the finishing touches on the cake that she had baked for the party. The icing read, "Way to Go Hermione" and had a small image of a house elf below it. "I'll have everything out in about fifteen minutes, Harry!" she replied to her husband. "I've just got to finish up this cake and then we will be all set."
Striding through into the kitchen, Harry wrapped his arms around his wife and gently kissed her neck. "You know I just want her to have a good time. She never lets go anymore," he whispered. It was most certainly the truth. Since they had graduated, Hermione had thrown herself into her work. She had shocked everyone with her professional prowess, but had sacrificed her personal life completely. He had tried three different times a few years back to set her up with one of his auror friends, but every time after the blind dates she had politely informed him that they weren't her type and she didn't want to see them again. As far as he knew, she hadn't been on a single other date since.
"She really does need to let loose a bit. She's an amazing woman, but she's got to learn to relax," Ginny admitted. "Maybe now that this bill had passed, things will be different. It has been her main focus since school so she's got to have some extra time available."
Lavender Weasley grabbed the small gift wrapped in teal wrapping paper and white ribbon from the coffee table and shrunk it to fit into her purse before heading out the door. "You ready Ron-Ron?" she asked her husband as she took his hand. Before he could answer she spun around and with a pop they apparated over to the Potter's home.
"Oy, woman! You could at least wait for me to say yes!" he griped while pulling his arm away from his wife. "You know I hate it when you do that!"
Lavender just giggled back at him as she opened the door and walked in through the door. "Hello Harry! How are you doing?" she queried when she saw Harry waiting to greet them on the other side of the entry way. "Thanks for inviting us tonight!"
Harry glanced behind Lavender at his best friend whose cheeks were tinged Weasley-temper-red. "Apparated him again, did ya Lavender? Glad you two could make it! George should be bringing Hermione over any minute. Everyone else is in the living room waiting."
He watched the couple walk away into the living room and waited patiently by the door for his friend to arrive. Less than five minutes later, he opened the door to see a confused Hermione muttering at George with an arched eyebrow, "I thought we were going to the Three Broomsticks. What are we doing at Harry's house?"
"Well hello to you, too, 'Mione!" he quipped, shooting her a crooked grin. "Why don't you come on inside and see?" He heard grumbling as he was walking inside and chuckled, calling over his shoulder at her, "Ah, come on. A little spontaneity never hurt anyone!"
Hermione walked behind Harry and George into the living room to shouts of "Surprise!" Glancing around the room she could see Neville Longbottom and his girlfriend Luna Lovegood, Bill and Fleur Weasley, Ron and Lavender Weasley, Seamus Finnigan and his girlfriend Angelina Johnson, along with Harry and Ginny Potter. "Alright, what is all of this about?" she questioned.
"We wanted to have you over and say congratulations, 'Mione! We know that ever since spew you have been working hard for house elves and with your bill being passed we wanted you to know how proud we all are of you. Congratulations!" Harry spun her around and pointed to the cake sitting in the middle of the table.
"For the love of Merlin, Harry. How many times do I have to tell you? It wasn't spew. It was S.P.E.W." She looked down at the cake with the smiling house elf and couldn't help but throw him one of her famous cheshire cat grins. "Thank you guys. This was really thoughtful."
With a loud pop, Harry opened up what would be the first of many bottles of champagne and filled each of the glasses that had been set out on the table. Grinning ear to ear he looked around the room, wrapped his arm around Hermione, and toasted, "To Hermione Granger! Now that your law has passed, we hope you get laid!"
While everyone else gathered around the room shouted "Here here!" amidst raucous laughter, Harry rubbed the back of his head where he had been cuffed for his less than appropriate toast. "I swear Harry," she whispered, "you are damn lucky that I consider you family."
In a large office at the top of a tall tower, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall sat at her desk sorting through a stack of communications that had collected over the course of the day. It was getting closer and closer to the start of the winter holidays and she had been so busy sorting out which students and professors were remaining at the school that she had managed to amass a large number of letters that required responses before she could retire for the evening.
She quickly signed her name to a letter to the Hogwarts Board of Governors regarding the date and agenda for the next governor's meeting before sealing the letter with emerald wax stamped "MM". She took a small sip of her warm chamomile tea and popped a ginger newt into her mouth while reaching for the next letter in the stack. A small sigh escaped from her lips upon realizing that she had grabbed yet another letter from the Minister of Magic.
Slitting the wax seal and unfolding the letter, she read:
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall,
You are hereby invited to attend the annual Ministry of Magic holiday ball on Saturday, December the 20th, 2003 at 7pm. In addition to the ball, there will be a short presentation to present Miss Hermione Granger with the award for Outstanding Service to the Magical Community. Please R.S.V.P. by return owl no later than December the 15th.
