The Three Broomsticks

Midday

Sunday, January 26th, 1999

Draco swirled around the last of his Butterbeer as Daphne and Blaise left the pub for some shopping. Theo had departed ten minutes earlier to return to the castle, lagging behind on his homework, leaving Draco alone in the jovial place. He had noticed Hermione sitting with her redhead girlfriend in a small booth having an animated conversation but he was determined to resist joining them, letting the recipient of his affections enjoy her time with other friends. It wasn't until the door to the bar opened, a swirl of cold weather invading the warmth, that Draco realised he would have to make his escape.

Astoria wandered in, looking about for someone she may recognise. She was all done up in impractical heeled boots and a skirt that let far too much cold in, Draco noticed before he slouched down in his seat. She had been pestering him for the last week and a half, dogging him between classes and finding cause to talk to him at every meal and when he was trying to relax in the Common Room most evening. On one occasion she had even rugged up to stalk him to Quidditch practice and he was at his wits end trying to put up with her obsession. She would spot him in a matter of seconds and he wasn't sure he could tolerate any more chatter about makeup or her tedious friends.

Taking his chance as Astoria scoured the room, Draco ducked between the tables, resurfacing beside Hermione. "Hey, Red," he drawled upon his arrival, ignoring the disdainful look Ginny passed him at the nickname.

"Don't you have any friends in your own house, Malfoy?" she asked, shifting around the table and further away from him. The redhead spied the reason for his hasty escape and a catty smile lit up her face. "Or would you rather I just called Astoria over for some conversation?"

"I dare you, Red," Draco warned. "Just see how far you get."

Ginny bristled at the challenge, posing as though she were about to call out the name of the younger Greengrass and wave her over.

"Gin, stop," Hermione said, placing a firm hand on her girlfriend's forearm. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting with Harry in a few minutes?"

Ginny sighed, relaxing her stance to check her timepiece. "You're lucky, Malfoy," she said, pulling her sleeve back over her watch and standing. "I'll tell Harry you said hi, Hermione. We'll probably pop back in here if you're still around later." She said something else, her final words lost in the swell of noise from other patrons and waved her way into the snow.

"Let's move to a booth," Hermione said loudly, lips close to his ear. He restrained a shiver as the warm air blew against his lobe. "I can hardly hear anything in this place."

Draco nodded, signalling the bartender to ask for two more Butterbeers as he trailed after Hermione like a lost puppy. They settled into the last empty booth, the circular ones towards the back of the tavern and usually reserved for couples. He saw Astoria still searching for someone to sit with, her eyes meeting his as he glanced in her direction. For a second her face lit up and she began her way across the crowded venue to greet him. Hermione straightened up a moment later and Astoria obviously noticed the Gryffindor's presence, a scowl dirtying her features before the Slytherin girl hastily made her exit onto the street.

"Crisis averted," Draco mumbled beneath his breath, a waitress turning up and depositing their fresh drinks on the table. "Sorry for interrupting your date with Red," he said to Hermione who sipped deeply from her glass, licking the foam off her upper lip. His stomach somersaulted.

"No problem," Hermione shrugged. "She and Harry have a date. He's working the Valentine's Day weekend and they can't catch up at the Hogsmeade meeting then so they're celebrating a few weeks early. I was planning on heading back to the castle early if I didn't find anyone else to share a drink with but you're here now."

"That I am, Granger," he said, another quick look around the bar to see if there was any sign of Astoria. It seemed devoid of other Slytherins though it was bursting at the seams with patrons. He watched Hermione take another gulp of her drink, repeating her previous actions and running her tongue across the string of foam that outlined her upper lip. Draco swallowed thickly and mirrored her.

Hermione noticed his action and pinked slightly. "Congratulations on your win on the Quidditch pitch last week," she said quickly, looking down into her drink. "I heard it was quite a spectacular catch of the Snitch by you."

