A/N - This is the first of the Love Boat one shots. I do have more planned, but as I said this is the only one I've written so far and I do have an awful lot of ideas I want to write. I am going to mark this as complete as I don't know how much I'll end up adding to it, but when I write more this will be where the stories are added. Most of the ideas I have are one shots, but at least one idea will be at least two parts. Hopefully I'll be writing more in the New Year, but for now I'm working on a few big stories and I've got my Christmas stories to think about. Until then, enjoy the first Love Boat one shot.
The Boat.
The sun had barely rose in Sydney when the floo network in Draco Malfoy's apartment came to life and Blaise Zabini stepped out of the emerald flames. Looking around and realising it was barely daybreak, Blaise cursed quietly. It didn't matter how many times he visited his friend, he just couldn't get the hang of the time difference between Australia and England. More often than not he tended to appear at rather inappropriate times. Deciding it was better to just wait for Draco to get up, rather than leave and return in a few hours, Blaise settled down on the blond's large sofa. Settling back for a couple of hours wait, Blaise quickly drifted off to sleep.
Blaise was still sleeping soundly a few of hours later when there was movement from the bedroom. He only woke up when a feminine cry shattered the peace and quiet in the penthouse. Sitting up abruptly, he came face to face with a startled looking Hermione Granger, who was standing in the doorway of the front room. Behind her Draco rushed from the bedroom, the worry on his face vanishing when he spotted Blaise.
"Damn it Blaise, I wish you wouldn't do this." Hermione muttered as her heart rate began to return to normal.
It wasn't uncommon for Draco's best friend to show up unannounced and this wasn't the first time the couple had gotten up to find him asleep on the sofa. However, it was always a shock and considering she'd just gotten up Hermione wasn't very alert.
"Sorry." Blaise said sheepishly. "You know how much I struggle with this whole time difference thing."
"I've explained it to you dozens of times." Draco complained from the bedroom doorway.
"I forget." Blaise shrugged. "But now you're up, why don't we have something to eat. I'm starving."
"Won't Daphne be missing you?" Draco asked. Daphne was Blaise's wife and the pair had married three months ago on a cruise of the Mediterranean.
"She's gone out with Pansy." Blaise replied. "So I'm all yours."
"The joy." Hermione muttered as she headed into the kitchen to make some breakfast.
"Anyone would think you didn't like me, Hermione." Blaise remarked as he followed the brunette witch into the kitchen and settled down at the table. "Don't forget I'm responsible for your successful love life. My boat brought you and Draco together."
"So you keep reminding us." Draco said as he also entered the kitchen. "But I'm still going to argue we would have gotten together even without your boat. It would have just taken us a bit longer."
"You two are so stubborn it would have taken you an eternity." Blaise snorted. "Face it, you needed my love boat to set your romance underway."
"We are very grateful to you and your boat, Blaise." Hermione said as she placed cups and cutlery onto the table. "But we'd still appreciate it if you didn't just turn up in the middle of the night. You almost gave me a heart attack, lying there snoring on the sofa."
"Hey, I don't snore." Blaise protested, causing Draco to laugh at him. "Okay, maybe a little bit." He conceded. "But surely its better I wait in the front room then come into the bedroom. I really don't think you would appreciate me crawling into bed with you."
"No, I wouldn't." Hermione agreed as she turned back to the breakfast.
"I don't think Daphne would appreciate it either." Draco chuckled.
"No, I don't suppose she would." Blaise replied.
While Hermione finished the breakfast Draco and Blaise chatted happily, catching up on one another's lives. Since Blaise's wedding contact was much more frequent between the friends and even if they didn't physically see each other for weeks they wrote and floo called regularly. Blaise also chatted about their other mutual friends, who again Draco and Hermione were in regular contact with following Blaise and Daphne's wedding.
"Do we get to find out why you're here?" Hermione asked as she placed three plates of scrambled eggs onto the table and poured coffee into their cups.
"I've found a boat." Blaise announced with a grin. At the end of the cruise where he and Daphne had gotten married, a suggestion that the group all buy a boat together had been made. Blaise had instantly started searching for such a vessel, and finally he'd found one. "You are still interested, aren't you?" He checked with the couple.
"Yeah, we're still interested." Draco answered.
"Good." Blaise smiled in relief. "Although we do have another couple of interested parties. How would you feel about George and Ron and their wives getting in on the act?"
"It would make everyone's share cheaper. I'm fine with the extra couples wanting in." Draco told his friend before turning to Hermione. "Are you okay with that?" He checked with his girlfriend.
