"Wake up!" Sirius shouts, running into Fleamont and Euphemia's bedroom.
"Wake up, it's Christmas," James yells, jumping on the end of the bed. "Come on, time for presents!"
"Who says you're getting any presents," Fleamont yawns as Euphemia rolls out of bed and wraps herself in a dressing gown.
"Merry Christmas, boys," Euphemia says, hugging James and squeezing Sirius's cheek fondly.
"Merry Christmas, Mum," they chorus. "Merry Christmas, Dad."
"Where's Hermione then?" Fleamont asks as he clambers out of bed. "Is she awake?"
"Of course she is," Sirius says. "She's just finding something to wear."
"Okay," Euphemia says, smiling at the boys. "Come on then, the presents will probably be under the tree as usual."
When they get down to the living room, Hermione is already there. She is sitting cross-legged by the fire, dressed in Sirius's Quidditch jersey and an old pair of James's pyjama bottoms; she beams up at them all. "Merry Christmas," she says, jumping up to hug Fleamont and Euphemia. James bounds over to kneel by the tree, Sirius sits cross-legged beside him and soon enough Hermione has curled up on his lap.
"Who's to go first then?" Euphemia asks as she sits down with a mug of hot chocolate.
"Hermione should," James says warmly. "She's our guest."
"Go on then," Sirius says, tipping her off his lap and handing her the first present.
Hermione opens all her presents quickly. She gets a book of healing charms and a large box of chocolates from Remus, a box of over-sized t-shirts and some chocolate mice from Peter, a pretty red dress and some tequila from Lily, a pair of killer black stilettos from Marlene, a pair of silver earrings from Cass and a new bag from Alice. She gets a large bottle of Firewhiskey and an engraved photo frame with the picture of them all in bed from James' parents, and then she turns to the pile of presents from James and Sirius.
"You didn't have to get me anything at all, you know," she says to the boys, who roll their eyes.
"Just open them," James says.
She opens James's first: a pretty silver necklace, two new coats and a pair of boots. "James, these are amazing," she murmurs. "Thank you." She flings herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck, and he hugs her back, laughing.
"Mine now," Sirius pleads. She takes two packages onto her lap, one huge and bulky, one tiny and solid. "Big one first," he says and she grins, unwrapping it gingerly.
"Oh Merlin," she breathes, lifting the beautiful dress and examining the detail. It is a pale blue ballgown, strapless with a huge train, with delicate lace on the bodice and around the hem. "Sirius, it's so beautiful," she whispers tearfully. "Thank you so much."
"I thought you could wear it to the ball," Sirius says quietly. "Euphemia and Lily helped me pick it out."
"Thank you," Hermione says to Euphemia, who is beaming at her.
"Last one," she says, taking the tiny present and unwrapping it quickly; she examines the small box with caution. "Sirius, what is this?"
"I'm not proposing, don't worry," Sirius teases, opening it up and showing her the signet ring. "This is the seal of House Black. It's…it's just a gesture but I'd be honoured if you'll wear it. As my girlfriend."
"Of course I will," Hermione says, leaning in and kissing him deeply. "I love you, Sirius Black."
"I love you too," he says, pulling her back onto his lap. "James next?"
"Yay," James says, bounding forwards. He opens a box of chocolates and a book about Transfiguration from Remus, a new set of dress robes from his parents, new pyjamas and a crate of Butterbeer from Peter, a Broom Servicing Kit and a stuffed dog toy from Sirius, a present from Lily which he refuses to show anybody else, a couple of bottles of alcohol from Marlene, Cass and Alice and then finally he turns to Hermione's presents. There is a small box, a book-shaped present and something which looks suspiciously like a broomstick.
"Did you actually get me a broomstick?!" James says incredulously as he dives for the present. He unwraps it quickly and almost bursts into tears at the sight of the newest Nimbus. "Hermione, what the fuck?" he says. "These are really expensive."
