Author's Note: I will be putting my notes at the end from now on, to avoid spoilers in the chapters.
In which there is a ball, and a surprise romance.
Summer 2007
They decided to get ready for the party, and then debrief in the study, so they wouldn't run out of time.
Thankfully, Future Hermione, as she'd taken to calling this version of herself, had already set out her outfit for the evening. A beautiful emerald satin cocktail dress, the exact same shade as Narcissa's, well her, ring. It was more fitted than she would have normally been comfortable wearing, but she had to admit, it was lovely.
The front came almost up to her collarbone, but the back draped all the way to her lower back. She wouldn't be able to wear a bra with it, but thankfully Future Hermione had thought of that too, and she found tape in the garment bag.
She finally managed to tame her hair into a messy sort of updo, and found Draco in the study, head down, writing.
"Hi." She said, suddenly self-conscious. He looked up, and she could swear she saw him gulp. He raised a brow.
"Hi yourself, Granger." This time when he used her last name, it felt…different. "You clean up well." He gestured to the parchment in front of him. "Ready to compare notes?" he asked.
"Yes, lets." She sat at the table across from him, careful not to wrinkle her dress. "Well, what did you find out?"
"Not a whole lot, given that we were flying most of the afternoon, but I got a few things out of Theo. He's always been a blabbermouth. Him and Charlie just got hitched last month." When she raised an eyebrow at him using Charlie's first name, he rolled his eyes and said, "There's too many to call them all Weasley. Besides we need to practice if we're going to be seeing them a lot, which evidently, we do."
He started to read the list,
"Harry's still an Auror, Ron owns a chain of bars, Charlie does something with Dragons? I'm not quite sure of the details. George married Angelina, and Fred married Katie Bell. They're girls are off at some Quidditch thing in France that's why they weren't there today. Blaise owns Flourish and Blotts, and Luna took over the Quibbler, which has their office in there apparently. Pansy is the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts with us, because obviously we all went into teaching of all things?" Hermione laughed at that.
"Certainly seems like it. I can't believe she and Neville are married. Although I guess stranger things have happened." She gestured between the two of them. Draco looked at her for a second and then burst out laughing.
"Are you joking?" He paused at her blank expression, "Oh my god, you're not joking." He dissolved into fits of laughter again, "I can't believe I know something you don't! Longbottom really did hide it all this time." He sat back, impressed.
"What are you talking about?" He finally stopped laughing and looked her very seriously in the eye.
"Hermione. Neville and Pansy have been sneaking around since fourth year."
"WHAT?!" She couldn't believe it. "You're lying!" He smirked smugly.
"You really didn't know?"
"I had no clue! Although I suppose we had rather a lot on our plate in school."
"I wasn't exactly uninvolved with all that, and I still knew." He smirked.
"I can't believe he never told us." She slumped back, too stunned to worry about her dress. "They kept it a secret all this time. Even after the war?"
"They were always on and off, with the stress of everything, but pretty much yeah. Last, I remember they were on the outs because Neville was still undecided on the whole having kids' thing." That old familiar feeling panged in her gut.
"Pansy doesn't want them. She said so at lunch, though she seems to love spending time with them."
"I guess Longbottom must have finally decided. I am surprised Blaise finally made up his mind, though he never had it as bad as the rest of us." He cut off and looked away, and Hermione thought he had said more than he meant to.
"I don't either," she said, to fill the gap. "Want children that is. I never have. It's why Ron and I would have never worked. We knew it was dead in the water before it even started." He looked back at her, considering. Before he said anything she blurted out the question she had been asking herself all day,
"Do you really think my parents will be there tonight? I haven't seen them in so long…I can't believe this is really happening. It's like a dream." There was a softness in his eyes when he looked at her that she really didn't know what to do with. But her stomach was in knots thinking about them.
"I honestly don't know. Nothing about this makes any sense. What's to say our research didn't help heal your parent's memories?"
