A/N: I simply couldn't stop from writing yet another chronicle in this family's life. This one takes place many years before "The Anniversary." There's a bit of a lemon embedded within! I don't think I'm great at writing lemons, but I hope I did it justice.

….

"Blaise! Are you ready? We're going to be late if you spend any more time primping." Hermione called from her dressing table where she was just pinning a sapphire stud into her ear.

A muffled reply came through the doors leading to the ensuite where her husband was currently primping himself for the party at the Malfoy's home. Smoothing down the navy-blue fabric of her ball gown, Hermione rose from the dressing table and pushed open the doors to see her husband half dressed, his dark hair in a perfect coif, and a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.

"For the love of Hufflepuff," she swore eyeing her husband's disheveled appearance as she sashayed past the man and retrieved his dress robes, a crisp white shirt, and his navy vest from their shared closet. Not that she didn't enjoy seeing her husband in various stages of undress but they were on the verge of no longer being fashionably late but merely rudely late. She gave herself half a second to admire his sculpted, tanned chest, before helping him into the clothing he should've already been wearing as he wiped his mouth with a towel.

As she buttoned his shirt, he cupped her cheek with his hand and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Relax, Mrs. Zabini, we'll be out the door before you know it."

"No thanks to you," Hermione muttered under her breath as she secured the last button. Blaise could see the tension in her shoulders. If there was one thing his wife hated above all other things, it was being late.

Blaise laughed heartily and gently nuzzled Hermione's nose with his before firmly kissing her on the mouth, his hands ghosting over her bare shoulders. "Relax, tesoro." He emphasized again, using his favorite pet name for her. "Draco and Tori will forgive us if we're late."

Hermione released a breath with a resigned sigh and wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "I just…"

"I know, my love." Blaise interrupted as he drew his arms tightly around his petite wife, knowing exactly what she was going to say. They were both anxious to see their closest friends who had been out of the country for the past month visiting Astoria's family in France.

The couple held one another close for a moment before Blaise finished dressing for the ball they were attending that evening. After adjusting his formal dress robes over his suit, he took a moment to admire his wife. She was a picture of loveliness in her navy-blue ball gown. Layer upon layer of chiffon skimmed her hips as it flared out from her waist pooling gracefully at her feet. The bodice of her gown was decorated with thousands of tiny dark blue, black, and silver crystals which ended just at the curve of her neck, though her shoulders were left bare. The resemblance of the bodice to the night sky was made more apparent when he realized several of the silver crystals were arranged as constellations. Her curls were arranged at the nape of her neck with subtle braids woven here and there.

"You look beautiful, Hermione." He told her as they made their way to the large fireplace which had been constructed along one wall of their main sitting room.

"You look quite handsome yourself, Blaise." Hermione replied with a sincere smile as he took her hand, helping her step onto the hearth. Blaise called out their destination after tossing a handful of powder into the fire and the pair were quickly whisked away to Malfoy Manor.

They arrived in a circular receiving room within the manor and took a moment to vanish the soot from their garments before the doors were thrown open and a petite witch with a delicate bone structure and dark, bouncing curls nearly bounded into the room. She carried herself with a distinct grace, though her excitement was easy to see. She crossed the room and immediately pulled Hermione into a hug and began chattering excitedly in French.

Not long after, a tall blonde man entered the room holding two tumblers of firewhiskey. "I see my wife found yours." He said, handing Blaise one of the tumblers before fondly embracing him.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Blaise chucked as they looked over at their wives who had linked arms and were speaking in hushed tones, their faces mere inches apart.

"None." Draco replied as Hermione released a squeal, threw one arm around Astoria's shoulders, her other hand pressed against the woman's abdomen.

Blaise slipped his hand into Draco's and intertwined their fingers. "Are you to be congratulated?" He asked, watching as his wife kissed Draco's on the cheek, his heart lifting at the sight of her smile.

Draco beamed proudly. "I am, Blaise. We're to have a son." He repeated the word again, reverently. "A son."

Blaise squeezed his hand, enjoying the brief moment of solitude before he knew the four of them would have to join the rest of the guests as well as Draco's family. His own mother was probably flitting around somewhere on the arm of yet another new beau.

