Draco Malfoy considered himself to be a gentleman. He didn’t leer over women, he kept his hands to himself in busy lifts, he treated his female co-workers with the utmost respect. He berated Cormac McLaggen for being a creepy arsehole at the Ministry Christmas party, not letting his behaviour slide or accepting the firewhiskeys he’d had as some sort of excuse for forcing himself on several witches throughout the night. If he found a woman attractive, he’d just be a bit friendlier than he was generally inclined to be, perhaps he’d buy her a coffee in the canteen, ask her if she fancied grabbing dinner one of these days. He’d take rejection in his stride, no harm no foul.
Then Hermione Granger knocked on his office door wearing a very tight pencil skirt and he struggled to have any sort of coherent thoughts at all. They’d found an amicable working relationship over the years, after they’d ended up working on several projects together with their respective departments’ jurisdiction overlapping. After the war, it hadn’t taken much for Draco to realise blood status and pureblood supremacy was a load of bullshit, but Granger was largely the catalyst for his realisation. He’d seen her blood drip onto the Manor floor, as ruby red as his own, and it couldn’t be argued that she wasn’t a talented witch, in fact she was arguably the most talented of their generation, so it just felt stupid to try and cling to something that was so obviously meaningless. Once he’d pulled his head out of his arse, he’d realised just how much they had in common. She was funny, more witty than he’d ever realised, and of course, blindingly intelligent. She wiped the floor with everyone in her department, rising to department head within a few short years. Somewhere in his brain, he’d known she was pretty, but it wasn’t until The Day Of The Skirt that he realised she was beautiful. He’d fallen hard and fast after that day, and was content to admire her from afar, not daring to imagine she’d ever want anything to do with him, but as it turned out, she liked him back. He would never have known if it hadn’t been for his oldest friend, Theo Nott, throwing himself a birthday party. Theo was annoying, arrogant, horrendously sarcastic, and the most loyal friend he’d ever had. He’d hidden himself away during their Hogwarts years, despite knowing each other since they were babies, and hadn’t really had much to do with Draco and his gang of elitist bullies. Theo had never really bought into any of it in the same way Draco had, and so had kept to himself, quietly getting on with his studies whilst Draco laid into the Golden Trio. After the war, with so many of his friends and peers dead, he’d reached out to Theo, and they’d more or less picked up where they left off, with Theo ensuring that Draco would never fall back into old habits or ways of thinking. At Theo’s party, Granger had been in the same bar by complete coincidence, and he’d jumped at the chance to talk to her. They’d shared a kiss outside of the toilets, which had been more romantic than it sounded, and the rest was history. The only thing about their relationship that caused him slight unease was the fact that they’d kept it a secret from everyone. He had been worried that his past would hold her back, that she would be tarnished if she was publicly linked to him, and whilst she’d told him that she couldn’t care less about any of that, she did want to keep it just between them for a while. Her whole life had been plastered across the pages of the Prophet, and she wanted something just for herself for a bit. Draco hadn’t been able to argue with that, and so here they were, eight ridiculously happy months later, and they still hadn’t told anyone. It was the prospect of moving in together that had them questioning their pact of secrecy. She would struggle to explain away the sudden appearance of another person’s belongings in her house, which Draco was moving into rather than her moving into the Manor. He hadn’t even raised that as an option. Even if Narcissa didn’t live there, he wouldn’t make her live in the house she’d been tortured in. She hadn’t asked about it either, so he was content to carry on as they were.
He’d had several coded conversations with Theo about this. His friend was also in the early stages of his first serious relationship, but refused to reveal who with, so they often chatted for hours in the pub about their secret romances.
“I don’t understand how you’ve found a woman that doesn’t want to live in an actual Manor.” Theo said incredulously, sipping his beer.
“I mean, I’d rather not live with my mother for the rest of my life, but even if she wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have been right to ask her to do that. There’s too much history in that building.”
“So you, the Malfoy heir, are going to live in a normal peasant house?”
