Disclaimer: I must not steal Harry Potter. I must not steal Harry Potter. I must not steal Harry Potter.

A/N: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's everyone! Hope you've had a great Holiday, I know I have. There has been some writing done, when I took a break from stuffing my face with food and frolicking in presents. Le gasp!

Chapter 18 // The Change

"Again?" he groaned, letting his head droop melodramatically over the edge of the couch. "It's the third time this week alone."

"You shouldn't complain," she told him, watching him trying to make sense of the room as his head hung upside down from the couch. "It's improving your chances greatly."

"Improving my chances with them or with you?"

"With them, and then in turn – me. The less people we have against us, the easier it'll be."

"Whoever decided it has to be easy?" he asked smartly, obviously finding something amusing as he studied the upside down image of her.

"I assumed easier would be better," she retorted with an arched eyebrow.

"Don't assume. You're just making an ass out of you and me."

"Have you been watching television again?" she asked worriedly, casting a careful glance towards him.

"I can't help it; that Bridget is so darn hilarious," he admitted lightly. "But the point is: You assumed easier is better, but - in fear of sounding like a clichéd edition of Dumbledore – nothing worth having comes easy."

"Look, I'm just trying to get Ginny and Harry to warm up to you. It'll make things so much ... well... easier and - Okay, why are you smirking?"

She looked down on her outfit but couldn't find anything wrong with it, nor could she see any stains or any limbs mysteriously growing out of places it shouldn't be growing from.

"I was just wondering what upside down sex would feel like," he grinned – rather wolfishly so.

"Down boy," she just said, rolling her eyes at his insatiable energy.

"You're not opening your eyes to the endless possibilities, Hermione dear," he criticised, starting to look a bit red in his usually rather pale cheeks.

"But how would it even work?" she protested, putting four plates down on the once again magically enhanced kitchen table.

"Do you have a vague memory of that odd school we once attended? I think it was Dogworts or something," he mocked.

"Your point?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Obviously magic could keep us suspended in the air upside down."

He seemed equally exasperated, but probably for an entirely different reason.

"Yes it could, and then all the blood would flow to your head."

She laughed heartily at his dumbstruck expression – which was etched into his features and clearly visible even in his upside down stage.

"Damn it," he growled. "I will figure out a way to fix that loophole. You shall not escape my evil master plan!"

"No, I'm sure I won't," she comforted him, amusement still sparkling in her eyes, but then she suddenly clapped her hands loudly, making him jump in alarm, snapping his head up. "It's only 15 minutes until they're supposed to be here and you're still frolicking around on the couch in your pyjamas."

"This is why I don't like them coming over," he growled, forcing himself up from the apparently comfortable position. "If you want them to see the real me, why do you keep stashing me up in all these fancy clothes?"

She arched her eyebrow and glared at him.

"I'm not asking you to put on a dragon silk dress robe, I'm asking you to get out of your chequered pyjama trousers – which, by the way, are torn several places and haven't been cleaned since Merlin passed."

He pouted and Hermione glared. Then he pouted some more and she glared harder. His lip trembled a bit and she glared so hard her eyes were nearly closed. His lip continued trembling and he added the puppy eyes. Her eyes closed and she swore under her breath.

She didn't look at him as she stepped over to the fireplace and called for Harry's flat. Not bothering to put her head in, she merely waited until she heard Ginny's questioning voice on the other side.

"Come in your pyjamas," she said in resignation. She deliberately ignored Draco's eyes lighting up.

"In our what?" the confused answer sounded.

"Your pyjamas. It's a pyjamas party...dinner...thing," Hermione tried to clarify.

"Did the puppy eyes get you?"

"Shut up."

Hermione rose to her full height and found Draco grinning triumphantly.

"I'm manipulating you," he commented with glee. "You're so smitten I just bat my eyelashes to get my will!"

Her cheeks burned, knowing he was completely right. All he had done was pout and give her puppy eyes, and she melted like tiny chocolate orbs in the desert sun. It was ridiculous and embarrassing. It was, in fact, ridiculously embarrassing!

He chuckled warmly and wrapped her in his bare arms. When she smiled weakly he dipped his head down and captured her lips very gently, leaving them to tingle from his touch.

"You're ridiculously overdressed for our pyjama party dinner thing," he reminded her, still keeping his arms enclosed around her. "They'll be here in only 5 minutes, and this is what you've been frolicking around in!"

Her mouth formed a thin, threatening line as he released her and laughed heartily.

"Shoo!"

He pushed her towards the stairs and she complied, only to turn around when she had stomped up half the steps.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't," he chuckled, flopping down onto the couch in the exact same, very comfortable position.

