IT HAD TO BE YOU

By Kate Dessi

Chapter 25

The next following month flew by much too fast for Hermione. She was well adjusted now with juggling her career and her personal life. Now that Stefan was a month and added a few days old, he didn't need as constant attention as he had been before. Draco was now fully capable of taking care of him in her absence. Ginny still stepped in once in a while, sometimes even with Harry. Her parents were also informed of her predicament and helped out as much as they can; in fact, they were delighted and chose to spoil and take care of Stefan as if he was their real grandchild.

Her bond with Draco was still as strong as ever. Though they still fought a lot than the average couple, at least no one had walked out. Not even once. The best part of after every fight, of course, was the making up part.

Draco was now openly smitten with Stefan. He bought a rocking chair to put in the nursery and often times fell asleep with a sleeping baby on his chest while soft lullabies flow throughout the room.

Hermione was too attached to Stefan by this time. Every day, she thought about adopting Stefan as her own, but she was still unsure if she was capable of being a real mother. And although she knew that Draco was a bit attached to Stefan as well, she didn't want to put him in an impossible situation. In her mind though, she called herself Stefan's mummy.

She was, however, jealous that it was Draco who prompted Stefan's first ever real smile.

The three of them has somewhat turned into a family and she was afraid to get too used to it. On weekends, they usually spent their Saturdays cramped up in Draco's flat and on Sundays, they took Stefan out to the park, then they would only come back when he started to fuss.

The acceptance of their makeshift family was as easy as her acceptance of her friendship-turned relationship with Draco Malfoy. She still laughed over it, on random times.

But then again, weirder things have happened.

Or not, she thought to herself laughingly.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked as he walked in the bedroom, having just settled Stefan in his crib for the night. "What are you thinking about?"

"You and me. It still amazes me how after all these years that we end up together."

"Ack," he grimaced. "We keep having this conversation at least once a month."

"I know." She grinned, undaunted by his being annoyed. She knew it annoyed him because she kept saying it often and he was growing tired of it. Well, tough. "I'm just wondering how everyone will react at the reunion on Saturday night."

"We're really going?" He asked incredulously as he collapse on his side of the bed, turning on his side to face her.

"Well, why not?"

"Because if we go, there will be too much speculation. Everyone will be talking to us, wanting to know how we ended up together and then they'd start having opinions, and so on and so forth. It will be bothersome."

"You have a point there," she admitted. "But don't you want to see your old friends?"

"Not really."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"It would be fine. Didn't you always want to be the center of attention?" She laughed at his scowl.

"Hermione," he said, serious now. "I don't want to go because the truth is they'll either ignore me, point at me and whisper things about my being a Death Eater, and then they'll say things about you how I probably cursed you, or something like that. You know?" He made a face at her, as if saying, 'duh'.

"You have a wicked imagination, do you know that?" Hermione laughed again. "And anyway, since when did you care what the others say?"

"I don't. I just don't want to be bothered."

"I won't let them bother you, alright? If they do, I'll hex them. I know spells, hexes and jinxes as much as Miranda Goshawk," she told him haughtily, referring to the celebrated author of their schoolbooks. "And besides, I miss Hogwarts."

"You mean you miss the Hogwarts' library," he said dryly.

"Exactly."

"So we're going."

"We're going?" She repeated excitedly.

"Yes, yes," he said impatiently. "We're going to blow their minds. How do you think McGonagall will react? She'll probably say the minute she sees us, step away from Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy. I will not hesitate to send you over to Filch for detention for breathing the same air as my precious Granger," he mimicked Minerva McGonagall's stern, dull voice. "She'll have a bloody heart attack."

"Ugh, don't insult Professor McGonagall's intelligence, Malfoy. Yes, she will be shocked but I think she'll be delighted." She also mimicked McGonagall. "Miss Granger, I am so delighted that you have turned Mister Malfoy into a decent human being. He is no longer a snooty spoiled brat that always seemed get his way. I am so proud of you."

"Snooty spoiled brat, eh?" Draco repeated in low, dangerous voice. His eyes narrowed at her before he sat up and pulled on Hermione's legs, emitting a loud shriek from shock. "I should punish you for that."

"How do you intend to punish me, Mister Malfoy?" She whispered in what she thought to be her seductive voice as he climbed over her, straddling her.

He gripped her hands, entwined them with his and raised way above her head. "I was thinking of throwing you over my knee and paddle your bottom."

"Sounds... delightful."