Since the wedding Hermione had been back to London and reconnected with the Weasley's. Even though everything had gone really well and she'd even managed to patch things up with Ron, Draco wasn't sure if she would be comfortable with co-owing a boat with her ex.
"I'm fine if George and Ron want in." Hermione replied. "The more the merrier."
Hermione was a bit hesitant of how things would go with Ron being involved, but she didn't want to shut her friend out. Things were actually a lot better between them then she'd ever expected them to get. She genuinely thought their friendship wasn't salvageable, but as it turned out it was. While they would never get back to being the close friends they'd been in their teenage years, they were still pretty friendly. Although Hermione suspected that a lot of that had to do with the fact they were both settled in their lives and had well and truly moved on from their disastrous relationship. With both of them happy with other people, neither were harbouring any lingering feelings for the other, making it easier to bury the hatchet and start a fresh.
"Great, now we can get planning." Blaise said happily. "Before we buy it, I thought we might all want to have a look. The boat's currently in Greece, I thought if you were free we could go next weekend. I've got a hotel nearby and I thought we could all go and spend a long weekend at the hotel and go and look at the boat."
"That sounds good to me." Draco nodded. "We haven't got plans, have we?"
"Nope, we're free." Hermione replied.
"Excellent. I'll owl you details about my hotel and I'll send the information about the boat." Blaise grinned. "Hopefully if everyone likes it, we can get it done up over the winter and next summer we'll be ready to sail. I can already imagine the fun we can all have."
"Providing your sister-in-law isn't on the boat." Draco said. "If she's ever invited on board make sure to tell us and we'll steer clear. After last time I'm never getting on a boat with Astoria again."
"I doubt she'll be invited." Blaise replied. "She and Daphne aren't exactly on the best of terms after the wedding. Daphne made sure Astoria knew how badly she'd behaved and the pair have barely spoken since."
After a few more minutes chatting about the boat, Blaise thanked Hermione for the food and announced he had to be going. Promising to owl them later in the week, Blaise left Draco and Hermione to enjoy the rest of their weekend.
A week later Hermione and Draco found themselves ensconced in a suite at Blaise's Greek hotel. They'd arrived in Greece the previous afternoon and once everyone else had arrived they'd all had dinner together. Even with the added additions of George, Ron and their wives, the usual banter within the group was present and everyone had a great time. On Saturday morning the couples had all done their own thing, but now it was the early afternoon and they were meeting up so Blaise could show them the boat he had found.
"Are you ready?" Draco asked as he emerged from the bathroom.
"I've been ready for nearly ten minutes." Hermione retorted. "It's you who takes an age to get ready to go out."
"I have to make sure I look perfect before being seen in public." Draco grinned. "I have a reputation to uphold you know."
"More like you have a big ego after years of witches fawning all over you and telling you how good looking you are." Hermione snorted.
"Is that not true?" Draco asked, grabbing Hermione and pulling her into his arms. "Have these witches being lying to me?"
"Yes, you're terribly unattractive." Hermione responded, wrapping her arms around Draco and moving closer to her boyfriend. "I really don't know what I see in you."
"It must be my amazing skills in the bedroom." Draco said with a wicked grin.
"Hmm, I'm not so sure." Hermione replied. "I think those skills are slipping, we only had sex twice last night."
"I didn't hear you complaining either time." Draco said. "In fact it sounded as though you were having a great time, the people next door certainly thought so."
Hermione laughed as she remembered the previous night and what had happened. Her and Draco had been thoroughly enjoying themselves in bed and were just resting before another round when a knock on the door disturbed them. It had been the couple next door, asking if they could keep the noise down. Apparently Hermione's moaning and screaming had woken the couple up and they weren't very impressed with being disturbed.
"We really must remember to tell Blaise his soundproofing needs work." Hermione said as the couple disentangled themselves from one another and headed for the door.
Draco laughed in response as the couple exited their room and headed for the lift at the end of the corridor. When they reached the lift, the couple from the room next to theirs were just entering the contraption and they shot the young couple a murderous stare as they entered the confided box with them.
Slightly embarrassed by the previous night, Hermione lowered her head and avoided looking at the disproving couple. Draco however couldn't have cared less by the disapproving looks they were receiving and after shooting the other couple a smirk, he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist. Lowering his mouth to her ear, he then proceeded to whisper dirtily in his girlfriend's ear as his hand slid down to her backside and caressed her firm bottom. For the rest of the short journey the other couple continued to shoot Draco and Hermione unimpressed looks, and the second the lift stopped on the ground floor they bolted from it. Draco and Hermione followed them out into the reception area, quietly laughing at the other couple.
