"I must say, this does certainly qualify as a surprise," Draco said, and if his mother picked up on her son's unamused tone, Hermione didn't see it on her face. Bustling into the room, the two began putting up streamers and balloons with their wands, the place soon filled with enough party paraphernalia to fill the Great Hall back at Hogwarts.
"Please tell me we're going to kick them out," Draco breathed by the shell of her ear, causing shivers to snake through her body. She really did want to spend the last night before going to work kissing him and cuddling, but she couldn't be rude, not to Narcissa and Andy, who had welcomed her into their family when she was at her lowest.
"No, we are not. They're your family Draco, and they're making such an effort, it wouldn't be right, or fair. Kissing can wait. Until later," she promised.
Draco seemed inclined to disagree but wisely held his tongue. Her boyfriend's face brightened as Teddy came crawling over, lifting his arms up in the air and waving them in a clear signal of 'Pick Me Up.' Draco swooped him into his arms, tickling him until the boy giggled. It was such a sweet moment, so pure and innocent, and she was so grateful that she was there to witness it, grateful that she had people in her life who she loved and made her life, people who had refused to let her fall into the darkest depths of despair after the War, after Ron, after her parents wanted nothing to do with the daughter they felt had betrayed them too greatly. She'd had nothing, not a single word, and Hermione doubted that would ever change. But she'd made her peace with that now, had in fact made peace with it when she erased their memories in the first place. And while no one could replace her parents in her heart, she knew she loved Draco and his family just as much, that they were enough, more than enough, to make her feel complete.
From the circle of his mother's cousin's arms, Teddy waved at Hermione. She waved back, wandlessly conjuring a bunch of flowers from her sleeve like a Muggle magician. The boys eyes went wide, thoroughly entranced by the bit of magic. With a pop, they went back up her sleeve. He looked disappointed but was soon distracted by the presence of Narcissa.
"I see you're keeping him entertained," she noted with an appreciative smile. "That's no easy feat, I can tell you."
"What can I say? I always love an excuse to show off my magic," Hermione replied, getting out her wand. A stream of ribbon soon jetted out of the end, dancing in the air. Teddy tried to catch at it with greedy hands, delighted as it changed colour.
"Show off indeed," Draco snarked.
Hermione tickled him under the nose with her ribbon until he sneezed.
"Who wants cake?" Andromeda called from the kitchen, coming out with crockery stacked high in her arms. "I assume you all want cake, and if you don't, then your'e weird. Who wants the middle piece?"
"Oh, I do," Draco declared.
"Of course he does," Narcissa and Hermione said in unplanned unison. Narcissa raised a brow but didn't say a word. Draco walked over to his aunt. "Trade. I give you this," he tickled Teddy again for emphasis, "and you give me that."
Andy made a show off weighing up his offer. "Good trade."
Within five seconds, Draco had already eaten half a slice. "Best cake ever. Hermione, you have got to try this."
"Well, if I've got to," she purred, grabbing her own slice of cake, happy to see she'd gotten a good helping of icing.
Out of nowhere, the sound of music filled the air, upbeat but not loud enough that you couldn't hear yourself think, with slight jazz undertones to it. It was perfect. Taking this as an opportunity to corner Draco's mother, Hermione went over to her on the pretense of getting another slice.
"You know I adore you, but what are you and Andy doing here? And please don't lie, I can handle it." Blunt and to the point.
"Because I was worried," Narcissa confessed, long, pale fingers playing with the edge of the cake tray. "You and Draco, in your letters...you didn't sound like you, if that makes sense. I thought something might be going on, and I thought if I showed up with Andy and Teddy and confronted you with a party, you wouldn't have a chance to say no. I'm sorry, I know that may seem disrespectful-"
The woman didn't have a chance to finish her sentence, for Hermione had already thrown her arms around her, hugging her tight.
"Thank you for caring enough to ambush me. With cake, too." Hermione said, unrelenting in her grip, and her gratitude.
Narcissa returned the embrace, equally fervent. "Of course. I would have thrown you a Housewarming Party anyway. Being in a new place, alone, can be quite scary, and I knew you'd likely be pacing all night, fretting over every little thing. At least this way, you'll be too tired and will have hopefully crashed from all the sugar," the woman noted, likely talking from experience.
