After her dramatic introduction to Draco's friends, Hermione was hoping for a drama free evening when her boyfriend met her friends. When she'd been arranging the evening she'd debated for a while over what sort of gathering to organise. Since Draco had mentioned the twins, and how well he got along with them, she had initially thought about arranging a larger gathering. However, in the end she decided in something more intimate as at a larger gathering it would be easy for Draco and her closest friends to avoid each other, and the whole idea of the meeting was for her boyfriend to get to know the people she was closest to.
Hermione's more intimate gathering involved three other couples. First on her list had been Harry and Ginny, and a close second had been Ron and Lavender. Of course neither couple were a surprise to Draco, but he had been slightly taken aback when she'd included Neville Longbottom and his fiancée, Luna Lovegood, in the mix. But as Hermione explained to her boyfriend, Harry and Ron may have been her best friends, but Neville had been her first friend in the wizarding world and the pair still had a special bond that she cherished.
For the setting of their meeting, Hermione had booked them a table at a low key restaurant. The restaurant was situated a few miles from The Burrow, and it offered stunning views of the surrounding countryside. It was actually a favourite place of several of the Weasleys, and Hermione herself loved the laid back atmosphere and the fact you weren't required to dress up to dine there.
On the afternoon of the gathering, Draco had arrived at Hermione's, supposedly so she could calm his nerves about the meeting, but the couple had quickly gotten distracted and had instead spent the afternoon in bed. Currently they were lying entangled in Hermione's bed, neither of them in any hurry to get up and face the world.
"Maybe we should cancel and stay here all evening," Draco suggested, his hands lazily traversing Hermione's naked body.
"As nice as that sounds, it's not an option," Hermione replied. "If we cancel, someone is bound to turn up to find out what's wrong."
"Then we don't answer the door and stay in bed," Draco retorted.
"Harry has a key for emergencies," Hermione said. "And Ginny would borrow it and let herself in."
"Do your friends have any boundaries?" Draco asked with a frown.
"They might draw the line at insisting people stay for dinner as they give birth," Hermione joked. It had been nearly a week since they'd had dinner at the Parkinson-Notts, and Hermione still couldn't believe Pansy had insisted they stay and eat while she gave birth.
"Most normal people would draw the line at that," Draco agreed with a laugh. "But Pansy is very unique."
"She's also very protective," Hermione remarked, sitting up slightly so she could see Draco properly. "I don't think she likes me. She certainly doesn't think I'm sticking around."
"Then she's wrong, because I have no intention of letting you go," Draco said softly. "And she will come round when she sees how happy I really am. Right now, she's just worried that I'm making a mistake by not bending to my father's will and trying to get him to forgive me."
"Could you get him to forgive you?" Hermione asked curiously. Even though Draco had explained the situation with his parents, she wasn't sure if it their relationship was still salvageable.
"Maybe if I went crawling back to him and agreed to marry a nice pure-blood girl," Draco replied. "Although knowing father he'd also want me to end my partnership with Blaise and join him in the family business."
"And you wouldn't consider doing that?" Hermione questioned in a low voice.
"No, I wouldn't," Draco replied, gently running a finger down Hermione's cheek. "It would mean giving you up."
"But it would mean you would get your parents back," Hermione retorted gently. "I know it breaks your heart that you're estranged."
"It does," Draco conceded. "But even without you in the picture, I wouldn't be giving in. If I wasn't going to toe the line and do as my father wished when I was single, I'm certainly not going to give up a witch I'm rapidly falling in love with."
"Love," Hermione gasped. "You're falling in love with me."
"I am," Draco replied with a small smile. "Although truth be told, I think I was halfway there back in school. This is what I want, Hermione. I want to be with someone I care about and who makes me feel alive. I want to be with someone I'm in love with. And my parents should understand that. If they can't love me as I am, it's not my fault. I won't sacrifice my own happiness just to uphold the family reputation."
"And what if eventually being estranged from your parents makes you unhappy?" Hermione asked. "I know this isn't about me, and I know this is something that happened before we got together. But I would hate to think you lost a chance to reconcile with your parents because of our relationship."
