Hello readers! I'm back with a sequel to "Of Course, Love"! I would like to thank Sunniski, DramioneLover95, Just Your Above Average Malfoy, the-clumsy-one, and PrimusLune x for their lovely reviews and encouragement to write this sequel! Also, I would like to thank all the wonderful people who favorited (not a word, but who cares) "Of Course, Love"! You guys are great, and I hope that this story will also be pretty well received! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. It's the sad truth.
Warning: There is a bit of swearing, but I promise it's not bad and the person deserves it. For people who love Astoria Greengrass...read at your own risk!
Interesting Information: Did you guys know that an engagement party is typically set three to four months after the proposal? Well, I didn't. But now I do. :)
Please enjoy!
"I love you."
"Yes, I know. I love you too."
"I love you more."
"I seriously doubt it. I love you the most."
"My love for you is boundless because it surpasses the height of Mt. Everest, which, by the way, is 29,035 ft. above sea level."
"Impressive, Granger. But my love for you is boundless because it surpasses the depth of the Pacific Ocean, which, by the way, is the deepest ocean in the world at 35,837 ft. below sea level."
"Not bad, Malfoy. But my love—"
"Can you two please stop already? You love each other. We get it! That's great news, but it's also old news. In fact, now my head hurts whenever I hear all this mushy and unnecessary information that should be strictly kept between the two of you—because no one normal even knows or cares how high Mt. Everest is or how deep the Pacific Ocean is—and it's been hurting for quite a while now!" A disgruntled Harry Potter grumbled as he rubbed his forehead pointedly.
"Very funny, Potter." Draco Malfoy retorted sarcastically, "Do I need to remind you that you lot of eavesdroppers used to enjoy listening?"
"That was before you and Hermione started to declare your love for one another whenever and wherever you please! I've only heard this sickening competition or whatever-it-is of 'who-loves-the-other-more' like, what? A thousand times at least during the last three and a half months? I miss the days when you two used to argue." Harry complained, sulking in his seat.
"Harry!" Hermione Granger scolded, both embarrassed and appalled at her best friend's words. "I can't believe you just said that! Aren't you happy that we aren't arguing anymore?"
"Okay, calm down, Hermione. That came out wrong…see what I mean? My brain isn't even properly functioning anymore!"
"When has it ever?" Draco muttered under his breath. Hermione wanted to glare and smile at the same time. Conflicted, she opted to pretend that she hadn't heard anything.
"Potter, has it ever occurred to you that you don't have to listen? In fact, Hermione and I never consented to the violation of our privacy. Oh, but then again, you lot are all hopeless eavesdroppers." Draco sneered.
Ron Weasley jumped in. "Malfoy, it's kind of hard not to listen. We're sitting at your table, so what can we do but listen?" He looked smug and annoyed at the same time.
"Okay, so you're sitting across from me, Weasley. But you can always get your lazy arse off of my mother's lawn chair and find another table to sit at. Simple as that." Draco rolled his eyes.
"Draco." His fiancée gave him a warning glare. "Be nice."
He looked at her indignantly. "Hermione, Malfoys aren't nice. Furthermore, this is our engagement party. I should be able to say whatever I bloody well please."
Hermione sighed in exasperation as she didn't appreciate or agree with his stubborn reasoning, but nevertheless let the matter drop. This was their engagement party, and she was not about to give a lecture on respect in front of all of the guests. (Lecturing Draco Malfoy on the topic of respect would be rather pointless anyways.)
"So what did I just miss?" Pansy Parkinson called as she approached their round table, a glass of champagne in her hand. She took her seat on Draco's left and glanced expectantly at the faces around her.
"Nothing much." Blaise Zabini spoke up from the seat to her left.
Pansy waited for him to elaborate, but he chose to nonchalantly lean back in his chair and drink his champagne. Eye rolls were exchanged. Blaise Zabini was a man of many words, alright.
"You just missed Hermione and Draco's usual banter." Ginny Weasley announced from the seat to Hermione's right. As the only individual at the table prohibited from drinking (Mrs. Weasley's orders), she watched everyone else down their alcoholic beverages. She observed that the Slytherins all seemed to be rather familiar with the taste of wine while the Gryffindors occasionally made faces after a tentative sip. This led to her conclusion that the Slytherins must have gotten experience with drinking from the crazy parties they were known to have thrown back in their school days. (The parties had all exclusively been for Slytherins, of course. But everyone at Hogwarts, excluding every professor except perhaps Dumbledore, had heard the details about what went on in a Slytherin House party.)
Pansy snorted. "Then I didn't miss anything important. Good."
Ginny giggled, Harry laughed, Ron guffawed, Blaise slightly smiled, Hermione blushed red, and Draco fought to remain passive.
"Seriously though," Pansy continued, "I've heard that exchange way too many times."
