A New Era, Indeed

by slytherindramaqueen

Draco Malfoy's birthday had finally arrived and with it had also his annual birthday card. His first problem was that he had no idea who wrote them. His second was that his partner wanted him to celebrate with his friends and he really didn't want to. And his third was that the woman he was, maybe, in love with was going to be there. Will anything be solved before the day ends?

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor this prompt (damn), but I do own the plot.

Hello lovely people, this story is part of the Apples & Quills Writing Fest for Draco's birthday. You can find the entire collection also on AO3 and you can check it out as well in the Apples & Quills community right here on FFnet. Enjoy Draco's birthday!

He had started to live on his own two years after the war, when he started making his own money; he hadn't touched his family's vault since then. But it didn't matter how many guards he had on his flat, his mother was adamant to find a reason to burst into his life.

He couldn't mind this bursting in though. It was his birthday, after all.

Narcissa was waiting for him, in his kitchen, with a very large, very rich-in-sweets breakfast that she probably tried to make herself. He could tell from the burnt pieces on the toast and pancakes. He loved it.

"Thanks mum." He smiled at her and ate some of what she thought of good cooking. At least she's trying, he thought.

He kissed his mother and she hugged him almost immediately. "I love you, son." He could hear her quiet sobs. He held her closer. It was somewhat difficult this particular birthday. It was their first since his father had passed away. Lucius Malfoy had saved himself from Azkaban just as last time, but he didn't live as long as he did before.

He got ready for work after his mother left, running a bit late. He wasn't worry though. Surely his partner had covered for him already.

When he entered Level two of the Ministry, some acquainted had stopped him to congratulate him. Some of them had actually hugged him for his birthday. Draco shouldn't be that surprised. Seven years after the War, he wanted to think he had proved himself to the Wizarding World as a reformed citizen. But sometimes, it was hard to convince his mind of that.

Harry was already waiting for him in their in-front-of-each-other cubicles. When he started on this job almost five years ago, he wasn't sure if what he'd done deserved this kind of punishment. Of course, it became worse when Shacklebolt had told them he had been assigned as Potter's partner because his had quit. The fact that Weasley had quit of his job still surprised him.

Draco was sure that Potter was going to make his life miserable at work, but it had been the entire opposite. He would never say it aloud, but if it weren't for Harry bloody Potter, he would've failed on making a normal life ever again.

But, he was never ever going to say that to his partner. As long as Harry was concerned, he loathed him. Which, of course, the Boy Who Lived knew otherwise but why killed the birthday boy's certainty, right?

When Draco got to his desk, he found a muffin with a very large candle on. He looked up and the four eyed wizard of co-worker he had was looking at him, grinning. Grinning!

"Stop that. It doesn't suit you." He said.

"Happy birthday to you, Malfoy." Harry ignored his last statement and gave him a small envelope. "You better like it, they're non-refundable."

He opened it, and his eyes almost popped up from his head when he saw a pair of Quidditch Seasonal Tickets inside.

"Harry," he shook his head, "I can't."

"As hell you can't. You can and you will." Draco kept looking at the tickets, amazed. The thought of buying them hadn't even crossed his mind; an Auror's salary wasn't that great. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss his old lifestyle. Of course he did, but he needed to prove himself that he was able to live without a large amount of money. And he has, so far.

Draco really appreciated this gift, nevertheless.

"Thanks, Harry." He had meant it.

"You are very welcome, Ferret boy. But I must warn you, Ginny wants you to take her to a few of these games". Harry shrugged.

Draco only rolled his eyes. "Sure thing."

"Oh, and we're going out for drinks tonight." Harry's head dropped so fast to his desk. He shot daggers at his partner and shook his head.

"Hell, no. No."

"C'mon, Draco. It's your twentieth fifth birthday, for God's sake! We need to celebrate it." Harry assured him.

"Why, though? What's with the number twenty five that's so important?" He inquired, searching for a file trying to not touch the muffin.

"Uh, it's the start of a new era." Draco snorted. "…According to Luna, but still."

He kept his mouth shut. He was not going to play that game, even worst if Loony Lovegood was involved.

