"We're here," Richard Granger announced, pulling Hermione's focus from the book she was reading.
It was late Friday afternoon and Hermione and her parents were arriving at the hotel where her grandparents were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. A big dinner was arranged for that evening, followed by the party on Saturday night. The family would then have Sunday lunch together before going their separate ways.
"It is a lovely hotel," Jean remarked as the trio alighted from the car. "Don't you think so, Hermione?"
"It does look nice," Hermione agreed.
"Cheer up sweetheart," Jean said, wrapping her arm around her less than enthusiastic daughter. "I know this wasn't the way you wanted to spend your break, but family is important. Your grandmother would be devastated if you hadn't shown up."
"I know," Hermione admitted. She was actually looking forward to seeing her grandparents, it was just her cousins she could do without.
"Okay then, let's go," Richard called as he pulled the bags from the boot and locked the car. "We're going to check in and catch up with everyone at dinner."
Hermione felt a surge of relief at the fact they weren't going to be immediately joining up with the rest of the family. At least she could get settled in her room and get freshened up before having to face her cousins.
The reception of the hotel was a large, marble area with several doors and lifts leading to the various parts of the hotel. While her parents checked them in, Hermione picked up a leaflet about the hotel. The leaflet included a map of the place, and what amenities were available to the guests.
"There's your key, sweetheart," Richard said, handing Hermione her room key. "Your room is just opposite ours."
The rooms were on the fourth floor and when Hermione entered her room she found it had a stunning view of the golf course that ran along the back of the hotel. No doubt the golf course was one of the reasons her grandparents picked the hotel as her grandfather was a keen golfer. As for the room itself, it was a large room decorated in pale purple. It had a gorgeous double bed, and an en-suite bathroom with a sunken tub and glass shower.
Deciding the place was rather nice, Hermione set about unpacking. For dinner tonight she had a lovely pale blue dress with white spots to wear, but for the party tomorrow evening she was planning on going all out. She was going to show her cousins that she was no longer the odd little girl they used to tease. She was a confident, powerful witch, and she wasn't going to let them intimidate her. Putting her clothes away, she used a quick spell to make sure her dresses remained in pristine condition.
As she unpacked and prepared to grab a quick shower, Hermione contemplated if she should have invited Draco. Her parents knew she had a boyfriend, although they'd yet to meet Draco, and she doubted they would have objected to her bringing him along, but it hadn't occurred to her until now. Of course she could still try and get a message to him before tomorrow night, but it was very short notice and after already letting him down over the Easter holidays she felt it was unfair to expect him to drop everything and be by her side. She would just have to deal with her family without him, and inwardly berate herself for not thinking about inviting him earlier.
Pushing aside her belated thoughts about having Draco around for support, Hermione grabbed a quick shower. She then spent almost twenty minutes drying her hair and using a magical hair product to tame her wild hair into sleek curls. Hermione was so satisfied with the end result that she left her hair hanging loose. With her hair sorted she then applied a tiny bit of make-up and slipped into her blue dress. The blue dress had spaghetti straps and came down to just above her knees. Hermione teemed it with a little white cardigan, light blue ballet flat shoes and a small white bag.
Before she left her room, Hermione debated about leaving her wand behind, but in the end she squeezed it into her bag. It wasn't like she was going to use it since they were in the muggle world and none of her family knew about her magic but she felt incomplete without her wand. She just felt so much more secure knowing her wand was in easy reach if anything should happen.
Leaving her room, Hermione knocked on her parents' door to let them know she was ready. Hermione's parents were already ready, and once they knew Hermione was sorted they all headed downstairs. Hermione's grandparents had booked one of the function rooms for the meal, and when they entered they found the place decorated in gold balloons and streamers. They also found the room already filling up with family, who were all catching up and checking which table they were sitting at.
Both Hermione's grandparents came from big families, with them both having numerous brothers and sisters. Bar the relatives who were dead, all her grandparents' siblings were present along with their children and grandchildren. Hermione's grandparents themselves only had the two sons, Richard and his older brother, David. It was David who was the father of Rebecca and Izabelle and along with his wife, Sharon, they were sitting at the top table with Hermione, her parents and her grandparents.
"Hermione," Hermione's grandmother, Betty, called as the trio approached the top table. "You look lovely my dear."
"Thanks, Gran," Hermione replied with a smile as she hugged her grandmother.
Betty than hugged her son and daughter-in-law before it was her husband, Alfred's turn to greet his granddaughter and her parents.
"You're looking well, son," Alfred said, clapping Richard on the back.
