"Bloody hell, where did I put my tie?"
"You'll find it. Don't panic, we have ages yet."
"This is the biggest day of my life, Hermione, of course I'm going to panic. I can't turn up to this goddamn extravaganza they've planned out for me without wearing a fucking tie!"
"For Merlin's sake, relax," Hermione said to her stressed-out boyfriend. "It's around here somewhere, probably wherever you threw it last night."
"FUCK!" Draco exclaimed as he stubbed his toe on the side of the bed they now shared and collapsed onto it, holding his foot in pain. Hermione, who was sitting on the bed, dressed and ready, absently flipping through a magazine, reached out a hand to pat him gently without looking up. "You could help, you know!"
She looked down at him with an amused expression and sighed in exasperation. "You know if I help you, you'll be ready in five minutes and it'll deprive you of all this fun, running around like a headless Kneazle."
"Please, Hermione," he asked, sitting up awkwardly, still clutching his toe like a child. "This is really important and I want to look perfect for it."
"You always look perfect," she said, making him smile reluctantly, but then kissed him quickly and closed her magazine, getting up to help him find his clothes.
"Is this the tie you were looking for?" she asked less than a minute later, holding up the slim, dark green item he wore every time it was a special occasion.
Draco stared up at her in disbelief. "You were hiding that, weren't you? I looked in that corner thirty times, there's no way I missed it."
"Evidently you didn't look under the chair," Hermione said with a chuckle, and threw him the tie, which he deftly caught with both hands, pain in his foot suddenly forgotten. "Now, will you stop panicking and just relax and enjoy it? It's supposed to be a night to celebrate everything you've achieved."
"Yes. Alright. Sorry," he said, looking abashed as he straightened the tie and checked his reflection. "I'm just so stressed...this is so important, and all the papers will be there, and it's the first time we're going to publicly announce everything. My potion and...well...us."
"Your potion," Hermione said gently, "will be the focus of the evening. Anything else is a by-product because what you've done, Draco, will go down in history for generations of witches and wizards to learn at Hogwarts."
"Merlin, don't say that," Draco admonished. "I'll be taught by Professor Binns, everyone will remember me as a half-caught name from that lesson one June morning when they'd rather have been outside."
Hermione laughed and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it. Now, do you want to eat anything before we go? I doubt there'll be much there."
"No, I couldn't eat if I wanted to, I'm too nervous," Draco admitted. He got up off the bed and began pacing back and forth in front of the mirror, smoothing his hair down with one hand and flexing the other.
"Don't be," Hermione said, taking him by the shoulders and looking him squarely in the eyes. "It will be the best night you've ever had - everyone there to celebrate you. The younger Draco Malfoy would think it's a dream come true."
"Honestly," he replied, lifting his hand and tenderly stroking a strand of her beautifully curled hair, "this Draco Malfoy would rather none of it were happening. He would love to take his gorgeous other half out for a spectacular meal, just the two of them, and celebrate with champagne and good food, followed by a night in doing his favourite activity of all." He finished his sentence with a smirk and a gruff edge to his voice that sent her heart into spirals and made her insides purr.
"There'll be a lot of that later," she whispered with a wink. "Something to look forward to after all this is over. After all, I still haven't given you my congratulations."
"Well now," he said, still fondling her hair, "that has suddenly made this evening a lot more bearable."
She smiled and moved away from him, pulling him along with her by the hand. "Let's get going. The sooner this is all over, the sooner we can get to that."
Draco followed her willingly, the hungry look never leaving his eyes.
They Apparated out of the Manor to the entrance of the grand hall Draco's company had provided for the event. It was a huge stone edifice with an old frontage, beautifully lit with floating candles, illuminated from the inside and somehow glowing, emanating light for the whole street to witness. He took her hand and together they walked up the grand stairs and through the great columns either side. The doorman noticed them immediately and led them inside to an enormous entrance hall, the ceiling as high as a cathedral and painted with beautiful, moving landscapes.
"Wow," Hermione couldn't help but say, and Draco nodded in silent agreement beside her. It was incredible.
They reluctantly moved through to the main ballroom, which was if anything, even more magnificent. The shifting portraits on the ceiling continued, their sweeping landscapes filled one moment with soaring mountains and the next with sunny meadows, endlessly rolling onwards in a beautiful, enchanting pattern. The room itself was vast, with columns lining the walls and running into arches. The floor was full of people dancing, half in wizarding robes and half in Muggle attire, and a raised stage occupied the back of the room, with a band playing soothing classical music. Waiters slipped in and out of the crowd, offering glasses of champagne and canapes to those in the throng.
"It's wonderful," Hermione breathed.
"I have to say, they really have pulled out all the stops," Draco said, observing the spectacle before him. "It's unbelievable."
"It's completely believable," Hermione said, squeezing his hand gently. "You deserve this, one-hundred percent. You've managed something truly extraordinary."
