A Twisted Life

"Hey! It's been way too long."

"I know! Want some coffee?" They walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She poured some coffee for Kim and herself and started talking.

"So, I was at Hogsmeade Center last weekend, and I saw this notice about a ballet." Kim showed Hermione a copy.

"And? What's your point?"

"You're a ballerina!

"So?!"

"Duh! How dumb are you? You could totally do this! Ages fifteen to thirty!" She pointed to the age requirements.

"I still don't see your point."

"You. Could. Sign. Up. For. This. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"Kim, the last I did ballet was like, I don't know!" She collapsed into her chair. She really did know when, but she wasn't going to tell Kim that. It was she and Harry had been close to divorce and she had posed as a single mother ballerina.

"I do. It was when you were posing-"

"I know! I know! Come 'ere. I've got some stuff I want you to see." She walked into the living room, now present-less and wrapping paper-less. Walking over to a vintage cabinet, she took out three scrapbooks, and walked over to the couch Kim was sitting on.

"I'll be right back. More coffee." Hermione walked back to the kitchen while Kim flipped through the scrapbooks. While in the kitchen, she came across the Christmas picture from her seventh year at Hogwarts. She was in a wheelchair, and Kim was in one because her leukemia had been really bad that Christmas.

"Dad," she whispered, running her fingers down Professor Snape's face. It had been a hard Christmas, that one.

"Hey, Kimmy, look at this," she said as she sat down. Kim took the picture.

"Hey, I remember this! We were both in the hospital wing all holiday. Me, because of my leukemia, and you, because you got pushed off a balcony. Look at Dad. He looks so happy." Kim was looking at the picture closely. She scrunched up her face, as though think hard. "We should go visit him, for Christmas. You know?"

"Yeah! We would have to leave Emma and Mattie with Professor McGonagall, though."

"Okay. You go get 'em and I'll got his presents. OK?"

"All right."

"Hullo? Dad?" called Kim. She walked into his office, with Tom in one arm and Seamus in the other. Hermione followed, holding Brittany.

"Hi! How are you guys?" He walked over to Kim, hugged her and her passengers, then moved on to Hermione and Brittany.

"Hi, Dad. Brittany, can you say hullo?" Brittany flung her arms around her grandfather's neck, and then jumped out of Hermione's arms.

"Hi! Merry Christmas! How are you?"

"I'm fine. Hey, do you three want to come with me? I have a surprise for you!" He took them over to his desk and to three parcels out of a drawer. He gave one to each. They opened them with relish. Brittany ran over to her mother and pulled her over to her package.

"Mummy! Mummy! Look! Look at it!" She started pulling things out. First a Hello Kitty Stationary Set, then a Hello Kitty play-set.

"Wow, Dad! That's so nice of you!" They hugged and the three kids were conversing about what each one had received. When they were finished, they went to lunch at The Three Broomsticks. After that, they went back to the apartment for dinner, and a sleepover for the kids.

5

"Mootherrrr! Where is my skirt?" Brittany called. She was going into the forth grade at St. Lucy's Institute and Boarding School For Girls. The skirt they had gotten the past week wasn't in her closet.

"I never met a fifth grader with such an attitude. Here." Hermione bustled in, hair sopping from her recent shower. "I really need to get ready for work! Are your things ready? We need to get going in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah. I'll take it out to the car." Brittany lifted her trunk and headed towards the door. They had recently bought a house. No more nosy neighbors looking at while she was in the shower.

"You never answered my question last night. Are you going to come to Hogwarts on your holiday? You'll either have to stay in my room, or come to lessons. A good sight the boys would be, with how pretty you are. Goggling at where you were sitting over an hour after their lesson."

"Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"No! You're a beautiful young girl!" Hermione started brushing her hair with a brush she had transfigured out of thin air.

"And, yeah, I'll come on holiday. Don't want to spend Christmas at school." In the mean time, Hermione was getting ready for work. Professor McGonagall had finally retired and Hermione was taking her post as Transfiguration professor.

"Brittany, c'mon! We need to go!" Hermione called. This reminded her of Brittany's days when she went to Stargate School for Beginner's Magic. But, she was, of course, much younger then.

