Last chapter on Circa Mundi :

Hermione followed a few minutes later and the two waited for Ms. Graphook to have the dress prepared. The older witch came back only a few moments later with the same gorgeous box and set it in Hermione's hands.

"Hermione," Ginny started. "Consider this an early birthday present! From Harry and me!"

Chapter 5

A few hours later, after a long bath and some quick makeup charms, Hermione stood in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection. After a final touch-up to her hair, she nodded at herself and made her way to her entrance hall. She had charmed her hair in a romantic but lazy updo, a few errant strands framing her delicate face. Her eyes were accentuated by a smoky, dark-grey eyeliner and the mascara she had applied seemed to elongate her already thick lashes.

After a final, real final, look in the mirror that stood in her flat's entrance, she grabbed her wand and secured it to an invisible holster on her right thigh, and touched the tea-cup that had been magicked to be a portkey to her destination for the night.

When she popped in what seemed to be the Entrance Hall of where the Gala was held that night, Hermione's senses were attacked all at once. Many people were apparating out of every corner of the room, effectively stuffing everyone together. Music snared from invisible speakers, seeming to come from all sides of the hall. As witches and wizards popped in, they greeted each other in hugs, kisses, waves, screams and screeches of hello.

Quickly coming back to her senses, she made her way to what seemed to be the central corridor and followed the soft music that would surely lead her to the Gala's main hall for the night.

As she entered the room, she noticed a silence sweep over the already present crowd and almost all eyes were riveted on her at once. On the spot, Hermione started panicking with all the attention directed at her. Did she have something on her face? Was the dress too revealing?

She finally remembered how to walk it seemed and slowly put one foot in front of the other, trying to make out any familiar face as she walked towards the refreshment table. Many people were now openly gaping at her, many of the men in attendance seemingly forgetting they had brought dates. One of the witches to her left swatted her date upside the head so he would stop staring and as she noticed another wizard close to her winking, Hermione was sure she heard a wolf-whistle or two in the background. A few more seconds passed and she started trembling with the attention that was all now directed at her.

Finally, she was pulled out of her panicked state as she heard a familiar voice scream out her name.

"Hermione! Dear, come and join us!" bellowed Kingsley Shacklebolt from the other side of the room.

Hermione blushed bright red and quickly made her way to the Minister for Magic. After an exchange of kisses with Kingsley, the rest of the hall seemed to forget the latest addition to the hall and as fast as they had stopped, they all resumed their own conversations.

Kingsley introduced Hermione to the people that had been gathered around her. Still feeling a bit of her earlier panic, she struggled to remember all the names but managed to smile and politely made conversation with the ensemble of the troop. Only one of the wizards in their small gathering was still stuck on Hermione's appearance it seemed as he kept staring at her as if she were food. She quickly dismissed his look of hunger and brushed it aside, replacing her earlier thought with the fact that he might be awestruck at the fact that this wasn't in her usual wardrobe when seen out in public.

One conversation led to another, and another, and then another. Hermione finally regained the comfortable stance she usually had at these sorts of gatherings and events as she flowed from one group to the other, chatting away whoever was present. She even noticed a few Purebloods had taken the time to introduce themselves to her and some of the witches even complimented her on her gown.

As she laughed at a joke that Ernie Macmillan had just dropped, her current conversational partner, Kingsley stood up on a makeshift stage at the middle of the room and clapped his hands together. It took a few moments for silence to fall on the room, but laughter slowly died from all corners of the room and Kingsley motioned for the band to stop the music.

As the wizard stood behind a podium at the middle of the stage, all people who were of attendance made their way closer to the stage for what they knew would be one of Kingsley's annual Ministry speeches. The year after the war had ended, various people from around all wizarding London had thought it to be a good idea to devote an entire day to celebrating the defeat of Voldemort. And so the Ministry had held a parade through Diagon Alley, multiple events throughout the day to commemorate the people who had lost their lives, and finally, a ball at the end of the evening to celebrate the win and that those who had survived were still standing and were now allowed to enjoy life without the looming threat of Voldemort over their shoulders.

