Chapter 10
By the time they reached Diagon Alley, Hermione was openly staring at Malfoy. The flat she shared with Ginny was only a five minute walk from the Leaky Cauldron and Malfoy had polished off all three sandwiches before they reached the pub. He was currently eyeing her half-eaten sandwich like he might take it out of her hands if she took much longer with it.
"You're here!" Harry called when he spotted them as they strolled down Diagon Alley.
Hermione noticed the way he began to hurry forward in greeting before spotting Malfoy and Zabini a pace or two behind her and Ginny. She realised when Harry faltered just how strange it must look to see the four of them arriving together.
"Morning Harry," Hermione greeted him, stepping forwards and brushing her cheek to his. Ron, George, Angelina, Fleur, Luna and Mrs Weasley were behind him and Hermione greeted them all the same way. Ginny did the same while Ron, George and Harry eyeballed Malfoy and Zabini.
"What are you doing arriving with them?" Ron asked her quietly, nodding towards Malfoy and Zabini as they both strolled into a café, Draco clearly searching for more food and Blaise uncomfortable left alone with the Weasley's.
"We had to get our injections last night," Hermione told him.
"Yeah, so did we. You should've seen the way Parkinson glared at me. I think she wants to kill me," Ron complained, "But that doesn't explain why they're still with you this morning."
"Ginny and Zabini had their appointment at the same time as Malfoy and I….. because he's a werewolf, they increased the dosage they gave to Malfoy, thinking they'd need to combat his immune system. It sort of backfired and he lost control for a bit. Ginny and Blaise came to dinner with me and Malfoy while we waited for it to wear off."
"You went on a double date?" Angelina asked, overhearing them and interrupting.
"Of sorts. Mostly it involved a lot of arguing and way too much alcohol. By the time the effects on Malfoy wore off we were all drunk at our flat," Hermione replied.
"No wonder you and Ginny look like hell," George said, grinning at her.
"And what? You let them stay over?" Ron demanded looking horrified.
"Oh don't look so offended Ron," Ginny chided him, "This time next week we'll be married to them."
"You say that like it's not something to be concerned over," Ron retorted, "You're going to be tied to those gits for the rest of your lives and you're just going to get a head start on sleeping with them?"
"It's not like we're going to be able to get around sleeping with them," Ginny replied and Hermione could tell that she was enjoying the way Ron's ears and neck had begun to turn red with outrage over the idea of his baby sister and his ex-girlfriend sleeping with people he didn't like.
"Tell me you didn't shag Malfoy last night," Harry said to Hermione seriously, looking disgusted.
"I don't really remember much of last night, Harry," Hermione replied, winking inconspicuously at Ginny who was trying to control her giggling.
"I'm going to be sick," Ron announced, shooting her a scathing glare as though she had betrayed him.
"Thinking about the fact that you're going to have to shag Pansy again Weaselbee?" Malfoy asked from behind him, making Ron jump in surprise.
Hermione tried not to laugh when Ron eyed Malfoy with disgust, his ears turning red while Malfoy nonchalantly munched on some kind of breakfast burger.
"He has a point Ron, you're going to have to get used to the idea, after all, you are going to have to shag that ninny," Ginny cut in seriously and looking bemused when Ron shot her a look of utter betrayal to hear her siding with Malfoy.
"Don't talk to me, Slytherin shagging little tramp," Ron snapped, looking embarrassed, disgusted and horrified all at once.
"That's no way to talk to my wife, Weasley," Blaise sad, throwing his arm causally around Ginny's shoulders.
"Get your hands off my sister!" Ron growled at him.
He was clearly too angry to notice the shocked expression on Ginny's face to feel Blaise hugging her so publicly, and so easily. She looked quizzically at Hermione, and Hermione could see that amid the confusion she was pleased by the feel of his arm around her shoulders.
"Oh Ronald, stop getting so worked up," Mrs Weasley scolded though she was eyeing her daughter with a look of confusion on her face.
"Did you really shag him?" Harry asked Hermione, pulling her aside and muttering into her ear. Hermione opened her mouth to answer him but Malfoy beat her to it.
"She did wake up in my shirt Potter," he said. Harry stared at him clearly wondering how Malfoy had heard him whisper to Hermione when he was standing across the crowded alley still chewing his burger. Malfoy smirked, tapping his ear indicatively, "Werewolf hearing."
"Really Hermione?" Harry asked, clearly deciding he didn't trust Malfoy.
"No I didn't bloody shag him. How low an opinion do you have of me?" Hermione said, making sure to look right at Malfoy as she spoke. He curled his lip at her but Hermione could see he'd been having too much fun tormenting Harry and Ron to care what she said about him.
"Then why is he lying about you sleeping in his shirt?" Harry asked and Hermione sighed.
"He's not," Hermione replied.
"What?" Harry said, clearly confused now.
