"You are the most arrogant... the most vain man, I have ever met! When Merlin was handing out ego, you seem to have got a double helping!"

Ginny paused, frowning down at Blaise as he lounged in his chair, a slightly shocked expression on his face. Everyone else at the large table was silent, watchful.

"You are also," Ginny continued, raising her glass, "the most kind, giving, and beautiful man I have ever had the fortune of knowing, and the perfect husband and father. I cannot picture my life being any more wonderful than it is, with you at my side, and our son in our arms. Happy birthday, my darling! To Blaise!"

"Blaise!" Everyone raised their glasses with a cheer and a laugh, as Ginny took a long swallow of her champagne, then planted a lingering kiss on her husband's mouth.

"So?" said Theo a short while later, leaning towards Draco, drawing the word out.

"So, what?"

"How're things going?"

Draco looked at him, a frown creasing his brow. "I'm fine. What is wrong with you? You're talking rubbish. Are you drunk already?"

"Never mind," Theo laughed, waving his hands. "Forget I said anything."

"Gladly."

They lapsed into silence, watching the others and enjoying the music and atmosphere.

Blaise's party was going well. The tall man had been completely blindsided by the surprise, which was a good thing, as Ginny had been planning it for weeks. Luring him to his favourite restaurant for dinner and then moving venue to the club, had been the easy part. Making sure everyone was there ahead of time, and keeping it quiet for the last month and a half? Not so much.

"Are they ever going to admit it?" Draco said suddenly, nodding towards Harry and Pansy, the latter draped over him, both laughing and completely wrapped up in each other.

Theo gave a huff of laughter. "Doubt it, my friend. They're just having fun, free and single with no strings, and no commitment."

"It's been over two years."

Theo hushed him. "Leave them alone, they're enjoying themselves. It'll click eventually."

"What, when she's walking up the bloody aisle?"

Theo laughed. "Maybe not even then."

He considered his current surroundings, still feeling a modicum of surprise, that after so long living as a hermit and scared to be around people, he was almost back to his old self again. They were still receiving counselling for their various issues; Theo still felt a well of rage whenever Adrian's name came up, in any context, but he was getting better at dealing with it now. They still had moments where the loss of their baby weighed heavily on their minds, and Theo wondered if they would ever get used to the feeling and loss. He knew Hermione still cried in the shower on occasion, the grief catching her unawares, but it was her private grief, and he had learned not to intrude upon it.

In fact, the thing they had found the hardest to learn was to be their own person, independent of the other. That dependency had actually slowed their healing down, but now they were able to act as an individual again things were improving.

He had thrown himself back into his work, abandoning his plans for magical and Muggle world amalgamation, and diving back into spell damage with a vengeance. He took his research home with him, his office crowded with books, both magical and Muggle, about the reproductive system. Hermione had started to get a little despondent about matters, almost seeming resigned. He could see it in her eyes whenever he talked about his research. He had tried to take Harry's advice, to show Hermione that this was how he saw them together, with a family of their own. She had started to almost act as if the Arithmancy was beyond her ability to comprehend, which he knew was rubbish, but he also didn't want to start an argument. Theo was determined, he was going to find a way of healing the damage done. It would require another breakthrough.

He watched as Hermione dragged Luna and Ginny onto the dance floor, enjoying the sight of her letting her hair down and enjoying herself.

Roberts appeared behind Theo's chair and draped himself over both their shoulders. Theo noted Draco actually flinch away from the man.

"Gentlemen," Darryl said, "can I interest either of you in a top up?"

Theo lifted his drink and finished it in one gulp. "Sure," he said, passing the empty glass over. "Why not?"

"Draco?"

Draco merely waved a hand, almost wafting Darryl away with it.

Shaking his head, his easygoing smile faltering just a hair, Darryl patted Theo on the shoulder and headed to the bar.

"So, what's going on with you two?" Theo said, raising his voice above the music. "I never did find out what happened after brunch."

"Nothing happened," said Draco hurriedly. "Why? What did he say?"

Theo shrugged. "Nothing to me. Is there something to tell?"

"Of course not. Whilst I thank you for the, admittedly misguided, attempt to pair me up with someone, Roberts is not the sort I'm looking for."

"I don't know, I think you'd make a nice couple. The very epitome of opposites attracting! He's so dark, you're practically albino; he's mature and confident, you're insecure and a mess of repressed emotions; he's always friendly, with a sunny disposition, you're all spiky and moody…"

"Yes, alright, thank you very much! You can stop whenever you like!"

"Alright, don't get upset! I'm just saying, he likes you. That's obvious to me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nott. He's practically a child."

"Not really, Draco. He's younger, sure, but also a fully trained Auror. Calling him a child is just silly and disrespectful. He's certainly an attractive man, right?"

