~twenty-one~
Showing their invitations to the usher, Hermione let out a short gasp as she took in the grandeur of the hall. Draco, immediately filled with concern, shot a worried glance her way, which quickly melted into amusement as he watched her. She was gazing skyward at the enchanted ceiling of twinkling stars and then all around at the elegantly set out round tables. The hall was immense with enough tables set out to serve at least five hundred special guests, with further seating in the grand balconies that looked down over the hall floor and the stage.
"It's beautiful!" she whispered. "It's like Hogwarts isn't it?"
Draco continued to take in her rapture with a gentle smile.
"Yes. Beautiful indeed."
He walked forwards, linking her arm and guiding them over to the table where Hermione's colleagues were seated, and was pleased to note how warmly welcome he was made to feel.
The evening began with an introductory address from the master of ceremonies; Klaus Bagman. The stage was being captured and magically projected all around the Grand Hall, making the proceedings easy to see and hear no matter where in the audience you were seated. There was also a small selection of press located in a small wing off to the side, where the worthy winners were to be escorted to after each announcement, for photographs and a brief interview.
Bagman himself had a witty and comedic charm and Draco found himself enjoying the evening a great deal as it progressed, settling down with a bottle of sparkling elf wine that he helped himself to from a passing tray. Hermione spotted it and seemed oddly concerned.
"Go easy on that stuff, Draco!" she warned with a whisper, taking the bottle from him as soon as he had finished filling their glasses.
"Alright boss! Just trying to enjoy myself!" he replied with a bemused smirk at her concern.
Hermione caught his eye for a second and Draco could have sworn that he saw a glimmer of something covert in her expression as she deliberately placed the bottle out of arm's reach, before turning her attention back to the stage.
He considered this for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh. She had been really nervous about this awards gala for several weeks. It was clear that she was keen for her team to win and he could see why. They had been working tirelessly and had made real positive steps in rebuilding a harmonious wizarding Britain since the war.
Soon enough, the presentations began and Bagman repeatedly introduced many significant wizarding dignitaries to the stage to make the various presentations. Hermione needn't have been worried. Of course she and her colleagues won the Team Impact Award and he couldn't help but feel smug as she turned to hug him as soon as her department was called out to the stage to receive their award.
Hermione gave a short speech of thanks that was greeted with rapturous applause from all who clearly delighted in being in the presence of the Golden Girl. Draco felt his chest swell with pride. She was his Golden Girl after all.
The presentations continued and Hermione and her colleagues returned to their tables, merry and buoyant at their victory. And yet, Draco was sure that he could still detect a hint of nervousness in the witch at his side.
"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively, taking her hand and delicately stroking his thumb across her knuckles. "You seem to be quite on edge still. You won! Why don't you relax and have a drink, Granger?"
Hermione smiled and shook her head dismissively.
"I'm fine Draco, I'm fine. I want to retain a sober head," she insisted, reaching out and moving her glass away from Draco's reach. "I don't like being tipsy around my work colleagues," she whispered. Draco relented with a mild feeling of disappointment. He had a secret enjoyment of drunken Hermione and her unbridled antics. It always reminded him of Potter's wedding and their first night spent together.
More presentations followed, including the St Mungo's Award for Scholarly Excellence. This was the category in which it turned out Justin was nominated having gone on to earn very high grades in his healership examinations.
The award was being presented by Poppy Pomfrey who was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation from the whole audience. She had been awarded the Order of Merlin the previous year in recognition of her actions both during and following the Battle of Hogwarts which had saved the lives of many witches and wizards of both sides of the war.
As she read aloud the winner with the inevitable pause as the envelope was opened, Draco couldn't help but whisper "Not Flinchley, not Flinchley" to himself as Hermione sat completely unmoved at his side. Of course it was Justin's name that was read aloud. He was unfortunately sat at a table a little further behind theirs, meaning that he would inevitably have to walk past them on his way to the stage to receive his award.
The magical projections lit up all around showing Justin standing and shaking hands with his companions, his large chin jutting out smugly as he made his way forwards. As he passed their table, Justin deliberately caught Draco's eye with a smug grin before having the audacity to lean into Hermione.
"Give me a call if you're having second thoughts, Granger. No hard feelings, huh?"
Hermione's friends looked at them with bemused expressions as Draco seethed angrily, his rage crackling at his fingertips. Justin returned to his journey to the stage and Draco soon felt Hermione's soothing touch as her hand came gently to rest on his thigh. He snatched up his glass and took a mollifying mouthful, relishing her caress and the calming smile that she gave him, finding that it instantly extinguished his burning anger. She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in his ear.
