Background: Hermione is 20, Ron is 20, Harry is 19 and Ginny is 18. After the Battle of Hogwarts, the rebuilding of Hogwarts Castle and the reworking of the Ministry of Magic took a couple of months, and in the fall of that year the school was up and running once more. Ginny and the rest of her year took an accelerated sixth year course before the fall semester began, so they could resume their studies in the fall as seventh years. Ginny's year, the seventh years, and the students from the year above her, the eighth years, all took classes together in the Fall of 1998 and they all graduated in the spring of 1999.

Ginny Weasley sat perched on the edge of a cushioned poof in front of a large, black lacquered vanity table. She had her mouth wide open as she wiggled her mascara wand at the base of each lash. As she applied a second coat, Ginny wondered to herself why it was necessary to have one's mouth open in a 'O' shape to put on mascara. She figured it was just one of those unexplained mysteries of femininity. Scooting back on her seat, Ginny looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her usually fiery red straight hair was wavy and a vibrant burgundy today. In addition to that change, she had on a full face of makeup. Ginny only really wore neutral eye shadows and occasionally wore lipstick. Today she had on a deep rouge color on her lips, just a bit of mascara on her eyelashes and she had put on an illuminating powder all along her cheekbones. Just as she reached for her wand to charm a section of her hair that had gone flat, a muffled aggravated cry interrupted her. Ginny turned around to see a chocolate brown, unruly haired figure huffily stomp into the room.

"I cannot possibly wear this Gin—I look like a tarty version of The Fat Lady."

Ginny scowled and put her hands on her hips. "You do not look like a tarty version of the Fat Lady; you look like an elegant Greek Goddess, as you should seeing as you are going as one. And I would remind you that if you call your outfit tartish, you call my taste into question, as I am the one who picked that dress out."

Hermione sighed in defeat and sat down in a stiff chair next to the doorway.

"Ugh, fine. You're right, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm on edge —"

Ginny cut Hermione off with a wave of her hand.

"Herms, I know how you feel, but listen—this will be fun, I promise you. We haven't been back to Hogwarts since graduation, and that was a year ago. If it's really lame, I promise to come up with something really entertaining for us to do."

Hermione gave Ginny an exasperated smile and said, "Fine, you've sold me; though I'm going to hold you to that promise if need be."

"Yes, yes, I'll think of something." Ginny said quickly. "But, now," Ginny held her arms out dramatically, "you can't go to a masquerade ball looking like yourself! Come sit down so I can do your hair and makeup." Hermione sat down grudgingly and Ginny began her work. Ginny started by smoothing Hermione's curly locks which would have been a dead giveaway. Ginny then took out her wand at which Hermione gave Ginny a unsure look, but she just told Hermione to close her eyes and trust her best girlfriend. Ginny charmed Hermione's hair so that it grew to waist length. Ginny decided that she would keep Hermione's color, but just change the length and straighten the curls out. Ginny then turned towards her vanity to hunt for the perfect lipstick. She decided on a peachy nude lip color a rosy blush on her cheeks and a couple of coats of her favorite black mascara.

Hermione felt Ginny stop applying makeup and timidly opened her eyes. She immediately loved her hair, and was glad that Ginny hadn't altered it too much. She liked her natural hair color.

She studied her reflection for a moment before saying to Ginny,

"I love it Gin, you really have an eye for this sort of thing."

"I'm glad you like it; I've magicked your makeup into place so it won't budge." She looked up to check the time. "We really need to get going. We're meeting Ron and Harry in fifteen minutes and I still haven't decided on what purse I'm going to bring."

As Ginny rushed off to her walk in closet Hermione moved to the full length mirror and looked at her reflection. She wore a light pink floor length Grecian dress made of the softest silk. The dress was one shouldered and it was elegantly draped to emphasize her small waist. The dress was actually Ginny's but Hermione thought that she might want to permanently add it to her closet, now that she really saw herself in it. It was really beautiful; the bottom of the dress was dripping with tiny pink and ivory beads and a trim of pink lace peaked out from the top of the bust. She decided to pin back her long hair from her face rather than just leaving it down. She hunted through Ginny's jewelry box for a hair accessory and instead found a pair of gorgeous moonstone earrings. Each earring had three sickle sized moonstones set one on top of the other in a drop style. She immediately put them on, forgetting to look for a hair clip. Just then, Ginny came back out holding two bags in one hand and a pair of nude suede heels in the other. She was fully dressed in her costume now, which was a highly sequined midnight blue mermaid cut gown. She thought that Ginny's hair color and style of dress really did give the impression of a refined siren, which is what Ginny was going for. Her best friend walked forward and noticed the earrings Hermione was wearing.

"Those look fantastic on you! I almost forgot I had those, I think they belonged to one of my great aunts."

Hermione fingered the earrings in her ears and asked, "So it's okay if I wear them?"

"Absolutely, now come here." Ginny beckoned for Hermione to come over. "Try these heels on; I've added a Cushioning Charm on them so they should be easy to walk in."

Hermione sat down and put on the heels which fit like a dream.

