This one's a little lengthy, but I think it's worth it. Enjoy!
Marie and Blaise decide to take a month long vacation, spending two weeks in Marie's hometown of New Orleans, and the second two weeks in Italy where Blaise's family had a home ("This is like 10 homes in one, hun…"). While Marie and Blaise frolicked in the first month of marital bliss, Draco and Hermione's relationship…Situationship? Friendship? Situ-relation-friendship?...also began to frolic. They weren't a couple, per say, but they did go out a few times in the month Marie and Blaise were away. A dinner here, a coffee shop there, an impromptu photo shoot in the park where Hermione looked absolutely radiant despite being bundle by a scarf and coat in the chilly November air. They got to know each other's life story, their passions and irritations, their likes and dislikes; Draco invited her into his home, a "modest" townhouse, and gave her a tour of the second floor, which he turned into his studio, a place where only Marie and Blaise had seen. Hermione invited Draco to one of her beginner's classes, where he sat amongst moms and dads watching their daughters and sons learn to plié and point and first position and second position. Watching Hermione in her standard ballet outfit of a leotard, skirt, tights, and flat ballet shoes and her hair pulled into the classic ballerina bun atop her head, Draco could think of a few positions he wanted her in but he kept that to himself until the class was over. They danced together in the privacy of his home or her studio. He taught her the basics of photography. Without any knowledge or understanding of how and why, the unlikely pair continued to grow closer.
It was something Marie noticed immediately upon her and Blaise's return to London. The four went to dinner about a week or so after the couple returned, and Marie felt a major shift in the growing situ-relation-friendship between her two friends. While there were still questions and reservations in both of them, there was a longing for more. More of what, Marie wasn't sure of yet, but both parties wanted more. Marie joked with her husband later that night, betting the two would be at least engaged by the time their one-year anniversary rolled around. December came and went, the four celebrating Christmas and the New Year together with Marie's parents who were just as hilarious and blunt as their daughter, and come January everyone seemed to fit back into their regular groove of life.
This is how Hermione found herself sitting on a couch in a café near her studio, laptop propped on her lap atop a pillow and a folder open on the table. She was finalizing the vendors and catering for the fundraising dinner and showcase she hosted every June to raise money for her dance studio. This year, she asked Draco (yes, he was Draco now occasionally) if he would be willing to auction some of his work which he readily agreed to so in addition to the dinner and showcase, there would be a silent auction for a few pieces and an opportunity to win a photo shoot by M. Photography. The showcase always featured performances from her students in addition to other dancers in the area, and Marie always graciously offered to do simple costume design for the showcase. Hermione was so focused on her work that she didn't notice the aforementioned black woman walk into the café until she sat down across from her. Marie's boutique was also close to the quaint café so it wasn't unusual for the two to run into each other or plan to meet there after work.
"Hey, darlin'. How's everything coming?" Marie asked taking a sip of her hot chocolate. She assumed Hermione had finished for the day at the studio and was working on the benefit based on her dance attire and ballet bun. Marie still wasn't quite sure how the girl managed to get all of that hair into such a slicked-back, no hair out of place bun, but whatever she did it and that's what mattered.
Hermione took a deep breath, pursing her lips. "It's going. So far, everything is lining up well but I'm trying to cover my ass and prepare for all possible scenarios. I'm supposed to go to dinner with Draco tonight but I may ask if he would mind a working dinner so I can finalize these performances."
Marie was about to ask how things with Draco had been going, when she noticed Hermione's gaze look to the door of the café and start waving. Turning around, Marie noticed Hermione's friends Harry and Ginny Potter and Ron Weasley enter that café. She didn't know them well at all, but she knew of them through Hermione and ran into them whenever she went to one of Hermione's performances.
"Oh, are you meeting them? I'm sorry, I don't want to intrude…"
"No, no, no, you're fine. I didn't know they would be here; they don't usually come to Muggle London," Hermione said as the trio walked over to where the girls were sitting. Hermione stood to hug her friends, and Marie gave a polite smile and greeting as the three settled into seating with her and Hermione.
"We went to stop by your studio to sign Lily up for dance classes," Ginny said, adding that Lily was her and Harry's five-year-old daughter at Marie's questioning look, "and when we saw it was closed we figured you were here so we thought we'd give it a shot."
"Well, you can tell Lily that Aunt Mimi is very excited to see her for her first class next week," Hermione smiled, making a quick note in her planner to add her goddaughter to her roster.
"Is Lily your only child?" Marie asked.
Harry and Ginny laughed as the couple shook their head. "Oh, that would be far to easy. We have three, two older boys and Lily's our youngest," Harry answered while Ginny adding, "Weasleys tend to be rather fertile. I'm the youngest of seven."
Marie's eye widened. "Seven? Your mother had seven children? I'm guessing the gentleman sitting there is one of the seven?" she asked nodding her head towards Ron, who's shaggy ginger locks matched the color of Ginny's straight ones.
Ron gave a boyish grin, running a hand through the telltale hair. "Wonder what gave it away? So you're the Marie, like the designer Marie DuPonte?"
