Chapter Text
01 August 2003
“To Blaise and Astoria!” Draco raised his glass, his friends mimicking his actions. “And a lifetime of happiness for you both.” The wizard in question smiled back at him in appreciation. Draco was truly happy for Blaise, he had never known anyone who was so genuinely in love as Blaise and Astoria were and this time next week the two of them would be married.
“Thanks, man!” Blaise volleyed back. It had been difficult to convince Blaise to let him plan a bachelor party but in the end, (and with the stipulation that Theo would have no part in planning it) he relented. It was quiet, hardly worth the title of a bachelor party and more just a group of friends at a bar having some drinks followed by a weekend at his chateau in France, which is why, when a certain young witch entered the bar, Draco had taken note. He had expected Theo to try something sneaky but so far, he had behaved, no strippers had arrived, no one had been in a fight, he hadn’t kidnapped Blaise and whisked him off to the Caribbean.
So of all the things Draco had expected to bear witness to that evening at his best friend’s bachelor party, watching war heroine, Hermione Granger bounce a witch's face off a table a measly two minutes after entering the bar had not been one of them. The crunch of the blonde’s face had been nauseatingly loud and naturally captured the attention of their little group as well as over half of the other patrons.
“Is that... Hermione Granger?” Theo seemed far too entertained with the scene before them, his eyes lighting up with glee.
“It seems so.” Draco sipped on his fire whiskey. Blood was covering the blonde’s face and for a few minutes, the two women appeared to be in some heated debate. Despite the drama that had occurred over the past few minutes it was short-lived and the blonde hastily exited the bar through the floo, no doubt to St Mungo’s, the bar settled once more and Draco had turned his attention back to his group.
“I still don’t think it’s fair that Draco got to plan this shindig,” Theo grumbled.
“If you had planned it, I might not have a wife next week,” Blaise smirked back.
Theo lit up his cigarette with a smirk. “I resent that statement. Speaking of which, who did Astoria choose as her bridesmaids again and are any of them single?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Blaise gave a hearty laugh. “Daphne and Millicent.”
“Yikes.” Theo sighed.
Gregory snorted into his glass “You never know mate, they might have moved on?”
Draco and Blaise laughed loudly. “They definitely have not,” Blaise smirked at their curly-haired friend.
Theo exhaled several large smoke rings, his eyes glistening with delight. “You accidentally charm a witch’s robes see-through one time and suddenly you’re an asshole.”
“You are an asshole, and it was two witches, three times.” Draco retorted.
“It was a small prank, like five years ago. You would think they would have learnt to check after the first time and definitely after the second. Anyway, it’s not like anyone saw anything, it was only the top layer and I nearly got expelled. I had detention for a month.”
“In any case, I’m pretty sure if you try anything they will likely hex your balls off,” Blaise warned with a shrug.
“Can’t say I wouldn’t enjoy that. I’ll go get us another round.” Theo laughed standing and wandering off into the crowd.
“I can say I would enjoy witnessing it.” Gregory joked after he had gone.
“I think we would all enjoy witnessing that.” Draco chuckled, placing his glass on the table between them. He observed Blaise. There were no signs of doubt in his friend’s expression and for the first time he wondered how it would feel to be so certain of tying yourself to someone forever.
“Look who I ran into,” Theo said when returning a few moments later with a tray of shots and whiskeys with Hermione Granger at his side.
“Zabini. I hear congratulations are in order.” She drawled. “I would say don’t do it but I have met Astoria and she’s lovely, you’re a lucky man.”
“Granger. Should I congratulate you in return, that was quite the performance earlier?” Blaise eyed her with a smirk. Hermione was a few drinks deep already, she gave a nonchalant shrug.
“Cheating on me is easy, but trying to kiss her while she’s got no teeth and a split lip isn’t.” Hermione threw back a shot of tequila.
“Damn Granger.” Theo laughed, handing her a glass of whiskey. “How Slytherin of you.”
This certainly wasn’t the girl he remembered going to Hogwarts with, the controlled bookworm who lived by the rules. Though he supposed it had been half a decade since he had seen her last, he had certainly changed in that time, it was only fair to assume she had too. Yet this version of her seemed wild, she had always been this conservative swot type but now she wore a dress that barely made her mid-thigh, a leather jacket, heels, long dangly chains hung between her cleavage, her hair hung loose around her shoulder in curls.
