Anna Snape twirled her eyelashes around her wand and accentuated her full lips with pink lipstick. Her best friend, Lavinia Malfoy, was about to arrive, and Anna knew how impatient Vinny always was when people were late. Lavinia herself was very punctual. Sure enough, in a few seconds Anna heard the doorbell ringing, and Lavinia's voice from below.
"I'll be down in a second!" Anna called, and hurried downstairs, taking two steps at a time, which made her beige skirt flap up to her knees. She wore a light, flowery summer top, and her chestnut hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail, which, she figured, should be enough for an informal dinner.
"I won't be out late, Mum," said Anna, planting a quick kiss on her mother's cheek, and the two girls went out into the garden, searching for a convenient spot in which to Disapparate – Anna and Lavinia, who had both recently turned seventeen and were about to start their final year in Hogwarts, recently passed their Apparition test, but were not yet entirely comfortable with the art of Apparating and Disapparating. They always looked for patches of smooth, soft ground on which it was easiest to turn, and without any nearby bushes or brambles that could catch their clothes and make them topple off balance.
"How do I look?" asked Lavinia.
"Terrific," Anna said truthfully. This was no exaggeration. Lavinia was wearing an elegant black dress, and tiny pearl earrings shone in her ears. Her long dark hair framed her pale face and fell upon her back in a smooth curtain. Her grey eyes were deep icy lakes, and her finely shaped lips were painted with red lipstick.
"My mother told me that I must go and show that – that woman how she can never hope to be a true Malfoy when it comes to style and breeding," told Lavinia, "but I still wouldn't come if I didn't have you for company, so thanks for agreeing to come along, Anna."
Anna frowned. This has been a constant source of friction between her and Lavinia for the past year.
"We are best friends, Vinny," said Anna, "but I will never agree with you about Hermione. I've known her my whole life, and she's a really, really nice person."
Lavinia made a derisive noise.
"I will never understand why my father married her," she said, "she is older than my mother, and really plain-looking. I wish I knew what she did to catch my father and make him so infatuated with her. We could both take lessons from her," she smiled wickedly.
"Rubbish," Anna said coldly, "I'm sorry, Vinny, but you are talking nonsense. My mother told me in secret that Hermione had loads of doubts before she agreed to marry your Dad."
All in all, the two girls were rather cross with each other when they had arrived at the small London flat which, for the past year, has been home to Draco and Hermione, and recently also to the youngest of the Malfoys – baby Emmeline.
"Hello, Lavinia," said Hermione, who was wearing a pale blue dress and looking elegant, though without the sophistication Lavinia would have expected from a woman whose rank in society was now so much elevated, "and you brought Anna along too, that's lovely." Hermione gave Anna a genuine smile, relieved to see the comfort of a friendly face next to Lavinia's sour one.
Lavinia looked as though she was half considering to turn back and leave right then, but the next moment she was firmly steered in by her father, who had already picked up Scorpius earlier. Rose and Hugo, Hermione's children from her first marriage, were already there too, looking apprehensive. They were as pleased to see Anna as their mother was. The only one who looked truly relaxed was baby Emmeline, who was cooing happily in her bassinet.
"Ooh, Emmy looks so much bigger after I hadn't seen her for a month!" Anna exclaimed happily, "may I hold her, Hermione?"
"Of course," said Hermione, smiling. Anna picked up the baby. Emmeline Malfoy had her mother's brown hair, her father's gray eyes, and the chubby cheeks, arms and legs of most babies.
The dinner was supposed to be a sort of family party – Draco and Hermione were going to take advantage of the last weeks of summer and retreat to their cottage at the south of France; they would only return to see the children off to school. Lavinia promised to take Scorpius shopping for his school supplies in Diagon Alley, and Rose and Hugo were to go with the Potters.
Whatever Lavinia said, Anna didn't think Hermione was so very plain. She was a nice-looking woman with a tall, lean figure, and she looked younger than her forty years. Though, of course, she didn't look quite as dashing as Mr. Malfoy in his expensive suit and with his sleek blonde hair neatly brushed back – nor, Anna had to admit, as beautiful as the first Mrs. Malfoy, Astoria, from whom her best friend inherited her beauty.
Still, Anna believed Draco and Hermione to be a fine couple, and better suited to one another than most people thought. Of course, being a child of a similarly unlikely but nevertheless very happy union, Anna tended to be more broad-minded about love and relationships than other girls her age.
The dinner was not a fun affair. Lavinia sat haughty and sulking, in a sour silence, eating little and talking even less. Rose and Scorpius didn't seem to like each other any more since becoming step-siblings. Hugo was clearly feeling awkward as well. The only conversation deserving of its name was between Draco, Hermione and Anna.
"Are you looking forward to your final year at school, Lavinia?" Hermione boldly ventured. Lavinia looked up from her plate indifferently.
"I was hoping to become Head Girl," she said in a bored voice, "but it looks like Anna's going to get it, she was more distinguished as a Prefect last year." And she retreated into silence once more.
"Rose, Scorpius, I expect you'll try for your House Quidditch teams?" asked Draco.
"Dunno," mumbled Rose.
"I s'pose," shrugged Scorpius.
To sum it up, Hermione was glad when dinner was over, Lavinia and Anna were gone, and Rose, Hugo and baby Emmeline were tucked in their beds.
"Tomorrow our vacation begins," were her husband's last words before he fell asleep, an expression of vast contentment on his face. In the darkness, Hermione closed her eyes. The dear cottage at the south of France, where they had spent their honeymoon! How she loved that place! She had loved France ever since she had visited it as a child with her now elderly parents.
She loved this London flat, too. It was ridiculously small compared to Malfoy Manor, or even to the house where Lavinia and Scorpius Malfoy spent their childhood, but it was cozy and bright, and decorated with the sort of modern, efficient elegance that suited her and Draco as a couple without the prospect of having a numerous family, which was unlikely, taking her age into account. Emmeline was likely to remain their only common child. They only had two bedrooms – one for them and one for the baby. They figured Rose and Hugo would always want to spend some of their summers at The Burrow, and for the few weeks out of each year when they come, they could kip on a camp bed in the living room. The thought of camp beds in her son's household was, naturally, shocking to Narcissa Malfoy, but otherwise it suited everyone involved.
As for Lavinia and Scorpius, this was even less of an issue, as to Draco's dismay, his children showed very little inclination to visit him at his new home, and when they did stay overnight, it was only after making sure Hermione's children weren't there.