The Malfoys and Potters had arranged to have dinner at the most exclusive restaurant in wizarding Britain, and Draco had taken charge of the booking ensuring that they were given one of the best tables, with a decent sense of privacy. After all, the Malfoys were big news at the moment, especially with the revelation that Hermione was now part of the family, and Draco didn't want to spend the whole evening fending off nosey reporters and curious members of the public.

Draco and Hermione arrived for dinner first, and even though a few opportunistic reporters were hanging around outside, and managed to get a couple of snaps of the couple in the arrival area of the restaurant, they didn't actually make it into the building to bother them further. As for the table Draco had booked, it was located on the more private first floor, where the tables were fewer and spread further apart. The table they were dining at was situated on one of the small balconies, which were a feature of the first floor. Each balcony over looked the main body of the restaurant as well as offering stunning views of twilight London.

"Wow, impressive table," Harry remarked when he and Ginny arrived and everyone had greeted each other. "I've never been able to bag one of these tables on the balconies. They're like gold dust apparently."

"You just need the right sway, Potter," Draco replied with a smirk.

"You would have thought being The Boy Who Lived, would have been the right sway," Harry joked.

"In places like these, family names are power," Draco said. "Besides, I don't think they wanted to turn down a Malfoy at the moment. Not with the publicity we're generating."

"The papers are going wild," Ginny agreed with a nod.

It had been less than a week since the sentencing hearings, but in that time the papers had been packed with stories of the Malfoys. Obviously a fair few of the stories focused on Scorpius's ordeal, but almost as many articles had been written about Hermione's involvement with the family. Since Hermione hadn't yet given a statement to the press, no-one quite knew the official story of how she'd ended up as a Malfoy so as a result all sorts of rumours had been swirling around in the press.

"How are you dealing with the intrusion?" Harry asked his old friend, well aware of how much she despised the limelight.

"Luckily, I'm spending most of my time at the manor, so there's no real intrusion there," Hermione replied. "But now the press have taken an interest, I do know I will have to speak to them in some form or another if I ever want any peace when we're over here."

"Father suggested she gave an exclusive interview to a trusted journalist," Draco said.

"That could be the way to go," Harry mused with a thoughtful expression. "You'll still be talked about, but at least people won't be bugging you for the story of how you became a Malfoy."

"A story we would like to hear by the way," Ginny added with a smile. "But before that, I happen to know a trustworthy reporter. You could talk to her, and she won't twist your words."

"Of course, Luna," Harry declared with a snap of his fingers. "She runs The Quibbler these days."

"The Quibbler," Draco remarked with a frown. "No offence Potter, but I think Father meant an interview with a respected publication, not one known for it's outlandish theories and wild ideas."

"The Quibbler really isn't as wild these days," Ginny chuckled. "Yes, Luna still includes the odd article about creatures no-one but her and her father have heard of, but it also produces some really good pieces of journalism. They've managed to snag plenty of exclusive interviews over the years, mainly because people know they can trust Luna not to twist their words. When it comes to a proper interview in The Quibbler, you know that what you are reading is exactly what has been said."

"Ginny's right," Harry said with a nod. "You should check out the reputation the magazine has. I can promise you, an interview with Luna's magazine will be the most honest representation you can get. She won't sensationalise anything, or twist your words to make things sounds scandalous."

"I don't think there is anything to sensationalise or to turn scandalous," Hermione laughed. "Our story is pretty mundane."

"I'm sure it's not," Ginny said as a waiter appeared to pass out the menus.

For a while conversation was halted as the foursome studied the menus and ordered their meal and drinks. Only once the drinks had arrived did the topic turn back to how Draco and Hermione had gotten together, with Ginny eager to know all the details.

"I'd only just moved to France when I spotted this job advert for a small potions firm," Hermione explained. "My intention had been to seek work at the French Ministry, but I spotted this ad and thought Potions might be a more interesting career choice, so I applied for the job. What I didn't know until I turned up for the interview was that Draco had just bought the company."

"Ooh, that must have been interesting," Ginny giggled.

"When I realised who I would be working for, I almost walked out of the interview," Hermione admitted.

"What do you mean, almost, you did walk out," Draco reminded his wife with a laugh. "I had to come chasing after you to convince you to at least come back and talk to me."

"You chased after her?" Harry asked in amazement.

"I did," Draco confirmed with a shrug. "I will admit that when I first received the application, I nearly binned it. I figured it would never work having Hermione work for me. But then I reminded myself that I was just starting out and turning away the smartest witch I'd ever known was just sabotaging myself. I arranged the interview, figuring that if we made it through that without hexing each other into tiny pieces, we might just be able to work together. But then she turned up at the interview, took one look at me and ran."

"I did not run," Hermione protested. "I just decided that I could never work for you."

