Hermione sighed as she looked out the window of her parents' car on the way to the beach. They were going for the Granger Family Reunion, held once every five years. The last one had been held in her sixth year, and now she was 21, but she felt the same way she had felt about them when she was five.
They always went to La Lune resort, a five star hotel on the beach. Her whole extended family would be holed up there, and it was horror having to be around all of them for three days straight. Her grandparents, she quite liked them, and they were wonderful to her. Her uncles were decent enough, but it was her cousins and aunts she couldn't bear. Still, it had been a consolation when she found out that her boyfriend's parents owned the resort.
The only people she was looking forward to meeting were her boyfriend, his family, and her best friends, who had all promised they would be there for the three days she was stuck. She thought of all her cousins who got on her nerves, and began counting them out. "Let's see...Luke, ugh. Carla, Claire and Clara, the triplets, oh no! And Stella, and Sue, not to mention Mitchell and Andrew."
Those were all the demons who were her age, who had taunted her worse than all of Slytherin combined. Airheads and bimbos, the whole lot. The car pulled in to the resort's driveway, and she saw her cousins getting out of their high end BMWs and Audis while she opened the trunk of her parents' old Ford.
She took out her battered case, a relic of Hogwarts and her camping days, and her small beaded bag. Pulling her case behind her, she walked into the reception. She saw her snooty cousins waiting in line, and saw them sneer at her. She nodded at the usher next to her and he paled, and ran to the concierge. A whispered conversation took place while Hermione stood at the doorway, utterly bemused.
Shaking, the concierge, came up to her. "Ms. Granger, it's an honour to meet you. Are you and your family staying here at the hotel? Then, we must get you the penthouse suite-" at this point one of her cousins who had been listening with unabashed curiosity interjected "That's ours! You can't just give it to her!" The concierge gave him a glare and said, "Ms. Granger is the most important person here and she is of high priority. You are a mere customer." He left Mitchell muttering about speaking to the management, and turned to Hermione, who had by now been joined by her parents, and led them to the lifts.
As they ascended, she could not help but marvel at the benefits of celebrity. It may have just been Malfoy, but it was fun to know that Hermione Granger was a VIP. She thought of the program of the days. That night there was a dinner with the whole family, and tomorrow, oh dear god, no...Tomorrow was the younger generation's day out at the beach! Then the next day, there would be a gala party, where everyone dressed up and didn't do much.
She went to bed immediately upon reaching and spent a blessed five hours sleeping. At 6, it was time to get ready for dinner at 8. She went to the closet, where she had magically unpacked her things, and took out her makeup bag and a white garment bag.
She settled in for her relaxing bath, and got out after an hour. She slipped into her dress, a red knee length halter-necked dress, with a sash at the waist, followed by layers. She applied her makeup with her wand, setting it with magic, to ensure it didn't run, and carefully guided her hair into a messy bun with her wand. She slipped into her open-toed black stilettos and was ready to leave at 7:30. Knowing how her family liked to be early, she decided to leave.
Once she reached the dining room downstairs, she saw that most of her family was already there. She grinned when she saw her place on her Grandmother's right, but observed with a tinge of annoyance that Luke would be sitting on her right. She made her way t o the table and saw the looks of shock at her appearance and smirked.
She greeted her grandmother with a kiss and sat down. The conversation swung to relationships. She observed with satisfaction that Stella had been eyeing her place all night and did not fail to comment on her cousin's unattached state. "Ha! Hermione, it's not like you even know what a relationship is!" exclaimed Sue in that annoyingly high-pitched voice of hers, recalling memories of Pansy Parkinson.
"On the contrary, my dear Sue, I have a boyfriend." She informed. "Oh please, Hermione. I'm betting he's uglier than you, if it were even possible." Commented Claire, the least annoying of the triplets, while the other two tittered. "Yeah, Hermione, is he a drag queen?" Andrew teased. If only they knew, thought Hermione.
