This Subdued Fire

No, this is NOT the last chapter. I am writing as we speak (so to speak), the next to last chapter. This chapter has no lemony-freshness but I am rectifying that with the next chapter. So, here\'s a bit of substance to go with your smut. Enjoy.
Thanks for the reads and reviews.

Disclaimer: you know the drill.
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In Which Things Get Resolved

In the aftermath of the last, great battle there were terrific highs and devastating lows. The wizarding population came to bury their fallen comrades and rage more. The land itself healed rapidly. The wounds left in each heart would be harder to close.

Minerva McGonagall was heartbroken. The man who\'d been by her side since the day she\'d turned eighteen (and if truth be known, the night she\'d stepped into Hogwarts) was gone. But in her inimitable fashion, she marshalled herself and carried on. She and Albus had had many wonderful years together, fortunate enough to be able to work and live side by side. She\'d not worn black robes to his burial, oh no. She\'d dressed in a shining white chiton, all flowing folds and draping. Minerva looked like her namesake in that getup.

It seemed as though the grounds of Hogwarts had decided to put on its finest in tribute to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The grass was greener than anyone had ever remembered it. All the flowers were in bloom and the birds were singing sweetly. The sun hung fat and yellow in the sky. Fittingly, it looked like a giant sherbet lemon drop.

The coffin holding the remains of the great wizard was lowered to the ground amid sniffs and sobs and, inexplicably, smiles. Those who were dry eyed knew that Albus went to a reward well-deserved. Someone magicked the soil back into the earth, closing up Dumbledore\'s grave site. From the fresh mound of dirt, several saplings grew and twisted themselves into one tree - a willow. The tree, in accordance with the rest of the vegetation, burst into full bloom. The trailing branches dripped with tiny, perfect yellow flowers. The wind blew softly through the tree, shaking the flowers a bit and small, round objects began to fall from the branches. Minerva reached down to pick one of the yellow pieces up and after a quick examination, popped it in her mouth, to the astonishment of the other mourners.

\"One of Albus\' great jokes. This is a lemon willow. When the tree blooms, its fruit is sherbet lemon drops.\" She gathered up a handful of the sweet-sour candies and walked away sighing, \"Oh, Albus.\"

Even those who were grieving the hardest managed watery chuckles at that. The crowd dispersed and most headed back to Hogwarts. The rest went down to the gates and Apparated to their homes.

Hermione stood at the gravesite, admiring the willow and eating its candies. Draco looked a bit squicked.

\"Love...don\'t you think that\'s a bit, um, morbid?\"

\"No. The Headmaster would\'ve wanted us to enjoy them,\" she replied around a mouth of lemon drops.

\"Forgive me if I\'m a bit grossed out by eating a dead man\'s candies.\" Draco looked a little green about the gills. \"Especially if the dead man in question is growing those candies.\"

\"Sometimes, Draco, you\'re such a girl,\" Hermione chuckled. \"Come on.\"

She turned and slipped her fingers into his. They ambled back to the castle, thinking about the events of the past few days.

A host of friends and family had been buried. Ron had accompanied Lavender\'s body back to the family burial grounds in Leicester. He was inconsolable and feeling very guilty because Lavender made the ultimate sacrifice in saving him. Ron spent his days at the Burrow, trying to get his head together for NEWTs, which had been suspended due to the war. The Weasley family suffered a double blow, however. Percy had ultimately decided to stand up with his family and fight on the side of good. He gave his life in the battle. Although the Weasleys were sad, they were consoled by the fact that Percy, in the end, had done the right thing.

Both Bill and Charlie were laid up in St. Mungo\'s, recovering from injuries sustained in the fight. Neville was there, too. Even though she was mourning her twin, Parvati came to be with Neville everyday. Fleur, surprisingly, had taken time out of swanning around and being, well, *Fleur* to be concerned with Bill\'s welfare. Truth be told, the conceited Frenchwoman was worried sick over her \'Beel\'. Angelina had taken charge with her usual imperious manner, making sure that Charles (as she liked to call him) was being taken care of properly. Charlie took it all in good stride, secretly liking being mothered.