That hadn't occurred to her. She'd been so preoccupied with why it couldn't have happened she hadn't thought about how it could have. He continued,
"There's a lot of information in here about memory charms and curses. I think that what we might have been working on, and removing my mark and your scar was just a happy accident. If they are there tonight, we can try to get some answers." He paused and she chewed her lip for a second before remembering she was wearing lipstick and shouldn't.
"Do you think you'll be ok? Seeing them after 5 years tonight, having to pretend its normal."
"I don't know. I don't think any of this has really sunk in."
"I'll be with you the entire time, Hermione. You don't have to do this alone." He was looking at her with such open sincerity, it physically hurt her chest.
"Thank you." She said, meaning it. They only had about twenty minutes for her to fill him in on what she'd learned, before they needed to leave.
"We should get going, you don't want to be late to your own party." She turned and started towards the door, and she could have sworn she heard him mutter "fucking hell" before joining her.
After checking with Dibble that the cats were fed, they apparated to Malfoy Manor at 5:45pm.
"What the fuck?" Draco muttered beside her. She looked up at him,
"Are we in the right place?" He raised his brows and looked around at the grounds.
"We are." He laughed suddenly, "I guess my mother finally got to those renovations after all.
The Manor was completely different, and not in the way that The Burrow had been different, where the essence of the home was still very present. This was a completely different house. It was as though the old one had been torn down and replaced.
Although, Hermione thought, Narcissa certainly had the resources.
The wrought iron gate and imposing wall surrounding the property was completely gone. There was only a long gravel and beautifully maintained walkway towards the front door. As they made their way up the walk, towards the rest of the party goers, Hermione noticed Draco breathing rapidly, so she slipped her hand in his. He flinched for a fraction of a second and then relaxed and squeezed.
"She changed everything." He said quietly, and Hermione couldn't tell if he was overjoyed or distraught. He mostly just looked stunned.
The previous Manor had been severe and imposing, even in the daylight when she had last been here. But this new Manor was far more the Old English Country Manor. She thought absently that it wouldn't look out of place in a Jane Austen adaptation.
If Hermione had thought the exterior had changed, nothing could have prepared her for the interior. Gone were the cold marble and stone pillars, with portraits of previous generations of Malfoy's sneering down at her from every wall. The furniture was classic and comfortable looking, even if it looked old, and like it cost her entire yearly salary.
The walls were covered with beautiful landscape paintings, and rich wallpaper. There was a sense of home that had not been there before. Although granted the last time she had been inside the house she was a captive about to be tortured, but still.
Draco seemed to have stopped breathing beside her. She tightened her hand around his,
"Are you alright?" She asked. He took a deep breath, and spoke quietly so the people around them couldn't hear.
"I don't know. Its so…different." He looked around, "I can't believe it's all gone. Not that the memories I had were exactly good, but…" he trailed off.
"It was still your home, Draco." She said softly. He looked down at her,
"I'm thankfull you're here, truly. I'm glad were doing this together. Whatever the hell this is." He laughed, a sort of mildly hysterical laugh.
"Me too." She smiled, "Let's go find your mum." He nodded, and they made their way through the crowd.
They didn't make it very far before they were being greeted by a ridiculous array of people. Kingsly Shaklebolt was there. He shook Draco's hand. Minerva McGonagall waved to them from where she was in an intense conversation with Neville about something or other, his arm wrapped around Pansy's waist. She was wearing red, and she looked incredible. They walked past a collection of their friends having a spirited argument about Quidditch, and past a clearly already tipsy Hagrid talking to Andromeda Tonks, who a second later was being passed a drink by a smiling Narcissa Malfoy.
Hermione started when she saw her there. Narcissa, in her time, had only just asked Hermione to approach Andromeda on her behalf.
"I suppose it must have worked." She said out loud, pulling Draco with her towards them. "That's Andromeda Tonks, your aunt." She said quickly. He smirked,
"Thank you, I had figured that out given the fact she looks exactly like Bella, only sane." Hermione was the one to roll her eyes this time.
Narcissa noticed them and her face split into such an open expression of joy that Hermione was a little startled.
