Hermione glanced up at the massive farmhouse and exhaled. Draco tilted his head and waited a moment for her to gather herself. The Malfoy frowned at her silence and rubbed her shoulder. Her arm wove into his, and she nodded.
"Well, now or never, Malfoy. Are you ready to out yourself?" she asked causing him to chuckle.
"We don't have to do this. We could always go back to my place and climb into the spa… let me undo that suit," he sighed and rubbed his face.
She tugged him slightly and opened the fence. "Let's go. The sooner we do, the easier it will be."
"Alright, but only because you insist."
They walked to the door, and she opened it to see Ginny and Harry sitting with Arthur and George. Hermione noted that Arthur frowned gently at their approach and George folded his arms. "Bringing work home with you on the weekends, dumpling?" Arthur questioned carefully.
"No, dad, this is a social occasion," Hermione replied and sat Draco down with her on the loveseat. "Did you want something to drink?" she asked him, and he nodded, shifting his glasses.
"Whatever you are having will be fine," he declared, and her hand ran over his shoulder before she left.
"Did you end up going to her flat?" Ginny asked, and Draco bobbed his head.
"Very clean. I could have run a gloved hand on her counter, and the glove would be dirtier than her flat. I don't know how that woman does it. I am sure when Teddy was growing up she was yanking out her hair while cleaning messes." Draco mused as he scratched his bearded chin.
"You would be surprised. I went over there one day when Teddy was four or five. They just got the flat, and they were finger painting on some plastic. She was covered in glitter and paint, so was he. If there is anyone who is all about letting children be who they are, it is her." Harry declared, and the sound of agreement came from someone else.
"She is a good mother. I was hoping she would have more, but she is independent, much as she always has been." Arthur sounded.
"I like Teddy. I don't usually like children, but he helped them grow on me. Convinced I am a superhero, funny enough," Draco sighed and lounged. "I actually miss him."
The weight of someone sitting next to him and gentle fingers caressing his hand stirred him from his thoughts. "Here, I figured some water is due," Hermione declared, making Draco smile broadly.
"Yes, I suppose that is true. We were talking about the amazement that is your son," he told her.
Hermione hemmed, and he felt her shift. "I heard. I miss him too. He has been my companion for so many years that last year it was hard enough to let him go the first time for so long. I think I cried for two weeks when he first left. It has just been him and me for so long." She sighed, and Draco moved so he could reach for her shoulder.
"It's alright. A couple of months and he will be back for Christmas, don't fret."
Hermione watched the two Weasley men examine their interaction. "You are quite friendly with all your bosses, Hermione?" George asked suspiciously.
"No, just me. She likes that I will listen for hours about some random book about a girl and the fundamentals of subtle writing," Draco spat with a smile.
Hermione groaned and nudged him. "You were listening with deep intent. Don't even act like you weren't."
The door sounded, and Hermione's face dropped as Fred and Astoria came into the house. "Darling!" Astoria declared and walked over behind the love seat.
"Dearest Astoria, you act like you doubted I would come," Draco replied as she kissed his cheeks.
"Hermione, darling," Astoria murmured and kissed both her cheeks. "You are looking well."
Hermione noted the small swell of her lower abdomen. "I see that the little Weasley is starting to show," Hermione said with a smile.
Fred walked up next to her and chuckled. "Yes, I told her she is going to have twins." He teased.
"Don't curse her with that fate," Ginny snickered, and Harry nodded.
"Nothing wrong with two, I think that would be amazing," Draco declared, making Astoria lean to his and whisper something in his ear. "Oh, no, don't you start that." He laughed.
Fred glanced down at Hermione with a thin expression. "Did you both have a good night. You rushed out of there quickly last night."
The curly-haired woman blushed lightly. "We had a bit of trouble with one of the board members, and I wanted to leave." She said, and Draco found her hand.
"He is lucky that we didn't beat the shite out of him," Draco growled, and she exhaled.
Fred's frown grew. "Did he do something to you, poppet? I will hunt him down and ruin whoever touched you." The Weasley growled, and George sounded agreement.
"Yeah, we both will. No one is going ever to think they can hurt you, Hermione," George replied, and she smiled.
"It is fine. Regulus is going to take care of it I am sure," Hermione remarked.
Draco's hand found her cheek and his thumb ran along her jawline. "Just a passing thought now," he murmured, and she nodded.
"So, is this just a shag thing or are you both dating now?" Fred asked, and the other Weasley men paled.
"We are dating," Hermione said affirmatively, and Draco smirked.
"I like that you were quick to admit that, Granger," He replied, causing Hermione to snort.
"I am saving you from yourself. I could see you playing with different options to mess with them."
