Chapter Six
Aiofe woke up early on the morning of Daphne's birthday to make sure everything was perfect. She'd gone down to the kitchens two nights ago and placed an order for a strawberry birthday cake. She'd decided to conservatively put "Happy Birthday, Daphne" on the cake because Daphne was probably going to be blowing out her candles in front of everyone. On the birthday pancakes, however…
She'd had the house elves make up a batch of pink pancakes with birthday sprinkles, strawberries, and whipped cream. In chocolate sauce Aiofe had written 'you can now legally have sex with old men' and drawn a pair of saggy, hairy balls on the top of them. She stood back and examined her masterpiece. Perfect.
She gathered the pancakes, two forks, and giant jug of orange juice and made her way back to the common room, getting several looks from early rising students along the way because of her pjs. She ignored them, too excited about the upcoming day to care.
Daphne was just starting to stir when she pulled back the girl's curtains. "Goooood morning, birthday girl!" She presented her with her pancakes and Daphne cackled.
"Don't you think it's a little early in the morning for hairy balls?"
"Never!" She crawled into bed with the now older girl and they fed each other forkfuls of syrupy pancakes and whipped cream. At least half of which ended up on their noses and chins.
"So, what is the plan for today? I'm assuming you have something brilliant in mind for my eighteenth birthday?" Daphne asked her with a grin.
Aiofe answered her with a mouth full of pancake. "Well, I thought we would do a picnic on the lawn for lunch, and I could read you some of that book we started the other day, and then we're having diner with the boys, having a great big party in the common room, which the boys have so graciously supplied us with a fuck-ton of alcohol for, and I think Blaise said something about a midnight flight? Not sure about that last one." Daphne seemed to understand what it meant, though, so Aiofe didn't think much of it.
"I wanted to make it a surprise party, but I knew you would kill me."
"I would, yes."
"Oh, and Theo invited Granger to the party tonight so I invited her to come get ready with us later."
"Why did Theo invite Granger?"
"Malfoy was being a prat." The two girls laughed at Draco's misfortune. "I told Luca he could come, too."
"So I need to look extra super gorgeous tonight?" Daphne grinned at her.
"As if you don't always look extra super gorgeous."
X
After a full day of celebrating Daphne, Aiofe, Hermione, and Daphne had disappeared into their dormitory to get ready for the party. Hermione had been worried about breaking rules by being in the other girls' common room, but they pointed out that the entire party was against the rules and McGonagall had never actually said the eighth years couldn't be in each other's common rooms. In fact, she had wanted them to promote house unity, so a party combining both houses and a few select seventh years was technically abiding by her wishes. Hermione looked skeptical of that logic but had allowed herself to be dragged through the tapestry.
And Merlin, had their efforts been worth it. Hermione Granger was nearly unrecognizable from her first-year self. Aiofe had applied potions to make her hair silky instead of frizzy, and it's natural texture had turned into more of a wavy curl. She had indeed fit right into Aiofe's dark green velvet dress, which was short enough to show a nearly obscene amount of skin, but balanced out with a square neckline and long-sleeves, so the more modest of the three girls still felt decently comfortable. They'd also given her a pair of Daphne's white tennis shoes to wear so that the girl didn't risk tripping in heels. She'd even let the other girls put makeup on her, and Aiofe almost felt bad that she had never noticed just how pretty the quiet girl was before then. Though, her face was normally half covered by hair and glasses, Aiofe supposed.
Daphne had purchased herself a birthday outfit before the school year even started, a short pink dress with tiny strawberries covering it, and rouching at the waistline that drew her silhouette in. She wore the tiny gold bracelet Aiofe had given her on their picnic, with a tiny A next to a tiny D danging from it, and a pair of red high heels.
