Draco silently berated himself all the way back home. Granger was so different… he cursed that damn Weasley for obviously screwing something up enough to make her change so drastically. He had to admit though… this new Hermione Granger was rather… luscious.

Draco pulled a face. Luscious! What a word!

Draco felt nauseous.

He hadn't even gotten a single sip of the Irish Whiskey he had paid dearly for at Granger's bar. He needed something to calm his nerves. Otherwise he was going to be tight as a knot for the party tonight.

Tonight. Draco glanced at the clock. Only five more hours and it would be the dreaded 'tonight'. The party started at eight and went until eleven. Just three hours to have to put up with. So far, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were coming, Hermione Granger… questionable. Ron Weasley had said no, absolutely not, bugger off. Neville Longbottom had been surprisingly easy to get up with, and he and Luna Lovegood had agreed to come with surprising enthusiasm. Padma and Parvati Patil agreed to come, reluctantly. Seamus Finnagan, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Ernie MacMillan, and Dean Thomas said they would think about it.

Draco had been… so tempted to invite some of his old Slytherin friends just so he wouldn't feel like a single serpent among lions and eagles… but he figured he wasn't allowed to do that. Looking back at the note, it didn't specifically say he couldn't, but with his life on the line, he certainly didn't want to risk it.

Draco looked at the clock again anxiously and realized with a start that he had been brooding for two hours. Two damn hours. He jumped up, causing his numb legs to tingle madly. He looked at his wristwatch anxiously before grabbing the only muggle phone in the mansion. It had never been used before, and especially not by him, so he had to consult the phonebook for ten minutes before he could understand it and use the damn thing. He called the best caterers he could find nearby and scheduled them to arrive an hour before the party would start, just to make sure everything was in order.

With a sigh, Draco began to pace the large hall that would be used for the party, his footfalls echoing eerily in the silent, empty mansion.

I'm so lonely…

Draco sighed and looked at his watch again. Just an hour before the caterers would arrive, and another hour before the dreaded houseguests would first start to arrive.

He fiddled with his cuffs, pushing down the nervous sweat that was threatening to ruin the nice outfit he had changed into while he was arguing on the phone about party favors and food and whatnot. He didn't want anything too fancy, didn't want the Gryffindors to think he was shoving his wealth in their faces, but he did want everything to be nice.

Silently, he wondered if any of them would have agreed to come if they knew his motives were purely selfish. He would never have thrown this little get-together had the Ministry not ordered him to do so, promptly and without fail. He knew for sure he was going to screw something up, and he be damned if he was going to lose his life over a party. He was good at parties. If he was going to fail this challenge, he wanted it to be something challenging that tripped him up. He refused to let a bunch of Gryffindors scare him, after all, all the note had said was to throw a party, invite his enemies and be nice to them. He could do that much, and so, by the time the first guests arrived, he had put on his cool, collected mask, and welcomed them – Harry Potter and his lovely wife Ginny – into his home.

Being the first to arrive, Ginny naturally thought this was some elaborate setup, but Harry knew better, and told his fidgety wife to go fix her makeup. She shot him a death glare before going to do just that.

Harry moved over to a rather wild-eyed Draco Malfoy, who turned to look at him with such trepidation that Harry thought the troubled young Slytherin saw him as a ferocious beast rather than the normal man he was.

"Who else is coming?" Harry asked conversationally, helping himself to the punch.

"Oh… I don't know." Draco replied quietly, fiddling with his cuffs again, his eyes locked on the door, praying at least one other person would show up… he didn't know how he would handle three hours alone with the chosen one and his oh-so perfect bride… these were going to be the longest, awkward-est hours of his life.

Just as he despaired Harry and Ginny Potter would indeed be his only guests, he saw two figures show up at the open doors, wearing lovely dresses that were both casual and somehow fancy at the same time. One, he recognized as the waitress from the bar with the horribly unladylike manners, and the gorgeous Hermione Granger.

So relieved she had come, he rushed over to take their shawls and bid them to go and find some food.

Hermione felt awkward the instant she and Harry's eyes met. They hadn't spoken in years…

"You look… great." Harry smiled at her, taking in her casually immodest dress, and her partner's equally skimpy outfit.

"You too." Hermione replied without really paying him much mind. She kept her eyes locked on the tables, carefully selecting what looked like it had the least amount of carbs.

"Damn, this place is huge." Hermione's friend gasped, leaning back and spinning around twice, trying to get a good look at everything at once. "Are we early, or something?" She asked Draco as he came back over. She had obviously noticed the lack of other guests.

"Oh… no…" Draco replied quietly, eyes instantly darting to the door.

Ginny returned at that moment, and it took her longer than Harry to recognize Hermione.

"Oh my god…" She came forward and hugged the very unwilling goddess, squealing slightly and making everyone cringe. "Oh Hermione! I haven't seen you in ages, oh my god!" She hugged her again.

"Good to see you too, Ginny." Hermione patted her back awkwardly.

Neville and Luna showed up just then and Draco hurried to greet them, and Padma and Parvati Patil weren't far behind.

"Oh, Hermione, hello!" Luna smiled sweetly, offering Hermione the same unwelcomed hug greeting.

"Luna, hi." Hermione murmured, hugging the blonde back carefully.

Seamus, Michael, Terry, Ernie and Dean all showed up at once.

Draco felt thoroughly overwhelmed now that he knew pretty much all of them where coming, and he floated around from group to group, saying brief 'hello' s and 'thank you for coming' s. He knew how to be a proper host, despite the contents of the crowd.

To lighten the mood, Draco bid the caterers to start the music, which was light and slightly bouncy, keeping everyone in a fairly chipper mood as they talked and laughed and tried to ignore the fact that they were all under the same roof as the bully who had tormented them back in school.

"So tell me… Draco." Harry murmured, moving over to him casually, one hand stuffed in his pocket, the other clutching a half-finished cup of punch. "What's this all about?"

Draco bit his lip so hard he was lucky he didn't draw blood. "Like I said… the past should stay in the past. I just figured, after all these years, everyone… including myself… has matured enough to put past rivalries behind us." He replied carefully, avoiding eye-contact at all costs.

Harry nodded, taking a swig of the punch Draco had secretly lined with mead. He figured there was more to it than Malfoy was telling him, but he didn't push the matter, and simply enjoyed himself for the rest of the evening, talking with old friends he hadn't seen in a while.

Halfway through the night, everyone found themselves drunk off their ass from the punch and having a hell of a time finding a bathroom. The food wasn't that great, but no one really cared about the food. Clothes had become a nuisance no one wanted to deal with and there were just… so many rooms.

At least with the group as wasted as they were, so drunk they swore the wall patterns were moving, they would have an excuse to forget the party ever happened in the first place.

Everyone found themselves either having their brains screwed out, or screwing the brains from someone else. Who Draco ended up with, he wasn't sure, but he had been right to assume he would screw something up this night, and so the next morning Draco woke to a pounding headache, and an empty bed.

AN: So, here's to make up for the last chapter which was a total disaster. Sorry about the long wait, hopefully this makes up for it! Who do you think Draco ended up with, and how do you think the night went?

Also, I need reviews before I post any more updates. If I don't know you're enjoying the story, how do I know you want me to continue? Thanks. :)