A/N: I don't own anything in the HP Universe.
Draco was hung over, simple as that. Any sound he heard reverberated in his head and magnified his headache. He groaned as he sat up in his bed. The world was a spinning and he felt like he had just apparated for the first time. His mouth tasted like arse. He rubbed his hand through his hair, disgruntled at the oily and dirty feel it left on his hands.
Last night after Draco left to piss, he had gotten lost. Then Rose had appeared and showed him to the was smaller than she looked on stage with short hair that left her face much more visible. There was something appealing about it and he struggled to figure out what it was as he watched her go. A fog descended in his mind and Draco struggled to remember. He—he tipped her! He tipped her a lot. Draco groaned again and mentally cursed himself. As soon as she had left he had gone over to the host, requested her envelop, and promptly left her a ridiculous tip. He was disgusted not only at the practice but at the feeling it left him with—like he had paid her to entertain him, like he was incapable of attracting her on his own.
Draco finally stood up and looked dismayed at his rumpled clothes, still on from last night. Stripping eagerly, he entered his shower where he began to wash the hang over away. It wasn't working.
Okay, so Draco had paid her a questionably large sum. Maybe it wasn't that ridiculous? I mean really, what did that amount to—a thousand pounds? That wasn't…no, that was definitely a sizable sum of muggle money—not that it affected his wallet. So he overpaid a—what did Darren call them?—stripper. Draco overpaid a stripper he would never see again. Blaise had said it was highly unlikely for Draco to run into that particular muggle on his rare sojourns into non-magical London.
Draco stepped out of the shower and put on his clothes. He was still too hung over to apparate safely, instead opting to head outside his apartment to the magical café nearby. It was a Sunday in January and fairly quiet at two in the afternoon. Draco winced; he hadn't realized it was so late. He entered and nodded at the waitress who walked him over to his small booth in a dark corner.
"Coffee." He nearly begged. He ordered some food along with it. The waitress brought the coffee back and Draco sipped gratefully.
"You look like shite." A voice called out at Draco winced as the sound bounced around in his skull, painfully. Draco looked up from his coffee. It was Blaise.
"You look like…" Draco began but frowned when he noticed Blaise's near impeccable appearance. Blaise laughed when Draco trailed off. Draco glared. What an arsehole. "Why don't you look nearly as bad as I feel?" Draco finished. Blaise smirked as he sat across from Draco. The waitress returned with his food and Blaise asked for an expresso.
"It wasn't my first time experiencing muggle alcohol. You think it's not as strong without the fire whiskey burn—but it's fairly potent." Draco gave a scathing look to Blaise as he began eating his food.
"You didn't see fit to warn me?" Draco asked with a baleful glance. Blaise's smirk only seemed to grow.
"The best teacher is experience and all that." Blaise said with faux nonchalance. "In all seriousness, drink water and a pepper-up potion and you'll be fine." Blaise passed the vial over to him and Draco threw it back gratefully following with the glass of water nearby. "It was actually a fairly good stag party. Most of the other wizards were plastered and the muggles were absolutely out of control. That second bar is what did most of you in." Draco closed his eyes as the pepper-up began to work, relieving him slightly of his fatigue.
"Yea, I remember the second bar." Draco opened his eyes and looked critically at Blaise. "I tipped her-that dancer." He admitted.
Blaise looked surprised. "How much?" He asked. Draco sighed deeply.
"Nearly 200 Galleons, I think." Blaise's eyes widened.
Blaise whistled slowly. "That's a thousand pounds. Good payday for that muggle."
"I wasn't expecting to-not that I'm wanting for money. It's just not a wizard world thing." Draco commented. Blaise nodded in agreement.
"Darren did say she was popular. Maybe the tip wasn't as outrageous as you'd think." Draco looked skeptical. "In any case, you won't be seeing her again." Draco finished his meal and waited for the waitress to return. Something popped into Draco's mind.
"Blaise, how did you know I was here?" Draco asked, wondering why he didn't question the Italian's sudden appearance.
"Ah, you let me put a tracker on you to make sure you got home alright. It's still got a few hours on it and I happened to notice you were here." Draco nodded, vaguely recalling the agreement. "I wanted to remind you that you agreed to meet Claire tomorrow for dinner." That, Draco did not remember.
"When did I agree to that?" Draco asked, paying the waitress and standing up to leave.