As they exited the restaurant, the youngsters caught sight of four people around their age, three boys and a girl. They all turned to look at the Grangers, and Hermione could tell they were laughing at her predicament. Draco winked at her, and she smiled.
As the Grangers rounded the corner, Stella exclaimed, "Omigosh, Draco Malfoy winked at me!" causing Hermione to snort. Luke, Mitchell and Andrew began to argue over who would get 'that feisty-looking redhead' and Sue was obsessing over Ron. Meanwhile, the triplets were hung up on Harry.
Silently laughing, Hermione walked away.
The next day dawned bright and clear, and Hermione realized with a groan that they were going out on the beach. She went down for breakfast wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and then Stella and Sue got up and began walking to the beach. Hermione was still a bookworm, so she carried her current novel down there as well.
Once they faced the sea, the girls removed their outer layer of clothing, and waded into the sea in their bikinis. Hermione shed her shirt and shorts and was wearing a white bikini underneath. She picked a sun chair and reclined in the shade of the umbrella. After an hour or so, there was a disturbance which caused her to look up from her book.
Her cousins had spotted her friends and were shrieking and howling. She picked up her book and decided to accompany them. She ended up at the forefront of the group, while the others looked over each other and deemed themselves presentable. With her wild hair obstructing her path, her cousins began to overtake her from the sides.
As they neared the quartet, Sue sidled up to Ron, looking through her lashes and batting her eyes at him. "Hey, handsome." She purred and Ron seemed slightly pleased by the comment. The rest of the cousins hung back for a second, waiting for Sue. Ron turned to survey the group and found Hermione.
"Hermione!" he exclaimed. She grinned. "Ron! Harry!" The two came and hugged her together, and she kissed them both on the cheek. She hugged Ginny, and as Draco hugged her, she whispered in his ear, "Save the kiss for later." She now stood with them and turned to face her open-mouthed cousins.
"Guys, meet my friends from school, Ron Weasley," he waved sheepishly,"- Harry and Ginny Potter-" they kissed, reminded of their blissfully married state, causing the boys and the triplets to glare at the shine of her wedding ring(permanently stuck by a love charm)"-and Draco Malfoy." The girls oohed but Stella, Sue and Andrew clearly didn't believe it. Stella snorted. "Yeah right, Hermione, you have good looking friends. Who own hotels. Yeah right. Anyway," she looked seductively at Draco, "you winked at me after dinner." Draco looked utterly amused while the rest of the wizards let go of each other and laughed their hearts out.
"Anyway, guys. Toodles." Hermione waved and the five turned around. Ron turned to her, "That cousin of your liked me," he said injuredly. "Draco laughed and clapped him on the back "Don't worry, mate. I happen to know that a certain Daphne Greengrass has been pining after you for a while." Ron brightened considerably upon hearing this good news.
Hermione spent the rest of the delightfully pleasant day alone with her friends, far away from all members of her family. She met Lucius and Narcissa at the resort, and her parents also came along for a wonderful dinner in the Malfoys' private suite. She was slightly miffed at the thought that that would be the only good day at the resort, but was quickly cheered by a goodnight kiss from Draco.
She fell asleep on her large, airy bed, perfectly content. She woke at 8, but realizing she had nothing to do, she went back to sleep and only awoke again at half past 11. She ordered brunch in the room and it came with a bouquet of roses and a pair of emerald earrings. She was smiling as she ate, reading the Prophet. It was full of gossip and she saw a small article about her and Draco, about how both of them were spending the weekend at La Lune. Damn the usher.
That night's festivities began at seven, so she began preparing earlier. She was ready at 6:45, in her silver and green dress she had bought at Draco's behest, wearing silver heels, her open hair reaching the small of her back. She reached the large open marquee on the beach where the party was supposed to be without incident. As the marquee filled up, she heard Carla exclaim, "Oh look! We've got the press here for our party!" Hermione, shocked at the comment, whirled around and saw that there were indeed journalists and photographers around the marquee.
