At three in the morning, the birthday wishes started coming. She groaned as an owl woke her up with his sharp pecks on the window. "Coming," she muttered after listening to the irritating tapping for ten minutes. She received the letter and, grumbling, gave the owl a sprinkle of cereal before shooing it away. She opened the letter which immediately came out of her hands and began to speak to her.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" it shouted, and she, her ears still sensitive in the early morning, groaned. "We wanted to be the first to wish it to you! Have a bloody amazing day! We'll see you later. We love you!"
The letter dropped to the ground, but by that time she had crawled back into bed and was dozing off. At four in the morning, another owl came. She'd left her window open, making the next wake up call even more startling and slightly painful.
A familiar owl pecked at her head and she swiped it off her bed involuntarily with a shriek. The owl shrieked as well.
"Bloody hell!" she gasped and looked at the glaring Scops-owl. It fluttered its wings and came back to her, did a little dance and dropped the letter in her lap before flying off. She knew who this was from. The owl made it obvious.
"Happy birthday!" she read begrudgingly. "I wanted to beat the others, sorry for waking you. We're going to have a bloody great day today, so look forward to it! Hope nobody ruined the surprise. Or beat me to you. Love you!"
She threw the letter to the ground, too tired and irritated to feel loved. She buried her head under her pillow, hoping for no more sleep-depriving messages.
Unfortunately, there were at least three more in the next four hours. So at eight in the morning, when she had to wake for work, she was irritated, angry, and unable to see how having a lot of friends made birthdays fun. Birthdays always ended up with her losing more sleep than necessary and a hangover the next morning.
Her fireplace came to life as someone appeared. As expected, it was her boyfriend. "Hey, love," he said, kissing her. "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks," she said, taking the gift he handed her.
"I took the liberty of calling in sick for you today so we can celebrate." He smiled. "I think our mates are coming over in half an hour. We're going to go out for breakfast and then—what's wrong?"
Her face had grown harder as he'd spoken. When he commented on it, she sighed. "I don't want to see them. They ruined my perfectly good sleep by trying to beat each other out on wishing me a happy birthday."
"Well, it's nice to have people that care, isn't it?"
"Not if you want to sleep!" She went to the couch still dressed in her work robes and lay down and buried her head in the pillows.
He smiled and sat at her feet. "Darling, that's how people express their love. They wake you up at ungodly hours of the morning to wish you a happy birthday."
"Well I wish they wouldn't. Then I wouldn't be so bloody cranky right now."
He suppressed his smile and rubbed her back. "Oh, come off it. You love them anyway. After all, it is your day. If you want, just tell them to shove off."
"I can't do that! Not after they planned the whole day for me."
"It can be canceled. Today's the day where you can do whatever you want."
She sat up and sighed again. "You mean whatever they want."
"They're not going to murder you for expressing your own opinion. They'll understand that you want to sleep all day. Your kind of relaxing and celebrating is different from their idea of celebrating. Believe me."
"Yeah, I know." She groaned. "But I should do what they want."
"If you're going to do it, then don't complain! But if you don't want to, then say you don't want to."
"No, I do want to." She rubbed her eyes. "I just wish I'd had more time to sleep."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you want, princess." She wrinkled her nose and poked him.
"Don't call me that."
"Then don't act like one."
She smiled. "Yeah, whatever. Ugh. I'm going to get ready then." She got up and sighed heavily before going to the door. He smirked.
"Try on your happy face," he called after her. "Might make your day brighter."
She answered by throwing a pillow at him and shutting her door.
The three of them walked down Hogsmeade eating their respective sweets.
"Where are you headed next?" Draco piped up suddenly.
"Oh, just home."
"Anything special planned tonight?"
"No, nothing really. Why?"
"Adeline and I are going to this new Korean restaurant called Young Bean at six. Want to come?"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude…"
"How would you be intrude if Draco invite you?" Adeline pointed out. "We would love you to join us."
Hermione smiled. "That'd be great then, yeah."
"Great. We'll pick you up at your flat then."
"You know where it is?"
"Vaguely. Send me an owl with your address just in case."