"At least they've stopped having the 'I-love-you-no-you-don't' argument…" Ginny pointed out.
"Thank Merlin for that!" Ron exclaimed.
"But they've replaced that argument with the 'I-love-you-yes-I-know-I-love-you-too-I-love-you-more' competition, and I'm not sure which one is worse." Harry grimaced. "I think I feel my scar prickling again after feeling nothing for four good years, and it's all thanks to you two. Ouch."
Only Ginny bothered to give him a sympathetic glance.
"That's tough, mate." Ron commented distractedly; he was too busy stuffing his face with food to offer anymore words of comfort.
"I think the 'I-love-you-no-you-don't' argument was more tolerable." Pansy mused. "The exchange that they have now—well, I guess it's just their screwed up way of showing their love for one another. We should just all be glad that they still don't do any physical PDA."
"Pansy, I see that you've gotten soft over the years. They were clearly all over each other. Even from at least thirty feet away, I could hear their disgusting conversation. I nearly vomited, and we all know that sophisticated pureblood women like me never vomit." An annoyingly high-pitched feminine voice drawled. Everyone at the table turned to the woman that had just approached. No one had seen her walking towards them. (No one cared about her anyways.)
Astoria Greengrass. What a pleasant surprise.
She was beautiful as usual, but no one at the table thought that she was beautiful at all. She was a vile woman full of lies and deceits, and Draco was all too familiar with her foul personality. All seven individuals sitting around the table visibly tensed. Eyes narrowed, and expressions varied from outright anger to feigned stoicism. Now, the Gryffindors and Slytherins were still not the best of friends, but they were beginning to get along—after all, they would inevitably be spending a great deal of time together after Draco and Hermione were finally joined in matrimony. Abhorrence for Astoria Greengrass was something that they easily bonded on.
"Draco." Astoria acknowledged his presence first with the smile that he had once been enamored by.
Too bad Draco Malfoy was now immune to anything that had to do with her. The only response she got was a cold sneer.
Pretending to be unperturbed, she looked at the man sitting on the other side of Pansy. "Blaise Zabini." She warmly greeted her old housemate.
Blaise's face remained emotionless. He wasn't even looking at her.
"I have to say that I'm very disappointed. How could three of Hogwart's greatest Slytherins degrade themselves to the level of these worthless Gryffindors?" Her voice was full of scorn, but her face wore a mask of indifference. (Somehow, all Slytherins were masters of wearing masks.)
"What do you know?" Ron snarled vehemently.
"You forget that these 'worthless Gryffindors' saved your arse from the Dark Lord. We are all indebted to them, and you would do well to remember that." Pansy spat resentfully.
Astoria dismissed Pansy's words with a contemptuous sniff. Eyes flashing, she continued as if Pansy hadn't spoken at all. "What is even more shocking is that the Draco Malfoy, pureblood Prince of Slytherin, is getting married to a little mudblood!" She exclaimed, her voice now on the edge of hysteria. Her skillfully hidden emotions were starting to show.
There were several deafening clatters. Everyone at the table, except for Hermione, had dropped their silverware or slammed their glasses down and stood up. Some of the guests at tables within a ten-foot radius ceased their chattering and turned their attentions curiously toward the couple's table.
The four men (including Blaise!) all towered over her menacingly, and Draco's expression was thunderous as he glowered at Astoria with pure hatred and malice. "How dare you call my fiancée that? Who do you think you are?" His voice could have frozen anything, and everyone except for Astoria really had frozen. She shifted uncomfortably at his hostile tone, but a sneer was threatening to mar her pretty face.
That stupid bint. She was asking for it.
Pansy and Ginny were both shorter than her, but the way they looked down upon her person seemed to make them taller. If looks could kill, Astoria Greengrass would be long dead and gone. (And no one here would miss her.)
Hermione, who had remained motionless and silent during this glaring showdown, blinked away the angry tears that were threatening to spill over and stood up. She motioned for her raging friends to sit down, and all of them shot her dubious looks, but they grudgingly complied when she gave them reassuring glances in return.
If Hermione Granger knew what she was doing, then she knew what she was doing.
Draco was the last to sit back down. He gazed straight into her eyes and after seeing her firm resolve, relented with a small nod and pointed look that warned her that he would interfere if necessary. She took a deep breath, and then forced herself to stare into the disdainful eyes of Astoria Greengrass.
"Why are you here?" Hermione asked monotonously.
"What?" Astoria looked genuinely confused. She had been expecting the Gryffindor to defend herself and her friends from the derogatory words that were said a few moments ago.
"Why are you here?" Hermione repeated in the same tone, a bit louder this time.
"I—"
"I don't remember inviting you." She bluntly interrupted.
"Well—"
Hermione held up a hand. "Save it for someone who cares. Now get out."