“It’s hardly a peasant house, Theo. It’s nice, I like it there. It’s much more of a home than the Manor ever was.” He answered honestly. Granger’s house wasn’t small by any means, and there was plenty of space for them both. Any house would be small if you compared it to the Manor, which was a vast sprawling maze of unused, empty rooms. Every room in Granger’s house was filled with warmth, and had a purpose. He loved it.
“Will I get to see it before you marry this mystery woman, or will we forever be destined to meet in dodgy alleys? Is she going to walk down the aisle with a bag on her head?” He smirked, clearly enjoying the mental image he’d conjured.
“It’s complicated. She wanted to keep this just for us, for now, and I agreed, but it’s been nearly a year. I mean, I get why she’s nervous. I can’t imagine a scenario where meeting her friends goes well.” He dragged a hand through his blonde hair.
“You’ll just have to dazzle them with your natural charm and hope they weren’t paying too much attention during the war.” He resisted the urge to scoff. Granger’s friends knew exactly what he’d done in the war, there would be no hiding.
“What about you, anyway? Why are you hiding your bloke?”
“Same reasons as you, I imagine. I want this to work, and if I meet his friends, shit will hit the fan, no doubt about it. I may not be the great Draco Malfoy, but I’m still a pureblood slytherin who was on the wrong side of the war. I don’t want to cause him problems.”
“Theo, as much as I don’t want to bolster your already huge ego, it’s impossible not to like you. You’ve been dating this man for six months, he can’t have a problem with you. Just talk to him about it. Merlin, if my girlfriend can forgive me of all people, there must be hope for us all.”
Theo was quiet for a moment, nodding slightly. He took a long drink of his beer, and then looked back at Draco.
“What if we started just us? I could bring him to meet you, you could convince your lovely witch to come too? Baby steps. If you’re moving in with her, you’re going to need to go public sooner or later. As you say, I’m a delight, I’ll charm her with my handsome smile. I’d wager she’ll like my boyfriend, too, if I was a betting man.” He smiled, but Draco knew him well enough to know that he was nervous about the favour he’d just asked.
“I’ll talk to her about it, but I’m making no promises. She doesn’t know you at all, and she might not want you to be the first person to find out. She’s very close with her best friends, and they don’t know anything. I will ask though, mate.”
“Thank you. We aren’t serious often, but I do appreciate it.”
“Merlin, look at us, having adult conversations.” Draco smirked, and Theo laughed.
“Adult conversations sounds like something sordid. As flattered as I am, I wasn’t actually inviting you into a foursome.”
“You’re the worst, Theo.”
***
“I really like him, Mione.” Harry said, staring into his coffee. “I didn’t expect to, but it just feels right, you know?”
“I’m so happy you found someone, Harry.” Hermione smiled softly, genuinely pleased for her friend.
He’d come out shortly after splitting up with Ginny, and their split had put unintended pressure on her own relationship with Ron. In a few short weeks, Hermione and Harry found themselves estranged from the Weasleys almost entirely. It had left her with an empty sort of feeling inside, and whilst she had never ever thought that void would be filled by Draco Malfoy, she couldn’t be happier with her life now. She spent a lot of time mulling over how she would tell Harry about her boyfriend of eight months. Hermione Granger was nothing if not a planner, and whenever she imagined the meeting, she could only picture it going badly. She couldn’t lose Harry, but letting Draco go made her feel sick to her stomach. She just needed more time to work out how to keep both of them. It sort of helped assuage her guilt as Harry had been equally coy in giving her details of his love life, also keeping his partner’s identity a secret until he felt it was the right time for them to meet. She often wondered why he felt this necessary, as she highly doubted Harry was in a similar situation to the one she’d found herself in.
“I’ve been thinking about asking him if he wants to live together.” Harry said, and Hermione smiled broadly.
“Oh, Harry, that’s wonderful. Would he move in with you, or you with him? Or are you thinking of finding somewhere new?” She’d had this exact conversation with Draco before they’d decided he would move in with her, so she understood how complex a decision it was.
