Chapter 4 - Gala

"Hermione! Seven o'clock! I'm here! Are you decent?" Neville kept his eyes closed as he stepped through the floo into her living room.

He heard a giggle then voice replied from the back. "I'm dressed. Don't know if I can claim anything further than that."

"I suppose that'll have to do," he laughed, opening his eyes to take in his surroundings.

"Trying to find the right jewelry. Give me a second, okay?"

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere without you."

He wandered around the room, peering at the titles on the book shelves and noting the absence of any other personal effects.

"Been here long?"

"Two years next month."

"You like it?"

"It's okay. I spend most of my time at work so it's really just a place to eat, shower and sleep."

Her voice grew nearer and he turned in time to see her emerge from the hallway wearing a deep red velvet, halter style gown with long black silk gloves.

She did a slow spin to show off the outfit. "Well? What do you think?"

He forced himself to remember to breath. "I think it's stunning. The color certainly draws the eye. Why not save everyone the trouble and just paint a target on yourself?"

She made a face as she finished fastening her ruby earrings. "On the off chance that Harry's right about tonight, if I make myself stand out there's less chance of accidental collateral damage. If someone wants me they can bloody well try for me but they can leave everyone else out of it."

She gave him a defiant look that he recognized all too well. He sighed, "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

"You're right," she smiled. "The more things change, the more they do stay the same."

"For better or worse, it would seem."

She stuck her tongue out, enjoying the childish gesture, then handed him her necklace. "If you're done impressing me with your language skills, could I ask you to help me with this? I forgot to put it on before the gloves."

For some reason standing so close to her suddenly had an adverse effect on his fine motor skills. It took him three tries but he ultimately accomplished the task. "There you go."

"Thank you! Sorry I didn't have time to do anything fancier with my hair and makeup. I got caught up with some last minute revisions on a new legislation and lost track of time." She gestured at what Neville thought was called some sort of updo. He didn't know the proper name for the hairstyle but he did notice how it accentuated her elegant neck.

"It - you - look beautiful."

"Thank you. You look quite dashing yourself," she said, admiring the strong figure he cut in his dress robes. "I shall have to keep a close eye out or some witch will whisk you away and leave me sitting all alone."

"Not a chance," Neville grinned then turned serious. "After what happened this morning is there any chance of me talking you out of this?"

"No. Not a chance."

"That's what I thought. Well, then..." He offered his arm. "Shall we?"

She smiled warmly and looped her arm through his. "We shall."

They entered her floo and moments later they stepped out onto a beautiful marble portico where a series of elaborate outdoor fireplaces had been erected to serve as arrival points to the gala. The entire space was decorated with thousands of fairy lights and soft music and conversation wafted around in the warm, early evening air.

At each floo stood an Auror checking invitations and credentials. Harry stepped forward in his formal uniform to greet them.

"Ah. Mr. Longbottom. Miss Granger." He gave a smart bow and a wink. "I see you have your invitations and credentials but I suppose I should verify it's really you with some sort of question..." He grinned at Hermione. "What were the first words you ever said to me?"

Hermione glanced briefly at Neville then back to Harry and smiled. "I entered the compartment on the train where you were sitting with Ron on that first day and said, 'Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one.'"

Neville looked incredulous. "That's really the first thing you ever said to Harry?"

Both Hermione and Harry nodded. "Yes," she said. "Just think. If it hadn't been for you and your toad, I might never have properly met the pair of them and the entire history of the Wizarding World might be different."

The trio pondered that for a second before starting to laugh.

"Right," said Harry. "I suppose in fairness I should ask Neville something personal but I'm not sure he'd forgive me asking questions in front of you about our time sharing rooms at school or some of the more interesting undercover Auror operations...say, Devon for instance?"

As the blood seemed to drain from Neville's face, Hermione gamely stepped in to save him.

"I think I can resolve this. You're confident in my identity now, aren't you? So I'll ask a question only the real Hermione would know to ask and only the real Neville could answer."

She turned to her nervous friend. "Where did you and I go to practice dancing in the weeks before the Yule Ball?"

Neville breathed a sigh of relief. "The clock tower."