"And I decided that your skills were just what I wanted," Draco returned, smiling at his wife before returning his attention to the Potters, who were watching the couple with great interest. "After convincing her to return to the interview, I turned on the charm and by the end, she was virtually begging me for a job."

"The only one begging was you," Hermione retorted with a roll of her eyes. "You were the one singing my praises, telling me how wonderful I was and how skilled I was at potions. I agreed to give you a chance, not the other way around."

"You keep telling yourself that sweetheart," Draco chuckled. "I know what happened. I know you were desperate to work for me."

"Please, I was desperate to have an interesting job, and you just so happened to have one," Hermione shot back. "You were merely someone I had to tolerate to do my job."

"Tolerate?" Draco questioned with a pout. "Are you saying you merely tolerated me in those early days?"

"It was either that or hex you daily," Hermione replied. "I constantly reminded myself that I could be part of something special as we built the company up, but to achieve that, I had to make sure I didn't kill the boss."

"And here was me thinking you were fighting your attraction to me on a daily basis," Draco remarked with a dramatic sigh. "Way to burst a guy's bubble, Hermione."

"Oh, I was far too stubborn to admit I was attracted to you," Hermione laughed. "I convinced myself that you got under my skin because you were an annoying person, and because we never got along in school. Even when I admitted to myself that we were friends, I still wouldn't allow myself to believe I was attracted to you."

"So how did it all change?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"He plied me with champagne and seduced me," Hermione answered.

"I did not ply you with champagne, nor did I seduce you," Draco protested. "We just so happened to be drinking champagne, and I do believe you kissed me first."

"That's not how I remember it," Hermione countered. "I'd been working for Draco for about a year when he asked me about investing in the business," she told Harry and Ginny, both of whom were smiling softly at the bickering couple sitting opposite them. "I had some money put aside, and I'd been saving since I moved to France, so I said yes. Once the deal was complete and we were full partners, we went out to celebrate. Champagne was flowing, and when I was feeling nice and buzzed, Draco made his move."

"Honey, you were the one making the moves," Draco laughed. "You were the one who had their hands down my trousers during dinner. You were also the one who visited the bathroom to remove their underwear."

"Hermione," Harry gasped, rather surprised at his friend's brazenness. "I can't believe you did that."

"Neither can I," Hermione remarked with a puzzled frown. "Are you sure that happened?" she asked her husband. "I can't recall any of that."

"It happened," Draco assured her. "You possibly had slightly too much to drink over dinner. Why do you think I took you home and poured coffee down your neck? I knew what was going to happen that night, and I wanted you sober enough to remember it and not regret it."

"I've never regretted it," Hermione said with a gentle smile.

"Nor have I," Draco replied quietly, gazing into his wife's deep brown eyes, momentarily forgetting they had an audience watching their every move.

"Sweet," Ginny chuckled, drawing the couple back to the present. "You two are so perfect together. Aren't they, Harry?"

"I have to say, you are," Harry agreed with a smile. "I saw it that first day I came to your office in France. The way you support each other and understand each other. It's like you are meant to be together."

Hermione smiled at Harry, thanking him for his kind words. Even though she'd told the story of how she and Draco had ended up together, she didn't feel as though she'd had to justify herself. She hadn't felt as though she'd had to defend Draco and pointed out how he'd changed to justify being with him. Harry could clearly see for himself that Draco was a different man to the boy they had gone to school with, and he wasn't judging her for making her life with someone she had a troubled past with. Harry merely accepted that her and Draco were together, and that they loved each other, and she loved Harry for his understanding and acceptance.

As they ate their starter and main meal, conversation drifted to the couple's children and they spent the time sharing stories of the years of each other's lives they had missed over the years. Hermione loved hearing about Harry and Ginny's children, and she enjoyed sharing stories of Scorpius. However, what she enjoyed the most was simply being back with her old friends. And another additional bonus was how well Harry and Draco got along. There was no needling or bringing up the past, they just started afresh and gave themselves a chance to see that if they so desired, they could get along and become real friends.

It was only over dessert that conversation drifted to the reason Hermione and Draco were even in England. It was a topic they'd managed to avoid all evening, but it was inevitable that sooner or later the subject of Scorpius and his kidnapping would raise its head.

"When do you think the trial will be set for?" Draco asked as they discussed the fact that the main instigator in Scorpius's ordeal had yet to face his punishment.

"As I said, it could be as far away as another year," Harry admitted with a sigh. "A full trial can last days, sometimes even weeks, and it's hard to gather the Wizengamot for that length of time. It was easy for them to clear a morning for the sentencing, but to preside over a full trial means each of them clearing their calendars to be available. Given the importance of some of the people on the Wizengamot, it's not easy for them to clear their schedule for so long, which is why it often takes to long to find a suitable window."

"I suppose it gives you time to prepare though," Ginny mused. "By the time the trial comes around, you can have an unbreakable case."

