A/N - This piece is set the furthest into the future I've gone so far with this collection. However, it ties in with the piece before and as I said in my last Author's not, I wrote this and the previous piece together. But don't worry about the time jumps, I still have lots of ideas for both before and after the time this piece is set. Enjoy!
Anniversary Dinner.
When it came to celebrating their first wedding anniversary, Draco and Hermione had several choices as to how to mark the occasion. They debated going away for the weekend, or throwing a lavish party, or having a meal at a nice restaurant. But in the end, they decided to have a nice, quiet dinner for their close friends and family. Initially the meal was going to be held at their house, but when Narcissa had expressed her desire to be involved they'd agreed to let her host the evening on the understanding that she didn't go overboard.
Thankfully when it came to the evening in question, both Draco and Hermione were pleased to find that Narcissa had done as they requested and kept the evening low-key. Even the guest list was very selective, and only those closest to the couple were invited. However, there had been a couple of no-shows as Hermione's parents were on holiday and Ron had refused the invitation, citing work commitments. How much of that was true, Hermione wasn't sure as her friend still wasn't entirely comfortable with her choice of partner, and he certainly wasn't comfortable around Draco's parents. Thankfully, there was no such issue with Harry and he was present for dinner, along with Ginny. The other guests consisted of Draco's parents, Severus, and Blaise and Daphne.
Dinner was held in the large, formal dining room, only instead of the long rectangular table which normally graced the room, Narcissa had replaced it with a circular one. It meant that the evening felt much more intimate and it was easier to include everyone in the conversation. As always dinner at Malfoy Manor was spectacular, with several lavish courses being served to mark the occasion.
"Ron is really missing out here," Ginny chuckled as the main course of minted lamb cutlets was served.
"Why isn't Weasley here?" Blaise asked.
"Work commitments," Hermione replied, her tone revealing just how doubtful she was over the claims that Ron was too busy to attend her anniversary celebrations.
"Well, he's missing a good evening," Blaise replied. "Not to mention great food."
"Amidst all the greatness, I would like to propose a toast," Lucius announced. "To Draco and Hermione. Destined to be together since they were children."
"Children?" Draco questioned as everyone raised their glasses in a toast. "We were nearly seventeen when we got together."
"Technically, I was seventeen," Hermione said.
"Ah, but the buds of romance were sown so much earlier," Lucius said. "I can recall Draco mooning after Hermione as a twelve year old."
"Really?" Hermione looked at her husband in amusement, having never heard any mention of him noticing her as young as twelve.
"I can't recall this," Draco scowled, glaring in annoyance at his father.
"It was the summer before second year," Lucius reminded him, ignoring the looks he was receiving from his son. "We were getting your school supplies and we were in the bookshop the same time as Hermione and her friends. I caught you watching her."
"I wasn't watching her, I was merely looking where she was standing," Draco argued, causing a few people to chuckle.
"You were smitten," Lucius countered. "I could see it then, and I saw it again in your sixth year when I visited Severus during a Potions lesson. I saw the way the pair of you kept sneaking longing glances at each other."
"We did not," Hermione protested.
"Yes, you did," Blaise laughed.
"And not just in Potions," Harry added with a grin. "I wasn't in Potions with you, but I'd seen you in other lessons. The pair of you couldn't keep your eyes off each other."
"The whole school knew," Daphne supplied.
"Do you mean everyone was talking about us?" Draco questioned with a frown, not sure he liked the idea of being the topic of such gossip, even if it had been several years ago now.
"Not in a bad way," Blaise assured his friend. "People just wondered when you would get your act together and admit you liked each other."
"So that was why no-one was shocked when we got together," Hermione mused. "Aside from Ron, not one person was surprised."
"Ron wasn't surprised, he was just annoyed that something had finally happened between the pair of you," Ginny said. "He was hoping the pair of you were too stubborn to admit you liked each other."
"It took a while, but we got there in the end," Draco said, smiling at his wife.
"Thanks to me," Lucius crowed.
"You?" Draco frowned as everyone but Severus turned to look at Lucius in surprise.
"I suppose there's no point in hiding it now, but I got the pair of you together," Lucius announced with pride. "Following my visit to Hogwarts, when I saw you still had feelings for Hermione, and that she returned them, I masterminded a plan to bring you together so you could act on your feelings."
"But you didn't bring us together," Draco argued. "A sticky cupboard door trapped us together."
"Actually, that was my cunning assistant," Lucius said, smirking at Severus.
"You were involved?" Draco whirled to face his godfather, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. "You and father plotted to bring Hermione and I together."
"I plotted, Severus carried out my plan," Lucius corrected.
"I wasn't sure it would work, but I agreed it was worth a try," Severus admitted as all eyes turned to him to hear his side of the story. "Did neither of you ever wonder how the rest of the class managed to complete the potion they were making when you were sent off to find missing ingredients?"
"You hadn't let any younger students sort the cupboards, had you?" Draco demanded accusingly. "It was all a ruse."
"Of course it was a ruse," Severus snorted. "When have you ever seen my cupboard missing vital ingredients for a potion we're about to make? I just needed to get you into the larger cupboard, so I could trap you together for a short while."
"Well that is just the sneakiest thing I've ever heard," Draco pouted.
"That is the most Slytherin thing I've ever heard," Harry laughed. "I love it."
"Can you believe that?" Draco muttered to his wife as everyone begged Lucius and Severus for more details on how they had brought together the happy couple. "Now my father and Severus are taking credit for us being together."
"I guess they did push things along slightly," Hermione conceded. "But I think that even without their aid, we would have gotten there in the end."
"Do you think so?" Draco asked with a smile, feeling happier with the idea that he and Hermione would still have been together even without the interfering of Lucius and Severus.
"I know so," Hermione assured her husband as she returned his smile. "After all, what girl could have resisted the offer to ride your broomstick?"
"That offer is still open any time you want," Draco replied with a smirk. "You can ride it tonight if you want. All night."
"How about now?" Hermione teased with a smirk of her own.
"Now?" Draco hissed, his eyes widening. "Right this minute?"
"I was thinking in a couple of minutes," Hermione returned quietly, before she got to her feet and excused herself, claiming to need the bathroom.
As she exited the dining room, she looked back over her shoulder and gave Draco a saucy wink which almost had him bolting to his feet to chase after her. However, he managed to control himself and he waited a respectable half a minute before also rising to his feet and escaping the room by mentioning the need to use the bathroom. Not that anyone seemed to miss either Draco or Hermione as they were too busy congratulating Lucius and Severus on how sneaky they had been in bringing them together in the first place.
Stepping out of the dining room, Draco headed in the direction of the nearest bathroom, but before he was even halfway down the hallway, Hermione's hand reached out and dragged him into one of the lesser used rooms at the manor. Locking the door behind them, Draco and Hermione then proceeded to privately celebrate their wedding anniversary while further down the hallway the anniversary dinner continued without the guests of honour.