Harry and Ginny entered through the floo just as she came down the stairs again in her royal blue pyjama bottoms and a comfy t-shirt she suspected had come from Draco somehow. They had miraculously taken her seriously and had showed up in matching flannel pyjamas – albeit somewhat begrudgingly in Harry's case, or so it seemed.

"I still think you're overdressed," Draco announced as dragged himself up from the couch once again.

"Not all of us think eating dinner shirtless is such a marvellous idea," she told him dryly.

Ginny's gaze was lingering a second too long on Draco's bare torso, satisfying Hermione's ego somewhat. However, it didn't seem to satisfy Harry's ego to the same degree and he clapped his hand over his fiancé's eyes and lead her against the kitchen.

"No one told me the free meal came with a complimentary half-naked Malfoy," Harry muttered, looking rather displeased.

"One of my many services," Draco grinned.

"Just put a t-shirt on, Draco," Hermione begged, knowing very well that Harry and Ginny (or rather...just Harry) weren't quite that comfortable around Draco yet.

She could see a smirk forming on his lips, and she knew he was going to put up a huge show just to get his way. Groaning inwardly, she cast a glance towards Harry who was still holding a wriggling Ginny under his steel grip. She suppressed the prude in her telling her to be embarrassed, and set her eyes straight on Draco. Under slightly lowered eyelids, she met his gaze and then slowly – very slowly – pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. When she saw him still fighting the effect stubbornly, she pulled in the big guns and began sucking gently on her bottom lip, watching his resilience slip. She delivered a last devastating blow when the tip of her tongue darted out and gave a slow, tantalizing lick.

For a few seconds he just stood there, but then he huffed loudly.

"Damn you, Granger. Damn you," he growled before shooting up the stairs.

She whooped in victory, at least knowing she wasn't the only one reduced to a puddle once the other one turned their charm on.

"Nicely done," Harry noted, removing his hand from Ginny's eyes. "What's for dinner?"

"Fried chicken."

Harry and Ginny made sounds of appreciation and took their seat by the table as Draco came hurrying back down the stairs. He helped Hermione put the food on the table before they both took a seat, ready to launch at the meal.

"I'm starved," he groaned, attacking the chicken.

"Don't you feed the boy, Hermione?" Ginny asked, laughing.

"Only his ego."

Draco stuck his tongue out at her, and she rolled her eyes before smiling at her friends.

"Evelyn asked about you today," Harry said after they had all been eating in silence for a while. "She's missed having you drop by with permission forms."

Hermione looked up and beamed.

"It'll be good seeing them again soon. I miss work a lot. I'm still not used to not having anything particular to work on."

"I think Merewood is getting a bit impatient," Harry commented.

"Well, I'll be back soon enough, and I'll work four times as hard, so by the time I see him again he won't even remember I was gone."

"I saw Zabini too," Harry suddenly noted, giving Draco a glance.

"Blaise?" Draco repeated oddly, looking rattled.

Harry nodded in confirmation.

"They brought his father in for questioning on a few cases, and Zabini came in to check that he wasn't being charged with anything – which he isn't, by the way."

Draco looked down onto his plate and swallowed, a burning question seemed to rest on his tongue.

"Zabini looked good," Harry said, maybe noticing how the question seemed to crackle in the air between them. "He seems to be doing alright after he finished his punishment. I think he's one of the few we actually got through to."

Hermione broke into a smile at this.

"Maybe you should contact him, Draco."

"I don't think that's a good idea," he replied softly.

"He's probably going through a rough time if he just finished the punishment he received, and I think he could need you," she pushed, knowing how much it'd mean for Draco to get back in contact with someone he cared about.

"Just leave it. I betrayed him. He doesn't want anything to do with me; he made that perfectly clear when he tried to kill me on my first Order mission."

"A lot has happened since then, and you know it. Stop being so stubborn. He's your friend!"

"I don't have any friends back there anymore," he said calmly, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork. "It's the prize I paid for doing the right thing."

"Look, I just know he'd appreciate –"

"Please, just stop!" he said intensely. "I've given up on this years ago."

She closed her mouth, looking defeated and sad, and she continued her meal in silence. Ginny gave her a sympathetic look and smiled carefully.

"He looks good, though," Harry repeated after an awkward cough.

"Well , he is a Slytherin. We always were devilishly handsome," Draco said, giving a lopsided smile.

Hermione frowned down at her plate, wondering why he always had to joke everything away. She didn't know how to approach him with the issues that lay ahead. If he had been willing to contact Blaise maybe he would've had a reason to return with her, but now she was certain he didn't – and that made things a lot more difficult than she cared to think about.