Draco simply smiled at her, a genuine and happy expression. It reminded her of the night when he had come to her house, as she was fretting about the Memorial Ball - the night they had become friends. Smiling back at him, she leaned in and gave him a swift kiss. "I'm really, really proud of everything you are, Draco."
He gazed at her, entranced, and seemed as if he were about to speak, but before he could, he was interrupted by the doorman announcing their entrance to the congregation below. "Master Draco Malfoy and Miss Hermione Granger."
Heads turned from every direction to stare up at them. Conversations were interrupted and drinks paused midway as all eyes fixated on the couple at the entrance. Some faces held consternated frowns and others mild interest; only a few (Hermione picked out Harry and Ginny in the crowd, raising their glasses to her) held abject delight. She grinned and took Draco's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, and they stepped down onto the main dance floor together.
Gradually people began speaking again, and the conversations returned to normal levels. A few eyes still watched them from within the groups, though, and as Hermione took a drink and made her way through the crowd towards her friends, she could feel their gazes on the back of her neck. She had known it would happen, of course; it was the first time they had been out in a truly public place since the weekend in France a week and a half ago. There had been rumours about their relationship in the gossip columns, but nothing had been confirmed by the media until tonight. She was proud, and happy to announce that she and Draco were an item to the wizarding world, but she had also been prepared for the negative reactions of the Pureblood community and also some Muggleborns, bullied by Draco and the like at Hogwarts who would view her as a traitor.
She eventually located Harry and Ginny, not far from the back of the room, talking to a tall wizard she didn't recognise. "Hello," she said breathlessly as she and Draco joined the group, still firmly clasping hands.
"Hi, Hermione, Draco," Harry said with a warm grin, raising his glass at the pair. "That was quite an entrance."
"Oh, it was always going to be," she laughed, and released Draco's hand as Ginny moved to hug her. "How are you two doing? And hello, I don't believe we've met," she said, turning to the tall wizard beside her and offering her hand to shake.
All four of her companions burst into immediate laughter, Draco included. She stared in puzzlement at them, looking from her boyfriend to her two friends to the new stranger, all doubled over in hysterics. "What?"
"Hermione," Draco said, wiping back tears, "that's Theo."
"Theo- Oh my gosh, Theo Nott?" Hermione brought a hand to her mouth to cover her own shocked laughter. "Theo, I'm so sorry, Merlin, I didn't recognise you at all!"
Theo was caught up in silent laughter, but managed to get ahold of himself. "No problem, Hermione. You haven't seen me for a while - I've changed quite a bit."
"I'll say!" she agreed. At school, Theo had been small and quiet, not drawing too much attention to himself, but he had always been kind to her, as she had mentioned to Draco all that time ago at the Memorial Ball. This tall, dark-haired, strapping wizard in front of her bore no resemblance to the shy and nervous boy she remembered. "How have you been?"
"Yeah, good, thanks," he smiled. "Getting on pretty well since the War finished. I don't know if Draco's told you, I'm working for Ollivander now."
"Really? How fascinating," Hermione said. "Draco hasn't mentioned it. What do you do?"
Fully recovered now from his laughing fit, Theo enthusiastically engaged her in a conversation about the wonders of wand-making, and she listened eagerly. It had always been something that interested her, but she had never done much research on the matter so it was exciting to hear it from the perspective of a professional. Draco shook his head, grinning at his girlfriend's sudden snap into 'learning' mode, and struck up a conversation with Harry and Ginny about Quidditch.
The night passed in a haze of song, dance and conversation. The champagne kept coming and Hermione began to feel a bit tipsy, laughing and dancing far more than she usually would. It felt nice to be able to let herself go once in a while, and be something other than the reserved, bossy know-it-all that everyone else saw. Only Draco and perhaps Ginny had seen the other side of her, the carefree side which she only displayed on those rare moments when she felt genuinely, honestly and completely happy.
Then the time came for the announcement. Draco was called up on stage, and he left them regretfully, straightening his tie unnecessarily and taking a deep breath as he ascended the stairs. The band stopped playing and the attention of the room turned to the raised platform as the CEO of the company stepped forward. Lights flashed here and there as magical cameras took photographs; journalists waited in the corners, quills quivering in anticipation of the event.
"Good evening, ladies and gentleman, wizards and witches of all ages. We are here today to announce the culmination of many months' hard research and testing, which has resulted in the creation of a new, incredible potion which we all believe will be a spectacular success. It will have an impact on the lives of each and every one of you in this room tonight, and many, many more people across the entire Wizarding World. Today truly is an historic occasion."
He gestured to Draco behind him, and motioned for him to step forward.
"Draco Malfoy is one of our youngest potioneers; indeed, he has been with the company only a short time. Some of you may know of him, and some of you may have certain impressions, based on past events. In truth, he was the innovator of this life-changing potion, and has worked tirelessly to see the project come to fruition. He is one of the most gifted potioneers I have ever had the pleasure to work with, and now, tonight, his genius and his tenacity will be rewarded by seeing his dream become a reality."