“His house is, er, ancestral, so I don’t know if he’d want to leave it. Honestly, I have no idea where he’d stand on the idea, so I guess I just need to ask him. I know Grimmauld isn’t exactly the most welcoming of places.”
“You could do it up together, though, if you wanted to make it a proper home. And if his house was left to him by a relative, then you could keep both if you wanted to. As you say, you just need to talk to him about it.”
“What happened with your bloke? Has he sold his house to live with you?”
Hermione laughed on impulse. As if Draco would have sold Malfoy Manor. She steeled herself at Harry’s confused face, realising he wouldn’t understand what she found so funny.
“No, um, his mother still lives in their house. It’s pretty big so they’re keeping it in their family, to pass on I guess. Like you said, it’s ancestral. But he didn’t want me moving in there, I don’t think. There’s plenty of space but it wouldn’t feel like home for either of us.”
“I get that. How did we both land rich men with property, Mione? Look at us, set for life.” They both laughed, and she took another sip of her coffee.
“You think he’s the one then? For life?”
“I do, honestly. And you?”
“Yeah, he is. I’ve not felt like this with anyone before. It’s different.” She said, smiling softly.
“I want to meet him at some point, you know. You can’t hide him forever.”
“Only if you return the favour, Harry. We can do double dates.” She laughed, imagining Draco Malfoy on a double date with Harry Potter, and wondering how her life had turned out this way.
“Ha, sure. Right, I’ve got a meeting in a few minutes. See you, Mione.” He hugged her awkwardly as she was still sitting, and rushed off to the lift. She often wondered how someone as unorganised as Harry was also a department head, but she knew he worked hard and had earned his position, just as she had. She downed the rest of her coffee, and headed back upstairs, knowing she had a meeting of her own. She knew he’d be early as well, so she raced down the corridor to his office to beat him to it.
She walked straight into his office, not waiting to be invited in. He never did when he came to her office, so she stopped extending the courtesy, knowing he wouldn’t mind.
“You could have knocked. What if I’d been engaged in an illicit affair? At least give me time to hide my lover in the cupboard.” Theo Nott berated her, his tone light showing he was joking. He smiled at her, putting his quill down on the desk.
“I do apologise for interrupting, Theo. I should have known you’d be shagging on company time.” She shot back, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded.
“Walk with me? I’ve got a meeting in a second with my incredibly fit boss.” He said, offering his arm. She took it and scoffed.
“How do you have the energy to be like this all the time? It must be exhausting.”
“Practice, I suppose.” He replied, holding open the door to the meeting room. “After you, my lady.” He swept a dramatic arm behind her, and she rolled her eyes. She loved Theo, she really did, but he was a lot. He’d bounced around a few departments before he’d arrived in hers, and she’d promoted him quickly, recognising how others had been wasting his potential. They’d kept him in low admin roles because of the lingering prejudice surrounding those with dark marks, but Hermione had refused to let that stand. She didn’t really know Theo well, she hadn’t actually realised they’d been in the same Hogwarts year because he’d been so quiet, but it became obvious very quickly that he was willing to work hard if given the opportunity, so she did exactly that. As she got to know him, she found that he was anything but quiet, he lit up a room the moment he entered, and his positive energy was infectious. She liked having him around, and her department was one of the most efficient in the Ministry with him as her second in command.
“So, this month’s numbers.” He accio’d several files, and they got down to business, spreading them across the large table in the centre of the room.
***
“It’s not Goyle, is it?” Hermione shouted from the kitchen, pouring the boiling water into the two cups.
“It isn’t Goyle, no.” Draco replied, scoffing slightly. He hadn’t spoken to Goyle in years, the man had been a bigger blood supremacist than he had. He shuddered to think what had become of him. “You’ll like him, I promise.” He said, taking the cup of tea from her as she sat down next to him on their sofa, placing it on the coffee table.