Hermione nodded. "I'll do that when I get home. Okay, well. I'll see you both in a couple hours."
"All right. Bye."
"Goodbye, Hermione!"
Hermione smiled at them both before Apparating to her flat. Then she remembered that she didn't have an owl so she Apparated back to Hogsmeade to send her address to Draco. After doing so (it was strange directing a letter to the Malfoy Manor), she went back home and decided to do some work. For some reason she was getting jittery just thinking about having dinner with them. Dinner seemed so…intimate for some reason, especially with those two. It wasn't like it was anything special, was it? No, it wasn't. Then why was she feeling like this?
Hermione didn't like having unexplainable feelings that brought up unanswerable questions, so she buried herself in work she'd brought home for the remaining time.
Six o'clock came rather quickly then, and she dressed in periwinkle robes as she awaited Malfoy and Adeline. She was realising how terrible of a habit it had become, calling "Draco" "Malfoy" inadvertently. Five to six years of school with the bloke did do that to a person, especially since that had been all that she'd ever called him. Harry and Ron seemed to have transitioned really quickly, which she deemed odd. To her knowledge, the Weasleys and Malfoys had never gotten along till recently.
The sound of knocking disturbed her thoughts and she went to answer the door.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," Draco replied. Adeline smiled and waved from behind him.
"I can't let you two come in, sorry, it's a mess in here. Let me just grab my purse." Her heart felt rather fluttery for a moment and she calmed herself when she was out of their sight.
"All right. Let's go." She closed her door and locked it with her wand and smiled at the two. Adeline had also changed, and she looked absolutely smashing. How did Draco not fall in love with her? She was beautiful enough, and French. Hermione was a bit jealous, she had to admit. Just a bit.
Draco grabbed her hand. "Going to Apparate us there," he said, and then they disappeared. The trip was short and he released her right after. "Here we are," he said. "Young Bean."
"I wonder where they come up with these names," Hermione said mostly to herself. "Asian restaurants seem to have strange names."
"I think all restaurant names are rather strange, whatever their origin. Like the Three Broomsticks? Or the Hog's Head? Or they're unimaginative," Draco replied and walked into the restaurant. The two witches followed.
"Reservation under Malfoy," he was saying to the maitre d', and they were forced to wait another five minutes before they could follow the friendly Asian woman to a somewhat secluded table against the wall.
"Thank you," Draco said.
Hermione was busy chatting with Adeline as Draco took over the situation. In the seven minutes it had taken for them to go inside and be seated, she had learnt that Adeline wanted to get a job as a creature's healer but was torn between that or working as an advocate for magical creatures. A witch after her own heart.
"So what were you girls chatting about?" Draco asked curiously.
"Nothing that interest you," Adeline replied with a smile.
"Let me guess. House elf rights?"
"How'd you guess it?"
"Come on. Hermione Granger? A subject I'm not interested in? That could have been the only topic."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, frowning in offence.
"Oh, come off it. How could anyone have forgotten your short-lived campaign for house elf rights?"
Hermione smiled slightly despite herself at the silly name of her campaign. "Ah, yes. S.P.E.W."
"Yes. Horrid name, that."
"For once, I must agree with you." She took a sip of water.
Adeline was watching their exchange with eager eyes.
"You agreeing with me seems to be happening more and more often," he said with a smirk.
"Don't bet on it lasting very long."
"That's what I was thinking last time, but seems like I was wrong."
Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Know what you want to eat?" she asked instead.
"Cold Korean noodles sounds good to me. How about you, Adi?"
"I am not sure what is good here."
"Neither am I," Hermione offered. "I think I'm going to get the broiled salmon," she looked down at her menu, " 'with soy honey glaze.'" She looked at the French witch and smiled. "Sounds pretty good."
"I smell a salmon lover," Draco commented.
Hermione ignored him.
"I think I get the beef and soup," Adeline said. "It sounds good. Comes with rice too, no?"
"Yes, it does. All of these dishes come with rice. And these little side dishes." She smiled as they appeared on their table. "I've been to a few Korean restaurants and I still don't know what all of these are. Do you go to Korean restaurants often, Draco?"