The members of the Golden Trio weren't the only ones that year who had had difficulty when attending that first event. Lavender Brown had a panic attack in the middle of the main course of supper. Justin Finch-Fetchley had nervously looked over his shoulders all evening and seemed to be twitching every few seconds or so. Ron had drunk so many firewhiskeys during the evening that he wiped out on the dancefloor after dessert. Even some of the Slytherins who had been of attendance had been nervous a jittery, Hermione remembered the looks that they had and the deepest bags that had been present under their eyes.

The weeks following that fateful day, petitions had been made and owls had been sent to the office of the Minister and after careful consideration, they had moved the event a few days later so that the annual Ministry ball wouldn't remind anyone of the end of the War. That way also, the Ministry could still use the event to serve thanks to citizens of their society who had done great throughout the year and raise funds for various charities.

Hermione still hated the event, as well as many others present that night.

The people around her pushed and swaggered around her as they all tried to shimmy closer to the Minister. This made it so that Hermione unintentionally stood first row to the stage and stood only a few feet to Kingsley's right. She looked around the first rows of the crowd and spotted Harry and Ginny not so far away from her. Ron was most probably further towards the back of the crowd as he detested any public appearances at these events and Hermione was sure his flavor of the month was probably on his arm, or in another case on his mouth, as Ron usually had the attention-span of a two year old when Kingsley started talking at these events.

"My fellow witches and wizards, welcome to the Annual Ministry Ball and Gala," Kingsley started with a wide smile. He looked around the room for a moment before taking on a more serious facial expression and starting back on his pre-made monologue. "As you all know, a lot can happen in the span of a year. Twelve months can seem so little when you think about a lifespan, but those months go by fast when they are spent delivering good to the people around you. As I bring your attention to the Charity of Seven-"

Hermione tuned out when Kingsley started talking about the different charities that had sprung from the ashes of the end of the war. Usually, he was able to magically persuade more than a dozen of the attendees to donate a hefty sum to these charities and he usually did so by talking about the most gruesome parts of what the people that benefit from the charity had to live through day to day. As the minister kept on talking, Hermione looked around the room again and noticed three young children sitting off the right side of the stage. The three young wizards had a bit of dirt stains on their clothing but had managed to clean up more than what they probably looked like during their everyday lives.

As the young witch kept on looking at the children, she was reminded of all the losses that children like them had felt. Many of those children were now without parents, some sent away to their aunts or uncles, or even grandparents, spread around Europe as Wizarding London had been left to recuperate after the War.

Maybe I can seek out Neville later on and ask him about his orphanage. There must be something I can do to help those children, she thought. As she craned her neck, looking around the crowd once more, Hermione was snapped out of her reverie as the crowd politely started clapping. Must be those Wizarding Awards that are starting now, better pay more attention.

"And now the time has come to award three wizards with this year's greatest honors," resumed Kingsley at the front of the crowd. "These fine young men have done more than one act of greatness in the past years, and I sure am not the only one that must hope they will continue on their path. Many of you present in the room tonight have even benefitted from their generosity and some of you might not even know it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating the recipient of tonight's first distinction, the Wizarding Award for Excellence, one Mr. Draco Malfoy!" Kingsley cheered as the rest of the crowd burst in a fury of applause and cheer.

As the Minister said the name of the first awardee, time seemed to freeze for Hermione.

Surely, he's joking. This… This can't be ?!

She turned around and looked towards Harry and Ginny to see the couple smiling as Malfoy made his way to the stage. Ginny even put her fingers to her mouth to whistle at him, Malfoy smirking back at the youngest Weasley as he now stood behind the podium, with Kingsley standing a little ways to his left.

Hermione snorted and shook her head, pinching her own arm in the process. Wizarding London has gone crazy.

"Thank you, fellow Wizards and Witches," Malfoy started. The crowd's applaud finally diminished to a silence as he cleared his throat. "First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother, for guiding me towards the light," at this, he winked to an older witch that Hermione assumed was his mother. The crowd laughed at his joke and they politely clapped again. At the middle of the room was Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to be a changed woman also as she now downed long tresses of golden-brown hair. Her eyes held a peculiar sparkle as she looked straight on towards her only son.

