CHAPTER 14
September 15th 2001
Hermione Granger stood in her bedroom staring at her reflection in the full length mirror. Tonight was the night of her birthday/engagement party celebration. As she looked over at the woman staring back at her, she could hear her fiance being fussed over in the guest room by his sister.
The curly haired witch wore a long silk white dress that bore a halter neck and tucked well but not too tightly to her body. The material complimented her olive skin tone, and the high neck showed off her relatively toned arms. The only jewelry she had on was her engagement ring, Ginny had said that it would stand out and show off the diamond. Her hair was curled into big waves that trailed down her back.
She barely recognised herself. The thick makeup on her face terrified her of moving in case something smudged.
"Wow…" Ron appeared in the mirror behind her, dressed in his black and white clean cut robes, "You look bloody hot."
"Are you sure?" Hermione doubted herself, smoothing down the dress and tilting her head.
"Positive. I would totally sleep with you." He wrapped his hands around her waist and squeezed her tight, with his chin on his shoulder looking over her in the mirror.
Hermione hated how sexually her fiance turned everything that was meant to be intimate. It made her feel like an object.
"Would you two hurry, for Merlin's sake!" Ginny yelled from the other room.
"I guess we should get this over and done with." Hermione whispered to her fiance.
"Yeah, I'm sick of this already." Ron agreed, holding the small of her back as they walked out of the bedroom.
Ginny stood at the centre of the living room in a pale green dress with crossed arms, tapping her wand against her nonexistent watch.
"We are going to be late." The youngest Weasley snapped, impatient to get to the party before any of the guests.
"We'll be fine you knob." Her brother groaned, annoyed by the ongoing nagging.
"I refuse to let you floo in case any powder gets on your outfits, so we are going to apparate. We've all been there before so, please, no splinching."
Hermione exhaled nervously, hating the idea of being the centre of attention with a room full of hundreds of wizards and witches. She prayed Ginny didn't plan on making her do a speech, because she would need at least nine days to prepare and plan.
"Just think." Ron whispered into her ear, "A couple of hours and it's over."
She knew he meant well, but this was only the beginning for the avalanche of wedding plans. Hermione felt like she was going to throw up. The idea of walking down the aisle with her fiance looking back at her made her feel nauseous.
Hermione just needed to get through tonight, and she can deal with the rest later.
"You ready?" Ron asked, handing out his hand for her to grab.
"Yeah…" She breathed out, taking his hand and closing her eyes.
Draco Malfoy arrived fashionably late to Granger's celebration party. The ballroom he stood in was at the centre of a brightly lit castle he did not recognise. Gathered from what Granger had told him prior, it was a manor that the Daily Prophet had suggested to be large enough to entertain hundreds of people.
They were right.
There was a sea of witches and wizards scattered throughout the hall, all dressed to the highest degree. Draco wore his classic all black robes, not bothering to splurge on a party he would most likely leave early. He counted 4 chandeliers that hung from the roofs, all made from crystals that were way too expensive for Weasley to afford on his own. Trays of drink and food floated throughout the room, as an orchestra played sweet symphonies on a platform stage.
Narcissa Malfoy would have loved being here.
Draco snatched a glass of champagne from one of the trays and swallowed it whole. There was no time wasting here, he needed to be at least a little tipsy to survive the night.
Looking through the crowd he recognised a multitude of people from both work and Hogwarts. Every professor who was not dead or in a mental hospital was here, along with students of his graduating class. Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Luna Lovegood, just to name a few, stood in a circle laughing with one another. Draco hoped there was at least one Slytherin here to keep him sane.
A tap on the shoulder made Draco turn around. Someone with black hair and round glasses stood before him. Harry fucking Potter.
"Potter…" Draco drawled, already pissed off with the conversation.
"Malfoy, it is good to see you." The Gryffindor greeted, as the two men shook tightly gripped hands. "I was wondering if you would end up coming tonight. This doesn't really seem like your crowd of people."
"No it is not." The Slytherin agreed, "However I would rather make small talk with a few work aquantancis, than face the wrath of Granger's wand if I did not attend."
"She does have a temper."
"Mmmm."
The two stood awkwardly in the corner of the ballroom. Draco was unsure as to why Potter approached him, but the suspicious look in his eye indicated there was an underlying purpose to his catch up.
"I am assuming you are here to ask me about my father." He took a wild guess.
"Am I that easy to read? Hermione can do that exact same thing." Potter threw his hands up and down as a movement of giving up.
