Keeping Astoria away from Draco over dinner proved easier than either Draco or Hermione had predicted. When Daphne had sorted out the seating she had placed her sister in between their grandparents, which was as far away from Draco as she could get. Astoria clearly wasn't happy with the arrangement and kept shooting Daphne dirty looks throughout the meal.
Just before dessert was about to be served, Blaise stood up and said he had an announcement to make. Blaise then announced that the following evening dinner would be earlier and after that the casino would be open for the night. Daphne also piped up and added that she expected anyone who chose to visit the casino to be dressed appropriately, which basically meant smart tuxedos for the men and evening gowns for the women.
"I was really looking forward to checking out the casino, but I don't have a tux." Theo sighed disappointedly. "I have a smart suit for the wedding, but I didn't bring my tuxedo."
"I don't even own a tuxedo." Harry remarked, sounding equally dejected as Theo.
"And I definitely don't have an evening gown with me." Pansy added.
"Don't worry, we've got it all in hand." Blaise chuckled at his disappointed friends. "We're heading towards Italy, and tomorrow morning we're going to dock for a few hours. I've arranged for us all to go to my Italian hotel, which has one of the best boutiques in the country. We can all get kitted out there."
"That sounds great Blaise, but I very much doubt I can afford to buy a tuxedo I'm only likely to wear once." Harry said.
"Don't worry, I've got that covered as well." Blaise said. "Anything you buy will be free of charge. Daphne and I decided on the casino evening being all fancy, so we feel we should pay for it."
"We can't let you do that." Ginny gasped. "That's too generous."
"Nonsense, you're our friends and we can treat you if we want." Blaise insisted. "Now I won't hear one more word of complaint. I expect everyone to be raring to go tomorrow, and I want everyone to pick something they like. Then tomorrow evening we're going to have a blast."
"Thanks Blaise, you're the best." Pansy smiled at her friend.
"I am pretty special." Blaise grinned, causing everyone to laugh.
After dinner Daphne and Blaise went off to spend some time with their families, while the others headed to one of the bars. Luckily Astoria chose not to join them, so it was just the six of them. After a couple of hours Blaise and Daphne showed up for a drink, before everyone headed back to their cabins for the night.
"Tonight was easier than I thought it would be." Hermione admitted as she was removing her makeup and jewellery.
"Unfortunately I don't think Daphne can keep Astoria with their grandparents the entire time." Draco sighed. "More than likely tomorrow she'll be back to throwing herself at me."
"Probably." Hermione agreed as she stood up, grabbed her pyjamas and headed towards the bathroom. "But I'm sure together we can keep her away from you."
Hermione smiled reassuringly at Draco, before heading into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. When she was finished it was Draco's turn to make use of the bathroom. When Draco finished in the bathroom he set the alarm on his wand again and placed it on the bedside table as he climbed into bed beside Hermione.
"You know, I never did get to return the favour with the suntan lotion." Draco remarked.
"I'm sure there'll be other days." Hermione chuckled as she settled down to go to sleep. "Goodnight Draco."
"Night, Hermione." Draco replied as he also settled down to sleep.
When Draco awoke to his second morning on the boat, he found himself in the same position as he'd been the morning before. Hermione was wrapped securely in his arms, with his hand cupping her breast through her top. Like the previous morning he was also aroused, and it took all his self-control not to take advantage of the situation and grab an even better feel of his best friend. Being careful not to wake Hermione, Draco removed himself from the bed and headed off into the bathroom.
The second the bathroom door closed behind Draco, Hermione rolled over with a disappointed groan. She'd been awake for almost ten minutes, totally content to lie in Draco's arms. Of course she would have been happy to do more than just lie there, but almost as soon as Draco had woken up he was up out of bed. Clearly her best friend wasn't bothered that he kept waking up with her wrapped in his arms, at least not to the extent where he felt he had to have a good feel.
Pushing her disappointment away, Hermione got up and began finding an outfit for the day. She wasn't going to let her frustration over her feelings for Draco ruin the week. Apart from what was happening with Astoria, she was having a great time and was enjoying the time spent with Draco. Even though the pair had been friends for years, they'd never been on holiday together and she was enjoying spending time with him away from their normal environment.
By the time Draco finished in the bathroom, Hermione had her whole outfit ready and was just waiting for the blond to vacate the bathroom. When he re-entered the bedroom the pair exchanged friendly greetings, before Hermione headed into the bathroom to get ready. When she emerged she put the finishing touches to her outfit and gathered everything they would need in her bag, before they made their way to breakfast.
Everyone was already at breakfast when they arrived and after grabbing themselves something to eat Draco and Hermione joined their friends. Unfortunately Astoria was sitting at the table, but luckily she was in between Blaise and Daphne. However that didn't stop her from deliberately sitting forward, with her breasts almost escaping from the tight, low cut top she was wearing.
"We'll be docking in under an hour." Blaise told Draco, when his friend asked about the little excursion. "I've arranged some portkey's to take people directly from the boat to the hotel, and back again, but I was thinking we might all walk to the hotel. It's not far and it's a lovely day."
"We're up for that, aren't we?" Draco said, looking at Hermione for her approval.
"Definitely." Hermione agreed.
"Great." Blaise grinned. "There's no rush either. I thought we could remain in port until later this afternoon. That way people can also explore the rest of the town, if they want to."
Blaise's plan was met with delight and as breakfast continued he proceeded to tell his friends what the small town had to offer. By the time breakfast was over it was agreed that after visiting the boutique in Blaise's hotel, they would head into the small town, have lunch and have a good look around.