Draco smirked, remembering the barrel roll he had orchestrated to catch the Snitch out from under the nose of the Hufflepuff Seeker, successfully winning the match for his team. They had spent that evening celebrating being one step closer to the prestigious Quidditch Cup with contraband Firewhiskey in the Room of Requirement. "It was quite a feat," he bragged. "You missed it?"

"Studying," she admitted. "I was trying to figure out which ingredients needed added potency for maximum effect with our Potions assignment. I lost track of time and when I realised it, it was nearly time for dinner and I'd completely missed the game. I was rooting for Hufflepuff, anyway."

"Ouch, Granger," he said, finishing the last of his drink. "You want another?" he asked, signalling the bartender when she nodded. "Normally, I'd ask what advancements you made with our potion but I'm just not in the mood for school talk. You going to make it to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw match next weekend?"

Hermione stared at him flatly. "Only because Ginny's forcing me," she said, smiling at the waitress as their old glasses were cleared away and new drinks arrived. "She's desperate to get me enthusiastic about the game now that she's the captain. Harry and Ron tried to get me into the game for seven years and neither succeeded so I don't know why she thinks she can turn me around in twelve months. If I decided to skip out on her match next weekend she'd probably Imperius me there."

"Why aren't you interested in it?" he asked.

"I've never been into sport, even before I knew I was a witch. My dad would always try to take me to rugby matches or watch it with him on the telly, but I was never interested," Hermione said. Draco pretended to understand what 'rugby' and 'telly' meant, nodding along as she continued. "It's just never captured me. I'll admit, there was some initial interest when I was first introduced to Quidditch but that mainly vanished when I first hopped on a broom. I'll watch for my friends but that's it."

"And Krum," Draco smirked and Hermione scowled. "Hermione Granger, war heroine, doesn't like flying?"

She shuddered. "No," she said. "It's not for me. I like keeping my feet firmly on the ground. I've only been on a broom once in our very first flying lesson with Madame Hooch, but I've flown on a Thestral and a Hippogriff. And a dragon on one terrifying occasion."

"A dragon?" Draco asked.

"Last year," Hermione nodded. "Not a memory I'd rather relive."

Draco tiltedhis glass around and looked up at the door as new patrons arrived. "Looks like you might have some visitors," he said, nodding as a couple wandered in.

"Harry!" Hermione's face brightened as Harry and Ginny wandered in, hands linked. She waved them over, scooting closer to him in the booth.

"Do you want me to leave you to catch up?" Draco offered. The booths were small, designed for two not four, and their legs were pressed flush against each other's but she didn't seem to notice. He wasn't overwhelmed with the idea of a casual drink with Potter, still feeling indebted to the wizard who had saved him from a lifetime in Azkaban.

"No, they'll just be in for a quick drink," Hermione said. "They'll want some alone time."

Draco forced out a smile when the couple arrived, sliding into the booth opposite him. "Afternoon, Potter," he greeted the Boy Who Lived with a taut nod. "Red," he smirked at Ginny who glared at him.

"How have you been, Malfoy?" Harry asked stiffly and Draco was pleased to see he wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the situation. The Chosen One had an arm slung around his fiancé's shoulder, the other resting on the table with fingers tapping to an unheard beat, but his jaw was clenched and eyes wary. Draco didn't blame him.

"Fine, thank you," Draco replied, tone equally as rigid. He kept his hands on the table, fingers interlaced, not wanting to drop them beneath and potentially graze them against Hermione. "I read somewhere you were participating in the Auror training program this year. How is that so far?"

He nodded along at all the right times as Harry explained what he had been doing for the last three weeks though he missed much of the conversation. Instead, his attention was on the pressure against his leg beneath the table. The Butterbeers had gone to Hermione's head, her cheeks flushed and smile bright as she bobbed along with her best friend's stories and Draco forced himself to focus on his empty Butterbeer glass and not the way her leg push against his whenever she laughed.