"Coming Mum! I just have to get something!" She put her case on the ramp, and started down the stairs.

"Now, remember, I'm only an owl away. If you need anything," said Hermione, straightening Brittany's collar.

"I know. I'll owl you, I promise." She tried to dodge out of her mum's hand trying to straiten her hair, unsuccessful.

"Well, I love you Britty." She kissed her daughter on the cheek.

"Mum! The train's leaving." She ran off, leaving Hermione standing there. "What happened to?" She paused. "Good-bye?" She wondered why her daughter was acting like this. She knew it was part of growing up, but couldn't help but wonder, is it partly because she grew up without a father? She dialed Professor Dumbledore's number.

"Hullo?" She heard Professor Dumbledore's voice.

"Hi. I was just wondering where I was going to stay, while, I'm uh, teaching there?"

"Oh, do you remember your last room here?"

"Yeah."

"That's it."

"Okay. Bye!" She hung up and headed to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Taking Crookshanks and Hedwig with her, she felt that she was going to be somehow more, at home at Hogwarts. Much more at home.

"Students, today we will study the form of Transfiguration called Animagi. Animagi is when a witch or wizard registers themselves to become animals. Now when you register yourself, you have to have specific markings, so the Ministry of Magic will be able to identify you. Let me show you an example." Hermione transfigured herself in a black cat, with white paws and thin white circles around her eyes. She changed back seeing a student's hand raised.

"Professor Potter?" The girl, a red-head by the name of Annabelle Weasly, reminded Hermione quite of herself as a fourteen year-old girl.

"Yes, Annabelle?" She slid her glasses up her nose.

"How old do you have to be to register to become an Animagi?"

"Well I was sixteen when I registered, but I don't really think there's an age limit. You just probably have to be at least your age." Someone knocked on the door. Hermione walked over and opened it. It was Annie.

"Hermione, Brittany's here."

"Oh. Uh, students, class dismissed!" All the students, especially the boys, ran to the door. All except Annabelle. "Annabelle, why are you staying after?"

"Well, Professor, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Why, what is it?"

"It's my dad. See he's, well first I should tell you what he does. He works for Gringotts and I know that his job is important and everything, but, he just-"

"Never has time for you?"

"Yeah. And it seems like he and Mum care about Monica more than me. They're taking her to Montreal, and said I should stay at school, with my friends."

"Do you have any older brothers, or sisters?"

"An older brother, Fred, after my uncle."

"Well, maybe this is the way he felt when you were born."

"You think so?"

"Yes! And as Monica gets older, she won't get treated like this any more."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I know the way you feel. My godmother taught here when I was in school, and when her daughter came here, she used her papers for examples, not mine. I was hurt. But when I was in my sixth and seventh years, she didn't treat her like that any more. And you know who that girl is?"

"Who?"

"Annie McGonagall."

"Professor of Modern Arts?"

"Mm-hm."

"Wow! Thanks! I feel a lot better now!" As Annabelle walked out the door, Brittany came in.

"Who was that brat?" she asked, disgusted.

"That is the best student of the whole of the fourth years, missy."

"Oh. Can I see where I'll be staying?"

"Sure."

"Wow, Mum! This is so cool!" Brittany dropped her bags on a chair and stared around.

"Hey, Brittany!" Annie walked in, looking as though she had just won an Oscar. "Hermione he asked me! He really did!"

"Really?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Oh. My. God. Ahhhh!" They started parading around the room raving like lunatics. "We need to plan everything, the brides maids' dresses, the cake. Oh my God, you're getting married!"

"I know!"

"Can I see the ring?" Annie showed Hermione the ring. Fourteen carat, encrusted with emeralds and sapphires. "It's beautiful! How could he afford something like this?"

"Mum pitched in a bit." Hermione gave her a disbelieving look. "Okay, Mum pitched in a lot. And there's something I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Will you be my maid of honor?"

"Of course!"

"You guys are pathetic," Brittany interrupted.

"Brittany, we're adults, we don't need your commentary on how pathetic we are." Hermione told her this and she went in search of her room. "Your room's second door to your left down that hallway."

