SEVEN YEARS LATER-2005

"I'm very sorry to do this to you Miss Granger, but I do think we would hear some upset if none of the three of you were to attend, and it is far easier to forgive a new parent or a man on his honeymoon their lack of attendance.

"I realize I cannot, in any official capacity, ask you to attend as one of the Golden Trio, though I do think it is important that you are represented. However, I can insist that you attend as an employee."

Hermione sighed quietly, resigned. "Of course, Headmistress. I will see you there."

As Hermione walked out of the large office that held many Quidditch trophies and alarmingly large bookcases that made even the tall and formidable Professor McGonagall look small, she heard a cough behind her that made her turn around. "Miss Granger. I understand the position your friends have put you in tonight. You are, as always, welcome to sit at the staff table and adjourn early." McGonagall's forgiving smile reflected Hermione's grin of gratitude.

"Thank you."

Hermione immediately regretted sitting at the staff table. She realized this evening that she had a few co-workers whom were her dear friends, and that the rest of them could be quite…awful. She sipped her pumpkin juice and ate some kind of delicious roasted lamb while trying not to listen to a conversation between a few professor's spouses.

"He's a bit arrogant though, isn't he? I mean, I heard he was."

"We were in the same year, though we were in Ravenclaw of course." The speaking woman paused to drink more firewhiskey that she didn't seem to need and she leaned in as if to whisper, though her voice failed to drop in volume. "I always thought he was full of himself. Then again, I don't know a single Gryffindor who isn't!"

Her comments were met with unanimous laughter, and the man next to her added "Even Longbottom, right? Couldn't keep his wand pointed the right direction for years but one battle and he's a hero?" He rolled his eyes dramatically. Hermione looked out in the hall to find Neville. He was dancing closely with Hannah, and Hermione thought she could feel the warmth and friendliness they emnated from here. She glanced over at the speakers next to her, identifying the man as the new Arithmancy Apprentice and his wife as Marietta Edgecombe.

"Well sure," another male voice had interrupted the laughter. "But I'll take a Gryffindor over a Slytherin any day. I don't understand why they're still allowed at Hogwarts. The whole lot are either Death Eaters, Death Eaters' kids, or whatever comes next if you ask me. Mean little snakes too, even the young ones." Hermione tightened her lips to keep from speaking, reminding herself that not too long ago she would have agreed with the man who she didn't recognize but might have been married to Trelawney's successor, Professor Yearwood. "That Malfoy." The man shook his head disapprovingly. "McGonagall ought to have run that hire by the entire Board of Governor's. He wouldn't have made it through the door."

This time Yearwood herself spoke up in her strict, decisive tone that made Hermione almost miss Professor Trelawney's dreamy nonsensical voice. "He's still got the mark you know. Or that's what I heard."

Marietta shook her head in disgust. "He's still just as terrible as he was in school." She leaned in to whisper and Hermione had to strain to hear. "And a bit of a slut I heard!"

Hermione stood up and cleared her throat loudly. "Well, goodnight then." She then leaned over to the group of gossips next to her and did her best impression of Lavender Brown, "You know, I think Professor Malfoy brewed something for the…hangovers…you're sure to have tomorrow. I imagine if you're nice enough to him he would share." They gaped at her and she stalked off and out of the Hall, stopping to say quiet goodbyes to Neville and Hannah, as well as George and his date.

If she had been looking where she was going instead of keeping her eyes on the ground in anger, Hermione wouldn't have run directly into Professor McGonagall. "Oh!"

"Oh, Hermione, you really should look where you're going."

"I'm so sorry Professor!" Hermione paused as she realized that her usually overly proper Headmistress had used her first name. With a studious look, she could see that McGonagall was a bit red in the face and was smiling almost giddily. "Professor…forgive me but…are you…drunk?"

McGonagall pursed her lips comically and held a finger up to them. She tilted her head towards the front steps and the clear summer night. Hermione followed, curious and desperately wishing Harry and Ron were here so they could laugh about this later. She was surprised to see McGonagall round a corner to another set of steps that Hermione had never used, that couldn't be seen easily from the Hall doors, and sit unceremoniously on the cold stone. Hermione sat next to her once she realized that's what McGonagall was waiting for.