Malfoy made a dismissive noise but said nothing more.

Theo saw his eyes sneak a glance over to the man in question. He leant over and whispered, "Then why have you been staring at his arse since he left to go to the bar?"

Draco glared at Theo, real anger in his eyes.

Before he could open his mouth to speak, Hermione landed in Theo's lap and flung her arms around his neck.

"Hey!" she said happily.

"Hey yourself, good looking."

"Come dance with me. I want to show you some moves."

"Oh, really?" he laughed. "What sort of moves would those be?"

"Well," she drawled, "you remember that film I got you to watch? The one with all the dancing?"

"The one with Kevin Bacon?"

She sniggered. "No, silly! The other one!"

"Oh, no!" he declared firmly. "I'll happily hold you in public, walk with you hand in hand, I'll kiss you in front of friends, but I am not dancing like that in front of anyone!"

She pouted and kissed him. "Oh, come on, lover boy. Come dance with baby!"

He shook his head firmly, smiling. "No way, no chance, Mina. I love you dearly, but moves like that should not be seen in public."

"Fine," she said standing and tossing her hair. "I'll just have to dance with Ginny instead. She's up for it!" Poking her tongue out at him she sauntered away, shaking her bum in his direction as she went.

Laughing, Theo turned back to Draco, but the blond was gone. Theo sighed and sat back in the chair. Looking around he saw that there was no sign of Darryl either. Theo's eyebrows rose as he thought about that, wondering if his friend had finally plucked up the nerve to do something.

Time would tell, he figured.

"Mia caro amico!" Blaise shouted at him as he dropped into Malfoy's vacant seat, two shot glasses held in each hand. "I brought you alcohol to toast my good looks with!"

Theo took the shot glasses, grinning at Blaise. "To your good looks, your fine cheekbones, and to being older than me for six months!"

"You're only as young as the woman you feel!" Blaise declared, clinking his glass against Theo's, the pair of them downing the first shot.

Coughing slightly Theo pointed at the dance floor. "Speaking of the woman you feel, I think we might have to pull those two apart at some point!"

They watched as Hermione and Ginny danced together in the most lewd and indecent way possible without being naked.

"I'm not stopping it, my friend! It's one hell of a show. I might even join them!"

"You keep your sexy hands off of my Mina, Blaise!" Theo said with a laugh.

"Hey!" Blaise grinned, standing and downing his other shot. "It's my birthday! This could be my present, you know?"

As he walked away, Theo tipped his shot back, hissing at the burn. "I'm warning you, Zabini!" he shouted as Blaise stepped onto the dance floor. "Blaise?"

Blaise gyrated his way across the floor towards the ladies, snagging Pansy as he passed and spinning her into the mix. The three women draped themselves over him, grinding and pouting seductively.

Theo allowed him a full three seconds, laughing at the spectacle, but as soon as Blaise turned to pull Hermione against him, Theo was up and moving.

"No, hands off, Zabini!" he yelled with a laugh, grabbing Hermione's hand and spinning her into his arms.

"Ahh, Theo, you're no fun!" Blaise laughed, dragging Ginny against him and kissing her hard on the mouth.

Theo smiled and shook his head. "Bloody Italians," he muttered.

"Hey there, stud," Hermione drawled, wrapping one leg around his waist. "You come here often?"

Arms around her waist, he lowered her backwards, sweeping her around and pulling her crotch against him. As she swept back up and pressed against him, he could see the passion and lust in her eyes.

Flexing his pelvis, Theo winked at her. "How about we show them how to really dance?"

Letting go of his inhibitions, Theo danced with Hermione. They danced as if they were the only ones there, with moves dirty enough to make Baby blush.

They were so turned on by the time they got home in the early hours of the morning, they didn't even make it upstairs.

A month passed, and their return from another party was made in a much more sedate manner.

"Did you see Blaise's face?" Hermione exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear, as she pushed through the front door, leaning on the archway and removing her boots.

"I thought he was going to take off!" Theo laughed, shrugging out of his light jacket and hanging it up before slipping his shoes off; despite being technically summertime, it had been a bit cool tonight. "Honestly, when Luca let go of Ginny's hands and took those two wobbly steps by himself…"

"He wanted Blaise's cake, and nothing was going to stop him!"

"I don't think he could have picked a better time to take his first steps than at his own first birthday party," Theo said with a grin, dropping onto the sofa, pulling Hermione into his lap and kissing her soundly.

"Did you see Pansy's face though?" Hermione said against his mouth. "If ever there was a woman who wanted a baby right at that moment, it was her!"

"I never thought of her as the maternal type," Theo mused. "After Draco, I never saw her as the settling down type either, but here we are."

