Hermione sat down at breakfast and forced herself to eat something. If she kept at her work outs and didn't eat then she would make herself sick. She was already feeling sick, but that was beside the point. She sent letters along with Stephen Squawking detailing what she had gone through and begged her parents to be safe. No doubt once news got out there would be a very large target on her back. Or maybe a medium-sized one if they call it a fluke.

The owls swooped in, dropping off packages and newspaper articles. Everyone seemed to clutter around Daily Prophets and Quibblers (which had grown more reputable when Rita Skeeter surprisingly joined the staff) in order to find out more on what Hermione had raged about at Snape.

She unrolled her own copy and was glad that there was no picture of her. Just the three Death Eaters in shackles. The article announced what they had admitted; that they were going to be trying to lure back and take hostage the unaligned families.

"Stan Shunpike, a Death Eater?" said Harry. "No way!"

"Yes way," said Hermione. "He was there. I got a confession on tape and everything."

Harry looked distressed. "Well… what if he was imperiused?"

"Right," said Ron. "You can never tell."

"I bet I could," she said. "I can see magic, remember? The attack on Hannah and her family was an induction thing. See if they got the stuff to be Death Eaters. Believe me, if I could just snap a wire and they apologize I would, but he was sound of mind when I interrogated him."

"But… but he…" Harry trailed off.

"Didn't seem the type?" Hermione finished.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Harry." She looked back down at the article. "Looks like my family is getting some extra protection thanks to my heroics. I think the Ministry is trying to suck up to me."

"Probably," Daphne agreed.

Harry sighed and picked up his Potion's textbook. He'd grown really attached to the thing. Hermione supposed that if something was getting him interested in academia then to just leave it be.

"Have you been to see Hagrid yet?" she asked, turning over to a new article about a ginger-haired witch.

"Er… no, we haven't really had the time," said Ron. "He seems to be pretty upset at us for dropping the class anyway."

"Why did you drop it? I know things are busy, but he's grown into a really good teacher. Harry, going into Defense I would think Magizoology would be important."

"I guess," he said and shrugged. "It wasn't required and I thought… since Professor McGonagall said I didn't need it to be an Auror..."

"I thought you wanted to be a teacher?"

"My parents were Aurors."

"Ah." Hermione downed the rest of her tea. "Still, I think you could visit his hut during one of your breaks. At least do your homework with him and enjoy his company. He'd like that."

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right."

"I should probably head down to the pitch," said Harry. "The sign-up list for this year is really long and I have to replace most of the team with Angelina, Alicia, Fred, and George gone. Will you be filming Hermione?"

"Yeah. Never know what I can submit to America's Funniest Home Videos."

Harry and Ron went ahead to change into more suitable clothes while Hermione, Daphne, and Padma made their way to the stands. The day was misty and cold. Not really good flying weather, but it was better to see how people performed in poor conditions. The stands weren't incredibly crowded, but there was a variety from each House. Hermione wondered if she should have tried to see the tryouts from the other Houses, but eventually reasoned that she didn't care enough. She'd learn who was who through the Hogwarts Gazette before the first game.

Hermione sprawled out on the bleachers with Padma on her right and Daphne on her left. Astoria had wanted to come too, but was in the hospital wing for dizziness.

"Hi, can we sit by you?" Parvati asked.

"Sure, park it anywhere," said Hermione.

She and Lavender sat down by Hermione's elbow. Luna was along a few minutes later wearing her reporter's hat and holding her notebook.

"Hey, Luna. Gazette?"

"Oh, yes. We have our first edition coming out Monday."

"How come you've never tried out for Quidditch, Nia?" asked Padma. "You're pretty tough, I bet you'd make a great Beater."

"Yeah, I've got a mean swing with a bat," said Hermione. "Unfortunately, I'm rubbish at flying. It's just not something I've been able to master. Plus, I'm already pushing it with being sorted into Slytherin. Can you imagine how betrayed Harry and Ron would be if I was opposite them in Quidditch?"