"I don't care," she says. "Open the box – save the book for later."
"Okay," he says, opening the box and finding a handwoven bracelet with a tiny stag charm hanging from it. "Oh, Hermione, it's beautiful," he whispers. "Thank you."
"My turn," Sirius says, rolling over to the tree and grabbing the presents. He opens a box of chocolates and a load of Muggle records from Remus, new dress robes from James's parents, hair products from the girls, a book about motorcycles and some Firewhiskey from Peter, a photo album, a box of hairbands and a motorcycle helmet from James, and then he turns to Hermione's presents. There is another small box, one bulky present and one envelope with something inside it.
"Box first," she says calmly, and he opens it to find a bracelet identical to James with a tiny dog hanging from it.
"Thank you," Sirius says fondly. "It's beautiful."
He opens the next gift and lets out the most unmanly squeal they've ever heard. "Hermione, I love it," he gushes, pulling out the leather jacket and putting it on straight away.
"Oh, Hermione, that's perfect," Euphemia laughs, watching as James dives forward to examine it.
"What's the last one?" Fleamont asks and Sirius shrugs, diving for the envelope and pulling out a key.
"Hermione, you didn't," Sirius gasps, looking round at her with wide eyes.
"It's outside," she laughs, following as he runs out to the front door and drops to his knees. On the driveway is a large scarlet motorbike with a huge bow on the front.
"Hermione," he says tearfully. "How will I ever repay you?"
"Don't be stupid, you repay me every day just by loving me," she laughs, kneeling beside him and kissing him sweetly.
"You are so much more than I will ever deserve," he says, hugging her and then jumping up. "Mum, Dad, can I try it now?"
"Go on then," Euphemia laughs. "Only for a little bit and then it's my turn for presents."
"Awesome," Sirius says, running forwards. As James's parents watch him, laughing, Hermione taps James on the shoulder and murmurs, "Can we go inside for a second?" He nods and follows her back inside to the living room where she hands him the book he hasn't opened yet. "I don't want your parents to see," she explains.
He opens it up and bursts into tears immediately, running his finger over the first picture, which is of him and Lily with their baby Harry. "Hermione, this is amazing," he says, flipping through the pages to look at all the pictures of Harry, with his friends, with the Weasleys, several of him laughing with Ginny and a couple of him and Hermione hugging and dancing.
"These are so beautiful," he says, tears slipping down his cheeks. "How did you do this?"
"I had an album in my bag when I fell," she says, tears dripping into her lap. "So, I copied the photos so you could have one too."
"Oh Hermione, thank you," he says, closing it up and throwing his arms around her. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," she sobs. "I just…I miss him and I wanted you to understand what I was fighting for."
"I do," he says softly. "Thank you."
"Show it to whoever," she says, wiping her eyes. "Lily or Sirius, whoever you want. Probably best not to show it to your parents just yet though, hey?"
"Sure," he says, opening it up again and looking at the baby picture. "We were so young."
"I know," Hermione says, bursting into a fresh wave of tears. "I'm going to fix it James, I swear."
"I know," he says, hugging her again. "I know."
Before they can say anymore, Sirius bounds in with red cheeks and tangled hair, his eyes lit up with excitement. He stops as he sees the two of them, both in tears with their arms around each other and he pales. "What's happened?" he asks.
"Nothing," Hermione says, wiping her face and smiling warmly at him. "How was the bike?"
"Amazing," he says, but his eyes are on a tearful James. "You alright, Prongs?"
"Yeah, I'm good," James says, wiping his eyes and putting the book away quickly. "I'll show you later, okay?"
"Sure," Sirius says as Fleamont and Euphemia come back in. "Come on, Mom, your turn."
"We're so late," James says as he marches down the drive. "Lily's going to rip my eyes out."
"It's fine," Hermione says. "I told her half an hour after you did – we're alright."
