A/N: In case anyone missed it, I rewrote the last chapter ... pretty much entirely. I'd recommend giving that one a read before this. It won't make sense otherwise lol.

Enjoy!


"It's a bit much for just ten people, isn't it?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side a bit as she examined the three-tier, double chocolate, peppermint frosting cake she had ordered from the bakery near her flat.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Harry cleared his throat. "There's a chance I may have added more names to the guest list."

"How many more? Because we haven't got enough food here for more than twelve."

"Five? Possibly twenty?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Right. I'll take care of the food situation. You decorate."

Having arrived a few hours early to help prepare for the party, Hermione had taken charge almost immediately. In part because Harry had never thrown a party on his own and had prepared only a small cheese plate and a truckload of alcohol for the occasion, and in part because she needed the distraction.

With a quick look around the house to ensure that everything was in order, she grabbed her cloak and Floo'd into Diagon Alley for a quick food shop. Nodding hello to a few familiar faces on her way through The Leaky Cauldron, she was out onto the cobblestone path within moments.

Only after she had gathered some necessary ingredients and placed a couple of additional orders for delivery later in the night, did she drag herself back toward the pub to find Ron sneaking in a quick cigarette to the left of the joke shop.

"You do know Daphne will murder you faster than those nasty things if she finds out you haven't quit, don't you?" Hermione called out to him, smirking.

Ron jumped out of his skin, cursing under his breath as the cigarette slipped from his fingers and fell straight into a puddle. "Merlin's sake, Hermione! Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

Frowning, he scraped it under the toe of his boot. "What are you doing here, anyway? Harry said you were going to be at the house helping him prepare."

She lifted the bags in her hands. "Turns out Harry had arranged for everything apart from a cake, real food, decoration, entertainment and music."

"So, just pints, then? Sounds like my kind of party."

"Of course it does," she snorted. "When do you think you and Daphne will arrive? I might need a bit of help decorating and Harry is … well, Harry."

"She probably won't be coming."

"Oh. Work?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I may have called her sister a bitch last night."

Mouth falling open, Hermione looked to him as though he had gone mad. "Her sister is lovely!"

"I know! I just … got really heated during a game of Quidditch and it slipped out."

"Ron …"

"Less than two weeks of marriage and I've already managed to fuck it up," he snorted, at a loss.

Scrunching her lips to the side, she gave it some thought. "Why don't you write her sister a letter of apology? Short and to the point."

"I don't know if a letter will be enough. She told me to leave her alone and find somewhere else to stay for the time being."

"Merlin. Well, that explains the smoking."

He exhaled, deeply. "I'll figure something out."

"Sooner rather than later, I'd say."

"Could you not mention the smoking if Daph happens to be there tonight? I'm in enough trouble as it is," he added, cheeks flaring with embarrassment.

She couldn't help but laugh. "You have my word, Ronald."

"Thanks, Hermione. You're a good friend."

One Hour Later

"Weird that this is my last night here," Teddy thought, out loud. "I've been itching to go back the second I got here but now that I've been cleared to leave … I don't know. I think I'll miss it."

Draco smiled, jotting down the last of his notes as he rose to his feet. "You can always visit. Not as a patient, though, I hope."

"Do you think I've got the potential to be a Healer one day?"

There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes as he looked to the boy. "Is that something you want?"

"Maybe. I just think it's cool what you do."

"Well, I think you've got all the potential in the world. As long as you continue to study hard and prioritize accordingly, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't succeed."

Brighting up at the sound of that, Teddy smiled to himself. "Now I'm excited to go back."

"Good. I'm sure your friends are curious how you've been."

"Now that you mention them …" Sparing a moment to retrieve a folded piece of parchment from his bedside table, he unfolded it and gave it a quick read as though for the tenth time. "One of, er … one of my friends owled this to me last night. A girl."

"Oh?"

Lost in thought, he unconsciously brushed his thumb against the name at the bottom. "She, er … she said she misses me and hopes I haven't forgot her since I've been gone."

Unable to stop himself from smiling, Draco thought back to what it was like to fall in love for the first time. The heightened emotions, the stolen glances, the uncertainty as to whether they felt the same. It was a different kind of magic. One that was earned as opposed to one that was inherited.

"All this time I had thought I liked the girl in my Transfiguration class but now that I think about it … I was kind of just avoiding how I felt about my friend," Teddy went on to say. "Our families are quite close. I like her but I don't want to make things weird in case she was just being nice."

"Have you given thought to speaking to her about it one-on-one?"

"Er … isn't that a bit scary?"

Draco laughed. "Sad as it is to say, that part never gets easier. It's important to communicate how you feel, though. That way you can determine your next step with a clear mind."

"What should I say?" Teddy asked, scratching the back of his head, in thought. "Do I play it cool or just ask her out straight away?"

"I'd recommend thanking her for the letter and then going from there. No need to rush."

Taking that in, he nodded. "I'll do that. Also sorry for speaking so much about all of this. You've got better things to do than give me dating advice."

"No need to apologize. I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to speak someone about your concerns. At your age, I could have used that."

"Did you not have anyone to talk to when you were younger?"

