Disclaimer: I don't own it!
A/N: I think I need to clear something up before we move on. I didn't necessarily mean that she
will have no idea who some of the 'bachelors' are, she just isn't very well acquainted with them. For
purposes of this story, let us assume that they all went to Hogwarts, but Hermione was just very good friends with
Lavender and Luna, and she was not very well acquainted with some other characters that will appear. Obviously she will
have heard of them, some more than others, but she doesn't know them very well. Also, some wanted to know how old
Hermione is supposed to be. I'd like her to be 26, so she will be 26. Now, with that being cleared up, I want to
thank everyone that has reviewed so far. I'm pleased to have such a wonderful response already, with only 2
chapters posted thus far. I also apologize for it moving so slow, I just didn't want to jump into it. I'd
rather set up the story a
bit first. With that being said, on to chapter 3!
'The Bachelorette'
Upon arriving at LAX, not only was Hermione tired from the long flight, she was also more nervous than she had ever
been in her entire life. After collecting her bags and walking toward the main doors, she saw a man in a suit holding a
sign that read, 'Miss Granger'.
Approaching the man, she gave him her best 'I'm pretending not be tired and nervous' smile,"I'm Hermione Granger."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Granger. I'll be your limo driver to where you'll be staying. If you follow me, there is someone waiting in the car to give you further instructions."
The man turned and headed out the door, taking Hermione's bags with him. She followed, slightly hesitantly, and when they reached the car, the chauffeur opened the door and a kind looking woman stepped out with a smile.
"Miss Granger, it's an honor to meet you. My name is Cindy and I'll be somewhat of a personal assistant to you over the next few weeks. I'll make sure you're always in the right place at the right time and always know what is going on." As she finished, she gestured toward the car and Hermione entered, gasping at how large it was on the inside. Did they really think that two people needed all that room?
Soon they were on the freeway, headed toward the place that Hermione would be spending all her time at for the next few weeks. During the ride, Cindy was reminding Hermione about how the show works and what they would be doing when they began the next day. After what seemed like days (Boy was traffic horrible on the freeway!), they arrived at the largest house Hermione had ever seen (Hogwarts didn't count. It was a castle, after all!). After thinking about seeing the show in the past, Hermione remembered she would have this house practically to herself since the bachelors would be located in a different area. She was shown to her room and advised that she would have a couple hours to unpack and rest prior to dinner being served. After unpacking and taking a small nap, Hermione found her way to the dining room where she was to have dinner with the producers and everyone in charge of the show. During the dinner she gained insight about the show as a whole, what the goal of the program was, etc. It was all very enlightening, but she was so tired from her long flight, and excited about meeting all the men the next day.
The next morning, Hermione awoke slightly disoriented. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She was in L.A. in the largest house she had ever seen, about to meet twenty-five men, one of which she may possibly marry. The thought alone was enough to make her faint from the amount of stress she knew she'd have to endure. Thankfully, she was allowed to spend the majority of the day doing whatever she wanted, so she soon found herself by the pool, reading a book, and enjoying the sound of silence. All too soon it was cut short by the sound of footsteps coming from the house.
"Miss Granger, it's time to have your hair done and get dressed for tonight," Cindy advised, taking an empty lounge beside Hermione.
"Cindy, if we are to be together for the next few weeks, please call me Hermione," she answered with a smile. She liked the older woman immensely, and was glad that her 'assistant' was someone so sweet.
"Certainly, Hermione. The hairstylist is here and ready for you," Cindy said as she got up and began to walk into the house, Hermione hot on her heels. This was something Hermione enjoyed alot. She didn't have to worry about having to tame her own hair because they were bringing someone else in to do it. She had been lucky enough as she got older to have her hair lose some of it's bushiness, but it could still be hard to handle sometimes. By having someone else to do the work for her, it would never be an issue.
Two hours later, Hermione was ready to go. The hairstylist had done a wonderful job on her hair, pulling sections up and fastening them with flower clips but letting the rest fall down past her shoulders in shiny corkscrew curls. Her makeup had been masterfully done, letting her natural beauty shine through without making her look like a clown. To compliment the flower clips in her hair, she had chosen one of her favorite dresses from the shopping trip with Lavender and Luna. It was strapless and just past knee-length made of lavender silk with a sheer, sparkly overlay. Just enough to make a statement, but not so much as to be too showy. She also chose some silver shoes and jewelry to top it off. Looking in the mirror, she thought she had never looked better. Hermione had never found herself drop-dead gorgeous, but tonight, she felt great about the way she looked. Gaining confidence from this, she got up swiftly when someone knocked on her door. Just outside was Cindy, smiling radiantly.