"Frankly, I thought Slytherin always suited you," said Parvati. "Or even Ravenclaw."

Hermione looked around the Pitch and commented, "There are a lot of girls here."

"Of course," said Luna. "Though Harry didn't have a death match with You-Know-Who this year, there is still that first half of the prophecy and the fact that he is considered the Chosen One. Not to mention, he's grown quite handsome and everyone knows he's been speaking the truth all along. I think the Quidditch Captain status helps boost the attraction factor as well."

"Makes sense," said Padma. "Has he even dated since he fell out with Cho?"

"He went out with my mate from Taekwondo, but it was just one date." Hermione looked down at him as he was chasing some first year Ravenclaws off the Pitch.

"What about Ron?" Lavender asked. "Does he fancy anyone?"

"Well, he thought he fancied me," said Hermione truthfully. "Until I accidentally got a hit of love potion to the face."

"Really?" said Daphne, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. I went nuts and had to be locked up in a closet. He hasn't so much as blushed around me since so I think he got over the idea of me. As for new fancies, I don't think he would tell me. Probably wouldn't even tell Harry. He's really weird like that." She looked over at Lavender. "Why? Do you fancy him?"

Lavender blushed and played with her hair.

"Look, I don't want to tell you what to do, but if you really like him, it's better just to go for it." Hermione touched her locket. "If you just waste time worrying about what he might think, you could really end up regretting it. Still, if you're too anxious about it, I can ask him what he thinks of you."

"Oh, would you?" Lavender gushed and threw her arms around her. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Anybody else?" Hermione asked.

"Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match," Daphne sang. "Find me a find, catch me a catch."

"Like musicals?"

"Mother does. Magical, non-magical."

"Tell you what, when I'm ready to go fishing, I'll bring you in," said Parvati.

"Did you not fancy Ron?" Lavender asked. "Not even a little?"

"Come on, we all know I only go for dark-haired Seekers," said Hermione. "Harry is the exception, since he is my brother."

"Fostered."

"Doesn't matter." Hermione furrowed her brow at a burly boy talking to Harry. "That bloke tried out a couple years back, didn't he?"

"He did," said Luna. "But not last year."

What was his name? Her brain kept supplying Elizabeth, but she didn't think that was right. Maybe it was. He could have been descended from a long line of English Queens.

"He's kinda cute," said Parvati.

"Mm… I didn't like how he spoke to Esperanza," said Hermione, remembering him better now. "He was disrespectful and I'm allergic to men who disrespect women."

"Oh, yeah, me too," she said, wrinkling her nose.

The boy was directed to stand near where they sat. He grinned up at them all and winked. They gave no reaction out of spite.

"Okay!" said Harry. "I see a lot of people, so we're going to do tryouts a little differently. To open up we're going to do a few warm-up laps around the Pitch. This is so I can see how much control you have." He waved his wand and put up obstacles. "Two laps. You don't have to use the obstacles, but if you want a Chaser or Seeker position, I recommend using them. Group One, come forward and mount your brooms."

Out of the four groups who flew laps, only half flew well enough to move on to the rest of the trials. The Beaters were given a similar task to what Cedric organized: They had to hit bludgers away from red cutout players and towards green cutout players. It was a free for all with four bludgers let loose at once.

"Hey, batter batter batter, swing batter!" Hermione called. "C'mon, all together."

Her friends yelled out the sentiment, throwing several people off, one of whom got knocked off their broom. Hermione used arresto momentum and the kid was okay. Just shaken. After that was the pick up game with the Chasers and the Keeper.

"Go Ginny!" Luna yelled and, in a most un-Luna-like fashion, went pink.

Hermione smiled slightly. "Sup?"

"Just… cheering for my friend."

"Luna."

"She's dating Dean."

"Yeah, but…" No. It wasn't her place to say. "Never mind." She brought out an air horn. "Wanna play with this?"

"Yes." Luna took it and set it off at random intervals.

The racket caused by their heckling and screaming caused dozens of complaints, multiple tantrums, three crashes, and a pile up that resulted in several broken teeth.