Hermione laughed into he chest. "You make me sound like Teddy."
Narcissa let go, fixing a strand of Hermione's hair. "Well, I do love you just as much, my sweet girl. I'm so very proud of you, and I know you'll do amazingly, not just at Flourish and Blotts and the Ministry. It's about time they got some new talent in there."
The young witch took her hand. "Thank you, truly. And...I love you, too. You and Draco, you've taken such good care of me, and I'm so lucky to have you both in my life, to have that support."
Narcissa raised a brow. "Speaking of Draco..." but she was interrupted by the appearance of her sister, holding a bottle of Firewhiskey like a triumphant Greek hero holding the head of a slain foe. "Who wants to make this more interesting?"
Hermione liked doing the washing up. By hand. This was news to Draco, and he had to admit the sight of his girlfriend up to her elbows in soap suds at the sink, hair pulled up messily onto her head, was one of the most simultaneously adorable and gorgeous sights he'd ever beheld. He was so lucky. It still hadn't quite sunk in yet, the fact that she was his, and he was hers -well, that bit he'd known for a while now, but it felt more real now- that she'd picked him. All the sneaking around, all the evading, all the plotting, had been because she loved him that much, and the thought of Lucius getting anywhere near him was too much for her to bear. Hermione Granger loved him so much she'd teamed up with Blaise Zabini; if that wasn't a sign of commitment, what was?
Draco was so caught up in thoughts of Hermione that he almost didn't notice as his mother took a seat beside him on the couch, rearranging the fall of her robes. Always regal, always as graceful as any queen. And just as intimidating. Especially when, pitching her voice loud enough for Hermione to hear but not so loud as to wake the sleeping Teddy, "How long have you two been together?"
Hermione dropped a plate, fingers dripping water everywhere as she stood completely frozen.
Real smooth, love, Draco thought. Real smooth.
Flicking her wand, Hermione fixed the plate, dried it, put it on the rack, then crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter, expression fierce. "Who gave who away?" his witch asked bluntly.
"Draco," Narcissa and Andromeda said in tandem.
Hermione sent him a glare that could wither the Arctic. But she was smiling underneath, he could tell.
"Your performance was flawless," his mother assured her. "Draco was acting even more like a lovesick puppy than usual, so it wasn't a particularly taking stretch of the imagination to realize why," she drawled.
"Mother!" he exclaimed indignantly, knowing he was blushing a frightful shade of red from the way Hermione was grinning, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Draco shook his head wearily. Hermione walked towards him, perching on the arm of the couch, her arm falling across his shoulders in a reassuring caress. He leaned back into her weight ever so slightly, glad that he no longer had to hide anything. A few hours had been hard enough.
Narcissa clapped her hands, as eagre as any teenager for some good gossip. "Tell me everything!" He'd never seen her so...giddy.
"You're not...mad?" Hermione ventured, tightening her hold on him ever so slightly.
Narcissa's eyed turned cold. "Why would I be mad? My dear Hermione, a part of my son has been in love with you since he was eleven years old," she stated it as if it was one of the staples of the world, a universal given, as if it hadn't taken Draco himself over seven years to come to that same conclusion. "Back then, I didn't understand it -I didn't want to understand it- but we've both changed so much since then. Except Draco's utter respect and ardent fascination with you, of course. Since the War, I always suspected that once you two became friends, once you opened up and trusted each other, it was only a matter of time before you came together. And now you have, and I couldn't be happier. Truly."
Draco squeezed Hermione's hand, understanding the words meant just as much to her as they did to him.
"What about..." Draco couldn't even say his name.
"We'll deal with him when the time comes," Andromeda assured them, her face as hard as her tone. No, after letting Lucius steal so much from her sister, Andy would not let him ruin her nephew's chance at love.
"I think that's enough excitement for one day. We shall leave you to clean up, of course."
"Of course."
"I really am happy for you both. Just keep the -what is the term you adolescents use today, PDA?" Narcissa inquired, naturally unsure on the slang of young people today.
"Think so," Andy chimed in.
"Right. Keep the PDA to a minimum in the workplace. I don't want either of you to get yelled at, or worse."