"Also, I want to take a moment and use my time on this stage tonight to remind you of all the people that have suffered since the First War. Too many lives were lost, and too many people's day-to-day have changed. There will be a silent auction held in the next room for the remainder of the evening, I hope you will all take a few moments to remember everyone that we've lost but also, donate a few sickles at least for all the charities that are present tonight. I pledge that I will personally deliver all purchases from tonight's auction and engage myself in presenting the future owners with a little surprise of my own." He flashed a wide smile and a few witches in the room swooned. One of the women next to Hermione started fanning herself with her hand and Draco threw another wink in the crowd.

Hermione scoffed as Draco continue with his speech. Her outburst caused a few witches and wizards closest to her to turn around with confusion in their eyes. As she downed an expression of incredibility towards Draco, he squinted his eyes at her and resumed his speech.

"Last but not least, I would like to name a few people that without them, I would not be on this stage tonight. Some of them have not always been considered my friends, but I hope they allow me to use the term in speaking of them in the future. Some of the others have always stood by my side, and have helped me through all the good and bad times.

"Without further ado, I would like to thank Blaise Zabini, my brother from a different mother," the crowd laughed at the pun, "Pansy Parkinson, the most loyal person I've ever known," at this, Pansy blew a kiss up at Malfoy, "Theodore Nott, an honest and kind man, Cormac McLaggen, a formidable partner in crime, and last but not least, Harry Potter. My old school rival, the Boy Who Lived to Annoy Everyone, but also, the most generous wizard I've had the chance of meeting. We've not always seen eye to eye, but here's to hoping that our newfound friendship will last for years to come. I truly hope you'll continue to grace me with your most-aggravating presence, but know that all that you've done to help me is truly, from the bottom of my heart, appreciated more than you think."

Harry grinned from the bottom of the stage and took a few steps to extend a hand to Malfoy, who leaned down and joined him in a brotherly sort of exchange.

As Draco finished, the crowd politely clapped their hands at his words, a few loud bellows of cheers were heard to Hermione's right, most probably Blaise and Pansy, and Kingsley retook place behind the podium as Draco walked to a chair on the side of the stage.

Kingsley proceeded to award another two wizards with similar awards and the whole time they thanked their crowd, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. As she looked around the room, she wasn't able to find the source of the discomfort. However, when her eyes landed back on the stage, she noticed Draco glaring at her one in one of the most hateful ways. She couldn't help but shiver as his eyes held her gaze and he narrowed his eyes at her.

After the two other wizards finished each of their own speeches and as the crowd once again roared with applause and cheer, Kingsley made his way once more to the center of the stage.

"Thank you once again for your attendance tonight. Words will never be enough to remind these three young wizards of our gratitude towards them for their actions since the end of the War. Now, let us all come together in enjoying more than a sip of London's finest ale as well as some musical delight from tonight's band, The Screeching Wands. Before I leave you all to your own activities, I would like to remind you of the silent auction in the Grand Hall, first door on your right in the outer corridor, and that all proceeds coming from tonight's purchases will be donated to St-Mungo's, courtesy of one young Mr. Malfoy. Now, let us dance!"

As he finished talking, Kingsley waved his hands in front of him in a gesture that reminded Hermione much of Albus Dumbledore's own sweep of hands and as witches and wizards alike spread across the room, couples slowly made their way to the dance floor and joined together as the band for the night once more started their melody.

As the crowd around her started to mingle around with each other, Hermione's gaze brushed on a few familiar faces. She recognized Neville and Padma a few paces to her side and slowly made her way towards them. As she arrived near the group, Neville recognized her and so dropped the arm he had draped around Padma's middle and took two long strides to engulf her in a hug.

"Dear Merlin Neville, you haven't changed a bit!" She laughed in his shoulder. Neville spun her around a few times and then took a step back to look at her as he put her down.