"Darling!" She said, giving Draco a quick kiss on either cheek and hugging him. The panicked eye contact over her shoulder told Hermione that this was also not normal.
"Hermione, my dear, don't you look incredible. I have always said green is your colour." She flushed lightly and then more furiously when she felt Draco drop her hand and slipped his along her waist, just brushing her dress where it rested on her lower back,
"It certainly is." Draco said. "The Manor looks incredible, you've outdone yourself." She laughed and brushed his arm,
"Oh, don't flatter me darling you know your getting your present either way. Please, enjoy some drinks. I must see to some things in the kitchen." Andromeda turned to them,
"Even growing up a Black, I think I spent too many years as a Tonks," She laughed, "Narcissa certainly knows how to do excess." They laughed with her, and she turned back to Hagrid to continue their conversation.
She felt Draco's grip tighten slightly on her waist, and when she looked up at him, his face had changed from the easy smile with his mother to the cold smirk she remembered from school. He was looking past her.
"What is it?" She muttered, as he reached out to shake someone's hand, his other hand not leaving her waist even a fraction.
"Krum." He said in greeting, Hermione snapped back to her old school flame, and suddenly Draco's expression made more sense.
"Malfoy. Her-my-oh-nee." He dropped Draco's hand and picked up hers, pressing his lips to her knuckles before releasing it. She felt Draco's hand twitch against her back.
"You look lov-ely." He said, his accent just as thick as ever.
"Thank you Viktor. I didn't realize Narcissa had invited you, how lovely of you to make the trip."
"Of course, I vould not miss a Malfoy party. Ve have been gathering vith family friendship since I was a child. Is that not true, Draco?"
"Yes." His voice was clipped and Hermione resisted the urge to jab him in the ribs. They were being offered a golden opportunity with Viktor and he was ruining it with whatever possessive bullshit this was. Before he could say anything else, Fleur was suddenly between them, hugging Viktor and steering him away towards some other people her age Hermione didn't recognize. Other foreign students perhaps? Charlie materialized immediately after, grinning widely.
"Thought I'd send in the Veela sister-in-law as a distraction before Draco's head exploded." he laughed and Draco's hand on her back relaxed a barely noticeable amount,
"Am I that obvious?" he drawled, his expression looked sheepish, but Hermione thought it was fake.
"Always have been mate. There's nothing that gets you more feral that someone making eyes at this one." He jabbed a thumb towards Hermione, "And sawdust brains over there has been hung up on her since your fourth year." Hermione blushed, looking sharply away from Draco, and pulling out of his grip.
"Yes, yes. Draco is a caveman, very funny. Excuse me while I go talk to someone who's a little more evolved." She stalked off towards her Gryffindor classmates, equal parts offended, amused, and something else she wasn't going to examine too closely. She did not, however, walk fast enough to not hear what Charlie said next, or Draco's reply.
"I can't say I've ever looked at a woman in that way, but my god your wife looks great in that dress."
"Tell me about it."
The next hour passed quickly, and it was almost seven when Draco found her again, still talking to her best friends.
"It doesn't matter how many times I come here, I'll never stop thinking how mad it is we're at a party at Malfoy Manor." Ron said to the agreement of them all. She didn't look up, but she knew it was him that sat on the corner of the large couch she was on.
"Might I steal my wife away for a moment." He drawled, offering her his hand. They all laughed and shooed them away, reminding Hermione once again that they had a certain reputation.
She let herself be pulled away to a quiet hallway, and then into a side room, that seemed like it was only used for reading. Her heartbeat ticked up, being alone with him now after the display with Viktor, and after several cocktails felt different than it had earlier. He turned to her.
"I think I just met your parents."
"My parents?" Thankfully Draco steered her into a chair, because she was suddenly unable to stand.
"Yes. Their names are Ian and Michelle?" Her hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh my god. They're really here?" He nodded. She was crying before she knew what was happening, and he was passing her a tissue, and crouching in front of her. It reminded her of this morning.
