DISCLAIMER: usual disclaimers apply
A.N: okay, I know I said I'd probably be updating the next day, but this chapter was surprisingly difficult to write - I felt like everything I did needed justification somewhere, so it took a while to get it sounding alright. I still haven't found my laptop charger either - this chapter was also written on my phone, so... Apologies for any mistakes I may have missed! Hope you like it, and please review - I love reading your comments and feedback :) Oh and by the way, I've changed this chapter slightly upon re-reading to make it so that Fred didn't die - the thought didn't occur to me until just now. I always prefer fics where Fred and George get to stay together.
Ron and Pansy's house was, in no uncertain terms, one of the most beautiful places Hermione had ever seen. As she approached the whitewashed building along the sandy path from the beach, she admired how it seemed to glisten and sparkle in the light of the setting sun, and how the sound and smell of the sea made her think of childhood holidays to the beach. Everything about it made her happy, and usually she loved her visits here. Today, however, she felt her melancholy build with each step she took.
She had to remind herself why she was doing this, otherwise she might have run back down to the beach and found a cave to sit in, so she ran through reasons in her head.
One: it was technically a celebration. They had beaten Voldemort and today was a day to celebrate that as best as they could.
Two: she was here to be with friends. She could support them and try and make them feel better about today, even if she didn't feel great about it herself.
Three: she supposed it would probably be good for her. She, along with everyone else, had to try and heal following the war, and being here today would be another step in the right direction.
So she carried on walking, and eventually reached the front door. She was about to knock, when Pansy flung the door open.
"Finally," she said, half exasperated and (from what Hermione could tell) half relieved.
"I've been watching you walk up that path for about ten minutes!"
Hermione smiled halfheartedly at her friend's teasing. She could tell Pansy was nervous, and she could understand why. A year ago, she wouldn't have been welcome among everyone else - she was an outsider, a newcomer, a... well, a Slytherin. Hermione knew that the old house rivalries meant nothing now, but a few of the others had yet to get their heads around the idea.
"Well are you coming in or not?" asked Pansy.
Hermione stepped over the threshold and was greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread, and something which smelled a lot like Mrs Weasleys famous stew. Hermione made a mental note to ask Pansy whether or not she'd finally managed to wrangle the recipe out of her.
Turning left, she entered the large living room, where many, many familiar faces were congregated.
Harry, Ginny and a snoozing Teddy occupied the love seat, while Ron, Percy and Neville sat on the sofa. Standing next to the window watching the last of the sunset was Luna, while Mr Weasley was stood near the piano, next to Bill. Fred and George stood over by the bookcase, talking quietly between themselves. The others, she assumed, must be in the kitchen.
As she walked further into the room, one by one people noticed her arrival and stood to greet her, until practically the whole room was on its feet. She let out a quiet chuckle at the sight, then went and hugged everyone individually, muttering greetings into people's chests and shoulders as she went. Something about seeing them all together, happy and not in any immediate danger brought a smile to her face - it was, after all, a fairly new occurrence.
"Hey everyone," she said as she squashed up next to Neville on the sofa, "how's it been so far?"
"Alright," shrugged Harry, "as good as can be expected I suppose. Teddy's finally getting old enough to really understand what happened now, so me and Ginny sat down and talked to him a little bit about it this morning - just the general idea, nothing detailed. He dealt really well, all things considered," he said, smiling down at the little blue haired boy in Ginny's arms.
The sight made Hermione's heart swell - Harry and Ginny were fantastic parents to Teddy. After Remus and Tonks had died, the newborn had gone to live with Andromeda, but they had both gotten a little lonely being on their own in her house, and so after about six months Harry and Ginny had offered for Andromeda and Teddy to go and live with them. As a family, they worked brilliantly. Andromeda taught and looked after Teddy during the day while the other two went out to work, and in the evenings they all say down to dinner together. Hermione had been over there so many times, just to enjoy the atmosphere of love and kindness that they had created there.
"Yeah," Ron added, "a few less tears all round, I think."
"Good," she said, "I'm glad."
She turned to Neville and the rest of the room went back to their conversations.
"So," she said, "how're you Neville? I feel like I haven't seen you in years."
"I know," he replied, smiling at her kindly, "I've missed you Hermione. Life just seems to get in the way, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," she sighed, thinking about the ongoing stress of her job and the recent soulmate debacle, "it sure does."
The two were quiet for a moment, listening in to the others' conversations. Suddenly, a confused expression graced Neville's features.
"Hey, do you have any idea why Draco Malfoy is here?" he asked her.
Hermione stopped breathing for a second.
"W-what?" she gasped, "He's here? Now?"
