"Merlin's balls," Blaise swore, a look of pure frustration crossing his face. "Why the fuck is Pansy torturing me?"
Draco and Hermione turned in the direction of Blaise's gaze, just as Pansy walked into the magically expanded living room with Theo –both of them fashionably late, naturally. Hermione had to clench her jaw to stop it from falling open like Draco's had as she took in Pansy's aforementioned mechanism of torture for the evening.
It was tight, low-cut and shimmered softly under the chandeliers.
Yet, somehow, she was covered from shoulder to toe; the dark green silk looking nothing short of elegant. Theo was a lucky man, his good fortune only further reinforced by the blatant stares of approval Pansy was getting from every male –and the odd female– in the room. Audrey's lips were a thin line as Pansy cordially swept up and kissed her on the cheek, lingering by her side for a few seconds longer than necessary just to allow her enraptured audience to draw the inevitable comparison. Next to Pansy's tastefully coloured robes, Audrey's choice of glittery blue looked almost tawdry.
To add to Pansy's victory, Oriella strode across the living room in a flurry of robes and warmly hugged her.
"Pansy sure knows how to make an entrance," Draco snickered to Hermione.
"That's definitely one way of putting it," Hermione muttered back, subtly nudging Blaise who rapidly composed himself.
"Excuse me," he said shortly, as he practically stomped towards the scene and placed a possessive arm around Audrey's waist before greeting the newcomers.
Ginny walked up to Hermione and Draco. "Some party eh?" she rolled her eyes and held out two flutes of champagne.
Hermione groaned. "Don't look now, but Harry just got here."
Ignoring Hermione, Ginny whipped around, her vibrant hair flying out behind her. "Just great," she muttered, her brown eyes glazing over almost wistfully. "The bastard looks good too –I picked out those robes for him."
"I'll go get Juls from Potter, shall I?" suggested Draco, visibly eager to leave.
"I never thought this day would come," Hermione grinned playfully. "The great Draco Malfoy running to Harry Potter for safety. Willingly."
Draco scowled. "Shut it, Granger."
He slowly meandered his way through the rapidly filling living room, pleasantly surprised by the number of old acquaintances that had shown up. He stopped briefly to exchange pleasantries with Theo, Adrian Pucey, Marcus Flint and a few of his former Quidditch teammates, all of whom were having an intense conversation about broomsticks. A quick glance towards Hermione and Ginny revealed Pansy's whereabouts; the women no-doubt engrossed in an impromptu meeting of the Men are Arseholes club. Spotting Harry, Blaise and Julius in a fairly secluded corner, he quickly made his excuses and walked over.
"Daddy!" Julius squealed excitedly as he hurled himself at his father and threw his pudgy arms right around the weak part of Draco's knees.
"Easy there Juls," Draco chided, as he buckled. "Have you been behaving yourself little man?"
Julius nodded solemnly. "Uncle Harry said that if I was a good boy you would let me stay up an extra hour tomorrow and give me three cookies after dinner, so I am being a good boy," he announced rapidly, clearly already having consumed something sweet.
Draco glared. "Thanks for that Potter."
"Anytime," Harry smirked. "I was just telling Zabini that there's quite a turnout tonight."
"Including your charming and in no way angry ex-girlfriend," Draco said, enjoying the shade of green Harry turned. "That Ginny is quite something when she's bitter isn't she?"
"You're not in this alone," Blaise said to Harry, looking morose. "You missed Pansy's big entrance before. Who does she think she is, showing up here looking like a tart?"
Harry peered around interestedly. "Where is she?"
Draco nodded in the girls' direction. "Feel free to look, there's nothing obvious at all about the three of us standing here away from everyone else while you both gawk at Pansy and Ginny."
"Hermione's looking pretty good tonight in all that silver," said Blaise mischievously. "Maybe we're looking at her?"
"Eyes off my wife," Draco snapped, and then remembering that Julius was still standing between them –keenly eavesdropping, he added. "Go say hello your mother, Juls. I'll bring us something to drink in a minute. Do you see where she's standing?"
Julius nodded eagerly, throwing a "with Aunt Pansy and Aunt Ginny," over his shoulder as he raced towards Hermione.
"This is so fucked up," Blaise's face briefly crumpled into a painful grimace. "I don't know why Pansy is intent on doing this to me. Right now, I would like nothing more than to rip Theo from limb to limb. Look at how smug the bastard is. He's fairly gloating over there."
Draco turned his head subtly to look at Theo, who was selecting a canapé from a floating tray of appetisers.
"That arsehole," said Draco sarcastically.
Harry nodded his head, trying to keep his face solemn. "How dare he? Doesn't he know that eating is the new form of gloating?"
"Pricks," Blaise muttered. "Whose side are you on anyway?"
"Mate, if you want Pansy you're going to have to go get her. You can't be angry that she showed up at your housewarming with a date," Draco said reasonably. "You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you are too hesitant to make a move on Pans, and have got yourself girlfriend that you just moved in with, it's only fair that Pansy moves on with her life too. If you can't handle that, then you have bigger problems than Theo's supposed gloating."
"What if Pansy and I don't work out? At least right now she's somewhat in my life, if we have a bad break up then I might not even have that," Blaise argued tiredly.
