Chapter 15

"Lily!" Pansy yelled out, waving her hand as she wove her way through the crowd. Of course, Pansy had a great relationship with the older witch, whereas Hermione did her best to avoid her.

It wasn't that Hermione didn't like Lily. No, Lily was honestly great, but she'd had a mother figure in her grandmother, Jean Miller, who'd raised her. And while Lily wanted that type of relationship (at least it seemed that way) with Hermione, she struggled with letting someone else fill those shoes that her grandma had left behind when she'd died.

When Hermione reached the table that Lily and Dudley were sitting at, she waited for Dudley to notice her, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. Looking over her shoulder to where the boy's attention was, Hermione choked back a laugh.

Luna, in all her glory, stood with Neville and his blonde Hufflepuff girlfriend looking around the pub. Once they noticed their group, Luna's face lit up as she danced across the floor, narrowly missing knocking into everyone she passed.

"You must be Mrs. Harry's mum," she said once she reached the table, grabbing Lily's hand. Hermione's eyes widened watching Luna with her stepmother, Lily might be nice, but she was not the touchy feely type. Lily with her soft ginger red hair, bright green eyes, and her pale skin made her appear much more open and friendly than she really was. Honestly, she was not a woman to be crossed, and she had Hermione's father so wound around her finger it was nearly comical.

"And you must be Pandora's daughter," Lily replied, surprising Hermione by pulling the younger witch into a hug. Never had Hermione seen her show such familiarity to someone that she had just met, but then again this was Luna… "I was a year behind your mother in school, such a brilliant mind."

"Oh yes, my mother likes to experiment. She started working in the department of Mysteries recently, something to do with prophecies." Luna said, stepping back and turning to face Dudley. The poor boy, his blonde hair considerably darker than it had been when they were children, looked as if he hadn't brushed it that day (semi resembling Harry's look). His baby fat was long gone, and thanks to whatever sports his father had enrolled him in, Dudley had filled out rather nicely. He wasn't someone Hermione would ever be able to find attractive, but she could understand the appeal.

The teen couldn't seem to take his eyes off Luna, and the girl was openly studying him as well. Lily didn't seem phased by this odd behavior, making Hermione conclude Luna's mother must have been just as strange in school as her daughter was. "You're different," Luna said to Dudley, reaching up and pinching his cheeks, making his pale skin pink under her assault. "Your aura is strange."

When Dudley said nothing, just continuing to stare at Luna, Harry interjected on behalf of his tongue-tied cousin. "He's a muggle, might that have something to do with it?"

"Oh no, that's not it at all. Muggles aren't that different from us, no it's something else. I just can't place it…" Luna said, getting up on her toes and pulling Dudley's face down to her so they were eye to eye. "You're a mystery that I intend to solve. Would you like to take a trip with me?"

"I would follow you anywhere you asked me to go," Dudley declared, boldly, especially since he'd never met Luna before in his life. Though, it was safe to say that his crush on Hermione had finally come to an abrupt end. Hermione resisted the urge to pump her fist in the air.

Luna wove her fingers in his hand and led him through the crowd without another word. Theo, of course, followed after them, muttering something about not being left out just because Luna found someone new to play with. Lily didn't seem concerned in the slightest that her nephew had just left the pub with two people who were essentially strangers, off to do only Merlin knows what.

Before Hermione could move to sit at the table Lily had secured for them, Draco pulled the witch into his lap. "Draco Malfoy! We're in front of my mother!" Hermione hissed as Draco's mouth found her neck.

"Potter and Pansy are already sucking face, this is tame compared to them," Draco murmured against her skin, nipping at her as he pulled away. "I've waited all day to have your plump arse in my lap, teasing me in your muggle trousers."

Hermione looked over at Lily, who only smiled warmly at Hermione before turning back to speaking with Neville and Hannah (Hermione was reminded of her name when Neville introduced the girl to Lily). They were discussing Hannah's prospects of getting into the healer training program, the same as Lily had done following her Hogwarts years. "You're a nuisance, you know that?"