Most of the injured parties had been patched up and sent home, or off to Azkaban. Lucius was one of the lucky few to get a life sentence to the wizard prison. He\'d been summarily stripped of his wand and most of his fortune. Narcissa was currently without funds, the bulk of what remained of the Black fortune having been split between Draco and Tonks. She owled her son everyday, begging for him to send her something. But as she\'d never seen fit to interfere with Lucius\' treatment of Draco, the son was determined to punish the mother for her complicity.

School was due to start in the next couple of days, giving all the injured time to get back and readjusted to the school schedule. Minerva, as the new Headmistress, felt that it was best for everyone to try to get on with their lives as soon as possible - keep a stiff upper lip and such.

Parvati and Neville were attempting to do just that. Neville, usually nervous and not knowing what to do, proved to be something of a rock for Parvati as she grieved her fallen twin. It was especially hard for her. Padma had been her best friend since the day they\'d emerged from the womb. Although their personalities were wildly different (Parvati being talkative and Padma being the studious one), they were still very very close.

There was a pall over the school, yet Hogwarts seemed as stalwart as ever. The castle hadn\'t been penetrated by Voldemort\'s forces and it stood as a symbol of endurance. Like a parent, the castle comforted and sheltered all within. Those who returned there needed that stable presence. The last battle had brought home the fact of mortality and an ever-shifting world to many.

Minerva, in her first act as Headmistress, made Hogwarts a haven for all who needed it in the aftermath. Subsequently, the castle was nearly full to capacity. The hospital wing was completely stuffed and the run-overs were sent to St. Mungo\'s. There was so much to do that aside from funerals and a few mealtimes, Draco and Hermione rarely saw each other. Professor McGonagall and her deputy, Professor Flitwick, felt it best if the Head Girl and Boy spent their time bolstering spirits, even though mostly everyone was still on a high - Big Bad was dead and done, supplying fertilizer to a lovely cherry tree in a grove on the forest edge.

Surprisingly, one of the few people who wasn\'t elated was Harry Potter. He\'d taken to being quiet and almost morose at times. Draco and Hermione, walking hand in hand back from Dumbledore\'s willow came upon him sitting in a doorway, staring aimlessly.

\"Oi, Potty, what\'s your problem?\" Draco gave Harry a not-so-gentle nudge in the shin with his toe.

Hermione elbowed Draco a bit sharply. \"Don\'t kick him.\"

\"But it\'s *Potter*, love. Whatever else am I supposed to do when I see him?\" Draco gave her a look that said that his train of thought was completely logical.

\"You\'re not supposed to kick him and that\'s that.\" Hermione gave him a stern look, to which Draco responded with a baleful glare.

\"You never let me have any fun.\"

\"Please.\" Hermione rolled her eyes.

\"If you two are done bickering...\" Harry looked up from his reverie in annoyance. \"I would like to brood in peace and quiet.\"

\"Ah, but Pothead,\" Draco dropped down onto the step beside Harry. \"Whoever said you were entitled to brood? Brooding is an activity best left to the dark anti-hero, not the wizarding world\'s resident golden boy.\"

\"Sod off, ferret face. I don\'t need your bloody sarcasm right now.\"

\"Oooh. The cub *does* have claws after all. So tell me, what\'s got your britches in a twist?\"

Hermione plunked down on Harry\'s other side. \"Yes, Harry. Whatever is the matter?\" she asked in a less aggressive manner than Draco.

Harry plucked at the material of his trousers before answering. \"I just...Where do we go from here?\"

\"What do you mean?\" Hermione asked, a frown forming between her eyebrows.

\"I mean, Voldemort is dead, evil has been vanquished, my purpose is over. So what do I do now?\"

Draco piped up, \"Might I suggest taking a long walk off of a short -\"

\"Draco! Don\'t even *think* of finishing that sentence.\" Hermione cut in warningly.

\"Or what? You\'ll punish me?\" He replied, smirking that insufferable smirk.

\"Don\'t look like that. You know my punishments are extraordinarily creative.\"

\"Ooh. And don\'t I know it.\" Draco winked at Hermione.

Harry gagged. \"Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Why do the two of you persist in trying to make me regurgitate my fine breakfast?\"

\"Because I\'ve always wanted to see you puke your guts out, just once.\" Draco answered.

