AN: HARRY'S STILL NOT MINE.
*SORRY FOR THE WAIT. REAL LIFE CAN BE A BITCH SOMETIMES.
*THIS CHAPTER SHOWS HOW HERMIONE BECAME FRIENDS WITH DRACO.
*MIGHT NOT BE ONE OF MY BETTER CHAPTERS, BUT THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR READING IT.
*ITALICS ARE WHAT HARRY AND RON SEE AND THINK DURING THE MEMORY.
A vision of Hermione appeared before them after they entered the pensieve. She gave a little smile. "Things started changing as soon as we got back to Hogwarts. After you left, I started saving memories for you to watch when you came back. But, when I realized that you wouldn't be doing so anytime soon, I went back and edited them a bit, so I can kinda give you an introduction to what you're seeing. I don't know when you're watching these, but please try to keep an open mind." she said. "This is September 3, 1998, at 7 p.m. You two hadn't left yet, but you weren't here for this. Ginny and I never got to tell you about this." Hermione said, and then she vanished.
Harry and Ron found themselves looking at Hermione and Ginny sitting in Hermione's Head Girl dorms doing homework. Both boys noticed first thing how different the girls looked already.
Ginny was wearing a white tank top with red jeans and white sneakers. Her long red hair was pulled into pigtails on the back of her head. She had dyed her bangs blonde, giving her a unique look.
Hermione was wearing a pair of cutoff white shorts with a yellow t-shirt and barefoot. She changed her hair already, with it now being long and messy in a glamorous kind of way, and looking soft and silky.
"Hermione, you're my best friend, but if you get any more perfect, I just might have to kill you, you know." Ginny said. "I mean, you're already scary smart, but you're beautiful and have a killer body, as well. It's just not fair."
"Oh, please. Haven't we been through this a million times? I'd kill to look like you, you know." Hermione said, looking at herself with a frown. "You're the one with the long legs I'd love to have."
"But you're the one with the curves. Where I have a nice body, you have the kind of body guys want to play with, Hermione. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the way a lot of guys here stare at you when you walk down the hall?" Ginny asked, making Hermione laugh.
Harry and Ron looked at both of the girls. They didn't see anything wrong with either girl. 'Maybe it's a girl thing', Harry thought. He knew he had no desire whatsoever to look like Ron. Or as far as he knew, Ron didn't want to look like him, either.
Hermione and Ginny were very different from each other, but both were beautiful in their own way. Hermione stood at 5'4", weighed 124 pounds , had a slight six-pack, round full 36D breasts, and a deep tan. Ginny stood at 5'8", weighed 118 pounds, had a flat stomach, with toned legs and a tan.
"Yes, yes. Let's get this finished, shall we?" Hermione asked. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually a little sick of seeing runes."
The boys watched as Malfoy walked into the room, followed by Zabini, Parkinson and Bulstrode, and stopped. He took a deep breath before approaching Hermione and Ginny. 'Hmmm…he actually looks scared. Or nervous. Or both, I suppose.' Ron thought.
"Granger, Red. Do you have a minute? We'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind?" he asked. Hermione and Ginny looked a little suspicious at first. They glanced at each other, then nodded.
"Sure, Malfoy." Hermione said. "What do you need to talk about?" she asked warily.
The Slytherins took a seat on the sofa while Ginny and Hermione sat in the two chairs across from them. Zabini, Parkinson and Bulstrode looked down at their shoes, as if in shame. They heard someone knocking on the door. Malfoy went over to open the door, and Neville and Luna walked in. They sat by Hermione and Ginny on the floor.
Malfoy cleared his throat. It was obvious he was nervous. "We have realized that, in the past, we have been unfairly cruel to all of you at times. We all want to put the past behind us, and apologize for things we've done to you." he said.
Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna looked at each other. "Okay, Malfoy. You have our attention." Ginny said.
"First things first." he said. He walked over and stood in front of them. "I'm Draco Malfoy." he said, putting his hand out for a handshake. He was followed by the other Slytherins doing the same thing. Hermione and the others did this as well.
"Well, how about we get this over with, eh?" Millicent asked once she and the others were back on the sofa.
"Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, as Head Boy, on behalf of Slytherin house, we are deeply sorry for everything we've ever done to you or said to you or about you in the past. We assure you it will not happen again." Draco said.
"Fair enough. We accept your apology, everyone." Neville said.
Hermione stood up and walked over to the Slytherins. "Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Millicent, as Head Girl, on behalf of Gryffindor house, we, too, are deeply sorry for everything we've done to you or said to you or about you in the past. We will refrain from doing so in the future."
"Thank you, Hermione, everyone. We also accept your apology." Pansy said.
"I don't know if this is 'technically' allowed, but seeing as we're starting fresh, what say we break out the firewhiskey and get to know each other?" Blaise asked.
"It may not be allowed, Blaise, but as war veterans and heroes, I think we can manage that." Hermione said, smiling. "I just happen to have some over here." she said, and pulled out a bottle from behind some books.
"Alright. I have an idea. How about we play a game of 'Truth or Shot'?" Ginny asked. Seeing the looks of confusion on the Slytherins faces, she continued. "It's a game my brothers taught me. You're asked a question, and either you choose to answer truthfully, or you take a shot of whiskey instead of answering."
