DISCLAIMER: usual disclaimers apply
A.N: Sorry again about the wait... You're probably all a little bit sick of me now, sorry. I should probably make it clear that the waits between chapters will be about this long from now on - Sixth form is a lot of work, I don't usually have much time to write, so sorry about that... Again, haha. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It's more of a kind of set up chapter to prepare for the next one, because I know that if I'd just ploughed ahead with the next one people would have had some questions. So... Yeah, I hope you like it, and since I'm feeling inspired, I'll try very hard to get the next chapter written and posted either tonight or more likely tomorrow night, just as an apology. Please review - hearing your thoughts makes my day!
Hermione looked into the mirror, checking her reflection for the tenth time that morning. It was May 2nd, and she wished she were in bed.
Four years earlier, to the day, the most feared and hated wizard of all time had been defeated. For most people, today was a day for celebration - they could relish their freedom and be happy in the knowledge that they were safe.
For many others, however, today was much harder to get through.
While she knew today was meant to be a celebration, she could never quite manage to be... Celebratory. Too many of her friends had died on this day, and every year she just felt numb and tired and exactly like she had at the end of the final battle - overjoyed and happy to be alive, but grief stricken over the multitude of losses they had all suffered.
This year, they were all going to Ron and Pansy's house, which Hermione had helped them to move into a few months before. It was modestly sized, as they had both insisted that they would rather live in something they had worked to earn, rather than it being paid for with Pansy's family's wealth. Situated on the Cornish coast, it was surrounded by picturesque views and salty sea air - Hermione loved visiting them and just sitting out on their porch watching the rolling waves.
Breaking away from her daydreaming, Hermione pulled her wild curls back from her face and examined the bags under her eyes before using one of the beauty spells she had finally decided to learn to make herself look more awake.
Although she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep and not wake up until May 3rd, Hermione knew she would regret it if she didn't go.
In 1998, she had ended this night surrounded by her adopted family - Harry, Ron, the Weasleys and everyone else - as they all recuperated and tried to process what had happened to them. There had been tears, hugs, smiles, sobs and every other raw human emotion it was possible to express, and to be without them all today just felt... Wrong, somehow. Like something was missing.
So Hermione stood in front of the mirror, looked herself over once more and tried to pull herself together.
It was going to be a rough day.
Crookshanks rubbed up against her shin, and Hermione managed a smile.
She would make it through; she was Hermione Granger, after all.
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Draco hadn't been looking forward to this day. It was his first anniversary of the Battle whilst on British soil, and Pansy wanted to meet up with him for lunch.
Whilst he was glad he had Pansy back in his life, as he'd quite missed her familiar and easy company, he wasn't so sure how he felt about her newfound... Affiliates.
If there was one person who got on his nerves more than anyone else, it was Ronald Weasley.
Draco almost groaned at the thought of having to see him again, and he was positive that no amount of pleading or reasoning on Pansy's part could ever make the two of them be civil, let alone friendly.
Merlin, that was a scary thought.
He was just glad he would get to see Pansy on her own today, with no weasels in sight.
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At midday, Draco was outside in the May sunshine, feeling it's warmth wash over him. He was sat down outside of Florean Fortescues, waiting for Pansy to arrive. He'd been there for ten minutes already, and was starting to get a little bit irritated - he couldn't stand it when people were late.
As he looked up from the table, he was momentarily blinded by a beam of light reflected towards his face. Squinting as he tried to regain his vision, he was pleased to find a Pansy shaped shadow fall over him, helping him deal with his temporary blindness.
He blinked for a few more moments before looking up to greet her. As he stood up, he saw her handbag. Her shiny, reflective handbag. He smiled to himself and decided not to bring it up - she was always a good debater. She'd probably convince him it was his fault for looking up at that precise moment rather then hers for having a ridiculous handbag.
"Hey Pans," he said as he enveloped her in a hug reserved exclusively for old friends, "how've you been?"
"Hey Draco," she smiled sadly, pulling away and sitting down, "I've been good, I guess. Great really, just... Not so much today."
