A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. Please let me know what you thought of chapter seventeen and be on the lookout for chapter eighteen soon!

1998

Ever since Draco had met Hermione all of those years ago, he had known that she was a witch who was going places. She was so driven and focused and smart, he knew that there was no chance that she wouldn't do well in the wizarding world, even though she didn't have the benefit of having magical parents. When they had gotten to Hogwarts and they had gone through their first classes, he had eagerly told her that she would be Head Girl someday.

He was proud to say that he had been right. It had been an easy decision to make Hermione the Head Girl in the end. Harry had won the right to be Head Boy, narrowly beating Draco himself out. Draco was okay with it, seeing as he had won the coveted Captaincy of the Slytherin Quidditch squad, just like his grandfather had predicted.

Now that they were actually graduating Hogwarts, though, he was bursting with pride watching his Hermione giving a speech to the class. She had grown into an exceptionally beautiful woman. Her hair was a point of endless fascination for him. When they were children, her hair had been a bit frizzy and wild, but she'd figured out how to style it a few years before - not tame it, because it was still voluminous and lush, but...more, how to work with it.

With Hermione's speech over and their diplomas in hand, Draco was eager to go talk to his friend. He found her chatting with his mum and the rest of the Board of Governors. He couldn't stop himself from running up to her, wrapping his arms around her middle and spinning her around in a circle. "You did amazing, Hermione," he complimented her.

She looked flushed and excited, her brown eyes sparkling in delight when they fell on his. "Thank you, Draco," she said. "I can't believe we are actually leaving school now. It seems like just yesterday we were heading off on the train."

If he wasn't mistaken, he detected a hint of sadness in her voice. "Hey, don't worry, it's not as if we won't be seeing a lot of one another," he said with a smirk. "Slytherin house is meeting at a pub in Diagon Alley later tonight, if you wanted to come with?" he offered.

"Is Pansy going to be there?" Hermione asked, her mouth pressed tightly in a line, showing her displeasure.

Draco groaned internally. "Well, yeah," he said. It wasn't as if he'd specifically invited the other witch - she was a Slytherin after all. But, it wasn't as if he was unaware that she and Hermione didn't get along. Pansy always went out of her way to talk down about Hermione, and no matter how much Draco tried to discourage the behavior it had little effect. Hermione had been a bit frosty to him since he and Pansy had started to casually date. Alphard and Harry tried to get him to leave Pansy alone, too, no matter how many times he told them it wasn't serious. "But, I've spoken to her, Hermione...that she needs to be nicer to you."

Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes, telling him that she didn't believe Pansy's words for one second. "Then no thank you," she said tersely. "I am sure that Mandy would be happy to celebrate with me."

He felt his heart drop at the realization that Hermione didn't want to spend time with him if Pansy would be showing her face. "At least come and meet my Aunt Hermione, then, before you go," he said, desperate to not let the conversation end just yet.

Hermione's eyes lit up at the suggestion, following his hand to where he was pointing. "Is that your Aunt Hermione?" she asked, her head cocked to the side, studying her.

Draco wasn't entirely sure what it was that she was looking for, because all he could see was the back of his Aunt's Head, where she was talking to a pleased looking Alphard. "Yeah, that's her," he said with a half smile. "I can't believe I've known you for over ten years and you haven't met her yet. She's brilliant, and I think you'd really like her."

It seemed as if Hermione was about to agree to go with him, but then his mother cut into the conversation with a smile. "Hermione, darling," Narcissa said warmly. "Would you come with me? There are some people from the Ministry here who I would be delighted to make your introductions to."

"But mum," Draco butted it, annoyed that his mother was swooping in and stealing his best friend from him. "I was just going to go introduce Hermione to some of the family," he complained, not caring how petulant he sounded in that moment.

His mother was not impressed with his attitude, based on the withering glare that she gave him. "Draco," she said tersely. "These meetings are far more important for Hermione than meeting our family. These people could have career implications for her."

Hermione turned bright pink at hearing that. "Oh Merlin," she whispered. "I wasn't prepared for this. What if I make a horrid first impression?" she asked, looking to his mum for guidance.

His mother was able to smooth things over as always. "Don't worry about a thing, darling," she said, giving Hermione's shoulder a little squeeze of encouragement. "All of them will be falling all over themselves to get a chance to talk to the brightest witch that Hogwarts has seen in over a century. You will be marvelous."

His best friend seemed buoyed by the pep talk and happily followed alongside his mother to meet the very important people, leaving Draco standing all on his own. He was struck by an odd sensation of deja vu, and he wondered if his friend was moving on to bigger and better things than her friendship with him. Swallowing thickly, he tried to remind himself how unfounded his fears had been when she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

He was sure that their friendship could weather this storm, too.