Hello all! I'm so sorry for the length of time between updates. I have no excuse. Life is crazy and mental health is important, but as I've promised before, I won't abandon this fic! I hope you're all staying healthy and safe throughout this crazy pandemic. Staying inside will hopefully make it easier for me to finish this guy up- I really think we're nearing the end. Maybe 5 more chapters? I know this is a shorter chapter, but it just really wasn't working for me... I've come back to it several times over the last few months and just didn't know what to do with it, which has prevented me from moving on. I'm hoping posting this means that I'll move through the rest of the story much quicker :)

Additionally, this has not been beta-ed, so be gentle with me. It would seem that I'm in need of a beta again (which is no ones fault but my own- this is what happens when you take months to update!). If you're interested in betaing the last few chapters, let me know! Also, pleaseeeee review and let me know your thoughts! I so love hearing from you... every time I get to hear from you it motivates me to get back in the saddle and finish what I'm working on.

As always, it's not mine, but I so wish it were.


Ch. 30- On Drinking Games

Draco couldn't believe his eyes. His father wanted to change? Not even just that; his father was willing to help the aurors for Hermione's sake.

"Draco?" he heard Hermione call through his disbelief. "Draco, say something. Are you okay?" He felt her hand around his forearm, guiding him to a chair.

"I just… I can't believe this." He tipped his head up to look into the smiling face of his girlfriend.

"We're going to remain cautious, of course," Harry explained, moving over to where Draco was seated, as Hermione perched on the arm of the chair. "But we think he means it. This is our first real, constructive lead in awhile. Your father could be the key, Malfoy."

"You did it, love," Hermione crooned in his ear, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

"Potter! Weasley!" Draco exclaimed, shooting up out of the armchair that he'd only just settled into, and nearly knocking Hermione over. "Sorry, love," he intoned, as he caught her swiftly by the arm, ensuring she was steady. Then, turning to the men in the room he asked, "Are you lads here as Aurors or as Granger's friends?"

"A bit of both," Weasley replied, scratching his head, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"We're off duty, if that's what you're asking, mate," Harry replied, clapping Draco on the shoulder.

Draco whooped. "That's exactly what I was asking. We have to celebrate! Let's have a party!"

Hermione was about to remind Draco that they were Heads, and shouldn't host raucous gatherings, when he turned to her. The smile on his face was so exuberant that she didn't have it in her to dampen his fun. "Oh, all right," she acquiesced, trying to hide a smile as all three men let out cheers, and she went up to her room to change into something more appropriate than Draco's Oxford.

Only an hour later, their party was in full effect. Blaise and Draco had challenged Neville and Harry to a drinking game, and the latter were miserably losing, even as Ginny, Daphne, and Pansy cheered them on. Luna and Ron were snogging in a corner, completely oblivious to the noise all around them. Hermione moved quietly around the room, observing this wonderful and unexpected group of friends that she was surrounded by and attempting to clean up a bit, when she felt Draco's arm snake around her waist.

"Oi, Granger! Quit being a mother hen for a bit. Have some fun, love," he jokingly chided, smiling down at her. She rolled her eyes, but tilted her cheek up to accept his kiss all the same. "Why don't you cheer us on, yeah? Potter and Longbottom have a bloody cheering section, even though Blaise and I are the ones actually winning."

"Why don't we play something with the whole group?" she asked, gesturing to the couch.

"Yeah, I'm sick of watching," Pansy chimed in, coming to stand at Hermione's side. Then, an evil smile crossing her face, she declared, "Let's play Ten Fingers!"

The group gathered around, abandoning their previous activities to take seats around the coffee table. Daphne took it upon herself to refill everyone's glasses with the Dragon Barrel Brandy that Blaise had filched from his most recent stepfather, even pressing a glass into a reluctant Hermione's hand.

"C'mon, Granger," Pansy teased, "Live a little! We've all seen you plenty pissed at one time or another."

"But Draco and I are Heads... one of us should really stay clear-headed," she argued, though they could all see on her face how much she wanted to throw caution to the wind and give into temptation.

"Let's grab a sobering potion, love," Draco whispered in her ear, bending down as she was sitting on the floor in front of his chair, between his legs. "Then if something happens and one of us needs to be sober, we'll be prepared."