"Even if I never speak to them again, it's not your fault Hermione," Draco insisted. "I'm open to reconciliation. All they have to do is respect me and the choices I make in my life. If they can't do that, then they're the ones missing out. I can't force them to love and accept me, Hermione, and I don't want to. If they honestly can't see that I'm happy as I am, then I don't want them in my life."
Nodding at Draco's sentiments, and sensing that it was time to change the subject before things got thoroughly depressing, Hermione pressed herself closer to Draco and admitted that she just might be falling in love with him as well.
"Only might?" Draco asked with a disappointed pout.
"I'm not really sure, I think I might need some convincing," Hermione purred seductively.
"I'm sure I can convince you that I'm the wizard of your dreams," Draco replied cockily as his hand slid in between Hermione's thighs.
"That would be good," Hermione replied with a gasp as Draco's talented fingers sprung into action.
After a stellar performance from Draco, Hermione admitted that she was definitely falling in love with the handsome blond wizard. But then she reminded him that it was time they were getting out of bed as they still had an evening with her friends to get ready for.
"How about we shower together, it'll save water," Draco suggested as Hermione wriggled out of his embrace and got out of bed.
"But not time," Hermione retorted. "If we shower together, we'll get distracted and be in there longer."
"Maybe, but think of the fun we'll have," Draco responded with a cocky smirk as he rose from Hermione's bed.
"You're incorrigible," Hermione muttered, even as she took Draco by the hand and led him to her bathroom.
One long, sexy, shower later, the couple were back in Hermione's bedroom getting ready for their evening out. As she sat at her dressing table, applying a light coat of make-up, Hermione was aware of Draco watching her, and she couldn't help but smile at how domestic the scene was. It was the first time they'd gotten ready to go out together, and Hermione couldn't help but think that it made it feel as though they were more of a couple. Not that they hadn't been a couple before, but it was just more intimate to be getting ready together.
"What's with the smile?" Draco asked. "Are you thinking how lucky you are to have such a sinfully sexy boyfriend, who also happens to be a demon in the bedroom?"
"I certainly don't have a modest boyfriend," Hermione laughed.
"I don't do modest," Draco retorted with a shrug. "So what are you smiling about?"
"I'm just thinking how nice this is, both getting ready together," Hermione admitted.
"I guess it is pretty good," Draco replied. "Sort of a taster for when we live together."
"Live together?" Hermione whirled around in her seat, totally taken aback by the mention of them living together. After all, they'd only been together a couple of months.
"Relax, I'm not asking you to move in with me," Draco laughed, noting the look of panic on Hermione's face. "It's too early for that. But it is the next logical step. Especially since we have just sort of admitted we love each other."
"We're getting there," Hermione replied with a small smile. "But let's not rush things. I don't want to spoil what could be something special by rushing into something we're not ready for."
Draco fully agreed with Hermione, and the pair continued to get ready without any further mention of the future. Right now they were focused on one night, and Draco was eager to make a good impression on Hermione's friends. On a personal level, it didn't really bother him whether they liked him or not, but like his friends mattered to him, Hermione's mattered to her, and he didn't want to be the cause of any problems between them.
"Are you ready?" Hermione asked as she pulled on her jacket.
"I'm ready," Draco confirmed with a nod.
Since Draco had never actually been to the restaurant they were visiting, Hermione apparated them both to their destination. As it turned out they were the first to arrive, and the waiter showed them to a corner table beside a large window.
"This place seems nice," Draco remarked as they settled down to wait for the others to arrive.
"It's nothing fancy, but the food is delicious and the service is great," Hermione replied. "Plus it has stunning views."
Draco was admiring the views as the Potters arrived, followed a few minutes later by Ron and his fiancée. Draco was still in the middle of politely shaking Ron's hand when Neville and Luna turned up and their group was complete.
"This is nice," Hermione said conversationally as everyone settled down in their seats.
"Relax Hermione, we're here to have fun," Harry urged his friend. "You don't have to try so hard."
"I just want everyone to get along," Hermione said, glancing between Draco and Ron.