Regards,
Kingsley Shacklebolt
Minister of Magic
As she placed the invitation back down onto her oak desk, she slowly closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to wander to the young witch being honored. Her previous star pupil had become a close friend shortly after her graduation from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione would frequently visit Hogwarts for tea and chess in the year following but quickly became exceedingly busy as she began to advance at the ministry.
Over the years, frequent visits had deteriorated into occasional visits; occasional visits had given way to yearly visits with intermittent letters. Eventually, it came to the point that she never saw the young witch, and they only exchanged the odd letter about their respective careers or some new advancement in transfiguration.
Minerva's fingers drifted up to rub the back of her neck and she sighed again. She missed her lively and fierce debate partner. The intelligent and sharp witted woman had been one of the few people able to challenge her since her friend Albus Dumbledore had died and she couldn't help but be a bit bitter about the fact that they had not remained close.
There is no reason to be melancholy, she thought. You are expected to appear at the holiday ball so why not talk to her and invite her for tea. With that thought, she wrote out an elegant R.S.V.P. response in emerald green ink and set it in the stack of outgoing mail to be sent out for the evening.
A young brunette witch was leaning on a pillow propped up against her headboard reading an article on the possibility of energy transformation in the latest copy of Transfiguration Today. Transfiguration had always been Hermione's passion and upon graduating she had wanted to pursue a career in the field by studying under a transfiguration master. However, in her third year she had made the decision that she would only take an apprenticeship if it was offered by Professor McGonagall as she wanted to study under the best master in the field.
When she had graduated, she had waited months to see if Professor McGonagall would discuss an apprenticeship with her. When the offer never came, she had taken the job in the ministry to continue her goals from S.P.E.W. She still kept up with the latest transfiguration developments and even though she hadn't earned a mastery, Hermione was widely regarded as a prodigy in the field.
A week ago, after the announcement was made that her House Elf Rights bill had passed, she had received an unexpected letter from Madame Deivrot. Madame Deivrot was the professor of transfiguration at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France and was considered the second most authority in the field just behind Minerva McGonagall. The letter had requested a meeting with Hermione to discuss the possibility of taking a position as her apprentice for five years.
Shocked and quite excited to get the offer, Hermione had seriously considered taking the meeting, even going so far as to discuss the offer with George over lunch. In the end though, she had made the decision that as her friends and family were in England, she just couldn't give up her current career and move out of the country, no matter how intriguing the offer had been.
Nimble fingers smoothed out the wrinkles in her lavender satin nightgown and she waved out her hand to dim the lights in her bedroom before sinking under her comforter. As she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out, her thoughts remained fixed on the subject of transfiguration and the image of a small tabby cat floated through her mind.
George Weasley was frantically pacing around the living room of his flat in his slightly wrinkled but quite dapper new tuxedo. With a quick glance down to his wristwatch he inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh realizing that for the first time in her life, Hermione was most certainly going to be late. "'Mione, are you ready yet? We have to be there in less than five minutes! Bloody hell woman, you're the guest of honor!" he bellowed up the stairs.
Hermione passed a washrag under the faucet, wrung it out, and placed the cool cloth against her stiff neck letting her eyes flutter closed. Ever since the Triwizard Tournament she had hated being the center of attention, and tonight, there was no way for her to avoid it. The presentation for her award was to occur at seven followed by dinner and the annual Ministry of Magic holiday ball. Thoughts of the speech that she was required to give were causing her temples to throb and a slight sheen of sweat to appear on her neck.
"I will be down in just a minute, George!" she called back to her friend. George had agreed to accompany her as her "date" for the evening to hopefully help get her out of dancing with one of the many wizards who had read the article published by Rita Skeeter the week prior. Opening her eyes and inwardly cursing the unregistered animagus for the article, Hermione steeled her nerves and briskly walked down the stairs to meet her date.
George looked her up and down as she descended, letting out a low whistle followed by what could on be described as a howl. His friend was wearing a thin strapped, sparkling black dress that fell softly over her chest in a v-neck. Spinning her around, he could see that the back was cut down to the small of her back and you could see the pull of her muscles and a large expanse of milky white skin. Finally, a long slit split the dress from her ankle to mid-thigh exposing a long, smooth, and toned leg. "Damn 'Mione! I'm going to have to beat them away with a stick!"
"Oh, if only they knew I didn't fancy wizards," she quipped. "I swear if I have to listen to one more person call me the most eligible witch of the year I am going to go into hiding in France."
"Ah 'Mione, it won't be so bad. Just have fun and let loose for an evening. Maybe you can find yourself a nice witch to dance with!" George winked saucily at her and Hermione groaned back.
