Granger Family Reunion

Day 4 (Part 3)

"Hermione, Ronald, glad to see you could make it," Sidney began coolly. "I didn't think you would show up." 

The implication was clear. Hermione and her husband were not welcome there, not after what had happened earlier.

"We decided to come anyways. After all, it would be a shame to let the evening go to waste when we could be spending it in the presence of such lovely people, am I right?"

"Of course. Please, enjoy yourselves." The "while-you-can" part was intentionally left out, but there was no need for it to be said. 

It was all merely a charade. There was really no point in being civil. Everyone had already seen the nasty scene from the morning, but hell if either of them was going to be the first to break. No, each woman was going to wait (this, however, did not include subtle digs thrown around here and there), and as soon as the other one let go, she was going to enjoy her victory. 

Plus, not to mention, it would look less guilty. Of course, in the eyes of most of her relatives, Hermione was already the party at fault, so this was hardly of any use to her, but Sidney couldn't afford to stoop down so low in public. Everyone was already aware that she'd only married for money (this was rude to point out to her face, clearly, but that didn't mean that no one talked behind her back), and the slightest lapse in judgement could and would result in more gossiping, and possibly even shunning. 

So it was risky. And both preferred to stick to the safer side. 

Both Ron and Hermione smiled graciously (or as graciously as a person can when their host is an absolute nut-job and hates them) and walked away, in the direction of Hermione's parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were standing far off to the side, trying to hide away as much as possible. They certainly didn't want to have to deal with anyone's nastiness now, not after what had happened earlier that day. Far too many people had already come up to them just to comment on the outburst that their daughter "shamelessly gathered an audience for, purely to create tension and humiliate poor Sidney," and they were absolutely sick of it. 

Each of them was holding a glass of champagne, sipping politely, watching the growing crowd (more like glaring at them, but this was justified, of course). 

When they spotted Hermione and Ron, Mrs. Granger's sour expression (she may or may not have been watching Sidney interact with all the guests, with feigned smiles on the face of every person) flipped to a much more pleasant one, and when the two reached the older couple, she enveloped her daughter in a hug. 

"I'm very proud of you, Hermione. Good for you, standing up to that horrible woman," she whispered in her ear.  Then, thinking better of it, she added, "But don't tell your father." 

"Don't worry, Mum, I think that he's not going to have much of problem with this," Hermione smiled as she let go. 

She was proven correct a moment later when Mr. Granger's proud smile told her everything she needed to know. 

"When did you both get here?" Ron asked, as he snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. It appeared that Sidney and William had spared absolutely no expense here. 

"We arrived about half an hour ago. Unfortunately, we were far too early, and had to actually pass time listening to Sidney complain about the 'poor quality' of the servers' work, and whatnot," Mrs. Granger responded, holding her own champagne close to her mouth, ready to take a sip. 

"Actually, we arrived on time; nobody else did," Mr. Granger corrected. 

"Never thought that being 'fashionably' late could be a good thing," his wife mumbled under her breath. Her daughter grinned, and her husband hid his own smile behind his drink.