Life After Hogwarts
Arime Setta
Chapter Thirteen: Meeting D.I.C
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Potter Universe. I don't make money off of this either (damn bad luck).
"Draco Malfoy, it is a pleasure to meet you and your beautiful fiancé. Please follow me." A man dressed in very expensive gray robes and a very bright smile (blindingly bright) greeted us at the portkey point in front of Farvington University. He continued to talk as we followed him but not surprisingly his words were pointless. I promise to elaborate on him later, though.
The weather was cool and crisp but very pleasant. We were surrounded by unusually plush gardens as we walked towards the Grand Hall. We were following the Deputy Headmaster (also known as the Deputy in Charge or, for my purposes, D.I.C) to get registered as visiting guests and then get our room assignments.
We linked arms and took in the scenery as we made the short walk. I almost forgot the mission as my mind tumbled over thoughts of relaxing in the yard studying or walking through the gardens with a college boyfriend. Farvington seemed like a dream school made specifically for me.
Architecturally speaking, Farvington mimics the beautiful villas that pepper Spain and south Florida (wonderful vacation nearly 6 years ago). In contrast to Hogwarts, Farvington (whose name and appearance clash terribly) is made of a series of small villas. Each of the small villas holds the classrooms for the different departments while the central villa, known as the Grand Hall, holds all of the offices and the dinning hall. On the outer edge of the campus, along the lack, there is a row of beautiful mansions that are home to the handful of select students. Since a majority of the students are very wealthy as well as incredibly intelligent (or at least more wealthy than the intelligent kids) the entire university was designed to make them feel studious and yet still fell at home.
The dorm system is similar to the muggle Greek system. Each dorm is like a house at Hogwarts where students of all grades and ages share a living space. The main difference is each student has their own room or they share a room with a student from the same year rather than bunking with all of the same-year students. The rooming system even goes as far as to have applications and initiation rights similar to a muggle fraternity or sorority. Each mansion has it's own mascot and stands for a characteristic or value. We discovered later that each mansion is lavishly equipped with every thing a college student could want or need including a plethora of house elves.
For me to use my two least favorite words in one sentence (plethora and house-elves) you can tell I wasn't impressed in the least. Truly, I feel the whole situation cultivates rivalries, prejudices. Half bloods and muggleborns are generally rejected by all of the elite groups and are accepted by only the lowest and poorest of the houses. Over all it pampers these students. There is little hope for these young adults to leave with the social skills and basic life skills necessary to live on their own in a fair and equal environment. It is no wonder that even after the fall of Voldemort prejudices thrive among the rich and elite.
We entered the Grand Hall and were immediately swept into the Deputy Headmaster's office. It was no surprise that the office was richly decorated and that it rather arrogantly displays the Deputy's great achievements in life. I choked on a chuckle when I realized how similar Gilderoy Lockhart and Deputy Headmaster Testarossa are. All throughout the room pictures are placed strategically so that no matter how you turn your head, D.I.C Testarossa is staring and smiling back.
Even with all of his arrogance, he was a simple and rather pleasant fellow just like Lockhart D.I.C Testarossa insisted that we are friends and that it wasn't necessary to stand on formalities so we could call him Deputy Headmaster Testarossa rather than his full name, Deputy Headmaster in Charge, Knight of the Second Order, Lord Testarossa. Draco and I rolled our eyes at each other and we agreed later that his knighthood was absolute bludgers.
"So Lord Malfoy-"
"Deputy Headmaster Testarossa, please I thought we did away with formalities. Please call me Mr. Malfoy. I only require my title to be used during ceremonies." Draco reclined in the seat and swished his glass of wine before taking a sip and nodding in approval. I then politely took a small sip even though I really wanted to gulp down the entire bottle. It was going to be a long trip.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, welcome to Farvington University. We, the Headmaster and I, are glad that you have chosen to visit our campus for such an extended period. We, the Headmaster and I of course, truly believe you must experience university life to make a wise decision. Then again, of course you will make a wise decision, you are the son of a Malfoy after all."