"You're evil." Hermione told her boyfriend.
"They should learn to lighten up." Draco replied. "It's not as if I was doing anything untoward. My hands were on top of your clothes, it's not like I snuck them under your skirt or anything."
Still laughing about the other couple, Draco and Hermione made their way across the reception to where their friends were gathered. It looked as though they were the last to arrive.
"You're not bothering my guests, are you?" Blaise asked.
"It's your guests bothering us." Draco replied. "Bloody couple had the cheek to knock on our door last night and ask us to keep the noise down. Apparently Hermione had woken them up and they weren't very happy about it."
Draco's complaint was met by laughter from his friends. Even Blaise found it amusing, although he did vow to ensure the silencing charms around each room were securely in place. He also decided that next time Draco and Hermione visited any of his hotels he would put extra charms around their room.
"I hope this boat is going to have silencing charms on the cabins." George Weasley laughed. "I'm not sure I want to hear Hermione in the throes of passion, she's like a little sister to me."
"Don't worry, we'll silence their cabin." Blaise laughed. "Or better yet, we can give them a cabin miles away from everyone else's."
Blaise's suggestion was met with yet more laughter. Once everyone had stopped laughing, Blaise ushered them from the hotel and led them down to the nearby harbour. As everyone walked they began to mingle and Hermione found herself walking next to Ron's wife, Emma. Emma was an American witch Ron had met while on holiday, and their holiday romance had turned so serious that she'd given up her life in America and moved to London to be with the redhead.
"How's the pregnancy going?" Hermione asked. Emma was five months pregnant, although her bump was barely visible under the long flowing top she was wearing.
"So far it's being pretty easy going." Emma replied, her hand automatically falling to her stomach.
"How's Ron coping with impending fatherhood?"
"He varies from been completely calm and looking forward to it, to totally panicking and worrying." Emma responded with a small laugh. "Typical Ron really, he's not quite sure how to react. Hopefully by the time the baby arrives he'll be calmer."
"Come on, we both know the second you go into labour he's going to fly into a panic." Hermione laughed.
"Hey, I resent that." Ron called light-heartedly as he came up behind the two witches and took hold of his wife's hand. "I can be calm and composed when the occasion calls for it."
"Really?" Hermione looked at Ron sceptically, remembering all the times he was anything but calm and composed.
"Okay, maybe I'll panic a little bit." Ron conceded with a shrug. "But I'll calm down eventually."
"Yes you will, and when you do you're going to be a brilliant father." Emma said, smiling lovingly at her husband.
Hermione watched with a smile of her own as Ron and Emma briefly stopped walking and shared a loving kiss. They really did make a lovely couple and she was really pleased that Ron was so happy. He deserved someone who would make him happy, and it was obvious to everyone that Emma was that person.
Walking slightly faster to give Ron and Emma some space, Hermione caught up with the other witches in the group. Daphne and Pansy Parkinson were walking arm in arm, happily chatting to Ginny Weasley and her sister-in-law, Angelina. Hermione easily fitted into the conversation as they made the rest of the journey down to the harbour.
When they arrived at the harbour, Blaise led them towards a large boat. The boat was about the same size as Daphne's Delight, but its condition wasn't anywhere near as pristine. Clearly it had been sitting uncared for and unused for quite a while.
"Is this it?" Theo Nott questioned with a look of dismay on his face.
"Yep, this is it." Blaise said.
"It's a bit old and rundown." Harry Potter said.
"That's why we need to fix her up." Blaise answered, unfazed by the state of the boat. "Daphne's Delight was in a similar state when I bought her. The boat itself is really good and it's seaworthy, it just needs sprucing up."
"How much will that cost?" Ron asked worriedly. Out of everyone he had the least money and while he and Emma were confident they could afford a slice of the boat, he didn't know if could afford to pay for a massive make-over.
"It all depends what we want doing to it." Blaise replied. "But since it needs fixing up the asking price is much lower than if we were buying a boat already spruced up. The money we're saving there can go towards the cost of fixing it up."
What Blaise didn't tell Ron was that he'd already spoken to Draco and the pair had agreed that while everyone paid an equal share to buy the boat they would take on the majority of the cost of fixing it up. Draco and Blaise had by far the most money in the group, and they were more than happy to spend some on fixing up the boat to make it a luxury vessel that would be a great holiday destination.