Harry sighed. "You can't predict the future, but only you can decide what you value enough to take a risk for."
"On that note," Draco interjected, suddenly feeling an inexplicable urge to hug his wife. "I'm going to go find Hermione and Juls."
He wove his way back through the milling guests, striding purposefully towards Hermione's slender silver-swathed figure. In spite of his desire to get to his wife's side quickly, he didn't fail to notice that several men were eyeing her interestedly. As he drew closer, he noticed that an ex-Slytherin –who had been a year or two above him at Hogwarts– was kissing Hermione's hand in greeting. Draco frowned, and then forced his face into a mask of steely composure that he'd unconsciously picked up from Lucius, before he approached Hermione.
"Hello darling," said Draco smoothly, as he swept a startled Hermione towards him for a swift kiss. "Ladies," he acknowledged an amused Pansy and Ginny.
"Hello," Hermione replied uncertainly.
Draco slipped his arm around her waist and drew her flush against his tall frame. "Tobias, isn't it?" he addressed the former Slytherin coolly, not bothering to introduce himself. "You were a couple of years ahead of me at Hogwarts, if I'm not mistaken. I see you've met my wife."
"O-oh y-yes," Tobias stammered, backing away slightly from the flinty expression in Draco's eyes.
"This is our son, Julius Malfoy," Draco announced grandly, maintaining the pretence of being cordial.
Tobias flicked his eyes towards Julius, who was in Pansy's arms. "Pleasure," he mumbled, feeling wrong-footed. "If you'll excuse me, I see someone I know."
He fled without another word.
"Well Mr Malfoy, I see you've been behaving yourself," Hermione said sarcastically.
"Unfortunately Mrs Malfoy," Draco smirked disarmingly. "Care to misbehave with me?"
Hermione laughed and swatted him with her beaded handbag. "Really now, Malfoy, did you have to scare off the poor man like that?"
"That was a pretty impressive display, even if I do say so myself," Pansy grinned.
"Why thank you," Draco mock-bowed. "You are altogether too sweet Pans."
"Daddy," Julius screwed his little face up with concentration. "Is that why Uncle Blaise called Aunt Pansy a tart earlier? Because she's too sweet?"
Even years later, Draco would swear that he felt the very air shift with Pansy's wrath as she took in the implications of his son's innocent question. Both Ginny and Hermione looked equal parts horrified and panicked as Pansy carefully set Julius down with slow, deliberate movements. As she straightened herself up, her dark eyes flashing with unconcealed torture fantasies, Draco took a step back and gathered Julius close to him. Ginny, in a move that was either going to prove to be brave or stupid, placed a tentative hand on one of Pansy's shaking shoulders, whilst Hermione closed her eyes –possibly saying goodbye to Blaise in her mind.
Pansy shook off Ginny's hand. "Blaise said what?" she spat, through gritted teeth.
"I don't remember," Draco said quickly, eager to extricate himself from any blame for this turn of events.
"But you were there Daddy," Julius exclaimed, demolishing Draco's excuse. "Uncle Blaise said that right after you said Aunt Ginny was bitter. What flavour do you think I am?"
Draco briefly wondered just what he had done to his own parents to receive this sort of karmic payback from his son. He had a vivid vision of himself as an infant, urinating all over Lucius' crispest silk robes just before he was due at the Ministry, and then deliriously pondered whether that could've ever logistically happened. He could even see the inscription on his gravestone clearly in his mind's eye: Here Lies Draco Malfoy, Who Once Urinated on Voldemort's Right Hand Man and Suffered Karmic Payback Ever Since.
This is ridiculous. Everyone else sees their life flashing before their eyes just prior to dying, and I think of pee?
"Just because you're Hermione's husband, I'm letting this go," Ginny glared, her brown eyes menacing. "But just this once. If you ever even think about calling me bitter again, the Bat-Bogey hex I set on you at school will feel almost like a fond memory in comparison to what I will do now."
"Understood," Draco cleared his throat.
"I'm going to go give Blaise some fond memories of his own to relive tomorrow," Pansy stated, as she turned on her heel.
Ginny wrinkled her forehead. "I'm going to go try luring her off the warpath," she broke off and surveyed Julius speculatively. "Mind if I borrow your son?"
Draco looked to Hermione briefly, who nodded. "Go ahead," he said. "Go with Aunt Ginny, Juls, and don't wander off anywhere."
Julius slipped his pudgy fist into Ginny's slim, manicured hand. "I'll be good Daddy!" he promised fervently, as they slipped into the crowd after Pansy.
"Come with me," Draco murmured silkily against Hermione's ear, seizing the opportunity.
Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Where?"
"Just around," replied Draco ambiguously.
Hermione caught a glimpse of Lavender, who gave her the evil eye and slipped her arm through Ron's. "Sure."
Draco interlinked his fingers through Hermione's and navigated them away from the bustling guests until they reached a door which was tucked away at the very back of the magically expanded room. He surreptitiously glanced around before he opened it and pulled Hermione through behind him. She blinked at the sudden dimness and waited a second before her eyes adjusted.
"What the hell are we doing in here?" she hissed.
"You'll see," said Draco mysteriously, as he locked the door and threw up a Silencing charm.