Hermione sighed, nodding, and summoned a potion from their bathroom, tucking it into her pocket and taking a sip of the deep brown liquid in her glass. Resting her cheek against Draco's knee as he explained the rules of the game to Neville, she took a moment to appreciate her friends. Pansy was seated on the edge of the sofa between Neville and Blaise, plaiting Luna's hair with an alarming amount of focus. Ginny was perched on the arm of the sofa with Blaise's arm wrapped around her. By the look on her Italian friend's face, Hermione knew that the beautiful redhead was likely teasing him with sinful promises for later. Ron had taken the chair opposite Draco and seemed to be incredibly distracted by something stuck between his back teeth. Daphne was sitting next to Luna, and Harry next to her. They were whispering to each other, their fingers laced, and they appeared to be quite besotted with one another in their slightly drunken state. Hermione couldn't help but muse that this group of people wouldn't have been caught dead with each other a year before, and were now about to share silly, drunken secrets with each other. What a difference a year makes…

"Okay?" she heard Draco ask, and at Neville's nod he continued, "All right, then. I'll go first." He paused for a moment to think, and Hermione felt him unconsciously wind one of her curls around his index finger. "Never have I ever been a Gryffindor!" he called, and Hermione could hear the mischief in his voice. A chorus of boos were heard from the Gryffindors present, before they all dutifully took sips from their cups.

"Never have I ever been in Slytherin," Hermione taunted, tipping her head back to make eye contact with the handsome Slytherin who was smirking down at her. He gave her a quick wink, and then drank from his glass.

"Enough of that," Harry lectured, as play moved to Neville for his turn.

"Erm… never have I ever travelled outside Europe," Neville said, and various members of the group took a drink, while Luna promised to take Neville when she next went creature hunting with her father.

"This is boring. We need more exciting dirt!" Pansy exclaimed with a mischievous smile. "Never have I ever given a bloke a jobby."

Ron covered his eyes as Ginny proudly took an enormous gulp from her glass, winking at Blaise who looked like the cat that got the canary. Hermione took a subtle sip, as did Luna, as Ginny began berating Ron for his dramatics.

"I'm of age, Ronald!" she groaned, attempting to pull his hands from his face.

"You're my little sister! I don't have any interest in knowing what you have or haven't done. Ignorance is bliss," Ron mumbled, settling back into his seat grumpily.

"Oi, it's my turn," Blaise called, quelling their argument, and continuing the play.

The group took turns going around the circle four more times. Blaise and Luna could be counted on for deep, probing questions, while Harry, Daphne, and Hermione seemed to be trying to keep the atmosphere lighter. Neville and Ron's secrets were the most unique. Draco, Ginny, and Pansy's questions were significantly more salacious, and they each grinned mischievously watching their friends . As each turn passed, the group found themselves more and more intoxicated.

"Okay, okay, I've got one," Pansy slurred, pushing her fringe out of her eyes. "Never have I ever had sex."

"That's a fucking lie, Parkinson," Blaise quipped with a snort.

"I know it's not true, and see," she gestured to herself lifting her glass to her lips, "I'm drinking too. I'm just curious who else it applies to." She downed the last of the liquid in her glass, then peered impishly around at her friends.

Ginny and Luna were the first to tip their glasses up as well, followed by Ron and Blaise. Harry awkwardly looked down at his fingers and Neville stole a sip from his glass. Draco smirked, taking a long pull from his cup, and Hermione tried not to make eye contact with Ginny as she took her mandatory drink.

"Hermione Granger!" Ginny squealed, getting to her feet and putting her hands on her hips. "How could you not tell me?"

Pansy snorted, setting her glass on the coffee table in front of her. "Finally made a man of Malfoy, did you, Granger? Good for you!"

"That's enough," Draco warned, setting his glass down and putting his hands on Hermione's shoulders. "Leave Granger alone. It's none of your business what we do in the bedroom."

Ginny opened her mouth, about to retort, when Blaise cut her off. "Never have I ever cast a patronus."

Draco gave his friend a grateful nod before taking his obligatory drink.

"Malfoy, you drank!" Ron exclaimed. "I didn't know you could cast a patronus!"

Draco instantly regretted not hiding his sip. He didn't feel like talking about his patronus in front of everyone. It was still so feeble. He heard Hermione tell the group, "Oh yes, it was part of our early courtship."

"What is it then, mate?" Harry asked, wrapping an arm around Daphne.

Draco crossed his arms. "I'm not telling you idiots."

"Hermione, what is it?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes at Draco's surliness.

"I actually don't know," she answered, tipping her head back to look at her boyfriend's face. "When he cast it before, I wasn't paying attention. I was just so proud that he did it, I didn't see what form it took."

"Go on, then, Malfoy. Show us!" Pansy proclaimed.

"Yeah, Malfoy!" Ginny taunted, playfully. "Quit being a baby murtlap!"