Her parents were actually here. In this house. They knew who she was.
It was one thing for her to hear a tinny voice on an answering machine, and to think about seeing them again…but for it to actually be happening after 5 years of grieving? That wasn't something she thought would ever be possible. It took a few minutes for her to calm down, and for the tears to stop. When they did, Draco spoke again,
"I thought…I thought I should let you know in private first. Give you a chance to prepare. I know there's really no preparing for this but-" A loud bell rang out, "that's dinner. We should go. Are you going to be alright?" She nodded, dabbing at her eyes. Thankful that she had thought to charm her mascara to be waterproof.
"Thank you, for telling me like this. I don't know what would have happened if I had just run into them out there," she paused, "How did they seem?" It was silly to ask, she thought. Afterall, he had only seen her parents once before. At Flourish and Blotts in their second year. He didn't know what they were like normally.
"They seemed happy, Hermione. Really happy. They were talking to Weasley's parents…and my mother." A choked laugh escaped from her.
"Your mother? I guess I knew they must know each other if she invited them, but I don't think I can imagine them in the same room together." He smirked, holding out his hand to pull her up.
"More than that Granger, I think they're friends."
Thankfully the bell had just been a warning, and when they exited the room, people had just started to drift towards their seats.
Seating was assigned, so they knew by looking at the chart that they would be with Narcissa, Severus Snape, her parents, and to her delight, Terrance Spitworth! Draco laughed beside her as they made their way to the table, his hand at her back, steadying her.
"I guess it didn't work out with old Broomhilde then." She giggled despite the mass of nerves roiling around in her stomach.
"I suppose not if she wasn't invited, poor Terrance."
"Hmmm, without the mysterious Broomhilde and the absent Terrance, we might have never gotten married, Granger." He murmured next to her ear as they sat down, a little thrill running through her.
"What the hell is Snape doing here though?" She asked. Draco shrugged, not seeming to find it as odd as she did.
"He and Mother have been friends a long time, and I know they kept in touch after the war. Also, we are married, and his coworkers now, you should probably start calling him Severus." She shuddered,
"I will when you start calling McGonagall, Minerva." He chuckled.
She heard them before she saw them. Her dad's booming laugh, followed by her mum's throaty admonishment.
She grabbed Draco's hand tightly under the table, and he scooted a tiny bit closer to her. If she was squeezing too hard, he didn't complain, but she could feel his bones digging into her own fingers.
They finally moved into view, past a group of other guests taking their seats, flanked by Narcissa and Terrance.
It's really them. It's really really them.
She felt the tears pricking at her eyes again and fought the urge to leap up and throw herself at them. A lump formed in her throat. They looked like every other guest there, dressed to the nines.
"Hello sweetheart. Sorry we were running late, had a root canal go long. You know how it is." They sat on her right with no ceremony. Like it was nothing at all that they were here. Like this wasn't the most incredible thing to happen to her in her adult life. Her father leaned over to place a peck on her cheek like he always had. Draco placed his other hand over hers.
"One day Michelle, you really will have to explain all this Muggle dentistry to me. It just sounds so fascinating." Narcissa said, and to Hermione's shock there was not a hint of sarcasm or sneer. She sounded genuinely interested, and she was looking at her mum like she was an old friend she was particularly fond of.
After everyone had taken their seats, Narcissa stood,
"Welcome everyone! I'm so glad you all could make it. After last year, Draco made me promise only to have close friends and family, so it's a bit more low key this time." Everyone laughed, there were easily 150 people there, and nothing about this evening could be called low key.
"After dinner, I hope you'll all stay for some dancing. We only turn 27 once," she looked down at Draco with open affection, "Please, enjoy!"
The plates immediately filled with a delicious looking appetizer, and Hermione was vividly reminded of Hogwarts meals. Draco clearly felt the same beside her, shooting her a look filed with wry nostalgia.
The courses passed quickly, and by the time she was eating dessert, Hermione thought she might burst at the seams.
Her parents were here.