"Astoria is positively glowing." Blaise remarked, gesturing towards the petite brunette with coffee colored curls. He couldn't help but compare them to Hermione's which tended to be more wild and lighter in color, more of a mahogany or russet, but no less lovely.

"I think she's happier now that your wife is here. She was feeling a bit under the weather earlier today, but Hermione's presence seems to have lifted her spirits considerably." Draco said, his eyes carefully watching the curvy witch who had her arms wrapped around his wife.

"She nearly drug me out of the house in a state of undress. You know how much she dislikes being late, though I think she was more anxious to see Tori than anything." Blaise said, taking a pull from his glass of firewhiskey, his thumb stroking across Draco's knuckles.

He and Astoria felt much the same about the other pair – he had to stop Astoria from immediately flooing over to the Zabini's home as soon as they caught their portkey home from France. Though the words were left unspoken, Draco knew Blaise was just as anxious to see him as Hermione was to see his wife and the opposite was true as well.

Draco and Blaise had grown up together and had even been lovers for a while before they met their respective spouses. Hermione and Astoria's tale of friendship was even more strange given that Astoria had approached Hermione to be her divorce attorney before she and Draco had officially met. Astoria found out about a marriage contract her parents had set up before the family had moved to France to avoid the war. Loathing the idea of an arranged marriage, Astoria decided to take action before even meeting her betrothed. Draco, being the absolute charmer that he was, managed to woo her and the two were married within a year. At their engagement party, Astoria managed to discover Blaise and Hermione in a rather compromising situation and the two were married not long after Draco and Astoria tied the knot.

Draco and Hermione's friendship seemed to take the longest to develop as they had to overcome a lack of trust in the other from their days in school. Blaise and Astoria shared a similar sense of humor, a passion for the healing arts, and a love of poetry and musical theatre and the friendship that developed between the two was easy. While Hermione and Draco preferred to hole themselves up in a quiet room with a stack of books, Blaise and Astoria would eagerly accompany each other to the theatre. Once Draco and Hermione realized the sheer amount of interests they shared, their no-nonsense approach to life, and how much they truly loved to argue with one another, they became nearly inseparable.

Over the past several months, the respective couples had slowly been exploring deeper relationships with one another beyond the confines of their spouse. Blaise accompanied Astoria to a conference on Healing Magic in America. Hermione and Draco started a charity to provide at-risk orphans (many of those from families with former ties to the Dark Lord) with access to upstanding mentors within the magical world. Astoria and Hermione had taken a trip to a seaside spa while Draco and Blaise spent the week at a country club playing golf and securing interest in their new potions firm.

There were more little touches here and there – a brush of lips across a cheek, an arm draped around someone's shoulders, fingers intertwined beneath a table. The Malfoy's month-long trip to France only seemed to solidify the developing affection into something most certainly beyond friendship, though the impact of those developing affections had not been spoken aloud.

The doors to the receiving room flew open once more and the regal form of Narcissa Malfoy entered the room. "There you are." She said to the group of four, not bothering to raise a perfectly sculpted brow at how they had managed to pair themselves off.

Hermione separated herself from Astoria and embraced the older witch before anyone else could say anything to the Malfoy matriarch. "Cissa, how lovely to see you."

"Likewise, my dear." Narcissa said with a kind smile, though she set her eyes to her son. "We mustn't keep the rest of our guests waiting."

"Yes, mother." Draco replied with a polite formality. "We'll be along in a moment."

Before she could leave the room, Blaise made his way to Narcissa's side and embraced her as well, kissing the air near her cheeks in greeting. "You look lovely as always, Narcissa."

"You flatter an old woman." She said with a slight chuckle before turning once again to her son. "If you're not out in five minutes, I can guarantee it will be your father next time." Narcissa said and then immediately swept out of the room.

By this point, Hermione had made her way over to Draco and she now held his glass of firewhiskey in her hands. "What did you do this time?" She said, nudging him in his side and taking a sip from his tumbler.

"We told Adelaide and Hyperion before we told mother and father." Draco said, taking his glass back from Hermione and taking another long pull of the amber liquid.

Hermione chuckled and rested her hand fondly against Draco's back. "Tori told me how her mother figured it out one morning at breakfast and immediately took off from the dining room to find her husband. There was a touch of comparison to a rampaging centaur in heat. I'm not certain you ever had the chance to tell Narcissa…"

With a snicker and a roll of his eyes, Draco shook his head. "Mummy dearest would never believe that."