"Hermione, my dear. What's bothing…boring…bothering you?"

Hermione smiled, unsure what to do and aching not to giggle. "Um…Professor? Sorry but, I've never seen you like this, is everything alright?"

The Headmistress leaned over to look at her and nodded solemnly before laughing and turning back to look our at the grounds. "Oh yes. Everything is quite alright. I'm only celebrating, as should we all be!" She raised the flask Hermione hadn't seen before towards the moon. Hermione gave her a questioning look and McGonagall pulled herself together, sitting up and setting the flask down on the step between them. "My dear. You were so very young when the Second War began, and perhaps you don't realize. I was a professor, quite a bit older than you are now, even before the First War. Sometimes, we must remind ourselves how very lucky we are to be here and to be living full lives in what is mostly peaceful unity. Simple as that, but no less worth some excitement and a little mead."

Hermione breathed out relief that her mentor hadn't told her something dramatic or revealed a sudden onset insanity. But her thoughts brought her back to the discussion she had heard back in the Hall. "Professor…I don't know. Are you sure? About the unity, I mean. Sometimes I feel like we've gotten nowhere. Gryffindors still hate Slytherins and all that."

McGonagall shook her head slowly, then looked at Hermione curiously. "Isn't it you who is close friends with Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione smiled out of one corner of her mouth, admitting that point. "If anyone had told me ten years ago that you and Potter would be friendly with him, I would have been concerned they had been struck with a very strange curse."

"He's grown up a lot. We all have. But I see the house struggles between our students and…it worries me."

McGonagall took a short sip from the flask, apparently finishing it off. "House rivalries are a necessary part of our system, Hermione. Houses provide communities and identity to young students who have been removed from their own families. When one is in a community they love dearly, they become quite proud of it and begin defending it and sometimes becoming insulated within it. It is inevitable, as is the process of learning that a persons' identity and family can and should exist outside of that house. I know that you were quite enveloped in one house culture, being so close to the Weasley family, but you must understand that their single-house family is a rarity now, and far rarer than it used to be. I think if you took a moment, you would realize that plenty of the happiest young families you know have resulted from inter-house matches."

Hermione thought about Neville and Hannah; Dean Thomas and Penelope Clearwater; Luna and Rolf; even Padma Patil and Theodore Nott who had fallen in love in a recovery group after the War. She laughed to herself as she remembered learning about the courtship of Pansy Parkinson and Seamus Finnegan, who had discovered their fiery chemistry after working together as Curse-Breakers. Now there was Ron and Susan. "I suppose you're right Professor. I never really thought of that as a new phenomenon…" She stopped talking, realizing that the always dignified Headmistress had let her head drop to her chest and was beginning to snore. Hermione smiled and admired her mentor for a minute before waking her and finding Sir Nick to be sure she got back to her quarters safely.

Hermione had one more thing to take care of before she could get out of the old black dress robes that had become tighter as she had become more curvaceous over the years. She headed back into the Hall tentatively, unsure what to expect. Apparently, she and McGonagall had been outside for quite a while, because the Hall had mostly cleared out. There were only two couples on the floor, each set completely lost in each other. The staff table was empty, and only three tables, scattered across the hall, had people still sitting at them. One held a dejected looking young man who seemed to be waiting on the couples; another had three sleeping children and four adults who all seemed too drunk to floo home; the last was a loud group of sixth and seventh years she recognized as the more precocious, and correspondingly difficult, of their years.

