CHAPTER SEVEN: Friendly advice
"I still cannot believe you've hired Draco Malfoy. That git, of all people!" Ginny wondered over the firewhisky which both Hermione and she were drinking at one of the Diagon's Alley pubs. When Weasley returned from the Championships in Slovakia, Hermione immediately took her out for drinks. She just missed her so much.
"He's not that bad now," she replied, playing with the tiny umbrella in her drink. "He's even nice sometimes. Well, you know, he's a bit annoying, but he doesn't insult me anymore, at least."
"That's because you gave him a job," noticed Ginny, frowning.
"I don't think so," admitted Hermione. "You should've listened to him talk about it. Besides, do you remember how we had to cope with everything after the war?"
Ginny nodded sadly.
"Yeah, I do," she whispered.
"We mustn't forget the war had an impact on everyone. Including Malfoy."
"Merlin, I hate it when you're right," she groaned. "But you're right. Even annoying gits like Malfoy have feelings and can sometimes feel something."
"Thank you," she smiled.
"But why are you defending him that much?"
Hermione shrugged. "I guess I'm just trying to be a good Minister and give everyone a chance. And this has been, well, ground-breaking for me. I had to face my old nemesis. I had to face a person who called me "mudblood", who'd been bullying me for many years… and my friends. All that while remaining impartial… At which I failed miserably. But I also had to face a person who was made a Death Eater at sixteen and was tasked with killing Dumbledore. The person who tried not to give us away in his home, back when they'd captured us. The person who was scarred by this war just as much as any of us. He lost his friends, too. He was made to do horrible things."
Ginny studied her closely for a second. "But he wanted to catch Harry and give him to Voldemort. What about it?"
Hermione shook her head aggressively. "Maybe I should, but I don't blame him anymore, Ginny, I really don't. What other choices did he really have? I thought about it a lot while considering giving him this job. It was his ticket out of there. For him and his family. Any other decision would get him killed."
"Maybe he should've just let that happen, then. Some things require sacrifice," Ginny declared passionately.
Hermione sighed heavily. "Maybe. But he made a surprisingly good point when I talked to him. He is a Malfoy, he is not a hero, and he is not any of us. He did what he had to do to survive, even though he isn't very proud of it. As you've said, some things require sacrifice. But in this case, it looked a bit different. And not everyone is capable of it, not for a high price like that."
The bartender quickly filled their glasses when the redhead waved over for him.
"I honestly didn't look at it that way," Ginny admitted.
"Neither did I," said Hermione, smiling slightly. "And despite all of that, I had to make an unbiased decision. Can you imagine? It was torture, absolute torture. I snapped at him more than once, even though I shouldn't. I was kind of horrible to him at the interview, actually. I'm even – uh – ashamed, to be honest. But thankfully, all is fine for now."
"Well, then," smiled Ginny, raising her glass. "To the new beginnings and to the unexpected."
They clinked their glasses, and Hermione grinned at her redhead friend. But her smiled quickly faltered when she saw two people entering the pub.
Draco and Theo Nott were walking along the Diagon Alley for some last-minute shopping for the birthday present for Blaise. They were supposed to meet at one of the pubs that night, and Zabini was probably already waiting for them. They were furious with him for not giving them the heads up, or they would've bought the gift way sooner. Of course, Blaise told them he didn't need anything. But what kind of friends would they be if they didn't get him a present? Exactly. That's why they walked into a liquor shop on one of the corners.
It was somewhat dark, and frankly, very disturbing. The wooden shelves were covered in dust, and so was the wooden floor. They exchanged nervous glances and approached the counter. The old man, apparently running the shop, greeted them warmly.
"Hello, gents, can I get you anything?"
"Hi, hello," said Theodore, smiling tentatively. "Our dear friend has a birthday… and we need a present for him. So we thought about some kind of an old, expensive bottle of firewhisky?"
"Right this way," said the man, gesturing for them to follow. They hesitantly went after him and headed to the shelf labelled "firewhisky".
"If you want something traditional, I'd propose Ogden's firewhisky from 1977 or thirty-nine years aged Blishen's firewhisky. But if your friend is open to unique tastes, I can suggest White Rat, the oldest bottle I have here is from 1969. This whisky can be… quite an experience. Your friend wouldn't be disappointed."
"I guess Blaise can be quite adventurous, can't he?" whispered Theo. "Should we risk it?"
Draco shrugged. "I suppose. I don't think he'd ever drunk this thing, and he does like trying new things."
"We'll take that White Rat thing, then," smiled Theo to the shop clerk.
"Brilliant!" he exclaimed and took the bottle. He put it into an elegant box and even put a ribbon around it. Draco and Theo exchanged amused glances.
"That will be seventy galleons."
After they'd paid, they went straight to the pub. They couldn't afford to be late. But as soon as they came in, Draco stopped abruptly, rooted to the spot. He expected to see everyone, but not her.
And she was staring at him with the same shock on her face.
They were staring at each other for a few more moments before Theo interrupted with a cough.
"Um, mate, you all right?"
Draco shifted his gaze back to Theo. He realised he must've looked as if he'd seen a ghost.
