Hermione, Harry, and Ron came out to find the rest of the group doing a terrible job of pretending they hadn't been listening the entire time.
"So uh, Quidditch, yeah Ginny?" Blaise said lamely.
"Yes," Ginny said, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down at the table. "Yes, going to be a great year for Quidditch."
"The Cannons are going to win it all," Ron chimed in, oblivious. "They have a real chance this year."
Draco snorted in response and Ron stared at him. "Have something to say about the Cannons?"
"Yes," Draco said, ignoring the warning look Hermione was giving he and Ron. "They can't even compare to Puddlemere."
"Puddlemere?" Harry asked. "You're a fan of Puddlemere?"
"Well they're the best team in England," Draco replied. "So of course?"
"They're Harry's favorite team too," Ginny volunteered. "Even though his wife plays for the Harpies."
"We've always said Harry got hit in the head too many times," Ron said. "You'd have to be to be a Puddlemere fan."
Hermione felt herself relax as the men and Ginny began to argue over Quidditch teams. Ron, Harry, and Draco all tiptoed around one another but managed to keep the conversation civil. Pansy caught Hermione's eye and nodded her head toward the house. Hermione nodded and she and Pansy stepped away from the table, unnoticed. They went into the house and into the kitchen where Pierre was putting the finishing touches on dinner.
"You can take it out in 10 minutes," Pansy told him. "We'll be ready then."
"Oui, mademoiselle," Pierre replied, and, after placing a warming charm on the plates, disappeared into the pantry.
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Pansy said. "I'm sorry about Ron."
"You don't have to apologize for him," Hermione told her, shaking her head. "He's responsible for what he does."
"I know," Pansy replied. "But seeing his reaction makes me wonder how all of you reacted when Ron first told you he was dating me."
"Similar," Hermione answered honestly. "But it also didn't take us very long to see that you had changed, that you are a completely different person now than you were when we were in school. It was easy to forgive you, Pansy, and really easy to be your friend."
"Thank you," Pansy said sincerely. "I'll talk to Ron, remind him of how all of you treated me and make it clear that I expect him to do the same."
"You can try," Hermione replied. "But knowing Ron, he won't come around until he's good and ready."
"I can be persuasive," Pansy said with a grin and Hermione laughed in response.
Pierre came back into the room and began to levitate the plates out on to the porch. Hermione and Pansy followed and took their seats as their plates floated down in front of them. The conversation chugged forward but it was full of awkward silences and obvious avoidance of topics like the war, Pansy, and Draco. Blaise did his best however to keep them all entertained by regaling them with stories from the advocates' offices. When they'd finished eating Pierre appeared again and whisked away their plates, replacing them with giant pieces of chocolate cake.
"I can't possibly eat another bite," Pansy said. "I can't believe he made dessert too."
"I can," Ron replied grinning happily as he tucked in to his piece and slid Pansy's plate in front of him.
"Typical," Draco commented with a shake of his head and went to pick up his fork only to find Ron's wand at his throat.
Hermione jumped from her seat and grabbed Ron's arm. "Ronald Weasley, you put down your wand this instant!" she demanded, sounding eerily like Molly Weasley.
"I will as soon as he explains what he means by typical," Ron growled.
"I merely meant that I recall from Hogwarts that you were always the one with a great deal of food in front of you," Draco said. "Nothing more."
"Ron, we make jokes about how much you eat all the time," Ginny pointed out. "Lower your wand."
"Nothing you want to say about me eating so much because my family can't afford to feed us all at home?" Ron sneered, pushing his wand into Draco's throat.
Hermione reached for her own wand but Draco grabbed her arm and stopped her. "No," he said. "I apologize if the comments I made to you when we were 11 still bother you."
"Put away your wand mate," Harry chimed in. "Let it go."
Ron held his wand at Draco's throat for another minute before he leaned back across the table and sat down in his chair.
"We're leaving," Hermione informed them, seething at Ron, and practically hauling Draco out of his chair.
"Can I talk to you a moment?" Draco asked, removing Hermione's death grip from his arm.
"Fine," she snapped and walked toward the end of the porch, near the yard.
Draco came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I can go," he said. "You should stay, they're your friends and I'm the problem."
"No," Hermione said, turning in his arms and wrapping her own around him. "Ron is the problem, not you. Blaise and Pansy, they're your friends too."
"You're sure you want to leave?" he asked.
Hermione went up on her toes and gave him a kiss. "Yes, I'm sure."
They released one another and Hermione took Draco's hand as they walked back to the table.
"Draco and I are going to call it a night," Hermione told them.
"You're going home with him?" Ron asked, shocked. "Didn't take long at all for you to shag him, did it?"
Hermione stared at Ron stunned and before she could do anything Draco had moved around the table and punched Ron square in the face. He hit him with such force that Ron's chair tipped backwards and he hit his head.
"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Do not ever speak to my girlfriend that way again," Draco commanded, looming over Ron.
"I'm going to kill you," Ron replied, struggling to get up, reaching for his wand but found it wasn't there. "Where the bloody hell is my wand?"
Harry held it up looking angrily at his friend. "Apologize to Hermione," he said.
"Fuck this," Ron replied and after a few tries, stood, shoved past Draco and stormed into Pansy's house.
Hermione looked at Draco with a combination of shock and anger. "You shouldn't have hit him," she scolded him. "There was no reason for that."
"You're going to yell at me for defending you?" Draco replied incredulously. "You're joking."
"We can talk about this later," Hermione snapped and looked to the rest of the group. "Pansy, thank you for dinner, we'll see all of you later."
She walked past Draco and into Pansy's house.
"Thanks Pans," Draco said, giving her a hug. "Sorry about all of this."
"You're not to blame," Pansy said, returning the hug. "I'll talk to him Draco."
"Goodbye," Draco said to Harry, Ginny, Blaise, and Gina.
"Er, Malfoy, can I talk to you a moment?" Harry asked, after Draco had turned to walk back into the house. Draco turned around and nodded and walked toward the end of the porch where he and Hermione had stood a few minutes before. Harry followed, ignoring the questioning look from his wife. The two men stood side by side, silent for a few minutes.
"I don't like it," Harry said finally. "I don't trust you."
"I understand that," Draco replied.
"But," Harry continued. "I trust Hermione, I love her like a sister, so I'll let go of the past, if you will too."
Harry held out his hand to Draco and after a minute, Draco took it.
"If you hurt her, they will never find your body." Harry told him calmly.
"If I hurt her," Draco answered. "I'll bring myself to your doorstep."
The two men shook hands and walked back to the group. Draco nodded to them and walked into Pansy's house as Harry slid his arm around his wife.
"I'm proud of you," Ginny said, giving him a kiss.
"He's going after an angry Hermione," Harry replied with a chuckle. "I figured he'd need something good to tell her so she'll calm down."
"Let's finish the cake," Pansy said. "Suddenly I feel the need for chocolate."
The remaining five sat down and continued their evening.
A/N: I never realized how short my chapters are. I think that's why I feel like I have to post several at once. Review, review! And favorite!