She paused a moment and observed the table. McGonagall had certainly been proven right. There was the Ravenclaw girl who had never received a bad mark in Transfiguration, holding hands with a quiet Slytherin boy Hermione thought might be the Slytherin Seeker. The pair of seventh year Gryffindor girls sitting with them were giggling in a way that reminded her of Lavender and Parvati, but she knew they had both already accepted very hard to get jobs at the Ministry dependent upon their N.E.W.T. scores. The real troublemakers of the group were the Hufflepuff boys who had just last week made the first floor into a tundra, complete with freezing over the grand staircase and giving sleds to first-years, resulting in multiple injuries, detentions for them, and an admittedly rather enjoyable snow day in April. Hermione remembered now that they had been banned from the party tonight, and just as she began to walk over to send them to their dorms in her best Strict Teacher Voice, she saw that Malfoy had beaten her to it. She walked slowly to his side.

"Professor Malfoy" He turned his head to see her and the sparkle in his eye betrayed that he was enjoying scolding the teenagers. "If either Ms. Haddad or Ms. O'Connell give you any trouble, you should not hesitate to take points away from my house."

"Professor Granger! We were just leaving!" The girls chorused.

"Yes, I'm sure you were. Perhaps students as bright as yourselves can convince your peers to follow you, especially considering some of them shouldn't even be here" Malfoy said the last few words out of his teeth, reminding Hermione so much of Professor Snape that she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. The students scattered and the two professors glared at them scathingly until they were completely out of sight, when Hermione let out her laughter.

She turned to face her friend, catching her breath.

"Where you been, Granger? You miss all the fun?" His sarcasm wasn't lost on her, but she laughed anyway, leaning against the table and facing the dancing couples.

"Our Headmistress got herself drunk, somebody had to take care of her." She smiled smugly.

"You're kidding." Malfoy joined her, putting most of his weight on the table and brushing her shoulder with his arm. "I wish I had seen that."

Hermione turned her head to him. "It was really very sweet. All 'life is short' and 'house unity' and all that." He nodded as if that would be McGonagall's only possible reaction to alcohol. "I suppose I needed that tonight." He looked at her questioningly. She didn't want to talk about the conversation she had overheard tonight, but she had intended to say something to him before they had run into the students. She pushed herself off the table and stood in front of him, putting him between her and the table. They had spent so many nights grading papers or reading books on couches and spread out on carpeted floors; she was so comfortable with him that it was hard to remember when that hadn't been the case. She put her hands on his shoulders but it felt like she was trying to wrestle him or something so she put her small hands on his pale, warm cheeks instead. His eyes widened in surprise and he pretended to be afraid.

"Granger what are you-"

"Sh. Listen to me. You are a good man. You are a good teacher and a good man and a good Slytherin and I mean all of that. Okay?"

It was very funny to see him try to talk with her hands still on his cheeks but she didn't want to laugh at him so she moved them, putting her hands on his chest so he could speak. "Okay…Granger?"

"Yes Malfoy?"

"Have you been addled in some way? I mean, should I be concerned here?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes, laughing. "In so far as I've become your friend Malfoy, you should definitely be concerned for my sanity."

She was surprised at the tingle that went up her spine as he grabbed her waist, pulling her so close that her hands, still on his chest, were squished between their bodies. His mouth was now level with her forehead, so he kissed it. She looked up at him, surprised, and found them to be very close together. She could have sworn his eyes were staring at her lips and she brought the lower one in between her teeth self-consciously. After too long of a moment that wasn't a hug and wasn't…something else, he released her and they walked towards the professor's quarters together. "Believe me Granger, I'm quite concerned about this friendship."

EIGHT YEARS LATER-2006

"Oh my goodness, aren't you just the most beautiful boy?!" Hermione raised Albus above her head and then back down to her lap, making all of the ridiculous faces that people make at babies.

Ginny checked that Harry was still with James looking at the suits of armor before she sighed a breath of relief and admitted "He is so much easier than James. I honestly don't know what I would do if he wasn't." Hermione set the baby down on her lap but facing his mother and bounced her knee up and down to keep him occupied. "When do you leave?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked up at her friend, her baby-holding smile still in place. "Next week, just after the end of year feast actually. I'm catching the Express back to London since I'll take a plane from there."

"You can't floo to Pakistan?"

