CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The celebration

Hermione stood before Luna's house, barely believing she was on the verge of knocking. It was so stupid. She had time to process that these people weren't all that bad anymore, and Luna didn't. Even if Draco tried helping her when she was kept prisoner at Malfoy Manor… She was still a prisoner.

And yet, if anyone would go to a gathering like this without holding any grudges, it would be Luna.

Hermione knocked hesitantly. Soon, Luna opened the door, and a brilliant smile appeared on her pale face.

"Hermione!"

"Hi," she said nervously as Luna embraced her tightly.

"Oh, it's been so long with your job and everything! I'm so happy to see you!"

"Good, because – uh… I have a weird offer. Very weird."

"Ooh! That's my favourite kind!" she bellowed excitedly.

"Maybe tone down the excitement a bit? It's a… Well, it's a long story. I'll try to clue you in a bit."

She told her how Malfoy tried to get a job at the Ministry and how he had to prove he'd changed. She didn't spare the details and recounted almost everything. Almost, obviously – she wasn't going to talk about… whatever this thing between them was. But still, she definitely owed Luna a proper explanation if she wanted to take her to a party with a bunch of people, who she'd call snakes, not as much as a year ago.

"And so… Harry left me, Ginny's pregnant, and I'll feel a bit out of place there. So they invited you as well. If you're not feeling up to it, I promise you, you don't have to go. In fact, it would probably be better for you if you stayed-"

"Oh, but I'd love to go! I haven't been to a party in such a long time!"

She looked at her a bit worriedly. Luna's natural enthusiasm was one thing, but this? It was as if she was completely oblivious.

"But Luna…" started Hermione hesitantly. "I had time to deal with that. To get to know them. These people they were… They weren't good people. Just because they've changed, it doesn't mean you have to-"

"Oh, shush," she said with a brilliant smile, but there was a resoluteness in her voice. "I'll gladly go to a party. I know Draco isn't a bad person. Besides, what would we do in their situation? You never know who you'd be."

"I guess," muttered Hermione.

"Now, help me choose a dress!"

Hermione groaned but smiled despite herself, feeling as if the weight had been lifted off her shoulder – she was so relieved she wouldn't be there alone. And if they will be anything less than polite and kind, she'll deal with them herself. No one can hurt Luna. Well - the reason might be because she wouldn't care, but also because Hermione just won't let them. They'll have yet another opportunity to prove themselves.

But Pansy… Ugh. She tried not to think about it.

Luna chose a unique dress – not that it was a surprise. It was white and long, with frilling and many blue flowers that looked like she'd sewn them herself. After a few minutes of digging around in one of her shelves, Luna also took out a hairpin in a shape of a butterfly. When she pinned it to her hair, a thin, barely visible scar near her jaw appeared. She looked in the mirror, sighed happily and turned to Hermione expectantly.

"So, what about you?"

"Me? I – uh – well, I just thought about going like this."

Luna looked at her black robes disapprovingly, raising a light eyebrow.

"If Ginny saw you, she'd have a heart attack."

"Okay, all right," grunted Hermione.

They apparated over to her place, and she opened her wardrobe miserably. She had a lot of dresses, yes. Most of them were professional, and all of them were for special occasions at the Ministry. Luna looked them over and glanced at her.

"I have an idea. You're not going to like it."

Hermione motioned for her to continue.

"We're going to buy some wine. That's what one does when one goes to a party, right? When we're in Diagon Alley, we'll go to one shop. Just one. I'll promise you, we'll find something."

"I hate-"

"Shopping, yeah, yeah. But I promise you, just one."

Hermione looked at Luna's dress. She didn't mean to be rude, but… If this shop sold clothes like that, it wouldn't stop at only this one. Luna looked beautiful, of course. It's just it was… Well, different. Courageous, even.

"I promise," she repeated earnestly.

Hermione sighed and eventually agreed. Five minutes later, they were in said shop – which seemed to be a second-hand shop, but different. Enormous, for one. Luna may have had a questionable sense of style, but she knew how to shop.

Luna dragged her to the dress section and immediately started searching. It didn't take her even five seconds before she chose three different dresses for Hermione. All of them in dark red.

"Are you sure?" she asked, sceptically looking over the clothes. "It's a bit – um... Bold, isn't it?"

"You've got a dark complexion with warm tones, darling. You know what it means?"

"Uh… Dealing with racism?"

Luna rolled her eyes.

"Well, yes, that too, but it also means that you look amazing in burgundy. And you've got amazing, long, and curly hair. Do you know what it means?"

"That I have to spend a lot of time I don't have for handling it?"

This time, Luna just smiled patronizingly.

"Well, yes, that too, but it also means you look like a queen in leather," she said, giving her a leather jacket to match.

Hermione looked at her in surprise. It actually looked quite… Pretty. Daring and different from what she'd usually pick, but pretty.

"Good. Now go, change."

She felt a little stupid, going into the changing room with all these dresses. She also felt ridiculous buying a dress only for the party – it seemed like a waste of money. But it's not like she could just run away from Luna. And she considered Ginny the persistent one.