The aura around her was intimidating and as if feeling it, all the remaining guests that had been droning in the background simultaneously stopped their conversations to see and hear what was going on at the engaged—and now enraged—couple's table. Most of them watched with wary eyes, but some select individuals watched with something akin to excitement. (Who could blame them though? It's a verbal catfight!)
Astoria was too affronted to be intimidated. "How dare you tell me to get out? You don't have the power to kick me out of Malfoy Manor, mud—"
"Astoria Greengrass, don't you dare finish that sentence. You are disgusting. How dare you first show your face at our engagement party—uninvited no less—then proceed to ruin it with your selfish and petty words? It's always about you, isn't it? You think that you're all that. But let me tell you something, Astoria—you're not. So just get over yourself already and move on with your pitiful life. And if you're not ready to move on, there's the door. Get out." Hermione passionately snapped back.
Draco was stunned, but his face showed otherwise. He had seen her angry countless times, but never as angry as she was at the moment. She was positively infuriated.
The hated woman balked for a few moments, utterly speechless, before the sneer reappeared. "Well, Granger, you clearly think that you're all that, so don't you think that you're being a hypocrite? You think that you're better than me just because Draco is marrying you—let me remind you that I did you a favor two years ago by breaking up with him."
She was really asking for it.
Draco scoffed and dismissed her atrocious claim with an eye roll, but Hermione was offended—on behalf of both herself and Draco. She took a huge gulp of her champagne before forcefully slamming the glass back onto the table. It was a wonder how the glass still remained intact after being treated like that. Her eyes were blazing with fury, and she struggled to keep her voice steady. "How dare you bring up the past? How dare you insinuate that you were the one who ended your relationship with Draco when it was clearly the other way around? How dare you say such a thing at our engagement party and in front of all of our guests? Who do you think you are?"
"You—"
"I don't want to hear it, Greengrass. I'm sick and tired of hearing your positively dreadful voice and dealing with your equally revolting attitude. But, you were right about one thing—you did do me a favor. Thank you for being a complete bitch to Draco two years ago. Now he doesn't have to waste his precious time and money on you—someone who's not even worth it." Hermione sat down purposefully, crossing her legs and draining the rest of the wine in her glass.
Draco glanced at the woman who was taking deep breaths to calm down on his right as he lifted his glass to his lips. He was internally bursting with pride, but he would wait until later—when they were alone—to tell her that. Neither of them needed anymore teasing from anyone at the moment.
On the other hand, Astoria had never felt so angry in her life. She believed that she could possibly murder someone by just acting on the intense hatred she felt for this brown-haired witch. "I didn't really want things to end up like this, but you leave me no choice." She whipped out her wand from inside the folds of her dress.
But she wasn't fast enough. By the time she had her wand trained on Hermione, all seven sitting witches and wizards had their wands pointed back at her. (It was seven against one. Not much of a fight.)
Draco calmly stood up, but Hermione could tell from the way he was gripping his glass that he was using all that was left of his willpower to control himself—for the sake of not ruining their engagement party any further. "I believe Hermione is finished with you. Get out."
Astoria clearly never expected that from him. Her tough façade shattered, and she looked close to tears. "Y—You too, Draco?"
"You've done enough damage to our engagement party. Now get out." He deadpanned.
She promptly burst into tears, although it was unclear whether she was crying due to embarrassment, heartbreak, or anger. Ginny, ever the observant individual, concluded that it was all of the above.
Astoria Greengrass was a complete mess. (And no one cared.) "B—But…"
"You must be daft if you're still trying to argue. There's nothing left to say. I don't ever want to see your face again." Draco dismissed her harshly.
"Astoria!" Daphne Greengrass's voice rang out. She was suddenly beside her younger sister. (What was it with the sneaky Greengrass sisters?) "Why are you crying?" She sounded more bewildered than concerned.
The younger Greengrass threw herself into the arms of her sister, and Daphne looked ruefully at her former school mates. "I'm not sure what she did or said, but I'm glad I decided to apparate here as soon as I noticed Astoria was missing. I knew that she might try to do something about the engagement party, and I had tried to stop her this morning. I apologize if she caused a commotion. I assure you that it will never happen again." With that said, Daphne shot a displeased look at her tearful sister, roughly grabbed her arm, and apparated both of them away on the spot.
Everyone felt rather sorry for Daphne Greengrass. (Even Blaise!)
It was dead silent for a few moments before Narcissa Malfoy spoke. "Let us continue with the party. We must keep in mind that we are all here today to celebrate the engagement of my son, Draco, and Hermione, his lovely fiancée."
Loud cheers erupted from the large garden of Malfoy Manor, and the some of the guests beamed at the couple and others expressed how impressed they were with Hermione's quick wits. Draco received a few unwanted claps on the shoulder and slaps on the back, but he took them with a curt nod.
