Girls in White Dresses
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, or the building they are standing on. I appreciate anyone who would actually think that, though.
She makes a striking silhouette, Severus thought as he joined Miss Granger on the upper balcony. She was staring out over the grounds and past the lake, and her white dress seemed to glow in the summer moonlight.
"Could it be that at the end of seven years here you finally figured something out about the world you live in?" he asked quietly.
"And what do you mean by that, Professor?" she responded coldly, straightening but refusing to face him.
"Certainly nothing worthy of the reaction you're giving me. I only thought there must be some reason you'd be standing here alone, on the last night of your seventh year, when the rest of your peers are down at the social, saying their farewells."
"I apologize for the accusatory tone of my voice, then," she responded obligatorily, and turned around. "However, I don't see why you feel the need to question my motivation as you aren't there wishing luck to your precious Slytherins."
He noticed the tear streaks down her face but thought it best to give her a moment before asking about them. "How many of them, do you think, won't be seeing me further? How many of them would you guess I don't already see outside of term?"
She closed her eyes defensively, and Severus could see his opportunity slipping away.
"What is wrong, Miss Granger?"
"Nothing life threatening. Don't you have anything you ought to be doing tonight?
"Not just now, no."
"Fine. It's this dress," she told him, gesturing at herself.
"It seems in perfect condition to me." And it was, really. It was a plain white dress, with a navy colored satin ribbon around a high waist. Rather unremarkable, but it suited her much better than some of the gaudy things the girls inside had been wearing.
"Oh, that's not the problem. It's a lovely dress, really, it was for one of the bridesmaids at my parents' wedding, I always admired it."
"I fail to see the problem."
"The problem, Professor, is that it is a dress."
"You would prefer pants?"
"No, sir, I'm used to wearing skirts with the Hogwarts uniforms, but it's what it means that is the problem. Every single person back in that room, including the other Muggleborns, is wearing some form of dress robes. I've been here, as you said, for seven years; I'm to be stepping out into a war zone tomorrow, and my mother still doesn't see that I'm not playing by her rules anymore." With that, she leaned into the corner of the wall and the balcony railing.
"I'd think you, more than anyone else here, would be able to understand by what rules we are playing now. You must know, Miss Granger, that Albus Dumbledore is the first headmaster in the history of Hogwarts not to practice re-education of Muggleborns? Removing them from their families the day they got their letter, placing them in foster care by with wizarding families who would teach them all the drawbacks and shortcomings of the Muggle world?" She nodded sullenly in response. "He encouraged the belief that there was worth in a Muggle upbringing, and that wizards would be much better equipped to live in the outside world if some of their number had experienced Muggle life past the age of eleven."
"I fail to see the connection."
"This is all about the Muggleborn witches and wizards. This is about Lily Evans and Justin Finch-Fletchley and the right to slap Draco Malfoy in the face when he even says the word Mudblood. You are the battle standard of this war, Miss Granger. Girls in white dresses, with blue satin sashes, who have every right to be proud of their heritage, and can duel the pants off anyone who dares day otherwise. This has gone beyond your right to an education. This is your right to be who you are and be taught that you are every cursed bit as good as anyone else out there because of it, and not in spite of it."
She stepped out of her corner, heartened. As she neared the door back inside, she faltered, turning back to face him.
"It's also your right, Miss Granger, upon being thus validated, to abandon solitude and return to the bosom of your friends for your final night here."
She smiled in response. "Thank you, sir." She slipped back through the still open door and away down the hall. He watched her until she disappeared down the staircase.
"Where in the world did that come from?" he mused aloud before settling on the rail to observe Miss Granger's return to the gathering below.
A/N: This is in response to my own Color Challenge at Fictionalley.org. To read more about it, copy/paste this URL in your address bar. http://www.fictionalley.org/fictionalleypark/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54417