Draco sighed and bobbed his head. "It did occur to me. That would be the more Anguis trait I have. Civil services to the disabled. Good Samaritan deed to help the blind… I had a bunch."
"Dating your boss?" George questioned.
True to the theme of all out in the open, Ron, Lavender, Angelina and Molly walked into the room. "I was just telling them, Astoria how you wanted to do pink for the brides' maids gowns," Molly announced and saw Hermione sitting next to Draco. "When Ginny told me, you were bringing a guest I didn't know it was your boss, dear." She addressed Hermione.
"Apparently, he is her date as well," George snickered, and Hermione covered her face.
"He is what!" Angelina shouted and bounced over. "Oh, that is so excellent! His mother sure does love you." The woman was nearly in Hermione's lap she hugged her so hard. "Oh, and then you can invite us over for tea. I never knew Narcissa had such an outstanding flair for fashion and as you know, I dabble in that myself."
That was a more positive comment that she was expecting. "He is Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed and walked over, yanking her to her feet. That was closer to what she was expecting. "Did he make you sign some contract to force you into this? We can take it to a real good attorney. Diggory knows a great one," Ron told her, and she groaned.
Draco gasped and raised his finger. "Technically I did not hire her!" he exclaimed, and Hermione blinked at the blind man. "Technically she only works at the position under me. Which means the only man who can fire or promote her is my cousin."
"My god, Draco, you are right. I signed the contract with Regulus which means you are technically not my boss," Hermione said, making Draco set down his glass and stand up.
"Which means that as long as we tell Regulus of our intentions, then it doesn't matter." Draco sneered, and Hermione laughed.
"I suppose you are useful after all," she snickered.
"Ha. Ha. Granger, so funny," he retorted, and she kissed his lips.
That caused everyone in the room a significant amount of tension, aside from Astoria who clapped. "I cannot wait to see if you both decide to adopt or- oh, you can get someone else to donate to the cause!" She declared and wandered over to Hermione leaning on her. "There are a few specialists I can recommend when you are ready."
Hermione waved her off. "That won't be necessary. That is a ways off. I am already trying to fight him on keeping my own flat, and we haven't even been together that long." She grumbled, and Astoria laughed.
Ginny cleared her throat. "Not that it would be all that bad, Hermione." She responded and nodded toward the frowning Malfoy.
"Oh, no, it isn't a bad thing, I just-" she was interrupted by his hand over her mouth.
"Granger, you talk too much and try to explain yourself equally so. No one is going to tell you who you can see or what you can do with your life, alright?" Draco told her, and she nodded, eyes wide open. "If you want to have a baby, have a bloody baby. If you want to keep your bloody flat, all I ask is you come spend time with me. I am not going to tell you differently."
His hand fell away from her mouth, and Arthur cleared his throat. "Draco, let's go out to the porch. Boys, come along, let's get out of the ladies' way in wedding plans for Astoria."
Hermione rubbed Draco's arm. "Did you want my help?" she whispered, and he shook his head.
"Potter doesn't mind walking me through the house, does he?" Draco asked, and Harry stood up.
"Not at all," Harry declared, and Ron glared at him.
"You haveta be kidding, mate. She is doing this as a joke. There is no way she is dating this prat," Ron snapped, and Hermione groaned.
"Is it that hard to believe that the only man who keeps my interest is someone who argues with me as much as cares about my wellbeing?" she snapped at him, and Ron turned plum, his ears flaming.
"Is this some way to get back at us for Charlie dumping you?" He snapped, and Hermione gasped.
Draco stepped forward and held up a finger. "I suggest you move along, Weasley. I will not take well to her being upset at your insults." He growled, and Hermione tugged his arm.
"Draco, leave it be, it's alright. I don't want to see him hurt for his misplaced passions." Hermione sighed, which only left Ron angrier.
"Hermione!" Ron spat.
"Ronald, leave her alone," Molly snapped, and Lavender whispered something in her ear. "It doesn't matter, dear. You saw the type of party he threw for her, now, with that settled I think we have more plans to go over." She said with a nod, and Draco kissed Hermione's cheek.
"I will see you later, Granger. At least if they kill me before the night is through, I had a good run," he teased, and Hermione rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Try not to push it, Malfoy."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
It felt like forever of going over colors and music. Astoria was beyond excited and explained that her sister, unfortunately, had no desire to help with the designs. Hermione secretly knew that the woman was fighting her battles and if she gave Molly the chance to help, she won big points. That must mean that Fred coached the naïve Greengrass more than Hermione first thought.
Lavender crossed her legs and flipped her blond hair. "Hermione, when did you and Malfoy decide to go beyond professional partnership?" her voice was light, but the tone was wrong.
