Harry paced nervously in front of the fireplace, laying down instructions to Ron. It was a Saturday afternoon and Harry was due to be meeting with Kingsley and Hermione to discuss the final details of the anniversary celebration in a few minutes. Harry was looking forward to the meeting and seeing Hermione as he had actually being dealing with her assistant for the last few weeks as Hermione was apparently busy elsewhere. Harry had been making a few final plans of his own when Ron had suddenly arrived and announced he wanted to accompany Harry to the hotel and to see Hermione.
It had been a month since Hermione had given Harry permission to tell Ginny and Ron about her. Harry had told Ginny first and given her a few days to adjust to the news before they broke it to Ron. Ginny had been shocked to discover who Hermione had married but like Harry she accepted that she had lost any right to pass judgement on Hermione's life after the way she had treated the brunette witch.
Ron however was a different story. He had reacted furiously to the news and Harry had to physically restrain him from heading straight to Hermione's hotel to confront her. Eventually Harry and Ginny had calmed Ron down but it had still taken him another three weeks before he accepted that he had no say in Hermione's life and it was nothing to do with him who she had married.
Ron had only just accepted the news about Hermione which was why Harry was dubious about letting him accompany him to the meeting. Ron however insisted so Harry instead set about giving his brother-in-law some ground rules. Harry knew that Ron wanted to re-establish his friendship with Hermione but knew that if the redhead messed up his first meeting with her then he would blow any chance of a reconciliation.
"Harry, I understand." Ron sighed as Harry went over the rules a third time. "Shouldn't we go now?"
"Yes." Harry said, heading towards the fireplace.
Harry flooed to Hermione's hotel first, Ron arriving a few seconds later. Kingsley was already waiting in the lobby and when he saw both Harry and Ron arrive he pulled Harry to one side as Ron looked around the place in awe.
"I hope Ron won't be causing any problems." Kingsley said quietly so that Ron didn't hear him.
"He won't. He just wants to see Hermione." Harry replied, hoping he was right about Ron behaving himself.
"I hope so. I've been trying for years to get Hermione to attend one of these celebrations so Ron better not ruin that."
"What do you mean you've been trying for years?" Harry asked confused. He had assumed Kingsley only came into contact with Hermione when he wanted to hire a room in the hotel and discovered she was the owner. "How long have you known where Hermione was?"
"I ran into Hermione just before the second anniversary. She was working at the Australian Ministry at the time. We've been in touch ever since." Kingsley said.
Harry looked shocked that Kingsley had known Hermione's whereabouts for so long. Harry had lots of questions he wanted to ask Kingsley but before he had a chance Jason appeared in the lobby.
"Kingsley, Harry. Hermione's waiting for you in the garden room. Do you want me to take you or can you find your own way?" Jason asked, looking at the two men.
"We're fine thanks, Jason." Harry smiled at Hermione's assistant who he had become quite friendly with over the last few weeks as they organised the anniversary celebrations.
Jason nodded and headed back to work while Harry, Kingsley and Ron set off towards the garden room. Ron was silent the entire way as he took in the spectacular building his ex-girlfriend owned. Ron was even more impressed when they entered the large garden room with the clear back wall already down and leading onto the magnificent gardens.
"Wow, this is amazing." Ron said, gaping at his surroundings.
Harry was about to respond when the three men heard a high pitch giggling and turned to find a small girl with blonde hair standing in the garden looking at them. Despite never having seen Hermione's daughter all three men immediately recognised the young girl as she was a perfect hybrid of her parents. She had Draco's hair colouring and eyes but she had Hermione's nose and smile. It was impossible to tell if she had inherited her mother's bushy hair as hers was tied up in a ponytail with a lavender ribbon.
"Lyra, what have I said about running off like that." A voice scolded before Hermione appeared in the three men's line of vision.
Hermione failed to notice Kingsley, Harry and Ron as she picked up her daughter who was busy apologising. It wasn't until Hermione turned round that she spotted the audience her and Lyra had. The smile that was on Hermione's face faded as she noticed the red head belonging to Ron standing slightly behind Harry.
