Life after Hogwarts

By Arime Setta

Chapter Nine: Dramatic beginnings and peaceful endings

As I walked to breakfast I remembered the very public scene that occurred the night before. As soon as I walked into the Great Hall I was cornered by Ginny and Lavender wanting to know how things went after Draco and I left. Their blatant disregard for my privacy was nothing new and didn't surprise me but I had temporarily forgotten about the whole revenge scheme from the day before. I groaned upon remembering and was irritated by Professor Snape's smirk. He was going to enjoy ever bit of discomfort this mission would bring for Draco and me.

"Wow, you look great. I guess you guys made up last night, eh?"

"Duh, Lavender. I think her limp is enough of a hint." Ugh. I had banged my toe and my knee walking from my room to the Great Hall and was limping slightly. I instantly turned bright red with embarrassment and wanted to die right there.

"You know Hermione, I have some great lotion to dull the soreness." She winked and bit into her banana.

"Ginny! Lavender! I am limping because-"

"We had a crazy night last night. Morning, pookums." Draco walked right into the conversation and kissed the back of my neck before sitting down and squeezing my bruised knee to remind me to play along. I glared at him 'playfully' and just took a bite out of my toast. This mock-relationship is going to drive me crazy while ruining my reputation.

"Draco, be quiet shillywilly. Ginny, I don't need anything for soreness but I do need something for bruising." I just smirked at Draco and smiled innocently at Ginny while adjusting my shirt collar.

"Bruising eh? Sure I'll bring you some later." I smiled thankfully and thought of the giant purple bruises forming on my knee.

Up until this point breakfast seemed to be going smoothly. My reputation would be forever ruined but otherwise no one seemed to stirred up. Hmm maybe I should abandon my pure ways and make this relationship real… well at least the part that happens in the bedroom… I don't think I could actually enjoy spending time with Draco in another way… JUST KIDDING. I had and have no intention of being like some of Draco's previous conquests. Since the downfall of Voldemort Draco has been quite a lady's man or at least that's the rumor around school.

Harry and Ron were giving me odd looks but overall were keeping their thoughts to themselves. I knew I would have to face them later and test my acting skills. I was about to eat my oatmeal when two stormy girls approached our table from different directions. One was a 5th year Ravenclaw and one was a 6th year Slytherin. Neither of the girls was known for their chastity if you get my meaning. Once arriving at our table each girl took the time to smack Draco (each on different cheeks of course) before they began their speeches.

"Draco Malfoy. How can you do this to me? I thought we had something. You spent three days with me last week! Now you're suddenly dating Hermione Granger! Ugh! You have all the brains you need here and while being so much more fun. How dare you!" The Ravenclaw, later to be name Mindy Moorehouse (bet you can guess her nickname), had tears streaming down her face as she yelled at Draco and glared at me. As a Ravenclaw she is much more in touch with an emotional side (even if that side is a bit temperamental) but the Slytherin on the other hand is much more angry and bitter than sad or hurt.

"Three days with her! You spent 4 evenings with me last week and now you are suddenly in a relationship!" Draco went from golden to pale to red within the matter of a few seconds (and with the help of two handprints). Each girl shot me a dirty look and I just shrugged innocently.

"Erm, our time together was, erm, wonderful and all but… erm I am now in a committed relationship with Hermione." Harry choked on his juice and spit it all over his plate laughing.

"Committed? More like to St. Mungos! Hermione Granger of all girls!" The Slytherin's words dripped with malice and sarcasm. I was quickly beginning to dislike these girls even though my relationship with Draco was a cover.

"Excuse me! I am sitting right here. He is taken now get over it!"

"Taken! How long do you think you can handle him? He is a Slytherin after all."

"We agreed to wait to be exclusive when both of us were ready. We're ready now. Go back to your tables before I take points for being disruptive." I was very angry by this point and rather offended. Clearly these girls didn't feel I was worthy of Draco's affection. Ignoring that he would agree with that I was too mad at them for being tramps to be hurt by the reality.