It was unsettling and too stark a contrast for his brain to bridge the difference between this version of Granger who was evidently a grown woman and the girl from school. Draco tried to recall who Hermione had been dating, he knew it hadn’t been Weasley, he remembered an article in The Prophet a year or two ago about his and Luna Lovegood’s wedding. He vaguely recalled a conversation he had overheard a few months ago about her and Oliver Wood at the ministry but he hadn’t been overly interested at the time so he couldn’t say with certainty that it was in regards to a romantic relationship. Frankly, if he had never seen the witch again he wouldn’t have cared. He had indeed changed in his time since the war but she was a reminder of a much darker time in his life that he would much rather forget.
“My condolences.” Blaise offered up.
Hermione shrugged again. “It is what it is.”
A beeping from Draco’s watch alerted them that the portkey that would take them to his estate in France was now active. Draco pulled the handkerchief with the small music box inside out and unwrapped it, placing it on the table between them. The group downed their drinks and Hermione, as always being astute in her observations, followed suit. “Well, enjoy your evening lads, Congratulations again Zabini.”
Draco eyed his watch as he counted down, the four of them hovering their hand over it in preparation. “In five, four, three, two, one.”
A strong tugging sensation pulled through his navel and away from the bar.
02 August 2003
His head felt like it was about to split open, beyond his closed eyes the room was far too bright. A groan escaped his lips. Try as he might, Draco could not recall a single explanation for the throbbing in his head. The bar was the last thing he could remember, though somewhat foggy now. His throat struggled to swallow, his mouth was painfully dry.
An annoyed groan came from beside him followed by “Oh my lord, would you shut up I’m trying to sleep.”
That was enough for his eyes to snap open because he knew that voice. He stared in wide-eyed horror, his brain trying to process the sight before him. Despite his thumping head, Draco recoiled from the bed at a speed that nearly made him sick. He was still staring at the witch in the bed who was now frowning with annoyance. “Oh my god, what is your problem?” she snapped, her own eyes fluttering open and landing on him. It seemed her own feelings on the matter matched his as a shriek filled the room, followed by her tumbling onto the floor on the other side of the bed taking the blankets with her.
“Granger?!” He exclaimed. “What the hell are you doing here?!”
“Me?! What the hell are you doing here?!” her head popped up above the bed. Another shriek and she disappeared again. “Oh my god, you’re naked!” A moment of silent dread before her shrill cries filled the air again. “Oh my god, I’m naked!”
Draco launched forward and grabbed a pillow to cover himself. This was not good, his heart began pounding, and he tried again desperately to recall anything that might have led him to this moment. He couldn’t even place this room. It certainly wasn’t one from his estate in France. How long had it been since the bar?
The double doors to the room flew open again and there in the doorway stood a man who was no doubt to blame for this. He didn’t know how but he was certain it was all his fault.
“You.” He growled out.
Theo smiled looking far too pleased with himself. “Good morning Malfoy’s. I’ve brought gifts for the happy couple.”
Draco frowned “What the hell are you talking about? What happened Theodore? What did you do?” Venom dripped from his voice, his friend however seemed unfazed.
An ear-splitting screech came from the other side of the bed and Hermione shot up to her feet, the blanket wrapped tightly around her, she was looking in horror at her hand. She looked over at the pillow currently covering his genitals and let out another screech.
“Oh for fuck sake, stop screaming!” he snapped at her. If her mouth hung open like that for much longer she would no doubt swallow a fly. Draco observed that she finally seemed to have fallen into shocked silence but the pleasure that brought was short-lived when she lifted her hand, the sunlight glistened off of a large shiny jewel on her ring finger.
His eyes fell in terror to the hand holding the pillow in front of him. There on his ring finger was a platinum-coloured band.
“I’ve brought you both some hangover remedies, then if you two aren’t in a rush to fornicate again, you should probably get dressed, I need your help.” Theo tossed a vial towards each of them, Draco instinctively caught it, while Hermione’s fell softly onto the bed. She was still staring in horror at the ring on her hand.
“Help you?!” Draco snapped. “I’m going to murder you. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell happened!”
Theo shrugged with a smirk. “Suit yourself but I don’t think that Astoria will be very happy with that, given that I don’t remember about ninety-two per cent of last night and I seem to have misplaced Blaise and Gregory.”