PREMISE:

If you're looking for anguish, you won't find it here. This is a fairly light-hearted, albeit dramatic, fic. If you'd like a more realistic, canon (Ie: angsty) one, please refer to Head Versus Heart, my other Dramione.

The universe is modified a bit drastically, but there is no messing of time or supernatural changes;

Backstory:

Harry managed to kill Voldemort in the graveyard at the Tri-Wizard Tournament when their wands connected. Thus, Harry is still very much famous, he'll go down in history and gets plenty of attention, but he did not have to suffer so much loss of friends and family, nor did anybody else.

Pretty much nobody has died (hey, I said it was Potter-lite). Dumbledore, Fred, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks and Sirius (pardoned by the ministry) are all still alive. Cedric is the only sacrifice (sorry Cedric).

The students and the whole of Britain lived a fairly regular life after it all happened. OotP and HBP did not occur, and thus the characters mentalities are mostly fixed as they were in the first few novels, save for the Trio, because there was no 'impending doom' and war time fatigue. There was also no tension and change of government so civil unrest wasn't major.

I'm explaining all this so you get the sense that everything is pretty normal for people now. The kids are 22 now, It's been almost 10 years after Voldemort's death.

Lucius Malfoy was never reprimanded for being a Death Eater, Draco never became one. The older aristocracy remain strictly pro-pureblood, but the new generation are far more accepting of Muggle life and the people who go with it (though they would never tell their parents so)

The rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor still remains strong, even though it is 5 years after graduation.

Presently, Hermione lives with Ginny, Ron with Harry. Draco lives at home, and Pansy alone.

Hermione works for Magical Law Enforcement as a lawyer, Ron decided to pursue Healing, Harry has just graduated Auror training and Ginny is a stand-in chaser for the HolyHead Harpies.

Pansy and Draco are unemployed.

There will be plenty of mention of Muggle, and thus real world, items. If you don't like pop-culture references, you may not appreciate certain aspects of my fic.

You'll figure out the rest quite quickly. Shall we?

xox

Chapter One: "I Don't Wanna Grow Up"

"Pansy, what exactly is the meaning of life?"

Pansy looked up from her half-empty café au lait and raised her eyebrows skeptically at Draco, who had uttered the question. He just entered the pub and was now scooting across from her into their booth.

"The meaning of life is to give life a meaning, idiot…You're really late," she added as an afterthought.

"Hm, that's strangely profound coming from you," he smirked at her. "And I'm late because my father wanted a little 'chat'."

Pansy glared at his less than kind response. "Again? Every time I see you you've just been speaking to him. Still trying to get you on board to the Malfoy Master Plan?"

"Know what you'd like?" came the voice of their male server. He had been leaning against the bar, extremely bored, waiting for guest number two at table 7 in the quite empty restaurant. It was only 4 pm, dinner rush wouldn't start for almost 3 hours.

"Hot chocolate, thanks. That's all." Draco gave the menu to the waiter who didn't try to mask the rolling of his eyes, and stalked away.

"Hot chocolate? How juvenile. Perhaps that's why your father wants a talk, mm?" Pansy smiled devilishly.

"God yes, that is why," Draco cried pathetically, throwing his hands up and then resting his chin on them. "You're on par with that plan notion. Seems to think that at 22 I should be some sort of social elite, involved in everybody's affairs and living on my own somewhere. Thinks I'm wasting my life."

Pansy kept grinning, knowing he had more to complain about.

"'Draco, do you think you can just sit here all day in the manor gallivanting around doing nothing?'" He began imitating his father's pretentious drawl. "'Son, what is the meaning of life? To be successful! So think about what you'll do to achieve that.'" He continued, exaggerating Lucius even more, a hand to his chest; 'The Malfoys are not in the spotlight as we once were, but you can fix that! Time to get a move on, time's a wasting.' Just, ugh, shut the fuck up!"

Lightly pounding his head on the table, Pansy watched on amused.

"Ah, so that's what spurred on the life question. You know you are rather immature. Cussing like a troll, childishly mimicking your parents and being so unpunctual all the time. Twenty-two is a bit old to stay home. Time to grow up a bit, perhaps? Move out and get a job," she teased.