She thought she saw Rita Skeeter's blonde curls somewhere but was distracted by Harry, Ginny, and Ron. "Hey guys." She greeted. "The press is here." Harry stated wearily. "Harry, mate, they'll never give up on the three of us." Ron told the Boy Who Lived. Waiters started serving food at the tables, and the dance floor started emptying. The group laughed as they caught sight of Stella dancing, if it could be called that, with an extremely disgruntled Draco.
"Perhaps, Hermione, you should cut in." Ginny suggested as Draco Shot a dirty yet pleading look at the sources of laughter. Hermione looked at her boyfriend, without his coat, with his sleeves rolled up, trying to escape Stella. She glided to the centre of the dance floor and stood next to Draco and Stella. He immediately let go of her cousin, causing Hermione to laugh and Stella to give her a venomous look.
They began to dance and the music immediately changed to a slow waltz, causing Hermione to giggle. "Draco, you're perfect, you know that?" she said, as they danced, the only couple on the floor. "Naturally, dear Granger, I'm a Malfoy. It goes with the name." She laughed at him, beaming about the fact he had called her Granger, which he only did when he was really happy, which seemed to be always, now.
"So listen, Granger, I've been meaning to ask you something. I thought this could be a cherry on the cake." He pulled away from her, and took something out of his pocket. He knelt down and her hands flew to her mouth. It suddenly occurred to her that she had not cast a glamour charm on the Mudblood scar on her left arm, but what did it matter? "Hermione Jean Granger," Draco was saying, as she looked at a green Stella, "Will you make me the happiest person in the world by marrying me?" "Yes! Yes of course Draco!" she squealed as he slipped the platinum and diamond ring on to her finger.
Suddenly there was a flash of cameras, and hordes of reporters barged in, Rita Skeeter at the fore, asking her all kinds of questions. "Miss Granger! Muss Granger!" they vied for her attention,
"Miss Granger, show us that enormous rock on your finger!"
She heard someone ask Ron, "Mr. Weasley, what do you think of Gryffindor's Golden Girl getting engaged to the Slytherin Prince?"
"Yes, Mr. Weasley, what do you think of your sweetheart marrying your rival!"
"Mr. Potter, what do you think of your the brightest witch of our age's engagement?"
Suddenly Lucius Malfoy swept through the crowd dismissing the press with furious cries. Though he was no longer a Death Eater, most still cowered from Lucius Malfoy, and the press was gone within seconds. "Are you alright, my dear?" he asked her, kissing her on the cheek and giving her a hug. "I'm fine, Lucius. Couldn't be better. You should keep the marquee permanently, it's a beautiful place." Narcissa came at this moment. "Welcome to the family officially, my darling." , sweeping her into a hug. Hermione's parents stood by, congratulating Draco while Harry and Ron teased him about finally settling down.
Hermione found Ginny behind her, and immediately found a Maid of Honour. There was much congratulating between the two families and friends, while Hermione's extended family looked on, agape, at the fact that she was apparently important, and was so successful in life, not to forget that she was getting married.
The next day, Hermione saw her cousins sitting around a coffee table, a newspaper lying in the middle. She met Draco, who put his arm around her waist, and they walked to the table. Hermione recognized the paper as The Daily Prophet and gave Draco a confused look. What were her Muggle family doing with the wizarding newspaper? She looked at the headline of the gossip rag the Prophet had become, and all was explained. It blared "Gryffindor Golden Girl engaged to Slytherin Prince" with a sub headline "Brightest Witch marrying Society Sweetheart." The picture that covered the front page was of their arms as he slipped the ring onto her finger. It showed her Mudblood scar and his Dark Mark. The subtitle read :"Ex-Death Eater set to marry Mudblood: breaking the blood barrier."
Hermione could make out that no one at the table could make any sense of it, and let it go. Stella shot her an ugly look, and she simply smiled to Draco, who bent down and kissed her intensely. She smirked as she heard her cousins stalk off in a huff, and called out, "Don't worry Stella, I'm sure you'll find someone much better than my fiancé!" and resumed her kiss.