"Someone needs to have a serious talk with those two," Hermione giggled. "Honestly, it's ridiculous the way everyone's dropping hints around her and Harry, and they still insist it's a bit of fun… What are they waiting for?"

Theo frowned slightly, looking up at the ceiling. What was he waiting for? he mused to himself. Their first kiss was two years ago now. After everything they had been through, should he really be waiting any longer? Or was that his fear talking again?

"You know," Hermione mused, "it was around this time, two years ago, that you first took my knickers off, right here on this sofa." She gently took his earlobe between her teeth and sucked it. "I think you should do it again."

All thought stalled in Theo's mind then, though her breath in his ear produced an instantaneous reaction in his trousers. "Miss Granger," he breathed, his tone offended, "we've just come from a child's birthday party! This sort of lewd behaviour is unseemly and sordid…"

"Then maybe you should spank me?" she whispered.

He looked at her, seeing her eyes sparkling with excitement, and frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"You seem… different," Theo said.

"Really?"

"A little, yes. You seem more… horny, to use the vernacular."

"It's all these different positions we've been trying! I can't stop my mind from imagining all these different scenarios and locations, and well… I really like you inside me."

He laughed. "Far be it from me to stop it! It's just… No, never mind."

She swivelled around, hitching her skirt up around her waist, straddling him and putting her arms around his neck. "What's wrong, Theo?"

"I feel like there's something else going on, Mina. Pansy wasn't the only one at that party that had a 'look' on their face when Luca took his first steps."

"Really?" She frowned, but her eyes didn't meet his. "No, don't be silly."

"Hermione," he whispered, "you want to try for another baby, don't you?"

He saw her chin tremble as she bit her lip, tears glinting in her eyes. Mutely she nodded.

"Why didn't you say so, my love? I've spent weeks thinking that you had given up completely, maybe even that you didn't want me to keep trying to find a solution."

"I felt guilty," she cried, burying her face in the crook of his neck, "like saying it out loud would be a betrayal of Grace… making her disappear from our minds!"

"Hey, hey," he said soothingly, "it's not like that at all, darling. Our little girl will always be with us, no matter what. We'll always remember her, and who she might have been."

She touched his face, kissing him softly. "I'm glad you agree with me that she was a girl. Mum thinks she was too."

"It would have been lovely if the Healers had been able to confirm it. But in my heart, she is a girl, with the perfect name. I'll always regret not being here…"

"Theo…"

"Just as you will always feel you could have done more! Don't try to fool me, Mina. We both know that we still hold a little bit of that pain and guilt inside us, refusing to let it go. We will never replace her, but we can try to give her a sibling."

"What do you mean? Have you…?"

"Don't get your hopes up, Mina," he urged. "I haven't cracked it yet, but I have a formulation running at the moment that I feel better about than any of the others."

"How many have you had?"

He blew out his cheeks in frustration. "Too many. But this one has got further than the others. I may need to tweak the Arithmancy a little, but I have real high hopes for this one, Mina."

"I have to confess something," she said quietly. "I spoke with mum and dad, a few weeks ago. I told them that I was feeling a little jaded with your research… I know that I can't help…"

"No, darling, I'm too anal about letting people help," Theo said with a grin.

"Well, that too," she smirked. "I had almost resigned myself to telling you to stop, even though I know that would have been impossible. I even considered whether adoption would be so bad…"

"Would you prefer that?" Theo asked, touching her face gently. "If you are worried…"

"I was worried. Terrified, in truth. Whether we can even fall, will I be able to carry to term, would there be complications… the risk of failing you again."

Theo kissed her softly, brushing her tears away.

"When I told them about it, dad was his usual gruff self, telling me not to be silly. He said, 'that lad will figure it out, you wait and see'. Mum was a little more sympathetic. She told me about your conversation when I was taken… about how we have to let the other fix us, I to help you through your problems, you to help me with mine. I mustn't lose hope, she said." She brushed a tear from her eye. "And recently? Some of those fears began to melt away. I know you can fix me, Theo."

"I will do everything I can to get rid of the rest of those fears. But you don't need to be fixed, just held, and loved."

Their kisses were soft and tender, both of them feeling the rising heat between them. Cupping her buttocks, he squeezed and massaged, lifting her slightly, his mouth dipping into her cleavage as she sighed, leaning her head back and pulling his face deeper between her breasts. "Are you sure, Theo?"

"Grace may have been unplanned," Theo said, slowly undoing the buttons of Hermione's blouse, kissing every inch of skin as it was revealed, "but she was never unwanted. The Healers said 'highly unlikely', not 'impossible'. Even if this formula doesn't work, or even the next, or the next... I think we try it the natural way, and just hope for the best."