She tried the first dress, but it was too revealing. Besides, it was cold. Ridiculous. However, when she put on the second one, she stared into the mirror in surprise. It was perfect. Luna was right – she did look good in red. What's more - whatever Ginny might've said, the dress didn't have to be sexy to make her feel good about herself. It wasn't very tight, so she felt comfortable wearing it. It flared out at the end, so it was way better than all those skirts for work. It didn't have a low neckline, which she hated – instead, it showed off a little bit of her shoulder, but not too much.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Luna was right. Ginny always tried to squeeze her into tight, short dresses with low necklines and kept telling her: "look how hot you are!". But Hermione didn't care, not when she felt uncomfortable. And now, Luna managed the impossible – in this dress, she felt comfortable and attractive.

Maybe it wasn't such a waste of money after all.

They apparated to the park, as arranged and knocked on the door with the correct number. Hermione felt like she was going to turn around and run. Luna, however, hummed happily.

It was Theo who opened the door.

"Look who it is! Welcome to our not-so-humble abode!"

He let them in. They lived in one of the attached houses, so their flat was quite big, but the corridor was narrow. They followed Theo to the living room, where Blaise and Draco were already sitting.

All three wore black dress robes – well, not as elegant as for the Yule Ball, for example, but they still cleaned up nicely. Draco also wore an emerald shirt. He did look good in green, she had to admit, despite herself. She could also feel his gaze on her but tried to ignore it.

"Thank you for the wine, ladies," said Theo. "We're waiting just for-"

Then, the doorbell rang.

"Ah, must be Pansy."

Hermione's heart started racing, but she tried her hardest not to frown. She had to play nice. That is unless she has a reason not to.

Pansy walked in a bit awkwardly. She wore a long, navy-blue dress that made her look even taller. She brought some champagne and sat across Hermione, avoiding her gaze - but eventually glanced at her and took a deep breath.

"Look, I just wanted to say… I know I was, uh… Well, I'm sorry, for what it's worth. Which is probably nothing. But I – I hope we can be civil, at least. I mean, I want us to get on well. As well, as the situation allows, that is."

Hermione looked at her tentatively.

"I – uh… I had some time to think about this situation from your perspective. I mean, all of you guys. And I see that… Even if it's not something I can understand and even if it's not something I can forgive, I understand it a bit more. So, I'm willing to give you a clean slate. Well, not clean exactly, but what I mean by this is... I'm willing to behave if you are. If you give me no reason to doubt your good intentions, I won't. And I hope it can go both ways."

Pansy let out a relieved breath and smiled slightly, a bit hesitantly.

"Thank you."

"And thank you for apologising. I mean it. We're off to a good start. Tabula Rasa, and all that."

"A what?"

"A clean slate," intercepted Draco. "It's-"

"Latin," said Blaise and Theo simultaneously, rolling their eyes. Draco and Hermione shared amused looks.

"Oh," said Pansy, still sheepishly. "And Luna – I know I never talked to you face to face, but I still feel I should apologise for talking behind your back. It was not fair to you, and for what it's worth, I admire your courage for… Everything, really. Not being scared to be different."

Luna waved her hand dismissively. "No worries. Honestly, you guys weren't the only bullies. I mean, sure, you guys were pretty horrible-"

Way to ruin the peaceful atmosphere, thought Hermione.

"-but the Ravenclaws were pretty terrible to me as well. You know, just because I wasn't a scholar like most of them didn't give them a reason to mock me. And the transition certainly didn't help. It wasn't very nice."

"I'm sorry," said Pansy.

"Realising one's mistake is a first step to improvement. Apologising is one of the final steps one can take," Luna said dreamily.

All of them exchanged a bit confused looks.

"All right!" bellowed Blaise after a moment of silence. "Now that everything's fine and we're all friends, let's open up that champagne, yeah? We did something good, and it paid off, even if our new friend will be killed soon!"

Hermione looked at Blaise in confusion, Draco seemed like he was going to punch him, and both Pansy and Luna looked around as if waiting for someone to explain what the hell had happened.

Once everyone got their glasses of champagne, the atmosphere loosened up. They were talking about what they have been doing these past two years. Luna and Pansy even found the common ground since both worked in editing. Of course, Pansy needed to compose herself once she found out it was Quibbler where Luna worked, but it still was nice to see them getting along.

The time passed quickly, and Hermione didn't even notice it was past eleven. When was the last time she spent so much time anywhere? Just out? Her head was spinning, and yet it seemed that she was the soberest of them all. They definitely did not joke around when it came to drinking. Not that she expected anything else from the Slytherins.

At one point, Blaise started showing off his collection of cigars, and Pansy commanded they smoke one right this moment. And so, most of them went outside. Even Luna went with them, which was surprising for Hermione – she pretty much believed that some weird creatures lived inside the cigarettes.

The one person that stayed, however, was Draco.

"So, an aristocrat who can afford all the alcohol and all the cigars doesn't smoke, huh?" she asked.

"You can mock me all you want, Granger, but it's not very polite to leave guests unaccompanied. So I couldn't leave you, now, could I?"

"Oh really?" she asked, smirking. "And what would I, a poor mere lady who is to be assassinated-"

"Okay, please don't joke about that."

