All rights go to J. K. Rowling
Fred looked at the grown-ups nervously. "I'm going to take this as our cue to leave." He stepped towards Eva and held out his hand. "Care for a dance?" Eva blushed and took his hand, quickly running away from the drama that was about to unfold.
"I second that motion." Nikolas stated. "Mel shall we show Fred and Eva who own the dance floor?" Mel also didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded and followed Eva, Fred and Nikolas.
"I'm going to go be a protective older brother..." Scorp slinked away.
"Nikki, do you want some cake or food or anything that involves us getting away?"
"I don't see what the problem is... but I'm starving so TO THE FOOD!" Nikki charged towards the sweets and Markos followed as if his life depended on it.
Blaise being Blaise decided to follow them to the buffet table. "I'm going to keep an eye on those two." He said before he too ran as if his life depended on it.
"You married the bloody ferret?" Ron repeated, absolutely fuming. "You could have anyone and you chose him. You chose someone who has brought nothing but pain and misery into the world." His voice was full of venom. "You chose him over me." Ron whipped out his wand and pointed it at Draco. "What did you do to her? Did you use the Imperius curse or the Confundus charm? WHICH ONE?"
"He didn't use anything on me Ronald! I chose him in my right mind and he has brought me more joy than I thought I would ever experience. If you need evidence just look at my 5 children." Hermione turned to Harry and Ginny. "What's your stand on this?" When they just stood there, shifting on their feet and unable to pull together a sentence, Hermione turned to Pansy and Draco. "Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'étais amie avec ces idiots. Ils sont si ignorants et étroits d'esprits" (Why I was friends with these idiots, I do not know. They are ignorant and narrow minded jerks!)
They chuckled in response to Hermione's outburst. "Ce n'est pas comme si nous ne l'avions pas répété chaque jour à l'école, ma chérie." Draco replied. (It's not like we didn't say it at school everyday, Darling.)
Pansy grinned. "Je n'ai jamais pensé que je verrais le jour où tu dirais ça sur Harry, Ginny et Ron. Mais j'espérais que tu entendrais raison." (I never thought I'd see the day where you said that about Harry, Ginny and Ron. But, I was hoping you would see sense.)
The other four looked at Draco, Pansy and Hermione with very confused faces. However they all got the gist of what they were say. George stepped forward, hoping that this would calm down the annoyed Hermione.
"I, for one, am glad you're happy. Draco seemed nice enough in the shop and your kids are brilliant, especially the two pranking masterminds." He paused for a second. "And it's nice to see you again, without all the glamour charms and large hats. You have no idea how disappointed I was at first when I thought you weren't you at the train station." He gave her a big hug. Hermione grinned at him. However, Ron just looked even more confused and even angrier.
"You were at the train station?" He demanded.
Hermione turned to him and sneered, then she cleared her throat and put on her french accent. "I always thought there wasn't much stored in the top of his head, but it looks like the sidekick has finally figured it out." Hermione could hear Draco and Pansy sniggering behind her. "Pity he chose not to listen to my hint about improving his manners."
Ron pretended to ignore this and turned on his brother, but his entire left side of his face was twitching, making him look a bit more than a bit deranged, which meant that he'd heard it and it had got to him. "And YOU!" He pointed a finger at George. "You knew that it was Hermione? You knew where she was? And yet you said nothing!" He practically screeched.
"Don't you dare turn this on George, Ronald! I didn't want him to tell anyone, I wanted to be the one to tell you! I wasn't sure how you'd react, but I had been hoping for more of a mature response. And George only found out at the train station and even then he had to piece it together for himself - I didn't tell him a thing. It's not my fault he actually uses his brain and you don't!"
Ron glared at her. "You're acting like a grade A bitch, you know that right?"
"The situation called for it. I told you never to speak badly about my family again and yet that's all you've been able to do since you found out I actually had a family."
"I've only insulted Malfoy, not your family." Ron crossed his arms, thinking that it was a brilliant point - but it only made him look worse.
"Merlin you're stupid!" Hermione rubbed her eyes. "Let me spell it out for you - My. Name. Is. Hermione. Malfoy. I am a Malfoy. My children are Malfoys." She paused to mimic his voice. "'I only insulted Malfoy', you insulted me as well as my children and my husband... and you've just admitted to it."
She knew she needed to calm down, Draco recognised Hermione's cry for help in her eyes instantly and wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering in her ear. "It's alright, take a deep breath and deal with the twat with a level head - It'll make things easier and you might get through to him... and your friends." Draco let go, allowing her to take a step forwards after she looked at Pansy and George for reassurance - which she received and was grateful for it.