Harry got closer to the little wall that separated their desks and whispered just to him. "Hermione is going." Draco stopped whatever he was doing and looked at his partner.

"Is she?"

"Yes. You know she likes you now, she's your friend."

Draco rolled his eyes, again. That was the last thing he wanted to hear right now. Hermione Granger, only his friend.

He groaned. Merlin, the things he did for that woman. "Same place?"

"Hell yeah!" Harry exclaimed. "You're going to enjoy it, I swear. Your gang is invited too, anyway."

"My gang?" Draco asked, dumbfounded. He had a gang?

"You know, Pansy, Blaise, Theo. The people you invite over at my home every Christmas just to annoy me." Draco smiled, nodding.

"Oh, yeah. So, at six?" Harry nodded. "Great. I hate you."

Harry just smiled and from his pocket, he got out a lighter and used it to ignite the candle. "Make a wish." Draco just shrugged and blew out the candle. But, almost right away, the candle light itself on again.

Draco frowned. What the…

He blew it out again, and yet the candle lighted on once more. He kept blowing it out and every time, the candle would light itself back.

"What is this, Potter?" He asked, without failing to try again.

"They're called Trick Birthday Candles. Pretty ingenious, aren't they? Muggles can be very inventive." Harry smiled.

While Malfoy kept fighting with his birthday muffin, he didn't realize a paper plane was entering the Auror Department and heading towards his cubicle. Harry, on the other hand, did notice.

Harry Potter was a lot of things and one of those things was being a nosy. So, of course, he saw the paper plane de-transform in front of his eyes and become a birthday card. A very non-magical birthday card, it seemed.

He opened it, not making sure if Draco was still blowing the candle out or not. The letter was handwritten and it sounded as if a girl had written it. It also sounded very in love. He was halfway through the note when a pair of hands snatched it away from him.

"Potter," Draco was very angry, "don't."

Harry tried; he really tried to not say anything. But he couldn't.

"Who is she? Is she a muggleborn or a half-blood? Are you seeing someone and didn't tell me about it? Because if you are, then damn Draco, I feel hurt, I'm your freaking partner. We have a bond now." Harry kept rambling like that for a few minutes but Draco wasn't giving in.

So, Harry pulled his master card, again.

"What about Hermione?"

Draco snapped. "What about her?"

Harry was about to answer but said girl had just appeared at the door of their Department, so he kept silent. His eyes went straight to the door and Draco's followed. He fixed his attire a bit to not seem that distressed.

"Harry, I need to pick your brain about something."

"That's a first." Her best friend joked.

"You know that's not true." Hermione finally looked up from him and saw the blond wizard across from them. She gave him a warm smile and moved towards him.

"Happy birthday, Draco." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, a hand resting on his shoulder. Draco's ears started to burn and his heart pumped too much blood into his veins. He grinned at her and thanked her. "Drinks tonight, right?

"Yes, Potter told me about it."

"Great! I can't wait to give you your present."

"You, you got me something?" He spoke, his voice pitch a little higher than normal.

"Of course," She smiled again, "when have I not?"

That was true. Hermione had always got him something, except on his first year working for the Ministry.

Draco just nodded and let her keep talking to Harry about some Dark Wizard's tracks. Hermione worked at the Investigation Department, a subdivision of the Auror Office. She had helped them track down every Death Eater on the run so far. She was perfect at her job. She was perfect at everything she did, period.

He kept stealing glances at her while she spoke to his partner. Her wild bushy hair hadn't changed a lot since Hogwarts, if only it was a bit more tamed. But the brown curls were still there and he, sometimes, couldn't stop daydreaming about his fingers running through them, while he kissed her. Merlin, he wanted to kiss her so bad.

Harry threw him a paper ball to wake him up. Hermione was gone. He hadn't even realized. His partner kept smiling at him and watching at him and the damn birthday card.

He took it and looked at the designs. Every year the cards were cooler than the last one.

"Damn, you're doomed."

"Shut up, Potter."

He giggled. "You can't escape the gathering now, huh, Draco."

Massaging his temples, he said: "I hate you."

"No, you don't".

