Synopsis: We return to the party.
Songs that inspired the chapter:
Desire - Gryffin Remix – Years & Years, Dan Griffith
Magnets – Disclosure, Lorde
Notes: There is a section that I used Google Translate, so if you speak one of those languages and need to correct me, I'm more than happy to take your advice. Enjoy.
Chapter 3: Desire
March 2030
It was unimaginable. This woman, this beautiful, impossible woman with so much love in her heart had found forgiveness in him before he found it in himself. Not only that; she is standing next to him with their little fingers interlocked. He wonders what she could be thinking about.
"Minister Granger! Mr. Malfoy!" a voice from behind them calls. Their fingers quickly unlink, and they turn around.
"Cho, please, you only need to call me that at official functions. This is a social event," Hermione tells the party planner.
"Sorry, Hermione. Now that you are finally here, we can do the welcome speeches and the customary first dance for the couple and the parents." Her approach feels a bit passive aggressive. There is twinge of annoyance and stress in her voice, hinting at the fact she had been impatiently waiting for them. In the same right, she holds her tongue not wanting to be the one to boss the Minister of Magic around.
"First Dance?" Hermione asks, brushing off Cho's slight attitude, "This is only an engagement party, not the actual wedding."
"It's a wizarding tradition. I know that you and Ron went with a more traditional muggle engagement party and wizarding wedding," She says very matter-of-factly.
"I see. Okay, we're all here. Draco, do you have your speech prepared?" Hermione asks.
He pats around his jacket, "Right here."
"Draco, you don't have your dance partner listed on the agenda. Who are you planning on dancing with?"
He honestly hadn't given it any thought. "I wasn't planning on dancing and just wanted to say something in memory of my wife."
"I'm so sorry for being so insensitive, Draco," Cho apologizes profusely.
"Thank you, but that's not necessary. Astoria has been gone for over a decade now," Draco reassures her.
"Malfoy, I'm absolute rubbish at dancing," Ron interjects, attempting to be friendly, but also trying to avoid making an arse of himself. "Why don't you and Hermione dance together. It will be all that symbolic stuff Hermione keeps talking about bridging gaps, burying hatchets, joining families and such."
Hermione and Draco's eyes lock for a moment, and they are a bit breathless at the thought. She can feel her face starting to turn a little red, "It would be an honor if you would have me, Draco."
His lip curls into a half-smile and says, "I would be delighted to have you." Her chest begins to pound at his words. She doesn't know if it was intentional, but he draws out his response out in a very sexy way.
Unaware of the underlying tension, Cho grabs Rose and Scorpius, "Okay, you two, you stand right here until the band leader calls you to the dance floor. Draco and Hermione, you follow me in just a moment to the stage. You'll give your speeches, decide amongst yourself who will go first; then I'll make you the cue to join Rose and Scorpius. Then the band leader will invite everyone else. Any questions?"
"Thank you, but no. Everything sounds simple enough," Draco says to her.
Cho starts walking away and sees her ex-boyfriend, "Harry."
"Cho," he acknowledges her but feels incredibly awkward for some reason. He walks over to Hermione. "Really, of all the event planners, you had to hire my ex-girlfriend?"
With a bit of drunkenness, Hermione loses a some of her patience, "Oh get over yourself, Harry. You haven't dated in thirty-five years. She's the best in the business and incredibly brilliant. When she married a muggle, she realized there was a massive need in the industry for a planner who knows logistics and traditions with mixed-magical ability families. Granted, the only muggles in attendance at the wedding will be by my parents and my great aunt. She's incredibly talented, and I have used her for all of all the Ministry's galas. Honestly, Harry, this wedding is the joining of the Minister for Magic's daughter to one of the most prestigious wizarding families. You don't just let that to chance. You can hire whomever you want when Lily gets married." Draco licks his lips and lets out a chortle. He has been on the receiving end of one of Hermione's rants, but he does enjoy seeing Potter receive it a lot more.
"Fine. Point taken, Minister." Harry knows when he can't win an argument with Hermione and just backs off. "Wait. Where is Albus?"
"Of course," Scorpius scoffs. He looks across the room and sees Scorpius trying to be smooth. "He's chatting up my cousin, Arabella. Probably telling her all about his travels to France and his knowledge of fine French cuisine."
"She's Daphne and Theo's daughter." Draco points out his niece and in-laws.