"I had my friends," Draco shrugged. "My parents were very traditional, though. There wasn't the slightest chance they'd have approved of me dating when I was still in school."

"I take it you still did, though?"

"Oh, definitely. I had a girlfriend the last two years of school."

"Anyone I might know?"

"Er … maybe. Pansy Parkinson from The Daily Prophet."

Teddy stopped in thought, quickly nodding as he remembered. "The one with the short black hair and mean look on her face."

"The very same," Draco laughed. "Anyway I should probably check in on my next patient. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thanks again, Healer Malfoy. For everything," Teddy added, giving him a quick but very genuine nod of appreciation.

Later That Night

Racing from one end of the house to the other, Hermione made a few last minute additions to the decoration as the guests started pouring in. Harry was in charge of greeting everyone and helping them to the food and drinks table in the lounge whilst she had taken the responsibility of making sure that literally everything else ran smoothly.

Although she had never been much of a party planner, she was happy to help.

Ginny deserved it.

"When is the birthday girl set to arrive?" Neville asked as he and Hannah approached the drinks, having taken the night off from his teaching position.

With a quick look at the time on the wall clock, Hermione tensed up, nearly dropping the cheese platter as she replenished it. "Twenty minutes. Shit!"

"Anything we can help with?" Hannah offered, gently.

"No, no, no. You two enjoy yourselves. I'll be back in a moment," Hermione blurted, running to the kitchen to find that the mini sausage rolls were beginning to burn. Hurriedly tugging them out of the oven without mitts, she cursed out loud and sent the tray flying across the floor. "Shit!"

Frantically dropping to her knees, she tried to gather the fallen soldiers from the floor whilst also blowing on the tender part of her hands to slow the burning sensation. Only after she had flicked her wand at the mess, having forgot she was a witch for a moment, did she release a long, heavy breath.

"I hate parties," she uttered to herself, leaning against the bottom cupboards before slowly rising to her feet.

The sausage rolls were admittedly a failure but everything else had panned out fairly well. With a quick breath, she cooled her hands off in the sink for a minute or so. They were still quite tender toward the end but she figured she could endure it for a short while, just until the party was over. Due to her job, she had always made sure to have a supply of Burn Healing Paste and Essence of Dittany at home.

"Interesting choice in attire," Ron interjected from the doorway, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing.

Glancing down, Hermione had only then realized she had forgot to change into the dress she had brought with her for the party. Although she loved her toothpaste stained sleeping shirt, she felt it was a tad inappropriate for an adult birthday party.

"Do you mind keeping track of things here whilst I change?" she asked, as more of an order than a question.

With a quick nod, Ron went over to the burned sausage rolls and plopped one in his mouth.

Five Minutes Later

There were a few curious glances tossed his way but for the most part the party-goers had kept to their separate corners and conversations. With a small sip of firewhiskey, Draco took to the back of the lounge, observing the festivities and the many familiar faces in the quiet of his thoughts.

Potter spotted him from across the room, slowly coming over. "You made it," he began, initiating a quick handshake.

"Just about," Draco offered. "How are things at the Ministry?"

"Good, good. St. Mungo's?"

"Also good."

Nodding along, Potter glanced off to the side. "So, er … about the Hermione situation …"

"I take it she told you what happened?"

"She may have mentioned a few details, yeah."

Draco cleared his throat, only a little uncomfortable. "If you've asked me here to tell me off, first know that it was a complete misunderstanding. I … it wasn't my intention to …"

"You don't have to explain," Potter cut in. "I saw you two at The Leaky Cauldron the night she'd inhaled all those pints. More importantly that you had stepped in and got her home safely."

"Right."

"She had likely just projected a little bit of what had happened with Ron onto you."

Thinking back to what Granger had told him about her last relationship, Draco slowly nodded. "I should have pieced that together sooner."

"Well, there's always tonight. She's around here somewhere."

He took that in, not a word coming to mind apart from, "Why are you helping me?"

"Er …" Potter scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, I don't know. I just … I can't recall the last time I'd seen Hermione as happy as she was at that wedding."

Although the wedding was only a week and a bit ago, it may as well have been a lifetime. Draco fell deeper into his thoughts, nodding in farewell to Potter as he went off to greet the new arrivals at the front door.

Only after he had downed the rest of his firewhiskey, taking to one of the corridors as the crowd in the lounge had doubled in size, did he spot her coming out of the bathroom.

Wearing a knee-length, off-the-shoulder emerald green dress, a pair of black, open-toe heels and her hair down to her shoulders in soft, bouncy curls, it was safe to say she had rendered him still in just one glance. Unaware that he was hovering on the other end of the corridor, she tugged at the skirt of her dress as though uncertain about the length.

Seemingly out of nowhere, she winced a little after tugging too hard, holding her hands up to the light a moment before she had finally taken notice of him.

She jumped on the spot, her eyes widening as she looked to him from across the corridor.

Not a word came out.

The only sound that filled the silence was the distant th-thump of music from the lounge.

He had thought to say something, to put an end to the misunderstanding, but the moment he had opened his mouth to try, the party had erupted in cheers as Ginny Weasley had entered the house.

Without a word Granger took off, brushing past him as she made her way to the lounge.


A/N: Thoughts?