Disclaimer: Nothing.
Chapter 16
Draco awoke bright and early the next morning with a mane of bushy hair in his face. He yawned and a couple of strands went down his throat. Coughing, he startled Hermione who seemed to jump four foot in the air.
"Wha- who's there?" Bleary eyed, she had grabbed her wand from under her pillow and pointed it above Draco who was still lying down.
"Er, Hermione?" He stifled a laugh.
"Draco?" Hermione glanced down to the man who was smirking up at her. "Hmm, why are you lying next to me? Oh my gosh! We didn't … do it did we?" Hermione's voice got higher as she spoke.
Draco shook his head and laughed. "I think you'll find that you came in last night."
Hermione pursed her lips and thought. "Ah yes, sorry. But we didn't …"
"No, we didn't have sex, Hermione." Draco sat up in bed and pushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "Breakfast?"
"If you cook it," Hermione smiled shyly, her brown eyes twinkling.
"You are pretty in the morning, despite your hair."
"What about my hair?" She scowled, picking at it as she got up from the bed to look in the mirror. "It's not that bad."
"Yeah, whatever." Draco rolled his eyes as he glided past her into the kitchen.
"Hey!" Hermione laughed. "Right, I'm just going to have a shower whilst you make the breakfast." She skipped past the kitchen giggling and jumped into the shower.
Draco was smiling the whole time as he made them both scrambled eggs on toast. He really liked that woman; she was so bubbly, smart - occasionally too smart - but that didn't matter. He heard the water turn off just as the toast popped up from the toaster. Buttering, he called out as she slipped across the hallway into her bedroom, clad in a white towel. "Hermione, it's going to be ready in two minutes."
"Okay," She replied, her voice slightly muffled as she rubbed her hair with the towel, before drying it with her wand, as well as her body. Getting dressed, she went back into the kitchen, pulling up her hair just as Draco set the plates down on the table.
"Thank you, Draco." She smiled as she sat down. "Do you want to go to see Daphne today?" She added cautiously.
Draco nodded as he chewed. Swallowing, "Yeah, what's the day today?"
"Sunday. Remember we're going to see my parents on Saturday and then we're going house hunting." Hermione bounced excitedly in her chair.
Draco pulled a face. "Yeah, do you think … will they hate me?"
"No!" Hermione shook her head and smiled. "Of course not! They might be a little wary at first, but I explained that you've changed and they've understood."
Draco smiled, his chest relaxing. They ate the rest of the meal in silence, before Draco excused himself to get ready back at his apartment.
"I'll see you in half an hour then," Hermione kissed him on the cheek as he headed back towards the living room, waving.
Hermione washed the dishes and then went to brush her teeth in the bathroom, slightly apprehensive for what they were going to do that day. After she had got ready, Hermione began to pace the living room, wringing her hands as she did so. Was it right for them to see Daphne today? After the state she was in when she saw Draco and herself, surely it wouldn't help if they both went to see her together…
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Draco stepped out of the fireplace quickly, stopping her in her tracks.
"I'm just – do you think … Draco, I'm not sure if we should go today." Hermione said shrilly, still twisting her fingers nervously.
"What do you mean? Why ever not?" Draco took her hands in his to stop her fidgeting. "We're only going there to apologise, remember. I shouldn't have said all those awful things to her."
"But she'll get so upset when she sees me and you together!" She sighed and grimaced.
"I know, I thought of that too. Look, we won't stay long; she might not even remember the events of yesterday." Draco added weakly. "C'mon, let's go."
Hermione reluctantly took Draco's arm as he apparated them to an alley next to the 'derelict' building of St. Mungo's.
"That was rather risky! What is someone was down here?" Hermione scolded him lightly.
He shrugged. "There wasn't, so it doesn't matter."