Aiofe had a black spaghetti strap dress on that tied at the top of each shoulder and had a little ruffle along the hemline just below her butt. She was also wearing tennis shoes, because she didn't fancy falling over drunk later, either. She'd left her long hair loose and straightened it slightly so that it fell in a curtain to the small of her back. She'd painted her full lips a bright red and left the rest of her makeup more natural so that they would stand out.
Before going down to the party, Aiofe had pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey that Theo had smuggled her and poured three shots. She didn't know what went on at Gryffindor parties, but she didn't want Hermione to embarrass herself in front of everyone if she'd never taken shots before. And anyways, the girl looked like she could use some liquid courage, though she was smiling more than Aiofe had ever seen her do, and kept glancing at her reflection in the window above Aiofe's bed.
The girls did their shots and then Hermione pulled out a small, wrapped parcel from deep in her school bag. It was a copy of the poetry book that Aiofe had recited from the day they first all hung out together that Daphne had loved so much. Daphne swept the other girl up in a hug that made them both look vaguely uncomfortable before the three girls headed into the common room to join the party, which was already in full swing. Aiofe looked around the crowded room. She didn't remember inviting quite this many people.
Daphne made her way over to Luca after shouting to the other girls that she would be back in just a second. Aiofe pulled Hermione towards Draco, not actually because she wanted to tease him, he just happened to be the first person she saw that she both knew and had a bottle of liquor in their hand.
He grinned at Aiofe as they approached. He seemed to be accepting the fact that Aiofe was going to be bringing Hermione around. She saw his eyes trail down Hermione's short dress and over her legs. Oh. Aiofe thought. He's drunk.
It was so loud that she decided nonverbal communication was better and gave a pointed look at the bottle in his hand. It was dark green and very mysterious looking, and she had no idea what it was. He grabbed two cups from the table next to them and handed one to each of them.
"What is this?" Hermione shouted in her ear after they had both taken a sip.
"No idea!" She shouted back. It was good. Sweet and tangy but unlike anything she had ever tasted before. She took it as a good sign that the girl continued blindly drinking something that Draco Malfoy had given her, even without knowing the properties of it.
As wild as the party currently was, there was not much point in trying to socialize, so she finished off her cup and pulled Hermione out in the middle of the room to dance with everyone else.
The two girls were soon joined by Luca and Daphne. Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley were also nearby, though Aiofe was completely sure she had not invited Ginny Weasley, as she didn't want anyone judging Hermione for her new choice in friends. She guessed Thomas was in her house, though, so it couldn't much be helped who he'd decided to bring with him.
The three girls plus Luca danced for a good long while. Every once in a while someone would go grab a round of drinks and come back, so they were all pleasantly tipsy by the time Daphne announced she was sweating all her makeup off and needed to stop. The four pushed out of the mess of bodies and back to the drink table.
"Let's get the boys and go in their dorm room!" Aiofe shouted to Daphne.
"What?" She shouted back.
Aiofe pointed in the direction of Theo, Blaise, Draco, and Michael's dorm room.
They split up and went to search for the other boys in the crowd. It didn't take long for Aiofe to spot Theo leaning against the wall, whiskey glass in hand and a pretty brunette trying to talk to him over the music. Aiofe watched for a second as he raised his shoulders in a shrug three separate times to signify that he couldn't hear her. When she gave up and disappeared back into the crowd, he raised a hand and crooked his finger at Aiofe.
She made her way through the crowd to him and he pulled her in close enough she could hear him speaking over the noise.
"I made you come with one finger, imagine what I could do with my whole hand." Is what he said.
She rolled her eyes skyward. "I walked all the way over here for that?!"
He laughed and she pulled the whiskey out of his hand to take a sip. He looked down at her lips over the rim of his glass. He was so close to her that she could see every one of his inky eyelashes and the light freckles that went across the bridge of his nose.
She leaned in closer. "It's kind of crowded in here, we should go to your room."
He blinked at her, as if trying to figure out if that was a line or a proposition. She held back her smirk. She gave him his glass back and took his other hand, pulling him along behind her towards the boys' dorm.