"Arabella went to Beauxbatons. Three years older than me. Seriously, his thing with older women. At least he has standards now. Rose, remember the slags he used to dig up," Scorpius shakes his head. His best friend had a penchant for falling for older women who were either way out of his league or bad news. More recently, Albus has made some improvements and has been going after women with more sophisticated tastes yet rebellious attitudes.
"Oh, they were the worst," Rose recalls some of her cousin's less than admirable moments, "We should probably do something about that, Scorpius."
"Let's focus on us getting married first, okay?" Scorpius gives Rose a kiss. He still can't believe she's been with him all these years and waited so patiently for him to propose.
With an air of concern, Ginny speaks up, "Enough teasing Albus about his poor choices in women. Scorpius, how does your family feel about this situation? You marrying a half-blood?"
"I honestly don't give a damn. They showed up, so that must mean something," Scorpius says. Rose looks at her fiancé with pride and overwhelming affection, then gives him another kiss.
"Oh," says Hermione, "Cho's giving us the signal. Let's go, Draco." He presents his arm, and they walk up to the stage.
The band leader takes the mic, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome. Can you please make room so that the bride and groom-to-be can take the dance floor." Scorpius very gallantly bows to Rose, takes her hand, kisses it, and leads her to the center. There is polite clapping, except for all the male members of the Potter-Weasley clan who are hooting, hollering, and wolf whistling. Rose could murder her brother and cousins. She has her wand tucked into her sleeve and is very tempted to throw a gust of wind their way, but Scorpius catches her. He gives her a look and shakes his head. "Now a welcome from the Mother of the Bride, Minister for Magic, Hermione Granger."
Before she speaks, there is more polite clapping, but no raucous behavior from the boys. Hermione sees her sisters-in-law in full helicopter parent mode. Despite the "kids" being in their late early to mid-twenties, when they get together, they become something akin to Quidditch hooligans. She hopes she isn't too drunk to deliver a speech.
"Good evening, Ladies, Gentlemen, friends, and family. Tonight we celebrate the engagement of my daughter, Rose, to a very special young man, Scorpius. I want to save some good anecdotes for the wedding speech, but I will share this one. As we were sending Rosie away for her first year at Hogwarts, Ron told her to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy. Being my daughter, any time a man tells a woman not to do something, that is exactly what she is going to do." The crowd laughs, and she passes a smile to Ron and then to Draco. "It was only natural that Rose would fall for the boy we told her not to and I'm sure her cousin had something to do with it—Albus." Another round of laughs. She shoots a look to her nephew, and James and Hugo are clapping him on the back. Hermione's ability to command a crowd has only improved since becoming a politician; the guests are quite enjoying the Minister's jovial speech. "But Scorpius proved to be intelligent, resourceful, loyal, brave, wonderfully nerdy — a boy after my own heart and honestly the absolute perfect match you could ask for your daughter. So let's raise a glass to the happy couple and pray I don't go bankrupt planning this wedding. Cheers." The clinking of glassware echoes through the halls. Draco gives her a very impressed smirk.
Draco moves toward the microphone and takes the cards out of his jacket. "I should have gone first — never follow a politician." Draco is proving he can be just as charismatic if he wanted to be. "Welcome to my home. Stay a while. It honestly looks more festive with three hundred people than the usual two people and some house elves." The joke falls flat. He thinks to himself, time to turn this around and cut out all the jokes. He clears his throat, "Scorpius, my only child. I am so proud of the man you have grown into, but most of all, that you have your mother's, heart." There are a few resounding 'awws' in the crowd. "When you were young, your mother and I worked persistently never to let hate or prejudice enter that heart. Because of that, when you found love, you never had to deny it or ever fear to present Rose to me. Your mother would be so proud you found your match. Intelligent and beautiful, she consistently challenges you to be a better version of yourself. But Astoria would have had an issue with her being a Gryffindor chaser. Oh, your mother was a fervent Quidditch fan, maybe even more than me." The crowd starts to get a bit rowdy at the mention of Quidditch. A few of the guests had begun chanting the names of their old houses. He knows he's turned it around after that. "Rose Granger-Weasley, the way you love my son, is the kind of love that you can only learn through experience. Though we have had disagreements in the past, love of family is something the Weasleys have plenty. Thank you for welcoming Scorpius into your great family. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, hold her tight and don't ever let her go. Thank you everyone, and please enjoy the rest of the party. Cheers." There is a roar from the crowd and a very smug smile from Hermione.