"Oh, thank God," James says, slowing down to help Hermione, who is struggling with her dress.
"Thank you," she says, taking his arm and clinging onto Sirius who is already on her other side.
"You're shaking," Sirius says. "Are you nervous?"
"Of course I am," Hermione says, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Everything I've heard about your mother, how could I not be?"
"We don't even have to talk to her," Sirius says soothingly as they approach the apparition point. "Right, James, you go first, find Lily, Hermione and I will make our grand entrance after."
"Fine," James says, stepping into the point and disappearing gracefully.
"Don't be nervous," Sirius pleads. "I love you and that's all that matters. Plus, you look beautiful."
"Stop trying to butter me up," Hermione snaps. "I'm going and I'm going to be the perfect girlfriend. Charming and funny and polite. Everything a Black heir could want."
"Perfect," Sirius says. "But you should know that you're all of those things anyway – I just need you to not be as badass as you normally are."
"Fine," she says, kissing him sweetly. "You first." She watches as he steps into the apparition point, waits a couple of moments and then follows on, turning gracefully and appearing in the hallway above the ballroom.
"Beautifully done," Avery says from behind her and she spins to smile at him.
"Hey," she says, nodding as she takes in his dress robes. "You look lovely."
"The loveliest sight in the room tonight is undoubtedly you, Miss Granger," he says. "But thank you. Where's your escort?"
"I don't know," she says, spinning around to look for him. "I'm sure he's around somewhere. But how are you? How was your Christmas?"
"Fine," he says stoically. "Yours?"
"Lovely, thank you," she replies, beaming. "You decided if you're coming to James's on New Year's yet?"
"If you look as lovely then as you do tonight, I don't see what choice I have," he says, and she blushes.
"Awesome," she says. "Well, I'll see you then? I better go find Sirius."
"Of course," Avery says. She smiles at him one last time and then heads off towards the stairs.
"There you are," Sirius says, smiling with relief as she approaches. "Come on, we're up next."
"How does this work?" she asks nervously.
"They announce our names, I escort you down the stairs, do a little curtsey to the hosts and then we can go find Lily and James," he says quickly. "Should we have practiced a curtsey? In the dress, I mean?"
"No, it's fine," Hermione says. "Come on then, let's show your parents just how pure-blood we can be."
"That's the spirit," he teases as they step up to the top of the stairs.
"Mr Sirius Black, heir to House Black, and Miss Hermione Granger," the announcer says loudly and the whole room stops to watch them enter. Hermione glides down the stairs with Sirius by her side, turns and performs the most beautiful curtsey to Sirius's parents and then smiles round at the room before walking gracefully over to where James and Lily are standing with Remus and Cass.
"You sure you've never done that before?" James hisses as the hum of conversation starts again.
"Don't be stupid, James, I was rubbish," Hermione says absent-mindedly, scanning the room. "There's a lot of dangerous faces here tonight."
"You weren't rubbish," Cass insists, leaning over to adjust Hermione's necklace. "Who are we keeping an eye on?"
"Lucius Malfoy," Hermione says quietly. "Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. All the Crouch family. And Alastor Moody."
"Alastor Moody?" Sirius says incredulously. "Dad says he's in the Order."
"He is," Hermione agrees. "I think Dumbledore may have sent him here to spy on me."
"Spy on you?" Lily whispers. "Why would he-?" She is cut off at a shake of the head from James, who says, "Okay, so what do we do?"
"Nothing," Hermione says. "They won't attack here – this is far too public. But just keep an eye out and watch what you say."
"Okay," Sirius agrees. "Hermione, my parents are coming over here. Your six o'clock."
"Fine," Hermione says, smoothing down her dress and turning 180 to face them with a smile.
"Mother," Sirius says tightly. "Father."
"Sirius, my boy, how are you?" Orion says, clapping Sirius on the shoulder.
"Fine," Sirius says. "You?"
"Can't complain," Orion says. "Excellent turnout this year."
