A/N: Yay! I got my reviews. That's exciting. How about another fifteen for next time?
Chapter Seven
Hermione sat at an isolated table in the corner of the library. She had woken up early that Sunday morning to spend some time working on her Hogwart's assignments. The Library of Congress had a special collection of magic books that she was using to write her History of Magic essays. After finishing this essay she would be ready to start on Transfiguration work. She had only been gone from the Wizarding world for six weeks, but she had already completed the majority of her assignments for the next three months.
Sipping carefully at her piping hot mocha, Hermione paused to consider the fact that she had been gone from Hogwarts for almost two months. She had to admit that it had not been as bad as she had originally thought it would be. Certainly her muggle classes were not a challenge to her. Calculus was the only class she found herself doing any real work in. Human Anatomy was just a matter of memorization, Government she had already covered in Muggle Studies, Literature and Portfolio were a lot of fun, and Leadership and Marketing were just a joke. Those two classes consisted mainly of socializing and reading magazines.
Ordinarily, Hermione would have been disappointed that her classes were so worthless, but instead she found that it was leaving her with a lot of free time. Not that she actually had any free time – dance practice, Hogwart's work, and her other clubs were taking up that time. That very morning she had realized that her regular dance classes were starting up again the next week.
Hermione set her coffee aside and pulled her latest fascination out of her purse. It was a little electronic device Draco referred to as a "PDA." Everyone in school seemed to have one, so Hermione had gone looking and found her own stored neatly in her computer desk drawer. Her schedule, school notes, and important phone numbers were all stored neatly in this little computer. She was really surprised that the Wizarding world had not come up with a similar object. Actually, she was really surprised that she had never heard of one until she had come to the United States. There were a lot of things she was missing out on in Europe just because she spent so much time caught up in the Wizarding world.
After pleading with him, Hermione had convinced Draco to show her how to download instant messenger. But she was bored with it very quickly because the only two people on her buddy list were Draco and Violet. She had made a mental note to start collecting screen names.
Mrs. Granger seemed to be incredibly pleased with her daughter's transformation. She was always encouraging Hermione to go out and stay out late, and constantly pushing her to bring friends over to the house. A Sunday afternoon lunch party for the dance team was already being planned. And of course, Mrs. Granger was trying to find out as much about the homecoming dance as she possibly could from Hermione.
"Mom, we haven't even settled on a theme yet!" Hermione rolled her eyes, trying to skirt the topic.
"Well, why don't you bring the committee over after school some day. You can sample foods here," Victoria offered. Hermione had grudgingly agreed to get her mother to ease off.
A sudden vibration in Hermione's back jerked her out of her thoughts. Her cell phone was ringing, and she was grateful she had remembered to turn it on vibrate. The wizards and witches around her had probably never seen a cell phone before and would not have reacted well to it ringing in their midst. She rushed from the room to take her call.
"Hi Mom," she whispered, hitting the talk button.
"Hermione where are you?" Her mother sounded near hysterics. Hermione looked at her watch and groaned inwardly. She was late for her dress fitting, even though she had promised her mother she would be on time.
"I'm stuck in traffic," Hermione lied, hoping her mother would believe her. "Church just let out," she offered a seemingly plausible explanation for the traffic.
"Just hurry up," Her mother said curtly before hanging up. Hermione jogged back to her seat and gathered up her belongings quickly. She opted not to check out the books she was using in the interest of saving time.
Hermione stood in the center of the room surrounded by yards and yards of pale blue taffeta. Her mother stood off to one side, appraising each tuck and pin made by the seamstress who was hovering nervously around Hermione's hip. Behind the seamstress stood the designer, Carolina, an older woman with elegant grey hair that was swept into a bun. She dictated directions to the seamstress, who tried her best to follow the instructions.
After almost two hours of standing perfectly still, Hermione's legs, back, and neck were screaming at her. She wanted to stretch a little bit, but was afraid of ruining her dress.
"Get me ten yards of tulle. Eggshell white tulle. No, no, I think the blue would –oh! Black. Bring me the black," Carolina decided finally. The seamstress ran from the room, and Carolina extended her hand to Hermione. "Step down, I know you're dying up there," she offered. Hermione carefully descended from her perch and gently rested on a nearby chair. "Senior year homecoming," Carolina prompted. "Who's the lucky boy?"
