The next Monday morning when Draco and Hermione walked to the great hall for breakfast he had his arm around her and she had hers around his waist. She was telling him some story and he was looking at her like she was made of gold. The moment they crossed the entrance he was reaching down to kiss her forehead and suddenly there was a storm of squeals and cheers. They were caught off guard and looked around, stunned. The first years were yapping a bunch of unintelligible things; some girls were squealing and putting their hands to their faces or blatantly pointing at them. A couple of first-year Hufflepuffs ran and stood in front of them, bouncing
"You are going to have the cutest babies ever!"
Then they squealed again and ran back to their table.
The couple stood for a few seconds, still in shock. At the staff table, the teachers were exchanging looks and whispers, Flitwick was grinning widely, McGonagall had a side smile and Hagrid had his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked like he was going to read Draco the riot act.
Draco was the first one to catch up. He snorted a laugh and said in Hermione's ear
"I think we just made the cover of Witch Weekly."
She laughed, pushed herself up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. More strange girly sounds filled the hall. They sat at the Gryffindor table and braced for Ginny's comments that were sure to come. They were still eating when Dennis Creevey stood up, pick up his books and walked to stand in front of them. He leaned in what he probably thought was a menacing gesture and pointed a finger to Draco's face.
"You treat her well, Malfoy, or so help me Merlin I…I…" then he huffed and walked away.
Draco looked at his friends with a dumbfounded expression. Ginny shrugged
"Well, I'll say you got off easy." Hermione and Neville laughed and went back to their food.
When they finished and started walking to their first class of the day Draco saw the blonde first year Slytherin boy ran and catch up with the brunette Gryffindor girl. There was a short exchange and then he was carrying her books and chatting animatedly with her. Draco smiled and pulled Hermione closer. Hopefully, that boy wouldn't waste time the way he had done when he was younger.
A few weeks went by and one Sunday evening Draco and Neville walked into the great hall for dinner after spending the afternoon working at the greenhouses. They were chatting distractedly about harvesting and preservation of a few rare plants used for potions when a small female voice called from the Slytherin table.
"Draco?"
They turned towards the voice and Pansy Parkinson was sitting alone on one corner of the Slytherin table. Her eyes looked glassy like she was holding tears. She stood and ran to hug Draco, who was a bit confused.
"Pans, you are back, I didn't know you were coming back!"
She looked at him with a mix of relief and confusion in her eyes, then she looked at Neville.
"Longbottom?"
Neville offered his hand
"Hey Parkinson, welcome back."
She shook his hand, still looking between the two boys, confused. At that moment Ginny and Hermione walked in and each one went to kiss her respective boyfriend. Pansy's face was now blank, stunned. Draco gently pointed at her
"Pansy is back, we just founded her sitting alone on a corner."
Hermione and Ginny turned, were surprised but composed their faces quickly. Hermione reached for the Slytherin girl's arm.
"Well, no sitting alone here. Welcome back, Pansy, come with us. Draco spends most of his time now at the Gryffindor table, his tie is actually starting to turn red and gold on its own."
Pansy let herself be dragged to the Gryffindor table of all places. The first thing she managed to say after sitting there was
"Draco you are not staying in the Slytherin dorms?"
Ginny snorted and made a funny face, using exaggerated hand gestures.
"Oh, no, Mr. and Mrs. Big Heads here have their own quarters, because they are fancy, " she said pointing at the head badges the other two sport, "the school is actually sanctioning cohabitation and fornication."
Hermione swatted her arm, but Pansy laughed at the comment, starting to catch up.
"So you have been ok here Draco? Have people been ok with you? Do they treat you well?"
He nodded
"Well it really helped to have Hermione's support from the beginning, but yes, I have had a great year, from day one."
Comprehension dawned on Hermione about how nervous Pansy Parkinson had to be about coming back. She held the Slytherin girl's hand on hers
"Pansy, I, Hermione Granger, am dating Draco Malfoy. If that doesn't mean things have changed I don't know what does. I assure you, you will be comfortable here. We will make sure of that."
Pansy dabbed the corner of her eyes. Draco squeezed her should reassuringly.
"Thank you, Granger. I really appreciate it."
"Please call me Hermione. And Ginny and Neville" she said pointing at the other two.
Pansy nodded.
"Well, definitely a lot of changes, but it seems to be all for the better."
Draco smiled brightly, nodding.
"Oh, and Neville and I have an announcement."
Ginny lifted an eyebrow
"You two eloping and leaving Hermione and me to rot?"
Draco threw a dinner roll at her, then he said
"We are going into business together after graduation. Neville will start his own greenhouses and I will start a potion business that requires lots of exotic plants. We are going to talk to Slughorn and Sprout and ask them to mentor us one on one for the rest of the year so we can have a business plan by the spring term."
The girls congratulated them excitedly. Then they turned to ask Pansy about her time in America, making her feel welcome.
A couple of weeks later, at the auror training facilities of the Ministry, Harry Potter was reading a letter he got from Hermione Granger, who always kept him updated on what was going on in her life. He had seen Ginny and Neville in Hogsmeade after they started dating, and had reassured them that he was happy for them. it took him a few days to wrap his head around Hermione dating Draco, but after they all had drinks together a couple of times he was very happy to see all the positive changes and give them his blessing. In the latest letter, Hermione told him about Pansy and how they were all making sure she felt comfortable, and how nice she was being to them. Then she suggested they should all have drinks in Hogsmeade the following Friday evening.
That Friday Harry had just apparated by the Three Broomsticks when he saw the group of friends walking towards him. He noticed that a very pretty brunette with a sweet laugh was walking with them. When the group reached him the pretty brunette stopped in her tracks, a look of panic on her face. Harry realized that the pretty girl was Pansy Parkinson. She looked very different though. Her face was soft and her big eyes and turned up nose that used to give her a pug face when she was younger now made her look beautiful. Harry swallowed hard and stood taller. His time with the Aurors had made him assertive and confident, so he walked straight to her and offered his hand. She put hers on top in a very delicate, feminine way, so he pulled it up to his lips and kissed it.
"You are looking beautiful, Pansy Parkinson. I'm glad you joined us."
She was speechless, and could only nod. The person that she was afraid the most in the world to face was not only courteous to her, he was downright… flirty? Her head spun off while the rest of the group exchanged greetings and hugs. She saw that Harry and Draco were now in man hug terms, so maybe she should try to relax a bit. Difficult task though. Harry Potter was looking very...manly. He seemed taller and broad-shouldered, and after they all went into the pub he took off his jacket to reveal a tight t-shirt that framed his muscular arms and chest. When he walked to the bar to get them all drinks she couldn't help staring at his arse that looked perfectly round and firm in muggle jeans. Hermione and Ginny noted and exchanged grins.