"Isn't it?" Sirius says, sniffing. "How's Reg?"
"Very well," Orion says. "He's here somewhere with a pretty young thing on his arm. Speaking of pretty young things, won't you introduce us to your friend?"
"This is Hermione Granger," Sirius says. "My girlfriend."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Black," Hermione says, dropping into another curtsey as she shakes his hand.
"None of that, Miss Granger," Orion says. "Orion will do just fine."
"Yes, sir," Hermione says, turning to Sirius's mother who is looking down her nose at all of them. "Pleased to meet you, Lady Black."
"Pleasure," Walburga says snootily. "I wonder if you might join me for a turn of the room, Miss Granger? Leave my husband to catch up with my son and his…friends."
"Of course," Hermione says, taking her offered arm and following her round the room.
"So, Miss Granger, how did you meet my son?" Walburga asks coolly.
"At Hogwarts, ma'am," Hermione replies.
"He's never mentioned you before," Walburga says. "Where were you before this year?"
"Abroad," Hermione says. "My family have been away for several generations, but they're all dead now so I was sent to Hogwarts."
"Interesting," Walburga says. "And your blood status?"
"I don't know, my lady," Hermione says, lying through her teeth. "My parents were both magical, that is all I am sure of."
"So, you are at least half-blood," Walburga says, considering her carefully. "Well you're a pretty girl and from what I have heard, you have reasonable magical talent. Unfortunately, without proof of your pure blood, I cannot permit you to marry my son and would therefore recommend you terminate your relationship as soon as possible."
"Forgive me, but I was under the impression that Sirius was capable of making his own decisions?" Hermione asks. "And he doesn't seem to care about my blood status at all."
"Sirius is a headstrong boy who has been led astray by those boys he calls friends," Walburga says. "But he is a Black first and foremost and he will not lead his family name through the gutter."
"Seems to me that's the only thing he wants to do to his family name," Hermione says icily. "For, unlike his family, his friends have shown him nothing but love and support the entire time they have known him. As for me, I love Sirius for who he is, not for his name nor his money, and I will not be ordered away by somebody who didn't even bother to send him a Christmas present."
"How dare you?!" Walburga says in a hushed voice. "You will leave him, Miss Granger or I will see to it that you are made to leave him."
"Is that a threat, Lady Black?" Hermione asks, still smiling. "Is this how you treat your guests? You invite them to your parties and you threaten them?" Walburga opens her mouth to reply but Hermione isn't finished. "Or perhaps you'd like to throw me out? You've probably decided against that because of the scene it will cause, but I'm sure you want to. Listen to me very carefully – I will die before I let you ruin Sirius's life any further. So, no amount of threats or blackmail will keep away from him. Are we clear?" Walburga opens her mouth once more but Hermione cuts her off. "No, no, Lady Black, no need for you to have the last word, I'll assume it was something clever. A simple nod will do me just fine." Walburga's mouth opens and closes a couple of times before finally she nods. Hermione smiles once more and then turns on her heel, crossing the room and linking arms with Bellatrix.
"Hermione?" Bella says. "What are you doing?"
"Just making a point," Hermione says. "How are you, Bella?"
"Fine," Bella says. "I was supposed to be here with Rodolphus but he's gone off with Malfoy and the Crouch boy – I think they're getting high."
"Oh, I'm sure they are," Hermione sniffs. "All boys are the same, don't you know?"
"Your boy seems fine," Bella says, glancing over her shoulder to where Sirius is dancing with Alice; they are both laughing uproariously. "I never got on with Sirius when we were children, but he's good to you."
"He is," Hermione says. "He loves me very much and I love him. He's got a big heart and I think there's space for one more if you're willing to try."
"I don't think Rodolphus would like it," Bellatrix says.
"Who made that match?" Hermione asks. "You don't seem to like him very much."
"I hardly know him," Bellatrix confesses. "We've met only twice before this and he's never seemed very interested in me."
