The next day, Hermione was awoken by an excited redhead pouncing on top of her while she was still sleeping. "Odin's saggy balls, Ginny you don't play fair, waking me up like this. I said I would go, now let me sleep!" Ginny kept at it despite her friend's protests until Hermione was out of bed and in the shower. Hermione made sure to not get her hair wet.
Once out of the shower and dressed for the evening, the two friends apparated to Harry and Ginny's flat for the day before the Gala started later that night.
"Hermione, I have to admit your outfit is better looking than mine and way more efficient," Harry confessed with a smirk.
"Harry's right Mione, would you be willing to tell me where you had it made? I might like one myself for special occasions with Lavender," Ron said with a smirk, glancing over at his wife while she was talking to Ginny.
"Thank you both. And you know me, always prepared for all occasions. Plus, the pockets are spelled with an undetectable extension charm, so there's that. As for where I got it made, I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Hermione beamed at her boys as they ate dinner.
"Well, let's get this circus on the road and get this night over with," Harry finally said after some light friendly banter between all the friends finished.
They arrived at the Gala where the couples split and wandered in different directions, leaving Hermione on her own. "This is turning out to be a fun night," She thought, sighing as she headed to the bar.
Out of all the things that Hermione would rather be doing, nursing a fire whiskey at the bar alone was not on that list. She breathed in heavily, catching the enthralling scent of eucalyptus, jasmine, and parchment in the air. She turned toward where the smell was coming from and spotted the Ice Queen herself, Narcissa Malfoy, heading in her direction. "Well trample me beneath Sleipnier's hooves. She is a wet dream," she thought dreamily.
Hermione took in the vision of the form fitting ball gown that hugged Narcissa's body in delicious ways, with a slit on the slide of her thigh. "Sweet baby Thor, how high does that slit go? If she moves just right you'd see everything!" Hermione shivered slightly as she watched the gorgeous woman walk toward her. Hermione straightened up her posture, smoothed out her tuxedo subtly, and sipped her drink once more, before turning away slightly as she waited for the sweet smelling goddess to approach.
Narcissa walked with determination toward the bar, a mask of indifference on her face. "If I have to be here at this infuriating Gala once again, I'm going to need libations to deal with all the insufferable alphas that are here. In addition to their need to posture themselves in front of me. Salazar's snake, if I have to be polite through another conversation about marriage propositions, money, or terrible business proposals, I'm going to start hexing people!" She sighed in frustration.
As she came closer to her destination, she caught an enticing, calming, but oddly familiar scent in the air of leather, ancient tomes, and thunderstorms. She took in the figure standing at the bar, noticing that they were wearing a well-tailored tuxedo, and their hair is done in a very Viking style braid.
Taking in the scent on the air, she noticed that it was definitely an alpha, but not male. She smirked, realizing the figure is a female alpha. "Interesting, an unknown female alpha at the gala tonight that is unexpected, certainly would not be any worse conversation than her other counterparts here tonight," Narcissa thought.
As she got closer, the alpha in question turned, and she realized why she had not recognized her in the first place, but does explain why her scent was so familiar, it was Hermione Granger at the bar. "Sweet Circe, she has grown into her own hasn't she; well, this night just became a lot more interesting. At least, if I were able to talk to her, the conversation would most assuredly be anything but boring," Narcissa mused to herself as she ordered champagne from the bartender.
Hermione took this opportunity to approach Narcissa. "Good evening, Lady Malfoy. Lovely to see you at such an enthralling festivity," she said with a little sarcasm laced into her voice.
Narcissa turned to her and smiled her polite, practiced smile. "It is Madame Black now. I dissolved my marriage to Lucius, but yes, Ms. Granger, it is indeed lovely to see you tonight. Although, I would not go so far as to say this gala is enthralling, though it is still early in the evening," she sipped her drink as she eyed the alpha subtly, once more taking in how fit she looked especially in the tightly-tailored tuxedo.
Hermione raised an eyebrow curiously at the new information. "Oh? So should I give you my condolences or congratulations on your dissolvement?" Hermione said with a wide smirk, showing her elongated fangs.
Narcissa's face remained indifferent. "Sweet Circe, those fangs will be the death of me if she keeps up her shamelessly flirting like that; Merlin help me," Narcissa thought as she whimpered internally. She finished off her drink to calm her nerves. "I'll leave that up to your discretion, since I was the one who requested the dissolvement after he was taken to Azkaban," she smiled politely.