Draco had received a birthday card every year since he started working in the Ministry, without fail. The first one, he recalled, had arrived a few hours before the day had ended. Only his parents and Theo had wished him a happy birthday that day, and he really hadn't been expecting anything from anyone at his work. Except Harry, that gave him some of muggle chocolate. He didn't complain.

But then, after Potter had left earlier, he got a card with some balloons and a cake painted on it. Inside it, there was a small, yet endearing message on how they hoped his birthday wasn't that bad and that he should be proud of being different than his ancestors. It also said that they wished they could be friends one day.

He always wondered if he already was. Different from his ancestors.

Since then, he got a card every birthday, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, even Valentine's Day!

And every message on each card was different. Always telling him good things about him, how much he has accomplished in the Ministry and how brave they were.

Brave.

He didn't like the word. Mostly, it reminded him about the Gryffindors. He wasn't that kind of I-don't-care-what-it-takes brave. They let their fears aside and did them anyway. Draco joined the Aurors because it was better than the alternative. Doing nothing.

This year's birthday card was almost the same as the rest. With, maybe, just a little twist.

Happy birthday, friend.

They say 25 years is something else. I still don't know who is 'they' exactly, but I didn't ask this time just for the pleasure of ignorance. Yes, there's pleasure on it sometimes.

I'm very sorry I can't send a gift or anything, but the Ministry's way of communicating makes it difficult for it to be discreet. If you think about it, this card is supposed to be a gift, but they have become something else entirely, don't you think?

I hope you'd liked the present I sent you last Christmas. I'm kidding, I know you did, I saw you wearing it back in January. It made me really happy, especially because you were smiling a lot that day. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you wearing it again. Did someone tease you about it?

Moreover, I just wanted to congratulate you and wished you a great celebration today with your friends. I hope you don't get a GRAND hangover, but I bet you it'll happen.

Kisses and hugs, and maybe something else,

Me.

Harry looked at his friend's eyes while he read the letter; they were sparkling. The corners of his mouth were barely holding up and a quiet chuckle escape from his lips. This person, possibly a woman, made him happy.

And because he was a nosy, he wanted to know who they were.

So, as any reasonable married person would do, Harry called his wife. He had showed Ginny the miracle of mobile phones and the internet a few years ago and now she wouldn't stop using them. She was a bit like Arthur in that aspect.

Ginny gasped in all the right moments while he recalled the incidents of that morning. "So, do you think it's a she?" She asked.

"It has to be. The letter was very girly."

"Harry, men can be sentimental as well. Remember when you wrote that terrible song for me when I wasn't taking you back after the War?"

"I'm pretty sure I was under an Imperius."

Ginny laughed on his ear and he smiled. "So, you don't think he liked Hermione anymore." She declared.

"Oh no, he fancies her a lot. But he's probably curious about this anonymous person too."

"I don't think we should worry about this person, then. It seems as if they want to keep being anonymous forever."

Harry agreed. He had already thought about it, he really just wanted to gossip with someone about this new found information.

When he came back to the office, Draco had already pulled the card aside and was writing some notes on their latest assignment. His partner had his mask on again and any sort of vulnerability he had showed earlier was gone. Bollocks.

Seamus Finnigan had opened a pub in Diagon Alley, his best friend Dean Thomas acting as the investor and marketing chief. Dean had even called it The Exploding Shot, a pun between the card game and an Irish drink called Bomb Shot. Everybody thought it hilarious except for Seamus. But the name got stuck, and it was the hottest place in Wizarding Britain for adults.

Draco entered the place with a bit of uneasiness. He knew he'll have a good time, he always had. But, for some reason, he started to feel the so-called new era already beginning. And he wasn't sure he liked what he was feeling. Damn Potter and Luna.

Harry had reserved a table for their party and everybody seemed to already be there. They had saved him a seat, between the chaotic schemer and the woman he was, sort of, in love with. Fantastic.

He ordered a pint of butterbeer and the conversations started the instant the drink arrived to the table. Someone had already ordered some snacks to grab a bite but not what he was currently craving for. He let it go, drinking some more and making small talk with Pansy and Blaise, who he hadn't seen in a while and were now a couple.