"Lavender Brown did have the biggest crush on you all through your 5th year," Ginny commented with a teasing grin.

"Really? Why didn't I know that? Damn, 5th year could've been so much more interesting," he said, then winced as Hermione punched him in the arm. "Ow, stop that!"

"Do not tell me you would've snogged Lavender Brown," she huffed.

Harry and Ginny were both signalling for Draco to deny it fiercely, but he seemed oblivious.

"Well, she was attr-" he began, but then suddenly saw Ginny waving her hand wildly in an attempt to stop him, "err - available. She was available."

"Is that all the standards you have?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

Draco just laughed uncertainly, hoping his lack of answer would lay the topic dead.

"So, Ron and Lavender snogged their hearts out during our 6th year. You can't hate the girl forever," Harry commented, leaving Draco in a state of enlightenment.

"Just watch me," Hermione answered sweetly.

"Vindictive," Draco commented, arching an eyebrow.

Hermione just looked at him with a challenging expression urging him to try and cross her and he'd know just how vindictive she could be.

"Anyone up for dessert?" he just asked, rising from the chair and headed for the fridge. "It's just ice cream, though..."

"Just ice cream?" Ginny asked. "Ice cream kicks the shit out of all desserts."

"Hell no, it can't beat sorbets," her fiancé retorted, leaving Draco to snort loudly.

"Sorbets? Merlin, you are such a snob!"

"Says the Malfoy," Harry said with his eyebrows raised.

"I may be a Malfoy, but even I don't prefer sorbets. Sorbet is ice cream for sissy boys."

"Well, you better bring your own dessert to the wedding, cause we're having sorbet," 'the boy who lived and liked to have his way' answered petulantly.

"Hey, I don't get to have a say on the matter?" Ginny asked. "I'm ...you know... the bride."

"Well, you'll make all the other decisions, so just let me have my bloody sorbet."

"Why can't you let people decide on their RSVP owls?" Draco inquired, as he scooped ice cream into 4 small and rather worn looking bowls. "We could check either chocolate chip ice cream delight or sour lemon snob sorbet."

"Cause I want to enlighten all our friends about the brilliance of sorbet," Harry said, grinning. "I'll eat ice cream in your damn wedding."

Hermione was following the conversation quietly, her eyes suspiciously moist. And no, she hadn't been hit in the eye with a spoon; she was actually close to tears. They were talking to each other like bickering friends. Harry had told Draco he'd be eating sorbet as his wedding as if it was obvious that Draco would be invited. She could have jumped around in euphoria had it not been slightly odd in the situation. It was everything she had hoped for and more by bringing Harry and Ginny around so often.

Draco seemed to misjudge her silence, though, and he gave her a worried look as he handed Harry his ice cream with another insult about his snobbish taste. He made an elaborate movement when he gave his fellow ice cream-lover Ginny a much bigger portion than Harry had received. Hermione heard Harry complain about this, only to get laughter in return from the other two. Then suddenly Draco was behind her. He put her ice cream in front of her and she felt his breath on her neck. She nearly shuddered.

"I'm sorry," he said, giving her cheek a swift peck.

For what, she wasn't sure, but she smiled at him as he sat down again, trying to reassure him that she wasn't mad about anything at all.

"Mm, this is some good ice cream," Ginny approved, licking her spoon clean.

"You're going to be the death of me," Harry groaned, leaving Hermione and Draco to wonder if he meant the fact that she hated sorbet or the fact that she was licking her spoon clean quite tantalizingly.

Ginny just snickered.

Draco did the dishes as Hermione were wiping them dry before putting them up in the cupboards. Ginny and Harry had called it a night, since they both had to get up early for work the following morning.

"I really am sorry," he said softly as he handed her another plate.

"For what?" she asked perplexedly.

"You were only trying to help about Blaise, and I bit your head off."

"You don't have to apologize for that," she assured him, smiling slightly. "I don't pretend to know what you've been through, so I'm not going to push you into something you don't want to do. You know how I feel about it, but it's your decision."

"You're too good to be true," he told her, and made to tuck a curl behind her ear but then remembered his hands were wet.

"Well, I am fantastic," she confirmed with a cheeky smile.

She put down the plate she had been drying and pulled him into an embrace, resting her head against his chest. After hearing his heart pound wildly, she grinned and dipped her head back to claim his lips. She kissed him passionately while Draco held his arms straight out in front of him to not get her back wet.

A/N II: who can guess what happens next:O

Anyway. Thanks a BUNCH to all reviewers. I turned 20 while I was writing on this thing and a new year came around. This chapter has seen a lot – nods eerily -