They pushed through the crush of bodies and she led the way through the door of his room. Draco, Blaise, Daphne, Luca, and Hermione were all already sat in a semi-circle in the floor waiting for them.
Theo groaned behind her. "That was a cruel joke, Malone."
She laughed at him and ignored the curious eyes around them as she took her place in the floor next to Hermione.
There were an unnecessary number of glass bottles and plastic cups in the middle of the circle.
"What are we playing?" Aiofe asked the rest of the group.
"Have I Ever? Hot Seat?" Daphne suggested.
"Suck and Blow." Theo said, definitively.
"Suck and Blow." Draco echoed him.
"What is Suck and Blow?" Granger asked, clearly very hesitant to even ask the question.
Theo got up to find a deck of cards while Blaise explained the rules. When he was finished Daphne pointed at Hermione. "Granger's got to move somewhere, though." She looked over the order of the group. "Either between Draco and Blaise or Draco and Theo." Hermione looked slightly stricken on that, so Aiofe took pity on her and offered to move herself… even though she would honestly very much like to get Draco and Hermione to kiss, herself.
Once they had all shifted so that Aiofe was between Theo and Draco, Draco started the game. He passed the card to Blaise, who passed it to Daphne, who purposely and obviously dropped it and kissed Luca on the lips. It broke the tension in the room and the game continued. It went around the circle without issue until it got to Aiofe, who successfully took it from Theo and attempted to pass it to Draco, only for him to suck too late and the card fell between them.
"That was clearly your fault." He told her.
"What!? I can suck a snitch through a plastic straw, that was all on your timing!" Draco snorted in laughter and Daphne and Blaise both began chanting 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!' from across the circle. Draco rolled his eyes, grabbed the sides of her face, and planted one squarely on her lips. He licked his lips after. "Cinnamon toothpaste?"
"Mmhmm, my favorite." After a couple more rounds only Theo and Hermione and Draco and Blaise had to kiss.
"I told you that you were a terrible sucker." Aiofe told Draco after he had wiped his mouth from kissing Blaise. Apparently, Blaise had managed to slip his tongue in between Draco's lips. The entire group dissolved into laughter for so long at Draco's reaction that they decided to switch games.
"Not enough drinking in this one." Theo announced. Draco enthusiastically agreed.
Since it was Daphne's birthday, they let her pick the next game. She picked Hot Seat. Aiofe silently hoped that her group of friends was not going to either horribly embarrass Hermione, or mess things up between Daphne and Luca.
Daphne went first and she picked Draco. "Draco, Darling." She drawled. "If you had to jack off in only one place for the rest of your life, where would you choose?"
Draco groaned and considered the question. "Probably the shower at Theo and I's apartment." Aiofe blinked at that. She hadn't known that Theo and Draco lived together, or that they lived in an apartment, before then.
Hermione also was surprised, and as a result of the liquor, most likely, she asked Draco about it.
"I moved out of my parents' house when my mum died." He told her. "Theo and I rent a little place in London."
"Oh, Aiofe and I were talking about going into London sometime during Yule break, maybe we can all meet up."
"Me too." Daphne included herself.
"Me three." Blaise added.
It was Luca's turn next, and he asked Daphne a fairly innocent question. Aiofe supposed he was still testing the water with her.
Hermione asked Blaise if he had ever been to another country. Aiofe knew the level of questioning was going to rise drastically as soon as it got to the other side of the circle.
And she was proven correct when Theo asked Luca if he had jacked off thinking about Daphne yet. Luca took a resounding gulp of his drink.
Aiofe asked Draco if he would rather have sex with Moaning Myrtle or the portrait of the Fat Lady. He responded that both were impossible. She responded that they weren't, as long as you were creative enough. He picked Myrtle.
Blaise asked Hermione if she had to have sex with someone in the room, who would she choose. She took a drink.
Daphne asked Theo the same question.