\"Nice, rodent boy, real nice.\"

\"*If* the two of you are done...\" Hermione cut in once again. The two men stopped their bickering. \"Thank you. I was going to suggest that after our schooling is finished, you might travel around a bit, Harry. Get your bearings in the world. After all, you\'ve never been outside Britain, have you?\"

Harry shook his head. \"But what am I to do about Ginny? She still has another year left.\"

\"That you will have to work out with her on your own. But I figure that staying over at the Burrow for her summer holiday and visiting with her every chance you get will be compensation enough.\"

\"True.\"

\"Love, I don\'t know about turning Potty here loose on an unsuspecting world. You know how he just can\'t keep his wand under control.\" Draco said.

\"I\'m going to ignore the snide double entendre there, Malfoy, but I will say this: you\'ve no room to talk with all girls you\'ve slipped it to over the years.\" Hermione gave Draco a steely eyed glare.

Draco winced with uncharacteristic good grace. \"Touche, love, touche.\"

\"Thanks, Herm.\" Harry gave Hermione a rueful grin. In another world and another place, maybe...\"So what do you have planned after school?\"

\"University. I plan to study Potions, perhaps with a lesser concentration on Arithmantic Theory.\"

Draco whipped his head around to stare at Hermione. \"University? And why wasn\'t I informed of this?\"

\"Draco, you knew that I planned to continue my education after matriculating from Hogwarts. Just because we\'re involved didn\'t mean that my personal agenda has changed.\"

\"*Your* personal agenda? And what about me? What about that rock sitting on your finger?\"

\"What about it?\" Hermione looked vaguely puzzled. \"It\'s very pretty. I\'d meant to give it back to you when I returned the other pieces, but I forgot. Here\" She attempted to pull the ring from her finger. The white gold didn\'t budge a millimetre. \"Draco Malfoy, what did you do?\"

\"I gave you the Malfoy engagement ring is what I did!\"

\"You Did WHAT?!\" Hermione leapt to her feet, suddenly enraged.

Draco jumped up as well. Harry\'s gaze volleyed back and forth as if he were at a tennis match.

\"We\'re engaged, simple as that.\" Draco replied sanguinely.

\"No no no no no NO. We are *not* engaged. You didn\'t ask and I *certainly* did NOT accept. How dare you pull this stunt on me!\"

\"I thought you\'d have guessed when you opened the box, Hermione.\"

\"Erm, *no*. You\'d laced me with so many jewels that night I didn\'t assume anything. That was the sneakiest, most underhanded thing you\'ve ever pulled, Malfoy.\" Hermione\'s eyes were nearly shooting lightning at the Slytherin.

\"Oh, back to surnames now, are we? As you will, Granger.\" Draco eyed Hermione yanking at her finger and hopping around crazily. \"What *are* you doing?\"

\"Trying to take this piece of tin off so I can chuck it at you!\"

\"Piece of tin?! Woman, I\'ll have you know that ring has been in my family for untold generations!\"

\"I don\'t give a fig about how long you\'ve had it. It\'s still a piece of tin!\"

Harry got up from his seat on the steps. \"All right then. I think it\'s time for me to make my exit. Tah.\" He turned and nearly ran up the steps to get away from the blazing row. Neither Draco nor Hermione took notice of him.

\"Why can\'t I pull this sodding thing off?\"

\"Because once it\'s on it does not come off unless I take it off or one of us dies.\"

\"Then take it off!\"

Draco looked a bit hurt. \"Does the thought of being married to me really repulse you that much?\"

\"No. But you didn\'t do it properly and we have much to discuss, such as my school, career, where we\'ll live...that sort of thing.\" Hermione had calmed som somewhat. \"And I don\'t like the fact that you did it without even consulting me. How do you know that I even want to get married? To you or anyone else? It was high-handed and not very well done of you, Draco.\"

\"Hells bells, Hermione. If I\'d have known how you felt, I\'d not have been arsed about the whole thing.\"

Hermione sighed. \"Look...\" she paused, gathering her thoughts. \"It doesn\'t change the way I feel about you. But come on. If I\'d have just tossed a ring at you, would you have automatically assumed that it was a proposal?\"

\"Damn you for being right,\" Draco groused, slightly pink in the cheeks. \"Give me your hand.\"

Hermione looked at him suspiciously and held her hand out to him. He removed the ring from her finger easily and slipped it into his robe pocket. \"Um...aren\'t you going to give it back?\"

\"No.\" Draco grinned a bit maliciously. \"I\'m going to wait until the time is right.\" Then, ignoring her irate expression, he swept into the castle toward the Great Hall for the lavish repast that had been prepared.