"Don't you just love the way she looks at us?" Ron asked Draco with a slight smile. "Obviously she thinks we're the trouble makers."
"She knows us so well, Weasley," Draco replied, laughing softly.
"I guess she does," Ron conceded. "But I for one, plan on proving her wrong. I'm sure we can learn to tolerate one another, Malfoy."
"I'm sure we can," Draco agreed.
"See, there was no need to worry," Ginny whispered loudly to Hermione. "They didn't hex each other on sight."
"Because they knew Hermione would kill the pair of them if they did," Harry laughed.
"We do know how to behave," Ron tutted. "And I gave my word I would be nice."
"As did I," Draco agreed. "So Weasley, what's it's like to work up in Hogsmeade? You run your brothers second shop up there, don't you?"
"I do," Ron confirmed with a nod.
As Ron began to talk about to Draco about his work up at Hogsmeade, Hermione watched with relief. It was blatantly clear that the conversation was slightly forced, but it was equally as clear that both men were making a genuine effort. As Hermione had already thought, her boyfriend and best friend would never be great buddies, but they could certainly learn to get along with each other.
With Ron and Draco having broken the ice, conversation was then pretty free flowing between the group. Draco seemed to be taking a genuine interest in Hermione's friends and he asked plenty of questions, and listened fully to the answers. In return Hermione's friends fired questions at Draco, although Hermione had warned them all to steer clear of the topic of his parents. News of the estrangement had started to leak out in the press, but as of yet it wasn't public knowledge that it had gone as far as Lucius cutting Draco out of the Malfoy family.
"A friend and I were in your club last week," Lavender said. "It was really good."
"Thank you," Draco replied with a genuine smile.
"Luna and I were at the wine bar last night," Neville remarked. "It's a lovely place. Your partner was there, making everyone feel right at home."
"He's very charming," Luna added.
"That's Blaise," Draco agreed with a chuckle. "He can charm the birds from the trees, or in his case the underwear from a sexy witch."
"I'd heard that he had a bit of a reputation with the opposite sex," Ginny said.
"Blaise likes variety in his love life," Draco said diplomatically.
"And you?" Ron asked.
"I'm a one woman wizard," Draco replied, giving Hermione a small smile. "Especially now I've found the right witch."
Taking in the way Hermione smiled back at Draco, and the way the pair only seemed to have eyes for each other, Ron nodded in acceptance. Then, not wanting the pair to get too gooey as there was only so far his acceptance would stretch, he asked Draco about plans for expanding his business empire.
"Blaise already has a new idea," Draco admitted. "He wants to open a casino next. Green Diamond."
"A casino sounds fun," Harry remarked. "When is it opening?"
"It's just an idea at the moment," Draco replied. "Blaise likes to fly before he can walk. We're not opening anything new until Red Diamond is fully established."
"But he can at least plan ahead," Luna said.
"That's true," Draco agreed with a nod. "Knowing Blaise he'll have everything sorted for when I give him the go-ahead to buy somewhere new."
"At this rate you're going to end up with a massive empire," Neville remarked with a low whistle.
"That is the idea," Draco replied with a low chuckle. "An empire would be nice to pass onto my children. If if course it's what they wanted."
"And if they didn't want it?" Harry questioned.
"Then I would support whatever it was they did want," Draco said solemnly, his mind clearly on his parents.
Not wanting the mood to darken, Hermione quickly changed the topic by asking about the upcoming world cup, which both Harry and Ginny were hoping to be involved in. With Hermione's lack of interest in quidditch, everyone at the table knew what she was doing, but everyone played along and the topic was changed. With the conversation about quidditch in full flow, Draco whispered a thank you to Hermione.
"Any time," Hermione replied as she gave her boyfriend a brief peck. "And thank you for making an effort tonight."
"What can I say, these Gryffindors aren't as bad as I once thought," Draco replied with a shrug. "I'm actually having a good time."
And the good time continued for the rest of the evening, and by the time everyone went their separate ways, Hermione was happy to call the evening a success. Eager to celebrate the success of the evening, Hermione asked Draco back to hers and they spent the rest of the night having their own private fun.