"Isn't question repeating against the rules?" He asked Draco.
"I'll allow it." Was Draco's response.
"Well, obviously Aiofe." Theo told them. She'd expected it but it still made Aiofe blush.
Luca seemed to be getting into the spirit of the game because he asked. "Aiofe, why haven't you slept with Theo yet."
And it must have been the liquor in her system because Aiofe answered, "because he hasn't given me the opportunity yet."
Hermione asked Aiofe if she had ever fantasized about Theo. "What is this shit!?" Aiofe exclaimed. "I am being targeted!"
"You didn't answer the question." Hermione pointed out.
Aiofe took a drink.
"That's not a no." Theo whispered to her, loudly enough for the rest of the group to hear.
"Shut up. It's your turn."
"When you fantasize about me-" She smacked him on the arm and he laughed.
"Okay, Granger. Have you ever had a sexual fantasy about my sexy best friend Draco, here?" He reached over Aiofe to pat Draco on the shoulder.
Hermione's entire face went bright red and for a second Aiofe expected her to bolt out of the room. Instead, she just took a drink. Draco looked like he'd also like to run from the room, though there was a slight bit of interest hidden behind the horror in his eyes. Interesting development. Aiofe thought.
"That's also not a no…" Luca said.
"Who wanted to play this game, again?" Draco asked.
Daphne laughed. "We can change the game if you guys want."
"Actually, I have prefect rounds…" Luca gave an apologetic look to Daphne. She walked him to the tapestry and the rest of the group laughed about it.
The rest of the party was starting to die down, as it was getting close to midnight, so Draco announced that it was a good time to go flying.
"Flying?" Aiofe and Hermione both asked.
"On brooms?" Draco replied. Aiofe accepted that but Hermione seemed terrified.
"I don't know how." She told the group.
"We usually double up anyways. You can ride with someone else."
Aiofe stood up. "Come on, Hermione. You need a jacket." They snagged Daphne on the way to the dorm and informed her of the new plan.
Aiofe dug through her closet for sweatshirts for herself and Hermione.
"You can borrow some pants, too, if you want." Hermione looked down at her legs and shook her head.
"I think I'll be okay."
"So… interesting night." Daphne said after she pulled her own sweatshirt on and sat down to change shoes.
Aiofe stuffed her throw blanket and the one off of the foot of Isobel's bed, hoping the other girl didn't mind, in her book bag for her and Hermione. She held the bag open so Daphne could put hers in it, as well.
"Is this going to be… safe?" Hermione asked them.
"Oh, don't worry. Draco is a great flyer." Hermione blinked.
"I'm riding with Draco?"
"Aww, she's calling him Draco, now." Daphne teased.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I only said it because you said it."
"Well, either way, he won't let you fall. You might even have fun. There's a little island on the other side of the lake we usually go to. Really you're being included in a secret sacred Slytherin rite so you should count yourself lucky."
Hermione appeared to be gathering her courage.
"Time to go." Aiofe grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along behind them.
They met back up with the boys in the common room and the group walked towards the lake. Aiofe noticed Theo had a bag thrown over his shoulder as well. Aiofe walked next up next to him and grabbed his hand, her other hand still clutching onto Hermione in case the girl tried to chicken out. Normally she wouldn't be so bold, but she was feeling pretty drunk. Theo threaded his fingers through hers and she fought back the urge to smile.
The six ducked behind a thicket of trees to hide their ascent from the castle. Theo handed Daphne his backpack and she climbed onto Blaise's broom and the two took off. Hermione was staring at Draco anxiously. Aiofe debating offering to switch partners with her again, but she thought Hermione giving Draco just a little bit of trust might go along way with the two of them.
"You promise you won't let me fall off, you won't go too fast, and you won't do anything crazy?"
"Cross my heart, Granger." She took a step closer to him and paused, glancing over at Aiofe.