Hermione, usually so verbal, was at a total loss, standing there watching his retreating back with her mouth hanging open.
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The next couple of days passed without event. The students began to filter back into the castle and the air held a strange mix of happiness and grief. The old pile of rock slowly warmed as its charges roamed its halls, their chatter subdued but ever present.

Ron and Ginny came back to school. They, too, had lost some of their boisterousness. The once whole and ubiquitous Weasley clan had lost a link in their chain and each was feeling the loss. They were also grieving, perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent, Hagrid, their stalwart and gentle friend. Even some of the Slytherins, who might have been apathetic about Hagrid\'s death, recognized the honest loyalty that had propelled the giant to his death. Slytherins understood that kind of loyalty as well as Gryffindors did.

The night before classes were to resume, the five sat in Hagrid\'s cottage, cleaning it out and reminiscing. Hermione had just gotten up to put a pot of tea on the fire when a knock at the door sounded. They all looked at one another bemusedly and Hermione, who was closest, opened it. She stepped back in surprise.

A dark head peeped around the corner of the jamb. The eyes widened and then became apologetic.

\"Oh. I had no idea that you all would bee here. When I saw the lights, I thought...well, I don\'t know what I thought.\" Millicent, usually so mannish and blunt seemed at a loss for words.

Unfortunately, so did our Scoobies, as they were all staring rather slack-mouthed at the statuesque Slytherin.

\"I\'ll just go then.\" Millicent turned to leave when Draco\'s voice called out.

\"Millie, wait a minute.\"

The girl turned back to face her schoolmate, indeed, one of her life-long friends. \"Yes?\"

Draco did not know how to proceed.

\"Yes?\" Millicent prompted.

\"don\don\'t you come in and have a bit of tea with us?\" Ginny, remembering the manners that Molly drilled into her, stepped in and rescued the awkward situation.

Millicent offered a shy smile and came fully into the room. \"Thank you.\" Millicent closed the door and took a long, wistful look around the cozy chamber. \"It seems so vast without Hagrid and Fang, doesn\'t it?\"

They all nodded at the Junoesque girl. She said aloud what they were all thinking. Fang, Hagrid\'s faithful but cowardly hound, mustered up what courage he posessed and dashed into the fray after his master fell. The canine never stood a chance and fell shortly after Hagrid did. They were buried next to each other in a hidden section of the Forest.

A flick of Ginny\'s wand and everyone was seated with cups and saucers in their hands. The teapot floated around the room pouring the assembled fragrant lapsang souchong. The milk, lemon and sugar cubes followed in a stately procession. When everyone had been served, the pot and its attendants settled on a piecrust table in a corner by the fireplace. They sat and sipped at the tea, each in their own thoughts. Draco finally piped up with the thought that was on everyone\'s mind.

\"Alright, Millie. What brings you here? I\'m here because of the bushy-haired one over here.\" Draco jerked his thumb at Hermione. She gave him a not so subtle slap on the arm.

\"You\'re the very soul of chivalry, Draco, really you are.\" Hermione made a face at him and turned her attention to Millicent. \"As rude as Draco is, I think we\'d all like to know the answer to that question,\" Hermione prodded gently.

The tall girl shifted a bit uncomfortably in her seat. She took a sip of tea before answering. \"I miss Hagrid.\" She replied simply.

Draco\'s eyebrow went up. \"You...*miss* him?\"

\"Yes, I miss him. You four weren\'t his only friends, you know.\" Millicent replied with a touch of defiance.

\"But you were usually so...mean to Hagrid.\" Ginny piped from her chair.