"Are we getting aboard to have a look around?" Blaise asked.
Everyone eagerly agreed and the group made their way onto the boat. Once on the boat it became clear that the fixtures and fittings were very solid, they were just neglected. Even a quick clean up and lick of paint would make a big difference, and by the time the entire refurbish had taken place it would be a stunning boat.
"Come on, let's have a look around." Blaise called. Since he'd found the boat and made contact with the owner, he was definitely taking charge. "Feel free to make suggestions on improvements. We want the make sure we have the best boat ever."
For the rest of the afternoon the group trailed around the large boat, making decisions about improvements they could make. By the time they disembarked it was decided that they were definitely going ahead and buying the boat. It was also decided that Blaise would be in charge of the remodelling, since he'd done it before and knew what he was doing.
Six months after buying the boat, it was finally ready to be launched. Over the course of the six months Blaise had kept everyone informed of the progress he was making. He regularly sent pictures to the group and was constantly asking for their opinions on various things. He had however made sure no-one actually saw the boat while he was working on it and he asked if he could be the one to name it. Everyone was more than happy to let Blaise name the boat, although he was warned that if it was a terrible name that it would be changed.
The last week of May found the group once again at Blaise's Greek hotel. This time however they weren't stopping at the hotel, they were going out on the boat for a week. Even Emma and Ron were there, despite them having a two month old son at home. Originally the couple had declined to accompany their friends on the maiden voyage but the group had been insistent everyone should be there and Molly and Arthur were more than happy to look after their grandson for a few days.
"Are we ready?" Blaise called as he came sauntering up to the waiting group.
He'd been magically arranging for everyone's bags to be delivered to their boat and into each couple's personal cabins. The cabins had been the only part of the boat that each couple had designed themselves. Everyone's cabin was different and tailored to what they had asked for.
"Yes, let's get going." Theo replied. "I want to see the boat."
"We all do." Harry said.
With a buzz of anticipation in the group they left Blaise's hotel and made their way to the harbour as quickly as they could. Their boat was still in the same berth, but it now looked like a completely different vessel. It was now sparkling white, with gold details and the wooden decks looked completely brand new as well.
When they arrived beside the boat, they all noticed the white cloth that hid the side of the boat where the name would be. Making everyone gather around on the dock, Blaise announced it was time to unveil the name of their boat. Clearing his throat he pulled out his wand and with a flick of his wrist the white cloth fell to the dock and the golden name was visible on the side of the boat.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Love Boat." Blaise announced.
"The Love Boat, I like it." Pansy smiled.
Everyone else agreed the name was rather fitting, considering the owners were six couples. Blaise was clearly relived that everyone approved of the name and he wouldn't have to change it.
"Let's get aboard." Blaise called, leading the way onto the boat. "We've got a holiday to enjoy."
Once everyone was on board, Blaise introduced everyone to the boat's captain and his small crew. While the six couples owned the boat, it was just the practical thing to do to have a ship's captain and his crew to ensure the boat ran smoothly. That way all they needed to do was show up and enjoy themselves.
Once the introductions were complete, the captain and his crew headed off to get the boat underway while the group looked around the main deck. Everyone was itching to explore the rest of the boat, but they'd already decided to wait until they were out at sea before discovering what Blaise had done to their boat. For the time being they were going to grab a glass of champagne and watch as they sailed out of the Greek port.
"Can you believe we own a boat?" Draco asked Hermione as they stood by the railings, waiting to cast off.
"Technically we own one sixth of a boat." Hermione replied.
"It's still a boat though." Draco shrugged. "And we can use it privately if we want."
"That might be nice." Hermione said. "Although I am going to enjoy our group holidays."
"So am I, but I'm still looking forward to our private ones." Draco said as he pulled Hermione into his arms. "Just think we can sail the Mediterranean completely naked if we want to."
"What about the crew?" Hermione questioned.
"They can keep their clothes on. Did you see the captain, he's an old man. I have no desire to see his wrinkly backside." Draco joked.
"But what if they see us completely naked?" Hermione asked. "I don't want people to see you naked, you're mine."
"I love it when you get all possessive." Draco chuckled as he pulled Hermione tighter and pressed his lips firmly against hers.
Hermione melted into Draco's arms and the embracing couple weren't even aware the boat had started to move. It was only when their friends pulled them apart and Blaise shoved a glass of champagne into their hands that they remembered they weren't alone. A naked cruise of the Mediterranean would have to wait, right now they had the maiden voyage of The Love Boat to enjoy with their friends.