"Ron, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Hermione said.
"Hi, Hermione. I hope you don't mind but I wanted to be part of the planning and I really wanted to see you." Ron said, attempting to smile at his former friend.
"No, I don't mind." Hermione said softly. She knew she would have to deal with Ron eventually so she figured it might be best to get it over with. "We're sitting outside if that's okay."
"That's fine, Hermione." Kingsley said.
Hermione turned away and headed back into the garden. Kingsley, Harry and Ron all followed her in silence. Harry and Kingsley were hoping that everything would run smoothly while Ron was busy thinking about how good Hermione looked.
Since it was a weekend Hermione was dressed more casually than normal. She was wearing jeans and a purple top, her hair was loosely tied back and she was wearing several pieces of silver jewellery, all in the shape of dragons.
The moment the table in the centre of the garden came into view Harry and Kingsley shared a worried look. Sitting at the table holding a small baby was Draco. Like Hermione he was also dressed casually in jeans and a light blue shirt. Harry knew the moment Ron spotted the blond as he cursed quietly. Ron's reaction wasn't quite quietly enough though as Hermione turned her head and glared at Ron before she quickened her pace to reach her husband.
When she reached Draco Hermione put Lyra down on the lawn and greeted her husband. Hermione gave Draco a hug and whispered a warning to him to behave himself in his ear. At Hermione's warning Draco turned and noticed Ron for the first time. Draco glared at Ron briefly before turning to greet Kingsley. Kingsley returned Draco's greeting with a smile and fussed over Scorpius who was quite happy sitting in his father's arms.
Hermione offered people drinks as everyone settled down at the table. Ron deliberately sat as far away from Draco as possible but unfortunately for him it also meant sitting away from Hermione as she was sitting directly next to her husband. Ron accepted the drink and sat moping as he watched Hermione give her daughter a drink before making sure she was safely playing nearby.
"Since it's Saturday and I'm sure we'd all prefer to be elsewhere perhaps we should begin." Kingsley suggested, hoping to get the meeting over with quickly so there was no trouble.
"Since it's been ten years I was thinking we should have some sort of memorial event. Do something to commemorate all those who died." Harry said.
"That's a nice idea. Do you have anything in mind?" Kingsley asked.
"No." Harry shook his head. "I know we always have the commemorative wall but I wanted to do something else this year."
For the next ten minutes various things were suggested by everyone but Ron and Draco. Draco was half listening to the conversation but most of his attention was on his children as he made sure Lyra didn't wander away or get into trouble. Ron was too busy feeling ill as he watched Hermione and Draco together with their two children. Every time Hermione and Draco touched, which was quite often, Ron had to force himself not to physically tear them apart. Seeing Hermione all cosy with Draco was proving far more disturbing than Ron had originally thought it would be and he was struggling to handle it.
"How about you release a lantern for everyone who died." Draco suggested as the ideas ground to a halt after a while. "You could have their name and a picture of the person on each one."
Hermione smiled at Draco while Harry and Kingsley sat quietly as they thought about the idea. Hermione thought the idea was perfect and they could have a lovely ceremony in the garden before they released the lanterns.
"I like that, it could be really nice." Harry said after briefly thinking about Draco's idea.
"You can't be serious Harry." Ron snarled, unable to keep quiet. "Surely you're not planning on taking ideas from a Death Eater. He shouldn't even be involved in the anniversary after everything he did."
"If that's the way you feel Ron, then I suggest you leave." Hermione snapped before Harry had a chance to speak. "And if Draco being involved is a problem then maybe you need to find yourselves an alternative venue for the ball."
"That won't be necessary, Hermione." Harry said, glaring at Ron. He was mad that Ron had already insulted Draco as it was something Harry had warned him against doing numerous times. "Nobody has a problem, do they Ron."
Ron glared at Harry, angry at his friend for not backing him up. He knew that if he wanted to have Hermione back in his life he would have to back down regarding her husband but he wasn't happy with the former Slytherin's involvement in the anniversary.