"Nothing will happen. Draco is a great flyer, hasn't fallen out of the air yet… that I remember." Aiofe told her reassuringly.
Hermione was looking at Draco with such a sense of cautious longing that Aiofe realized something. She had feelings for him, too. All her questions and willingness to be dragged along with the group of Slytherins hadn't been out of a sense of sheer loneliness. Hermione Granger wanted Draco Malfoy, and now that her friends weren't around, she was thinking about giving into the temptation.
Hermione climbed on behind Draco and he slowly, gently raised them enough above the lake that no wayward tentacles or water creatures could reach them.
Aiofe turned to her own partner and climbed on the back of his broom.
"She likes him." She told Theo.
"Yeah, I saw that." Theo was being quieter than usual. Or not quieter, but quiet in a different way. He was reflective, maybe even slightly somber. As they rose above the lake she wanted to lighten his mood.
She slid her hands from around his middle down to the front of his pants to rest on his belt buckle. "This is a nice belt buckle, Theo, but I think it would look better pressed against my forehead."
He choked out a laugh that she felt all the way down the front of her body, where it was pressed against his. "I'm going to dream about that later tonight."
She rested her head against the hard plane between his shoulder blades. "Why only dream?"
He was quiet for a second and she wondered if she had gone too far. "Well, because we both know that anything happening between us would be a bad idea… right?"
She murmured something vaguely agreeable.
"Because we're friends… and I've never really been very good at relationships, and you're the kind of girl that needs a relationship for… those kinds of things."
"Am I?" She asked him. She'd never really tried casual sex, but she wasn't really against it. At least, the idea of it.
Theo laughed but it didn't sound particularly humorous. It might have evened sounded slightly bitter. "I don't think I could fuck you and not want more than that." She wondered why that was such a bad thing. She also wondered if this sudden openness was alcohol related. Theo never usually let her in on his thoughts.
"Well, you never know until you try, Nott."
"Are you trying to convince me to fuck you right now?" He sounded so incredulous that she laughed.
"I don't know."
They fell into silence for a few moments before he broke it.
"Well, let me know if you figure it out, Aiofe."
They could see their four friends safely on the island when it came into view. As they got closer, they could see that Hermione was even smiling.
She and Theo touched down and she dropped her book back to the ground to dig out the blankets. She tossed one to Hermione and another she took and wrapped around herself and Daphne, and the girls huddled next to each other around the soon-to-be fire pit while Blaise and Theo gathered firewood and Draco worked on nursing a tiny flame to life.
She leaned over to whisper in Daphne's ear so that no one else could hear her. "I think I like Theo, Daph…"
Daphne just wrapped an arm around Aiofe's shoulder and pulled her closer. She tried not to let Daphne's reaction get her even more down. She knew, that Daphne knew, that Theo wasn't much for relationships and didn't seem to be changing his mind any time soon.
Hermione sat down on the other side of the fire pit from them.
"What did you think of your first time flying, Granger?" Daphne called over to her.
"It was exhilarating! I don't think I will be taking up flying on my own any time soon, but I wouldn't mind doing that again." She said with a smile.
"Draco didn't try to cop a feel?" Aiofe asked, mostly for Draco's reaction. He gave her a nasty look that was well lit up by the little fire he had gotten going.
"No… He was a perfect gentleman."
Draco stood from his fire. "I need more kindling. Greengrass, come blow on this for me."
"Okay, but won't the fire go out while I'm blowing you, Draco?"
He rolled his eyes at them. Aiofe stood up. "I'll come help you."
They walked off in the opposite direction of where Theo and Blaise had gone.
"Why do you say stuff like that to her? I thought you wanted her to like me?" He asked and she could tell that he was fighting to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"Why I asked if you copped a feel?" He nodded.
"Because I knew you didn't, so when I asked her, she thought about how much of a gentleman you had been, and how she kind of wished you had given her something to remember you by." She grinned at him.
