One More Time

Hermione got up the next morning from a restless sleep. She had spent the entire night staring at the ceiling, while lying in the old canopy. She sat up and immediately winced at her reflection in the mirror. Her trademark bushy brown hair was in hopeless disarray from all the restless shifting she'd done the previous night, and the reminder of that restlessness nearly made Hermione yawn.

She glanced at the clock and let out a deep, long sigh.

6:30 in the morning...isn't this supposed to be a break from early rising?

Conceding to the fact that she was awake, even though Lavender Brown's soft purr of sleep in the next bed was something to be envied, Hermione decided to get in a long shower before the others arose and used the hot water.

"One perk of being awake at this hour...hot showers," she thought aloud while grabbing her orange terrycloth robe from her trunk and slipped her small feet into a pair of fluffy slippers.

Hermione stepped out quietly, hoping to not wake the others who might ruin her peaceful shower. She was only a step away from the bathroom when she heard a scuttle downstairs in the common room. She tiptoed down the cold stone steps and peered around the corner to see where the noise was coming from. She looked out and saw...no one. Not at first. After an instant, the source of the noise appeared, and Hermione yelped in shock. It was Harry, coming out from behind his invisibility cloak. His hair was disheveled (as usual) and his robes were grass-stained. He was muddied, too, from nose to shoes. She could see in his face that he was upset. Almost like he was in a trance. This was a look that Hermione recognized instantly. She had gotten to know it quite well while fighting in the War together. It meant loneliness and longing.

It must be so hard for him to be back here, Hermione thought, while leaving Harry by himself thinking by the fire. There are some wonderful memories here...but there are some terrible ones for him...poor Harry. But what was he doing outside in the middle of the night? She made a mental note to ask later and headed up the stairs to take her shower.

*******

Damn, I'm hungry. Hermione sat contemplating whether or not she should go downstairs for breakfast. She was dying to eat, especially the exquisite meals that were planned for the Reunion, but she didn't know if she wanted to go down and face Ron. A part of her was aching to see him again; to laugh with him, to talk and to just look into those ocean eyes once more...maybe even have him hold me again...She scolded herself on her latest thoughts on the subject and made the executive decision that this was all silly. There was nothing to be worried about with Ron, and I am just dying for a minced pie right now.

Everyone was waiting, somewhat impatiently, for Hermione to come down the stairs. Sighs of relief were heard once she emerged from the top of the staircase, looking as hungry as everyone else did.

"What in the bloody hell took you so long, 'Mione," Seamus nearly screamed when he caught sight of her in the room, "we were about to eat each other alive down here!"

Hermione had to smile, Seamus was known for his dramatics and she loved every minute of it. "I am very sorry, Seamus. I had to get my hair to look just right for this very special occasion," she replied, while pointing at the large coif of chestnut hair sitting atop her head. Nothing in that department had changed since they had left school- still Hermione with the big hair. Neville, Dean and Seamus laughed, while Harry just stood, staring off into space."

From the look on Harry's face, it seemed like a good time to ask him about his early morning appearance in the common room. "Harry, wha--"

Just then, Ron's arm went around Hermione's shoulders, causing her words to freeze in her throat.

"I think your hair looks ravishing, 'Mione, like always," Ron smiled at her and winked playfully.

They arrived at the Great Hall to see about 50 other graduates congregating around their respective tables. People have not changed, Hermione thought as she glanced at the Gryffindor table. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were seated together, chatting adamantly about their lives, like they hadn't seen each other in years. They were both still as pretty as they were in their school days, just a bit older. Lavender had beautiful silk robes on that were a deep blue and Parvati was wearing robes of a soft tan color accentuating the glow of her skin. That glow was not being caused by the robes itself, but because she was a few months pregnant with her and Percy Weasley's second child, as they were married immediately when she graduated. Nonetheless, both girls looked as pretty and as fashionable as they had five years before. Hermione had to roll her eyes at their incessant giggling.

The five remaining Gryffindors sat down at the table, waving at people they recognized from other houses. Hermione didn't even notice that Ron had sat down next to her. She'd caught sight of something else from across the room that made her do a double take- Draco Malfoy. The sight of him made her gasp. He wasn't the sinister-looking Malfoy anymore, with sharp features and narrow eyes. He looked...enjoyable and handsome. His white-blond hair was not slicked back as it once was, but fell freely around his face and into his steel gray eyes. His smile was radiant, white and perfect. And his body had improved over the years- the small and skinny boy was now a man with height and firm muscles that showed through his light blue robes. There's no escaping it, Hermione blushed, Malfoy's something to be desired.

Just then, Dumbledore, seated at the head table- the table where Hermione usually sat with the other professors- stood up and cleared his throat to get the others attention. His robes, colored yellow for the summer season, had little blue shining suns all over them that sparkled and twirled while Dumbledore looked at his former students. "If I could have your attention please. Welcome back to Hogwarts. We have missed your class more than you could comprehend- it's been quite quiet around here for the past five years without this bunch. This group seemed to just attract trouble...which has always been okay by me." His face broke into a smile and his eyes twinkled, as they usually did while he was being facetious.