"Really Malfoy," Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Why in the name of Merlin did you yank us away from the party and drag us into a bathroom?"
Draco turned, pushing his white-blond hair out of his eyes. "Because I couldn't do this outside," he replied, before he pushed Hermione against the sinks and kissed her soundly.
Hermione's protests died inside her mouth as his tongue probed her lips gently. With a low moan, she parted her lips and let him playfully tease her tongue with his own. Draco slowly moved his lips to her neck, placing scorching kisses from jaw line to collarbone, intended to incinerate her defences.
"You're mine," he whispered huskily, before nipping one sensitive earlobe. "Say it."
"Where is this coming from?" Hermione questioned, trying to ignore the way his skilful hands were unbuttoning the back of her dress.
Draco swivelled her away from the sink and pushed her up against a wall, the marble cool against Hermione's bare back. "Say it," he repeated, as he masterfully stroked her exposed shoulders, causing the robes to fall to her waist in one fluid motion.
"No," Hermione breathed, arching her back as his tongue found a pebbled nipple.
"Say it," Draco insisted, biting tenderly down to her pale stomach.
Hermione pushed Draco away. "No," she replied adamantly, before stepping out of her robes and throwing Draco against the opposite wall. "No," she repeated, between fierce kisses. Her hands wandered over his broad chest as she fumbled with his robes, eventually using her wand to drop them to the ground. She bit her lip as she took in the sight of her husband leaning against the wall in just his black silk boxers. His hair was askew, falling into his lust-darkened eyes, and he was panting slightly with need.
"Well Granger," Draco drawled, composing himself as he stepped towards Hermione. "Like what you see?"
"About as much as you like what you see," Hermione shot back, gesturing to the erection that was tenting his boxers.
Draco smirked as he easily picked up his wife and pushed her back against the sinks. "You didn't think I'd let you have all the control now, did you?" he taunted, as he carefully set Hermione on the slab of marble that extended to either side of the sink. He divested her of the silky wisps of lace underwear she was wearing before he pulled down his own.
Hermione wrapped her slim legs around his waist, pulling him closer. "We'll see who keeps the control," she promised huskily, as she wrapped a small palm around Draco's cock and lined it up against her entrance.
"You minx," Draco moaned, as she rubbed his cock against her slick slit, painfully teasing him. He thrust himself into her wet heat, causing Hermione to groan and push herself up against him. "Say you're mine," Draco gasped, as she grinded her hips against his, spurring his desire.
"Never," Hermione panted, as she threw her head back.
"Please?" Draco tried, as he pounded into her slim body, feeling close to the edge.
"No chance," Hermione shot back, as she reached down and lightly tugged on his balls.
The action was too much for Draco, and he thrust into her rapidly, letting go. A few seconds later, he slumped against Hermione's heaving breasts as his seed spilled inside her. Hermione disengaged her arms from around Draco's neck and reached for her wand, casting a non-verbal Cleansing charm over their sweaty bodies.
"Oh no," said Draco, smirking. "We're not finished. I believe that only half the people in this bathroom have gotten off."
"That's okay," replied Hermione quickly, wary of the glint in his eyes. "I don't mind."
"I do," Draco answered, with a tone of finality that even Hermione didn't dispute. He placed one scorching palm on each of her thighs and slowly spread her legs apart.
Hermione inhaled sharply, her cheeks flushing under the brazen scrutiny of his gaze. "What are you doing?"
"Just relax," soothed Draco, as he kissed his way up one silky thigh. "If you don't like it, I'll stop."
"It's really not necessary," protested Hermione, her voice more high-pitched than usual.
"Trust me, okay?" Draco looked up, his stormy eyes sincere. "Lean back and enjoy this."
Hermione was barely aware of nodding her acquiescence as she leaned back against the bathroom mirror and closed her eyes. Draco grinned at his victory, almost unable to believe that he was finally going to get to have his way with Hermione's Restricted Section, and before she had time for second thoughts, sensually flicked his tongue over her aching clit.
"Oooh–" Hermione squirmed with pleasure.
"Should I stop, love?" Draco teased, even as she unconsciously thrust her hips towards him.
"Shut it Malfoy," moaned Hermione, as she slid her fingers through his silky hair and guided his head back down.
"Yes ma'am," Draco smirked, as he ran his tongue along her slit, tasting her. He swirled his tongue around her clit, sucking on it gently before he slipped his tongue inside her and intimately massaged the velvety smoothness. Hermione squirmed again, as the pressure built up inside her, driven by his ministrations. She gripped his hair tightly as her walls tensed around his clever tongue and his thumb drew lazy circles around her swollen clit.
"Draco…" she cried, as her orgasm overtook her, reducing her to a trembling mass. "That was amazing," she said feebly, as she slumped back against the bathroom mirror, spent.
He grinned. "It was nothing…" short of a masterpiece.
"Thanks," Hermione muttered, feeling slightly self-conscious as he helped her off the marble slab.
"You tasted as sinfully delicious as I imagined," said Draco softly, pulling her chin up to meet his eyes. "Thank you for trusting me."
Hermione brushed her lips softly against his as they broke apart to put on their respective robes. Much to her surprise, her thighs were still trembling from the intensity of her orgasm. Draco turned her around and slowly buttoned her back up, kissing her neck briefly when he was done. He turned her back to face him and pulled her into his arms.
