So, all the stuff I need to get my computer fixed is with my brother. Ya know what he hasn't asked for yet? The computer. To do the fixing. I wonder how hard it is to replace a hard drive. Better question - I wonder where the hard drive is located. Perhaps I should just stick to bribing him to fix it.

Chapter 18
"You can't be serious," Ginny muttered when two new guests arrived at her brother's engagement party. "Why did you even invite her?"

Harry rolled his shoulders, knowing he was in for a long night. "I invited Hermione because she's my friend, and she's Ron's friend too," he replied, steeling himself for an argument.

"Oh please, they aren't friends," the redhead scoffed. "She's no more Ron's friend than she is ours."

"She's still my friend," Harry said defiantly before he walked away. Hermione and Draco stood near the entrance, hands nervously clenched between them. Harry smiled when he caught Hermione's eye, and increased his gait. "I'm glad you could make it. We missed you at dinner last week," he whispered, hugging her despite the fact that Malfoy still held her hand.

"Will Ginny continue to glare at us like that all night?" she wondered, exhausted by the thought.

Harry shrugged. "Probably," he replied with a humorous smile. "Just ignore her. There are plenty of other people here who will be happy to see you. And, Malfoy, we've got plenty of your old school mates here so you won't feel too lonely when someone steals Mione away from you."

Draco looked around the reception hall paid for, most likely, by Astoria's parents. It was lavishly decorated in soft purple and ivory, and the buffet table stretched the entire length of the room. No expense had been spared for the youngest Greengrass despite what had to be disapproval for the broken betrothal. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Daphne alone at the bar.

The timing was almost too perfect for him to slip away when Neville Longbottom nervously approached them. "Get you a drink?" Draco asked Hermione after shaking his former classmate's hand. She gave him her order and returned her attention to Neville as Draco made his way to the bar. Daphne leaned against the bar looking more bored than anyone else. "Having fun?" he asked after placing Hermione's and his orders.

"Tons," she replied, her voice montone and her green eyes rolling. "I honestly believe they like her better."

Draco furrowed his brow. "Who likes whom better?"

Again she rolled her eyes petulantly. "My parents. Like Astoria. Better," she said slowly so he would fully absorb her words.

"That can't be true," Draco decided. "You got better grades. You never broke the rules. You married who they wanted you to marry."

Daphne studied the rings on her left hand. "And my sister is marrying the man she loves," she muttered. "She's getting her full inheritance too. Convinced them that Weasley's too poor for them to live without it."

Draco gritted his teeth to keep from pointing out that she hadn't needed her inheritance if she had married him. "Haven't seen the happy couple around," he commented, deciding to look anywhere but at her.

"I didn't think you'd notice anyone but Granger," she retorted.

Draco found his girlfriend in the crowd and smiled when she caught him looking. "She reminds me of you," he confided. "Except she doesn't care about money."

"I thought I was doing what was best for my family," she said, tucking a dark strand of hair behind her ear. "You were betrothed to my sister, and I didn't want to take that away from her. How was I supposed to know she would fall for Weasley? I thought she would marry you."

"And then I could live the rest of my life in an unhappy marriage with you as my sister-in-law," he muttered. "That's exactly how I hoped my life would turn out."

Daphne sighed and shifted closer to him. "Adrian said you were really happy with Granger," she said.

He nodded. "I am," he confirmed. "I haven't felt this way about another woman since you. In fact, I...I think I'm happier with her. I just don't understand why you did it. You wouldn't have needed your inheritance. Not with mine."

Flagging the bartender, Daphne ordered another drink and awaited its delivery. Once the glass was in hand, she downed the contents quickly before resuming the conversation. "We wouldn't have had your inheritance either," she pointed out. "You were supposed to marry Astoria or you lost your inheritance. Same goes for Adrian and me. You and I, we didn't grow up in families where money was a necessity. We had easy-going lives because of that money. There was no way either one of us could have started from scratch.

"And now with my sister getting married to someone else, you're free to be with whomever you choose, Draco," she continued.

Once more, his eyes locked on Hermione. "Are you happy?" he asked. "With Adrian?"

Daphne smiled briefly. "Yeah, I am," she replied. "It was hard at first, knowing we didn't love each other. It's gotten easier though. Who knows, one day I just might love him."

Hermione now made her way towards them, and Draco smiled as she neared. "I hope so, Daph," he told her. He placed a kiss on her cheek before Hermione reached them.

"Hold on to him, Granger," Daphne advised. "I think he's a keeper."

When Daphne was out of earshot, Hermione wound her arms around Draco's waist and asked, "Good talk?"

Draco handed her a drink and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Not bad," he replied. "Apparently I'm a keeper."

Despite the roll of her eyes, Hermione laughed. "Well, there will be no living with you now," she lamented.

And with those words, an idea began to form in Draco's mind. "Move in with me," he suggested.

"You're crazy," she replied, dismissing him as foolish.

"I'm dead serious, Hermione," he stated, pulling her around so that she stood in front of him. And the look in his eyes confirmed it.

Hermione shook her head. "We can't do that," she insisted. "I can't do that. And I don't think this is the place to discuss it."

Taking her by the arm, Draco led her outside. Making sure no one else was around, he asked, "Why can't you do it? You spend every night at my flat as it is. In the last month, you've slept alone at your place, what, twice?"

Inhaling, Hermione slowly released her breath as she steeled herself. "Ron and I planned to move in together, and then he broke up with me," she explained. "I won't live with someone without some kind of commitment."

"You mean marriage," he assumed. She didn't need to confirm; her silence was the only answer he needed. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not ready for that yet."