So far, Ron and Cormac McLaggen (name only learned when Harry called it) were the best. Ron had come a long way from two years back and had blocked every Quaffle, even when Luna set off the air horn. And that was during a particularly tricky spin Ginny had sent his way. When McLaggen's final shot was coming up, the girls stood as a cluster and belted, "OOT!"

He jumped and smacked the Quaffle into the hoop. Hermione laughed derisively and sat back down, high-fiving Daphne.

Harry called the players down and did the Seeker tryouts last. He caught all ten of course. When all was said and done, he had himself a team. Katie, Ginny, and fourth year Demelza Robins were the main Chasers with Dean Thomas as reserve. Dean was pretty good, but Demelza had been better at dodging bludgers. This announcement caused Ginny to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him. Luna conveniently grew distracted by a flock of wrackspurts and was moving around the stands to find them. Hermione took up writing notes for her. The Beaters were about average and could be good with some training: Jimmy Peakes, a third year, and Ritchie Coote, a fifth year. Ron, who stopped all six penalty shots was lead Keeper and Cormac had been announced as a reserve for both Keeper and Beater since nobody else was as good. The Seeker reserve was a second year girl, Olivia Mann, who was really fast. She seemed to have a tough time determining where the golf balls would land, but when it came to the obstacle course, she was among the fastest. With Harry's luck, it was best to have a reserve.

"Well, I'd better get to detention," said Hermione. "I'm gonna go collect Harry. Shall we gather tomorrow for a documentary?"

"Documentary?" asked Parvati.

"It's like a non-fiction book but in film form," Lavender explained.

"Yeah, I've got three," said Hermione. "One is about a centaur camp in Brazil, another is about cihuacoah, and the last is about the Trolls in Venezuela. You're welcome to join, I was going to ask Professor Vector if I could use her classroom for the showing."

"Maybe," said Parvati.

"I'll be there," said Padma, and Daphne nodded.

"I'd like to see it," said Luna, collecting her notes.

"Okay. One p.m. Arithmancy classroom." Hermione went down to the pitch where Harry was being intimidated by Cormac.

"Give me another go."

"No," said Harry. "You've had your go. You saved five. Ron saved six. There was equal amount of distraction and Ron managed it fair and square."

"Hey, Harry," said Hermione. "Ready for detention?"

"I'm never ready for detention, but at least it's not with Snape. I just need to book the pitch for practices."

"Off to detention?" Ron asked.

Cormac made a disgusted noise and stalked off.

"Yeah. Good job flying, Ron," said Hermione.

"Thanks. You know, Cormac's got a thing for you."

"I'm into monsters, Ron, not beasts."

The two boys snorted and the three of them headed up to the castle.

"Ron, what do you think of Lavender Brown?" Hermione asked.

"Lavender? Erm… she's good looking," he said. "Why?"

"She thinks you're cute, but wasn't sure what you thought of her."

Ron grinned and his lumbering walk turned into a strut. Hermione tried not to roll her eyes.

"Maybe I'll talk to her."

"Go for it. She and Parvati are going to the Gryffindor Common Room."

Hermione waited in the Great Hall for Harry, leaning against a statue. The one that she found her first year with Cedric. She knew now that the passage went down to the Chamber of Secrets, but was usually flooded due to a crack in the water table. Not very useful, but interesting all the same.

"Hi, Nia." Justin Finch-Fletchly approached her. "How are you?"

"On the brink of madness," she said. "Thanks for asking. I have a detention starting soon, what's up?"

"Nothing much, er… rumor has it you're single."

"Rumor has it right."

He leaned against the statues. So he was that type.

"So, did you want to meet up at Hogsmeade?"

"Mm… no," she said. "I know we were never in the same class. I was the savant genius who got her butt kicked by the older kids, but I try to make it a point not to socialize with anybody who went to Edgewood Academy."

His face fell then he looked offended. "What's wrong with Edgewood?"

"You know the kid who got expelled for punching Brenton whatshisface in the nose?"