Hermione huffed and followed him towards the shop named Purge & Dowse Ltd. They both leant in towards the window and stepped through, checking to see if any Muggle was watching. Once inside, Hermione had a billion and one memories flood back to her: Arthur Weasley bitten by Nagini, Professor Lockhart, Neville's parents … not to mention all the casualties she had visited after the war had ended. It was painful to remember, and she forced to herself to concentrate on Draco's warm hand in hers, and the bustle of Healers as they rushed back and forth. They immediately headed towards the lift, knowing to go up to the fifth floor where Daphne resided. They both stood silently in the lift, a couple of witches giving them odd glances at their clasped hands, and finally stepped out when they arrived at the floor. Draco gave Hermione a reassuring smile as they headed towards the double doors at the end of the clean corridor, their footsteps echoing loudly on the polished wood flooring. Draco gently opened the door and a Healer in a lime-green robe greeted them with a smile.
"How can I help you?" The woman asked, her greying hair pulled back into a tight bun which uncannily resembled Professor McGonagall's.
The last time Hermione was here, was when she had seen her second year professor – Gilderoy Lockhart – and Neville's parents whom he had been visiting at the time. She glanced over to the bed where her old professor had once lain; nearly nine years had passed since his memory jinx had backfired on him, and the Healers had decided that his memory was much better. Not quite as good, but good enough for him to be released from St Mungo's and to live independently again. Unfortunately, having his memory back meant that he was on most covers of Witch Weekly again (when pictures of Hermione and Draco weren't covering every inch). She didn't look over to the corner where she knew Frank and Alice Longbottom were still residing – it was painful for her to remember Neville's anguished face and she felt a sudden, deep pang of sadness for the now Herbology professor at Hogwarts.
"We've come to see Daphne. Daphne Greengrass." Draco murmured quietly to the Healer.
The witch nodded and pointed towards a bed just to the right of the door. "She's just there."
Draco muttered his thanks and he and Hermione headed over to Daphne, where she was lying on the bed staring forlornly up at the ceiling.
"Hello, Daphne." Draco greeted gently as he sat down on a brown chair. She merely glanced at him, pursed her lips at Hermione, before turning back to glare at the ceiling.
"I've come to apologise for my incredibly rude behaviour towards you, yesterday." Draco stared at his hands and Hermione placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Daphne pulled a face. "I'll accept your apology when you ditch that Mudblood."
Hermione felt Draco's body tense under her hand and he opened his mouth to retort angrily – his face slightly pink – but closed it again, shuddering as he took a deep breath to keep himself from shouting.
"Please don't use that word." He asked weakly. "And it's not going to happen, Daphne. I'm staying with Hermione."
Daphne hissed under her breath and Hermione sensed she was getting riled. Really riled. "Well then. Leave."
Draco stood up. "Goodbye, Daphne." He turned away from the bed and went back out into the corridor to wait for Hermione.
Hermione stared at the young woman as she determinedly avoided eye contact. "Goodbye." She left the ward quietly, nodding her thanks to the Healer, and then joined Draco outside in the corridor. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, a sour expression on his face. "We're not going back. Not again."
Hermione took his hand again as they walked towards the lift. "It's so hard to comprehend that she's not mentally right, but she seems normal when she talks to you."
Draco didn't say anything as they entered the lift.
"Sorry. Let's change the subject. Would you like to go to lunch at the Three Broomsticks?"
--
Hermione awoke on the following Saturday morning with an air of excitement. She bounded out of bed and into the shower, her head buzzing at the plan of the day. Draco was going to arrive at her flat in an hours time, where they would then go to her parents for lunch. At three o'clock, Hermione had booked an appointment with the estate agents to go to Kew to go house hunting. Of course, Draco would come with her. As if he wouldn't!
Donning a towel, Hermione wandered into the kitchen to make herself some toast. Whilst that was being done, Hermione dried herself and got dressed and went back into the kitchen, a bounce still in her step. Whilst she was munching on her toast, she heard the floo burst into flames and a cough as someone stepped out. Frowning, she got up from the table and cautiously went into her living room, drawing her wand out.
"Oh, it's you."