I almost gagged at the "son of a Malfoy" comment. Clearly, Lucius is still respected even though he died during the war fighting for the wrong side. Narcissa is still floating in and out of social event after social event but with a different mindset. After so many years of being a pureblood wife to a death eater Narcissa finally was freed from her Imperious spell and allowed to be the caring and loving mother she has always wanted to be… Well, not exactly but she's working on it with Draco. Both feel guilty for not having this wonderful childhood blah, blah, blah. More importantly Narcissa is trying to mend the Malfoy relationship with the wizarding world by being the world's most giving donator. It is rather sickening how much they give away each year but of course I encourage all donations to charity. The money has more value after being given to a charity when compared to its value while sitting dormant in their Gringotts account.
"Harmony, dear, would you rather retire to our rooms to freshen up or take a tour right now?" I could tell by the emphasis in his voice, though very, very slight, that he wanted to retire to the rooms for a regrouping. We had created a code back at Hogwarts to secretly pass messages simply through emphasis of words or sentences. It was a mix between simple body language and hidden meanings. I pretended to fan my face to fake being hot and tired.
"Draco, let's go back to the rooms. I need to touch up and change before we do anything else. Perhaps we can tour the campus tomorrow morning instead and just stay in until dinner?" I smiled charmingly at the D.I.C who was completely smitten with me. While most would not associate girly charms with Hermione Granger, in reality I can hold my own in comparison to any other female spy. We'll just ignore the fact that there aren't any (that we know of).
"Yes, Miss Rogers. I am sure you are exhausted from the traveling. I will show you to your rooms. You have been given the Headmaster's guesthouse located on the southern lawn on the lake's edge. It is a beautiful villa next to his house." I smiled at Draco lovingly and said, "That sounds lovely, doesn't it dear?" He just gruffly nodded his head and pulled out the chair for me then held the door open for me. We took our time walking to the guesthouse, mostly because the D.I.C insisted on giving a mini-tour but partly because it was such a beautiful path. The grass grew thick along the pebble path and just begged to be laid on. Trees decorated the walkway creating a tunnel and each building that we passed had a shady courtyard for studying or having outdoor classes.
It seems like the natural weather doesn't affect Farvington. I thought to myself that it is like there is a blanket of magic protecting the landscape. Of course my observation was correct. When I asked the D.I.C about the weather he assured me that it changes seasons and even rains or snows but the landscape always stay beautiful and colorful. The Potions and Herbology departments had united for the last time in Farvington history almost one hundred years ago to create a series of plants that would never look dead or ugly. They never revealed the secret potion or how they crossbred the plants and to this day Farvington is the only place in the world to have plants of that nature.
I was thoroughly impressed but also disappointed. It is silly for those two departments to practically ignore each other. I learned later that the heads of both departments have a bitter rivalry that dates back to their time as students and that no one has been able to convince them to cooperate. I began to process the different possibilities in my mind. This, of course, resulted in me ignoring absolutely everything else said up until we reached the doorstep of our villa.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Rogers, this is your home for the next two weeks. We, the headmaster and I, agreed that since you are engaged it wouldn't do any harm to allow you to share quarters. We did arrange for separate bedrooms, of course, but I am sure no one will be watching." With a disgusting and suggestive wink he bowed and tipped his hat then turned and left.
Draco opened the door and we walked in. I gasped at the beauty of the small house. The décor was elegantly done in a festive scheme of peach, orange and red. The living room, with plush brick colored sofas, was attached to the kitchen and dining room with very little distinguishing the borders. Unlike most of the English wizard homes I had been to, this villa seemed to flow from room to room without needing walls to separate and isolate each entity. Many of the mansions and houses I had seen or been to, were traditional mansions with impressive doorways and woodwork that created firm edges for each room. I was instantly in love with the openness.
"Isn't this gorgeous, Draco. It's going to be hard getting used to walls again once we return to Hogwarts. I might have to redecorate my rooms and get rid of all of the walls." I relaxed onto a couch and took in the view. The entire back wall was made of glass. The shore and the lake glittered in the evening sun.
"I'm going to check out the bedrooms. Want to join?" I nodded and walked over to the first door. Inside was a dark room with mostly brown and tan furniture and bedding. It felt warm but was not quite what I would like in a bedroom. I smiled at Draco as he threw himself onto the bed and sank into the large comforter.
"I'm assuming you want this room." He nodded his head with closed eyes and I just laughed. I left him and went into the room two doors down. The one immediately next door was a large bathroom. My bedroom was a wild mess of yellow and light green with hints of gold and red. I instantly felt welcomed and relaxed. The cheerful interior was exactly what I had hoped for. Draco peeked his head in and pretended to gag.