"She'll come around. Perhaps make it a point to tell her first if and when the spare comes along."

Draco's eyes wandered to where his wife was conversing with his former lover, her hand was resting lightly on his arm and she looked content. "Did she tell you she made me to go to the theater with her in France?"

"Oh, you poor dear. That must be what Blaise is so enthralled with – she must be regaling him with tales of whatever show you were forced into watching." Hermione shook her head. "I'll never understand that obsession."

Draco draped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and started to lead them over towards their respective spouses. "Did I tell you I received my copy of The Enigmatic Properties of Transmutational Mercury by Bertram Townsend?"

"In your last letter, yes." Hermione said, watching as Blaise and Astoria laughed together about something he had said. "Mine arrived just the other day, though I had a rather large case to prepare for and so I'm only about halfway through."

"I think you'll find it fascinating. It has wonderful possibilities for the company your husband and I are starting."

"Blaise would rather eat his own foot than read about it." Hermione quipped.

"Read about what, tesoro?" Blaise asked, turning to his wife with Astoria's arm still lightly resting upon his own.

Draco and Hermione shared a look between them before looking at her husband. "Transmutational mercury and the implications of its use in alchemical and oxygenated reactions especially when combined with alkaline metals."

Blaise turned to Astoria with a sly smirk. "Do you think my foot would taste like pork or lamb, my pet?"

The two witches and the blonde wizard laughed at Blaise's remark, though no one offered a hypothesis. The two husbands escorted their respective wives into the ballroom of Malfoy Manor before Draco's father had a chance to find the young couples sequestered away.

The ballroom was decorated in gold bunting with sprays of greenery. Elves dressed in their best pillowcases and tea cozies carried drinks and hors d'oeuvres on silver platters as guests in their finest dress robes danced across the floor. Small tables were set up around the sides of the ballroom where business partners made new alliances and traded secrets. Society wives were clustered at various tables discussing everything from charities to children.

Hermione was not raised in this atmosphere as were her husband and their best friends, but she made every effort to ingratiate herself as much as possible. She was able to lend her name and status as a war heroine to various causes and apply her legal expertise when consulted. She was thoroughly convinced that Blaise had a silver tongue because he could talk almost anyone into anything. Astoria was extremely gifted at ensuring cooperation and building alliances from the sidelines. She could merely say a few words here and there and she would have even the harshest matriarch or the staunchest business man eating from the palm of her hand. Draco shined in his ability to negotiate business deals that furthered his own investments as well as increased the wealth of others. He was also very charitable and oversaw several charities with the aid of his mother, wife, and Hermione. The four young adults were a veritable powerhouse of influence when they put their mind to it.

As the ball wound down, the four young adults excused themselves and retreated to the gardens. The warm summer air surrounded the two witches as the lazed about near the pool. The light from the stars and the moon was reflected on the still surface of the water, though the surface was disturbed when Astoria removed her shoes and dipped her toes into the water.

With a wave of her wand and a muttered incantation, Hermione shortened her ball gown to stop just at her knees and sat next to the younger witch. As she languidly kicked her feet through the warm water, she slipped an arm around Astoria, gently twirling the coffee colored curls around her fingers.

Astoria sighed happily and rested her head against Hermione's shoulder, her other arm cradling the older witch's hip. "I missed you." She said quietly.

"We missed you too, Tori." Hermione said, knowing how much both she and Blaise had longed for the company of the Malfoys when they had been in France. It was as though there was a part of them missing.

"Do you know where our husbands have gone?"

Hermione gestured off towards the gardens. "They walked off that way a bit earlier. I expect they've found a quiet place to be alone for a while, much as we have."

"It doesn't bother you, does it?" The tone of Astoria's voice was hesitant and halting. "That they slip off together at times?" While it had been happening for a while now, neither witch had ever spoken of the implications of their husbands being together.

Hermione shook her head and ran her hand soothingly down Astoria's curls. "No, love, it doesn't bother me. Does it bother you when Draco and I spend time together?"

Astoria released a slightly nervous giggle. "Don't be daft. You have more in common with my husband than I do, at times."