"I'd be on time if I didn't keep getting cornered in my damn bedroom. The swearing won't stop, 22 is just the start of my life and like you have a job Miss Parkinson. Mum and Dad pay. I just see no point in leaving, you know? I don't need them to get me a poverty-stricken crappy apartment. I hardly will succumb to working myself."

"Do you want to leave though?" Pansy asked, tilting her head and taking a sip from her mug. She'd been through this song and dance before. It always ended with Draco bitching and then rejecting all of her suggestions.

"Of course I do. I've said so before. But I must confess I'm still stuck in my fantasy land. I've deluded myself into thinking my life is fine, fun, and free when it's not. Day after day of walking around the grounds, flying on the grounds, or sitting in the house. Pretty much all I do is read or drink, I've probably finished half the library at this point. So dull."

"Well, obviously it's dull, you stay cooped up in there 24/7. You don't want to be entertaining guests at Malfoy Manor for the rest of your life, that already happens biweekly. And what about girls?" Pansy prodded bitingly. "Doesn't really scream responsibility bringing them back to your childhood bedroom, huh? Nice if you could move out."

He gave her a look. "Like I don't know that or haven't thought of it. But where would I live? Stodgy London with the common folk?"

"No, proper London. Where all the happening things and people are. You could move in with me til you find a place," she replied lightly, stirring her drink and staring down at the tablecloth. "I have 3 bedrooms and only one occupied."

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his seat but said nothing.

He was quite aware that she still fancied him, but he simply didn't reciprocate. Subtle and not so subtle hints had been dropped throughout the past 5 years since graduation but his feelings never changed. She glued to him at school and he lapped up the attention, he was a sucker for it. Romance had never blossomed for him, lust or otherwise, and he now felt a bit regretful that he hadn't been more clear about his intentions when he was 17.

"Or not, it was just a suggestion," she said calmly after a moment of silence. "Besides, it might be a bit odd having a male roommate. Doubt Sergei would like it."

Besides the secret crush, Draco didn't like the fact that Pansy used men as a weapon against him, or that she slept with so many of them. He didn't know if she ever even liked them as people or if they just were playthings ready to be disposed of when she lost interest.

"Sergei, huh?" he laughed "That your flavour of the month?"

"No, we've been dating for a few weeks, about 6. Just haven't brought him up because of the reactions I get from the plebeians," she emphasized.

"Sorry, sorry. Just, you have a habit of bringing a different man along at every outing. They've never quite made the cut with the Slytherin crew. Thanks." The server had appeared again and dropped a delicious looking hot drink in front of him.

"Is that right? How would you know if they approve, you never go out with them unless I'm there," she fired back, getting visibly riled. "At least I bring partners out. You and Blaise are so damn picky. Surely if I can find some hot specimen you can too, or are you too wrapped up in that pureblood mumbo jumbo still? You've never even had a girlfriend, have you? All your dates didn't match up to the Draco Malfoy standards?"

Normally Draco would go off on her for being so rude for no reason, but he found himself too embarrassed. He'd actually never been on a date before, let alone kissed a girl besides Pansy (one time in sixth year). He tried to hide it; he was always self conscious that all his friends knew about his lack of finesse when it came to girls.

Everybody had hated his guts in school. It didn't help that his father got flak for being sighted in the graveyard with You Know Who, what a mess to clean up. After he realized that school ends and the real world was not as forgiving and protective as his little clique was, he became a lot less sure of himself.

Thankfully, now that the world seemed a happier place, a long time gone by, it was mostly just indifference and perhaps a grimace or two when he was spotted in the world.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure if there were a few people that severely disliked him because he was happy in his ignorance. He didn't want to try getting girls tight now, he was a coward. Never had to face his frenemies head on, only going went out when Pansy invited him.

Little did she know that his suffering was almost entirely his own fault. Playing the empathy card worked like a charm, yet he literally never left the house unless he was summoned. His father may be pushy and a bit misled about the family's current standing in the wizarding community, but Draco knew he was actually concerned for him and had no idea how to properly display it. His mother coddled him like a baby so she was not bothered in the slightest at having him be home all the time.

"I rarely go out with girls, Pansy." Just you, he thought. "And it's Blaise, he is the vainest person we know, of course he's picky."

At Draco's measured tone, Pansy flickered her gaze to him, surprised he didn't get more angry. She decided perhaps she should act more civil, did she touch a nerve?

"How are you doing with him anyways? Blaise? What about Vincent and Gregory?"