"You look stunning, Hermione. I'm sure all the bachelors will be pleased. Now, this is how tonight will work. I will go with you to the end of the hallway where the main stairs are. From there, they want a shot of you going down the stairs. The host, Chris Harrison, will be there, and he will lead you out the door, where you will wait for the arrival of the men. Any questions?" Hermione shook her head no, so Cindy continued. "They may ask you to do something over, but other than that, there is no set script for you so just be calm, act natural, and go with whatever Chris says." She smiled reassuringly at Hermione and began to walk toward the end of the hallway. Hermione followed, her nervousness creeping up again.
When she reached the end of the hallway, Cindy stayed behind and gave her a smile.
"You'll be wonderful," Cindy assured her as Hermione turned to walk down the stairs. After getting thumbs up from the director, she began to descend the stairs, gripping the rail slightly for support, but smiling and pretending she wasn't nervous at all. When she reached the bottom, she walked up to Chris, the host, and stood next to him.
"Hello Hermione," he started, turning toward her in order to give her instructions. "In a matter of minutes, we will go out front and await the arrival of the twenty five men you will meet. We will entertain them tonight with drinks and dinner, and in just a few hours, you will have to eliminate ten of them. In addition, one with be given the 'First Impression' rose, and will not only be guaranteed a rose at the rose ceremony tonight, but will be allowed the first one-on-one date. Are you ready to meet the men?" he asked Hermione with a smile.
"Yes," she answered, trying to sound confident. "I am ready." Chris led her out the front door and onto the front steps. They descended the steps and stood on the pavement directly in front of the last step. Minutes later, the first limo arrived. Hermione had never felt so many emotions at once in her life. She was nervous, excited, scared, and a number of things she couldn't name. Her heart skipped a beat when the door open and the first bachelor stepped out of the car. He was tall, but not too tall, and had dark hair and eyes. He walked toward her with a smile. Once he reached her, he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello, Hermione. I'm Jacob." He told her as he pulled away. "It's wonderful to meet you. I look
forward to getting to know you." He flashed her a perfect smile and Hermione could feel her heart pounding.
"Thank you Jacob. I look forward to getting to know you as well."
With that, he walked past her and entered the house.
Shortly after that limo pulled away, another drove up. The door opened, and another man exited and walked with a smile toward Hermione. He had sandy blonde hair and light eyes. He looked slightly familiar and he was almost to her when she realized they had attended Hogwarts together. She had known who he was, but they never had the same circle of friends back then, so she never had the opportunity to get to know him very well. He approached her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello, Hermione. I'm Seamus. It's great to meet you." Hermione smiled back. "It's great to meet you as well, Seamus." He also walked up the steps and into the house. This continued for quite awhile, limo after limo pulling up and good-looking men getting out and kissing her cheek and telling her their name. Hermione was beginning to grow tired of smiling, but all thoughts of tiredness flew out the window when the next limo pulled up, and out climbed the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on.
He looked vaguely familiar, and upon exiting the limo, he smiled at her, only it was the cutest, lopsided, boyish smile she had ever seen. Just looking at her made her want to melt into a big puddle of Hermione-goo. He approached her, still smiling, and kissed her cheek. She felt a slight tingle she hadn't felt with any of the other men. As he pulled away, he introduced himself as well.
"Hello, Hermione. I'm Harry, and I am absolutely pleased to meet you." She felt her heart skip a beat. It was Harry Potter! She had certainly heard of him, she was a witch after all, but she never dreamed in a million years that he would be on this show! "I'm pleased to meet you as well, Harry." She replied politely, barely able to form a coherent sentence after her revelation. He walked past her and into the house, and she had to try hard to contain herself enough to not turn around and watch him ascend the steps. Barely recovered from Harry's arrival, she saw another limo pulling up with the last bachelor inside.
The door opened and he stepped out. He had a confidence about him that none of the other men had. He flashed a charming smile at her as he approached, flipping his head slightly to shake his white-blonde hair out of his steel-grey eyes. He also kissed her cheek and introduced himself.
"Hello, Hermione. My name is Draco, and it's lovely to meet you." Hermione found herself slightly surprised. She had heard of Draco at school, but she had only heard bad things about how he would taunt others and constantly bully them. He had to have changed, though, because the Draco standing in front of her now, though it seemed he was overly confident, did not emit any sign of rudeness at all. She greeted him and waited for the sound of the door shutting before turning toward Chris. He smiled at her and began to instruct her again.
"Now that we've met all of the men, we're going to go inside and have dinner and get to know them a bit before you have to eliminate ten of them at tonight's rose ceremony. After dinner, when you're having your drinks and chatting, I'll give you a 'First Impression' rose that you should award to whichever man has impressed you enough to earn the first one-on-one date. Let us go in and see where the night takes us." He gestured toward the door and Hermione began to ascend the stairs and enter the house. All she could think about is how hard it would be to eliminate ten men she had only just met tonight. She knew the whole experience would be difficult, but she would certainly do her best.
(Hope you enjoyed it. Next time, we'll sit in on dinner and find out who is eliminated in the first rose ceremony. PLEASE REVIEW!)