Hermione pressed a kiss to the top of Astoria's head. "I could say the same for you and my husband, Tori."

"Don't you find it strange?" Astoria brushed her foot against Hermione's as she gently kicked her feet in the water. In the month they had been separated, Astoria had time to do a good deal of thinking. She loved her husband unconditionally but there were also definite feelings there for her best friend and her husband that were certainly not platonic. She was certain that, if given the opportunity, those feelings would only continue to grow.

"I think we're all just trying to do what feels right." Hermione turned towards Astoria and gently cupped her cheek with her hand, brushing the pad of her thumb across the other witch's bottom lip. Gazing into her deep blue eyes for a long moment, Hermione closed the distance between them and captured Astoria's lips in a gentle kiss. A soft, pleasurable moan escaped Astoria's lips as she pressed herself closer to Hermione, her arms coming up to wrap around the witch's neck.

….

As they were walking along one path near the edge of the gardens, Blaise suddenly paused, holding his arm out to stop Draco from moving further forward. With a gesture to remain silent, Blaise lifted a finger to point at the scene in front of them. Their wives were a pair of tangled limbs with Hermione hovering over Astoria on one of the chaise lounges surrounding the pool. Their ball gowns had been carefully draped over a nearby chair and they were clad in only their undergarments. Blaise could just make out the way his wife's golden skin contrasted with Astoria's paler complexion in the moonlight, though his focus was on the sensual way they were moving as one. It was as though they were made for one another.

The pair stood in silence as they watched their wives from the edge of the gardens. At some point their arms had slipped around each other, their formal robes tossed to the side, though they were still each clad in their trousers, oxfords, and waistcoats.

"Does that bother you?" Draco asked, unbeknownst to him that his wife had posed the very same question earlier in the evening.

Blaise shook his head and tightened his grip around Draco's shoulders. "No. Hermione and I have no secrets."

"She knows about …us?" Draco asked with hesitancy, suspecting his own wife knew exactly what he and Blaise got up to when they were alone with one another.

"She does and she's very… open minded… about certain things." Blaise said, thinking back to a conversation he had previously had with his wife while the pair were out of town. "We both missed you and Tori very much this past month."

"It felt like a part of us was missing." Draco supplied, turning his head away from their wives to look at his own lover who nodded in agreement. Draco slipped his arms around the tanned wizard and tugged him closer as Blaise's fingers threaded their way into his blonde hair. Their mouth came crashing down upon each other, the culmination of heavy petting in the gardens, flirting with one another as they walked, and seeing their wives tangled together in the throes of passion.

The two wizards divested each other of most of their remaining clothing as they slowly made their way towards their wives. Draco's waistcoat landed atop of a rosebush, while Blaise's shirt was discarded behind a large topiary. By the time they made it anywhere near the pool, both wizards were barefoot, and clad only in their trousers with kiss swollen lips and both sporting a few love bites.

The two women were much the same, though less clothed. Hermione's hair had been pulled from its chignon and framed her face and Astoria's normally pristine make up was smudged and her curls were no longer tame, but wild and free from the clips that held them back. Black lace skimmed Hermione's hips though her bra had been discarded some time ago, evident by the fact that Astoria's mouth was teasing one pebbled nipple with gentle nips and licks as Hermione threaded her fingers through the coffee colored curls. Astoria was in a similar state of undress though her hips, and consequently her sex, was covered by crimson colored silk.

The two wizards admired the view of their wives, the two witches none the wiser until Blaise reached out a tentative hand and ran his fingertips over the curve of Astoria's arse. Pressing a hand to his lower back, Draco urged his lover forward as he continued to stroke the witch's curves with a feather light touch. With a sultry moan, Astoria pressed her hips backward towards Blaise's hand as she kissed her way up Hermione's chest to nibble at the spot where her shoulder and neck were joined.

Hermione tightened her grip on Astoria's hair and pulled the younger witch away from her neck in order to kiss her once more. As soon as their lips were joined, Hermione released Astoria's hair from within her grasp and moved to stroke her back, trailing her nails over the witch's spine, leaving perfect rows of red to contrast with the white of Astoria's skin.

