Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize; J. K. Rowling does.
"Blaise, are you ready to go?" I yelled up the stairs.
"Just one second, sorella." He yelled back.
"Must you shout in the house, cara mia?" someone asked from behind me.
I turned around and grinned sheepishly at my mother. It still amazed me sometimes how beautiful Arabella Zabini was and that she was my birth mother.
"Sorry, Mum. I was just calling for Blaise. If he doesn't get down here soon we're going to be late."
"I'm right here, geez. Calm down, woman!" Blaise complained as he walked down the stairs. Our mother glared at him but he just grinned. "Is Draco here yet?"
I frowned in confusion. "Is he supposed to be here? We're leaving in a minute. Why would he come over now?" I asked.
"Blaise insisted I come with you. He said that if he had to visit the Weasleys and Potter then so did I. Not like I want to step foot in their house." Draco trailed off in a mumble from the fireplace, where he had just flooed in.
I sighed in exasperation. "If you have to come can you at least agree not to insult the Weasleys and Harry?" I pleaded. Both my brother and Draco gave me incredulous looks. "Right, I forgot who I was talking to. Ok, they know Blaise and Mum are coming over but they don't know about you, Draco. So please, just give me a chance to explain before the two of you barge in there and cause all kinds of problems."
They started to reply, probably with an insult of some type about the Weasleys but my mother interrupted. "We'll give you a chance to explain, cara mia, before we come in." she said, glaring at the boys to get her point across. They reluctantly nodded.
"Alright then. We'll be apparating and since I'm the only one who knows where we're going we'll have to Side-Along."
Quicker than I would have liked we were outside the Burrow. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon. There were no clouds in the sky and the weather was lovely for early December. I could see the Weasley boys playing Quidditch in the backyard. It reminded me of the day I got the letter from Blaise telling me I was his sister. That was a month ago. I had taken some time to get to know my real family. They were nothing like I had expected for a typically Dark family. Mum was kind and loving and so welcoming while Blaise was instantly a big brother: protective, teasing, and a general pain in my arse.
I knew that accepting Blaise and Mum would also mean accepting Draco Malfoy. He and Blaise were best friends after all. And it really wasn't a big deal since Draco had apologized for everything that had happened between us. He was over at our house most days so I saw a lot of him and we were slowly becoming friends. I hadn't expected him to come to the Burrow with us today though, or any time in the near future.
And now here we were. I led the way into the house, figuring it would be best to approach Molly first while the boys were out playing Quidditch. I entered the living room and gestured for them to wait there while I went to speak with Molly in the kitchen.
"Molly?" I said as I pushed open the kitchen door.
She spun around to face me. "Hermione! It's so good to see you, dear." Molly exclaimed as she walked from the sink to where I was standing and pulled me into a hug. "How have you been? We haven't seen you in a while."
"I know and I'm sorry. I've just been busy. My Mum and Blaise are so wonderful and I've barely spent any time away from them. My boss even insisted I take time off of work to spend with them." I explained.
Molly smiled at me. "You work too hard as it is." She looked around behind me. "Now I thought you were bringing your family with you."
I took a deep breath. "Well I did but there was a slight change."
She narrowed her eyes. "What kind of change?"
"Blaise is best friends with Draco Malfoy and he's been at our house a lot lately and when Blaise found out we were coming here for lunch he insisted that Draco come as well so he wasn't the only Slytherin so now Draco's here and I didn't find out until today and I don't know how everyone's going to react…" I spoke in a rush, trying to get everything out at once.
Molly placed her hands on my shoulders. "Breathe."
I took a breath. "Sorry, I'm just nervous."
"It's understandable. Now, you said Draco Malfoy's here?"
I cringed a little. "Yes?"
"What that a question or a statement?" Molly asked.
I squared my shoulders. "Yes, Draco Malfoy is here."
Molly just looked at me. "Well where are your manners? Are you going to introduce me to your family and friend?"
I gaped at her, surprised that she was so accepting of his presence in her house. She just huffed and walked around me into the living room. I silently followed her and watched as she shook hands with my Mum, Blaise and Draco. She chatted with the boys for a minute before turning back to me.
"Hermione, dear, why don't you take Blaise and Draco outside while I talk with your Mother?" she suggested, although I could tell she wasn't giving me a choice in the matter.
I looked at my brother and Draco and just shrugged. "Come on then. Let's hope we all make it through this ordeal."
"She hugged me." Draco said.
I just looked at him. "Really?"
He nodded. "Yeah. It was kind of weird. But it was nice." He looked adorably confused about how to feel.
Blaise clapped him on the shoulder. "Relish the experience, my friend. The men will not be so friendly."
It took the boys a few minutes to notice us once we were outside. It was Ginny who called my name first.
"Hermione's here!" she flew down to meet us but stopped short when she saw Draco.
"Hey Hermione!"
"Mione, how's it going?"
"Long time, no see!"
By the time the last person had landed they had all noticed that Draco was with Blaise and me.
Harry made the first move. He gave me a hug and then held his hand out to Blaise. "Hi, I'm Harry."
Blaise raised his eyebrow but grasped Harry's hand anyway. "Yeah, I kinda know who you are, Potter."
Harry blushed. "Right. I suppose you do. But call me Harry. Hermione's like my sister and she really is your sister so it would be best if we got along."
Blaise nodded slowly. "Harry, call me Blaise."
Introductions between my brothers over, Harry turned to Draco who was trying to hide behind me. He eyed him for a minute and then held his hand out again. "Malfoy." He said slowly. "It's good to see you."
Draco stared at Harry's hand. Almost 8 years ago it was Draco holding his hand out to Harry. Now the positions had been reversed. He reached out and shook Harry's hand. "Potter, it's…interesting to see you."
Ron stepped forward after that. He very hesitantly held his hand out. "Welcome to our home, Malfoy."
Draco shook his hand. "I would say thank you, Weasley, but I didn't want to be here. Blaise kidnapped me."
"I did no such thing!" Blaise cried.
I snorted. "Oh please. It took forever for me to convince you to come. I'm sure you coerced Draco into coming somehow."
"He offered my tickets to see Puddlemere United." Draco said.
"You bribed him?" I asked my brother.
"Like he could get him here any other way." Harry said with a smirk on his face.
Draco had a disgusted look on his face. "I can't believe I'm about to say this but I agree with Potter."
I shook my head, a small smile on my face. At least no wands had been drawn and they were attempting to get along. I knew it would take some time as there was too much bad blood between Draco and Harry and the Malfoys and the Weasleys but I hoped that one day they could be friends. I had been blessed with 3 different families, 3 ½ if you counted the Malfoys, and now I couldn't imagine my life without all of them.
A/N: I made a timeline of events, from Teddy Lupin's birth to Hermione and Draco's wedding. I mention most of the events in the story and I wanted to give you a basic outline of what happened when. I guess there's still not a lot of Draco/Hermione interaction but maybe I'll add some more later.
Teddy's birthday: April 1998
Final Battle: May 2, 1998
Hermione receives letter: November 1998
Lunch at Burrow: December 1998
Draco admits he likes Hermione: December 1999
Harry and Ginny's wedding: February 2000
Victoire's birthday: May 2, 2000
Ron and Pansy's wedding: October 2000
Draco proposes: June 2001
Blaise and Luna's wedding: July 2001
Hermione and Draco's wedding: May 12, 2002