"I've told you George, I don't want my picture plastered on the front of the Daily Prophet anymore. Besides, can you imagine the headlines that evil woman would come up with if I actually gave her something to write about?" she asked. "Let's get going, Kingsley would be horrified if I were to be late."
She threaded her hand through George's arm and he gave her a small grin to assure her that everything would be fine as they walked through the front door of the flat and into the nearest alleyway to apparate to the Ministry. "Here goes nothing," she whispered and with a loud pop they disappeared.
At a minute till seven, the guest of honor and her date strode into the ballroom and quickly took their seats at the round table closest to the stage. Hermione nodded to the Minister of Magic and wrapped her delicate fingers around a tall glass of red wine, bringing it to her lips and tipping it back to down the entirety in one fluid motion in an effort to calm her nerves.
Almost immediately, the Minister's voice began booming out across the crowd. "Tonight, in addition to the annual holiday ball, we are here to honor a witch who has spent the last five years devoted to bringing equality to the treatment of magical creatures around the world. From her efforts to provide support and care to those bitten by werewolves, to her work to revoke the laws requiring magical creature tracking, to the recent passage of her House Elf Rights bill, Miss Hermione Granger has worked tirelessly for a great cause. It is my great pleasure to present her with the Ministry of Magic's newest award for Outstanding Service to the Magical Community!"
A roar of applause reverberated and echoed throughout the ballroom and with a whispered "Knock 'em dead!" from George, Hermione stood from her table and walked to the makeshift stage. Taking a deep breath, she held her wand to her throat and whispered the sonorous charm to begin her speech.
"I greatly appreciate this honor from the Ministry of Magic and the Minister himself. However, I must dedicate this award to the countless magical creatures in our world who have spent far too many years living amongst us as second class citizens. My efforts to correct previous wrongs against these creatures represent the work in my life that I am most proud of as these amazing creatures truly do deserve nothing less than an equal place in our world. I hope to be able to continue my work in this field for many years to come, and I look forward to the cooperation of the magical community. Thank you."
After cancelling the sonorous charm, Hermione quickly left the stage to return to her seat next to George at the table. The red haired wizard leaned over and with a slight chuckle whispered, "See, that wasn't so bad!" The flustered witch turned and gave him her best glare as the Minister announced the beginning of the feast and the decorated plates along the tabletop filled with roast turkey, honey ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, casserole, and French bread.
When the guests at the holiday ball had finished eating, the tables were cleared from the ballroom and soft tendrils of music began floating through the air. George turned to her and grabbed her hand in his, leaned in, and whispered softly into her ear, "Excuse me Miss Granger, may I have this dance?" As she giggled, he whisked her off into the middle of the floor and they began slowly moving in time to a waltz.
"You really are an amazing dancer George," she said while grinning up at her partner. Two years ago they had taken dance lessons together for two weeks because she was tired of being unable to dance at the various ministry functions held throughout the year. It had taken many nights of sore shins and crushed toes, but eventually they had learned to dance quite beautifully together.
"Ah, but it is all about who you are dancing with, 'Mione. I only dance this well with you," he responded. He flashed her a brilliant smile, enjoying being able to dance with his best friend again. As the music crescendoed, he spun her out and back into his arms. "Have you seen her yet?"
A scowl quickly fell over her face replaced by a void expression with a carefully arched eyebrow as she succinctly stated, "I don't know who you are talking about."
"Oh come on hun, we both know you are excited to see her. She always comes to the ministry events so you know she has to be here." He was the only person she had spoken with about why she had fallen out of touch with the esteemed Headmistress. She had found herself falling for the woman and had distanced herself because she wasn't comfortable with her newfound preferences. Over the years, Hermione had grown to understand and accept the fact that she fancied witches, but once they had fallen out of touch, she had never tried to reconnect with her mentor.
She let out a soft sigh of resignation and whispered, "Look George, not tonight. Just dance with me and enjoy the evening. No more of this." She had spent years admiring the woman but she had accepted that they would never be close again and she didn't want to spend the evening discussing it when she could be having fun with her best friend.
As he nodded his head in acceptance, the music changed to a quick tango and he winked at her. She tossed him her famous cheshire cat grin and pulled him closer to her chest as they began gliding across the floor in a sensual tangle of limbs. This was their favorite dance and they had spent months perfecting it after finishing their lessons.
When the song drew to a close, he dipped her down to mere inches above the floor and held her there for a moment before pulling her back up into his arms and placing a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thank you, I do believe that was our best tango in years!" she exclaimed. "Let's go grab some drinks." She pulled him along to the table filled with refreshments, neither noticing the emerald eyes burning into them from the front of the room.