As Blaise slipped a finger beneath the fabric of Astoria's knickers, ghosting over her sex, Draco slipped his hand into his lover's trousers from behind, stroking his erection languidly. Hearing the familiar sound of Blaise moaning, Hermione's eyes flew open, meeting the familiar silver-gray eyes of Draco as Astoria pulled back from the witch beneath her. Astoria rested her head against Hermione's chest as Blaise slipped a finger within the warm, silky walls of Astoria's sex, eliciting another moan from the witch.

"Open your eyes, love." Hermione whispered as she lovingly ran her fingers through Astoria's now unruly curls.

Astoria's hips rocked against Blaise's fingers as she slowly opened her eyes, meeting the lust-filled ones of her husband, whose head was visible over the shoulder of the wizard who currently had his fingers buried within her. She could just make out the curve of Draco's arm as it disappeared into Blaise's opened trousers from her periphery.

Draco whispered against Blaise's ear and the wizard removed his fingers from Astoria and instead slipped them into his own mouth, sucking and licking her juices from his fingers. Draco offered his wife his free hand as his other hand continued to stroke and tease Blaise's cock. Taking Draco's hand, Astoria slipped off of the chaise lounge and as she stood upright, Draco pulled her forward and into Blaise's arms. Blaise's arms snaked around Astoria's waist even as her hands went around his neck, their lips meeting in a sensual, slow kiss.

Hermione smiled fondly as she watched Draco slip his hand out of her husband's trousers before pressing a kiss to Astoria's temple, even as she was still kissing Blaise. Standing up from her seat, Hermione slipped behind Draco and peppered his back with a trail of kisses and gentle nips. Releasing his wife and Blaise, Draco turned to face Hermione, his hand slipping into her curls and gripping tightly before tugging her against him and capturing her lips in a kiss which was much frantic and frenzied than the one his wife was currently sharing with Hermione's husband. While Blaise and Astoria explored one another in a sensual, unhurried way, the same could not be said for Hermione and Draco.

The lives of the four magical beings were irrevocably changed that evening. New connections were formed while old bonds were strengthened and when dawn rose over the horizon the four adults were more sated and happy than they had been in the past several years. They sat together in various states of undress, watching the sunrise over the acreage attached to Malfoy Manor.

Astoria was tucked beneath Blaise's arm, her head resting sleepily on his shoulder while Draco sat on his other side, dangling his feet in the pool. Hermione was completely immersed in the warm water and her head was resting against Blaise's leg, though one of her arms was wrapped around Draco's leg as an anchor. Draco drew his fingertips through Hermione's damp, frizzy curls while Blaise stroked Draco's back with his free hand.

"I don't want this night to end." Hermione murmured as she traced a line up and down one of Draco's calves with her finger.

Astoria hummed in agreement and snuggled slightly closer to Blaise with a yawn.

"The sun is coming up, tesoro. I think the night ended quite a while ago." Blaise quipped, causing Hermione to splash him with water and shift her head over to where it would rest against Draco's leg out of playful spite.

Draco looked out over the horizon pensively, idly stroking Hermione's curls. "It doesn't have to end," he said quietly.

"I'm due in court in probably four hours." Hermione muttered with a slightly cranky tone, not wanting to think about her responsibilities when she was so comfortable.

Astoria reached over Blaise and tugged at one of Hermione's curls causing the witch to yelp more out of surprise than anything else. "He means this… us… we… don't have to end, you silly witch."

"I see no reason why this… arrangement… can't continue." Blaise mused, leaning over to rest his head against Draco's shoulder, idly stroking Astoria's arm.

"The word arrangement makes whatever this is sound so formal." Draco remarked.

"I refuse to draw up color coded schedules." Hermione quipped with a wry laugh.

"I think we should promise that whatever happens between the four of us that we are friends first and lovers second. That's not something I want to lose." The other three adults nodded in agreement with Astoria's statement. None of them wanted to risk their close friendship, but all felt compelled to pursue the new connections that were forged the night before.

"So, we agree to keep this casual?" Blaise asked the group, eliciting nods of agreement.

Hermione raised a hand from the water as though she were holding a glass of wine, though her head was still resting against Draco's thigh, her other arm still wrapped firmly around his leg. "To us."

The remaining three adults echoed Hermione's impromptu toast with a quiet laughter each raising their own imaginary glass in turn, completely unaware of just how much they would grow and bond with one another over the coming years.

"To us."