Life After Hogwarts

Arime Mya Setta

Chapter Fourteen: A Divine Front

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. Damn.

A/N: Wow, I am sooooo sorry about how long it took me to get this chapter done. It isn't my favorite but I wanted to go ahead and post it and then hopefully let the next chapter be MUCH longer with much more action. This is a transition chapter more than anything. This is an edited re-post

For all of the fellow authors reading: I really appreciate what you guys do. I've tried writing time and time again but I get to about Chapter 10 and give up. I'm starting to realize how intense it can get.

Please tell me if I have any inconsistencies. It is hard remembering everything I've written and it is even harder to go back to look for specific things. Like today, I rediscovered Draco and Hermione's picnic. I have the worst writers block and an even worse memory…

I hate mornings. The one thing I hate more than mornings is trying to find my stuff in the mess that I call a room to get ready for the day. I woke up and shuffled around for nearly ten minutes before I found my bathroom kit and robes for the day. I then made my way into the bathroom only to find a rather shocking sight. I think the universe is determined to keep tallies on me. While in the minds of the all mighties watching from above it may seem like the perfect way to balance Draco Malfoy seeing me in my under things would be for me to see him without his. I clearly disagree.

"AHHHH! Granger get out!"
"AHHHH!" I shut my eyes quickly and spun around and out of the bathroom. I slammed the door shut and then leaned on it as if I was trying to keep a monster in.

Oh, Merlin, you must hate me. Oh and what a monster it was…

"What in bloody hell were you doing walking in on me like that. Can't a man have any privacy?" Draco was now standing fully clothed in my doorway with a rather red-faced look. When I had walked into the bathroom Draco was stepping out of the shower and had not quite gotten to the next step. I straightened and attempted to look less shaken but I am sure I failed miserably.

"I didn't realize you were in there. I just woke up and wanted to get ready. Ugh. My eyes are burning."
"Oh, whatever Granger. You know you liked it."
"Hmm back to that, Malfoy? At least call me 'Rogers' if you want to be a prick today." Ugh the pun.
"Hmm Rogers, Where is your mind? Do you want me to order breakfast while you do whatever it is that you do?"
"Ugh, go away Malfoy. Make sure whatever you order is light. I don't want to throw up heavy food every time I think of this morning. Ugh." I gathered my stuff and locked myself in the bathroom for half an hour. After washing my face rather roughly (trying to scrub the image out of my mind) and getting dressed, I ungraciously took a seat at the table.

"Hmm, Hermy, you might want to be a bit more lady like. We have a big day ahead of us." I shot him a glare and surveyed the foods in front of me. There was a plate of sausages, a plate French toast sticks (an American muggle treat that has become popular among British wizards… think Burger King French toast Sticks… Hmm I miss muggle fast food… I want to go on vacation to the states again… sorry, I'm day dreaming again), a bundle of bananas, and some un-namable juice. I could sense the pattern.

"Draco, first stop calling me Hermy. I hate that nickname. Second, stop joking around. I want to forget this morning happened. Third, I am lady enough thank you very much." I poured some juice and called out for Bonzo. Draco just laughed and tisk-tisked as more food appeared. I ordered tea and a wider ranger of fruits so I could avoid eating a banana in front of Draco.

"Hermy, I like this nickname. It sounds like we're actually friends and it's close enough to Harmony that I can slip and not get caught in a tangled web. I see you didn't appreciate my selection of food." I just ignored him and silently enjoyed my tea. After a few minutes Draco listed the plans for the day and I just hmmed yes occasionally. My mind was completely somewhere else. Not in the gutter per se, but not in the room either.

"Good morning! Do let me in!" We both silently groaned, waved the wards away and opened the door with a swish of my wand. The D.I.C cheerfully walked in and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Yes, Deputy Headmaster Testarossa, please do have some tea. Would you care for some breakfast as well?" I tried to be as domestic as possible (a rather hard stretch for me). He brightly responded by pouring a cup and then putting together a small plate of sausages. Draco was unsuccessfully trying to hide his laughter but luckily he sounded more like a donkey choking than a pureblood laughing. I reached around him and patter his back in a soothing matter, which of course made things worse.

"Draco, do excuse yourself from the table if you insist on dying. So, Deputy Headmaster Testarossa, what do you have planned for us today?" I smiled sweetly and pretended to be grossly involved in whatever he was saying but as before I wasn't really listening.

Once everyone was settled (and Draco was able to control himself) we began our tour of the campus. This lasted most of the morning and led straight into a brunch at the Headmaster's office. Headmaster Bilabolbus was unsurprisingly away so the D.I.C joined us instead. For a man so concerned with his looks he eats a lot. I just enjoyed the meal as the boys talked Quidditch. One day I will find a man with intelligent conversation skills… or I'll buy a few cats.

"So, Miss Rogers, Draco has just informed me that you have a passion for divination. We have a wonderful divination department that I would love to show you around. Not to brag, but I was quite successful in the art of Seeing as well when I was a student." I wanted to murder Draco for putting me in such a ridiculous position. I hate the fluff and smoke of divination. It is the absolute worst waste of time. Lucky for Draco I understood his plan. I would be forced into the fog with the D.I.C while he explored the more manly areas (D.A.D.A, Potions, Quidditch) and began to weave his way into the pureblood crowd. I do hope you realize how sarcastic I am being. I took a deep breath and plastered a fake smile on my face as I graciously accepted the offer.