"Yeah," Neville replied, "he arrived a while ago and went straight out onto the porch. I was going to ask the others, but none of them seemed to question it, so I left it alone."
Hermione felt beyond confused. Why on earth was he here? And on today of all days! Why didn't the others kick him out? Did they know he was coming? Why was- wait, if the others all knew, why didn't she? Given the circumstances of late, she thought that she of all people deserved to know if Draco Malfoy was going to be turning up for dinner. None of it made any sense, and suddenly she could feel anger building up, bubbling away in the pit of her stomach.
"Excuse me, Neville, I just have to go and speak to Pansy for a second," she muttered, her face pale.
"Sure," replied Neville, looking slightly worried, "you go ahead."
She walked out of the living room and towards the kitchen, ignoring the stares of the others as she went. She could hear Pansy and Mrs Weasley talking to each other about recipes.
Entering the kitchen, she was bombarded by a whole host of delicious scents and sights. Fresh, hot bread sat on the counter, and a large pot of stew was bubbling on the stove. Hermione could see a carrot cake sat on the side ready to go into the oven.
At the sight of her, Mrs Weasley rushed over to give Hermione the biggest, warmest hug she had received in a long while - it was so nice that she almost forgot why she had gone into the kitchen in the first place. She soon remembered though, when she saw the guilty look on Pansy's face.
"Hermione dear, it's been so long, how are you?" Mrs Weasley said, still in a loving tone but evidently less energetic than usual - It had been a tiring day, after all.
"Good," Hermione replied, trying to quash any hints of anger that might be evident in her voice, "I've been okay."
"You look thin," the Weasley matriarch continued, looking Hermione up and down, "have you been eating well enough? I do hope you're looking after yourself dear," she said, sounding much more like the normal Mrs Weasley. Hearing it made Hermione smile.
"I'm fine Molly, really," she said gently, patting the woman's arm and smiling kindly.
Pansy, apparently, had had enough of the pleasantries and decided it was time to interject - she never had been one for small talk.
"Mrs Weasley, would you mind if me and Hermione went outside for just a second?" she asked.
"Goodness, of course not love - and for the hundredth time, please call me Molly," she replied with an amused smile.
Pansy laughed.
"Sorry Molly" she chuckled, as she led Hermione out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where she shut the door behind them. She turned around, only to find the curly haired witch glaring daggers at her.
"What," Hermione seethed, "is Draco bloody Malfoy doing here?!"
"Look, 'Mione, please don't be angry, it's actually nothing to do with you," she implored, but Hermione took her words slightly the wrong way.
"Nothing to do with me?" she said incredulously, "this has everything do with me! You were there with me - you know exactly how I feel about... About... HIM! I want nothing to do with all this soulmate nonesense and I-"
"This isn't about that!" Pansy said, interrupting Hermione's rant, "this is about me not wanting to be the odd one out today. It's hard for me, you know? I mean, I know it's hard for everyone, and even harder for some people in particular, but I just..." she trailed off, searching for the right words.
"You just what, Pansy," Hermione said impatiently.
The raven haired witch thought for a moment, before she found the right way to make her case.
"I just feel like everyone else is on common ground today, you know? They were all right there, in the battle. I didn't even have a side really - we just hid away at home until it ended... And I know the Draco was there too but... He was my best friend, 'Mione," she said, looking desperately at her friend, "he understands how I felt, because he was there with me, you know? We were both excluded from the winning team."
Hermione thought on her friend's words. What Pansy said was true, to an extent. She wasn't there at the forefront of war, so it would be hard for her to relate to everyone else's experiences. Malfoy too, while he had actually been at the battle, had been skulking around with his own personal agenda, avoiding the main fights.
"It was Ron's idea actually, to invite one of my old friends," Pansy said, looking down at the floor where she was nervously rubbing her foot onto the carpet.
Hermione was stunned. Ronald Weasley, a boy she had known to have been completely inept when it came to the subtleties of human emotion, had apparently turned into a man who was the complete opposite. Putting up with the presence of his childhood enemy in his own home, just for the sake of his partner's happiness and comfort was a completely selfless thing to do, and Hermione was reminded of just how perfect Pansy and Ron were for each other.
That thought left a slightly heavy feeling in her stomach for some reason, but she just ignored it and decided to make her peace with the whole situation.
"Okay," she sighed, "I can deal with it, but just for you, not because I like him or anything."
"Thank you," Pansy said, smiling gratefully at her friend, "it really means a lot. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner by the way," she added quickly, "I just didn't know how was best to go about telling you and then it was getting closer and closer so I just... Left it. You know me, always a procrastinator."
"It's fine honestly," Hermione said, all remnants of her earlier anger having been replaced by a tired kind of sadness, "let's just go and get started."