Theo and Luna, too, had started dating although it was more recent than the former. How had those two hit it off, he was neither sure nor interested in hearing the whole story. Of course, his best friend was very good at reading his mind so his weird girlfriend ('and your friend, Draco, don't be an arse' he thought) begin to ramble about how their relationship had started.

"So, I was in the middle of the Kew Gardens looking for Aquavirius Maggots that were, according to my sources, spotted around the area. And I was about to be taken by very a nice police man for questioning when Theo," she patted his hand and smiled sweetly at him, "appeared out of nowhere and somehow, prevented them from taking me. It was quite impressive."

Draco grinned. "That's quite the story, Theo. With how much you bribed the man?" He joked. His friends laughed and the chats kept going.

While he said something to Harry about how come his wife wasn't drinking any alcohol, Hermione placed a bowl of nachos and hot cheese in front of him. He looked at her, surprised. "What's that?" He asked, foolishly.

She smiled, shaking her head. "Those, goofball, are nachos with cheese on them."

"But you hate cheese, Hermione." He pointed out.

"Yes, they're for you, silly." She pushed them a bit closer to him, herself being closer to him as well. "You weren't eating anything and I noticed they weren't on the table."

"Okay, but how did you know…?"

"You always eat nachos when we come here, or at any place really." You laughed, remembering something. "You even ordered one when we went to that muggle club." She kept laughing and Draco just stared at her. Did she really know him that well?

"I'm that predictable, huh?" He said, eating a nacho.

"Just a little." He smiled.

The night went fast after that and without notice, the time for present opening and cake cutting had arrived.

In the middle of it all, Draco had put the butterbeers aside and changed to firewhiskey as he was feeling a bit chilly. It wasn't the brightest idea, he knew, but it was his birthday and he felt like it.

Taking the first shot, a wave of warmth surrounded his body and his mind cleared a bit. He observed the table he was in and the people around him. He was hanging out with his friends, seven of them, on his birthday. He had friends. He had a life. Five years ago, Draco Malfoy had nothing. At least, it had felt like nothing at that time. But he was a young wizard, with a steady job that he actually enjoyed with a cool partner that welcomed him into his life. And he fancied a girl, he didn't know if said girl fancied him as well but hell, he fancied a girl he wasn't permitted to fancy when he was younger but now he could. Now he could.

And he was going to do something about it.

Pansy squeaked, distracting him of his thoughts. "It's presents time! I want to see what these losers got for you and prove that my gift is better."

Harry rolled his eyes and Ginny stared at her approvingly. "That's the spirit, girl."

"Let's start then. Gimme my new stuff!" Draco chuckled, chugging another shot.

Hermione, sitting at his left, shrugged and shook her head. "Partner of the year, you start."

"But Potty already gave me my present." The birthday boy intervened.

"Yes, well, there's something else, dear colleague of mine." Harry got out of his coat pocket a packet of trick candles with a nice red bow on top. "For next year."

Next, Harry snapped his fingers and a cake showed up in the middle of their table, with twenty five trick candles on top. "Before you cut it and go home, let's finish with the presents, yeah?" He nodded.

Ginny was next. "I'm not sure I got your size right but you and Harry's are quite similar so they should fit you just fine." Inside the wrapper, there was a pair of new leather quidditch gloves. They were for a chaser, the position he had on their team in the Ministry. They were green and, indeed, fitted him perfectly.

"Thanks, Gin. They're amazing." He held her hand for a second. "This is why you're my favorite Potter."

Luna gave him a lot of pair of socks. Tons of them. Some of them were white, but others had really interesting patterns and designs. It was an odd gift, but it was so Luna and he had mentioned her that he was lacking on socks. So, he loved them as well.

Theo, of course, had gone the same way as his new girlfriend and gave him a lot of ties. They came in a great variety of color: light blue, orange, a soft pink and yellow. When Draco inquired on why those colors, he said:

"I made some research and it seems those are the best colors for blonde man." Theo cackled, his teeth showing.