"So are you Dad," Richard replied. "Have you tried the golf course yet?"
"Men and their sports," Betty chuckled as her husband and son started talking about the golf course and planning to spend the following day on it.
"Are David and Sharon not here yet?" Jean asked.
"They're here, they just haven't come down to dinner yet," Betty replied. "Now why don't you all get a drink and sit down. I'm dying to hear what my little Hermione is up to these days."
"You talk to your gran, I'll get the drinks," Jean told Hermione.
Hermione had just settled down beside her grandmother when her aunt, uncle and two cousins entered the room. Hermione got her eye on them the same time as her grandmother, who instantly waved them over. Hermione fought back a grimace as her two cousins sauntered up to the table with their parents. Both Rebecca and Izabelle were dressed in short dresses which hugged their curves, and their hair and make-up looked expertly fixed.
"Hermione, we almost didn't recognise you," Rebecca said with smirk as she and Izabelle settled opposite their cousin.
"Everyone has to grow up," Hermione replied.
"I suppose you couldn't stay that gawky forever," Izabelle conceded. "Maybe finishing school has been good for you."
"I haven't finished school," Hermione pointed out.
"What? Why not?" Rebecca asked. "I left school a couple of years ago. I'm in college now, training to become a teacher. How are you still in school?"
"I graduate at the end of the year," Hermione answered. "But when I do, I'll not have to go to college. My qualifications will get me into any job I want. I was thinking about going into the medical profession."
"I could imagine you as a nurse," Izabelle said. "You always did like to fuss over people."
"There's nothing wrong with compassion," Hermione said with a tight smile.
"I guess not," Izabelle replied with a shrug. "You'd never catch me looking after sick people though. I prefer to make people beautiful."
Izabelle then launched into a gushing speech about the beauty parlour where she worked as a hairdresser. Luckily Hermione was saved from too much of her cousin's gloating when her mother returned with the drinks, and then it was time for dinner. However, Hermione's reprieve was only brief and once the food was served, conversation got back to what everyone was up to these days.
"I've got the most amazing boyfriend," Izabelle gushed when her grandmother asked about her three granddaughter's love life. "He's so gorgeous, isn't he, Becky?"
"Yeah, he's pretty hot," Rebecca agreed.
"And what about you Hermione, I bet you're still single," Izabelle laughed.
"Actually, I'm not," Hermione replied, feeling smug. "I've got a boyfriend. We've been together since the beginning of the year and we're very happy together."
"Jason will be at the party tomorrow, will your boyfriend?" Izabelle asked.
"No, Draco won't be there," Hermione admitted.
"He's probably not real," Rebecca muttered under her breath as she faked a cough. Her statement was quiet enough that none of the adults heard, but Hermione heard every word.
"Hermione, do you still like to read?" Sharon asked, oblivious to what her daughter had just insinuated.
"Yeah, I'm still a big reader," Hermione answered her aunt.
Hermione chatted about her love for books for a few minutes, before the adults drifted off into their own conversation. With no other option, Hermione turned back to her cousins, only to find them laughing together.
"Surprise, surprise," Izabelle snorted. "Little Hermione is still a freaky bookworm."
"Better a bookworm than an illiterate beauty queen," Hermione shot back.
"Ouch, the bucktooth has claws," Rebecca spat.
"In case you didn't notice, my teeth are perfect these days," Hermione replied, making sure she smiled widely at her cousins. She didn't think they needed to know her teeth had only been fixed by accident following a misfired spell from Draco when he'd been fighting with Harry in fourth year.
"They're not massive anymore, but you're hardly a beauty are you?" Izabelle sneered. "I don't know what your fake boyfriend sees in you."
"Draco isn't fake," Hermione hissed. "He's very real."
"He doesn't even sound real," Rebecca laughed. "What sort of a name is Draco?"
"Draco's a constellation," Hermione replied. "He was named after it. It's a family tradition on his mother's side."
"Yeah, because that's believable," Rebecca said with a snort. "Don't worry Hermione, we know you're still the same strange, little bookworm you've always been. You even attend some sort of dodgy school that lasts longer than normal schools. What is it, a school for freaks?"
Hermione took a calming breath before she said something she would regret, or worse do something she would regret. Ignoring her giggling cousins, Hermione tuned them out as she finished her dinner. The second she finished eating, she headed off for another drink and she then spent the remainder of the night avoiding the nasty pair. Of course she would have to deal with them again over the weekend, but for now she'd had more than enough of Rebecca and Izabelle.
