Hogwarts was still as beautiful as ever, if not more beautiful. Hermione felt like a little first year again, entering the castle and looking around with amazement and astonishment written all over her face. She felt like a young school girl again as she entered the Great Hall and took in the Four house tables along with the staff table. The house tables were of course a bit shorter due to the guests being only one year of Hogwarts. Excitement fluttered inside her stomach and tears came to her eyes as she remembered all the wonderful times she had spent inside here. She could remember coming down the grand staircase every morning to go to Breakfast, or running off to the library after lunch to do some reading. Or how she would always laugh and joke with Harry and Ron as they walked from class to class. Or how she used to take walks on the grounds just to sooth her mind during the war.
"I know." Brent whispered in her ear. "I felt like that, too." Hermione smiled up at him. As she walked down the Gryffindor table she greeted all her classmates and sat among them.
"I think it's a wonderful idea to keep the house tables." Hermione said to the group. "I mean it makes it feel almost normal again." Harry smiled at her.
"You're right, Hermione." He said. "I really miss it here." She watched him look around with longing in his eyes and understood. She knew that this had been Harry's only home for years. He loved the castle more than any of them did.
"Well luckily you guys will be able to come next year again. After all, I will have a ten year reunion as well." Ginny stated from across the table. She had come as Harry's date. Everyone smiled and started talking about the good old days. Soon the whole hall was filled with happy ex-students sharing good memories with each other. Hermione breathed in the wonderful smell of the atmosphere she had missed most about Hogwarts. She looked around and scanned each table. She saw a very pretty asian girl sitting at the Ravenclaw table, and assumed it was Cho Chang. Over at the Hufflepuff table, Hermione noticed that Ernie McMillan had gotten very tall and handsome, indeed.
Yet it was the Slytherin table that caught her eye. Just as she was thinking about how Pansy Parkinson hadn't changed much, her eyes locked with a pair of misty silver ones. Hermione knew in an instant who this person was. She took in his handsome features and was forced to hold in a gasp. Draco Malfoy had dropped all his boyish features and turned into a very, very handsome man. Hermione smiled faintly as they both stared at each other for just a moment. She could swear she saw his lips twitch into a smile of their own before he looked away and was kissed by Pansy Parkinson. Hermione had to restrain herself from laughing at the expression on his face. She always kenw those two would end up together. She turned back to her friends and joined them in the conversation about the time in fifth year where they had the DA.
"One thing's for sure." Neville stated. "It never got boring around here with you three around. I bet you we had the craziest year of them all." The trio looked at each other as everyone agreed and laughed.
Soon after the food was gone and Dumbledore made his little speech the tables were put aside and couches replaced them with a very big space in the middle for dancing and socializing. Soft jazz was playing in the background, quiet enough to talk over but loud enough to dance to. Hermione danced with Brent for a while and talked with people, but decided it was time for the Hogwarts tour she had been planning to take. She wanted to go visit the library to remember all the times and days she had spent in there. She wanted to visit her old classrooms and she just wanted to stroll around the hallways.
Hermione spent about twenty minutes in the library and also passed her old Transfiguration classroom. Walking around the hallways she dragged her hand around the walls and breathed in the wonderful smell. She truly missed this place with all its mysteries and secrets. It had been her home for seven years and she had grown into a woman in this castle. She had met her lifelong friends here. She treasured it more than any other place in the world.
Hermione turned the corner of the hallway she had been in and came to a dead end, with stairs leading up to some tower of some sort. Hermione gasped with realization of what this place was. She had walked herself to the Astronomy tower without realizing. Smiling, she started climbing the stairs all the way until she reached the highest point of Hogwarts. The night was chilly but not enough to make her be cold in her strapless dress. Hermione walked forwards and looked out at the grounds. She smiled as she saw the whomping willow and she could've sworn she had seen the giant squid in the lake. It was her name being said that brought her out from her thoughts.
"Granger?"
Hermione turned around to see who had called her.
"Malfoy."
They stared at each other for a split second before she found her voice again. "What, are you stalking me?" She asked, turning back to face the grounds.
"No." He answered truthfully. "I was just taking a walk through the halls and somehow ended up here." Hermione gave an 'oh' of understanding and looked down at her hands.
"Kind of Ironic, isn't it?" Hermione voiced Draco's thoughts. "That we both ended up here just by coincidence." Both of them remembered the last time they were up here very well. Moments of silence passed between them as neither knew what to say. Hermione was just about to turn around and leave when Draco broke the silence.
"So how's the worlds favorite Mudblood been doing?" He asked without looking at her. "I was pretty sure that you would be married to the Weasel, but I don't see a ring on your finger. What a surprise."
"Still the same jerk then, Malfoy?" Hermione scoffed. "And no, I'm not married to Ron. I'm with Brent."
"I see. That tall, American looking bloke that you were with?" Malfoy asked. "Even you could do better then that, Granger." He stated mockingly. Hermione glared at him.
"That's coming from a guy who's married to Pansy Parkinson." Hermione replied, watching in satisfaction as Malfoy's expression got gloomy. Both of them fell silent once again and just stared out. "You're still really rich." Hermione said, regretting it the second it left her mouth. How stupid had she just sounded?
Malfoy laughed then smirked at her. "What a great conversation starter, Granger." Hermione blushed and turned around. Malfoy kept staring at her. He took in her brown her which had been put into a lose bun and her smooth skin of her arms and neck. He took in her shining eyes which were deep in thought. Her cheeks were rosy read from embarrassment and she seemed more beautiful then ever.
Hermione looked back at Malfoy and realized he was still staring at her with a unreadable expression on his face. They both stood there, looking into each others eyes, not needing words to ruin the moment. Hermione's chest was heaving as she inhaled and she started feeling a bit lightheaded. "I should-" She started. "We should get back to the others." She stated. "They might get suspicious if we're both missing at the same time." She looked at the ground.
"True." Malfoy said, looking away as well. "After all we do have a history." He smirked at her. "But wait. I forgot. Every girl has a history with me."
Hermione slapped him across the arm. "Such a dirty bastard, Malfoy. Now I know you still are the same school boy I last saw ten years ago." She said with a humph and walked away and down the stairs. She didn't hear him following her and slowed down after a while, looking back at the stairs after a while. Her face dropped from the mad expression and she clutched her heart. Closing her eyes, Hermione calmed down. She knew she was over Malfoy, so it wasn't that. It was just that seeing the person who had taken her virginity and then broken her hear was pretty intense. She didn't know he would've effected her this way. Taking one more deep breath she walked back and joined her friends.
Up at the tower Malfoy was still looking at where she left, his face reading the same expression as hers down in the hall. Confusion and sadness. How the hell did that girl still affect him? Seeing her had felt so strange, when he thought he could handle it. After all it only had been a stupid fling in seventh year...right? He felt as if something was jabbing at his heart. He had never experienced it before, other than the time she had slapped him in that hallway. Could it be that after all those years the emotions he had thought he had for her, the emotions that he decided were just hormones, were still there?
Draco quickly shook his mind, trying to convince himself that he had one too many glasses of wine and made his way down the stairs as well, quickly walking to join his friends.