* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 92: Jurassic Dragons

* ~ December 2000 ~ 7 Months Later ~ *

12 Grimmauld Place

"Are you bringing your work home with you again?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she dropped a stack of files onto the kitchen table, "And you weren't doing the same last night when you brought home a case file full of disgusting pictures?"

"Firstly, that's not my case. I was just having a look for Rob because Sam and Mitch asked for his advice. Also, I did tell you not to look in it," Draco pointed out as he spooned some food into a bowl in front of her.

"There were decapitated bodies, Draco!"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Draco said matter of factly, "They call him the Decapitator for a reason, love. Now, if I were you, I would stop thinking about that because I've made tomato and sausage hotpot for dinner."

Hermione shook her head in amusement as she sat down across the table from him, "I'm not as squeamish as you think I am. And I'm sorry, but I do have to work tonight. I've been approving contracts all day long, and I still have three to get through."

"What department has sent you a stack this time?" Draco asked curiously. He knew it was part of Hermione's job to approve or deny contracts for developments within the wizarding world. She had to assess them for legal loopholes, and if she saw serious flaws, she immediately denied them.

"The DRCMC," Hermione said as she ate a forkful of Draco's hotpot, "And this is delicious, by the way."

Draco smiled slightly, "I'm glad you like it. How many contracts do you need to approve or deny tonight?"

"Three," Hermione admitted, "But the first two are almost definitely going to be denied. I think it will be a case of reading the blurb and then laughing."

"How bad are they?" Draco laughed.

"Well, one is an application for a feeding zoo for unicorns," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "They are far too shy, and it's not fair on them to be ogled by the public, not to mention the fact they are a protected species."

"A definite no," Draco agreed.

Hermione nodded and swallowed another mouthful, "And the other is an application for planning permission. Somebody in the department wants to build an emporium for viewing bloody Acromantula."

"How stupid are those people?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"Very," Hermione said with a shake of her head, "I'm so glad I decided to go into the DMLE. I couldn't handle working with those idiots. Instead, I just have to deny their stupid contracts."

"What's the last one then?" Draco asked curiously, "And do you want some wine? I mean, it is Friday night, and we are getting married in two days. You have remembered that haven't you?"

Hermione shot him a long-suffering look, "No, Draco, I have not forgotten about my own wedding, and I am sorry that I have to work over the weekend."

"I know you are, love. Was it a yes or a no to the wine?"

"I'll have a tiny glass," Hermione conceded.

Draco began to pour the wine, and Hermione continued, "The last one has some promise. It's certainly an interesting idea. A group of people within the DRCMC have just shut down a dragon reserve on this tiny little island out in the Atlantic. They are trying to think of new uses for it, and so far, I've turned down about six applications for stupid things like a Quidditch centre. I mean, who's going to go all the way out there every summer for Quidditch training?"

"It would be pointless and expensive," Draco agreed, "Have none of the applications made sense?"

"You know, I shouldn't actually be telling you about this. It's classified," Hermione said as she grabbed the file and opened it. She swallowed her mouthful as she did so.

"And my security clearance is higher than yours," Draco pointed out.

"Still, Draco," Hermione said with a pointed look, "If I tell you about this file, you can't tell anyone else about it, not even Harry or Neville."

"But I can tell Theo?"

"I don't even bother telling you not to tell Theo things anymore," Hermione muttered, "This is like a four-way marriage. Everyone tells everyone everything even when they don't want to hear about it."

Draco grinned, "Are you still grossed out by that 'how do I tell Sadie she's still hot after having twins' chat you had with Theo last week?"

"I should not have to tell him how to tell his wife that she's hot!" Hermione exclaimed.

Draco snorted in amusement, "Yes, but this is Theo we're talking about. Now come on, I'm dying to know. What are they doing on the island?"