“Why does it have to be a surprise? You’ve got secrets on top of secrets here, Malfoy.” She smirked, sipping her tea from her green mug. His own was red, as she found great joy in swapping their house colours in innocuous situations such as this.
“Look, he went to Hogwarts with us, and I don’t know if you interacted much, but I don’t want you to have preconceptions. He was never as bad as I was, but he’s still a slytherin. I just want you to give him a fair shot, that’s all. He’s the nicest person I know.”
“Nicer than me?” She kicked him with a socked foot, and he grabbed her ankle, dragging her feet into his lap.
“Yes, absolutely. You could take him easily in a fight, I have no doubt about it.”
“You know what I think? I think you’re nervous about meeting his secret boyfriend, and so by not telling me who your friend is, you gain more control over the situation.” She said in her best know-it-all voice that he’d come to love rather than hate in the last few months.
“You think you know everything, don’t you?” He smirked at her, and she nodded.
“Yes.”
He laughed, dropping her feet to reach for his tea. “You don’t know him. I guarantee it.”
“Is it Zabini?”
“No. Very much not gay either, seeing as he’s dating Pansy. Stop guessing, I won’t tell you.”
“I’m running out of people that I know you were friends with in school. Is it Crabbe’s ghost?”
“Merlin, woman. Yes, we are meeting the ghost of Vince Crabbe for dinner so he can introduce both of us to his boyfriend, that is what’s happening tonight.” He said in a flat tone, and she laughed.
“Fun. I’ve not been to a seance before.” She sipped her tea nonchalantly. He smiled at her, love in his eyes.
“You don’t need to be nervous, I promise. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought it would go badly.”
“It’s just, he isn’t, you know. Is my blood status going to be a problem?” She stuttered, and he moved closer to her, putting her mug on the table so he could hold her hands.
“I would not, and will never, deliberately put you in a situation where you aren’t respected. I don’t fraternise with blood supremacists anymore. Unless you count my father, but he is in Azkaban, so I wouldn’t count that, personally.”
She nodded, shuffling her legs so she could lean into his side. “I know. I’m just nervous to meet someone from your past. I know this is important to you, I don’t want to come between you and your friends.”
“Merlin, Hermione. If he had a problem with you, which I can guarantee he won’t, then it would be him I’d cut off, not you. Never you. That will never be a choice, ok?” He placed a kiss on her temple, and she sighed.
“Ok. Sorry, I just want this to go well. After tonight, people will know about us. That’s big, you know?”
“I know. Never apologise for feeling like this, it’s entirely valid. I don’t know who his boyfriend is, but I trust the judgement of my friend to not date a complete arsehole. If it turns out that he’s been thinking with his dick and not his brain, then we leave. Simple as that.”
“Which was it for you, when we started dating?” She smirked up at him, and he laughed.
“Heart. Obviously.”
“Oh, Merlin, that’s entirely too saccharine a thing to say. Be mean to me, fix it please.”
“Your hair looks like a nest.”
“Good. Balance is important.” He snorted, and pulled her closer, leaning his head on top of hers.
“I love you, Hermione. Really quite a lot, actually.”
“I love you too. It’s inconvenient how much I love you. Disturbs my day to day schedule.”
“Sorry about that.”
“I forgive you.”
“Your hair doesn’t actually look like a nest.” He whispered, and she sighed heavily.
“You’re dreadfully soppy these days, Draco Malfoy.” She kissed him on the crown of his head, and stood, taking their mugs to the kitchen.
“It’s entirely your fault, my love.” He followed her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.
“How long do we have before our mystery dinner?” She turned around in his arms, placing her palms against his chest.
“Two hours.”
“Oh, good.” She said simply, grabbing his hand and leading him to their bedroom. “Plenty of time then.”