Hermione smiled in amusement, giving Narcissa a full view of her fangs. "Then let me congratulate you on your dissolvement from that spineless fish of an alpha. Honestly, in my opinion, he didn't deserve you."
Narcissa chuckled softly as she requested another drink from the bartender. "Things being what they were at the time, nothing could have been done about it until it was appropriate," she said, picking up her new drink and sipping it. "So Ms. Granger, what has been keeping you from these annual Galas all these years?" Narcissa asked politely.
"Well, Madame Black, I had been studying abroad for the first few years after leaving Hogwarts. My focus was on different types of magicks, other than what we practice here. I then made my way back to England to work for the Ministry, which still has me traveling around the world quite a bit. I only just got back into town two days ago," she sighed with a small smile.
Narcissa took in the tired look on the woman's face and raised a sculpted eyebrow in curiosity. "So you decided to grace us with your presence instead of staying home and recovering from travel? That does not sound very wise to me."
Hermione chuckled tiredly and nodded. "You would be right about that, which is why it was not my idea to come here tonight. Ginny can be very convincing, and it didn't help that Harry was in on it, too."
Narcissa hummed in understanding. "Enough about that, tell me about your studies abroad and your adventures, it sounds fascinating?"
Hermione's eyes lit up as she went into a passionate explanation of the things that she had studied while traveling around the world in her exploration of the different magicks, while also giving the edited versions of her adventures so as not to give away too many of the Ministry's secrets.
Eventually, they moved away from the bar and took a seat at a nearby table. They talked about all the things that they had been up to since the war ended. Narcissa made a point to apologize for all the things that she felt she had done wrong to Hermione.
Hermione told her that she held no grudges against her because she understood that Narcissa didn't have a choice in what happened during the war, and was only doing what she felt was important, like protecting Draco, herself, and eventually saving Harry when it mattered most.
After the difficult conversations were over, they went back to more interesting topics. At some point in the night, an announcement was made that the dance floor was open for anyone who cared to use it. A waltz began to play. Hermione's ears perked up at the music as well as the footsteps and scent of another alpha coming toward them.
A tall, skinny alpha that couldn't have been older than Hermione approached them. He bowed respectfully to Narcissa. "Madame Black, would you do me the honor of having this dance?" He said as he held his hand out to her, completely ignoring Hermione who was sitting across from the woman in question. Hermione sipped at her drink to hide the smirk of his stupidity.
Narcissa held back a sigh of frustration at the intrusion as she looked up at the other alpha. Suddenly, her facial expression shifted to that of the ice queen once more. "I must politely decline your offer, thank you. I am currently in a very important conversation with someone else," she said, turning back to Hermione, who was looking at her with a confused raised eyebrow at the statement she had made, but said nothing about it.
Narcissa was about to continue their discussion when the other alpha became agitated at the refusal, and tried making his presence known once again. A little more forcefully this time. He stood taller and puffed his chest out; he emitted controlling pheromones while speaking in a commanding voice. "Madame Black, I insist that we take this chance so that we might discuss some important business of our own."
At the sudden change in posture, scent, and tone, Hermione stood from her seat and walked into his personal space. A calm air of power rolled off of her in waves with the scent of strong, protective alpha pheromones. "I believe Madame Black has given you her answer. So it would be in your best interest to leave, before you embarrass yourself by saying something else that you will regret," she growled, low in her chest, at the other alpha.
"Who are you to tell me what to do in regard to what is in my best interest? Yes, I'm aware that you are Hermione Granger, but you have no say in how I conduct my personal business," The alpha said as he tried to puff himself up to appear more intimidating.
"If it's that important, then please by all means, don't let me stop you. Why not just ask her your question here and now? If it's that crucial, then it won't matter who you say it in front of, right?" Hermione said with a polite smile. The slowly waning alpha growled in frustration, only to look at Narcissa once more.
"Madame Black, I am here to urge you to reconsider my proposal of marriage once more. I believe we would make…" As he spoke, Hermione began to snicker behind her hand. Narcissa looked at the alpha with a bored expression. He turned to look at Hermione, who was trying very hard not to completely burst into laughter.