"Draco?" Hermione looked up at him as they broke apart again.
"Yes, love?"
"I'm yours," she said, so quietly that he almost missed it.
Unable to stop the bright grin from spreading across his face, Draco kissed her. "I'm yours too Hermione," he whispered against her neck. "For as long as you'll have me."
As soon as Draco and Hermione walked back to the party, trying to maintain some outward semblance of propriety, their jaws simultaneously dropped. It wasn't because of the fact that the previously crowded party had dwindled to what appeared to be only half the guests –and the bulk of them male– all of whom were running around firing hexes, or the fact that Blaise was sporting a black eye and a bleeding lip, or even the fact that Harry was slumped in a corner looking even more dishevelled than usual.
It was because of the toads.
For, bouncing off the elegant cream and gold walls, jumping along the expensive marble floor and clambering around the hassled guests, were what looked like at least twenty dozen toads. Each toad was an unusually bright emerald green, leaping higher than any regular toad had the capacity to, and they all seemed intent to cause as much trouble as possible.
"Where in the name of Merlin have you two been for the last hour?" Ron demanded urgently, as he nearly stumbled over a wayward toad in his haste to reach them through the jostling guests.
"Nowhere," said Draco quickly, as he grabbed a nearby chair to shield himself and Hermione from a fresh onslaught of toads that seemed to originate from behind Harry. "Where the heck are Weaslette and Juls?"
"Ginny went home," said Ron, not meeting Draco's eye. "Blaise's mum took Juls back to the Manor almost as soon as the toads showed up, though I think that it was mostly to get away from the party."
"What on earth happened here?" Hermione exclaimed, as she pulled out her wand and fired a well-aimed Freezing charm at a toad that had been about to jump onto Ron's head.
"There you are Hermione," Blaise materialised behind Ron, cutting off his response. "We need clearance from you to take Potter into Confinement as discreetly as possible."
"Confinement? Harry? Whatever for?" Hermione replied, shocked. Confinement was a fairly recent development by the Ministry of Magic, a product to counter the several uses of the Imperius Curse during the war. It was a room within the Ministry that temporary blocked all external curses hexes or jinxes on a person –along with binding their magic– while they were placed inside it. Due to its dangerous nature if misused, admittance into Confinement was controlled extremely tightly, with only the higher-ups in Magical Law Enforcement having the authority to grant clearance for use.
Blaise fired a hex at a toad behind Draco's shoulder. "I'll explain when we get there."
"Fine," Hermione bit her lip as she ducked and held her arms over her head to protect herself from a fresh shower of toads. "We'd better bring along at least one witness to put down on the parchmentwork."
"Stop Stunning them you idiots," Blaise thundered to the room. "We'll take Adrian with us," he said to Hermione, in a lower voice. "Since he's a lawyer, he's probably our best choice."
"We should go get the room ready," suggested Draco shrewdly. "Granger and I will meet you lot at the Ministry."
"Coward," Blaise shot back. "But that's a good idea," he admitted reluctantly. "I'll wind up things here and bring Potter in. I'll meet you both directly up at Confinement. The only active Floo is through the door towards the front."
Draco groaned, taking in the pandemonium in the room. The air was thick with leaping toads and the guests were clambering on and off the furniture trying to get a clean shot at the damned creatures. Lavender Brown was being particularly irritating by getting in everybody's way as she ran around squealing every time a toad so much as brushed the hem of her robes.
There was no other way.
Sighing, Draco dropped down on all fours, hoping that the scowl on his face would be enough to deter anybody from commenting on his bizarre life choices. Unfortunately, familiarity bred contempt.
"What the heck are you doing?" Ron asked incredulously, looking as though Christmas had come early. "Are you pretending to be a dog to scare off the toads?"
"If you can't beat em, join em, eh Draco?" Blaise teased, as eight or nine toads gathered around Draco in, amusingly, the same stance.
"It'll be the fastest way across the room," Draco said patronisingly, with as much condescension he could muster in his vulnerable position.
Hermione gave him an approving look before she followed suit. "Good idea. Let's go."
If anybody had told Draco that he would one day be crawling across Blaise's living room, with Hermione Granger by his side, while Ron Weasley was watching them with a smirk, Draco would've sent them packing straight to the insanity ward at St. Mungo's. Draco didn't know what to think about the fact that his life had slowly become a series of peculiar moments that were too outlandish for anyone that knew them to even conceive of.
"I'm going to treasure this memory forever, right along with the one of you as the amazing bouncing ferret," Ron grinned manically, seconds before a toad smacked him in the face.
Draco looked over his shoulder at Ron's yelp, and smirked. "Karma's a bitch eh, Weasley?"
"It was worth it," Ron defended, as he shook off the toad. "Nice tush by the way, Malfoy."
"I always knew you were gay," Draco shot back. "You were way too close to Potter back at school."
"Let's go," Hermione said firmly, before Ron could retaliate.
