I'd just like to say a quick thank you to beetle126 and MeltingLove, your reviews make me want to write more. Way more. I have so many documents waiting to upload and you guys will love them I know. But I don't want to break your hearts with some of my plot twists..
Harry was sleeping with Draco curled around him, he'd had a shit couple of days. He hadn't been able to leave his house, but Draco had been there for him. Narcissa had taken Scorpius to the south of France and Draco had taken a week off. Oliver was away at an international tournament but he returned tonight, and boy was Hermione glad. She hadn't spend so long away from him, and it was only two days. The rest of the team who were single were staying out there for a couple more days to party but Oliver didn't fancy it. Ron was still dreaming of Katie.
"Harry? You okay?" Draco rubbed Harry's arm to gently wake him up, he'd been whimpering in his sleep and Draco was worried. "Harry.. Wake up." He slowly came to and Draco inwardly sighed in relief, "You okay?" Harry nodded. "Yeah. I just had a bad dream. I need to get out of the house, it's suffocating me." Draco smiled, "Think you're ready?" He nodded, shifting so he was sitting up. "The weather looks like it's clearing up. We could go for a run. Do you run, Draco?"
He shrugged, "I don't have time, but I can run. Merlin knows, I've done my fair share."
Harry looked at him, and shook his head. "Never thought you'd be the one to make light out of a bad situation. Thank you for staying. Last night and the night before."
Draco smiled, laying on his side. "Where else would I be?" Harry blushed, "Look, I like you. And I want to prove to you that I'm not who I used to be. I've changed. But I also realise that I've hurt you a lot in the past and I need to make up for that."
"Run?"
"Run."
Draco had gone back to his after the run, and as Harry pushed open the front door he was greeted by Hermione, flitting around like a fairy. "Harry! It's Ron's birthday party today! Did you forget?!"
Harry laughed and shook his head, "I've got my shirt all ironed upstairs, don't worry Mione." He brushed his hand against his forehead, it was dripping with sweat, and he kicked his trainers off in the hallway.
"NO! Get those out of my sight, go put them in your room and have a shower or a bath or SOMETHING!" She gave him the look and he quickly ran upstairs, careful not to touch the decorated banister. It had huge paper garlands entwined around it, fanned out to make large spheres of grey gold and white paper. She'd charmed them so that the paper fluttered slightly in a mystical sense, like there was something hidden deep inside of them. The rest of the house and garden followed the theme of gold, grey and white. Hermione had shrunk their furniture and put it in a box in her room, so the living room had more space. It had two big numbers, a 2 and a 3, painted grey with gold specks all over them, they glowed and acted as an ideal place to take photos. Along the bookshelves between the photo frames there were bell jars with muggle fairy lights inside of them, Ron had said they should've used glowing pixies but Hermione was strongly against that idea. Strangely. There was music playing in the background and the kitchen was charmed so that none of the appliances worked, the fridge was fully stocked with muggle and wizarding alcohol as well as soft drinks. It would replenish automatically from the store in the basement, and the fridge locked shut at midnight. Along the counter tops there were large slates of finger food and bakes that Ron loved, and his birthday cake was stashed away in a box in Hermione's bedroom. On the dining table there were a few board games and a hot chocolate station. Gryffindor red and gold mug's piled high with two jars of hot chocolate powder, a jar of marshmallows, cans of squirty cream and a big tin of fudge pieces, all ready for the winter party. The glass doors had been opened up and as you stepped out onto the deck the garden was alight with balls of light, there was outdoor furniture scattered about and a large wooden crate with gold, white and grey blankets all tightly rolled. Hermione had written a note that said: 'Please snuggle and huddle' . The house looked beautiful and she couldn't wait. Ron better love it, she'd invited all of his family and friends, and Oliver was going to drop by as soon as he got home. Draco was invited too but he decided not to come, he didn't want to stir up trouble with the household, it had been hard enough for Ron and Hermione to stomach the news, let alone the rest of their world.
