August 31st

All of the Weasley kids (plus Hermione and Harry, minus Charlie) gathered to help Draco move into 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry's team of contractors, according to everyone who had actually spent time at the old 12 Grimmauld Place, had worked miracles. Hermione walked Percy around, describing what the old rooms had looked like and contrasting the new rooms.

All of the tiny, dark rooms on the first floor had been knocked down and replaced with a large, open concept living space and kitchen. Windows had been added, both structurally and magically, to bring in light, and while the original dark wood floors and trim remained, the walls had been painted white, and light colored furniture brightened up the room.

The second and third floors were divided up into their original smaller rooms; a parlor, several bedrooms, and the library. The entire top floor had been transformed into a spacious master suite, and the small courtyard in the back featured a thriving vegetable and flower garden and a patio fit for company.

Hermione immediately volunteered to shelve books in the library. Draco had rolled his eyes, but allowed it. Percy kissed her and left to go assist Ron and Ginny in assembling a few pieces of furniture. Fleur was in the kitchen with Bill, the pair of them organizing kitchenware. George, Harry, and Fred had been assigned to moving boxes from the front parlour, where the movers had left them all, levitating them to the correct rooms as designated by Draco's tidy handwriting on the side of each box.

Kreacher, an absolutely ancient house elf, seemed just as happy as a house elf could get. He puttered about the garden and brought in bouquets of fresh flowers for each room. Draco requested refreshments in the late afternoon, and though it took a little while longer than expected, Kreacher floated in pitchers of iced tea, lemonade, and biscuits for the crew.

Hermione and Draco, Percy was amused to watch, had become...not friends, not yet, but certainly friendly. It helped that Ginny, Ron, and Harry had already warmed up to the boy's presence in the weeks that Draco had stayed with Percy, and Hermione easily fell into the pattern of banter that the group had developed.

Draco invited them to stay for dinner, and large orders of takeaway indian were picked up from a shop down the street. As they sat around, dipping naan into bowls of spicy, creamy curry, the conversation drifted. Charlie hadn't been able to join them, but he'd sent along a housewarming gift: a Antipodean Opaleye dragon scale for the fireplace mantle, for luck. It gleamed and reflected the late evening sunset while Draco accepted the requisite teasing for his name literally meaning "Dragon."

"You've got a place fit for lady-friends, now, haven't you? Got your eye on anyone lately?" George asked.

"Not really," Draco shrugged, as he often did when the topic of women came up, Percy noticed.

"Are you sure? You're a cursebreaker, mate, and you've got 'bad-boy' vibes just pouring off of you. Don't the girls at work just pay all sorts of attention to you?" Ginny asked.

"Not that I've noticed," Maybe not that Draco had noticed, but Percy had noticed that the younger female aurors tended to drop by Draco's office more often, and linger for longer, or offer to bring him tea. Draco didn't seem to indulge any of these women in anything more than polite conversation, "I'm not really interested, anyhow,"

"Not interested in attention?" Hermione asked.

"Not interested in women, actually," Draco clarified.

"Oh, you're gay?"

"That's the muggle term for it, so I've been told. It's not really as a big of a deal in the Wizarding world."

"Is that the reason why you were so obsessed with Harry when we were in school?" Ron butted in, "He was just as obsessed with you for some reason, but he swore up and down that he didn't like blokes that way," Both boys blushed furiously.

George inclined his head at Ron to Percy, and Percy cuffed Ron on the back of the head in retaliation for embarrassing Harry and Draco with his unfiltered comment. Ron accepted the swat without complaint.

"My sexuality had nothing to do with my 'obsession' with Harry," Draco said, "Scrawny and pale with glasses isn't really my type,"

"That's good, because snooty and male isn't really my type," Harry leaned over to Ginny and gave her a small kiss. The conversation turned around to other topics, thankfully, but Percy did spot the lingering hint of a blush on Draco's face for a while afterward.

After dinner, Hermione and Percy left Draco's new home and apparated together to 800 Weatherby Way. Walking towards their house, Hermione spoke up.

"I'm SO convinced that Draco had a crush on Harry when we were growing up," She said, giggling.

"I think you might be right, but I'd never tease him about it,"

"Oh, of course not," Hermione pondered, "You didn't really know him the way we did, in school, but it really did feel like he was obsessed with Harry sometimes. And Harry would kill me for saying this, but Harry was just as obsessed, if not more,"

"But Harry doesn't like men, does he?"

"No, I don't think so. But knowing that Draco is, a lot of the comments and things that happened in school make a lot more sense,"

"Is being 'gay'," Percy used the muggle word for it, "A big deal in the muggle world?"

"Yeah, unfortunately. In Christian circles, it's frowned upon. People think you're a pedophile or a prostitute if you're a man who sleeps with other men. With women its a little less stigmatized, but being a lesbian isn't exactly socially acceptable either,"

"That's really sad."

"It's pretty common in the Wizarding world, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't call it common, but it's not unusual, and it's not rare,"

"That makes sense," Hermione squeezed his hand, "Draco and I actually had a good talk, when he was up in the library helping me sort books,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He apologized for what happened at Malfoy Manor,"

"What happened?" Percy knew bits and pieces of the story, but Hermione rarely spoke of it.

"When I was...tortured…" She took a breath, squeezing Percy's hand tighter, "Draco was there, and Bellatrix and Greyback made him stay and watch. And when he shut his eyes, Greyback tackled him, pulled out another knife and started yelling at him. Draco's mum literally dove between them, threatened to gut Greyback where he stood if he dared harm her son,"

"Why did Draco apologize?"

"I don't know. It seems like he carries a lot of guilt and shame around, from that day, and for taking the Dark Mark, and for...well...everything. But I told him that I don't blame him for what happened, and that I forgive him, and he...well, he didn't cry, but I gave him a hug and he didn't shrug me off, so I think we've made progress,"

"Good. Draco's a good man,"

"He is," Hermione stopped walking, and Percy turned toward her. She reached for him and kissed him, deep and slow, "And you're a good man, too. You've come really far, getting to know your family, and you've settled into your new job, and I'm so, so proud of you," Percy warmed, hearing her say those words. He kissed her again. They'd nearly reached the front door of their home, but Percy had another idea.

"Hermione, how would you like to go for a swim?"

"A swim?" He led her around the side of the house, down the path that led to the ocean, "It's late, and we're not wearing swimsuits," Despite the gentle protests, she smiled, letting him escort her.

He pulled off his own shirt and pants, standing in boxers before her. She smiled, and slowly pulled her shirt over her head, then shimmying out of her shorts. Then, in a move that shocked Percy, she slid out of the undergarments she was wearing, folding them neatly into a pile. Her wand tucked into one of her shoes, she smiled before Percy, completely naked.

It took Percy approximately 0.2 seconds to remove his own boxers, and for several seconds, Percy just stared, taking in the sight of her. She did the same, eyes wandering up and down his body just as his wandered up and down hers.

"Come on," She said, "Let's swim."