"Yeah, I bet he wasn't ready because he was too busy being ready with me! We all know you finally gave him your precious virginity. That is probably the only reason he has agreed to this sham of a relationship. I don't even see why he would bother waiting for a plain, boring, mudblood bookworm like you!"

"Well, at least I'm not a pureblood snooty Slytherin slut like you!" and after a flick of my wand I left. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about all that they said. Even though the bloody wench would be hairless for a month I didn't feel any better. Magic only has a minor calming effect.

What hurt the most was the last word she said. Bookworm. As if it was so dirty to be intelligent. Not even the word mudblood hurt as much as plain and bookworm would. Blood was only a minor part of me. My looks were permanent and books were the only things getting me through the day.

I was able to reach my dorms before breaking down into tears. My face was puffy, red and tear stained as I lay on my couch staring at the ceiling. Why did those girls have to be so mean? I understand that they were angry but I had nothing to do with their failed attempt at wooing Draco. Obviously he was not only cheating on them but also cheating on me. Well, if our relationship was real anyways. He was out past curfew only 6 times last week so he either managed to get back in time one night (highly unlikely) or spent time with both girls in one night (much more likely especially considering he was 5 hours past curfew last Saturday). So, my mind was wondering with thoughts of Draco, those girls and my looks when he walked in.

"How did you get in here? What do you want?" I yelled angrily. I don't like people to invade my space especially when I am crying or upset. I tend to keep my emotions to myself (expect for rare events like the Yule ball in my fourth year).

"I heard the password last night. Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened at breakfast. Cherish this moment; I never apologize. Those girls were clearly crazed with jealousy. They want what you have." I snorted and just covered my face with my pillow.

"What, you? Must I remind you I don't exactly have you-"

"No, well yes they want me but I was really talking about intelligence and class. They weren't just jealous because they want me but because they want to be you. Not many girls can be as smart as you are and be as classy. Plus you are dating Draco Malfoy and your best friends are Potty and Weasel." He smirked as he realized I was not crying and almost laughing. His silly attitude and insistence in call Harry and Ron, Potty and Weasel made me laugh. I knew he was completely lying about the girls being jealous but it made me feel better to know he wanted to make me feel better. At the same time I noticed that he did not call me pretty or beautiful. Eh, can't have it all right?

"Thanks, Draco. That makes me feel better. I can't believe the audacity of those girls!" He just laughed and handed me a cup of tea. I sipped it slowly and quickly felt refreshed. Then I remembered what a mess I looked. Ugh.

"I'm going to wash up a bit. I feel like a complete disaster." He just chuckled and said, "At least you still have your hair. The entire Great Hall was shocked at your charm. Don't worry, Dumbledore and McGonagall kindly pretended to be distracted by their breakfast and won't punish you." I just laughed and went to the bathroom. I was right of course; my face was puffy like a marshmallow and my eyes were redder than a Weasley. I sighed and did what I could before returning to my living room.

"What's the plan for the day? We won't have an official lesson with Professor Snape until tonight. I think he plans to test us on wizard society." I sank into my overstuffed armchair and closed my eyes. I wasn't excited about the expected failure approaching.

"Well, let's do some reading and refresh ourselves on the basics. We have plenty of time to practice dancing and eating and all that later." I groaned again as I thought about high heeled shoes and big suffocating dresses.

"I bet we will spend more time working on manners and our dancing skills than on actual tradition or spy techniques." We both stood up and made our way into the library to begin our research.

I wish I could say something exciting happened over the next few hours but let's face it my morning was exciting enough. We sat there for hours on end reading and taking notes of the stupidest stuff I've ever read. Do they really expect people to follow these silly traditions? Yup.

By the time we reached Professor Snape's office that evening our brains felt like mush and our eyes watered. We straightened up and walked confidently into the dark dungeon space. Professor Snape sat at his desk, quill in hand, grading essays with large strokes of red ink. Clearly the students were not doing so well. We just suppressed our laughter and waited to be acknowledged.