"Interesting what people with brains can do, isn't it Potter?" Draco teased with a grin.
"Hilarious. Actually, I am here to ask you about your father."
"Rather inappropriate for you to interrogate me at a party, don't you think?"
"Hardly the worst thing I have done. I just wanted to let you know that I am sorry for your loss. I understand what it is like to miss a father, and if you ever nee-"
"I am going to stop you there. Whilst I understand your persistent need to be the hero of every situation. I do not need your pity, Potter." Draco held his hand up at a stop, showing he had no interest in how Potter was going to finish his sentence.
"I know that you are in danger, Malfoy. You don't have to pretend to be so brave."
Draco's eyes widened and deepened his brow.
"Fucking, Granger…" He cursed under his breath.
"She did not want to tell me, but I made a situation where she had to. There was not a lot of detail, only that a few men were sent to kill you in Romania. Do not get angry at her for something I gave her no choice in." The Gryffindor pleaded.
"I do not care that she told you, Potter. I am pissed off with myself for not predicting she would share such details with her two puppies. The idea of three of you gossiping about my poor soul makes me want to pitch myself off the astronomy tower." The Slytherin grunted.
"If it makes you feel any better, she has not told Ron."
"How do you know?"
"Because she said so, and Hermione is not a liar. Plus, you would be dead right now if he found out she was attacked in another country without him knowing."
It sparked interest in Draco that Granger had not spoken to Weasley about the hitmen. If there were secrets she was keeping from her fiance, then there was a good chance she was keeping secrets from him too.
"I understand it may be hard for you to accept, but I am willing to fight on your behalf, Malfoy. If you are being attacked, then it would not surprise me if the same person wanting to inflict pain on you wanted to do the same to your father." Potter spoke with compassion in his voice. Fuck Draco hated that. But, what he hated more was that the auror had suspected there was more to the story of his father's death.
"Lucius died of an illness, not foul play." He replied, shoving the idea out of Potter's head as quickly as he could.
"Perhaps. But the auror department is willing to investigate if you want."
"There is no need. As much as I would love to hear the demise of Lucius Malfoy being pinned as revenge on one of his evil schemes, I could not hurt my mother like that."
"I understand…" Potter bowed his head and nodded. Draco relaxed his shoulders a little, grateful his lie had pulled off. "I had better head off, enjoy the party, Malfoy."
"I will not."
Potter walked off into the crowd. Draco turned back to face the orchestra, only to see Granger smiling at him from within the sea of people. Merlin, she looked stunning in that dress.
Music faded out of his perception as she began walking towards him. Time felt like it was in slow motion. Every step she took her hips swayed and her curls bourced. The rest of the people surrounding them disappeared, and it was only them in the room. A spotlight highlighting her as she waltzed to him. Draco could hear the thud of his heart in his ears.
It wasn't until, what felt like a full minute, Granger finally reached him.
"Hi." She greeted.
"Hello." He returned, "You look… beautiful."
Granger seemed to let out a breath she was holding, like she was waiting for what he was going to say. He hoped that he met her needs. She thanked him with shy eyes.
"I am glad you came. I saw you talking to Harry, just now. Do I smell a friendship brewing?" She teased.
"Far from it, Granger." He shut her down, "Actually, the twat was recommending a good body guard service."
Granger hung her head and shook it. She knew exactly what he was talking about. Draco swapped out his empty champagne glass for a full one from a tray that floated by them.
"I am so sorry, Malfoy. I should not have told hi-"
"I do not care." He laughed, interrupting her. Watching her apologise frantically was very entertaining for Draco. It made him feel like the good guy for once.
"Are you sure?" She asked with hopeful eyes, "You're not just saying that to make me feel good?"
"When have I ever made you feel good, Granger?"
The witch and wizard stared into each other's eyes. Draco did not mean to, but he couldn't help but think of all the different ways he could make her feel good. So so good.
"The Prophet has done a marvellous job with the place. I'd hate to see what they have in store for the wedding." He joked, breaking the tension between the two.
"Do not even get me started." She rolled her eyes.
"Hermione!" A voice called from behind him. Turning around he saw none other than the Weasel coming up to the two of them. "There you are, I've been lookin' everywhere for ya."
Ron kissed her cheek, and Granger blushed at the public display of affection.
"Oh, hey Malfoy." The red-head sounded disappointed by his presence. "If you will excuse us, we have a bit of housekeeping to take care of."