"When you agreed to be best man. Darren covered the stag party—not that you would've known the muggle tendencies, but Claire still wants to meet you." Blaise paused and seemed to contemplate something. "Fair warning, Hermione Granger is the Maid of Honor. Claire knew we all went to school together so she invited her along tomorrow." Draco stood at the apparition point looking weary. He felt petulant. He had been seeing Granger for months and had never spoken a word to her. Now that he was meeting Blaise's muggle finacée, she would prattle on about muggle things he didn't understand and Granger would be there judging, no doubt. Briefly, he contemplated telling Blaise no. Unfortunately, he felt compelled to appease the man who had personally helped him with his "rehabilitation." Instead of sarcastic words, Draco nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He said, before finally feeling well enough to apparate home.
Hermione always planned for copious amounts of sleep the day after she performed. The night before—rather the morning—she got home at 2AM. Sometimes she'd get home even later. With that in mind, she always left the day after for sleeping in and being lazy. It was without saying, however, that she always made the effort to attend the Weasley weekly dinner on Sunday.
It was nearly two in the afternoon when she woke. She sipped her tea slowly as she perused wizard articles of interest. For example, the Bulgarian team was moving on to the quarter-finals against England. Apparently, the Bulgarians were also slotted to lose. Hermione wrinkled her nose at the prediction. She hoped the Bulgarians would win. She did have her own prediction, though. She was fairly certain she would be getting an owl sometime soon informing her about Krum's impending arrival.
Finally, on the back of the newspaper was the ad she had been looking for—her "Muggle Grams". After Hermione's horrified realization of how truly little wizards knew of Muggle Culture, she began to update the ministry and wizard public. Her latest step was the muggle gram tours for case study and observation. They started this Friday. She was planning to bring them around Muggle London to observe current clothing trends, interactions, and attractions. She hoped to one day have practice classes for Muggle-Wizard interactions. Admittedly, the public information Blaise and she had already promoted seemed to have been disseminated effectively if the wizards at Le Chat Noir were anything to go by.
Hermione felt her wand vibrate beside her, indicating it was time to apparate over to the Weasley's. Grabbing her wand and the newspaper, she apparated just outside the Weasley's house. She winced at the glare of the sudden sunlight before she made it to the front door. Before she could even knock on the door, Mrs. Weasley was welcoming her with open arms and complimenting her about the appearance of the new ad. She was passed from Weasley to Weasley, until she was in the arms of her two boys. They made her feel like the rest of the world was completely blocked out. In fact, she could barely see the red-head woman rise from her seat and push her husband aside.
"Make way for the pregnant lady! No need to help me up! I'm just starting to swell to the size of a red-headed Umbridge!" Ginny grumbled, knocking the boys aside to embrace Hermione. Hermione laughed at her sass.
"Ginny, it's just the baby that's getting so big!" Hermione marveled, withdrawing from the embrace to place a hand on the expectant mother's swollen belly.
"You say that every time you see me but I am definitely getting fatter!" Ginny scowled.
"You're absolutely beautiful." Harry said fondly, gathering both his wife and their unborn child into his grasp.
"All right you two; she's already up the duff!" Ron said scowling at the couple, though his scowls had become less heated from their Hogwarts years. Hermione felt warm laughter bubble inside her. She linked arms between them as they moved back to the dining room for supper.
At the dinner table, she was seated across from Ginny and next to Ron. Harry sat next to Ginny so he faced Ron. They chatted pleasantly enough until Ginny brought up one topic Hermione had wanted to avoid for a while.
"So the Bulgarians are coming to Britain." Ginny mentioned casually, but Hermione could see the sly look in her eye. Ron still stiffened at any reference to the Bulgarian seeker. It had been long enough ago, but Ron often became petulant when it came to Viktor. Hermione eyed him out of the corner of her eye warily before finishing chewing her Shepard's pie. Delicately, she wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"Why yes, Ginny, they are indeed playing in Britain." Hermione answered primly, glaring at the giggling girl.
"London, specifically—right?" Ginny continued. Ron was still tense in his seat.
"Yes, Ginny." Hermione said, grinding out her name in annoyance.
"Think you'll see him?" Ginny teased.
"Ginerva Weasley!" Hermione said blushing. "Honestly!"
"That's not an answer, Hermione!" Ginny continued.
"You're the one who will be interviewing him after the game!" Hermione smiled triumphantly when the line caught Harry's attention. Ginny tensed up and turned to look at her husband, wearily.
"I thought you said you were going to lay low with reporting once you were in your third trimester?" Harry asked. Ginny smiled sheepishly.