He froze for a moment, shocked at her audacity, before he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"I knew it was too good to be true that we board the train unnoticed," Draco muttered under his breath as Weasley, Potter, and Potter's wife came barreling towards them. Hermione elbowed him on the ribs hard. "Ow! Alright, alright, I won't bother them... much."

Hermione ignored him as she stepped forward to greet her friends.

Draco was already getting curious glances from their former classmates as he strolled through the platform. A few times, they would do a double take and stare up at him with very, wide eyes. He ignored everyone else.

As expected, there were merely a few former Slytherins in attendance. In his circle of friends included Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Gregory Goyle his belowed wife, Millicent, Theodore Nott and to his utmost surprise, Blaise Zabini. As soon as he laid eyes on his old friends, he informed Hermione that he'd be joining their compartment instead and that they would meet up later once they arrived. He escaped as soon as she agreed.

He greeted his friends warmly and ignored Blaise Zabini purposely. But that was fine because he was doing to same to Draco as well. In fact, Blaise broke away from the group and into another set of their old classmates and it seemed that he was friendly with them.

Daphne and Pansy were speaking to each other, laughing, their mouths moving so fast that the other men present couldn't follow through. It seems that their friendship flame had been revived and was now as good friends as they had been before. It also looked that Pansy was ignoring Blaise as well, Draco noted with satisfaction.

"Can't wait to escape the dream team, huh?" Theo said laughingly as soon as Draco reached him.

Draco grimaced. "Can't stand Hermione's lot and she knows it."

"But she gets on well with Pansy and Daphne. I don't think she's that bad either. Why don't you try getting along with them?"

"Nott, you're asking the impossible. You can't know how painful it would be for me to be all chummy with Potter and the Weasleys. And anyway, the feeling is certainly mutual. They don't like me, I don't like them. Quits."

"Fair enough," Theo relented, rolling his eyes. Then his gaze shifted towards the "dream team" and saw that a certain male Weasley was glaring at them, or more particularly at Draco. Hiding a smile, he looked back at Draco. "I was sure you weren't going to come."

"Well, Hermione wanted me to come and I figured I should be there if some old drunk Gryffindor decided to slobber all over her. From what I've heard, she was quite a catch to them."

"Really?" Theo looked doubtful. "Bushy hair, buck tooth- "

"Watch it," Draco growled.

"What? You call her that to her face all the time!"

"I'm the only one allowed to do that."

"You really have it bad, Malfoy."

"Shut the bloody hell up, Nott." His pale cheeks held a pink tint. "Oh, thank Merlin it's time to board," he said when the familiar loud warning noise went through the whole platform. And when he glanced at Hermione, she was looking at him. He winked at her as she smiled before turning back to her friends. She linked arms with Weasley as Potter wrapped an arm around his wife' waist before turning towards the train.

"If it's any consolation, Malfoy," Nott said quietly from beside him. "I've never seen you so happy. You may look like you're throwing everyone here dirty looks but your eyes are shining. I'm not fooled."

Draco didn't say anything, scowled at Theo and started walking towards the train, coming in between Pansy and Daphne and wrapping either arms on their shoulders, leaving his old friend to stare at him in mild amusement before he followed them.

The compartments were smaller than they remembered so Pansy, Daphne, Draco and Theo cramped up in one apartment while Goyle and his wife separated from them to find a compartment of their own, most probably with Blaise.

The four of them talked about particularly nothing interesting, just chit chatting on random things. Draco and Theo talked mostly of career, Quidditch and a bit of their significant others while Pansy and Daphne chatted about something the two men couldn't understand, but they were always giggling over something. Once in a while, the two would screech in laughter and the two men would pause in their conversation to stare at them weirdly.

Before they knew it, they had arrived in Hogwarts, crossed the lake on the boats and were gathered in the Great Hall.

Everything looked the same way they had left it. A completely white-haired, wrinkly Minerva McGonagall greeted them with glassy eyes and an uncharacteristic big grin on her face, saying that she was pleased as she can be that they had decided to participate in this rare event in Hogwarts.

Then there was an applause after her speech. Hagrid, Neville Longbottom, Aurora Sinistra, Rolanda Hooch and Sybill Trelawney were the only recognized Hogwarts staff. The others were introduced but the old students didn't really gave them any more thought as McGonagall came down the stage and everyone started to socialize.

Draco didn't, of course, only talking to his friends and occasionally nodded to anyone who nodded to him. He was engaged in conversation by a few Slytherins he recognized, but didn't know their names because of how different everyone else looked. Most of the attendees were from Gryffindors and their lot was the noisiest as well. Draco recognized every one of them. He kept out an eye on Hermione and always saw that she was laughing at something that someone had said. As long as she was having fun, he really didn't mind coming anymore.

