Spider Webs

A/N: It's been a long time since I've done this – apologies for being a tad rusty! This has been in my head for so long I just had to write it up and post it; I really hope you guys enjoy this story! It will be a bit of a slow-burner because there are quite a few things I want to touch on, but I have a plan for it and I've written up a few chapters already so we should have regular uploads! I'd love to hear your thoughts, and if there are any questions you have feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them articulately!

Summary: When Blaise and Hermione start dating, Draco's world is turned upside down. Blaise is determined for the two to bond but given that everything is not quite how it seems, this may not be the wisest idea. Please R&R!

Chapter 1: Musings

"I see Zabini is yet to grace us with his presence then?"

Draco shot Theo an amused smirk as the tall brunette sank down into the chair next to him and began unfolding his napkin.

"Are you surprised? I don't think he's ever been on time for anything in his entire life!"

In fact, they were so used to Blaise's tardiness that they'd both made sure they'd arrived late themselves; too many hours had been wasted over the years waiting for the man to show up to things on time.

"Yes, but you'd think it would be different tonight – given the circumstances."

Ah yes - the circumstances.

It wasn't uncommon for the friends to have dinner together. Since the final battle and graduating from Hogwarts, they'd all been in a very similar mindset – life was cruel and unapologetically short. They tried to touch base with each other as often as they could and rarely took the normality of it for granted. Not only had their lives been turned upside down, but they had come close to a very different reality - one where casual dinners and nights out wouldn't be an option. Voldermort had come dangerously close to winning at one point, but as time went on the dark side became impatient, worn down and desperate. The finesse with which the Dark Lord had originally carried out his plans began to waver, and the boys had started to seriously question their futures. It had been anything but easy to become indoctrinated into the Order; those were times Draco hated to think about – the limbo of the situation had given him crippling anxiety. He had defied his family and had no guarantee of ever being accepted into their lives again, and he was now around all of the people he despised being treated like the scum they felt he was. If he hadn't had the support of Blaise and Theo he doubted he would ever have taken that step, or coped with the aftermath.

Since then, the process of rebuilding had taken surprising twists and turns. From their conception, the boys were all trained in some way to take over from their fathers, and all of a sudden they had terrifying blank slates to work from. Whilst Draco had opted to keep an eye on the Malfoy investments from afar and immerse himself in the art of potion making - which had always been a passion of his, Blaise had tried to refresh his family's hand in the world of the wizarding property market by overhauling the entire ethos: dark opulence was out and light elegance was in. Theo, arguably the most level-headed of the three, surprised everyone by going into the restaurant business. He'd always had a flair for cooking, having snuck into the kitchens as a young boy to pick the brains of the house elves, and in the past couple of years he had managed to build a very successful name for himself in the culinary circle, and had plans of expanding across the international wizarding world. The best part was that it gave them a permanent location to meet – it started out as menu tasting evenings, and quickly developed into regular dinners that became a fixture in their calendars.

But the circumstances of this dinner had set a different tone for the proceedings. Blaise had been a little more aloof than normal recently; he had always been a bit floaty and unreliable, but for the past two months he had effectively fallen off the grid. Assuming he had been busy with work, Draco and Theo had left the situation alone, but when they received owls at the beginning of the week asking if they could have dinner, and if he could bring his new girlfriend to meet them, alarm bells started to ring. In all this time, regardless of what their relationship statuses were, they had never brought a partner with them to their dinners. It had just never happened. And Blaise was the last person they expected to begin a tradition like that; the Italian had a reputation for flitting from one amorous entanglement to another, and to this day had never had a steady girlfriend.

"You'd think," Draco mused when he realised he hadn't given Theo a response. "At least we know where he's been hiding recently – leave it to a witch to plunge him into some weird hibernation."

Theo snorted and took a sip of his wine.

"If he's bringing her here to meet us I think she's got him doing more than just hibernating; I wouldn't be surprised if he starts talking about settling down with her."

Draco's face was the picture of bewilderment.

"You do realise we're talking about Zabini here?"

"I'm fully aware of who we're talking about!"

"Then you know he's highly unlikely to be settling down with her. He may be all wrapped up in this new relationship now but he always is at the start – give it another couple of weeks and he'll be babbling about the next one!"

Theo shook his head with a more sober expression.

"I don't think so; think about it – he's been completely different about this girl. He usually brags about whoever he's seeing and, frankly, goes into way too much detail about every part of their association. He hasn't even mentioned this witch's name, let alone where he knows her from. And we have no idea how enamoured he is about her yet; I could be wrong, but I really don't think this is just some passing fancy."

Draco mulled this over and, reluctantly, began to see Theo's logic.

"But what if she's weird? Or boring? Or can't string a sentence together?"

Theo laughed and held his now almost-empty glass out to Draco, who took the hint and began to top it up.

"Then we keep our comments to ourselves until we know where Zabini's head is at! I mean it Draco, do not make things difficult tonight; the last thing we need is a scene - we'll probably never see him again, you know how dramatic he can be!"

Before Draco could respond, two shadows were cast over their table, and the couple in question appeared in front of them.

"Sorry we're so late – completely my fault, work has been a nightmare today! Pour us a glass while you're at it Draco!"

In hindsight, Draco would always remember that moment as a time in his life where he momentarily went deaf. He didn't hear a word Blaise said. He didn't register the fact that he was still pouring wine into an overflowing glass. He didn't notice Theo jumping up from his seat and snatching the bottle from his hands.

Because stood next to Blaise, hand in his, bushy hair, stern expression and all, was Hermione Granger.