He urged her upwards, and she stood on the sofa as he unzipped her skirt. Lifting the material his mouth pressed against her knickers, the pressure making her moan and buck slightly. Lifting her skirt, she pulled it up and off over her head, as his fingers tugged her knickers aside. She cried out as his tongue pushed inside her slit, and she grabbed the back of his head, grinding herself against his mouth.

"Oh God, yes!"

Never letting up, his tongue working its way across every inch of her and his mouth sucking at her clit, he shifted on the seat. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his trousers and boxers lying discarded. Then he was pulling her sideways, lying full length across the cushions and she gladly followed him, turning to present her backside to him and settling her knees either side of his head as he continued to build the pressure. There was a brief ripping noise, and she felt her knickers being tugged down one leg, one side torn apart.

"I'll repair them later," he promised, chuckling at the memory of her saying exactly the same to him. His mouth slid up and down her wet slit, tongue skating between her arse cheeks and pressing briefly against the tight ring of muscle.

She moaned, the sensation unexpectedly pleasurable. "We will definitely have to come back to that!" she promised as she lowered her head and took his length as deep as she could.

His groan tingled across her clit, spurring her on, as her head bobbed up and down, sucking hard. She could feel her orgasm building fast; he always had been particularly skilled in that regard, and she tried to resist the urge to match his pace. She slowed herself, stroking him gently, rising up slightly as his focus moved solely to her clit. It wasn't long before she had to let go of his cock completely, for fear of squeezing it too hard. Her fingers dug into his thighs as she shuddered, every muscle tightening gloriously, sparks flashing before her eyes.

Wanting to prolong the sensation she pulled away from his mouth and quickly lined herself up with the head of his cock. Still facing away, she lowered herself gently, wonderfully down, feeling him stretch and fill her. In control now she rose and fell above him, his hands reaching up and round to pinch and caress her nipples.

"This is a sight I could get used to," he said with a grin, slapping her arse cheek.

Bouncing harder and faster now she smiled over her shoulder at him. "I did say you might have to spank me."

"That you did," he said, enjoying the sight of her buttocks almost bouncing before him. He treated her other cheek to a loud slap, laughing at her excited squeal. He rose to meet her now, hips thrusting upwards faster, their flesh slapping together, moans getting louder.

Hermione rubbed her clit as she rode him, feeling like she could orgasm again already. As Theo increased his pace, she held still, letting him power into her, her finger rubbing frantically.

The pad of Theo's thumb, slick with saliva massaged her arsehole, increasing her pleasure in new ways.

Her cries escalated rapidly, as his breathing became ragged. She was there, right at the brink, when his thumb pressed harder, slipping just inside her. Suddenly her vision tunnelled, and she had to hold onto Theo's legs as she came again, harder than before.

A shuddering moan burst from her, unexpected in its volume, as Theo came too, almost shouting at the strength of his own orgasm.

Their bodies glistened in the lamplight as they slowly rode it out, feeling the moment; their conscious decision to try again, to try and make a new life, despite the odds.

She simply knelt there, legs trembling, unable to move yet. After a while he lifted her off of him and laid her down at his side, tucking her head onto his chest.

"It works better if you lay down for a bit afterwards," he murmured, kissing the top of her head.

"Is that so?" she said with a grin.

"Absolutely. I read it in Witch Weekly."

"Then it must be true!"

"Not everything they print is libellous bullshit, you know, darling."

She laughed, her fingers lightly stroking his stomach. "Maybe not everything. They must get something right occasionally."

"Even a stopped watch is right twice a day," he joked.

She smiled, just listening to his heart beating. It was soothing, and she felt excited for this new journey they were taking. Yet there was also fear and worry.

"Are you sure about this, Theo," she whispered. "Are we doing the right thing? I just worry…"

"Sweetheart, don't worry. I am sure, more than I have ever been. And we will do this together this time, no matter what. I will be at your side the whole way, just as you have always been at mine."

She nodded, feeling her doubts ease slightly. She had been feeling a strange mix of hope and fear over the last couple of weeks, ever since she had gotten some light spotting for a few days, and something slightly more after a day or two. It hadn't been a real period, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more than she'd had for the last six months since Pucey had cursed her.

If they fell pregnant, she knew those doubts would return, and she wouldn't feel completely safe until she was holding their child.

"Did Witch Weekly happen to mention how many times a night was optimal for conception?" she asked coyly.

"Well, not that I recall… but if you wanted to relocate to the bedroom, I'm sure we could try and double our chances tonight?"

"So soon?" she said with a grin.

He smiled back. "Okay, well maybe give it half an hour or so… I'm also going to have to clean this sofa tomorrow."

"It was worth it," she said with a laugh.