Hermione smiled. "Floo powder is only done through our Ministry. It's more trouble than it's worth to arrange an embassy fireplace over there. Once I've been I can Apparate back, so it's a one-way ticket. I have to say I'm glad it's only for the summer though. The idea is that once I've established myself at their schools we can set up a sort of exchange program. Just a lot of networking, so it shouldn't take too long." She looked at Albus again, flipping him around to face her and setting his feet on her thighs. "I just don't know how long I can be away from this gorgeous face!"

Ginny smiled. "I won't lie, Hermione, I'm a bit jealous. All these adventures you go on, all your projects."

Hermione peeked at her from around Albus' little body. "Don't be silly. You do amazing work, even retired from the team. And-" She wiggled the baby in front of her. "I would call this one heck of an adventure. Besides, he's definitely going to be a project, look at those plotting eyes." Ginny smiled her new mother smile and Hermione pointed at the infant's eyes, then covered his ears and leaned in to whisper to her. "Those are Slytherin eyes Gin, I'm telling you." Ginny laughed so hard Albus started to cry. She reached over to take him, still laughing. "Trust me. I've gotten very good at this and almost always win Harry's money on Sorting day."

Hermione watched her friend balance cheering up Albus and eating her own dinner and admired her. Then she stood up. "On that note, I promised Ron I'd give him a dance." She brushed off invisible baby dust from her new sparkling silver dress robes. "You're okay here without me?"

Ginny smiled up at her in response, Albus standing on her lap with his hand in her hair. "Of course. All I ask is that if you see Hagrid trying to show James any creatures you rescue him immediately."

Hermione didn't have to go far before running into Ron at a table with Neville and Hannah, Susan, Luna and Rolf, Penelope and Dean, and Cho Chang. "There's the man I was looking for!" Ron raised his eyebrows and looked behind him, pointing at his chest and mouthing "Who, me?" Hermione played along, pointing at him and curving her finger back as if to pull him towards her as she approached the table. They made all necessary the small talk, including Luna's requisite strangeness and Neville's dropping of silverware, followed by hitting his head on the table trying to retrieve it.

Susan got up to hug Hermione. Maybe they weren't best friends, but they were friendly enough and Susan was grateful enough for her support of Ron that there was no animosity between them. "Please take him"- she said loudly enough for Ron to hear- "if he steps on my feet one more time I swear I'm never coming to this thing again."

"Don't you dare" Hermione said. "Then I'll have to dance with him more than once a year and I'll lose my toes." Ron stepped in, still chewing on a biscuit. "What's this then? Who lost their toes?" The women laughed hard and Ron played confused until Hermione led him to the dance floor.

Hermione loved dancing with Ron. He wasn't graceful or smooth by any means, but they knew how to dance with each other. It was like holding hands with a parent, you knew exactly what it would feel like and even when it was uncomfortable you felt comfortable and safe. "You look amazing H."

Hermione breathed a chuckle. "Thank you, Ronald. My goodness, did Susan manage to teach you manners?"

Ron laughed. "No, I don't mean it like that. I mean, you look great, but you look really, really happy, Hermione." He sounded almost sad, and Hermione couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement.

She raised an eyebrow at him "Should I not be? Is there something on my face?"

Ron rolled his eyes back "You see! Where is my Hermione? You're suddenly…goofy! And all confident and-" Hermione just smiled and focused on dancing.

"I am happy Ron. I really am. And you and Susan are too?" Ron grinned like a fool. "That's what I thought." Ron spun Hermione and she caught the eyes she hadn't realized she was looking for, staring at her from where he stood near a silver-clothed table. Her grin increased and the pair of old friends danced until the song was over. "Thanks Ron." She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Go tell Susan that my feet survived."

"Huh?"

Hermione could feel the power in her step as she walked over to Malfoy. She knew she looked good tonight, not just because Ron had told her, and she wanted him to notice. He did. His eyes followed her as she walked towards him, drinking in every inch of her. When she reached him she kissed his cheek, just barely missing the corner of his mouth on purpose and lingering too long. "Malfoy."

