Hermione sighed as she walked into the Leaky Cauldron, wanting to be anywhere else in the world. It's not that she didn't want to be with her friends, or even that she didn't want to have a drink. But all she could think of was the relative danger of using a numbing spell on her feet when she was in heels. She would most likely topple over.
Harry and Ginny sat side by side in a booth near the back of the pub - Voldemort's defeat was only a couple years ago, and Harry still frequently encountered droves of people grateful for his saving the world. He did his best to keep a low profile despite the difficulty of accomplishing the task.
Hermione's heart fluttered as she saw the red hair and broad shoulders she recognized best in the world - her boyfriend, Ron.
Boyfriend. The world was still weird to say out loud. After a near decade of friendship, of fighting, of driving each other mad, they were finally together. Their relationship started immediately after the war, but Hermione went back to Hogwarts and Ron did not. The distance felt like a cruel twist of fate - she finally got what she wanted, only to be half a nation away for another year.
Hogwarts had been so lonely without him and Harry. Sure, she had Luna and Ginny still, but the small group of "8th years" seemed uncomfortable around each other. Many had lost friends and family in the war, and those absences were notable.
Even more odd were the children of deatheaters, either dead or locked away in Azkaban. Theo Nott was a perfect example - he'd completely avoided the Battle of Hogwarts, and his father had already received the Dementor's Kiss in Azkaban. She'd never talked much to Theo in school - it seems no one did, really - but she, Theo and Padma Patil were tasked with a lot of the castle repairs and grew close throughout Eighth Year.
Neither Theo nor Padma were big talkers - Hermione really appreciated their work together for that exact reason. They could work together in comfortable silence, something Hermione wasn't quite used to.
"Hermione!" Her head snapped over - speak of the devils. Theo and Padma sat at the bar, Padma having called her name. They must also be coming from their jobs - Padma worked at St. Mungo's as an apprentice, with the dark green robes of an apprentice mediwitch. Theo wasn't in robes at all - he wore dark dress pants and a white button down shirt. She knew Theo worked for some muggle company but she didn't know what he did.
Theo tipped his glass at her - some sort of scotch based on the color.
"Theo, Padma, it's so good to see you." Hermione smiled. "I'll come back in a moment, I just want to put my stuff down by Harry and Ron."
"Be sure to come back, I'll buy us a round. You can tell Ginny, Potter and Weasel—" Theo coughed in the crook of his sleeve, "—Weasley to come too." Padma glared at him.
"Of course." She said, smiling still. She and Theo both knew that Ron would never be willing to have Theo buy him a drink. Ron's hatred towards Slytherins had never wavered after the war. She couldn't think of a single Slytherin he regularly spoke to.
But that was the past now. They were all adults. They all had good jobs, and putting childish things behind was part of adulthood. Hermione walked over to the table with her friends, sitting down.
"Hermione! How are you?" Ginny said, smiling. Ron leaned over and kissed Hermione full on the mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Ronald!" She said, though smiling. Until she noticed that his eyes immediately drifted back towards where Theo and Padma sat. The taste of him on her lips spoiled.
"You jealous dolt." She hissed at him, before turning back to Ginny to answer her question. "Wonderful! My day at the Ministry was very productive. We've been trying to help trace some of the house elf lineages so elf families that were separated throughout centuries could find each other. House elves live a couple hundred years, so it's quite a task." She explained enthusiastically. She paused. "Would you like to come over to Theo and Padma? They would like to buy us a round."
Ron rolled his eyes. "We don't need drinks bought from his blood money."
"Ronald!" She snapped again.
"What, Hermione? The Notts dealt in ancient artifacts for centuries. That Manor didn't buy itself." Ron spat.
Ginny looked at Ron with a fire in her eyes as she stood, taking Harry's elbow to bring him with her. Harry smiled, albeit nervously - his work as an Auror meant that he knew all about the Nott's past, but he also knew about Theo's complete lack of culpability. The Ministry had given him truth serum after truth serum, trying to prove he'd been involved with the death eaters, to no avail. Theo had no dark mark and his wand was free from any illegal curses. He was innocent as far as the Ministry could prove.
Once Hermione, Ginny and Harry began to walk back towards Theo and Padma, Hermione stumbled a moment as she saw they'd been joined by another person - a person with the lightest of blonde hair.
Malfoy.
He wore dark dress robes, but they were open, showing that beneath he wore a similar button down to Theo's, only a dark blue. He had what was clearly a Firewhiskey in his hand; he set the glass down as he turned to face them.
"Nott, Malfoy, Padma." Harry greeted, nodding at them. Ginny smiled; Ron looked sullen.
"We came to take you up on that round. It's a bit crowded though, we can-" Before Hermione could finish Theo waved his hand, and the barmaid came with a tray of small glasses of golden liquid. Theo began to pass each glass, looking each person in the eyes. Malfoy kept his head down but accepted the drink.