***
She pulled on her favourite pair of jeans, and paired them with one of her work blouses, aiming for smart casual, going off Draco’s description of the place they were eating. Her mind was running at a million miles an hour, rammed full of questions. She was fifteen minutes away from the first time she would introduce herself as Draco’s girlfriend, and to two perfect strangers on top of that. He’d assured her that her blood status wouldn’t be a problem, but she couldn’t help but worry about it, knowing the sort of people he’d hung around with in school. She could handle herself, but she didn’t want Draco to be forced to lose another friend. Not when he’d lost so much already.
“Ready?” He stuck his head through the bedroom door, their coats draped over his arm. He was wearing a black shirt and trousers, a classic Draco Malfoy outfit, regardless of occasion. The man didn’t know what casual meant, and didn’t care to know. She’d be lying if she said she minded.
“Yeah, let’s go.” She replied, running her hands over her hair, subconsciously.
“You look beautiful, Granger. Don’t worry about it.” He kissed her on the cheek, and then held out her coat for her to take. She smiled, and they made their way outside to the apparition point. She took his arm without having to ask, having developed the habit over the months they’d been together, and took a deep breath.
The restaurant was warm and inviting, and she ventured inside, Draco holding the door for her. She glanced around the room, and turned back to Draco, as only he knew who he was looking for. They handed in their coats in the cloakroom, and he held out his hand for her to take. He led her through the restaurant, having already spotted his friend due to the height advantage he had on Hermione.
“Hey mate. So, um, this is-”
“Theo?” Hermione said, moving around Draco to see her curly haired co-worker.
“Hermione?” He said, standing, and pulling her into a hug.
“Wait, you know each other?” Draco asked, looking between the two of them.
“She’s my boss, mate, but, no hang on. You’re dating this lanky sack of shit?” Theo turned to Hermione, smiling broadly. “You did not pull Hermione fucking Granger I refuse to believe it.” He said to Draco, punching him in the arm.
“Merlin, to think I was nervous about this. I didn’t realise you were friends?” Hermione said, taking a seat opposite Theo after he sat down. Draco was blinking rapidly, as if he wasn’t believing what he was seeing.
“Since birth, unfortunately. He’s never mentioned me?” Theo said, tilting his head towards Draco. Hermione was struggling not to burst out laughing. What were the odds of Draco’s best friend being Theo, of all people.
“He hasn’t. Draco, are you alright?” She placed a hand on his arm and he finally seemed to wake up.
“Er, yeah, sorry. Why didn’t I know you worked together?”
“Didn’t come up.” Theo shrugged, and then stilled. “Oh Merlin’s fucking ballsack.” His eyes went wide.
“What?” Hermione asked, taking in his sudden change in demeanour.
“Oh it’s like Christmas. This night is going down in history. Oh, I cannot wait for this.” He was practically vibrating in his seat, looking between Hermione and Draco excitedly.
“Where’s your date? He didn’t bail on us?” Draco asked, and Theo giggled - the grown man actually giggled.
“Nope, he’s just late, as he usually is. Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet him. I might die.” He clapped his hands, still laughing.
“Why are you so pleased, Theo, you’re being weird.” Draco said, and Hermione glanced at him, one eyebrow raised.
“You’ll see. This might be the best day of my life, actually, all things considered. Truly, the universe has blessed me.” He pressed his hands to his cheeks, still beaming like a psychopath. It had Hermione wondering who his boyfriend could possibly be for him to be acting like this.
“Do I know him, Theo?” She asked, eyes narrowing. He chuckled again.
“You could say that.” He answered cryptically, and she turned to Draco, who shrugged. Theo stood suddenly, apparently signifying the arrival of their mystery guest.
“Hiya, sorry I’m late, my meeting ran over. I’m Ha- Merlin’s beard.” Harry said, jaw dropping. Draco dropped his head into his hands whilst Hermione sprung up from her seat.
“You’re dating Theo? Theo is who you’ve been telling me about all this time?!” She felt like her brain was melting into useless goop, pouring out of her ears.
“Yeah, I am- wait, you're dating Malfoy? Malfoy, Mione?!”
Theo giggled gleefully. Draco hadn’t moved, and seemed to be muttering to himself.