"I, uh, haven't decided yet," Hermione croaked. Carolina laughed gently.
"My mother always said, 'why make one man miserable when you can make a whole lot happy?'" she replied. "Well, whomever you choose will be very happy. Have you decided what school you're going to next year?"
"Well, I'm still thinking about it, but Wellesley, Sarah Lawrence, William and Mary, and Amherst are my top choices," Hermione rattled the list off effortlessly this time around. She was grateful her memory had been restored, and it was seemingly sharper than it had been in the past.
"Ugh, what dreary options," Carolina chided. "Didn't your father go to Harvard?"
"Ye-es," Hermione replied, already having heard this argument before. "I, uh, plan to apply there too."
"It's her backup," Victoria interrupted, pinching Hermione's arm to make her shut up. The women burst out laughing as though using Harvard as a backup school was the funniest thing they had ever heard, and the seamstress returned. Hermione eagerly returned to the center of the room.
The seamstress pinned the tulle around the bottom edge of the dress, leaving about six inches showing. Everyone stepped back to look at Hermione, and uttered a collective sigh. Hermione turned to look in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised.
"It's beautiful," she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.
"It's not finished yet," Carolina explained. "There will be black trim to accentuate here, and here," she gestured, "this will look more like a corset, and there will be black panels here, here, and here."
"Perfect," Victoria Granger pronounced. The seamstress took several pictures of the dress, from many different angles, and then began to help Hermione out of the fabric. As she was about halfway through unwinding the taffeta, Hermione's cell phone rang. "I'll get it!" Victoria offered, and picked up Hermione's purse. "Hello?" she asked, pressing the talk button.
Hermione sighed and concentrated on not getting stabbed with a pin. Homecoming was now only two weeks away. The class had finally decided on a theme – Hollywood Romance. Hermione had almost bitten her tongue off in an effort to keep from laughing out loud when Pansy had announced the committee's decision. Apparently the decision had taken a few months to reach since the planning had begun at Leadership camp in July. Hermione was glad she had missed that bonding opportunity.
"Tha-at was Josh," Victoria cooed. Hermione raised her eyebrows and turned to look at her mother. "I invited him and the rest of the refreshments committee over this afternoon for your meeting with the caterers. They might as well get to taste too, right?" she reasoned.
"Might as well," Hermione agreed. She sighed and slid back into her jeans. Her plan had been to pick the top three caterers and then have everyone over for a taste test, but leave it to her mother to ruin that plan. Hermione had been trying to avoid being alone with Josh for as long as possible, but while he was in her house he was sure to find a way. Grudgingly, Hermione followed her mother out of the boutique and into the harsh sunlight of the Saturday morning sun. She picked up her cell phone and hit the speed dial for Violet. Behind her a cell phone rang and a familiar voice answered.
"You didn't tell me you were coming here!" the voice shrieked. Hermione turned to see Violet and her mother going into the boutique as Hermione and her mother were exiting.
"Oh," Hermione could not think of anything else to say. She smiled at Violet's mother and hung up the phone.
"You should come over when you get through here," Victoria interrupted. "Hermione's having some other friends over to taste test for the dance. I'm sure she would love your opinion."
"That's what I called about," Hermione interjected before Violet could get upset. "I actually really need your advice about the dance," she said pointedly. Violet got a knowing look on her face.
"Sounds good. I'll see you later," she said, following her mother inside.
"So, I like this cheese, but the crackers are awful," Violet said, shoving another bite into her mouth. Hermione tried not to gag.
"What we need to remember is that everyone is going to dinner before the dance, so we don't need a lot of food," Hermione said loud enough for everyone to hear her. The caterers had set up in the Granger's ballroom and the ten students on the refreshments committee were wandering around trying the various offerings.
"What are you going to do about Josh?" Violet whispered, getting straight to the point. Hermione sighed.
"I don't know, I have to take a date," Hermione mourned. "Don't you think it would look weird if I went alone?"
"Why?" Violet asked. "You could be my date."