Blaise and Pansy gave him a bottle of his favorite wine and cologne, respectively. The thing was that his favorite cologne was made by a really old wizard, that lived in a very secluded island in who-knows-where and he had owned the last one ever sold, his parents had acquired it before he was even born. The fact that he had another one, in his hands, meant that Pansy had gone over the moon, looking for this.

"How in the hell, Pansy? This is amazing." He stood up and hugged the witch, who was had a reputation for being very thoughtless. "You didn't have to."

"Yes I did." She said, "It's the start of a new era, or something, according to this psycho." She pointed at Luna, who was smiling.

"I'm mostly right, you know."

They all laughed and agreed.

"Where was I where you said that stuff about a new era?" Draco asked. Nobody answered him.

It was Hermione's turn. She slid what appeared to be a book, covered by a colorful wrapping. Draco seemed to recognize the design but he didn't remember it right away. He ripped the paper out, finding in fact a book.

It was a special book, though.

Matilda, the cover read.

Something in Draco's mind clicked. He looked at her and there she was, just smiling at him. "Happy birthday, Draco." She pecked him on the cheek.

The candles from the cake lighted up, his friends were singing to him but he couldn't hear them. He was remembering.

…my first understanding of magic was with this muggle book called Matilda. It's about a girl that loved to read and gains magical powers…

Fuck.

Oh, fuck.

He didn't remember when he had blew out the candles, reducio the presents and gotten out of the pub. His friends were saying goodbye and last happy birthdays again. He looked at his side and saw Hermione.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm taking you home, genius. You're too drunk to apparate."

"So?"

"So, we're walking." Hermione smiled and started the pace.

They walked in silent for a while. His mind was still calculating all the new information he had just received. Hermione Granger, the woman he was now sure to be in love with, was also the person who had sent him all those cards over the years.

He let go of her arm.

"Hermione."

"Yes?"

Not a damn soul was in the street. It was almost midnight.

"You're her." She nodded. Draco choked up on his words. "Why? All these years of anonymous birthday cards, Christmas cards, any existing celebration card, what for?"

Draco looked frightened. He could only hope that her answer was going to be what he had been waiting for all these years.

"You were lonely that first year in the Ministry." She started to explain. "I had only known it was your birthday because Harry mentioned it on our lunch that day. And that made me think, you were alone on your birthday. You had barely any friends out there. As far as I knew, you never went out on the weekends and your name was in the check-out pages of all the books I intended to read from the Ministry Library!" Her voice kept going higher and higher.

"And I thought that you deserved a friend, even if it was an unknown one. And then we all became actual friends and I just couldn't escape from the cycle of sending you a card. So, I kept doing it. And you were happy with them." She smiled. "And I was happy sending them."

He stared at her. At some point of her speech, he had started to walk towards her, being millimeters away from his reach. "Why now?"

Without stopping to see his eyes, she said: "Haven't you figured it out yet? I like you, you idiot."

His lips were on hers in less than a second.

Draco had imagined that exact moment for so long. His fingers would've cupped her cheeks first, starting the kiss with tender. Then, his hands would've travelled through her neck, caressing it at the time, and then to her shoulders. They would finally land in her low back, applying some extra pressure so their bodies would be closer and closer until, if someone saw them, couldn't distinguish where her body finished and his started.

And that's what he did.

Hermione's hands, however, were all over him, one of them pulled his hair a little and the other was on his shoulder, pushing him closer to her. Her feet were tiptoeing because he was taller than her but she didn't mind. Her heart was beating so fast, she was pretty certain he could hear its rhythm through his own chest and his own heart, because she could hear his.

They gasped for air, but their bodies yet failed to separate. Each other´s breaths were still on the other, intoxicating their lungs, their bodies. It was hot and frightening at the same time. Draco's nose was slightly bumping hers, he moaned.

"Just for the record," he started, "I like you too."

Hermione laughed. "Thank God. Or this would've been awkward."

He smiled, his fingers touching her lips. "May I kiss you again?"

"You may, birthday ferret."

In all over London, the clocks hit midnight. Draco Malfoy's birthday was over but a new era had begun for him.

Prompt: Anonymous Birthday Card

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