"You deserve someone who loves you completely, Bella," Hermione says. "And I know there are people out there. What about Avery?"
"Avery only has eyes for you," Bella says. "Or haven't you noticed?"
"Avery's not interested in me," Hermione laughs. "He's not interested in anything really."
"No?" Bella says. "So why is he staring at you now?"
Hermione glances round to across the room where Avery is deep in conversation with Severus; they are both staring at her. "How do you know he's not staring at you?" she asks quietly.
"He's not," Bella says.
"Well it doesn't have to be him," Hermione says. "My point still stands – you deserve better than somebody who doesn't love you, and so do Rodolphus. Find somebody better. Take your time."
"You think?" Bella says.
"I really do," Hermione says. "Are you coming to James's party?"
"Yeah, I think I will," Bella says.
"Good," Hermione says. "Who knows, maybe we can find you a boyfriend."
"Sounds good," Bella laughs. "I'll let you get back to Sirius, I think my sister wants a word."
"Okay," Hermione says. "Bring Narcissa along, okay?"
"Sure," Bella says, leaning in and kissing Hermione's cheeks politely. "Thanks, Hermione."
Hermione says goodbye and then walks round the room, heading back to her friends. Before she can get there, however, she is stopped by Alastor Moody. "Miss Granger?" he says gruffly.
"Hello, sir," Hermione says. "Can I help you?"
"My name is Alastor Moody," he says.
"Yes, I know," Hermione says.
"Oh," he grunts. "Dumbledore said you would…he asked me to introduce myself as an ally. You can trust me, Miss Granger."
"I know I can," Hermione says. "As long as I'm loyal to Dumbledore."
"Yes," he says frankly. "But if you are who I'm told you are, I don't understand why you wouldn't be loyal to Dumbledore."
"I'm loyal to his cause," Hermione says carefully. "In that I'm fighting to bring down Voldemort. But I don't approve of his methods and of the things he is willing to sacrifice."
"Miss Granger, Albus is an incredibly intelligent man and if he sacrifices something, it's because there is no other way," Moody says patronisingly.
"I disagree," Hermione says. "I think he often takes the easiest path instead of the right one."
"What gives you the right to say that?" Moody says. "You're just a child."
"What has he told you about who I am?" Hermione asks, smiling warmly. Moody falters for a moment and Hermione nods. "Ask him to tell you the truth. The whole truth he knows. And then ask me what gives me the right. Then tell me I'm just a child. Goodnight, sir."
She walks away before he can say another word and is immediately stopped by a giggling Alice. "Hey, babe," Hermione says, hugging the blonde tightly. "Whoa," she says, catching her as she stumbles. "You had a bit too much to drink?"
"Probably," Alice laughs. "I just wanted to introduce you to my fiancé. This is Frank Longbottom."
"Oh of course you are," Hermione says, smiling up at the man who is the spitting image of Neville. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Frank."
"You too," Frank says warmly. "Alice has told me a lot about you."
"All lies, I expect," Hermione teases, watching as Alice stumbles off to see Marlene and Peter.
"Not at all," Frank says. "I would love to speak more at some point, but she's quite drunk and if I take her home like this, her parents won't let me see her for the rest of the holidays."
"Of course," Hermione says, reaching into her purse and handing him a small vial. "This is a Sober-Up potion – should help."
"Thank you," he says gratefully, dashing off after her. Hermione watches them for a moment, laughing, and then turns back around to see Severus, Regulus and Avery have joined her.
"Oh hello," she says brightly. "You all having a good time?"
"Yes," Severus says. "You haven't got a drink, let me go and get you one."
"Oh, thank you," Hermione says as he darts off. "How are you Regulus? This is your party after all."
"Yeah, fine," Regulus says absent-mindedly. "Everyone seems to be having a good time and the food looks really good. Mum's in a really bad mood though." He looks round now, grinning cheekily, and says, "She is not a huge fan of yours."
