Hi Everyone!
Apologies for the late update, but you were warned! Thanks for all of your reviews - as most of you know, I do reply when I am able to. This doesn't apply to the guest reviewers, for obvious reasons, however, I do definitely value them!
Niamh, trust me, I hear you on the Draco being OOC. This is a small fear of mine. I do actually want him to be OOC when it comes to Hermione. I want him to be sweet, mature and considerate with her because she is his Holy Grail. Having said that, I hope you get to see a little bit of OG Draco in this chapter.
Thanks guys and happy reading!
In the end, Hermione had consented to Draco being her 'plus one' to the Ministry's New Years Eve party, with the specification that he was there as a friend and not a date. Hermione also asked Draco if he could manage to spend most of the evening mingling with the people he wished to, to avoid being in close proximity to one Ronald Bilius Weasley where possible and to not be photographed with her unless absolutely necessary. Draco grudgingly agreed to all of Hermione's terms but extracted his own promise in return - that she would accompany him to a hotel straight after the party. Hermione had absolutely no issues agreeing to his terms whatsoever.
Working on New Year's Eve always felt as pointless to Hermione as working on Christmas Day. There was too much buzz in the air and witches and wizards flitted from one desk to another, visiting with each other and gossiping, excited for the festivities to begin. Hermione had silenced her office space and cast a repelling charm around the area. She was so close to finishing her last report for the Beasts division, that she could afford no distractions. She would round out her year in one Department and begin the new year fresh in the next.
When she was finished her report, her stomach grumbled loudly to remind her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was now after three in the afternoon. She sealed her report in an envelope and cleared out her desk, placing all of her personal items in her handbag, undetectable extension charm already in place. She removed the repelling charm from the office space, report clutched in both hands and dawdled across the office floor, soaking in the details and the faces. In all the years she had spent working on this level, she had barely put in the time to get to know her coworkers, so caught up in her work as she was. Hermione deposited the report on the Department Head's desk and walked to the elevators with her head held high.
Hermione hated black tie events. The hours of preparation that went into them, magic or no magic was purely exhausting. For example, you could never just walk into the first store you see and find the perfect dress. Shopping to find a dress you liked, followed by shoes to match could take hours. Then you had to figure out how to wear your hair and how to do your makeup and this was just not an area that Hermione excelled in. As a result, Hermione spent far too much time charming her hair and makeup in various ways until she found a combination that felt right with her dress. The dress which she loved the look of but hated to walk in. The navy blue velvet flattered her body yet the fishtail bottom got caught up in her legs and irritated her so much that she was considering slashing it off when the doorbell rang. With a sigh, she gathered her coat and bag and went to greet Draco.
When Hermione opened the door, Draco sucked in a large breath of air. "You look incredible," he told her with a kiss on the cheek.
Hermione blushed and decided that maybe the fishtail bottom wasn't quite as bad as she had originally thought.
Draco stepped into her apartment and closed the door behind him. "However," he continued, "I do believe that you are missing just a touch of sparkle around your neck."
The famous Malfoy smirk was firmly in place as he waved his wand and a stunning drop necklace arranged itself around Hermione's neck and settled itself perfectly in the middle of her decolletage. The chain of the necklace was long and fully encrusted with white jewels, while the eye catcher of the piece was without a doubt the large teardrop yellow diamond that gleamed against the navy velvet that covered her chest.
"Do you like it, Granger?" he asked her, still smirking but this time at the look of wonder on her face.
"Draco, it's the most wonderful piece of jewellery that I have ever laid my eyes on," she gushed. "But I can't accept this, it must have cost you a fortune! What if something happens to it?"
"Firstly, it hasn't cost me a single sickle. It's a from the family treasury. Secondly, if it will make you feel better about wearing it tonight, you could just consider it on loan? Thirdly, it has a very strong charm on it that dictates that only a Malfoy can undo the clasp and therefore it is protected against theft and from simply falling off of your neck. Which brings me to my final point of you not being able to remove it without my help, no matter how hard you try, so you might as well swallow your pride because it will be on your neck until I see fit to remove it this evening," he finished with a wink.
Hermione stewed on this information for a moment before deciding that so long as Draco wasn't gifting her with this enormous piece of jewellery, she could probably get through one night of wearing it.
"Okay," she nodded. "But as soon as you remove it tonight, you send it straight back to that treasury!"
"Deal," Draco took her in his arms and pulled her in for a lingering kiss.
"Ready?" Hermione asked, a little breathless.
"Ready," Draco confirmed and together they disapparated to the Ministry.