"Yeah?"

She gestured to herself with her thumb and clicked her tongue.

Justin gasped, "You're Motormouth Minnie?"

"It was Motormouth Mione, and thank you so much for reminding me of that awful, awful nickname."

"Well, I wasn't a person who bullied you."

"Didn't defend me, neither," she replied. "Hey, I get it. Eat or get eaten."

"It was a long time ago."

"Not long enough." Hermione shrugged. "Look, I appreciate your honesty with your feelings. We can still be cool, alright? Just as long as you never call me Motormouth again."

She held out her hand. Justin nodded and shook it.

"Yeah, alright. Are Hannah and Susan doing okay? The article didn't say."

"About as well as they can be." She took out the notebook and checked it. "They reached a safehouse in an undisclosed location a couple hours ago. They might be back after the winter holiday, they might not."

She tucked it away before he could really look at it. Hannah, Susan, and Mr. Abbott took an emergency portkey to D.R. where her family was waiting to make sure they could get to their family safely.

"If you went to Edgewood, why do you talk like a chav?" Justin asked.

Hermione felt her eye twitch. "Can't stutter if you don't pronounce your 'T's." She looked over his shoulder. "Harry. All squared?"

"Yeah," he said and followed her to the kitchens. "I know I'm serving detention now, but think I can still get out of Slughorn's party tonight?"

Hermione gave him a look. "Harry, I know you don't like him, but I really think he could help with S.A.M.B."

"He doesn't seem the type to care about Magical Beings."

"Of course not, very few people actually are, but Slughorn does care about staying with the times," she reasoned. "If people like you and Viktor and Esperanza endorse it, then he will too, and all those A-listers he claims look up to him will hear about it from him and think that they oughta support it too."

"Oh."

"Besides, didn't Dumbledore use you to bring him here?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Don't you think that maybe he wants you to suck up to him?"

Harry made a face and sighed. "I guess. Okay, fine, I'll go to the meeting."

"Epa! Now let's get this detention out of the way."

As it turned out, they would be prepping food for Slughorn's party. It was a four-course meal. Hermione and Harry were tasked with chopping fruit and veg for each course. It gave them both some time to chat, Meenie wasn't going to chide them as long as they kept a good pace.

"I'm really learning a lot from the Half-Blood Prince," said Harry. "He's got lots of great notes and it's a big textbook, I couldn't possibly copy them all. So I switched the covers around when my new textbook arrived. Slughorn can't really complain about a new book, can he?"

"Guess not," said Hermione. "I don't think he'd really check."

"Did you find out anything about who the Half-Blood Prince could be?"

"No, what for?"

"Oh…" Harry glanced at her. "I just… I assumed you would."

"Nah. Frankly, I don't care. It seems to be a lot of the stuff my mom writes, so the Half-Blood Prince is probably just a famous potioneer who left their textbook behind for other students to look at. I mean… Cedric got the Muffliato spell from that book a few years back. Can't remember if he found it during a detention or if he checked it out at the library. Either way, the book had come to school property, so it should be alright."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He furrowed his brow and gave her a quizzical look. "I thought you couldn't cook. Dad—er—Roger had you make a casserole once and it was inedible."

"I can't. Hogwarts sure knows though." Hermione held her arm out to show him the runes. "I think I channel a bit of Helga Hufflepuff when I cook in here. Did you know she was the Potion's Master?"

"Isn't it dangerous to be doing that?"

"Only if I bond completely," she said. "Before I was also astral projecting, if I had remained here too long I would have just died. I'm actually here, so it's a symbiotic relationship. Mira, mira. There's a way more complicated spell in order for me to bond completely and it would involve items belonging to the founders, three magic neutral items, and a coven of at least seven to be able to even perform the spell. What I do is different."

"But then how can you channel Helga Hufflepuff?"