"Well, they asked me the other day…and I didn't get a chance to tell you…" Ginny and Harry began a mild argument. Hermione sighed in relief as the conversation was mercifully changed. She wasn't concerned about them; their arguments were usually just a precursor of sex.
Nearly indistinguishable from the bickering in the background was a small clearing of the throat beside her. Hermione turned to look at Ron in surprise. She had been hoping he would have let the Krum comment go. He looked awkwardly between Hermione's face and the food he had begun to spear with his fork.
"I saw Lavender Brown recently." He began quietly. Hermione was even more surprised—Lavender had left the magical world for a while after her near death experience at the Hogwarts battle. She was even more surprised when Ron continued. "We went on a date actually…I saw her in magical London—she'd been gone for a while—and I asked her if she wanted to grab a cuppa." He paused again and Hermione realized he wanted her approval. She peeked at Ginny who was still bickering playfully with Harry; Hermione knew she had mentioned Krum so Ron would probably feel less guilty about Lavender.
"I think that's excellent, Ron. How is she doing?" Hermione asked sincerely. She saw Ron visibly relax and a blush cross his cheeks.
"She looks great… she's gotten into the exercising thing that you do—she says it empowered her in a way that magic didn't." Hermione smiled beatifically. She had known that Ron and herwere not right for each other early on. Though they had broken up and she still resented that prude comment, she cared for him and wanted him to be happy and in love. The idea of so many people in love around her made her feel slightly lonely, but she suppressed that feeling.
"How has she been getting on in Non-Magical London?" Hermione asked. She would have to meet up with Lavender some time. She probably had incredible insight for Magicals adjusting to the Non-Magical World.
"She likes it. She was a little lost at first, but she made amazing Muggle friends. We actually have another date coming up. It's in Muggle London." Ron looked up at Hermione expectantly and Hermione laughed.
"Yes, Ronald." She answered his unspoken question, "I will give you a Non-Magical Person refresher." Ron smiled graciously and Hermione immediately launched into some of the lessons she had already designed for her Muggle grams—which she also encouraged him to attend. Surprisingly, he agreed.
Hermione arrived at work before Blaise, like usual. She waited anxiously for Blaise to show up to see if he would recognize her. She hoped she wouldn't give herself away by her facial expressions. When he arrived with an extra expresso for her but not an extra look, she realized she was safe. Work was surprisingly quiet for a Monday and she felt no guilt at all when they left early to meet Claire. Hermione went on without Blaise so Blaise could get Draco. Hermione hoped he didn't notice her sudden tension at the mention of Draco. Blaise didn't seem to notice and they parted ways.
The restaurant was a nice restaurant. Hermione would've felt out of place with her usual business wear, but she had purposefully worn a nice dress beneath traditional wizard robes that she had already removed when she entered the Non Magical World. The maître d' escorted her to where Claire was already waiting in a secluded corner with a nice view of Non Magical London outside. Claire smiled and stood when she saw Hermione.
"Hermione! I love your dress!" She called joyfully. Hermione smiled back.
"Thanks, Claire. You look gorgeous." Hermione responded warmly.
"Are you sure I look alright?" Claire asked hesitantly. "You know I've never met many of Blaise's friends and his family is so far away…Honestly, if you hadn't vouched for him when we first met, I think I would've been concerned I was the other woman!" Hermione laughed. Blaise's love was solely for Claire and Claire alone. Claire wrinkled her nose at Hermione's mirth. "Don't laugh!" She chastised. "This is seriously the first time I've met any of his friends! You know Darren met them before me?" Hermione did in fact know and tried to casually take a sip of her water as Claire smoothed imaginary wrinkles on her dress. "You've gone to school with Draco—do you think he'll like me? He won't be mean, will he?" Hermione put her water down and struggled to imagine what Draco would be like. As far as she knew, Draco had never interacted with a Muggle except perhaps at Le Chat Noir.
"He wasn't very kind to me in school, but he hasn't said anything rude to me since we graduated." Hermione answered diplomatically. "Honestly, though, Blaise would never allow any one of his friends to be rude to you—you know that, Claire" Hermione smiled ruefully. She was happy to watch the people around her fall in love and be happy, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't feeling left behind.
Claire appeared to take a calming breath. "I know. I really am nervous, though." She admitted. "I feel like I know more about Blaise than even Blaise knows himself…but I also feel like there are gaping holes in his life that I'm missing." She looked at Hermione cautiously. "I feel like that with you, as well—like why did your parents' leave for Australia without you? They were never the type to leave you alone like that…and for so many years." Hermione sighed. This conversation had come up several times in the past. Hermione would have to ask Blaise when he was finally going to reveal magic to Claire. Until then, Hermione also had to remain was spared her own reply when Claire's fiancé arrived with the best man.
