The year continued, a series of events with highlights being everyone's birthdays. Having Draco around so often began to feel less strange and strange, and seeing him interact with her friends sparked warmth in the pit of her stomach, like warm wine settling in the middle of winter.
Harry's birthday was peak summer. They had a picnic; a big one. Hermione, Draco, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Harry, Bill, Fleur, Percy, George, Angelina, Audrey, Ron…and Pansy. They weren't dating, Pansy insisted she wasn't interested . But the way she twirled her hair when she leaned into Ron caused Draco's lip to curl in a promise of fierce teasing later.
Tiny tea sandwiches, cups of tea brewed by magic of course, potato salad, pies, pumpkin pasties (Harry's favourite), things Hermione couldn't even see beyond the piles of things in the middle were all up for grabs. Hermione reclined lazily on her and Draco's picnic blanket, Her head on his ribcage with his arm slung across her, and stared at the lazy clouds above her, blue sky stretching forever.
Draco hummed into her hair where he pressed periodical kisses. Then the shock of cold liquid dotted her skin and she snapped to attention. Ginny and Harry were splashing each other in a lame display of water fighting without wands and it was getting everywhere.
"Remind me again," Draco murmured into her ear where it tickled her and sent a shock to her pelvis. Now was not the time. "Why'd they need help getting back together? They're atrociously happy together."
Hermione tilted her head to peek at him and his eyes were following their now wrestling match, food sent rolling as the picnic cloth got twisted in their legs. She smiled before kissing his forearm, the nearest part of his skin to her mouth.
"Harry's a jealous man." Hermione shrugged, rethought her words, "Not jealous. That's a strong word. More like," She paused, stitching her words together carefully, "Gin had been getting a lot of attention in the media and the papers had been shitting on their relationship. Gin never clarified or rebutted rumours of her and other Quidditch players."
"She cheated?" Draco's voice in her ear made her involuntarily cross her legs. His voice was even, unsurprised or scandalised.
"No!" Hermione glanced up at him and fought the urge to bite him. Affectionately, of course. "She didn't think she needed to clarify. She let Harry stew, then he was being ridiculous about it, acting insecure. It imploded…or exploded, I don't know really how the fight went. And they couldn't see eye to eye. Harry told her to go have fun and her freedom ," She said the word freedom the way she remembered Ginny saying it, Draco cocked an eyebrow, "So she did. Well, she didn't, until she met Blaise really. I hadn't seen her have proper fun until you all."
"Shame, she's a funny woman." Draco pressed a kiss to Hermione's hair where she hardly felt it because of the sheer bushiness. "They were silly to let that come between them."
"You're telling me?" Hermione giggled. "They're both stubborn shits."
Ginny squealed as Harry pinned her and rubbed his nose over every part of her face; Hermione realised was covered in icing. "Love kind of makes us all stupid, huh?" Hermione said to no one in particular as she felt warmth from affection fill her. Surrounded by her favourite people on a beautiful day, in the arms of a man she never expected to fall in love with.
She glanced at the man who felt less like a sour spot than before; Ron and Pansy were playing a fierce game of Wizard's Chess. He was gnawing on his lip the way he often did when he couldn't decide which play to make. Pansy was observing just that, her legs folded under her as her hair flung around her face in the wind. She didn't seem to mind.
"You think that's going to become something?" Hermione nudged her chin in their direction and Draco hummed, the sound vibrating through her like a cat's purr.
"Haven't seen Pansy throw herself at anyone like that in a while." Draco sipped a flute of champagne with the help of some magic so he didn't have to shift upright, water still beading on the glass from perpetual coolness.
" That's throwing herself at someone?" Hermione turned her head to look at him fully, incredulous. Then she furrowed her brows and put on as serious an expression as she could muster, failing to hide her smile, "I thought at the ball with a particular blond man was what throwing oneself at someone else looked like."