"I hate to turn down an offer like that," Hermione laughed. "Seriously though."
"I was serious. I don't have a date yet," Violet said.
"But you have to take pictures the whole time, you won't have time to dance with me," Hermione pouted.
"Good call," Violet admitted. She looked across the room at Josh who was talking animatedly with one of the caterers. "Josh is a decent guy, Hermione. I can't think of anyone better than him."
"I guess you're right. I just don't feel right about it," she sighed. "But he is a good friend, and I'll probably have fun with him."
"And that's what matters," Violet agreed. "Pass me one of those gherkins."
"Gooood afternoon Cougars!" Mrs. H's excessively perky voice came filtering over the loudspeaker Friday afternoon as Hermione's art class was cleaning up. Everyone fell silent, but continued working. "I have been given the honor of announcing this year's Homecoming court. For the junior class," she read off a list of names that Hermione vaguely recognized as being students in her leadership class or from sports teams. She kind of tuned the announcement out as she dried her paint brushes off and returned them to the cabinet.
"The Senior Class court members are Matthew Marley, Josh Benning, Thomas Tanner, Draco Malfoy," Mrs. H continued and Violet made a gagging noise which caused the whole class to laugh. "Stacy Sutter, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, and Hermione Granger," she went on to say something about congratulating the lucky court members, but Hermione was in shock.
"What?" Violet snapped. She shook Hermione's shoulder gently. "No way," she added.
"This has got to be a mistake," Hermione moaned, sitting down.
"Well, I voted for you, but I never thought you'd make it," Violet admitted.
"Gee, thanks," Hermione said. With a best friend like Violet, who needs enemies?
"I did too," one of her classmates came forward. A few other students who were listening nodded in agreement. "It just seemed fitting, you being vice president and all."
"My mom is going to freak out," Hermione groaned. The dismissal bell rang, and she grabbed her camera bag and purse. Violet followed her to their lockers. As they went along the way, it seemed like everyone was looking at Hermione. A few students offered congratulations to her, and she tried to smile in thanks. She did not even know their names! How could they know who she was?
"Wohoo!" Josh yelled as Hermione approached. He scooped her up and spun her around. "We're royalty now," he informed her as he returned her safely to the ground. Hermione nodded in agreement, getting excited about it. "Let's go get our picture taken," he said, taking her hand.
"Not so fast," Violet stopped him. "I'm the one running that photo shoot, just take a chill pill. We won't start until 3," she informed him, calmly putting her books away.
"Hermione!" a voice called. Hermione, Violet, and Josh turned to see Blaise and Pansy coming towards them with enormous smiles on their faces.
"Oh geez," Violet rolled her eyes and quickly pulled the lens cap off her camera. "Kodak moment here we come," she said, snapping off shots as the three girls hugged in the middle of the hallway.
"Do you have your dress yet?" Blaise asked Hermione.
"It's being delivered tomorrow," she said, feeling little butterflies in her stomach. This was all becoming very real, very quickly.
"What color is it?" Pansy and Blaise asked in unison. They giggled.
"Baby blue," Hermione said. The girls breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, no one's dress is the same color, and they're all complimentary," Pansy explained.
"Mine is mint green," Blaise informed them
"Lavender," Pansy shared.
"Black," Violet waved her hand, as though joining in the conversation.
"Eww," Blaise and Pansy chorused. Violet grinned.
"Anyway," Blaise said rudely. "Tell us about the food."
"My lips are sealed," Hermione said elusively. "It's a surprise. I will tell you to skip dessert though," she winked. Blaise and Pansy exchanged excited glances.
"Well, let's go take pictures, shall we?" Violet asked, slamming her locker.
Hermione glanced at her watch and then expectantly at the door to the restaurant. She and Draco met every Sunday morning for brunch at the country club and this week he was uncharacteristically late. Pulling her cell phone from her purse, Hermione decided she had better call him.
"What did I miss?" Draco asked, suddenly appearing in front of her. He slid into his chair and took a gulp from his orange juice. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized.
"It's alright," Hermione put her phone away. "How is your mom?" she asked. Narcissa had come home from Rehab on Wednesday.