\"Only in front of others. But Hagrid understood me. He knew what it was like to be the biggest out of your entire class. Oh, sure, I\'m a beater and all of that, but I still hear the whisperings behind my back. Hagrid heard them, too. It was neither of our faults that we are what we are.\"

\"D\'you mean to say that you\'re part giant, Millie?\" Draco asked.

\"Somewhere way back there, there was a giantess in our family and apparently I\'ve gotten the gene for it.\" Millicent\'s mouth quirked in a rueful grin. \"Funny. If I were a boy, no comment would be made about my height or my stature.\"

\"Oh, I don\'t know. Malfoy over here always has some shitty comment or another to say about my height.\" Ron told the girl.

\"But you\'re not only a carrot topped, skinny beanpole. You\'re a *Weasley* for Merlin\'s sake. It would be more than my life\'s worth to not say something relatively horrid to you.\"

\"There\'s nothing \'relatively\' about it, Malfoy. It\'s just horrid, rather like you.\"

Draco\'s eyes widened a bit. \"Very good, Weasley. We may be able to make something of you, yet.\"

\"Glad you approve.\" Ron replied drily.

\"If the two of you are done...\" Hermione cut in. \"I would like to hear more of Millicent\'s story.\"

The girl had turned shy again, blushing a bit. \"Well, Hagrid saw me one day after a class. I was crying. I\'d overheard someone saying something - someone is *always* saying something - but that day I\'d had my limit. I was out at the lake, sobbing my eyes out and someone stuck a lace trimmed handkerchief in my face. I took the hankie without noticing who did the offering and after I\'d wiped the various wet bits I saw Hagrid standing there. He offered me tea and conversation and I accepted. This was back in fourth year. And whenever you lot decided not to grace Hagrid with your presence, I visited him.\"

When Millicent came to the end of her short tale, there was understanding a more than a little pity in everyone\'s eyes. She resented the pity a bit, but moved past it. She and the others sipped their tea in silence.

A gleam came into Ron\'s eyes - the first spark of true lightness since that night.\"I know Hagrid kept a bottle of something a bit *stronger* than tea around here. What d\'you say we go on a little treasure hunt?\"

\"Weasel. That is the first truly intelligent thing I\'ve heard come out of your mouth. I congratulate you.\" Draco gave Ron an approving look.

\"Thanks, ferret-head. Always glad to help.\" With that, Ron got up and began rummaging through cupboards for the alcohol. The others followed his lead and soon it was Ginny who came up with the goods.

\"Aha! Found it.\" She waved around the bottle of Absolut cheerfully. \"Ooh. Cranberry flavoured.\"

Unfinished teas were Vanished tout de suite and Gin set about pouring each one a bit of the vodka she\'d chilled with a quick cooling charm. When each had a measure of the liquor, they toasted.

\"*Slainte.*\" Ron proffered.

\"Cheers,\" the rest answered and bolted down a shot of the icy stuff. After that first drink, the group settled in to talk about Hagrid and all the rest of the dead and get companionably drunk.

A drowsy Hermione piped up from where she sat in Draco\'s lap, slurring her words slightly. \"Remember Buckbeak?\"

\"Buckbeak was greaaat,\" came Ron\'s voice from the depths of the massive armchair he sat in.

\"Buckbeak was a bloody psychopath. That thing could\'ve killed me.\" Draco rejoined indignantly.

\"Only because you were too arrogant to do as you were told, Malfoy,\" Ginny managed to get out from around Harry\'s kisses on her neck.

\"So says my ex. And could you please stop with the snogging over there? I\'m about to toss up all this lovely vodka,\" Draco drawled.

\"For once I\'m in total agreement with you, Malfoy.\" Ron shot his sister and Harry a look of disgust. \"No man wants to see his baby sister with her tongue down some guy\'s throat.\"

\"Here here.\" Came Millicent\'s slurring cry from where she was slumped over a ladderbacked chair.

\"Oi, no one asked you, Bulstrode.\" Ginny piped up.

\"Well if I have to be subjected to this, I\'m going to need another drink.\" Millicent pulled out a tiny bottle of Stoli vanilla. A swift flick of her wand and the bottle was both chilled and engorged.