"Well," Hermione said, "The dragons on the island were really rare, and it shut down when a fight between the final two made them extinct. This application wants to re-open the reserve as a sort of tourist attraction. They want to use magic to modify the remains to effectively re-birth the dragons genetically-"

Draco had been gradually looking more and more sceptical as Hermione went on, but at this point, he shook his head and interrupted her, "- no way, there is no way you can approve that contract."

"Why not?" Hermione asked with a frown, "I think I know more about dragons than you do!"

"Yeah, maybe you do, but have you ever seen Jurassic Park?"

"No," Hermione said as her frown deepened, "How have you seen it, exactly?"

"I saw a re-run at the cinema with Harry and Neville after the second film came out," Draco said offhandedly, "But the point is, you cannot approve that contract."

"But-"

"No, Hermione, I am putting my foot down!" Draco said firmly, "You cannot approve that contract!"

"Draco, you do not get to tell me what to do with my work-"

"- yes, I do!" Draco said as he glared at her, he grabbed the file and pulled it out of her reach, then put a large "X" in the box for approval, "You are denying that contract!"

"Draco!" Hermione shouted angrily, "You have yet to give me a valid excuse, and I have to sign that to make it official!"

"You want a valid excuse?" Draco asked in disbelief, "How about the fact that the original creatures died out for a reason? That reason being that they made each other extinct! You can't train them, and you definitely can't put them near humans, fucking hell Hermione they eat humans!"

"But with viewing platforms and containment charms-"

"What happens when the containment charms collapse? Dragons are huge, especially the rare, dangerous ones! They were confined to that island for a reason, and the second they smash into the dome of the containment charm, it will break, and people will die," Draco said firmly, "You have to sign that contract, Hermione, there is no way that can happen."

"Alright," Hermione sighed. She grabbed the contract from her fiancé and scrawled her signature across it, "Happy now?"

Draco nodded and topped up her wine glass, "Yes, and when I show you the film, you will thank me, I swear."

"I'll take your word for it," Hermione said a little grumpily, "But there better be a bloody good dessert."

"Black forest gateau," Draco smirked.

Hermione cheered up a little at this, "Honestly, who would have thought that we would be here? Two days before our wedding, and you, the pureblooded idiot who I met in first year, would be lecturing me about muggle movies."

"Hey, a lot can change in 9 years," Draco said with a smile.

"Why have we been called in at this ridiculous hour on a Saturday?" Theo yawned irritably.

"Because our serial killer killed three more people overnight," Rob said dryly.

"He's not our serial killer," Elizabeth pointed out.

"He's the whole departments serial killer, Liz," Rob said as he rubbed his eyes, "He's killed 11 people."

"Rob has a point," John said as he appeared in the doorway, "The whole department is on this guy, Liz. Everyone is chasing leads and running background checks. He's getting out of control."

Elizabeth nodded, "So, this is our priority now?"

John nodded too, "Deal with any emergencies relating to your own department but beyond that, catching this guy is the whole department's focus."

Rob bowed his head, "Got it, Shep."

John left and moved on to the next office, probably to give them the same brief.

Draco sighed and threw himself into a chair, "How are we going to catch this bastard? Because I get married tomorrow, and if he's still at large, nobody is going to be at my wedding since my best man, groomsmen and pretty much all my friends work in this bloody department!"

"Clocks ticking then," Rob said as he conjured up a murder board.

"Can't have the Princesses wedding day getting ruined," Theo agreed, clapping his friend on the back.

Draco sighed, "Yeah, we really can't. She's already not in the best of moods with me at the moment."

Theo yawned again and asked, "What did you do?"

"I forced her to deny a contract she wanted to approve," Draco admitted.

Harry scoffed, "Why?"

"And how did you persuade her?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, the princess isn't exactly the easiest person to convince to do anything," Theo added.

"Well, I do kind of have leverage," Draco smirked, "It involved a black forest gateau and a promise of morning sex which she is not going to be happy that I didn't deliver on, by the way."

"Serial killers don't wait for you to get laid," Rob snorted.

Harry chuckled, "What was the contract anyway? I mean, why would you care so much?"