He blinked at her. "Merlin that was a lot to unpack… Let's start with you thinking she wanted me to… touch her, or something. You actually think that?"
"Well, no, I don't think she wanted you to actually grope her while the two of you were high up in the air and she was terrified, but it made her think about it. And in a more calm environment I do believe Hermione Granger might like it if you were to try to get a little more hands on." She gave him a dirty grin.
He blinked. "You're mad."
"Put your hand on her knee." He opened his mouth to argue. "No, really. When we go back to the fire pit and get it going and everyone is settled in around it, sit next to her and put your hand on her knee. She has a blanket, no one else will even know about it. And dear Merlin don't try to go any higher than her knee." He still looked like he wanted to argue with her. "Draco, the girl is suddenly wearing short dresses and caring about her makeup and hair. She's out here on an island in the middle of the night with a bunch of Slytherins drinking. She got on a broom with you. Trust me, she's into it." Draco looked thoughtful as they gathered sticks and small bundles of leaves in the underbrush.
"You should have been a Slytherin." He told her. She laughed.
"Too much of a swot. You should have been a Ravenclaw."
He snorted. "Too much of a prick."
"And what about your love life?" He asked her.
She raised an eyebrow and he pointed back in the direction of their campsite.
"I'm not ready to admit to that one, yet." To someone that might tell him, at least.
"He likes you."
"He won't do anything about it, though."
He shrugged. "I guess we'll see." He looked like he wanted to say more but talked himself out of it, so she gave him a little prod.
"Why won't he do anything about it, Draco?"
"Has he told you much about his parents?" He asked her.
"Literally nothing."
Draco nodded like he had expected this. "Ask him. They're the reason he won't."
"Is it a sore subject? I don't want to upset him or cause a fight or something."
"Sore, but old. Should be alright."
Once they both had a decent collection of small sticks and assorted dead things gathered, they turned back to the fire. Blaise and Theo had also returned from their trek and Blaise had taken over the tending of the fire. He was somehow managing to keep the tiniest of flames alive by blowing gently on it. Theo was sat on the ground opposite the fire of Daphne. Aiofe plopped down next to the blonde girl and was once again engulfed in her arms and warm blanket.
Between Blaise and Draco they got the fire going and set up the extra wood next to it in easy reaching distance. Blaise looked around the pit, saw Aiofe and Daphne sitting together, and looked confused but joined Theo on his side. Draco turned in Hermione's direction. Aiofe elbowed Daphne in the ribs.
Both girls watched as Draco sat down next to their new friend and gestured at her blanket. "Do you mind?"
"Oh! No, of course not." She shifted a little to give him some of the blanket so that he could wrap up in it as well. Both Aiofe and Daphne watched with rapt attention. Aiofe knew the exact moment he put her plan into action because Hermione's eyes shot to him. Aiofe couldn't see for sure in the dim light but she would bet her right tit that Hermione was the color of a particularly ripe strawberry right then. But she didn't pull away or freak out, so Aiofe knew the plan was a success.
She looked away from the two and met Theo's eyes. He seemed confused by her perceived snub of him, and she thought it was a bit sad that they were so attached at the hip that her sitting by someone else was viewed as a snub, though she knew their entire group had taken it that way… Maybe not Hermione, she was still pretty new to the intricacies of the group flirtationships.
Either way, she felt guilty. He'd been probably the most open with her he'd ever been, and she didn't want to be mean to him just because it wasn't what she wanted to hear. She pulled herself out of the blanket and stood up.
"Blaise, switch me spots since you two are apparently too manly to share a blanket." She told him with a huff. "I'm tired of watching you shiver." It was a good lie, she thought.
Draco snorted. She ignored him.
"Are we going to drink anymore?" Blaise asked the group while Aiofe was digging out the last blanket. Blaise and Daphne both looked half passed out already.
She tried to settle next to Theo and he pulled her in his lap and wrapped the blanket around both of them. She wondered if either of them were going to regret crossing lines they had formerly drawn when they sobered completely up.