It seemed as though an age had passed before the happy couple rose to their feet to farewell Hermione. Draco had opted to twiddle his thumbs together in an attempt to pass the time, ignoring Ginny's scathing looks. He had bitten the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from bursting out with sarcastic remarks throughout the conversation. Without Potter there he would have fired them off but Draco still felt incredibly indebted to the wizard who had saved his family and possibly his own soul and part of him felt he should not irk the hero of the wizarding world. Harry and Hermione appeared unaware of his boredom, continuing on with their jovial conversations.

"Give my love to Ron, won't you?" Hermione said as Harry buttoned up his coat. He paused midway and looked up at her, green eyes troubled.

"About Ron," he frowned, pressing his lips together for a moment as if to decide whether or not to continue. "He's seeing someone, Hermione. It's nothing serious – they're just going for drinks – but it'll be in the papers soon, no doubt, and I just thought you should find out now."

"It's Fay Dunbar," Ginny added at Hermione's pursed lips.

A faint memory of Fay Dunbar sprung to Draco's mind, a pretty Gryffindor who he had shared Care of Magical Creatures with when they had both taken the subject. She had opted out of returning to Hogwarts to redo her Seventh Year and he recalled she had been spared much of the antagonism of the Carrows and their band of vicious followers. Fay had been one of the few Gryffindors spared the torture the prior year, a pureblood who kept out of any controversial business.

Draco paused his thoughts to shake hands with Potter before he and his fiancé left, the redhead passing him a contemptuous look over her shoulder. Draco was certain he would have dropped dead if looks could kill. He looked back at Hermione, how her shoulders had slumped a little, the way her smile was not as radiant. "Come on, Granger," he said, standing up and drawing her attention. Her brown eyes looked troubled and distracted but she slid out of the booth at his instruction. "They're going for drinks. We just went for drinks. It's not a big deal."

"But Fay?" Hermione's face puckered into a frown. "I guess I just didn't see it coming."

Draco held the door open for her as winter's tendrils reached into the pub and pulled them onto Hogsmeade's icy streets. "I doubt even the most talented Seer could have seen us coming," he remarked. "How are Weasley and Fay any more surprising?"

Snow had begun to settle on Hermione's head, a few flakes dislodging when she nodded. "I suppose you're right," she conceded, wrapping her arms around herself to protect against the cold. "I'm going to head back up the castle if you want to come. It's too cold to be out."

Draco agreed when a blustery gust blew, chilling him to his core. They stuck close for warmth on the trip back up to the castle, shivering too hard to talk, and going their separate ways when the draughty Entrance Hall greeted them. He continued down into the even more frigid dungeons, behind the tapestry which led to the Slytherin Common Room and took his usual seat in front of the fireplace. He was a bit surprised to see Pansy sitting with Theo.

His ex-girlfriend had been completely baffled at his affections for Hermione, turning her nose up at the decision and spending time with her other circle of friends, the snottier Slytherin girls of their year. She looked up at him when he sat in his armchair, her legs crossed neatly at the ankle and angled slightly to the side.

"Long time no see, Pans," he said, unwrapping the scarf he had tied around his neck and resting it in his lap. "Keeping busy?"

"Busy enough," she sniffed. "I just had to get away from your mooning over that Gryffindor know-it-all. Honestly, with all the Slytherin girls at your beck and call I don't know why both of you decided she was the one to go for."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Maybe because she's not insufferably whiny and shallow like your tittering little friends," he said. Pansy let out a low hiss between her teeth which he ignored. "Besides, our attentions worked for Drake."

"Dumb luck," Pansy insisted, waving impending arguments away with a swish of her hand. "But what about poor old you, Teddy? Who's going to keep your bed warm?"

"I could always send Astoria your way," Draco smirked. His brows lifted when Ted looked to seriously be considering the offer. "Daphne would probably hex you into a Hufflepuff, you realise."

