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Friday May 11, 2007
After a full week of working closely with Harold and their case against Astoria, Blaise was happy to be spending a carefree Friday evening. Sadly Jackie was away with her sister for their Quidditch match in Ireland, but surprisingly Blaise had been invited out by Ginny and Harry Potter.
While it was strange that they had invited him to dinner at a restaurant along Diagon Alley, Blaise wasn't that alarmed by it. Their paths were destined to cross for years to come considering that their best friends were married to one another. In fact, Blaise had a pretty good idea just what this dinner was going to be about.
Sure enough, after greetings and pleasantries the Potters faced him across the table and laid out their plan.
"Hermione finishes her program at the beginning of next month," Ginny began, "and since she gave away most of Rose's baby stuff we decided to throw her a combination graduation party and baby shower. And as you are Draco's best friend we wanted to involve you since the shower will be for him as well."
"Good." Blaise stated seriously. "Draco missed out on everything about Astoria's pregnancy with Scorpius. He'll love the shower."
Ginny smiled, obviously pleased, "Good, we want it to be a surprise for him as well. However, he will know about the graduation party for Hermione, but when he gets there he'll see that it is much more. So we need you to be our ally in keeping him partly in the light and partly in the dark in regards to this entire party."
"And we need your help planning this." Harry added in. "Ginny has her hands full with our children and I'm not much of a party planner. So as a Slytherin-"
"You assumed I was a brilliant party planner?" Blaise interrupted with a grin.
"Well, yes." Harry admitted ruefully.
"It's true, I am." Blaise chuckled. "No problem. However, I do have a lot on my plate with this case against Astoria. But between the two of us I'm sure we can have this thing planned between now and…when exactly is this party?"
"I thought June second at Hermione and Draco's house."
"Sounds good, but did you know the fifth is Draco's birthday?"
"It is?"
"Yes, but Draco isn't one for big birthday parties…not anymore. I'll handle that with Hermione. For now let's worry about this party."
Xxx
Tonight began Draco's wooing campaign. Initially he had meant to get this going a week ago, but with extra case loads at work, plus worry over Astoria he really hadn't had time to think too much about it. And Hermione had been busy the last week working on a paper for her class. But tonight had been the perfect night to kick start the wooing that would hopefully lead to his relief and happiness.
Hermione had been surprised when he had asked her on a date the other day, listening quietly as he explained that he had arranged for her parents to watch the kids while they enjoyed a night out. He hadn't told her what he had planned, but she had agreed with a hesitant smile nonetheless and asked what to wear.
Draco stared appreciatively as Hermione descended the staircase in their house in a flowing red dress that showcased the swell of her belly that marked her as his and his alone. He liked it; he liked seeing the evidence of his child growing inside her and she was positively glowing.
"You look beautiful." Draco stated simply as Hermione's eyes raked over his form.
He had worn muggle slacks and a buttoned shirt and tie that perfectly complimented his eyes.
"Did you already take the kids to my parents?" Hermione asked curiously, noticing how quiet the house was at the moment.
Draco nodded his head, "They were eager to get there; especially after I told them your Mom had made cookies for them."
Hermione smiled, "A cookie sounds good. So where are we going? Somewhere good to eat I hope; I'm starving."
Draco grinned, "Don't you and Maddie worry; I'm taking care of the two of you tonight quite brilliantly. I thought we'd go to what your Mother assured me was your favorite restaurant in muggle London."
Hermione's face lit up in pure delight hoping that Draco was referring to the restaurant she thought he was.
Sure enough when they arrived a while later her eyes lit up as she read the sign hanging over the door. It wasn't a very fancy restaurant, but it had been one of her absolute favorites as a child. Family owned by a delightful Spanish family, they offered excellent Spanish food which Hermione had been craving a lot lately.
"Brilliant, I've been craving this for ages." Hermione beamed.
After they were seated they only had to wait a minute or two for a waitress to approach their table.
