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Sex Ed	By : Alcoholic_Rootbeer Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 39683 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I don't own the characters, the ideas, or the books. I just like to imagine in JK's world for a bit. I am not making a profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
We're so close to the juicy bits! Enjoy this chapter, please! Waymay did all the proofing. Thank you! And she gave me a few lines for Neville and his confidence potion... hehe...
~A.
You with the sad smile, don't lose your courage
Dance in the high tide and don't be worried
Your soul's in a wild fire, feel it beating
Dreams on a gold wire, won't you believe it?
We're all animals out in the dark
Got a feeling that we're all believing in
Not waiting for daylight to start
We're over the moon, over the midnight moon
"Midnight Moon" by Oh Wonder
Neville fidgeted with the hem of his shirt nervously as he and Hermione walked side by side down the path to Hogsmeade, where they were due to meet Harry and Ginny for tea before heading to The Burrow. He could tell, by the look on Malfoy's face earlier, that he'd interrupted something important between the two, and judging by the pretty pendant that hung around Hermione's neck, he could take a guess as to what. "Hermione?"
"Hmm?" She broke away from her thoughts, touching the necklace absentmindedly. "Yes, Neville?"
"Do you… do you want to head back?" he asked, setting her bag and his knapsack down. "We can go, right now, back to Hogwarts. It won't bother me any. Heck, I bet we could make it to the charity ball in time-"
"-Why on Earth would we want to go there?" she asked him, feigning disinterest. Even though she desperately wanted to. But the thought of embarrassing Draco in front of his family kept her at bay. She had the charity to consider, after all.
"I was invited, you know. To go. Not that I'd want to sit around and make nice with the Malfoys. But it wouldn't be any trouble-"
"Neville." She put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to help. -Plus, I hear they're going to have shrimp the size of your fist-"
"I'm alright." She patted him on the shoulder. "Really."
"You don't seem alright. I'm concerned, Hermione. All you and Malfoy will say is that you're fine, but you're obviously not fine. Or you wouldn't look so sad."
Her shoulders slumped, and she set her forehead against his chest. "I flubbed it all up, you know. It was my fault."
Neville felt the warmth of her body against his as she wrapped her arms around his abdomen and hugged him tight. He was much too nervous to hug her back, being in close proximity to Hermione after Malfoy's evil eye on him earlier, so he patted her on the top of the head instead. "I know, Hermione. But you can't be perfect all the time, can you?"
"Why not?" she laughed, though it was melancholy. "All my life, I've always had the right answers. To everything."
"Except when it comes to your heart," he pointed out, earning a puzzled stare from her. He pulled her away from him enough to stare down into her eyes, and he became serious. "I've known you since we were eleven years old, Hermione. You were my first friend from Hogwarts. And, if I'm being honest, my first friend ever. I didn't have friends, so much as playdates growing up, but… I'm off topic." He dismissed his story at once, changing the tone. "So I've watched you grow up. And while you're great with numbers and sentence structure and magic, you're terrible when it comes to relationships."
"What?" she appeared even more baffled than before. "That's not true."
"Viktor Krum. He really liked you. What did you feel for him?"
"Viktor?" She thought about it. "Not much, really."
"But you still went to the Yule Ball with him."
"Yes. He asked me to go."
"But who did you like, even then?"
"Ronald." His name sounded bitter on her tongue. "And then the next year he was with Lavender…"
"But you got him, eventually. It took you years to realize that you two were better off as friends, but by then, the damage had been done. You two haven't been the same since. You're inexperienced when it comes to relationships, Hermione. You think too logically, and not enough with your heart. It's why you're in this situation with Malfoy now. I know you were just looking out for his job, but Malfoy's a grown man. He can handle himself. You don't need to man-handle him like Harry, or baby him like Ron. He's perfectly capable of being on his own, if the years of solitude haven't proven it already."