"But she's cute," Ted shrugged. Draco felt a familiar stirring of worry in his gut. Theo, though a gentleman when he wanted to be, had been known to be a bit aggressive with his women, taking what he wanted and leaving them out to dry. Though he had never forced anyone into anything they didn't want, he knew Daphne would be furious if he let Theo anywhere near her little sister.

"Mate, she's sixteen," Draco reminded him, keeping his face cool and voice low as a group of First Years skittered past. "Then there's Daph, too. And she'll probably sic Blaise onto you after she's done with you."

"Daphne can be persuaded," Pansy said, shaking her perfectly styled curls. Draco didn't want to know how his ex-girlfriend could persuade their friend, hiding a shudder at the possible methods Pansy could use. "Teddy needs someone to love, too, Draco. You can't keep them all to yourself. Let him have your scraps."

"I don't need anyone's scraps, Parkinson," Ted snapped, rolling his eyes at Pansy's face of mock hurt at his sharpness. "That said, Astoria is quite a pretty piece of witch."

Draco blanched. "I give up on trying to stop you on this ridiculous suicide mission," he said, standing quickly before he lost the Butterbeers he had consumed all over the Common Room. "Good luck keeping your bollocks when Daph finds out your plan, Ted. And Pansy, stop encouraging him."

"Don't be so greedy, Drakey," Pansy cooed and he grimaced at the nickname before turning on his heel and heading towards the library.

For all his book smarts, Ted could really be as thick as a brick when it came to relationships.

The Great Hall

Tuesday, January 28th, 1999

7:45AM

Hermione's fingers pinched the corner of the newspaper, eyes roaming across the pages in search of Ron or Fay's name. She felt daft for being so preoccupied with the possibility that he might move on when she had already begun to do so a month prior, but curiosity still niggled at her. Would their pictures be smoothed all over the pages of The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly soon? Would she even be able to glance at the headlines without seeing her ex-fiancé with his new witch?

She knew Ron hadn't liked seeing the photos of her and Draco from New Years Eve on papers across the country and her own double standards hit below the belt.

"I don't think I've ever seen you read the social pages," Ginny said, falling onto the bench beside her. The redhead topped off their cups with tea and helped herself to toast. "You looking for pictures of Ron and Fay?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted, closing the paper close with an elaborate sweep when her search came up fruitless. "It's incredibly petty of me to want to spy on their relationship. I moved on first but I don't want to see him moving on, particularly with Fay Dunbar."

"I thought you liked Fay," Ginny frowned. "But that's obviously beside the point," she added at Hermione's flat stare. "You haven't officially even moved on. Sure, a few photos have been taken of you out and about with Malfoy, but when Ron and Fay's pictures come out, it'll be clear that he's moved on romantically. You two only broke up a month or so ago so it's perfectly justified for you to feel a bit anxious."

Hermione nodded at her friend's words. "You're right," she agreed. "Of course you're right. I guess this is good in a way, Ron being seen with someone else romantically before I was. It might soften the blow if it does end up being Draco."

"Still don't get what you see in him," Ginny said. Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the paper out of arm's reach. She had long since given up trying to sell Draco to her best girlfriend though the two seemed to have built up some sort of rapport with their insults. "But people will still have a field day with you and Malfoy. Wizarding world's darling and the poster boy for You-Know-Who an item? I suspect we'll be hearing about it for months after you get your arse into gear and make it official."

"It's not even unofficial right now, Gin," Hermione glared at her friend though her mind was elsewhere. She had been the one to put a stop to whatever romantic relationship had been developing between herself and Draco despite what her heart wanted, and now that Ron was about to go public with his new romantic endeavour, she wouldn't feel quite so slaggy. "Even if wedo start dating, I haven't a clue how it's going to work out. No doubt with the loss of friends and respect, I imagine."

That part was very true. Hermione was certain that, if she and Draco admitted their feeling for one another to the general public, she would no doubt be shunned by people she had considered her friends and become a media sensation for all the wrong reasons. The thought cast dispersions in her mind about whether or not it would be worth dating Draco. Ginny seemed to notice her brooding mood and placed a firm hand on her forearm.