She couldn't help her wavy emotions really, lashing out and then acting concerned. Pansy found Draco both insufferable and endearing at the same time. He was horribly self centered and sarcastically judgmental.

But so was she.

And she cared about him, she knew he did too, otherwise he wouldn't bother coming to see her. He never saw anyone else from what she could tell, but that made it all the more frustrating. A massive desire was alight in her that she could not fully shake, she always would be attracted to him it seemed.

It didn't help she had hit her time of the month. Horny as ever, as well as temperamental, Sergei wasn't down for sex which pissed her off proper seeing as she usually got her way.

"Meh," he shrugged, stirring his drink. "Blaise never calls or asks me to go out. I have a few times with no response. Guess he wants to appear a good citizen like when he first snubbed me so long ago. He never really liked me anyways. And Crabbe and Goyle realized how much of a bully I was towards them, so I can't place blame on them actually being intelligent for once and avoiding me."

"I don't recall Blaise ever snubbing you," Pansy mused aloud, scrunching her features. "I know Theo always did, but…." She looked back up at him and he was frowning.

"Ugh, you call him 'Theo'? Revolting," he grimaced as he took a sip of his hot chocolate. He always hated Theodore Nott. "This is good, actually."

"What, he's a nice lad. Always has amazing parties because Astoria is great at planning them."

"Whatever you say….Anyways, as soon as he got invited to the Slug Club and I didn't, Blaise was a giant asshat. Told me my father was no good and that he needed to restrict who he associated with. Started seeing Mr. Nott like they were an item. How can you not remember that?"

"I don't keep track of your mundane memories, love."

"Well I'm starting to realize how few people actually like me. I've narrowed it down to you and my mother so far," he said morosely. "Everyone at school is out."

"God, you are dramatic. I thought you were more confident than that; Didn't you like to call yourself 'King of Slytherin' or whatnot?" She chuckled, signalling the waiter for a refill.

"Oh sweet Merlin, no wonder everybody hates me," he covered his eyes with his palms. "I was such a dick, wasn't I?"

"Still are."

"Gee, thanks. Seriously though. Crabbe and Goyle were just cronies. You were just as bitchy as me, so you hung out for the torment with Millicent. And now even though you're attracted to my animal magnetism, you've made good acquaintances with the Greengrasses and clearly the Notts. Whereas I've regressed back into a child."

"Yes, well, turns out Millicent liked me a bit too much and I don't swing that way. She never talked to me after I rejected her," Pansy revealed uninterested, twisting her hair through her fingers as the waiter added more coffee.

Draco guffawed in disbelief. "Surely not? That's horrendous. Can you imagine fucking her? Little spindle like you with giant six foot her?"

"Oh stuff it, you git," she hissed, embarrassed the server heard him curse. "I felt really bad for once, actually. The look on her face when I was horrified at the prospect of us together… it takes courage to admit you like somebody after all…" she trailed off, then shook her head. "In any case, not the point. We're adults now. We're all friends now, we can get along. You'd do well to make nice to Theo and the rest. I know that he never particularly warmed to you but…."

"And he still hasn't, just like Blaise. It's unlikely that he'll ever want to know me properly, Pans. Nobody really does."

Pansy growled. "Because you never try to let them! You don't do anything worth noting, nobody hears from you or sees you, you show up to a party every once in a blue moon. It's not their fault, it's yours."

Draco ignored her. "Every time we meet up, you try to involve me in their world, and I tell you time and time again I don't want to end up like them. Like my dad. He's so worried about what he looks like and how he appears, it's a wonder he hasn't gone mad yet. That's all anyone ever cares about here. Am I pretty enough? Buff enough? Thin enough? Is the job I don't need impressive enough? Did my party have the sexiest napkin rings? The most pretentious aperitifs? Just why? Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Pansy states. "It's a popularity contest and we know it. But what else are we going to fill our time with? I said the meaning of life is to give life a meaning We're giving ours an interesting mystique. We're playing the game. I don't want a job, I have the luxury of not needing one. I'm going to fill my twenties with extravagance; trips, drinking, and sex. Because I can. You can view it as frivolity but I view it as taking advantage of what's in front of me."

Draco contemplated her for a moment.

"I'm just tired of how fake it is, you know? I thought I'd be doing something more interesting by now. Or else, I thought the parties would be never-endingly amusing. And after 19 they got boring as tits." Pansy tittered.