"Yes. I – er – I'll just go say hi."
"I know she's given you a job, but Blaise has a birthday today, remember?"
"Yeah, I'll be right back."
Theo threw his arms up and rolled his eyes before finding the table nearby where Blaise was already seated, watching them, completely stunned.
Draco made his way to the two completely dumbfounded girls.
"Hi, Granger. To be honest, I didn't expect to see you here," he smirked.
She stared at him, baffled a while longer. But after a few seconds, she managed to shake it off and returned the ironic smile.
"Are you suggesting I can't handle my liquor, Malfoy? Because that sounds like a challenge."
"I assure you, it's not. Wouldn't want to have to drag you home with Miss Weasley over here. Unless it's Mrs Potter now? I apologise I don't follow the news, you see."
Hermione snorted. "You called me Miss Granger on our very first meeting, Malfoy."
"He did?" asked Ginny, bemused. "Ouch! What a git you are, Malfoy."
"Well, I did apologise for that, remember? Besides, I wasn't exactly the only one mean then."
She just rolled her eyes. "That you did, and it pains me to admit you're right. So, how's the book coming?"
"The book?" shrieked Ginny, completely taken aback.
"I must admit it, it has picked my interest. Although, I haven't finished it yet. But I promise you, I will be ready for our next meeting," said Draco with a smug smile.
"Next… meeting? Oh, right, great," Hermione quickly smiled to mask her absent-mindedness. She was definitely not staring into his eyes. Definitely not. She had better things to do – like staring into her glass.
Ginny snorted behind her back, so she kicked her in the shin.
"I'll see you, then, Granger."
"See you, Malfoy."
He smiled slightly and turned around to join his friends. She followed him with her eyes before shifting her attention back to Ginny, who burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh, Merlin, Hermione, when you were talking about him, I didn't think you might like him!"
"What?" she blurted out. "I don't like him, Ginny, don't be ridiculous!"
She snorted. "Yeah, right. Because staring in his eyes and forgetting the world exists clearly indicates hatred. I mean, obviously, everyone knows that it does."
"I don't like him!"
"Sure," smirked Ginny, clearly not convinced. "We'll see about that."
"Ginevra!"
The redhead raised her eyebrows. "Ginevra? Ouch. I really touched the sensitive topic, didn't I?"
"It's not a sensitive topic," Hermione said through the gritted teeth, making Ginny laugh.
"Don't worry, honey. If you're not ready to admit it, take your time. But remember that as your best friend, I require all the details."
Hermione sighed heavily. "Please, stop."
Ginny raised her arms defensively. "All right, stopping now."
"But I will tease you about it from now on," she added with a smirk. "Draco Malfoy! Who would've thought!"
Meanwhile, Draco, Blaise and Theo were sitting at the table in the far corner of the room. Theo was still shaking his head, while Blaise was literally crying with laughter. Draco was sipping his drink, looking into the distance.
"I don't follow the news," mimicked Theo, making Zabini shriek with laughter again. "You deserved that one, mate."
"Wanted to be nonchalant, did ya?" asked Blaise, theatrically wiping the tears. "There are other ways to impress a girl rather than acting nonchalant."
"Impress a girl?" Draco snorted.
Blaise and Theo exchanged amused looks.
"Oh, I'm Drahco Malfoy. I'm a big bleach-blonde ferret. Hogwarts was always beneath me. In fact, I wanted to attend Pigfarts – which is on MARS. And I am not interested at all in a powerful woman known as Madame Minister," mocked Blaise, which made Theo absolutely lose it. He accidentally spilt some whisky.
"That's because I'm not," Draco frowned.
Theo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and what was that, just seconds ago? 'Oh Merlin, I have got to go say hi!'"
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah, it doesn't, except you literally ran her way," smirked Blaise. "Not to mention the news incident. And, you know, staring her way every few seconds just now."
"I don't stare," he said, quickly averting his gaze and shifting it back to his friends, which made them laugh hysterically.
"Would you two stop?" Draco asked angrily.
Blaise and Theo suddenly became very serious.
"You are absolutely right, my friend," claimed Nott. "We will neither mention nor tease you about your undying love to one Hermione Granger. Whom you'd been bullying all the way through school just because you tried to show you were better and that you didn't actually like her."
Blaise burst with laughter again.
"What? I – no, I didn't – you-"
"I think you've broken him," Blaise said, nudging Theo.
"I don't have and have never had feelings for her!" he exclaimed.
"You've got some therapy before you, then," said Blaise, rolling his eyes. "Because apparently, not only are you pushing your feelings away, but you're also fooling yourself! And may I tell you, it's highly unhealthy!"
"Ugh, just because you two idiots are-"
"A couple of the year?" suggested Theo.
"Of the decade?" added Blaise.
"Century?"
"A millennium?!"
"Yeah, either way, we couldn't even compete with you two," smiled Theo triumphantly.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Dear Salazar, save me, I live with idiots."
A/N: Okay, but why do friends always know these things before you do? And yes, an AVPM reference. You'll find a few of them if you know what to look for.