On the evening of Red Diamond's opening, Diagon Alley had been transformed beyond all recognition. Both ends of the street were cordoned off, and the cobbles were lined with a lush red carpet. Magical fireflies floated around the street giving it an ethereal glow. Three different pop-up bars had also been located along the length of the street, and the doors to Red Diamond stood wide open. Gentle music floated from the bar, and with magical aid it played throughout the street as well.
Half an hour before the party officially got underway, the press started to show up and both ends of the street were jostling with reporters and photographers hoping to grab something of interest. Draco had also shown up early, and after checking everything was in hand, he was in the middle of giving the staff a briefing when Blaise sauntered into the bar.
Blaise's suggestion to theme the opening had been one they'd gone with, and all the invites had gone out with dress codes. Draco had half expected Blaise to turn up in a red suit or something equally as garish, but his best friend had shown some restraint. Blaise was dressed in a dark grey suit, and his expensive shirt was a deep shade of ruby.
"Please say you're not dressed for the party," Blaise said to Draco, once the staff had dispersed and he checked out his best friend.
Draco was wearing what Draco wore best, namely black. His sharp black suit fitted him perfectly, and the crisp light grey shirt he wore under his jacket looked brand new. However, there was no sign of red on him anywhere, much to Blaise's disappointment.
"Something wrong with what I'm wearing?" Draco asked. He knew he looked good, and he didn't regret not opting to wear a red shirt for the occasion.
"You don't fit the dress code, Draco," Blaise protested. "How's it going to look if the owners are setting a dress code and not sticking to it?"
"As you said, we're the owners so that means we can wear what we want," Draco answered with an unconcerned shrug. "Besides, I think it's more important we look good in the pictures that will be in the papers in the coming days, and I do not look good in red."
"How would you know?" Blaise questioned. "You've never worn red before."
"Not until today," Draco replied.
"So you are wearing red?" Blaise frowned as he checked out Draco again and couldn't see any sign of anything red on his best friend.
"I am, but it's staying undercover," Draco answered. "Now enough about what I'm wearing. How's everything looking outside?"
"Perfect," Blaise answered with a grin. "The press are already waiting, and people should be arriving any minute now."
"We better get ready to greet our guests then," Draco said, feeling his nerves kick in.
Draco wasn't anywhere near as sociable as Blaise, and evenings like these were harder for him to get through. No doubt Blaise would have a brilliant time, playing the part of the generous host, but for Draco the evening would be spent checking there were no problems and that everything ran as smoothly as possible.
"It's show time," Blaise declared with beaming grin as he prepared to face his public.
Calling upon his abilities to mask his feelings, Draco shoved down his nervousness as he got ready to play host alongside his best friend and business partner. Fortunately for Draco, among the first guests to arrive were Pansy and Theo. Pansy was wearing a low cut floor length red dress, which she was practically spilling out of as she was now heavily pregnant and her pregnancy had seemed to boost her cleavage significantly. Theo had gone with a black suit like Draco, but he'd teemed it with a white shirt and a red tie.
"This place looks amazing," Pansy gushed as she greeted both Blaise and Draco.
"Thanks," Draco replied with a smile as Blaise scurried off to greet some other guests. "Speaking of looking amazing, you look pretty good yourself Pansy. Pregnancy suits you."
"No, it doesn't," Pansy grumbled. "I look like a whale. I feel as if I bend over, I'll be exposed to everyone. Not that I can bend anymore. I can barely move I'm so big."
"It won't be for much longer," Theo said, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "In a few weeks, you'll have the baby and we can meet our daughter."
"Because childbirth is something to look forward to," Pansy snapped. "I was in agony when I had Maximillian."
"But he's worth it, isn't he?" Draco asked.
"Of course he is," Theo replied before his wife even got the chance to answer. "And little Winnifred will be worth it as well."
"Winnifred?" Draco raised a questioning eyebrow at his two friends, hoping that they weren't going to inflict another horrid name on their youngest child. Maximillian was bad enough, but at least that could be shortened to Max.
"I'm still not sure about Winnifred," Pansy said with a frown. "People will shorten it to Winnie."
"Or Fred," Draco said.
