Through Her Eyes

Chapter 4: The Sorting

Hermione felt as though she were intruding on something sacred. Her legs were thrown lazily over the side of one of the plush Emerald chairs, a spare Potions textbook open in her lap as she sat before the glowing hearth of the Slytherin Common Room. But focus was scarce in the presence of Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy.

'They haven't come up for air in 20 minutes,' Hermione thought to herself, knitting her brows as she flicked another page in her textbook, wincing at the smacking and groaning sounds coming from the couple sprawled on the sofa. It was weird to think that they would spawn the horrendous Draco Malfoy.
Hermione was used to being the outside observer of a good snogging - mostly a spontaneous event between Harry and Ginny - but she was uncomfortable being the observer of two people whom she greatly despised. Luckily, her agony was ended as Regulus came into the room, plopping down beside the kissing couple and whacking a hand against the back of Malfoy's head,

"Go get a different room, you git,"

"Shove off," Malfoy snarled angrily, flipping his ponytail as both he and Narcissa straightened their robes, "at least I'm not a virgin, Regulus,"

Hermione couldn't help the snicker which escaped her throat, causing all three on the sofa to acknowledge her presence,

"You can't talk, Black," Regulus snapped at her, "I wasn't the one caught shagging a Hufflepuff in an alcove,"

Hermione flushed an angry red,

"All have you know, he fell in there with me! We weren't shagging,"

Hermione grimaced and blinked confused. Had she been shagging a Hufflepuff in an alcove at one point? She certainly couldn't remember doing such a thing - as Hermione Granger - but Hermione Black could apparently, and was ready to defend herself,

"Whatever you say Black. At least the poor git wasn't a Mudblood,"

Hermione felt the need to point out her own views about muggle-borns, but quickly bit her tongue. Pure-blood culture was something she had been researching over the past days, and apparently it was extremely different then what she thought it was.
A 'Pure-blood' family was usually generations old, and claimed to have no muggle-borns or half-bloods in their families. Obviously there were some exceptions to this rule as it was nearly impossible to have a completely 'pure' family line without inbreeding. But that wasn't even the half of it. Pure-blood families had their own book of rules and regulations, similar to the families of the early Victorian era. The eldest son of a pure-blood family would restrain from sexual affairs till after he's married or had already chosen a lifelong partner, and is in charge of the finances and estates of his father. In turn, eldest daughter would be presented to other eligible pureblood bachelors upon her turning 18, and should be married by the time she's 26 or she became 'old stock'.
Hermione was slightly appalled by this rule, but knew that producing an heir was important in maintaining a long family line. That also meant that Draco Malfoy - the oldest son - was still a virgin in her time. Snickering at the thought, Hermione sighed in a contented manner and tuned back into the conversation between Regulus, Lucius and Narcissa,

"So when's the wedding?" Regulus questioned, leaning against the couch armrest as Lucius straightened out with a type of manly pride,
'Lucius and Narcissa probably married young,' Hermione thought, 'probably before or right after leaving Hogwarts,'

"Oh, I was thinking in the Springtime. But Lucius wants to wait till Winter,"

Hermione rolled her eyes slightly, turning back to her potions textbook, only to fail at adequately scanning the words. She had found Hermione Black was just as studious as Hermione Granger had been, but she was apparently more of a hands on learner,