"Great, now, here's your bag—" Ginny handed Hermione a soft suede bag which matched the color of her shoes "And I just need to find my pearl earrings and we can go."

"Okay." Hermione walked to the door before turning back around.

"Gin, where are our masks?"

"Ack, I almost forgot! They're on the front hall table. The blue one's mine and the other one is yours."

Hermione made her way through the two bedroom flat which she and Ginny shared and found the two masks. Both of the masks were made out of many layers of lace which had been molded to fit the contours of her face. Her mask was ivory and had small beads like the ones on her dress along the edges. Hermione applied a Semi-Permanent Sticking Charm to the mask and fixed it to her face. She moved to the hall mirror and looked at her reflection; it was hard to see herself through the costume and she felt a tingly rush of anticipation course through her. Tonight might not be that bad after all, she thought. Hermione opened her bag to make sure she had her essentials; a couple of galleons and sickles, her wand, a travel sized version of her favorite perfume and the invitation to the ball they were attending.

Hermione took the invitation out of the envelope and reread it.

Hogwarts Castle Cordially Invites:

Ms. Hermione Jean Granger

To the First Annual Hogwarts Reunion Masquerade Ball

Class of 1999

Black Robe Attire

June 25th – 9 P.M.

Hermione wondered to herself who would show up; she had not seen the majority of her graduating class since graduation which was just a year ago. Hermione had returned to complete her final year at Hogwarts with many of her classmates. It had been an odd situation, knowing they were returning to the place where the final battle had occurred, where it all had ended.

Hermione remembered the day that she had returned to the castle on the first of September. The feeling on the train wasn't the same as it had been before; many of the students were still mourning the loss of their friends and family. And Hermione could empathize; people close to her had died that night as well. She, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Luna and Neville had all sat together in a compartment on the train to Hogwarts. The atmosphere had been pretty mellow; it seemed as though her companions were still finding closure pretty elusive. When she had gotten off the train at Hogsmeade Station, she had noticed Draco Malfoy, among a couple other Slytherines had returned for what Professor McGonagall had termed their 'eighth year'—everyone from her year.

She couldn't honestly say that she had been completely surprised when she saw them. Sometime after the final battle, Harry had returned Draco's hawthorn wand to him. Harry had told Ron and Hermione how Draco had completely apologized for his actions during the war. Harry said that it had been hard for him to apologize but he had wanted Harry to understand how it had been for him during their sixth year and after. Harry said that Draco told him that he was forced into it, that he never really wanted the task Voldemort had set him, but because Voldemort had threatened him with his family's life, he really hadn't seen any other option.

Hermione understood this now, and really did not want to have any more animosity between them; she was done with the negative aspects of life which only brought conflict. Now that the war was over, she thought that she could finally move on. Though Harry, Ron and Hermione had come to terms with Draco's apology, not all of the Gryffindors had accepted Malfoy's and the other's apologetic sentiments. At the beginning to the term, she had found Seamus pinning Draco to the corridor wall. Other scuffles like this had happened, but they since had died down when the others finally believed Draco's sincerity and remorse.

At the end of the year the group of seventh and eighth years, which totaled about seventy students, grew quite close as it naturally happens if you are in close quarters with the same people for ten months straight. She saw a certain unity develop among her classmates; she witnessed Ernie Macmillian and Draco Malfoy having a civil conversation in February of that year, which she thought was quite a milestone. She herself had developed something of a friendship with Malfoy; they actually had a lot in common. He was just as determined to top his N.E.W.T's just as she was. But she had not seen him since they graduated, she had heard from Ginny that he had gone traveling around Europe for a couple of months.

Over her seventh year, Hermione had focused on her studies and her new relationship with Ron, which had begun—well, who really knew anyway? Their kiss in the Room of Requirement had looked promising at the time, but the relationship it sparked really wasn't what either of them wanted. Hermione had dated Ron for the majority of the year, but at the end they amicably split. They had remained friends however it wasn't the same as it had been. About a month after they split, Ginny had told her that he and Lavender had gotten back together. This news had not really affected Hermione, which she supposed just showed that she was over Ron. Ginny and Harry also had begun dating sometime after the final battle, and they had remained together, unlike Ron and her. Ginny and Harry's relationship had the passion which she just did not have with Ron. Though Hermione was very much independent and cool with them dating, she could not help feeling just a bit awkward around her friends. They were pretty serious and she didn't have the same friendship with Ron or Harry for that matter. Things like this happen, however sad they may be. People naturally drift apart. The war had changed everyone so much and it would have been highly unlikely if they had all remained the same people.

Hermione sighed and set the invitation down on the table. She found reminiscing about the past exhausting. She just wanted to turn a new leaf over in her life, and she realized that tonight may just be the night for that. Looking into her reflection in the hall mirror, she saw that tonight it would be easy to pretend. Tonight, she promised to herself, she was going to lose herself; and maybe, just maybe someone might find her.

8/29/12

Due to popular demand (I say popular...), I'm writing more chapters! I sincerely thank everyone who let me know that they wanted me to continue writing this story. I should get another chapter out soon!