"We have some wonderful things planned for you while you stay with us at the castle. There will be a Quidditch Tournament for all of you expert fliers- but beware- we have a professional player on our hands now." He gave a smile and a wink to Harry before moving on. "Also, multiple competitions will be staged throughout your time here to see how much you can remember from your schooling days. I wish you the best of luck on this, as I have a hard time remembering day by day to put socks on. Finally, there will be a mock- Triwizard Tournament, and in traditional Hogwarts fashion, we will choose four champions to compete- one from each of your houses."

With the mention of this, the room started to hum. People, Hermione included, started remembering the last time any kind of tournament was held at their school- the outcome hadn't been good. Surely it will be just fun and completely safe this time, right? Hermione looked over at Harry for a reaction. She was met by the far off-stare again. What is wrong with him? She wondered. Just as she was about to inquire, Harry noticed her quizzical look and smiled at her, giving her reason not to delve into the subject at that time.

Ron turned and looked at her, the first time she noticed he was seated beside her at all. "Maybe I'll finally get a chance to compete and show this guy up," he said as he smiled over to Harry.

"Before we begin our first breakfast together in five years," Dumbledore said, interrupting the din that was rising in the room, "I have a few words to say to you: incantation, poppycock, whizzy, guardian, lemon drops."

With that, all the empty plates on the tables filled with more food than they had seen since graduating from the school. Flapjacks, fruit and pastry appeared on the golden plates and Hermione's mouth watered. Ron immediately grabbed two biscuits, giving one to Hermione, as she was eyeing the same thing.

"You look hungry. I thought I would just give this to you before I lose an arm," Ron said as Hermione gobbled down the entire biscuit in two bites.

"Sowy," she said with her mouth completely full of biscuit, trying not to laugh at herself. She swallowed the whole thing before continuing, "I'm on holiday; I eat!"

"No complaints here," he said with smiling eyes. "So, which activities are you going to sign up for? Wait, let me guess...Quidditch."

"Very funny. I was thinking something more like the Arithmacy or Potions challenge. I mean, how badly can I do? I'm a teacher. What about you? What do you want to do?"

"I would love to get into the Quidditch tournament, I haven't played in years. Maybe I'll get people to rally behind me to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"Ah, Granger, Potter and Weasley together again. What a nice sight."

Hermione and Ron turned to see Malfoy standing there without the usual smirk on his face. He was smiling down at them, making an honest-to-goodness welcoming face; at least Hermione thought so. Unfortunately, Malfoy still had the same effect on Ron as he did the day they graduated.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? Don't you have any friends at your own table?" Ron sneered as he stood up from the bench. He was still three inches taller than Draco was, and Draco was no short man.

"Calm down Weasley, I just wanted to come over and say hello. It's been a while since I have seen everyone and I was making my rounds. Sit down; don't let me bother you while you're eating." He turned away from Ron and aimed his attention to Hermione. "So, I hear you are a teacher now, Granger. How is that going for you?"

Hermione didn't know what to do. Malfoy was being pleasant, something she definitely didn't know she could trust, but was nice all the same. To top it off, he looked amazing, even better up close than he had from across the room. A girl couldn't help but become lost for words with this man around. On the other hand, Ron was sitting next to her, looking on in disbelief as Malfoy had the nerve to come over and say hi at all, least of all to them.

After a moment, she managed to produce words, "Hello, Malfoy. My job is...er...just fine, thank you. How have you been?"

He looked her up and down for a moment, not responding to her question. She hated to admit it, but she was blushing while he gazed at her. She scolded herself- Malfoy does not have the ability to make me blush- as her cheeks were getting hotter.

"I'm very good, thank you. Your students are lucky- I never had a teacher so pretty." He smiled as he cheeks turned even more scarlet. "I'm going to say hello to some other people, but I hope to see you later on."

With that, he let go of her hand, smiled at both her and Ron and left. The color on Ron's face had drained out during Hermione and Malfoy's two-minute conversation. He still couldn't believe what he just saw.

"I can't believe he just did that to you! After all the grief he gave you when we were here, and he thinks he can just come over here and...and...flirt? I won't put up with that!" Ron yelled this loud enough that the entirety of the Great Hall heard him.

"Ron, it's fine. It's hardly a big deal. Maybe he's grown up a little," Hermione said while eating another biscuit and taking a swig of pumpkin juice. Maybe Malfoy has grown up a lot...

Harry finally looked up to join their conversation. He had been spaced out while the whole Malfoy fiasco was going on. "Who's grown up?" he asked interrupting Hermione's thoughts and Ron's rage. Hermione thought to ask him where his head had been while Ron berated her only a minute before, but she wanted Ron on her good side this weekend. She wanted to be close with him again, and she thought instigating a fight and getting Harry involved in the meantime wasn't the best way to renew friendship with Ron Weasley.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," she replied quickly so Ron didn't have an opportunity to yell about the situation again. "Why don't we take a walk outside before going back to the common room?"

"Sure, why not? I need some fresh air after that. We can see if the giant squid is still in the lake. You going to come, Harry?" Ron asked Harry while he and Hermione were getting up.

"No, I think I am going to pass on this one. I should owl the team to see how practice is going on without me. I'll meet up with you guys later."

Both Ron and Hermione knew that something was wrong with him, but they thought it better to leave him alone and hope to put him in a better mood later when they were all back in the common room deciding what events they would participate in over the weekend.