"No idea. There's a lot of grey area here, Harry. Not much research is done because semi-sentient buildings tend to reject people who try to bond with them. That's why it's usually tied to objects like the Sorting Hat or the Book of Acceptance. As far as documented history can tell, I'm the first person to succeed in bonding with Hogwarts since Morgan le Fay. Did you know she was, in fact, part fae? The first Magical Being to attend Hogwarts, the first deaf student, and she taught Astronomy until the day she died."

"I thought fairies were tiny and… well…" Harry drifted off.

"Some are. There's the fae as well. I'm pretty sure they live in a separate dimension these days and only a few creatures can slip in and out."

"What, like unicorns?"

"Yeah, but they banished giraffes entirely. They couldn't stand those freaks."

Harry looked at her. "You're putting me on."

"Yes." About the giraffes at least.

"Well, I guess… if you see nothing wrong with my potions book then… you can keep doing what you're doing with Hogwarts." He frowned. "You can't like… see everything can you?"

"No, of course not. I have to really focus to see actual people and trust me, you got nothing I wanna see."

"Just checking."

After they were dismissed, Hermione went down to her dorm to get ready for the meeting. The invitation she had received said they needed to dress semi-formal. She put on a dress Esperanza used to wear but tailored to fit her. It was a lovely pastel green with long, sheer bishop sleeves, covered in iridescent hearts and a princess fit. She kept her bracers on, charming them to match her skin color and keeping them hidden under the sleeves. She left her hair down and applied lip gloss and mascara.

She hated lip gloss, but it was just for a couple hours anyway.

"Should I put on a hat?" she asked.

"No," said Daphne. "You look good like that. Green suits you."

"Damn right it does." Hermione flexed her fingers and sighed. "The game begins."

She headed out into the Common Room and reached it the same time as Blaise so they ended up walking together.

"Cool outfit," she said.

He didn't even look down at his sleek ensemble. "I know. I had it ordered from your cousin's shop after the Yule Ball. I'm guessing that's hers as well?"

"All my clothes are these days. Into fashion?"

"I'm into beauty in general," he replied. "My mother always said it was the siren ancestry. Sirens are a bit like Nifflers, always attracted to pretty things."

"Siren ancestry? That's interesting."

"Yes. Slytherin wanted to keep out Muggle-borns. There's nothing that says a siren can't be sorted in his House, though I imagine if he knew he would have fixed that loophole."

"Well, all the founders were more or less against Magical Beings receiving an education," said Hermione. "Products of their time, I suppose, but you might notice that Hogwarts has a 'I won't mention it if you don't' rule?"

"Yes. I saw how Cedric was treated. I only tell you of my ancestry because I know you wouldn't use it against me."

"You'd be right about that. Either way, interested in joining S.A.M.B.?"

"Not just yet," he said. "I want to see if you can defend it without crying."

"Tears can be manipulative."

"Yes, but that usually works for white women."

Hermione had to concede that. "Anyway, if you want to revisit it or if you just want to chat, you know where to find me.

"Draco mentioned you were aiming for Miss Congeniality this year."

"Should I be flattered?"

"Well, I'm paraphrasing to sound more polite. Though I have no doubt that if Miss Congeniality was an award at this school you would have won it by now. That is a compliment."

"Well, thanks. You remind me of my cousin, Noa. She's cool."

The corner of his mouth twitched, but overall his expression didn't change. They reached Professor Slughorn's office and Hermione knocked on the door. Their teacher opened it, wearing a set of velvet robes.

"Miss Sanchez y Granger, Blaise, come in, come in!" he said, stepping aside.

The furniture in the office had been moved around so that there was a single round table much like the one the Sanchez family often had dinners at, just without the convenient Lazy Susan to keep food on. The number of chairs fit snugly, indicating that not everyone would make it to the next meeting. Hermione imagined if she hadn't talked the man out of hosting a get-together on the train, then he already would have decided who did and didn't make the cut. The table was already almost full. Neville for one and Ginny for another. Harry was sitting next to Neville looking rather cross, while Cormac talked his ear off about Quidditch and how, "Really, if you do listen to me I could make sure Gryffindor wins."