"Hmm, weak proof, wrong use, incorrect verb noun agreement, wrong potion, hmm. Dismal." He rubbed his temples and put the quill down after marking quite a few sentences out. He looked up and motioned for us to sit down in front of his desk.

"So, let's see what you know Mrs. Granger. Mr. Malfoy if she fails to come up with the right answer you will correct her. First, what are the three levels of pureblood society and the titles that designate them?" I didn't think Professor Snape would actually start with something as easy as this.

"The top ranking section of society consists of purebloods with more than ten generations of purity. They are addressed as Lord and Lady. The second level includes those with between five and nine generations and is titled Monsieur or Madame. The final group of society is made of everyone else magical and is simply referred to as Mr. or Mrs." I rambled off my answer and waited for the next set of questions.

"Where do foreign wizards fall in society?" My face flushed and I muttered something incomprehensible. Draco instantly came to my rescue and answered.

"They are placed in the correct category but are never referred to as Lord and Lady by other members of the top class. They are superior to Monsieurs but inferior to Lords."

"Hmm, disappointing me so soon Miss Granger? Well, which families hold the title of Lord and Lady?"

"The Dumbledores, then yourself, followed by Harry even though his mother was muggleborn, the Malfoys, the Parkinsons and the Zambinis, though they are technically foreigners still."

"How many generations of each and explain Potter." This time I just looked at Draco to help me out rather than try to answer.

"Dumbledores, 20. You, sir, are the 13th Snape. Potter, pre-Lily, 12. I am the 12th generation Malfoy. Pansy and Blaise are both 10th generation purebloods and will be given the name Lady and Lord upon marriage to a pureblood but I won't be able to call Blaise Lord until his children's children marry a pureblood. Due to Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord pureblood society has reinstated him as a Lord even though he is a half-blood. It means absolutely nothing since he refuses to take part in anything beyond what is required of him but it lets high society sleep at night." Ugh these requirements were so ridiculous. It's not surprising Harry refuses to participate in all of the pomp.

"Wait, I am confused on what makes someone pureblood." After all of my study and research I realized I didn't get what made someone pureblood. For example what counted as a generation? Ugh again.

"Well, I will spell it out for you Miss Granger. Say Jane and Dick are both magical and are getting married. Say they have a son names Ken. Say Jane's best friend is Amy and is a witch marrying Bob, a wizard and say they have a daughter named Sara. If Sara marries Ken they have created the first generation of pureblood. Once their son or daughter marries another wizard or witch who is the child of at least a first generation couple they have created the second generation. It is fairly complex to determine the number of generations at anything less than five. It also makes it difficult to get married. I think it is time to move on."

The rest of the night continued with rapid fire questioning until me head wanted to explode. Draco and I walked back to my dorms to eat something before turning in. It seemed like this would become a habit for us. After a sweet treat we sat on the couch in front of my fireplace to drink some chamomile tea.

"So, today wasn't a complete failure." I laughed and through my pillow at Draco but luckily I missed.

"Yes, I agree it wasn't a complete failure and I do know so much more than I did last night. My head hurts just thinking about it though. Professor Snape isn't as intimidating outside of class as I expected him to be." Draco snorted into his cup and gave me a look.

"Yeah, Hermione. He isn't a giant bat but he isn't exactly a puffy winkleduff either." We just laughed and continued talking about the most random stuff. I didn't even realize I had closed my eyes until the next morning. Somewhere between winkleduffs and Chinese take out versus dine-in both of our eyes drooped close.

When I woke in the morning I found myself in a peculiar situation. We were tangled among my couch blanket and each other's arms and had missed breakfast. Somehow I wasn't surprised but I was slightly disappointed…

A/N: Well, I told you I had written half of it when I last posted so here is the barely anticipated ninth chapter. (Don't worry I appreciate all of those that did wish for more in reviews. I love you guys!) Whatcha guys think? I know I promised a little romance but I count plain interaction and sleeping together as romance right?