"Thanks!"

"Hey guys!" Lavender said as she walked through the door.

"Hey! Guess what?" said Annie hiding her engagement ring.

"What?"

"Annie's getting married!"

"Annie's getting married?" Their other roommate, Paige Dechatele, walked in.

"Yeah!"

"Oh my God!" The four of them started jumping in a circle again, acting, as Brittany had said, like pathetic, love-sick teenagers. The next day, after their lessons, they started planning the wedding. Annie had decided that Brittany was going to be a junior brides' maid. Hours and hours of leaning over books about wedding, BRIDE magazine, and patterns for dresses.

"Now that's pretty," said Hermione. It was the weekend and they had gotten permission to go all around shopping. Right now they were in Muggle London, in front of a wedding dress store.

"Oh, it's beautiful! I wonder who- oh Hermione, you didn't! Hermione, oh! You had them design this for me?" Hermione nodded.

"I told them we would be here today. They put it out, just for you."

"Can we go in? Please?"

"Of course! And we have to pick out my dress, and, of course, the brides' maid's dresses."

"You will need something they can wear again. That's a pretty dress right there, and we don't have that many more in stock." The woman helping them pointed to an aqua dress with a glittery top.

"Oh, that's nice. Do you have it in more than one color?" Annie was looking at the dress, think that Hermione could have a different color than the others, as she was Maid of Honor.

"Yes. We have it in these varieties." The woman handed Annie the list it said:

1. Aqua Yes_ No_ #__

2.Pink Yes_ No_ #__

3.Lavender Yes_ No_ #__

4.Sea Green Yes_ No_ #__

5.Black Yes_ No_ #__

6.Gold Yes_ No_ #__

7.Silver Yes_ No_ #__

8.White Yes_ No_ #__

9.Soft Yellow Yes_ No_ #__

10.Magenta Yes_ No_ #__

"Oh, I sea green would do wonders to your appearance, especially your eyes, Mion." Annie looked over the list and asked, "Can we keep this?"

"Yes. I have lots of them." She handed Annie the clipboard.

"I think the others should wear lavender. It would look great!" Hermione suggested.

"Yeah! So, we would need one sea green, and how many lavenders would we need? Five?"

"Uh-huh. Because all Ron's brothers are grooms' men, and there are five brides' maids. Pavarti, Padma, Lavender, Ginny, and Brittany."

"Okay! We have everyone's measurements. We need one sea green, right Mione?" She nodded. Annie continued. "And we need five lavenders. And that dress in the window."

"I'm sorry, but you can't have that. It's for Annie McGonagall."

"That's me!"

"Annie, you look simply splendid, darling," said Professor McGonagall. She was surveying her daughter in her wedding dress.

"Thanks, Mum." Annie hugged her mum and started twirling around, her skirt flying out around her.

"She's right, Ann, you look beautiful." Hermione was staring at her friend a smile making it way playfully across her face.

"Well then? Are you going to put on your dress? You're going to like you're the bride." Hermione walked into the dressing room. When she came out ten minutes later, she looked like a princess. It never took much to make her look pretty. She didn't think so though. She thought it took make-up and she had to get her hair done to look beautiful. She was wrong. "Hermione! You look beautiful!"

"Thanks, Annie. But really, I don't, I mean you can't just put on a dress and look beautiful. Well maybe you can but me? No way!"

"Look at yourself, dear." Professor McGonagall pushed her towards the mirror.

"Oh my, oh my God! I look pretty good! This the first time in my life that I've just put something on and looked pretty!"

"No it isn't, Mione. You've looked pretty in just a dress millions of times. Your wedding, kareoke night, and that's just two!"

"You're just saying that. Those are the only to times you can think of."

"Well, let's see, besides those two things, the Yule Ball, the dance we went to in New York that year, the dances we had here. Hermione, you are very blessed. You don't have to apply make-up, or do your hair to look beautiful. You just do."

"Why thanks Annie. Coming from you, that's really nice."

Someone knocked on the door the apartment. Hermione answered it. A man about the same height as Hermione, was standing there, a boy that looked Brittany's age standing next to him.