On Ginny's other side were a set of twins from Slytherin, Hestia and Flora Carrow, estranged relatives to Amycus and Alecto Carrow, the Death Eaters. It seemed their parents had no affiliation with Voldemort otherwise Professor Slughorn wouldn't have invited them to the meeting. Hermione went around the table and took a seat next to them; Blaise sat on her other side.

"Hey Ginny," she said. "Didn't think I'd see you here."

"Cast a Bat Bogey Hex on a bloke in my year," she said. "Professor Slughorn saw and instead of giving me detention, he invited me here."

"Well, the Bat Bogey Hex is a tricky bit of magic!" said Professor Slughorn. "I daresay we can expect great things from you, Miss Weasley."

Ron was gonna lose his mind. Hermione got out her polaroid camera and went over to Harry.

"Smile," she said, holding it at arm's length.

"Why?"

"All our photos are from when my parents fostered you," she said. "I want us to have more memories for the scrapbook." She poked him. "C'mon Mr. Grumpy, it's a party."

He sighed but smiled. Ginny jumped in over Neville, making bunny ears over Harry's head just as Hermione hit the button. Hermione shook the polaroid out as she made her way back to her seat. Not long after, a Melinda Bobbin arrived, as did Marcus Belby. Melinda was Hufflepuff and Marcus was Ravenclaw. Lastly was Shaylyn Ramsey, Sally Puttick from Hufflepuff, and Yuuto Kawaguchi from Gryffindor. Shaylyn quickly took the seat on Blaise's other side.

"Well, now that we're all here," said Professor Slughorn. "It's very good to see all of you. I assume you've all met or at least are familiar with each other, more or less?"

"Or less," Blaise muttered and Hermione tried not to snort too loudly. Shaylyn heard this too and pressed her hand to her mouth.

"I'm sure by the end of dinner we'll all be good friends," he said and jingled a small bell.

Appetizers were sent up, along with baskets of rolls.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered. "It looks great."

An extra roll appeared on her plate. Hestia looked at her inquiringly.

"It's good manners to thank the chef," said Hermione.

Hestia leaned forward. "Thank you?"

Another roll appeared on her plate and she split it with her sister.

"I must say, it is nice to be back at Hogwarts," said Professor Slughorn. "So many new faces. Of course, I've taught a great many of your parents and relatives. Marcus Belby, how is your Uncle Damocles?"

"Don't see him much," said Marcus around his crostini.

"Yes, of course, I daresay he's busy," said Professor Slughorn, his expression turning scrutinizing. "I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!"

Marcus shrugged, more engrossed in grabbing another crostini.

"Well, he and my dad don't get on very well, you see. My dad thinks treating werewolves is useless. Says we oughta leave it well enough alone and let 'em be hunt for sport."

"Like beef?"

Everyone turned to look at Hermione.

"What was that, Miss Sanchez y Granger?"

"I was just asking my peer here if he likes the beef," she said, knowing if she picked a fight now it could ruin everything.

"Well, these crostinis are mushroom and brie."

"Ah, that explains it," said Blaise.

"And Mr. Zabini," said Professor Slughorn, turning the conversation back on track, "his mother is very famous. Exceedingly beautiful witch. Six husbands so far, yes? All extraordinarily wealthy."

"Seven," said Blaise.

"Your mum's been divorced seven times?" said Cormac judgmentally.

"Widowed," replied Blaise coolly.

Hermione nodded. "Good for her."

"And what of you, Miss Sanchez y Granger?" Professor Slughorn asked. "Are you perhaps related to Hector Dagworth-Granger?"

"No sir, my mum's great uncle, or grunkle if you will, Puckle was a wizard. Due to my adoption to the Grangers, I, and my adopted brother, Chibuzo, and Harry, you too since you were fostered, all have access to his books. I only take out the copies. There are so many rare books and first editions I'd hate for them to get ruined."

"Ah! Aloysius Puckle!" Professor Slughorn grinned. "He and my father were good friends. Quite a small world, isn't it?"