"Well, Lavender. It probably was after I came on to him while I was pissed drunk after my party. Charlie had just broken up with me and I, silly enough, pickled myself. He told me when I was sober and that I needed a chance to breathe after the weekend. I came over to his place this weekend, and I decided I wanted to pursue him. Funny how that works, hm?" Hermione finished and mirrored the woman's challenged posture.
Everyone but Ginny seemed stunned. "I knew there was a reason I always liked you, Granger," Astoria remarked with a smile.
Angelina tilted her head. "I like that, but I have to ask. Is it different with him not being able to see? Your relationship would be built off of a lot of talking. The sex…" she trailed off and covered up a smirk when Molly hemmed.
Hermione thought a moment and decided on a deflect. "Most men cannot see past their nose anyway."
That bought her some laughter and Molly exhaled. "Alright, ladies. Shall we move this gaggle to the kitchen? I need to get supper ready."
Lavender and Angelina followed Molly into the kitchen, but Ginny and Astoria stayed. Hermione glanced at both of them and then groaned. "What? I have told you everything." Hermione grumbled at their quizzical expressions.
"Hermione, I need to ask you something important." Astoria started, and she nodded.
"What is it?"
"My mother insisted on my sister and Marcus being godparents, but I disagree to an extent. I was hoping you wouldn't mind terribly if I asked Draco to be the godfather of my baby."
Hermione gasped and shook her head. "Of course not! I think he would be honored and I would never deny him that privilege. I know you both had an interesting relationship, but there is love there in a nurturing form. I am quite sure he would love it."
Astoria sighed and tilted her head. "You know, I tried to figure it out when he told me he knew about you. Why it didn't upset him as much or make him bitter. Do you know what he said to me?" Astoria asked, and Hermione shook her head.
"No, I don't."
"If anyone on the planet could still be kind after the rubbish he put you through, then she deserved to be treated with much more dignity and affection than he had to offer. It was no surprise to me that he pined for you after." Astoria sighed and smiled. "I like that. He hasn't had that ever in his life. Six years ago, we were forced into a god awful contract and six years of him being bored or complacent with the women he had around him, me included. It is nice to see him actually be determined for a reason."
Hermione beamed and exhaled. "I like that too, Astoria."
Ginny leaned over and hugged Hermione. "Me too and I can't tell you how excited I am to see how this plays out."
Lavender's scream was heard from the other room, causing the women to jolt up and sprint into the kitchen. She was pointing out the window, and Hermione groaned at the sight. Draco had Ron out on the grass and Ron was bleeding from his nose. Hermione stomped out the back door toward the men, and Draco growled.
"If you ever, and I mean ever, say that about her again, I will beat you to a bloody pulp, Weasley. I don't care if you stuck it in first; she is a lady." Draco snarled and pointed his cane at the man.
Hermione's hand touched Draco's arm. "Come with me, leave him to stew," she whispered.
"Hermione, we are friends. How could you choose him out of all people?" Ron said with a pained expression.
"Because, Ron, he was the one who wanted my happiness first, not me out of convenience," she sighed and led Draco back toward the porch. "I think we should skip dinner; this is going horribly." Hermione breathed, and Draco shrugged his shoulders.
"I quite enjoyed that."
"Yeah, that's the problem," she huffed as they approached the confused men.
"I can promise you, Malfoy didn't start it," Fred mused and George nodded.
Hermione's expression turned apologetic. "I am sorry, dad. I think we are going to go. Ron has suffered enough humiliation for the night and I don't want to cause any more trouble." She declared leaning toward the patriarch and kissing his cheek.
"Nonsense, darling. Stay and have dinner," he responded and she shook her head.
Lavender had walked by and shoved Hermione lightly as she came out with an icepack to her groaning husband. Hermione waved her goodbyes and Draco shook hands while they walked through. The woman's one regret for the evening being shortly lived was not saying goodbye to the children on their way out.
"Well, I am sorry, Granger," Draco sighed as they pulled out from the street.
"No, Draco, I am sorry. Sometimes they are absolutely crazy and I should have expected this. Thank you for wanting to come for my benefit," she sighed and his hand ran over her thigh.
"Of course. Family is important to you, just as my family is to me. I hadn't forgotten what you said to my mother yesterday. That means more than anything. Even if you never move in with me; to know that you would never assume she would leave made a difference to us both." He finished and she smiled softly.
"I like you like this, Draco. I feel like I get the best parts of you," she responded as he squeezed her leg tenderly.
"I am glad one of us has faith in that," he retorted, causing her to laugh.
"Someone needs to. Now, lets go have dinner with your mother and relax. We have a long work week ahead of us."
"Don't I know it," he groaned with a nod. "Thank you for staying."
"You are most welcome."