"Yes, it's me." Ron scowled. "Harry told me last night that Malfoy is his second best man."
"I know." Hermione lowered her wand. "Harry told me a couple of weeks ago."
"What?" Ron said outraged. "How come?"
"Because I questioned him about it, Ron, it's no big deal." Hermione sighed, thinking she wouldn't be able to cope if Ron got into another one of his outbursts. "Remember, this is Harry and Ginny's day and if Harry wants Draco as his second best man, so be it. You can't do anything about it."
"I know, I know." Ron said tiredly, which surprised Hermione as she thought he would storm off. "Does anyone else, apart from you, know?"
"I don't think so." Hermione said slowly. "I'm not sure if he's even told Ginny yet. I expect he will, but I know he's planning on keeping it fairly low key. The wedding's going to be a massive thing in the press, and Harry doesn't want it made even bigger by them finding out that Draco is his second best man."
Ron nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Okay, I know you're busy today so I'll let you get on with things. See you later!"
"Thank you, Ron, for accepting this so well." Hermione called out just as he left with a crooked smile on his face.
Pleased that the beginning of her day was going well, Hermione quickly finished off her toast and got washed before gathering a couple of things she needed for that afternoon. She was humming to herself as she washed the dishes and then screamed as a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders.
"Hello, Hermione," Draco whispered in her ear, laughing slightly.
"You gave me such a fright!" Hermione whipped around and pouted, flicking soap suds at Draco's chest. "I didn't even hear you arrive!"
"That's because I'm so clever." He smirked and wiped away the bubbles. "Are you done staring at me so gormlessly?"
Hermione poked out her tongue before drying her hands and grabbing her bag. "Right, let's go to meet my parents!"
Draco groaned loudly. "Joking," He flashed a smile when he caught Hermione's expression. "What are their names again?"
"Isabelle and James. Don't forget!" Hermione laughed as she held at her arm for Draco to take.
"I won't. I'm good with names." He pecked her on the cheek as she turned on the spot.
They arrived in the shed in the Granger's back garden in Chelsea, surrounded by garden tools, old paint, a wheelbarrow and even an old television.
"What in Merlin's pants is all this?" Draco gazed around in wonder in the dim light coming through the shed window at all the objects.
"I'll explain later. It's lucky we didn't land in the wheelbarrow or compost." She added with a mutter.
"What are they?" Draco asked cheerfully, as they both stepped out into the April sunlight.
"I'll explain later!" Hermione repeated, taking his hands. "We'll go round to the front and pretend we arrived from the 'normal' way."
Draco nodded dumbly and let Hermione drag him round the side of the large detached home and up a couple of white steps to knock on a large, black front door.
Draco had to admit that Hermione's parents' house looked stunning. And that was just the outside. The black door was framed by two large, white pillars and there was a balcony above the door which, he guessed, was a bedroom. The walls were made of white stone on the ground floor, but the other two stories were a pale brown. He really liked their house.
The door opened and a petite, brown-haired woman greeted Hermione with a warm smile and a hug. She smiled at Draco and shook his hand before gesturing them into their home.
"Hi mum, this is Draco Malfoy. Where's dad?" Hermione peered around her slim mother through an arch which led into a tastefully decorated living room.
"He's just coming back from the shops to get some wine. Come into the kitchen, dears." Her mother smiled again and she bustled past the sweeping stairs and into the spacious kitchen.
"Excuse me for saying, Mrs Granger, but your house is simply stunning." Draco gazed around in wonder at some of the strange appliances on the counter-top.
"Oh, thank you, Draco. And please call me Isabelle." She opened the oven to check the food. "It should be done in an hour, Hermione. Take Draco into the living room; your father should be arriving any moment now."
Hermione rolled her eyes and marched back down the hallway and to the living room, taking off her coat as she did so. "Just leave it on the banister." She called over her shoulder to Draco who was holding his own jacket, unsure of where to put it.