"Not usually. I never hear about them, really, till my mum pointed this one out. Said it got great reviews in The Daily Prophet on its opening night."
"Can't wait to try the food, then. We'll see if the critics lie. If so, I'll have to tell Penelope that she has to fire someone."
"Penelope?"
"Penelope Clearwater. She's the head editor of the paper. She went to Hogwarts too, but she was four years older."
"Probably why I don't know her."
Hermione shrugged. "I probably shouldn't bother telling you this, but she's been dating Percy Wealsey since their school days. We spent a lot of time together last summer when I went on holiday with the Weasleys and we became pretty good friends."
"Too much information," Draco said nonchalantly and hid his face behind his menu.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, annoyed, and Adeline giggled.
"You two are quite funny," she said plainly, and Hermione sniffed.
"Glad someone thinks so. Anyway, Adeline, let's continue our conversation. So what about house elf rights interests you the most?"
"Well…"
Draco groaned audibly but neither girl acknowledged it. It wasn't till their waiter came to take their orders that they stopped chatting.
"Finally," Draco grumbled under his breath and Adeline couldn't help her giggle.
They ordered their food and Draco sighed.
"All right, Draco?" Adeline asked.
"Yeah, fine. Just thinking about work."
"What about?"
"Well, all this training is getting on my nerves."
"Harry not good enough?" Hermione piped up.
"No, he's fine. Just everything I have to do is—I don't feel comfortable telling you with Hermione Granger here." Draco looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Draco, if we're to be friends we have to get used to venting to each other too. That way we'll get to know each other better." Hermione smiled.
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway." He turned to Adeline. "There's this one bloke who's being a right prick and keeps telling me to sod off and go back to the Death eaters. Harry tried to talk to him, but he keeps saying rude and crude things. I've tried my best to ignore him, but you know my temper's not always one to be kept down."
"What's his name?" Hermione asked, incensed by this information.
"Like I'd tell you," Draco scoffed. "You'd probably get him fired for not following Harry's orders."
"How'd you know? And why would you care?"
"It's none of your business, anyway."
"Once they become used to you, Draco, they will be nicer," Adeline said. She put a hand on his forearm. "You are not the same as you were in the past." She smiled. "You are better person now. It just takes them long time to realise. War is still…soft to people."
"Sensitive?"
"Oui, yes."
Draco nodded. "It's just bloody annoying. You'd think after three years things would have changed."
Hermione continued to listen to their conversation, brows furrowed. Harry should have dealt with this already. They knew Draco wasn't the same as he had been. Granted, Hermione had had the same inhibitions about Draco as the other bloke did. Maybe if the bloke spent more time with Draco he'd get to know him and see how much Draco had changed for the better.
She voiced this thought out loud and Draco scoffed.
"That would never work. He can hardly stand being in the same room with me for more than half an hour without spewing insults and storming off. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" A ghost of a sneer passed across his face before it fell back into frustration.
"I never spewed insults and stormed out. I had more dignity than that." She sniffed. "But we have to do something about this bloke. What he's doing is just wrong. Who is this bloke anyway? Did he even fight in the war?"
Draco shrugged. "How would I know? We're not exactly mates."
"Right. Just tell me his name."
"No."
'Fine,' Hermione thought to herself. 'I'll ask Harry.'
Draco narrowed his eyes at her when she stopped asking and he turned back to Adeline.
"Anyroad, how are you, Adi? Everything fine? How's that bloke you're dating?" Draco smirked when she blushed. "Jacques, was it?"
"Yes."
"How is he?"
"You do not care." Adeline mocked a glare. "You are very rude at him always."
"I'm playing the friend," he said with a grin. "Can't let my mate date the wrong bloke. Someone's got to intimidate him, and you know your mum won't do it."
Adeline smiled. "I do appreciate it, but still. Be nicer."
"You have a boyfriend?" Hermione asked with a smile. Adeline's blush was adorable.
"Oui, Jacques. He is in France. He is nice."
"How long have you been dating for?"
"Four year now."
"Wow."
"Oui. We meet at school."
"That's lovely." Hermione's lips curled into a dreamy smile.
"Never took you for a romantic, Granger," Draco said, smirking at her expression. She snapped out of it.