"No, I don't have a problem. Sorry." Ron spat out, his tone betraying his real feelings.
Everyone at the table knew that Ron hadn't meant a word he had said but to avoid a fight they all ignored it. Kingsley quickly re-directed the conversation back to the lanterns and solid plans were soon being made as it was decided to go with Draco's idea.
After Ron's outburst Draco deliberately stayed out of the discussion. If it wasn't for the fact his children were present he would have reacted to Ron's earlier comments and would have thrown the redhead out of the hotel. Draco also knew that Hermione would have also reacted more forcefully if the children hadn't been present. Even now his wife was throwing Ron dark looks and Draco was pretty sure the redhead had all but blown his chances of rebuilding his friendship with Hermione.
Draco could feel Ron watching him but he ignored the redhead and focused on Lyra and Scorpius. Scorpius was quite happily lying in Draco's arms, his little eyes drooping as he began to tire. Lyra meanwhile was playing under the table, occasionally popping her head up in between people to see what was going on. Draco noticed that Lyra avoided Ron as every time the redhead saw the small girl he glared at her. Kingsley and Harry however smiled and spoke to the four year old whenever she approached them.
Once everything was finalised and the arrangements mainly in place for the lantern ceremony Kingsley called an end to the meeting.
"Thank you for giving up your Saturday afternoon." Kingsley said to Hermione and Draco. "I suppose I'll see you both at the anniversary."
"Yes. You've finally got what you wanted, Kingsley." Hermione laughed, giving the older wizard a brief hug.
"I told you I would, Hermione." Kingsley smiled. For eight years he had promised Hermione he would get her to attend an anniversary ball and finally he had achieved his goal.
After Kingsley had stepped back from Hermione and was talking to Draco, Harry approached his friend. When he asked about a final meeting to discuss the final preparations Harry was disappointed when Hermione said she wouldn't be available before the night of the ball and the last minute details would have to be handled by her assistant. Harry was cheered up slightly when Hermione said she was looking forward to seeing him again.
While Harry was saying goodbye to Hermione, Ron was standing back and watching. He had thought he could cope with the fact that Hermione had married the enemy but seeing them together was making Ron doubt that he could ever accept Hermione's choice. Ron looked on in dismay as Harry calmly shook Draco's hand and complimented him on his beautiful family. When Harry said he didn't have a problem with Hermione's choice of husband Ron had thought he was bluffing but clearly Hermione being married to Draco wasn't a problem for his friend.
Once Harry and Kingsley had finished their farewells Ron muttered a quick goodbye to Hermione and pointedly ignored Draco, who was standing next to his wife. Kingsley assured Hermione they could find their own way back to reception and the three wizards left the garden.
As they were leaving Hermione could tell Harry was berating Ron, probably over his rude actions and words. Hermione realised she was angry and slightly disappointed as she watched Harry and Ron depart. She was unsure why Ron had even came today, he hadn't apologised for what had happened in the past and he clearly wasn't willing to give Draco a chance.
"Nice to see Weasley hadn't changed." Draco muttered as soon as he was sure the three wizards were out of earshot.
"It does seem like he's still the same. Stuck on childhood grudges." Hermione sighed.
Hermione really couldn't see herself re-establishing her friendship with Ron any time soon but she also found she wasn't particularly bothered by the idea. Hermione was no longer the insecure bookworm who was desperate for friendship and acceptance. She was now a confident woman who had a great family and good friends and she knew she no longer needed her old friends to be happy.
"Should we go home?" Draco asked. He wasn't sure if Hermione was upset that things hadn't gone well with Ron but knew she would speak about it later if it had bothered her.
"Yes." Hermione replied, calling for Lyra.
Lyra ran up to Hermione who immediately picked her up in her arms. Hermione magically gathered Lyra's few toys before they headed inside the garden room. Hermione replaced the glass wall before they left the room and headed towards reception to floo home. After spending the afternoon working Hermione and Draco planned to spend the rest of their weekend with their children.