"It doesn't matter what other people think, remember," Ginny said. "He might be an arrogant arse but you're still one of my best friends and I'll accept it. Harry will, too, and Ron'll come around. Who else really matters?"

"Why are you always so right when it comes to myrelationship?" Hermione frowned after she let Ginny's words sink in.

"Natural gift," Ginny shrugged. "Put the paper away and eat something. Potions starts in half an hour and we're presenting our halfway results to Slughorn."

Hermione spooned herself some scrambled eggs and poured a goblet of pumpkin juice, pushing The Daily Prophet up the table towards Pavarti who had kept her eye on it. She and Ginny avoided conversation for the rest of breakfast, eating in a comfortable silence and meandering slowly down to the dungeons where their breath rose in frosted clouds and students shivered. Ginny dissolved away to talk with some of her other friends in the class, leaving Hermione to seek out Draco.

He was leaning against one of the cold stone walls, book propped open in his hand but his eyes were unfocused. She followed his gaze and saw Theo in what looked like a row with Daphne, Blaise standing slightly behind her. The witch had her hands on her hips, face a pretty scowl, lips moving rapidly. Theo looked unperturbed by her anger, shrugging at her words.

"What's happening over there?" Hermione asked as she joined Draco's relaxed position, their upper arms pressed together. He closed his book with a snap and smirked.

"Daphne just found out Ted plans to go after Astoria seeing as I want nothing to do with her," he explained. "She doesn't seem particularly enthusiastic about the idea, does she?"

"That's an understatement," Hermione muttered. "You turned Astoria down, then?"

"Not officially," he said, turning his steely gaze onto her. The intensity of his eyes made her want to shudder. "But I think she's getting the idea that my interests lie elsewhere."

Hermione was struggling to filter through possible responses, unable to settle on one when Slughorn arrived and opened the door with a wave of his wand. He instructed them all to sit at their usual benches and put a list of partners up on the blackboard. They were to be called out for five to seven minute meetings with the Potions Master who set himself up at his desk, summoning Pavarti and Daphne up first.

"I didn't realise Theo was interested in girls like Astoria," Hermione mentioned as she pulled her notes out of her satchel. They covered everything from the ingredients to the method of the potion making process, with detailed sketches of it in different stages and a lengthy analysis of how it had healed Draco's wounds. Her partner copied her movements with a smirk.

"Ted has a wide variety of tastes," he told her. "Though I doubt his intentions with Astoria are the same as they were when you were the object of his affections. She will require far less wooing, for one, and I don't think long-term commitment is on his mind."

Hermione's nose wrinkled. "Charming," she said and began to shuffle through her notes, ensuring everything was in precise order. She looked up towards Slughorn as Pavarti and Daphne resumed their seats and Ginny and Theo replaced them. She and Draco were to be presenting next and her stomach flopped around in her chest.

"Nervous, Granger?" Draco asked quietly, lips so close to her ear she shivered at the warm air. He chuckled. "No need. We're clearly the most prepared pair with what is undoubtedly the most successful potion of the bunch. And if not, it'll be the most impressive."

His words did nothing to quell the nervous butterflies who continued to beat their wings until Slughorn waved Theo and Ginny away, summoning Hermione with a crook of his finger. She rose, as anxious as she always was when due dates were upon her, and allowed Draco to lead the way to the front desk.

"Draco, m'boy, and Miss Granger!" Slughorn beamed. "Take a seat, won't you? Now, now, show me what you two have come up with thus far. Something spectacular, I'm expecting?"

Hermione saw Draco's mouth open to begin the explanation but nerves overtook her and words began to spill out of her mouth faster than she could think. "Oh, yes. Since the conclusion of The War, there is no doubt that there will be an increase of people suffering from cursed scarring, damage which cannot be eradicated by any potion or spell developed thus far, that we know of. As there hasn't been much of a need for this sort of remedy, no magical medical institution has devoted manpower to figuring out a potion which can heal these curse wounds completely."