"Sod off, Malfoy."
"Though I suppose every girl is a romantic at heart."
"Romantics are needed to keep the thought of love going. Not cynical people like you."
"If everyone were a romantic, we'd be living in our own little worlds. Realists have to keep everyone alert of the present and point out the condition of the human race. Especially its flaws."
Hermione sighed. "There's no point in arguing with you."
"What happened to Miss I-Must-Defend-My-Every-Point?"
"I'm just tired of fighting," she said. "Tired of arguing too."
"Had a bad day today or something?"
She didn't answer but stood. "I'm going to the loo." She walked off without any idea of how to get to one. The next waiter she saw she asked and was directed to it. Once inside, she closed her eyes and sighed. Maybe it would have been better if she had just gone home to eat dinner alone. She was awfully tired and Draco's antics weren't helping. Well, she wasn't going to run now. She'd faced Death eaters and lived. She could survive a dinner with a reformed D.E. and his lovely friend.
After washing her hands, she went back to the table where their food was beginning to arrive.
"You are in time," Adeline said with a smile. Hermione saw the salmon piping hot on a plate in front of her.
"Yum." She sat down and tucked into her meal.
"I was about to steal bits of it," Draco said and Hermione shook her head.
"Stop trying to get her angry, Draco. Let us have a nice dinner."
"I'm not trying to get her angry. She knows I'm just teasing." But he quieted and Hermione was thankful. She wasn't in the mood for his incessant "teasing".
His trouser-clad knee brushed hers under the table once and she ignored it. It happened again, and she got the feeling he was trying to irk her subtly. Well, she wouldn't fall for it. The next time it happened, his knee stayed there. Hermione ignored it. The best way to stop his approaches was to ignore him. He was just an attention seeker.
Adeline was talking and Hermione was trying to pay attention. "And Jacques telled me to keep quiet, but it was hard, yes. I tried to get back to my home, but he still try to beat the owl away. And his poor hands—"
Hermione snuck a peek at Draco. He seemed composed, eating his noodles like a gentleman. He was even holding his chopsticks correctly. Hermione had had her practise with chopsticks from all the Chinese takeout she had ordered the first year she moved into her flat. It surprised her that he could use them, though she didn't know why. Adeline was hardly touching her food, she was talking so animatedly about…something. Draco's grey eyes suddenly slid over to her, taking a peek himself, and their eyes met.
His eyes darted back to Adeline and he nodded politely. Hermione wondered if he was even listening to her, but she did the same.
"—and it got away, leaving its letter. It was such a hassle trying to find the owner. I am sure we could have got it to an owlery, but it is very far from Jacques' home, so we try to find it. The person lived in the neighborhood. Finally—"
Hermione felt terrible for not being able to comprehend most of Adeline's sentences, but it was just because she was lost in her own head. She was eating absently, nodding occasionally to give the appearance that she was listening. Her thoughts were, regrettably, on Malfoy's behaviour and what her reaction should be. When she and Ron or Harry accidentally brushed their foot or knee against each other, they made a joke about it or playfully kicked the other's shoes, grinning madly at each other like it was a secret. But she couldn't do that with Draco. He could easily get the wrong idea. So should she just do nothing?
"—ione? Hermione?"
Hermione snapped out of her stupor. "What? Sorry, I was spacing out." She smiled apologetically as Adeline laughed.
"It's okay. I just asking you how is your food?"
"Its fine, thanks. It's a lot better than I thought it would be."
"Oui, I think so too of mine."
"Let me try some, Adi," Draco said, and Adeline stabbed a piece of meat and put it into his mouth. He chewed contemplatively. His damn knee was still there.
"Huh. Not bad."
Adeline nodded, satisfied, and she and Draco tucked back into their meals. Hermione was itching to find out just how close Adeline and Draco were. Almost as much as she wanted to know whether she liked Draco's knee against hers or not. She just put another forkful into her mouth and made her silent decision. She pulled her knee away and slammed it against his.
Draco glared at her and she smiled sweetly and went back to eating.
