What If...

Chapter 3

"Wow, what a way to start the day," said Blaise. He took a sip from his pint. Hermione had just finished telling him what had happened to her the day before. She was really lucky that she hadn't been seriously hurt. He shuddered to think of what could have happened if she was thrown into the street during the morning rush hour.

"It was definitely the talk of the school all day long. There was especially talk of the handsome stranger that helped her," said Callie, a devilish gleam to her eye.

"Handsome stranger? Now the story gets interesting! Do tell Hermione, c'mon!" said Blaise, teasing her but curious all the same. He felt a certain obligation towards his friend. She had introduced him to the love of his life and he felt that he had to return the favor.

Hermione blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "There really isn't much to tell. I think he was actually chasing the person that threw me to the ground but he didn't have a policeman's uniform on. The funny thing is that I feel like I have seen him before. I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out where but I can't come up with anything. Anyway, it wasn't really a big deal, he was just being polite."

"Oh stop Hermione," said Callie. "You can barely get through the story without blushing when you talk about him. Look at you now!"

They were standing at the bar in the Hogs Head and sure enough when Hermione caught a glimpse of herself in the long mirror behind the bar, her cheeks were high with color. The pub was just starting to get crowded. Classmates that hadn't seen each other in a while were hugging and laughing, telling stories about their days at the school. Hermione was just thrilled to be there with them. She had been wary of Disapparating with Blaise but Callie had reassured her that it was uncomfortable but painless. Hermione sometimes marveled at how easily Chloe was able to accept that Blaise was a wizard. She had met his Hogwarts friends multiple times while Hermione had never met any. Granted, Blaise seemed to keep his home life separate from his school life, a habit that had continued after he had graduated. It was only when he met Callie that he decided to bring both of his lives together. Hermione had figured it was because he knew from the moment he met Callie that she was "the one."

"Blaise!"

Hermione turned to see a short but well-built guy rushing towards the table. He had a toothy grin and a decidedly impish gleam to his eye. All in all, he looked like trouble.

"Pucey!" shouted Blaise, rushing forward to greet his friend.

"Now Hermione," began Callie, "I will admit that Adrian is an attractive bloke and he is extremely charming but he is a bit of a ladies' man. Consider yourself warned!"

Hermione turned to see Blaise and Adrian making their way to the bar. Adrian gave her a thorough once over and Hermione almost blushed.

"Well, well, well," said Adrian, "this must be the famous Hermione Granger. Adrian Pucey, a pleasure to finally meet you." He held out his hand for Hermione to shake before turning to Callie and saying, "And how is the one that got away?"

"Oh stop Adrian!" said Chloe, swatting him on the shoulder while Blaise looked on with a wide grin. He passed Adrian a pint and the four of them resumed their positions at the bar.

Adrian sidled up to Hermione, who couldn't help but smile. "So Hermione, Blaise tells me you are a teacher. What do you teach?"

"History," she replied, "world history to be more specific."

"To high school students?" he asked as Hermione nodded, taking a sip from her glass. "Oh, that's right, you and Callie work together, I had almost forgotten! I can't imagine how those poor teenage blokes concentrate, eh Blaise, with these two beauties as teachers! We never had such attractive teachers at Hogwarts!"