Harry watched as Andromeda Tonks put the finishing touches on his mother's hair. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress. She turned towards her son and smiled brilliantly.
"Hello Harry, the wedding should be starting in a few minutes," and noticing the nervous-looking girl who stood to his side, "and who is this, Harry?"
"Mother, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Ginny."
"It's really nice to finally meet you, Ginny."
"It's nice to meet you too Ma'am. And congratulations on the wedding. Having it on the Hogwarts grounds was such a great idea."
"Thank you."
"And your dress is Beautiful. I love the cut of it and the lace is gorgeous. Where did you buy it? Did you have it made for you?"
Ginny chattered on and Lily glanced over the shoulder of the young woman talking to her and watched Harry lean over to a girl with curly brown hair who she could only assume was Hermione.
"Hermione, I don't really know…" Her son whispered to the girl, gesturing to the untied tie hanging loose around his collar.
She turned towards it and had it tied in a couple of seconds.
"Thanks," he whispered, "I always use magic to do it at Hogwarts, but there's no place for a wand in these pants."
She smiled with him. The smile was broken in a second as Ginny turned around, took Harry's arm and walked away. Lily caught Hermione's eye who then looked away uncomfortably.
xx
Draco sat by the lake, throwing in pebbles and watching the ripples they caused. He could hear the music and laughter from the wedding drifting over to where he sat. He should not have come to the wedding. No one wanted him here. In fact, no one wanted him anywhere. To some wizards, he held the mark of their most hated enemy, to the rest, he had betrayed everything they believed in. The wedding had been miserable. He had been actively ignored or treated to rude insults. He preferred sitting by the lake alone until it was time to leave. The sound of footsteps broke him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to see who was approaching and was faced with a dark-haired girl around his own age.
"Hi," she said with a smile.
"Hey," he said, turning away from her and tossing another stone into the lake.
"Do you go to Hogwarts?" he asked, eying her suspiciously, "I don't recognize you."
"No. I'm new. New to this whole world, actually. I'm starting at Hogwarts in a few weeks. I'm Violet by the way."
"Draco."
"Why are you over here all alone?" she asked, sitting down next to him uninvited.
"No one wants me at the party."
"Why not?"
"This," he said, pulling up his crisp white shirt sleeve to reveal the black mark scarring his forearm and staring at it with distain.
He felt her small hand wrap around his forearm and her thumb run down the mark. He shivered at her touch. No one had touched him since his mother had died. No one had ever touched his mark. Her gesture was so innocent yet to intimate at the same time.
"It's just a tattoo, just ink on skin, nothing more."
"It's so much more than that. It's a symbol that I'm evil. You said you were new to this world, you wouldn't understand what it means." He tried to pull his arm away, but her small hand tightened around it.
"I may be new to it, but I've been taught all the history. I know exactly what this mark means. But I also know that my father has the same mark and I know that he isn't an evil man. He certainly isn't the nicest or easiest man, but he is a good man in spite of the symbol burnt into his arm."
Draco looked in the direction of the party.
"You're Snape's daughter?"
"Yes."
His expression softened. She loosened her grasp and he pulled his arm out of her hands.
"Well, you're not exactly going to have an easy time making friends either."
She smiled at him.
"I guessed as much."
She stood and brushed herself off.
"I should be getting back to the party."
"Yeah."
"Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, I'll be easy to find. I'll be the one without any friends."
She stopped and looked back at him seriously.
"You have one."
xx
Her red hair flowed down his back as her head rested on his shoulder. He held her softly as she giggled and sighed. She was beautiful in her dress, she really was. Hermione stood in the shadows, watching the couple dance slowly.
A familiar voice from behind her made her jump.
"Miss Granger?"
"Hello Professor or rather Headmistress."
"I've been looking for you. Might we talk for a moment?"
"Yes of course."