"It's a world of laughter and a world of tears," said Hermione.

"And what do your parents do for a living?"

"Well… for starters I have six parents," she said. "There was an incident, I won't bore you with the details. My birth mother died when I was four, but she was a very famous photographer. Her pictures are still used for tour books and I'm told that some of them are in art museums. My mum and dad, Roger and Beatrice, they're dentists. Teeth Healers. Did you know heart and mind health is directly correlated to dental health?"

"I did not. It sounds like a very important job."

"It is, but governments like to treat it as a luxury so that they don't have to include it in health insurance packages. My parents run a program where they clean teeth and fill cavities for people for free. Now, my Papí, Manuia Lotulelei, lives in Hawaii and owns a diner right on the beach. It's really popular. Best Burgers in Kauai. Oh… I should teach the elves how to make burgers."

"I like burgers," said Harry.

"And what does your other mother do?"

"My mom, Hana, is a potioneer. She's one of the leading innovators of potions with a shelf-life. Most notably the Wolfsbane Potion with a shelf-life." She looked at Marcus. "It's better than the original because it's less expensive to make, the people taking it only need to take it starting four days before the full-moon rather than seven, and it's proven to cause less pain during transformations."

"Hana… Why, surely you don't mean Hana Mun?"

"The very one."

"Oh! She is very famous in academic circles," said Professor Slughorn. "I had the fortune of seeing her lecture at a conference a few years back. I would very much like to meet her in person one day."

"Well, she's coming here for the winter holiday, maybe we can arrange a meeting."

"I would like that very much. Now, a man I do know well is Cormac's Uncle Tiberius. I remember seeing a picture of the two of you hunting nogtails in, I think, Norfolk?"

"Oh, yeah, that was fun, that was," said Cormac. "We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour—this was before he became Minister, obviously—"

"Ah, you know Bertie and Rufus, too?" Professor Slughorn beamed and the next course was served.

"Who's your sixth parent?" asked Blaise, keeping his voice low.

"Remember when I was kidnapped by a wyvern and she kept me in her nest for six hours and tried to feed me a dead goat?"

"Ah." He was quiet for a beat. "When did you meet my mother?"

Hermione nearly spat out her water and held her hand to her mouth.

Professor Slughorn didn't notice her reaction and instead went around the room trying to figure out if the invitations were worthwhile. Hermione figured Belby was out. If Slughorn placed much merit on Herbology, then Neville would probably stay in. She wasn't sure if Ginny would want to stay, but Slughorn mentioned nostalgically that she reminded him of someone. His glance at Harry as he said that practically screamed that she reminded him of Lily.

Melinda Bobbin seemed perfectly ordinary, though her parents did own a chain of apothecaries. She might make the cut just for that. Aside from Harry, the bid for favorite was between Hermione and Cormac.

The dessert was the best part of the meal. Some sort of chocolate iced choux with whipped cream. Everyone had strawberries except for hers, which had mango.

"Mm! I think I found my true love," she said, mining for more mango.

"Eh, I prefer good old fashioned ice cream any day," said Ginny. "This is a bit too stodgy."

"Hey!" said Harry. "Don't be rude, that's her soulmate you're talking about."

"Yes, how dare you!" Hermione chimed, holding her dessert glass reverently. "We shall have a summer wedding. It's a good thing I found a new love, my last relationship ended over something really stupid."

"What was that?" Cormac asked, sucking a bit of dessert off his finger.

"My boyfriend."

Shaylyn clapped her hand over her mouth while the Carrow twins shrieked and fell into giggles. Ginny hid her face on the table, shoulders shaking. All the girls found it funny while half the boys just stared. Hermione grinned and stirred the last bit of choux around her glass.

"You are a gas, Miss Sanchez y Granger!" said Professor Slughorn. He looked at the clock. "It's getting late. As I say, always end the evening on a high note. Have a good evening, all."

"You too, sir," said Hermione, folding her napkin.

There was much scraping of chairs as everyone got to their feet. Hermione was tempted to use the secret passage to get down to the Slytherin Common Room, but knew that would be a bad idea all around.