"Now wasn't that fantastic? Mr. Malfoy, are you sure you aren't in politics, too?" The band leader jokes, "Now for the traditional first dance." A very traditional instrumental waltz comes on, and Scorpius is leading Rose through a very intricate choreography, and Hermione is thoroughly impressed.
"Scorpius is a very talented dancer." Hermione leans over to tell Draco.
"I taught him, and my father taught me. My parents were hateful people, but they sure could dance." She looks at him with a look of terror at what type of dancing they will be doing in a moment.
"Minister, Mr. Malfoy, can you please join your daughter and son?" the band leader gestures to them.
"You mustn't worry. I'll lead you," Draco tells Hermione as he takes her hand in his and escorts her down the stairs. When they reach the dance floor, he guides her hand onto his shoulder and his hand on her hip. When they begin dancing, it's as if she is floating. He knows how to lead her and direct her body. It's the most natural she's ever felt on a dance floor. She can't help but lock eyes with him and put all her trust in his movements.
From the crowd, it looks as though the two couples are twins on a twenty-five-year delay.
Ginny whispers to Ron, "Draco is quite the dancer. Who knew?"
"Yeah." Ron is suddenly unsure of his decision to let his wife dance with Malfoy. He can see it on her face—she is enjoying this experience. Ron hates to admit it but doesn't think he's ever made Hermione happy dancing. The song is coming to a close and Ron is marching over to make sure he has the next dance with his wife.
"Everyone, please join the happy couple and their parents on the dance floor," The band leader says to the crowd invitingly. While all the guests rush, eager to dance, Ron gets swept up in the chaos.
Hermione is still dancing with Draco and says to him, "No one has ever swept me off my feet like this."
"Oh, not even Viktor Krum?" Draco uses his quick wit to recall a moment from their youth in which she danced with one of the most desirable athletes of that time.
"No. I have no idea how Viktor was a seeker. He had much more of a beater's build. All lumbering and stepping on toes." They share a laugh.
Draco sees Ron trying to get to them. "I think your husband is trying to make his way to you."
"I'm letting you take the lead." He sees this as an invitation, and they begin traveling and twirling across the floor.
"You know you can't run from him forever."
"Can't I?"
"Hermione."
"He's only paying me mind because he's jealous of you." There is still a bit of the whisky buzz over her. "Jealousy is the only emotional reaction I ever get out of him. He only wants me when he sees me with someone else. Back in school, it was Krum and then McLaggen. He was even jealous of Harry. Ridiculous."
"Oh, I remember McLaggen." He recalls a memory of them in the Room of Requirement.
"You remember that? That was quite a day, wasn't it? Oh, Cormac. I was bored. He was pretty. It made Ron jealous."
"Seems like you have a thing for Quidditch players, eh?"
"What can I say? I have a type," She says with a smirk remembering what he looked like in his Quidditch uniform.
He returns the smile. "So how much did you enjoy watching Potter, slaughter me on the pitch?"
"Immensely," she says playfully. He adjusts his grasp and pulls her in tightly. "You know Ron wasn't supposed to make the team? I used the Confundus Charm on McLaggen at tryouts."
"I knew he was incapable of making the team on his own."
"Oh! What about Daddy paying your way onto the team?"
"Hey, I still had some skills and won against the other houses." They share a laugh at more innocent memories of their former rivalry. They look around and find Ron still trying to move through the crowd, but he keeps getting stopped by family.
"Draco, you know Ron and I have been in couples therapy, right?"
"I've heard, but I try not to pry."
"We've been going for the past ten years. Ron tried to get me to renew our vows. I said my vows once and was not about to do it again. He said it was because he was too drunk at our wedding to remember. Do you know how stressful weddings are? Why would I need to do that again?"
He laughs while keeping Ron in the corner of his eye. "Well, Astoria and I eloped in the South of France, so all this stressful wedding planning is new to me."
"I didn't know that. I thought it would have been a big deal for your family." Hermione says.
"Oh, it would have been a big deal if Astoria was from a more prominent family. Apparently, being pureblood wasn't enough for Lucius and Narcissa," Draco sounds annoyed at the memory of his family not being as accepting of his late wife.
"I'm glad you two found each other, if only for a short while," Hermione acknowledging Astoria's effect on Draco is apparent, and it makes him smile.
"Well, other than not wanting to have another wedding, why have you been in therapy? I'm not going to pretend that I haven't noticed your behavior change in the past few years, but I want to hear it from you."