"Some idiots in the DRCMC wanted to open up a tourist attraction on that island. You know the one where those rare dragons went extinct?" Draco asked.

The others nodded, and Draco continued, "They wanted to use magic to genetically modify the dragons and bring them back to life, then open it for bloody tourists. She thought the idea was intriguing, and she was thinking about approving it."

"Seriously? Has she not seen Jurassic Park?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"Apparently not," Draco replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I mean, at what point do you decide it's a good idea to mess around with nature?" Harry asked with a shake of his head, "Look how that went for John Hammond!"

"I know!" Draco exclaimed, "Alan Grant had the right idea saying it was a mistake to try and bring extinct animals back to life!"

"But life finds a way," Neville shrugged.

Rob looked at Elizabeth in exasperation, "How are these guys expected to help catch a serial killer, Liz?"

"Well, two of them did fight a Dark Lord," Elizabeth said with a smile.

Rob snorted, "Yeah, and they never bring that one up," he joked

He and Elizabeth were on much better terms these days. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that Rob was actually in a serious relationship with Jennifer. He had survived telling Elizabeth miraculously, and they had a great working relationship now, minus the flirting.

"They have a point, though," Elizabeth said, "A tourist resort revolving around dragons is a bad idea."

"It's a terrible idea," Rob agreed, "We'll do a double date to a muggle cinema some time, and I'll show you the movie Jurassic Park, then you'll get it."

Oblivious to their bosses, the Junior Aurors were still discussing the plot of the movie.

"Animals become extinct for a reason, normally because they kill each other until none are left," Neville agreed, "Why would anyone think bringing them back from the dead and making them a tourist attraction is a good idea? Nobody wants to go to a petting zoo for Acromantula after all!"

"Funny you should say that because I'm pretty sure that's one of the other ones she disapproved," Draco snorted.

"Are you supposed to be telling us this?" Theo asked in amusement, "Didn't she have to sign a disclosure agreement or something? And also, who the fuck are John Hammond and Alan Grant?"

"Characters in an epic movie," Rob cut in, "Now if you eejits are quite finished talking about it. Can we get to catching this serial killer? Because I quite fancy making an arse out of myself and drinking all the free booze at pretty boys wedding tomorrow."

Draco usually rolled his eyes at the nickname, but this time he wholeheartedly agreed.

"Hey, Lil! How was your refresher course in France?"

"Boring, same as always. How is England?" Lilly asked as she pottered about in the kitchen of Longbottom house.

"Well, it has been rainy, snow in the highlands as always. Oh, and there was a bitch of a serial killer running wild," Neville said.

"Ah, the Decapitator?" Lilly asked as she pulled two bottles of cider from the fridge.

"Well, the Decapitator has been decapitated," Neville said as he sat down heavily on the sofa and accepted the cider that Lilly was holding out for him.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Lilly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He had killed 11 people. We were authorised to use whatever force deemed necessary," Neville sighed, "Also, we were on the clock because we weren't going to let him ruin Draco's wedding."

Lilly rolled her eyes, "You killed a serial killer so that Draco's wedding wasn't ruined?"

"Well, no, we killed a serial killer because he was a serial killer," Neville said matter of factly. "I personally didn't kill him; Draco did. He thought it was poetic."

Lilly scoffed, "He would. What did you think?"

"Honestly," Neville said with a frown, "He would have escaped at some point and killed more people. I doubt we would even have got him through the court trial before he escaped…."

"So you agree?"

"I agree that killing him was the right thing to do, for the greater good," Neville nodded, "But I think decapitating him was a little bit dramatic."

"If it was Draco's idea then, of course, it was dramatic," Lilly said as she rolled her eyes and sat down next to her fiancé on the sofa, "What did he decapitate him with?"

"Dark magic," Neville said with a roll of his eyes, "At least he didn't use a sword because then I'd have been pissed off. That's kind of my signature weapon."