"Wait?! What?!" exclaimed Harry. "How come I've never heard about this?"

"Because you never asked," replied Hermione. "At the time, you and Ronald were too busy searching for dates and being generally insufferable so I asked Neville to help me. He wanted to gain a bit more confidence with the steps while I had very little experience wearing heels and needed to get used to dancing in them with someone taller than me. The situation was mutually advantageous."

"How did you manage this without the rest of us noticing?"

She averted her eyes and confessed, "I may have borrowed your invisibility cloak a couple of times."

Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face she said, "It wasn't that difficult. Silly stairs only prevent boys from entering the girl's dorms. They never thought of it going the other way around. Frightfully easy for a female to make their way inside when the lot of you were at Quidditch practice. I'd get the cloak then Neville and I would sneak away to the clock tower."

"Merlin's beard..." Harry shook his head in disbelief. "And I thought I knew the pair of you."

"Yes, yes. We're full of surprises," Hermione said. "Now, can we join the party or are we going to keep playing at questions all evening?"

"By all means, go and enjoy yourselves." Harry moved aside but whispered as they passed, "And for Merlin's sake, stay safe, will you?"

"I'm with Neville and surrounded by Aurors. I'm as safe as possible, Harry," she whispered back.

She and Neville entered the garden and took a moment to appreciate the time and effort that had been put into the layout. Each grouping of plants had been carefully selected to complement their accompanying memorial statues, creating an atmosphere that was both respectful and hopeful.

As they each took a drink from a passing server, Hermione teased, "What? You aren't going to insist on testing mine for poison first?"

"I would," Neville replied, "Except Harry already assured me they checked the stock thoroughly before casting tamper proof charms on all the bottles and glasses."

"Thought of everything, did you?"

"I try and make sure the obvious loopholes are closed. Can't make things too easy on the buggers now, can we?"

"Good to know if someone kills me they've at least put forth an effort."

Neville gave her a stern look. "That's not funny, Hermione."

She dipped her head apologetically. "Sorry. Dark humor again."

They strolled around, admiring the grounds and engaging in the dreaded small talk with their fellow guests, much of which - as Hermione predicted - consisting of office gossip and quidditch scores. When she had a chance, Hermione would point out a few of the key players, many of whom Neville recognized as either friends of his Grandmother or as government officials he'd come into contact with as an Auror.

When an opportunity presented itself, he guided her over by a large fountain so they could enjoy a quiet moment. They settled in on a wrought iron love seat and sipped their champagne.

"So tell me about this werewolf legislation you're working on."

"Well, as you know, we've managed to overturn many of the blatantly anti-werewolf laws that Umbridge pushed through a few years ago. This new act is about helping those who need it get the assistance they require to achieve some sense of normalcy."

"How so?" Neville asked.

"One of the main things is allowing people to request support anonymously."

"What kind of support?"

"Financial for one. The stigma around lycanthropy creates a vicious cycle. The person is often discriminated against in regards to employment, either being denied work entirely or being forced to take menial jobs that are far below their education or abilities."

"Like Professor Lupin."

"Exactly. The resulting loss of income makes it nearly impossible to regularly take their Wolfsbane potion, due to the high cost of the ingredients, which then leads to more attacks which lead to greater stigma which..."

"Leads to more discrimination... I see your point."

"Past attempts to fix the problem have failed because they forced people to publically declare their status before they could even be considered for help but the fear of how they'd be treated kept almost all of them in the shadows. They'd rather take their chances in the forest a few days a year than risk being shunned by friends and family the rest of the time."

"Still? I thought publication of the post war trial transcripts would've changed public sentiment."

Hermione shook her head. "Accounts of heroic acts by the likes of Remus and Bill Weasley have helped but for every positive story there's another horrific tale about Greyback and his 'friends'."

"That's rough," he said, finishing his drink. "You know, I think what you're proposing makes a lot of sense. Seems to benefit everybody in the long run."

"I wish everyone felt that way. It's getting quite a lot of push back from certain small but vocal factions."

"Imagine that. People fearing change."

"Especially change put forward by someone like me."