The din of the party could be heard from the floor above and Hermione stole a nervous glance at Draco as the lift arrived on level one, where the whole floor served as the reception room for the New Year's Eve party. Draco returned her glance with a look that reassured her that tonight would be a good night. As they stepped off of the lift, Draco placed his hand on the small of her back in a manner of chivalry as they both glanced up into a flash of light followed closely by a twirl of greying blonde ringlets.
"Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy. How delightful! Are you attending tonight's festivities together?" Rita Skeeter positively purred in their direction.
"Miss Granger has politely allowed me to accompany her tonight in order to assist me with some business networking," Draco replied diplomatically.
"All work and no play makes Draco a dull boy," Rita pouted back at him, clearly unhappy with his response.
"A Malfoy is never one to shirk his responsibilities, Rita," Draco gave her a winning smile as he swept Hermione out of view from both Rita and her camera, but not before Rita could loudly inquire as to the necklace Hermione was 'sporting'.
"What about this necklace has got that beetle's knickers in a twist?" Hermione asked him.
"Probably just it's monetary value," Draco assured her. "Ah, Weasley is headed straight for us. I guess I'll make myself scarce," Draco whispered and was long gone before Ron made his way through the crowd to greet Hermione.
Hermione was vaguely aware of another camera flash as she clasped arms with Ron and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I think we need to have a private word, don't you think?" he whispered in her ear as they shared a platonic hug. Hermione nodded but released his arms. "Just not right now, okay? There are cameras everywhere not to mention that bloody Skeeter woman is skulking around here somewhere. Let's wait until a little later when we're not quite so interesting any more, alright?"
"Alright," Ron agreed. "But we will discuss this tonight," he added firmly.
Hermione slid her eyes up to his and gave another nod in the affirmative. "I promise."
"Hermione," Harry greeted her with a kiss on each cheek, closely followed by an enveloping hug from Ginny, who then pulled all of them into a group hug. "Let's just all play nice," she grinned at them before breaking the embrace. A floating tray of drinks made its way through the crowd and Hermione gladly swiped a glass of white wine from it before it disappeared.
The four friends clinked their glasses together in a toast to the New Year and went about trying to enjoy the party. Sometimes they would greet other guests and have conversations together and at other times, they would meet a new acquaintance and be off on their own.
It took several hours before Hermione finally made her way back to Draco's side. He seemed to be in a heated conversation with an elderly gentleman whom Hermione did not recognise, yet she wanted to see him briefly before she was expected to be on stage with Harry and Ron for the midnight toast. Hermione caught Draco's eye and he gestured for her to join him in the conversation. She approached, feeling somewhat apprehensive considering the pink colour on both men's faces. When she reached Draco's side, she plastered a smile on her face and extended her hand in greeting to the unknown man. He took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze but kept the unpleasant look on his face.
"Hermione, this is my Grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy. Grandfather, this is Hermione Granger."
Abraxas Malfoy released Hermione's hand and grimaced at her. "My dear," he started. "At the beginning of this evening, I would have been delighted to make your acquaintance. You, the brightest witch of the age, the heroine of the war and a muggle born no less. Yet, you arrive with my one and only Grandson, wearing -"
"Grandfather, please! Not now," Draco whispered harshly. "She doesn't even know. I didn't tell her about it. Let's not make a scene!"
Hermione looked from one Malfoy to the other, trying and failing to piece together some obviously missing information. "I'm so sorry that I have offended you, Mr Malfoy. I'd very much appreciate the opportunity to sit down and discuss this," here Hermione wavered in conviction, not knowing what it was that needed to be discussed, yet she powered on. "Further. However, I have to be on that stage in just a few moments for the speech and countdown. I hope to see you afterwards," she smiled confidently at Malfoy senior and gave Malfoy junior a questioning look before turning tail and heading for the stage.
When Hermione joined Harry and Ron at the bottom of the steps to the stage, Kingsley was just wrapping up his speech and getting ready to introduce the three of them to the stage.
"I bloody hate this," Ron said to them.
"At least you're not the one who has to give the damn speech," Harry reminded him.
"Right. Right," Ron shuffled his feet nervously.
"Please welcome to the stage: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," Minister Shacklebolt led the party-goers in a round of applause as the trio made their way up on stage to stand in front of the podium, each taking a turn in shaking the Minister's hand.
"Thank you, Minister Shacklebolt," Harry started after using the Sonorous charm to amplify his voice. "It is such a pleasure to be here tonight with all of you to ring in the New Year. Even though we have celebrated several New Year's Eves together since our victory over Voldemort and the Death Eaters, I still feel so lucky that we can live in this peaceful era together. Let's continue to work together to keep the Wizarding World safe, happy and prosperous. Congratulations on working together and a have a Happy New Year!"