When they had finished their meal and Draco had gallantly paid for it, they went walking around London. It was beautiful and still quite busy. They night was still young. Draco had his hands in his pockets and Adeline had slipped an arm through his. It made Hermione first wished that Harry or Ron were here so she could do the same, but then she thought not. She fancied herself an independent woman. She didn't need a man to rely on.
"Fancy some ice cream?" Draco piped up.
"Ice cream would be nice," Adeline replied.
"Ginny and I tried that new ice cream parlour near Flourish & Blotts," Hermione added. "It's not bad."
"Yes, Draco and I go there too," Adeline said with a smile. "It is nice. I like the strange flavours they have."
"Fantastic. Let's go on, then."
Adeline nodded and the three went and tapped the bricks deep inside The Leaky Cauldron, allowing them to enter Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was emptier than usual, noting the hour and all. The walk to the parlour wasn't very long, but when they entered, it was empty and quiet. There was one employee working, but when he saw Hermione, his eyes widened and he smiled shakily.
"Er, just a minute," he said nervously before rushing behind the employee's door.
That was odd.
"What was—" Hermione slapped a mouth over Draco's mouth and looked around.
And then…and then.
Hermione whirled around, wand out. She hadn't come out of the war without her extreme sensitivity of these situations. There was a shadow that came out of the employee's room.
Hermione shouted, "Protego!" just as the shadow yelled out "Incarcerous!"
"Bloody hell!" Draco yelped, ducking and pulling out his wand. Hermione ran to the side, casting a shield charm once again and dragging Adeline along with her.
"Stupefy!" yelled the shadow, and Hermione leapt to the side, crashing into the counter, and cast her own spell instead.
"Stupefy!" she screamed in reply, stunning the man in front of her. He shot back and broke through the glass of the parlour. The spell was done so quickly that she hadn't gotten a good look at his face.
"Run!" she yelled to Draco, who hesitated before bolting out of the door. Hermione herself leapt to her feet, grabbed Adeline's hand and followed him. She pushed the French girl out ahead of her. And then, as if triggering a bomb, the whole parlour blew up.
"Oh my god. Oh my god," Hermione panted, black dots exploding in her vision and her ears ringing. They had landed hard outside on the cobblestone road, the force of the explosion propelling them farther than she had originally planned. She was still holding Adeline's hand and clutching her wand tightly in her other hand. Hermione quickly assessed her injuries as she lied there. Her leg had barely made it out, but her left foot was absolutely numb. If she lifted her head, she was sure to see it disfigured and broken.
The rest of her was okay, just cuts and bruises from broken glass and the rough stone street. She turned her aching head to Adeline. The girl also seemed fine, though she was covered in dust. Hermione knew she probably looked the same.
"Hermione!" Draco's voice came, panting. "Are you okay? Are you—oh, Merlin." He turned his face away from her foot, his face screwed up in disgust.
"What? What?" she asked breathlessly.
"Your foot is injured."
"Yeah, I know. Other than that, I'm fine. Is Adeline okay?"
When Hermione felt as though she had her bearings again, she pushed herself over to her companion, making sure she didn't touch her foot to the ground. Draco rushed to his friend's side.
"Adeline?" she called, coughing. "Enervate."
Adeline's eyes slowly blinked and she looked at Hermione. "Oh, Hermione!" she cried and embraced her fiercely. "That was so scary!" She let go of Hermione to squeeze Draco.
And then the pain from her foot came rushing and Hermione almost cried out.
"Hermione! All right?" Adi asked.
"No, no! Oh my god, my foot!" Adeline quickly rushed to the injured appendage and gasped, covering her mouth. She turned away, slightly green in the face.
"This is why I am no healer," she whispered. A crowd had formed and Aurors had been called. Hermione could see the stunned man slowly coming back to, and she quickly pointed her wand at him. The crowd of civilians parted at the sight and she shouted, "Stupefy!" rendering him unconscious once again.
"Incarcerous!" Draco added. Then they saw a group of Aurors go rushing to the man.
"Hermione!" came a cry, and she recognised Ron's voice.
"Ron!" she cried back. She was clenching her teeth against the pain. It felt like her foot was about to be severed. "Oh god, Ron!"
