Granger Family Reunion

Day 2 (Part 3)

"Hermione!" a very loud, annoying voice exclaimed, and suddenly Haley was in sight, clutching 3 of the most hideous dresses that could possibly exist.

Hermione gave a false smile, and proceeded to greet Aunt Alaine. "Sorry if we made you late Aunt Alaine."

"You did make us late, Hermione. We were wondering were you were! We waited for a long time, but we decided it just wasn't worth it in the end," Courtney butted in with a fake, peppy tone.

"Oh, I'm sorry that you had to waste about 10 minutes of your shopping time.. I'm certain that you certainly do take quite a lot of time to find your size in stores. Not all of them are equipped to handle people as, um.. big boned as you, I suppose." Hermione said in an innocent voice.

Courtney nodded dumbly, having no clue what "big boned" meant, and said, "Yes, well, when you're as good looking as me, you do have to take time to make sure that you're wearing only the most flattering clothes. Not that you'd know, Hermione.."

Aunt Sidney took this as a cue, "Yes, Hermione.. You do spend far too much time in those silly little stories of yours.. Who'd ever believe in something as ridiculous as magic, and all that nonsense? You ought to working on giving yourself a makeover! Lord knows that it may take a little while."

Hermione was fuming at this comment. However, she calmed herself, plastered her forced grin on her face again, and replied, "Well, I suppose that when you're as brilliant as me, you have to keep your mind sharp with only the most fascinating things.. Not that you'd know, Courtney, and Aunt Sidney."

At their horrified gasps (yes, they did understand some insults), she continued, smiling inwardly, "Anyway, I suppose that the two of you should probably start filling your heads, though Lord knows that that might take a little while..

"And I honestly don't think that either of you are named 'Aunt Alaine'. You may be having an identity crisis right now, but I suggest that you don't butt in when you're not wanted. Which is actually another thing that you both should put on your long list of things that you need to learn."

The silence was unbearable. You could have actually heard a pin drop, and as the store was almost completely empty besides their party, many people had overheard the conversation.

"Mum, Aunt Alaine, let's go shop over there." Hermione said after a moment, pointing to another section of the small store.

After the initial shock wore off, the other members of the family went back to their shopping, but murmurs were still heard, carrying messages such as, "I can't believe that Hermione said that.. She was clearly raised all wrong.." and "Sidney's right, that girl truly has got to get out of those stupid books of hers; she's delusional."

Hermione decided to ignore them, and anytime that she caught any of her relatives staring at her while whispering to another, she just gave them a cold look, which was enough to make them hastily turn back, and go back to pretending to looking at the prices of the clothes.

Merlin... Hermione thought when she glanced at the tag of one of the dresses on the shelf in front of her. The store that they were in was a designer.. Not many people could afford this place, and that was precisely why Courtney and Haley had picked it. They had always loved pricey things ("It's the money spent that truly counts.. Otherwise, how do you know how much they like you?"), and as their parents were most definitely wealthy, they had never been deprived of their expensive little shopping trips.

However, when she remembered what her husband had told her about their financial situation, she smirked. Time to show her stupid cousins up.

Picking out a red dress, she walked straight to the cash register, where, coincidentally, Courtney and Haley were standing to check out.