Draco felt momentarily confused. Pansy hadn't lost anyone majorly significant in the final battle. She and her remaining family had retreated to her house for most of the battle, and hadn't emerged since most of the fallout had subsided. But then realisation hit him like a truck - Weasley. Of course she wasn't her usual bubbly self; she was... Involved... with a war hero, and she was largely considered to have been on the other side of that particular coin.
She must really love him, he thought to himself, if she's willing to deal with all of the inevitable judgement from other people.
Noticing his silence, Pansy dipped her head to catch Draco's eye, pulling him away from his thoughts.
"I forgot you used to do that," she said, a faint hint of amusement in her voice.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Zone out," she replied, "you just seem to get so wrapped up in your thoughts. Where do you go?"
"I was just... I don't know, thinking," he said dismissively.
She looked at him for a moment, and then changed the subject.
"How's your mother?"
"She's okay, I guess. She's seems a little off today, but I suppose just about everyone feels like that today," he answered, quite unsure why he had steered the conversation back to the significance of today. He hoped she didn't pick up on it.
"Yeah.." she said, suddenly sounding a little apprehensive, "about today... You see, I was wondering - well Ron gave me the idea actually, he said he didn't want me to feel out of place today, but I just wondered, you know, if you don't mind -"
"Spit it out Pans," he prompted.
"Well, there's this... Get-together today," she began, and Draco felt his eyebrows rise fractionally. He nodded slowly as a signal for her to continue.
"It's at mine and Ron's place, out in the country. It's sort of a memorial thing, you know, for the Battle? But yeah, there's going to be some people there... Mostly War Heroes I imagine, and I just... Will you come?"
Draco was stunned into silence. Had he heard her correctly?
"W- Hang on, what?" he spluttered, suddenly filled with a familiar feeling of dread.
Pansy sighed and rested her forehead on the heel of her palm, her elbow leaning on the edge of the small table. She took a deep breath and sat up straight, looking Draco dead in the eye.
"I want you to come to mine and Ron's house today, because I personally want you to be there. This is my first time doing the whole memorial thing with all of Ron's family and everyone and... I just feel so out of place," she said. "I feel like I need someone more familiar there with me, just so I don't feel like the odd one out... Do you understand?"
Draco was silent for a second. How on earth would they all have agreed to allow him to be there? Did they even know she was asking him? Would he even consider going at all?
"Do they- Do they know you're asking me this?" he spluttered.
"Ron does," she said slowly, "and Mrs Weasley."
"Mrs Weasley?!" he exclaimed, feeling well and truly confused. "How on earth did she agree to let me, of all people, be there? You do know who I am don't you?"
"Yes," said Pansy, suddenly very serious, "you're one of my best friends in the whole world, and the Weasleys and everyone else are aware of that. They have decided to try and accept that if I am going to be a part of their life, then they also have to come to terms with the parts of me they may not like... Including my friends and family."
Truly gobsmacked, Draco leant back in his chair. This didn't feel real. It couldn't be. So much had changed while he had been gone, and he wasn't sure he liked it. Pansy was with a Weasley, the Weasleys were trying to be open-minded and Hermione bloody Granger was his... No, she couldn't be. He'd already decided it must have been a mistake - there was no point in revisiting that particular bombshell.
"You don't have to... Socialise," Pansy offered, "you don't even have to come inside, you can sit on the back porch if you really want to-"
"Gosh, thanks a lot-"
"But I just really want you there," she said, ignoring his interruption, "I need my friend to be there for me. The Weasleys have said it's okay, but they did tell me to say they they're doing this for my benefit, not yours," she added, eliciting a snort from Draco.
"Trust me," he said, "I never considered any part of this as being for my benefit."
"So... Will you come?" she asked, rubbing her forearm like he knew she did whenever she was nervous.
He was about to tell her that he would much rather not, when he looked her in the eye and saw tears threatening to spill over.
Shit. He was powerless against Pansy's tears - he always had been.
He sighed deeply and rubbed his temple, all the while deciding that today would probably be one of the worst days in history.
"Okay," he said quietly, "but just for an hour or so."
Pansy smiled a watery smile, which very slightly alleviated Draco's building anxiety.
He was doing it for his friend.