"Good, good," Draco seemed a bit edgy. "My dad came home," he finally said, as if he were about to explode.
"When?" Hermione was surprised.
"This morning, that's why I was late," Draco explained. Hermione nodded. "I'm starving," he said, jumping up and heading for the buffet. Her head spinning, Hermione followed him. She was bewildered by his behavior, but glad to see him in such a good mood.
"Fancy meeting you here," Josh said, walking up to Hermione. She smiled at him.
"Hi, Josh," she said, hoping he would get his food and leave them alone.
"How is my princess?" he asked, taking her hand and kissing it. He had taken to calling her that ever since they had been voted to Homecoming court.
"I'm alright," she said, taking her hand back. "A little bit hungry, actually," she said, pushing past him to get to the buffet.
"Josh!" Draco exclaimed. "How are you?"
"I'm great, and yourself?" Josh replied, turning his attention to Draco.
"Fantastic," Draco answered, scooping some potatoes on his plate. He and Josh got lost in some talk about football, and Hermione took the opportunity to get away. She was sitting calmly at the table enjoying her waffle when Draco returned.
"Get enough to eat?" she asked, eyeing the mound of food on Draco's plate. He shrugged.
"For the first round," he replied. Hermione rolled her eyes. "I asked Josh to join us but he's with his family."
"Thank god," Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples. Draco almost choked on his orange juice, laughing.
"Give him a break, Hermione, he tries," Draco laughed. "He really likes you."
"I know," she wailed. "I don't like him like that, at all."
"He knows, he's trying to accommodate," Draco explained. "So he gets a little corny from time to time. Like that whole princess thing, it's just a shield."
"I feel like a bitch," Hermione moaned. "I don't know why he likes me, and I don't mean to hurt him. What am I supposed to do?"
"Nothing. It's not like you're leading him on. Just relax a little," Draco counseled. "And what do you mean you don't know why he likes you? You happen to be a very likeable person, Hermione," Draco continued. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"What are you talking about?" she asked him.
"Hey, you got me to like you," he informed her. For a second, Hermione's heart stopped. Draco liked her? No way. Then she realized he meant as a friend.
"Josh likes me in a different way than you do," she countered, hoping he had not seen her get flustered.
"Not the point," Draco retaliated. "You and I are friends, Hermione. That doesn't mean I can't see why someone would be attracted to you. Especially now that we're friends, but even before we were, back at Hogwarts. You're very smart, incredibly confident, definitely forward, and not bad to look at. The more I get to know you, the more attractive you become, actually," he added, giving her an appraising look that made her feel totally naked and almost violated.
"What are you talking about?" she hissed, very uncomfortable about having this conversation in public.
"Come on, I kissed you didn't I?" he asked. "Why do you think I did that?"
"I have no idea," she replied. "You wouldn't answer my questions about it."
"Maybe you should think a little bit harder, Hermione," he suggested harshly. "Anyway, don't worry about Josh," he changed the subject, "He's a big boy, he can handle it."
"Fantastic," Hermione sighed, picking at her waffle.
The next morning marked the beginning of "Spirit Week," the time the student government used to get all the students excited for Homecoming. Each day had a different theme: Monday was Pajama Day, Tuesday was Cowboy/Cowgirl Day, Wednesday was Hollywood Day, and Thursday was Burgundy and Gold Day. Friday was the actual Homecoming Day. The entire day was being devoted to Homecoming Festivities. At ten was the parade followed by the pep rally at noon. The football game started at two, and the dance began at eight. Classes were cancelled, but attendance was mandatory until the game began.
Using the entire day for activities was something new this year. Hermione had convinced the school administration that it made more sense to restrict activities to one day than to stretch it out over two days. Her idea was met with a great deal of enthusiasm by her leadership classmates who were eager to miss a day of classes. Decorating for the dance would take place after school on Thursday, with the assistance of the coaching staff who would monitor the field house on Friday to make sure no students tried to enter the locked gym for any reason.
After the entire gym had been covered with decorations, Hermione turned her focus on the parade, which she was being forced to participate in and coordinate at the same time. She had spent most of the week on the phone with various officials making sure that the parade route was not only approved, but also secured for the safety of the participants. The staging for the parade would take place on the soccer field which featured a high wall that made media exposure impossible. The parade would exit the school grounds, pass down the street and around twenty-five city blocks before returning to the school from the opposite direction.