"Not a problem." He replied, giving a small smile to Granger before she was dragged away. Weasley's arm on her back as they headed toward the stage.
A few moments later the sound of a knife hitting glass shushed the room to a silence, as Granger and her fiance stood on the platform, hand in hand. A little fist punched Draco in the stomach looking at them.
Weasley cleared his voice before addressing the audience.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight. You each mean the absolute world to both myself and 'Mione. Tonight isn't just to celebrate our engagement of course, we are also here for Hermione's birthday." The audience applauded lightly. "Yes, yes, we all love you very much. However, I especially have to tell you how much I love you." He turned to the woman on his arm.
Draco rolled his eyes at the soppy moment, hidden within the large crowd.
"Hermione… I'm not the best with words, as you probably know from writing the majority of my papers in school." This joke was rewarded with a heavy laugh from the audience. "I just want to say that, you make everyone around you a better version of who they are. Without you, there would be no one to fight for the werewolves, or the elves, or probably the bloody owls one day. But you make the world a better place everyday, and you make me a better man just the same."
A collective 'awh' flowed throughout the candle lit ballroom. Draco couldn't help but want to vomit. He told himself it was because he hated the sound of Weasley's voice, but he knew that it was because every word he spoke about Granger was true. She made the world a better place, and she made him, Draco, a better man.
"To Hermione!" Ron cheered raising his glass,
"To Hermione!" The room echoed, mirroring his actions.
Draco watched as Weasley's fiance silently thanked him as the crowd began to slowly spread off the dance floor, indicating the couple's waltz was about to begin. He followed suit, but not before downing his entire glass of alcohol, and then a second the moment a tray floated by.
Weasley and Hermione made their way into the middle of the dance floor. Draco watched from the sidelines, seeing the ginger's hand fall upon her lower back and rub rough circles on the bare skin. Violins gracefully began swallowing the attention of the crowd, as the couple in the centre of the room danced to the heavenly sound.
It was as if the world had stopped for Draco.
His life stood still.
A moment frozen in time.
He watched her brown eyes look into her fiance's.
Arms wrapped around his neck.
Clumsily slow dancing around the room.
He wanted to not care. He wanted to see her as a filthy mudblood.
But he couldn't.
Before him stood a stubborn, unapologetic, clumsy, know-it-all, irritating woman.
Before him stood a beautiful, passionate, empathetic, smart, courageous woman.
A woman who had stolen his dead lifeless heart. A woman he now knew he loved.
And yet, she loved someone else.
He thought back to the night that he and his mother buried his father…
"Did you love him, Mother?" Draco asked, looking down at the freshly filled hole in the ground that embodied Lucuis' casket.
"Of course I did, darling." Narcissa replied quietly, holding her son's hand in the dark, quiet garden. The only light shining was the reflection of the moon.
"How did you know?" He asked, with his head hung low.
"Why are you asking me this?" She squeezed his hand tighter. He did not reply, unsure of what to say. "Is it because of the mudblood?"
Draco crossed his brow at the word. Frustrated with the history it carried and frustrated with himself for thinking about her.
"So it is about her."
"I do not know what to do." He started, voice shaky. "I don't even know why I fought so hard to keep her as a friend, when it was tearing my family apart."
Narcissa inhaled through her nose, and exhaled deeply. She moved to stand in front of Draco and cupped his face into her frale hands.
"My sweet boy. I saw your face the night that my sister drained her blood onto our drawing room floor. I know that look." She whispered.
"The look of fear. Very common for me to have, with a Dark Lord living inside my home." He replied sarcastically, hoping to avoid where she was going.
"No, dear. Not fear." His mother rubbed her thumbs across his cheeks. He looked into her pale loving eyes. "You loved her, even when you hated her. That is why your father fought so hard to keep her out of your life. He knew that you do not stop until you get what you want."
Draco swallowed. Tears began to well up in his eyes. Angry tears for feeling the need to cry, angry tears for having to fight off his feelings, angry tears for going to have to give up those feelings.
"I should not want her."
"Because of who she is?" His mother asked, hopeful he would say yes.
"Because of who she will be..."
A single tear ran down his cheek and curved down to lip. Narcissa wiped it away with her finger, pulling his face down to meet her forehead.
"A Weasley."
Draco entered back into reality with the sound of a crowd's applause. Granger had been dipped by her fiance in the centre of the ballroom. Before the song could finish Draco slithered through the crowd, making his way over to the side doors leading out onto the balconies. He needed to get out of there.