"Cheers." Theo said, holding his glass up. Everyone participated except Ron, who didn't clink his glass to the others. They all drank. Hermione had never had that drink before, but it was delicious - it tasted like warm hot chocolate as it traveled down her throat.
"Thank you, Theo, that was wonderful." Hermione said. Everyone nodded their appreciation.
"Malfoy." Harry acknowledged as he set his glass back on the table. Everyone looked between them hesitantly.
"Potter." Malfoy said back, finally looking up at them. Draco looked much older than 19; his eyes had dark circles beneath them, his thin jaw covered in wisps of a beard. He did look considerably better than two years prior; he'd gained some weight, and looked almost at ease, despite being at a table with his former enemy. His eyes flitted to Hermione's. "Granger. Weasleys. Or are you Mrs. Potter yet?" He asked Ginny, his voice not unkind but not friendly.
"We're getting married in September." She answered, instinctively reaching to the engagement ring on her finger. "Before I leave for the Harpies."
"Of course. Congratulations."
"Are you marrying Astoria?" Ginny asked. Everyone looked at her. "I actually had friends outside of Gryffindor, Astoria is a sweet girl." She said defensively.
"We're not yet engaged, though it's expected of us to happen soon."
"Expected of you? Quite a romantic bloke you are, Ferret." Ron said, smirking. Hermione glared at him - this was almost a cordial conversation. Almost.
"Well, we better head back to our table." Hermione said quickly, looking around. "We're blocking the walkway. It was lovely to see you, Theo, Padma, M-Malfoy." She stammered over his name; it felt odd to use his surname when she didn't for Theo and Padma. But Theo and Padma were her friends. Draco wasn't, and probably never would be.
The rest of the evening went by as normal, Ron and Ginny arguing about Quidditch, Harry absentmindedly staring off into space, probably thinking about work. He had a lot of responsibility bringing the government back from the hands of fascism; he tried to not let it show, but he was much more distant than he'd ever been. Hermione tried to gently nudge him towards therapy, but was incredibly shocked to find an absolute lack of mental health services for wizards, particularly those with PTSD. The current strategies seem to either be let them suffer or modify their memories. She tried to talk to Padma about it, who'd seemed interested in exploring the idea within her career as a mediwitch - those who remained of their classmates after the war had similar problems to Harry, and all of them needed the help.
Hermione left by herself, the first of her group to go. Ron was already tipsy, and therefore planted a wet kiss upon her lips before she could sneak away. She never understood getting truly drunk – it seemed like a lack of control for no purpose.
It was unsurprising that she'd left early - she woke up the earliest too, and got to work before almost anyone else in the Ministry. And as much as she loved her friends, she wanted some down time to herself. She'd just picked up a new book, and she was very excited to -
She bumped into someone, stepping back and apologizing, before realizing she'd smacked right into Malfoy.
"Granger!" He said, though it was more out of surprise than anger.
"Malfoy!" She said back, almost biting back her earlier apology. A habit around him; show no weakness.
"I'm actually - I'm glad I bumped into you. I have a question." Draco said, clearing his throat and tugging on his already loosened tie.
"Of course?" Hermione said, her voice lilting the last syllable.
"I saw the work you, Padma and Theo did at Hogwarts. Theo and I - we're actually old friends. We grew up-"
"-I know," she interrupted. "He told us."
"Well, anyway, I want to restore the Manor. Restore isn't the right word. I want to completely change the Manor. Like Theo has done to his."
Hermione had not been to Theo's home, though Padma sent her pictures of the before and after - it'd turned from a medieval looking fortress to a modern, open design, full of windows and sunlight. The transformation was incredible.
"I plan to hire some of the best building restoration wizards in the business, of course." He said, his hand touching the back of his neck nervously. "But...well, some of the wards on the Malfoy Manor. I need someone with better expertise. And I think, as of right now, You, Theo and Padma are the most skilled in the world at this sort of task. I know you all say otherwise - you're all obnoxiously modest - but I don't think there's anyone else I'd rather have do it." He stood straighter, looking her in the eyes. "I can pay you of course, whatever price you demand. And I understand you still work at the ministry, I'm in no way trying to interfere with your work."
"You...want me to go back to the Manor." Her hand instinctively went towards her forearm. Draco reddened.
"I...I do. I want to grow up, Granger. If you want to blast the drawing room into a million pieces I'll let you. I want those memories gone." He looked determined. "I don't want to remember anymore than you do, and unfortunately, given the centuries old magic involved, I have to live there as a Malfoy heir. If I'm forced to stand on its soil I want that soil to be something I'm proud of."
Hermione searched his eyes for some sort of joke or cruelty, but there was none to be found. She bit her lip, thinking about his words.
"I'll consider it." She finally said slowly, adjusting the coat she wore over her robes. He watched her for a moment longer before nodding.
"Of course." He paused, before taking a breath. "Thank you." He said, the words sounding foreign on his lips.
"Of course." She echoed back, before turning to go back to her flat.