"Miss Granger, I was wondering if you would be willing to tutor another student this year. As you know, Violet Snape is starting Hogwarts this fall. She has a theoretical knowledge of magic, but no practical knowledge prior to a few months ago. Her parents have been teaching her the basics of spellcasting and such. She will be tested in all subjects prior to the start of school and will be placed in classes accordingly. There will, of course, be gaps in her knowledge. We thought it might be best if there were another student that could help her if she had questions."
"Yes, of course, I'd love to."
"Good. He will be very happy to hear that."
"He?"
"Her father. He was the one to suggest you."
"Really?" she mused as she looked across the room to study the man who had always told her that she wasn't good enough, that she didn't deserve the credit that the other teachers gave her.
"Take it as a compliment," the older woman whispered to be before walking away, "he wouldn't even hear suggestions anyone else to do it. You were the only one he trusted with the education of his daughter. Seems like he always thought more of you that he let on."
xx
Several hours later, Hermione went looking for her boyfriend. Most of the guests had left and she had been helping to clean up. She finally found Ron with Harry, sitting by the bar, drinking straight from a bottle.
"Please don't tell me you two are drunk," she said impatiently.
"It's a wedding, what do you expect?"
"Where's Ginny?"
"Left with her mother."
Ron tried to stand up but fell right back down into his seat. Harry did a little better and made it partway over to where she stood, swaying and staggering wildly.
"Oh, come on Hermione, drink with us." He slurred, holding the bottle out to her. She took it from him and set it down on a table. She held out her finger towards him.
"Harry James Potter, you are drunk."
"What did you expect, Snape's my stepfather now. I call that a special occasion."
"Well then, maybe you should stop referring to him as Snape."
"Stop being so bossy," moaned her equally drunk boyfriend.
"Oh, don't even get me started on you, Ronald."
"I have an idea," exclaimed Harry, "lets go get our broomsticks and play quittich on the pitch."
Ron's eyes lit up.
"No. Absolutely not," Hermione said firmly, "That is the worst idea I have every heard. You two are too drunk to even stand up. How do you expect to fly? Someone's going to get hurt."
Harry took another step towards her and stumbled. She stepped forward and reached out to steady him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and let him lean on her.
"Harry, we're leaving for the honeymoon now," came a voice from outside the tent and his mother and her new husband stepped inside.
"Oh," Lily said, seeing the condition of her son, currently being propped up by his best friend.
"I'll make sure they get home safely," Hermione reassured her with a smile. Lily and Severus left and Hermione attempted to get coax Ron up out of his chair. They had barely made it out of the tent when Ron decided he was going to be sick and stepped out of sight behind a tree. Harry was still leaving heavily on Hermione.
"I still think we should play quittich," he remarked.
"I know you do," she sighed, shifting her weight. He really was much bigger than her and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders now, using her to balance himself.
She took Ron to the burrow first before apparating Harry to his home. She helped him inside and up the stairs into his room. He had gotten slightly less drunk in the time that it took, but still couldn't be considered anywhere near sober.
He sat down on the bed and she turned to leave, but he caught her hand. It was shaking.
"Cruciatus?" He asked seriously.
"Yeah."
"I didn't know you had lasting effects from it." She could see the pain in his eyes. It was why she had hidden the after-effects of the curse from him.
"Just when I'm tired or stressed, it comes back a little."
He held her trembling hand in his, trying to steady it with his firm grasp.
"I'm just tired, Harry, it's no big deal."
He was still staring at her hand, mesmerized.
"It's because of me. This is my fault," he whispered.
"I chose to take the torture, Harry." She pulled her hand from his grasp.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered, eyes burning with sadness and guilt.
"It's not your fault, Harry. Get some sleep."
"You can stay here tonight."
She eyed the empty bed next to him.
"I should really get home."
They had slept in the same room so many night in that tent in the forest searching for horocruxes. But if she did it now, if she spent the night in the same room as her best friend, it would be different. There was no war now, these were not desperate times. Her sleeping here would mean something completely different, something that would destroy their relationships, something that might destroy their friendship. She shut the door to his room softly.