Once we finally went separate ways I was ready to kill Draco. To say the least the following hours were quite painful. If I had thought it was bad before brunch it only got worse. We started with a tour of the divinations department in great detail (including an hour long discussion on the difference of their tea cups in comparison to Oxford's choice). After the tour I was forced to sit through a class with upper level seers.

"Students, please gather your silver origami papers so we can begin the readings. We have a guest with us today that will be floating amongst our auroras to get a sense of the atmosphere of Farvington. Please answer any questions she may have- will have. I can sense her curiosity." I smiled sweetly and glossed my face over in a near perfect imitation of a certain seeing professor at Hogwarts.

I 'floated' around from group to group in an attempt to understand what they were doing but quickly gave up. It seemed to me that they were making things up but I was informed by a young Lavender-esque student that 'the secrets to the future were to be found among the wrinkles of time within the gloss of the crumpled origami paper.' I held back my gag and smiled understandingly. Draco would more than pay for this torture.

"Harmony, dear, your aurora is silky and rippling with knowledge. You seem to have a gift that needs to be exposed and expressed. Do not withhold your feelings in fear of rejection. Seeing is a gift understood by few and appreciated by even fewer but rewarding to all."

Professor Fuegera must be a distant relation to Professor Trelawney. Her head wrap hid long silvery tresses while her thick bottle cap glasses obscure the view of her deep wrinkles around her murky eyes. She had a practiced look and her posture mimicked a silk sash so that from a distance she looked elegant and graceful but deep in thought. The most obvious difference between Professor Trelawney and Professor Fuegera was their wardrobes and their language.

Seers are doomed to speak with certain tones and diction simply because of the nature of their oh-so-mysterious gift. I find it obnoxious and silly but, then again, I am definitely not a seer. Professor Fuegera had more elegance than all of the two seers I have met and seemed to speak intelligently about the practicals of divination (the how-tos and what-nots) but of course, as you can tell, she still had the riddled fortune telling technique. I learned later that she was head of her department and was in charge of dozens of seers, tea readers, astrologists, fortunetellers and surprisingly mathematicians. I assumed she had to be able to converse realistically during meetings and staff assessments in order to keep things running.

The way she dressed proved to be the most entertaining difference from her Hogwarts counterpart. Professor Fuegera dressed similarly to any other witch but with a heightened sense of color. Her robes clashed terribly with her environment but would be reasonable outside the classroom. 'Reasonable,' though, is a very subjective word. Today, they were a rusty orange color with a strong brown underneath and were cut quite oddly. It seemed as if the tailor had created them with fabrics that faded to the wrong color and scissors that wouldn't cooperate. Professor Trelawney, on the other hand, often wore robes that layered on her body ungraciously and were purposely-hideous colors.

The classroom was an assortment of silk pillows of multiple shades of offending oranges, reds and pinks, gauzy curtains that alternated between green (often resembling different molds and soups) and purple and wooden tables and chairs. Even the furniture had drabbles of lace and silk but they looked quite worn through. The windows were fitted with an array of colorful glass that I found breathtaking once I was finally able to look at them and ignore the rest of the room. The light sparkled with color and heightened the effect of all the decorations. My eyes were sore after my one class with Professor Fuegera.

"Thank you for this wonderful display of your art. We shall see where my studies take me but I can sense a future here with you. Thank you again." I smiled brightly and fluttered out of the room with the D.I.C on my arm. I was glad that I didn't have to prove my love of divinations by actually using my divine skills and I was even more relieved that no one attempted to foresee what my future held. Fortune telling always makes me nauseous.

It was mid-afternoon by the end of my private tour of the silly divinations department and I was feeling worn out and ready to relax. I was slightly worried about Draco and how he was faring but I assumed he would be fine. After all he is the prince of all things pureblood and the king of disguise. I bid the Deputy Headmaster Testarossa 'good day' and then headed back to the guesthouse. As I passed the main lawn I overheard a group of girls gossiping about Draco and I. As I promised I kept my ears open and did my best to listen without being obvious.

"Marella, I swear he is a dream. He appeared today in our Defense class and just swept me off my feet. He is charming, bloody good looking and pureblood down to his toes." A blond third year was giggling with a redhead second year about the one and only Draco Malfoy. I tried to avoid gagging at her assessment of his attractive qualities but it was quite hard.

"Kayla, seriously, he hasn't even graduated from Hogwarts yet. Don't go and rob the cradle just yet. It is obvious that he'll be attending Farvington next year. " The redhead was clearly much more sensible than her companion.

"I can't just wait. He is engaged. I heard him discussing it with Travis."

"Um, Kayla, darling, you're engaged to Travis. Don't even think about asking Travis for permission to whore with a Malfoy. Travis would easily kill the both of you. Let's go…" The conversation continued but I had reached my eavesdropping limit. I let the conversation soak in as I reached the house and again searched my luggage. I figured I would later tell Draco to stay clear of little miss blonde but in the mean time I would get some sun out back. After breakfast I had discovered our back yard patio included a beautiful infinity pool that overlooked the lake. With every intention of spending some time this spring break on myself, I slipped into my bathing clothes and went to lounge poolside.

A/N: The college that Farvington is kind of based on is Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, US. There is no guesthouse or divinations department (damn) but there is a beautiful lake and Spanish style buildings. As you can all tell, I am from Florida and am terribly American by style. Let me know if there are things I could add or words I could change to help this story feel more authentic…