"To be fair, I think we've virtually got one of those now," Harry replied. "We've already got three convictions for the same crime on our books. Two of whom have confessed to Xavier's part in things. We then have all the additional evidence we found at his flat, not to mention what we can get from Bill and Lucius."

"Father is giving you additional evidence?" Draco questioned in surprise.

"The puzzle box," Harry explained. "Bill is well on his way to cracking which additional spells have been added to the box most recently. Once he knows that, we can check Xavier's wand and match them with spells he's cast. As for Lucius, he got in touch yesterday to say he found a mention of someone owning a box several generations ago. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but while it wasn't a Parkinson or a Goyle, Lucius did think it could be a relative of Pansy's mother. I've set a trace going, so if the box does lead back to Pansy's mother, it can then be linked with Xavier."

"Lucius did say he would find something in those old records," Hermione remarked. "Although I did think he'd given up as I haven't heard him mention them for a while."

"Father was never going to give up," Draco said. "Not where family in concerned."

"And that is why Scorpius is back where he belongs, because his family never gave up on him," Harry said with a smile. "And I am going to ensure that Xavier spends as long as possible in Azkaban for what he did to your son."

"It sounds like your case is rock solid," Hermione remarked.

"Oh, it gets better," Harry said with a sly smile. "I've applied to re-interview Xavier using Veriteserum."

"What good will that do? We already know what happened," Draco questioned.

"It'll be another nail in his coffin," Harry explained. "Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, he's choosing to plead not guilty. What sort of defence he can come up with is anyone's guess, so I want to make sure that he's not going to wriggle out of anything. As strong as our evidence is, the strongest evidence we can present is a confession under Veriteserum. With the evidence we've got, I'll be granted the interview, and I will be able to get his side of the story on everything. I can get him to admit everything, and since he'll be dosed with a truth potion, he than can't claim to be have coerced in any way. He will then have to get around his confession in court, and that will be impossible to manage."

"Can't his lawyer protest against the interview?" Ginny asked with a worried frown.

"He can, but his chances of winning are slim," Harry replied. "The evidence we've already got is more than enough to be granted the request. I'm confident it's enough to get a conviction, but as I said, I'm not taking any chances. If he wants to play games by going to an unnecessary trial, I'm going to be ready for the little shit, and I am going to throw everything I possibly can at him."

"Maybe he'll change his plea after the interview," Ginny suggested hopefully. "After all, who go to trial and plead not guilty when your confession will be aired in court?"

"I don't think this trial is about his guilt or innocence," Draco said quietly. "He's not at all repentant at what he's done. What he wants is his chance to stand there and blacken our family name. He wants to give his side of the story, and tell the world how terrible the Malfoys are. He wants to tell everyone how father ruined his life."

"Then I say we let him," Hermione announced fiercely. "Let him spread his twisted version of the truth. We can make sure the real truth comes out, and let people judge for themselves. If anyone honestly believes our son deserved to be kidnapped because his grandfather made the decision to turn over a new leaf and try and make amends for the past, then they are not worth knowing. But I would like to think that most people will be able to see that Scorpius was innocent, and he shouldn't have been punished for something he didn't do. And as for Lucius, maybe it's time the wider world found out just how much he sacrificed, and the danger he put himself in, to protect his family after the war. I hope that people who think like Xavier Goyle are few and far between."

"I would certainly like to think so," Harry agreed. "Now enough about deranged kidnappers. I want to know when we can have dinner again. I want this to be a regular thing, Hermione. I don't want to lose touch again."

"Neither do I," Hermione admitted. "But arranging a second dinner might be tricky as we'll be heading home in a few days."

"So soon?" Ginny questioned with a disappointed sigh.

"Our lives are in France," Hermione said gently. "When the healer comes to check on Alex tomorrow, Daphne is going to ask about him travelling back home. She wants to be settled back in at home long before the baby arrives. Besides, Draco and I have a business to run, as does Blaise. And Scorpius and Alex were also looking to do something in the hospitality industry. Last I heard they were talking opening a club or bar of some sort."

"Although us being in France doesn't have to be a massive barrier," Draco pointed out. "We are magical, and it takes us mere minutes to move countries. You can come over to us for dinner, or we can come here."

"Oh, I would rather like to see where you live," Ginny admitted.

"That settles it then," Hermione announced with a smile. "Once we're back home, the pair of you are coming over to us for dinner. You could maybe even stay the weekend, and we can show you the sights of Wizarding France."

"It's a date," Harry replied with a grin. "Just promise me one thing, Hermione. Don't leave before saying goodbye. This time you are not to run off to France without a backwards glance."

"It's a promise," Hermione vowed, smiling back at Harry, thrilled that despite the turmoil of the last few weeks, she'd emerged from it with something special. Once again she could class Harry Potter as one of her closet friends.