Draco shook his head as they resumed crawling through the living room, their position giving them the advantage of cleanly missing the jinxes flying across the room. The remaining guests leapt out of their way, allowing them fairly unobstructed access to the fireplace. Grateful that the guests were too preoccupied to fully process the fact that Draco Malfoy had just crawled past them, Draco swiftly straightened up as soon as they got to the Floo and helped Hermione off the floor. Seconds later, they were standing in the deserted Ministry atrium.
Hermione sighed with relief. "Good thing the Ministry is near empty at this hour."
Draco nodded, taking her hand in his. "Hopefully it stays that way until we can get out of here."
They made their way to Confinement quietly. Draco hung back as Hermione non-verbally disabled the wards around the room, allowing them access. She ushered him into one of the many plush armchairs scattered across the cosy room as she placed her wand in the Magical Signature Identification machine and then tapped her wand across the patterned tiles inlaid into the machine to disable the silent security alarm that was charmed to alert Kingsley in the case of unauthorised access. Once she was done, she re-enabled the wards to make sure that no unwanted visitors could barge in through an un-warded door. They were only waiting for ten or fifteen minutes when a terse knock sounded at the door.
Hermione stood and tapped the door frame three times with her wand. The door appeared to dissolve into a shimmer of magic, revealing Blaise, Harry, Ron and Adrian on the other side, trying to shield themselves from the leaping toads. "Brace yourself," Hermione warned Draco, after un-warding hastily, as the door swung open.
"What fo– Aaah!" Draco screamed, as at least a hundred toads bounded straight for his platinum hair.
"Get Potter into Confinement," Blaise ordered, pushing Harry through the door.
"I need to re-ward the entrance first," Hermione insisted firmly. "Everyone, get inside."
Ron was standing outside the door, squirming and flailing. "One of the fucking toads is in my robes," he called out frantically, wriggling. "The bastard leapt right in. Get it out!"
Harry almost screamed. "No one is going to come through Hermi–"
"It's protocol," Hermione snapped testily.
"Get inside Weasley, or we'll drown in the toads," Draco bellowed, swatting at the leaping toads with the cushion of the armchair he'd leapt out of. In the confines of the significantly smaller room, the leaping toads were forcibly stacked on top of each other, leaving everyone knee-deep in piles of fidgeting amphibians.
"No one cares about the protocol except you, Hermione!" Blaise yelled, as the stack of toads grew higher.
Adrian reached out and grabbed Ron by the scruff of his neck. With some difficulty, he managed to usher a writhing Ron into the room, who immediately pulled off his robes and stomped on them viciously.
"Here, take these." Hermione swiftly Conjured five umbrellas and threw one to each of the boys. Opening her own and hoisting it firmly over her curls, she re-warded the door as hastily as she could. Fighting her way through the growing numbers of jumping toads, Hermione managed to make her way to the button that activated the Confinement shield.
"Ready!" she called, as a pale blue hemisphere bulged out of one corner of the room.
Harry waded his way through the waist-height mass of bright green, whacking away the toads that tried to perch on his shoulders, until he finally stumbled through the Confinement shield and fell on to the floor. There was a subtle flash of pale blue, causing everyone to look to the shield, and then the toads disappeared.
Everyone stared at each other, momentarily speechless with relief.
"So… that was eventful," said Draco finally, slowly lowering the seat cushion he had been brandishing.
A second passed as his comment sunk in, and then everyone was on the floor rolling with laughter. Harry scowled at them from behind the shield as he hoisted himself up into sitting position, and then gave them the finger.
"Anybody want to fill us in on what actually happened?" Hermione asked finally, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Well, while you and Malfoy took off for parts unknown, Neville showed up at the party," started Harry moodily, as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
Hermione was shocked. "Neville? What on earth was he doing there?"
Blaise sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Turns out, Audrey invited him. His plant company supplies healing plants and potions ingredients to St. Mungo's."
"Didn't you check at the guest list mate?" asked Draco, as he sat back down on one of the armchairs. "Even I can see that putting Potter, Ginny and Longbottom in the same room would end badly."
"Yes, I went over the guest list with a fine-toothed comb," Blaise replied, rolling his eyes. "That's why I've been at the Ministry till late every night for the past few weeks –better lighting to do all those party preparations in."
"Point taken," said Hermione quickly. "What happened then?"
"Neville had the gall to come over and greet Harry," supplied Ron, sarcastically. "Harry went ballistic and told Neville that he knew."
"Just like that?" Hermione turned around to glare reprovingly at her best friend.
Harry scowled even more deeply. "Neville is my mate, or was supposed to be in any case. I didn't go out of my way to pick a fight with him, but I just couldn't believe that he had the guts to act as though nothing was wrong, when deep down he knew he slept with my girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend," Draco corrected, earning himself a glare from Harry.
"Moving on," said Adrian quickly, breaking the animosity. "While the two of them were fighting, Weasley's sister marched over and demanded that they stop."
"At which point Ginny and I started to argue," finished Harry miserably. "She dragged me away to a corner of the party–"
"–leaving Pansy unattended in the process," interjected Blaise, gesturing to his bleeding lip and black eye.
"Oh no," Hermione groaned.
"Wait a second," Draco interrupted, looking incredulous. "Pansy did that to you?"
Blaise glared. "We were also arguing, and unlike Ginny and Potter, our argument was in full scrutiny of everyone at the party. Long story short, wands were drawn."
