The Bachelor 2
That Saturday, Hermione cautiously approached Livingston Mansion. It was easy to recognize from miles away with its huge, sprawling estates.
Most of all, Hermione loved the gardens. As if the beautiful sound of water flowing from the mansion's multitude of fountains wasn't enough, the gorgeous deep forest green of the different trees and bushes, not to mention the bright flowers in almost every hue, was enough to take anyone's breath away.
Hermione was thrilled.
Hmm, she mused to herself, as long as the guy isn't a total dud, I just might enjoy this.
She walked slowly to the palatial doors of the mansion, and was soon greeted by the chief executive of the show, Kathy M. Silver.
"Hello, Miss Granger," she said with a smile as Hermione approached the door. "I'm Kathy M. Silver, and I'll be giving you all the details in just a minute. The other girls are inside already."
"Am I the last one to arrive?" Hermione asked. Punctuality had always been key for her; this was highly unusual!
"Yes, but don't worry, the last one just walked in a few minutes ago." She turned to a silent man beside her. "James, please assist Miss Granger with her bags."
"I wonder what the bachelor will look like," Hermione mused to herself as she handed the bags over to James.
"Oh," Kathy Silver interjected, "He's my nephew—well, my cousin's son—a real darling. Very sweet boy. And devilishly handsome, I'm sure you will all love him. He rather likes attention," she gushed.
Hermione nodded politely, and then stepped inside.
For a second, she could not focus. The grandeur of the place was almost too much for her to bear, from the famous replicas of paintings splashed on the walls, to the huge glass chandelier in the middle, to the lovely cream leather couch in the living room upon which four giddy girls sat.
"What's your name?" One of the girls called out to her.
"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied. "And you?"
"Rose Hoffman, and this is Xandy Cross." Hermione looked at them both, scrutinizing their features. Rose was a tall brunette with a sharp nose and a pleasant looking disposition, whereas Xandy was just as short as Hermione, with long, wavy black hair and a mysterious air about her. In short, Xandy was gorgeous.
Hermione scanned the rest of the room and was surprised to see that she knew almost half the girls already. They were all Hogwarts graduates, and a surprising lot of them had been in her class.
"Hermione!" she heard someone shriek behind her. She turned around and was greeted by a pair of arms.
"Hello," she said, her voice muffled under Parvati's tight embrace.
"What are you doing here?" Parvati demanded.
"I could say the same for you, Parv," Hermione said. Although Hermione had never really been friends with Parvati, the two respected each other and were quite good acquaintances.
"Who else is here from Hogwarts?" Hermione asked curiously. Curses, she thought to herself, I hadn't realized that so many people would see me desperate for love.
Parvati laughed. "Well, so far I've seen Hannah Abbot, Millicent Bulstrode, Eloise Midgen, Blaise Zabini, and Lavender Brown is here too!"
Hermione laughed. "Won't you both argue as to who gets the man?" she asked.
"Well, we…that is, just Lavender and me…have made a pact that we won't get angry if one of us is picked and not the other."
Before Hermione could continue any conversations, Kathy Silver approached and told them all to get dressed for later that night.
Hermione sighed. She hated dressing up, and was in no mood to don a gown and cake her face with goop, also known to the rest of the girl population as make up. But Hermione could not stand the thought of losing, especially on TV and in front of all these Hogwarts girls, so she decided she had to. She knew perfectly well that whoever he was, the bachelor would pick his first fifteen girls purely on looks, and Hermione never lost at anything.
She consoled herself, however, before it even started. She decided that as long as she was in the top ten list, she wouldn't care if she wasn't picked.
Hannah Abbot came running up to Hermione. "What're you wearing?" she demanded.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. Dress robes, I guess."
"Well, where are yours?"
Hermione walked slowly over to her trunk and pulled out a pair of burgundy dress robes. She quickly changed into them and came out. Hannah was impressed.
"Those are very pretty," she said. "How will you do your hair?"
Hermione sighed. Leave it to one of the other girls to make sure she dressed like a complete bimbo. She quickly muttered a spell that would put her hair up in a nice bun, and then another one to do her makeup, and soon she was ready.
Eloise Midgen, whose acne had cleared up although there were a few scars on her face here and there, gushed when she saw Hermione. "Oh my gosh," she exclaimed, and Hermione nearly had a epileptic fit, "you look ravishing! The bachelor is going to love you!"
Hermione nodded weakly. This kind of attention was a little much for her. After all, she was usually recognized for Most Hard-Working Witch in Science award.
The girls each piled into limos and were driven down to the other end of the estate, where apparently the bachelor was waiting.
Hermione hated to admit it, but she felt a close resemblance to butterflies in her stomach.
During the ride, in which Hermione developed a slight headache from all the squealing around her, she began to wonder about what the bachelor would look like. But she didn't have to wonder long, because before she knew it they had arrived.
Hermione waited her turn as all the other girls exited one by one to be greeted by the man. In the distance she heard a lot of giggling and "oh-my-goshes". She moaned. What had she gotten herself into? Damn Mother, she thought.
Finally she stepped out. And then nearly fainted.
No, not happening, she thought as she froze on the spot. Not happening. I want to go home. This is not happening, not happening, not happening…
"Granger?" A familiar voice asked with a smirk.
Hermione smiled faintly. "Malfoy. A pleasure," she said, extending her arm.
He did not take it. "Likewise," he growled.
Slightly annoyed, Hermione pulled her arm back and brushed past him to enter the party. "Never thought you'd be so desperate, Granger," Malfoy called after her.
"Well look at you!" she retorted.
"Oh, no," he said, laughing. "I get to pick from twenty-five of you, and you can only hope that you're one of them. Good luck, Granger. Although I'm not so sure of your success…in this field."
"Shut up, ferret boy," she said angrily as she entered the party.
Curses! I'm never listening to Mother again, she thought angrily. Never.
A/N: Okay, so…I really want 10 reviews for this fic, at least, so maybe some of you could really review? I want to know how I'm doing!