\"Aw, Millie, down that path lies madness,\" Draco told her with a gleam in his eye.

\"Never heard you turning down the booze, Draco.\"

\"Who said anything about turning down? Pass me that bottle.\"

\"Oh lord. Am I going to have to levitate you back to your room, Draco?\" Hermione teased.

\"I think both of us are going to need to be levitated, love.\" He took a swig and passed it to Hermione, who also took a stiff drink. She handed it off to Ron who took two deep gulps and made a face.

\"Ew. Vanilla flavoured is not my cuppa tea.\"

\"Whatever will get you there, Ronnie old boy,\" said Harry, who around Ginny\'s snogs took another drink.

Soon enough the six of them were rip-roaring smashed. Hermione was all curled up in Draco\'s arms and they giggled along with their four friends. They were recalling hilarious episodes with Hagrid.

\"Remember the blast-ended skrewts?\" Ginny got out amid a mouthful of laughter.

They all groaned. \"Oh, don\'t remind me. Those things were detestable,\" Millicent said. \"Give me a broom and a bat over those things any day of the week.\"

\"Here, here! I heartily agree with you there,\" Ron said. \"Finally, a woman after my own heart.\"

\"But you\'re not a beater, Ron,\" said Millicent.

\"Still...\" And here, Ron grew wistful. \"The wind in your face, the grass on the pitch waving in the breeze...wonderful.\"

\"Mmm. And the play. The marvelous play. Zooming about on your broom, the only things holding you on are your balance and your wits.\" Millicent trailed off, a pleased expression on her face.

Knowing looks passed between Ginny and Hermione. Give it time, they thought, give it time. Hermione looked at Millicent for the first time in the seven years she\'d known the woman. Bulstrode wasn\'t half-bad now that she\'d managed to grow into her face. As a young teenager, Millicent would\'ve stopped a mack truck, but now, now...There was something striking about her features. She\'d never be a classical beauty, her jaw was too strong and square and her cheekbones a bit too high and defined. Still, she had very nice olive green eyes, they were large and slanted and fringed with thick, long black lashes that contrasted nicely with her pale skin. Her mouth curved generously below a very straight and finely chisled nose.

For Hermione\'s childish claims that Millicent was no pixie, well, that was certainly true. But it wasn\'t fat, no, not at all. Years on the broom had given Millicent a hard, athletic body. The angles and planes of the girl\'s six-foot-one frame were softened by generous curves in all the right places. Tonight, in deference to the cool spring night, she was clad in a sweater and a pair of well-fitting indigo denims. Hermione looked between Ron and Millicent, sitting on the loveseat at opposite ends, she had to admit that they looked good together. Millicent was the exact opposite of Lavender and perhaps that\'s what her best friend needed.

In the middle of Hermione\'s reverie and the group\'s chuckles and jokes, the door to Hagrid\'s hut opened. A lone figure strode in and surveyed the lolling, giggly students.

\"What in the world is going on in here?\" a deep, stentorian voice queried.

The six goggled at their Potions Master. He was clad in his customary black, but instead of high-necked flowing robes, he wore ordinary trousers and a shirt. The hair was still on the oily side and a thin cigarillo dangled from his long fingers. Snape surveyed their stupefied expressions and sniffed the air.

\"Do I smell...alcohol?\" A dark eyebrow shot up his saturnine face.

Ginny, having regained her composure, spoke with as much dignity as she could muster from atop Harry\'s lap. \"Why, no, sir. If there\'s any alcohol to be smelled, it must be you who\'s been doing the imbibing.\"

The others were shocked at Virginia\'s impertinence. Snape himself looked as if his head were about to explode. Voldemort\'s demise had done nothing to improve the professor\'s temperament.

\"One hundred points from Gryffindor for impertinence. And an extra twenty from each of you for being so stinking drunk. Oh, and Miss Weasley,\" here Snape smiled nastily. \"You\'ve earned yourself a month\'s worth of detentions.\"

Hermione became incensed. She\'d said more nasty things to Snape than she could count, yet he\'d never taken stripes off of her as he\'d just done with Ginny. She leapt from the circle of Draco\'s arms to stare down the professor.

