Hermione's flat in London.
Ginny's Floo-call, first thing in the morning telling Hermione to come over and Floo from Malfoy Manor, meant that she missed the eagle owl's attempt to deliver a letter by two minutes. The owl merely took wing again southeast to the heart of Kent, where Malfoy Manor lay. The bird arrived just after Ginny and Hermione had finished breakfast and were preparing to Floo to Paris.
"Oh, Ginny, it's Viktor's owl. I wonder what is going on?" Hermione said, as she took the parchment the bird held.
"He says there is to be an exhibition game near Paris this weekend. He sent tickets for all of us, including your husbands. His parents, Anya and her fiancée will be there. Wait, Nevsky, I am sending a reply," she told the owl.
Ginny merely smiled, knowing that Fleur had used her father's influence to have the exhibition game moved to Paris from another place.
"I'm sure Draco, Bill, and Harry will be overjoyed to see Viktor again. Maybe he'll be able to have dinner with us, or you, while we are in Paris," Ginny said, innocently.
"I'd love to have dinner with him, Gin. I want to see if there is still that certain feeling only he made me feel. I guess my rejection of Ron has made me more susceptible to Viktor's charm. I hope he hasn't changed," Hermione said, wistfully.
"Come upstairs with me while I say goodbye to Thuban. He will want a goodbye kiss from his Aunt Hermy, I know. We can give Draco the tickets to give to Harry and Bill. Don't you think it is strange that in all these years, Viktor has never been photographed with a lady friend? The papers always trot out those pictures of the two of you at the Yule Ball whenever they run a story on him, don't they?" Ginny asked, keeping her comments general enough so that Hermione didn't catch on to what Ginny was really saying.
Draco Malfoy, however, standing at the top of the stairs with his four year-old son in his arms, knew exactly what his devious wife was doing. Wisely, he said nothing to queer her pitch.
"Hello, Hermione. You are looking very well, considering the run-in you had with my worthless brother-in-law last night. I have to say I approve of your methods for dealing with him. Thuban, give your mama and your aunt Hermy kisses goodbye. They are going off to Paris, but will be home in three days. We can do exciting things while they are gone, like make fun of your uncle Ron."
Hermione could tell Draco was teasing and she felt more at ease with him than she had in the past.
As she kissed the small boy in his arms, Draco leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, saying, "Congratulations on reclaiming the Brightest Witch of her Age title. You deserve better than Ron."
Hermione was so taken aback at his comment that the sight of Ginny snogging her husband thoroughly didn't disconcert her in the slightest.
Draco handed the child to a nanny and walked them down the stairs to the study where they would use the Floo.
Hermione handed him the tickets to the exhibition game, noting that were enough tickets that Thuban could come as well.
"Thank you, I'll see that Harry and Bill get their tickets. Are you sure Viktor won't mind having a child at the game, Hermione?" Draco asked.
"He won't mind at all, Draco. He loves children. He usually gives some lucky child a ride on his broom after the game. I'll suggest that maybe Thuban would be a good one to choose this game. Is that okay with you both?" Hermione asked.
Draco beamed at her. "The boy would be in alt, Hermione. He adores Quidditch. If you are sure Viktor wouldn't mind, Gin and I would love to have Thuban take a ride with him."
"Draco, Viktor always has a photographer take pictures of him with the child on the broom. When he gets the pictures, he signs one and sends it to the child's family. The rest go into a scrapbook he keeps. He donates a lot of time to helping families who lost people in the war. He doesn't really want a lot of folks to know that. He is really shy." She felt she had to share that with him.
Draco merely nodded as he handed the container of Floo Powder to her.