"Welcome, what can I get you two to drink tonight?" She asked in heavily accented English.
Hermione looked up and smiled at the familiar visage of who she recognized to be the owner's sister. When Maria looked down at Hermione her eyes narrowed in recognition before she looked back over at Draco curiously.
"Miss Hermione?" Maria asked hesitantly.
Hermione nodded with a smile, "It's good to see you Maria, it's been ages."
"Si, it has. And who is this? I thought you were married to a red headed man."
"I was, but he passed away a few years ago. This is Draco, my new husband."
Maria sent a smile in Draco's direction, "You have good taste in men Miss Hermione. Your children will be beautiful."
"We hope so," Draco added proudly, "we are expecting a daughter in September."
"How wonderful! Tonight dessert is on the house for the lovely young couple."
"Thank you Maria."
"Si, no problem."
After a very enjoyable and delicious dinner and dessert Draco and Hermione left the restaurant with wide smiles on their faces. As they walked down the street towards the apparation point, Hermione stopped to read the movie times at the brightly lit cinema building. Draco had no idea what she was looking at, but he couldn't mistake the longing in her eyes as she stared at one particular poster.
"Do you want to do…whatever that is?" Draco asked hesitantly.
"This is a cinema; you go in and watch a movie on a giant screen and eat popcorn while you do so." Hermione explained with a smile. "I think I would like to see this movie…that is if you don't mind? A show is starting in five minutes and we'll still get back to my parents before eleven."
"Then let's see it and eat whatever this stuff you call popcorn is."
Hermione smiled, "You'll love it."
Not only did Draco experience popcorn for the first time, but also what was known as a romantic comedy. He had immensely enjoyed the first, and simply tolerated the second.
Xxx
Monday May 14, 2007
Both Harold and Blaise were missing at the office early Monday morning when Hermione and Draco arrived at work. Harold's secretary had no idea where they were, only having received a note stating they were out working on the case against Astoria which meant they could be anywhere. Draco wondered if Blaise's Knockturn Alley guy had found something out that they were following up on today.
He hated not knowing, but he wasn't the lawyer on the case; it was his own after all. Besides, he had his own cases to worry about. Another land dispute had landed on his desk early this morning, but Hermione had been able to find the right documents within an hour that assured a speedy and easy trial to be held at the end of the week.
It was after lunch when Draco's office door was flung open and Blaise strode inside with a brilliant grin on his face.
"I take it your guy earned his firewhiskey quite sufficiently?" Draco asked as Blaise sprawled out in the seat across the desk from him.
"Indeed." Blaise grinned. "Harold and I made a trip to Greece this morning to follow the lead."
"And what did you find?"
"Well, the address Astoria sent stuff to in Greece belongs to a Kostos Stavros."
"And who is Kostos Stavros?"
"Stavros is quite a prominent pureblooded name in Greece; they are mostly sent to Durmstrang though. You probably haven't heard of them because both of your five great grandfathers hated each other and liked to pretend the other didn't exist. It worked quite well since they were Greek and located in Greece. Anyway, he's bloody rich; owns a huge house along the coast there; quite beautiful house really."
"So did you talk to him?"
"No, we posted our Knockturn Alley guy there to watch for a while and see what the connection is."
"In other words, you and Harold really didn't need to go to Greece yourselves?" Draco asked with a quirked brow.
"You've caught us; we fancied some Greek food and decided we had the perfect excuse."
Draco rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the papers on his desk. He had a strange feeling in his stomach about this Stavros guy. He was probably the key to all of this, but what was it?
"Enough about that though. How did your date with Hermione go?" Blaise asked eagerly.
"I think we both had a pretty good time."
"Pretty good? Pretty good is not wooing, Draco."
"Well, oh master of romance, what do you suggest I do to woo Hermione?"
"You need to make a grand gesture."
"What kind of gesture; I'm already married to her and having a child with her, what other grand gesture is there at this point?"