Hermione Granger curtsied while everyone clapped as the violins faded, and an upbeat symphony began again. Groups regathered and continued their conversation.
Her eyes searched the room for the blond, the only person that brought her comfort throughout this chaos. But she could not find him. Hermione let her hand slip away from Ron's. He was too busy talking to Dean to notice that she had shimmied her way through the crowd needing a minute to breathe.
This was what nearly every girl dreamed of, right? Hermione knew from a young age that parties and celebrations did not define monumental moments in her life, but she should at least be happy to be spending the rest of her life with her best friend.
Opening one of the side ballroom doors Hermione stepped out onto one of the numerous balconies along the edge of the house. Overlooking the gardens beneath her she inhaled a deep breath. Why didn't this feel as nice as it should? That speech filled her heart. Ron was her childhood sweet-heart, this should feel perfect.
Before she could answer her own thoughts, a sob broke through the muffled orchestra at the side of her. Hermione glanced over and saw Malfoy leaning over the white railing two balconies down from her. She saw his hand over his heart, clenching the material of his dress robes, as if he was in pain.
Hermione slid into the shadows, wanting to take this moment in. Not because she wanted to dwell on the fact that her coworker was crying at her birthday party, but rather she didn't think she would ever see the man show emotion willingly. His once tall dominating stature was now hunched over in sorrow. It took everything in her to not call out his name.
Upon wondering why Malfoy would be crying, Hermione realised that it was most likely because his father had passed not two weeks ago. This must be heartbreaking for him, and even more painful to have to keep his poker face on all the time.
'Oh Malfoy…" She whispered to herself, "I am so sorry."
A few moments passed as the Gyffindor watched the Slytherin privately strip away his pride. At this moment, it was just two of them, and Hermione could sit in it forever.
A warm wind blew tinderly across her cheeks, as if to gently wake her up to the present. She placed a hand over her stomach, a physical representation of gathering herself together. This was her birthday party, she was engaged, what gave her the right to be confused and conflicted when there are people with real problems out there? People whose father's have just passed.
"Get yourself together, Hermione." She demanded of herself, pulling the doors of the ballroom back open, the waves of music filling her ears once more. The saviour-complex she carried, screamed inside of her at the idea of walking away from seeing a broken man. However, a piece of her knew that walking over to Draco would lead to so much more than a comforting hug.
Draco Malfoy's heart ached. He felt dirty.
Lifting his eyes upon the darkness of the garden below him, he couldn't tell if he felt dirty because he was catching himself falling for a muggle-born, or if because said muggle-born was set to spend the rest of her life with someone else.
"Fuuuuck!" He screamed into the empty night, turning on his heel and punching the wall beside the door frame. Fragments of cement clung to his shaky knuckles. Draco stared at the blood seeping out of his torn skin. Noting it looked no different from Hermione's blood that poured from her sliced head in Romania.
Pulling the handkerchief out of his right pocket, embroidered with his initials, Draco wiped his face of tears, and his hand of any violent evidence. He straightened his shoulders, slid a hand through his hair and reentered the party. There was the option of an Irish-Goodbye, or to leave with a promising young witch who could distract him for a few hours.
He chose the latter.
Scanning the room, ignoring the clear image of Granger laughing with Ginny within the crowd, he spotted Astoria Greengrass sipping champagne from her flute glass.
Hermione Granger giggled at her friends jokes. She wondered if Malfoy was still outside upset over his father's death. Perhaps she should go out there and comfort him, throw an insult at him, anything to make him feel better.
Before she could act upon such options she looked across the dance floor to see the striking young wizard whispering in their assistant's ear with a grin on his face. Bloody hell, that mood quickly changed.
She could hear her friends continuing their conversation beside her but Hermione watched the interaction between Astoria and Malfoy closely. The blond gently took the champagne out of Astoria's hand and placed it back onto a charmed tray floating by, without even breaking eye contact. Smooth. The assistant slipped her hand into her boss' and led him towards the main entry doors.
Hermione suddenly felt what could only be described as a sharp pull in her left arm. Almost like someone snapped one of her heart strings.
With big brown eyes following their steps, Astoria and Draco silently left the party together.
"... right 'Mione?" Ron asked, breaking the haze over ear eyes.
Without skipping a beat, she replied, "Yes, sweetheart." swiftly placing a kiss on his cheek, putting herself back into the conversation. Yet, she was unable to keep her mind off her receptionist and her co-worker slipping off into the night.