"Very cheerful, eh? Well it suits you I'm sure." I threw a pillow at him, which he instinctively repelled and was about to throw a second pillow when a small house elf appeared.
"Hello, Missus and Master. I is Bonzo, your house elf. I is making your food and cleaning your rooms. If yous need anything just say 'Bonzo' and I be appearing. Are you wanting dinner?" I smiled and Bonzo and nodded my head. He bowed and disappeared with a pop.
"Help me put up wards, Draco. I don't know what they already have arranged but I feel better with my own wards." I stood and grabbed the pillow on the floor, promptly smacked him with it and then levitated it to my bed before going to the front door. I breathed quietly and calmed myself so that I could begin with the wards.As I walked along the perimeter of the house I mutter spells and traced symbols on the brickwork.Draco followed behind me strengthening the wards and training them to recognize him as well. Once I completed the round I went to the back window and placed a disillusion spell so that we would be able to see out but no one would be able to see in.
By the time we were done Bonzo had placed a large meal on the main dining table and set tableware and silverware for us. I smiled and thanked him before sitting down to eat. Draco just nodded and instantly began to eat. I realized then that it had been quite a while since we had last ate. I quietly enjoyed my salad and then my soup while I thought about everything I had seen today. It was almost painful to realize how out of the loop I am.
I will never be pureblood. I will never be old money rich and I will never be respected. No matter how hard I work or how high my grades are I will never be more than the know-it-all mudblood. Sure, there are plenty of people with post-war friendliness to half bloods and muggleborns but there are more people with power and anti-weak-blood sentiments. This basically spells out to: no matter how good I am at my job in the future my boss will not promote me, even if he doesn't have personal feelings against my blood, simply because his boss will have those feelings.
My heart was heavy, my stomach was full and my head was aching when I finished my meal. I wanted to simply say good night and go to bed but I knew I had a long list of things to do first. The most important of those things was to talk to Draco and regroup.
"Tomorrow 's plan is to get to know the campus and some of the staff. I'm sure that we can learn a lot by simply walking around and listening. We'll get our footing and have a chance to talk to the staff about the school and it's students. It should be a fairly easy day, don't you think?" I nodded in agreement with Draco but obviously some of my worried were displayed in my expression.
"Hermione, are you okay? I know you're not used to being Slytherin but it'll come natural to you quickly. (I snorted at the semi-compliment) Really, all you have to do is listen carefully to the hidden messages in people's conversation."
"I'm not worried about that. It's nothing. So, tomorrow what time should we get up? Are we eating breakfast here or in the dinning hall?" I nibbled on an oatmeal biscuit and sipped my chamomile tea. I didn't feel like trying to explain my pureblood-muggleborn worries to the king of pureblood. While he supposedly no longer holds a grudge against the lower echelons of society I didn't want to test it.
"We should eat here and have a relaxed morning. We haven't been introduced to any of the presidents of the different houses or even any of their lower officers so it would be awkward to eat in the dinning hall. It is important that we immediately enter into the student hierarchy with a strong standing. Eating breakfast alone would look bad. Make sure that you hold your head higher tomorrow. Today you were a little more unsure rather than submissive." I swear Draco could talk for hours about the mission but frankly I wasn't in the mood. It bordered on him being excited to return to his natural self rather than being excited to do something for the Order.
"Draco, it's been a long day. Let's turn in. You can lecture me all you want tomorrow, erm sorry I meant coach me all you want." I stood up to stretch and a yawn escaped me. Draco immediately yawned in return and said some muffled response. We went our separate ways to get some sleep.
Once in the sanctuary of my own room I quickly stripped down to my knickers and then shuffled through the suitcases to find something to sleep in. Our suitcases were taken from us earlier in the day and sent separately to our guesthouse. It appeared that while we were eating Bonzo had put the luggage in our rooms. I am sure that he tried to unpack for us but before leaving Draco and I had warded our suitcases to protect our things.
He did so to prevent house elves or anyone else from stealing his very expensive stuff. I did so to protect my books and my identity. Many of my things had Hermione Granger on them rather than Harmony Rogers. I promised myself to charm the names later as I hopelessly tried to get rid of the wards on a bag that I believed held my clothing. I had already open two trunks that were filled with books and other odds and ends but couldn't find my clothing.