"Fine then, you tossers," he agreed, standing up and dusting off his trousers. He took a steadying breath, thinking about the feel of Hermione's hands in his hair, and her nightdress under his cheek, as he cried into her stomach and she reassured him that she loved him even though he had been a failed Death Eater and a horrible person. "Expecto patronum!" he cried, and a beautiful, silver-blue figure appeared from the tip of his wand, slipping around the room.

"Is… is it a ferret?" Weasley asked, clearly trying to hide his amusement.

"No, I think it's a beaver or something," Blaise explained, equally amused. "It was too big to be a ferret."

Hermione stood up, a look of excited determination on her face. "You're both wrong," she calmly told the two, before pulling her out her wand and calling, "Expecto patronum!"

A blue, spectral otter sow floated out of her wand, swimming through the air around the group. When she saw Draco's patronus- a handsome otter boar- she made a beeline for him. The group watched as the two patronuses interacted with one another, rolling through the air and playing, before laying on their backs, entwining their paws, and disappearing.

"Otters mate for life," Hermione added, smiling bemusedly over at Draco who only smirked at her, though she could see the happiness in his eyes.

"Bloody hell," Ron added in an irritated voice. "You've gone and ruined romance for the rest of us, you git! How do we compete with that?"

The group broke out in laughs, dispelling the tension, as Draco made to sit back down in his chair, pulling Hermione into his lap. Normally she might not allow such a brazen display of public affection, but she'd had enough to drink to allow it. Besides, what they'd just experienced felt incredibly intimate, even if it had taken place in front of their friends. She didn't want to be away from him anymore than he wanted to be away from her.

"So Draco," Neville asked, leaning back a bit and scratching his thigh. "When did Harry and Ron give you the 'if you hurt her, we'll hurt you' speech?"

Draco snorted, slowly running his thumb in circles on Hermione's lower back. "They never did."

Neville looked stupefied. "Really?"

"We wouldn't need to hurt him," Harry answered with a slight chuckle. "Neither of us are as capable at hexing as Hermione is. Anything we would do would pale in comparison."

"Not to mention Ginny," Ron added, and his sister gave him a pleased smirk.

"I'm far more scared of Red's temper than anything else," Draco admitted. "Hermione would at least feel bad, but that little, ginger she-beast wouldn't show any mercy."

"And don't you forget it," Ginny replied with a wink, and the group broke out into laughter.


Later that night, after their friends left, Hermione exited the shower to find Draco already nestled in her sheets, propped up with her scarlet pillows, reading the book that he left on her nightstand. He was so engrossed in his book, a history of Skelegro, that he didn't even look up when his girlfriend entered the room, naked except for her towel, her curls wet and skin pink from the heat of the shower. She chuckled quietly to herself, moving to her chest of drawers and slipping on knickers and a nightdress. She attempted to siphon the excess water from her damp curls, before banishing her towel back to the bathroom and getting into bed beside Draco.

"Draco," she called softly, admiring the furrow of his brow and the way his eyes flitted back and forth, following line after line on his page.

"Yes, love?" he asked after a moment, marking his page and setting his book down.

"Should we talk about tonight?" she asked, lacing her fingers through his. At his questioning look she added, "About your father? About your patronus?"

She heard him sigh ever so quietly. "We can," he replied, offering nothing else.

"How much do you know about patronuses?" she asked.

"Enough to know that mine took the form of yours because I love you," he replied softly, afraid to make too much noise. There was a gentleness around them- a special, soft peace that seemed to fall at bedtime- and Draco was afraid to disturb it.

"It's not even just that they're the same animal. They compliment each other. It's not as though we have the same patronus… our patronuses quite literally are meant for each other."

"Potter told me once that Professor Snape's patronus matched his mother's because Snape loved her…"

"That's true. Professor Snape's was the same as his mother, because he loved her. Has Harry ever told you what his father's patronus was?" Draco shook his head, and Hermione continued, "It was a stag. The counterpart to Lily's doe. They were soulmates. True loves."

"True loves," he echoed, pulling her into his side. Neither felt the need to explicitly say what had already been implied. Instead, they spent the night curled in each other's embrace, whispering sweet and simple affirmations of love between long, languid kisses that somehow felt more intimate to Draco than all their couplings over the course of the last 18 or so hours. Even with the threat of imminent death that constantly hung in the air, the emotional whiplash from his father, and the stress of their impending NEWTs, it had been the best day Draco could ever remember.


I hope to update again soon! If you're interested in beta-ing, please let me know!