"Merlin, has his chin always been that large?" she hissed as she nodded towards the nearby projection of Justin's large and sweaty head. "Pity for him it's actually larger than his dick."
Draco nearly snorted wine down his nose at Hermione's blatant disregard for the slimy cretin. Merlin, how he loved this witch. He showed it by planting a long kiss on her shoulder as she turned with a triumphant expression to watch Justin receive his trophy and to listen to his inane and clichéd acceptance speech.
A few more awards followed and Draco berated himself for his lack of control earlier. Hermione still seemed a little on edge and he was worried that his angry state would have been far from helpful in getting her to relax. She even seemed fraught when he went to leave the table to use the gents, insisting that he return swiftly.
"Granger, what on earth has got into you tonight?" he asked tentatively as he stroked a wayward curl away from her face. "Is it the press? We can leave if you…"
"No! No," she interrupted with a smile.
"I'm fine, honestly. I don't want to leave. I think you're right. It must be the press making me a little nervy, but they'll be gone soon. No press are allowed at the after party. So I'll be fine and we can really enjoy ourselves then can't we?"
Draco looked deeply into her eyes. He could tell that she really didn't want to leave so soon but couldn't help but feel concern.
"Alright," he relented, standing to make his way to the loos. "I'll be back shortly."
He took her hand and gave it a chaste kiss before heading off, making sure to return as quickly as he could. When he returned, Hermione was scouring the programme. Looking over her shoulder, Draco was relieved to see that only one more presentation remained.
"See?" she remarked as she looked up to him with a faint smile. "It'll soon be all over," she said quietly with a deep breath, turning to face the stage intently. Klaus Bagman had just proceeded to introduce the presenter of the final award of the evening to the stage.
Draco blinked in disbelief and confusion as the very familiar figure of Neville Longbottom walked awkwardly across the stage to the lectern.
"What the...?" he stated in confusion, glancing at Hermione who shrugged non committedly.
Since Harry and Ginny's wedding, Draco had struck up a most surprising friendship with Neville. The pair had bumped into each other in Diagon one afternoon and had ended up spending an enjoyable evening together at the pub. This had become something of a regularity since then, and Neville had even started to join Draco, Theo and Blaise on their nights out as well.
"He never mentioned he was doing this," Draco remarked, taking another sip of wine as he contemplated the surprising turn of events.
"I think this award is always a closely guarded secret, so he wouldn't have been permitted," Mary Cattermole explained from across the table, having caught Draco's reaction.
"Ah. Makes sense I suppose."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Neville began, bending down slightly towards the magical voice amplifier that was located on the lectern.
"God he looks nervous!" Draco remarked with a chuckle of glee, taking another sip of his wine.
Hemrione chastised him with a "Shhh!" and a gentle slap on his leg. Draco continued to chuckle as Neville continued.
"It is with great pleasure that I have been asked to present the final award of the evening; The Special Recognition Award. You see, this award is being presented to an individual for reasons extremely close to my own heart." Neville continued. He visibly swallowed thickly and took a deep breath.
Something about Neville's demeanour suddenly piqued Draco's interest more intently and he leaned forwards with intense focus, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingertips together.
"I'd like to introduce you to Frank and Alice Longbottom; my parents," Neville went on. The projections around the Grand Hall slowly revealed a photograph of Neville's parents as they sat in their hospital beds in the Janus Thickey ward, where they had been housed for nearly two decades. Hermione recognised the child-like smiles that they bore which she had witnessed first-hand during that Christmas visit to see Mr Weasley all those years ago.
"They were unfortunately the victims of a most heinous cruciatus curse during the second wizarding war, which sadly resulted in them being left in a state of permanent insanity. I was only sixteen months old at the time. Since that day, they have been unable to remember me or anything about their former lives. That is, until recently…"
The projections then shimmered and changed to an image of them sitting with Neville and enjoying looking through what appeared to be a photo album, pointing out family pictures while Neville smiled and nodded enthusiastically.
Draco felt an almost imperceptible squeeze of Hermione's hand on his leg and glanced sideways at her, but she had turned her face quite fully away to face the stage.
"You see, three months ago, a newly developed potion was released for general use and application in the field of memory restoration. Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention towards the projectors to find out more about the incredible recipient of tonight's special award," Neville announced.
Draco's heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might burst forth from his chest as he dared to surmise where this was heading. He turned again to look at Hermione who was now clutching his hand tightly, her eyes glistening with emotion as she tried desperately to avert his intense stare.
"Is this what I think it is…?" he whispered, looking round the table at her colleagues who were all displaying wide grins of amusement.
Hermione took a deep breath and nibbled her lip nervously as she finally met his gaze. She smiled apologetically and whispered: "Please don't be mad!"