"As we both played major parts in the fighting, though on opposing sides, we decided to work on a potion that would do just that," Draco cut in, glancing at her with an amused smirk from the corner of his eye. "We based our first batch off an ancient healing potion, one of the first we believe. Gra-Hermione worked on that portion. We then altered the recipe with more potent ingredients and I researched wandwork additions to the elixir. Our first attempt reached completion and we tested it with highly promising results."

"We both wrote up our own reports, copies of our results, our methods," Hermione said, handing the compiled notes to the professor.

"This sounds like quite a complex venture, you two," Slughorn said, thumbing through the parchment. "I'd have expected no less, of course," he added with a short, booming laugh. "Very good, very good. Should it be successful then I believe it would be safe to say you would be two of the brightest young potioneers in the country!"

Hermione felt her cheeks pink at his praise once Slughorn dismissed them. She hid a jump when Draco guided her back to their bench with a careful hand on her lower back, still not used to the contact. He had never touched her so intimately in public before.

"Told you there was nothing to be nervous about," Draco said when they resumed their seats, books open in front of them but nothing to work on. "Sluggy loves you. No doubt he'll try and collect you after the year's done. Keep you in his back pocket."

"Jealous, are we? If I recall correctly, you tried to crash his Christmas party in our sixth year," Hermione smiled at him when he scowled at the memory. "But don't worry, from what I recall the party wasn't particularly worth gatecrashing."

"Blaise told me you spent your evening running from McLaggen, Granger," Draco teased and she grimaced at the memory of how handsy her fellow Gryffindor had gotten, his desperation to get her into a dark corner for just a few moments. "Wonder if he'll be at any of the future Slug Club parties."

"Hopefully by then I'll have someone on my arm to warn him off," Hermione said, looking straight at Draco's face with Gryffindor courage shining from her eyes. He looked shocked for a brief moment before his face curled into a grin.

"That was almost saucy, Granger," he said in a low voice that made her stomach flip. "Don't speak to loudly or people will start to get ideas about us."

"And?" Hermione said, feeling a bit sick with bravery. She had faced off against some of the darkest wizards and witches of their time but confronting her feelings was infinitely more scary to her.

"Are you insinuating what I believe you to be insinuating?" Draco asked, leaning in closer so there was no way any of their classmates could eavesdrop.

She took a deep breath and angled herself so their knees pressed together beneath the tabletop. "Ron is preparing to make whatever sort of relationship he is developing with Fay Dunbar very public. That announcement will come out sometime this week, I'm assuming. If he is the first to publicly move on from our relationship, it will mean I'm free to move on romantically, as well."

"If you're telling me we can start publicly seeing each other then you should start working on your idea of romance, Granger," Draco teased but she could see his eyes were bright. "I love it when you talk clinically like that."

"Well, there you have it. My proposition," she said as the bell tolled for the end of class. They gathered their books and stood, walking from the frosty classroom together. "I suppose we'll have to wait until next week to go completely public, but if you're willing to try as well, I'd like to start seeing you. Officially, that is. It might make things a bit less awkward when you're hanging around my dormitory topless."

"Snogging you in your dormitory whilst topless, I think you mean," Draco said so no one but she could hear them amongst the throngs of students. "I've waited this long so I think I can wait another week, Granger."

In her chest, Hermione's heart rate quickened and her fingers tightened around the books she was carrying close to her chest. "Good," she said firmly. "That's good."

"Don't sound too enthusiastic. I might just have to turn around and steal Astoria off Ted if you keep up like this."

"Do that and I'll run straight to Theo," Hermione countered. She caught the flare of his nostrils before he collected himself. "Jealous doesn't suit you, by the way."

"Cute, Granger," he snarked. "Nott isn't as good as me, anyway. You'd be begging me to take you back after an hour."

"Sure, sure," Hermione waved at him as she ducked into her Charms lab, beaming once her back was turned.