"Why Mrs. Potter. This is a surprise. I thought you were unemployed, living with Weasly. You've come quite a long way since we last met." Hermione scowled at the man Malfoy had turned into. Scum. Just like he had always been. Scum. "Terrence, could you say hullo to Mrs. Potter?"

"Professor, actully," Hermione nodded at Terrence smiling. He didn't look a thing like his father. Good. Maybe when I teach him he'll be easier to handle, she thought.

"Hullo, Professor Potter." He looked up at her, the same playful smile she had seen so many times in her old friend from the fifth grade, Oshiana Dechatele, Paige's younger sister. She had gone to Beauxbatons, not Hogwarts. She hadn't wanted to come.

"There's not any chance you're married to Oshianna Dechatele, are you?"

"Why, yes I am." The same cold, cruel tone she had heard so many times at Hogwarts was ringing back through her mind.

"What do you want?" Even though she hated being rude to people, even if she hated them with all her guts, he was an exception. She was using the same cold, cruel tone he was. She rarely ever talked like this.

"I just needed to know where my sleeping quarters are." A sly, evil smile crossed his face.

"Well I don't know." She was about slam the door in his face when Brittany came running down the stairs in her dress.

"How does it look, Mum?" she asked, twirling around as Annie had, her skirt looking like waves. Then she noticed Malfoy and Terrence.

"Just great, honey. Could you say hullo to Professor Malfoy, and his son, Terrence?"

"Hullo Professor, Terrence."

"Well see ya 'round," said Terrence.

"Yeah, see ya." Brittany and Terrence waved to each other, but then Malfoy started to drag Terrence away.

"Bye Terrence!"

"Bye, uh, whatever your name is!" That same smile crossed his face again.

"They're nice, don't you think?" Brittany said.

"Oh Terrence is plenty nice. His father's just full of it."

"Whose father?" asked Annie, her bright purple robe flying out behind her as she descended the spiraling staircase.

"Malfoy. And his son."

"Match not found?! What's the problem with this thing?" Brittany thought of hitting the computer, but Madame Pince would frown on that.

"Do you need some help?" Brittany jumped. Madame Pince had come up to her so silently, she would have thought she had glided over. I was downright eerie when you think about it.

"I wanted to read the book on the Ireland Qudditch team, but you don't have it."

"It over in the Quidditch section."

"Oh." Brittany blushed and walked over do the Quidditch section, feeling stupid.

"Do you like Quidditch? Strange thing for a girl to like." It was Terrence. It was rally creepy, just having people sneak up on you like that.

"Even though I wear my hair like a girl and dress like one, it doesn't mean I like girlie stuff. There was a boy in my class last year whose favourite colour was pink."

"Really?" Brittany nodded. "That is so stupid. I mean, who would like the colour pink?"

"You're lookin' at one."

"Oh, sorry." Terrence blushed.

"What team do you go for?" asked Brittany. "England, Ireland, or Bulgaria?"

"England, most definitely."

"Oh. I go for Ireland."

"Oh, Ireland's okay."

"Excuse me, but they won the first Quidditch World Cup my mum went to, thank you very much."

"Well, like I said they're okay."

"Happy twelfth birthday, Brit!" Hermione took Brittany's cake to her.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" said Annie. Though she was showered with presents, Brittany had a few. She had gotten used to it, though. Ever since her father had been gone fighting the Death Eaters, she hadn't gotten very big gifts. There was a picture of broomsticks on the wrapping paper on one of the packages. It didn't say who it was from. It was the biggest present, too. She saved it for last.

"Mum, what do you think it is? Do you know who it's from?"

"Dunno." Hermione looked curiously at the package. Brittany ripped the wrapping paper. Whatever the thing was, it was very long. She opened the box, and a broom, the best broom in the world, floated out. Hermione had the feeling that Brittany was having the luck stroke gene her father had. The Unicorn Shadows 9000 was floating there, in front of her daughter. It was amazing. She really could only think of one person who would get this for her.

"Sirius," she whispered slyly. "That is so like him."

"What did you say, Mum?"

"Oh, just, your, uh, father's godfather. Sirius Black."