My back was facing the door and I was bent over in a rather un-lady like fashion when a frantic Draco burst through the door. He was yelling about lost luggage and ruddy thieves before he realized I was standing there almost naked. I screamed and threw the closest thing to me: a high-heeled shoe.
While I may be terrible at flying I am quite good at Quidditch otherwise. If Quidditch took place on the ground I would be better than most of the girls at Hogwarts but unfortunately my fear of heights has overshadowed my amazing aim and strong throw. As expected I hit my mark and instantly Draco was bent over clutching his eye. Luckily his loss of sight gave me time to throw a robe over my lacey under things. Girls (and I suppose boys), another hint to feeling better about yourself: wear pretty or fun underwear even when you don't expect anyone to see. You'll feel good and look good in case Draco Malfoy accidentally walks in on you in your wee littles.
"Draco Malfoy what in the world do you think you're doing!" I yell at the top of my lungs as the blood rushes to my face. I swear my face matched my red heart covers bra. When he only mumbled an answer and continued to clutch his face I realized I might have thrown my shoe a bit hard.
"Oh my Merlin, are you ok Draco? I didn't mean to throw it that hard. You startled me and I just reacted. You were yelling like a banshee and just barged in on me and I-"
"Hermy, I was there too. You don't need to give me a play by play. Oi, my head hurts like bloody hell. I can't see either."
"That's because your hand is holding your eye."
"Ugh, yeah, well that's not much better (he had removed his hand but his eye was fairly swollen). I am going to look like a bloody clown tomorrow."
"Clown? Do wizards dress up as clowns too?" I was gently prodding his face to feel if anything was broken. There was a surprisingly small amount of blood but I was still very worried. He was definitely going to be blue for at least a week.
"Hermione, seriously. Can you picture my father dressed as a clown for my birthday? Clowns are a muggle thing only." I was cradling his head in my lap by this point and had propped myself against my armoire. My laughter brought some blood away from my cheeks and into my brain and Voila! I remembered I am a witch.
"Hold still while I check for internal bleeding and broken bones." I waved my wand over his face and read the resulting colors. The charm I used was the most basic medical magic there was. It simply tells the healer what is going on. The results told me that he wasn't bleeding internally, his facial structure was intact and no major organs or vessels were punctured (such as the eyeball or sinuses). It appeared that I had truly hit my mark and only bruised his upper cheekbone. I didn't purposely aim for anything but generally I throw to hit the cheek of my victim so that I don't damage the eye or nose. I guess years of self-defense classes and practice had actually effectively turned me into a deadly killed machine (ego killing that is).
"Whatcha doing? Am I dying?"
"No, you'll be ok. I am going to hide the bruise so that you won't look purple tomorrow. It will be sore and hurt but it won't look bad. You have to let your body heal naturally unless you want to see a professional healer." I waved my wand and muttered the most effective spell I could remember. After more than a semester of being Head Girl I knew quite a few effective bruise-hiding charms for the miscreants of Hogwarts. Often I would use it after the Slytherin/Gryffindor match and around Valentine's Day.
I gently touched his soft cheek to check for broken bones yet again. He shifted his head slightly to look up at me. We sat like that for a moment before realizing what we were doing. I pushed his head off my lap and stood quickly to cover myself yet again. He had been lying on my bare thigh and I hadn't even noticed. Or maybe I chose to ignore it… Either way I my face was bright red yet again.
"Well, Draco?"
"Huh, well what?"
"What were you screaming bloody hell about?" I crossed my arms and stood in my usual head girl stance.
"Oh, yeah that. Do you have some of my luggage? I can't find all of mine." He shuffled his feet and looked shy. He was almost as red as me (though that is a big ALMOST).
"Hmm, maybe that's why I couldn't remove the wards. Are these yours?" I swept one arm towards the pile of luggage before quickly remembering my state of undress and crossed my arms again.
"Oh, yeah. Those are mine. I'll, erm, bring you yours then." He grabbed his trunks and attempted to pick them up until I just laughed and reminded him he was a wizard. A few minutes later everything was sorted and I was dressed for bed. It wasn't until I was lying in bed that I released the breath I was holding. It had been a long day.
A/N: Hiya guys! I didn't have a chance to proof read this chapter as thorough as I usually do (which of course means I read it like 10 times in stead of 20) so let me know if you find any errors or what not. Leave a review!