"Claire." Blaise spoke reverently in his baritone voice. Hermione melted from the love she could feel from the couple as they embraced. Hermione stood as well and fought the blush as she looked at Draco. Draco nodded at her before turning to face Claire. Blaise stood back from the embrace to introduce the two. "This is Draco Malfoy, my best friend. Draco, this is my fiancée, Claire." Claire thrust out her hand and Hermione held her breath. Her caution was unwarranted as Draco shook the offered hand quickly.
"Nice to meet you. Blaise won't shut up about you." Draco said with a smirk. Claire smiled brightly. They moved to the table where they began looking at the menus. Claire didn't bother to open hers as she stared openly at Draco Malfoy with a smile.
"Blaise never tells me any embarrassing stories about his time at school. I was hoping I could get a best friend's recollection." Hermione nearly laughed at Claire's excitement; Claire had tried to pump Hermione for information but was sorely disappointed when she realized how little they interacted when they were at school.
Draco looked taken aback at the question. Suddenly, Hermione realized it would probably be difficult for him to make his stories non-magical appropriate. She looked at Blaise who seemed to catch on.
"Come now, Claire. There will be plenty of time later to harass him about me." Blaise chided. Claire pouted in response. But the waiter conveniently arrived. Blaise ordered for Claire and himself. Hermione was surprised when he also ordered for Draco. Hermione had ended up ordering something random.
"Well at least tell me what you do, then." Claire continued, looking at Draco when the waiter left. "You don't work with Blaise and Hermione, do you?" Hermione perked up at the question. She actually didn't know where he worked either. Draco looked a little uneasy but answered anyway.
"I'm a healer." He answered. Hermione was surprised.
"I didn't know you were a doctor." Hermione commented, slightly impressed. Draco looked surprised; it was the first time she had spoken directly to him.
"I started working there after…" He paused and cast a swift glance at Blaise. "…after volunteering there. I liked it enough that I began training immediately. I've been there for two years."
Hermione nodded fascinated. She didn't know volunteering at St. Mungo's had been part of his reform.
"Am I missing something?" Claire interrupted, picking up on the slight tension in the group.
"No," Draco interjected smoothly. "But I am remiss on exactly how you and Granger met." Draco bit back the taunt that coiled naturally in his throat—that he was surprised she had had any friends at all when she was younger. Claire seemed to brighten at the question, however.
"Her mother was my dentist and Hermione was in my elementary school. She was the smartest student in the entire region—won all the spelling bees and always had the highest grade on the tests. None of us were surprised she went to a private school for junior high." Hermione was blushing under the praise. "We had all the same classes until we graduated. Honestly though, we weren't that close until a few years ago when I waited on her at the restaurant. It was my first day and someone was being rather awful. Hermione overheard his comments and scolded the guy so fiercely he apologized! We've been friends ever since." Claire smiled at Hermione who smiled back. "Was she like that at high school too? " Claire asked. Draco snorted.
"Granger always fought for just and right." Draco couldn't take the sneer out of his voice, even as he recognized his feelings of jealousy. Granger seemed to deflate before him at the comment. He cursed himself mentally. He had spoken only a few sentences so far and he had already insulted her. Awkwardness descended that was again conveniently interrupted by the waiter with their food.
Draco watched over his soup as Blaise and his fiancée ate. They were seated next to each other and constantly touching. Occasionally, they gazed at each other's eyes with a passion that was palpable. Meanwhile, Hermione was tensely by his side. She ate primly and neatly. She had done that at Hogwarts, too. He had noticed it nearly immediately when he juxtaposed it with the sloppy eating style of the weasel who usually sat beside her. He hated himself a little for how quickly he spit out his insult. She probably hated him but then again she probably always had.
Hermione did not hate Draco, however. Despite his intention, the comment actually made her feel more comfortable—it was a Draco she could recognize. It was a relief to notice that this wizard in a non-magical world could be so cordial. But it unsettled her; he unsettled her. But nothing was more unsettling than watching the couple before her. She felt like she was interrupting a very intimate and very personal moment. She wondered if Draco felt the same way. In fact, it felt a little like the world's most awkward double date. Hermione finished chewing her food and set down her fork.