"No," Hermione says, her voice dripping with sarcastic regret. "It's a shame really, it's so important to Sirius that we get on."
"She said you threatened her?" Regulus laughs.
"I didn't," Hermione says. "If anything, she threatened me. I just told her where she could stick her threats."
"Oh Hermione, you didn't," Regulus says, but he's still laughing.
"No, I didn't, but I implied it," she laughs. "Eh, whatever, she was probably gonna disown him anyway. Maybe she'll die before we get married and then I still get the title?"
"You want the title?" Regulus chuckles.
"Not at all, but it would be nice to know that she would hate it, right?" she teases and the boys laugh along with her.
"Here you are," Severus says, handing her a drink.
"Thank you," she says, pointing across the room to where Lily is dancing with Remus. "Doesn't she look beautiful tonight?" As all the boys' backs are turned, she dips her fingernail into the drink and then smiles as they turn back around.
"She does," Severus says ruefully. "As do you, of course."
"Oh, thank you," Hermione smiles. "It was a present from Sirius."
"Well he's got excellent taste," Avery says. "We should probably let you get back to him."
"Of course," Hermione says. "Listen, boys, if you're bored, I know Bella is too – go and make her laugh? Better yet, fuck her against a wall so Rodolphus will take a hint."
"I'll get right on that," Avery says sarcastically. "Bye, Granger."
"Bye, guys," Hermione says, walking away from them. She checks the nail, which has not changed colour at all, but she still puts the drink down on a passing tray and picks up a new one. As she does so, she finally reaches Sirius, who takes the drink off her and hands it to Lily, who is stumbling a little bit. "Hey," she complains. "That was mine! I haven't had anything yet!"
"I don't care, we're dancing," he says, escorting her out onto the dancefloor and putting one hand on her waist. "What on earth did you say to my mother?!"
"Nothing," Hermione hisses as they step and twirl around the room. "She came at me and I just…pushed back a little bit."
"Hermione, she's furious," Sirius says severely. For a second, she wonders if he's going to shout and then his face cracks into a broad smile and he says, "Well done!"
"Thanks," she says, laughing as he lifts her gracefully.
"Merlin," he grunts as they continue to dance. "This dress weighs more than you do."
"I know," she says. "How do you think I feel, I've been carrying it round all evening? Honestly, it's beautiful but it's so heavy and I feel like my boobs are gonna pop out any second."
"I would love that," he says seriously. "As would most of the men in this room."
"Shut up, I'm not joking," she hisses.
"Neither am I," he says. "Slip my dad a sneaky peek at one of your nipples and he will never write me out of his will."
"You're hilarious," she says, rolling her eyes as he turns her under his arm. "I'm not a whore, Sirius, despite what people may think."
"I know, babe, I'm sorry," he says. "Come on, forget about my parents now – let's just have a good time."
"Okay," she says. "Well if we're going to do that, I definitely need a drink."
"Fine," he laughs, starting to lead her off the dancefloor. Before they can get to the edge, however, someone catches Hermione's elbow and pulls her to a stop.
"Oh, Minister," Sirius says civilly. "Hermione, this is Harold Minchum, Minister for Magic. Minister, this is Miss Hermione Granger, my girlfriend."
"Ah," Hermione says, turning to face the good-looking young man. "Pleasure to meet you, Minister."
"Likewise, Miss Granger," Harold says. "I wondered if I might trouble you for a dance?"
"No trouble at all, Minister," Hermione says, letting go of Sirius's hand. "I'll catch up to you, babe."
"Sure, I'll go and grab you a drink," Sirius says, kissing her quickly before he disappears into the crowd. Hermione extends a hand to Harold, who guides her onto the floor and then they begin to dance.
"I must say, Miss Granger, you look simply breath-taking tonight," Harold says.
"Well that's very kind, Minister," Hermione says.