From beneath his dress robes, he pulled out a small vial of potion. Everyone moved closer to see it as he brandished it before the crowd, and the flashing of the cameras intensified. "Here I present to you, for the first time, the Magical Enhancement Potion. I will now allow its creator a moment to explain how it works."
He stepped back, passing the vial to Draco, who took it with a nod and a smile, and stepped up to the front of the stage. "Good evening, and thank you for being here tonight to celebrate this momentous occasion with me. Here I present to you the fruit of my labours, soon to be in mass production and available in every alchemist's worldwide. The Magical Enhancement Potion is a breakthrough in genetic engineering. The potion will attach itself to a repressed magical gene within the body, actually working within human cells, and unlock it. Anyone born with magic in their bloodline will be able to access and enhance their magical potential to channel spells, with the help of this potion."
A collective gasp echoed round the hall, and Ginny nudged Hermione, her eyes wide as saucers. Hermione nodded excitedly, grinning, and turned her attention back to Draco.
"This means that, when this potion is made readily available, any children born to magical parents will be able to access magic. Not only does it unlock repressed magical genes, but it will boost the strength of any magic performed by its user. The ramifications of this discovery are potentially paradigm-shifting; children who were previously unable to perform magic, or whose magical signatures were too weak to attend Hogwarts, can be helped." His eyes were shining as he addressed his audience, holding out the vial for everyone to see. "Hundreds, maybe thousands more witches and wizards will emerge into our world as a result of this substance - our community will be bolstered by the inclusion of many, many more magical children, and the future of the wizarding world will be a much brighter place."
At the end of his speech, a wild round of applause broke out, and he bowed self-consciously, backing away to the rear of the stage as his boss moved back towards the front."Are there any questions?"
The hammering of noise was intense, as every journalist and researcher in the room clamoured for attention. They moved through the pack of people one by one, explaining how the potion worked in detail, explaining side effects, research methods and many other elements, ensuring every question was answered in explicit detail. The buzz going around the crowd was astonishing - the headlines for tomorrow were already writing themselves. The end of Squibs! It was a day that really would go down in history.
Throughout all of it, Hermione remained in the crowd, gazing up at her brilliant boyfriend, the man who had made all of this possible. She was so proud of his genius and happy to be able to share in this moment with him, the most important moment of his entire life as he smiled sheepishly and nodded and bowed to each person who congratulated him. She clapped heartily along with everyone else as he stepped off the stage, looking relieved, and began to wend his way back towards them through the throng of people pushing to shake his hand.
"Well done," she said as he reached them, looking haggard, and pulled him into a hug. "You were fantastic up there."
"Merlin, that was nerve-wracking," he said as she released him, gladly accepting a glass of champagne proffered to him. "I kept thinking I was going to fall over."
"It's really incredible," Harry said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I never thought I'd be saying this in my life, but you're an amazing man, Draco Malfoy, to be able to create something like this. People have been trying for hundreds of years."
"Thanks, Potter," Draco said, a hint of his old smirk returning. "I never thought I'd be saying this, either, but I'm honestly glad that you're here to enjoy this evening with me. It's nice to be surrounded by friends."
Theo and Ginny moved in to congratulate Draco as well, and Harry smiled at Hermione past the others. The past was well and truly buried now, and she sighed in absolute bliss. Nothing could make this night more special.
Soon after, the music started up again, and Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the dance floor straightaway. It was a fast and fun song, and she laughed as he twirled her around, loving every minute. It meant so much to her to finally see Draco happy, and proud; he deserved to be celebrated more than anyone for the efforts he had made to turn his life around, and what he had now given back to the wizarding community.
The song finished, and was replaced with a much slower one. Draco pulled Hermione into his arms and they started to sway on the spot, relaxed and happy, pressed against one another and reveling in the feeling of holding each other so closely. He looked down at her and smiled again. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
"No," she said with a teasing glint in her eye. "Not even once, actually."
"Then let me tell you now. You are the most radiant woman in the room tonight, Miss Granger, and I cannot wait to take you back home and have my devilish way with you," he grinned, making her laugh and hold him all the tighter.
"But in all seriousness," he continued, "thank you for being here with me, tonight. I'm so lucky to have you in my life and I plan to never let you go."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Never? Not even when I tell you to pick up your socks before bed?"
"Never."
"Or when I burn your breakfast horribly, like that one time when the bacon came out the colour of charcoal?"
"It pained me to see it...but no, not even then."
"How about when-" Hermione's next sentence was cut off by Draco covering her mouth with his, in a slow, passionate kiss which she felt all the way down to her marrow, and expressed his depth of emotion through one simple touch.
"I love you, Hermione, and I'm never letting you go, no matter what you do. You are the most perfect, wonderful person I've ever had the fortune to know. You're beautiful, and amazing, and I will continue to love you until we're both old and grey."
There was no appropriate response she could muster, other than to gently bring her lips up to his once more, kissing him tenderly, conveying her love for him as they danced together, lost in their own little paradise.