Kensington Students would then proceed into the stadium for the pep rally and cookoff lunch, sponsored by a few local restaurants. The football game would follow to include a special halftime show during which the Homecoming King and Queen would be announced. After the game, students had enough time to return home to prepare for a leisurely dinner before the dance.
Hermione awoke on Friday morning with her stomach full of knots. Jumping out of bed, she twisted her hair into corkscrews – the hairstyle Blaise had picked for them to wear that day – and put on her freshly dry-cleaned home uniform. Everything she needed for the day was tucked neatly in her duffel bag, minus her performance gear which was in a separate garment bag. She had a lot riding on the day's activities and she refused to let anything ruin her careful planning.
"Good Morning, Princess!" an unfamiliar voice sing-songed as she walked into the dining room for breakfast.
"Dad?" Hermione asked. He grinned his brilliant white smile at her.
"Surprise!" He exclaimed. Hermione sat down at the table and helped herself to some breakfast. "I couldn't miss my daughter's Senior Homecoming, could I?" he asked. Hermione looked up at him and smiled, feeling a little bit cheap. He was holding her mother's hand, and she was smiling furiously at him.
"I'm glad you could make it," Hermione said, trying to be friendly. He had thrown her mindset completely off. She struggled to focus on what she was doing and not let him get to her.
"Well, I won that case last week, so they let me come home for a little while," he informed her. He carried on and on about some legal work he had been doing that Hermione had not bothered to follow. Her father was working on a seat in the senate, despite how often he tried to squash those rumors. It was a perfect opportunity for the world to see him as a family man, and she was well aware of it. Finally she had become a glistening beacon of American adolescence, positioned just right to shine a little light on his path to the Capitol. She swallowed the last sip of milk in her glass and stood up.
"I have to get going, there's a lot to do, but Mom knows the schedule of events. I'll see you there?" she asked, giving him a hug and kiss and then giving one of each to her mother.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he said. "Let me walk you out, I have to see this car of yours," he jumped to his feet.
"Mark, she really has to get going," Mrs. Granger said, grabbing his arm. Hermione nodded.
"Later then," he said, sitting back down.
"Have fun, sweetie!" Her mother called. Hermione grabbed her duffel and her garment bag and almost sprinted out of the house.
The truth was she had plenty of time to pick up Draco, but she could not stand to be in the house with her father for another second. Something about his presence just made her want to scream. Now she remembered why she had never done anything remotely like this before. She had been struggling to keep herself from becoming her father's tool.
She pulled into Draco's driveway and took a deep breath before going inside. Hermione knew she was supposed to at least pretend like she was happy her father had come home. The Malfoy family was gathered around their own dining room table.
"Hermione! Don't you look beautiful?" Mr. Malfoy crooned, getting up from the table. Hermione almost screamed. The man giving her a hug was almost a spitting image of Lucius. What gave him away as an imposter was the conservative east coast haircut, and the slight tan. She sat down next to Draco, who was busy eating an omelette.
"I know I'm early, I'm just excited," she informed everyone. An exhausted-looking Narcissa smiled indulgently.
"Of course you are," she said sweetly, the sharp superficial tone missing from her voice. Hermione recognized this as her usual post-rehab self. Draco stood up from the table.
"Okay, I'm ready," he said, picking up his bags. "Parade at ten, game at two," he reminded his parents.
"Give us a smooch," Narcissa instructed. Draco relented and gave her peck on the cheek. "You too Hermione," she said. Hermione gave her a hug and then followed Draco out the door.
"My dad came home," she said, as soon as they were outside.
"I knew it," he replied, as though he had won a game. "He couldn't resist the opportunity, could he?"
"Not in the least," Hermione agreed, getting into the driver's seat. "Starbucks?" she suggested. Draco laughed.
"A month ago you couldn't even remember what Starbucks was," he teased. Hermione rolled her eyes and took that as a yes.
By the time the Pep Rally rolled around, Hermione had smiled to the point her cheeks were completely numb. She got her lunch and retreated to the quietest corner of the stadium she could find.