He put it neatly on top of Hermione's and joined her on the sofa. "Your mother seems nice."
"Yeah, but I bet you can see where I get my bossiness from, though." Hermione giggled as Draco nodded furiously.
He was about to reply when the front door opened and a tall, smiley, brown-haired man entered the Granger household. "Isi, I'm back! Is Hermione here yet with her hubby?"
Hermione shook her head embarrassed as Draco chuckled beside her. "Dad, we're here."
James Granger turned to see his daughter blushing next to a handsome young man. "Hermione! We haven't seen you for a while! And you must be Draco." He turned to Draco who had stood up and was nervously shaking his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Granger, you have a lovely home." Draco smiled hesitantly.
"Oh, don't bother with all those formalities. Call me James, and my wife Isi." James laughed loudly.
"Have you got the wine, love?" Isabelle appeared at the entrance to the living room holding four wine glasses.
"Ah yes, it's in the bag." James went over to retrieve the plastic bag by the foot of the stairs from where he had set it down a minute before. "I hope you like red?"
The rest of the morning and afternoon went by fairly quickly for both Hermione and Draco. It took a while for Draco to relax and to start opening up well, but after a couple of encouraging glances from Hermione and little squeezes on his hands, he found that he really liked Isabelle and James – him, especially – and he enjoyed his lunch there immensely.
It was two o'clock and Hermione and Isabelle were clearing up the plates when James beckoned him into the living room again, leaving the hustle and bustle of the kitchen behind them.
Draco swallowed nervously as James gestured for Draco to sit in a comfortable armchair opposite himself. Here comes The Talk.
"Draco," James began, frowning slightly. "I've heard a lot about you and not all of them have been good things. My daughter has urged to both of us that you have changed, and this morning, I set myself the task of seeing if she was correct." He paused.
Draco remained impassive as James carried on. "I believe that she is. But, if you ever do anything to upset her, to cause her pain, to hurt her in any way, shape or form, I swear on my life that I will make sure she never sees you again."
"Yes, sir." Draco answered. He knew that James was referring to Hermione's
Relationship with Barnabus Gaunt, and even perhaps Ronald Weasley.
"Do I have your word?" James asked seriously. He hadn't raised his voice but had managed to stay very calm.
"Of course, sir, I promise. I would never hurt Hermione." Draco answered truthfully.
"Good," James coughed and stood up. "Fancy a drink?"
"A small one, thank you. I trust you know what Hermione and I are doing this afternoon?"
James nodded as he led them into the kitchen where Hermione and her mother were chatting animatedly. "House hunting, eh? Kew is expensive, Hermione, are you sure you don't want us to lend you some money if you find somewhere?"
Hermione shook her head as she dried her hands. "I'm sure, dad, thank you though."
"Well, we're here if you need us, love." Her mother said gently, touching her am.
Draco suddenly felt awkward being around Hermione's family. His family had never been so warm towards each other like hers. Yes, he and his parents had gotten closer after the war, but that was only after realising how much love they had for each other. It didn't mean they were going to suddenly hug him at every chance. He sighed inwardly and checked the clock. It was almost half past two.
Hermione watched Draco glance worriedly at the clock and she announced they were leaving. "Thanks mum, dad, for a wonderful lunch but we have be at the first apartment in half an hour." She hugged her mother and father.
"I hope you find somewhere! I worry about you living in Vauxhall." Isabelle drew back concerned.
Hermione rolled her eyes towards Draco who smothered a smile. "It's fine mum!"
"Leave her be, Isi, she's a grown woman." James frowned towards his wife who grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, goodbye Draco. It was good to finally meet you."
The men exchanged handshakes and Isabelle even hugged Draco much to his surprise. James took them to the banister where he handed them both their coats.
"Thank you very much, Mr and Mrs Granger." Draco nodded his head in thanks as he and Hermione stepped out of the front door.
Hermione's parents waved as they shut the door and Draco took Hermione's hand as they walked down the quiet road. "Your parents are lovely. Where are we going, by the way?"