"Didn't anybody try stop this?" Hermione questioned, gobsmacked. "Audrey, Theo…?"
"Audrey tried, but Pansy told her to stay out of it," said Blaise, groaning slightly. "She wasn't very polite about it either. Theo tried too, but Pansy sent him packing. Eventually, Parker wrestled Pansy's wand away from her."
Ron grinned. "So she swooped in and punched Blaise instead while he was thanking Parker. It was brilliant."
"Shut it, Weasley," Blaise muttered.
"Where did the toads come from though?" Draco asked, looking positively gleeful.
Harry flushed. "I might've insulted the valentine's day poem Ginny sent me back in second year."
"Turned out, she'd written it herself," Ron's smirk grew wider, "and was not amused when Harry mocked her for comparing his eyes to a fresh pickled toad."
"So she hexed you to have toads follow you everywhere?" Hermione gasped, while Draco and Blaise collapsed into laughter.
"Clearly," Harry bit out, his face set in a scowl.
Draco composed himself briefly, before bursting into laughter again. "Was this before or after Blaise got to experience's Pansy's right hook?"
"Shut it, Draco," said Blaise, as he mirrored Harry's scowl.
Adrian and Ron looked to each other, then shrugged. "I don't know," said Adrian, looking amused.
"It all happened so fast," Ron added, clamping his lips to reign in his laughter.
"What then?" Hermione pressed, sitting down next to Draco.
Harry shrugged. "Percy took Ginny home while Theo took Pansy home. Oriella had Juls the entire time the arguments were taking place, and she beat a hasty retreat saying she would take him to the Manor since we couldn't find either of you. By the time we figured out that the toads multiplied by ten every time they were Stunned, the room was already full of them."
"Merlin," Draco muttered, shaking his head. "Women…"
Hermione swatted him over the head lightly. "How did Audrey take everything that happened?"
Blaise sighed, fidgeting with the cushion on his lap. "I'm not sure," he admitted hesitantly. "She and her friends Apparated away sometime during the argument, possibly after Pansy snapped at her."
"Maybe you should take some advice from the master," Ron boasted smugly. "I'll be happy to tell you all about how to keep a witch happy."
"Have you forgotten that your girlfriend is furious with you too, Weasley?" Blaise shot back.
Ron paled. "Oh fuck…"
Hermione turned to Ron in surprise. "What did you do?"
"Well, this is the third night in a row that I've abandoned Lav," Ron mumbled, his shoulders slumping. "I was working late Thursday because of those stupid decorations at the Manor, then I abandoned her last night to listen to your harebrained theories over how the blood was increased, and tonight I'm here instead of being with her."
Hermione bristled at his statement, but in the light of the events of that evening, she let it slide. Or perhaps it was because she was still in the afterglow of the amazing orgasm she'd had less than an hour ago.
Draco leaned over to her. "When did we become the functional couple?"
Scary, that.
Harry looked sickened. "I believe this makes Malfoy the master, Ron."
"No," Ron turned green. "No fucking way."
"I can't believe this," Blaise groaned loudly. "I used to be good with the ladies."
"The world has gone mental," said Ron, shaking his head with disbelief.
Draco shrugged, smirking. "What can I say boys? I'm just that goo– oi!" he broke off as Hermione smacked him upside the head. Hard.
"You deserved that," said Hermione unrepentantly, winking at the others.
"On that note," Draco said, as he stood from the sofa. "I think now is as good a time as any to check on Juls. How long will you lot be here?"
The boys all looked to Hermione, who shrugged. "Who knows," she replied, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure how long the hex Ginny put goes for. I don't even know if she's limited the spell."
"Does that mean I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future?" Harry asked, horrified.
"No, no," Hermione hastened to reassure him. "I'll bring up some books from the Ministry library, so that we can search while we wait."
"And," Draco added, "I'll bring back all the books I can find at the Manor, and we'll look through them for a Counter-Curse."
"Good idea," said Adrian, nodding. "We'll keep Potter company till you return."
Draco Apparated back to the Manor with a crack that echoed in the quiet like a short clap of thunder. He padded quietly through the twisting corridors, reflecting on how lucky he was to have Hermione. He would never have guessed that they would work so well together as a couple, or have such undeniable physical chemistry, but with every passing day the mounting evidence was getting harder to ignore:
Draco Malfoy was happily married to his childhood enemy.
Shaking his head, Draco climbed up the final flight of stairs to Julius's bedroom and quietly opened the door. Julius's tiny body was almost hidden under his dragon patterned blanket and his tousled curls were just barely visible in the dim light from his broomstick shaped nightlight. As silently as he could, Draco tip-toed over to his son and gently stroked his hair, smoothing it away from the boy's peaceful face.
"Daddy?" Julius stirred, his eyes fluttering open.
"Hey buddy," Draco answered softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"Daddy sit," Julius demanded as he wriggled over, patting the warm spot he had just vacated in the bed.
Draco slipped between the blankets, pulling his son close to him. "Sorry that your mother and I left you alone at the party."
Julius cuddled up to his body, resting his head on Draco's lap. "Gramma told me that since you love mummy, sometimes you both want to spend time alone."
"I love you just as much," Draco reassured him quietly.