He shook his head in disbelief as the lights dimmed slightly and a magically pre-recorded projection came slowly into focus.
"Oh no…" Draco groaned quietly as Harry Potter's face came into view.
"So is this one of those message reels where we all have to say nice things about him?" Harry appeared to be asking someone behind the camera. He then huffed dramatically before relenting with a sassy tut. "Oh go on then!"
The audience laughed at Harry's sarcasm, but Draco continued to glare at the screen in shock.
The recording then cut, to Draco's surprise, to Professor McGonagall who was sitting in the head's office at Hogwarts. The audience broke out into rapturous applause, cutting off her opening sentence.
"… as many will know has had a precarious history with our school, and let me add, I was myself unsure about his admittance at eighth year. But…" she continued with a warm smile, "he gladly proved my doubts wrong on every level. We had ourselves an exceptionally gifted and determined young student and, in the end, I was in fact fiercely proud of all he overcame to secure a set of most outstanding grades. It became rapidly clear to me that this was a young man that was determined to make a new name for himself. I feel he totally deserves the accolade put forwards for him tonight, given what that he has achieved in the face of adversity."
The film then cut again back to Harry who was dramatically stroking his chin in a faux show of difficulty in trying to come up with some kind words to say.
"So… nice things to say about Draco sodding Malfoy?" Harry appeared to ask himself questioningly. At this the audience notably stilled and there was a frisson of realisation and whispering around the hall.
"Well, Draco and I have a bit of history as you know. He was an utter git at school and yes, yes we all know about all the other stuff…" Harry continued. Draco noted that Harry was wearing his auror uniform in the recording, giving added authority and veritas to his words.
"The thing that irks me the most these days, is how much he's totally proved me wrong. He's turned out to be not only an exceptional wizard, but also a really decent human being. And that really gets on my nerves."
The audience chuckled with delight and Draco stared around the room once more, struggling to come to terms with what was unfolding before him.
The recording then cut to the Dean Sinclair, who it appeared had been interviewed in his study at St Mungo's.
"It was clear that Draco was a really gifted apprentice healer in the short time that we had him," the Dean explained matter of factly. "This is a wizard of many, many talents. His unfortunate departure from our program was indeed regrettable. However, it has led to other quite desirable outcomes…" the Dean added, reaching forwards and holding up to everyone's surprise, a vinyl record. Draco's mouth fell open in shock as he noted the Black Sabbath album that the Dean must have purchased from Vinyl Resting Place.
The projection then changed, to Draco's complete horror, to a recording of his mother. The audience stilled again in instant recognition of the famous Malfoy matriarch.
"Draco may not thank me for saying this, but he is gentle. And he has a huge capacity for love. It was always there really. And now? Yes, now it is clear for all the world to see."
The screen then returned to a shot of Dean Sinclair who was now reclining back in his chair, hands behind his head, feet up on the desk and nodding his head enthusiastically along to the sound of Ozzy Osbourne's lyrics.
The audience broke out into genuine warm laughter that rippled out across the hall as the screen then changed again to the less well recognised figure of Altrixa McConnell from the European Journal of Magi-Medical Research. Her name and title shimmered magically at the bottom of the projection.
"Mr Malfoy's dedicated research into the development of this groundbreaking potion was absolutely second to none. What this young wizard has achieved in the field of mind healing should be a great cause for celebration around the wizarding world. The public, however, will of course be unaware of his achievement, as Mr Malfoy himself was keen to maintain a more distanced association with the potion, for the most noble of reasons."
The screen then showed, much to Draco's surprise, Hermione's parents, sitting side by side and lovingly holding a framed photograph of their daughter. Draco gaped openly at the sight before him and turned his head sharply to her. She smiled apologetically once more.
"Your parents?" he asked with disbelief.
Hermione could only nod in response.
"Thanks to Draco's selfless and determined pursuit of his study into memory restoration, we were able to regain the memories of our daughter and our family life," Mrs Granger explained. Our daughter ensured our safety by putting our lives before hers, and Draco has ensured our shared happiness by bringing us back together."
"The fact that he stands to gain absolutely nothing from his potion is surely a testament to this man's true character," her father went on to add. "He has handed over the complete rights to the potion to St Mungo's for the continued benefit of its patients, in particular the victims of the war."
There was a hush around the hall as this information was taken in by the crowds. Hermione was wiping a tear away from her eye as the projection changed once more to Harry.
"Oh bloody hell!" Draco groaned at the Boy Who Lived's third appearance.
"And… did I mention he's been dating my best friend? Who is like a sister to me? So, I'm required by law to hate the guy for that reason alone… but, you know what? I just can't! I mean, I've got a bit of first-hand knowledge about dating sisters to know that it is generally a big no-no. But, he bloody well loves the girl! And to be quite honest - I can't blame her for loving him back!"