Lilly snorted, "Why did he decapitate him? Don't you guys just save kids in CPS? I thought there were big hot shots in Homicide and Vice to do all the killing and decapitating."

"There are, but because we wanted to catch him and save Draco's wedding, we got there first," Neville replied, "And Harry being Harry was too busy trying to disarm him to do anything useful."

"Harry was being Harry because he doesn't believe in using force unless absolutely necessary," Lilly cut in.

"I know," Neville said honestly, "Either way, I was duelling with Harry. Theo got knocked out because he's Theo, so Draco decapitated him."

"Are you really okay with it?"

"It's over now, and there's one less murderer in the world," Neville said with a shrug, "The families of all the victims have closure, so, on balance, I'm okay with it."

"Alright," Lilly conceded.

"And speaking of Draco, he did do some good yesterday," Neville yawned.

"Oh yeah, what did he do?" Lilly asked curiously.

"He stopped Hermione from approving a contract to re-open that dragon reserve on the island out in the Atlantic," Neville said with a wave of his hand.

"And why is that a bad thing?" Lilly asked curiously, "I mean, the dragons there went extinct, but it's a good environment for other species to live in, such as-"

"- exactly," Neville cut in, "But they didn't want to import other species of dragons onto the island. They wanted to genetically modify the DNA of the extinct dragons using magic, and to make things worse; they wanted to make it into a tourist attraction."

"And Hermione was actually considering approving it?" Lilly asked in disbelief, "I mean, has she seen Jurassic Park?"

Neville laughed out loud, "That is exactly what I said."

"We have to remedy that," Lilly laughed.

"Hey, Hermione!"

Hermione smiled at Lilly as she stepped into her kitchen, "Hey Lil! How was your course?"

"Dull," Lilly said with a smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Hermione said with a nervous smile.

"Really?" Lilly asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "Because you're getting married tomorrow."

"I know, I can't quite believe it's come around this fast," Hermione laughed, "I don't know how I'm going to get any sleep tonight."

"I was sorting hoping you would be feeling like that," Lilly said with a grin, "Because we've arranged a little get together to keep your mind off of the nerves."

"A get-together?" Hermione queried.

"Yeah," Lilly said with a smirk, "Just you if you're being traditional and not seeing Draco tonight. But if he's here, then he can come too."

"She's not traditional," Draco said, stepping into the kitchen in a dressing gown.

"Good," Lilly said cheerfully, "Get dressed and head over to Longbottom House. It's not like you have anything else to work on. You guys don't have a case at the moment."

"Why do I get the feeling that you disagree with my treatment of the Decapitator?" Draco asked Lilly with a roll of his eyes.

"Because you decapitated him with dark magic," Hermione said irritably, "I disagree with your treatment of him too!"

"He killed 11 people!" Draco remarked.

"I know, and I get your logic in killing him," Lilly admitted, "And so does Neville. But decapitating him was unnecessary."

Draco opened his mouth to object.

"You can't just use Sectumsempra to decapitate him to make it your signature spell, just because Harry has Expelliarmus," Lilly said, crossing her arms and staring him down.

"Yeah, but my godfather invented it!" Draco objected.

"And? Your godfather was a dick!" Lilly pointed out.

Draco frowned, "But…Hermione?"

"Sorry, Draco," Hermione said sheepishly, "But Snape was kind of a dick. I mean, I know he betrayed Voldemort and everything, and technically he did keep Harry alive, but he did it for all the wrong reasons. I mean, if you look at the life choices he made, then consider that he made them all because the girl he had a creepy, obsessive crush on died…you know?"

Draco sighed, "Yeah…I mean…when you put it like that."

Lilly shrugged, "The truth hurts Draco. Maybe just have a little think about your own life choices though? Decapitating people in your first year as an Auror…it's a slippery road."

"I've already had all of this from Harry and Hermione, probably worse from Harry actually because he was all like, Draco, don't you remember what that spell did to you? How could you use it on someone else? I thought you were better than this. I'm just bloody disappointed in you," Draco said with a pointed look. He then rolled his eyes.