Champagne in hand, she stood scanning the dance floor and watching the guests of the ball dance merrily to the music. As the music changed to a tango, her lips quirked into a grin at the mass of dance partners that quickly left the floor. Not many have what it takes to do the tango, she thought. Then she noticed a pair of dancers quickly captivating the onlookers as they glided across the room in each other's arms.
She instantly recognized the man as George Weasley, but couldn't see the woman's face. She had long, straight brown hair flowing over her shoulders and her sparkling black dress with its almost nonexistent back left little to the imagination. She could see the woman's taut muscles rippling across her back as she moved and her eyes were caught on the sway of her hips as she wrapped her leg around her partner.
Merlin, what a woman, she thought as she watched the couple who danced so comfortably together. They must be lovers. As the last notes floated across her ears, the woman was dipped to the floor and looked up at her partner. Hermione? As soon as she saw the woman's face she recognized her former student. Her pulse began to quicken and she immediately pushed herself to dismiss the previous thoughts she had had.
As the couple left the dance floor, her emerald eyes followed them, focusing on their mannerisms. When they reached the refreshment table and a group of friends, she saw the woman stiffen and turn to walk out on the balcony. Curious. Curiosity killed the cat. With that thought, she followed the young woman, determined to find out what could be wrong and just maybe rekindle her long lost friendship.
As she walked up to the refreshment table with George, Hermione reached for another glass of champagne. Just as she was picking it up, a tall wizard with dark hair and blue eyes leaned over to her an asked, "Hey cutie, care for a dance?"
She immediately stiffened and quickly replied, "Sorry, I'm done dancing for the evening. Maybe next time." Holding the glass she turned on her toes and darted to the nearest exit leading to the balcony, wanting to avoid any more dance offers.
Standing against the railing while the cool evening air breezed across her warm skin she closed her eyes and tipped her glass. As the liquid poured easily down her throat, she let her thoughts analyze the last five years and the feats that she had accomplished.
While it was true that she had made incredible progress with reforming the laws for magical creatures, she couldn't help the familiar feeling of failure that was bubbling up in her chest. Her professional life was nothing but success after success, but what was the cost?
She had denied herself a personal life in fear that the bad press would hinder her progress in her work with the ministry. As one of the Golden Trio, Hermione knew that if she were to actually date a witch and follow her heart her relationship would be plastered across the media and she just couldn't take that risk after all of her hard work.
It was a decision that she had spent many sleepless nights considering. It was the right decision at the time, she was sure of it, but looking back now the young witch couldn't help but want things to change in her life. She wanted to take risks, to be herself. Most of all, she wanted to fall in love. With an exaggerated sigh, she resolved that she would make the change, no matter the consequences.
"Why are you hiding out here alone, Miss Granger? Certainly you should be inside with your friends celebrating." Hermione took in a sharp breath and her cheeks instantly flushed as the soft lilt carried across the air and into her ears.
Slowly, almost reverently, she turned around and her eyes caught onto the tall woman before her in an emerald green evening gown that had long sleeves and draped in an asymmetrical cut across her toned legs. A string of pearls graced her neck and her long black hair was pulled back into a traditional bun with a handful of curls remaining to frame her face.
As Hermione's eyes stopped to reflect the gaze of deep green ones that sparkled in the moonlight, she couldn't help the flush in her cheeks from spreading down her neck and across her chest. She swallowed another sip of champagne to wet her suddenly dry throat before gently replying, "Good evening, Headmistress. I was just getting some fresh air."
"Please, Miss Granger, do call me Minerva." The elder which stated softly, glad to have managed to keep the husk from creeping into her voice. The woman standing in front of her was nothing short of breathtaking.
"It has been a long time, Minerva, but there is no need for you to call me Miss Granger," she quipped with a sly grin.
Minerva walked forward and leaned against the railing next to her. "Of course, Hermione. Now, why are you really out here?" She slowly turned her head to glance at the younger witch and saw a brief flash of emotion cross her eyes before it faded as she plastered on a smile.
"I will admit that I am not entirely a fan of large events, particularly when I am the guest of honor."
The elder witch could see that Hermione was quite uncomfortable with being the center of attention during the event. Pushing aside the slight hesitation, she decided to offer her an escape if nothing more than to provide a moment of respite for her previously favorite pupil. "I was just about to return to Hogwarts for the evening. Would you care to join me for a drink and a game of chess?"
Hermione knew that she should stay for the remainder of the ball, but she had made herself a promise that she was determined to keep. The woman that she had admired for years was offering her an escape and a quiet evening. With an effort to keep her voice calm and nonchalant she responded, "I would love to, Minerva. Give me just a moment to say goodbye to George and I will meet you at the castle gates."
TBC – I hope that you enjoyed this! Reviews are wonderful!