She stared evenly at him, taking each and every word of his, analyzing them, and processing them into organized stacks in her brain. He could literally hear her mentally jotting down notes. "But… if Draco gets fired… I might never see him again. His parents will just start setting him up with pureblood witches-"
"But he's already said that he doesn't care if he gets fired, Hermione. He said as much in front of me. And you haven't seen him when he isn't putting on an act for you. He's hurting, just like you are." Neville couldn't believe he was saying this, but, "You're either going to have to come out to everyone, or break up with him. It's as simple as that. It's time for you to decide who is more important in your life. Ron or Malfoy."
"And… what if I can't decide?" she looked to him, desperate for an answer. "I shouldn't have to choose between my friend and my…"
Neville noticed the way boyfriend held so heavy on her tongue, as though it just weren't enough to describe Malfoy, and thought to comment on it, but stifled himself. Best not to push his luck. "Well, tonight," he said, plucking a tiny vial full of purple liquid from his pockets and waving it between them, "I'm your boyfriend of choice. So we can dwell on it later, yeah?"
"What is that?" she asked, pointing to the vial.
"Confidence potion."
"Confidence poti- oh, why would you need that?" She reached for it, but Neville pulled his arm away, high up in the air where she couldn't reach. "Neville, stop it! Those are very finicky. If one ingredient gets mixed the wrong way, those can take a disastrous turn. We both know how terrible you are at potions."
"I might consider that an insult if I had an ego to bruise," Neville joshed, pushing an arm against her shoulder to keep her at arm's length as he plucked the stopper off with his teeth. "But, for the record, I didn't brew this one. So it should be safe."
"Why do you need it at all?"
"If I'm going to bold-face lie to all of my friends, I can't do it without a little help." He smiled to her and downed the potion. When he finished, he released her and received a hard slug in the arm. "OUCH!"
"You don't need any alteration potions, Neville Longbottom. I happen to like you just the way you are."
There was a tingle inside Neville's esophagus as the potion traveled down his throat, and it felt as if stars were glowing in his belly. The world shifted, and he suddenly became aware of his height in comparison to her, how nice his cuticles looked for having been buried in dirt for most of the morning, and the sound of his own voice as he replied, "Thanks, 'Mione. I think I like myself a bit, too."
She rolled her eyes, and Neville plucked the bags up with ease. Yeah… he was really strong, too, wasn't he? Just look at those muscles on his forearms…
"Well," Hermione said, gathering his attention away from himself, "As long as you stay you, that's all that really matters to me." She patted his chest, and Neville realized he really liked that. "Come on, you. Harry and Ginny will be waiting."
"Lead on," he smiled, a spring in his step as he followed her down the path, thinking just how wonderful of a 'boyfriend' he was going to make Hermione this evening.
"Draco! Oh, love, it's been ages!" Narcissa Malfoy greeted her only son as he arrived through the floo with Liam Killingsworth and Lidia Cornelia in tow. Stepping out into the Grand Den, Draco greeted his mother with a kiss to the cheek and a small bow to follow.
"Mother," he said in his best kempt tone, awaiting her small curtsy back before gesturing to the teens behind him. "Killingsworth's son, Liam, and his date, Lidia Cornelia."
Narcissa smiled to the two, eyeing over Lidia with precision. "Cornelia… that's a… unique surname."
"Mother…" Draco warned under his breath, and her eyes snapped over to him expectantly.
"It's muggle. I-I mean… I'm a muggle… well, no! Ha. No. I'm not a muggle. But my parents are muggles." Lidia Cornelia blushed the color of a tomato and bowed her head. "I mean… it's an honor to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy."
"It's… lovely to meet you, dear," Narcissa strained, her voice rising an octave. She turned her eyes back to her son. "You were supposed to be here over an hour ago, Draco…"
"Yes, I was… I was saying goodbye to my girlfriend," Draco replied, feigning distraction as his Father approached the doorway, belittling a hobbling house elf with one shoe on. Draco might have had a hand in 'accidentally' freeing a few of his father's house elves after the War, as a rebellious act against his family in the aftermath, but he knew no one could prove it. Lucius still kept a the few who stayed, despite their freedom. His father could be seen snipping orders over his shoulder as he stood in the entryway.