"Well, your Harry Potter impression is on point," Lilly remarked sarcastically.

Draco shot her a long-suffering look, "I know it wasn't necessary, but the sick bastard deserved it, and nobody else is prepared to admit it apart from Theo and me."

"Theo would say the earth was flat if you said so," Hermione retorted, "So I wouldn't think that counts for much!"

Lilly grimaced, "Okay, so you two are clearly having a bit of a domestic here, which is not ideal considering you're meant to be getting married tomorrow."

"We're not having a domestic," Hermione said with a sigh, "I just want him to admit that he acted rashly because he wanted the Decapitator removed from the picture so he wouldn't ruin our wedding."

Draco sighed too, "Fine. I acted rashly and without thinking, like a Gryffindor, because I didn't want anything to ruin your perfect day tomorrow. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Hermione smiled at him, "Yes, it was, thank you. That was very sweet of you but also wrong and morbid."

Lilly snorted, "This is a weird conversation, and I am so glad I'm not marrying a Slytherin. But I'll see you guys in half an hour at Longbottom House, okay?"

Hermione nodded, "Of course, Lil, we'll be there."

"Great!" Lilly said with a smile, "See you guys soon,….and Hermione?"

"Uh-huh," Hermione said, somewhat distractedly.

Lilly smiled slightly, "Don't give Draco too much of a hard time. If anyone deserved that kind of death, it was that sick bastard. He killed 11 people, some of them young girls."

"I know, Lil," Hermione admitted as Lilly disappeared into the fireplace.

When Draco and Hermione arrived at Longbottom House later that night, Lilly answered the door with a slightly mischievous grin, "Hey! Everyone else is here."

Hermione frowned slightly as they stepped into the kitchen/dining area, "I don't see any food or any people."

"That's because all of the food and people are in the cinema," Lilly said, "It's just a buffet, is that okay?"

"That's fine," Hermione said offhandedly, "What are we watching in the cinema?"

"It's a surprise, come on," Lilly said. She could barely contain her smirk as she led them upstairs into the crowded cinema room where all of their friends were already gathered; they were all eating food off of paper plates.

"What are we watching?" Hermione asked again as the movie began to play on the big screen while she and Draco sat down on a comfortable sofa in the front 'row'.

"Well, Hermione, we're educating you," Harry grinned.

"Yeah, we think that you need to know why that dragon reserve in the Atlantic was a bad idea," Neville smirked.

Hermione rolled her eyes at them, "Okay… a. None of you were supposed to know about that because Draco wasn't supposed to tell anyone and, b. You're making me watch Jurassic Park, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are," Harry grinned.

"And wedding day tomorrow or not, we will put a body bind on you if you try to move," Lilly added in amusement.

"The rest of us normal purebloods are just as perplexed as you here, Hermione," Daphne said in amusement, "But Harry thinks it's a travesty that we haven't seen this movie."

"It is a travesty!" Harry exclaimed, "It's one of the coolest films ever made!"

"You'll get our verdict once the movie has finished," Sadie added with a chuckle.

"Deal, by the end of the film, you'll be in love with dinosaurs!" Harry said confidently.

We'll see about that," Daphne said in amusement.

127 MINUTES LATER…

"That film was epic!"

"I told you so!" Harry said as he grinned at his wife.

Hermione was still staring at the screen in shock as the titles ran, "Woah."

"You can say that again," Theo said as he also stared at the screen, "Dinosaurs are so cool!"

"Come on, they aren't that cool. They are pretty similar to dragons," Sadie said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, dragons come in different shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing!" Harry objected, "They just breathe fire and destroy shit."

"But dinosaurs all do different stuff. Some eat meat; some eat plants. Some have tall necks, and some have huge teeth or giant wings or spikes on their back!" Neville added excitedly.

"And some eat humans and destroy shit, just like dragons," Hermione said loudly, effectively breaking into their argument.