"Hermione, you were so cool!" Ginny gushed, knocking her chair over and throwing her arms around the witch. Hermione felt her cheeks heat up as she laughed.
The youngest Weasley made to hug Hermione's fiancé as well, but stopped herself just in time, remembering that he was Draco Malfoy. She cleared her throat and awkwardly stuck her hand out. With a raised brow, he slowly took her hand and gave it a small shake before sticking his hand back into his trouser pocket.
Hermione watched this entire spectacle with amusement, but her view was obstructed when her best friends pulled her out of her seat and into a group hug.
"That was bloody wicked, Hermione." Harry chuckled when the three of them separated.
"And bloody scary! Blimey, Hermione, I hope that I'm never on the receiving end of your wrath!" Ron shuddered.
She gave him a look. "As if you've never been on the receiving end of my wrath before, Ronald."
"Fine, but never when you're like that." Ron argued.
"Oh, Hermione!" Mrs. Granger rushed to envelop her daughter in a large hug. She had been sitting next to Narcissa at a nearby table, tensely watching the entire scene. "I was so worried for you!"
"Mum!" Hermione grinned and returned her mother's embrace with the same amount of vigor.
"She was squeezing the life out of my hand!" Mr. Granger joked as he put his arms around his wife and daughter. Hermione beamed up at him.
Meanwhile, Narcissa had her arms tenderly wrapped around her son, and Lucius Malfoy gave him a subtle nod of approval—it seemed insignificant, but to Draco, this almost unperceivable gesture was more than enough.
"Draco, Hermione is a marvelous girl. I am so happy for you, and although your father doesn't show it, you should know that he is too." Narcissa whispered into his ear.
"I know, Mother." was Draco's simple answer.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party!" Theodore Nott announced his arrival. "So what did I miss?"
"Nothing much." Blaise spoke up. He was the only one still sitting and casually sipping his champagne.
Draco and Hermione exchanged incredulous looks, and everyone else burst into raucous laughter.
"Today was fun." Hermione commented airily, grabbing the tube of toothpaste from Draco's outstretched hand.
Draco met her eyes in the mirror as he rinsed his mouth. "Fun? Try horrendous." He snorted before putting his toothbrush back into his mouth.
"Oh, come on, Draco! It wasn't that bad. I certainly had fun." Hermione insisted as she brushed her teeth with the intent to do a precise and complete job. (Her parents were dentists after all. There's also the fact that Hermione Granger was the definition of precise and complete.)
"I beg to differ. How could you have had fun when she crashed our party? Our engagement party must have been the worst one in wizarding and Muggle history!" If it weren't for his broody expression, Hermione would have giggled. Some white toothpaste foam had landed on his cheek when he had angrily yanked the toothbrush out of his mouth to retort.
"Draco," Hermione said in the most soothing voice she could muster. Putting down her toothbrush and curling her fingers over the hand he had clenched around his toothbrush, she peered up at him with soft eyes. "I'm not going to pretend that confronting Astoria was pleasant because it wasn't—she was a right pain in the arse. But, her appearance was only an unfortunate occurrence and nothing more. Besides, I like to think that I was able to release all of my pent up stress and anger, all thanks to her."
His face softened as his grip on his toothbrush loosened. He brought his other hand up to gently brush a stray curl behind her ear. "As long as you don't take today's unfortunate events to heart, I can forget about them as well." He smirked before saying, "You were bloody brilliant today, love. I suppose I'm a rather lucky bloke."
Hermione smiled widely and reached up to wipe away the toothpaste on his cheek. "Well, you were 'bloody brilliant' yourself, dear. And yes, you can consider yourself a very lucky man—not just anyone can get married to me." She smugly turned back to face the mirror and picked up her toothbrush.
Draco put his toothbrush away before shifting his attention back to Hermione. "Granger, did you just say 'bloody' and compliment me all in two sentences?"
"Perhaps." She coyly replied. "I do often pay you compliments though."
She leaned over her sink to inspect her teeth, and Draco took this opportunity to effectively cage her in from behind. Surprised brown eyes locked with smoldering gray eyes in the mirror.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her right shoulder, still gazing at the wide pair of eyes in her reflection. "Thank you." He didn't specify what exactly he was thanking her for, but she understood.
Hermione turned in his arms to look up into his eyes—eyes that were conveying so much rare emotion at the moment. She lithely pushed herself up onto her toes as he slightly leaned down to meet her lips halfway.
"Of course, dear. Anything for you." She murmured when they broke apart for air.
Draco Malfoy flashed her a breathtaking smile, and Hermione Granger knew that she was the luckiest woman in the world.
That's it! I hope that it was a satisfying read! Please tell me what you think and give me ideas for a new Dramione story! I'm thinking about writing a multi-chapter Dramione, and I have a few ideas as to how I'm going to do it, but any input is always appreciated! ~Claudi Skies