The night had been so hectic that Hermione had barely noticed that Narcissa had redecorated the entire Manor. The house had been dark and gothic the last time she was there. Now, however, everything was bright, a complete contrast to how she remembered it.
"She did a good job," Harry noted, looking up at the tall ceilings. "I wouldn't have even thought that this would have been the say room."
Hermione nodded in agreement. She didn't want to think about that day. She had tried her best not to think about that day.
Draco was currently dancing with Pansy and Ron was still nursing his cheek.
"Would you just let me heal it, Ron," Ginny snapped for the twelfth time.
"No," Ron said stubbornly, "I want her to see what she did!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. She gently placed a hand over her stomach, drawing Hermione's attention to the small and almost unnoticeable bump.
"How is the pregnancy doing, Ginny?" Hermione asked.
Ginny smiled softly and caressed her stomach. "This one's been a lot easier than James'. So far, anyways. It's probably because I know what to expect now."
"That's wonderful, Gin," Hermione said.
Harry moved to rub his wife's back, "It's been a lot less morning sickness too with this little guy."
"It might be a girl," Ginny said softly.
"I'll be happy either way," Harry smiled cheekily and kissed Ginny's cheek.
Ron chuckled and pointed at something behind Hermione. She turned to see Mrs. Weasley dancing by herself, a drink in hand.
A broad smiled graced Hermione's face as Ron said, "Looks like mum is having fun!"
Ginny groaned, "Oh, Merlin. Where's dad? Why isn't he watching her?"
"Come off it, Gin," Ron said, "She doesn't get out much. Let her have fun."
"Ah, there you are Ms. Granger," Narcissa Malfoy said, appearing beside her.
Nerves in Hermione's stomach fluttered. She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with officially meeting Draco's mother. Hermione didn't even know if Mrs. Malfoy knew about her son's relationship.
"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione smiled timidly. "It's such a lovely party. Thank you for inviting all of us."
"It was no problem at all, dear," Mrs. Malfoy smiled kindly. It took Hermione by surprise. It must have surprised Ron as well because he was looking at the Malfoy matriarch like she had grown an extra head. "My little Scorpius speaks so highly of you." Mrs. Malfoy then turned to Harry, "It's so wonderful to see you again, Mr. Potter. My family owes a debt of gratitude."
Harry smiled friendly, "Quite alright. I owe you my life, actually. Let's call it even?"
Mrs. Malfoy laughed sincerely. She was beautiful, Hermione had noticed. She never really thought about Narcissa Malfoy before, but as Mrs. Malfoy chuckled, Hermione noticed she radiated beauty and elegance.
"I'm so very glad that you all could come," Mrs. Malfoy continued. "Draco wasn't sure at first if we should invite you all, which is understandable, of course, but Pansy and I insisted."
"Your home is beautiful, Mrs. Malfoy. Did you redecorate it all yourself?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, yes. I couldn't bear to look it at once the war was over," Mrs. Malfoy sighed heavily, "Too many unpleasant memories."
Ron snorted quietly and turned to Harry to whisper, "You think?"
Hermione hoped that Mrs. Malfoy had not heard the comment, but she was sure that she had. For a moment, Hermione wondered what it must be like for Mrs. Malfoy. Mrs. Weasley had been the one to kill Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix. Hermione couldn't imagine anyone actually mourning the vile woman, but they had been sisters and losing a sibling must have been hard nevertheless. She made a mental note to ask Draco about it later.
"Ms. Granger?" Narcissa started.
"Please, Hermione's fine." She smiled.
"I would very much like to have you over for some tea one afternoon," Narcissa started. Hermione's chest fluttered with nervousness. "Don't look so shocked, dear. Draco may think he can hide things from me, but he forgets that I am far cleverer than he is." Narcissa gave a sly smile, before turning to Harry. "I would like a word with you, Mr. Potter, in private preferably."
Harry simply shrugged and kiss Ginny on the cheek. "I'll be right back," he said before he followed Mrs. Malfoy.
"I wonder what she would want with Harry," Ron asked, clearly confused.
"Perhaps she wants to thank him for attending the trial," Ginny offered.
"I don't think that's it," Hermione said. "Otherwise, she would have just thanked him here."
Ginny nodded and looked over to where her husband disappeared.
"Wonderful party, isn't it?" Mr. Weasley came up beside Ron, gently clapping him on the back. Mr. Weasley was nearly completely grey now and the lines on his face were more defined. The corner of his eyes wrinkled as he smiled at his youngest son. "Such a big house. Can you believe only one person lives here!"
"Yeah, it's been a smashing night," Ron mumbled.
"Ah yes, heard the slap clean across the room. Sorry to say, son, but you seemed to have inherited by wooing skills," Mr. Weasley said.
Ginny snickered as Ron blushed with embarrassment.
"It gets better with age, not to worry," Mr. Weasley continued and Ron responded with a mortified moan. "Just a little while ago, I was having the most pleasant conversation with Mrs. Malfoy and Ms. Parkinson. What lovely ladies. Oh, well – of course you don't think so, Ron. But Ms. Parkinson was saying that she might be here to stay, isn't that wonderful? And Mrs. Malfoy was saying that Scorpius has become quite good friends with James!"
Ginny nodded, "Yes, they got along straight away."
"Good, good," Mr. Weasley smiled.
Draco and Pansy came up behind Ginny. Hermione smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Oh, Mr. Malfoy," Mr. Weasley said. "Nice to see you again."
"You also, Mr. Weasley," Draco nodded his head slightly.
Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. "This goes without saying," Mr. Weasley started, more seriously, "Hermione is like a daughter to me. Even though her parents are in Australia, don't think that she doesn't have a father here wanting the best for her. Am I making myself clear?"
Ron nodded fervently beside his father. Hermione wanted to shrink away and hide. She was mortified, but even more than that she felt cherished. She always thought of herself as part of the Weasley family, but she had her doubts sometimes. Unlike Harry, Hermione was not technically related to the Weasleys and she sometimes felt like an outsider.
Draco quirked a half smile and looked at her through the corner of his eye. He wasn't embarrassed like she expected him to be, or even flustered. Hermione thought he might look a little prideful.
Draco turned back to Mr. Weasley and said, "I understand completely, Mr. Weasley." Draco's smile twitched slightly, but he didn't turn away. "I'm afraid that Scorpius would not allow me to turn away so easily."
Mr. Weasley tired to remain stern, but a small smile formed on his lips. "Well," he said gruffly, "as long as we understand each other."
Hermione moved to kiss Mr. Weasley's cheek. "Thank you," she said softly.
Harry came up beside Ginny and placed a hand on her hip. "What did I miss?" He asked enthusiastically.
"It seems that my father got to the 'if you hurt Hermione, I'll hex you' speech before you or Ron," Ginny said.
Harry looked sternly at Draco, "Doesn't mean it doesn't still apply, yeah?"
Draco chuckled and moved back a step to put his hand on Hermione's back. She looked up at him to see that he was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I'm not scared of you, Potter, but the notion is well understood," Draco said.
Harry's face broke into a grin. Hermione could see Ron inching himself away from Pansy, who was paying little attention to him.
Hermione shook her head slightly, "I'm going to dance with Ron, if that okay you, Draco?"