Harry was wearing a dark grey shirt, unbuttoned slightly, tucked into black jeans. He hadn't shaved recently and he looked rugged, knackered, but happy. Draco made him happy. And for the first time in a long time he'd slept easy, Draco had said that he could come over as soon as the party was drawing to a close. Go sleep in his bed. Ron didn't really understand their situation, their 'relationship' .. but it made Harry happy and he didn't want anything else for him. He'd already been through enough. Tonight, Ron was wearing a clean cut white button down shirt, black chinos and a grey blazer, the sleeves slightly rolled up. He had a few bands around his wrist from the months that Hermione, Harry and him had spent travelling. Or avoiding the UK.. and the wizarding world. They'd apparated mostly but they'd used some public transport, in some cases it was easier than getting a wizarding visa. Both of the boys were sat on Hermione's bed, chatting and laughing. Ron's birthday was actually mid-week. ( AN. Aware Ron's bday is in March, I've changed it for the purpose of the plot. ) But they both felt so care free and happy, celebrating their boy turning 23. Hermione stepped into her bedroom to do her make up, both of them gasped. She looked stunning. she was wearing a long sleeved emerald t-shirt style body with a large emerald silk skirt, it protruded outwards from her waist and had a large grey sash tied around it in a bow at the back, she had a tulle tutu underneath the skirt but had charmed it so you couldn't see it. it just gave the effect, without the uncomfortable-ness. Hermione was holding a pair of black heels with delicate straps around the ankles and another pair of green heels which had jewels emblazoned onto them. "So, what do we think? Which ones?"
Ron rolled his eyes and laid back down, "Whatever makes you happy."
Hermione pouted, "Ever the helpful one, Ronald."
"The black ones, the green ones clash with the skirt." Harry smiled and stroked the throw happily, it purred in thanks.
She nodded and put the green ones back, sitting down at her dressing table she gently applied her make up, not too much. She controlled her hair and teezed it out, then swept it up into a loose ponytail with curly wisps framing her face, she put her earrings in and a silver necklace with a sparkle to it.
"I think we're ready." She grinned and they took a quick photo, Whiskey was curled up on Hermoine's bed out of the way - exactly where Whiskey wanted to be.
Neville and Luna knocked on the front door, and quickly walked in. Hermione hugged Luna and smiled at her baby bump, "Don't worry. We have non-alcoholic cocktails too. And there's lots of hot chocolate." Luna grinned, rubbing her bump. Neville looked over and smiled, "Thanks Hermione. Your home is just.. gobswazzling." Luna stroked the walls and cooed over the decorations, whilst Neville and the boys stood in the kitchen with butterbeers, munching on a few canapes. More guests arrived soon after, Mr and Mrs Weasley along with George, who had his best fake smiled plastered on, Bill and Fleur had come too, and Percy. Charlie said that he would pop round later, but there were some problems he had to deal with first. Hannah Abott, Katie Bell and Susan Bones all arrived together, along with another girl who nobody recognised. She had short curly hair, and a slim face with defined features. Others from Hogwarts also arrived such as, Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw who was also in DA, Seamus came with him, and it was very clear that they were an item. The party was well and truly going when Hagrid arrived with a keg of his home brewed butterbeer that they all had to have a glass of.
"Katie! Katie!" Ron ran up to her and grinned, hugging her. He'd had a fair amount to drink and was feeling very confident. "You look amazing!" Katie blushed and smiled, "Uh thanks mate." He nodded quickly and bit his lip, "Hey I was wondering if we could uh go on a .." And at that moment, the girl from earlier that no one recognised walked up to Katie's side, Katie slung an arm around her shoulder. "Ron this is Amy!" Ron smiled and nodded, "Nice to meet you." Amy smirked and nodded, "Likewise."
Katie smiled, "We got engaged at the weekend." Ron turned green and ran into the back garden.