"Now now, no need to be humble," Harold says. "You must know you're the talk of the ball."
"I would never assume such talk was complimentary," she says quietly. "Particularly in an environment of this sort."
"Yes, well I can assure you it is," Harold says. "Even Albus Dumbledore was commenting on how beautiful you look tonight."
"Is he here?" Hermione says, glancing round. "I haven't been so fortunate as to see him yet."
"Oh yes, he's here," Harold says. "We had a good conversation – I'm sure he'll seek you out later tonight."
"Oh, I hope so," Hermione says lightly. "What did you talk about?"
"You mostly," Harold says. "You're something of an enigma, Miss Granger."
"How so, Minister?" Hermione says, twirling under his arm neatly.
"Dumbledore seems to think you have a rather large role to play in the war to come," Harold says. "But you're merely a schoolgirl so I wonder…what has led him to believe this?"
"We were all schoolchildren once," Hermione says. "I expect you're older than you look but even so, it can't have been more than 10 years since you left school."
"You're too kind, Miss Granger," he laughs. "More like 15, I'm afraid."
"Still," she says. "An impressive feat, to rise through the ranks in only 15 years."
"Well, I got lucky, I suppose," he says tightly.
"No-one's that lucky," she replies. "It takes hard work and a good deal of talent, something I suspect you have in abundance."
"What's your point, Miss Granger?" he asks.
"My point is that I may be a schoolgirl now," she says. "But it would be foolish for a man of your stature to underestimate me. Or any of my friends for that matter – Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, all extremely talented and very hard-working."
"I still don't quite understand," he says politely.
"Forgive me," Hermione says. "All I mean to say is that Voldemort certainly won't consider me a threat – you would be wise to make the best of that situation. Do you understand now?"
"I do," he says. "I will be in touch, Miss Granger."
"I look forward to hearing from you," Hermione says, shooting him a charming smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and find Professor Dumbledore. He and I need to have a word, I think."
"Of course," Harold says. "Do enjoy your evening."
"You too, Minister," Hermione says, letting go of his hand and crossing the ballroom to where Dumbledore is speaking with Orion Black.
"Oh hello, Hermione," Orion says. "Having a good evening?"
"This is simply the most beautiful ball," she gushes. "You've done a wonderful job."
"Alas, I fear most of this is my wife's work," Orion says.
"Well do pass on my thanks for an excellent evening," she says.
"Oh, I will," he says. "Can I do something for you?"
"I was actually hoping for a quiet word with Professor Dumbledore," she says, her eyes flicking to the old man's face; he is smiling but it doesn't quite reach his eyes, which are examining her suspiciously.
"Of course," Dumbledore says. "Do you have somewhere we could borrow, Orion?"
"Sure," Orion says. "Out those doors, first on the left."
"Excellent," Hermione says, striding off with Dumbledore right behind her. She follows the instructions and finds herself in a small study with a sofa and a desk chair. She throws herself down on the sofa, panting, and watches as he seats himself at the desk.
"Everything alright, Miss Granger?" he asks.
"Yeah, fine," she says. "This dress just weighs, like, a hundred pounds."
"There are charms for that," he says, waving his wand; she sighs with relief and slides further down the sofa.
"Thank you," she says. "I've been so stressed I didn't even think about that."
"Not to worry," he says. "You wanted to talk?"
"I wanted to apologise for losing my temper," she says. "I stand by what I said but I didn't need to be so rude and I'm sorry."
"Thank you for your apology," he says. "I, in turn, am also sorry for whatever I've done to make you not trust me."
"Don't apologise for something you don't understand," she says sharply. "Because it may be you're not actually sorry."
"Maybe if you explained?" he suggests.
"Okay," she says, inhaling deeply. "You sent Alastor here to keep an eye on me, as somebody I could trust, but you don't trust him."
"What makes you say that?" he asks.
"If you did, you would have told who I am," she replies.