"Girlfriend?" Narcissa gasped, drawing Draco's attention back around. "You have a girlfriend, sweetheart?"
"Yes."
"Oh, but that's wonderful news!" Narcissa swept gracefully across the den, her dress robes billowing behind her. "Lucius! Did you hear? Draco has a girlfriend!"
Lucius tore his eyes away from the house elf over towards his family, his eyes falling on Draco in soft command. "Do you?" He cast his son an amused smirk. "It is about time, my boy. I was beginning to wonder."
"Who is she, dear? Oh -wait, don't tell us just yet. Let me take a guess. Is it Astoria Greengrass?"
"We've been over this, Cissy," Lucius leered, rolling his eyes. "Astoria has been out of the country for some time now. I highly doubt they've seen each other since that atrocious luncheon two summers past."
"It's not Astoria," Draco assured both of his parents, turning his attention to the teens and off of himself. "Killingsworth, why don't you come with me, and I'll show you how to properly shout orders to hired staff. You too, Cornelia." He nudged his head for them to follow, gave his parents a graceful bow, and added, "We'll talk about it later, yes?"
"Of course, dear." Narcissa nodded, clapping her hands together. "We're just so very excited."
"You mean you're excited, Narcissa." Lucius smirked again. "Will she be joining us at the ball tonight, Draco?"
"No… prior engagements. Busy woman." Draco watched his father's face turn up in a disbelieving scowl, and he ushered the children out of the room, fearing that should he stay, the elder Malfoy might figure him out by some unknown talent of Legilimency.
Despite Ginny's obvious protests that Molly Weasley should butt her nose out of other people's business (said much more politely, of course), Hermione found the elder Weasley woman grinning ear to ear as she scooped out some green beans onto Neville's plate and said, "It's so nice to see you again, Neville, dear. The last time I saw you, you looked a bit gloomy."
"I was," Neville proclaimed happily, matching Molly's smile with one of his own. He wrapped a long arm around Hermione and kissed her on the cheek. "Hermione, here, had just dumped me because she thought we were better off as friends. Probably because she thought I was too vanilla for her tastes."
"Neville!" Hermione kicked him underneath the table. "That's… no one wants to… highly inappropriate…"
"Speak for yourself, Hermione," said George, leaning across the table. "Go on, Nev. What's she like? Wild card, I reckon."
"George," Molly scolded, cheeks as rosy pink as the strawberries from her garden.
"Another time, then." George winked at Neville and went back to eating his turkey drumstick.
"So," said Author, looking about to his family and friends, trying to make the best of an awkward moment. "Neville. Teaching Herbology now. That must be fulfilling."
"Bit scary at times," said Neville, "But I'm the best damn one they have for the job, so-"
Ginny nudged Hermione with her knee and leaned over to whisper, "What's gotten into your 'boyfriend', Hermione?"
"Confidence potion."
"Ah." Ginny nodded. "That'll do it. Harry took one once before addressing the press the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts."
"Is that why his speech went over so smoothly?" Hermione gasped. "Harry Potter…" She looked across the table to her friend, who was laughing at a terrible joke from Neville.
"Neville's seems a bit wonky, though, doesn't it?" Ginny nudged over to the table, who had now started taking bets as to how many cheeseballs Neville could fit into his mouth. "At this point, you would have been better off bringing Malfoy. -Why didn't you?"
"Because I'm an absolute dolt," she sighed, resting her face in her hands after having set her pumpkin juice down. "Ginny, have you ever known me to be anything less than logical?"
"Of course," her friend replied.
"Really? Name one time."
"You fancied my brother."