Oliver had turned up about 2 hours after everyone else, and he and Hermione were snuggled up on furniture in the back garden, they had a blanket around them and were clutching mugs with hot chocolate and a dash of whiskey. "I missed you, you know." Hermione giggled, whispering.
"I missed you too. You should come with me next time.." Oliver smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"You know I have work commitments. And occasionally your quidditch overlaps those work commitments." Oliver blushed and tried to change the subject hurriedly. Luckily, Seamus and Michael arrived and sat opposite them. "Well I heard you guys were an item, but I had to see it with my own eyes." Seamus grinned, looking at them both.
"Hermione I'm sure you remember Michael." She nodded and shook his hand, "One of my rivals for the brightest person in our year." He grinned and nodded, "As if I was ever going to beat you, you swat." She laughed and introduced Oliver to them.
"So what are you both up to?" Seamus asked, after they'd got settled with a blanket. Hermione rubbed her thumb gently along Oliver's hand, "Well I'm the head of department for Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. And Oliver is keeper for Puddlemere." She smiled proudly, she could certainly say that they were a power couple. Michael raised his eyebrows, "Well done Granger." He said it with the upmost respect for her, she deserved everything she had. They chatted for about an hour, finding out about each other's lives, Hermione resolved for her to meet up the couple when they were in her neck of the woods. She loved them together, Seamus balanced out Michael's need to be strict and sensible, and Michael balanced out Seamus' recklessness.
Ron was sat with Neville and Luna, Luna had needed to sit down, she was 5 months pregnant and was feeling the effect of hours of dancing. Neville had fought hard to win Luna's affections and convince her to settle down, they lived just outside of Hogsmeade which allowed Neville to teach at Hogwarts easily, he was the other Herbologist teacher alongside Proffessor Sprout. He studied for his NEWTs and completed them 6 months after Hogwarts was repaired. He took a few months off and then had an owl from Sprout one day asking if he was interested in a teaching apprenticeship. 3 years later he was a fully fledged teacher with his own classes and his own greenhouse. It was his dream job, and Luna managed the Quibbler from their house, she had a few writers in a London office, and a few in the office in Hogsmeade but she kept the tabloid small. It was much simpler that way, and now that they had a baby on the way she had finally started to think sensibly. Ron was shocked by the two of them, the craziest people in their year group were probably the only ones who had settled down and had their lives together. The three of them talked about having nightmares and how to deal with them, how Hogwarts was coping, they talked about the little things and Ron promised he wouldn't be a stranger forever. Luna promised that she would let them all know when the baby was born, and they could come up to the ceremony for initiating the little witch/wizard.
"But that's enough about us, mate. How're you doing? This house is cool." Neville grinned and made sure that Luna was okay, he fussed a lot.
"I'm okay. I got a dog. A specially trained one, meant to be able to calm me down in public situations, you know.. talks, press conferences.. Whiskey her name is. She's helping me sober up too. I had a bit of a problem, with alcohol. It's still there but I don't have it for breakfast anymore."
Luna laughed and nodded, "I was exactly the same." Ron gasped, looking at her in amazement. "You were?"
"Yeah. I thought it could fix my problems, but it just made me crazy." Both of the men laughed and gave each other a knowing look.
The party was winding down and most people had left, Mr and Mrs Weasley had left early on before it got mad, and Bill and Fleur had gone with them. Charlie, George and Percy were staying over and had promised to help clear up the mess in the morning. Hermione and Oliver had seen people out like good hosts and Ron was curled up in a blanket, passed out.
"Alright, I'm just going round to Draco's. I'll be back in the morning." Harry whispered in Hermione's ear and he disappeared off next door. Soon, it was only Oliver and Hermione stood in the living room. They'd cleared up the outside and shut the doors, Oliver had got Ron into bed and the other Weasley's had gone to different guest rooms.
"You know, you look beautiful."
Hermione blushed and looked down, "You don't look too bad yourself."
He caught her off guard and scooped her up, bridal style, into his arms. "Do you think they'll hear us if we put a silencing charm around your room?"