Hermione looked utterly scandalized. "As if I'd ever act in an unprofessional manner in the work place!"
Narcissa smirked, a single brow raised." Actually, I meant Draco. He's far too used to getting what he wants, and all Malfoy's have a reputation when it comes to women."
Was it possible to sink into the floor?
"Don't worry, I can and will keep him in check."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Thank you for that."
"You're welcome," Hermione said sweetly.
"Dear Merlin, it's like you're married already," Andromeda muttered as she scooped up a sleeping Teddy. She gave the both of them a side-on hug, saying, "Good luck, kids," before disappearing into the Floo.
Narcissa put her arms around the two. "I love you both very much. Make sure you eat a proper breakfast, don't suffer fools gladly and...don't forget to smile."
"I should be getting back. It's late, and I know how crabby you get when you don't get at least nine hours sleep," he noted with a smirk.
Hermione levelled him with a searching look, and the wizard paused under her scrutiny. Apparently satisfied, she took his hands in hers, her thumb making smooth circuits over his knuckles, and whispered, "Stay. For the night. I want you to stay."
He didn't know how to respond. Although he'd like nothing more, this was dangerous territory, new territory, and he had no intention of screwing this up, not a one.
"Hermione, is much as I enjoy sticking up a finger to propriety...we've only been together for not even a day. This isn't something we have to rush into; there's no pressure." If that was what she was thinking...
"There's no rushing here, Draco," she assured him, pulling on his hands for emphasis. "You being my boyfriend doesn't cancel out you being my best friend, and right now I need my best friend here before I have the panic attack I've been trying to stave off for the last two days."
Draco sighed, his breath rustling her hair. He wished she could believe in herself the way her believed in her, or the way she believed in him.
"Sweetheart, you really don't have anything to worry about." His nose grazed her cheek. "Your record speaks for itself, and there's not a wizard or witch in the country who doesn't associate 'Hermione Jean Granger' with the words, 'bravery,' 'intellect,' 'ingenuity,' or 'compassion.'"
"None of them know my middle name though, do they? All they see is the Golden Girl, the War Hero," she murmured, resigned. "Being back out in the world, under the spotlight, under so much scrutiny..." she trailed off. When her eyes met his, they were large and uncertain, and in that moment Draco would have done anything, fought Dark Wizards or dragons or sat through a lesson in Palmistry from Professor Trelawney just to wipe that fear from her beautiful brown eyes. "I don't know if I can take it. I don't know if I want to take it."
He understood, he really did. He also understood that he could not alleviate this fear from her, only she could do that, and all he could do was be there for her.
"What do you want, then?" Draco asked of her, watching the nob of her throat a she swallowed thickly.
"Honestly? You. That's it. Right here, right now, I couldn't give a damn about accolades or praise or any of that. I just want you."
Within a heartbeat, they were kissing, his arms drawing her towards him of their own accord. Go arms.
"Merlin, if I knew being your boyfriend was going to lead to ego-boosting speeches such as these, I should have asked you out a long time ago," he teased, trailing kisses down the length of her cheek.
Hermione punched him in the arm. "As if I would have ever said yes."
"Oh, I don't know, I think I've got charm," he smiled against her neck.
"Of course you do. I must have just built up immunity to it, then," she countered, although it was undone by her breathlessness.
He grinned even more. "Really?" Draco purred, long and low. "Do you want me to charm you, Granger?"
Her hands settled on his shoulders. "Draco, sweetheart, if today wasn't proof enough, I've been completely charmed with you for months."
"Yes, but that was best friend charm," he supplied easily. "Be prepared for new Draco-boyfriend charm, a whole other brand of charm."
"Morgana, why did I decide to go out with you again?" Hermione joked, fingers tangling in his hair.
He kissed her.
"Oh, right. That."
Author's Note: Look who's back? I did say I had more, didn't I? Did you enjoy, did it make your heart swell? Let me know! This is the last 'normal' chapter, the next set will be everyone's WWWE chapters, and each gets their own, a first and a last day. There will be all the first day ones, then a dramatic interlude, then everybody's last day. I hope that makes sense!
Until next time!
All my love, Temperance Cain