"My dear Hermione. How I missed you so," he said as he took hold of her right arm and led her back to the group of people he had been chatting with. As they neared the gathering, Neville extended his hand back to Padma and bowed back towards Hermione.

"Hermione, may I officially present to you, Mrs. Padma Longbottom."

"Oh Neville, congratulations! Padma, it's nice to see you again! Oh guys, I'm really happy for you!"

"Thanks Hermione, it means a lot to us. You know, as hot as a wizard this one is, I couldn't very well leave him galley around all those young Hogwarts witches without them knowing he was taken!" exclaimed Padma as she kissed one of Neville's cheek. He blushed a bright shade of red as he smiled back at his wife.

"Guys, I didn't even know you were engaged," said Hermione as she grinned happily at the couple.

"Miss Granger, I assume you miss out on a few pieces of hot gossip while you're out and away on those mysterious projects of yours," said a black-haired wizard to the side of Padma.

"Oh! Um, I do believe we have never had the chance to meet?" asked Hermione as she extended a hand towards the man.

Beside them, Neville chuckled and Padma kept on smiling as both had their eyes riveted on the duo.

"We've already met, so to speak, although under more dire circumstances."

Hermione only raised an eyebrow in confusion as the wizard slowly bowed in front of her, taking her hand in one of his own and placing a chaste kiss on the top of her knuckles.

"Hermione, don't be ridiculous," exclaimed Padma. As Hermione blushed, the wizard slowly but surely let go of her hand and she turned to look at the other witch. "Surely, you remember Theodore from school, no?"

At the name of the old Slytherin student, Hermione's eyebrows shot straight through her hairline and she snapped her head back towards Theo.

"Oh?"

Neville seemed to be the one to notice the awkwardness of the exchange and quickly started speaking again.

"Don't let his old school colors and cold-hearted attitude fool you, Hermione. Theodore has done this society much good lately. Speaking of, tell me you have a bit of free time before you leave and that you'd be willing to come visit the orphanage?" He asked with a smile so sweet, Hermione could only nod back.

The room suddenly seemed to be way too warm for Hermione's liking.

"Is everything ok, Miss Granger?" asked Theo sweetly as he put a hand on Hermione's left arm. The witch seemed to be focusing on her breathing.

After a few seconds in her daze, Hermione shook her head and snapped out of her bubble.

"Yes, um, you'll have to excuse me, I think I need a drink," Hermione said as she excused herself from the group and headed towards the long table that presented a wide array of refreshments.

As she picked up a glass of champagne, she turned to lean on the wall beside the table and looked at the dance floor. Finally regaining control of her breathing, she saw Harry and Ginny thoroughly enjoying themselves and also recognized Blaise and Pansy a little ways to the left. It wasn't long before her first champagne glass was finished and she extended a hand to take a pick up a second drink.

A few minutes later, a cough sounded behind her and she whirred around in surprise. Theodore Nott was standing a few paces near her and as she looked at him, his lips turned upwards in one of the most dazzlingly charming smiles.

"Mr. Nott," Hermione nodded towards him. He smiled once more and made his way closer toward her.

"Hermione, I think we can let go of last names, at least for the evening."

"Why Theodore, I didn't even think you'd be able to stand the presence of a muggle-born witch for a few minutes, let alone call one by her first name," the witch challenged with a raised eyebrow. Theo looked her in the eyes and suddenly roared a deep laugh. Hermione couldn't help but admire his strong features and charming face as she joined in the contagious laugh. The tension from their previous awkward exchange seemed to dissipate and Hermione smiled back at him. It seemed the wizarding alcohol was stronger than she had thought and the beverages seemed to be helping with her mood towards her once upon a time childhood rival.

"You'll have to excuse me, I think I've had one too many drinks," she said as she out her now-empty glass back on the refreshment table.

Theo chuckled again and got closer to her discreetly.

"Indeed, this champagne is stronger than I'd like to admit. Though onto a more serious topic, Hermione, I would like to extend to you my most sincere apologies."

Hermione only raised an eyebrow and tried her best to concentrate at his words.