He placed his free hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry you still have to deal with that."

She smiled and squeezed his fingers. "Thank you, Nev."

He noticed her fidgeting with her glass. "This legislation is really important to you, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"That's why you insisted on attending. Even without the death threats, these things make you uncomfortable, don't they?"

She sighed and nodded. "Yes, but it's expected of me."

"I know how you feel. That was one of the nice things about being at Beauxbatons. While I missed my friends it was nice to not feel obligated to attend a constant stream of war memorials, fund raisers and ribbon cuttings."

"Sorry to drag you back into the fray."

He leaned over and nudged her with his elbow. "No worries. I'll do this every night if you need me to. The company is more than worth it."

"You're too kind."

"Nonsense." He gestured towards her drink. "I see that you're glass is empty. Would you like another?"

"Yes, please."

He took her glass, stood and asked in a half joking tone, "Be okay by yourself for a minute?"

She lifted her chin. "What do you think?"

"I think someone out there doesn't have the foggiest idea of who the hell they're messing with."

"Thank you, Nev. I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. It's how I meant it."

He made his way to the bar and got two more glasses of champagne. On his way back he saw Hermione was now on her feet having a conversation with Cormac McLaggen. Even from a distance he could tell by their body language that Cormac was hitting on her and she wasn't happy about it. Neville calmly approached and handed Hermione her drink while at the same time slipping his arm protectively around her waist in a subtle attempt to warn the other man off.

Cormac was either unable or unwilling to take the hint. "Hey! Longbottom! How are you? Long time no see! I was just telling Hermione here how she should stop by my flat and check out some new artwork that I've acquired."

Hermione leaned into Neville while giving him a tight smile. "And I was just telling Cormac that's what I have museums for."

Neville tugged her closer and addressed her as if the other man wasn't present. "Speaking of, I understand Dean Thomas is having an exhibition soon. We should go."

Hermione angled her body towards him, now aggressively ignoring the other man. "Really? How wonderful! I'd love to!"

Cormac seemed oblivious to the fact he was being cut out. He leaned in and gave her a lascivious wink. "Sorry to run, love. I've got to go check on my date. If you aren't interested in the paintings, I also have a bunch of old books. Drop by. You can check out my restricted section any time you'd like."

He sauntered away as Hermione's jaw dropped and Neville choked on his drink. They stood, mouths agape until she laid her head on her date's chest and snorted back a laugh.

"Sweet Circe," Neville coughed and tried to catch his breath. "I can't believe he actually said that."

"I can't believe his pickup lines haven't improved any since school."

Neville shook his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you just hex the guy?"

"I'd love to," she sighed. "Unfortunately, his father and uncle are both undecided votes on the upcoming legislation. Until it passes I have to play nice with the little twit."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with idiots like him."

"I'm just glad there's no mistletoe at this event. It'd be Slughorn's Christmas party all over again." She shivered in disgust. "Remember that night?"

"Of course I do," said Neville, taking a long sip of his drink. "Who do you think 'adjusted the recipe' on McLaggen's appetizers?"

Hermione's eyes flew wide. "You didn't!"

"Since I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations has expired on that sort of thing I can happily plead guilty to that offense."

"I always assumed that was just a gift of Merlin."

"Really? You never wondered why no one else got sick?"

"I suppose I was so relieved to have him out of the picture that I never questioned it." She giggled. "So, why'd you do it?"

"I saw how he was treating you that evening. Wasn't allowed to hex him in front of the faculty. Seemed like the next best thing."

She gasped in sudden realization "Wait! So that means you're the reason he vomited all over Snape's shoes?!"

"I wish I could claim that I saw that part coming but honestly that was just a gift from Merlin."

"Planned or not, it was brilliant!" Her smile fairly beamed. "You were a lifesaver that night, Neville. How can I ever repay you?"

He set his glass on a nearby table and motioned towards the dance floor. "Simple enough. How about a dance? I'm pretty sure I remember most of what you taught me in the clock tower."

She laid her glass beside his and took his hand. "I would love to."

They skirted the crowd and were just about to take their place amongst the swirling party guests when - in a split second - the world exploded around them.