"What was that all about?" He whispered in her ear.
She shrugged. Too complex to explain through a whispered conversation that she knew she was making herself want him more by spending all her time cuddling him and holding his hand and doing other relationship-y things with him. And now that he had put into words that he still didn't want a relationship with her, it was making it more difficult on her. She had known he didn't, of course, but knowing it and hearing it from his own lips were too different things.
"You guys can drink more, but I'm going to fall asleep if I drink anything else." Daphne was telling the group when Aiofe tuned back into their conversation. She looked comfy and sweet all cuddled up next to Blaise and Aiofe almost wished she had let Theo suffer in the cold so that she could be curled up like a cat next to Daphne.
"We should have brought some marshmallows." Hermione told the group. Draco looked at her like she had grown another head.
"What for?"
Hermione gasped dramatically. "Wizards don't have s'mores?! Aiofe!"
"I know, Hermione. It's okay, we'll teach them."
"We should all go camping sometime. Imagine Draco Malfoy, camping." She giggled.
"I've camped before, Granger." He sent her a dirty look but there was no heat behind it. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin bad boy, was going soft.
The two of them began to argue about the definition of 'camping' and whether or not a portable mansiontent at various wizard sporting events counted.
Aiofe looked over at Blaise and Daphne, who had been suspiciously quiet for a minute. They were curled up next to each other, asleep in the grass.
"How cute," she pointed them out to Theo. He looked at the two and rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the crackling fire. She watched him for a moment.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Hm… I'm wondering if you're wearing any socks today." She caught his reference and flushed.
"Could find out." She told him.
She felt his left hand shift from it's spot on the ground, supporting them, and clasp around her knee. He looked into her face and she could see him searching her eyes. She wasn't sure what he was looking for. She knew her face told him she wanted him to continue on, though.
Slowly he slid his hand down her leg… and tugged on the cuff of her sock.
"Yep, looks like you are."
"Chicken." She told him. He grinned at her before glancing over at Hermione and Draco, who were still arguing about camping equipment across the fire and not paying them any attention, so he lowered his voice to where they couldn't hear him and said, "I think there are some conversations we need to have before I check on any other undergarments."
She shrugged. "Probably."
Theo shifted the both of them so that he could reach his backpack and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey.
"What do you think, Draco? Couple more drinks?"
Draco and Hermione let their debate die and Draco sat up a little closer to the fire.
"Are we playing another drinking game?" Hermione asked.
"Sure." Theo told her. "How about hot seat but you have to answer the question AND you have to take a drink."
"Instead of picking someone to ask the question, we should just go around to each person in order and the group decides on a question together, then." Aiofe suggested. "And you have to answer with complete honesty."
"The questions can be about anything? Nothing is off limits?" Hermione asked them.
Theo shrugged and Draco agreed so Aiofe nodded that she was fine with that as well.
"I'll go first, then. You lot think of a question for me." Aiofe could think of a lot of questions for Theo, but none that she wanted to ask him in front of Draco and Hermione. Finally, Hermione hesitantly spoke up.
"What did you do after the war? Like, in the months just after?"
He blinked and seemed to mull over the question. "I spent a few weeks in St. Mungo's. I'd been knocked unconscious during the final battle by a stray curse and had a pretty severe concussion. And I was also dehydrated, malnourished, had several lacerations, three broken ribs, and some nerve damage. Once I was medically cleared, I started getting ready for my trial. I spent a few nights in a ministry holding cell while they figured out if I was a flight risk or not. I stayed at a hotel in London during my trial and after it was over I stayed with Draco for a few weeks. I kept up with my father's trial and spent a lot of time laying in my bed wishing I had made better decisions when I was sixteen."