"So Claire," Hermione interrupted; she was unable to continue in the awkward silence that had descended. "There was another reason we're both here, right?" Claire seemed to snap back into reality as she turned to look at Draco and Hemrione.
"Oh, right!" Claire exclaimed. "Aside from meeting the best man, I wanted to talk a few wedding details with you!" Hermione smiled at Claire's eagerness. "Since I'm able to spend a little more on the wedding than I thought…" Claire turned to smile at Blaise before continuing. "…I'm planning on some more traditional elements I hadn't really considered before." She eyed Draco and Hermione. "I want to dance." Claire finished. She must have expected a reaction because she was staring at Draco and Hermione, expectantly.
"That sounds great, Claire" Hermione answered, unsure what Claire was expecting. Claire gathered as much and began to explain.
"We start dancing and then you and Draco would eventually join us on the dance floor, followed by the wedding party, etc." Hermione paused at this. Walking down the aisle was one thing….but dancing together…that would involve touching. She cast a look at Draco from the corner of her eye but he was unreadable. "I was hoping that the two of you would be able to join Blaise and me for dance lessons."
"Blaise can dance and so can we." Draco announced. Claire pouted.
"Blaise said that you had a few lessons before your Yule ball." She lamented.
"The first dance will be a Waltz. The dancing style we learned is not the version of the Waltz we will be using." Blaise spoke up. Hermione got the unspoken message; their dance lessons were dances from the old world—from the magical world—and would be out of place at a non-magical wedding.
"I'm sure I can fit it into my schedule," Hermione determined.
"I'll see what I can do." Draco announced, surprising Hermione that he would even attempt try to attend—or care enough about Claire to lie. As they finished dinner, Claire and Blaise talked about various wedding details. They were still some months away from the wedding date and were finalizing a few more things. Blaise paid and they made their way outside.
"Hermione, is there anything else we need for the hen party?" Claire asked. She had taken out a notepad and was crossing off various things on the list. It was a habit that Hermione had instilled in her when Claire first started attending uni.
"I think we're all set. I have the plane tickets and hotel reservations." Hermione smiled again and turned to Blaise. "Are you sure you're going to let me take your fiancée to Sin City?" She teased. Blaise huffed.
"I'd rather her stay in the country." Blaise admitted. Claire hushed him.
"It was your decision to stay in the area. I wanted to go somewhere warm and sunny. It's a graduation present to me!" Claire announced. "Hermione, I told you that Darren had already met Draco—it's because they had their Stag party this weekend! They went to a strip club!" Claire whispered conspiratorially. Blaise sighed deeply.
"It was a burlesque club—no touching, not even a lap dance." Blaise said dully. Meanwhile, Hermione was blushing deeply. She managed a glance out of the corner of her eye at Draco. He was blushing deeply and looking away.
"Right. Well, in any case, you chose London in the damp winter and I'm choosing Las Vegas in the warm summer." Claire said joyfully. "It will be perfect remedy after my finals." Hermione was still blushing when she heard Draco cough.
"Well, Claire, it was nice meeting you. I'm sure Blaise will send me the details." Draco said hurriedly. "I'm heading off for the night. See you, Blaise. Granger" He nodded in her direction. She nodded back, surprised to be included in his goodbye. He walked off onto the busy street of London, leaving Hermione with the strangest of feelings. Blaise called a cab for Claire and kissed her goodnight. Hermione hugged her before watching the cab take off. She waved it goodbye before abruptly turning to Blaise.
"You haven't told her yet." She stated. Blaise looked unapologetic but a little uneasy.
"It's not exactly light conversation, Hermione." Hermione sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Blaise, you are engaged. You need to tell her…the magic world will probably be her children's world and it is your world. She knows you are keeping something from her and she knows that I am too." Hermione glared at Blaise a little. "You need to tell her soon." Blaise raised his hands in surrender.
"I will tell her." Blaise promised. Hermione sighed.
"Well, we can talk about this tomorrow. I'm going to apparate home. I'll see you tomorrow." Hermione turned and left the way Draco had gone. As she approached a good destination to apparate she realized that she had forgotten to check if Draco recognized as Rose. Judging by the interaction however, Hermione thought it was safe to assume that he did not recognize her at all. Smiling slightly to herselfHermione apparated home.
A/N:
Thanks so much for the reviews, favs, and follows! It's always super exciting to see people's responses and comments.
In the next chapter, Draco cannot resist the urge to head back to Le Chat Noir and see Rose, much to Hermione's surprise.