"You would think, that if you send your kids off to boarding school, you would have time for each other. Enjoy the quite. Enjoy being alone. Nothing. He was so wrapped up with the company and was always focused on the kids, even when they were at school," Hermione feels like she is reciting the same thing she does every two weeks with their therapist.
"So are you saying that things aren't as romantic as they used to be?"
"They were never romantic. Not really. He had his moments. Sometimes I feel like we rushed into marriage. Like it was the natural thing to do after going to war. I'm thankful Rose and Scorpius waited this long to get married, to be honest."
"Ah, well Scorpius was born a hopeless romantic, so you'll never have to worry about Rose never feeling loved and cherished. I caught him one summer with stacks of sonnets and the complete works of William Shakespeare studying and taking notes. Then he would practice transfiguring quills into roses." They both laugh at how sweet Scorpius can be.
"I love that boy. My Rosie is a lucky girl," Hermione watches Draco smile proudly at her words about his son, "But as far as Ron and me, it's not just the lack of romance and intimacy. It's his infinitely large family. Honestly, as an only child, I don't get why they have to be around all the damn time. It's overwhelming. They are delightful, don't get me wrong, but they are everywhere!" They look around and can physically see the peppering of ginger hair throughout the crowd.
"Hey as an only child myself, I get it. I love my solitude. It's one of the many reasons I was irritable at school." Draco says with a smirk.
"One of the reasons? Ha!" They look at each other for a while and are surprised no one has interrupted their dance yet. "I'm tired. Ron is so damn oblivious to my feelings and my needs. Of course, my work is demanding and so is his, but I feel I have done everything in my power to make time for us. "
Draco moves closer to her ear in case of eavesdroppers, "You need to know that I think about you every day. I've imagined how different our lives would be if we were together, and never in that equation would you be so far down my list of priorities."
"Draco—" Her breath catches as yet another confession tumbles from his mouth. A devilish look is growing in her eye and begins looking around, "do you want to get away for a bit?"
He looks around and sees a clearing. "We can head toward the bar, and it's near a secret passageway." He grabs her by the hand, and off they go. He sees that Ron was stopped by another one of his brothers and moves more quickly. They breeze past the bar and reach a hutch. Draco pulls one of the door knobs, and the entrance of the passageway opens and closes after them.
Draco looks around and smiles. "I haven't been in here since Scorpius was little. The two of us had so much fun exploring all the secret passages together."
This Draco, the caring father, while being playful and mischievous with her, is one that she can't resist. A flame for him is burning stronger as the evening goes on. The very dim flicker she had for her husband has been all but snuffed out.
"Draco," She sighs fighting to find the words, "I've been trying to leave him, but I didn't want to while still in office. I knew counseling wasn't working. He wasn't changing."
"I know you've tried a few times. Remember a few months ago, around your birthday? I overheard when I went to Harry and Ginny's house when I went to drop something off."
"I wasn't sure you heard that. But for years, I wanted more—more what? I still don't know. But something has been missing from our marriage for a long time. But the politics—there's never been a Minister who had a divorce while in office, but my term is up soon after the wedding. I'm making the official announcement this week that I'm not running for re-election."
"You're not running for re-election? Just because of Weasley?"
"It isn't just that. I've been in public service since I was seventeen. I'm exhausted. There is so much of the world I want to see, and not while on a diplomatic mission. I want to explore. My children have grown. I'm at the point that I don't need to work. I've made my money, and I have a pretty decent prenup. There is nothing left obliging me to stay married to him."
"Can I share something with you?"
"What?"
"How good is your legilimency?"
"Rudimentary, at best."
"That's all you'll need."
She looks at him curiously and whispers, "Legilimens." She sees the stolen kiss, the mutual heartbreak, and her pleading for her memories to be erased.
Hermione opens her eyes and sees the boy who kissed her all those years ago. She touches her hand to his face, and he takes it and kisses it softly. They are looking at each other in the dim light. Something about this feels like a recapture of youth and innocence. They can feel the magnetism of two objects that have been in the same orbit and are about to finally about to collide. The thumping of the music outside is reverberating in their chests. She releases her hands and throws them around his neck and pulls him in to kiss her. Draco has been cautious to make sure she takes the lead and that the decisions are hers to make. His arms wrap around her waist inside the long coat. He moves his hands up her back, so she unzips the front and gives him more room. Her hands ruffle through the back of his hair, down his neck and chest. The passionate kisses are disarming, but he pulls away before it goes too far.
"Not like this," Draco says, "We mustn't behave like some school kids running off into corners for stolen moments. I've waited too long. When I take you, I want to treat you like the woman you are."