The audience applauded again for Harry as Hermione and Ron joined him in the countdown to the midnight hour. As midnight rang, streamers ran from the ends of many wands, fireworks burst seemingly from the ceiling and couples embraced. Hermione met Draco's eyes across the room as he sent her a flirtatious smile. Harry, Ron and Hermione left the stage and fell straight into the clutches of Rita Skeeter, who had shared a midnight kiss with a few glasses of champagne from the smell of her. "Ah, finally I have caught the three of you all at once. How about we have that little interview now?"
"Actually, if you'll excuse me, Rita. I need to find my wife and wish her a Happy New Year," Harry said before he all but disapparated out of harm's way, sending Ron and Hermione a grimace and a shrug on his way out.
"Well, I guess that just leaves you two, then," Rita was practically vibrating with joy. "Can I be the first to get the scoop on what you two have been up to since the big split? Who have you been seeing, etcetera? Except, I suppose, I really have no need to ask Miss Granger that question, seeing as it appears that she is betrothed to a Malfoy man. I'd like to go out on a whim here and assume that it is Mr Draco Malfoy, dear?"
Ron was turning a dangerous shade of purple and sputtering as he looked from Rita to Hermione and back again. "Betrothed?" he hissed. "Betrothed to that git?" He turned his fury on Hermione. "You moved out of our home not even four months ago and you're already engaged to that prancing prick? Have you no respect for me at all? Were you cheating on me with him?"
Hermione who had been feeling some sort of shock was now bright red in the face herself and was quite suddenly unable to control herself, even with Rita standing there, quick quotes quill moving a thousand miles a second. Thankfully there was no cameraman insight as her hand seemed to have a mind of its own as it reached up to slap Ron soundly across the face. "No, I was not cheating on you! How could you even accuse me of such a thing? And no, I am not engaged to him! I have no idea what that horrible beetle is banging on about!"
Ron stood there stunned, hand cupping a flaming red cheek while Hermione glared at Rita, waiting for some kind of explanation. Taking the opportunity, Rita cleared her throat. "Well, love. It's that charming trinket that you have around your neck. You see, it's a Malfoy family heirloom, one that is only ever bestowed upon the next woman to enter the family through marriage. In the Malfoy family, it is considered even more substantial than a ring. Why, dear? Didn't you know?" Rita finished with her trademark smile, indicating that she had the upper hand.
"No," Hermione replied, deflated. Draco had made his way through the gathering crowd and was nudging his way between Ron and Rita. "I had no idea of the symbolism," she caught Draco's eye. "It would have been nice to be informed," she said with more than a little venom in her voice.
Out of nowhere, Ron swung a fist that connected soundly with Draco's cheekbone accompanied by a flash as the cameraman finally found his way to the commotion. "You think you can just stick a big rock around her neck and the deal is done? Like you own her now or something? You didn't even ask her!" Ron yelled at Draco as he prepared another right hook.
However, Draco saw this one coming and managed to skillfully sidestep, sneer firmly in place despite the bruise already blooming on his face. "Is that the best you can do, Weaselby? Throw a punch? Still haven't mastered the use of your wand, I see."
Harry had somehow found his way back to his friends and was successful in restraining Ron as he attempted to release his rage again.
"Come off it, Malfoy. Don't deflect my accusations with insults. How can you stand there and act like you've done nothing wrong? Hermione is not someone who can just be bought!"
"I know perfectly well that she has no interest in my money, Weasel. Luckily, I have many other attributes that she has plenty of interest in."
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Hermione mumbled, mortified.
Ron, catching on to the innuendo, managed to break free of Harry's grip and tackled Draco down to the ground where the two rolled around, each landing hits on the other's body.
"Enough!" Hermione hollered, pointing her wand at the two of them. "Petrificus Totalus," she said, hitting Draco squarely in the chest. Harry was just a second behind her, taking Ron down with the same jinx.
Strongly wishing that she could stupefy bloody Rita Skeeter while she destroyed the film in the camera and ripped up all the notes from the quick quotes quill. However, that was merely wishful thinking on her part as she stomped over to where the two prone bodies lay in outrageous positions. She crouched down next to them and hissed "You two are behaving like children. It's absolutely ridiculous and now that we have made a fantastic scene that will surely go down in the record books, I think we should make a hasty exit, don't you think?" Even had a response from either wizard been possible, Hermione wouldn't have waited for one as she took a wrist from each man and disapparated the three of them out of there.