Draco pinkened around his ears but his expression barely flickered. Hermione grinned before looking back to Pansy whose knight smashed a castle. Ron looked at her in wonder forcing Hermione to stifle a sudden burst of laughter. It was like watching both their exes fall in love in real time. Draco's hand tightened on her shoulder as his body shook with his own hidden laughter. Hermione couldn't contain her mirth much long and soon, they both devolved into giggles. She turned so that she was half laying on him, face to face, and the sound of his heart thumped softly in her ear.
If muggles were to pass by, they would look like either the most disgustingly happy couple's picnic, or the oddest assortment of couples either laughing, wrestling, spectating, or playing chess.
As their laughter died down and Pansy tucked her hair behind her ear, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Ron, Hermione's mind wandered back to Blaise. And Draco's…ex fiance?
"Draco," Hermione propped her chin onto his ribcage and he flinched, like it tickled him. She placed a hand under her chin and he stroked her hair, his attention on her face as she peered up at him. He hummed that cat purr sound and she smiled. "Has Blaise returned to Italy?"
"He often visits his mother…I believe he is, yes." Draco's eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought.
"And," Hermione didn't often feel nervous about asking him for anything, or about anything. Except Astoria. "When is your next appointment with the Healer? For…her."
Saying her name made her squirm, like it was a sore subject but not for her, for Draco, and she could feel his slight discomfort. He had told her in very few words that he only felt that way because Astoria was the cause of some strife for Hermione, but nothing more. He didn't like that he hurt her, even if it wasn't really a lie.
"I don't know." Draco's eyebrows rose slightly, as though he had surprised himself.
"Oh, should you find out?" Hermione ran her finger along his jaw where it had tightened fleetingly.
"I don't have to." Draco looked at her with a small smile. "Blaise took Astoria to Italy. Her sister, Daphne is there. Daphne had written to me after Astoria was," He paused to find the appropriate words, "upset, about our non-engagement. She wanted more of a role in her sister's care and, well…" He trailed off and Hermione saw the tinge of pink on his cheeks.
"You're free." Hermione grinned. "What you were doing for her was amazing, but I didn't want to be a problem." He scoffed as he twirled a curl around his finger.
"A problem, Granger?" Draco's laugh had somehow fallen into the category of erotic for Hermione and she blushed. "You're the best problem I've ever had." He bent his neck to kiss her and she met him halfway.
"Oi!" Harry's voice shocked them to a stop. "This is my birthday, why are we all coupled up? Should I have insisted on a hotel party?"
"Could you imagine the headlines if we had gone to a hotel to party?" Pansy laughed. Ron watched her toss her hair. Their match seemed to be over, but pieces were crawling their ways back onto the board like a slow motion reset. "Skeeter would be claiming something like, "Potter's orgy! Everything you need to know about the night out and about with the Wizarding World's hottest couples."
"The entire world, Pansy?" Draco drawled.
"Have you seen us?" Pansy gestured around to everyone, her eyes lingering on Ron. "We're hot and young. I don't think anyone can beat us in the looks department." Her eyes landed on Fleur and Bill, "And you two. Don't' get me started on you both. I'd love to take you shopping and see what you can look like. Magazine cover ready, I'm sure."
Fleur flipped her hair over her shoulder and beamed at Bill who, despite his scars, was still the most handsome Weasley brother.
"Shall we sing happy birthday?" Ginny suddenly stood up. Harry almost fell over in surprise. Their blanket was a mess, some stained green where they rubbed into the grass. Draco sipped his champagne again and Hermione laughed.
"With what cake, Gin?" Hermione gestured at the mess of a blanket. "You've smeared it all over yourselves!"
"I'm a witch, Granger." Ginny put her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes in a shocking display of Molly Weasley-ness. "I can conjure a cake."
"You made one and left it at home, so you can conjure it here?" Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Did you bake a cake solely to smother Harry with?"
"It's a Weasley, birthday Granger. Your birthday's coming up!" Ginny waggled her eyebrows.
"Oh, Merlin's beard, no." Hermione dusted off her trousers as she knelt with Draco's help. "I-"
"Oh that's right. You might be having a Malfoy birthday." Ginny winked.