"Curse you Malfoy!" Harry added, shaking his fist dramatically towards the camera with a smirk. "I'm sure I'll find some reason to hate you again someday. But, in the meantime… I suppose… congratulations are in order?" Harry finished before looking back again at the person behind the camera out of shot. "Is that ok?" he asked as the lights came back on and the projectors dimmed, attention turning back to the stage.
Neville was now standing proudly holding the magically glittering trophy with a wide smile adorning his face as the audience clapped and he began to build the announcement up to its inevitable climax.
"My parents, although still in a very vulnerable state of mind and fragility, have under the administration of Draco's potion, started to recall aspects of their previous life. We were always assured that this was an outright impossibility before.Many of you will have heard of this miracle cure. It goes by the simple name of Claritas and it is to its genius creator that we present our special recognition award this evening.
Many of you will have held doubts about this man as his name became clear to you this evening but the facts stack up and speak for themselves. He didn't want the fame or glory that is rightfully his, but I'm afraid mate," Neville added searching out Draco's silvery eyes in the audience and now addressing him directly, "we've all decided that is just unacceptable. Ladies and gentlemen, the Special Recognition Award this year is presented to my very, very good friend, Mr Draco Malfoy…"
And with that the audience rose to its feet in rapturous applause. Draco remained fixed to his chair, gaping in shock at Hermione who was hugging and kissing him and then whispering something urgently in his ear.
"You deserve this and I love you so much! Now please - get up! Go!"
He slowly got up to his feet, holding Hermione's hand and placing another chaste kiss on her knuckles, before buttoning his jacket and smoothing out the creases in his trousers. He began making his way in what felt like slow-motion towards the stage while the audience continued to clap and cheer.
He made his way to alight the steps, making eye contact with Neville who was grinning broadly and holding out the trophy towards him. Draco shook his head and scowled at his friend for his deceitfulness. Neville ignored him and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Sorry mate. It had to be done!" he laughed, before thrusting the trophy into his hand. Neville then stepped away, allowing Draco to take to the lectern under the bright light and intense focus of the audience whose clapping was beginning to abate in anticipation of a speech.
Draco looked around the hall and a slight movement slightly further back drew his attention. He could just make out the figure of Justin as he skulked angrily away towards the exit. The sight buoyed him with confidence and he drew in a deep breath to consider what he might be able to say in thanks for this most unexpected award.
"Thank you ladies, gentlemen and ministers. Thank you. I have to say that this comes as a complete shock," he began, turning the trophy in his hands to make certain that it was in fact his name that was engraved there.
"The fact that the Ministry has seen fit to approve the presentation of this award to me, given … given my past, I think is a true testament to how far we have moved forwards as a whole society since the war.
I can't begin to tell you all how truly grateful I am for this recognition. Although it is true - I didn't want any profit or acknowledgement for Claritas. I wanted the potion to help others and that was it. It would have been enough reward for me to know that its healing effects were having such an impact on so many lives. I had no idea Neville…." he trailed off looking towards his friend, seemingly unable to find the words to explain how he felt about the news of Neville's parents.
"So…" he said, changing the subject slightly to avoid becoming too overwhelmed. "I have many, many people to thank for their support, particularly in recent years, whether it be in my academic studies or even my more recent business ventures. I mean - huge thanks to Dean Sinclair for both his custom and endorsement there!" Draco added with a short laugh and gesture towards the projectors, earning a ripple of laughter from the crowds once more as they recalled the odd sight of the ancient Dean enjoying the muggle rock music.
"However, please allow me to indulge in expressing my most heartfelt thanks to one person in particular. Without this person, I would never have even conceived of the idea of pursuing memory restoration. The knowledge of her selfless and brave actions during the war set me on a course of determination to ease the suffering of those victims of memory loss which we all know, has affected so many as a result of the war. And it's true that I also wanted to try in some ways to make amends for my past."
Draco searched the audience to lock eyes with Hermione as the words came pouring out as thought from his very heart.
"Hermione, I thank you the most for everything that you have given me. For giving me a chance of a new life by speaking in my defence in the trials. For giving me hope in our eighth year at Hogwarts by being one of the few people willing to offer me friendship. For giving forgiveness by working with my mother in her charity work. For supporting me in my unconventional business venture and, most of all, Hermione, for loving me unconditionally, in spite of everything that is stacked against us. Hermione Granger, I love you with all my heart, and this award is for you. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen."
And with that, Draco and Neville made their way off the stage to the lasting applause given by the crowds, as Klaus Bagman returned to the stage to bring the proceedings to a close.