She glanced at Draco, who was watching her with interest and said, "Thank Merlin that you stopped me from approving that contract, Draco."

"See, this is why muggle movies are educational," Harry said with a smirk, "If it wasn't for Jurassic Park, you would have created an insanely dangerous tourist attraction, and you would have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of people."

"I think that's a bit dramatic, Harry," Lilly said with a raised eyebrow at her friend.

"Especially when you're saying it to your best friend the night before her wedding," Daphne pointed out, glaring at her husband.

"Okay, so maybe I was a little dramatic, sorry Mione," Harry said sheepishly, "But look what happened in the movie. And that was just when they were testing it to see if it was okay to launch. Imagine what would have happened if they had opened it to the public, and one of the dinosaurs escaped! Tourists would die, children would get eaten!"

"This is why I won't let you show Teddy movies," Daphne said pointedly.

"I wouldn't show him Jurassic Park, not until he is at least 5. I was only going to show him Disney films!"

"5?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "Hermione and Sadie screamed watching that film. You are not showing it to Teddy until he is at least 12!"

"12?" Harry scoffed, "By the time I was 12, I had defeated Voldemort twice and killed a Basilisk!"

"You say that like it should be normal! That is not normal! And Teddy is not you," Daphne exclaimed in disbelief, "He's a safe little boy who doesn't have to grow up in a war and who will not be watching films about dinosaurs or creepy clowns or bloody dolls that come to life until he is at least Hogwarts age!"

"What are you, his mother?" Harry joked.

Daphne just gave him a long-suffering look.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Alright, you win," he said.

At this, Draco made the sound of a whip and smirked at his friend.

"Oh shut up, Drakey," Neville grinned, "That will be you soon."

"You're getting married in the morning," Theo sang.

"Yes, I am aware of that," Draco remarked dryly.

"And I'll make you a deal Daphne," Harry cut in, "I won't show him adult films, but can I show him Disney films? I mean, surely The Lion King is okay."

"The Lion King?" Hermione asked in disbelief, "Simba's father dies in that movie, and Teddy has a dead father! Honestly, Harry, you can't show him that!"

"He's going to have to learn that people die at some point, Hermione," Harry pointed out, "People will ask him about his parents and teaching him about what happened early on is better than lying to him for years and telling him just before he goes to Hogwarts."

Everyone glanced at Daphne. They expected her to argue with Harry about this. She didn't. Instead, she smiled slightly and nodded, "I agree with Harry on this one."

"Really?" Theo asked in surprise.

"Really," Daphne said, "There's no point in building his life into something that it isn't and then taking it away from him. It's cruel, and he will have to accept that his parents are dead one day. It will be easier for him to accept that as a child than as an adult."

"Well, you two sure are good parents," Lilly said with a smile.

Draco nodded his agreement and smiled at his friends, "It takes a great parent to realise that their child has to feel pain sometimes to grow up and to grow as a person."

Harry smiled slightly, but the conversation was getting far too personal for his liking, "Well, as moving at this is, let's move onto the next film. Who wants to watch the second Jurassic Park movie?"

"No!" Draco, Neville and Lilly echoed.

"It's the worst sequel ever!" Draco remarked.

"I don't know if I would say it was the worst ever. Jaws 2 was pretty shit," Neville pointed out.

"And Robocop 2 was a downright failure," Lilly added.

"Not to mention the embarrassment of Grease 2"," Hermione piped up.

"But the greatest of all terrible movie sequels has got to be Speed 2," Harry said, and every muggle-born or pureblood who he had converted to a movie buff nodded their agreement.

"So we're all in agreement then?" Neville asked, "We're definitely not watching the second movie?"

"I will definitely not be watching it," Hermione said as she got to her feet, "I need my beauty sleep for the big day tomorrow."

"So do I," Draco said with a grin.

Theo sniggered, "You still coming to ours to get ready tomorrow morning?"

"Yep, I'll see you bright and early," Draco said, "You better be there too, Harry, and you Neville."