"There's more to life than parties Draco, and you only go to half. This is why a job or new change of pace would be good for you."

"I don't wanna grow up," he spat, slugging back his sugary drink. "Life's too short to be serious."

"You complain about being stuck at home but then won't try to leave the nest. I don't get you. What do you want to do?" Pansy sighed, resigning once again in her fight to get Draco to take action.

"I want you to take a look at who just walked in," he snickered, switching the topic, leaning his head out of the booth and slamming his cup down.

Pansy swiveled very indiscreetly around to face the door.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley walked on through, opting to sit at the bar across from their table.

"I've not seen them in ages," Draco whispered. "Know what they've been up to, Madam Gossip?"

Pansy hesitated for a moment, wanting to revert back to discussing Draco's future, but she knew he wouldn't budge. Only when he was ready would things change, she just hoped they'd change soon.

"Potter and Weaselette are engaged. He's just become an Auror, she's a stand in for the Harpies. Um," she wracked her brain and prodded her forehead with her fingers trying to remember everything she knew about the infamous group. She read every issue of the Prophet and Witch Weekly. Most wizards had internet access nowadays too; Pansy tentatively had bought herself a brand new laptop to look at crappy tabloid blogs, though she didn't have the hang of it yet.

"Can't remember?" Draco quipped at her silence.

"I think…that Weasley works at St. Mungos, and Granger - God, Granger really needs to get help with that hair," Pansy smiled menacingly.

"They really haven't changed a bit," he noted, eyeing Hermione as she ordered Butterbeer while everyone else got a mixed drink, thinking she was far too uptight too function. "I'm delightfully glad Weasley the underachiever never became an Auror. That's a bit too much to rub in my unemployed face."

"Yes, well, he doesn't look quite as shabby. Neither does Ginny come to think of it. Must be nice for Mrs. Potter to have unlimited funds. She actually looks decent. But then, she always was a looker," Pansy observed with scorn.

"Mm," Draco muttered noncommittally. It was no business of his to get involved in a woman's jealousy.

They watched as Harry and Ginny smooched, held hands and were generally a publicly appalling couple, clearly still lovestruck after 6 years together. Draco supposed that since at school Potter always got so much media attention, they'd have to save the precious moments where no camera or juvenile eyes were around to be cuddly and romantic.

On the other bar stools, Hermione and Ron were chatting lightly, ever-so-uncomfortable. It definitely looked like there was some history among them that wasn't fully mended. But they definitely were not an item.

"I wonder why they're here? The Knightsbridge wizarding community is minuscule and very private. Very exclusive and expensive, these houses and restaurants. Not that Potter is poor, but how would they know to come here? I read that they all lived in Kilburn. "

Draco shrugged. "Maybe they're meeting somebody."

"That must be it. Nobody just wanders into Le Bilboquet, which is what they've done. Must relish in the fame they receive," she sputtered enviously.

"Who knows. Anyways," he cleared his throat. "Anything planned? I'm rather turned off this place, and since you're not eating, maybe we should just exit before they spot us and hex us."

"Oh, alright. You're no fun. I want to see who they're waiting for if they're ordering drinks at 4 pm. How tacky."

"It is a monday," Draco mused. In all honesty, he could've gone for a rum and coke right then. "So what're we doing?"

At this, Pansy brightened. "Well, Draco. This weekend Blaise is having a yacht party in Brighton, you know I've never been! I was hoping you'd help me select an outfit for it," she said innocently as he groaned "What? You always seem to have the best taste when it comes to this, it's eerie."

"Yes, but you always make me sit for hours on end while you try on 50,000 dresses, and then I tell you that dress number 2 is great but , no , you insist on more changes even though you should know by now I'm right. Every time."

"Yes, but I have to make sure I didn't overlook a potential dress option. I need your input, I value it greatly. When you help me out I get a hundred compliments from both sexes, and I act like it was effortless. You know girls have a different sense of what's nice than boys."

"That's because boys would love seeing your tits an arse even if they can't have it. Girls like flaunting what they like about themselves, or at least their best assets, which is not always a sexy asset." She gave him another look, rolling her eyes.

"Okay thank you for that. Just come with me, geeze. This'll be your accomplishment for the week."

He exhaled, mildly insulted.

"Fine."