For a second, and he knew it, Malfoy had looked as hapless as Ron used to. He wasn't touching her at all, his body stiff, and as he pulled his head away from her lips, she watched his eyes figure out how to regain the power in this situation. He decided on pretending to find something on her shoulder to brush off, his nails grazing all the way down her arm, giving her goosebumps. "Granger."

They looked at each other for a moment, both smirking, daring the other one to break the tension. This was their usual game, just a flirtation. Push the line and see who backs off. Someone always did. It was a great game, in her opinion. Plenty of fun and no one got hurt. Hermione was just as happy to lose as she was to win. She broke into a smile and giggled. His eyes relaxed as he watched her. She held out her hand to him. "Dance with me."

He ignored her hand and pulled her waist into him instead of leading her to the floor. He positioned them so that it looked like he was whispering something casual to her, perhaps about a student making trouble or gossip about an old classmate. "Come home with me."

Hermione felt the color drain from her face. She looked up and tried to play it cool, but she didn't feel confident anymore. Without losing her smile, knowing anybody including his friends, her friends, and any of their students and coworkers could be looking, she whispered back, looking at him seriously. "That's not the game, Malfoy."

He smirked again. Oh, he had definitely won this round. He was playing with her, oh god what had she thought was going to happen?! Settle yourself Hermione. She felt her whole body blush from the thought of what she had imagined he had intended. His expression was completely serious. "What game, Granger?"

She froze. Or she melted. She wasn't sure what happened. Was her mouth open? Why couldn't she feel her legs? Why wasn't anyone rescuing her? What the hell was she supposed to do next? He leaned in again and she almost flinched, but he grabbed her hand and led her casually out of the Hall. It had all looked like they had important professor business to take care of. No one saw her turning inside out.

They were halfway to the professor's quarters when Hermione yanked her hand from his and pulled away, pushing herself against the cold castle wall to calm herself down and make standing more possible. Malfoy looked down, surprised at the loss of her hand. "Okay Malfoy, you win. You got me all flustered, can we stop now?"

Malfoy looked at her and tilted his head. His condescending tone could have been the same one he had used when they were eleven, only now it was deeper and maybe a bit gentler. "What game do you think this is Hermione?"

"What?" Taken aback by her name, she couldn't make her brain work. "I mean…" She took a slow, deep breath, catching up to her thoughts, and stood up straighter. "I know we flirt, and all that, and I have a very fun time with it, but we're friends, and that's it, right?" She was sure the tone of her question was one looking for confirmation but he clearly thought differently.

Walking slowly closer to her, Malfoy was shaking his head. "Wrong. Hermione. Unless…" He was an arm's length away from her now. She had plenty of space if she wanted to run, but she apparently didn't want to do that. "Do you do this-" He leaned forward and she froze, suddenly afraid he was going to just go on and kiss her in the middle of the hallway. It was worse. Taking a small step forward, he leaned in, pulled her hair away from her neck and kissed her neck directly below her left ear. Her body reacted in a way she hadn't felt in quite awhile. "–with your friends?"

"No." She tried to recover. "Which is why I haven't..."

He interrupted her. "I'm glad." She breathed out in annoyance at being cut off. "How about this?" He leaned down to her on the other side and she froze again, but he found the space between her neck and her clavicle and kissed the small, soft triangle there. She hated herself for letting the whimper escape her lips. She barely gasped out her "No."

He looked at her seriously then, closing the space between them as he pulled her into him with one hand on the small of her back. "I hate to break it to you Granger-" her heart broke a little at the name change; he placed his other hand gently around her cheek "-but I think we may be more than friends." He kissed her, tentatively at first, then harder, then deeper. At some point her arms moved to the back of his neck, then traveled down his chest and up his back, feeling the tense muscles and nervous warmth. His hands explored her waist and stomach and back, and at some point he reached the back of her neck and wove his hand into her thick hair, grabbing a handful in order to get her closer to him. They didn't pull apart until they heard loud, laughing students about to turn down the hallway, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him all the way to her rooms.

I'm sad to say there's one more chapter after this. Thanks so much for the lovely reviews! If you want to make a lady happy it really is the best way.