"To the bus stop." Hermione grinned devilishly. "You can have a taste of Muggle public transport."
"Aw, no way!" Draco groaned. "It's so slow!"
Hermione shrugged and swung their hands as they walked along. "It's safer though. If someone sees us … we're screwed. Anyway, did my dad give you a lecture earlier?"
Draco nodded. "He had every right to, though."
"Why?" Hermione asked quietly.
"After everything I had done during school. And your past … relationships." Draco added staring at the ground.
"Listen, Draco, you were young, immature and you were only doing what you had been brought up to do! And as for the second thing," A dark expression covered her face. "All I can say that I'm trying to forget about it and so should you."
A sad smile crept up on his face. "I was still a total bastard towards you. It doesn't change anything and it's no excuse."
Hermione groaned in frustration. "Look! This all happened over seven years ago! I don't care about it; Harry doesn't; Ron – I don't know – Ginny doesn't; hell, my parents don't either! Leave it in the past, Draco."
He seemed a little shocked by her outburst and mumbled an "Okay."
They walked in silence and Hermione could see the bus station appearing at the end of her parent's road.
"Hermione, I'm best man for Harry's wedding." Draco said out of the blue.
She squealed with happiness and hugged him. "I'm so pleased, Draco! But, I do have to tell you … I already knew." Hermione said, ashamed that she had ruined Draco's announcement to her.
"Really?" He didn't seem angry – only surprised. "He told you then? Oh well."
"Well, I kind of guessed really, but it doesn't matter! Oh, Draco, I'm so glad he picked you." She squeezed his hand. "See! It proves my earlier point of how no one cares about what happened before the war!"
"Fine, you win." Draco grinned and kissed Hermione on the cheek. "Are we nearly there?"
In two minutes, Hermione and Draco arrived at the bus stop just in time for a bus to arrive with a squeak of brakes. "I'll do the talking." She murmured in Draco's ear as they stepped up to the driver.
"Two adults please," Hermione said, taking out her purse.
"Two pounds sixty." The driver said in a bored tone as he printed out the fares.
"Thank you," Hermione led Draco to some seats near the back.
Draco was scowling as he sat down next to Hermione. "It smells and it's dirty in here. And that man was rude."
Hermione laughed.
"It's true! He didn't even say please!" Draco was outraged. "Can I jinx him?"
"Shh!" Hermione whispered as a woman gave them a strange look. "Don't worry about it. We'll be in Kew in about ten minutes."
Draco fell into a sulky silence and Hermione ignored him, smiling slightly.
The bus journey was bumpy and uncomfortable for Draco. He didn't like it one bit and when they finally got off, he was extremely happy. "Where now?"
"We walk." Hermione took his hand again and they travelled in silence to a beautiful Victorian house. "It's been converted into flats."
"This is going to be pricey, I can just tell." Draco glanced at Hermione who fidgeted nervously.
"I know, and that's why I've been saving for three years."
"Three years? Wow," Draco was impressed. "How much do you have?"
Hermione mumbled something.
"What?" Draco asked, chuckling at her embarrassment.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand. And it's in pounds, so it works out at about seventy thousand galleons." Hermione said slightly louder.
Draco whistled. "That's a lot. Well, how much is this property?"
"Three hundred and twenty-five. I really liked the look of it. It seemed very 'me' from the pictures." She spotted a man in a suit coming out of a car holding a couple of papers. "Ah, here's the property guy."
Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist protectively. He didn't like the look of the man with his slicked back hair, and shiny shoes. It annoyed him.
"Please follow me," he was well-spoken and he headed towards the front door of the building. "As you can see, there is off-road parking so you needn't worry about finding a space on the road outside."
Hermione nodded and stepped inside the old, converted house. Draco followed the man and Hermione up some wrought iron stairs. They stopped at the second floor and the man unlocked the flat door.