Marie nodded, taking another sip of her drink. "That would be me!"
"I love your designs! I wish you had come to the Wizarding world sooner; I would've loved to wear one of your gowns for our wedding!"
"Thank you; that's sweet! Well, look, if you and Harry are thinking about a vow renewal, come by the store or get my contact info from Hermione and we'll see what we can work out," Marie said with a smile.
"That would be amazing! We have been married almost ten years next year…wait, you recently got married too, if I remember. Blaise Zabini, right?"
"Yes ma'am," Marie smiled at the mention of her husband, her southern drawl evident in the phrase, "I take it you also know him from school?"
"Yea, we were all in Gryffindor," Harry said motioning the group seated together excluding Marie, "And Zabini and Malfoy were in Slytherin, which was like our rival house."
"And you all did the whole last name thing too, I see. I still don't understand that whole thing."
"You didn't go to school with them; they were dicks. Especially to Hermione," Ron said rather bluntly.
Marie raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How so?"
"Zabini, not so much, but Malfoy? He was terrible. Called Hermione a rather nasty name for a person who is born of non-Magical parents for six years, talked about my family like we were almost dirt because we didn't have the money and power the Malfoys do. He's just a pompous git."
"Currently? As in you know this to be a fact now?" Marie questioned the redheaded man. Everyone else could detect the slight edge in her voice, but Ron seemed to miss it and continued.
"I can imagine it's still true. A person like that is always going to be like that. I think Hermione told us in passing that you're a pureblood?"
"Technically speaking."
"Yea, so you'd never have to go through what Hermione went through. The name calling, people doubting your abilities because you're not like everyone else; that would never be your life."
Hermione groaned, dropping her head in her hand and Harry and Ginny tried to look everywhere but the table. Why? Why, Ron Weasley? Why can't you read social cues? Marie's eyes started to glow that telling gold color, before taking a moment to close her eyes and count to 10, willing the anger to subside and her eyes slowly went back to their dark brown color.
"Okay…I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt since you don't know me that well. But, just so we're clear, you don't know my life. Yes, I'm a "pureblood" or whatever the hell that means in this world, but I'm also a black woman who grew up in N'Orleans, Lousiana and, let me tell you, that is not the friendliest place if you're a black woman. You wanna talk about name calling? I won't even begin to go into the names I've been called throughout my life simply because of the color of my skin, which it sounds like parallels with the reason you say Draco said shit about Hermione. Because she was different and not like him? WELL," Marie clapped her hands once to emphasize the word, "let me update you, Ron. Ron, right? Thank God for deliverance and understanding because Draco, Blaise, and Hermione get along splendidly. So splendidly, in fact, that right before you all got here, Hermione was telling me how her and Draco's relationship has been. See, Hermione's learned that people have this amazing ability to grow up and mature. I'll give it to you, though; not everyone does and that's rather unfortunate. But a lot of people do, so let's not try to group all those who were ignorant with those who decided to stay ignorant. 'Kay?"
Marie waved her hand over her hot chocolate, cast a silent spell to warm the liquid that had gotten cold over the period of time it was sitting, and took a sip. Ron's ears had turned red with embarrassment at some point during Marie's speech. Harry and Ginny tried to hold in their chuckles of embarrassment for their friend. Hermione look mortified; amused by Marie's rather accurate "read" of Ron (it was a term Marie used on a regular basis but Hermione concluded it sounded odd coming out of an English woman's mouth) but mortified. She hadn't actually told her three school friends about her budding…whatever with Draco and now that Marie brought it, it had to be addressed. After Ron gingerly mumbled an apology, which resulted in Marie walking over to the man to give him a smile and a hug telling him to loosen up, Ginny was the one acknowledge the elephant in the space.
"So…you and Malfoy, huh?"
Hermione reached up to take down her hair, running a hand through the brown waves as the cascaded down her back. Sighing with a slight smile, she looked to the girl and nodded. Ginny smiled, linking her arm with her husband's and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Well, good for you. You look happy, and that makes me happy."
Harry nodded in agreement with his wife, and Ron shrugged, still not fully convinced about Malfoy but Hermione was happy so he could go along with it. Hermione smiled, her thanks radiating through her to her friends.
"Besides," Ginny added, "I figured you two already fucked during school. All that fighting? So much sexual tension."
Ron's ears turned red again and Harry and Hermione just laughed at the redhead girl's bluntness.
"I like Ginny," Marie reached over to high-five the girl, "Ginny can stay."
So I knew when creating Marie's character and deciding to make her a Black American woman, I knew I was going to have a scene where I wanted her to address the parallels of being a black woman in America and being a Muggleborn in the Wizarding world. I went back and forth about if I wanted her to have it with with Draco or Hermione, but I like the compromise I came to. My intention wasn't to make her rude or disrespectful or like she was standing on a soapbox, but I did want to show that this was something very real and personal for her and, as many of you noted, she's not shy and says exactly what's on her mind. Hence why she likes Ginny lol. As always, your feedback and reviews are welcomed and appreciated; thank you for your continued support for CL&PS! xx