Later in the evening, the middle of the room was cleared out and then there was dancing.

Smirking, he broke away from the Slytherin group and proceeded to walk towards his girlfriend. She was talking to a pregnant Patil twin and had her back to him. As soon as he was standing directly behind her, the Patil twin stared up at him with very wide eyes.

"H-Hermione," the Patil twin interrupted whatever Hermione was saying. "Malfoy's right behind you."

Hermione stopped speaking and turned around, smiling slightly. "Yes, Malfoy?"

"Dance with me, Granger."

The Patil twin gasped in outrage and opened her mouth to snarl at him, he guessed, but Hermione giggled a little and said, "I thought you'd never ask."

He offered her his hand and clasped her hand as soon as she laid it. He drew Hermione away from the gaping Patil twin and onto the dance floor. There were only a few people dancing and sure enough, everyone was staring at the two of them as soon as Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and she dragged her hands upward to wrap around her shoulders.

Whispers and murmurs broke out through the entire hall, but was drowned by the music.

As far as Draco and Hermione were concerned, they didn't exist.

"Wow," Draco muttered dryly as she moved from side to side, her hips barely swinging. "You're a terrible dancer."

To his surprise, she threw her head back and laughed. "I know! When I was about five years old, my mother made me take ballet lessons. But my body was so uncoordinated, I didn't last a year."

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Your body isn't that uncoordinated. Trust me."

She pulled away from him, her heart beat raising a tad as she looked at him through her lashes, long and thick from her makeup. "Why, Mister Malfoy, what ever do you mean?"

He didn't say anything, but pulled her closer until their bodies were flush against each other. She blushed as she felt his arousal against her.

"Mister Malfoy," she gasped in mock outrage.

He leaned down and nuzzled her ear as he laughed under his breath. "Everyone's staring. What do you suppose is running through their minds?"

"Well, they're probably getting ready to stun us so they could take us to St. Mungo's. What's your theory?"

"That I'm seducing their favorite Gryffindor girl and that maybe I have something against you so you can't turn me down."

She threw her head back and laughed. "Whatever. I don't care what they think. Do you?"

"You know I don't. They can all burn in hell for all I care." He shrugged as if he was merely saying something about the weather. And to prove himself and just because he had the urge to, he leaned down and kissed her. And not just any simple kiss. It was one of their deep, I-want-to-make-love-to-you kisses where Hermione's legs turned to jelly and his stomach ached with powerful lust.

While they were kissing, everything and everyone seemed frozen in shock. Except for their friends who knew about them of course. Hermione's friends looked on in mild irritation at their show and Draco's friends were smiling evilly or smirking.

They pulled away flushed and suddenly aware of the silence that fell upon the Great Hall. Why they let each other get carried away, they weren't exactly sure. Especially Hermione who was never one for public display of affections.

Draco smiled roguishly at her while she blushed deeply. They stepped away from each other. Draco bent at the waist and mockingly bowed at her before winking and they parted; Draco went back to a giggling Daphne and Pansy and Hermione went back to a wide-eyed Patil twin.

Ginny joined Hermione and Parvati, who was still gaping at Hermione. "Bloody hell, Hermione," Ginny said laughingly, her cursing habit picked up from her brothers. "I was sure you were going to rip out his clothes right there in the middle of the Great Hall."

"Ginny," Hermione whined. "I don't know what came over me. We were just laughing one minute and then he was kissing me."

The redhead laughed again. "Harry and Ron didn't appreciate the show though."

"I'm sure," she replied dryly. She looked back at her boyfriend and saw he was wearing a smug smile that was reminiscent of the boy she used to despise wholeheartedly as he talked to one of his friends. She rolled her eyes at him although he was unable to see. "Smug bastard."

Parvati finally got over her shock and found her voice again. "Merlin's beard above!" She shrilled. "What was that? You agreed to dance with Malfoy, let him feel you up and then snog you!"

Hermione winced at her high-pitch voice. It didn't do too well on her high strung nerves. "Err, yes- "

"Are you out of your mind?" Parvati continued to screech.

"No- "

"Yes, you are! It's Draco Malfoy. He's a good for nothing Death Eater! A scum who- "

"No!" Hermione yelled that echoed throughout the Great Hall. The entire room turned to look at the screaming women. "You don't know anything, Parvati Patil. How dare you say such things about him? He did nothing to you. Nothing. He may have done the wrong things in the past but that doesn't define who he is. And don't assume that you know him. You don't, so I suggest you shut your mouth before I shut it for you!"