"I did wake up in his shirt," Hermione clarified, "And not much else."
"You know what?" Harry said, his cheeks turning pink at the idea of discussing the entire situation, "Just don't tell me, ok? I'm going to go and talk to Ron before he throttles Zabini."
He walked away, shooting a befuddled glance at her over his shoulder.
"I hate you," Hermione said when she felt someone move over to stand beside her, knowing without looking that it was Malfoy.
"I'm still hungry," Malfoy said completely unconcerned by her announcement and clearly focusing entirely on his growling stomach even though he was pulling a second wrapped breakfast burger out of the pocket of his overcoat.
"Hermione, dear?" Mrs Weasley said, sidling over, "Have you thought at all about the type of dress you want?"
"Mum," Ginny intervened before Hermione could even open her mouth, "Can we save the dress talk until everyone gets here? It's nauseating enough and Hermione and I had a lot to drink last night. We don't want to go splattering anyone's shoes…."
"Oh Ginevra, what have I told you about drinking? Do you want to get a reputation as being a sloppy lush?" Molly scolded her daughter immediately and Hermione sighed in relief when the woman moved away from her again, forgetting about Hermione's dress issues for the moment while she lectured her daughter.
Hermione eyed Malfoy out the corner of her eye, noticing that his burger smelled fantastic even though she already eaten her bacon sandwich and finished her milkshake. He caught her looking and smirked around his mouthful.
"You want some?" he asked her, and Hermione hated him for saying it so loudly, drawing everyone's attention. He even held it out to her, offering her a bite as though they were already so comfortable with each other that as a werewolf (and therefore notoriously snarly about the idea of sharing food) he was happy to share his food with her.
"No, thank you," Hermione replied, looking away even though she kind of did want a bite despite the fact that steak, sausage and bacon all at once for breakfast after she'd already had her sandwich ought to turn her stomach rather than making it growl. A sound he clearly heard when he grinned knowingly.
"Liar," he breathed and Hermione could feel the hairs on her arms rising.
"Draco! There you are! Where in Merlin's name have you been all night?" Narcissa Malfoy's voice cut through the crowd and Hermione began trying to shrink away before the woman could catch sight of her.
"Granger's," Malfoy replied to his mother, throwing an arm around her shoulders and making Hermione shudder as Mrs Malfoy's eyes glared daggers at her, "Do you have my…..?"
He trailed off as his mother handed him a goblet of something that was smoking slightly. He accepted it eagerly even though the minute he downed it he scowled and shuddered as though it was bitter. Hermione started when she realised she'd just watched him drink his daily dose of Wolfsbane Potion the way she drank her morning cup of tea, minus the shuddering of course since tea was delicious and she'd heard all about how the potion was not.
"When you didn't come home last night I thought you'd tried fleeing the country," Narcissa scolded her son, not deigning to speak to Hermione.
"Nope. Got drunk with Blaise, Weasley and Granger," Malfoy told her nonchalantly as he vanished his now empty goblet and went back to munching on his food and looking entirely blasé.
"Why on earth would you do a thing like that?" his mother asked him, looking disgusted.
He gave no verbal reply, but Hermione felt him move slightly and Hermione squeaked when she suddenly found herself tugged around in front of him between him and his mother.
"What do you think you're doing Draco?" His mother asked, still ignoring Hermione.
"She's why I would do that," Malfoy replied.
"What?" Hermione gasped in outrage, "You can't blame me for this! It's not like I forced you to get so drunk that you couldn't apparate!"
Before anyone else could say anything, the rest of their wedding-group arrived.
"Is everyone here?" Tracy Davis called out, smiling brightly even as she walked over, brushing her cheek to Harry's in greeting. Harry looked a little surprised and his cheeks turned pink as she nestled herself in next to him, squeezing between him and Ron before she continued to talk. "We really need to get a wriggle on. There are so many outfits we need to organise today. Oh, Hermione there you are. Did you get the Guest list finished?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, stepping out from between the pair of Malfoys hurriedly, pouncing on the chance to escape them, "It's ready, so if we take it to the printers we can begin sending out invitations as soon as we decide on an invitation style."
"Fantastic!" Tracy said, seeming entirely too upbeat and perky for Hermione's hungover mind, "Well then, let's go to the printer's first, pick a style and get them sent out. We only have eight days, after all and people are going to need a little bit of notice."
"There was a story about out group wedding in the Prophet this morning announcing the date. Daddy ran it in the Quibbler too," Luna piped up, "So they have notice, now they're all on tenterhooks waiting to find out if they've been invited to what has already been declared the biggest occasion of the year. Personally I think the Crumple Horned Snorkack Festival is bigger…."
"Excellent. The sooner we get them owled out the better," Tracy smiled happily, choosing to ignore the strange and bewildered looks many people shot Luna, "Shall we begin?"