"I thought I'd find you here," Violet's unmistakable voice shattered all the hopes Hermione had of having a quiet meal. "Hey, I saw your dad," she said, as though maybe Hermione did not know he was there.
"Yeah, it was my surprise this morning," Hermione sighed. Violet nodded.
"What a scum bag," she said. "But this food is pretty good," she offered, taking a bite of her burrito.
"Thanks," Hermione replied, even though she had nothing to do with the food for the pep rally. She did not bother to point this out to Violet.
"Are you excited for the dance?" Violet asked.
"Yeah," Hermione nodded. She really was, even though all of the planning made her exhausted. Though she had initially written the class off as a joke, Hermione surprised herself by being enthusiastic about her position as Vice President. In fact, she found herself coming up with a ton of ideas for projects to tackle further into the school year. Maybe Josh was right, maybe she had found her true self.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time we would like you to please take your seats for the Kensington Preparatory Homecoming Game!" an announcer read from the press box. Hermione leapt to her feet and hurried to the stands where the rest of the team was waiting for her. Blaise tossed a brand new pair of burgundy and gold pom-poms at her and motioned for her to squeeze into the seat next to her.
"Are you as nervous as I am?" Blaise shouted above the roar of the crowd. Hermione nodded, but honestly she had not even thought to be nervous until Blaise mentioned it. Now that she considered it, there were a ton of little knots in her stomach.
The band struck up the song "Eye of the Tiger," as the team took the field. An announcer read the starting line up off a sheet as each player ran through the tunnel formed by the three different cheerleading squads. Hermione felt herself getting swept up in the spirit that the crowd around her seemed to be possessed with.
Before she knew what was happening, the first half was almost over and Blaise was pushing her to her feet. Hermione grabbed her bag and followed the team to the staging area. The girls changed into their performance clothes quickly and then waited for the half to end. As soon as it did, they took their place on the field and the music started.
Every step, kick, and turn fell exactly into place. The girls were perfectly synchronized in their movements, and when they hit their final pose the audience leapt to its feet. Hermione grinned furiously and tried to catch her breath, but there was no time to wait. She, Blaise, and Stacey rushed to the staging area and changed back into their uniforms before dashing to the opposite side of the field to be announced as members of the Homecoming Court.
"Hermione Granger is escorted tonight by her parents, Mark and Victoria. Hermione plans to study pre-law next year in college, and her advice to freshmen is to try a little bit of everything, but not to bite off more than they can chew," the announcer read. An introduction of this sort had been made for each member of the court.
Once the entire court was gathered on the field with their parents, the Homecoming King and Queen from the previous year stepped forward to announce the new king and queen. Juniors from the leadership class were presenting each senior girl with a long white box.
"It is my honor this evening to present to you this year's Homecoming King, Draco Malfoy," the former king announced. Draco stepped forward, his trademark smirk across his lips and accepted his crown. He returned to the line with his parents as the former queen took the microphone.
"Ladies, each of you have been presented with a rose box. Whomever has the red rose is this year's Homecoming Queen," she announced. There was a pregnant pause as the girls struggled to open their rose boxes. Hermione was shaking so hard she could barely hold the box, let alone get it open. Her father tried to do it for her, but she pulled the box away from him. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you your Queen, Hermione Granger," the girl announced.
Hermione dropped the box out of complete surprise. There had to be some mistake. Her father shoved her forward, and she stumbled to get her tiara. A dozen flashes went off as Draco stepped forward to pose with her.
Fortunately for Hermione, instinct made her smile as though she were not going through shock. The pictures would not show that Draco was supporting most of her weight because her knees had turned to jelly.
"You're okay," Draco hissed through a grin. "Calm down, you're okay," he kept saying, but Hermione heard none of it. The world around her was a blur. Draco led her off the field and handed her off to her mother who gave her a cup of water.
"Could you all just back off for a second?" Hermione could hear her father saying. This meant of course that the paparazzi stepped back a few feet but did not stop firing off pictures. Mark Granger positioned himself on the opposite side of Hermione from his wife, instinctively setting up a perfect photo op. "We are so proud of you," he said, giving Hermione a big hug.