Draco's only response was claiming Hermione's lips with a kiss. She melted into the feeling of him, though while her guard was still up (how could it not be), she craved for him (and Theo) to be her safe place. Something inside her told her that if she took the leap that these boys were all but begging from her, that they'd catch her.

It was as terrifying as it was thrilling. At Ilvermorny Hermione had acquaintances, no real friends so to speak of. Going back further, at her muggle elementary school, she'd always been the odd girl out. Her father was living in England, and with the time difference it was hard to stay in touch with him. Her mother was focused on her career, not really interested in being a mother. So, she was raised by her grandparents.

Oh, how she'd loved them, but they were older and either not able to do certain things with her, or they were stuck in their ways, unable to adapt to the times. Even if she hadn't been a witch, the 1950's style she was often seen wearing made her a target for any bullying. Kids were ruthless, and Hermione had never stood a chance. Instead, she turned inward, letting her love of reading take hold and her brilliant mind to run wild to the point she jumped grades, only putting more distance between herself and her peers. She'd ending up attending some high school level classes at age ten before running off to boarding school. While there, the walls she'd built during her younger years stayed up.

And now, she had Harry, who she'd always loved and adored, thankful for having a brother that just loved her for purely existing. But there were also these two other boys who were making their way into her heart, and Hermione didn't know if she ought to run for the hills and protect herself, or trust that they wouldn't hurt her.

"Has anyone seen Dudley? I wanted to take him to the Quidditch shop and maybe the shrieking shack," Harry said, a lipstick stain smeared across his face, even though Pansy looked flawless as ever.

"He's with Luna and Theo," Hermione told him when Draco didn't answer, too busy rubbing Hermione's back and resting his face on her breasts.

"He's what!?" Harry nearly shouted, jumping from his seat, knocking the chair over in the process. He looked at Neville, who had seemed to have fall asleep with his eyes open, while his girlfriend continued to chat with Lily. "Do you know where they are?"

"Inside the shrieking shack most likely, if not in there, then the wood just outside it." Draco muttered against Hermione's skin, "if you hurry you might be able to catch them, they just left."

Harry sprinted out the door, knocking into a handful of people, causing drinks and food to fall to the floor, shouting apologies as he went. Pansy just moved to talk with Lily, asking her own questions about the healer training as if she hadn't just been in the woman's son's lap with her lips attached to his.

"They've been gone for a while, there's no way Harry's going to be able to stop them," Hermione said, leaning away from Draco forcing him to look in her eyes. "What in the world do Theo and Luna get up to on Hogsmeade weekends? That was a bit of a strong reaction to them smoking a bit of pot."

"Oh, well…" Draco cleared his throat, his eyes flickering around the pub. "If Luna said she's taking them on a trip, then they're most likely doing LSD."

"LSD? You're joking, right?" Hermione asked.

"Um, no. That's why they're in the shack. Sirius told us how to get in last year, so that's where they go. We'll go grab them here in a bit, there's a secret tunnel that leads to the school grounds right under the whomping willow we use to sneak them inside." Draco was starting to look nervous as the words began to tumble from his mouth. "I honestly didn't even think about it when Luna grabbed Potter's cousin, but she's probably got him tripping as much as Longbottom is."

When Draco went to open his mouth, Hermione shook her head and leaned in to stop him with a kiss. "I have a sober up potion we can give Dudley. I brought one just in case Harry drank himself stupid, it'll be fine," she said, pulling back slightly. "Just next time, maybe give me a heads up about how the day is going to go, yeah? Then I can come better prepared."

Draco didn't say anything at first as his eyes flickered between hers. His gray ones were so beautiful and full of wonder, he caught her by surprise as he pulled her in tightly against him, kissing her until she was breathless. Even then, Draco still didn't stop until they were gasping for air.

Hermione swore she heard Lily say, "reminds me of myself and James," but she couldn't be sure as she felt her walls cracking and starting to come down for this wizard and his boyfriend.