Hermione gasped as she went in. The door led straight onto the living room and in the far corner, a fairly large kitchen sat. The floor was old but polished and a thick wooden, white door led into a beautifully furnished bedroom.
"How many bedrooms is it?" Draco asked, looking around the flat. There was also a small breakfast table next to the kitchen counter.
The man gave him a withering look and then turned to Hermione to answer the question. "There is one master bedroom and a smaller guest room."
"So, there are two," Draco asked coldly, raising an eyebrow at the estate agent
"A master bedroom and a guest room," he repeated to Hermione. Draco opened his mouth to argue but Hermione placed a restraining hand on his arm.
"Where's the bathroom?" She asked, searching for another door.
The man took them towards the back end of the flat near the kitchen, where he showed them another door. Hermione opened it and beamed when she saw the bath. "I love baths like these!"
Draco peered over her shoulder and saw the claw-foot tub against the right wall with a sink set into counters on the left, a large mirror stretching over the whole wall. "That is rather nice."
"Nice?" Hermione turned to face him, her face glowing with happiness. "Draco, I love it! I'll take it!"
"You're buying the flat because it has a nice bath?" Draco raised his eyebrow again.
"No, silly, the flat is simply delightful. I don't care about the other properties. I love this one." She said to the estate agent.
"Well, you'll have to place an offer then we'll need to sort out the mortgage. I'll contact the sellers this afternoon. Are you sure you would like to buy this property?"
Hermione nodded her head vigorously. "Definitely. Can you put the offer in for the asking price? I'll do anything for this place." She added, gazing around the flat again.
The estate agent nodded. "Are you finished? Or would you like to look around once more?"
"No, we're done, right?" Hermione asked Draco who nodded. He was still staring at the man with contempt.
--
Hermione moved into her new flat a week before the wedding. She had just sold her flat in Vauxhall to a newly married couple who were desperately looking for a place to live. She could have got a slightly better price, but she didn't care; she now had a beautiful flat in Kew!
Draco, Ginny, Pansy, Harry and Ron all helped her move her things and surprisingly, Ron and Draco had a perfectly civil conversation about best man speeches (Harry had told Ginny the idea the week before).
"Hey, Gin, Hen night tonight!" Pansy said clapping her hands as they had lunch on the Friday before the wedding.
"I know! I'm excited but I'm worried about Harry. What do you think they'll do tonight at the Stag party?" Ginny pulled a face and picked at her salad.
"They won't do anything too silly," Hermione giggled. "He'll be perfectly sober by Sunday anyway."
"Sunday!" Ginny paled. "I'm so scared. I don't want to do it anymore!"
"Ginevra Molly Weasley. I cannot believe you just said that." Pansy poked her friend in the shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about, seriously. It's going to be the best day of your life!"
Ginny gave a watery smile. "I keep going through all the things in my head like, if the Marquee's all ready and if I said to set it up at The Burrow! I'm so worried!"
"Fleur's gone through it all with you, Gin, please don't fret about it." Hermione took her hand from across the table and held it. "It's going to be fine. Let Fleur do the worrying. Just think about tonight!"
"Yeah, what are we doing?" Ginny asked innocently.
"Nice try, but you're not getting it out of us." Pansy winked. "Are Luna and Olivia still coming?"
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, of course. Lavender even dropped a hint about it tonight but I'm still not inviting my boss to my Hen night. Anyway, she's a bitch. Enough said."
The three girls laughed and continued with their lunch without any worried outbursts from Ginny.
Hermione went back to her shop and chatted with Olivia about the upcoming evening. "What are you going to wear?"
"I'm not really sure," Olivia admitted. "Nothing too revealing; I don't want anything bad to happen which may involve other men. I could never do that to Blaise."
Hermione nodded. "Same. I think I might just wear the dress I wore to that party ages ago. Not the Christmas ball, but this thing which Ginny and Luna dragged me to."
"Ah yes, I remember. And you were all grumpy the next morning." Olivia grinned as Hermione pouted.
"I was not."