"Honestly, I know that a mere 'sorry' will not excuse the words I've used against you when we were children, but I do hope one day you'll be able to think about forgiving me for my past. I've always thought of you as a strong, intelligent witch and I think if you'd be willing to put our past behind us for a time, we could form a formidable partnership. Neville told me you could be of great help to aid me in finding new ways to find funds for the orphanage."

Hermione gaped at the wizard in front of her for the second time that evening. To say she had been rendered speechless was an understatement.

"Usually this is where you say, 'I forgive you Theo', but I guess it would be too easy to earn the forgiveness of the Gryffindor Princess in only a few minutes, no?" and he laughed again. Hermione looked at him with the most peculiar expression and joined him again in laughter.

"Alright Miss Granger, I'll prove you my changed ways then. Join me on the dancefloor?" he said as he extended his hand to her.

Theo stood before her with one of those smiles and Hermione couldn't help but think of the absurdity of their whole conversation. 'One dance couldn't hurt, could it?' And anyways, it had been a long time since she had found herself in the arms of a wizard as handsome as Theo.

"One dance it is then, Mr. Nott," she smiled at him as she took his hand. He then led her to the center of the hall and their bodies joined in a familiar hold as he started to sway them to the rhythm of the music.

As they twisted and turned around the dance floor, Hermione could tell they were gathering more than one pair of eyes on upon themselves. But in that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. If all Slytherins acted as chivalrous as Theo had, maybe they weren't all that bad, she thought to herself as he spun her away from his body and back again. As the beat of the music changed tones and the wizarding band led the hall to another song, Theo looked at Hermione questioningly and she nodded to him, silently accepting the offer of a second dance.

Halfway through that song, the familiar feeling of being watched returned to Hermione. The people that had originally stared at them as they had started to dance were now back to their mingling but Hermione couldn't help but feel a gaze on her still.

As Theo twisted her once again, she found the source of her discomfort in a pair of silver eyes, a few feet next to them.

There, Draco Malfoy danced gracefully with a small, exotic looking witch. His partner had the longest black hair Hermione had ever seen and wore the most-expensive looking dark-blue gown. However, it seemed the witch's attire didn't do anything in keeping Malfoy's interest as he had been glaring at Hermione across the dancefloor for the last thirty seconds. As she held his gaze, she raised her eyes to the ceiling and scoffed silently at him while he narrowed his eyes and visibly held his own date harder.

Hermione then purposefully took the lead in her dance with Theo and led them to a more secluded corner of the dancefloor. After a third song, the couple finally stepped off the floor and made their way back to the table that was still full of drinks.

"Well, I don't know if you've ridded yourself of that Slytherin behavior but I have to say Mr. Nott, you sure know how to make a witch dance," exclaimed Hermione with a coy smile.

"Please Hermione, call me Theo. That Mr. Nott crap is reserved for my father, and well, let's just say he's serving a well-deserved stay in Azkaban."

Hermione laughed and nodded her head towards him. Theo stood by her side and flashed her another smile. The young wizard she had known from school had sure grown out of his puberty years as he now stood a little over 6 feet tall, with a dark complexion that matched his deep blue eyes perfectly. His hair was brushed off to one side messily, but she found it quite fit him well. As she admired her companion's physique, she started to wonder, was it just her or was the room was getting hotter every second?

"Well then, Theo, you'll have to excuse me, I'm just going to go get a bit of fresh air. All that dancing has made me quite hot."

"Indeed it has Hermione," he said as he winked at her.

Oh dear, is he flirting? she thought as she felt a faint blush creep up on her cheeks. He seemed to notice her discomfort as he leaned to kiss one of her cheeks and whispered in one of her ears. "Anyways, I'm off to the men's room. But all in all, Hermione, it was good to see you again. I sure hope you'll pass by the orphanage this week if your schedule allows it."

Hermione stood speechless once again as the wizard in front of her smiled and gracefully left the room. After a few seconds, she seemed to regain control of her body and willed herself to walk outside of the hall.