Thankfully they spent most of the meal talking to Narcissa, Severus, and Terrance, because she wasn't sure she would have been able to have a conversation with them. Any thoughts of trying to get information on what had happened went completely out the window. Whenever it seemed like she might have to participate, Draco deflected. He was a master at it. She was both overwhelmingly grateful and very impressed.
She spent so much of the meal obsessively watching every single thing her parents did that she almost jumped when Draco's hand shot towards hers under the table again, squeezing in a frantic rhythm. She looked up at him and followed his eyes to his mother's hand on the table, clasped with that of one Severus Snape.
Holy fucking shit.
Trying, and failing to school her features into something resembling a normal expression, she choked on a gulp of champagne. Draco patted her back as she coughed.
"Hermione are you alright?" Her mum asked, "You've been quiet all night."
"Just had a bit too much to drink that's all, should be fine now we've eaten."
"Ok dear." Her mum's worried expression vanished, and she turned back to her conversation with Terrance, but Severus was watching them with mild suspicion. Although, she mused, maybe that was just his face.
"Ready for the new year Draco?" He asked, "I don't think it will ever cease to be strange to see my old students as Professors, no matter how impressive they were during their school years." He tipped his wine glass towards her.
What?
Snape had spent the entirety of her school career bullying her for being a know it all. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined he'd call her impressive.
"I can imagine it must make you feel your age." Draco drawled.
"Draco!" Narcissa scolded, laughing. Shockingly there was also a smile on Serverus' face.
What the fuck?!
Gone was the snarling, sneering man from all those years at Hogwarts. This was a completely different person. Or perhaps, this is who he always was? She thought, after all, he was a double agent. It stood to reason that he was putting on an act. But for that long?
The plates cleared, and Narcissa bid them all to the ballroom for dancing. Because of course the Manor had a ballroom.
There was a band at a small stage at the end of the room, playing softly, and people had started to move towards the center, partners in hand.
She felt Draco's hand on her back again, steering her to the dance floor, and before she'd realized what was happening, he was spinning her into his arms, her body pressed to his, as he led them around the room.
She must have truly had more to drink than she'd thought, because right now, she was dancing with Draco Malfoy and…she liked it.
She liked the feeling of her body pressed close to his, and the crisp mahogany smell of his cologne.
He lowered his head to her ear,
"How are you doing?" He murmured.
Oh.
Of course. They could speak like this, quietly and uninterrupted.
"Alright, it still feels like a dream." She caught a glimpse of her parents dancing near them, "I can scarcely believe this is our lives. How did we get here?"
"I don't know." His hand was on the middle of her back, but it had drifted lower, once again dangerously close to the swoop of her dress. "But I'm glad this is where we end up. Even if my mother is apparently dating Severus fucking Snape."
She laughed, leaning her head against his shoulder, but her brain stuck on what he'd just said. He was glad of where they were. Did he mean glad that they were married? In this strange bizzarro future. He spoke again,
"I'm happy your parents are here with you again." he said softly, his breath tickling her ear.
Right. That made more sense. Not happy they were married. Of course not, and neither was she. She didn't even like him like that.
It wasn't that she still believed him to be the same little shit he was in school, she knew he had done a lot of good since the end of the war. And during the last few weeks there had been a sort of mutual okayness, that might have turned into a sort of acquaintancey friendship if given enough time. But marriage? To Draco Malfoy? It was insane.
She realized she had gone a long time without talking, and the moment had passed to respond, so she just let him twirl her around the floor in his arms, enjoying the evening.
They were finally ready to leave just after 2am and most of the guests had gone home. Hermione had managed to make it through saying goodbye to her parents without any sort of breakdown, so she counted that as a win, though watching Narcissa leave an hour ago and turn in for the night with Snape was not an image she thought she would ever be able to get out of her head.
"I haven't been this drunk this in ages." She giggled to Draco, as they threw the floo powder into the fireplace.
She was delightfully buzzed. Well maybe decidedly more than buzzed, given how every accidental brush of Draco's body against hers seemed to crackle under her skin.