“Merlin, Harry. I should have guessed, all that about ancestral property.” She shook her head, pulling her best friend into a tight hug.
“You cannot talk to me about ancestral property when the house you’ve been telling me about is Malfoy bloody Manor, Mione.” He laughed into her shoulder. She pulled away, and turned to look at Draco.
“Draco, are you alright?” He looked up at her, face red.
“Theo, how the fuck are you dating Potter?” He asked his friend, who had pulled Harry into a hug of his own. “And why did you not think to tell me this information before now?”
“You’re about to move in with the Golden Girl herself, don’t pull that shit with me, mate.” He replied, pulling Harry down into the chair next to him. Hermione sat down, laughing as she took in the three men she was sitting with.
“You know, Draco, you were right. I don’t think your friend and his boyfriend will have a problem with me after all.” She joked, nudging him with her shoulder. He gaped at her.
“Mmm, I agree. Theo, I’m feeling much better about this now.” Harry added, and Theo beamed at him. “I think we broke Malfoy, though.” Nodding his head towards the blonde wizard, who was still having trouble forming full sentences.
“Fuck me.” Draco mumbled, covering his face with his hands. Hermione laughed, and wrapped her arms around him, as best she could with them both sitting in separate chairs.
“When did this happen then, Harry? I see Theo every day and he’s never felt like mentioning it.” Hermione said, rocking Draco slightly before releasing him. He felt unsteady, like he might fall over at any minute.
“He was worried about what people might think, seeing as I am who I am. I told him I didn’t care, but he’s stubborn.” Harry replied, smiling at Theo, who was suddenly very interested in inspecting his fork.
“We have found ourselves in very similar situations, Harry Potter. You realise that, don’t you?”
“It’s becoming more apparent, yes. Malfoy, are you actually alright? You look very pale.”
“That’s just his usual shade, Harry, don’t worry too much.” Theo replied, and Draco glared at him.
“Am I awake?” Draco turned to Hermione, who tried her very best not to laugh at him. She patted his cheek twice, and nodded.
“Very much so, I’m afraid. Are you going to be normal now?” He scowled at her, before taking a deep breath and turning back to Harry and Theo.
“I would like to apologise for my behaviour so far, I was entirely unprepared for this.” He gestured vaguely about the table, pointing between Theo and Harry and then Hermione and himself. Theo snorted at his friend.
“How the mighty Draco Malfoy has fallen. If you could acknowledge my boyfriend now, mate, I’d appreciate it.” Theo said, observing that Draco hadn’t actually done so yet. Draco nodded once, and deliberately turned to face the wizard sitting opposite him.
“Hello Potter. It’s been a while.”
“So it has, Malfoy. How have you been?” Harry replied, matching Draco’s tone. Theo reached for Hermione’s hand across the table and she grabbed it, doing her best not to laugh at the stilted conversation. This became harder when she met Theo’s eye, and saw he was also in the same boat.
Theo snorted again, and squeezed her hand.
“Hermione, perhaps you’d like to join me in getting some drinks from the bar?” He suggested, and she nodded, turning to smile at Harry, who was also enjoying Draco’s discomfort from the look on his face. Draco was staring at her with pleading eyes, begging her silently not to leave him, but she simply smiled, mirth sparkling in her eyes, and took Theo’s offered arm before making her way to the bar.
***
Draco had been under the impression that Hermione loved him, but clearly she just wanted to see him suffer, as he watched her walk away, leaving him alone with the Chosen One himself.
He groaned, and Potter laughed.
“This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions, Malfoy.” Potter commented, leaning back in his chair.
“You know, I couldn’t agree more, Potter.”
“Do I need to give you the hurt-her-and-I-hurt-you speech, or are we past that at this point?” He asked, smiling.
“Only if I give you the same one back. Theo’s been my best friend since we were very small kids, he’s the best person I know.”
“That’s fair. It seems we’re in agreement, then. I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to imagine you willingly giving up the Manor to live in Mione’s tiny house.”