"My answer has not, and will not change from what I've told you the last three times that you have made this inquiry. No. I will not indulge you in the farce that you have made up in your head that we would make a good match as partners. Now, once again, please leave us alone," Narcissa said with an air of annoyance. The alpha grew angry at her statement and changed his tone once more to that of an alpha command,
"Madame Black you will…"
"I'm going to stop you right there you narcissistic peon. You have no right to use an alpha command on anyone just to get your way. You give the rest of us alphas a bad name, and if I had my way? You wouldn't be allowed to keep your alpha status. Sadly, it's not up to me to take it away from you. Not that there is much to take just from looking at you. So, here is what you are going to do: you will leave Madame Black alone from here on out, and if I hear that you've contacted her in any way after this moment, you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?" Hermione spoke in a domineering voice that garnered no dispute as she flashed her fangs menacingly at him while pushing her stronger pheromones onto him. He whimpered with a nod and ran away with his tail between his legs.
Hermione sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, sat back down in her seat, and rubbed her face with her hand before looking back at Narcissa. She noticed a look of surprise on Narcissa's face before it quickly shifted back to a mask of neutrality once more. "I must apologize for my outburst, Madame Black. That was uncalled for on my part. I have no doubt that you could have easily taken care of yourself, but I will not tolerate alphas that act like they are the Gods' gift to humanity and believe that people should just do whatever they say or be forced into it when it's not the answer they wanted. Especially from an omega," Hermione groaned in frustration and rubbed her hands on her pants anxiously, keeping her eyes on the floor.
Narcissa, for her part, was whimpering internally while squeezing her legs together at the display of strength and humility. "Think nothing of it. Honestly, you saved me from a long, arduous discussion of me telling him to leave. So thank you for stepping in."
Hermione looked up and smiled sheepishly at her. "Of course, but he did point out that there is music playing. Would you care to dance with me?" Hermione stood and held out her hand to Narcissa. The blonde smirked and placed her hand in Hermione's, suddenly feeling a slight buzz of electricity from the touch as she stood. Looking into Hermione's eyes, she noticed that her eyes had changed color from their beautiful amber to a deep blood red.
Suddenly, she felt a comfortable warmth wash through her head, traveling behind her eyes. She noticed the look of surprise on Hermione's face as she stared at her. "Merlin, do I have something on my face? What is she staring at?" She thought. "Hermione, whatever is wrong? Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hermione shook her head to clear her mind as she blinked a few times. "Your eyes changed color, they were gold for a brief moment when we touched."
Narcissa blinked a few times in surprise, but recovered quickly. "Yours changed as well from amber to red. I thought it was just an alpha response caused by the scene, but I take it, that doesn't happen to you very often does it?"
Hermione shook her head. "As far as I know that only happens when I'm angry or aroused during a rut, not in normal circumstances like this."
Narcissa nodded in understanding, but honestly didn't want to ponder on this conundrum at the moment. "I would like to hold off on this discussion for the time being and possibly look into this at a later date if you have no objections?"
Hermione nodded and smiled. "That would be fine since there is no point in discussing it here anyway. So would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" Hermione held her hand tighter and bowed slightly then stood back up to look into her eyes once more. Narcissa smiled and nodded.
"Well this will be an interesting subject to look into if this continues to happen every time we touch," Narcissa thought to herself as Hermione placed her hand in the crook of her elbow to pull her a little closer to her body.
Narcissa noticed that they were about the same height while she wore heels, which meant that if she were to be barefoot, Hermione would be slightly taller than her. She shivered slightly at the thought.
They walked out onto the dance floor where a few other couples were already dancing. Hermione took hold of Narcissa's hand and gracefully twirled her around to face her. She slid her right hand around Narcissa's ribs on the left side, placing it under her shoulder blade as she took up Narcissa's right hand in her left. Narcissa followed her movements as she slid her left hand over Hermione's right shoulder, placing her hand there delicately. Straightening their backs and holding a solid frame, Hermione took a step forward with her left foot while Narcissa took a step back with her right. Slowly, they began to waltz, keeping time with the music as they went, while maintaining eye contact the entire time.
As they moved around the dance floor with grace and elegance, people began to take notice and started whispering about it. The couple didn't care; they only had eyes for each other as they stayed in time with the music, as if they had been dancing together for years.
Hermione would spin Narcissa every once in a while then pull her back in, only to sweep them around the dance floor once more. As the waltz came to a close, Hermione dipped Narcissa elegantly, staring into her gorgeous, cerulean blue eyes with want and desire, causing the blonde to blush lightly before standing them both back up.