"Me neither." He drawled, she rolled her eyes, remembering full well he had been hungover the day before. Well, five years before. But also, yesterday.
They stumbled up the stairs of their townhouse to their bedroom, to see their pyjamas helpfully laid out on the bed. Presumably by Dibble.
She felt a bucket of cold water wash over her as she realized that they woke up in the same bed this morning. They were married, so therefore, they shared a bed. Draco had clearly come to the same conclusion, his face pale.
"I can sleep somewhere else." He said, not looking at her.
"No!" she said before she realised that she was saying anything at all.
He looked at her then, his eyes full of something, she didn't know what.
"That is to say…I don't think we should." He raised a brow. Or tried to, he was swaying a bit. Or perhaps that was her.
"You want me to stay here? In this bed? With you?" he asked slowly, blinking blinkily.
"Yes. I think, it makes the most sense. For appearances and all."
"Granger, I don't think anyone is likely to check up on us in our sleep. Besides, I could just tell them you snore when you drink or something." He snarked
"I do not snore! Drunkenly or otherwise!" she paused, and then said what she knew she wouldn't have had the courage to without the many champagnes and cocktails coursing through her blood.
"We're stuck here, in this strange future with no idea how to get home…and I'm scared. I have no clue what's going on, or if we even ever will get back to our own time." His face softened, and she continued, "I don't want to wake up alone. I want to wake up with someone I trust." He swallowed and nodded.
"Alright then. I'll go get changed." He left without another word, and Hermione went into their walk-in closet to take off her make up and change. Draco was in bed by the time she returned. He was pretending to read a book off his nightstand, but she thought he was probably waiting for her.
She slid into the bed beside him, turning off the lights with her wand. She felt him settle beside her in the dark. She turned to him, and found him facing her. She could just make out his face in the moonlight coming in through the window.
A thought occurred to her,
"Oh! I never got you anything for your birthday!" He smirked,
"Don't worry Granger, seeing you in that dress tonight was more than enough." She was thankful for the dark as she felt herself flush and it made her bold.
"Really, what exactly about it was so appealing?" Her voice came out far breathier, and flirtier than she was intending.
"Well," he paused, and she thought maybe the darkness and the drinks were making him braver too, "I've imagined you in Slytherin colours many times before, but the reality was far better."
Even in the darkness, she was sure he'd see her flush this time. She bit her lip and watched his eyes flicker to them. They had gone this far, what was one more question.
"Draco?"
"Yes, Hermione?"
"Were you jealous tonight," she saw him go very still, and pushed just a little more, "Of Viktor." She may have focused a little too hard on the way she said Viktor's name, adding just a touch of heat to it.
Before she knew it, he had closed the gap between them, and was above her, arm propped beside her head, his grey eyes boring into hers. There wasn't enough light to see them properly, but Hermione could describe those eyes in her sleep. He lowered his mouth to hers, just barely making contact.
"I was so jealous Granger, I wanted to scream. I wanted to kiss you right then and there, so he would know just who you are married to."
It took everything in her body not to close the miniscule distance between them. She felt him smirk against her lips.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Yes."
"Good." He pulled back and placed a chaste kiss to her temple before settling behind her, a possessive arm thrown around her waist and pulling her towards him.
"Go to sleep Hermione. We'll figure it all out in the morning."
Somehow, she doubted that.
Authors Note:
I've started a Pinterest to keep track of all my inspo, so if you want to have a gander, you can find that under warsisbetterthantrek over there.
I'm a sucker for a ball scene in any fiction, and I just love the idea of these two idiots trying to act normal and basically clinging to each other the whole night. Also, jealous Draco is one of my favourite Dracos.
If you love Panville as much as me, i'm working on a companion fic, so take a peek over there! It's just going to be a short 4 chapter fic, but i had to write it.
Let me know how you feel about my little Severus plot twist. I hate the whole Lily/Snape plot with a passion, so I'm fixing it lol.