That might be more personal information than Theo had ever told another person besides Draco, and here he was telling it to Hermione Granger. And Aiofe, since she happened to be there to hear it. Even Draco seemed slightly surprised at the depth of the answer. Hermione didn't seem to know how to respond to his answer, and Aiofe still felt like her and Theo were balancing on an emotional precipice so she didn't say anything, either. Theo took a large swallow out of the bottle.
"My turn." Aiofe told them, to break the silence.
Once again, Hermione spoke up. Aiofe supposed out of the three of them, Hermione knew the least about the others in the group.
"Why did you invite me to hang out with you that day in the library?" She asked Aiofe. Aiofe saw Draco's eyes snap up to Aiofe's face. She knew he was silently begging her not to say anything about him. Luckily for him, she hadn't even known about his little crush on Hermione that very first weekend.
"Truthfully, I don't really know why. I sat next to you because there were not a lot of people in the library, I remember. And then when you struck up a conversation, I got the sense that you might be a little lonely without your friends at school, and I realized we were both kind of sad for spending our Sunday free time indoors, so I invited you out with me. And then you were different than I expected. You were nice enough. When we talked about Draco," Draco's eyebrows rose and he looked back and forth between the girls, "you didn't sound judgmental or angry. And then you got on with Daph and the rest of they guys. Honestly, it just felt right to keep bringing you around." That was the best way to word it all without bringing Draco's complicated feelings into it and still be completely honest.
Aiofe took a drink after she finished and it was Draco's turn next. Aiofe could tell both Slytherins and herself were nervous about whatever Granger might come up with for him, so in the interest of preserving their budding but still fragile friendship, Aiofe spoke up before the Gryffindor girl could.
"What do you regret most about last year, Draco?"
It took Draco a while to organize his thoughts to answer. He downed a large gulp from the firewhiskey bottle before he opened his mouth to speak.
"Honestly, I can't even come up with any single one thing. There's a lot I regret. I wish I hadn't picked the side I chose to fight on, but if I could go back, I can't imagine doing anything different…" At the look on Hermione's face, he quickly clarified. "I couldn't leave my mother there to deal with that alone. Or Theo. Though I guess that didn't really matter in the end… So, unless there was some way to change everyone's circumstances, I wouldn't have chosen anything different. I regret pretty much everything I did during the war… Pretty much everything I did the first seven years I was at school here, actually… But I just didn't see another option in sixth year. I couldn't leave my mother to die, so I couldn't say no when I was asked to take the Dark Mark." He took another drink.
"Deep." Theo broke the silence they had all fallen into. Draco grinned at him and shrugged his shoulders.
"You know me, Nott. Full of depth and complex emotions."
"Granger," Theo began, "what's the worst thing that ever happened to you?"
Hermione took a drink out of the bottle that Draco passed her and lifted up the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Aiofe had noticed that the girl always wore sleeves. Turned down anything that Aiofe suggested she wear if it was sleeveless or at least covered it up with a cardigan.
Carved into the girl's arm was the word 'mudblood'. Aiofe gasped without meaning to.
"Shit." Theo answered. Draco had gently grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled it towards himself so he could see better, and was staring down at the word with barely contained horror.
"What about you, Nott? What's the worst thing that ever happened to you?" Hermione asked.
"I think question repeating is against the rules…" Draco began to tell her, but Theo cut him off.
"When I was seven my father murdered my mom in front of me." He told her. Hermione's hand flew to cover her mouth, shocked.
"Holy fuck I think we can be done with this game now." Draco said. Aiofe wholeheartedly agreed with that.
Instead, they passed the bottle around the circle once more before Draco told Theo to 'do that thing with his wand that he liked'. Aiofe didn't even have the emotional capacity to turn it into a dirty joke.
They all settled back against the ground as Theo used his want to project constellation shapes above their heads. Aiofe considered the lives that all three of the other teenagers had led while they watched Scorpius, Ophiuchus, and Aquila circle above them.
AN: If you like the story please leave me a comment! This is my first fanfic and I would love the feedback or any suggestions! :)