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"Why are we leaving so early?" Blaise asked Draco as the pair got dressed in Draco's room.
It was just after lunchtime on the day of Hermione's grandparents' party and Draco had informed Blaise that they would be leaving for the muggle world in less than an hour. Blaise hadn't been expecting to leave for another few hours, but luckily he had everything ready so he could dress quickly.
"I've already explained this," Draco answered with a sigh. "I don't want to just turn up at the actual party. I want to speak to Hermione beforehand and check she's okay with this. If she really doesn't want me there, I'll leave."
"Why didn't you just talk to her before the holidays then?" Blaise asked.
"Because it hadn't occurred to me before last night that she might not welcome us just dropping in unannounced," Draco confessed. It had only been when he was running over the plans in his head that he'd decided a different approach might work better with his girlfriend. "This way, it's her choice if we go to the party of not."
"I hope she says yes, I'm looking forward to seeing how muggles party," Blaise said. "I've heard muggle alcohol is way stronger than the wizarding stuff."
"If we are staying, don't do anything to embarrass Hermione," Draco warned. "Our presence is supposed to help her, not make her look like a complete idiot. We don't want her family saying her friends are strange."
"Don't worry, I can charm anyone," Blaise replied with a cocky grin. "I'll have Hermione's family eating out of the palm of my hand."
"Let's hope I can do the same," Draco muttered as he double checked his reflection in the floor length mirror in the corner of his bedroom. It was only occurring to him that if Hermione wanted him to attend the party with her than he would meet her parents, and he wasn't sure what they would think of him. Maybe they wouldn't like the fact their daughter was dating a wizard, especially one who's family had a tendency to look down on anyone other than purebloods.
"Don't worry, Draco, you'll be fine," Blaise reassured his friend. "Just think positive."
Draco nodded, and after warning Blaise that they wouldn't be able to do magic once they were in the muggle world they headed out of Draco's bedroom. Luckily Narcissa thought Draco was just going to Blaise's, so she didn't question them when they exited the house and Draco said he would see her the following day. Once outside, the boys made their way out of the manor gates and walked for a few minutes before stopping out of view of the large house.
"Now what?" Blaise asked. Apparition would have been the natural answer to get to where they were going but all they had was an address, and with apparition a visual knowledge of where you were going was handy in case of mistakes.
"The Knight Bus," Draco answered. Pulling out his wand, he stuck it out in front of him and seconds later a three tiered purple bus pulled up in front of him.
"Where to?" The conductor asked as the two teenagers hopped on-board.
"It's a muggle place, is that all right?" Draco asked as he gave the conductor the address of the hotel.
"Of course," The conductor replied. "The muggles never see us."
Draco and Blaise had barely taken their seats before the Knight Bus shot off at an alarming speed. Neither of them had ever ridden the bus before so they watched out of the window in amazement as the bus darted in and out of muggle traffic as it zapped from destination to destination. After fifteen minutes the bus ground to a halt outside a large fancy looking building.
"This is your stop boys," The conductor called. "I can see a few people outside, so we'll have to wait until the coast is clear."
Once there was no-one outside, the doors to the bus opened and Draco and Blaise hopped off. Before they'd even had a chance to register their surroundings, the Knight Bus blinked out of existence. They were now firmly in the muggle world, although it would be easier to get home as they could just apparate.
"Let's go," Draco said, taking a deep breath. "And let's hope I'm not making a big mistake."
Blaise clapped Draco reassuringly on the back as the two boys walked confidently into the hotel. Since Draco was still slightly nervous about potentially meeting Hermione's parents, Blaise took the lead with the receptionist. Initially she wasn't going to tell them what room Hermione was in, but Blaise's charm quickly kicked in and she gave him Hermione's room number.
"You're amazing," Blaise said with a grin. "We'll definitely have a drink after I've spoken with my friend."
"I'll look forward to it," The receptionist replied.
Blaise gave the receptionist one last smile, before returning to Draco and handing over Hermione's room number. After a quick conversation they decided it was best if Blaise accompanied Draco up to Hermione's room. If Draco and Hermione wanted to talk in private he could take a walk, and possibly share a drink with the receptionist. However, they figured it was best that they were upfront with Hermione and let her know Blaise was around.
Arriving at the room, Hermione was staying in, Draco took a couple of calming breaths before he knocked on the door. It was only after he knocked that he realised that Hermione might not even be in her room. It was still only the early afternoon, and for all he knew she was out somewhere spending time with her family. However, that wasn't the case and after only a few minutes wait the door was opened and Draco came face to face with his shocked girlfriend.
