Enrapture:

The Celebration

Chapter One: The Celebration

Words: 2,091

This story will be Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley as well as Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. There will be explicitness along the way between Harry and Draco, but I will not write it between Hermione and Ron, unless the mood strikes or readers request.

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The war was over. Voldemort was dead and it was time to rebuild. The Wizarding world had lost so many important people. They had to completely restructure the ruling class of the Ministry. It was inconceivable the amount of high-ranking wizards that were connected to the Dark Lord one way or another. But, the remake was necessary and everything seemed to be going just fine. It had only been a few months but already, the witches and wizards found themselves with a new chance at freedom, at life. Laws were reneged, created, destroyed and created. Families didn't have to hide any more. Reparations were paid to those who had suffered the worst and finally, finally life was getting back to what it was supposed to be. Happy.

A number of families that were thought to be connected to the Dark Lord were found to have been spies, turned from his corruption and into the light. Names were cleared and people were allowed to live again. A large number of prisoners from Azkaban were given new trials, and surprisingly, some were released.

The boy-who-lived was given his life back. People were grateful for him, for everything that he had done, had sacrificed for them but they left him alone for the most part. He was able to return to Hogwarts for his final year just another boy, instead of the Golden Boy. He enjoyed his newfound freedom immensely.

Dumbledore had died in the epic battle and McGonagall had replaced him as the Headmistress of Hogwarts. No one complained, they were just glad to have a Hogwarts to go back to.

Severus Snape returned to the school as the combined Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and the Potions Master. He and McGonagall had worked it out to combine the two classes, giving the students a better understanding of this and a worldlier grasp of that. Since Voldemort was gone, DADA wasn't really necessary any longer; at least not as much of a necessity. The students still needed to learn how to defend themselves, how to control their magic and keep it, and themselves, safe.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione had opted to take a year off to travel. To really travel. The mess they'd done when looking for the Horcrux's hardly counted. But, soon enough, they returned to the Burrow. They had reason to celebrate.

Today was his 17th birthday and he was thrilled. Not just because it was his birthday, but also because it was his 17th birthday! He was finally old enough to make his own decisions. He could apparate wherever he wanted, Floo wherever he wanted and he didn't need an adult to tell him it was okay! It was that last bit that had him more excited than anything else. That, and he hadn't really counted on making it to his 17th birthday. Harry always thought that he would die in the Final Battle right along with all of his friends.

Fortunately, Fate had dealt him a different hand and he was going to take full advantage of it.

He, Ron and Hermione had decided that they were going to go out for his birthday. There was a new Wizarding dance club in London and now that Harry was 17, he was old enough to get in. They were going to go, drink fire whiskey and dance till the club closed. To the Golden Trio, it was the perfect way to celebrate and they couldn't wait.

Molly had graciously agreed to fix them a hearty dinner, knowing full well that her children – for she certainly counted Harry and Hermione as her children – would need it. Especially if they took part in as much celebrating that Fred and George had for their 17th birthday. As she sat their dinner on the table, she had to shake her head to clear the thoughts running through her head. Hermione looked amazing. She'd long ago taken to taming her mop of hair but her dress was amazing. A short little blue number that skimmed over her skin, coming to rest at the middle of her thigh. The neckline was a deep V that showed a little of what she had but covered enough to leave a good deal to the imagination. Though, the back was left bare, save a few straps to hold it together. It truly was an amazing dress, which Hermione paired with glittering black strappy heels.

"Hermione, dear, you look wonderful," Molly said with a wink, her eyes twinkling.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," the young witch said, a soft blush flushing up her neck and over her face. "I thought, if this doesn't get his attention, then nothing else will and I'll just have to give up..." she laughed and winked at her surrogate mother.

Molly laughed. "You're right, dearie, if that doesn't get his attention then nothing will and I'll never have you as a daughter-in-law." She laughed again and began fussing about the kitchen, cleaning up the small messes she'd made by hand.

Ron was the next person into the kitchen and he certainly looked good. The years after the war had done wonderful things for his family and now his father had a well paying job with the Ministry. They'd fix things that needed to be fixed, and on a whim, Molly had taken them all shopping for all new clothes. Everything that they had previously owned had been donated or burned. He'd taken his brother's advice for once and actually dressed up. A pair of black silk slacks fitted nicely to his lower body, hugging him in all the right places and brushing against the others. An emerald green silk shirt was buttoned and tucked into the black slacks with a shinning black belt to fasten them. The shirt had been purposefully left unbuttoned, the top three opening to show off a grey and blue geometric tee.

Ron had let his hair grow a little and the wavy locks brushed against his brow, nearly hiding his eyes. "Mione," he greeted, sitting down beside her. "You look very nice," he murmured, a furious blush colouring his cheeks. "Really. That dress is... Well, if you were Ginny, I wouldn't let you out of the house."