"I'm in. Guys?" Draco asked. After everyone agreed, Hermione poured eight shots and set one in front of everyone. "Why don't you start, Ginny."
"Alright. Draco, how many girls have you had sex with in Hogwarts?" she asked.
Draco smirked. "I know the rumor is that I've been with almost every girl in the castle, but I've only slept with three girls." he said. "My turn, I believe. Hermione, do you have any tattoos?"
Hermione flushed, and nodded. "Would you like to see?" she asked, making everyone nod. She turned away from the group. She then lifted her hair, showing off three large golden stars on the back of her neck. "These are in honor of the nickname 'the Golden Trio'."
She looked up at everyone's face. Smirking, she asked, "Pansy, who did you lose your virginity to?", making Pansy flush and down her shot.
"I'd really prefer not to say. I will say this, though. I was fifteen and he was awful." she said, making everyone laugh and look toward Draco. "And, no, it wasn't Draco. Luna, are any of those creatures you're always talking about actually real?"
Luna took a shot, to everyone's surprise. Hermione and Ginny started giggling. That was a dead giveaway that they didn't. "I can't say. Blaise, how many fathers have you had?"
Blaise sighed. "Not counting my real father, my mum has been married twelve times, and each one is worse than the one before." he said. "Neville, did you ever have a crush on one of your friends?"
"Yes, I did. Until fifth year, I had it bad for Mione. Then, I started liking Luna." he said with a blush. "Millicent, what's your worst class?"
Millicent smiled. "Potions. Professor Snape used to get so mad at me for never getting a good grade in his class." she said with a laugh.
For the next two hours, the group got to know each other. After a few more innocent questions, more and more firewhiskey got drank. Some of the questions asked even made Harry and Ron blush. Especially when they heard some of the answers Hermione and Ginny gave to some wild questions from the Slytherins.
The vision of Hermione appeared again as the memory faded. She was smiling again, but unlike before, this was a happy smile. "As you can see, Ginny, Neville, Luna and I let go of the past fairly quickly. Throughout this year, the Slytherins and Gryffindors got along better with each other than the other two houses, with Luna being the exception from Ravenclaw." Hermione started giggling. "We four got along with those four from Slytherin so well, the teachers started calling us the 'Elite Eight', which we were proud of, by the way. I hope this changes, or at least alters a bit, your opinion of Draco and the gang." Seeming to look right at them, she said, "I know you've probably still got a lot against Draco and the others, but I will not be forced to choose. All of them will be staying in my life, and you'll find out why in the next few memories. Let go of the past. We all did."
Harry and Ron came out of the pensieve wrapped in confusion. They found a sofa to sit on, and both sat, deep in thought for a while. Finally, after around thirty minutes, Harry broke the silence.
"Well. That was interesting, wasn't it?" he asked Ron. "I mean, Malfoy and his cronies apologized to Gryffindors. And, they meant it."
"Blimey, mate. They'd only been back at school for three days when this happened. And, did you see the girls' hair? Things were already changing, Harry. How did we not notice that?" Ron asked.
"You were too wrapped up in yourselves, that's how." they heard from behind them. Turning, they saw Arthur standing at the bottom of the stairs. "It's time to go. You'll be coming back tomorrow to see some more." he said, then walked up the stairs, followed by the boys.
Harry and Ron were feeling guilty, again. Arthur had been right. They were too wrapped up in their own lives that they didn't notice things weren't the same from the moment the girls stepped onto the train for their final year. Hermione's hair. Ginny's hair. Befriending not just one, but four, Slytherins? The girls being members of what was called the 'Elite Eight'? They couldn't help but wonder what else Hermione's memories had in store for them.
Arriving back at the penthouse, Harry and Ron went straight to the guest room. Molly watched them go, noticing both looked to be deep in thought, and smiled to herself. It was a good thing that they were back, but they really needed to know that life then and life now wasn't just about them and their problems. They were finally beginning to understand that, it seemed.
Meanwhile, in the guest room, neither boy was having an easy time finding sleep. This had been one of the longest and most confusing days of their lives, and left them with more questions than they really wanted to know the answers to.
Ron's mind was in high gear. He had learned that not only was his baby sister married to Malfoy, but Hermione's mum had married a Malfoy as well. Then, Hermione, his Hermione, was married to the bat of the dungeons. While he wasn't looking forward to it, he was actually curious to see the other memories. He needed to know just how the hell all of this had happened.
Harry was in the same predicament Ron was. He couldn't believe that not only was his 'sister' a Snape, and was technically a Malfoy, but the girl he had wanted to start a family with was too. She hadn't waited for him. 'Well, what did you expect? That she'd stay single all this time just waiting for the day you came back?' his mind asked. He resigned himself to that. Indeed, he hadn't asked her to wait for him. He certainly hadn't waited for her. He had dated a few girls while he was gone.
Both boys laid awake for a while longer. After a few hours, they eventually fell asleep.
REVIEW PLEASE. XOXO
*I KNOW THEY GOT OVER THINGS PRETTY QUICKLY, BUT I THINK THAT HERMIONE WOULD BE FORGIVING IF THE APOLOGY WAS SINCERE ENOUGH.
*I HOPE YOU ENJOYED AT LEAST SOME PARTS OF THIS CHAPTER.
*THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES. YOU GUYS STILL ROCK!