"You were." She smiled and laughed. "What's the dress like?"
"It's red and comes down just above my knee. Um, the neck isn't too low but it's a v-neck. I don't think it's too bad." Hermione added as an afterthought.
"That sounds nice. I'll wear a blue dress methinks." Olivia got up to attend to a customer which ended their conversation.
Before Hermione knew it, five thirty had arrived and she rushed home back to her new flat where she got ready for the evening. They were going to take Ginny to a smart restaurant in Diagon Alley which she had raved on about, but never had actually gone in, and then to a nightclub.
At quarter to seven, Hermione grabbed her bag and Apparated to the restaurant where they arranged to meet. Pansy had gone back to Ginny's and they were going to arrive together. Hermione was the first to arrive but a couple of minutes later, Luna and then Olivia appeared, both looking very nice, and they chatted until Pansy and Ginny arrived.
"Ooh, guys! I can't believe this! We're finally going here!" Ginny bounced up and down in her heels and almost ran into the restaurant. The girls followed from behind and they were led to a beautiful table where they were attended to almost immediately. They all ordered and the conversation turned to their lovers.
"So, Luna, how's it going with Rolf?" Pansy wiggled her eyebrows.
"Oh, he's very lovely to me." Luna smiled dreamily. "I can't believe we've been married for almost a year now."
"Was it scary?" Ginny almost screamed.
"Yes at first," Luna said truthfully. "But I made sure there were no Wrackspurts around to distract me."
"Ah," Ginny forced herself to have a drink to keep herself from snorting with laughter.
"And Olivia, Blaise treating you well?" Pansy turned to Hermione's colleague who blushed.
"Yeah, he's … fantastic, to be honest with you. I really like him." She mumbled with a shy smile. "What about Ron? And Hermione, Draco seems such a gentleman."
"Ron is … Ron." Pansy laughed loudly. "But I love him. I think I actually love him. Yes, he overreacts, he's messy, but that doesn't matter. He's just the man for me, really."
Ginny's mouth dropped. "You love my brother? EW! Please change the subject."
"Hermione …" Everyone turned to look at her and she turned bright red.
"What do you want to know?" She asked meekly.
"Everything!" Pansy flailed her arms about almost knocking Ginny's wine glass out of her hand.
"Well," Hermione began, thinking about her relationship with Draco. "Our relationship is less physical … we talk loads about everything and I love that. I love the fact that I can talk to him about anything and everything – like I can with you guys - without feeling ashamed. I guess he's my best friend as well as being my boyfriend and I'm ecstatic at that."
She finished and Pansy whistled. "You know, that's amazing. Never have I heard someone talk about Draco like that."
Hermione blushed. "I really like him. Like really, really."
Ginny and Pansy squealed, Olivia clapped and Luna just hummed appreciatively.
"Calm down, guys." Hermione laughed embarrassed. "Food's here!"
The subject changed and the next two hours was spent eating delicious food and chatting about pointless subjects. When they finally paid the bill, it was half past ten and they still had to go to the wizarding night club.
They all Apparated to the busiest nightclub known to wizards, and they managed to get in after stressing to the bouncers who they all were.
The night passed away with fun and laughter and no unfortunate events, although Olivia did manage to spill two drinks down her dress. At half past two, Hermione and Luna decided to call it a night after seeing Pansy and Olivia both fall over after standing up for a minute.
Hermione dragged Pansy and Ginny outside before Apparating them to Pansy's flat. She then went back to find Olivia who was slumped over Luna's shoulder.
"You alright there?" Hermione's head was pounding and the music was blaring loudly.
Luna smiled and then pushed Olivia to her feet. Hermione nodded her thanks, managed to kiss Luna goodbye and then Apparate them both back to her flat. There, she lay Olivia down on the bed in the second bedroom before collapsing onto her own.
So sorry for the really late update!!! Ahh, silly revision; so boring! Anyway, I hope you liked it. Thank you GiantInflatableWalrus!