\"You can\'t do that. She\'ll be serving detentions from now until the very last day of school.\"

\"Then she should learn to control her wayward tongue, Miss Granger. Dutch courage is no excuse.\"

\"Oh ho,\" Hermione exclaimed mockingly. \"So what\'s *your* excuse for being a right bastard to all of us for nearly a decade? Not getting enough? You shouldn\'t have let Sinistra steal away your girl, you were much nicer to be around when you were getting shagged on a regular basis.\"

\"I see you\'ll be joining Miss Weasley in her detentions, Miss Granger.\"

Hermione shook her head. \"And to think, I\'d begun to consider you a friend.\"

That wounded Snape a bit, but he was determined not to let those \'children\' see it. If anything, despite their responsibilities, they\'d just proven how immature they still were. And this girl, this girl who\'d surpassed all his expectations as both a female and a mudblooded one at that, still managed to cut through the nonsense and call him on his crap. Why was he so insistent on being a bastard? Surely he and Granger, after all their misadventures, could at least be civil to one another.

He inclined his head in a terse nod. \"Fine. I\'ll take the points, but no detentions. Satisfied?\" Snape drawled, aggravated

Hermione echoed his nod and went back to her place beside Draco, who stared at her in amazement. \"Would you care for a drink, then, Professor?\" She held out the bottle of vodka.

Severus gave her an unexpected lopsided half-grin. \"I prefer firewhiskey.\" He pulled out a silver flask and shook it slightly.

\"Ah. That explains that.\" Hermione inclined her head at the nearly forgotten cheroot.

\"Yes. Where are yours, by the by?\"

\"Gave them up,\" she replied briskly. \"Apparently, they\'re not good for you.\"

\"So I\'ve been told,\" Snape smirked.

The others watched this interplay between teacher and student with a mixture of shock and awe on their faces. Only Ron had an idea of the reason why the Potions Master and his best pupil were at ease. But the next-to-youngest Weasley decided that discretion was the better part of valor and kept his mouth shut.

\"Oi, pass that bottle around here, Hermione,\" slurred out Ron. Apparently being the biggest didn\'t mean that you held your liquor well. Hermione levitated the bottle to Ron, who kicked back what remained in the frosted container.

Snape took another swallow of the smoky liquid in his flask. \"What bring all you delinquents out here?\"

\"We\'re here under the pretense of cleaning out Hagrid\'s things, Godfat\" D\" Draco answered Severus sleepily.

\"And in doing so, found his stash, is that it?\"

\"Something like that.\"

\"Snape\'s your *godfather*? Why didn\'t you tell me, Draco?\" Hermione was surprised and a little incensed.

Draco shrugged. \"It never came up. Besides, you know now, don\'t you?\"

Too inebriated to really care, Hermione shrugged and curled up in a corner of the couch. A yawn slipped from her mouth as she discovered that she was very nearly ready to pass out...as had her other companions. Ron and Millicent were sprawled in their respective chairs, mouths hanging open, veritable rivers of drool pouring forth. Ew. Ginny and Harry were all wrapped around each other, sleeping soundly. Double Ew. Could they be any cuter? Hermione thought with just a bit of annoyance. Draco was dozing, snoring a bit. Hermione smirked and sent her sock-covered toe out to oh, so slightly wake him up.

\"Ow! Dammit, woman! Why in hell did you kick me?\" Draco turned on her, rubbing his injured thigh.

\"I only nudged. I\'d *never* kick you, Draco.\" Hermione fluttered her lashes at him.

\"Gods. Could the two of you be anymore disgusting?\" Came Snape\'s sickened drawl.

\"Out of respect and proper deference for you, *sir*, I\'ll refrain from answering that.\" Draco smirked at his beleaguered godfather.

\"Sometimes...just sometimes, I want to smack you, Draco.\"

\"I love you, too, Godfather.\" Draco\'s smirk widened.

\"Bah.\" Snape flicked his wand over the room and blankets covered the sleeping students and the evidence of their little party was no more. \"The two of you could use a little fresh air. Sober you up some.\"

\"I\'m not drunk, Godfather.\"

\"Oh, yes, yes you are. And so is your little girlfriend here. Come on, get yourselves up from there.\" Snape uncoiled himself from his chair and led the way outside.