"I knew that you might find my reappearance with a family hard. I knew that you probably wouldn't like that I had married Draco. But I had hoped that your friendship would have overcome those feelings and that you guys just would have been happy to see me again. But instead you attack me and my choices. I chose Draco despite having put up with everything that happened between us at school - believe me, just because I married him and love him now, doesn't mean I didn't give him a piece of my mind when I saw him again. But everything he did at school was against me, so you have no right to attack him too. Sure a few snide comments against you guys, but that was it." She paused to amend her previous sentence. "OK, he did try to knock Harry off his broom in Quidditch more than once but that is part of the sport as well as house rivalries. I'm sorry you don't see that he's changed. I'm embarrassed that you haven't learnt to look past petty school rivalries. But my family comes first, so don't expect to see me anytime before you've learnt to accept them."
Ginny let everything soak in for a few seconds, she'd listened to everything and was actually still in the disbelief stage. Yes, she'd been annoyed that Hermione didn't tell her she was married - but then again Ginny hadn't told Hermione that she and Harry had married - and she was upset that Hermione was never going to be part of the family, that she'd never be able to call her a sister-in-law. She was flabbergasted that Hermione had chosen Malfoy of all people to be her husband - but she could also sense the palpable love between the two. Ginny looked at Harry from the corner of her eye and could see he'd thought the same things, and she could see a hint of acceptance forming, just like in her mind.
"I'm sorry Ron." She muttered very quietly before taking a step forward, she knew her explosive brother would see this as a betrayal. She took a deep breath and looked Hermione in the eye. "I'm sorry for the way we responded. It was immature and downright unacceptable. By Harry and I not saying anything, just condemns our actions even more as we didn't stand up for you." Ginny glanced back at Harry briefly, getting his approval. "I can now safely say that both Harry and I support and accept your marriage to Draco, although for us it is a little strange as we've never known you two to be anything than at each other's throats."
Draco smirked cheekily at Hermione. "Oh we're still at each other's throats, just with different intents - mine being to leave my mark." The statement caused Hermione to groan and turn a very dark shade of red at the innuendo that had been present in that sentence.
"Too. Much. Info." George stated, looking amused but also slightly sick.
"I second that." Harry muttered, looking very green and uncomfortable. He too took a step forward and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Hermione." He held out his hand for her to shake and was slightly surprised, but no less happy, to find himself subject to a hug. Once she let go - grinning madly, I might add - Harry turned to Draco and held out his hand, which to add more to Harry's surprise Draco actually shook. "Welcome to the 'family'... Draco." Harry scrunched his face at how unfamiliar that name sounded in his mouth.
"Thanks... Harry." Draco shivered from discomfort. He looked at Harry with a sort of pleading look in his eyes - which he saw being mirrored back in Harry's eyes. "You know what, can we just stick to surnames, first names sound too weird for the moment." He asked quickly.
"Yes definitely." Harry agreed immediately. "I'm glad that she's happy with you, Malfoy, It means you care a great deal about her."
Draco smiled lovingly at his wife. "I do. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
Hermione and Ginny had also made up and were looking at their husbands with interest and awe. George was looking impressed and was glad that Hermione had at least two of her closest friends back. Ron, however, looked more disgusted and furious than ever.
"I can't believe you. Harry, I waited years for Hermione to come back, you were supposed to help me get her back, not accept her husband. That's what friends do." He spat.
Harry glared at him. "Hermione's my friend too, and I haven't seen her in years. I don't want to ruin a friendship with her in pursuit of your fruitless goals, Ron. Can't you see Hermione loves Malfoy? Can't you see that to try and break them apart would be to hurt her children as well as them?"
Ron didn't respond. Instead he raised a particular finger on both hands before turning around and heading straight for the exit. The others stared at him. Harry, Ginny and Hermione looked a bit downtrodden, but Draco, Pansy and George were honestly thinking 'Good Riddance'.
"When'd you learn French?" Harry asked after a minute of silence, genuinely confused.
Ginny face-palmed at the question though. "This is Hermione we're talking about. Since when does she not learn anything?"
"Doesn't explain why Parkinson and Malfoy knew it though." George interjected.
Pansy perked up at the mention of her name. "Oh, we share a lovely villa in the South of France that we stay in on a regular basis. Hermione and I more than the others - for girls weekends away and various fashion events."
"Of course you do." George muttered.
Pansy ignored him. "And it's Zabini now, Weasley, not Parkinson." George looked mildly taken a back but nodded his head in apology. Pansy continued by turning to Ginny and smiled at her. "I'm sure that Hermione and I wouldn't mind if you became a regular in our frequent girls weekends."
Hermione grinned and silently thanked Pansy, while Ginny looked utterly shocked. "I'd love to." She managed to say after getting past the shock.
"Brilliant." Hermione clasped her hands together. "Right, we'd better find the kids to tell them it's safe n-"
She was cut off by a very frantic Scorp barrelling into her. "MUM! DAD! Eva- She's-"
Hermione put her hands on Scorp's shoulders. "Scorp, calm down and tell us what's wrong." She said calmly.
Scorp gulped. "Eva is kissing Fred!"
Hermione and George chuckled. But Draco looked ready to kill.
"WHAT?" Draco shouted before running towards the dance floor.
Fin
The sequel is out, it is called Almost The End