"Oi, oi." Ron said, walking behind them after just coming back from the loo, "It wasn't all that bad, was it?" He gave a lopsided smile and leaned between the two women. "Mione, come on. Set the record straight for Gin. I wasn't the worst relationship you ever had, was I?"
"Well, considering I only dated you and Viktor Krum, and Krum was quite a gentleman…"
Ginny giggled into her hand, and Ron made a face somewhere between a scowl and a smirk. "Touché. -Hey, Nev. Fancy a game of Quidditch after dinner?"
"Bet you twenty galleons I make a better Keeper than you."
Ron's face twisted up into one of mild amusement. "Neville. Mate. That's not really fair to you. I don't like conning my friends out of so much money- it, really, wouldn't be right."
"Ah, come on, Ron," said Harry, "Let's give Neville a go. And if he loses, we can just take him out for drinks. What'dya say?"
"Alright." Ron nodded. "I say you're on." He thrust out his hand, and the two men exchanged firm handshakes.
"Winner keeps Hermione?" Neville chided, laughing. "Oh, wait. Sorry. You already lost that wager long ago."
Ron's face fell, and his eyes narrowed. "Careful, mate."
"Neville," Hermione scolded, "That was highly inappropriate."
"Ah, come on, Mione. You know I was just joshing. Friendly sport banter. That's all."
Hermione set her face in her hands as her best friend patted her on the shoulder. "S'alright, Herms. I'm sure this evening won't turn into a total disaster," Ginny whispered. "Besides, I'll mop the floor with both of them on a broom. You know that."
She rose her head and smiled to the redhead. "Thanks, Gin."
"Anytime. Ooh, nice necklace, by the way! Is it new?"
"It's from Draco."
"Oh my… that's… is that… so that's a real ruby, then?" Ginny looked anxiously over the necklace, as if she were intrigued to be in the presence of such an expensive piece. "Well, you've got to come clean now!"
"I know!" Hermione sighed, whisper-shouting, "I know I do! I'm simply an awful person, Ginny. I don't deserve him."
"Well, of course you do. You only did what you did to protect him. How can we expect any less of someone who had to keep the two dolt heads alive, year after year? It's in your blood to want to protect the people you love, Hermione."
"Love…" 'I have a terrible way of showing it.' "I have to tell Ron."
"Yes, you do."
"Help me?"
Ginny nodded. "Of course. But first, you might want to let your 'boyfriend' in on it, so he can stop making an ass out of himself."
"Too late for that," Hermione groaned and stabbed her fork into her dinner roll.
For the most part, the charity banquet/ball moved splendidly through the evening. Healers from St. Mungo's were given awards for their prestigious works, and Draco was left alone to fend for himself (much to his enjoyment.) His mother, having been pruned for years as a Black, knew just how to work the room, complementing the insecure and boasting of her family's accomplishments to the other wealthy families in the room to knock them down a few pegs. He was surprised at how proud she actually sounded of him becoming a Hogwarts professor, stating, "My Draco simply has such a kind heart, wouldn't you agree? He boasts on the children to me constantly. What a lovely man. Such works! What does your son do? Oh? He's a bartender? Oh, that simply wouldn't do for my Draco. He's got so much to offer the world, you see…"
His father, meanwhile, had taken to drinking quietly at his table, smiling and conversing when needed. He left the more complicated works to his wife, instead doing what Malfoys did best; silently watch and give the air of being better than everyone else in the room.
Draco found a quiet corner at the edge of the refreshment stand and watched on as Lidia and Liam danced around the ballroom. They appeared so carefree and innocent, unabashed by the raised eyebrows and quiet whispers at their expense from the pureblood socialites. He tipped his glass of scotch and sipped, praying silently that no one would think to approach him.
Much to his dismay, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Draco Malfoy," said a sly, playful voice, and Draco spun around to meet the pretty green eyes of Astoria Greengrass. She grinned at him, showing off her pearly white teeth, and giggled into her gloved hand. "Oh my goodness. It's been ages, hasn't it?"