"Oh no, I don't like that," Pansy declared with a shudder. "Winnifred is off the table."
"Then what do you suggest?" Theo asked his wife. "The only other name you liked was Wilhelmina."
"Wilhelmina? What's with the W's?" Draco asked.
"Coincidence," Theo answered with a shrug. "We've been looking at names for weeks, and we can't seem to agree on anything."
"I agree on Wilhelmina," Pansy said. "In fact, I've made my mind up. Wilhelmina it is."
Not giving Theo a chance to object, Pansy announced she needed the bathroom and disappeared in the direction Draco pointed her in. Left alone with his friend, Draco shook his head at Theo and his haplessness. Even though Theo had sworn he was going to stand up to his wife, it was clear that Pansy was still in charge in that relationship. Still, Theo seemed pretty content on a whole and Draco wasn't overly surprised that he'd chosen not to rock the boat with his fiery wife.
"So, Wilhelmina," Draco said. "What do you think?"
"I can cope," Theo answered with a shrug. "I could always shorten it to Wilma."
"Or Mina," Draco suggested.
"Mina Nott," Theo said with a thoughtful nod. "I like it."
"I think you mean Mina Parkinson-Nott," Draco corrected with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, can't forget that," Theo muttered with a roll of his eyes.
"Just don't let Pansy hear you shortening her name, or she'll pick a name that can't be shortened," Draco joked.
Knowing he couldn't spend the rest of the night talking with Theo, Draco left his friend and began to circulate. It had seemed that everyone had adhered to the dress code and everywhere he looked, all he could see was red. However, there was one person he'd yet to set eyes on. He'd sent Hermione an invite, and they'd had a quick coffee together the previous week, during which she'd promised to be at the opening, but so far there was no sign of her.
Draco was still searching for Hermione when he spotted her best friend Harry Potter and his wife, Ginny. As big quidditch stars, the pair had been among the celebrities Draco and Blaise had tried to attract to their opening. It did help that both Harry and Ginny had visited Black Diamond on more than one occasion, and their relationship with Draco and Blaise was pretty cordial. Draco briefly spoke to the pair, before he carried on through the crowds.
Leaving the bar itself, Draco wandered out into Diagon Alley, and he was pleased to find people were mingling and enjoying themselves outside as well. Spotting Blaise, he walked over to his friend. Just as he reached Blaise, the Weasleys twins appeared with their gorgeous girlfriends. Both the twins were wearing red suits, and Draco couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the sight they made. It took some courage to wear such bright suits, but it wasn't as if the Weasley twins were shy.
"Nice suits," Blaise said, genuinely admiring the suits the twins were wearing. "Not that I'm sure you two needed to bother with wearing red," he continued with a cheeky grin. "Not with your hair."
"We wanted to dazzle," Fred said, grinning back at Blaise.
"I think it's safe to say you've done that," Draco replied, his gaze flicking around as he searched for Hermione.
"Are we boring you?" George asked, noticing Draco's wandering eye.
"Ignore him, he's waiting for his date," Blaise said.
"And who is this date?" Fred asked.
"Granger," Blaise supplied, before Draco had a chance to answer.
"You're dating Hermione?" Angelina Johnson, George's girlfriend, asked.
"Kind of," Draco replied. "We've had one proper date and a few coffees. I'm hoping that eventually we'll have some time to spend together. If of course she turns up."
"If she promised to show up, she'll be here," Fred's girlfriend, Alicia Spinnett said. "Hermione's the reliable sort."
"Let's hope so," Draco muttered as he headed off to carry on greeting the guests.
Ten minutes later he'd decided that he'd had enough of being outside. Every time he ventured towards the ends of the street, the press would start shouting questions at him. Draco had answered a few questions about the bar, but someone had just asked him where his parents were and it had shaken him. He'd tried to put his parent's absence from his big night out of his head, but now all he could think about was that his Mother and Father weren't here to witness what a success he and Blaise and made of the club.
Re-entering the wine bar, Draco made his way over to the bar and got a drink from the barman. Knocking back the fire-whisky in double quick time, he asked for another. With his second drink in his hand, Draco turned around to look at the crowds in the bar. So far everyone seemed to be having a good time, and Draco couldn't see any problems.