"We hanging out tomorrow, Gin?" Hermione asked. "I'm showing documentaries in the Arithmancy classroom starting after lunch."

"Yeah, see you then."

Hermione waved and walked with her fellow Slytherins back to the dungeons. The twins hurried ahead so they could converse without being heard. Hermione took her time. They would get there eventually.

"We should hang out more, Nia," said Shaylyn. "I never realized how funny you were."

"Yeah, totally," said Hermione. "I'm only taking five classes now, so my schedule has freed up a lot."

"You're a very strange person, Nia," said Blaise.

"I know."

"People always bring up my mother's marriages," he continued and looked at her. "You don't seem… judgmental about it like them."

"I mean… my family is notorious for our husbands dropping dead," said Hermione. "For five hundred years we were cursed to lose those who tried to join the family. For all I know, your mother has a curse on her, too."

"That's terrible, Nia," said Shaylyn. "Are… you're not still cursed?"

"Not entirely. Our partners no longer die unexpectedly, but those of us born before the curse broke are doomed to bad luck the month we were conceived. Not sure why that specific date, I mean, a cluster of cells doesn't even have a consciousness, so how can you curse it? It would make more sense for it to hit when we could survive outside the womb, but what do I know?"

"We're not cursed," said Blaise. "However, my mother…" he sighed through his nose. "They're not innocent or even good men. They're always the type to be above the law."

"Then my opinion stands as is," said Hermione. "Good for her."

Shaylyn nodded in agreement and Blaise actually looked relieved. In his own Blaise way. His shoulders relaxed slightly anyhow.

"I tell you," Hermione continued. "If I was beautiful enough that men would marry me even with a praying mantis reputation, I wouldn't have to fight nearly as hard as I do."

"Well, the beauty thing only takes her part of the way," he said. "Mother raised me how she was raised. Charm, poise, and grace. If you demand the room upon entering, you'll never have to raise your voice."

"Huh…" Hermione mulled his words over. "Can you teach me? I mean, I don't think I could make it my whole personality, but a mask I wear for when the occasion calls for it."

"What would be in it for me?"

"Can't you just do it to be nice?" asked Shaylyn.

"No."

Hermione hesitated. "What do you want? Like, do you want couture from Esperanza? Tickets to her show? Quidditch tickets from Viktor? Special tour of the crystal mines of Venezuela? Diamonds? Basilisk Venom?"

"How did you get basilisk venom?"

"By milking it. Duh."

"Oh, of course, by milking it," he scoffed. "The obvious answer. Why didn't I think about it?" He looked at her with more emotion than he probably ever showed in his life. "What on earth would you want to milk a basilisk for?"

"To get the venom." She laughed at his expression. "Oh, look. You do have more emotions than 'thinly veiled distaste' and 'you absolute imbecile.'"

"You do know how to get a reaction, Nia," he said, shaking his head as they entered the common room. "I'll give you that much."

"I'll take what I can get," she said. "I'm gonna go ahead and turn in. You guys want to watch a documentary tomorrow?"

"Sure!" said Shaylyn.

"Eh… no," said Blaise.

"Suit yourself." Hermione went to her dorm, bidding goodnight to Shaylyn.

Daphne was sitting on her bed reading a book aloud to Astoria. The younger girl looked paler than usual.

"How was the party?" Astoria asked, opening her eyes.

"Just fine. I think I've got some competition. Cormac McLaggen. He knows as many famous people as I do."

"What if you convince him to help you?" Daphne suggested.

"Mm… I dunno. I'd have to test the waters a bit." Hermione sat down in her desk chair and unlaced her oxford heels. "I don't like how he spoke to Esperanza, but that was, what, two years ago? It's possible he's matured some. And he was upset about being reserve, but I think anyone would be."

"Maybe. I don't know much about him," said Daphne.

Hermione leaned over herself, pressed her forehead to her knees, and groaned, "Ugh…"

"What?"

"Just… life."

"No argument there."