"Hermione, we need to get you to St. Mungo's. Can you Apparate?"
"Hell no! Not like this! Ron, Merlin, oh my god, just get someone to fix it!"
"I'll go." Draco Disapparted immediately.
"It'll be okay," Ron said, trying to soothe the distraught witch.
Draco came back a few painful minutes later with an on-call healer. "Here!" he said, leading the healer over. "It's her foot."
The healer bent down and performed a spell that lessened the pain. Hermione grit her teeth harder and the tears came faster. "Ron, Ron," she moaned.
"It'll be okay, it's going to be okay," Ron said, his words coming in a rush. "It'll be okay, Hermione, I promise. Dolohov's going to be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss for what he did."
The pain was making Hermione disoriented. She could literally feel the edge of one of her bones sticking out and rubbing against the stone. She tried to lessen the friction, but it seemed inevitable. The man came back to mind.
"You catch that bloke Ron? I stunned him! He was at the scene, there."
"Yes, yes, we got him. Called Harry too so he and his Aurors could take care of him." He tried a smile. "You saved us from any more surprise attacks. He's the last Death eater with a death wish."
"He—what?"
"Dolohov."
"Oh."
Dolohov had been the last Death eater still around immense causing trouble. He'd either been in hiding or on the run and it had been rumoured that he was attempting to form his own army. She was so grateful that he had been captured. With that Death eater captured now, there would hopefully be a little more peace in the world.
"We have to take her to the hospital," the healer said. "I can't set it here, and it has to be cleaned and disinfected."
"Fine. Can she Apparate?"
"I'll Apparate her," said the healer.
"We'll see you there, Hermione."
"Guess what!" she exclaimed, leaping into his arms. "I got the job!"
"Congratulations!" he crowed. "That's wonderful!"
"I know! Oh, I've wanted to work there for ages! Ever since I heard about it."
"You deserve it more than anyone."
"Did you find a place to work too?"
"Yeah, I did!"
"What is it?"
"Well, I want to work as an Auror..."
"That's wonderful!"
"…But I'm too frightened to apply for that so right now I'm working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."
"What?"
"Yeah, I know. George needed help with odd jobs."
"I never would have pegged you as the type of guy to work there."
"Tell me about it."
"You should apply to be an Auror!"
"No bloody way."
"Oh, come on."
"I will when I have the guts. I still want to settle down a little after the war, you know."
"Yes, I understand."
"Even though I loved the action of it all, I need a little break. Unlike Harry."
"Yeah. He jumped on the opportunity right away." She smiled a little. "I'm sort of glad you're not like that, though. I know there's still a whole lot of Death eaters still needing to be captured, and I wouldn't want to worry about you."
"Well, I'm so glad you got your job. You'll be fantastic."
"I know! I'm so excited to start!"
"When do you start?"
"I start my training Monday."
"That's bloody fantastic."
"I know." She leapt into his arms and kissed him soundly. "Whatever you do," she said, "you'll be great at it too. Go make George Weasley proud to call you his employee!"
"Yeah, right. He's going to fire me right away."
"Right. Your personalities will clash too much."
He leant down and kissed her. "Good thing ours' don't."
Hermione smiled. "Come on. Let's celebrate." She kissed him again.
"How are we going to celebrate, exactly?"
She gave him a sultry smile and her head traveled down his stomach slowly.
He laughed. "I'll give it to you. You do know how to celebrate." He wrapped his arms around her tightly and smothered her with kisses. She Apparated them to her flat and she opened her bedroom door.
"I love you, you know," she told him as she pushed him onto her bed.
"I love you too," he replied as he pulled her on top of him. "So much so it hurts."
"I'll soothe your pain." She winked and he laughed and kissed her again.
A/N: If I'm being honest with you, my dear readers, my love for Ron has been growing quite a lot and my love for Draco diminishing a little. It's probably because Ron is such a prominent character in this story that I'm loving him more. Also, I hope the whole attack-on-the-poor-ice-cream-parlour didn't kill the story...did I do okay? Please reassure me! And tell me what you think! I hope it wasn't too out of the blue. Review! Thank you so much all of you who reviewed! I appreciate you all so very much!