Secretly, he relished in the fact that she liked his taste. It was funny, matching clothes seemed to be the only thing he excelled at. He wasn't an idiot, but he was just good or average at charms, potions, and everything else that went along with magical life. He never fancied a ministry job, either. He often pondered in his bed at night about getting a muggle occupation, something fun. Like a filmmaker, an actor, a musician or a writer. Wouldn't it be hilarious for his pureblood, neurotic father to see him on some muggle billboard advertising his next a-list movie?

"Draco? Are you listening?" Pansy snapped her fingers to catch her friends attention.

"Sorry, thinking," he replied sheepishly.

Pansy clucked her tongue. "Get it together Malfoy. I was simply saying that we're going to Olivetti's, it's a nice Italian wizard shop only a 10 minute walk from round here."

"Why is Blaise having a yacht party in June? It's cold."

"It is not. And he said I could bring a guest. I thought perhaps you'd like to accompany me."

"Not likely. Vat about Ser-gei?" Draco exaggerated the name with a Russian accent.

"He'll be in St. Petersburg this weekend, visiting some family. I'm not making him Apparate back just for a 4 hour event. I'm not that needy or demanding."

"Oh, I beg to differ.."

"I heard that you cock. Now go pay for our drinks so we can leave." She was pointing slightly annoyed to the counter, wherein Draco grinned.

"Always so lovely and demure, you are." She stuck her tongue out at him . "And so ladylike."

He glanced to the bar, dreading potential eye contact with the Gryffindor crew. But he swung out easily, not wanting Pansy to think him afraid, and grabbed the wallet from his trouser pocket.

He strolled up, staring straight ahead, to his server, who was chatting up Harry now.

"Oh, that's hilarious, ha ha." Draco grimaced at the forced laughter from the employee. He knew that as a worker he was supposed to suck up to his patrons, but he was doing it solely for the Chosen One's approval.

Harry, Ginny and the man flickered their gaze to Draco as he leaned against the bar, barging into their intimate conversation. It caused a chain reaction, Hermione and Ron swooping their heads. From the right of him he heard Ron whisper 'Malfoy?' with contempt, but ignored it.

"Yes, what would do you want now? Water, perhaps?" The server asked mocking him, irritated. Must be angry we didn't get some 1000 galleon entree, Draco supposed.

"Well you would know we were finished if you'd actually been paying attention," Draco said coolly. "Just wanted a check."

The server flushed a bit, then tallied up the two things ordered with a flourish on his pad. He ripped it off vigorously and crumpled it into Draco's hand.

With a generous unwarranted tip, Draco left the receipt and money on the counter and turned around straight into none other than Remus Lupin. Their chests banged into each other, and Remus had fallen slightly backwards into his companion behind him, Sirius Black.

Well, well, the whole gang is here, aren't they? was what crossed Draco's mind as he regained balance.
The extravagant place had been obviously picked by Sirius, who while very laidback was always one for a nice outing. Pansy noticed that every time he and his school friend appeared in the paper he was in a lush, expensive location. And they always were enjoying an alcoholic beverage.

Sirius caught Lupin gently by the shoulders, sniggering. In fact, Draco heard Pansy echo his second cousins laugh over at their table. He tossed a glare at her before straightening up. It was unnerving seeing these two adults, a pleasant ex-teacher who favoured his class rival, and a family member who rightfully thought he was a dunce, in the same locale as his old enemies.

"Excuse me," Draco said politely before zooming back to familiar company. Remus merely nodded, raising his eyebrows.

"Alright, Draco?" he heard Sirius yell raucously. Harry and Ron laughed.

Draco heard Lupin scold him without turning his back; 'Now, now'.

Deciding on keeping tact, Draco almost wanted to call back a 'Quite'. Honestly though, he was not quite alright, he was bored and tired.

"Shall we?" he asked Pansy, who was now standing up and adjusting her flouncy skirt.

"I'm so going to tell Blaise about you falling into Mr. Wolf over there," she announced quietly, still highly entertained.

"Oh are you now? Well if you want me to go to this party with you and help you pick out something fabulous you damn well better keep your trap shut," he replied monotone, hoping to frighten her without seeming too affected.

Two could play the manipulation game, Pansy was well versed in the rules. She merely squealed and clapped her hands, not letting the bad part get to her. "Yay! So you will come! Oh you can get something nice and new too, yeah?"