"Really?" She's so worked up but sees his point. Whereas Draco has all the patience in the world, she has none. "So what do you propose?"
"You have that European Summit and diplomacy tour, right?"
"Yes? What are you getting at?"
"Do you have a translator?"
"Each host nation is providing one."
"Hire me. I'm fluent in eight languages."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I needed a hobby while Scorpius was in school."
"I'm going to Portugal."
"Quero," he says in Portuguese and then kisses her.
"Spain."
"Hacer el amor contigo," followed by another kiss
"France."
"Dans tous les pays," he now kisses her behind the ear.
"Germany."
"Auf jedem Kontinent," a kiss on the neck.
"Greece."
"Efcharístisi sas," a kiss on her clavicle.
"Bulgaria."
"I shte vi dade vsichko," and a final kiss at the top of her cleavage.
"What did you just say?"
"I want to make love to you in every country, every continent, pleasure you and give you everything."
"Jesus." She starts kissing him again then remembers something, "You know they won't let me hire you unless you take a proficiency test."
"Easy."
"Your confidence is so much sexier now than it was when we were younger." They start kissing again but then hear voices outside calling for their names. "Shit. We need to go back out there. It's Ron. Where does this passage lead?"
"The bathroom."
"Perfect. I can just say that's where I was." She entwines her fingers with his. "Lead the way."
When they emerge from the passageway into the bathroom, luckily no one is in there. "You need to leave first. Go ahead and mingle with guests for the rest of the night. Everyone will get suspicious if we only spend time with each other." She kisses him goodbye.
She takes a moment to freshen up and spray on some more perfume and touch up her lipstick. When she emerges from the bathroom, Ron is waiting for her.
"Hermione. I've been looking everywhere for you."
"I'm sorry. I just need to use the bathroom after drinking so much."
"Are you okay?" He sounds concerned.
"Yes, but I could use something to eat. Is the buffet opened?"
"Yeah, I already had a few plates." He pats his bulging gut proudly. This was once an endearing trait of his, but now was just a reminder of how little he cared about her. His contentment was more important than his health and how he presented himself to her. She works so hard maintaining her shape and health, and it's gone completely unnoticed.
"Okay. I'm going to grab a bite. I've been so focused on Rose tonight, how's Hugo doing?"
"All the cousins are all having a drunken Quidditch match in the back garden."
"In their dress robes!?"
"Yeah."
"And you didn't say anything?"
"Um…"
"What did your brothers and Harry say?"
"They might be out there with them."
"Fine. I'll just let it go." She was irritated, but hopefully getting some food in her stomach will calm her down. "Did you want to go out with them? Because I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of Ministry chat."
"Kind of. Yeah. Is that okay?"
"Of course. Please, just make sure the beaters aren't so drunk they break Draco's windows. Better yet, please tell everyone to cast a protection spell around the house."
"You got it." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off.
She devours the meal as there are several dignitaries and socialites that she needs to entertain—a detail she was happy to push out of her mind while in hiding. She and Draco occasionally catch each other's glances, smile, and carry on their conversations with others.
The crowds finally dwindle, until only family is left. One of the good things about the Weasley family being so large, is when it's time to clean up, it doesn't take long with the use of some handy household spells. In a snap, Malfoy Manor was pristine once again.
Draco thanks the Weasley Clan for all their help and promises to give his staff the day off. They all hug and say goodbye to each other.
"Rose, are you and Scorpius staying here tonight or the London house?" Hermione asks her daughter.
"The London house. We need to check on the dog," Rose tells her mother.
"Okay, then you better apparate now. It's late." Hermione gives Rose and Scorpius each a kiss and hug.
"Malfoy, great party." Ron shakes his hand, completely in the dark that Draco spent the good portion of the night wooing his wife.
"You're welcome," Draco says with such a steely straight face. Hermione remembers he's gifted in Occlumency and could be the best person to keep a secret.
"Thank you, Draco." She gives him a kiss on the cheek. "So we'll be meeting about that translation post and also helping the kids with the wedding planning?"
"Yes. I'll mail your secretary and set up some appointments," speaking in code. "Good night."
"Good night," She says to him while holding Ron's hand. She looks back to see him one last time, and they disappear out of sight.
A/N: So I fact checked myself and totally forgot Theodore Nott was involved in the time turner thing in CC. I'm glossing over a lot of details from CC including SHE-who-must-not-be-named. It's mostly the characterizations that carried over.
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