Blaise shrugged, "That's for you to figure out."
Draco scoffed, "Well that's helpful, Blaise. Thank you so very much for your brilliant romance advice. Speaking of which, how is your romance with Jackie?"
"Hey, this isn't about me." Blaise insisted. "Jackie and I are still getting along and I probably should be thinking about my own grand gesture instead of yours."
Draco's brows rose, "As in proposing? Are you going to propose to Jackie?"
"While that certainly is a grand gesture, I'm not sure if that's my grand gesture. Obviously it isn't yours." Blaise chuckled. "Well, I better get to my office and work on my other case before I get another howler from the opposing counsel."
Xxx
Despite the potential of a howler from the opposing counsel, Blaise found himself seeking Hermione out to discuss plans for Draco's birthday. He knew he had to watch what he said when he finally found her, because he ran a real risk of blabbing the other plans that she was absolutely not supposed to know about. So far he had succeeded in broaching the subject of Hermione's grad party with Draco without revealing the baby shower portion, so he had every faith that if he didn't spill the beans to his best friend he wasn't about to do that with his wife.
However, Draco wasn't nearly as pretty as Hermione was. Especially with the glow of pregnancy illuminating her face as she gazed up at Blaise curiously as he approached her desk.
"Hello Blaise." She greeted with a soft smile.
"Hello Hermione and may I say that pregnancy becomes you?"
"You can, but that doesn't mean I have to believe it." She replied with a grin. "So what brings you down here?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Draco's birthday on the fifth of June. You know that's his birthday right?"
"Of course I do."
"Have you thought of anything for his birthday?"
Hermione sighed, "I didn't figure he would want a big party."
Blaise nodded his agreement, "We'll save that for three years from now when he turns thirty. He'll really love us then."
Hermione laughed, "Well, we could just have a dinner at our house for him with his full knowledge."
"We'd invite his Mother, your parents, the Potters, and me of course."
"And the children as well." Hermione added. "I think that would be just fine and something he would be happy with."
Blaise grinned, "And of course I can embarrass him by gifting him with an outrageous gift he has to open in front of everyone."
Hermione shook her head, already used to the unique 'bromance' between her husband and Blaise. It was quite amusing at times and she personally hoped that Blaise carried through with the outrageous gift idea; she was sure it was something she would want to see.
Xxx
"Blaise approached me with plans about your birthday today." Hermione stated casually as she and Draco slipped into bed that night. "We thought a dinner with just our parents, the Potters, and the children. However, that shouldn't be our concern at the moment; Rose's birthday is coming up this month on the twenty seventh; it slipped my mind thanks to my pregnancy hormones."
Draco nodded in understanding, "I trust you and Blaise with my birthday and don't worry, we have plenty of time to get something nice together for Rose. "
Hermione reached over to her bedside table and grabbed the leather bound planner she kept handy for keeping track of appointments and important dates. However, even with the bloody thing she had managed to forget about her own daughter's fifth birthday. But it was normal, according to the healer and the books she read, to have a pregnancy brain and forget things. At least she had remembered with enough time left, like Draco had said.
"The twenty seventh is on a Sunday." Hermione remarked hopefully.
"Perfect. We'll send out invites tomorrow for people to come here on the twenty seventh at two and then we'll take care of the rest of the details in the morning, when the two of us aren't exhausted."
Hermione shook her head, "No, now; I can't sleep without getting this straightened out."
Draco sighed, "Well what do you want to do for her birthday?"
"It has to be a theme. Last year she had princesses, so I have to think of something different this year that Rose will like."
"What about that film she likes with the talking fish?"
"Nemo?"
"Yeah, we could have a special cake made up in the shape of a clown fish or whatever and find tropical fish decorations. It wouldn't be too hard," Draco stated excitedly and then added with a grin, "especially since we have magic at our disposal."
Hermione smiled, "You know, I think Rose will love it."
"Good, now go to sleep before you get up to pen the invitations."