The Missing Link

To Be A Princess

Hermione’s lessons began the following day. She was asked to go to one of the many hidden rooms in the castle, which was decorated quite similarly to the Malfoy Manor. There were three house-elves waiting for her, along with a stern-faced woman who looked around as old as Fleur Delacour.

“Milady,” the stern-faced woman said, curtsying low. The elfmaids copied her.

Hermione waited for them to stand up properly, but when they didn’t, she realized she had to curtsy back.

Then she realized she didn’t know how.

She tried remembering how they did it on the Muggle shows she watched on the History Channel. She awkwardly put her left foot behind her right, bended her knees and lowered her body. She stood up straight and the woman and elfmaids copied her. The woman had an almost Malfoy-ish smirk on her face. She wondered to herself whether or not she was a Malfoy.

The woman stared at her from head to toe. “We’ll work on that,” she said. She then began walking on circles around her. She began asking questions, some of which seemed irrelevant to her.

“Do you do housework, milady?”

“Back home, yes.”

“Carry a lot of heavy loads? Books and such?”

“Yes.”

“Hm…” She took notes. Hermione felt her blood rising. By the look on her face and the small shakes of her head, she could tell she was quietly judging her. “How do you read your books?”

“Any way, as long as I’m comfortable.”

“Right-handed?”

“Yes.”

“Glasses?”

“Contacts.”

“Sports?”

“No.”

“Exercise?”

“Er…” Hermione had to think this one through. She didn’t want to sound like she didn’t care at all for her body. “Well, I go around the castle every night for a couple of hours.”

“Diet?”

“Less sugar.”

The woman raised her brow.

“My parents are dentists,” she explained.

“Oh.” She scribbled, then stowed away her notes.

“Please take a seat, milady.”

A desk zoomed towards her and she sat down.

“I am Regina Prewett,” she said. “I will be your instructor. My family has been teaching royals of the Wizarding world for generations.

“Now. House rules. I know that Milady is a very keen learner and is known to cause very little trouble, but I’d still like to set some er, things straight.

“One, you are never to be a second late. A princess must learn also to be punctual. The Queen has made this a very specific order.

“Two, you are to come to our lessons ready for anything. A princess is versatile and doesn’t say no.

“Three, you are to start acting like a princess. No more coming to class in clothes which are so…casual.

“Let me introduce you to your personal elfmaids, Skippy, Dotty and Spotty.” The elves curtsied as they were introduced. Hermione gave each one of them a nod of acknowledgment. “For every mistake you make, they will be slapped on their wrist.”