Five years have passed since Pirates and Nobles.

It seemed so silly that one game this one year at Hogwarts could have caused so much commotion, so many feelings, so much chatter and shifts in personalities, but it changed the Wizarding World of England for the better, and it was blatantly obvious at the five year reunion.

Hermione had organized it, of course, with the help of none other than Pansy Parkinson. They had decided to use manipulative diplomacy, using both their Slytherin and Gryffindor prowess to make sure that most everyone would come. If they could get along, so could every one else. Aside from their unending hatred for each other, they were civil, and treated one another with respect.

The invitations had been spectacular ittle messages sealed in stained bottles with golden corks. When people got them, it was akin to getting their Hogwarts letters. No one would say no, and why should they? After all, they were all adults, and Pirates had been a great diversion from the post-war stricken world around them. Any hard feelings from the game had been treated competitiveness, not contempt. It was all quite pleasant.

Intricately carved ships floated in the air, mingling with the young witches and wizards. The center piece was an interactive display of the Games, Siramadra and the town settlement. Hermione had charmed it so that the major moments of the Game would play periodically.

Susan Bones was frocked in a beautiful, floor length, maroon velvet dress. The Games had given the Hufflepuff a confidence that she never had, and it absolutely showed in the way that she carried herself. Thaddius and Blaise stood near it, talking, eyes glittering. It was obvious that there was still some tension between the two men, but it seemed content that they didn't mind... sharing.

Neville was, naturally, wearing his shiniest dance shoes for the occasion, and was waltzing with Cho Chang on the dance floor. Every now and then they would pass under one of the lights and an intense sparkle would come from Cho's left hand that was draped delicately over his shoulder...

It turns out that Ginny and Harry didn't quite work out quite so well in the end. They lived together for a while. In fact, they had been engaged. The kick was that Ginny and Harry ended up in separate departments in the Ministry. They spent less and less time together, and they ended up exposing themselves to other people.

Harry met an exciting french girl from Bouxbatons who he met during one of his missions as an Auror. They both managed to become friends after a while, though, and seemed to being doing just fine as they shared a piece of cake at one of the floating snack tables. Ginny, on the other hand, ended up marrying Theodore Knott. Why? No one really knew, but no one questioned her. They seemed in some kind of love, at least. However, looking at Harry and Ginny, someone might have thought that they were standing too close to each other... but it didn't really matter. History is history, as are old friends.

Pansy and Ronald actually ended up tying the knot. Despite the old rift between the Weasleys and the Parkinsons from the times of Voldemort, their wedding was truly a scandalous splash for the international Wizarding community. It went as far as to impact the Wizarding finance department, opening fiscal trade within the Wizard World that hand't been seen since before the First War.

They were also expecting their second child. Oh, Pansy was still a bit feisty, but maternity looked beautiful on her. Rumour had it that she and Ronald were paying for their children to learn how to fence. For fun, of course...

He stood next to his glowing wife, hand possessively on her lower back. The fire, naturally, ran hot between these two. Enough about Pansy, though.

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and Headmaster (that's right, Hogwarts now two masters) Severus Snape became cautious friends, working on some new potions and trying to invent spells together in their free time. Running the school was their main focus, however, they also enjoyed teaching their prospective classes during the day. They were both in attendance tonight. Severus was talking to a few of the graduated Slytherins, and Minerva, but of course, was talking to some of the other teachers who had shown up at the party. It wasn't amiss for her to greet the students as they passed by. She loved hearing what the young alumni had been up to after they finished Hogwarts; she liked to sometimes live vicariously though them. She was grateful to Hermione and Pansy for coming up with the idea to throw the party. It only served to remind her how genius the late Albus Dumbledore was. She had thought the idea was crazy, but now, watching the students from different houses, of different bloodlines mingle together in a friendly fashion, some even in love... her opinion was quite the opposite. It was genius, and it worked.

Mostly, she was proud of her students who allowed her to throw them into a ludcrious game. They went in fighting, and came out... .well, for the most part, peacefully. A few months after the Game, everything had settled down. She watched some romances flourish, and others die, but nothing more than usual drama between former students... and yet the old animosity between houses was almost completely gone. Some grudges were hard washed away, but most of them no longer existed. Her eyes were caught by a flash of platinum blonde...

The last five years did not shed much light on Hermione and Draco's relationship to each other. In fact, the Wizarding tabloids tried to follow them the most closely out of the "famous" witches and wizards, but they could rarely get any photographs or hard proof of anything. There were only hints of what could possibly be going on between them.

Occasionally, Hermione and Draco would be spotted in a restaurant, or a high class gala, laughing together, sharing a few smiles, but never quite standing too close. She showed up to some of his Quidditch games at the Community Sports Club – a place where people would go just to play for fun. Draco followed his fathers legacy in the financial Wizarding world, and was quite good with playing the stock market. Recently, he had begun investing currency in the muggle stocks – news that was shocking to many people, and the tabloids reacted accordingly. However, with a strong supporters like Harry, Ronald, Pansy, Hermione, and some of the older generations, his market value only increased. Some tabloids speculated that the decision was influenced by none other than Hermione herself. But tabloids are tabloids- desperate for any link between two high profile people, so that they could spin some sort of barely supported romance to the public. The issue featuring this particular story had been one of the best selling units of that summer.

Hermione followed her dreams, achieved equality (for the most part) for elves in the Wizarding world. She worked various jobs at the ministry in her spare time. She was on the reserve auror team, and often went on cases that called for her wits. A few years after graduating, she used her gravitas to revise and write several additional chapters for Hogwarts, a History to include topics of the Chamber of Secrets, the Sorcerer's Stone, the Tri-Wizard tournament that had been hosted by the school, and some details of the Last Battle and how Hogwarts had been involved. The latest edition of the book included a chapter on Pirates and Nobles- a case study which encouraged unity after a time of duress. Publicly, the Game was a smashing success. Several other Wizarding Schools in different nations had also made their own version of the Game for much of the same reasons after the 'results' of Pirates and Nobles had been published.

On the weekends, though, Hermione spent most of her time in a library tucked in one of the nooks and crannies of Diagon Alley. A tabloid had spotted Draco getting coffee in the same place, but no strong connection could be made, other than two people sometimes frequented the same library- it wasn't too unusual.

And here they were again, standing just a hint closer than usual, eyes glittering as they looked at the interactive map of Siramadra. They talked animatedly about something, possibly a new business he was investing in, or a book that she was writing. She touched his arm in an almost intimate manner and nodded at something he said.

Later in the night, after mingling with other people, Draco came up to her, put his hand on her waist – neither too high, no too low – and he offered her a ride home. Usually, the world saw her refuse, or say thank you, then politely decline because of some sort of plans she already had. But tonight was different.

Tonight, she took it.

THE END