Someone cleared their throat, getting the couple's attention. They looked around, noticing Ginny smirking and Harry sporting a soft smile. Narcissa schooled her features once more and hooked her hand into Hermione's elbow. They exited the dance floor, moving away from the crowd that had gathered to watch. Each individual experienced mixed emotions, some worse than others, but no one said anything to them.
Harry started to walk towards them with Ginny beside him, at which time Narcissa left to go get them each another drink. Harry still hadn't stopped smiling. "I think you made quite the impression at tonight's Gala. I don't think anyone will top that number anytime soon," he said jokingly.
Hermione chuckled, glancing over at Narcissa. "I think you might be right, Harry. I have to say, Ginny, I am glad you talked me into coming tonight. I am having quite the time."
Ginny chuckled. "I'll bet you are," she grinned.
Narcissa returned with the drinks and handed Hermione a firewhiskey as she nodded politely to Harry and Ginny. "So Mr. Potter, how are you faring as an Auror working with Mr. Weasley fairing?"
With a broad smile, Harry launched into an excited speech about his work with the Ministry. Ginny talked about her adventures as a Quidditch player. Soon enough, Ron and Lavender joined in the conversation as well, swapping stories about what they did for the Ministry. Lavender worked in the PR department of the Ministry, which meant she had some interesting stories of her own to briefly talk about.
Hermione and Narcissa danced a few more times that night, neither wanting to leave the other's company. When they walked away from the dance floor at one point, Draco approached them as well. "Well mother, it seems you've found the only suitable alpha here tonight. Which isn't a very high bar considering your... choices," He looked around the room with a sneer at all the lecherous alphas gawking at his mother.
"You're not wrong about that, Draco. If not for her, I would have left ages ago from boredom. I swear, these male alphas only talk about things they think I want to hear. Money and prestige. As if there isn't more to talk about than how much they make or who they know. Honestly. It's maddening to consider why I come to this event at all," she said with a sigh.
He nodded in understanding then turned back to Hermione with a polite smile. "Hermione, good to see you in something other than jungle clothes for once—not that I'm complaining about those either—but I have to admit you do clean up nicely, I suppose," he smirked in jest.
Hermione chuckled. "I did consider wearing my jungle attire, but I got the distinct feeling that Ginny would hex me within an inch of my life if I did. Regardless, neither of you are wrong about the company here. Every single one of them has been leering at us all night. Either because they want to get with me or they want to try and steal your mother away from me. Neither of which are going to happen if I have anything to say about it. I already had to deal with one posturing oaf tonight. I'm not above doing it again. Unless you want to find someone else, Narcissa?" Hermione looked at Narcissa.
"As I stated before, anyone else is a pale comparison in both conversation and dancing skill. It has been simply blissful to not have some "posturing oaf" as you say stepping on my feet the entire time on the dance floor. So no, I have no intention of leaving your company tonight," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. Hermione smiled and nodded.
"I can't fault you on that logic mother. I'm a beta and they still can't hold a decent conversation. Most likely because they know I'm your son. Regardless, it was entertaining seeing all of them fawn over you two while dancing. I think some of them were a little too excited about the scene," he chuckled until Narcissa gave him a pointed look, which killed his laughter immediately.
"Draco, how is it being a solicitor?" Hermione asked quickly, changing the subject. Draco smiled appreciatively and began to dive into the ins and outs of his job. Noting that even though it wasn't as exciting as hers, it still had its moments where it was thrilling.
As the night started to draw to a close, everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Hermione began to walk Narcissa out. "So Madame Black, I'm not sure what your plans are in the near future, but I would like to see you again. Not just to try to figure out this eye thing, but possibly to get to know you better as well," Hermione said as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.
Narcissa hummed in thought. "I do have some prior engagements over the next few days, but once those are done we can chat over tea. We can then look into this strange phenomenon," she smiled at Hermione with a rare, genuine smile.
Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded. "I would like that. Well then, owl me when you are available," she took Narcissa's hand in hers, bowed graciously, and kissed her knuckles lightly before bidding her goodnight and apparating home.
Narcissa shivered from the tingling feeling left on her hand from the touch. "Morgana, help me if this is going to be my life from now on," she thought as she, too, apparated home.