"Okay," Albus nods. "That's fair enough. I didn't tell him because I didn't feel like it was my secret to share."
"And you're absolutely right about that," Hermione says. "Nonetheless, I don't like being told who I can trust by someone who doesn't trust those people himself."
"Fair enough," Albus agrees. "What else?"
"What did you say to Harold Minchum?" she asks.
"Just that you were someone to keep an eye on," Albus says honestly.
"Okay," Hermione says. "To be honest, sir, a lot of the reasons I don't trust you haven't happened yet and I know that it's not fair for me to hold that against you but I'm struggling to separate who you are with the Dumbledore I knew – do you understand?"
"I do," Albus says. "And I'm not expecting it to be immediate – I see now that I should have pressured you into attending the Order meeting, and I apologise for that. I'm not asking you to do this my way, Hermione, I'm just asking you to keep me aware of what you're doing."
"Okay," Hermione says. "I will tell you anything I think you need to know. I just ask that you keep my secrets. All of them."
"Of course," Albus says. "For now though, you better be getting back to the party. Sirius will be expecting you."
"Okay," Hermione says. "Have a good night, sir."
"You too," he says as she leaves the room, heading back to the ballroom and meeting Sirius at the bar.
"Where have you been?" he asks as he hands her a bright green drink.
"What is that?" she asks, pulling a face. "It looks vile."
"I don't know," Sirius says. "But apparently, it's like 80% alcohol and if you drink too many, you could actually die. I'm a bit worried about Lily actually, but-"
"I don't care, gimme," she says, grabbing it and downing the entire thing in one go. "Get me another one, please?"
"Okay," he says, nodding in approval. "How was the Minister?"
"Enigmatic," she says as she takes another one. "He seems nice enough though and fairly competent."
"Slow down," he says as she slams the glass down on the counter. "We're here all night."
"It's 11.30," she says. "And this is the first thing I've had. I'm fucking starving too."
"You're gonna have to wait, I'm afraid," he says. "You can manage, it's only a couple of hours more."
"I know I can manage," she says. "But I'm gonna need a lot more booze."
"Fine," he says, rolling his eyes. "Drink up then and let's go party."
"James!" Sirius shouts from the apparition point. "James! Oi, Prongs!" James finally looks round and waves frantically at Hermione and Sirius who are at the front of the queue.
"We're going," Hermione says loudly. "Hurry up or you're not getting into bed with us tonight." She steps into the apparition point and reappears at Potter Manor, with Sirius seconds behind her, holding onto her shoes.
"He's coming," Sirius says, helping Hermione up the steps and kicking his shoes off inside the front door. "Can we take some food with us?"
"Definitely," Hermione says, hurrying to the kitchen. She grabs two boxes of chocolates and a bag of crisps from the cupboard and then they hurry upstairs to her room. She unzips her dress and steps out of it, standing in the middle of the room in a lacy white thong and absolutely nothing else.
"I am absolutely fucked," James says as he stumbles into the room. "I've never been this drunk in my life."
"Me either," Hermione says, hanging her dress up as she watches Sirius and James strip out of their suits. "What was in those drinks?"
"Poison probably," Sirius groans as he throws himself down on her bed, now only wearing his boxers.
"Lily may actually die, you know," James says, lying down on the other side of the bed. "That would be a shame, I quite like her."
"Quite like her?!" Hermione laughs, crawling up in between them and lying flat on her back. "James, I'm pretty sure I heard you proposing earlier."
"Oh really?" James says absent-mindedly as he throws an arm around Hermione and pulls her closer to him. "What did she say?"
"Pretty sure it was a no, mate," Sirius says, rolling onto his side and cosying up to Hermione as James starts to snore. He kisses her hair as he puts both hands on her waist and pulls her closer to him. "I love you."
"Love you too," she murmurs, already half-asleep. "Just get some rest."
"Sure sure," he mumbles as he drifts off as well.