Eventually Hermione snapped out of her daze. Somewhere a switch had flipped in her mind that the last thirty minutes had not actually happened and she had not been crowned Homecoming Queen. That sort of thing only happened in movies, never in real life.
The Kensington Cougars won their Homecoming game 46-29. Hermione's father drove her home in her car under the pretense that he wanted to see how well the car ran, but Hermione knew he was afraid to let her drive after she had frozen up like that.
"You've got to get over that," he counseled her, trying to be helpful. "You've always done that under pressure, maybe there's a way you can get over it," he suggested. Hermione tuned his voice out and concentrated on taking the pins out of her hair. It fell in ringlet curls around her face and she considered skipping the shower and leaving it the way it was until she remembered how much makeup she had on.
Once she was safely in her bedroom, she looked at herself very carefully in the mirror. Like it or not, she had definitely changed since she had left Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sure, she was still studious. Actually, she was a downright bookworm, always with her nose in a book at any spare moment. She blew the other students out of the water when it came to grades. That much was still true.
But the old Hermione Granger would never have been picked for Homecoming Court. She thought back to the day she and Draco had called their truce. Without him, she would have none of the things she had today. Picking up the picture of her and Draco together in their uniforms, Hermione felt a little warm spot in her stomach. It was small, but it was definitely there. She really did think of him as her best friend. After five years of hating each other, all it had taken was two months for them to turn around and become the best of friends. She set the picture down and got into the shower.
Hermione could hear the doorbell ring downstairs as she slid into her shoes. She took a final look in the mirror and then took a deep breath. The dress had come out better than she had ever imagined it would. The baby blue taffeta had been transformed into the most spectacular gown Hermione had ever seen. Her mother's stylist had pulled her hair into a low bun at the nape of the neck and dusted some shimmering makeup on her cheekbones and eyelids, preferring to let the dress speak for itself.
Downstairs, her father had answered the door and let Josh into the foyer to wait for Hermione. She could hear them talking about the game earlier that day, and decided to hurry up.
"Oh, Hermione," her mother was the first to speak when she appeared at the top of the stairs. Her hand flew to cover her mouth and her eyes filled up with tears. "You look wonderful," she sighed happily. Hermione smiled and blushed slightly.
"She looks fantastic," Josh informed everyone, as though they could not see for themselves. He took her hand as she came down the last two stairs and slid a white corsage onto her wrist. Mrs. Granger snapped a few pictures of the couple before suggesting that they leave.
"You know how to get there, right?" Hermione asked her mother.
"I do," Mr. Granger stepped up. "We'll meet you there," he told them, motioning for the two to go on. Josh and Hermione were meeting up with the rest of their group at Blaise's boyfriend's house. Hermione's parents were coming along to get group pictures before the kids went off to dinner.
Hermione and Josh arrived at the same time as Pansy and Draco. Looking at Pansy, Hermione felt a twinge of jealousy. The lavender gown was much simpler than Hermione's but was almost more elegant in its simplicity. Even though Hermione's dress had been tailor made for Hermione, she still felt like Pansy's dress fit her better than Hermione's did.
"Ohmigod!" Blaise shrieked, throwing the door open. "You two look absolutely gorgeous!" She came running down the front walk to greet Pansy with a huge hug. The combination of Pansy's lavender gown and Blaise's pale green made Hermione think of Easter. Blaise's dress was more like Hermione's, and Hermione took some consolation in the fact that Pansy looked better than Blaise as well.
"Where are we taking pictures?" Draco asked, leading the group into the house. Hermione noticed that he too had opted not to wear his crown, but instead was carrying it in his hand. The tiara they had given Hermione was tucked safely inside her purse, as though she would rather just pretend it was not there at all.
"Out back, by the pool," Blaise instructed. Hermione followed her outside and was surprised to see the crowd of people who had already gathered. It seemed like the entire football team was there, along with most of the dance team and half the cheerleading squad. They were trying to arrange themselves for picture-taking. Blaise's mother was directing, so Hermione waited for instructions.