"You are absolutely intolerable sometimes."

"But you love it, don't you?" she asked, as if she was asking if he loved her.

"Not really, reminds me too much of myself."

She punched his bare arm as they walked out onto the street, the sunlight bathing their faces. Draco enjoyed the shift in temperature immensely, the air far less stuffy than inside a building.

Hmm, perhaps it would be nice to get some nice sea air.
Draco began to be slightly roused at the idea of showing up to Blaise's party, no doubt unwanted. He never knew what it felt like to be a gatecrasher, but he'd love to wipe the smirk of his uptight 'friends' faces for once and let loose.

His manor walls were getting much too uninspiring.
There was a shift in Draco's mind, he could sense it. Yes, this summer was going to be a season of difference in his life.

Definitely not time to grow up, but time to do something…outrageous.

He pondered this as they strolled down the street, listening to Pansy's inane chattering about yachts on the way.

Back inside the topic of conversation would've surprised the Slytherin's who just left, as it was exactly the same as theirs.

"I haven't seen Malfoy in years," Ginny was exclaiming incredulously, chuckling about the expression on Draco's face when he bumped into Professor Lupin.

"Nor have I, Pansy either come to think of it," Harry agreed. After a moment of thought his happy smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Sirius asked, noticing his godson's change in demeanour, grabbing his scotch on the rocks.

"Nothing of your concern, just, you think they're going to be at Blaise Zabini's boat thing on Saturday?"

"God, are we really going to go to that?" Ron moaned, hating the idea of dressing up for the sake of impressing people he didn't care about.

"Yes, it would be impolite not to considering he personally extended an invitation to all of us," Hermione explained like he was daft.

"A personal invitation?" Remus whispered, widening his eyes as he chanced a look at Sirius who was smirking.

"I thought it sounded fun," Ginny shrugged. "Drinks and sea air, a different city, what's not to like?"

"Exactly. And to answer the question; of course they'll be there. They're in Slytherin."

"Yeah but, remember that he hated Malfoy as much as we did? At least near the end of school, when we all grew up. I don't know about Pansy, but I was under the impression that he was inviting only a select amount of people," Harry explained.

"My my, private parties, personal invites, aren't you all the spitting image of society's elite. How…reminiscent," Sirius crooned, sticking out his tongue to let them know he was joking.

"Just because you're jealous we get to go on a yacht doesn't mean you have to be mean," Ginny jabbed, returning the tongue waggling and sipping on her cocktail. She always liked to fire back at him, she found it fun, and Sirius highly respected her for her nerve.

"I'm not jealous, trust me. Especially if any blood family such as that klutz will be partaking."

"How is he related to you again?" Remus implored, always finding it a tad difficult to work out the Black Family Tree.

"Narcissa is my cousin, which makes her spawn my second cousin. Thankfully, I've only ever met him properly one time."

"Oh yes, now I remember, you inconsiderate weasel," Remus laughed.

"What happened? When did you meet him?" Harry asked interested. He thought Sirius told the best stories.

"Well, I was visiting your parents, helping them before you were born; Lily was 8 months along. You're welcome by the way," he winked. "Draco had just been hatched and I was complaining to James that I had received an invitation plus guest to his christening, a serious fluke no doubt. James insisted we go, I'll admit we were curious about any devil that Lucius Malfoy would've produced. So we went, though your mother was against it. Said it was rude."

"Ooh, juicy, what happened?" Ginny urged, hoping this went somewhere hilarious.

"Lily was right. We were disappointed. Got there hoping to rile up Lucius with our presence but all we got were nasty looks. I noticed that Narcissa was extremely weepy and delighted, and for once Lucius didn't have a sneer on him because of the ugly looking thing, so we couldn't bring ourselves to make a ruckus. We were immature, I know," he admitted noticing the disapproving look on Hermione's face. "I do regret going actually, we had to stay on the Malfoy side of church, hoping my mum and dad wouldn't notice me. Kind of forgot they'd be there. The ringer was I caught Narcissa's eye before we got the hell out of there after the dry ceremony, and she looked touched rather than irate that I would come."

Remus was shaking his head. "You two were truly, idiots."

"Yes, but you love us," Sirius leaned in and wrapped his arm round Lupin, who tilted his head on his shoulder and grinned.

"Oh, I suppose."