"I know Daddy," Julius beamed sleepily. "You and I spend time alone too, like when we go flying or sneak into gram's room to jump on the bed."
"I'm sorry I haven't spent as much time with you as I used to," said Draco, feeling a sharp pang of regret.
Julius shrugged tiredly. "Gramma said things would go back to normal after your homeynoon time."
"Honeymoon period," Draco corrected wryly. Funny that the entire honeymoon period of his marriage had been spent tracking down a killer that may or may not have been responsible for the marriage in the first place.
"Since you and mummy love each other, will I have a baby brother or sister soon?" Julius asked, his face lighting up.
Draco laughed at the unexpected question. "Not yet Juls," he said cheerfully, tousling Julius's curls. "But maybe in a couple of years."
"How do you know that it's not yet?" Julius questioned innocently.
Suddenly Draco felt his chest constrict. His mind frantically flashed back to the wonderful hour he'd spent in the bathroom with Hermione, realising with horror that the idea of contraception hadn't even occurred to him in the moment. His panic-laced thoughts took him back to the other times they'd been intimate, his heart thudding madly as he took in the fact that he had not used any method of contraception at any point with Hermione.
Oh Merlin…
Julius lifted his tiny head. "What's wrong Daddy?" he peered interestedly into Draco's terrified face. "Did you see something scary?"
Just a Manor full of bushy haired ankle-biters. "Not at all," Draco said thickly, as he cleared his throat. "I have to go somewhere now, Juls. Go back to sleep like a good boy and I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay Daddy," said Julius solemnly, firmly squeezing his eyes shut.
"Night little man," Draco kissed him on the top of his head, still half-dazed.
Almost on auto-pilot, he extricated himself from the blankets and wrapped them around his son, tucking him in securely. Draco padded his way back through the Manor, trying to force himself to stay as calm as possible until he had the chance to speak to Hermione. As much as he wanted more children someday, he had always envisioned that day to be far off into the future. Even though things with Hermione had been the best they'd been lately, it still felt much too soon to bring another child into the mix. Or, knowing my luck, the octuplets that are probably already developing inside her uterus.
Somehow, Draco managed to make his way to the Apparition chamber, toying with the idea of waking the elves up for a Calming Draught, but balking at the thought of Hermione's reaction to his inconsideration towards the elves. The stress that will put her through won't do her or the octuplets any good, Draco reasoned, as he Apparated to the Ministry. He was barely aware of where he was going, trusting his superior innate navigational skills to guide his feet back to Confinement. After all, Malfoys were always the best at anything that required natural talent, whether it was navigation or knocking up their wives with octuplets (the latter clearly based on empirical evidence, such as a vast incidence of octuplets within the Malfoy bloodline.)
When Draco eventually focused on his surroundings, he realised was lost.
Merlin's balls, he swore to himself, as he tried to identify just where in the vast belly of the Ministry he had possibly ended up. His mental faculties back on high alert, Draco was suddenly aware of a faint scuffling coming from one of the series of doors in the supposedly deserted corridor he had ended up at. Thinking quickly, Draco Disillusioned himself and pressed up as far against the nearest wall he could, holding his breath as the door was flung open.
Vanessa walked out, looking dishevelled, followed closely by a man in his early twenties that Draco failed to recognise. He watched keenly as they embraced smothering each others laughter with a kiss.
"I've always wanted to do it in there," Vanessa said breathlessly, as she pulled away.
The man arched an eyebrow while locking the door non-magically with a large brass key. "Really? There?"
Vanessa nodded, a slight blush creeping up her cheekbones. "It always seemed like the ultimate fuck you whenever I had a bad day at work. Filing and organising can get mind numbing sometimes."
"That I can see," the man conceded. "Still, the records office at the Ministry?"
"I guess we all have our quirks," Vanessa giggled, slipping her hand into his. "While I organise most of the files that go there, I've never had the chance to actually get inside the room. There is something cathartic about being able to have sex on top of all those fucking files I have to work with day in and day out."
The man laughed as they made their way down the corridor. "A literal 'screw you' eh? I suppose I can understand. To be honest, I'm surprised that even you do not possess a key."
"Shacklebolt's new administrative policies," Vanessa rolled her eyes as they passed right by Draco. "He thinks that giving one person too much power leads to corruption. Something about having many links in the chain…" her voice trailed off as they rounded a corner and disappeared into the recesses of the Ministry.
Draco stood frozen to his spot for a minute after they left, slowly daring to breathe in a few shallow breaths. After he was certain they had left for good, a quick Point me indicated that he was at least two floors and several corridors off the Confinement room. His mind was still reeling from the implications of everything that had been on his mind in the past half hour. While Hermione had been adamant that Vanessa was up to no good, for the life of him Draco couldn't see anything suspicious or odd about Vanessa's presence at the Ministry –other than her obvious proclivity for bizarre places to indulge in carnal pleasures.
As he made his way to Confinement, Draco mulled over the conversation he had overheard. While Vanessa had come off as mildly anti-Ministry, in all fairness everyone hated some aspect of their job at one point or another. Even Hermione, whom he knew for a fact loved her job with the devotion of a first-time parent, frequently complained about how awful work was and how incompetent some of the people she worked with could be. While it was a bit unsettling to run in to Vanessa at the Ministry late at night on a weekend, he had witnessed nothing more incriminating than an employee looking to blow off some steam. After all, for all he knew, she could've had an awful week at work.