“I’d never make her live in the Manor, Potter, and you’re more than aware of the reasons why. And her house isn’t tiny, I happen to like it there.” He sniffed, pulling on his shirt sleeve.
“That surprises me, I’ll be honest. Is it alright if I ask you a personal question?”
“Potter, I suspect we’re going to be forced to do this fairly regularly from now on, so you may as well ask me whatever you like now. Get it all out of the way, and then we can settle into safe conversation about quidditch or the Ministry canteen food.”
“Fair enough. Straight into it then, you bullied Mione for years. You wanted her dead. What changed?”
“I never wanted her dead. Not once. That was all bullshit and bravado. You have to understand that for both me and Theo, our whole lives we’ve been raised with pureblood ideals drilled into us. It was only once we entered the real world that we saw the truth. Theo saw it much quicker than me, I’ll admit, but once the doubt crept in, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. Hermione is a brilliant witch, you know that better than anyone, and I just couldn’t carry on pretending that I was somehow more worthy of having magic than her when she could wipe the floor with me, or anyone, without breaking a sweat. Once those beliefs were gone, I saw her for who she is, and I couldn’t not fall for her.”
“I appreciate you being honest with me, Malfoy. When Theo said he wanted me to meet his best friend, I was worried it would be someone who he’d been friends with in school. As it turns out, I was completely right, but I’m not worried about it anymore. Hermione cannot speak more highly of you, and I trust her completely, so I have to believe that you’ve changed. I’m not wrong, am I?”
“Hermione is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Potter. I plan on spending my life righting all my wrongs, making up for everything I said or did to her. I’d like to apologise to you, as well, if you’d let me. Theo has always been there for me, and he’s incredibly serious about you, so we need to get to a point where we’re alright, for both of their sakes.”
“I’m sorry about what happened in the prefect’s bathroom. I didn’t know what that spell did, and I wouldn’t have used it, not even on you at the time, if I’d known. I’m glad you were alright in the end. Your turn.” He smirked, and Draco felt it was a very slytherin facial expression for Potter to have. Clearly, he’d been spending too much time with Theo.
“I’m sorry for the way I treated you, Hermione, and Weasley. I’d like to say that I didn’t mean any of it, but I did, because I was so focused on making my father proud that I didn’t stop to think about my actions. I know now that I was on the wrong side of the war, and I’ll be forever grateful that you defeated Voldemort so that I could have the opportunity to be here now, in a better place. I’d do anything for Hermione, and that includes swallowing my pride and being civil with you, so for the benefit of her and also Theo, do you reckon we could be something approaching friends, Potter?”
“I think we could, Malfoy.” He nodded once, and Draco returned the gesture. A lengthy pause made the awkward silence feel very loud. “So the Magpies are doing well, huh?” Potter said suddenly, and Draco almost sighed in relief.
***
“He won’t be happy about this.” Theo said as they hid behind the column, spying on their partners.
Hermione laughed quietly. “I’ll get a full blown rant when I’m home. Pacing, huffing, the whole lot.”
“I’m happy for you, though. You’re both dreadfully similar, I’ve always thought that.” He said, turning to her.
“Harry’s always had a type. You’re very much within it, Theo. You look good together. It makes sense in my head, I think.”
“And you’ll drag Draco on double dates with us?” He asked, mischief glinting in his eyes.
“Oh, absolutely. I’m going to make that man suffer.” She grinned, and Theo laughed.
“As I said, dreadfully similar. Come on, it seems like they’ve given up on the awkward stuff and are onto quidditch. Let’s go and make it awkward again, you don’t get opportunities like this every day.” He pulled her after him, and Hermione continued to laugh. She couldn’t help but think that her life was probably going to be filled with a fair amount of that now. As she sat down, she kissed Draco on the temple. His eyes betrayed his panic, but she could see he was trying. He’d get there eventually. She shared a smirk with Harry, and knew that everything would be alright.