After breakfast the group headed up to the deck, to watch the boat pull into the Italian harbour. Without the structure of seating Astoria had managed to wrangle her way to beside Draco, and as she chatted mindlessly away to him, she kept running her hands over his arms. Hermione watched the interactions, noticing how bored and uninterested Draco was in the flirty blonde, but when Astoria started thrusting her chest at Draco she decided it was time to intervene.
Hermione walked over to where Astoria had cornered Draco, and sidled up to the blond wizard. "You don't mind if I join you, do you?" She asked innocently.
"Of course not. I'd much rather have you with me." Draco answered, immediately wrapping his arm around Hermione and placed a loving kiss on the top of her head.
Astoria let out a low growl and glared hatefully at Hermione, before turning around and stalking off to the other side of the boat.
"I don't think she's my biggest fan." Hermione smirked.
"She may not be, but I am." Draco grinned at Hermione. "I think you're pretty amazing."
"I'm sure you're slightly biased." Hermione retorted.
"Maybe." Draco shrugged. "But it's still true."
Hermione smiled at Draco, and the pair lapsed into silence as they watched the boat dock. Once the boat was securely docked, Blaise disappeared below deck to sort out the family members, while everyone else made their way off the boat and onto the dock. When Blaise finally joined them, he took hold of Daphne's hand and the couple led the way to the hotel.
Hermione made sure she was holding onto Draco's hand for the entire walk, and every time she saw Astoria looking at him she gave her a stern glare. Hermione's looks kept Astoria away from Draco, but she knew the second she left him on his own that Astoria would be back sniffing around. Luckily for Draco, Hermione was planning on sticking with him throughout their excursion.
When they reached Blaise's hotel he led them to the boutique, where Hermione and Draco did decide to separate. Hermione rather liked the idea of surprising Draco with her choice of dress, so she sent him off with Blaise, Theo and Harry while she headed off with the girls to do her own shopping. It didn't take Hermione long to find the perfect dress, and after having it wrapped up and labelled as hers, she went off to find Draco. When Hermione found Draco, he and the boys had finished shopping and were just browsing around.
"Do you have a dress?" Draco checked.
"Yes." Hermione nodded.
"Do you want to show me?" He asked.
"Not until tonight." She replied with a smile.
"Tease." Draco grinned back at Hermione.
As they continued to banter and flirt, Hermione spotted Astoria approaching them. With one withering glare aimed in the younger witch's direction, she turned and walked away from Draco. Hermione smiled at the sight of Astoria's retreating back, and returned her attention to Draco.
Once everyone had found an outfit, Blaise arranged for them all to be delivered back to the boat and placed in the right cabins. The group then headed into the town where they spent the next few hours exploring and having lunch. Several times Hermione caught Astoria eyeing Draco up, but since she was always at his side, the younger witch never approached him.
After a lovely few hours in the Italian town the group began to make their way back to the boat. Hermione and Draco were walking along hand in hand, both of them very aware that Astoria was just behind them. However they were ignoring the younger witch as they chatted about their day and the fun they'd had.
"Hermione." Harry called, passing Astoria and coming up beside the couple. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the afternoon?"
"I don't think so, why?"
"I was thinking you might like to have a chat." Harry said. "We haven't really had a proper chance to catch up, so I thought we could spend a few hours together. Pansy's going to go and get a massage and facial before tonight, and that's really not my thing."
"I would love to have a catch up." Hermione told Harry. "You don't mind, do you?" She asked Draco.
"Go ahead." Draco encouraged. "I'll probably just head back to the cabin for a few hours rest. I'll need my energy tonight to ensure that I win big at the casino."
"Okay, but no peeking at my dress." Hermione warned.
"As if I would." Draco feigned innocence at Hermione's suggestion he would look at her dress.
Hermione just laughed at Draco, knowing full well he would have at least considered sneaking a peek at her dress. He hated surprises and being told he couldn't look at something just made his natural curiosity worse.
When everyone arrived back on the boat, they decided to have a drink before they headed in separate directions for the rest of the afternoon. After the first drink Pansy headed off to the spa, with Ginny in tow. Blaise and Daphne stayed for a second drink, but as Blaise's hands started wandering they made a hasty retreat. Meanwhile, Draco and Theo had gotten talking and Hermione suspected that they would be in the bar for a while yet.
"Do you want to head on outside?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Yeah, why don't you grab us some drinks. I just need to nip to the bathroom." Hermione said. "I'll meet you up on deck."
While Harry went off to get some drink to take up onto the deck, Hermione quickly popped to the bathroom. It wasn't until Hermione was heading up onto deck that she realised she'd left her bag in the bar. Turning around she headed back into the bar, where she found Draco and Theo were still talking in the corner. However her bag, which had been under the table, was now sitting on the seat where Astoria had been sitting before leaving shortly after Pansy and Ginny.
"Have you moved my bag?" Hermione asked Draco as she picked it up.
"No, I haven't touched it." Draco answered.
"That's your bag?" Theo questioned, looking at the large white bag in Hermione's hands. "I thought it was Astoria's. I could have sworn she was rummaging through it earlier. I must have been mistaken."
"Yeah." Hermione muttered as she turned around and left the bar.
Heading out onto the deck she thought about what Theo had said and where she had found her bag. She didn't know why Astoria would be searching through her bag, but something told her she had been. Wondering if there was anything missing, Hermione stopped and searched her bag. When she realised the cabin key was missing, she swore under her breath. The little sneak had heard Draco say he was going back to the cabin for a bit, and it looked as though she was lying in wait for him. Deciding to head down to the cabin to check her theory, Hermione firstly headed to speak to Harry. After telling him she just had to pop back to her cabin for a minute, Hermione disappeared below deck. If she was in their cabin, Astoria was about to get a severe reality check. Hermione had been quite patient with her up until now, but it was time she got the message that she was never going to get Draco, no matter how much she flaunted herself and threw herself at him.