"Two years, I've been reminded," he replied, carrying a lull in his tone, though he actually was rather glad to see the witch. "How have you been, Tori?"
"Can't complain," she said, shrugging as a waiter brought around a tray of champagne and offered her a glass. She took it, curtsied, and clinked the glass to Draco's gin. "I heard you put this all together."
He smirked. "Who told you that?"
"Word gets around. -I never took you for the generous sort."
"It's for a friend," he shrugged, feeling even more guilty for how he'd treated Longbottom yesterday. Even if the man was a sod, he still wasn't as bad as Draco initially thought. Offering to help mend a relationship he didn't approve of? That man might as well be a Saint. "Nice dress, by the way. Where did you purchase it? Muggle chic?" He nudged to her white and gold ball gown, which stood out like a sore thumb amongst the crowds of dress robes. The last time he'd seen her, she hadn't been wearing anything at all. "I'm surprised your mother let you out of your cage in something like that."
She slapped him on the arm. "Cheeky." She narrowed her eyes, but her smile still remained. "Still under your parents' thumb, I see?"
"Don't try to pretend you're any different."
"I am."
"Oh, that's right. You've been 'traveling'."
"Do you doubt the rumors?"
"We spent the entire summer in my bedroom, Astoria. You hate traveling anywhere that doesn't require your clothing to mysteriously find its way to the floor."
She rolled her eyes. "You've caught me. I wasn't traveling at all." She sipped on her champagne and waited for him to ask the question.
"So… where have you been, then?"
"So glad you asked." She pointed to a handsome man tailored in white and silver button-up dress robes, no doubt Astoria's doing. "That little gem is my Barnaby."
"Barnaby?" Draco couldn't help but scoff. "That sounds like a muggle name."
"Well, he's more of a squib, really. The Fawley family's secret they tucked away. Until now."
"Fawley." He frowned. "The Fawleys had a squib in the family?" He knew the Fawleys to be a part of the Sacred 28, so it was no wonder he hadn't heard of the 'family disappointment'. "What's your game?"
"My game?"
"Why are you dating him, I mean? Political move of some sort to make the Greengrass family appear in a softer light? Squib relations?"
"I love him, Draco." She frowned. "And that's all there is to it."
Draco looked at his ex-fling, so carefree and shameless by her declaration. "What did your parents say on the matter?"
"Oh, you know the Greengrasses. Completely up in arms. Well, aside from Daphne. She was miffed she didn't get her mitts on him first." Astoria laughed. "But he's kind. And completely traditional, magic aside. It's a shame you haven't found someone yet, Draco. But no one can thaw that frozen thing." She patted his chest, above his heart.
Draco scowled. "Actually, someone has."
Astoria looked impressed. "Really? Who is it?"
"Hermione Granger."
"Oh my." She waggled her eyebrows. "And you think my Fawley squib is a scandal. -Have you told them yet? Your parents?"
"No." Draco gestured around the ballroom. "Obviously." The guilt he felt for not bringing Hermione weighed heavy in his heart. All of his talk of showing her off, and he couldn't even make a point to do it when it counted. Sure, he had St. Mungo's to consider, but surely he could have found a way to manipulate his family into doing the charity ball anyway? If he were being completely honest with himself, he knew, in the end, he was just being cowardly. A coward who talked a big talk but hadn't been ready to walk the walk. Immaturity, even in his adulthood. Merlin, he needed more scotch...
"You should."
"I plan to." Yes. He'd need to if he could ever look Hermione in the eyes again.
"When?"
He watched as his mother ushered Lucius up to the podium to announce the donation numbers. With a smirk, Draco stood up straighter and decided that if Astoria Greengrass could come out to her family and survive, so could he. And he could do it in a way that would make Hermione realize he didn't need to be protected. "Right now."
Astoria grinned widely and clapped. "That's the spirit. Make our generation proud, yes?"
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