All of a sudden, Draco got his eyes on a stunning brunette witch across the room. The witch in question was wearing a long, figure hugging red and black dress with a daring slit up the right side. Her hair was teased up in an elegant bun, but Draco could just imagine what it would look like cascading down her back in gentle curls. As if sensing she was being watched, the witch looked up and Draco smiled at his eyes locked with Hermione's warm brown eyes. Smiling back at him, Hermione made her way over to the bar.
"Nice place you've got here," she remarked.
"It's not too bad," Draco replied. "I can give you the guided tour if you want."
"Maybe later, for now I'll settle for a drink," Hermione said.
Turning back to the bar, Draco ordered Hermione a cocktail. Once she had her drink, he led her over to a nearby table that was empty and the pair settled down.
"I thought you weren't going to show," Draco said, trying to sound casual as he sipped on his firewhisky.
"I said I would come," Hermione said.
"Did you now? I must have missed that," Draco replied, shooting Hermione a seductive smirk.
"Naughty boy," Hermione scolded as she took a drink to help settle her nerves. Even though flirting with Draco had become second nature to her these days, she could still get flustered when he said something overly sexual.
"I try my best," Draco said with a grin.
Hermione laughed lightly as she shook her head at the teasing blond. "Although I have noticed you're not adhering to your own dress code. Where's your red attire, Draco?"
"Out of sight."
"So you are wearing red?"
"I am," Draco confirmed with a nod. "Under my trousers. Want to see?"
"Here, in the middle of the bar?" Hermione questioned, her mouth dropping open by how brazen Draco was.
"Why not, I've got nothing to hide," Draco replied. "So what do you say, Granger? Fancy a peek."
"I don't think this is the place for you to be flashing me your underpants," Hermione replied, blushing slightly as images of Draco in nothing but his underwear appeared in her head.
"Now who's the naughty one, Hermione?" Draco laughed. "I wasn't talking about my underpants."
"You weren't?" Hermione questioned with a frown. "Then what were you talking about?"
With a laugh, Draco stuck his leg out towards Hermione and pulled his trouser leg up far enough for her to see his red socks. "See, all very innocent, my socks are under my trousers."
"You wanted me to think you were talking about your underwear," Hermione hissed.
"Your mind went there all of its own accord," Draco retorted with a grin. "Can I help it if you're thinking about my underwear?"
"Knowing you I'm surprised that you're not wearing red undies just so you can flash me them as well," Hermione said.
"If you're desperate to see under my trousers, I can give you a flash," Draco offered as he lowered his voice and leaned over the table to get closer to Hermione. "But we better not do it here. I've got nothing on under my trousers."
Hermione gulped at the thought, and took a few deep breaths to compose herself. The thought of Draco wearing no underwear was getting her hot and bothered. Finishing her cocktail, she shot Draco a seductive smirk of her own as she leaned over the table and pressed her lips against his ears.
"It's funny, but I'm not wearing underwear either," she whispered before straightening up, giving Draco a saucy wink and sauntering into the crowds.
"Damn," Draco muttered to himself, his eyes glued to Hermione's backside as she walked away from him. "I have to have that witch."
His teasing conversation with Hermione had left Draco with a problem, and he had to take a few minutes to clear his thoughts before he could get to his feet without embarrassing himself. Once he was back on his feet, Draco spent the rest of the evening socialising and mingling as he talked up the business he ran with Blaise. By the end of the evening, he ended up catching up with Hermione again outside of Red Diamond as people were leaving.
"Did you have a good night?" he asked the brunette witch.
"I did," Hermione replied with a smile. "The bar is lovely. I would have liked to spend more time with the host though."
"Blaise will be gutted you haven't seen enough of him," Draco joked.
"Actually, I've barely seen him all night," Hermione said. "It's his partner that really does it for me."
"In that case, do you fancy having dinner next week?" Draco asked.
"I'd love to," Hermione answered, smiling warmly at Draco.
Promising to get in touch to arrange a time and day for their date, Draco gave Hermione a peck on the cheek just as the photographers at the end of the street focused their cameras on them and began to snap pictures. However, the couple were oblivious of the attention as they were focused on each other and the date that would hopefully lead to something more between them.