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled, "Thank you, Ronald. I'll take that as a very high complement, coming from you."

The playful banter continued as Harry sauntered into the room. "Hermione, Ron, Mrs. Weasley," he greeted, sitting across from the pair. "Wow, Hermione, are you trying to impress someone tonight?" Harry asked, arching a brow. Those eyes gleamed brilliantly as they flicked towards Ron. He chuckled and sighed, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes for a moment. "Well, you look amazing. Don't let anyone else tell you different." He smiled brightly at her and leaned forward, watching them with those bright eyes. "Are you two ready for tonight? It's going to be amazing," he commented as he began to cut up his dinner and took his first bite.

Harry himself wore a silver dress shirt, buttoned over a plain black tee. Both shirts were tucked into black jeans, fastened by a matte black belt with a brilliantly shiny buckle. Aside from the difference in fabric, Harry's pants were fitted. They didn't brush against anything, the fit against everything. He wore a pair of black Chuck Taylor's that seemed to glitter when the light hit them just right.

The trio made small talk until they finished their dinner and headed back upstairs to brush their teeth. Hermione grabbed a small clutch back and cast a quick undetectable, expanding charm on it. She added a few necessities to it, her wand, lip-gloss, a hairbrush and her money, before tucking it under her arm and moving down the stairs. Harry and Ron cast the same charm on their pockets, allowing them to add their wands and money without feeling the poke of either.

With bright smiles and waves, the group left the Burrow through the Floo and arrived in the greeting room of the club in the blink of an eye. They all cast little spells to tidy them up after their trip before moving to the line. It wasn't long before they were admitted into the club and they all headed straight for the bar, eager to get the night off on the right foot. Hermione bought the first round of drinks, Ron the second and Harry the third before they all found themselves on the dance floor, bouncing and thrumming to the hypnotic beat.

It didn't take too long for the alcohol to relax Ron enough to admit that Hermione looked better than good. She was sexy and he couldn't unsee it once he saw it. He pulled her close and together they danced, almost forgetting about their friend. He chuckled and moved off into the crowd, looking for someone to dance with.

Someone as good looking as Harry Potter didn't go unnoticed by the other single patrons of the club. Everyone wanted a turn with him and before he knew it, he was being paraded around the floor on the arms of men and women alike, dancing and laughing and generally having a great time. It wasn't until one of his dance partners took it upon themselves to buy Harry a drink that his night started to take a downward turn.

The raven found himself being escorted to the bar, far away from his friends who were still dancing with each other, oblivious to where Harry had gone. Shaking his head, Harry informed his dance partner that he didn't want another drink and tried to shake off the strong grip on his bicep. "Excuse me," he growled, jerking his arm away. "I told you already, I don't want another drink. Thanks for the dance, thanks for the offer, but no. Have a goodnight," he murmured, turning from the other and heading back into the crowd. He found Ron and Hermione with little issue; the redhead was tall enough he could almost see him across the room.

"Can we go somewhere else, please?" he asked them, his voice shaking just a little. "People here are much to touchy."

Hermione nodded and pulled herself away from Ron before offering Harry a small smile. "Sorry, Harry. Sure, we can go wherever you want. Do you two mind if I run to the bathroom for a moment? Then we can get out of here," she said.

Ron and Harry both nodded and turned to follow her towards the loos, figuring they might as well go, too. "We'll meet you right here in just a few minutes, Hermione," Harry promised before they disappeared behind the swinging doors and Hermione disappeared behind hers.

Chuckling, Ron looked to his friend, resting one hand on the side of the stall. "This place is great," he told Harry. "Really. It's great. We just shouldn't have come on the opening weekend. It's so crowded," he groaned, shaking his head.

"Yea, lots of people. I feel like a tuna," he chuckled, those emerald eyes gleaming.

When the door opened, neither Harry nor Ron paid it any mind. It was a loo after all, people had to go to the bathroom. That's when that downward spiral of a night opened into a chasm. Before Harry could do anything about it, Ron was out on the floor and he was meeting the tiled wall face first. "Think you can get away so easy?" a slurred voice husked into his ear. "I told you I was going to buy you a drink." Harry groaned as his head made contact with the unforgiving tile again and he felt a rather uncomfortable tingle in his fingers.

"And, I told you, I don't want another drink. What's your problem?" he growled, looking at the man over his shoulder. "Get your hands off of me." He struggled, managing to push himself backwards enough to loosen the tight grip the stranger had on his arm and the back of his neck. "Shove off, arse, I've got plans for tonight and they don't involve you!"

Again, Harry found himself being thrust against the wall and he couldn't help the whimper that slipped past his lips. His world was going black and the last thing he felt was his body being rough handled before his world went black.

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I haven't posted anything in ages. It seems that I had lost my will to write any sort of fanfiction at all.
However, I've been reading again and this has been bouncing around in my head for a few days.

I hope you enjoy.

published: 4-10-11