Once everyone was lined up the parents started taking pictures. Hermione felt like her face was practically going to fall off from smiling so much that day. After several group shots, the girls were told to step out of the line. Resisting the urge to massage her aching facial muscles, Hermione laughed as the boys struck poses for their pictures. Then the girls had to line up in the boys' places.
After a few shots the girls had to turn around so the backs of their dresses could be displayed. Blaise's mother lined them up so they were all turned at the same angle, peering over their shoulders at the camera. Once the parents were content with the pictures they had gotten in this pose, they started getting creative and taking pictures of their shoes and hair. Then everyone wanted individual shots of each couple, and of course the King and Queen.
Finally someone mentioned that they had a reservation, and the parents allowed them all to leave. Doing a quick head count, Hermione realized they had almost fifty people in their group. Before she got too panicked, she also remembered that they were going to three different restaurants.
When their group finally got to the dance, Hermione was happy to see that everything was already in full swing. She and Josh rushed to see how all of their planning and hard work had turned out just as the new Ludacris song started blasting through the speakers.
The tables they had set up for the caterers were located on the far side of the gym. Two enormous ice sculptures marked the entrance to the section they had picked for the refreshments. Little tables for two were covered in white tablecloths, each with a mirror in the center to catch the wax from the three pillar candles Hermione had picked as a centerpiece. Little red flowers accented the candles. Behind the tables were the actual catering stations.
Three tables were straining under the weight of two chocolate fondue fountains, ten different kinds of cake, and a make your own ice cream sundae station. Behind all of this, a bartender was distributing non-alcoholic beverages. Hermione had convinced her teacher that the extra expense for the bartender was the only way to keep someone from spiking the punch.
"You'll never be able to top this for Prom," a familiar voice spoke directly into Hermione's ear. She turned to see Violet standing at her elbow.
"Fortunately, that's not my job," Hermione responded, referring to the fact that the junior class was in charge of prom plans.
"It looks great," Violet commended, giving her friend a hug.
"It tastes even better," Holden, a boy from their portfolio class, remarked as he came to stand next to Violet.
"Thank you," Hermione said. She looked at Violet, and then at Holden, and then back to Violet. "Are you two?"
"Um, yeah," Violet knew Hermione was asking if Holden was her date. She waved her hand, as though she were brushing away a fly. "So why aren't you wearing your crown?"
"Do you think I should be?" Hermione asked, pulling it out of her purse. Violet nodded and quickly fastened it on Hermione's head, producing bobby pins out of nowhere. "Thanks," Hermione said.
"No problem. Now go have some fun and get out of my way. I need pictures of your creation," Violet joked. Hermione laughed and allowed Josh to lead her off to the dance floor.
For some reason, Hermione did not have near as much trouble dancing to the music as she had back at Hogwarts. It somehow seemed more natural in this setting. She closed her eyes and leaned back against Josh. His left arm snaked around her waist pulling her a little bit closer.
Towards the end of the dance, the Homecoming court was presented again. Hermione and Draco were announced last, and then the DJ announced that they would dance the next dance together. So in front of the entire school, Draco took Hermione's hand and led her to the center of the dance floor.
The song the music committee had picked was "Take my Breath Away." Hermione felt absolutely ridiculous, and completely self conscious because no one else was dancing – they had all lined up around the dance floor to watch. She caught sight of Blaise and Pansy in a corner. Blaise was glaring at her venomously, but Pansy just looked sad.
"Ignore them," Draco whispered, pulling her closer, "This is about us."
Hermione's breath caught in her throat at the thought of her and Draco being an "us." She tried to stay calm, but her pulse started racing as she looked into his eyes. He smiled warmly at her, a sight she was still getting used to. Smiling back at him, she felt that warm feeling in her stomach again. Tiny little butterflies danced around in her stomach and she smiled harder. It was like the feeling she got when she had performed perfectly during halftime.
Without thinking, she put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes briefly. As she breathed in she could smell his comforting scent, the one that had lingered on her pillow for a week after that morning he had crawled into bed with her. She lifted her head and realized he was still smiling.
All too soon the song ended and the other students piled back onto the dance floor. Hermione's head was still in the clouds as Josh took Draco's place. The smile on her face stayed for the rest of the night.