He said it so seriously that she immediately frowned.

"Isn't it the best thing you can do? Just laugh?"

"Maybe, but it feels like it's my fault."

Hermione couldn't suppress a laugh, so Draco glared at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Look, if someone told me a year ago, Draco Malfoy would be whining-"

"I don't whine," he huffed.

Hermione smiled despite herself. "You're right. It's worse – you're brooding. But you said something else yesterday. As I recall, it was 'I'm not one to whine but...'"

The mention of the day before somehow changed the atmosphere. The things Draco didn't have time to say before they were interrupted somehow hung in the air, even though neither of them mentioned it directly. If it's possible, even the air felt somehow tense.

"I mean… It's okay to show your emotions. It's good to let the other person know what you're feeling. It's healthy," she said, closely observing his reaction.

He just smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Right."

"What are you two whispering about?" asked Theo, throwing his arms on both of them.

Hermione almost jumped. She looked at Draco in surprise. She could swear they were at least five feet from each other, only to be found huddled together for some reason.

Draco wrinkled his nose, glaring at Theo.

"You stink."

"It's not a stink! It's a beautiful smell of… smoke. And tobacco."

Draco rolled his eyes. "So, a stink."

"Well, I'd like to propose a toast," said Pansy, getting up from her seat. "To the new beginnings."

For some reason, she was staring pointedly at both Draco and Hermione. Blaise and Theo wouldn't tell her anything, right?

Soon, Luna had to leave but insisted so persistently that Hermione stayed that she eventually did. In fact, it was a bit suspicious, and she started worrying that Blaise and Theo, as a two-person specific version of Ginny, babbled something to Pansy and Luna. Hopefully, she was wrong. Besides, what could they have told them? Even she didn't know what it was.

Around one, however, she decided it was time to head home. After a couple of suggestive glances and one painful poke in the ribs, Draco also got up and said he should get going as well.

"Who knows what's in that park?" said Theo, barely holding back a laugh.

"Yeah. Werewolves, possibly," added Blaise.

"Rapists."

"Merlin, Pansy," Theo shot her a warning glance.

"Funny. I'd think you'd be worried about Luna as well," noticed Hermione, trying to focus on putting on her boots without staggering.

"Uh… We were! In fact, we told her to uh -"

Hermione raised an eyebrow in expectation. "Hmm? What did you tell her?"

"Um… Okay, beats me. I don't remember. We definitely did tell her something, didn't we, princess?"

Blaise glared at him.

"Oh, yes, we did, but as I recall, you were the one who needed saving, princess."

After another minute of them bickering, Hermione just rolled her eyes and said goodbye. The air outside was cold and had this winter crisp that she loved.

"Sorry about them. They can be… a lot," Draco smiled a little.

"So can Ginny," she smiled back. "But I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised that Luna got along so well with all of you. I cannot imagine being in her situation. I mean, I needed a lot of time to process everything."

"I'm glad you did process it, after all."

She looked at him with a thoughtful look.

"What kind of Minister would I be if I couldn't get over my prejudices? And if I couldn't get over my pride."

He smirked, no doubt picking up the reference.

"Same goes for me, right? If I couldn't do that, I wouldn't be here."

The park, where they could apparate, seemed deserted – apart from one woman with her dog. They had to wait for her to leave, so they strolled through the parks' alleys.

"I suppose," she admitted. Hermione didn't know whether it was alcohol courage or something else, but she finally got around to asking, "You wanted to tell me something? Yesterday, at the cafe, just before Harry walked in."

Draco looked over at her. For some reason, sadness was visible in his eyes.

"Yeah – I… I guess it's nothing."

"Oh."

"It's just confusing, you know. On the one hand, I'm back. And on the other, I'm thrust into this completely different life."

"Well, do you like this new life?" she asked.

At some point, they had apparently stopped walking since they were now standing opposite each other in the middle of an alley. The light from the lamp above reflected in his grey eyes.

"I think I do. I just... I need to adjust."

She nodded and looked down at her shoes.

Then, he took her chin and lifted her head. She was staring into his eyes again – but not cold and distant, as usual. They seemed warm and earnest. There was something vulnerable in how he looked at her - and that made her heart beat faster than it should.

"Hermione-" he started, but for some reason hearing him say her name like that – so softly – made her do something she never would've done sober.

Now that – that was alcohol courage. Hermione closed the distance between them, locking their lips together. She didn't think it through at all – she just acted on instinct, and that instinct was completely mental. Still, it seemed she wasn't the only one in this madness – Draco immediately pulled her closer, deepening the kiss without a moment of hesitation. There was no doubt that she's made some questionable decisions in her life, and this might've even been one of them, but right now? With his hand on her neck, stroking it slightly and sending shivers down her spine? Yeah, right now, she just didn't care. Everything around them was freezing cold, and he seemed like the only source of warmth in the world.

"Draco…" she said automatically, in between the kisses.

But this seemed to pull them out of the trance. Both, at once. They broke apart, and Hermione saw the realisation appear in his eyes. And then, she slowly understood what had just happened.

Oh Merlin, what have I done?! she thought.

Both of them disapparated at the same time.