"Get a room," Ginny giggled. "Anyways, who cares whether or not somebody we don't like goes to a party we're at? That's so juvenile."

"No, Malfoy's juvenile. Don't really want him belittling me and being a general arse when I'm trying to enjoy myself," Ron challenged quite bitterly. Hermione put a hand on his wrist and he immediately calmed.

"Yeah, I mean, he doesn't even have a job, does he?" Harry began. "Probably thinks he's too good for one. Never hear anything about him either, good riddance. I doubt he's a changed man. Probably will show up with Crabbe and Goyle in tow ready for the assault."

"Regardless," Hermione cut in, putting her hand up. "It's an unofficial Hogwarts five year reunion grad party. I want to see everyone, don't you? And most of the Slytherins have grown up, have upstanding positions or even live in London from what I hear. One person from a dumb house rivalry shouldn't spoil your night," she finished, trying to soothe the boys, and Ginny gave her a knowing grin.

"How do you know all that? How do you know anyone we like is coming?" Harry asked, still hesitant. "I mean, Blaise is a nice enough bloke, and he isn't like the rest of them. But he has a tendency to only associate with people he considers worthy, and I doubt all of our friends would factor in there."

"Wasn't too happy about inviting me, that's for sure" Ron muttered under his breath, secretly sour that Harry was an Auror and he wasn't.

"Well, I did a case for him a few months ago," Hermione replied a bit gently. "We've kept in touch."

"You kept in touch?" Ron asked turning a bright red. "Why? Why did he need legal help?"

After graduation, Blaise had decided not to take the route of so many of his companions. Though his mother was famous and had lots of gold, he wanted to be more than philanthropic. He wanted to be influential; remembered. He began a company that searched for rare ingredients for medicinal use: Herbal Magic Inc. Hermione explained all this to her friends, who looked amazed.

"Wait, so he's the one who supplies all of St. Mungo's potions?" Ron asked incredulously, who was using them daily at work. He was working part time as well as interning under the head nurse until he could move up to a full time job. He was so used to the bright red label for healing minor boils, he didn't even stop to think about it now.

"Yes. So what happened was that employees from one of his Italian sectors killed a few animals on the endangered species list without his authorization. To get at some kind of blood or poison antidote, a valuable potential material they could collect. Blaise updated his instructions to remove the animals beforehand but it didn't reach the hunters in time. He fired them immediately not wanting any trouble for it, obviously it's illegal, and they sued him. I was a bit reluctant to do the case, but he was really desperate about it, said he felt horrible that he was responsible for the damage to the animals."

"Ah, your weak spot," Remus noted, and Hermione tried not to blush.

"Yes, well, I managed to get him off the hook completely, he was really thankful. We talk sometimes," she finished nonchalantly. She didn't think it was a big deal really, but she knew everyone else did.

She knew Ron was jealous. Ginny made a fuss too come to think of it; every time she brought up a different boy she got all giggly. Especially Blaise. Ginny always teased her about knowing him.

She had to admit he was wildly handsome, but Harry was right. Pretty vain summed him up.

Very unlike Ron, who was her current situation. It was a rather exhausting ongoing thing in her life. She loved him dearly but he was far too clingy and their shared interests were minimal for it to work. Every time he went through a dry spell in the dating world he'd come running back to her, asking her out, a last resort. It pissed her off without a doubt, though she'd never say that to him aloud.

"How come we never heard about the case?" Harry dared to ask, confused. That was a large deal for Hermione, he thought, who had just begun to do cases altogether.

"You don't really inquire about my work, didn't come up I guess. Ginny knew." Ginny nodded.

"She tells me everything," Ginny bragged, leaning over her glass into her boyfriend.

"Remind me to ask about your job more. And acquaintances," Ron muttered.

"Will do," she responded dryly.

"Well, this talk has been boring, did you want to get some food now and talk about something else? Have a seat?" Sirius asked trying to cut off the lingering tension between Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Remus grinned, patting his stomach.

"Sounds good. Hermione, want to go look for dresses after this? I don't think we'll get a chance this week, yeah?"

"Sounds good."

With Ginny by her side, she was feeling hopeful. She wanted to look awesome when she saw everyone. She felt decently successful with where she had gotten, she was content with her life. But she wanted to wow everyone on that boat in Brighton and she damn well needed all the help she could get.