"Why am I always an afterthought? I'm a groomsman too!" Neville objected.

"You're the one he likes least though, sorry baby," Lilly said, patting her fiancé on the back sympathetically.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, "He loves you all equally, but he'll never admit that."

"I don't love any of them," Draco objected, "They are all weirdos, apart from Theo, obviously."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Are you girls still okay to come and get ready at the house tomorrow?"

"Of course we are," Daphne said with a smile, "Are you sure you don't mind having Teddy running around while we're getting ready?"

"Of course I don't. He's part of the family," Hermione said honestly.

"I'll go via Bones Manor and grab Susan," Lilly said with a grin, "She's going to need to be dragged along with her whole, 'I can't go to the wedding cause I'm so fat thing."

Daphne snorted, "She's not fat. She's five months pregnant."

"Try telling Suse that," Hermione laughed, "She's already dropped out of being a bridesmaid because of it. But I know she'll be there, Lil, don't worry. Is Blaise still coming tomorrow, Draco?"

"No, he's still in Korea brokering that big treaty," Draco said, "But it's fine because we always knew there was a chance he wouldn't be back in time, so I had a back-up groomsman in place, and I asked him if he'd step up."

"You…" Hermione trailed off and narrowed her eyes at him, "Who did you ask in his place?"

"Eh…well does it matter?" Draco asked evasively.

"Of course, it matters! How can you even ask me if it matters?" Hermione kicked off.

"Okay, sorry, it does matter," Draco said. He nodded sincerely, "It matters, you're right."

"I know I am!" Hermione exclaimed, "So who did you ask?"

"Well, I asked Rob," Draco answered.

"Rob?"

"Yeah, Rob, you know my boss-"

"I know who Rob is, Draco!" Hermione said irritably.

"Right, so I asked Rob," Draco said, looking at her warily.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What did he say?" Hermione asked.

"He said yes," Draco answered.

"Just yes?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at Draco, "Because I've met Rob, and he very rarely does something he doesn't want to do without conditions."

"Well, there was a condition or two," Draco admitted, "And it involved free alcohol, but it's fine. I've spoken with Harry about it, and if he gets rowdy, he'll kick him out."

Harry nodded sincerely, "It's all under control, Mione."

"But I think your true nerves just started to show through," Sadie said, patting her best friend on the back, "So maybe I should stay with you tonight? Since my mum has the twins for the night, what do you think?"

"Maybe that would be a good idea," Hermione admitted.

"Yeah, maybe the whole tradition of not seeing each other the night before the wedding is a good idea after all," Draco said a little too quickly, "You two can have number 12 since you're getting ready there tomorrow anyway, and I'll crash with Theo in number 11."

Theo nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

"And maybe we should lock the door," Draco whispered.

"I heard that!" Hermione snapped.

Sadie bit her lip in amusement, "You know I love you, Hermione, but you are kind of acting like Bridezilla right now."

"Bridezilla?"

Draco grabbed Theo, "Good luck with that, Sadie! See you tomorrow, love!"

Sadie glared at her husband, but Theo just grinned and said, "She had to put up with nine months of you acting like a crazy bitch Sade. The least you can do is put up with one night of Bridezilla!"

"I hate you," Sadie muttered.

"Love you too, night!" Theo said as he and Draco made a quick escape.

"I'm not being Bridezilla, Sadie. I'm just stressed!"

"Then maybe we should head home and have a nice calming cup of tea?" Sadie suggested, "We can go over every little detail to make sure nothing has been forgotten about. That would make you feel better about tomorrow, right?"

"Right," Hermione said, blowing out a breath, "We'll do that."

Sadie shot Daphne and Lilly an exasperated look as she led Hermione out of the basement.

"Lil, can the four of us and Ted just go to the house in Greece for your wedding?" Daphne asked with a roll of her eyes.

"I would so be on board with that," Lilly chuckled.

"Right now, so would I," Neville agreed in amusement.

* ~ TBC ~ *