As she made her way along the corridor she looked around at the paintings adorning the walls. She walked for a few minutes before feeling her body temperature was back to normal. It was starting to get quite late anyways, maybe she could go back to the ballroom and bid her goodbyes to her friends and leave for her flat. That way, she could get a bit of work done if she got up early the next morning. Yes, great idea that was!

Hermione twirled around to finally really take a serious look at her surroundings and found she didn't remember coming down this hall. It was only the third year the Ministry held their event at this gallery and Hermione had unfortunately missed the last two, so she didn't know her way around. She twisted and turned around the halls for a few minutes before reaching a hall that seemed familiar. As she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the paintings she recognized from earlier, she felt two strong hands grab her middle and felt herself being pulled away into a dark alcove on the side.

"Oomph," she managed to call out against the hand that was now strapped to her mouth.

Hermione struggled against the body that stood very close to her own and after a moment, her back was pushed up on the cold wall behind her.

"Relax, will you Granger! I'm not trying to hurt you," muffled a voice only too familiar. The hands that held her in her place finally retracted from her body and as her eyes adjusted to the more darkened surroundings, she gazed into the eyes of her assaulter.

"Malfoy, what the hell? You fancy a trip back to Azkaban in return of man-handling me?"

He chuckled as he crept closer to her. As he leaned in to her small frame, she could smell the alcohol lingering on his breath. "As if accidentally groping you would send me to Azkaban you little witch, you."

"Ugh, Malfoy! Get away! Oh and maybe get a sober-up potion while you're at it."

"Well it sure didn't seem to bother you when another Slytherin grabbed at your body earlier on the dancefloor," he spat at her as all the familiar malice returned to his voice. As his eyes steeled onto Hermione's, he seemed like he had instantly sobered up.

"What's it to you anyways," Hermione retorted as she tried pushing him away.

As she tried forcing his body away from hers, Malfoy only seemed to gain in strength as he pushed her back against the wall another time. Now however, his body was flush against her own as he forcefully pinned her hands on either side of her hips.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about who's touching your body Granger, I just wanted to serve you a little warning anyways."

Hermione focused on her breathing as she felt every inch of his body on hers. He stood more than a foot taller than her but his frame was of the athletic build and she could feel his muscles through the thin fabric of each of their own garments. Although it might have been the mighty ferret prince that was currently pushed up on her, Hermione couldn't help her body's own reaction to the feel of Malfoy's. His strong chest was pushing on exactly the right place, just above her breasts and-

"-ridicules me in public!" he said as he interrupted her train of thoughts, and just at the right time Hermione thought.

"What?" she said, confused as she noticed she had missed a few of his words.

"Merlin, Granger, do you never listen when people talk? I was saying that you had better improve control over your emotions. No one ridicules me in public like you did there just earlier. I've worked shit-hard over the last years and I won't stand by and let you ruin it because of your little golden girl reputation, you hear me?"

He leaned in even closer to Hermione's face, if that was even possible, and he whispered the last words as he looked intensely into her deep-brown eyes. Hermione breathed deeply, struggling as her chest was still being squeezed by Malfoy's bigger frame. As she took a deep intake of breath, she felt her breasts glazing against his chest.

Malfoy's eyes seemed to close out of his own accord and his jaw squeezed firmly as he seemed to be concentrating on something.

"You have some nerve, Malfoy, to accost me in the hallway like this and threaten me!"

"I'm not threatening you, Hermione," he said with a softened voice, his eyes still shut tight.

"Yes, you are! In fact, everyone's so keen on the fact that you've changed, but I can clearly see through your-"

He interrupted her outburst by crushing his lips on her own. As his lips hungrily moved on hers, his hands slowly let go of her wrists and latched themselves onto her hips, scrunching up the lacy fabric of her dress. Hermione stood frozen on the spot, still not clearly realizing what was happening and if it was indeed reality or some sort of dream-like illusion that the champagne she had indulged in earlier was producing.

And then it happened as quickly as Malfoy had kissed her.

WHACK!

Author's note : Cliffhanger, anyone?