Drarry - The Invitation

Sunday

As the end of August rolled around, Harry arrived at the stunning Devon coastline alongside Hermione and Ron, they had apparated from London and found themselves standing by the front gate to Pansy's beach house

The house was situated on the side of a grassy bank, where miles of crystal blue coastline and sandy beach stretched from one side to the other around it. Small trees and shrubbery had dotted themselves along the outside fence which gave the house a certain amount of privacy, particularly beside the pool in the backyard, which was sunken into the decking and surrounded by sun loungers.

The fence was a little worse for wear, random stumps of wood protruding from the dirt and held together with wire, most likely aged and beaten down from the coastal winds and rain, with three-foot grasses bending lazily in the breeze around it, but the house, on the other hand, was far more picturesque.

It was two stories high, covered in sage green panelling. The windows were large with pretty white exterior shutters and pale blue grilles. There were three wide wooden steps leading up to the front porch, which was littered with pots and hanging baskets, flowers of all shapes and colours like an explosion of greenery that lead up to the large front door

Harry noticed that one of the bedrooms on the top floor had French doors leading out to a balcony, which he assumed belonged to the master bedroom and whoever slept there had the privilege of the stunning sea views.

The beach house itself stood alone for as far as the eye could see. Only trees and fields surrounded them inland while the coast took the rest, leaving them completely alone in their own secluded part of the area

Pansy greeted them excitedly at the front door, squealing with happiness and engaging in bone-crushing hugs, particularly with Harry, who she hadn't properly seen in months

From what Harry could make out as he wandered through the door, was that the entire downstairs was open plan. The front porch opened straight into the kitchen and on the other side of that was a dining area with a large oak bench that looked out through the patio doors into the back garden. On the right side of the kitchen was the living room, three large rust coloured sofas faced a glass coffee table in the centre, whilst packed bookshelves, cupboards and accent tables sat against the walls, littered with houseplants and candles

The staircase to the floor above came down right in the centre of the house, acting as a sort of divider between the rooms

She escorted them through to the huge open plan country kitchen, where a large island sat in the centre, surrounded by brown leather bar stools where a tray of fizzing mango gin was already waiting for them

"Starting the celebrations nice and early then, I see" Harry said, eyeing up the glass of vibrant orange alcohol that had been thrust into his hand

"Of course!" Pansy beamed "Take a sip! It's delicious, I could knock a few of them back far too easily!"

At that moment, Blaise appeared through the back garden doors to a barrage of excited greetings. He pulled each of them into a tight hug, patting the boys on the back before going into some over the top best friend handshake with Ron, something they'd clearly choreographed a while back

Harry had always looked up to Blaise like a fun older sibling, despite them being the same age. In Harry's eyes, Blaise was fiercely charismatic, witty, effortlessly cool and always knew how to liven things up, giving off the same energy as a hyperactive puppy

Pansy on the other hand was far more laid back. Her spirit in life was to enjoy each day and love those around her, nothing was ever too much for her, she adored her friends and loved going out of her way to make them happy. Harry, and the others, saw her as the mother of the group, often overseeing everyone and keeping things in order with her sweet but bold personality