However, all thoughts of Vanessa flew out of his head as he finally arrived in front of Confinement. Instead of the deserted corridor he had expected, Adrian and Hermione stood embracing outside the door.
"I'll owl you tomorrow," Adrian said, kissing Hermione on the cheek. "I need to check my planner."
"That's perfectly fine," said Hermione agreeably, as they finally stepped apart. "Oh! Draco, you're back," she exclaimed, and, catching sight of her husband's scowl, hastened to add, "Adrian has somewhere to be tomorrow morning so he was just leaving."
"Goodbye Adrian," Draco bit out tersely, as he stomped past the pair into Confinement.
Several years ago, within the confines of Hogwarts' sandstone walls, a romance had begun. It had started as a budding friendship that turned in to a deeper dependency as the years grew. Eventually, the door to lust and finally love opened, vowing to change the lives of the two unsuspecting children that had shared a plate of scrambled eggs during breakfast in their first year. Initially, no one seemed to care –or even notice, but nine years later someone would focus on that life-altering friendship with the same acuity that had got her through Healer training.
Audrey arrived back at Blaise's –no, theirs– hours after she had stormed out halfway through their own housewarming.
The house was empty, the remnants of the party lingering in the expanded living-room. Blaise wasn't home, presumably at the Ministry. He was always at the Ministry, working late on something or the other. She couldn't remember the last time she'd come back to find him home, or even the last time he hadn't been hassled and overworked.
She walked through the living room, feeling almost like a ghost. Her glittering robes taunted her in the dying candlelight as she aimlessly dug her fingers through one of the many bowls of potpourri she had scattered across the living room, gathering and dropping handfuls of the withered, fragrant flowers. They seemed like an apt personification of her relationship: superficially, pleasing enough to distract everyone from the fact that they were dead.
The flowers, her relationship, her hopes for the future that had seemed within her grasp…
Perhaps it had been a subconscious message from her head to her heart when the only sort of floral arrangements she had thought to make were the endless bowls of potpourri.
She abandoned her perusal of the bowl and walked into the master bedroom. Allowing herself nothing more than a small sigh to express the sadness filling her belly like curdled milk, she selected a bottle of Firewhiskey from Blaise's stash and poured herself a generous gobletful. Sipping on the soothing liquid, she flicked her wand, causing all her possessions to fly into the boxes she had only recently unpacked them from.
Audrey frowned, and then inexplicably returned her possessions to their rightful place before putting down the empty goblet and beginning to pack by hand. She couldn't explain why it felt more meaningful that way, as she painstakingly gathered each evidence of her short presence in Blaise's world and sent it back to her own apartment. She worked patiently, pausing only to refill her goblet, and within the hour seated herself at Blaise's desk, quill poised over a fresh scroll of parchment, her belongings out of sight.
She chewed on the feathered tip, fiercely blinking away the sharp sting of the tears that pooled in her exquisite eyes, as she mulled over her parting words to Blaise. There was so much to say, and yet, not very much at all. Perhaps she should mention the fact that she had confronted Pansy about her feelings for him a mere hour ago? Or, should she place the blame at his feet for using her to run from his fear of his love for Pansy?
But then, neither Pansy nor Blaise had ever admitted to her their feelings for the other. That's how she knew that Pansy truly loved Blaise, enough to lie to protect a relationship she thought Blaise wanted. Audrey could still see Pansy's vehement protests –about how nothing would transpire between them– clearly in her mind's eye.
The words came to her, merciful in their release, and she scrawled them across the parchment without any second-guessing.
Audrey rubbed her eyes roughly with the back of her hand –a little too roughly, for a ginger eyelash rested there when she pulled her hand away. Squeezing her eyes shut, she made a fervent wish before she blew the eyelash off her pale wrist. She got to her feet and flicked her wand one last time, returning the house to its original state before she had decorated it upon moving in. She idly wondered how long it would be before Pansy redecorated it to suit her needs, and then firmly put that –and the other painful thoughts jostling for attention– out of her mind. It had never been her intention to slip between the pages of someone else's fairytale, or to put a wrench in the romance that had begun nearly a decade ago, and now the only thing left for her to do was to leave.
She picked up her purse and walked out purposefully. She hesitated slightly at the front door, her fingers trembling on the doorknob, before she braced herself and pushed the door open. At the threshold, she turned back and took one last look at their –no, Blaise's– apartment, and then let the door slam shut behind her as she Disapparated into the night.
A/n: I'm back! So embarrassing, but I uploaded the chapter nearly ten days ago and forgot to publish it. I was about to upload chapter thirty-three (amidst feelings of panic and hurt that I'd lost all my readers/reviewers) when I realised my mistake. The next chapter is already written and will be up shortly! Apologies again for the abysmally long wait.
As always, thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter. You all validate my procrastination! Hope that my no-doubt dwindling readers appreciate this latest one. I'd love to hear which parts you particularly liked/disliked reading.
Reviews make me smile, so please, feel free to make me grin like a pre-teen with her first crush ^.^