The chilly spring air smacked Hermione and Draco in the face, taking the edge off of their inebriation. Severus looked over at Draco and the woman who\'d managed to capture his godson\'s heart. They were a fit pair, he thought, amused. He wondered when Draco had taken the ring from Granger\'s hand. Or maybe it was that she didn\'t want to accept it.

They\'d walked around the grounds for a bit, skirting the forest edge. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Hermione, true to form, worried over NEWTs, thinking she wouldn\'t be properly prepared for them. This past year had not been very conducive to study, she thought ruefully. After she received her degree in potions and finished her apprenticeship, where would she go? There wasn\'t the vaguest indication that Snape would abandon his post as Potions Master of Hogwarts now that the war was over. There was always Beauxbatons, but who knew what would happen in the next four years. Certainly Draco had marriage in mind, but Hermione knew that just being Lady Malfoy wouldn\'t be enough. She\'d read \"The Feminine Mystique.\" She knew that turning into the previous Lady Malfoy would eventually drive her bonkers. So what was there to do? Independent research? Perhaps. But the real \"career\", as it were, lay in commercial potion making. There was always a market for ready-made potions who had neither the time, inclination, or skill to make their own.

At this, Hermione\'s thoughts turned to Snape, who walked alongside her. She wondered why, aside from his spying activities, had he never considered going into the field of commercial potions. It\'s how Francis Parkinson made his money - glamours in potion form - magical makeup. Thoughts of Francis Parkinson brought up thoughts of Pansy. Pansy, along with the other Death Eaters who were still alive had been transported to Azkaban to await trial. Lucius, of course, had been tried posthaste and sentenced to a life behind bars. However, it seemed that in this kinder, gentler ministry, Lucius and the others were not scheduled to receive the Dementor\'s Kiss. Hermione and the rest were outraged, but she tempered her reaction when she saw the faint relief in Draco\'s eyes. As horrible as Lucius had been to them, the man was still Draco\'s father.

(Oi. No more depressing thoughts, love.) Draco poked around through Hermione\'s conscious a bit.

(Sorry. It\'s the alcohol.)

(You\'ve always been a bit of a brooder.)

(True. But what about it? What\'s going to happen after we leave Hogwarts? I *do* intend on finishing my studies, Draco.)

(Then I\'ll just wait. I won\'t like it and I\'ll curse your name every ten minutes but I\'ll deal with it.)

(Aren\'t you sweet.) Hermione\'s sarcastic tone rang through Draco\'s brain.

(The sweetest. There\'s something I wanted to ask you.)

(Hm?) Hermione\'s answer came through a little distractedly, as she began to slip back into her own thoughts.

(Marry me, Granger?)

Her brain suddenly sat up at attention. (What?)

(Marry me. You know, wedded bliss and all that crap.)

(Romantic, Malfoy, real romantic.)

(Well? Will you or won\'t you?)

(Sure. Why not?)

(You mean that?) They kept walking, communicating silently.

(I do mean that.) A bit of softness edged Hermione\'s thoughts.

(Splendid.) Draco\'s lovely mouth curved in a smile as he pulled the ring out of his pocket.

(Lucky I said yes.)

(Luck, my dear, is when opportunity meets preparation.) Hermione nearly laughed aloud. That statement was typical Draco - pure arrogance and loads of style.

(So it would seem. Give me that rock.) She stuck out her left hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. She felt it move to conform to her slender digit. Hermione examined her hand in the moonlight and the diamond sparkled like the stars above.

Snape looked to his left at Hermione wearing that damned ring again. When the hell did she get it back? He wondered with a great deal more irritation than was needed. The both of them were walking along with huge silly smiles on their faces. Yet there was concentration, too. Oh, he wanted to be the one who delivered this news to Lucius. How delicious. Snape smiled with malicious glee. The older wizard would hit the roof of his tiny cell when Severus paid him a call. (No need to put it off,) he thought. (I\'ll give the bastard a visit tomorrow. Skipping my lunch hour would be *well* worth it.)

And so, each in their own states of joy, the three headed back to the castle.